NOVEL NEXT Chapter 73
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Fist Over Legend Minor Gallery
―――
– What’s the basic rank you should hit if you’re talking Fiore?
(Meaningless selfie)
Oo? Gold? Plat?
– Diamond
– Master
– Master
– Diamond
– Mabon
– Master, if you’re below 300 points, you’re either enjoying the game or you’re an idiot.
– This is nonsense.
– Is this a joke?
– Mabon Squad
– Diamond
– If you can’t make Mabon in under 100 matches after starting Fiore, you might as well quit.
– If you’re grinding hard and can’t reach Diamond, you’re not human.
– I don’t know about that, but it’s clear that all the idiots above are below Platinum, right?
– These guys are collectively insane, haha.
N: Originally, on the internet, everyone is 185cm tall, 18cm down there, has an IQ of 130, and graduated from Seongyong-Gyo, making 7,000 after tax.
―――
Diamonds are the top 3%, Masters are from 0 points to the top 1%.
Even among the lower tiers like Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze, many play thousands of matches without even stepping foot into Diamond.
People love raising the average like this. Naturally, it’s the same in the hardcore competitive game Fiore.
If someone is in a high rank, they push down the average beneath them to feel superior.
If someone is in a low rank, they infinitely raise the average, making others feel deprived.
But even among friends who love raising averages, the line was clear.
―――
– If you can’t even do that much, you’re not human.
N: ?
N: ??
N: This is a bit much.
N: You idiot, this is ridiculous.
N: You should play within your means.
N: Are you crazy? Haha.
N: That’s where trainees start appearing.
N: This guy is just obsessed with the community.
―――
Only about the top 0.05% of the Fist Over Legend population can reach the Grand Master level.
That’s a clear grade of talent.
And one broadcaster is trying to challenge that tier.
―――
– Is Moon Si-hyun really going for Grand Master??
(‘Moon Si-hyun – Going for Grand Master’ capture from the broadcast title)
(Capture of a score in the 500s)
Whoa!
– What the heck?
– What’s going on?? Why is she climbing so much?
– Wow, is she really rising just as a fighter?
– Who is she?? I feel like she’s been mentioned a lot lately.
N: Beast girl
N: Garbage Fighter One-Champ
N: The girl who pouted and quit the stream while on her period alone.
N: Oh, is that her? Haha, that bit was hilarious.
N: Milk Boy
N: Never heard of Milk Boy, what’s that?
N: She’s got some big milkers…
N: Really?? I gotta see this.
N: How did she expand her recognition through incidents and accidents?
N: She sure has a lot of incoming traffic, haha.
N: Isn’t her body just 50% body fat? What is she, a unicorn?
N: Well, that’s not it, looking at her fingers…
– If this rises, it’ll be insane. Has there ever been a female Grand Master?
N: I doubt there’s a current one…
N: And before that, there hasn’t been anyone who managed to go Grand Master as Garbage Fighter One-Champ.
N: If there isn’t even a Master, a Grand Master would be legendary.
―――
―――
Moon Si-hyun – Going for Grand Master
―――
A female Fiore user, high-ranking Garbage Fighter One-Champ, and on the brink of Grand Master promotion.
On the Pazzk live stream, having any one of these three can grab a significant amount of attention.
But today, Moon Si-hyun combined all three.
With existing viewers and new arrivals from the title, her viewer count skyrocketed.
Without grand speeches or ambitions, Moon Si-hyun quietly began the game.
Hours passed as the matches filled up.
―――
Win. +21.
Win. +22.
Loss. -19.
Win. +20.
Win. +19.
Loss. -18.
―――
Now, Moon Si-hyun’s score was at Master 589, just at the threshold of Grand Master.
And without resting, she launched into the next game.
―――
Enemy eliminated.
Double kill!
Triple kill!
Quadra kill!
Defeated by the enemy.
―――
“…… Ha.”
―――
Wow.
The level is insane, haha.
It’s so intense.
Her physical skills are off the charts.
This is so fun.
Wow, she’s taking them all down, haha, legendary.
Wow, the final struggle is crazy;
So damn stylish.
―――
As her score climbed, the gameplay level escalated, and word spread, bringing in even more viewers.
Moon Si-hyun’s playful yet heated movements, her aggressive play style with her own combat angles visible as she charged in without looking back, and her high understanding of fighting were all factors that excited both existing and new viewers.
And in this match, the final bloodbath. At the end, only Moon Si-hyun remained. One fighter.
As she threw her last punch, the opponent’s stone tower crumbled.
―――
Victory!
―――
Soon, the fruit of success icon rose.
