The Villain is Too Good at Broadcasting

“In my day, if you didn’t play Gaia Online, your friends wouldn’t hang out with you.”

“Really brings back memories. We used to go raiding together right after class…”

“I skipped classes for a whole week just to get an item.”

“Four of our members got so addicted that our manager strictly controlled us.”

As today’s game was decided to be <Gaia Online Classic> provided by SD Corporation, each cast member shared their old memories, talking joyfully.

The first and the best virtual reality.

It was a game that, as time passed, received high praise and was said to be unmatched by any other game.

It was that perfect of a world.

Literally, another reality.

Because it was a global integrated server, the size of the continent was enormous.

Moreover, since the game strictly restricted cash transactions, there were only two things needed to climb up in the game.

Time and skill.

With just these two, you could achieve success regardless of your job or family background in reality.

Well, there were also dark gamers like me who made money by completing commissions.

Anyway, because everyone was given an equal starting point, it boasted immense immersion.

“You might have been briefed on the way here, but I’ll explain once more.”

“Yes.”

“Got it.”

There were six capsules prepared for us in the studio, and Producer Sung gently continued his explanation while watching us chat happily.

“Today, we’ll be experiencing the tutorial part of Gaia Online Classic, and the expected shooting time is about five hours.”

“Five hours? Is the tutorial that long?”

“Well, learning how to use weapons and clearing the village chief’s quest will take about that much time. Ah, the basic plot is divided into two teams, and you’ll complete the missions we give you.”

After saying that, Producer Sung looked alternately at me and Heosu.

“The Cerberus team and the Shia team. These two teams will go through the tutorial, and the losing team has to come in cosplay chosen by the winning team for the next shoot.”

Sure, just enjoying the game would make this show a documentary, not an entertainment program.

You need this kind of penalty to make it fun.

As Producer Sung spoke, Haechul raised his hand and asked a question.

“Is team selection free?”

“Yes. But if more than three people gather in one team, we’ll have to play a mini-game. That part will be handled through the shoot. Then, please take care of us today!”

With those words, the real shooting began.

Team selection time started with a simple opening comment from the cast.

As the team selection time approached, I elbowed Heosu who was next to me and said.

“Don’t feel bad just because everyone chooses me as a teammate. I am your opponent after all.”

Then Heosu turned his body slightly so that the camera couldn’t see and showed me his middle fingers.

…I should pluck out those fingers someday. They annoy me every time I see them.

“Alright, I’ll announce the team selection results.”

The team selection was done through a written vote with our names, and Haechul was the only one who knew the results.

Honestly, there’s loyalty among the cast members, so didn’t they all choose me?

After checking the vote results, Haechul nodded with a satisfied expression.

“Everyone chose the same person.”

As soon as I heard that, I looked at Heosu and spoke loudly.

“See, I told you? I’m the…”

But soon after.

I couldn’t help but writhe in unbearable betrayal.

“All four chose Cerberus! Wow, that’s really unexpected.”

“This is rigged.”

“Excuse me?”

“This is all rigged! How could you all do this to me?”

They usually treat me so well, but they actually chose Heosu?

Even Haechul and Se-yeon, whom I trusted, chose Heosu?

I looked at them with resentful eyes.

But all the cast members avoided my gaze and started making excuses.

“Well, you teach games in a really Spartan way.”

“Honestly… Learning games from you is a bit…”

“People say you shouldn’t learn games from close ones. Even lovey-dovey couples break up when they play games together.”

Nonsense.

Well, I’ll let them be.

But why did Juhyun, who claims to be a fervent member of the Evil Gang, choose Heosu?

Just a while ago, she said she didn’t like Heosu.

If that’s the case, she shouldn’t have said anything.

“Juhyun.”

I couldn’t contain my curiosity and immediately asked Juhyun.

Then Juhyun looked at me with an embarrassed face.

“Yes, oppa.”

“Weren’t you bad-mouthing Heosu just a while ago?”

I couldn’t accept that Juhyun, of all people, chose Heosu.

However, the words that came out of Juhyun’s mouth next left me in shock.

“But… if I don’t do this… Chan-sik oppa, you won’t look at me.”

“Juhyun.”

“Yes.”

“Where did you learn that?”

That’s a joke used by some viewers, especially among a certain class known as ‘Otaku’.

Hearing such a cute and pretty girl use it felt quite different.

Maybe it’s because we live in a lookism society, but hearing a pretty girl use that joke made my heart skip a beat.

At my question, Juhyun tilted her head and said.

“From other viewers… I guess?”

I decided to give up analyzing Juhyun any further.

She was a character I couldn’t understand within my common sense.

Using that kind of language in real life or crossing the line is usually called ‘brain-dead’.

But even brain-dead jokes change significantly depending on the person using them. Just like Juhyun now.

I sighed deeply and shook my head.

Then I looked at Producer Sung and spoke.

“Producer, I’m not feeling well today, can I leave early?”

It felt like today was going to be a very long day.

4.

After many twists and turns, the team selection was completed.

Because everyone flocked to Heosu, the team members were decided by drawing lots, and two cast members joined my team.

“…Traitors.”

“Ha ha, we did it for the fun of the show, right?”

