"Technically, streaming from New York isn’t impossible, but my schedule is pretty packed, so I can’t promise anything. Still, I’ll try to go live whenever I can for those waiting. Plus, there will be a small surprise on the day of departure."

"Ah, a surprise! I bet a lot of people are looking forward to that. So, lastly, could you share your aspirations for the final championship? Is that okay?"

"I’ll be aiming for at least a Top 5 trophy, whether it’s for me or my teammates."

"You mean that? It’d look great if we took first and second side-by-side."

"Feeling gutsy just because we’re flying out tomorrow, huh? Last I checked, you didn’t even get second in the scrims."

"Come on, how was I supposed to beat people who’ve been shooting and climbing mountains their whole lives with just three months of training! I only made it to the top ten occasionally because of skills!"

December 9th, 6 p.m. Darkness had already blanketed the outside.

As Mina and Dice lazed around my house, having an early dinner, a brief interview I did recently was playing on TV. More specifically, the two lounging on my couch had linked up to YourSpace and pulled up the video. How they manage to find these things so quickly, I’ll never understand.

They’ve been lounging around all day, chatting non-stop, mostly about me, of course. I feel a little guilty when I think about how I might have affected them… but hey, there’s always a past you have to let go of, no matter the choice you make.

"Eugene, you don’t have any clickbait videos on YourSpace. No matter how hard I search, nothing shows up."

"Probably because anyone who tried has already taken a nice, long sip of the Han River."

"True. They crossed all the lines you shouldn’t cross."

These two were going on about something unsettling.

With about ten hours left until my scheduled wake-up time, I mentally ran through tomorrow’s itinerary again. I’d get up at 4 a.m., have a leisurely shower, and hop onto the limo bus arriving at 6 a.m., reaching the airport by 7. From there, it’d be a short wait in the first-class lounge before flying out to JFK Airport at 9 a.m.

Although I planned to be in bed by 8 p.m., it wouldn’t matter too much if I went to bed later. I could always sleep on the plane.

"So, what time are you all planning to go to bed?"

"Late!"

"Midnight!"

"You rascals."

Asking people who’ve been sleeping at midnight until yesterday to suddenly go to bed four hours earlier is just ridiculous.

Of course, this applied to me as well. Last night, I was up until 2 a.m. trying to figure out which training exercises to start with once they adjusted to the time difference in the U.S. Trying to push bedtime earlier? That would be insane. Instead, I planned to chat with them until midnight and then call it a night.

After all, I’m only twenty-four—a young adult.

"So, Eugene, how’d you end up joining special forces?"

"If you’re curious, join and find out for yourself."

"I bet an alternate version of me on Earth-325 might’ve tried."

That’s as good as saying, "Not in this lifetime."

Of course, I wasn’t about to divulge anything. Besides, it wouldn’t have been possible even if I wanted to. That story was a joint concoction by the U.S. and South Korea. Although, like Dice said, if it were some alternate Earth-325, maybe I did end up in the U.S. through the MAVNI program.

Hypotheticals are fun to imagine. Who knows? Somewhere out there, there might be a version of me lying in bed, barely covered, with a blush on my face—okay, enough. Time to distract these two brats begging for stories.

Fortunately, I didn’t need to open my mouth.

"Eugene, I’m craving a snack. How about ice cream? It’d be perfect after pizza."

"I’ll order it then! I’ll pay this time, so let’s get the biggest size. We can stash any leftovers in the freezer."

"Cold stuff before bed will mess with your stomach."

I felt like a babysitter again, but at this point, I’ve gotten used to it.

The bigger problem was how casually they kept reaching for my tail.

"Ah, so refreshing."

"Looks like I won’t need a pillow. This is enough for a good night’s sleep."

"If Eugene sleeps on the far right, I think both of us would be happy."

"Keep it down, or I’ll make you both sleep in the foyer."

These tail-obsessed freaks.

The ice cream arrived quickly, and we all started digging in, washing away the greasy taste of pizza. As we ate, the conversation continued.

"Why not start streaming now? I saw people all over the internet getting hyped about this surprise. You’ll barely be able to see anything at five in the morning."

"Guess I’ll have to dress up a bit, then."

"We’re all in pajamas. It’s no big deal."

"I suppose…."

Since my identity reveal was set for today, I didn’t need to be too formal. I called over the hovering drone that had been collecting dust on its charging dock. I didn’t bother with the holographic projector that could layer an avatar over me.

One, two, three—after a deep breath, I activated the drone cam and linked it to Trickey. As the red light blinked on in the upper-right corner, I saw the viewer count at the bottom rocket past 150,000, almost surreal.

And of course—

—Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! —Harmony, Dice, and Eugene all streaming together? LOL. —Kind of a weak surprise, honestly. —Hold up, let’s see what he says, you impatient bastards lol. —The impatient ones are out in full force lolololol.

They didn’t seem to realize what was different yet.

