Chapter 193

Seven games, seven consecutive wins.

Various veteran players formed teams and joined, but with each game, our team’s coordination became more perfect.

It didn’t take long for the raid members, who were more accustomed to this type of cooperation than anyone else, to regain their touch.

Although there were some minor mistakes in the second game, the raid members, fueled by capitalist adrenaline, quickly pressured the enemies by demonstrating their former skills.

Individual skills?

Game experience?

None of that mattered.

No matter how experienced the opponents were, they couldn’t gain momentum against our thorough team play.

The tanks’ shields became stronger, the dealers’ attacks became fiercer, and the medics didn’t allow any serious injuries.

By the time all the games scheduled for today were over, the chat window was filled with rare praises.

-This is what real team play looks like…

-Are they in the top 0.0000001% of raid teams?

-Wow… they really are different.

-Was it this good in Gaia Online?

-Over there, they played considering each other’s skill casting times, right? These people aren’t human. They’re walking machines.

-It’s been a while since my eyes had such a treat.

‘GukppongMissionMan’ has donated 100,000 won!

[Come to the head office tomorrow to get your money… You really pulled this off…]

Though Sung-soo hyung spoke as if he was dying, he must have felt reassured inside.

SD Corporation’s plan was based on the assumption that Dong-su hyung’s raid team would successfully hunt the Apocalypse Dragon.

In other words, if we didn’t succeed in the raid, all plans would turn to dust.

Of course, as a company, they must have had other measures to manage the risk, but the best outcome was for us to clear the Apocalypse Dragon in one go. 𝐫𝖆ΝỗＢĘ𝐒

Honestly, I was a bit worried too.

After all, many of the players had been on a long break from gaming.

But they proved that class is eternal.

A smashing seven-game winning streak.

They won every viewer match I had prepared.

“Hyung, how about a drink after we’re done today?”

“First time since we had a drink three years ago?”

“Yes. Since you’re up in Seoul, let me buy you a drink.”

“Hyungs, are you making plans without me?”

“Kya! Let’s all go for a cool drink after this! Reminds me of when we had offline meetings. Raid leader, you have to treat us!”

They chatted amiably like local uncles.

The female players, centered around Sae-rin noona, were also chattering, celebrating today’s achievements.

Feeling good, I looked at them and said,

“Hyungs, noonas, dinner and drinks are on me today.”

At that, everyone looked at me and burst into laughter.

“Our youngest is trying hard to score points with us.”

“Keep it up.”

“Ah, isn’t our youngest’s effort adorable?”

“Meat? Drinks? You’re already forgiven.”

Although I was forgiven during the last commercial shoot, I still felt very sorry for the raid members.

However, the raid members treated me warmly as if it didn’t matter.

…Yeah, I betrayed such good people.

No matter the reason, I was undoubtedly a wretched person.

– Are you going to stream the drinking session too?

– Kya haha, we can listen to legends tell folktales while they drink.

– Let’s go for a tough stream and a drinking mukbang.

– Wait, I’m going to the convenience store to buy some soju and snacks.

– You’re not going to turn off the stream, right? I trust you.

– For real haha, but if you do a tough stream, 30% might disappear.

– Tell the college students to go home and drink milk.

– Where do underage viewers come from to watch our villain’s broadcast?

The viewers were excitedly chattering, anticipating a rare drinking broadcast.

If I broadcasted the drinking session, it would be great for me.

But I needed to get the other raid members’ permission first.

“Uh… Dong-su hyung?”

“You want to broadcast?”

“If it’s too much, I’ll turn it off right away.”

“Hmm, just a moment.”

Dong-su hyung was still the raid leader.

Therefore, it was crucial to ask the raid leader’s opinion.

At my words, Dong-su hyung went around to gather the opinions of the other raid members and quickly conveyed them to me.

“Everyone’s in favor. They seem to be in a good mood about being on the broadcast after a long time.”

“Really?”

“There are more viewers than before. It’s been a while for them too. They told you to broadcast comfortably. Just make sure to buy plenty of drinks and meat.”

What are they, medieval mercenaries?

Of course, I could handle that.

I smiled, nodded, and waved towards the filming drone.

“We got permission.”

– Kya haha

– Look at the hyungs and noonas being cool.

– Bartender! Bring two more bottles of soju! I’ll drink them all while watching the broadcast!

– Raise your soju glasses!

– Grandpa! Grandpa! You’ll tell us a story about Gaia Online today, right?

‘GukppongMissionMan’ has donated 1,000,000 won!

[Haha, the dinner expenses are also separate haha. I’ll just lend you our corporate card next time you come to the company.]

“Aigoo! Precious one million won! Loyalty! Loyalty! I will serve you with all my soul, Chairman!”

In response to Sung-soo hyung’s generous donation, I made a big bow as a reaction.

Does it look petty to succumb to money?

No way.

This is the basic.

I grinned, nodded in satisfaction, and then immediately spoke to the raid members.

“There’s a Korean beef restaurant I know well nearby. Let’s go there.”

Isn’t it gotta be Korean beef on a special day like this?

6.

After the first day, our practice continued.

People who pursued perfection.

