NOVEL NEXT CH 01
Chapter 01
There are moments in life like this.
Even when you’re starving, your eyes are burning, and you’re about to change your underwear.
Even when the voice in your head is blaring, warning you that if you don’t take a break, you’ll ‘overwork yourself to the point of separating your soul from your body and get possessed by some extra in a hopeless apocalypse story.’
You still have to sit in front of the monitor and keep pushing through.
Right now, that moment has arrived.
“Wait, I’m losing this? Seriously, this is just full of bull. Right, guys?”
With just over 2 minutes left until the end of the world ranking match.
[Score: 3,943]
The difference between me and the second-ranked global server player, “Formel,” is only 4 points.
Once my last round finishes,the top two for this season will be decided.
The showdown that’s been heated for days since the end of the season is about to reach its climax.
I checked the number of concurrent viewers on the streaming platform.
1,800 viewers.
That’s a record number for a low-tier streamer in a mobile RPG.
It’s a number made possible because Korean gamers, who usually get their first-place spots snatched by the masters of Japan, Asia, and global servers, are tuning in with intense interest.
“Phew… The key is to have an unyielding spirit. Let’s go for another round.”
[Emergency! Emergency! Emergency!]: Just one win away from first place.
[Jaehoon, when’s the big one?]: Wishing for first place in the conquest season for the Korean server, and overall first place.
[Lady of the Abyss]: It’d be so messed up to flip it at the last minute like this, seriously.
[Alpaca Underarm]: Go, go! Go, go!
The chat was scrolling up like crazy.
This is an epic broadcast with an epic opportunity.
The cash prize for the 1st place mission was in the hundreds of thousands.
I had to win.
I absolutely needed to win, then I’d order some fried chicken to celebrate.
Once the match ends, the ban/pick window pops up with the message, “HERE COMES A NEW GAME, CHALLENGER!”
My opponent is “Formel,” the second-ranked player from Japan.
We’ve met on the battlefield of a narrow bridge, like sworn enemies.
“If I lose, that’s definitely second place.”
[National Association of Bald People]: Don’t be weak.
[BipolarCafeWreck]: The final match-up is between 1st and 2nd place? The hair is getting majestic.
[National Association of Bald People]: What the hell is that guy?
This dude has been streaming for days, grinding in ranked matches to reclaim first place.
Two difficult characters are banned for each of us, and five characters are chosen, ranging from overpowering to sneaky ones.
Finally, one character each is banned from our pools.
The picks were sharp, like the pride of two gamers who know each other better than anyone else.
The setup turned into a clash of “speed vs. speed.”
The game started.
In the battle of who’s faster, I emerged victorious.
[If we can’t communicate, then we’ll just have to show our skills.]
The clear, ringing voice of the voice actor echoed through the speakers.
“Yup, that’s the sniper, Laika, right?”
A barrage of missiles fell, and with flashy character cutscenes, my area attack hit the enemy’s camp.
[Status Effect: Sleep]
As a rarely-used character put all four of my opponent’s characters to sleep, I was confident in my victory.
“Is this a motel? Get out. I’ll give you 5 seconds.”
My short comment, stained by the aura of the black dragon, exploded the chat.
No matter how you look at it, there was no way to turn this around.
The opponent used all their ban cards to deal with my fast hero, but my secret weapon set up in advance shattered their strategy.
After about 3 seconds,
While I spammed taunting emojis, my opponent hit the game quit button, and the ranking match concluded.
The result of first place flashed in front of my eyes.
[Speed Deck Please]: The way to beat a fast one is ‘faster.’
[YeoMul]: Speed 310, Accuracy 150 Laika?? Is this even a game?
[Not Like That]: Enjoyed the battle of pride, lol.
The reactions were explosive.
It felt like the exhaustion of several days melted away into a sense of accomplishment.
“Ah, that was tough. Did you guys have fun?”
I wasn’t just saying that; it really had been a rough week.
