The Villain is Too Good at Broadcasting

Knowing your opponent’s skill combo in battle is almost like having a cheat code.

When I played <Gaia Online>, I prided myself on having the ultimate skill combo that could completely crush anyone who came my way.

A few players who were confident in their physical abilities analyzed me thoroughly, but it was essentially meaningless.

Whenever they thought my attacks wouldn’t work, I’d immediately mix in irregular skills between my combos.

I didn’t know how they managed to incorporate <Gaia Online> skills here, but the specter <Shia> was almost a perfect copy of my former self.

As I continued to block the attacks, the specter’s right shoulder twitched.

When the right shoulder twitches—

BOOM!

—it means they’re casting the area skill <Earth Slam>.

<Gaia Online> had a system where skills were cast through actions, so each user had different poses to activate their skills.

In my case, I didn’t pursue flashy movements like other players.

I focused solely on practicality.

I had developed motions so subtle that they were almost unnoticeable unless observed very closely, and I had refined my own moves through dozens of training sessions.

And that specter was naturally using those exact moves.

I quickly rolled backward to get out of <Earth Slam>’s range.

– How did you dodge that? ㄷㄷ

– Didn’t our Evil Gang say he used to play Gaia Online? Seems like he’s fought Shia before.

– If he was that good, he must’ve been a named player. If that were the case, he would’ve promoted it openly when he debuted on Twipod.

– Yep, and he probably knew Kan.

– True, Kan’s Twipod president content was about Gaia Online.

Regardless of the viewers’ excited chatter, a smile crept onto my face without me realizing it.

“This is fun.”

I hadn’t felt this way about a game in a long time.

Just blocking the opponent’s attacks was exhilarating.

When the specter saw me perfectly deflecting its attacks, it paused briefly, then raised its right arm high.

Then it started beckoning at me with its right index finger.

……This arrogant bastard.

In truth, that was also one of my old habits.

It was a gesture I used to taunt players who managed to withstand a few of my attacks.

It was almost like my signature move.

Did they really replicate even that detail?

When I first logged into the game, I thought they had just copied my look.

But these crazy developers had actually created <Shia>.

‘Gamer Lee Nak-joon’ donated 1,000 won!

[No, you can’t beat that. How are you going to manage without special abilities? Just die quickly and proceed with the tutorialㅠㅠ That’s not something you’re supposed to beat.]

“Die for just a 1,000 won donation? Not a chance. Dong-su hyung put a million won on the line.”

Besides, this was a matter of pride, not money.

The specter <Shia> wasn’t without weaknesses.

It looked flawless due to its dazzling skills and relentless combos, but there was one blind spot that only I knew about.

I wasn’t about to give up when I knew that.

While I was quickly formulating a strategy in my mind, the specter’s attack, which had momentarily subsided, resumed.

Saaaaaaa.

Smoke rose from the specter’s leg guards. Soon, the smoke engulfed the specter’s entire body at a fierce speed, and my body began to shake violently.

Wind.

Winds so strong that it was difficult to stand were sweeping through this space.

Several viewers recognized the skill and cheered.

– Wow! Twister!

– What’s Twister?

– FYI) Twister is one of Shia’s unique skills in Gaia Online. It was said to be a technique obtained by capturing the Wind Dragon. When the skill is activated, multiple tornadoes appear around. Shia hides in the tornadoes while attacking the enemy.

– You still remember that?

– Lol, I copied it from Kkummu Wiki, sorry.

– Let’s leave the good long-post dude alone.

– Agreed, he’s a good long-post dude.

Among the skills I had, Twister was definitely the most visually impressive.

Just as the viewer explained, as soon as the tornadoes appeared, the specter vanished.

The tornadoes made it almost impossible to keep my eyes open.

There were a total of five tornadoes.

I couldn’t tell where the specter was hiding.

But I gritted my teeth and thrust my sword precisely towards the tornado on the right.

Soon, I heard a chilling sound of flesh being pierced.

Puuuuk.

Something was hit by the tip of my sword.

However, a sword reflexively shot out from the tornado and pierced my chest.

Thanks to twisting my body at the last moment, I avoided instant death, but the health gauge floating beside my eye plummeted.

