It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

『Author: CravingWarmAmericano(👑)』

『Title: I miss you all』

『Hello,

How is everyone doing?

It has been 30 hours since I started reflecting on my actions due to various controversies.

They say self-reflection should last for six months. Thinking that only 5 months, 28 days, and 18 hours are left gives me some strength. Time really flies, don’t you think? The memories of enjoying music with you all while playing the ocarina are still so vivid, as if they happened just yesterday, yet time has passed by so fast.

The weather is getting quite cold these days. Please stay healthy until the day we can see each other again.

Thank you.

Sincerely, CravingWarmAmericano』

– Hey, you crazy b*tch

– You’re not even on FanTube, so why 6 months?

– Ah

– Is she doing this on purpose?

– ㄴ Yeah, she’s GetDevoured, and she’s definitely doing it on purpose

– ㄴㄴ GetDevoured uses that kind of tone

– ㄴㄴ Thinking it might actually be her alt account pisses me off so much

– It was only yesterday, but feels like it was just the day before, you fool……

– Seriously, you’re being overwhelmed by water; just row the boat!!!

– ㄴ When overwhelmed by water, she sets fires

– ㄴㄴ ‘There’s so much water, it should be safe to start a fire.’

– ㄴㄴ Ugh a aaaah

– So when’s the next broadcast?

– ㄴ She said she is sticking to the 6 months, damn it

– ㄴㄴ Why are you cursing at me……ㅠㅠ

– ㄴㄴ Sorry……

– ㄴㄴ Boo hoo, trash

* * * *

– Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

The sound pierced through my head like a sharp needle, which felt like it was filled with soaking wet cotton.

Morning… It should be morning. I couldn’t quite remember what time I had set the alarm for.

I barely managed to lift my heavy eyelids. The bright sunlight pierced through, cutting sharply through the hazy thoughts floating and swirling in my mind—it was indeed morning.

Though it wasn’t a particularly refreshing one.

I remembered hearing that if you have a bad hangover from wine, it’s because it’s sweet and you drink a lot of it. Considering how much I had drunk last night and my current state, that seemed about right.

The sight of wine bottles in my peripheral vision seemed to amplify my suffering. Maybe it was because it pricked my guilty conscience. Perhaps I had a peculiar constitution with my conscience residing somewhere near my stomach.

I was tired.

Lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, the patterns seemed to move slightly… I guess I did drink too much.

Could it have been the lingering alcohol in my system? Or perhaps it was the dream I had just before waking up.

Nothing seemed real.

… What kind of dream was it?

I tried to recall the fading memory that was slipping away in real-time – just like dreams often do – but couldn’t grasp it. It felt like trying to catch the breath already exhaled, only for it to scatter into thin air.

Why did it leave me with this lethargic feeling of sinking, laziness, despite disappearing so easily? If it was going to vanish, it would be better if it all disappeared together.

I wanted to stretch my stiff body but didn’t even have the energy for that.

Maybe I should just sleep a bit more, I thought, cuddling the blanket and rolling over, when an unpleasant dampness made itself known… Had I left the boiler on too high?

No, it was actually quite chilly.

Maybe it wasn’t due to the temperature. Lately, I’ve been waking up in cold sweats night after night.

Should I perhaps buy some pajamas? Easier to wash than blankets. Maybe it’s time to change the habit of sleeping in my underwear.

Yeah.

Habits…

Need to change.

Habits that don’t fit… Yes.

Life is all about adaptation.

.

.

.

I finally got out of bed several hours after the first alarm went off. I didn’t even realize when I fell back asleep. By the time I woke up again, the blanket had dried.

Perhaps because of that, I managed to gather enough energy to throw my heavy body out of the house and to a nearby restaurant.

“Sullungtang is here.”

I nodded politely and picked up my spoon. The soft aroma of the broth hit my nose… I already felt like it was healing me.

I hadn’t been able to eat sundae soup in months because the meat smell was too overpowering. Thankfully, sullungtang was fine.

If I hadn’t been able to eat any kind of broth-based dish, I might have actually cried.

I added a pinch of salt and a generous amount of green onions, then carefully scooped half of my rice into the stone pot. After meticulous preparation, I took a big spoonful of the steaming broth, and as it filled my mouth it felt like it permeated my entire body—

Yes.

Should I have a drink?

“Excuse me…one bottle of soju, please.”

“Sure~ What kind would you like?”

“Do you have the red one?”

“Yes~ I’ll bring it out.”

-Kadeudeuk***

-Zzorrheuk***

Holding the glass filled to the brim with the clear liquor, I decided to browse the community a bit. First stop, weTogether. The announcement had…300 comments attached.

Wait, with the plus next to it…that had to mean over 300. The response was hotter than expected.

It might be too much to read them all now.

“I’ll watch it later.”

Putting off such a small task for a moment, I connected to other KoK communities. As expected, the atmosphere was noticeably more vibrant than usual.

People were ecstatic about the Korean team’s victory at Worlds. Some were moved by the stories of Orthodox and GP. And… there were even those discussing Rogue builds.