This season’s competition to reclaim first place was fiercer than ever, with strategies flying to dodge the ever-watchful eyes of seasoned players.
After four long years since the game started, I finally achieved the milestone of ending in first place.
I felt proud yet drained all over.
“Thanks for running with me, everyone. Now let’s do a quick chat before we wrap things up.”
Ding-ding. Ding.
Just as I expected, the donation alert sound chimed like a money bell, announcing the successful mission.
Those donations will soon be converted and neatly deposited into my bank account.
“Thanks for the support!”
[Infected Zero Two]: Let’s go Zero Two for the first place celebration.
[Hellmode123]: ?
[Spec Issues]: Something big is coming, run!
[Jaehoon, when’s the big one?]: I wasn’t expecting something this big…
“Dude, when was Zero Two even relevant? And watching that before bed just gives me weird dreams. Look at the public sentiment!”
[‘Infected Zero Two’ has registered a 100,000 won mission for ‘Zero Two.’]
[Infected Zero Two]: I guess I have to dance, right?
“Seriously, you’re living up to your name… you think I’d throw away my human dignity just for that, man?”
Of course not.
I channeled the 119 owl while doing PT 8, performing 20 hip sway exercises disguised as Zero Two, then sat down.
After nailing the self-deprecating look perfectly, I muttered, “Man, it’s tough to make a living…”
[Fat Rat Rail]: Jin Se-jin, aren’t you playing the train game?
“Oh come on, who brought up train noises in this sacred Epic Seven stream?”
I grinned like I had caught a thief and punished the traitor who broke the unwritten rule among the bonsai gamers with a 5-minute timeout.
“Mentioning other games gets you a 5-minute timeout. Please read the chat rules. And no, I don’t play other games. I prefer turn-based PVP.”
Although I had peaked with the highest number of viewers since starting the stream, they were slowly trickling away.
I figured that was enough, and I prepared to end the stream.
“Should we wrap this up? I’m going to run some daily quests tonight and then grab some beer and chicken. Don’t forget to tune in tomorrow at 5 PM for my analysis of the Silena ranking match ban/pick.”
I chose to let the viewers go gracefully rather than cling to them.
Honestly, I was too exhausted to keep streaming.
***
With my earbuds in, I stepped out of my studio apartment and headed to the convenience store across the street, grabbing three cans of beer, some jerky, and dried squid, which I tossed into a bag to hang on my wrist.
Then I opened my web novel app and hit the continue reading button for the fantasy novel I had left unfinished.
During the day, I exercised; at night, I gamed; and in between, I read web novels.
Those were the only three hobbies in my life, just like a hermit in a room.
Not that interesting, though.
I had read through all the free chapters of a series I had my eye on, but I still didn’t feel like spending any money.
Back when I was trying to debut as a web novelist, I enjoyed anything I read, but ever since I fully transitioned to streaming, my interest just seemed to fade.
Thinking about my past made me exhale a half-hearted laugh.
It was almost 3 AM.
Even though it was a pretty wide road, an empty street at this hour meant jaywalking was basically a rule of thumb.
There was even a car parked illegally in a no-parking zone right next to the crosswalk.
As I always did, I casually jumped into the crosswalk and dodged the illegally parked car.
Then, in that moment, I was hit with the blinding glare of bright headlights, my eyes wide open in shock.
Time slowed down.
They say death comes unexpectedly.
A massive impact.
Pain.
Floating sensation.
As I faced death, the thought that popped into my head wasn’t some grand reflection but, “I didn’t finish my homework today.”
I found myself bent over, suspended in the air, staring wide-eyed.
It was like I was trying to leave a dying message about a serial killer before I kicked the bucket.
And in my eyes, the words printed on the side of the truck imprinted themselves.
“Delivering anywhere. Express Delivery – Smart Express.”
I could feel the truck’s bold spirit promising to send me to the afterlife.
What the hell, a reincarnation truck…
This is a school zone, you asshole!