Ch. 12

You Are A Hacker

***

She muttered to herself in frustration as she signed up for Tweety and started chatting without even realizing it.

Her messages were lost in the whirlwind of the chat, unnoticed or ignored by the other viewers.

Sometimes, she received private messages full of insults, which made her reply with the same venom, while typing away in the chat.

“Is this supposed to be fun for anyone?”

She wondered if anyone else felt the same way.

She had another website open, where comments criticizing her kept popping up, fueling her anger. But strangely, she found some amusement in picking apart another streamer, Han-ah, in the chat.

Han-ah seemed focused on the arena, oblivious to the chat, but she didn’t care.

She felt her stress melt away as she watched the broadcast, enjoying the spectacle.

“Rin. Rin. Rin. Are you there, viewer named Rin? You’ve been annoying me with your chat since the arena started. How about you give me your Another World ID so I can see your so-called skill?”

She stopped chatting as Han-ah called out the nickname “Rin” over and over.

She moved the mouse cursor cautiously to check her nickname in the chat.

‘Rin ’

“Huh, what…”

‘Me?’

‘It couldn’t be. ‘Rin’ was a common ID, right?’

But the chat exploded with dozens of messages every second.

[Haha, looks like she’s going to publicly humiliate them.]

[If they don’t show up when she calls them like that, they’ll get a permanent IP ban, and they won’t be able to watch Han-ah’s broadcast anymore, haha]

An IP ban meant blocking someone from accessing the site by targeting their regional IP, right?

She stared at the chat, scrolling relentlessly. She had a gut feeling that Han-ah was referring to no one else but her.

She realized that she might have crossed a line with her chat, considering the harshness of the comments on the other website.

She had responded to those comments, and now her chat was getting more aggressive too.

“…Should I leave?”

She thought about turning off the internet broadcast and fleeing from the site.

The main reason she chatted was because she felt frustrated, and even if Han-ah invited her to the arena, she was confident she wouldn’t lose.

But revealing a character almost identical to herself in front of 20,000 viewers was daunting.

She had been confined to her home for a few days after arriving in this world, and now she had to expose herself to 20,000 strangers.

As she pondered over these thoughts,

“If you don’t show up, I’ll permanently IP ban you from my broadcast and report you to Tweety headquarters as a malicious viewer, so you won’t be able to watch any other broadcasts in the future. I’ve warned you beforehand. It’s better for you to make up your mind and participate in the chat for the next 2 minutes.”

“…Damn.”

She was taken aback by Han-ah’s sudden firmness.

‘Why me, out of the 20,000 viewers?’

She wasn’t the only one who had been rude in the chat, so why was she singled out?

Various thoughts flooded her mind, wondering what she should do.

She could have shrugged off a permanent IP ban from Han-ah, but being reported as a malicious viewer and losing access to all other broadcasts was a different story.

“Then…I won’t be able to watch any broadcasts?”

She glanced at the other website, where comments kept pouring in, accusing her of being a hacker.

[Just wait, you losers, I’ll show you how easy it is to pair by turning on my broadcast, damn]

That was the last comment she had posted, and it had already attracted dozens of replies.

[If you’re going to turn on the broadcast, why not go all out?] 

[This girl’s having way too much fun tonight, haha]

[Don’t fall for their bait, they’re just trying to get a rise out of you, seriously.]

[Hey, you’re taking the bait too, you moron, haha]

[Hackers and hacker defenders are both trash, really] 

“Oh, this is bad.”

She felt the urge to turn on the broadcast.

She couldn’t stand being called a hacker by those jerks. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, tossing and turning in her bed, feeling humiliated and ashamed.

She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the comments on the Another Level site, scrolling like an addict. Could she really let them get away with this?

She bit her lip, lost in thought.

Should she reveal her character in Another World, exposing herself to 20,000 viewers? Or should she just close the window and deny being a hacker?

She didn’t have much time to decide. The streamer’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

“30 seconds left, ‘Rin.’ If you don’t give me your Another World ID, I’ll permanently IP ban you from my broadcast and report you as a malicious viewer. As a prominent streamer, I’m not going to let this slide.”

Tap. Tap.

She started typing in the chat.

– My character ID is ‘Rin’ so please invite me.

She hit the Enter key, giving in to the challenge.

But she didn’t regret it.

Maybe, in front of 20,000 people, she could prove that she wasn’t a hacker. That thought crossed her mind.

“Hey, Rin? I clicked the invite, but it says the user hasn’t logged in. Did you really log in?”

Han-ah looked at her chat with disbelief, then fiddled with something on the screen. She quickly typed back.

– Oh, I’ll log in right away, so please wait a few minutes.

She sent the message, then launched Another World.

Soon, she felt the familiar sensation of being transported to another world, and her vision faded to black.

—

*Ding!*

– An invitation to the arena has been sent to user ‘Rin.’

Han-ah felt tense as she waited in the Colosseum.

She thought Rin would either ignore her or decline her challenge. With over 20,000 viewers watching, she figured Rin wouldn’t dare to face her unless she had some real skills.

But to her surprise, Rin logged in as soon as Han-ah called out her Another World nickname.

“Rin, you really…accepted the invitation.”

She tried to sound calm, even though she was still broadcasting live.

[Wow, she really accepted the invitation?]

[Haha, So it wasn’t a bluff?]

[Why does Han-ah sound nervous, haha]

[Accepting the invitation means she’s confident, haha. Han-ah must be shaking right now.]

‘Wow, these rookies…’

Couldn’t they just play along and not comment on her tone?

She was about to say something to shut them up, when another notification rang out.

*Ding!*

– User ‘Rin’ has accepted the arena invitation.

A burst of light flashed from the opposite side of the Colosseum, revealing a figure.

Han-ah blinked nervously as she stared at the figure before her.

“What…?”

She muttered, dumbfounded, as she looked at the person who had appeared in front of her.

The chat window exploded with an unprecedented flurry of activity.

[???????]

[What’s going on?]

[Wait, isn’t that character?]

[Hacker?????]

[Wow, what the hell, why is she so pretty? Crazy]

[Is this for real?]

Han-ah was oblivious to the current chat window, mesmerized by the figure.

She felt strangely familiar, even though it was clearly the first time she had seen her. It was as if she had seen her several times before, as if she knew her somehow.

Was it because features looked incredibly realistic, or was it because virtual reality was so amazing? Han-ah found herself wondering without realizing it.

A woman with silver hair.

Her long, silver hair cascaded over her pale skin, creating a striking contrast.

She was beautiful, anyone could see that. But her character looked so realistic that she seemed like she could have been modeled after a famous foreign model or actress.

Her finely chiseled features. And the emotionless expression on her face.

“She’d look really pretty if she smiled.”

That was how much Han-ah admired her appearance, even though she didn’t know why.

Her indifferent expression gave off a strange aura, as if she had transcended the world.

All those peculiar sensations combined, capturing Han-ah’s gaze as if someone had glued it to her.

“Shall we begin?”

Then, her lips moved, breaking the silence with her chilly voice, and Han-ah snapped back to reality.

With a startled expression, Han-ah pointed at Rin and exclaimed, “‘You are a hacker!”

In response to Han-ah’s blatant accusation, Rin frowned and sighed, “……I’m not a hacker.”