Chapter 42: The Public Call-Out

I immediately played Sisi’s video.

In the video, Sisi began his explanation in a greasy voice, showing the Alchemist gameplay.

“A common mistake people make is thinking that Alchemists should use buffs first.”

“But in PvP, it’s a bit different.”

“There are people who immediately drink a speed potion…”

“No, debuffs come first.”

The Alchemist on screen threw a sticky potion and then used a swiftness potion.

It was the exact opposite of what Ban-ye had done.

The Alchemist on the screen picked up a bomb potion that was emitting smoke.

Sisi’s explanation continued.

“When you throw it, a parabola appears below with a red bar.”

“The line displayed in the center of the bar indicates the accuracy.”

“Many of you might think you just need to watch this and throw when the line turns red.”

“That might be possible for those with good physical mechanics, but most people can’t do it well.”

“So, if you press it when the line reaches… about here—.”

Boom!

The bomb thrown by the Alchemist on the screen hit its target perfectly.

“See?”

“This is how you can ensure a definite hit.”

“What the hell is this b@stard doing!”

I was furious at that b@stard Sisi’s behavior, blatantly twisting the explanation of Ban-ye’s video.

It seemed that as my temporary channel’s subscribers had been steadily increasing and catching up to Sisi’s, he had started resorting to such vile tricks.

The guild members were saying the same thing.

[Guild][HeyYam] This is a blatant call-out, yam.

[Guild][HeyYam] And he copied it exactly, yamㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild][HugMeRaiseMe] You’re supposed to use buffs first, why the hell is he saying to use debuffs firstㅋㅋ

[Guild][Bogak] He knows nothing about Alchemists.

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] Sisi, you crazy b@stard.

[Guild][Male3] It makes sense that our puppy is angryㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Before the mid-roll ad Sisi had inserted could play, I quickly paused the video and spammed hateful comments.

[han: This b@stard is making videos by copying everything from the temporary channel ㅋㅋ Aren’t you embarrassed? Now that your subscribers are catching up and you’re about to become a has-been, you’re getting desperate ㅉㅉㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[han: What’s with your finger work? I’m better than you.]

[han: And you call yourself a streamer ㅉㅉ]

However, no matter how many hateful comments I posted, my anger didn’t subside.

I wanted to get the video taken down completely, but there was no way to do that, so I fumed and hit the report button for [Hateful or Abusive Content].

I asked the guild members to hit the report button as well.

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] Guys, please report Sisi’s video ㅠㅠ

[Guild][HugMeRaiseMe] What do we report it forㅋㅋ

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] Just report it for anything, please ㅠ

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] ! And be careful not to watch the ads.

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] He’s plastered it with ads too.

[Guild][Male3] ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild][Ban-yeStorage] Money-grubbing b@stardㅡㅡ

But then, something absurd happened.

A guildmate informed me that Sisi had blocked me a long time ago, so my comments weren’t even visible to other people.

I was so dumbfounded and furious that I stomped my feet.

“Argh!”

“I’m so f*cking pissed!”

“How can this b@stard be so shameless?!”

Wasn’t there some way to get back at Sisi?

That evening.

Ban-ye suddenly said he was going to play his Ban-yeStorage character instead of Ah-ang, telling me he wouldn’t be playing Ah-ang today.

It was the day we were supposed to do a live broadcast, so I asked, feeling puzzled.

“Why?”

“There’s something I have to do.”

I wondered if he was doing this because he had seen Sisi’s video, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

I felt like I would be condemned again, with him asking why I watched Sisi’s video, if I couldn’t get over Sisi, or why I was so obsessed.

‘Still, he must have seen it….’

He would have at least heard about it from the guild members.

However, Ban-ye’s expression was as indifferent as usual, making it difficult to know what he was thinking.

“Alright….”

In the end, I couldn’t ask for the reason and just watched from the side as Ban-ye logged into his Ban-yeStorage character.

As soon as he logged into the game, he immediately connected to the PvP server.

[(Live) Cavaliers Only]

Then he set up a provocative room title.

‘…He saw it!’

The moment I saw that room title, I realized that Ban-ye had seen Sisi’s video.

Cavaliers Only.

