Chapter 75: The Genius Awakener's Livestream (4)

The livestream chat exploded upon hearing Kwon Oh-Jin’s proposal.

┗Damnnnnn!

┗He's a brave one.

┗No way a four-star is going all-in against a six-star lol.

┗Does he actually think he can win?

The viewers either mocked his reckless suggestion or eagerly anticipated Jerry Kim to crush him live.

Well, I expected as much,

he thought.

The power gap between a four-star and a six-star is undeniable.

Jerry Kim’s eyes darted to his bag brimming with Starstones. “All of it...?”

For him, that bag represented a month of blood, sweat, and tears—not to mention the hundreds of millions of won spent on gear and potions to spice up his stream with risky play.

“Yes, everything you have.

Oh,

also...” Kwon Oh-Jin pulled a small pouch out of his pocket, which was filled with less than twenty Starstones. “This is all I have.”

Jerry Kim’s jaw dropped.

┗LMAO

┗Lol that’s why he wants Jerry to go all-in.

┗You’ve got nothing to lose when you’re broke lololol

┗Thunder Wolf is hilarious.

┗A man with nothing to lose is the scariest opponent.

┗If he lucks out, he’ll gain over a thousand Starstones. If he loses, he’ll only have to give away twenty, haha

┗wtf lol

The discussion in the chat shifted surprisingly in Kwon Oh-Jin’s favor. His reckless challenge was now perceived as a bold, entertaining gamble.

Jerry Kim hesitated, his lips twitching nervously.

“Umm...”

Having to wager all his Starstones was a bitter pill to swallow.

Damn it... I bought some of these with my own money, too.

To show off in front of his stream, he had dipped into his savings significantly to buy some more Starstones and mix them into the bag.

I figured I could just cash them out later... but it's gotten complicated now.

┗Is he scared lol

┗Are you scared? Are you scared? Are you scared? Are you scared?

┗If you’re afraid to take the bet, just run away.

┗Bruh, you challenged him first and you’re chickening out now?

┗He’s just a four-star. What’s there to worry about lmao

┗Thunder Wolf's probably just joking anyway

The viewers only egged Jerry Kim on, oblivious to his internal struggle.

Kwon Oh-Jin smirked.

There’s no way he can refuse.

Backing out in these circumstances would only bring Jerry Kim more ridicule. He had effectively stepped into his own trap.

Ring!

[Almond has donated five million won.]

[Go all-in! The winner can have this.]

Donations started pouring in, causing Jerry Kim to grit his teeth. He nodded and said, "F-Fine. But how about we skip the handicap?”

With so much on the line, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

The Thunder Wolf is being really brazen. He might have some kind of trick up his sleeve.

The chat burst into ridicule toward Jerry Kim.

┗He’s totally scared isn't he

┗What a sight, Jerry Kim!

┗Honestly, I’d be hesitant too. Those sacred stones are worth millions.

┗‘Serious Mode’ activated lol

Jerry Kim firmly said, “Hey, come on, guys. You all know how much those Starstones are worth.

“Alright. Let’s scrap the handicap,” Kwon Oh-Jin declared.

Jerry Kim let out a deep sigh of relief, patting his chest. There was no way he could lose this match without any constraints in place.

Guess he was really just messing around.

Challenging a six-star Awakener without any handicap implied that Kwon Oh-Jin had no intentions of winning in the first place.

Damn it, I should’ve just gone with a minor handicap instead,

Jerry Kim thought.

The community would absolutely roast him if word got out that he went all-out against a mere four-star.

Better safe than sorry, though.

The ridicule would be short-lived. In the long run, people would only remember that he had defeated the apostle of the North Star.

Kwon Oh-Jin asked, “Shall we start right away?”

“

Oh,

just a second.”

Jerry Kim turned toward the camera and pulled a controller out. “There’s no way we can skip this for a match like this.”

Beep.

He pressed a button on the controller, triggering a pop-up on the screen.

[Match Wagering! Choose who you think will win!]

1. Jerry Kim

2. Thunder Wolf

┗Open the gates! Open the gates! Open the gates!

┗Payday is here! Let’s fucking goooo!

┗1111111111111111111

┗Is anyone here betting in favor of the odds?

┗Bet against the odds!

The chat quickly turned into absolute chaos.

“... What is this?”

Song Ha-Eun asked, “Do you not know about match wagering, Oh-Jin? It's like predicting the winner of a sports match. You use real money to buy points and then place those points on the side you think will win.”

“Isn’t that just gambling?”

“Yep. They used to block direct money transactions for points, but it’s legal now.”

“Can’t believe the government’s okay with this.”

“In a world where monsters are running rampant? I doubt they care.”

“Fair enough.”

Ha-Eun sure seems to watch a lot of livestreaming.

Then, the corners of Kwon Oh-Jin’s lips rose.

Gambling though, huh? I can't miss out on such an opportunity.

He gave Song Ha-Eun a subtle look.

“

Hehe

, you don't need to look at me so eagerly, you little brat," she said, taking out her phone. "I'll take care of it, don't worry.”

[Wager Summary]

1. Jerry Kim (92%)

2. Thunder Wolf (8%)

“Come on, chat. Isn’t this a bit much? Poor Mr. Oh-Jin looks so embarrassed!” Jerry Kim shouted toward the camera, chuckling.