There were questions and opinions about Rogues filling both this bulletin board and that one. It was a surprising level of interest. It felt as if there was no longer any need to search for Rogues as a keyword…

Times had really changed.

I hit the dislike button on a post that expressed it wanted to kill all the people experimenting with Rogues in ranked games, and continued eating leisurely.

It was a simple task. I left kind replies to questions asking about the 2-Underground Rogue build, recommended good posts someone else had written, and left dislikes and reports for unfair slanders.

I mechanically repeated the action of taking a big spoonful of rice mixed with broth and putting it into my mouth every time I read a post.

When I noticed the insufficient weight of the spoon, I checked the bowl and saw that there was nothing left in the light-colored broth anymore.

… Was I too focused? I didn’t balance it well.

I glanced at the still-full clear glass and the almost-empty soju bottle, with just one glass worth left.

It felt too wasteful. It was purchased with precious donation money. Shouldn’t I avoid wasting the members’ goodwill? These thoughts started to cautiously circle in my slightly clearer head.

However, perhaps because I was still feeling the hangover. Until I stood up from my seat, my hand didn’t reach for the soju glass.

* * * *

Two days before the end of KoK’s first season. In other words, the end times. As is often the case when a period comes to an end, these chaotic days seemed like the limits of anger and greed had been lifted.

The last chance to stamp oneself onto even a slightly higher tier. During this time, it was hard to find anyone not serious about ranked games. Even the most casual players didn’t want to be looked down upon for their skills.

The phrase “I am from season 1 xx” needed at least a slightly higher tier insert to save face.

Of course, there were also those who did their best to lower the tier of their teammates—

However, after Faraday Games announced that they would be awarding a special surprise gift to users who achieved Platinum or higher tier, the numbers of such players noticeably decreased.

No one knew what the gift was, but surely, it was worth getting.

However, if there was one problem, it was the recent World Series finals.

Just a few days before the end of an era. At that precise moment, the laws of the world had changed.

『Author: ㅇㅇ』

『Title: Looking for Duo to Reach Platinum as Rogue』

『(Match history screenshot)

A Knight who has mastered shield support is waiting

Looking for someone who has played at least 50 games as a Rogue』

– Who’s out there?

– If they’ve played over 50 games, they were probably already playing as a Rogue, better avoid them.

– No matter how sweet a 2-Underground Rogue duo is, why would a guy carry a huge shield?

– ㄴ Whether he’s carrying useless junk or gold vs. Removing it neatly and going Platinum

– Add Ehwjrehwjr11 as friend

– ㄴ ㅇLOL

『Author: ㅇㅇ』

『Title: “Damn It, stop Playing Rogue”』

『Really want to find all the jerks first playing Rogue in ranked games and break their fingers one by one. Shamelessly shouting, ‘Need help 2-Underground?’ It’s so damn annoying. If you play that trash tier, you’ll be gone before you can even talk. Running to open chests while waving your dagger around. Seriously, my blood pressure.』

– “Yup~ Now 2-Underground Rogue is the standard~”

– “Address?”

– “Too many Rogue users now.”

– “For sure.”

– “And they’re so damn confident, makes me even angrier.”

– “Seriously, please play Rogue in casual games.”

『Author: Anonymous』

『Title: “Wow, even LeRay is playing Rogue LOL”』

『Wasn’t he like the representative Rogue hater?』

– “He’s got to hit Challenger.”

Suddenly unveiled, the new meta’s strength was being proven from high tiers. In the Master to Challenger queues shown by various broadcasters, over 40% of the games already featured some form of 2-Underground or Rogue.

It was only natural for people hungry for higher tiers to notice and adopt these changes, but—

『Author: Silver (True)』

—

『Title: “Our team’s Rogue vs. the enemy team’s Rogue”』

『(Video)

Why is this happening to me…

Lost three games in a row because of our useless Rogue. Lost two more because of the enemy’s Rogue. Is wanting to hit Platinum such a crime?』

– “Only Gold and above can see the comments.”

– “Only Gold and above can see the comments.”

– “Only Gold and above can see the comments.”

– “Dammit.”

– “Rogue performance variance is too wide.”

– “For real, I hate GP.”

In fact, the win rate for Rogues used by players from Gold tier to Platinum tier was plummeting. The strategy was not something that inexperienced players could handle without proper mastery and game understanding.

As a result, the chaos only intensified. The sharp conflicts between those insisting that playing 2-Underground with a Rogue was essential for winning and those screaming to stop playing what they didn’t know how to handle suddenly flared up in nearly every game.

And with only a few minutes given for the draft phase, solving all these disputes through discussion was impossible.

It was a time when people were giving up on climbing by skill alone, and forums were cluttered with posts like ‘What’s the current going rate for boosting to Platinum?’

『』CravingWarmAmericano is now live!”』

『”Rogue Revival Movement – 👨‍🏫 🙂 👨‍🎓 🎉.”』

The live broadcast of the most notable Rogue player recently started, accompanied by a title that was hard to understand easily.

TL’s Corner:

*Sullungtang: A traditional Korean beef bone soup.

**Sundae soup: A Korean blood sausage soup.