Game streamer Gu Yohan, focused on [Knight Arc].
His vision spun once before turning ashen.

“Huh? What the—?”

Game over. His character had died.

[You have died.]

“What the hell just happened?”

Gu Yohan blinked blankly.
Meanwhile, the surroundings swiftly shifted back to the waiting area, a grassy plain.

[Final Rank: 71st]

“No way. Something’s gotta be wrong here.”

He tried to protest, but the text floating before him mercilessly mocked his defeat.

– lolololol
– What’s wrong? You lost, that’s it.
– Man, even your alt account loses?
– Yohan, they’ve been calling you washed-up for ages, but now you’re really washed-up.

Sure, he’d been called washed-up for years, but Gu Yohan’s skill was far from lacking.
His highest ranking this season was 17th overall.
Deciding further climbing was tough, he’d started streaming with an alt account, only to get blindsided by an unexpected blow.

“Kids at this rank play that well?”

From Gu Yohan’s perspective, it was absurd.
He’d just created this alt yesterday, so he was in the newbie bracket.

A top-tier player ranked 17th shouldn’t lose at this level.
But no matter how he looked at it, his opponent’s skill was anything but ordinary.

“You guys saw it too, right? That person’s gotta be an alt. Top rankers make alts all the time.”

The alt excuse slipped out of Gu Yohan’s mouth almost reflexively.
The logic was that he didn’t lose to a beginner but to another top ranker’s alt account.

– ?
– Bro, we know all the rankers’ faces, and that person wasn’t one of them.
– No ranker looks like that.
– You can’t change appearances, dumbass.

“…Yeah, you’re right.”

The problem was that appearance changes weren’t possible in virtual reality.
The game used your real-world appearance, physique, and skills.
If someone was skilled enough to outplay him, their name and face would already be well-known.

Gu Yohan’s head started to spin.

“Did I actually lose to a newbie?”

– Yup.
– You’ve got no talent, go find another job.
– Sigh… losing to a newbie now?

Gu Yohan briefly recalled the last fight.
It had happened so fast.
His supposedly perfect defense had a gap before he knew it, and his opponent slipped through, neutralizing his guard.

“Let me replay the stream for a sec.”

With a gesture in the air, the past broadcast footage began playing.

Gu Yohan, wielding a shield and spear, moved forward.
A seemingly defenseless girl appeared in his field of vision.

– Still cute on rewatch.
– Definitely pretty.
– So cute.
– What is this, seriously?
– Does she not stream?

“You guys keep going on like this, no wonder I couldn’t focus and died.”

He grumbled at the viewers’ reactions, but even Gu Yohan couldn’t help being drawn in.
A black-haired girl with red eyes.
Just standing there, she was captivating.

The fight began soon after.
At first, Gu Yohan clearly had the upper hand.
He pressured her with his spear, blocking counterattacks with his shield.
No one could dodge a spear forever, so an opponent with a flimsy weapon would inevitably fall.

Then came the next moment.

Swish!

His spear snapped in an instant.
Only then did he notice the blade in her grasp.

– Yup, that’s a dagger.
– Thought it was a no-cast melee magic route for a sec.
– Anyone could tell it was a dagger, lol.

“I knew it was a dagger, but that speed makes no sense.”

And the distance he’d carefully maintained closed in a flash.
It was a speed even the camera struggled to track.

“This isn’t a speed a normal girl could pull off. No matter how you look at it.”

– Hmm…
– Fair point.
– Not even magic, just pure physical skill.
– If it was magic, there’d be visual cues.

“I thought it was footwork magic at first, but it was just raw physical ability. That opponent’s a pro.”

– Then an Awakened?

“Could be, but the game system blocks Awakened powers.”

The replay of the fight ended.
Only then did Gu Yohan hear his opponent’s final words.

A girl smiling brightly as she looked down at her fallen foe.
The words that slipped from her smile:

– Lame.

“What?”

– That look in her eyes, whoa…
– Her voice!
– She really called him lame.

[Temujin donated 1,000 won!]
– Yohan, she called you lame. You gonna let that slide? Go snipe her and get an interview, lol.

“I’ll just spectate in ghost mode for now.”

– lololol this guy’s such a simp.

[Knight Arc] has a spectating system.
You can follow the player who killed you.

“Let’s see… her username is Joo Wooyeon.”

As Gu Yohan’s ghost approached Joo Wooyeon, he couldn’t help but flinch.

“What the hell.”

