Chapter 128…
-Now then, Streamer Lee Ji-han! While you’re coming up to the stage, let’s take a look at what kind of achievements you’ve shown us this year!
The host’s lively voice rang out.
The cheers of the crowd surrounded him, and Ji-han, still a bit stunned—
and limping slightly—walked toward the podium.
-First up! Zero Ground! Wow, it all started here. The moment Kim Ppong-tta put a bounty on him!
“Woooooo!”
“Kim Ppong-tta! You troublemaker!”
“No! I wasn’t trouble! I told you, it was an emergency! Guys!?”
[LOL look at Kim Ppong-tta panicking]
[This is hilarious LOL]
[But it was insane LOL]
[Oh, it’s coming, it’s coming]
[LOL amazing LOL]
[THIS part LOL]
[Ji-han, still… thanks for doing joint streams with Ppong-tta and Zero Ground sometimes…]
Tadadadak!
A clip of Ji-han evading over a hundred players, showing impossible parkour and martial arts-like movement.
Dodging bullets by just tilting his head—almost monstrous reaction speed.
And then—
[Wow;;;]
[Yeah you could already see the “Heavenly Demon” vibes back then LOL]
[Overwhelming violence!]
[Heavenly Demon! Heavenly Demon! Heavenly Demon!]
Ji-han’s massacre show.
[Who are the people with [Heavenly Demon Cult] in their names…?]
[LOL this is embarrassing]
[There’s also [Heavenly Demon Corps], are they the same?]
[They’re kinda split into subgroups]
[Actually they’re not split LOL they’re the same people LOL]
[The Cult was the original group, I think?]
[More Corps members appeared around the Fengsuli arc…]
Ji-han felt a bit dizzy looking at the chat, which seemed to be popping up as a prompt.
-Now, shall we look at the next one! Ah yes, this was huge! Project Zombres!
[Ah yes, you can’t leave out Zombres]
[This one was truly insane]
[Everyone thought the story was about holding down strongholds, then he suddenly wandered off alone LOL]
[But when did he go to the harbor?]
[Didn’t he stop by?]
[Nope, he kept getting dragged into事件 after 사건 LOL]
[But he self-destructed at the end.]
And of all moments, that scene appeared.
Cosmic horror.
Pushing Markus and the kid out of the way—
Kwaaaaaang!
A scene of him sacrificing himself.
[Ah… THAT’S the one…]
[But now there’s [Saints’ Order] attached to their names? Who are these guys…]
[Oh they’re from Ji-han’s chat too]
[LOL how many fan tags do these people have?]
[Funniest thing is the Heavenly Demon guys and the Saints’ Order guys fight every day LOL]
-Haha, Streamer Lee Ji-han has arrived on stage, but we still have more videos left!
“Huh? Don’t I get my award and go down?”
At his confusion, the host chuckled.
-The Rookie Award is basically equivalent to the Grand Prize. It represents how bright of a supernova-like newcomer emerged that year.
Next video: Strong Rivers Sword Chronicle.
The final match against Namgung-hyung.
Then: Rhythm Potential.
-Hahaha! That dance! You did it in Fengsuli too, right?
The infamous song and dance.
A clip of Ji-han, transformed into a “Heart Boy,” dancing his heart out.
[LOL Ji-han’s earlobes are bright red]
[He’s so cute LOL]
[Ji-han! Just debut already! Debut as an idol!]
[L E E J I H A N D E B U T !!!]
The chat exploded with excitement, and Ji-han bowed his head in embarrassment.
Next came Fengsuli.
His first clear of the “Corrupted Steel Heart” that ‘Echo’ ruined.
Then the lower-zone vs mid-zone war.
Then attacking the upper zone for a 1v1 against server leader Rust.
Lastly, the mayor election and amusement park construction.
[Ah… seeing Fengsuli here hits hard]
[By now Rust is probably grinning like crazy LOL]
[It really was a successful server LOL]
[Legendary, seriously]
[An all-time great server.]
And finally—
“WAAAAAAH!”
“This is it! THIS is the one!”
“Kyaaah! First Demon King Raid!”
Braver Maker.
Ji-han flew through the battlefield.
Like he was in Strong Rivers Sword Chronicle, performing martial techniques and overwhelming the Demon King.
Wielding spirits, summoning and resummoning them, controlling the entire battlefield.
A flawless display.
[God… that was insane]
[Why is this only the Rookie Award?]
[Isn’t this Grand Prize level?]
[But Pretzel doesn’t usually give Grand Prize to rookies…]
[There are tons of intense fandoms and self-proclaimed top streamers…]
[Rookie is better anyway]
[Next year’s Grand Prize will go to Lee Ji-han]
[Eh? How do you know LOL maybe someone even crazier will debut]
[Do you think anyone can surpass THAT?]
[…Ah]
[Ah]
[Yeah okay no one’s beating that LOL]
-And that concludes Lee Ji-han’s highlight reel! Haha, that was incredible, wasn’t it?
Ji-han stood near the podium, flustered.
Then—
“Ah.”
Something was placed around his neck.
A gold medal. A gold-plated award in medal form.
The moment it touched his neck, Ji-han shivered.
Every hair on his body stood on end.
Drip, drip, drip.
-H-Huh!?
[Huh?]
[????]
[Is Ji-han crying?]
[Is he?]
[Why?]
[What???]
-Um, Lee Ji-han!? P-Please calm down! We need your acceptance speech…
Before the host finished—
Ji-han leaned toward the mic.