They were the ones who almost succeeded previously, and since SD Corporation had confirmed that the Apocalypse Dragon’s patterns hadn’t changed, our preparations progressed very quickly.

After confirming our coordination on the first day, we played almost every game that could be done as a group.

Knight and Blade was just the beginning.

We seemed to have played most of the large-scale open-world games with fantasy elements.

As time quickly passed, Chicken Box informed me that there was an interview request for me.

It wasn’t from the domestic press but from a famous American media outlet.

Recently, I heard that interest in Gaia Online Classic was growing abroad as well.

The return of a game that once shook the world.

In this era where VR games are widely popular, there was no story more intriguing than this.

On a Saturday morning with no practice scheduled.

I woke up early, finished my preparations, and headed to the cafe in front of my house.

A cafe where I often drank coffee.

As I opened the door and entered the cafe, a woman stood up and slightly bowed her head to me.

“Hello.”

“Oh, hello.”

“I’m Seo Yoo-na from the ABS Broadcasting Korean branch. It’s an honor to meet you, Shia.”

I thought a foreigner would show up since it was a foreign broadcasting company.

That was my mistake.

There was no guarantee that a foreign broadcasting company wouldn’t have Korean staff.

Seo Yoo-na’s first impression was quite striking.

With beautiful features that could catch anyone’s eye as they passed by, she was dressed in a sweater and jeans, looking more like a college student than a broadcasting company employee.

“Ah, I usually dress comfortably like this.”

Did she notice my gaze?

She laughed casually as she spoke.

I lightly scratched my cheek, nodded, and asked her,

“Seong-jae insisted that I meet you.”

“Our headquarters in the U.S. is also paying attention to this raid. was not just a Korean game but a worldwide phenomenon.”

And they wanted to cover me and our raid team leading the charge.

It seemed like that was the gist of their plan.

Domestic media had already come to us in droves.

Not only specialized gaming media but also major news outlets were writing special articles about it.

was truly something extraordinary.

Well, it was considered one of the inventions that changed the course of human history.

“But I believe you’ve already done many similar interviews with other media, Shia.”

Yoo-na’s eyes gleamed peculiarly.

From my experience, people with eyes like hers did not think like ordinary people.

Her sharp eyes were almost eerily intelligent.

I cleared my throat a few times and nodded.

“That’s right.”

“So, I’ve prepared some unique questions for today.”

“Yes, I checked them yesterday.”

The questions were indeed different.

I confirmed the questions I had pulled out earlier and spoke to her.

“They’re a bit….”

“Do you want to say they’re annoying?”

“Yes, the questions are quite bewildering.”

“If you’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to answer them.”

“Oh, no. These are questions I’ve wanted to answer at some point.”

The reason I agreed to this interview was that the questions she prepared were ones I wanted to address publicly someday.

It wasn’t just because it was a foreign media outlet.

“Shall we start right away then?”

I initiated, and she put down her coffee and slowly nodded.

“Shall I start recording?”

She was efficient.

Soon, the recording feature was activated, and her interview began.

“Nice to meet you, Shia. Could you introduce yourself to the American viewers who will watch this interview?”

“I’m Shia, active on Twipod and MeTube.”

They would handle the English subtitles.

It was a big mistake to think that an interview with foreign media meant it had to be in English.

I really can’t speak English well, you know?

But she didn’t seem to mind at all. After all, they could just add subtitles.

And shortly after, the questions I had been waiting for began to come out of her mouth.

“You were the person behind the betrayal that once shocked the world. How did you feel meeting the comrades you once betrayed again?”

This isn’t how interviews usually go.

Interviews should proceed gently, considering the interviewee’s feelings, but this one was too sharp.

It seemed to have lost the essence of an interview.

However, for me, it was an interview that needed to be done at least once, so I didn’t feel too bad about it.

“No matter how many circumstances I had, betrayal is not something that can be easily forgiven. But the raid members just forgave me.”

The reputation of being the first in the world.

The one goal everyone was watching.

I made them give up on all of that because of me. How much they must have resented me.

But they forgave me.

Even if they didn’t empathize with me, they understood my situation and forgave me.

It was a moment when I realized once again that, if nothing else, I was blessed with good people.

“The Apocalypse Dragon, what does the Apocalypse Dragon mean to Shia? It seems to be more special to you than to others.”

“Apocalypse Dragon….”

The boss that drove to its end.

And the boss that marked the end of the named user ‘Shia.’

Because of that one, I saved my younger brother and lost ‘Shia.’

…Yes, I do have special feelings towards it more than others.

I paused for a moment, then slowly continued speaking.

“It was once the end of my gaming life. An unachieved goal, a poisoned chalice. There are many ways to describe it… I was both grateful and hateful.”

To those who didn’t know better, it might seem like I was obsessing over it.

However, to me, the Apocalypse Dragon was no different from an unfulfilled dream.

When the opportunity to raid the Apocalypse Dragon came quickly, how happy I was.

I smiled slightly, then looked at Yoo-na and said,

“For me, it’s a being where the beginning and the end meet, that is the Apocalypse Dragon.”

“The beginning and the end. Alpha and Omega, that’s quite a poetic expression.”

“And….”

Yoo-na’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped at my next words.

With a shocked expression, she asked me,

“Are you serious about that?”