Chapter 46….
Day 1, after all of the round of 32 matches ended.
Inside Pretzel, countless clips started circulating.
And of all those clips, the one that gained the most popularity was obvious.
It was none other than the match between Solei and Lee Ji-han.
Lee Ji-han’s unhesitating attacks, his sharp and powerful moves, and his literally decadent beauty paired with a low, captivating voice.
On top of that, his mercilessly cold finishing blows.
Even though it was a one-sided fight, the visuals alone drew massive attention.
In fact, the highlight of the second match was—
The stomp aimed at the already-broken Solei, unable to do anything.
A shockwave-like impact struck Solei’s knees, forcing him to collapse and bow before Ji-han.
Some viewers shouted that it was the “Heavenly Demon’s Reign Step,” and perhaps because of that—
The image of a Heavenly Demon spread not only beyond Ji-han’s channel but across Pretzel itself, giving rise to the equation: Lee Ji-han = Heavenly Demon.
Thanks to that, Ji-han, who had already been popular as the frontrunner of “Zombres,” became someone everyone knew—a face recognized by those who hopped around Pretzel and watched online streams.
[Chat Messages]
[Whoa, did you see the Heavenly Demon Step?]
[LOL he just crumpled and fell over.]
[First time I’ve seen someone use a ki blast like that hahaha]
[But honestly, it was cool. Was that staged?]
[Nah, he looked just as surprised himself.]
[Hahaha what killed me was when he ran over and helped him up right after the fight.]
[Do we call that kindness or what?]
[Isn’t that teabagging?]
[LOL nah, not teabagging. I was watching live—he was genuinely flustered.]
[Well, he’s cute, so it’s fine.]
Some thought it was teabagging, but most who watched the stream knew the truth.
This guy was simply—someone who focused with his whole heart.
Someone who immersed himself completely.
And that strange charm of his carried on even through the night, while Ji-han slept.
Because Pretzel was a place without day or night.
“…Oppa! Oppa, this is you, right!?”
A noisy voice in the morning.
It was his younger sister, Lee Ji-hye. Ji-han slowly woke up at the sound of her chirpy voice.
He tilted his head at her, still groggy.
“This is you! My friends sent it to me—so cool!”
She thrust her phone toward him.
He squinted to focus, moved his head back and forth until his eyes adjusted.
On Ji-hye’s phone screen—
A long-haired figure in black robes, unleashing ferocious attacks.
The very image of a Heavenly Demon.
“…Huh?”
Ji-han felt chills.
It was the first time he had actually seen for himself how he fought.
The Heavenly Demon was ruthless and destructive.
His strikes carried no hesitation. He forced every opponent to kneel, to surrender, to be placed beneath him.
The strong survive, the weak perish.
That creed was carried out in martial form.
“Wow, Oppa, you’re this good at fighting?”
But Ji-han couldn’t answer.
Good at fighting? Bad at fighting? In truth, Ji-han had never hit anyone in his life. He was a gentle soul, more naïve and clumsy than anything else. All he could do was give an awkward smile.
“It’s me, yeah… but it feels so weird, right?”
“No, Oppa! You’re super cool! My friends are freaking out this morning!”
“This morning?”
“Well, actually since dawn. But you’re always asleep at that time, and you never wake up once you’re out cold.”
Ji-hye sounded almost relieved she hadn’t woken him up.
Whatever the case, Ji-han was happy.
It felt like the awkward gap with his sister was closing.
And she wasn’t embarrassed by his in-game persona at all.
“But you wanna know something even crazier?”
Ji-hye grinned.
“Oppa, you’re the number one search term on Pretzel!”
She looked at him expectantly.
“Huh? Number one?”
“Yeah! First is Lee Ji-han, second is Heavenly Demon, third is Gangho Sword Chronicle.”
Seeing his surprised reaction, Ji-hye smiled wide.
“…What is happening.”
“Whatever it is, it means your stream is blowing up! Today’s the second day, right?”
“Yeah, round of 16 and quarterfinals.”
“I hope you win, Oppa! The prize money’s huge, and isn’t the side prize beef?”
“Sounds like you know more than me, haha.”
Ji-han laughed softly.
“No! It’s just—my friends told me everything! Anyway, make sure you win, and bring home lots of beef, Oppa.”
Ji-han smiled gently and nodded.
Normally he played to win, but now he had another reason.
“I’ll win, Ji-hye.”
And so, Ji-han’s second day began.
Later, on stream…
“Ah, hello everyone.”
With a quick mic check, his voice came through.
[Ji-han’s here!?]
[He’s here?]
[Yes!!! Ji-han, you blew up yesterday!]
