Chapter 229: The Time of the Real Ones
In the face of the sudden disappearance of lower-ranked Challenger rankers, viewers laughed gleefully.
After all the talk about rankers lying in wait since the Challenger Road trailer, the fact that it ended in a flight ending was quite ridiculous.
This was especially true since the number of Challenger ranker solo ranks displayed on the match history sites had drastically increased when it was time for the 'Hack Tour' content to begin.
Some viewers expressed the opinion that the previous rankers who faced him head-on, even if they were defeated, were better. At least they didn't flee disgracefully.
Although they couldn't properly inflict any significant damage on Baek Woohyun, wasn't their will to fight at least worthy of high praise?
However, it seemed those who ran away had their excuses, as a fairly long donation came in.
'Academy Trainee' donated '1000 won'!
[I wanted to fight Hackphysical too ㅜㅜ But my coach told me not to, so I had no choice; Others are probably similar]
-What
-Huh
-Is this real?
-Must be self-proclaimed lol
"Hmm."
The donation from someone claiming to be a trainee at an academy run by a pro team stated that those who fled now didn't choose to do so of their own accord.
Of course, it was just a claim without verification, so it wasn't certain whether to believe it. That's why viewers' reactions were split fifty-fifty.
'Academy Trainee' donated '1000 won'!
[He said there's a skill gap that can't be used as reference, and trying would only break our spirits ㅜㅜ]
-Fact) True
-A crow trying to follow a stork will split its legs ㅇㅇ;
-Academy protection of prospects is the best lol
-"Skill gap that can't be used as reference" Kya lol
"I don't know if it's true, but if I were an academy coach, I would have made the same choice."
"Eh, really?"
When Cha Seongcheol sided with the donation, Jeong Nayeon asked back with wide eyes.
"Think about it. How foolish would it be to directly confront a natural disaster like a typhoon or tsunami?"
-That's true lol
-Running from natural disasters is the best strategy for real
-Anyway, if you reach the top of the rankings, you won't meet Hackphysical, so there's no reason to challenge him
-Even challenges should have limits;
Baek Woohyun, who declared the Challenger Road and is climbing the rankings, is just a passing natural disaster.
Anyway, lower-ranked rankers, especially promising trainees, won't meet him again once he climbs up, so there was no reason to challenge him and get thoroughly beaten.
If they could learn something from fighting, it might be different, but as the donation said, there was a skill gap that simply couldn't be used as reference.
If Baek Woohyun aspired to be a pro player, academy trainees might try facing him once for experience, but he wasn't even that.
The coaches' decision not to create unnecessary trouble when he had no interest in going pro was wise. Regardless of viewers' impressions.
Cha Seongcheol was pointing out exactly that aspect.
'lol' donated '1000 won'!
[Meanwhile, Hackphysical being treated as a natural disaster is so natural lol]
-Because he is a natural disaster
-He "naturaled" it
-Even World Class players didn't get this treatment
-World Class player? Ah~ Nikki Lee Yeonwoo? He lost too lol
"Don't you all feel it? That Hackphysical is a being that cannot be dealt with by human strength, closer to a natural phenomenon."
Cha Seongcheol chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. As if no matter how intensely he expressed it here, it would be insufficient to represent Baek Woohyun.
Even he, who had worked as a 'Struggle' pro league commentator and seen countless pro players, found Baek Woohyun to be truly outside common sense.
Sometimes while conducting 'Hack Tour,' he even thought Baek Woohyun seemed like someone who had gained tremendous skills through struggle within the world of 'Reverse Planet' and returned.
Baek Woohyun's strength was on a different dimension, enough to generate such modern fantasy novel-like speculation. It could be expressed as Another Level.
[Final Record -- Baek Woohyun 2:0 (Anonymous)]
[Final Winner: Baek Woohyun]
[Final Loser: (Anonymous)]
-"...Hmm."
"Hackphysical grabs another victory!"
"Because it's the 'Super Random Box' build, it was a slightly more thrilling fight, right? When the box contents were bad, I really thought he'd lose."
"Me too. I thought Mr. Cheater would finally experience his first defeat."
-This is the dopamine build lmao
-He barely recovered by raising the multiplier in the next box
-If the opponent hadn't been so scared, who knows what would have happened; such a shame
-If you watch the VOD, you'll 100% regret it lol
Despite the sudden disappearance of lower-ranked rankers, Baek Woohyun's Challenger Road continued.
No, in a sense, it could be said to have accelerated even more. With the lower ranks gone, naturally he was matched with mid-ranked players.
Since he continued his merciless winning streak, his MMR was more than sufficient—it overflowed—and the matchmaking was based on the fact that there were no opponents at nearby ranks.
Naturally, the reward was greater since he was matched with higher-ranked opponents than usual. To the point of adding several more stages to the rankings that were already climbing by about ten steps at a time.
When he took down someone in the 500s, he jumped up twenty steps at once, so it was fair to say his Challenger ranking climb speed caught fire.
A speed that made even the previous description of insane climbing speed seem pale!
Baek Woohyun (▲427)
-Already entered the 500s ㄷㄷ
-The climbing speed is really crazy lol
-Still thought it would take about six hours, but what is this;
-It's surprising that someone once spent almost two days as Turn It On King, shitting blood trying to hit rank 1 ㅇㅇ
However, one bad thing also emerged as his Challenger ranking rose. The disadvantage that high-ranked rankers inevitably have to endure found Baek Woohyun.
Rather, it was strange that it hadn't found him until now—that thing was the matchmaking wait time.
[Matchmaking...]
-"......"
