The era of great streamers has truly arrived.

Full-dive action VR MMORPGs.
Streaming to a global audience.
Technology has advanced so much that even the language barrier has been conquered, and the market, which had been growing since the early 21st century, has finally reached its golden age.

Now, being good at a game—more specifically, Infinity Black—was as valuable as being good at academics.
When your cousin proudly flashed their Seoul National University student ID in front of relatives during the holidays, proving your game rank would earn you the same applause.
If you managed to join a famous siege guild, you could walk shoulder to shoulder with the elites of major corporations.

Having trouble absorbing information from textbooks no matter how much you read?
If you can't raise your grades, at least raise your rank!
And if you can't even do that, go out farming!

Every top-tier player aspired to become either a streamer or a professional gamer.
Because it paid. It was the path to immense wealth and fame!
Being good at games and yet refusing to join either side was simply inconceivable.

In that sense, there was one figure in Infinity Black’s upper echelon who was utterly incomprehensible.

“Ah, thank you for the donation, ‘FarmAlreadyBun.’ I was planning to focus on farming for a while anyway. The next season isn’t far off, so I need to be well-prepared. Everyone's probably busy right now, right?”
“Huh? Bun, didn’t you see a white dot on the minimap just now? Or was that my imagination?”
“A white dot? I didn’t see anything… But we’re not at war with any guilds at the moment, so it’s probably fine. Who would pick a fight now?”

Just as he was about to brush off his party member's voice, a sense of unease crept into Bun's mind.

On second thought, there was someone.

Someone odd enough not to care about the shifting power dynamics of the next season, someone who would pick a fight anyway.
A notorious sniper that every top streamer encountered at least once—an assassin player who relished field PKs, ranked game sniping, and even teabagging.
Their username was ‘Gawol.’

Sure enough, his worst fears were coming true.
Barely a few seconds after spotting the ‘white dot,’ the party’s archer, who had been a little ways away, was killed without even a chance to scream.

[Your party member ‘DrunkRecon’ was killed by an unknown adventurer.]

With the ranged DPS down, the next victim was obvious.
An assassin appeared out of nowhere amidst the party, their blade flashing faintly.

The sight sent a chill down Bun’s spine.

Silver hair peeked out from beneath a black hood, and a dull longsword gleamed in their hand.
Their small stature and low stance made their gaze, looking up from below, cold as ice.
In a swift motion, the assassin stabbed the mage’s heart, slit their throat, and kicked the body aside.

Even as Bun felt a rising frustration at the unfairness of it all, he couldn’t help but admire the assassin’s clean precision.
Infinity Black had a death penalty system, and the person who had last penalized Bun was now standing right in front of him: Gawol.

“Why… Why me again! I just died not too long ago!”

But it was no use. The assassin had no intention of halting their blade.
If things continued as they were, Bun would die again. He had to resist, at least try to do something.
Shield in hand, Bun charged forward.

It was futile.
Gawol leapt effortlessly out of the way and drove a dagger into the gap in Bun’s armor.
Though the knight’s sturdy frame could withstand the blow, the brief stagger was enough to seal his fate.

In an instant, the assassin’s blade was at the back of Bun’s neck.
Their voice, altered through a voice changer, sounded like they were mocking him.

“Just because. You were nearby. And it seems like you’re making a lot of money these days.”
“The money thing… that’s just because you’re not earning any…”

Thud.
Bun’s screen went black.
The last thing he saw was the chat, exploding with messages.

[Post by: Anonymous (423.62)]
[Title: The most incomprehensible bastard in this game.jpg]

That bastard is none other than Gawol.

They killed Bun the moment his stream started today. What the hell is their problem?
It just doesn’t make any sense.

They started out with a sniper gimmick against streamers, then went quiet, and they’re not even trying to go pro.
There wasn’t even some big incident, so why the hell do they go so hard after streamers and pro gamers?
Is this just a pointless vendetta from some psycho?

With that kind of skill, they should’ve gone pro, damn it.

