Chapter 55
Waving the Taegukgi (1)
The scheduled 3rd-floor raid location: the Tricolor Field.
A group of players had taken position there, waiting for someone. About twenty people or so.
At the center of that group a flag bearing the Japanese national emblem was planted.
“Kurogane—what are you staring at?”
“Ah, Shiomi. I’m just waiting to see when the Korean side arrives.”
“You look tense.”
“Haha… am I?”
Kurogane Tatsuya, a player with a long scabbard at his waist, gave an awkward smile as he greeted his companion for the day.
Shiomi Yui.
Kurogane Tatsuya was, like him, a rising star from Japan who carried high expectations. They’d been in the same party before for a quest, so he knew her face.
Her nickname was Ice Blossom (氷花). A cool, stylish moniker—she was a promising player with a rare dual specialization, even on the global stage.
A player who wielded dagger techniques and ice magic simultaneously.
She was another prospect they expected would climb past the 7th floor and go even higher.
“This is my first time facing players from another country, too. I’m nervous.”
“A student of the Sword Spirit nervously? Hmm, do you think there are players of that caliber on the Korean side?”
“I don’t know.”
“Park Se-yoon—the top Korean prospect—ended up switching to our side, didn’t he? Oh, should I call him Bokusei Jun now?”
Shiomi Yui nodded subtly and pointed with her chin to the opposite ridge with a smile.
There, a man holding a spear was lightly warming up.
“He’s kind of an asshole in personality, but his skill is the real deal.”
“I know that. But I don’t want to get close.”
“Why?”
“You don’t trust someone who’s betrayed their country once. Those guys only pursue personal gain—no better than merchants.”
A blunt answer. Shiomi Yui shrugged at his rather dull response.
“Kurogane, you’re the same as always.”
“Am I?”
“You know why that annoying guy is warming up so hard?”
“No idea.”
“He says he’ll teach the Korean prospects himself. As if that’s his responsibility as someone who used to represent Korea? What a laughable prick.”
That was a lie.
Kurogane Tatsuya exhaled and looked at Park Se-yoon.
Although he sought honor, he wasn’t completely oblivious.
‘He’s planning to crush the Korean players alone then bask in the attention of the Japanese public,’ he thought.
A person who would betray the nation that raised him for profit—such a person wouldn’t come here out of true concern for his former country. He’d show off by smashing Korean players alone to prove his personal value as a commodity.
‘He probably thinks he can beat everyone by himself.’
After the friendly match was decided, the Japanese Player Association had provided information about the Korean lineup to their participants over the past weekend. If that intel was correct, Bokusei Jun should have no trouble beating the Korean players. The truth was the overall level of Korean players was clearly lower than Japan’s.
Still, there was one opponent that bothered him.
‘…Meteor Shower (Yuseongu).’
A Korean player who had suddenly appeared like a comet. He’d broken through the lower floors in all sorts of bizarre ways and set not-insignificant world records. Japanese media downplayed it as “only performance on lower floors,” but Kurogane Tatsuya didn’t think so.
“I suppose we might lose today. Honestly, I think it’s overwhelmingly likely we’ll lose.”
“Aren’t you being too cautious? Is it because of Yuseongu?”
Shiomi Yui sat lightly on a tree stump and stretched as she looked at Kurogane.
“Well, our guild leader also told us to be careful. I heard he’s being openly backed by the Korean government?”
“Is that so?”
“They say the world records he set on the lower floors … it’s likely the Korean government provided massive item support. Like a prospect they’ve been preparing for a long time.”
“Do you really believe that, Shiomi?”
“Me? I don’t really think anything special. I just hope it’s my turn soon. It’s not every day we get to fight other people, you know… Oh, the Korean players are here.”
As she rose, Kurogane slowly turned his head toward the right ridge. Compared to the relatively quiet Japanese side, the Korean side was surprisingly loud.
“Wow. Did a celebrity come? Why are there so many filming drones? I love Korean dramas—can I get an autograph?”
“That’s probably MiTube livestream. Meteor asked for an exclusive stream.”
“Oh right, I forgot. But if they broadcast themselves getting beaten, won’t that be a national humiliation? Balls of steel, huh?”
At Shiomi Yui’s teasing, he muttered under his breath.
