Chapter 19

It’s been about two weeks since the official news about the newly launched streaming platform Cheez from Aiver started pouring in.

During that time, the funeral-like atmosphere between Twip streamers and viewers has significantly eased, and I felt the same way.

“No way, I dodged it! Why did I die!”

While broadcasting and continuing to play a new game, I screamed in disbelief when I died due to an absurd judgment.

This game has been controversial since its release regarding whether it’s a pile of trash or not, and based on my experience playing it now, I can confidently say it is indeed trash.

What kind of nonsense is it that I dodged an attack and the monster passes by yet a hit is registered? This is the kind of garbage judgment you’d expect from an old-school game I used to play.

【CosmoAbsoluteProtect】 – Hahaha
【WhirlwindFlower】 – I mean, you just couldn’t dodge, right?
【TWS2425】 – He dodged though, special < couldn’t dodge 【Cro-Magnon】 - Honestly, that was a ridiculous judgment, lol No matter how much I pleaded my case, the only reply I got was laughter. How is it that there’s only one viewer defending me in this situation? They're absolute trash. “How many times have I killed this guy? Ugh! I just want to move to a new area!” 【AlpacaHunter】 - Already at 71 tries, lol 【JeobiChuriSal】 - Definitely exceeded the try count for the King of Death, lol The "King of Death" refers to the toughest boss I faced in another game I played a while back. After a grueling 68 tries, I finally cleared it, and I almost shed a tear after beating it. But now, I've surpassed that record, rewriting history. I honestly never wanted a silly new record like this. 【'White Forest' has donated 1,000 won.】 - Before the game starts: I’ll quickly reach the ending this week. Skill broadcasting incoming. 【I’m Telling The Teacher】 - Skill? 【Catfish With Salmon】 - This guy just has terminal delusions, lol 【Passing App Dungi】 - Info: The total number of bosses in this game is 34, and he’s been stuck on the fourth boss for 9 hours. Wait, there are that many bosses? Who put so many bosses in such a trash game? You'd think it was an AAA console title. “Honestly, the controls in this game are garbage. You all can’t deny that, right?” 【K-HipHopTopCosmo】 - I don't know, I haven't played it. 【Kokkiyaho】 - Is there a game with worse controls than yours? 【Lucid Dream 7】 - Honestly, it does look really terrible, haha. Ugh, it turns out the ones who haven't played are just trash-talking. Well, how many people would have played a just-released hot new game? I felt like continuing to make excuses would just make me look pathetic, so I decided to just shut up and retry. I’ve definitely learned the patterns, so if there were no absurd judgments, I’m confident I could take it down smoothly. Ding! 【Mission - Defeat the Martyr Nahirte in the next 10 tries (500,000 won)】 As I moved my character again for the boss battle, a familiar sound effect played, and the mission window popped up. Wow, isn't this practically a gift? After 71 tries of mastering the patterns, they’re handing me ten tries and a 500,000 won big mission? 【House-Gone-Frog】 - You have no chance of winning, lol 【SeafoodSauce】 - Giving a mission like this to someone who has died 71 times means they really see you as a joke, lol 【Pink Rabbit】 - Yeah, it’s a safe asset~ As my eyes widened, the malicious chat of the viewers continued. But I couldn’t dismiss that thought; I suddenly wondered, “Did they really give me this mission for that reason?” Come on, it’s common sense. Who would give someone who’s mastered the patterns after 71 tries a mission that says “defeat the boss in 10 tries” for a chance at 500,000 won? Even if it was 1 or 3 tries, I could see it. This is not a mission you give unless you’re sure that I can’t possibly win. Distracted by those thoughts, I tried to find the viewer who gave the mission… 【CosmoAbsoluteProtect】 - I didn’t mean it like that, hehe. Good luck! I noticed the chat from someone with the founder's subscription badge, none other than the Chairman. Ugh, as expected, it was the Chairman...! I never believed it meant that. This must be to boost my motivation, right? Of course. “Thank you for the mission, Chairman…! I’ll show you that I’ll clear it this turn, so watch closely. Got it?” 【Arisa Loves It】 - Death flag ON 【Fallen Flower】 - After this war, I’m going to confess to that girl. 【Soju Flavored Hand Cream】 - I can see the future; is it just my imagination? Why are they already panicking? Just watch, I will definitely clear it this turn and erase all their mockery. “Phew, let’s do this. I can only defeat this boss and end the stream neatly.” 【CosmoAbsoluteProtect】 - Huh? Streaming off? Even though I have 10 tries for the mission, I took a deep breath with the resolve to clear it in just one try as I entered the boss area. I felt like one chat was particularly eye-catching, but I convinced myself it was just my imagination. Before I knew it, the name of the boss appeared: “Martyr Nahirte” along with its health bar. At the end of my character’s gaze stood a huge guy clad in armor wielding a massive greatsword. This boss is the fourth to appear in the story, yet it has all sorts of unpredictable and deceitful patterns. It’s no wonder I couldn’t clear it even after 71 tries. - To uncover the secrets, you must surpass me. As the boss drew its greatsword, graceful English lines appeared in subtitles. While I've seen it too many times to be impressed... To me, it looked only like a pile of cash walking around. Come on, bring it on, you punk. Whoosh! I cleanly dodged the now-familiar initial dash pattern, gliding to the side. Unlike many other similar genres, this game lacks the concept of a shield, so you have to rely solely on dodging, which means you need to have quick reflexes—this makes it fairly tricky. If that weren’t the case, I probably would have defeated it in 30 tries or so; darn it. Clang! “Ugh, parrying seriously sucks!” Even if I parry, the enemy doesn’t end up vulnerable; they just lose a little bit of their groggy gauge. It doesn’t mean anything at all. Seeing the white gauge above the boss's health bar slightly decrease made me grit my teeth, and viewers seemed to empathize with my plight. 