Chapter 12: The Creator Contest and a Plot for Revenge

Chaos Online has regular maintenance updates every Thursday from 10 AM to 1 PM. However, since nothing usually changes, users call it a “non-update.”

So, I thought this week would be another non-update… but when I checked the official website around 1:30 PM, the homepage had been redesigned with a sparkling new look, and the main NPC of Chaos Online, Clara, was now illustrated holding a camera and smiling.

‘What’s this?’

I clicked on the event page, which had a flashing [NEW!] sign. There, I could see the new event added in this week’s update.

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[Card of Fantasy! Recruiting the 1st Generation of Creators! Please review the recruitment details below and submit your application!

―Recruitment Period: 2022/XX/XX ~ 2022/XX/XX
―Activity Period: 2022/XX/XX ~ 2023/XX/XX
―Number of Recruits: 0 (TL: This usually means an unspecified number)

[Application Requirements]
―Must be 14 years of age or older
―Must own and operate a YouTube channel
―Must be able to upload Chaos Online content at least once every two weeks OR stream on YouTube at least twice a week (1+ hour per session)

Application Method: Download the application form and apply via email (here).

[Support Benefits]

1. Creator Support Package

2. Monthly support of 100,000 Cash

3. Promotional banner for creator channel on the Chaos Online official website.]

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“So they’re recruiting YouTube creators…”

Honestly, when I first saw the event page, I thought it had nothing to do with me. I just figured the game company was recruiting YouTube creators for promotional purposes and moved on.

But then, the free discussion board suddenly turned into a creator evaluation forum, and posts like [Recommending XX as a creator!] started popping up.

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[Recommending YouBeDoBa as a creator!][12]

[Please visit GreenJeonsang’s channel, his commentary is funny][9]

[Hello, I’m Keumang, preparing to be a 1st generation creator][42]

[Bbabbab is the best channel for newbies][31]

[Recommending Sisi’s Easy Chaos Online Guide channel][28]

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“What? Sisi, that bastard again?”

I clicked to see who the foolish person recommending Sisi was, and the username of the poster looked familiar.

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[Title: Recommending Sisi’s Easy Chaos Online Guide channel
Author: Bibi

This person makes guides by deliberately clearing dungeons slowly and carefully so that even beginners can easily follow along ㅎㅎ
Please visit the channel, subscribe, and like ^^

(Likes: 150 Dislikes: 0)

[Comments (Expand)]

Sisi, I’m always watching your videos!

Sisi-jjang!

Sisi’s voice is cute lol

Sisi, the polite player! Clean and no cursing!]

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“Sisi, Bibi… can’t anyone tell that’s his alt account nickname? You idiots! And what’s with the tone of these comments? Did he hire viral marketers?”

Furious, I left a hate comment. Since it was anonymous, I figured he wouldn’t know who it was and made a bold decision.

[My Comment: Lol, did Sisi hire shills? He mobilized his entire guild to upvote this. You think that’ll make you a creator? Tsk tsk, pathetic.]

Then, curious to see what Sisi would say after seeing my comment, I kept refreshing the page… That crazy bastard must have seen it, because my comment was deleted within three minutes of posting.

I was so infuriated by this sneaky bastard that I ended up writing a whole page of curses about Sisi in the guild chat.

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[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] Unbelievable lol. Hey guys, about that creator recruitment event,

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] is it okay for someone to nominate themselves with their alt account?

[Guild][HeyYam] Why?

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] No, this Sisi guy, it’s obvious Bibi is his alt.

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] lol It’s so obvious, but he’s pretending it’s not him and nominating himself.

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] He’s desperate to promote his channel and become a Chaos Online creator ㅡㅡ

[Guild][Youngmyeong] Hee…

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However, the guild members were less interested in Sisi than I thought. In fact, they even made fun of me for disliking Sisi.

[Guild][Youngmyeong] Sisi? But I searched for him, and he already has a lot of subscribers.

[Guild][Youngmyeong] 16,000…

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] No, that’s not what I mean. He nominated himself on the forum.

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] He’s the guild master, so he probably told his guild members to recommend him ㅡㅡ

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] Does it make sense for a post to get over 100 upvotes in 1 minute?

[Guild][HugMeRaiseMe] lol He’s always like this when Sisi is mentioned.

[Guild][HugMeRaiseMe] Did Sisi scam you out of money? What’s wrong?

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] ㅡㅡ

[Guild][Male3] Ah-ang should make a YouTube channel too.