“…Maybe they don’t think they’ll lose at all.”
“Huh?”
“Ah, just talking to myself.”
Kurogane gripped the katana handle and took a deep breath.
‘…I never thought I’d actually meet them. I’m a little nervous,’ he felt, stifling the flutter toward someone.
Apparently, Japanese folks were punctual. The Korean side had not arrived late, but the Japanese players were already there waiting. And of course the broadcast had been turned on.
What was surprising: the viewer count jumped past 20,000 as soon as the stream started. And that was just the starting number—the viewers were climbing at an incredible speed.
Even more astonishing was the chat.
—Clean bot detected inappropriate language!
—Clean bot detected inappropriate language!
—Any betting tips? MoomooTV <—click this link
—Wow the chat is legendary today
—Chat scrolls too fast
—I don’t think we can interact today
Unless you have exceptional visual acuity, you couldn’t read the chat.
“Ah, it’s Hyung.” (big brother)
He greeted the viewers warmly. The chat filled with salutations, and a few viewers sent donations.
[‘Abyss Encyclopedia’ donated ₩100,000!]
—Wishing for Korea’s victory.
[‘GeomBaki’ donated ₩100,000!]
—What’s the match order today?
[‘Ability Management Dept Official’ donated ₩1,000,000!]
—Fight Korea!!
“Whoa, folks! Thanks for the donations. Ability Management Department official? For the ₩1,000,000 reaction I’ll show you a 10-tier aerial flip.”
Whether it was right for taxpayers’ money to be donated to him or not, they were sponsors, so he’d be glad. He happily performed the 10-tier aerial flip.
Whirr—!
This wasn’t a reaction he did just anytime.
—This is wild lololol
—This young man… really… impressive. Back in my day it wasn’t easy.
—Not exactly generous
—But you can only see this on this stream
—I’m new—how far do reactions go? Can you spit fire?
—Is this how the stream normally is?
—Lots of newbies today lol
—Is he from Harlem? The flip is deadly (auto-translated)
Oh dear, how embarrassing. Performing such a reaction during a broadcast watched by the whole nation? But he was Meteo—he’d gladly make a fool of himself to thank the viewers.
“Viewers, thanks to you I eat and live each day. Always diligent MiTuber Meteo—please subscribe, like, and turn on notifications.”
—Acting normal because there are many people lol
—Don’t be fooled, folks
—Megalord! Megalord! Megalord!
—When he flips, what color are Megalord’s underwear? Somebody share plz
—lolololol
Let Meteo’s opening show end there. He waved lightly at the drones, then turned his head. There, the woman he’d seen last Saturday had her mouth slightly open in admiration.
“You’re really passionate. I like men who give their all to their work.”
Cheonria, leader of the Mirage Guild. Inseop had pulled big strings to bring her in as commentator for the Korea-Japan match. Her appearance heated the chat again.
—It’s Cheonria
—Wow lol
—Last time it was Kim Do-yoon, now Cheonria?
—Meteo’s connections are insane
—How is this a streamer under a month old???
—Sister!!!!
Top-tier players really have star power. The chat was on fire. Cheonria smiled brightly at the filming drones and waved. Her looks naturally drew a strong reaction.
“Hey guys. Inseop’s here too—don’t you think you’re ignoring him?”
“It’s fine, hyung.”
“No, Inseop—he’s our representative! Isn’t this treating him coldly?”
“…it’s okay.”
—This guy’s getting roasted lol
—Full-on ridicule is classic Meteo lolol
—Inseop, you here again?
—Inseop, pay attention to cues
—lolololololol
—Looks like InTube rose thanks to Meteo too
—Meteo’s debut video hit 3 million views, right? Subs went way up
—If Meteo and Cheonria do a golden button opening, that’d be perfect
With the viewers’ roaring support, they finally met the Japanese players. The Japanese flag fluttered softly in the wind—they’d come prepared for a national match. As they approached, the Japanese side kindly came out to meet them.
Five players stood at the front, presumably those participating in the friendly match. So five of their side, including him, stepped forward.
“Will someone be team captain today?” he asked.
No one on his team answered. Armbands were a hassle, after all. But since he was a streamer, he’d take charge.
“All right, I’ll do it.”
