Chapter 10: spotlight
“Uh… are you Ria?”
“Yes, hello!”
It was a sudden first meeting.
Rainberg called me out of the blue during my shift.
I, of course, insisted I’d never used hacks.
Hearing that, Rainberg offered to help with a clarification stream, asking if I was okay doing a collab at his studio without showing my face on cam.
I thought it was the best approach and agreed.
That’s how the collab came together so quickly.
For some reason, he seemed startled when he saw me in person, but I’m not sure why.
“Haha, it’s my first time seeing a VTuber in real life.”
“How’s it looking? You good?”
“Here, check beforehand. This setup ensures you won’t show up on the stream’s camera.”
Rainberg’s off-stream vibe was quite different.
Sure, his big build and sharp face were intimidating.
But overall, he gave off a kind of uncle vibe, you know?
Not that I’ve ever had an uncle in this life or my past one.
If I did, maybe this is how it’d feel.
Still, one thing bugged me.
‘Why’s he helping me?’
Honestly, for a big-league streamer, wouldn’t it be better to sidestep an issue like this?
Getting tangled up could damage his image.
I asked Rainberg about it, and his answer surprised me.
“Well… honestly, it feels like some of the hate from my chat spilled over to you.”
What followed caught me off guard.
“But more than that, drawing aggro is the most important thing for a streamer, right?”
Aggro.
He was right—every Forest viewer’s attention was locked on this drama for the past day.
“Of course, clearing your name is priority, but a collab like this? Guaranteed viewership.”
Rainberg grinned as he said it.
‘Aha.’
I realized something.
Even a crisis can be an opportunity.
The key was that, crisis or not, it drew a ton of attention.
“Anyway, hope this sorts out well!”
I watched Rainberg meticulously prep the stream.
It hit me—he’s stayed a big-league streamer for a reason.
“Should we start on your channel, Ria?”
“Huh? What about you, Rainberg?”
“Nah, I think your channel will pull more viewers.”
That’s why we went live on my channel.
Maybe he was looking out for me.
At least, that’s what I thought.
‘Gotta repay that kindness.’
The stream had already started.
I logged into the gaming PC.
Sat upright, staring only at the game screen.
I’d been advised to avoid looking at chat.
‘Rainberg’s way better at streaming than me anyway.’
That’s how it was.
Right now, I just needed to play well.
“Ria, I was curious last time too—why play on the Korean server instead of Asia?”
Rainberg, watching the screen, asked out of pure curiosity.
Probably not just him—chat was wondering too.
I answered honestly.
“I don’t speak foreign languages.”
“…Oh.”
It was purely an education thing.
The Asia server’s the biggest, but I don’t know any foreign languages.
The little I know is English.
Killwatch was my first FPS, and with no clue about controls, the Korean server was my only option.
If I had to give an excuse, growing up in an orphanage kept me too busy surviving to learn languages.
I wanted to, but never had the time.
‘Though I studied hard for singing.’
As a trainee and as Ariel, I memorized foreign lyrics to avoid being a burden.
Anyway, comfort’s key.
I kept up small talk while waiting for a match.
“By the way, this gear’s pretty nice.”
The mouse grip, the keyboard feel—definitely top-notch, as expected from a big-league streamer’s studio.
I asked Rainberg about it, and he seemed surprised by the question.
“Oh, this is an FPS setup.”
“Really? There’s such a thing?”
“Huh?”
Rainberg tilted his head at my response.
“So what’d you use before?”
“Huh? Just a $5 mouse and a $20 keyboard—”
“Hold up.”
Rainberg sensed something was off.
He hurriedly checked my interface and settings.
“What the…!?”
He was floored.
“No FPS settings at all?”
“Huh? There’s settings for that?”
“You didn’t know and played Killwatch like this?”
“I just used the defaults…”
For some reason, Rainberg was giving me a suspicious look.
– Lolololol
– She didn’t know that?
– What, no hacks for real?
– She didn’t know that?
– Getting caught live off-stream is legendary lol.
I didn’t know it then, but chat was going wild too.
“Hmm, I’ll set up some basic Killwatch settings for you.”
Rainberg was sweating for some reason.
I kept hearing how crucial settings are in FPS, and just as he finished tweaking—
“Alright, match found. Looks like Grandmaster queue?”
The game started.
And that’s when it hit me.
– Huh?
– …What?
– What did I just see?
The kind of setup I’d been playing with all this time.
‘Unbelievable.’
Streamer Rainberg was floored.
His heart was taking a beating today.
First shock was when the community blew up.
He woke up to hack allegations out of nowhere.
At first, he was like, what’s this about? Then he learned the opposing VTuber was accused of hacking.
‘Huh?’
But his gut told him something was fishy.
The controversial clip looked odd, sure, but her calls didn’t scream “hacker” either.
‘This doesn’t feel like hacks.’
After rewatching the clip multiple times, he was convinced.
His streaming instincts also told him this drama could pull massive viewership.
Second shock: the VTuber accepted his sudden collab offer for an IRL verification without hesitation.
Third shock: this VTuber, Ria, had been playing Killwatch with zero FPS settings this whole time!
That was both shocking and worrying.
And now!
“Wow, you’re wiping them out?”
He was hit with a fourth shock.
His viewers felt it too.
