Chapter 135

CHAPTER 135

The Rios Operations Team at Surface Korea.

The tournament was rapidly approaching.

And Assistant Manager Lee Youngju's fate for today had already been decided.

The mortal enemy of office workers:

Overtime.

Yet unlike someone facing overtime after work, she spoke in an unusually cheerful voice.

"Video setup complete! It'll premiere in thirty minutes!"

"Good work. Everyone can head out now."

"Understood. Wow! But not everyone, Team Leader."

"Ah, right. Assistant Manager Kim stays and handles today's schedule. Everyone else can leave."

Four days had passed since the Point Scrimmage ended.

During that time, the operations team had contacted the remaining streamers and produced the roster announcement video.

And today was the day the roster would finally be revealed.

After that, only a simple round of official team evaluations by the captains remained.

Tomorrow, the auction would begin.

We've been promoting it for weeks already.

Any remaining balance issues were problems for the streamers themselves to sort out during the auction.

As for the biggest issue...

They had already worried enough about Seo Jun.

"Good luck, Assistant Manager Kim. Haha. Yes! Getting off work on time!"

"Could you please stop that?"

"Huh? Stop what?"

"Ever since that day, you've kept walking up to me with that smug look on your face and grinning. I'm sorry. I was wrong. I admit it. Please forgive me."

Assistant Manager Kim practically begged.

"Pfft."

"Seriously! I'm even doing the work you're supposed to be doing today. Stop the workplace bullying!"

"Yeees~, good luck!"

Lee Youngju walked out of the office and into the elevator.

"Ugh."

Assistant Manager Kim grumbled internally.

Why did he have to beat Spoon?

And with a synchronization rate of ten!

Was that even possible?

Wasn't it dangerous?

"Work hard, haha. That's what you get for making a bet."

"I mean, who could've predicted he'd beat Spoon in a one-on-one using Epic?"

"Assistant Manager Lee did."

"...Well, that's true."

The team leader, fully prepared to leave, passed behind Kim and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, people are starting to bring up the argument that we still don't know enough. So maybe you were right after all."

"Because of the synchronization rate?"

"Something like that. Nobody really knows what a synchronization rate of ten means exactly, but one thing's certain—it's absurdly low."

"That's true."

"There are probably heroes he can't play properly. There are probably all sorts of penalties too."

"So?"

"I was thinking maybe we should make another bet with Assistant Manager Lee. Whether he'll actually be able to perform at an A-rank level."

The moment the team leader suggested a second round with Lee Youngju, Assistant Manager Kim decided he'd heard enough.

"Have a nice evening, Team Leader."

Getting fooled once was enough.

Not twice.

Trying to stir up another fight.

What a menace.

Then again...

Thinking about it, the team leader was the person in charge of running Rios, a competition built around streamers fighting each other.

Meanwhile, at Streambeam Korea, a game distribution platform and subsidiary of Surface—

Manager Han emerged from the department director's office.

"...Understood."

As he returned to his desk, he recalled the conversation.

"Director, what happened with the exclusive streamer contract?"

"We decided to wait until Crown makes the first move."

"Just wait? Even after the results we got this time?"

"Yes. That's the decision."

"Hmm. Crown could already be contacting him behind the scenes. And even if we move first, there's really no downside, is there?"

"The idea originally came from Crown anyway, and we're just following their lead. The plan is to observe and react. Unless, of course, Manager Han can somehow steal a copy of whatever contract they're preparing."

"Hahaha..."

"That's where things stand."

"Understood."

"Can't be helped."

Manager Han sat down.

The youngest employee on the team immediately asked,

"What did the director say?"

"He said it turned out well."

"Well, obviously! It's the best-selling game released this cycle! Manager, can we expect bonuses?"

"Probably."

"Then how about a company dinner tonight?"

"Why are you so obsessed with company dinners?"

Especially coming from the youngest employee.

"Because it's free alcohol and free meat."

