Chapter 149

[Public Recruitment: We are openly recruiting influencers to participate in the 2051 Fall War/TaGaPdae Season 2.]

[Award Money: 50 million won per event, total of 300 million won across 6 categories]

[Recruitment Period: April 10, 2051 (Monday) ~ Ends with a separate notice]

[Competition Period: Late May ~ Early June]

[Categories: Resonance / World of Arsteria / Legacy of Legends]

[Qualifications: Must be a Twish or VTube streamer, tier details refer to the attached file]

[Applications are accepted only via email ([email protected]), and a separate notice will be provided once participant selection is finalized. Thank you.]

With the support of Letterbox, the ‘TaGaPdae (Payback Tournament)’ is the largest event held in Korea’s Twish.

It featured current esports casters and commentators, and the coaching staff was composed of former professionals who had made significant contributions to esports history.

Although there were various rumors and controversies during the first half of 2051 Season 1, it concluded successfully, and the staff was eagerly recruiting participants for Season 2.

“Ugh, this is really ambiguous…?”

The project manager, who was evaluating participant applications at Letterbox, let out a deep sigh.

“What’s wrong? Did someone lie about their tier to participate again?”

A junior who had been with the company for almost a year, but was still considered a newcomer in the department, approached and asked.

Each event was composed of two types of competitions.

The ‘Fall War’ where celestial streamers participated in large numbers, and the ‘TaGaPdae’ for streamers from Silver to low Diamond ranks.

Most of the issues arose in the latter, where a team auction system had been introduced.

It was common for those with ambiguous skills, around high Diamond or Master rank, to intentionally lower their tiers.

However, the team leader shook their head.

“No, it’s not that. This time, a streamer applied for both events.”

“Both? Which ones?”

“LoL and WoAo.”

“Then just drop one. I don’t know about the Fall War, but in TaGaPdae, it’s possible for strangers to play together, which could be a hassle during practice, right?”

“Oh, but I’d feel really regretful to give one up. And it just so happens that they applied for TaGaPdae, not the Fall War?”

“What tier are they?”

“Unranked, but they plan to reach Silver or higher before the tournament.”

“Silver is manageable, right? There’s still plenty of time before the team auction.”

“That’s not the issue. You should just come and see for yourself.”

The junior pulled a chair over to the team leader’s spot and scanned the information on the monitor screen.

“Yikes! That’s the one, right? They set the world record for combat power in Korea…!”

“Yeah. Plus, they’re the youngest partner streamer in Twish Korea’s history. I heard they’re fourteen.”

“Wow, No Name is also participating. Wait, the youngest? Really?”

The man clicking his pen leaned back in his chair, deep in thought.

The reason the team leader couldn’t give up on No Name was precisely due to her viewer demographics.

She had an extraordinarily high percentage of foreign viewers.

While other broadcasters had 1%, 2%, her stream featured a remarkable 50% of viewers who were all foreign.

And despite not having set the translation interface provided by Twish, the viewers managed to find their own ways to watch, creating a significant barrier to entry.

Although the prize pool for TaGaPdae was growing larger, it was still maintained only through Letterbox and a few sponsors, so new capital was necessary.

This task entrusted to the team leader included bringing in foreign viewers as well.

“But this person’s skill is absolutely not Silver.”

“Exactly! Even if they are equalized to the same combat power for the tournament, do you think someone who has updated their story mode would only have Silver-level skills?”

“Isn’t it realistic to reach Diamond with just physical ability?”

“Even Master, if they are doing well.”

However, there was no reason to refuse.

Why? Because the account she was raising was her main one.

But if they were to arbitrarily reject her, it would lead to controversy. Balance issues would inevitably arise.

And playing in story mode and team games was entirely different dimensions, making it difficult to assess her actual skills accurately.

The man had heard that this was her first time in WoAo, so it would be fair to say that she didn’t have even basic operational knowledge.

But it was also a fact that she was too big of a catch to give up on.

The team leader contemplated and contemplated again before showing her application to their superior.

“The highest viewer count was 30,000? Select her. What’s the hesitation for?”

Convinced by such simple logic, the team leader sent a confirmation reply.

Now, if anything goes wrong, it’s not my responsibility.

* * *

[NoName Official]

[Evolution #WorldofArsteria (5/5)]

[Best Comments]

-(19:34) It’s humans who save humans, after all…! [Likes: 5.3k]

└ Ninguninguning~ [Likes: 5.8k]

└ Is Ninguninguning crazy? Hahahaha

└ Ha ha, that’s hilarious! Hahaha

└ I really didn’t see that coming, haha!

└ LMAO, what a twist.

-She is Korean [Likes: 2.8k]

└ Wow, those Yanki guys are finally coming to their senses?

└ No Name is truly a treasure of Korea.

└ WTF, is she really 14 years old?

└ That’s right! This is the scary side of Korean middle school students!

-Most top academy students can’t compete with her, haha!

└ Where do all these masters keep popping up from? Is this a martial arts world?

└ Wasn’t the Korean academy itself just a bubble?

└ Recently, a student from Altena Academy achieved a perfect score in the international olympiad for the first time, how crazy is that?

└ Are you an academy student? Why are you so triggered?

“NINGU NINGU NING!”

“Hey Myunjoon! Stop it! Why do you keep being so rude to Name?”

“Whether you’re laughing or complaining, can you do something about it, Sia?”

“Ugh, sorry! I usually don’t laugh easily, but once I start, haha!”

“I think Yusia is the worst among us.”