Baek Woohyun now had to stare at the system message that ordinary people would hardly ever see for quite a while. Though it was only a few minutes at most.
Having settled at rank 573, his opponents were now only those above him, so he had to wait for one of them to get caught.
It was a scene quite familiar to viewers who watched other pro player broadcasts besides the 'Hack Tour' content, especially broadcasts of high-ranking players.
-500 concurrent viewers, dead game lol
-Matchmaking won't work? Game's dead ㅉㅉ
-Is RePla so dead now that even 1v1 has to wait several minutes? ㄷㄷ
-The reality of the national game ㅜㅜ
"Hey, no slander!"
"But you still love 'Reverse Planet,' right?"
However, fortunately, viewers weren't bored at all during the matchmaking wait time.
Not only did the panelists including Jeong Nayeon have various conversations, but Baek Woohyun also showed off mysterious supernatural abilities by changing builds in his spare time.
And it wasn't just using supernatural ability skills a few times and stopping, but operations made possible by the absence of corrections.
Dozens of blue butterflies flew freely around the battle preparation room, flames created several human forms, and an endlessly connected mirror world unfolded.
It was an extremely fantastic sight that could never be seen in broadcasts of those who relied on corrections and only used skills determined by their builds.
I dare guarantee that even those who created the supernatural ability builds never dreamed their builds would be used like this.
"Whoa..."
"Wow!"
"Wow!"
-This is a real ability user;
-Battle correction ← Actually restraints, right?
-Easy to use is the only advantage lol
-Corrections really feel like raising the low end but lowering the high end
'Teleportation Commute' donated '10000 won'!
[Can't do this, starting no-correction training from today]
Of course, if you keep watching this, you'll eventually get tired and hope matchmaking gets caught quickly, but fortunately, such worry seemed unnecessary.
The reason was simple. Because the time of the 'real ones' was finally arriving from places the studio didn't know about.
Unlike lower-ranked rankers who had nothing to gain from fighting, it meant those filled with the will to fight and take something away came forward.
[Successfully matched for PVP 'Duel' mode game]
[Moving to dueling grounds]
-"Hello."
-"......"
A game caught after an exceptionally long matchmaking wait time.
When Baek Woohyun set foot in the dueling grounds that implemented part of Zone 12: Temple, his opponent suddenly bowed deeply at the waist.
It was quite a rare sight in PVP 'Duel' mode, where proper greetings were uncommon, and often not even a single word was properly exchanged.
However, having met various types of people so far, Baek Woohyun didn't particularly care.
Since he wasn't going to lay everything out and have a conversation with his opponent in 'Duel' anyway, whatever the opponent did, whoever they were, it didn't matter.
Rather, those who let out cheers were at the studio—precisely, the viewers. Unlike Baek Woohyun, they recognized the opponent's identity at once.
-Division 1 league player appearance lol
-No wonder the matchmaking wait time was long
-The real ones are starting to come out
-Make the pro parrots shut up again? ㅎ
"This opponent is player Jicheon Kim Junghee from STS Raven, active in Division 1 league!"
'ㅇㅇ' donated '1000 won'!
[So is it pro player dojo breaking from now on? lol]
-Been waiting for just this
-Heard pros were lying in wait too, hmm...
-What if they're lying in wait lol What can they do against Hackphysical lol
-???: Watch closely what I can do
Not a pro-aspiring trainee prospect, not a Division 2 league player desperately aiming for promotion, not a retired former pro, but a real Division 1 league player.
An existence that even Baek Woohyun had only met once officially—though that was against a so-called World Class player!—and twice unofficially appeared as his opponent.
Moreover, it was an appearance after the longest matchmaking wait time since the Challenger Road began, so viewers had reason to be pleased.
In fact, if you properly considered the context, it felt more like player Jicheon got caught because the matchmaking wait time was long, but anyway.
"In reality, you could say the Challenger ranking climb, the Challenger Road, truly starts from now."
-The time of the real ones starts now
-Only the best among people who eat and only play RePla come out? ㄷㄷ
-Honestly, if you're not worried at all, recommend lol
-Just succeed at the Hackphysical challenge and come back~
'Hackassassin' donated '1000 won'!
[You didn't come to meet me. I came to meet you]
"Ahaha."
Jeong Nayeon, who glanced at the chat window reactions, shrugged her shoulders. Because reactions unfolded exactly as she predicted when bringing it up.
In various content, Baek Woohyun showed overwhelming strength to the point of having no rival, so now, whoever the opponent was, creating tension was impossible.
What good would it do for a Division 1 league pro player to appear? When he'd already smashed even a player stronger than that, even one classified as World Class.
But if you asked whether this situation was only bad, she would immediately shake her head.
'Because there are many people who want to enjoy guaranteed victories.'
Fair-weather fans, bandwagoners, glory hunters, plastic fans, etc.
In every sport, there's always a considerable number of people who support strong teams. This applied beyond sports to other cases as well.
After all, to attract fans, you need results to back it up, don't you?
Therefore, Baek Woohyun, as the absolute powerhouse standing at the top, just needed to attract those who enjoy guaranteed victories, those who support strong players—or teams.
Furthermore, she'd guarantee the number of such people would be tremendously large. Especially since the foundation of 'Hack Tour' content was personal broadcasting.
It was normal to want personal broadcasts watched as a hobby to be refreshing rather than frustrating.
"Yes! Let's watch together how much a Division 1 league player will struggle against Woohyun!"
-Don't lose pathetically
-Still should be better than Division 2 league though
-Time to show the prowess of a pro player
-A pro becoming an underdog and getting cheered for is lmao