"Ah."

That was a reasonable argument.

As long as you didn't dislike your coworkers, company dinners weren't bad.

Nobody disliked free things.

"I see. Well, I already have plans tonight, so enjoy yourselves without me."

"Got it."

After all, even though both sides had already seen the results, they still needed to meet and talk again.

Manager Han handed over his company card.

"Wooooo!"

The junior employee made a strange noise of excitement upon receiving it.

"Then everyone, let's head out."

Work was over.

After leaving the office, Manager Han made a phone call.

The recipient:

CEO Lee of Monster.

[Hello?]

"Hello."

[Good evening, Manager Han. You know today's the Rios roster announcement, right?]

Manager Han blinked.

Why was this guy bringing that up immediately?

Sure, both of them could check it themselves, but shouldn't they be discussing the performance of their own game first?

After all, everyone in the company agreed on one thing.

That streamer had contributed more to the game's success than anyone else.

Which made it sting even more.

Because he'd heard it directly from CEO Lee.

That there existed a streamer whose market value somehow managed to hit a new low every single day.

And now...

It felt like if they didn't sign him immediately, they'd have to pay a fortune later.

Yet upper management kept insisting they wait.

[How about we do what we did last time? Find a quiet restaurant and watch together?]

CEO Lee sounded completely at ease.

Of course he did.

He'd already overcome the biggest hurdle.

No—

he'd already succeeded.

"Hahaha."

[Oh, right. Speaking of Rios.]

"Yes?"

[It's good news. Very good news.]

Seriously, stop talking about that guy's stock value.

You're making me nervous.

[Starting the stream.]

Seo Jun started his stream while sitting at his desk.

Today, he had no intention of entering the capsule.

• Seo hi.
• Hi.
• Stream hi.

"Hello, everyone. Ah, what am I doing today? I'm bored, so I figured I'd watch the Rios roster reveal. Just because I'm bored."

Seo Jun leaned back comfortably in his chair.

This felt nice.

Maybe streaming like this every day wouldn't be so bad.

• You're really watching because you're bored? lol
• Why can't you just say you're participating and that you're A-rank?
• Sure, sure.
• Most streamers are getting ready to watch it too, so it's not weird.
• But you're participating, right?

The viewers had a point.

After entering The League category, nearly every visible stream was showing a countdown to the same premiere video.

The exact same video currently displayed on Seo Jun's monitor.

Travel's official Rios account.

"I already said no comment regarding participation. Oh, wow. There are a lot of viewers in my channel again today."

[Viewers — 25,000]

Seo Jun's viewer count had grown once more.

Beating Spoon and revealing his synchronization rate had both contributed heavily.

Of course, rapid growth came with side effects.

That was just how the world worked.

• Synchronization rate lower than mine, trash lol.
• Bet he can't play other heroes lol.
• He's definitely lying to get attention!!!
• Go get a proper verification at a medical center or something.

Those comments appeared every now and then.

And almost instantly, the manager's ban hammer descended upon them.

For the past three days, the same people had shown up at the start of every stream, gotten banned for a day, and repeated the cycle.

"At this point, I think I've memorized all their usernames."

Rather than being annoyed, Seo Jun actually found them kind of cute.

That was why he only issued one-day bans.

Come back tomorrow.

Come back stronger.

• They're so consistent lol.
• Instead of focusing on his synchronization rate, shouldn't people focus on how good he is?
• They have no brains.
• Still, if it's really that low, it's kind of scary...

An incredible number of opinions had been exchanged over the past four days.

Excluding Seo Jun, the lowest synchronization rates generally known among gamers were in the forties.

So a score of ten was shocking from every angle.

Was gaming even possible?

Was his health okay?

How much discomfort did he experience?

Did he suffer motion sickness?

And most importantly—

How was someone with a synchronization rate of ten this good?

Was he obsessed with gaming?

Or obsessed with streaming?

Did he fly around in real life or something?

There had been countless theories.

