My Favorite Has Started A Live Broadcast!

“Howdy! I’m Ninima!”

“Uh… well… hello? Ninima…?”

“Your voice is quite outstanding! Almost equal to mine! Praise be!”

“Haha… please understand, it’s just part of the act… Ninima, what’s with the over-the-top entrance?”

While I was taken aback by this absurd greeting, Yoon Gae apologized and scolded the streamer called Ninima.

“Haha… it’s possible, right? Like Yoon Gae’s concept of arguing with viewers… Something like that?”

– hahahahahaha

– No… Yoon Gae… just no.

“Silence, you wretch! I was simply complimenting Baraa! How dare you scold me for that!”

“Hello.”

As the heated banter between Yoon Gae and Ninima continued, I heard that familiar voice.

“Hello!!!! Chocoa!”

“Yes, would you like to join us? We’ve been at it for hours and were thinking of wrapping up after one more round…”

“Yes!! That sounds great!! I’ll jump in now! Just give me a minute!”

I opened the game at top speed, but my old computer seemed to take its sweet time, as if intentionally stalling my excitement to play with Chocoa.

“But, Baraa… don’t you have anything you’re curious about?”

“Um?”

“You have me here, so why aren’t you asking me any questions?”

“Uh… are you close with Yoon Gae…?”

“What kind of question is that right off the bat?! That fool Yoon Gae is just a dimwit! A foolish buffoon! Can’t play games, and on top of that, he’s ugly as a toad!”

“What? I look good enough! It’s just that your standards are high from seeing my brother all the time!”

“Isn’t that obvious?! Your brother is so good-looking, but you look like an anchovy!”

“Now, now… don’t fight, guys. We’re going to a tournament, so save the energy for that.”

Gunkoo, the eldest among us, who had been listening quietly, stepped in and finally, we managed to load into Lesik.

“Sigh! To think I’d be on the same team as this one!”

“You should be grateful I let you join since you couldn’t find a team!”

“Hey! Don’t say that on stream…! Ahem… So, Baraa, any… any other questions?”

“Um… are you good at Lesik?”

Once I entered Lesik, I received Chocoa’s invitation, which I accepted in silence, while asking my question.

“Good? I don’t really play FPS games… This Lesik round is actually my first.”

“…Oh, and you don’t have to use honorifics with me. I don’t mind.”

“Uh… really? Oh… but… how old are you…?”

“21.”

“…So, we’re the same age! Alright, let’s get along well! Let’s start the game, quickly!”

“…Maybe I shouldn’t have joined the kids…” Gunkoo sighed as he started the game.

“Uh… Didn’t you say you hadn’t played much Lesik?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Then… why… is your level and tier…?”

Ninima’s profile showed a cute pink flower photo, and her level was over 200, with a Platinum II ranking.

“Oh, that? I lent my account for a few unranked games. That probably inflated it.”

“Ah…”

Of course, even her secondary account carried an impressive kill-death ratio, befitting a former pro gamer.

“…You seem really interested in that person?”

“Huh? What? No! I mean… obviously… I prefer Chocoa! I was just… curious about a new person!”

“…We’re in.”

I was curious about Chocoa’s expression at that moment, but unfortunately, I didn’t have two monitors.

“Ah, Baraa! Did you hear about the tournament prize?!”

“Oh… no? What is it?”

As we loaded the game, Yoon Gae filled me in on the details.

The prize was a premium computer setup! It felt grand, befitting an event sponsored by High-End Systems.

“…Everyone, keep the shield operator alive.”

As I was daydreaming about winning the prize, playing on a new computer, Gunkoo suddenly spoke in a serious tone.

“We banned one, but why?”

“…I just have a suspicion about the enemy team.”

In response to Yoon Gae’s question, Gunkoo mentioned his vague suspicion about the opposing team. Curious, I checked the scoreboard to see the names of the opponents and understood what he meant.

All the enemy usernames were in Chinese.

“…Are they… cheaters?”

“Shut up, idiot! Do you want to get banned from streaming?! Don’t call them out… yet.”

