NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31
Chapter 31 – Apologizing Was Pointless
『CravingWarmAmericano: Ah』
『CravingWarmAmericano: Hmm』
Ark anxiously stared at the silent chat room.
From what she knew, although Yena sniped, she never trolled (except for always choosing Rogue) or broadcast-sniped.
Even if choosing Rogue caused her teammates to troll indirectly, it was still considered trolling.
Given her recent skill level, in Ark’s queue, which consisted primarily of Diamond players, Yena was almost a guaranteed win if she played.
While waiting for an answer, Ark sneaked a look at her non-broadcast screen and confirmed that one of Yena’s many secondary accounts, ‘EatNSteal’, had already climbed to mid-Master rank through consecutive wins.
It was a bus.
In the worst-case scenario, she could consider switching to a secondary account, even if it meant losing some face. Letting someone like that end up on the enemy team was too risky given her current narrow point margin.
『CravingWarmAmericano: I started streaming today』
『CravingWarmAmericano: I had a planned content for my broadcast though…』
Yena, who seemed to be pondering, started to drag out her response.
‘That “content” she mentioned must be sniping, right?’
Gritting her teeth, Ark typed with a forced smile, in case Yena was watching her broadcast.
『Ark: Yes, I think I understand what the content is now, haha… Still, wouldn’t dueling produce a similar result?』
A lunatic who brought sniping as her first broadcasting content. While she seemed like someone with whom a rational conversation would not work, Ark judged that someone with Yena’s personality might actually accept her proposal to duo.
Of course,
『CravingWarmAmericano: But then』
『CravingWarmAmericano: There wouldn’t have been any point in my apology.』
She didn’t expect it to be that easy.
***
『LOLOLOL LOLOLOL LOLOLOL LOLOLOL LOLOLOL LOLOLOL LOL』
『What does an apology mean to GetDevoured?』
『Why find meaning in an apology』
『What does she think an apology is』
『Ark: … Otherwise, would offering some sort of reward work?』
『CravingWarmAmericano: Oh』
『CravingWarmAmericano: Then, would it be possible to get a kickback pass if we win three duos?』
Thankfully, Yena gave a positive response without dragging it out.
At first, Ark couldn’t understand what she meant—
『Ark: ??? What exactly is that?』
『CravingWarmAmericano: Ah, you don’t like old games, do you?』
『CravingWarmAmericano: If someone kicks me』
『CravingWarmAmericano: The manager who kicked me gets kicked instead』
『CravingWarmAmericano: That day becomes an anarchy day with no rules』
Even after the explanation, Ark found it even more bewildering.
‘… Is she really insane?’
After much back and forth, ‘Ark’ and ‘GetDevoured’ stood side by side on the waiting screen.
『To think such a day would come…』
『It would have been better if such a day never came』
『For real, lOLOLOL』
Seeing the chat reflect her sentiments, Ark let out a bitter smile. Just a month ago, no one would have imagined this duo.
Following the insane condition of the kickback pass, and Yena’s request stating that due to her broadcast’s current setup, they might need a 5-10 minute break between games, Ark had hesitated briefly—
Ultimately, she was persuaded by her manager and editor, who said that this would make for great content on G-tube, and accepted the awkward duo arrangement.
Thinking “go big or go home”, she started, but worry hit her like a landslide as she stared at their two-shot.
“So, I’m just asking out of sheer curiosity”
『CravingWarmAmericano: Yes』
“When we start the duo, will you turn off your broadcast?”
『CravingWarmAmericano: It’s a principle to turn off the broadcast during viewer participation』
『CravingWarmAmericano: Let’s create a clean viewer participation culture together, Ark-nim』
『LOLOLOL LOLOLOL LOLOLOL LOLOLOL』
『There are no exceptions to principles』
『Is this chaotic evil or lawful evil?』
“… Okay. Then will you join the Discourse voice chat?”
『CravingWarmAmericano: Yes』
“… But you still won’t use a mic.”
『CravingWarmAmericano: Because it’s a camera setup』
-Huuu
A sigh she couldn’t hold back slipped into the microphone.
『LOLOLOL LOLOLOL LOL It’s been a while since I’ve seen the host this stressed』
『Ark, it’s not too late. Run away』
『She sold her soul for G-tube content』
“Alright then, shall we… get started?”
***
『GetDevoured: Rogue with Mage going underground』
『Ark: ???』
『GetDevoured: It’s good』
『GetDevoured: Really good』
『CrispOutside: Please just lose your mind nicely』
『CrispOutside: Rogue and Mage duo?』
『CrispOutside: Which Mage are you duoing with?』
『GetDevoured: Lululk』
『Lululk: ??? What are you talking about』
『Ark: No』
“… GetDevoured?”
