Chapter 44: Blessing in Disguise (2)

Sang-Hyeon received a suspension on suspicion of being a smurf in his first

Battle Large?

game. If someone didn’t know the context, they would’ve thought he had been suspended for being terrible at the game.

However, the video’s thumbnail said the opposite.

[First Game! Solo Squad! Bow Victory!]

The viewers would probably think, ‘

I heard he was suspended for being a smurf, but it was his first round?’?

How was that possible?

‘Should I click on the video to see what's up?’

The situation would pique any viewer's curiosity and make them want to watch the video.

[10 minutes remaining until the reveal.]

The reveal system forced viewers to wait until the last minute to watch the video. However, it also allowed them to chat with other users live if they patiently waited.

— What’s the big deal? Keeping us waiting like this.

— I'm going to report if this is a bait video -.-

— Ten more minutes! I can’t wait!

— Did he really get suspended? The community is going crazy right now.

— Really???

Only a few viewers gathered, so they talked and expressed their thoughts in the chat.

— Yeah, he got suspended. Check his Treevy post.

— That's the top post too if you go on KAF.?

— Wow, it's real. Damn.

— How is that possible?

One minute remained until the video’s release.

[One minute remaining until the reveal.]

A massive crowd suddenly gathered and filled the chat.

—

Hi Hi!

— AlHa! AlHa!

— Ah, I missed yesterday's stream. The edited version is already up.

— Ji-Ah is working hard.

— Hihihi!

— Hello!

— What’s with the title though? Such clickbait.

— That’s so unlike Almond...

[Revealing for the first time!]

Shortly afterward, the chat slowed as the video came out.

Du-dung!

Standard background music played like how every video typically started. It began with Almond on standby in the aircraft.

However, the video showed a slightly different angle. The camera didn’t focus on Almond, but zoomed in on the right corner of the screen.

[Squad Match]

The screen became blurry because of the zoom, but it was indeed a squad match. The text disappeared once the game started, so neither the player nor the viewers realized it was a squad mode game at the time.

However, this was the highlight of the video for the viewers.

— HAHAHA

— No way. Is this real?

— It’s possible if this is his first time lol?

— I did that too haha.

— Developers need to fix that.

— Yeah, for real. It's hard to tell the difference between solo and squad mode.

Anyone could’ve made that mistake, but it was funnier when Almond made it.

— No way... does he get first?

— No way. Even if it's low rank…?

— Is he against bots?

The video’s thumbnail definitely said victory. Even then, the viewers doubted it because Almond was at a huge disadvantage.

However, they gradually changed their minds once the game started and Almond achieved a triple kill with the compound bow.

— Wow...

— Damn, he's doing better than he did in Kingdom Age.

— Is first place possible?

— Look how clean the shot is...

They could tell right away that the video’s title wasn’t fake.

After a series of events, the 3v1 situation finally came up.

—

Kya!

— This is the power of Korean bows!

— That was insane.

Almond barely defeated the first two after using his painkillers and taking advantage of the blue zone. Now, he found himself in a 1v1 situation.

The fight didn't last long. The opponents tried trickling him in a different direction, but Almond saw right through it.

Thwack!

An arrow pierced the sniper hiding behind a rock and everyone cheered.

—

Woooow!

— Wow, he actually got first.

— That was insane.

— Damn, I should've watched this live.

— I need to watch it live next time.

— No way. Is this real?

— LOL

— The other 99 are the problem.

The live chat on YouTube celebrated, but the video contained additional footage that hadn’t been seen yet.

Chiik—?

The screen transitioned with a slight noise and comments from the

Battle31

community began appearing on the screen.

The background music became suspenseful like a mystery show and filled with tension.

[I'm going to report the smurf!]

[Damn, he's not even ashamed about it!]

[That bastard!]

The video highlighted negative comments accusing Almond of smurfing and using other streamers to gain popularity.

— Are those guys for real?

— Internet warriors...

— Sigh, those losers. Go live in the real world.

— Check the facts before talking smack!

— Facts. Those guys reported him because Miho donated to him.

— True.

— The guys who talk smack on Miho's channel get mad if she contributes to someone else.

— ??? Give back our Miho!

— Is that really why he got reported??

The viewers grew curious about the validity of the reports and soon found out the results.

[As a result, Almond's account has been suspended for one year.]

The video ended with a screenshot of the message Almond received in his email.

— Damn, it's real.

— Legend.

— Legendary.

— Who the heck is the admin??? Are they insane?

— LOOOOOL, as expected from Battle Large.

— What? Did they not even check because of the mass reports?

— Wow, this is legendary.

— First round smurf.

— Just take a look at his match history. Can't the admin look at it?

— This happened because he made his record private for personal reasons or something...

The viewers vented their anger in the chat.

[The reveal is now over.]

The chat began to close and the 4,000 viewers sought a new place to vent. They ran off to their respective gaming communities and posted there.

The incident became controversial and amusing. It was also perfect for attracting attention, especially in communities that craved attention. The posts quickly spread and even made their way to popular news sites.