I regretted the decision to join the LoL Fall War with these guys.

After much contemplation over how to build my recognition in one fell swoop, I decided to participate in all the tournaments I could manage.

Conveniently, all the clan members I knew in LoL were streamers, so I decided to team up with them for the Fall War.

I also submitted an application to TaGaPdae in the WoAo category without much expectation, but was accepted more easily than I thought.

“Raging middle school syndrome is acknowledged, yes. It’s the age for it.”

Myunjoon nodded his head continuously.

“Break the castle quickly.”

“Oh, without our ADC, I think the damage might be slightly lacking. But hey, No Name. Isn’t it a bit absurd? How could you be so familiar with me right from the start when there’s a big age gap between us?”

“Ugh, that line sounded super awkward, right, Name?”

“Go away, Sia.”

“Aaaah, did Name get upset? Huh? Older sister is sorry! Here, I’ll even give you my ultimate. Grow!”

“If you’re going to do that, then grow my height quickly.”

Drum drum drum-

Drum drum drum-

With each bullet from my machine gun, the enemy castle was riddled with holes as if it was a beehive.

The enemies appeared unfazed at the destruction of their base, seemingly preparing for the next game. It seemed their momentum had collapsed long ago.

[Victory]

“Isn’t this too overwhelming?”

“Seriously, if you just put any random mid master tier player here, we’d win for sure!”

Mir and Myunjoon were already getting ahead of themselves.

But it was reasonable because in a matchup against a free rank challenger 5-man group, without a single disadvantage, the chances of winning had swung heavily in our favor.

The only random mid user looked dazed and just scratched his head.

“Are you guys really going to compete in the Fall War?”

“Yeah! How did we do?”

“Women play better than men, how could we lose?”

The Fall War had the unique characteristic of having no tier restrictions but required at least 2 female streamers on each team.

However, Sia had maintained challenger status for several years, and I had enough games under my belt that I didn’t fall behind them in skill.

Moreover, both Myunjoon and Mir had also reached challenger, creating an outrageously strong combination.

“Many former pros also participate in the Fall War.”

“Then what difference does it make? Having one line as Diamond isn’t that significant.”

“I suppose so.”

“Well, I hope you win! Oh, and No Name, I’m a huge fan! I once dropped around 400 points while playing mid Arsteria, but it was still fun watching that build.”

“Why are you using Arsteria mid? Hey, No Name, do you know how much chaos you caused on the LoL scene? And while you were losing, you switched to WoAo?”

“When did I ever do that?”

“Ah, that was a tough one.”

Sia stretched and subtly signaled the end of the session.

“No Name, can I put today’s video on my VTube?”

“What? You were recording, Myunjoon? Already thinking of chasing after Name’s viewers?”

“Well, isn’t that normal in this industry?”

“Oh! So that’s why you almost ended up in trouble trying to sell other people’s personal info; it’s just an industry practice?”

“That was a scam! It’s not fair!”

“Anyway, no. Our Name is precious. I won’t show her to anyone.”

“Yeah, you go build a big company alone. We’ll just have to stay lowly forever, sigh.”

Sia wrapped her arms around me, blocking my view.

The pink hair kept tickling my nose, and I had to endure the urge to sneeze.

Mir said he had a promise with someone, so as soon as the practice game ended, he left in a hurry, and Myunjoon, left alone, didn’t seem to have much to talk about, so he logged out after a few words.

“But what does ‘almost went into trouble’ mean? Is it related to that self-reflection thing?”

“Oh, you know! I still get angry just thinking about that!”

Suddenly, Sia started thumping her chest and was filled with anger.

“Do you know BebeGood? Oh, you don’t? Anyway, that crew suddenly suggested we team up with other female streamers. And if we hand over the videos to them, they’d edit it for free.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! I outright declined because I didn’t need it. But Myunjoon was so tempted, he thanked them and bowed, and Mir is always the type who doesn’t think much.”

Later, it turned out that teaming up with female streamers meant that their extension logs would also remain on one’s own capsule, and they had been trying to use hacking tools to privately extract personal information, Sia explained.

“Isn’t that totally psycho? Whether it’s the buyers or sellers. I heard they could even find out your home address, and it gave me chills!”

Coincidentally, that topic came up during a drinking session with our clan members, and BebeGood, unaware that the mic was on, became embroiled in serious controversy.

“No, it’s those people who did wrong! Why does the bomb fall on us?”

Fortunately, Sia returned a month later, considering we were both women, but it seemed she still held a negative view of Myunjoon and Mir.

It had been a proposal made by BebeGood, and the party involved couldn’t possibly have been unaware, so the negative public opinion was abundant. In reality, the female streamers who were harmed even filed civil lawsuits.

In any case, the end result was that the instigator BebeGood had faced criminal penalties, making it a pretty big controversy, no doubt.

“That’s scary.”

“Exactly. So don’t collaborate with just anyone. You never know how they might steal personal information from us in ways we don’t know yet.”

Twish claimed to have implemented strict measures to prevent recurrence, but Sia was still filled with distrust.

[Whispers]

[186 unread messages]

[Kariri: Let’s collaborate!]

“Okay, I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”

[You have blocked Kariri.]

“So, if you’re saying you’re attending an academy, shouldn’t you be in exam season right now? It’s the end of April, is it fine for you to be playing around like this?”

“That’s why I’m taking a break from streaming these days.”

“…? What does playing games have to do with streaming!”

“Is that so? It’s fine, I don’t really have more studying to do.”

“Wow, this is the genius life…”