Chapter 35: Why on earth is this nuclear controversy happening?

**Name:** Jeong Geon-woo

**Nickname used in NewD and the community:** Saint.

In the past, he accused an innocent NewD player of cheating.

However, the developers firmly denied the allegations.

Despite several additional inquiries, the only response he received was a confirmation that the nickname “Inquisition” did not use cheats.

Naturally, he faced a massive backlash.

He became the most famous target of ridicule in NewD, and his acquaintances in the game pretended to comfort him while actually keeping their distance.

This was the punishment for a man who tried to drive an innocent person into the ground.

And the emotion Geon-woo felt in the face of that punishment was,

“I’m such a fool…”

A fierce self-reproach.

As a result of being subjected to an unjust PK (player kill), Geon-woo became agitated.

It was only natural to feel that way. Thus, he also planned to retaliate with the same PK alongside his high school friends.

The outcome was an undeniable defeat, one that he couldn’t even make excuses for.

At that time, Geon-woo could not accept that he had lost to a cowardly PK player.

He didn’t want to admit that he had been defeated by someone who was simply better at the game, even though he accused and incited others to call him a cheater.

He should have taken issue with the PK itself rather than the cheating accusations.

…Of course, even if he did that, nothing would have changed.

PK was not a crime in NewD from the start.

Despite numerous inquiries about PK since the game’s release, the developers had consistently replied that there was nothing wrong with PK itself.

Looking back, it seems absurd to think that being involved in PK in such a game was cowardly.

Now, he couldn’t help but think he deserved the criticism he received.

Still, he wanted to apologize.

He wanted to apologize for his petty behavior in accusing the other player of cheating.

Of course, immediately after it was revealed that the player wasn’t cheating, he had written something filled with excuses and justifications that barely qualified as an apology.

But Geon-woo was different now.

He seriously reflected on the events that had recently occurred and contemplated why they had happened, acknowledging and recognizing his mistakes.

“I want to apologize…”

That statement from Geon-woo was a sincere feeling without any deceit.

However, the problem was that, despite wanting to apologize, there was no way to contact the other person.

Since Geon-woo had no idea when or where the elusive player might appear.

As time passed, Geon-woo’s guilt deepened.

Then one day, he heard from an acquaintance.

There was news that “Inquisition” was streaming on the internet.

Upon hearing that, he immediately searched for his streaming channel.

Contrary to Geon-woo’s expectations, he was not playing NewD but rather talking about something else.

Since he knew almost nothing about internet broadcasting, he barely understood half of what was being discussed, but for Geon-woo, what mattered was the apology.

However, it was clear that the atmosphere was not right for an apology at that moment, so Geon-woo watched Inquisition… Lene’s stream without typing anything in the chat.

“By the way, I didn’t know she was a woman.”

The most surprising thing for Geon-woo while watching the stream was that particular detail.

Unconsciously, I had always thought that the person I was interested in was a man, only to find out that she was a woman. The fact that her voice was incredibly good was also shocking.

[Ask Lene anything… Wow…]

And while I was watching the broadcast, the opportunity finally came for Geon-woo. A plan was quickly formulated in his mind. A perfect image simulation.

…It could end warmly. In Geon-woo’s mind, the scene replayed where she accepted his apology with a smile and added him as a friend on NewD.

Of course, the probability was higher that she had already been deeply hurt and would not want to accept his apology, but Geon-woo firmly believed that if he donated around 100,000 won, she would listen to his story.

[Ah, um… Thank you for the 200,000 won donation… But I’m also thinking that it might be okay for now. Um, I don’t really know how to say this…]

And, in a slightly unexpected turn, Geon-woo ended up donating 200,000 won, but it was clear that Lene was indeed trying to accept his apology.

However, the problem was the chatroom. Even Geon-woo, who was ignorant of internet broadcasting culture, could tell that her fans were angry.

…Well, from their perspective, I must be the person who asked a question to the broadcaster they love.

Geon-woo could easily understand that fact, so he decided to donate just one more time, 100,000 won, and then leave the broadcast.

[Saint, you really feel sorry for me, don’t you?]

Her.

[Then I have one request, if that’s okay…?]

That remark.

[…If that’s the case, would it be alright if I watched the video you filmed back then and recounted it?]

Before hearing it,

“…Is she crazy?”

It was a remark that could only be taken as sarcastic. Geon-woo couldn’t help but let out a similar exclamation.

[Lene]

[I have an important announcement]

[Talk | 20 viewers online 1:53:52]

“…If that’s the case, would it be alright if I watched the video you filmed back then and recounted it?”

Immediately after saying this, I was impressed with myself.

Anyone could see that it was a completely genius idea.

Honestly, I no longer had any particular feelings toward Saint, but I didn’t like the mood in the chatroom.

I wished that instead of pouring malice toward that person, they would ask me questions they were curious about.

So, I wanted to quickly change the topic and atmosphere of the chatroom.

However, no matter how much I said it was okay, my viewers, the Lene Minor Gallery, seemed unwilling to forgive him.

So, how could I divert their attention?

After a moment of thought, I realized the method was simple.

Since more than half of my viewers were obsessed with NewD, I could talk about something related to NewD.

Of course, I wouldn’t be doing anything on NewD immediately, but wasn’t there someone who could become the subject of discussion in my broadcast?

