Chapter 12

Going back to yesterday—

"So, you actually have something to talk about?"

"What do you mean, punk?"

Alpaca was talking with his editor and manager, Lee Suhan.

"The guy you're collabing with this time—didn't you say he's only been streaming for two days? So what kind of material does he even have for a broadcast?"

Suhan voiced his doubts.

Normally, Alpaca's rookie discovery content focused on streamers who were just beginning to gain attention.

Whether through tournaments, collabs, or some other opportunity—

When a tiny streamer first started receiving recognition.

Alpaca would invite them onto his stream, both for his own content and to help them out.

Most of the viewers who watched those invited streamers were brand-new audiences.

And the content itself involved digging up the streamer's old history—

Basically exposing embarrassing "dark history" moments from their nobody days to make people laugh and create a sense of bonding.

That was rookie discovery content.

The amount of time it took streamers to gain recognition varied wildly from person to person.

But—

A streamer who had only been broadcasting for two days?

That was a first.

"But Suhan, there's one thing you're misunderstanding."

"What?"

"That person's coming more like a master showcase guest."

"A master showcase? You've never done that before. No, more importantly, only two days of streaming— ah!"

Suhan clapped his hands as though he had realized something.

"So he's some famous master who just started streaming! What game is he a master at?"

Alpaca let out a sigh.

If Suhan had just watched today's stream, he would understand everything immediately.

But Alpaca couldn't exactly demand that the guy managing his Tube channel, editing videos, and handling stream management watch every broadcast too.

Still—

"Dawn of the Assassins."

"What? A master at a game like that? Pfft."

Suhan hadn't missed Alpaca's stream because he was busy.

He just hadn't watched it.

Because he was obsessed with a game called The League.

For several years now.

"I knew you'd say that. But your opinion will change once you see the footage."

As Alpaca fiddled with his phone, clearly about to show him something, Suhan scoffed.

"Seriously. How impressive can someone even be in an assassination game? I'm not watching it. Not buying it."

You'll have to watch it while editing anyway.

Alpaca swallowed the Ettore.

"What's so hard or fun about PvE anyway? All those games are the same. If you put in enough effort, you can beat them eventually."

PvE—Player vs Environment.

In simple terms, fighting AI-controlled enemies instead of players.

The opposite of PvP.

For years, Alpaca had tried convincing Suhan to play Dawn of the Assassins, but Suhan always refused, saying fighting machines wasn't fun.

"So anyway, it's basically a master showcase thing?"

"Yeah."

"Then do whatever you want. I'm gonna queue another match."

Suhan was just about to head back into his room when—

"Oh, right."

Alpaca remembered something important.

The actual reason he had brought up the collab.

"Can you lend your capsule to the streamer coming tomorrow?"

"What? You have a spare capsule."

Suhan's expression immediately stiffened.

"He says it has to be yours. You recently upgraded to the most expensive model, remember? Apparently his synchronization rate is kind of low."

"How can a master have low synchronization?"

Synchronization rate.

The measurement of how realistically someone perceived virtual reality.

The belief that high synchronization rates made people good at capsule games was half true—

No, mostly true.

As a side note, there were even cases where people exceeded 100%.

Those people became so deeply immersed in fantasy worlds more real than reality itself that when they came back out of the capsule, the real world felt unfamiliar.

Like divers suffering decompression sickness after resurfacing.

This phenomenon was called Fantasy Diving Syndrome.

And people who suffered from it were known for displaying incredible performances in virtual reality due to their extremely high synchronization rates.

Suhan thought for a moment before answering shortly.

"Ah, no thanks."

"Why?"

"You want me to let someone worse at games than me use my brand-new baby?"

Suhan was a highly skilled player who maintained a high rank in The League even while gaming casually on the side.

"He's probably better than you."

But Alpaca knew objectively that the streamer named Jin Seojun was better.

Even if it was PvE, not many people could replicate movements like that.

The problem was that Suhan wouldn't even watch the footage—

And even if he did, he was the type who'd refuse to admit it.

'Sigh. I'll just let him use mine instead.'

His own capsule wasn't bad either.

Even if Seojun would obviously win, he couldn't exactly make his editor fight over lending out a capsule.

But then, suddenly, Suhan's earlier question resurfaced in Alpaca's mind, and goosebumps spread across his body.

'Wait… if his synchronization rate is low… that means he pulled off those plays while being at a disadvantage.'

Whoa.

Then how good was he in reality?

Was he some kind of gangster?

No… he used swords, so maybe—

Yakuza?

In Alpaca's imagination, a man with a huge scar across his face appeared, wearing a floral shirt while carrying a sashimi knife.

"Hello. I'm the streamer Alpaca."

Opening the door with slightly trembling hands, Alpaca's eyes widened.

Because Seojun's face looked exactly like the avatar he had seen in virtual reality.

'I thought he'd scanned his real face and adjusted it a bit like everyone else, but he literally used the scan unchanged!'

Fortunately, unlike Alpaca's bizarre imagination from the night before, Seojun was a clean-cut and handsome young man.

Enough to make Alpaca feel guilty for imagining weird things.

"Yes, hello. I'm the streamer Jin Seojun."

Meanwhile, Seojun was also looking around the place.

Seojun had been curious what the studio of a long-running streamer in his thirties looked like.

"Hyung, long time no see. I came too."

"Taewoo, it's been a while. Come on in."

After shaking hands with Alpaca, Seojun followed him into a spacious living room.

From the outside, it looked like an ordinary house, but it gave off the feeling that the work area and living space had been completely separated.

As he and Taewoo sat on the sofa, Alpaca headed into the kitchen to make coffee.

Then the previously closed room door opened, and a rough-looking man walked out.