– Yo, she got a triple kill?
– What? Is Rainberg’s PC hacked too?
– Yo, you idiot, that makes no sense lol.
– Kinda lol.
– Take her down.
– Wait, she’s shooting better than yesterday?
The reason? Ria.
She was… too good at the game.
‘This is a goldmine.’
Rainberg knew this was a massive streaming opportunity.
A female VTuber getting this much attention while dominating an FPS?
On a verification stage, no less?
This had viral potential.
“Wow, you’re cleaning up!”
“First kill, fourth in a row!”
“Guys, I’ve figured it out—Ria’s been handicapping herself this whole time!”
Rainberg leaned into his strength—play-by-play reactions—churning out juicy clips.
– Yo, not hacks lol, what kinda hacks are these?
– She’s doing better in Rebug’s studio?
– They tried to bury her for this?
– I’m a Ria fan from now on.
Just one game.
Viewers and Rainberg alike knew Ria wasn’t the hacking type.
But Rainberg kept her playing.
Switching maps, she racked up high K/D/A and damage across multiple matches.
She even scored a judge’s win against a pro playing on the Korean server.
“Alright, folks, I’ll admit it. You all felt that, right?”
“I don’t think Ria’s just some random.”
– For real lol.
– No wonder it was controversial. She smoked Rebug lol.
– Pro-level, no?
– First time seeing a female VTuber this good.
– FPS talent GOAT, honestly.
“Alright, that’s that. Ria’s proven herself with this IRL verification.”
‘That should do it.’
Rainberg knew his gamble paid off.
This would keep making waves.
He’d be one of the beneficiaries.
And so, Ria and Rainberg’s impromptu IRL collab wrapped up triumphantly.
Unprecedented, but that made it all the more impactful.
[When in Doubt, Clip Gear (120)]
[Current Pro Wiped by Ria’s Aim POV (250)]
[Pro Gamer Hermes: Who Is She? She’s Insane (30)]
The community was like a wave.
Calm one moment, then surging with momentum.
Or flipping in the opposite direction like nothing happened.
Its unpredictability was impossible to forecast.
After Rainberg and VTuber Ria’s IRL collab, the community felt like it rewound to last night.
Viewers who watched the stream started posting clips and threads about Ria’s skill.
This time, with “definitive” verification, the impact dwarfed yesterday’s.
If anything, it was bigger.
It’s a great story, isn’t it?
Overcoming adversity and proving yourself boldly—viewers eat that up, and it unfolded right before their eyes.
At this point, even the neutral-gear community members started chiming in.
[Community Update: Two Hours Ago, They Were Ready to Bury Someone (250)]
<Roughly a screenshot of popular posts bashing Ria>
Filling two pages with this and now praising her? Disgusting.
Straight up, you almost cyber-murdered someone.
Once again, I’m shocked by your hypocrisy lol.
– Fan Korea’s been “FK” all along.
– What’s with this U-turn?
– If she hadn’t done the IRL verification, she’d be buried lol.
– Even the drama-starters probably didn’t expect this lol.
ㄴ That’s me, but whatever, let’s drink. Not a hack, so oh well.
ㄴ Fair, just a misunderstanding~
Some nasty comments stood out.
But this was par for the course in the community.
Push forward, and if it’s wrong, pivot to “my bad.”
Neutral gear meant not swaying with the mob, but did the mob commit a grave sin?
It was a gray area.
And there were even nastier folks in the community.
– <Screenshot> Wow… even the author was bashing Ria in comments lol.
What’s with the innocent act? You’re worse than the instigators, you know that?
ㄴ Lol, caught red-handed.
This guy’s a bat, flipping sides.
ㄴ Lol, roasted, roasted, roasted, roasted, roasted, roasted.
ㄴ If I were the author, I’d delete my account. Agree?
ㄴ Nah, they won’t. One day, and everyone’ll forget.
ㄴ Fair.
And that wasn’t all.
Even after Ria’s IRL verification, some self-convinced community members still claimed she hacked.
[Yo, Couldn’t She Just Not Use Hacks Today? (540)]
ㄴ[Darkness Troll] (Lv75) [Author]
Hmm, she shoots well, but it felt different from yesterday.
Just me?
It’s iffy, I’m not sold.
– Different? Lol, she shot the same as yesterday. What nonsense.
– Author living up to their name?
– This is paranoia, no? Saying that after today’s play?
ㄴ [Author] That’s how it looks to me.
ㄴ Yo, check Ria’s VOD from four days ago.
Her aim habits in today’s map are identical.
Still calling hacks? Lol.
ㄴ [Author] Still looks sus to me.
ㄴ You’re sus to me. Get to a hospital, highly recommended.
Sure, those folks were few, and the shifted public opinion was hammering them.
Community members were quick to pile on when a streamer deserved flak.
But when it’s proven to be slander, the community’s self-cleaning kicked in, rooting out the haters.
In the end, the dominant opinion from today’s IRL stream was that Ria proved herself.
Plus, she got to showcase her character to a huge audience.
In that sense, her collab achieved its goal.
And Ria, the center of it all, was now…
[Ria here! Glad the clarification went well today. Taking a break tonight! See you all tomorrow!]
She posted a hiatus notice.
Dragging her chaotic mind and body, she was at a coin karaoke.