Triarchia, by its very design, was highly susceptible to stream sniping (TL Note: ‘bangpeul,’ the act of gaining in-game information by watching a streamer’s broadcast).
Even if it was only three minutes into the game, a period when the opponent hadn’t been encountered even once, the early-game build path alone could sway the advantage up to a 7:3 ratio in favor of one side.
Thus, whenever Kim Sung-jin, a former professional player, suffered a defeat, it was predominantly due to a viewer secretly stream sniping her.
“What?! I asked so nicely, and they still won’t give me a rematch?”
[Wow lol, it’s been a while since she got exorcised.]
[What’s the opponent’s control like??]
[Seriously, their sense is good.]
[Lmao, Siri’s pissed-off face hahahaha.]
[Even if it’s a sub-race match, Siri is a former pro, so isn’t it stream sniping? lolololol.]
“I don’t think it was stream sniping… Even if it was a single scout, look. The Dwarf steps on the central scout once, right? And the build wasn’t completely countered either…”
Kim Sung-jin couldn’t help but wear a crestfallen expression, her face a picture of deep disappointment.
The replay spun several times over.
Yet, the opponent’s movements only solidified her conviction that it wasn’t stream sniping.
Their choice of build further bolstered this conclusion.
Had it truly been stream sniping, they would have opted for an all-in build starting with basic units at 8 population, rather than 11 basic units.
It didn’t matter if it was inconspicuous stream sniping.
Although this particular build was slightly disadvantageous, considering the gap between a former professional and an amateur, it should have been manageable to defend against without much difficulty.
[You’re right, they did a super early central scout.]
[The build is just a standard advanced double, isn’t it?]
[That Supreme Court fake was seriously a kick.]
[Lmao, refusing the rematch is hilarious hahahaha.]
[Sung-jin-nim, please find them later and get your revenge!!]
“Ah… I should have expanded cautiously and built a Venom Sprayer, but it looked defensible, so I messed up.”
Had the opponent not erected a building in their main base’s natural expansion, Kim Sung-jin would have been wary of Knights and constructed defensive towers.
However, wasn’t it the case that Ghouls were already spawning and rushing from behind their second expansion?
Whether it was Trenches or Elf Archers, as long as it wasn’t Knights, it would have been an easy block.
“The opponent was also more skilled than I expected. Here, do you see the Skeleton focus fire detail? Usually, if you focus this much on Elf Archer control, you can’t spend money, but the building timing is perfect, isn’t it? Oh! Even the resource management!”
[Unbelievable.]
[As soon as 100 Illusium was gathered, they immediately sent workers to the mine?]
[Their hands are seriously nimble… How do they do that while fighting?]
[Look at the optimization, holy cow. Even after producing 4 archers, the advanced unit teching is incredibly fast.]
[They must be at least 2000 points?]
[Their slow chat made me think they were an old timer.]
[Was even that a fake? lolololol.]
– Anonymous sponsored 1,000 won!
[Should’ve punished them with some serious gameplay in a rematch, what a shame.]
Kim Sung-jin herself felt nothing but regret.
Her broadcast’s viewership largely consisted of those captivated by Kim Sung-jin’s high skill level, so merely showing herself being defeated would invite dissatisfaction.
Fortunately, it seemed she hadn’t incited any major backlash.
This was likely due to it being the first game of the day, a sub-race match, a cheese rush, and the sheer entertainment derived from the opponent’s considerable skill and ingenious trickery.
However, as a streamer who had missed out on the exciting broadcast keyword of “revenge,” a lingering sense of regret remained.
– Siri the Exorcised gave a 50,000 won mission!
[Find and defeat the player from the previous match] *Time remaining: 23:59:55*
“Thank you for the mission! What was that player’s ID again? I can’t quite… Ah, right! ‘Low HP Detector’. Thank you. I’ll definitely get my revenge.”
It seemed Kim Sung-jin wasn’t the only one harboring such thoughts, as a mission was immediately posted.
In most other games, finding the same player within 24 hours would be a formidable task.
However, Triarchia was an old game, populated only by long-time veterans.
With a relatively small player base, one could quickly encounter them if luck was on their side.
Kim Sung-jin repeatedly recited the ID of the player who had just defeated her.
This was so she wouldn’t miss entering their room if they created one.
Yet, perhaps the talk of them needing to go somewhere wasn’t entirely baseless, as the user didn’t currently appear in the private room list.
“Tsk. They’re not here. This might take a while, huh? Still, with that level of skill, they probably play a lot, so I’ll take my time looking.”
Thus, Kim Sung-jin’s defeat was dismissed as a mere happening.
At least, for the rest of the morning, it was.
****
To be frank, it was exceedingly rare for a broadcast’s lifespan to be long.
While the income during one’s peak was substantial, there was no telling when a controversy might erupt, sending one down a path of ruin.
Moreover, as the “entertainment” provided to viewers wasn’t a standardized commodity, a streamer could lose their touch at any moment.
Therefore, wise streamers dug a burrow for themselves, preparing for their inevitable decline.
Instead of being blinded by the immediate influx of money and spending it lavishly, they created their own cash cow.
“No customers, huh…”
Kang Nari, a mid-tier broadcaster who sat idly in her shop, swatting flies, was no exception.
Given the nature of female streamer broadcasts, which typically see a decline with age, she had decided to prepare for the future while still in her prime, heeding the advice of her colleagues.
Thus, at the young age of 26, she had meticulously saved her money and opened a small shop near a subway station.
For now, it was merely a side business, but it would become her main profession should she retire from broadcasting in the future.
The question, however, was what kind of goods she would sell.
It was a shop specializing in electronic cigarettes and e-liquids.
When she first started the business, she had chosen it only considering what she could maintain interest in long-term, but looking back now, it was utterly foolish.
“I should’ve just hired part-timers and opened a convenience store… I really wish I could turn back time.”
A small sigh escaped Kang Nari’s lips.
The shop was so quiet that there was no one to hear her mutter to herself in an attempt to alleviate her boredom.
The fly-swatting shop was born from the following circumstances.
As a broadcaster whose peak hadn’t yet passed, Kang Nari had to prioritize her streaming over the shop.
Naturally, the average broadcast hours were during the evening to early morning, when viewers were most abundant.
Therefore, Kang Nari’s daily routine involved tending to the shop from late morning to early afternoon, then turning on her broadcast in the evening.
However, who was the primary customer base for electronic cigarettes?
They were aimed at adults.
And when Kang Nari’s shop was open, most adults were at work.
Consequently, she couldn’t capture customers who wished to purchase e-cigarettes in the late evenings after work.
While knowledgeable about broadcasting, Kang Nari keenly realized her business acumen was severely lacking.
With current sales barely covering the shop’s monthly rent and electricity bills, she couldn’t even afford to pay herself.
*Jingle!
“Welcome!”
Thus, every single customer was an incredibly welcome sight.
Kang Nari sprang up from her chair and greeted the customer who hesitantly pushed open the door and entered.
“…Hello.”
Upon seeing the newcomer, she was secretly disappointed.
The customer, by all appearances, seemed to be a minor.
They possessed a small stature and a slender build.
Though their face was quite pretty, their hair was disheveled, as if they hadn’t bothered to comb it.
These details further lowered their estimated age.
Still, she maintained a smile on her face.
There was always a one-in-ten-thousand chance that they were merely an adult who looked exceptionally young for their age.
Verification could simply be done with an ID card during payment.
‘Judging by their appearance, they don’t look like a smoker…’
Their skin was so clear it was hard to imagine them as a smoker, and they kept glancing around, seemingly uncomfortable in the shop.
Kang Nari’s suspicions steadily deepened.
Unaware of Kang Nari’s internal thoughts, the customer met her gaze and parted their small lips.
“Um… I usually smoke traditional cigarettes, but I’m trying to switch to e-cigarettes, and I came here without really knowing anything.”
“Ah. Do you need a recommendation, perhaps?”
“Yes, please.”
From among dozens of e-cigarette devices, Kang Nari selected an inexpensive one suitable for beginners and extended it.
She reasoned that offering an expensive one right away would make them feel burdened.
“This product doesn’t require you to buy separate pods… And this one is characterized by its easy cleaning…”
“Ah. Yes. Okay.”
“You inject the e-liquid like this, and you clean the pod with ethanol or water…”
The customer, nodding blankly in response to Kang Nari’s explanations, was quite adorable.
They were like a baby bird, beak agape, eagerly awaiting food.
A smile involuntarily formed on Kang Nari’s face.
Yet, the image of herself explaining smoking-related information to such a young girl… A pang of guilt arose, piercing her heart, as if she were committing a rather wicked act.
“Hmm…”
“If you’re still thinking about it, would you like to try a sample?”
“A sample?”
“It means trying out a demonstration product. But… could I possibly see your ID first? It’s just that you look so incredibly young.”
“Ah. Yes. Here.”
Surprisingly, the woman, Yoo Seo-ha, was an adult.
Not merely someone who had just come of age, but a confirmed adult of 22.
The woman in the photo bore an exact resemblance to Yoo Seo-ha, making it clear that the ID was not borrowed.
Concealing her surprise, Kang Nari naturally returned the ID card.
Yoo Seo-ha slipped her ID card into a charming, compact wallet.
‘She has a face like that and she’s an adult?’
‘If I looked that young, I would’ve planned my broadcast career until I was thirty or forty…’
Even after learning her true age, Kang Nari simply couldn’t view her as a fully-fledged adult.
This was particularly true when Yoo Seo-ha delicately put the sample product to her lips for the demonstration.
As the sweet vapor swirled on her tongue, her half-closed eyes widened, sparkling with delight.
If Kang Nari had an adorable younger sister who monopolized her parents’ love, both irritatingly cheeky and impossibly lovable, she would surely be just like this.
While Kang Nari consciously tried to stop the warm smile from spreading across her lips, Yoo Seo-ha, with her gaze fixed on the device in her hand, kept tilting her head.
“What is this?… It wasn’t like this before?”
“Is something wrong, perhaps?”
“No, it’s not that… I once borrowed and tried an e-cigarette a long time ago, but it wasn’t this delicious.”
Yoo Seo-ha gazed at the e-cigarette with an expression of wonder.
Typically, people switching from traditional cigarettes experience discomfort, but fortunately, this seemed to suit her palate.
This was thanks to Kang Nari’s discerning recommendation; she was known among viewers as ‘Auntie Chain Smoker’ and was considered the representative heavy smoker among soft streamers.
“So, shall I get you that device and e-liquid?”
There were hundreds of types of e-liquids for e-cigarettes, and the one in the current sample was apple-flavored.
Of course, Kang Nari had intentionally selected a fruit-flavored e-liquid.
Sweet-flavored e-liquids were typically popular among women.
The small, cute customer had evoked a prejudice stemming from her appearance.
More precisely, it was the thought, ‘Won’t she be crazy about desserts like whipped cream strawberry croffles or butterscotch muffins?’
This appearance-based preconception had proven precisely accurate, as the customer, Yoo Seo-ha, possessed a feminine, almost childish, palate.
Thus, Kang Nari’s prejudice could be admirably reclassified as keen insight.
However, despite clearly enjoying it, Yoo Seo-ha seemed to hesitate, delaying her answer.
At her hesitation, Kang Nari expressed her confusion.
“Is there anything else you need?”
“No… Um…”
Her face conveyed a hint of shyness rather than mere hesitation.
Yoo Seo-ha, avoiding eye contact, spoke in a voice so soft it was barely audible.
“Is there anything a little sweeter?… I suddenly feel drawn to something like that…”
“Gah…! Ahem, of course there is!”
With that, Yoo Seo-ha purchased an e-liquid named ‘SUPER SWEET’.
It was an e-liquid so sweet that it often divided opinions.
Yet, Yoo Seo-ha savored the vapor, her eyes softening in satisfaction as if she were sucking on a sweet candy.
Kang Nari saw her off as she left the shop.
Her joy at welcoming her first customer in three hours of opening was short-lived.
After walking a short distance, Yoo Seo-ha paused, then re-entered the shop.
*Jingle!
“Excuse me.”
“Oh? Did you leave something behind?”
“No, it’s just that… I don’t know much about e-cigarettes… Can I drop by sometimes and ask questions?”
A clear trace of worry was etched on her small face.
She seemed concerned that her questions might be an imposition.
Kang Nari, recovering from an involuntary burst of laughter, replied brightly.
“Anytime is fine! Please come whenever it’s convenient for you!”
Only then did Yoo Seo-ha leave the shop, her face visibly brightened.
Kang Nari, too, was pleased to have secured a cute regular customer.
