-Daaaaaaamn~
-Wew, that confidence
-A mere 4-Star is going all-in against a 6-Star LOL
-Does he actually believe he’ll win?
The chat got riled up from Ohjin’s offer.
One side was mocking Ohjin for fearlessly proposing a wager against a 6-Star, and the other was hoping that Jerry Kim would step up and put Ohjin back in his place.
‘Well, that kind of reaction is only natural.’
It just meant that the difference between a 4-Star and 6-Star was that wide.
“Everything…?”
Jerry Kim’s eyes shook.
He looked back at his sack filled with starstones which were the hard-earned fruits of his labor from hunting for a month. The equipment and potion expenses that were used to gather those easily exceeded $100,000.
The expenses were especially high as he had played out dangerous acts to enhance the enjoyment of the stream.
"Yes. Everything we have. Ah, for the record…"
Ohjin took out a small sack from his pocket. It didn't even have 20 starstones inside of it.
"This is all I have."
"……"
Jerry Kim opened his mouth from the absurdity of the situation.
-LMAO.
-Hahaha, so that's the reason he asked to go all in.
-That's all he has. Of course going all-in doesn't matter XD.
-Damn, the Lightning Wolf is hilarious (≧▽≦)
-???: A person who has nothing to lose has nothing to be afraid of
-If he gets lucky and wins, he gobbles up over 1,000 starstones, and if he loses, all he has to do is give 20 (^○^)
-Fuck me, ‘all in' while having just 20 kekw
The chat's atmosphere turned rather favorable to Ohjin.
It appeared that they thought he hadn't challenged a 6-Star without fear but simply offered a wager that had a predictable outcome to raise the entertainment of the stream.
"Uh, hmm."
Jerry Kim had a hesitant expression while his mouth twitched.
No matter the circumstance, it was all the starstones he had on the line. The starstones he gathered during the past month were 1,000 at minimum.
Moreover…
‘Fuck… there are also some I bought with my own money.'
In order to flaunt just how many starstones he had gained in a month, he had used his private expenses to purchase starstones to add to his sack.
‘I did that because it's easy to exchange back into cash, but…'
The situation was off-putting.
-Hahaha, scared?
-Got cold feet by any chance? Got cold feet by any chance? Got cold feet by any chance? Got cold feet by any chance?
-Ah, just fold if you're scared (ᗒᗜᗕ)՛̵̖
-Chickening out after being the first to ask for a competition ROFL
-Why are you so scared when he’s just a 4-Star???
-Isn't what the Lightning Wolf offered just a joke anyways?
However, the viewers that had no idea about his circumstance paid no heed and fanned the flames.
Ohjin smiled as he looked at Jerry Kim, who was still contemplating.
‘He won't be able to refuse.'
If he chickened out with his tail behind his legs in the current atmosphere, it was obvious he would receive mockery with that alone.
He basically had to place his own foot on the trap he set up.
Ring!—
[‘Almond' has donated $5,000.]
[Let’s go all-in, whoever wins takes the money.]
As the time for his thoughts dragged out, the chat even started to spam donations.
"…V-Very well."
Jerry Kim nodded his head with a clenched jaw.
"But instead, how about we proceed without the penalty?"
With it being a match he couldn’t lose no matter what, he couldn’t bring himself to accept the challenge while being burdened with a penalty.
‘He made his move with so much confidence; it's possible that he has a hidden trump card.'
Jerry Kim couldn’t let his guard down when there was so much on the line.
-LOL. Looks like he's scared shitless.
-That's dirty, Jerry Kim!!!
-But to be honest, I would be scared as well. Just how many hundreds of thousands are those starstones worth (ᗒᗜᗕ)՛̵̖
-Woo, Jerry Kim’s ‘Serious' mode
The chat was spammed with mockery towards Jerry Kim.
"Seriously, guys. You need to understand my perspective this time. Do you know how much all this is worth?"
Jerry Kim stated firmly, not willing to yield.
"Very well. Let's proceed without the penalty."
"Phew."
Jerry Kim relaxed while exhaling a deep breath of relief.
If there was no penalty, it was a match he couldn’t lose.
‘It looks like he really did ask for an all-in as a joke.'
Asking for a match against a 6-Star Awakener without any penalty? It was right to think that he had no thoughts of winning in the first place.
‘Goddammit. I should have just taken a moderate penalty.'
If the fact that he used all his might without a penalty against a 4-Star Awakener became known, it was likely that he would get made fun of.
‘Well, it's better to be safe than sorry.'
Mockery was temporary, anyways.
In the end, only the result of ‘defeated a North Star’s apostle' would remain.
"Then, should we start right away?"
"Ah, wait a minute."
Jerry Kim turned his body to face the camera and took out something.
"There's something that just can't be left out in a match like this."
Beep, boop—
As he lightly used the controller in his hands—
[Point Betting! Choose who you think will win!]
<ol data-mce-style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt;">
Jerry Kim.
<li data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt;">
Lightning Wolf.
-Open the gates! Open the gates! Open the gates!!
-I got my monthly paycheck today. Let's fucking gooo!
-11111111111111111111111111
-No one's actually betting on the upper dog, right?
-Underdog! Underdog! Underdog!
The chat suddenly became frantic.
"…What’s this?"
"Ohjin, you don't know what point betting is?"
Once again, Ha-eun explained in Jerry Kim’s stead.
"Point betting is simply something like predicting the victor of a sport. You use real cash to exchange into points and then place bets on who you think is going to win."