“Ahem, yes. I’m Lee Ji-han. I’m incredibly happy and honored to receive such an undeserved award. Mom, Dad, my sister Ji-hye, Suho, Sua, and everyone who has helped me until now—thank you.”
His voice trembled.
He steadied his chest, trying not to sob.
“It was my dream to have a medal placed around my neck. I heard it’s similar to the Grand Prize. And since it’s gold-plated… well, I like that even more…”
He, too, had a dream.
To return home wearing a medal.
To show his mom, dad, and Ji-hye.
To proudly show his beloved family.
“Mom, Dad, Ji-hye!”
He took off the medal and raised it.
“I won a medal!”
His voice echoed through the hall.
* * *
[LOL]
[The medalist LOL]
[Did you rest well during break?]
[You gotta spend New Year’s with family LOL]
[Well? Did they love it? Huh? Ji-han, tell us the story LOL]
[He’s not Ji-han anymore, call him Mr. Medal LOL]
[Anyway happy New Year Ji-han!]
Waiting screen.
The teasing chat kept flowing in.
Rustling noises, and Ji-han’s hearty laugh could be heard.
“Yes, I received tons of praise.”
The camera turned on—
[???]
[Did Ji-han gain weight?]
[He looks chubbier?]
[LOL did you eat too well over the New Year?]
[Or did you cry? From being praised?]
[Crybaby! Crybaby!]
“I didn’t cry. I just ate a lot of meat.”
He kept smiling lightly.
“I probably gained a bit. I’ll be exercising harder now. Well, rehab exercise, to be exact.”
[Wasn’t he already training hard?]
[LOL if he trains any harder he’ll die!]
[Everyone makes resolutions around New Year lol]
“And I think I didn’t thank you properly before. This medal—
you’re the ones who helped me earn it.”
His earlobes reddened.
“If you all hadn’t watched my streams, I wouldn’t have gotten this. Really. I was someone who couldn’t even look at chat, always lost in my own world.”
He scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
“You were the ones who pulled me in and said, ‘come play with us.’”
Then he bowed deeply.
“Thank you so much.”
The chat froze.
[LOLOLOL]
[Why are you thanking us so sincerely LOL]
[We’re actually mad you didn’t read our names LOL]
[How do you read tens of thousands of nicknames LOL]
[Why not? LOL]
[Ji-han, wanna read all of them now? Huh?]
[LOL hey he’s actually about to do it]
[No no it’s a joke! A joke!]
Ji-han, who had been about to open his mouth, suddenly grinned playfully.
[Huh?]
[…?]
[Uh]
[Ji-han]
[You… could smile like that?]
[Wait are our eyes tricking us?]
[…He’s hot…]
[…Why does he get more handsome when he gains weight…?]
That one smile—
Was like a bunker buster, or a nuclear bomb, dropped on the chat.
Their hearts—
[damn…]
[what the hell]
[why is this fluttering]
[haven’t felt this way about Ji-han in a while…]
[Ji-han never smile like that again]
[No no only show it to us]
[ONLY to us!]
[Show it again! Just once more!]
Were reduced to rubble and then rebuilt at record speed.
“Haha, anyway. Yes. I just wanted to thank you.”
[Mhm! Of course you should]
[So now—time to get to work?]
[Yeah, what’s the plan?]
[Collabs and 1-shot games are awkward now.]
[You got any story games lined up?]
“I’ve prepared some options. A few, actually.”
He thought for a moment.
“One is Heroes League.”
Heroes League.
A game considered one of the twin pillars alongside League of Duty.
If League of Duty is a snack shop, Heroes League is a premium omakase—according to memes.
[Didn’t that game die?]
[I thought League was gone LOL]
[Player numbers still okay LOL]
[It’s the pioneer of VR hero shooters]
[Isn’t 2 coming out soon?]
A cult-hit, ability-based battle game that has managed to survive.
[He’s doing LoD too?]
[Him playing LoD would be hilarious LOL]
[Can he even read the map LOL]
“Yes, League of Duty is also on the list.”
Two extreme physical-skill games dropped into the chat.
The chat exploded, but Ji-han continued calmly.
“Those two aren’t story games. People keep mentioning them in collabs, so I thought I should learn them.”
[True]
[Yeah you gotta learn some basics]
[I personally don’t like LoD or HL;;;]
[They’re kinda divisive]
[Plus tons of streamers already play them. Doesn’t have to be Ji-han.]
[But shouldn’t he at least try?]
[Everyone touches them at least once. Don’t be too negative.]
Ji-han gently calmed the fired-up chat.
Then—
“I’ll keep taking recommendations. But the game I’ve personally been interested in lately is…”
He launched a game.
[Huh?]
[Oh no no no]
[Not that]
[That’s way too niche]
“Why? Doesn’t it look fun?”
He looked genuinely puzzled.
But the reason was simple:
[Mecha genre is too niche!!]
[A mech academy story game?? That’s too niche!!]
[Mecha plus school setting is a bit…]
[But I kinda think Ji-han could make it work??]
[Still, please think a bit more before choosing!]
Ji-han smiled faintly at the chat’s panic.
“Well, for now! I’ll just say I’m thinking about it.”
They continued narrowing down options together.
After a long while—
“Ah, then in the end… it’ll be this game.”
He smiled softly.
[Ah, that one?]
[Well… if Ji-han wants to play it, fine]
[I think it’ll be okay]
And that game was…