“That’s right.”

Juhyun and Haechul were decided to be on our team.

Bad people.

How much I had taken care of them!

Juhyun, who had just thrown a bomb at me with a joke, now hit me with a fact with an innocent look.

“But it feels really weird when you call us traitors.”

“What’s weird about it?”

“Um. It feels like being recognized by the original traitor’s specialty restaurant… I guess?”

“J-Juhyun.”

“Yes, Haechul oppa.”

“Can you please stop talking like that? Ugh!”

Haechul was horrified by Juhyun’s newly adopted ‘Otaku talk’.

It’s a manner of speaking that can’t be handled without a lot of tolerance.

Today’s broadcast seemed like it would become a legend in many ways.

Whether Juhyun knew it or not, she nodded with a bright face.

I looked at Juhyun, then quickly gave up and connected to the capsule.

Soon, familiar intro videos and system messages began to appear rapidly.

[Welcome to another world existing within the world, a world full of challenges and romance. Welcome to <Gaia Online Classic>!]

[Current version is Beta 1.3.]

[Beta version access permission granted. Tester 1, please select your starting faction and race.]

In <Gaia Online>, players could choose between two main factions.

The <Alliance> and the <Blood Pact>.

These two factions had different races available for selection.

Of course, the basic <Human> race was available to both.

But aside from that, the races differed for each faction.

I looked at the faction selection screen, which I hadn’t seen in a long time, and said without hesitation.

“Blood Pact, Human.”

[You have selected the <Blood Pact> faction and the <Human> race. Is this correct?]

I chose the same as I had in the past.

<Gaia Online> maintained its balance through numerous patches, but in its early days, the balance wasn’t that great.

Each race had different stats, and unique racial skills.

Although SD Corporation would likely have implemented basic balance patches before releasing the classic version, there was only one race that had been regarded as versatile from the beginning to the end.

Humans.

The common race that could be chosen by both <Alliance> and <Blood Pact>, known for their versatility.

Unlike other races that could only handle certain weapons, humans could essentially handle all weapons.

“Everyone, let’s choose humans.”

“Got it…”

“Yes, oppa.”

Since Haechul had experience with <Gaia Online>, there was no need to explain much to him.

The one I had to pay attention to today was Juhyun.

Following my lead, the two selected humans, and the tutorial process began.

[Starting the tutorial quest!]

[Survive the onslaught of wolves.]

“Ah, this quest hasn’t changed.”

I grinned at the familiar tutorial quest.

When the game first launched, the number of beginners who died here easily exceeded hundreds of thousands.

When calculating the total kills, the final boss <Apocalypse Dragon> ranked only third.

In contrast, the <Tutorial Wolves> ranked second.

To beginners unaccustomed to combat, they were practically grim reapers.

Before we knew it, we were transported to a mountain shrouded in darkness, with the sounds of wolves howling from all directions.

The sound was so realistic it was chilling.

Starting anew didn’t feel so bad.

Although I had played as <Shia> previously, not here.

I was starting from the same point as everyone else.

Should I play it leisurely, reminiscing the old memories?

“Hey, Chansik, is this the right spot?”

“…Hyung, what are you doing?”

“Isn’t this the national spot? A place to survive avoiding wolves.”

Haechul, who was by my side just moments ago, was now peeking out from between the trees behind me.

I sighed deeply as I looked at him.

“That’s a spot for one person.”

“Wasn’t this how you cleared this quest?”

“Haah.”

If you were soloing, you could clear it that way.

But now we were doing the tutorial quest as a party of three.

There was no way all three of us could fit into that small hideout.

Juhyun, who had been watching Haechul nonchalantly, threw a straightforward comment at him.

“Cheol-oppa. You’re being cringy.”

“What?”

“You’re being cringy.”

“…Ahem. This is how veterans do it. I always did it like this when leveling my secondary characters.”

Well, he wasn’t wrong.

It was a strategy that was popular in the early days and a hidden route to clear the tutorial quest smoothly.

But playing like that isn’t fun.

This game is fun when you break everything in sight.

“Hyung, our goal today is to determine the winner by speedrunning the tutorial quest, remember?”

The average time for the tutorial quest was five hours, but that was just the average.

With a well-planned route, it could be done in an hour.

I was a veteran in this game, but so was Heosu.

If we played safely like Haechul, we were likely to lose the race.

I stretched lightly while pulling out a rusty sword embedded in a nearby tree.

In the tutorial quest, the number of wolves that appeared was four per person.

Since there were three of us, twelve wolves would appear.

This wasn’t difficult.

“Just follow me and…”

But then it happened.

[Special collaboration between <Today’s Youth> and <Gaia Online Classic>!]

[A special tutorial quest has been triggered!]

[The quest <Regression> begins.]

An unexpected special event occurred, and soon unexpected enemies appeared around us.

“T-That!”

Juhyun stood there dumbfounded, just staring at the enemies, but Haechul, who recognized them, widened his eyes in horror.

I sighed deeply and nodded.

“Yes, it’s them.”

The number one in accumulated player kills in <Gaia Online>.

Squeak?

The field boss, the <Giant Horny Rabbit>, had appeared.

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