[Comments]

• That sniper bastard’s "skill," my ass.
  └ Is that why your master keeps getting decapitated by Gawol?
• Solo queue and pro scenes aren’t the same.
  └ Gawol turned down all the pro offers.
  └ Remember when Coach Kang Sung-jin talked about failing to recruit them?
• If they were more devious, at least it’d make sense, but they just seem like an idiot.
• When they rejected the pro scene, they said something was wrong with them, didn’t they?
  └ So why don’t they stream either?
  └ Just because you’re good at games doesn’t mean you’re good at streaming.
  └ Rumor has it Gawol’s a girl, and in that rank bracket, just being a girl makes you famous.
  └ I play an assassin too, but I’d love to watch Gawol’s first-person gameplay even just once.

[Infinity Black has been terminated.]
[Thank you for playing, Gawol.]

The loud whirring of the cooler slowed to a halt, letting out a deflated sigh.

It was the sound I hated most.
The sound of reality creeping back in after the game ended.
It felt like being handed a debt contract as a debtor.

Now it was time to pay for the sweet dream I had indulged in the game.
From the assassin ‘Gawol,’ I was back to being ‘Han Da-eun,’ a pitiful, debt-ridden weakling.

“Ramen… Why don’t I have any ramen left? Oh, I guess the last one was from the other day.”

My body drained of energy as I slumped onto the bed, searching for my phone.
The bed and pillows were a mess, making it hard to spot anything, and when I groped under the pillows, I couldn’t find my phone.
It must’ve fallen into the gap between the bed and the wall.

Found it.

The ramen I’d pre-ordered wouldn’t arrive today.
It was supposed to arrive by Thursday, but at some point, the delivery date had been pushed to Friday.

So much for this being the best logistics company in the country.
If I starve to death today, the official cause of death will be delayed delivery.
They should be ready—my room’s covered in dust, so I won’t even need to bleed to leave a dying message.

“Ugh… Is there anything else? Anything else to eat?”

Of course not.

My entire world was this dark, cramped room, and I’d been living like this for a long time.
In other words, I knew the state of my food supply all too well.
Opening the fridge in the faint hope of finding something only greeted me with cheap bottled water and soda.

Maybe I’ll drink something just to stave off the hunger for now.
I’m starving, and a bit of sweetness in my mouth might at least lift my mood.

Why are humans designed to need food to function?
I sipped some cola to fill the void, but my body still demanded a proper meal.
It was inevitable. I always pushed myself to the limit while gaming, only leaving when I couldn’t stand it anymore.
Being in the real world meant my body had reached its breaking point.

Ordering delivery was out of the question.
My wallet situation didn’t even allow me to dream of that. As dreadful as it was, my only option was to make a trip to the convenience store.
My empty stomach growled in protest.

“Okay, okay, I’ll go. Just give me a minute to mentally prepare.”

For me, going outside required a lot of courage.

One hand gripped the railing, the other holding the crutch.
The crutch went down the stairs before me, and I could only follow once it was steady enough to bear my weight.
First, I had to send down my bad leg, followed by my good leg stepping onto the next stair.

It was a process that demanded complete concentration.
My muscles were almost non-existent, and even holding onto the crutches was exhausting.
To make things worse, the motion-sensor light kept flickering off, and until I waved my hand or crutch to turn it back on, the path ahead was a pitch-black void.

Yes, I had a disability.
A disability that prevented me from standing in this world on both feet.
Using my left foot like everyone else was a privilege I was not granted—and if I broke that sacred rule, unbearable pain would descend upon me like divine punishment.

Moreover, the apartment I lived in was on the third floor, and it didn’t even have an elevator.
That was just another thing I had no control over. Korea was filled with countless apartments, but the only thing I was allowed was this old, decrepit building.

If I misstepped right now, a terrible disaster would certainly occur.
I’d end up screaming in agony, “Kyaaah, kyaaah!”
The sound would echo throughout the stairwell, and everyone in the neighborhood would witness the pitiful sight of a cripple struggling to make it down the stairs, sobbing.

So, I had to go slow, even if it took longer. I had to move safely.
The path to the convenience store felt like slogging through a sticky swamp.
But what I truly hated wasn’t this broken body.

“Welcome.”

As I opened the door to the convenience store, the male cashier greeted me dryly.

_____________

TL Corner: Gawol (In-game persona): The protagonist, originally meant to be named "Sawol" (April), but due to a typo, is now "Gawol." This persona is known for ruthlessly killing prominent streamers and pro gamers in Infinity Black. Gawol is often misunderstood and loathed in the gaming community.