"Hello. I'm Lee Suhan, the editor."

Suhan grinned while extending his hand toward Seojun.

"I'm streamer Jin Seojun. Nice to meet you."

Seojun felt strength in the tightly clasped handshake.

A power play?

"You have low synchronization, I heard."

"Yes."

"But you're good at games."

"Well, I'm pretty decent."

While editing the short collaboration teaser video yesterday, Suhan had gotten a chance to watch Seojun's gameplay.

And unexpectedly, the impressive skill had awakened his competitive spirit.

Thunk.

The strange tension broke apart.

Alpaca had loudly placed cups down on the table.

Glancing sharply at Suhan, Alpaca seated Seojun properly.

"Alright, alright. Introductions are done, so let's talk about the stream. Did you watch the teaser video?"

Seojun nodded.

The collaboration announcement video posted on Alpaca's fan café and Tube channel.

The short promotional clip dramatically recreated Seojun's gameplay while alternating it with Alpaca's bold declarations, making it entertaining while perfectly suited for advertising.

"The response has been explosive thanks to you, Seojun. Having actual skill really brings the footage to life. Makes it fun to watch too. Kya."

Whether that response was genuine or not would be revealed shortly.

"The editor did all the work though."

Suhan awkwardly scratched the back of his neck at the compliment.

"Hahaha, not at all. But while editing, I noticed you were seriously good at the game. Is it really true you've only been playing for two days?"

"Hm… no, actually. It'd be nice if you kept this secret, but I did play a little a long time ago."

Seojun didn't think there was any need to hide the fact that he had gamed in the past.

"How long ago?"

"I played The League briefly about seven years ago."

Alpaca focused on the "seven years ago" part.

Suhan focused on "The League."

"Were you good back then too? What tier were you?"

A gleam appeared in Suhan's eyes.

Tier.

An English word referring to rank or class.

In games, it was commonly used to divide item grades or player skill levels.

"Silver."

Silver was where the vast majority of ordinary players were placed.

"That doesn't sound right. There's no way someone suddenly becomes this good after returning to games after years."

"Well…"

Seojun shrugged.

In the end, Suhan accepted it. If the man himself said so, what could he do?

Still, based on the footage, Seojun's current skill level was undeniably on par with high-level players.

Which was why—

"Seojun-nim. Want to spar with me once in the training grounds?"

Suhan wanted to clash with Seojun at least once.

After asking, Suhan carefully observed Seojun's reaction.

Seojun looked troubled.

But Taewoo, sitting beside him, reacted enthusiastically instead.

With a meaningful smile.

"In the training grounds? Against Seojun? Why?"

"I want to test our skills."

"With him?"

"Yeah."

"Hahahaha!"

Suddenly, Taewoo burst into loud laughter.

Suhan looked at him unpleasantly, wondering what was so funny, while Alpaca—who had been deep in thought—lifted his head to look at Taewoo too.

And Seojun realized why he was laughing.

"Hyung. Don't do it."

"Hm?"

"Just… don't. Pffft."

"…?"

At some point, Taewoo had started looking directly at Seojun with a mischievous grin.

Seojun understood the meaning behind that look.

Can I tell them?

Since Taewoo was already close with these people, and there wouldn't be any proof even if the story spread, Seojun gave permission with a small nod.

"This is supposed to be secret too, but if you want to fight him in the training grounds, just challenge Stage 10."

A statement practically confirming Seojun was Unknown.

The moment Alpaca and Suhan understood the implication, their eyes filled with shock.

"Th-that's real?"

"Of course."

As if waiting for this exact moment, Taewoo pulled out his phone, played a video, and handed it to Alpaca.

Suhan immediately stood up and moved beside him to watch.

Then came the exclamations.

"Whoa."

"Oh."

"He did this?"

"That's Shin Hayeon, isn't it?"

"We invited someone way more insane than I thought."

"Suddenly I'm feeling pressured about today's collab."

"Wait, he didn't get hit a single time?"

"This is completely one-sided."

"Kya."

"That final move was stylish as hell."

Alpaca alternated between the video and Seojun with newfound certainty in his eyes, muttering "seven years ago…" while falling deep into thought again.

Meanwhile, after finishing the video, Suhan looked at Seojun and said:

"I'll acknowledge you as hyung."

The competitive look in Suhan's eyes from earlier completely vanished.

"Pardon?"

"If someone's better at games than me, they're automatically hyung."

Seojun awkwardly twitched his lips.

Thinking about it objectively, being treated like an elder rather than simply "hyung" wouldn't even be strange.

Seojun ended up lightly smacking Kim Taewoo, who was snickering nearby.

He just felt like hitting him.

Then Suhan checked the clock and tapped Alpaca on the shoulder.

"Hey. What are you doing? It's almost hyung's stream time."

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Alright! Let's get started. Here's my capsule—"

"This way, hyung. I'll guide you comfortably."

Alpaca stared dumbfounded at Suhan as he escorted Seojun toward the workroom containing Alpaca's capsule.

You bastard, now I have to redo all the settings.

Following Suhan into the workspace, Seojun disappeared inside while Alpaca sighed and headed toward his own streaming room.

Then he began adjusting the capsule settings.

He also prepared the ingredients for the dinner gathering that would happen after the stream ended.

Although his broadcasts often contained plenty of improvisation, he was extremely meticulous when it came to preparation.

Still—

'He beat Shin Hayeon, even if it was AI…'

For some reason, Alpaca felt like he wanted to keep in touch with Seojun even after today's stream ended.

And if Seojun really was the player Alpaca suspected he might be—

'No. That's going too far.'

Shaking his head, Alpaca climbed into the capsule.