In other words, he was looking for Sisi’s main character, the Cavalier.

Furthermore, saying “Cavaliers Only” was the same as saying he could beat any Cavalier.

On top of that, the Cavalier was one of the classes with a fairly high win rate in PvP, along with the Lilith.

So, there were quite a few Cavaliers and Liliths in the PvP arena.

This naturally drew an unusual amount of attention.

And to top it off, the room title even said he was live.

Cavaliers who saw Ban-ye’s provocative room title tried to enter one after another.

[PvP][Kabalyee] hihi! I’m a fan, Ban-ye-nim. But you’re playing an Alchemist against a Cavalier?

[PvP][Ban-yeStorage] hi, hit ready.

[PvP][Kabalyee] okㅋㅋㅋㅋ

And Ban-ye, without any mercy, started taking down the Cavaliers in the same way he had taught me before, by applying buffs first and then debuffs to the opponent.

Moreover, since he was broadcasting on his live channel, word got out on the free-for-all forums that Ban-ye was live, and as the rumor spread, a strange atmosphere began to flow.

____

[Title: It’s true that BY is calling out S, right?]
[Author: Anonymous]

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋHe’s running an Alchemist PvP live and telling Cavaliers to come inㅋ]
[Isn’t it obvious he’s calling out that person?]
[He’s on a 12-win streak right now ㅋㅋ]

[(Upvotes 9, Downvotes 0)]

[[Comments(Expand)]]
[BY built his channel by calling out S from the very beginning.]

[What’s the reason?]
[└There’s a story that his girlfriend was stolen.]
[└Really? They were on different servers.]
[└I heard a rumor that the person BY was dating transferred servers to go to him.]
[└Bullsh*tㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

___

At that point, comments about Ban-ye’s live broadcast naturally started appearing on Sisi’s call-out video as well.

[minjae.k: (link)]

[kal0988: Sisi-nim, someone from the neighboring server with a Lilith main and Alchemist alt is calling you outㅋㅋ]

[Sandasoo: Sisi-keung! Show them the honor of the Cavaliers!]

[Inwoo: Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?]

Having caused such a loud commotion, the story of Ban-ye’s provocation must have surely reached Sisi’s ears.

“Come out, you cowardly b@stard….”

In the meantime, Ban-ye was diligently beating down every Cavalier that entered the room.

Watching Ban-ye’s live broadcast, I momentarily forgot my anger towards Sisi.

‘He’s so d@mn good….’

I couldn’t interrupt Ban-ye’s live broadcast, so I just peeked my head out to secretly watch the room.

Ban-ye, focused on the PvP, had his eyes fixed on the screen and didn’t notice me.

I stared, mesmerized, at his long, rapidly moving fingers.

‘As expected, Ban-ye is so cool….’

Crack.

Just then, Ban-ye finished another match, stretched out his fingers, and cracked his knuckles loudly.

Then he spoke to the viewers of the live broadcast in a blunt voice.

“That’s all for today.”

“I was waiting for someone, but they didn’t show up.”

As soon as I heard that, I looked at the live channel chat room I was watching on my phone.

People were going wild over his calm yet provocative comment.

[Monkey: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[2Gyeongyi: Huh, no way, is it that person, S……?]

[Seyoung(Kim Seyoung): Wow, he really holds nothing back ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[Banhae: Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?Chicken?]

Hearing Ban-ye’s words, I realized that Sisi had feigned ignorance until the end, and I felt a sense of vindication.

‘As expected, there’s no way that coward would show up….’

‘He chickened out.’

The thought of that b@stard Sisi feeling frustrated and probably b*tching about Ban-ye with his guild members made me feel good.

At the same time, a sliver of hope bloomed.

Could it be that the reason Ban-ye was so hostile towards Sisi was… partly because of me?

My heart started to pound, a pleasant thumping in my chest.

“Thank you to everyone who appeared today.”

“I’ll see you again next time.”

Ban-ye spoke politely and then ended the live broadcast.

Watching Ban-ye take off his headset, I flung open the door.

“Ban-ye!”

“You were so cool today….”

I said to Ban-ye, expressing my overwhelming emotions.

Ban-ye just stared at me blankly.