The Chicken Legend's Game Becomes Reality - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 16
* * *
Dark K Choco, ranked 10th in GOF one-on-one matches worldwide.
His real name is Lee Do-jin.
A professional hunter who had earned his place in the world rankings not just in the Game, but in reality as well.
Yet yesterday, he lost to Chicken Seat.
“….”
Do-jin was dazed.
After sleeping longer than usual from the shock of defeat, I woke to find the world turned upside down.
Especially my phone notifications were ablaze.
Wondering what had happened, I checked the Hunter Site and discovered that portions of yesterday’s match had been broadcast on giant screens across the entire world.
The tournament was even scheduled to air on public broadcasting and cable networks.
The Beta Tournament’s impact was tremendous—the internet was already calling the GOF tournament the “Hunter Olympics.”
With things developing that way, the Hunter Site had taken on an almost festival atmosphere.
The Hunter Olympics, no less.
‘…So I showed my defeat to the entire world as the opening act of the Hunter Olympics.’
The sky darkened under such tremendous dishonor.
After confirming several videos of yesterday’s match replaying on countless overseas screens, Do-jin turned on his phone.
Messages poured in not just from acquaintances, but from guilds as well.
Do-jin scrolled past the accumulating new messages and finally touched the name that had been silent.
[Me: Did you see my one-on-one match with Chicken Bulssdagu, Older Brother?]
[Me: What’s their identity?]
[Me: At that level, they’re definitely not just an ordinary skilled player in reality either]
The other person was Baek Hee-an.
Do-jin had been sending messages almost unilaterally, waiting for a response.
Then a notification appeared at the top of the screen.
[Hee-an: That would make sense]
[Hee-an: Though I still don’t know if Chicken Seat is a hunter]
Do-jin’s eyes widened.
I was surprised that Older Brother had replied so quickly.
Baek Hee-an was a kind and responsible leader at mission sites, but he had a tendency to draw cold boundaries in private settings.
Still, Do-jin had always respected and followed Baek Hee-an without wavering.
[Me: I knew it, right?]
A message came in right after my reply.
[Hee-an: Looked like you logged into the Game and matched right after watching yesterday’s broadcast]
[Me: Yes]
[Me: I wanted to fight since Chicken’s ranking had climbed to 12th]
Do-jin’s ranking in the Game was 10th.
It was natural to feel competitive spirit toward a domestic ranker who had climbed so rapidly into the top tier.
Especially since I was well acquainted with the other rankers, I was even more curious.
I wondered what kind of person they were.
Since a match had just ended, I’d gotten lucky with an immediate matchmaking success.
Though I wasn’t sure if I could call myself lucky when my defeat had been broadcast to the entire world.
[Me: Next time we meet, I’ll definitely win]
[Me: But I’m curious who they are]
[Baek Hee-an: Wouldn’t it be better to focus on building strength until the tournament?]
[Me: Understood]
Do-jin felt oddly energized—it had been quite a while since he’d had a real-time conversation with Baek Hee-an.
[Me: What have you been up to lately?]
[Me: I heard you’ve been resting since you got back from that overseas mission]
One message interval passed.
[Baek Hee-an: I need the rest]
[Me: You’re participating in the tournament, right?]
Two message intervals passed.
[Baek Hee-an: Of course]
[Me: How’s your training going?]
Three message intervals passed.
But this time, even after three intervals, no reply came back.
The real-time conversation had ended.
“…Ah.”
Do-jin let out a small sigh of disappointment.
Baek Hee-an was difficult to get close to, but by these standards, they were actually quite friendly.
Since there was someone whose relationship with Baek Hee-an was genuinely terrible, Do-jin could feel a relative sense of closeness even from this level of interaction.
As Do-jin scrolled through the conversation history with Baek Hee-an, he suddenly realized something.
‘He only talked about Chicken Seat before leaving.’
Baek Hee-an had told him to stop being interested, but now it seemed Baek Hee-an himself was extremely interested in Chicken Seat.
The impact of yesterday’s Beta Test tournament must have been significant.
If it had captured Baek Hee-an’s attention, that said something.
‘It makes sense.’
The Hunter Community’s interest in Chicken Bulssdagu stemmed from three major factors.
First, there was almost no information about her.
Second, her combat style was refreshingly exhilarating.
Third, her ranking climb was absurdly fast.
Chicken Bulssdagu, who had suddenly appeared on the GOF world rankings one day, had a ranking ascent speed that was unparalleled.
Recently, Chicken Seat had climbed from 13th to 12th place in less than a month.
Everyone watched to see where this incredible acceleration would stop, and after breaking through 12th place, she’d beaten 10th place in an almost draw.
Of course, game skill didn’t absolutely correlate with real-world ability.
But from countless examples, the game skill in the advanced virtual reality game GOF typically translated directly to reality.