[Guild][Male3] The best revenge is success ^^b

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] What are you talking about? ㅡㅡ

Dejected that no one sympathized with my complaints about Sisi, I whispered to the silent Ban-ye. Since Ban-ye knew the situation, I thought they would understand how I felt.

[Whisper][Ban-yeStorage] Ban-ye ㅠㅠ

[Whisper][Ban-yeStorage] Sisi is being so obnoxious.

[Whisper][Ban-yeStorage] Can’t you beat him up?

However, Ban-ye didn’t reply, perhaps AFK or something. I felt doubly dejected and pouted gloomily.

[TL note: AFK stands for “Away From Keyboard,” meaning the player is currently inactive or not controlling their character.]

But a short while later, a whisper arrived from Ban-ye.

[Whisper][Ah-ang] What?

[Whisper][Ah-ang] Was on a smoke break.

Hearing they had been smoking, my spirits lifted, and I eagerly explained what had happened.

Ban-ye didn’t react much, but at least they didn’t respond playfully like HugMeRaiseMe or Male3.

Encouraged by Ban-ye’s attitude, I was able to tell them what I had been thinking about… A revenge scenario against Sisi.

[Whisper][Ban-yeStorage] Ban-ye, Ban-ye, how about you make a YouTube channel too?

[Whisper][Ah-ang] What are you talking about now?

[Whisper][Ban-yeStorage] No, since you have god-tier skills,

[Whisper][Ban-yeStorage] if you just start a YouTube channel,

[Whisper][Ban-yeStorage] bastards like Sisi will be ruined.

[Whisper][Ban-yeStorage] Let’s debut, okay?

[Whisper][Ah-ang] Lol

[Whisper][Ban-yeStorage] Should I buy you a microphone?

However, Ban-ye, the most crucial person in my revenge scenario, was indifferent.

[Whisper][Ah-ang] Get a grip.

[Whisper][Ban-yeStorage] ㅠㅠㅠ Aw, why? It’s true.

[Whisper][Ban-yeStorage] You’ll be successful too, it’ll be great.

[Whisper][Ah-ang] Just accept the party invite.

[‘Ah-ang’ has invited you to a party.]
[Marriage special buff is stacked.]

Then, no matter how much I talked, they just focused on hunting without replying.

I was upset and saddened to realize that even Ban-ye, whom I had trusted, wasn’t interested in what I was saying.

So, even when Ban-ye spoke a few words to me, I replied sullenly. Ban-ye seemed to notice my dejection and didn’t try to talk to me after that.

Later, I realized I had been too selfish, but by then, we had already been playing in silence for over an hour, and it was difficult to break the awkwardness.

Moreover, Ban-ye, perhaps gone for another smoke break, had left their Ah-ang character standing AFK in a corner of the town.

I lingered nearby, and when there was no reaction, I tried using [Greet], [Lovely Heart], and other emotes on Ah-ang, finally trying [Hug].

“Huh?”

Suddenly, the emote was accepted, and Ah-ang and Ban-yeStorage were hugging tightly.

Puzzled, I realized Ban-ye was no longer AFK and greeted them happily.

[Party][Ban-yeStorage] Ban-ye!

[Party][Ah-ang] Ah, enter…

[Party][Ah-ang] Check Discord.

[Party][Ah-ang] I’m logging out.

[‘Ah-ang’ has left the party.]

Curious about what Ban-ye had sent, I checked my private messages on Discord. There was a YouTube link from [Hwang Hyun-joong].

“What’s this…”

I clicked on the link.

The channel name was [Temporary]. A short 15-minute video had been uploaded, and the thumbnail graphics looked familiar. It was Chaos Online.

And most importantly, the video title…

“Ah-ang1? What?”

I clicked on the video. There, I could see Ban-ye, playing as my character, entering a dungeon and quickly dispatching monsters.

I was bewildered at first, then a chill ran down my spine as I realized Ban-ye had recorded themself clearing dungeons with incredible power and speed, even using buff potions they usually didn’t bother with.

“No… what! Ban-ye, you tsundere bastard!”

Moved, I immediately left a gushing comment.

[han: Wow, you’re so fast and strong ㅠㅠㅠㅠ You’re so awesome… You seem like the top Lilith ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

I wanted to write a long, page-filling comment, but I restrained myself.

After subscribing and liking the video, I immediately rushed to the official website and started writing a recommendation post on the free discussion board.