[LOL the trending list was all about Gangho Sword Chronicle.]
[Because of Ji-han, tons of newbies joined.]
[A bunch of male streamers tried to one-up him, saying they’re cooler.]
[Don’t get it. They just flailed around.]
[Haha, even female streamers tried it quietly.]
As soon as Ji-han started streaming, the waiting viewers spammed the chat.
“Today’s day two, right? Round of 16 and quarterfinals. Matches could come back-to-back, so I’m a little worried.”
[LOL Ji-han always sticks to 4 hours of streaming.]
[Can’t watch him suffer.]
[But if it runs overtime, will you stream longer?]
[Of course he will, it’s a tournament.]
“Yes, I’ll probably go longer if it runs over. Watching other people’s matches while waiting is fun too, and it’s not like I’m in VR the whole time.”
[That’s fair.]
[But won’t you extend your stream hours in general?]
[4 hours feels short.]
[But it’s packed with content. Cheers~]
[Yeah but still, we want more.]
[If you’re desperate, watch someone else, lol. His health matters.]
[True, don’t want him nosebleeding again.]
Chatters worried about his health, but Ji-han brushed it off with a smile.
[So, who’s your opponent today?]
The chat quickly shifted topics.
[Saw earlier—round of 16 is against Dodoripyo.]
[You mean Dodoripyo, not Dodoripo?]
[Yeah, Dodoripyo.]
[Who’s that?]
[A small-time fighting game player.]
[Dodoripyo is my precious niche streamer… don’t let him get famous.]
[LOL a turret fan is here.]
[But hey, he deserves more recognition.]
[But he’s so cute, I can’t help it!!]
The chat grew chaotic, filled with so-called “turrets”—fans who gatekeep.
[Stop mentioning TAS, that’s a ban.]
[Thanks, Kim Guardian.]
[Yeah, let’s drop it.]
[Don’t overdo it, guys. Ji-han looks confused.]
Thanks to Suho, things settled.
“Well, should we do some analysis? The matches haven’t started yet anyway.”
Apparently, Ji-han was intrigued by this Dodoripyo.
[He’s supposed to be cute, now I’m curious.]
[Is he a girl?]
[You’ll know when you see. He’s cute… kinda like a teddy bear.]
Ji-han opened Pretzel’s clip board and checked Dodoripyo’s videos.
And what he saw was—
“Whoa!”
A burly, middle-aged man with a huge body.
Sure, it was just character customization, but the deep voice and his face-cam underneath—
It was all male.
[Cute? That?]
[??? what am I looking at]
[Where’s the cute anime girl?]
[Doesn’t he look kinda cute though? Like a bear?]
With a macho build, short cropped hair, and bulging muscles filling the screen, he shouted with passion and charged recklessly, using wild and clumsy tactics.
[Bro, he smells like a total newbie. How’d he even get to top 16?]
Many were baffled.
But Ji-han rewatched the clips intently, analyzing.
‘This feels familiar…’
He racked his brain, trying to identify the strange sense of déjà vu.
“Ah!”
[???]
[Why, Ji-han?]
[About to burst out laughing too?]
“He’s similar to Seolhwa—Hwang Seolhwa.”
[Huh?]
[Wait, you’re right?!]
[Is his master Hwang Seolhwa?]
[Maybe he learned after the official duel?]
[Nah, not officially his master. I heard he’s close with Seolhwa though.]
The resemblance was clear.
Clumsy on the surface, but every action calculated.
“See how his moves cut off neatly, like the frame-catch technique Gung-hyung taught? He’s intentionally chaining faster moves to attack ahead of his opponent.”
[You’re right…]
[Wow, now that you point it out…]
[But Seolhwa doesn’t use frame-catch that much.]
[So who’s his real teacher?]
[Found it—his master is Lee Hyuk-jin.]
[Lee Hyuk-jin? The pro from Gangho Sword Chronicle?]
[No way, he’s a disciple of a top 10 master?!]
[That’s insane. But how’s he still a niche streamer?]
[He was always popular in small fighting game circles, despite being bad.]
Info about Dodoripyo flooded the chat.
Ji-han alternated between chat and clips, carefully memorizing the odd movements.
“So he’s close to Seolhwa, and a pro’s disciple… then isn’t he insanely good?”
[Pretty much.]
[He’s basically a title contender.]
[But why are those two so fond of him?]
[Uh, dude above… calm down. Don’t go dark on us.]
[Still, it makes you wonder…]
The chatter grew louder.
Then someone raised a thought.
[Isn’t he actually an experienced newbie?]
[Huh?]
[Wait…]
[Yeah, that makes sense…]
And like a stone thrown into a pond, that question rippled out into endless speculation.
