18

[A fight? Count me in!]

"Everyone, gather around! Everyone, gather around! Everyone, gather around!"

"Where's that filthy smell of Dark Dwarf coming from?"

[Were you forced to buy it or something?]

[Wow, I thought you went silent, but you're making a flashy comeback.]

[A duel over hack allegations leading to character deletion and channel deletion? I can't miss this.]

[The time has come!]

"SUHO, can you hear me? Face me according to our laws, or die a coward!"

[Isn't this what you call a showdown?]

[This isn't just any showdown. One of them is going to be completely annihilated.]

[This is some Rakshasa-level stuff.]

[Indeed.]

***

[Want to suck on Friede-noona's lips? Upvote this!]

"She didn't put on lip gloss, right? Those are her pure, natural lips, right? What do those lips taste like? Cherry? Plum? Or… something else?"

[The biggest problem with democracy is that my vote is worth the same as his.]

[Sobong-ah, your mom believes in you…]

[Indeed.]

[But seriously, looking at her lips, you do get the urge to suck them.]

[As of today, I withdraw all hostilities toward Friede.]

"From now on, we are no longer enemies. Friede and I are now in a relationship of affection. Any attack on Friede will be considered an attack on me."

[Honestly, even if Friede files a lawsuit, I can't argue against it.]

[A crossbreed between a buffalo and a black cow. We've created a broth beast!]

[What did Friede do to deserve being in a relationship with you?]

[Indeed.]

***

[But is she really not hacking?]

"Would she speak so boldly if she wasn't? She even mentioned the GMs."

[Watching Friede's gameplay so far, you can't help but think it's hacks, broth guy.]

[Come on, it's not like that. Would it even be possible to use hacks in a one-on-one duel with GMs watching?]

[Don't you know about God-tier hack programs that even fool GMs?]

[Soar's reputation for having hack paranoia is infamous.]

[Fooling GMs? Hilarious.]

The community's reaction wasn't entirely positive.

This controversy over Friede's alleged hacking was brewing as she steadily rose from obscurity, gaining attention alongside the stream of the steadily climbing Forming.

Up until now, this had been a simple episode of hack-related drama.

However, when Friede uploaded a video officially challenging her accuser to a duel, the reactions heated up even more.

Her challenge flipped the narrative, which had been leaning toward assumptions of her guilt, and captivated the onlookers.

***

"Is this lunatic peeling oranges in Siberia…?"

A sharp curse escaped.

The YouTuber SUHO (Park Suho), who had been taking shots at Friede and Forming over hacking allegations, smirked while watching Friede's duel proposal.

Initially, he thought, 'If she's really a hacker, then confronting her directly is the way to go.'

'After all, hackers without their hacks are just average players. So why now, of all times, did doubt begin to creep into him?'

'What if this goes terribly wrong?'

When things escalate, people often think of the worst-case scenario before envisioning the rewards of success.

He suddenly felt afraid.

'Had he made the right move?'

'No, no way! What have I done wrong?'

'The opponent is definitely a hacker!' Even his peers in the same tier and his viewers all agreed, shouting:

"Friede the Light Hero is definitely hacking!"

He had merely… stepped up to take responsibility.

"Why should I be the one getting scared? She's the one using hacks; she should be scared."

The mixed feelings of humiliation and inferiority he had endured at the hands of the Hero Duo still burned within him, visible in his eyes.

Suppressing his rising fear, Suho's eyes gleamed with a newfound greed as he fueled his anger to drown out his anxiety.

"GM monitoring? She's digging her own grave."

This could actually work out in his favor.

Previously, during the large-scale hacking outbreak in Soul Warfare, dubbed the "Hack Crisis," a system was implemented to allow GM monitoring of high-tier players suspected of hacking.

One of those features was the GM-monitored one-on-one duels, like the one Friede proposed.

Since she made her stance public, there was no backing down for her.

It was her last stand.

'So she wants to prove her innocence? Fine. Without hacks, she doesn't stand a chance.'

This was an opportunity for Suho to cement his reputation as a champion of justice and gain further recognition.

Sure, he could lose, but that would only happen if Friede continued using hacks, which would expose her further.

If she didn't use hacks, it would be a tight match, but Suho believed in his skills.

After all, he was known as the "Gatekeeper of Challenger" in the Grandmaster tier.

With that realization, his unease subsided.

This was a win-win situation for him.

"Of course, I'll accept the duel."

The community, by now, was practically on fire, fueled by endless debates, speculations, and drama.

Had he not been directly involved, Suho might have joined the chaos, stirring the pot himself.

***

Gwanak-gu XXX Park.

Before being summoned to this world, Suho had visited this place many times.

'It's changed so much in over a decade. There are so many sleek buildings, and the large lake and fountain shows have become even more extravagant.'

The park, now equipped with various leisure facilities and walking trails, was bustling with people enjoying their evening, despite it being a weekday.

How crowded was it? Crowded enough that even the most introverted loner might feel the urge to fry pancakes on the ground out of pure existential frustration.

Curious about whether traces of its past still remained, I sat on a bench, zoning out while admiring the scenery. It was a way to kill time, I suppose.

