I Became a Malicious Streamer

Talent is a simple and clear truth that penetrates everything, yet at the same time, it’s a word that brings despair and deprivation to those who can’t reach it.

I was one of the latter. I prided myself on loving games more than anyone else, and I enjoyed playing them.

I dreamed of being a professional gamer and hit a wall. When I reached my best skills and condition, I realized that there was a sky and earth difference between pros and amateurs.

There are things in the world that cannot be achieved through effort alone. Wrapping up my once beautiful and perfect youth as a temporary challenge, I quietly faded into the background.

Hmm, that sounds too sad. I lived well after that. I gave up on the path of a pro but occasionally provided commentary as a high-ranking user based on my unique understanding of games and created other games…

Anyway, just like in the arts, talent is important in gaming too.

My past self was trampled by that talent, but

the ‘me’ of now was different.

– Thud!

I close my eyes for a moment and open them again. As my dilated pupils survey the battlefield, the enemies’ locations are revealed instantly.

One on the left, two straight ahead, and one trying to flank from behind.

The last one is hidden, probably providing support from the back.

Quickly scanning the enemy, I pinpoint their positions through the information received by sight.

Skills come flying at me from the front, trying to control me but

the incoming skills look slow. I dodge them with relaxed movements.

An assassin rushing from behind.

Feigning ignorance, I stay still and catch a slim window of opportunity to counterattack.

My character assumes a stance preparing for something without responding to the attack.

It’s a parry.

I don’t know why there’s a parry in an FPS game, but it’s a pretty useful feature.

According to the game developers, they wanted to give melee characters some merit against ranged ones getting pounded,

and overall, it turned out to be a not bad choice.

EOW has taken a unique position as an fps with a parry.

Timing for counterattacks and accurate aim.

Essential conditions for a parry.

If these conditions are met, you can not only ignore the opponent’s attack but also disarm them for a certain period.

In that fleeting moment before a weapon collides with another, right before being hit.

It’s a technique that normal users don’t use because it’s difficult to time,

and it’s truly a special skill reserved for the top-tier users.

– Clang!

Sparks fly from the connecting blades.

With a lively metallic sound, the assassin wobbles back.

I can see the surprise on the opponent hit by my parry.

They must be thinking, “How did he do that from behind?”

Exactly. I don’t even know how I did it.

It was a matter of reaction, not prediction.

The disarmed assassin drops their dagger, receiving a critical hit and falling down.

On the screen appears a man dressed in a Japanese-style outfit, sheathing a katana.

He’s one of the few melee characters in EOW, the ‘Swordsman.’

He sacrifices the advantage of distance due to the lack of ranged control but is characterized by unique mobility and fierce single strikes.

If your physical abilities are lacking, it’s easy to earn the sound of a chirp.

Exhaling a held breath, I surveyed the situation again.

I smoothly sliced through two enemy dealers. Using a sense unique that others do not possess.

As soon as my brain sends the command, my fingers instantaneously carry it out. The nimble fingers leave no room for error, and the harmony between my right and left hand is truly exquisite.

Did pros live in this kind of world? Had they played every game with that tempo and overwhelming capabilities?

It’s unreasonable. A fiercely unreasonable and violent talent.

But at the same time, it was fun.

The plays I had only imagined in my head every day. I could execute them immediately as I wished.

I absentmindedly hit the game start button once more,

unleashing plays that I had only envisioned, slaughtering enemies.

*

“Ugh…”

I stretched and moaned softly.

I lost track of time.

For the first time in a long while, I felt this sensation.

The stiffness all over my upper body returned, just like when I was deeply immersed in games, preparing to become a pro.

The headache from overworking my brain was a bonus.

But I couldn’t stop here.

How long had it been since I felt this pure joy?

It was a different flavor than the sweet taste of competitive games where I used to turn to defeat after losing my passion and skill.

With a mindset to turn off the game once my physical limits hit, I queued for matching, but

there was another reason I couldn’t play.

zhongdangzheng: Is he hacking?