Moon Si-hyun took a deep breath as she passed into the lobby. Then, the screen suddenly went dark.
―――
??
What is this?
Kya!
Kya!
Wow.
I’m watching this live.
―――
In the darkened screen, a special promotion effect indicating her rise to Grand Master appeared.
―――
You have been promoted to the Grand Master rank.
―――
With a golden icon, the words everyone desperately wished for appeared.
“…… Ha.”
―――
Wow.
Insane.
Kya.
Great Si-hyun.
I can take your child, Moon Si-hyun! I can take your child, Moon Si-hyun! I can take your child, Moon Si-hyun! I can take your child, Moon Si-hyun! I can take your child, Moon Si-hyun! I can take your child, Moon Si-hyun!
Insane, we got a Grand Master Garbage Fighter One-Champ, wow.
Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!
Wow, she actually did it.
Growth rate’s insane.
Moon Si-hyun!! Moon Si-hyun!! Moon Si-hyun!! Moon Si-hyun!! Moon Si-hyun!! Moon Si-hyun!! Moon Si-hyun!! Moon Si-hyun!! Moon Si-hyun!! Moon Si-hyun!! Moon Si-hyun!! Moon Si-hyun!! Moon Si-hyun!! Moon Si-hyun!! Moon Si-hyun!!
Great Si-hyun.
Great Si-hyun.
Great Milk Boy.
Beast girl (average 300KG) wow wow wow wow. Beast girl (average 300KG) wow wow wow wow. Beast girl (average 300KG) wow wow wow wow. Beast girl (average 300KG) wow wow wow wow. Beast girl (average 300KG) wow wow wow wow. Beast girl (average 300KG) wow wow wow wow. Beast girl (average 300KG) wow wow wow wow.
Wow, damn haha!
―――
The chat window exploded.
“Hmph…!”
The bear doll’s feet could be seen tapping anxiously.
Desire for achievement and competitive spirit. An emotion that rarely made Moon Si-hyun express herself so intensely.
Moon Si-hyun enjoyed the moment of joy for a second and, as if waiting, pulled out several pictures from a folder.
―――
?
??
What’s this?
―――
It was a post from the ‘Bear Doll Fan Cafe’ written a long time ago.
―――
– By the way, it’s really tough for the leader to be Grand Master.
Until now, they’ve somehow scraped by with physical skills, but for Grand Master, you need true intelligence.
If you don’t have it, it’s tough.
– I love Bear Dolls, but I admit that.
– Seriously.
– Grand Master is truly a realm of talent.
– You have to be really good to be a Grand Master.
– You can’t just head-butt your way through it.
―――
Along with similar posts claiming something like that as Moon Si-hyun approached Grand Master.
―――
??
Wait, did she screen capture all this in advance?
This crazy girl remembered this, haha.
She really only remembers what’s beneficial to her.
Damn.
Suddenly, it made me mad…
―――
“Hmph.”
Moon Si-hyun’s satisfied giggle.
As usual, the viewers who were fed up and wanted to bash her could… but today, it was hard.
Grand Master… was in a league of its own.
Master broadcasters aren’t exactly rare, but Grand Masters are practically non-existent.
“Intelligence.”
―――
Damn.
Haha.
―――
Thus, Moon Si-hyun spent some time interacting with viewers, then her gaze drifted to the friend window.
―――
General (1/4)
―――
Squirrel – Offline
San-deng – Offline
Cactus – Online
Hu-ji – Gaming
―――
Cactus appeared to just finish his game since it switched from ‘gaming’ to ‘online.’
Moon Si-hyun felt curious suddenly.
“You had 400 points last I saw… so, isn’t Cactus going for Grand Master soon too? A few days have passed since then.”
As she spoke, she clicked on Cactus’s profile.
And.
“…… Huh?”
An incredulous voice escaped her.
“Why is he Diamond?”
―――
Gasp.
Gasp.
Gasp.
Ah.
What?
Haha.
Indeed.
Why?
Haha.
Don’t you dare ask why he’s Diamond.
Because…
―――
“Aren’t you supposed to be around 400 points just a few days ago? This doesn’t make sense…”
Moon Si-hyun muttered, tapping the air keyboard.
Cactus was sprawled out on the treadmill.
The game had ended. Finally, the game result screen went dark.
―――
You have been demoted from the Master tier.
Current rank – Diamond 1.
―――
“……”
He stared blankly at it before finally coming to terms with reality.
“Ugh!!!!!!!”
[Huff…]
All he could do in disbelief of the cruel reality was to utter a desperate scream.