“Arghhhhh!”

The attack was successful.

The tornadoes that had formed quickly dissipated as swiftly as they had appeared.

In the place where the tornadoes disappeared stood the specter, with its neck impaled by my sword, staring blankly.

Simultaneously, a bizarrely distorted message window appeared before my eyes.

[Unknown?? Error? Occu[email protected]$%red]

[#@$%^#@$!]

[Item ‘Sword Infused with Specter’s Blood’ has been created!]

[Unexpected?#@$%%Quest#@$occ#@$urred]

– Is this a bugged game?

– Lol, indie game level.

– Did the game die because the specter died?

– ???

– What’s this, the game isn’t over. Look at the specter.

It didn’t end with the bizarre message window.

The specter, which had been screaming, soon removed the black helmet it was wearing with its own hands, revealing its bare face.

I couldn’t help but hold my breath when I saw that face.

Back when I was a student, I had put in so much effort to create that face.

When I first started <Gaia Online>, all I wanted was to escape my dreary daily life.

I wanted to become an entirely new person.

So, I changed my voice and paid a lot of attention to my appearance.

I had spent so much time creating an image that I admired.

Suddenly, that memory flashed before my eyes.

As I was momentarily dazed, an unbelievable thing happened again near my ear.

“You’re pretty good at this game, huh? Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve had the pleasure of killing someone. Come on in, you worm. Killing worms is my hobby, but you’re a worm that’s good at it, so this should be fun.”

As I stood there dumbfounded, another donation from the game developer echoed.

‘Gamer Lee Nak-joon’ donated 10,000 won!

[Ahㅠㅠㅠ reallyㅠㅠㅠ I was going to reveal that content later when the game got popularㅠㅠ this is too much.]

This really looked like a perfect replica of <Shia>.

As I stared at him with wide eyes, <Shia> spat at me and spoke.

“What are you gawking at, you worm? Didn’t I tell you to come in first? You suck at this game so much, I’m giving you the first move. Don’t you understand?”

……Ah.

I used to be much wilder back then.

6.

– Looking at it like this, that Shia character kind of overlaps with our Evil Gang’s imageㅋㅋ.

– Both are really good at games and swear like a sailor.

– Lately, our Evil Gang has toned down the industry rewards, but now he’s getting rewarded like this.

– That guy must have been quite the villain too.

– He’s the scumbag who backstabbed everyone during a legendary raid in Korean gaming history and deleted his characterㅇㅇ complete trash.

– Legendary villainㅋㅋ.

– But looking at it now, it’s really nostalgic. What’s that character’s owner doing now? If he had been a pro gamer or streamer, he’d be raking in moneyㅋㅋ.

“What are you thinking about? You idiot?”

The battle with <Shia> resumed immediately.

Was this content prepared by the game developer from the start?

My sword, which had been an ordinary longsword, was now infused with red smoke.

Thanks to that, it was much easier to block attacks than before.

I hadn’t checked the sword’s information yet, but at least I wasn’t outmatched in terms of specs anymore.

That didn’t mean the battle had become any easier.

<Shia>, having shed the guise of a specter, started a full-scale attack.

I knew <Shia>’s combat style better than anyone else.

“How did you kill the specter with such poor skills? I could beat you with one hand tied behind my back. Are you an old geezer? Should I confiscate your dentures?”

Every time he swung his sword, he mouthed off.

Even that was just like me in my prime.

It was no wonder the viewers were comparing us.

My habit of trash-talking while gaming was formed during that time.

I smiled as I smoothly deflected his sword aimed at my vital points.

Indeed, my physical abilities back then were better than they are now.

My reaction time and decision-making speed were much faster.

My physical abilities must have improved significantly after serving in the military.

When <Shia> saw me consistently blocking his attacks, he immediately used an irregular skill.

While swinging his sword, he suddenly tried to shoulder-charge me.

Skill <Iron Mountain Press>.

If it hit directly, it would cause a one-second stun, a simple but effective and powerful skill.

Moreover, it was so fast that most people couldn’t react to it.

However, as if I had been waiting for it, I countered his shoulder with mine, instantly nullifying the skill.