Two players from Japan came forward: a man and a woman. Seeing the katana at the man’s waist, Kurogane Tatsuya must have been that fellow. Who would interpret? He didn’t speak Japanese. As he scratched his head to look for an interpreter, the man who seemed to be Kurogane greeted him in halting Korean.
“An-nyeong, ha-se-yo.” (“Hello” roughly)
“Oh, hello. Konnichiwa?”
“Konnichiwa.”
Probably in his late twenties. He’d expected the Japanese leader to act differently, but he appeared friendly toward him.
“Yuseongu, nice to meet you. I’m Shiomi Yui.”
“You speak Korean very well?”
“I watch Korean dramas and have Korean friends. I’ve learned in my free time.”
The atmosphere was warmer than he’d anticipated. Shiomi Yui—she hadn’t been the one the Chief Choi had specifically warned him about. How would he know Japanese players by name when he barely knew his own country’s players? But his viewers obviously did.
—Shiomi Yui ddd
—Ice Blossom
—She’s really a name-player too
—Sister!!
—Kya
—Why does she speak Korean so well
They were excited—she must be well-known. Huh. He’d expected more hostile Japanese—ranters and anti-Korea types. Those would be more sensational. But these two were excessively polite.
“Ano, tatoe…” (some fragment)
Kurogane said something in Japanese; Shiomi translated.
“Even if each of us is here for our country, we hope it will be a good match… she says?”
See? The politeness wasn’t hypocrisy—it showed through. This was awkward.
“Yuseongu, was it?”
Then—right on cue—the era’s top villain to save him! The traitor Park Se-yoon—no, Bokusei Jun—stepped forward and spoke to him.
“It looks like you took my vacant spot.”
“Ooh.”
“Maybe you riled up some attention on MiTube, but reality is different. Today I’ll show you that difference. Learn well and work hard for South Korea.”
“Oooooo!”
That was Bokusei Jun—exactly what he expected.
—Clean bot detected inappropriate language!
—Clean bot detected inappropriate language!
—This jerk ought to have his mouth ripped—23#@!#!%$
—Traitor, please blur him out!
—Ah lol such hateful words
—If you hate him is it anti-Korean or anti-Japanese?
—wut
The chat instantly heated up. That’s the flavor he wanted—this was it. What would they have done without Bokusei Jun?
“Bokusei Jun.”
“You can call me Park Se-yoon…”
“Thanks.”
“…what?”
“Anyway, thanks. Now get the hell out—I don’t need to talk to you.”
Bokusei Jun’s face flushed crimson. Regardless of what that traitor did or said, he lightly waved to the two courteous representatives and spoke.
“Good match, please.”
“Thank you.”
“No dragging it out, right? Let’s start in three minutes.”
“Yes. We’ll prepare then.”
The reconnaissance was over. After the greetings they returned to their formation.
“Player 1, get ready.”
“Yes, yes!”
A man stood up, nervous—likely Gil Seong-min of Frontier Guild. Frontier was the third-ranked Korean guild, and he was one of its promising players. He shouldn’t lose easily.
“Relax, take it easy.”
Player number one, of course, was Bokusei Jun. He’d probably be angry after Meteo’s provocation, but surely their players would hold their own. Koreans couldn’t even lose at rock-paper-scissors to Japanese players.
“All right, let’s go all out!”
He was last in the rotation and planned to hang back with the commentators. But since it was Korea vs. Japan, it should be a close match, right? Surely they wouldn’t lose to the traitor. That would be too bitter.
…Ah, it was bitter.
“Uh, this really shouldn’t be happening.”
“It’s too one-sided. Bokusei Jun’s spear style is highly unorthodox—if we get pinned like this…”
“It becomes 3 to 0 like this.”
“I want to kill that bastard’s celebration move, honestly.”
“Cheon rep, we are live right now…”
“Ha, damn it. How can I not want to kill him? Hey? Ugh, really!”
—@#!@%@!%!^#!
—Clean bot detected inappropriate language!
—Just swim over here, damn it!
—How does one swim through the Abyss lol
—Ah ah ah ah ah
—Of all people, it’s this bastard
Score currently: 3 to 0.
The chat was on the verge of riot.
…This was fucked.
Really.
