Chapter 16
DarkKChoco is ranked 10th in the world in GOF 1v1.
Real name: Lee Dojin.
Not just in the game—he’s also a top-ranked professional hunter in real life.
But yesterday—
He lost to ChickenFireSlap.
“…”
Dojin sat there in a daze.
He had slept longer than usual after the shock of defeat—
and woke up to a completely different world.
His phone was flooded with notifications.
When he checked the hunter forums—
He found out that clips of yesterday’s match had been displayed on screens all over the world.
And the main tournament would even be broadcast on public and cable TV.
The beta tournament’s impact was massive.
People were already calling GOF the “Hunter Olympics.”
‘… So my loss became the opening scene of this “Hunter Olympics”…?’
His vision went dark.
He checked a few videos of his match playing on huge billboards around the world.
then opened his messages.
Even people he barely knew—
and multiple guilds—
had contacted him.
He ignored most of them—
scrolling down—
until he tapped one name.
[Me: Hyung, did you see my 1v1 with ChickenFireSlap?]
[Me: What do you think they are?]
[Me: At that level, they can’t be normal in real life either.]
The recipient:
Baek Heean.
The person Dojin respected the most.
At that moment—
A reply came.
[Heean: Of course.]
[Heean: Not sure if Chicken is a hunter, though.]
Dojin’s eyes widened.
‘He replied right away…?’
Heean was known to be warm and responsible on missions—
but distant in personal matters.
Still—
Dojin always respected him.
[Me: I thought so too.]
Another reply came.
[Heean: Looks like you matched them while watching the stream.]
[Me: Yeah]
[Me: Their rank jumped to 12th, so I wanted to fight them.]
Dojin was rank 10.
It was natural to feel competitive.
Especially with someone rising that fast.
[Me: Next time, I’ll definitely win.]
[Me: But I’m curious who they are.]
A pause.
[Heean: Focus on improving before the tournament.]
Short.
As expected.
[Me: Got it.]
[Me: What are you up to these days?]
[Me: I heard you’re resting after your overseas mission.]
Another pause.
[Heean: Just resting]
[Me: You’ll join the tournament, right?]
Another delay.
[Heean: Of course.]
[Me: Are you training?]
No reply.
Conversation over.
“…Ah.”
Dojin sighed.
Even this level of interaction—
felt close enough.
Because there were people who had worse relationships with Heean.
Then—
He realized something.
‘He only talked about Chicken…’
Even though he told Dojin to ignore it—
Heean himself seemed very interested.
That’s how impactful the beta was.
If even Heean cared—
It made sense.
There were three main reasons people were interested in ChickenFireSlap:
No information.
A refreshing, aggressive fighting style.
And—
insane ranking growth.
ChickenFireSlap appeared suddenly—
and climbed faster than anyone else.
Recently—
They jumped from rank 13 to 12 in under a month.
And now—
They had defeated rank 10.
Almost a draw—
but still a win.
Game skill doesn’t always equal real-world strength—
but in GOF—
It usually does.
The best example—
Baek Heean himself.
Dojin checked his messages again.
and frowned.
—You lost to rank 12? lol loser
Hwang Beomyoung.
That bastard.
“…”
The defeat stung again.
“I lost to Chicken…”
He clenched his teeth.
‘I was careless. Next time…’
He wouldn’t lose.
I searched for DarkKChoco’s real identity online.
Lee Dojin.
Hunter from Cheongryeong Guild.
Tanned skin.
Black hair.
Sharp, serious face.
Not photogenic—
but charismatic.
Muscular.
Tall.
192 cm.
‘Damn.’
He was exactly my type.
While scrolling through his photos—
The convenience store door opened.
I looked up.
Kim Jeongyeon.
My coworker.
“Unni, what happened to you?”
He looked shocked.
‘…Why does he assume I fell instead of getting beaten?’
Because I don’t look like someone who gets beaten.
“I fell down the stairs.”
I glanced at his hands.
“You’re early.”
“You bought me chicken yesterday, so I got pizza today.”
Nice kid.
“Did you see the GOF tournament yesterday—”
“What? The beta?”
“Exactly!”
His eyes sparkled.
Does he not have gaming friends?
“You came just to talk about that?”
“Well… everyone’s busy these days…”
We sat down—
eating pizza—
watching on his phone.
“ChickenFireSlap is amazing, right? One of the few top players using a female avatar. Might actually be a girl.”
“…Hmm.”
Well—
I am a girl.
Just not the kind he expects.
“Hunting guild players usually match their real gender. But Chicken might be different.”
Makes sense.
Even I matched my real height and gender for immersion.
“I wish I could team up with them.”
You already work with them.
At a convenience store.
“You play GOF?”
“Of course. Want me to carry you?”
“…”
That’s me.
I said nothing.
Then—
The door opened.
Ding—
I looked up—
and froze.
Those guys.
The same high school delinquents.
Jeongyeon greeted them.
They glanced at me nervously.
He whispered,
“Did you fight them?”
“…Looks like it.”
They had more injuries.
I spoke coldly.
“You said you wouldn’t come back.”
“W-we’re sorry!”
They bowed deeply.
I almost relaxed—
until—
“We have a favor to ask…”
“…What?”
The nerve.
“Can’t you see I’m working?”
“We’ll wait outside!”
I wanted to tell them to get lost—
But I was curious.
‘What are they planning?’
Better to understand—
than get dragged in blindly.
“Come back in an hour.”
Their faces lit up.