Then <Shia> widened his eyes and stared at me.

“What the—? How did you know about this?”

As I looked at <Shia>, who was retreating in surprise, a thought crossed my mind.

I could kill him.

If I targeted that <weakness>, I could definitely kill him.

– But he knows the skills so well… Didn’t everyone die without seeing those skills?

– If you’re talking about Gaia Online, yeah, even rankers couldn’t handle him.

– Isn’t this kind of weird?

– Heyㅋㅋ isn’t our Evil Gang actually Shia?

– Sha. Shia. The nicknames are really similar.

– If he were really Shia, would he have used the nickname Sha? Think if you have a brain.

However, the chat was already buzzing with discussions about the similarities between me and <Shia>.

If I completely killed <Shia> here, it would only add fuel to the already spreading controversy.

What should I do?

Should I just die here and explain that I’m not <Shia>?

If I do explain, how much should I reveal?

……No matter how much I thought about it, it was a difficult decision to make.

“Hey.”

But then.

<Shia>, who had been attacking fiercely, frowned deeply as he looked at me.

He gritted his teeth and spoke.

“You’re not even a coward, you’re just scared. Are you an idiot? Are you so scared that you can’t even attack once?”

Was that dialogue pre-programmed too?

Even though it was just part of the program, why did it make my heart sink?

I held my breath as I looked at <Shia>.

<Shia> smirked as he thrust his sword towards my vital point.

“You’ll never kill me even if you die and come back to life. So just shut up and die. If you keep being scared like this, you’ll be a worm forever.”

Why did those words bother me so much?

Soon, <Shia> began his final skill combo.

A flashy skill combo as if to boast the end of the battle.

Those combos, which were linked with numerous skills, were the ones I used as a finisher whenever I was confident of victory.

And it was also the combo that had the ‘weakness’ I knew about.

<Shia> began his combo regardless of my hesitation.

BOOM!

The combo started with a stomp on the ground.

Almost instinctively, I blocked those combos and thought in my head.

And finally, I nodded internally as I made a decision.

I had to choose.

No, it was something I would have had to choose eventually.

Either defend myself with excuses or admit it.

It was a moment of choice that had been predestined ever since I reappeared in public.

It was just that the moment I had been trying to delay had finally come.

Whoosh!

<Shia>’s sword slashed my thigh, causing me to lose my balance.

And he didn’t miss the chance to stab his sword at my neck.

“This is the end, you worm…”

Thunk.

“……Shit?”

The moment I stabbed my sword into <Shia>’s neck, his left chest was fully exposed.

The only weak spot I remembered.

It was a weak point I had accidentally discovered while watching my old combat videos.

I made my decision.

I thrust my sword into <Shia>’s chest, and <Shia> smirked as he looked at me.

“What’s this? So, you weren’t a coward after all?”

That was the end.

Soon, <Shia>’s body collapsed to the ground.

At that moment, a series of flashy message windows appeared before my eyes.

[The worst villain in <Gaia Online>! <Shia> has been defeated!]

[We commend you for this unbelievable achievement.]

[Special weapon <Spectral Sword> unlocked…]

Ignoring the endless message windows popping up before me, I took a deep breath.

Then I slowly began to speak.

“Hold on. I’m feeling really off, maybe because I was too focused.”

-???

-End of broadcast?

-Hey, are you crazy?

-Don’t say something that doesn’t make sense.

-He’s making a run for it.

The chat was exploding with messages.

But right now, that wasn’t important.

After abruptly ending the broadcast, I got out of the capsule. The first thing I saw was the startled faces of the staff, but I didn’t care.

I picked up my smartphone and made a call.

Soon, a familiar voice came from the other end.

-Hey! Chan-sik, what’s up? I was just about to send you a mission fund, but you suddenly ended the broadcast? Are you not feeling well?

It was Dong-su hyung’s voice.

Taking a deep breath at his voice, I spoke quietly.

“Hyung, where are you right now? I have something to tell you.”

Everything has an order.

After a moment of silence, Dong-su hyung answered in a slightly subdued voice.

-I’m at the Twipod booth.

“I’ll come over there.”

It was time to fully face my choices.

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