[Popular game, Battle Large. Controversy in the admin team again... Users are upset.]

The impact from official news sites was on a totally different scale than community posts. They provided the perfect evidence for their arguments.

[Damn, this even made it to the news.]

[Battle31 fucked up big time. I linked an article.]

[Battle Losers, you made the news LOL]

***

“How is it?” Sang-Hyeon was in the middle of brushing his teeth and asked Ju-Hyeok.

“It's good because you're not in the wrong at all.”

“Thank goodness.”

Sang-Hyeon nodded as he looked at the screen over his shoulder.

“But... I don't know if you can call this a blessing…”

“

Hmm?

Why? We're getting a lot of attention.”

Ju-Hyeok shook his head. “What are you going to do for today's stream?”

“?”

“Are you going to play

Kingdom Age

again? That lost its hype already. There might be a lot of people who miss it, but… it'll be better if you play

Battle Large?

because people are hyped for it.”

“Ah…”

He didn’t have a game to play right now because of the suspension. Switching to another game in this situation or going back to

Kingdom Age

didn’t seem like a good move.

“Well... I guess we can rest for a day,” Sang-Hyeon nonchalantly said.

Ju-Hyeok nodded in response, “Yeah, you can just rest for today.”

“...?”

“What about the second day?”

“

Hmm...

Then what do you want me to do?”

“I don't know yet,

sigh…

”

“The problem is... they’re basically admitting it’s their fault if they reverse the suspension. I don't think they'll easily give in. I heard that they don't do their job very well these days.”

Ju-Hyeok was right. They could just ignore this incident to avoid taking responsibility, which meant Sang-Hyeon's account could stay suspended.

“They'll probably come up with an apology statement.”

“Sigh…”?

Sang-Hyeon also had unfair experiences in the corporate industry, so he knew what to expect.

“Still, we should wait until tomorrow and see what happens.”

“What if they don't say anything tomorrow? What should we do if they blow it over?”

“That's alright. We also have that tomorrow.”

“What's going on tomorrow?”

“Our meeting with the director.”

“!”

Ju-Hyeok had an amusing look on his face.

“Do you think you can do it?”

“I’ve got to try.”

“Alright, I trust you. Let's rest for today.”

Ju-Hyeok lay on the sofa with a relaxed expression that he hadn't shown in ages.

***

Assistant Kim Ki-Yeol profusely swore, “Fuck, did you take a look at this? What should we do?”

His monitor displayed a popular post from a particular community.

[What’s currently happening to streamer Almond.]

The post made it to the most popular gaming community too.

“Did our team do this?”

“Yeah... it was me.”

“What should we do? We already get a lot of shit for the game’s maintenance…”

“We’re screwed if we own up to it. We're fucked.”

“But the evidence... it's too…”

‘Decisive…’?

The employee stopped himself as Kim Ki-Yeol glared at him.

“Do you think I'm unaware?”

“N-No... I'm sorry.”

“Sigh.”

Kim Ki-Yeol deeply sighed and looked away.

“I’m fucked. For real this time.”

“What would the manager say? To ignore it?”

“I don't know. Wouldn’t he want to blow it over? It's one small-timer and he didn't even play that much. That was his first round too.”

‘That's the problem…’?

The employee stopped himself again.

“Still, I’ll report it. It’ll be different if the manager decides to blow it over, right?”

Shortly afterward, shouting could be heard from the manager's office.

“Kim Ki-Yeol, you bastard! What the fuck are you doing!?”

Bang!

Even the table slamming could be heard.

“You didn't even look at his match history?”

“I'm sorry... it was because there were too many reports…”

“

Ah

, I see. We just suspend without double-checking if there are too many reports? Fuck, the users would love to hear that, right? Should we vote to see if we should fire you or not too?!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Sigh…”

The manager wiped the sweat off his forehead.

“What's this guy’s average viewer count?”

“

Uh...?

It's around a thousand.”

“Is there any other information about him?”

Kim Ki-Yeol didn’t know about Almond's partnership with Punk. He didn't do any further research because he thought that the viewer count was too little for any partnerships.

“What are you still standing around for? Go blow it out. Contact the community site admins and set up a meeting. Make sure to treat them well.”

“Yes, sir!”

Kim Ki-Yeol’s face brightened, but the manager’s face remained dark.

“

Sigh...

It's almost…”

He glanced at the list of candidates for promotions who passed the written exam. He only needed to do the interviews now.

***

Evening arrived on the next day.

“There’s still nothing from their end, right?” Sang-Hyeon asked while putting on his suit.

He had hoped for

Battle Large?

to give them some kind of response.

Ju-Hyeok shook his head while lying on the sofa.

“Yeah, there’s nothing.”

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Ju-Hyeok got up from the sofa and shook his head again.

“There’s nothing. Every single post about you was deleted.”

“...”

Sang-Hyeon’s mind went blank and he shook his head too. He quickly grasped the situation.

“I see.”

“They’re planning to blow it over. Go fuck them up.”

Sang-Hyeon double-checked his rendezvous and smiled.

Smirk.

“I’ll be back.”