San-deng, who was on Discord with him, desperately held back laughter.
―――
Hahaha.
Hahaha.
Tomorrow’s YouTube title: Hell.
Hahaha.
There’s no wings when you’re falling.
Diamond 1 diving clap clap clap clap clap clapping.
How did someone drop so much in just a few days?
Moon Si-hyun’s bus bubble has popped, hasn’t it?
Why did he suddenly drop to Master 0 points?? He was at 400 points just a few days ago.
―――
“‘Why did this dude drop to Master 0 points??’ Get outta here, you fucking idiot.”
[Huff.]
Cactus brushed his hair back and continued.
“Why do all these idiots have to whine? What do you mean why he’s at 0 points? Huh? Why was he at 400 points before only to drop to 0? Obviously, he must have tortured his way down through tons of losses, that’s how he got to 0. What else could it be?”
[Click…]
“Ha…”
Cactus let out a deep sigh, feeling as if he had just let go of the entire world.
[That’s true, you can lose streaks. People have off days. He’ll climb back up soon.]
“……”
―――
Seriously, what a scraping jerk, fucking idiot, haha.
Jodeng, haha.
Scrape?
―――
‘Dude, you’re the worst.’
San-deng suggested, “Let’s hop on Discord together for his Master demotion battle.”
But as usual, he was only going to poke fun at Cactus, providing little consolation, just laughing on the side.
He genuinely enjoyed taking jabs at Cactus while subtly honing in on him.
But it was also a bit delicate to say anything. The viewers were having fun, after all.
At that moment, a notification rang in Fiore’s message window.
Moon Si-hyun [2]
“Ugh.”
―――
What?
Oh,
Oh,
I heard Moon Si-hyun just hit Grand Master, didn’t she?
―――
‘Is she here to offer some consolation again?’
Cactus hastily clicked the message, diving into those pleasant memories of that day.
“Hey, Cactus. What’s up?”
ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
“Why are you crying?”
“Are you okay?”
“Can you hop on Discord right now?”
“Ah, yeah, yeah.”
“But is it okay since San-deng is here?”
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
―――
Finally, Moon Si-hyun entered Discord through the link sent by Cactus.
[Hey, Cactus…]
When at last, a voice filled with concern reached him.
‘So she really did come to comfort me.’
‘…… Angel……!’
Cactus frowned and opened his mouth.
“I-”
[Why are you Diamond? You were definitely at 400 points, right?]
―――
Gasp.
Hahaha.
Gasp.
Gasp.
Ah.
Gasp.
???: Get outta here you piece of shit.
“Si-hyun, are you not protecting your health?? Want to experience an aggressive confession?
“What? Is In-jang close with her or what??”
“Rumor has it she just hit Grand Master.”
“A few days ago, there was barely a 100+ point difference, but now it’s a 600+ difference, haha.”
―――
“……”
Upon hearing those words, Cactus momentarily squeezed his eyes shut.
Is she teasing him? No, that can’t be.
‘Knowing Si-hyun’s character, she’s probably genuinely surprised.’
[What happened?]
A pure and innocent voice tinged with confusion and worry.
“Ha…”
Cactus’ lips curled into a grin.
Damn it, I wish I could just take a picture of this expression and show it to Moon Si-hyun.
“Well… the thing is…”
But he couldn’t just spill, “I dropped due to a streak of losses that sent me tumbling to Diamond.”
So instead, he opted for a little joke mixed with an excuse.
“I don’t know. I got hacked… Some idiot hacked my account and made me lose a bunch playing Priest…”
[Hmph.]
A common joke used among Fiore users, but…
[What!? You got hacked?]
Moon Si-hyun wasn’t aware of such things.
[You can’t let that happen. How can you? Did you report it? Did you change your password? Who would do such a terrible thing…?]
“……”
[Hahaha! Oh, I better change mine too.]
[Yeah, San-deng, you should too. But honestly, this is absurd. Looking at your record, it’s like five losses in a row, nine losses in a row, three losses in a row, eight losses in a row… It’s kinda tough to deal with, especially for someone in the industry who makes a living from the game and streams. That’s a significant nuisance. Can’t you report that as workplace interference?]
[Click…]
“Huh…”
―――
Hahaha.
Hahaha.
She’s really going for the annihilation now, haha.
―――
“……”
Caught off guard by Moon Si-hyun’s unexpected ‘destruction mode’, Cactus leaned back in agony.
“Ugh!!!!!!!!!!!!”
He howled again in pain,
“San-deng, you bastard!!! Stop laughing!!”
[Fr…Eh!?]
He unleashed his arrows at an utterly wrong target.