Checking the time on my smartphone, it was only 6:50 PM.

Feeling antsy about whether I'd received a reply, I began fiddling nervously with my phone.

Then it happened.

Ding!

An alert rang out from my smartphone.

Was it the news I'd been waiting for? Excited, I checked the screen, only to feel an immediate wave of disappointment.

[A new video has been uploaded to SUHO's channel.]

"Dammit…"

Out of concern that he might pull some shady stunt, I'd set up notifications for his uploads.

'But why did it have to come now, of all times?'

Fine, let's see what he's up to this time.

Opening his YouTube channel, his smug face popped up on the screen.

The temptation to exit immediately was overwhelming, but with tomorrow's character deletion duel match looming, I forced myself to watch.

[Hello, this is streamer SUHO.]

"I have received Friede's duel request."

"I, too, will make a promise."

"For the sake of maintaining a clean gaming environment in Soul Warfare, I will ensure victory."

"If Friede wins the duel without using hacks, I will delete my channel."

Additionally…

"If Friede loses, I want to see that glorious face hidden under the helmet."

"Wouldn't it be nice to give our viewers a memorable moment?"

"I am curious to see how bold Friede truly is to send such a shameless duel request."

"For justice to prevail, please send your support my way!"

This was SUHO's second video, accepting the duel.

Just like his hack accusation video, the views were skyrocketing in real-time.

For a fleeting moment, an odd thought crossed my mind—'I've really become a celebrity, haven't I?'

The anticipation for my yet-to-begin live stream began to stir an odd sense of excitement.

Face reveal, though…

What an audacious demand.

***

[We're sorry, SUHO-sensei, we misjudged you!]

[Wishing for SUHO-sensei's victory just to see Friede-noona's face under that helmet. Upvote if you agree!]

[Look at SUHO turning this into bait. If Friede takes off the helmet and gets the 'broth squad' screaming, he wins big. Add to that a sweet, comforting image of Friede patting SUHO, and bam—mastermind move.]

[ Damn it, this makes it impossible not to root for SUHO. You too, right?! ]

[ Even if SUHO is acting confident, he must be freaking out deep down. ]

[ Rejecting the duel now would look ridiculous. ]

[ Feels like Friede purposely escalated this for maximum attention. ]

[ If Friede wins the duel and gets GM certification, what happens to SUHO? Total downfall? ]

[ Isn't that obvious? ]

[ If SUHO ends up stacking karma and crashing, that's hilarious. ]

[ But what if Friede turns out to be a hacker after all? Iconic. ]

'They're having the time of their lives…'

'Reveal my face?'

The ridiculous demand made me snicker.

It wasn't going to happen. Even if I lost, there was no way I'd reveal my face.

With no additional demands in the video, I closed the channel.

Thankfully, he took the bait exactly as I'd hoped, so my objective was achieved.

Though some reactions weren't ideal, this level of attention was more than acceptable.

Thinking about how the narrative might change tomorrow made me giddy with excitement.

"Hah, hahaha…"

Even I found my own thought process amusing.

If it were someone else, I'd find such scheming disgusting and twisted.

But here I was, reveling in it.

This blend of shame and thrill—so indescribable yet intoxicating—made me laugh again.

"Sigh… Damn."

I needed to calm down.

Don't lose your humanity.

Steadying my burning emotions, I looked up at the night sky.

The sun had set, and the moon and stars now lit up the heavens.

'Will Forming be okay?'

I should've contacted her first instead of getting carried away filming my duel challenge.

I had gotten so caught up that I'd momentarily forgotten about time.

Such feelings of exhilaration—something I hadn't experienced since smashing demon skulls—felt especially vivid.

It also reminded me of one undeniable truth: I was terrible with tech.

It was embarrassing to admit, but what could I do?

Even before being summoned to this world, I was the kind of computer illiterate who couldn't install Windows properly.

My lack of tech skills, combined with my excitement, had inadvertently cut me off from Forming.

Like throwing a stone into a pond and hitting a frog, I'd unintentionally caused problems for her.

She was likely worried because I hadn't reached out.

As much as I wanted to meet her in person, rushing things wouldn't help.

Online friendships don't always translate smoothly into real life, after all.

People naturally grow cautious.

While I had been carefully building up trust, SUHO's meddling with his hit piece almost ruined everything.

If Forming had turned away from me because of this, things would've gotten messy.

Not only would I lose a key lead on the curse affecting her, but I'd also fail in fulfilling my mission as a hero.

That's why her prompt reply to my message was such a relief.

A sigh—half tension, half relief—escaped me. It felt… strange.

Now, tomorrow marks the showdown.

It's an inevitable event and one I've half-instigated myself.

I just have to wait and face it head-on.

And after it's over, I must…

'Meet Forming.'

To ensure no more bizarre incidents like this arise, I'll get to the bottom of the curse affecting her.

As a hero, I've vowed to 'save' Hero Forming, haven't I?

Of course, uncovering her true identity is part of the plan too.

"Ugh!"

Stretching to shake off the stiffness, I stood up, invigorated for tomorrow's thrilling clash.

Cheers to a day full of electrifying attention!