『GetDevoured: Yes』
“Why are you really doing this to me?”
『GetDevoured: With two Mages, it’s better for one to go underground with the Rogue』
“Ha…”
『GetDevoured: I’m serious』
***
The sound of the horn that signified the start of a match in KoK, familiar to all fans of the game.
However, the slightly distorted sound output through the speakers and then broadcasted via the phone’s microphone was something even a veteran player like Dodat had never heard before.
《Hm-hm~ Hmm-hmm~》
Seeing a broadcaster hum along to the horn’s tune, albeit out of rhythm and pitch just enough to be irritating but not quite enough to warrant anger, was also a first.
『Please, at least get the sound right』
『Why do we have to listen to this kind of noise in the 21st century』
The chat was filled with complaints, but they never reached Yena. She glanced around at her allies, flicking the mouse rapidly, and in a slightly lower voice than usual, muttered,
《This could have been an easy win. What a shame.》
Her voice was laden with disappointment.
It was so outlandish that it made Dodat wonder—could Yena have genuinely believed that going underground with a mage was the best strategy?
Dodat preferred to think that GetDevoured was just a fan of Ark and wanted to wander the underground with her, spouting nonsense to get her way.
Regardless, as Yena alternated between tapping the tab key to check the team compositions of allies and enemies and the moment the gate opened, she consumed stamina to sprint towards the underground.
When the game started, her distracted hands and humming disappear as if they were never there.
Although her face wasn’t visible, it’s clear that she takes her gameplay seriously.
‘It must be the trap chest route, right?’
At first, it was challenging to gauge its effectiveness, but after watching GetDevoured play a few times, dodat could see its true value.
Dodat was convinced that GetDevoured’s underground routes—especially the trap chest route—would soon become the standard for Rogues.
Facing an underground Rogue forces the opponent into one of two choices. Either chase and kill the Rogue to prevent them from opening treasure chests, or level up quickly and push the surface before the Rogue accomplishes anything significant.
However, calling it ‘forced’ is somewhat misleading since the opponent can easily win regardless of their choice.
It’s less of a dilemma and more like deciding whether to order pizza or fried chicken, knowing both will be delicious.
But, for a Rogue confident in surviving by taking the trap chest route and avoiding direct one-on-one encounters, and even more so, for a Rogue who, like in the ‘Warrior? Next’ video, can kill the underground enemy if necessary, the trap chest route becomes an unstoppable dagger.
The reason is simple.
Routes filled with traps have fewer mobs. Hence, an opponent who decides to venture into the trap chest room to find the Rogue will naturally have to forgo leveling up to some extent.
In contrast, the exits from trap chest rooms are narrow and limited, making it risky for a Rogue to enter carelessly, as they could easily end up as a petty rogue caught by a security guard— except this petty rogue transforms into a highway robber who snaps the guard’s neck if they do encounter one.
If the opponent decides to leave the Rogue to the traps and focused solely on leveling up?
They can’t know what items might come out of the chest and allow the Rogue to take them for free.
Other chests are guarded by boss-level mobs, so if a Rogue wants to open those, they’d need to level up at a pace that their slow hunting speed allows.
Leaving the Rogue unchecked will naturally create a gap, and if the opponent is leveling up, they can eliminate the Rogue at an opportune moment and then rejoin the surface team.
However, the trap chest can be secured in just 1 minute and 30 seconds if the Rogue isn’t interrupted.
The reason Rogues are considered trash isn’t that they become weak after collecting items from chests, but because realistically, it’s nearly impossible for them to open chests and survive.
‘If a Rogue starts snowballing by taking the trap chest for free… the enemy backline would feel suffocated.’
While Dodat was contemplating this, the shaky screen now showed the Rogue disarming a treasure chest.
And then,
《Wow.》
『??? What’s that』
『A legendary item in the hands of a Rogue no less』
『Salvation, Ark…! Salvation, Ark…! Salvation, Ark…! Salvation, Ark…! Salvation, Ark…! Salvation, Ark…!』
The Mythical item, blink Dagger.
This weapon inflicts 15% less damage than a basic dagger, but grants an active skill with a 45-second cooldown that allows the user to teleport up to 3 meters in any direction.
The penalty of reduced damage seems critical at first glance, but a Mythical item is called such for a reason.
The tooltip indicating the ability to blink “anywhere” means exactly that—anywhere.
And, according to the settings in KoK, the distance between the underground and the surface is a mere 2 meters.
TL’s Corner:
Duo queue time.