┗LMAO look at that ratio.

┗Easy money!

┗Who would actually bet on the underdog in this situation?

┗I bet my entire savings! At least let me have five percent!

┗Underdog supporters kys

As expected, the viewers favored Jerry Kim, with most of the points wagered on him.

The amount of money attached to these points is insane,

Kwon Oh-Jin ruminated

.

With more than a hundred thousand viewers in the stream, over two billion won had been staked in just five minutes.

Ring!

[Wager Summary]

1. Jerry Kim (73%)

2. Thunder Wolf (27%)

“Hmm?”

Jerry Kim widened his eyes in surprise at the sudden increase in Kwon Oh-Jin's percentage. Since it spiked all at once, someone had to have bet a large amount on him.

┗What the hell lol. How much did this guy bet on the underdog?

┗Someone do the math lol

┗Holy shit, 460 million all at once!

┗Now that’s a true underdog supporter.

┗Lessgooooo!

As messages poured in, Jerry Kim barely contained a smug grin. “Oh dear, are you sure you’re okay with this?”

You can always count on underdog bettors to show up,

he thought.

Burning four hundred million won just like that is insane, but if someone's got too much money to spare, works out for me.

The higher the total wager, the larger the commission he'd receive as the streamer.

“Alright! There’s only three minutes left now!” he announced, skillfully encouraging even more bets.

Meanwhile, Song Ha-Eun nudged Kwon Oh-Jin in the side. “I bet everything I had left after the house deposit, Oh-Jin.. Got it?”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I believe in you.”

“But hey, what's your username?" he asked. "I didn’t see it on the screen.”

“It’s a secret.”

“Huh?”

He frowned. "Why is that a big deal?"

“If it’s a secret, then it’s a secret, jackass.”

“No, seriously—tell me.”

“Hmph.”

She turned her head away, refusing to answer.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Despite being curious, he decided not to press further.

It’s not like the username matters anyway.

“Alright! The poll is now closed!”

The final wager stood at twenty percent for Kwon Oh-Jin and eighty percent for Jerry Kim. After all, this was a competition between a four-star and a six-star Awakener. Maybe in a year or two, things would be different—but for now, Jerry Kim was the obvious choice for the viewers.

“Shall we begin, Mr. Oh-Jin?”

“Sure.”

Jerry Kim approached and quickly explained the rules. “Within a time limit of 30 minutes, you and I will team up and hunt monsters. Whoever kills more will be the winner.”

“Got it.”

“

Oh,

and regardless of the circumstance, whoever lands the final blow on a monster gets credit for the kill. How does that sound?”

Although it sounded fair, the rule would be an advantage for Jerry Kim. As an Awakener of Sagittarius specialized in long-range skills, landing the final blow on a monster would be no challenge for him.

He’s really just grasping at any angle he can find,

Kwon Oh-Jin thought. Still, he smirked and nodded. “Sure, let’s do that.”

┗Thunder Wolf vs Jerry Kim! Let the match begin!

┗Lol isn’t the final blow rule hella unfair?

┗Jerry's pretty desperate.

┗Dude’s gonna grind his teeth to dust.

┗Bet it’ll be game over in ten minutes lol

Kwon Oh-Jin strode forward, ignoring the noisy chat.

Jerry Kim furrowed his brow as he fixed his gaze on Kwon Oh-Jin.

Honestly, I set up the final blow rule just in case, but he let it slide without a fuss. Does he have something up his sleeve?

He found Kwon Oh-Jin's calm demeanor rather unsettling.

Well, whatever he’s hiding, it won’t matter.

With zero handicaps and the ability to take credit for the last blow, Jerry Kim was confident he could even triumph against another six-star Awakener.

He glanced at the viewer count, which was already approaching 150,000.

Phew. This is my chance.

If he played his cards right, he could etch his name into the minds of a massive audience.

I gotta use all my flashy moves well.

He smirked, creating arrows of light that hovered around him as they ventured deeper into the tunnel.

Soon, a group of three Murlocs appeared.

“Ahoo?”

“Ahhhooo!”

“I’ll start the timer now!” Jerry Kim announced, slipping into a ready stance. He mimed drawing an invisible bowstring, and the glowing arrows around him converged into a cluster.

┗Arrow Blaster! Lessgooooo!

┗Jerry's signature move!

┗Daddy Kim! You’re mine!

┗Daaaayum! Pulling out his ace right from the start, huh

Jerry Kim quickly glanced at the chat before confidently yelling, “Here goes my first kill!”

Before he could release his imaginary bowstring, a burst of blue lightning lit up the tunnel.

Crackle!

In the blink of an eye, Kwon Oh-Jin dashed forward and cut the Murloc cleanly in half.

“—Huh?”

Jerry Kim stood wide-eyed as Kwon Oh-Jin’s silver spear, engulfed in blue flames, ripped the other two Murlocs apart.

Slash!

Blood and bits of flesh rained down, forming a puddle on the ground.

Splat!

Kwon Oh-Jin turned to Jerry Kim and held up three fingers. “Three down.”

┗WTF?

┗????

┗What did he just do?

┗Hol up.

The floating screen was flooded with question marks.