No one had reached a definitive conclusion.

Fortunately, Seo Jun's longtime viewers had.

[The capsule is trying to force the streamer out because if he stays in VR too long, other gamers suffer.]

Seo Jun felt slightly wronged.

As far as he remembered, he'd only ever helped the people in that virtual world.

"Oh, it's starting."

Chatting as usual had made the time fly by.

[Rios Player Roster Reveal!]

[1 Second Remaining]

Since it was a premiere, the chat on that side was visible too.

• lol now everyone's doomed.

Among the rapidly scrolling messages, Seo Jun spotted one from a Travel user named Kim Taewoo.

Incidentally, Taewoo was currently preparing his own stream next door.

They had a team captain discussion scheduled afterward.

That lunatic.

Seriously.

Choosing friends carefully was important.

• Let's go!
• Thought I saw Taewoo in chat.
• It's starting.
• Wonder who got selected.

An energetic background track played.

After several seconds of flashy editing and rapidly shifting letters, the reveal began.

[E!]

A streamer's face briefly appeared.

Then gameplay footage.

Six players were introduced.

Ha Yoonho was among them.

Above his name was a small label:

Captain

Then came D.

Then C.

Then B.

Finally—

[A!]

• A-rank!
• Streamer's about to appear.
• Wonder what footage they used.

"Oh, I'm first."

Seo Jun was the very first player shown among the A-ranks.

Perhaps because he was a newcomer, a cheerful little NEW! tag had been placed above his name.

• Damn, handsome.
• Why is his face bigger than everyone else's?
• They're literally zooming in because he's good-looking.
• This injustice cannot stand.
• The life of a handsome man...

Then clips of Seo Jun's gameplay appeared.

• Damn.
• That four-second Judgment Sword was insane.

The segment ended with a brief showcase of Epic's ultimate creating chains all around the battlefield before moving on.

"Looks good."

The video quickly introduced all thirty players from ranks A through E.

Finally, it showed one caster and three commentators.

Then the premiere naturally transitioned into a live broadcast.

[Hello, everyone! I'm Bangju, your commentator for today's pre-event show!]

Bangju had secured a commentary position over several former professionals.

• Whoa!!
• Bangju's back!
• Dude finished Cooperation and came here to farm easy money lol.
• The streamer is that dude.
• Honey thieves lol.

[Now! During this pre-event show, we'll be hearing some brief evaluations and strategic thoughts regarding the players. The team captains received the roster yesterday and had time to organize their thoughts. So let's bring them out!]

Six faces appeared on screen in a video-call layout.

Seo Jun recognized Taewoo and Ha Yoonho.

The other four were unfamiliar.

[It's a pleasure meeting all of the captains leading this tournament. How does it feel to participate as team captains?]

[Hello! It feels absolutely fantastic!]

[For me, Ha Yoonho, being invited to this stage is an infinite honor...]

[Mom! I'm on TV!]

For reference—

"Mom! I'm on TV!" was Taewoo.

• These lunatics lol.
• I'm already getting dizzy.
• This is the good stuff lol.
• They're all veterans. They don't know what nervousness is lol.

Bangju wasn't flustered.

Bangju was a veteran too.

And no matter how large the event became, it was still a streamer tournament.

This sort of chaos was tradition.

[Then let's begin right away! Our first player is... drumroll please! Ah! The man who balances the capsule itself—streamer Seo Jun!]

As Bangju switched the center slide, the large promotional image used earlier for Seo Jun appeared on screen.

Beneath it was a caption:

"The Man Who Balances the Capsule."

Bangju had simply read it aloud.

[Now then, despite being a newcomer and technically unranked, Jin Seo Jun has been placed in A-rank. Captains, what are your thoughts on Seo Jun as a player? We'd love to hear them.]

At the exact same moment—

[Not buying him.]

[I don't think I can afford to buy him.]

Kim Taewoo and Ha Yoonho answered in turn.