Dice and Harmony also had puzzled looks. No one was reacting the way I’d anticipated, which meant the groundwork I’d laid with the projector had done its job.

Basically, all the viewers were completely mistaken—they still thought they were looking at my avatar, not the real me.

No need to correct them just yet.

"Good evening, everyone. Just thought I’d chat a bit before bedtime. I’ll reveal the surprise you’ve all been waiting for before the stream ends, so please stick around."

Many were disappointed, but what could I do? As the numbers grew from 150,000 to 200,000 to 250,000, holding back the tide was impossible.

As the ice cream tub sat between us, we suddenly found ourselves in an impromptu QnA session, with donations flowing in as questions.

Q: Are you confident about the final championship?

"I wouldn’t say I’m brimming with confidence, but I’ve come this far, so I’ll give it my all. The embargo on the scrim results was lifted today, so I can show you a few highlights."

Several charts appeared on the screen.

Of course, most of them showed the Korean team’s rankings, excluding me. Across many matches, the average lowest ranking hovered around the twenties, with the top staying within the top ten.

On the side, I also displayed last year’s scrim data, with the wildly inconsistent ranks swinging between 20th and 80th places. Just looking at it made me dizzy.

Dice, being one of those listed, turned bright red.

"Why are you showing all that!?"

"Admitting to past mistakes is a step towards future growth… ack."

Dice, in a desperate attempt to erase his embarrassing history, waved his hand and dumped the ranking data into the trash bin.

Regardless, Dice’s ranking had seen the most improvement. Explaining why would be redundant at this point.

In short, last year’s Dice couldn’t even average a meaningful rank. But this year, his average rank was a solid 11th. In the lead-up to the finals, where the top 20% of scrim results are considered elite, consistently landing around 11th was a testament to his skill.

The reaction was an absolute riot.

—????????????????? —Did you grab someone else’s scores by mistake? —How did you transform Dice into this monster, you madman?! lololololololol. —Shock: China is stunned, Japan is in awe, and America reaches out to shake hands. —Looks like there’s nothing to worry about this year lol.

The dramatic results were hard to believe.

If I know the internet, within 30 seconds, posts would start circulating, and within five to ten minutes, a detailed analysis would pop up in the info section.

In short, it wouldn’t take long for the scrim results to spread. Not just for Dice, but for Ink, Mikael, Gambit, and even my own data.

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that my average rank this year was solidly within the Top 3, with Logan as my biggest rival for the top spot.

"…In any case, I’m confident all Korean representatives will achieve results we can be proud of this year."

That was the most I could promise without overstepping.

We continued chatting, making the most of the live session. With so many shared interests, it was easy to keep the conversation going. Even when we had nothing left to say, the viewers kept throwing out topics.

Time passed, and the end of the day crept closer. It was now heading towards 11 p.m., meaning I’d only get about five hours of sleep. But with plenty of time to rest tomorrow, I wasn’t too concerned.

As the stream neared its end, the chat was in an uproar.

I exchanged glances with Dice and Harmony, then spoke up.

"…Time to wrap things up. I have to get up at 4 a.m. tomorrow, so the stream will likely start around 5 and go until I board. I’ll show you the first-class lounge, so I hope you enjoy it."

—Eugene, quit stalling and drop the surprise already!!! —You didn’t bring in hundreds of thousands just to end like this, right? How are we supposed to wait until dawn?! —Dear god, please. —Is he trolling us?! Just end it already! —Don’t make me go running to Logan!

The chat was growing hostile, but I maintained a calm tone.

"Well then, I’ll finally reveal the surprise you’ve all been waiting for."

Rustling.

I stood up and walked to the corner of the room with the drone cam.

There, attached to the ceiling, was the avatar projector. Clearly, it hadn’t been used in a while, with the power cord unplugged and a thin layer of dust over it.

In a flash, the chat was flooded with question marks, moving too fast to read.

"Some of you might have figured it out by now. So… starting from the dawn broadcast, you won’t be seeing streamer Eugene, but Eugene the Emergent."

And with that, good night.

The broadcast ended—

—[Streamer ‘Eugene’ // OFFLINE]

—[Current Waiting Viewers: 415,616]

"…What was that all about, really?"

"Don’t ask me."

They’d just witnessed one of the most shocking moments in streaming history.

• [General] LOLLLLLLLLLLL

• [Image]

 

Knew it LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

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—Ahhhhhhhhhhhh LOLLLLLLLLLLLLL

—This crazy bastard straight up lied to us LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

—Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!

—Tens of thousands of us got hoodwinked LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

—This is practically a scam, you psycho!

—FACT: Eugene’s avatar reveal was first seen in an unboxing video months ago —Holy crap LOLLLLLLLLLLLLL —He was planning this from the start LOLLLLLLLLLLLLL

—Reality’s snake-tail goddess is real LOLLLLLLLLLLLLL

—Does this mean everything he showed us is actually possible?

—Alarm set, sleeping like a rock LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL