âI am Alley Leader. Have you been well?â
Hyeonu turned on the live stream, bowed his head, and greeted the viewers.
-Yes, it is nice to see you.
-There is good news today.
-Who is the winner?
-Donât we already know the winner? The A-World hits were no joke.
-Still, he said that there are other evaluation criteria. It isnât known who it will be.
-Considering this, it seems like there are roughly five candidates.
The viewers welcomed Hyeonu. No, to be precise, they waited for news of the winner that Hyeonu would announce.
âEveryone is waiting for the winner to be announced?â
Hyeonu smiled when he saw the chat window that was more active than usual. This was worth revealing one unique item.
âEven if the number of views increases, the price of the unique item will remain.â
It was shared on all kinds of social media and Internet communities, as well as A-World and the news. For the past week, there hadnât been any place where Hyeonuâs name hadnât been mentioned.
Anyone who watched a media outlet for more than 10 minutes would hear Hyeonuâs name mentioned at least once. The ramifications of the event were to this extent.
Hyeonu smiled and continued, âIâm sorry, but what can I do? The winner announcement will be revealed on the A-World channel after the live stream ends today.â
-After the live stream?
-...How can I wait?
-I am curious.
-Surely it wonât really be announced after it is over, right? Are you joking?
The viewers couldnât accept Hyeonuâs words. It was inevitable since two days had passed since the event was over.
Two days was enough time to get the results. The number of people who participated in the event was as numerous as the grains of sand on the beach, but among them, there were those who stood out among inferior lights. Naturally, there werenât many such people. The winner would have to be one of them no matter what.
âOnce again, the winner will be announced in the video that will be uploaded after the live stream ends.â
However, Hyeonu was still stubborn and came up with something else instead.
âI am going to reveal something else on the live stream right now.â
-Something else?
-What else have you prepared?
-What?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
-I think it is just a joke.
âI came with the video of the winning candidates.â
Instead of announcing the winner, what Hyeonu brought with him was a video of the winning candidates.
âThere are exactly five people in this video. This is a video that analyzes everything about how they applied for the event and what the result will be.â
Hyeonu finished speaking and clapped. Then a video started to play in the eyes of the viewers.
âThe first one is a face that you know well. It is Sunny, a streamer and pro gamer.â
The image of Sunny smiling broadly appeared.
âSunny applied for the event through social media and an A-World video. Her social media has 3.7 million likes and 650,000 shares, while the views of her A-World video are 17 million.â
Sunny achieved remarkable results. She had a huge fandom behind her and achieved overwhelming results on social media. That didnât mean that her A-World views didnât turn out well. It attracted 17 million views in less than a week. This was great even if there were duplicate views.
-They made half of it.
-Truly. It is saying âI just want to get itâ...
-It isnât âI want to get itâ. It is âI need it for Crescent Moonâ. Stupid.
-It seems to be half Crescent Moonâs fans and half Sunnyâs individual fans.
The viewers nodded at Sunnyâs appearance from the beginning. It was natural for Sunny to be the winner of the event. Sunny had been a fairly popular streamer right from the beginning. Then after beginning her career in Crescent Moon, her popularity grew exponentially.
If it were just this, the viewers wouldnât have been so easily convinced. However, Sunny had some really steadfast fans.
-There are all sorts of people supporting her... It isnât possible to win against them.
-There are three groups that I know of.
-What are you counting for? Just say that all the black magician classes support her.
-She is almost at the level of a queen to necromancers, right?
-Not a queen, just a god. A goddess.
Sunnyâs supporters were all classes associated with black magicians. They offered unconditional support for Sunny.
âDid she build up the pride of a necromancer?â
Based on what Hyeonu knew, it was roughly like this. It wasnât just that. Sunnyâs support base was also filled with Hyeonuâs fans. If Sunny received the unique item, Crescent Moonâs power would naturally go up.
This would make Crescent Moon perform better in the league. The people who wanted this also added to Sunnyâs popularity.
âThis is the second one. It is another familiar face. The captain of Red Bull America, Mascherano.â
Just then, Sunny disappeared from the video, and a new person appeared. It was Mascherano, a blond-haired man with an attractive smile.
âMascherano also participated on social media. He got 13 million likes and 11 million shares.â
Mascherano didnât participate in as many places as Sunny did. He only participated through one social media. Nevertheless, he was a finalist. This was proof that Mascherano was immensely popular.
-If you are an American, you should support Mascherano.
-The New York Warriors or Red Bull America should get this armor.
.
-13 million likes arenât comparable to 1.1 million A-World views.
-Thatâs right. The likes are far more overwhelming.
Mascheranoâs appearance was met with a heated reaction by some viewers. They had only one thing in common. They were American.
âCertainly, there is firepower because there is no Reina.â
As far as Hyeonu knew, Mascheranoâs popularity wasnât to this extent. 13 million likes werenât nothing. Hyeonu chose Reinaâs absence as the reason for this. Reina didnât participate, so her supporters naturally empowered Mascherano.
âFor the pride of the American league... It is something like this.â
The reason was obvious. It was the desire for an American team to win the next Arena Week. No one knew if the unique item given by Hyeonu would be a good item until then. However, it was definitely a good item right now. Based on this, it was possible for them to get a little bit ahead of others.
âThe third, fourth, and fifth candidates will be announced at the same time. More time has passed than I expected.â
Hyeonu moved his hands quickly. The footage disappeared, and three photographs took its place. Each of the photographs contained a person and a short note.
âThe third one is a group, not an individual. It is the Kowloon Guild. They have 89 million viewers on A-World. It is a really great number. The fourth is Ryan. He has 5.5 million likes on social media and 1 million shares. The last one... It is Dwayne. He has 17.5 million social media likes and 130 million A-World video views.â
-Is this part about Dwayne true? 17.5 million?
-What about over 100 million? Is this a number that can come out in a week?
-Isnât over 100 million in a week only possible for Alley Leader?
-Didnât you guys watch Dwayneâs video? 100 million is too little in my opinion...?
The viewers were shocked by Dwayneâs overwhelming results. It was incomparable.
-Isnât this a bit much even for a Hollywood star?
-It smells of manipulation...
-Why would Dwayne manipulate it?
-He is someone who doesnât need that.
-This jerk obviously hasnât seen Dwayneâs video. If you had seen it, you wouldnât be able to say this... Sigh.
These absurd numbers raised suspicions of manipulation. At first glance, this might be the case. Yet anyone who knew the details of the situation would never think of the word âmanipulationâ.
âDwayne is not that type of person. The evidence is in this video.â
Hyeonu played a video. It was the same video that caught the eye of 100 million people in a week.
-I didnât know I was going to shoot a video like this, but... I accidentally got a chance. The reason Iâm making this video isnât just to get an item to use. It is to get even a little bit more attention from you through this event.
As Dwayneâs words continued, the viewers could understand why Hyeonu said this to them.
âDwayne turned my event into a campaign.â
It was a campaign. Dwayne said that if he won Hyeonuâs event, he would sell the armor at an open auction and donate the money he received from the winning bidder and a portion of his assets. The targets of the donation were children in need around the world. He would support them until they became adults.
âThis type of person... There is no way he can manipulate the results. I will also tell you this in advance. It is something that has constantly appeared in the chat window, but... Those who have higher numbers than the five candidates but werenât included in the candidates were found to have reasons for disqualification.â
After these words, Hyeonu no longer commented on the event.
The viewers didnât even ask. It was because the ground started to vibrate along with the sound of a grand flute in the distance. This was a signal that the battle between the god tribe and the middle worldâs allies was about to begin.
***
âGot it? You canât give Raccoon the buffs.â Hyeonu grabbed Tang-E and whispered very softly so that no one else could hear.
âWhy is this necessary? Isnât it good if Uncle becomes stronger?â Tang-E cocked his head like he didnât understand Hyeonuâs words.
âThere is a situation. You can give it a little bit later, just not today,â Hyeonu whispered again. It was in order to convince Tang-E.
âUnderstood, Master dude.â Tang-E quickly nodded. He trusted Hyeonu. He believed there must be a good reason.
âYou know how to fight on your own. If you want to come forward, you can. It isnât a dangerous battle. What will you do?â Hyeonu was still whispering to Tang-E.
-Ah, Iâm going crazy with envy.
-He has this mindset even right before the video.
-Why donât I have a Tang-E?
-Iâm the only one without a bear ã ã ã
In the eyes of the viewers, it just looked like Hyeonu was rubbing his chin against Tang-Eâs fur.
âHmm... I will fight in human form for the first time in a long time, Master dude.â
âReally? Then Iâll handle the items. What weapon will you use?â It was Hyeonu who cocked his head this time.
Tang-E was fierce enough when fighting in humanoid form after using Polymorph. He wasnât pushed even if he fought against some rankers. In particular, his magic power control was beyond the gamers.
âI will use a sword.â Tang-E raised his head and made eye contact with Hyeonu.
âSword? Okay.â Something popped into Hyeonuâs head the moment he heard Tang-Eâs answer.
âBuff me, then wait here and get the items from Yuri. Understood?â Hyeonu said while stroking Tang-Eâs head. Tang-E applied the buffs to Hyeonu without saying anything.
Hyeonu hugged Tang-E and approached Yuri. âYuri, can you give me the buffs?â
âBuffs? I understand.â Yuri applied a buff to Hyeonu without questioning it. There was no reason for Yuri to refuse Hyeonuâs request.
âTake care of Tang-E here.â Hyeonu didnât just stretch out his arms. He leaned forward slightly and handed over Tang-E.
âI sent you an email, so check it later.â Hyeonu moved away from Yuri as if nothing had happened. Then he stood on the edge of the wall and examined the battlefield.
âEveryone, be alert. I am going.â He jumped off the wall without hesitation.
-Hey, this crazy guy!!!
-Once again, he isnât a real person.
-At least turn on the signal blinkers!!
-How can we not be nervous when you speak while running, ah!!!
At the same time, the chat window became a mess. It was the result of Hyeonuâs actions.
At this moment, there was another person who was astonishedâYuri. Her eyes shook wildly after reading Hyeonuâs email.