The prime example was Baek Hee-an, who held the world’s 1st place ranking in both game and reality.
As Do-jin exited the chat with Baek Hee-an and scrolled through the entire message list, his brow furrowed sharply.
—You’re getting beaten by rank 12, what a joke.
Hwang Beom-young, that bastard.
But the sharp sting of his factual jab resurrects the shock of defeat, wave after wave.
“Tch.”
I lost to Chicken Bulssdagu.
‘I got too excited that the matchmaking succeeded on the first try and let my guard down completely. Next time, absolutely not…’
I won’t lose.
* * *
I searched for Dark K Choco’s personal information scattered across the internet.
Lee Do-jin, a Hunter from the Cheongryeong Guild.
His sun-darkened brown skin and jet-black hair dyed like ink made quite an impression.
People say he doesn’t photograph well because of his monolids, but there’s a palpable, weighty charisma emanating from his expressionless face.
Looking at how he dressed in summer, his muscles were taut and his legs were long.
His height is 192 centimeters.
‘Damn, he’s impressive.’
Dark Choco’s real-world appearance was very much to my taste, so I was rummaging through internet photos when the convenience store door opened.
It was about time students started pouring out, and it turned out to be someone I knew.
Kim Jung-yeon.
The part-time worker who comes to the convenience store for his shift on weekday evenings.
“Where did you get roughed up, noona?”
The moment he saw me, he asked with a surprised expression.
There was something yesterday.
‘But usually when someone shows up with injuries, don’t people ask where they got hit? Why is he making the excuse for me?’
Well, it’s probably because I don’t look like the type to get beaten up anywhere.
I gave a vague response.
“Nothing serious—I just took a tumble down the stairs. It’s not shift time yet though. Why did you come so early?”
Looking closer, he was holding something in his hand.
“You bought me chicken yesterday, noona. So today I brought pizza.”
What a sweet kid.
“By the way, noona, did you happen to see that thing yesterday? On God Opal…?”
“What? You mean the Beta Test Tournament?”
“Exactly!”
His eyes sparkled.
This guy must not have any friends to talk about games with.
“Is that why you came? Don’t you have gaming friends?”
“I did, but they all got busy after I took a leave of absence. Some are preparing for jobs, and since I moved, it’s been hard to see my neighborhood friends regularly.”
No wonder his friendliness was excessive from his first day working here.
He was just bored.
He and I set our phones down in front of us and started eating pizza.
“Chicken Seat really fights well, doesn’t she? She’s one of the rare female characters among the top-ranked players domestically in God Opal. She might actually be a woman.”
“Hmm.”
She’s female, but probably not the type you’re imagining.
Jung Yeon added an explanation.
“Hunters usually create characters of the same gender as themselves. Since it’s for guild training, it’s better to have similar physicality, and if you become famous with a different gender, people call you a pervert.”
That’s what I’d heard.
Even I matched my gender and height to feel the reality of being able to use my legs properly.
“There will definitely be team game events in this tournament, and I wish I could be on the same team as Chicken Seat once. Though with such a huge rank difference, it seems unlikely we’d ever meet.”
You’ve already boarded the same ship as Chicken Seat—or rather, the same convenience store.
Anyway, she was quite interested.
“You play GOF?”
“Of course, it’s so fun. Would you like to try it too, noona? I’ll show you the ropes. Wow, Chicken Seat’s reflexes are insane. Even watching again, it’s amazing. How does he dodge that?”
“….”
That’s me.
While I watched Dark K Choco and Chicken Bulssdagu’s match in silence.
I heard the door chime.
Ding—
When I looked up to greet them, they were people I knew again.
My expression hardened.
Jung Yeon greeted them instead of me.
“Welcome.”
Three familiar high school boys shuffled into the convenience store, glancing nervously at Jung Yeon and me.
Jung Yeon’s eyes widened as she looked back and forth between me and them.
She whispered to me.
“Did you fight with them?”
It certainly looked that way.
Their faces had more bruises than before—they’d clearly taken more hits somewhere else.
I asked coldly.
“I thought you weren’t coming.”
“W-well, about that.”
“We’re truly sorry!”
All three bowed respectfully toward me.
I thought they’d come to apologize, and my irritation began to ease, but I stopped short at what came next.
“We have a favor to ask, and we were wondering if you might be willing to help….”
What kind of favor.
Had they lost all sense of shame.
“Can’t you see I’m working?”
“Oh, if you tell us when you get off, we’ll wait outside!”
Just shut up and get out!
I wanted to say, but honestly, I was curious about what reason had driven them to involve me.
‘Am I about to get dragged into something again?’
But I’m already entangled with them—I couldn’t escape even if I tried.
Rather than stumbling blindly into danger like yesterday, it’s better to play along, gather information, and dodge properly.
“It’ll be done in an hour.”
The moment I answered, the anxious faces of those guys brightened.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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