Just as Ninima was about to say something, Yoon Gae hurriedly stopped him, and then the defense round began…

– Round 1 Loss –

“What…?”

“…Those cheater scumbags.”

In Lesik, the attack team usually spends 30 to 40 seconds gathering information with their drones. It’s an essential time for strategizing in this tactical game.

But within three seconds of the round starting, our entire team was wiped out with headshots from invisible enemies.

No footsteps, no gunfire, no drones. Just a single shot to the head for each of us.

“Is that a hack?”

Chocoa asked in a puzzled tone, and I quietly replied, “Yes.”

“…What’s the point of playing like that? Those hacks are expensive, so why even bother?”

“I don’t understand those people either.”

As expected of Chocoa, she couldn’t comprehend the idea of ruining a game with illegal hacks. Such players taint the reputation of the games we love and are a curse to all gamers. Feeling both moved by her words and frustrated, I prepared for the next round.

“Hmm… what should we do now?”

“Yoon Gae! Use that amazing skill you’re always bragging about! Not that I believe you can kill them!”

“What the heck are you even—”

“Alright, take Bandit, Rook, and Maestro if you have them, and if not, pick whoever you want. I’ll go Bandit.”

Gunkoo issued the briefing to counter the cheaters, and I picked Mara, a tricky operator.

“Ooh, that purple character makes me crave some spicy mala soup!”

“Yeah, for real. I’ll eat some after this.”

Mala soup… It reminded me of the time I tried it during my part-time job… Ew…

“…They’re not killing us this round.”

As Chocoa noted, the cheaters weren’t killing us right away this time. Maybe they wanted to show off their skill with just aimbot and ESP hacks, or perhaps the hack program had certain limitations.

Whatever the reason, it gave us a chance to fight back.

I’d encountered cheaters in ranked matches a few times before. Although I’d never faced an entire team of five, there were instances where a random cheater would ruin my precious game time. Luckily, Newbie would take them out sooner or later.

“Hmm… I don’t hear any drone sounds…”

“They don’t need drones when they’ve got ESP. Let’s just reinforce and focus!”

Not a single drone rolled in, and there wasn’t a single ping. We quietly reinforced our positions on the first floor of the “Sunrise Bar” on the Coastline map.

Breaking walls, setting barbed wire, and reinforcing with thick steel plates.

Whirr– Pshh– Clang–

I placed Mara’s special ability on the reinforced wall to control the enemy’s entry point.

Mara’s special ability, the Black Mirror, wasn’t just a blackened window. Installed on reinforced or regular walls, it allowed us to see through to the other side while the enemy couldn’t see in, making it an essential operator with a lot of tactical potential.

I placed Mara in the small room that led directly to the site, reinforced the left wall, and made a small hole with my shotgun on the right. If the enemy knew my position, I could also monitor theirs through this small window. The reinforced wall would block their aimbot headshots, while the small hole allowed for surprise attacks and psychological warfare. If they tried a forced entry to plant the defuser, I was ready to throw a C4 without hesitation.

“…I’m hearing footsteps… Who goes there?!”

Ninima, who had been wandering around aimlessly, died quickly. Judging by his position, he seemed to have climbed to the second floor and was shot through a window.

“How can someone hit me in the head from a window without even looking?!”

“…Be quiet.”

“…”

At Chocoa’s calm command, everyone fell silent, and thanks to that, I could hear it.

Step.

I sprinted. It was a short distance, but I ran toward the small room where the enemy would likely enter, aiming for a headshot as I approached the barricade.

“Whew…”

Drrrrrrrrrr—

Mara’s main weapon, the Vector, had an incredibly high fire rate, but its recoil was just as intense.

But that didn’t matter. The first shot had no recoil.

“One down in Sunrise Bar. At least two more remaining.”

“I’m coming over.”

Chocoa ran in my direction to cover me. I was grateful, really grateful, but she shouldn’t come.

“Don’t come!”

“Huh…?”

At my shout, Chocoa froze, stopping right in the spot where I had killed the enemy moments ago. If I could kill an enemy there…

Then the enemy could also kill Chocoa there.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Chocoa died. Right in front of me.

“…Ha…”

I’m going to kill them.