[Spectating Ghost Players]
– 13 players.

A ton of ghosts had already gathered around her.

[Joo Wooyeon is on a killing spree.]

The reason was obvious.
Unlike Gu Yohan, who managed to last a few exchanges, other opponents dropped like flies against Joo Wooyeon.

You watch a replay to figure out why you lost.
The replay shows an absurdly skilled player.
Any passionate gamer would want to watch and learn from a master.

For that reason, another ghost latched onto the girl’s back.
A black-haired, red-eyed girl wielding a dagger.
She quietly scanned the medieval city’s skyline, then made a quick gesture to check some information.

“Ghosts? What’s this?”

– Oh no!
– She noticed!
– Yohan, run, you idiot lololol.
– Her voice is so cute.

“Aha…”

Joo Wooyeon nodded to herself, then flashed a bright smile toward where the ghosts likely were.

“These are the people I killed, huh?”

She tilted her head with a radiant smile, but her red eyes, fixed on some distant point, were utterly emotionless.
They carried the cold gaze of someone looking down on an infinitely weaker foe.

– Whoa…
– I’m feeling weird.
– Oh, my heart…
– Hnnng lol.

Gu Yohan felt a strange tickle deep in his chest.
He was a rank 17 master. Losing to a beginner like this should be a lifelong humiliation.
Yet, somehow, he didn’t feel that bad.
…What’s with this feeling?

“You losers.”

As if it were a hilarious joke, Joo Wooyeon giggled to herself.

“Kidding! Spectating’s fine, but I’ve got my own stream going. Here’s the channel… Could you watch it there instead?”

– Yes, ma’am!
– Sure thing!
– I’m heading there now, big sis!

“…What the hell.”

His brain felt like it was melting, unable to process properly.
Gu Yohan could only stare blankly as his viewers zipped away.

[To you, the final glory.]

Taking first place—being the match’s last survivor—wasn’t too hard.
It’s still the beginner bracket, isn’t it?
Full of people just learning the game step by step.
A dagger was more than enough.

– You’re amazing with that dagger.
– Did you learn to play somewhere else?
– Do you know a streamer named Gu Yohan?
– Let’s chat!

Meanwhile, the chat filled with new viewers.
One of the players I killed was a streamer, and their viewers had migrated to my stream.

“So you all came from Gu Yohan’s stream, huh?”

– Yup.
– Yeah.

“Should I steal them?”

– Oh!
– Whoa!
– Oh my gosh!
– My heart… I’m dying…

I was joking, but their reactions were weirder than I expected, which surprised me.
Sure, I was a guy in my past life, but all that’s left are memories of how things were. The sense of being a guy faded long ago.
What’s so great about this, anyway?

“Kidding. Go do your thing. I’m busy and don’t have time to chat much.”

– Oof…
– She’s a genius.
– So cute!
– Big sis, I’m feeling weird…

Okay, I honestly don’t get why this is appealing either.
All I said was I’m too busy to deal with them.
It’s probably just my looks carrying me, but wasn’t that kind of rude?

[Temujin donated 1,000 won!]
– What’s keeping you busy?

I got a donation too.

“Oh! Thank you!”

One thousand won. My first monumental earning.

“I want to succeed as a streamer, but my rank’s low, and not many people are watching yet, so I’m focusing on climbing the ranks for now.”

– Got it.
– So it’s a skill-based stream.
– You’re really good at the game.
– With your talent, Wooyeon, you’ll hit ranker status in no time.

“You don’t have to talk so sweetly. We’re not exactly meeting face-to-face or anything.”

– Oh!
– Whoa!
– Insane.

It’s not a concept.
I’m just guarded because so many people approach me like that.
A natural defense mechanism from my orphanage life, you could say.

“Anyway, I’m just going to keep climbing for the rest of the time.”

Climbing. Raising my ranking points.
One of the top priorities for growing a stream.

Sure, I could lean on my looks and push for some success right now.
Chatting lightly with the current viewers and going for a talk-based stream could get me established quickly.

But that won’t lead to real, big success.
That kind of streaming model has its limits.
I’m not particularly talented at banter, and I don’t want to cater to random guys I don’t even know.

What I’m aiming for is a skill-based stream.
To do that, I need to prove my gaming prowess, and the only way is to climb the ranks.

For the next three hours straight,
I played match after match without a word.

[Mana reserves depleted.]
[Connection terminating.]

Until the virtual reality device’s mana ran dry.