I could also conduct a broadcast related to NewD that my gallery would enjoy, and at the same time change this uncomfortable atmosphere, so it would be killing two birds with one stone.

Combining that with Saint’s situation, it could be seen as giving him a chance to improve his skills on NewD while also granting him a pardon.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say I killed two birds with one stone.

I guess the gallery (fans) must think I’m amazing, right?

─ Isn’t it a bit much to get 200,000 won for a public roast? Hahaha.

If I suddenly feel really sorry for that guy, I’ll give him a thumbs-up. Hahaha.

― (Our way of thinking is different from theirs, Kon.)

– I can already tell he’ll pretend to give a perfect explanation and then just swipe!

─ Preparing for a new controversy, Lene. Hahaha.

─ This Saint trying to apologize for something like that << Seems like this guy is at fault. Ugh.

– Doesn’t this mean they’re directly targeting me?

– 200,000 won, oh my god!

・Wait, what?

I wonder why.

For some reason, the gallery members are suddenly insulting me while comforting Saint.

Well, I did want to change the atmosphere of bashing that person, and in the end, it’s true that that person isn’t getting insulted now, but…

That doesn’t mean I wanted them to insult me instead!

This is strange….

“Umm… So, is it okay, Saint?”

But I can’t just stay frozen like this.

I asked him again, and he replied that it was fine.

Well, since we decided to do it, we have to proceed.

After all, I’m sure everyone’s reaction will change once they see my recap.

I’ve been working hard recently, expecting that such a day would come again.

As proof, I haven’t received any comments about my voice being too quiet in the chat at all lately.

“Then… Ah, I found it. I’ll start.”

Saint, the post where he targeted me in the past was deleted, but luckily, I found nearly ten videos from that time online.

I played one of them and continued my commentary on the broadcast screen.

[Die!]

“Now, if you look here, he’s sneaking up from behind and shouting, right? At this point, the whole concept of a sneak attack is completely gone.

Once you realize he’s attacking from behind, it’s simple to avoid….”

– Why does it sound so professional?

– PK expert’s PK lecture, lol.

【Lene Gallery m】

【Title: Recap of Gallery Master’s Past Targeting Video.mp4】

【Posted by: ᄋᄋ (Paddak)】

(1vs3 battle scene.mp4)

[Since it’s easy to avoid, of course, it’s also easy to assess the situation after dodging, right?]

[The opponents are three, and I’m alone. What do you think is the most important thing here?]

– Shouldn’t I avoid getting surrounded by three?

[That’s correct, Since you’ve been watching my broadcast from almost the beginning, you seem to know well. To be precise, I need to prevent the opponents from going behind me. I can easily block or dodge attacks from the front and sides, but I can’t dodge attacks coming from behind.]

[When you think about it, the terrain here was good. There’s a cliff right in front of me, so I can lean against it and completely block attacks coming from behind.]

[Next, what I need to do is identify the opponents’ weapons. If you look, there’s one spear user and two knuckle users, right? The spear has a longer reach than me, and the knuckles have a shorter reach. So, what I need to do here is to prevent the spear user from…]

[It’s to keep them in front of me. Since the spear has a longer reach than Warhammer, it becomes annoying when the distance increases.]

[Honestly, I was wondering how to set up the scene here… Luckily, these people all decided to rush at me together.]

[The spear user understood this and limited the attack radius of the other two.]

[To be honest, at this point, it’s already over. If that’s the case, why did they come as a trio? They could have just attacked one by one…]

[And if you look closely, the spear user’s shoulder is slightly pulled back, right?]

─I don’t quite get it.

[Oh, I’ll show you slowly… Do you see it? The spear user’s shoulder being slightly pulled back mostly indicates a thrusting attack. This thrusting attack is indeed fast, but it’s easy to predict if you know what to look for. So this leads to the scene where I’m parrying.]

[In the free board or gallery, people say things like ‘this doesn’t make sense,’ but if you pay a little attention to the opponent’s movements, anyone can do it.]

[However, after reviewing this, it seems that despite everything, it wasn’t that I played well; rather, the opponents made too many mistakes.]

[Honestly, this level of play seems like a mid-level PVP AI…]

[Why did the hacking controversy arise from this? Are people playing games without any thought? I would feel embarrassed to even say that was hacking after seeing that…]

[Ah, Saint and the other two might be excused for their reactions. They probably rushed in out of anger, so naturally, they couldn’t make proper judgments. Therefore, this isn’t a true reflection of skill, obviously. What I’m saying applies to those who are watching and judging from a third-person perspective. But if anyone felt offended, I apologize…]

[However, I still don’t quite understand why the hacking controversy started in the community.]

[Is there really no one playing NewD in the NewD free board?]

【Recommended: 12 / Not Recommended: 1】

ᄋᄋ: No way, what’s up this time? Is it really informative?

Great Demon Lene: Great Demon Lene

ᄋᄋ: The way you spun at the end was perfect, crazy girl, haha!

Dagurose: Looking at it this way, the gallery master really thinks a lot while playing.

└Dagurose: The physical skills seem really good too.

Loo: But why the heck is there a jumping up…?

└Dagurose: No way, haha!

ᄋᄋ: A 200,000 won lecture, haha!

ᄂDdakttaguri: It seems like it has some value…