버텨봐캐리할게: Who?

zhongdangzheng: That’s the assassin Sua’s streamer. Some say he’s hacking.

버텨봐캐리할게: Really?

뚝배기깨버린다: Ugh — Matchmaking with a hacker. Dodge a bit.

With sufficient understanding of the agents but lacking the physical skill, it was time to pick the assassin, a romantic agent of flashy effects.

Bounced back into the lobby along with odd chat content,

“What’s going on?”

I’m sure I heard something about the assassin. Just as I couldn’t grasp the chat content clearly, I matched again,

한발이면충분하지: I’m not playing with a hacker ㅅㄱ

lilllillll: Isn’t this getting bused and punished?

Once again, I was thrown back to the lobby. The game dynamics were impossible.

But this time, I was able to analyze the reason thoroughly.

The “hacker” mentioned in the earlier chat seemed to refer to me.

Now I could understand people’s reactions.

Hacker. Hacking user…

They are a ruthless bunch who use or distribute illegal programs, disrupting the order of games.

I had encountered a user who hacked before.

In a bizarrely fast-spinning screen, opponents would fall one after another. Naturally, the bewildered opponents wouldn’t find any joy in playing.

EOW’s developers reacted sensitively to hacking issues.

If a report came in about a suspicious user, they would check if they had used illegal programs, and if caught, they would ban all linked accounts.

Users who gained benefits from matches or chats involving hackers would also face severe penalties.

That’s why people dodged matches when they were paired with me.

But would it be fun to play a game using hacks?

It was a question I always had.

The main reason driving away users who loved the game and a parasite gnawing away at games, hackers.

SDVIMVFoanVzY1YwSVhjamMzUkt1WmlzdDlMRnJyNUlmSXZKUjB1YzFXdFBFRGVTNmV2aGszQ1JhNXBKVkRkTA

But is that me?

“Ha.”

A cold voice escaped my lips, sounding stark even to myself.

Hackers may seem to overwhelm opponents with seemingly excellent skills at a glance, but if you observe their gameplay closely, you can find awkward points.

It was easy to distinguish a hacker from a player of exceptional skill merely by looking a bit at the first-person view.

This was an insult and a challenge against me.

I began to comprehend why this was happening.

Soon after, I found clues to the incident.

-Did you see Sua’s stream today? A hacker came out lol

[For real? Isn’t Sua a diamond? How could this be about hacks?]

[Sua is in diamond, and viewers are climbing with her.]

[Not even a plat, was just a side account content, ran into hackers while leveling from gold.]

[Looking at the records, just a moment ago they were in-game, why haven’t they been banned?]

[Hacks for sure? Could it just be a side account?]

ㄴ[Check out Sua today’s review from 1:40:33, just look at the screen spinning to see it’s hacks.]

[Bro that’s solid evidence, gonna get banned soon.]

[Sex.]

[Since Sua got a streaming content, she must’ve been all smiles.]

[Don’t talk down about our Sua, you bastards.]

ㄴ[Task force arrest.]

[Soup is dripping… teacher, please wash yourself.]

Easily accessible through a quick googling was the Agent of War Gallery.

Known as E-Gal.

A large community discussing Agent of War with thousands of posts daily.

As expected from a place dealing with various issues,

stories about the hacking incident from today were posted too.

Reading through the gallery, I was able to grasp the sequence of events surrounding the incident.

The streamer ‘Sua’ had played a game and met me, where I overwhelmed her with skill.

After that, chat started saying I was a hacker, and the atmosphere in Sua’s stream accepted it.

It was a simple incident summarizable in three lines.

That was the reason I couldn’t be matched up.

“Ha-ha.”

I let out a hollow laugh from disbelief.

Just for this?

I got labeled a hacker because of a few words?

What are we, some sort of chimpanzees?

Without any solid evidence, I was led into a witch hunt.

Then suddenly this thought crossed my mind.

People who easily slander an innocent person as a hacker for just a few words

“…”

Shouldn’t they be punished?

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