【K-HipHopTopCosmo】 - The mechanics are really messed up, haha. 【Bera666】 - I’m curious about the brain structure of whoever made this, haha. 【I’m Telling The Teacher】 - Isn’t this made by someone who hasn't played souls games? I can’t be sure about that, but one thing’s for sure: they definitely didn’t test their own game. There’s no way they would have released it in this way otherwise. Unless they lack a brain. Whoosh! 【Kokkiyaho】 - Oh, rear attack! 【Adios Dao】 - You thought about doing a rear attack, huh? 【KyungHwaSuWol】 - The heart of a beast, isn’t it? Checking the gradually accumulating groggy gauge and while I had the upper hand, I unleashed a powerful attack known as a rear strike. Thanks to that, I dealt a substantial amount of damage to the boss. Suddenly, I moved into the second phase, and a cutscene began. - Those who seek to uncover the secrets will pay for their sins with death. Again, dialogue came pouring out, and as the boss's name changed from “Martyr Nahirte” to “Guardian of Secrets Nahirte,” its health was replenished. The armor that had felt a bit dull and conventional changed into a bizarre form, as if swallowed by darkness, and the reach of its sword became longer, making distance management much tougher. The first phase was hellish enough for the first time, but the second phase was even worse. How could anyone think of a boss like this? Boom! “Seriously, it's infuriating!” This boss retains the patterns used in phase 1 for phase 2, but the problem is that while it uses the same motions, the attack directions are completely reversed, so if you’ve gotten used to attacking in phase 1, you get caught off guard. Knowing that, yet falling victim to an attack due to the patterns ingrained in my instinct from phase 1, I barely managed to hold back the curse words from slipping out. Ugh, they’ve really gone too far. 【Allfreed】 - How is this the fourth boss, lol. 【Cola Zero】 - The developers must have lost their conscience, haha. 【Thor’s Heir】 - To make it even worse, they copy the same motion for deceptive patterns too, haha. It seems the viewers also acknowledge that this boss is the worst of the worst, enjoying watching me suffer while continuously cursing both the boss and the developers. Well, at least they have a shred of conscience. That's comforting. “I’m almost there…” Despite the numerous rounds back and forth, I succeeded in nearly emptying the boss's health with all my composure remaining while distancing myself. Fortunately, I still had a few potions left. As long as I don't die in a single hit, I have more chances, so there's no need to rush in and take risks. Even though there is a one-hit kill technique, it shouldn’t be a problem as long as I don’t let my guard down. 【Road Roller】 - Oh 【Chuu Chuu】 - Did the King come? 【Harbinz】 - This seems doable, for real. The viewers were also in a flurry, and it was clear to anyone watching that I was on the verge of clearing it, but I remained focused and didn’t take my eyes off the boss. Alright, if I rush in and dodge two big attacks, I should be able to land about five normal hits. Let’s go for it. Just as I steeled my resolve and aimed to move my character forward... 【'CosmoAbsoluteProtect' has donated 10,000 won.】 - Speaking of which, I heard there's a Cheese meeting tomorrow, right? “Oh, the Cheese meeting? I was just about to mention that during the stream wrap-up…” I instinctively responded to the donation message from the familiar Chairman’s nickname. It was such a casual question that I momentarily forgot I was in a life-or-death struggle with the boss. And that was a painful mistake at that moment where my life was on the line every second. Swish. Whoosh! “…Huh?” The boss, wielding the greatsword, advanced towards me with an agility that belied its size, stabbing my character's abdomen with the glowing sword. There was no way I should have been hit by such a massive motion attack, but the fact that my attention was diverted for just that moment was critical. What’s worse, that attack was one of those powerful patterns that could kill me in a single hit. ‘YOU ARE PURIFIED’ “…….” As my character fell, a dark and heavy message appeared before my eyes. For a moment, I thought my eyes were playing tricks, so I rubbed them. But nothing changed. “AAAAAAAAH!” 【Kokkiyaho】 - Hahahahaha 【Alpaca Hunter】 - The Chairman's donation timing is impeccable, haha. 【Passing App Dungi】 - Instant death, lol. 【CosmoAbsoluteProtect】 - I’m sorry... Unable to accept reality, I stood up screaming, while the Chairman, who had sent me the donation, repeatedly apologized in chat. But the confusion that consumed my mind didn’t go away. Of course, it was my fault for speaking up and letting my guard down when I could have answered later! But still, isn’t this donation timing a bit too perfect? It feels like it was intended to distract me! Is the Chairman really someone who would trigger my distraction just to avoid paying mission fees? What’s going on? It really didn’t seem like a moment that warranted such a donation. “Chairman, why...!” 【CosmoAbsoluteProtect】 - I’m sorry, I’m sorry... ㅠㅠ No matter how many times I asked the Chairman for a reason, he offered no further explanation. Even just a response like, “I was too curious to not ask,” would have let me accept it, but his blind apologies felt like he was saying, “I did it on purpose.” My character is already dead and there's nothing I can do now, but what could the reason be? Did I inadvertently do something to offend the Chairman?

   

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