"Isn't that just gambling?"
"It is gambing. You weren't allowed to use cash to exchange for points in the past, but it's available everywhere these days."
"And the government is just letting this be?"
"In a shitty world where monsters run amok, who do you think would care about something trifling like gambling?"
"I guess."
‘It looks like Ha-eun has seen a lot of streams. How does she know all of this?'
‘In any case, gambling…'
Ohjin’s lips curved up.
‘I can't let such a good opportunity go.'
He sent a signal to Ha-eun with his eyes.
"Hehe, little bastard. You don't have to look at me with those eyes. I've already gotten it all~ taken care of, so sit still, alright?"
Ha-eun smiled as she took out her smartphone.
[Current Betting Ratio.]
<ol data-mce-style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt;">
Jerry Kim (92%)
<li data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt;">
Lightning Wolf (8%)
"Ah~ everybody. Aren't you being too mean? You're going to make him feel embarrassed!"
Jerry Kim cackled as he rambled in front of the camera.
-LMAO, look at the betting ratio.
-E.A.Z.Y.M.O.N.E.Y!
-Who the hell is betting on the underdog in this situation?
-I bet my entire fortune. Please let me get a 5% return!
-UpperdogUpperdogUpperdogUpperdogUpperdog.
As expected, the bets heavily favored Jerry Kim.
Most of the points were gathered up on him.
‘Damn, look at the number of points.'
As it was a stream with over 100,000 viewers, the total pot had exceeded $2,000,000 in just five minutes.
At that moment—
Ring!—
[Current Betting Ratio.]
<ol data-mce-style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt;">
Jerry Kim (73%)
<li data-mce-style="font-size: 11pt;">
Lightning Wolf (27%)
—The ratio on the Lightning Wolf abruptly increased by a large margin.
"Huh?"
Jerry Kim also widened his eyes with surprise.
Rising up in an instant instead of gradually meant…
-Holy shit (≧▽≦). Just how much did they bet on the underdog?
-Someone go do the math.
-Jesus, I did the calculations and it turns out they bet $460,000 at once.
-What a serious underdog freak;;
-Let's goooo~
The chat started to move rapidly.
"Oh, my~ will you really be okay with that decision?"
Jerry Kim narrowly suppressed the edge of his lips from going up.
‘There are seriously underdog freaks wherever you go.'
Being insane enough to blow $400,000? It wasn't possible for your average joe.
‘Well, it's better for me.'
The larger the pot, the more commission fees the streamer would receive.
"Now! The last three minutes! There are three more minutes remaining!"
Jerry Kim proficiently goaded the viewers so that more people would place bets.
While he was focused on the stream…
"Ohjin, I bet everything that was left after paying off the house. You know what you’re doing, right?"
"Of course."
"I trust you."
Ha-eun smiled while poking Ohjin’s flank.
"But what's your ID? I don't see it in the betting status board."
"Secret."
"Hm? Why is that a secret?"
"Just understand it as a secret if I say so."
"Tell me…"
"Hmpf."
Not wanting to answer, Ha-eun flicked her head away.
"……?"
Ohjin was curious, but he didn't dig in any deeper. It wasn't like finding out her ID was important.
"Now then! We will close the bettings!!"
The final ratio was 20:80.
Compared to the bets on Ohjin, an overwhelming amount of people were predicting Jerry Kim's victory.
Well, it was a match between a 4-Star and 6-Star Awakener.
Unless it was 1~2 years in the future, it was only natural for most people to place their bets on Jerry Kim’s victory.
* * *
* * *
"Then, shall we begin?"
"Sure."
Jerry Kim approached him and explained the rules in a simple manner.
"The time limit is 30 minutes. You and I will form a party and count who hunted more monsters. The side with more kills will be deemed the victor."
"Alright."
"And by the way, how about counting the ‘last hit' on the monster as a kill, ignoring whatever the circumstance is beforehand?"
It seemed like a fair rule at first glance, but it was one-sidedly advantageous for Jerry Kim.
After all, it wasn't hard for an Awakener of Sagittarius who was specialized in long-range combat to steal the last hit.
‘He's struggling with all his might to guarantee his victory.'
Ohjin smiled while nodding his head.
"Alright. Let's proceed with that condition."
-Lightning Wolf VS Jerry Kim~!!! The match willlllllll~~~~ beginnnnnnnnn!!
-ffs isn’t the last hit condition being too harsh LOL
-Jerry Kim is actually dead serious.
-I think it'll be GG in about 10 minutes after the match begins (≧▽≦)
Placing the noisy chat behind him, Ohjin moved his feet.
‘I honestly went for the last hit condition as insurance, but he just accepted it.'
Jerry Kim furrowed his brow while looking at Ohjin.
‘Does he have some sort of hidden card?'
Ohjin being so collected made him worry.
‘Whatever, what if he has a hidden card?'
With no penalty and stealing the last hit being available, he was confident that he would win, even against another 6-Star Awakener.
"Fuu."
Jerry Kim glanced at the viewer count.
It had passed 100,000 and was starting to reach 150,000 before they knew it.
‘This is an opportunity.'
…An opportunity to firmly engrave his name in front of all these people.
‘I should try to use as many extravagant skills as possible.'
Jerry Kim smirked and manifested arrows made of light around his body.
"Mrgrul?"
"Mrgrugugul!!"
Once he went deep into the tunnel with Ohjin, a group of three Murlocs appeared.
"We'll start the timer now!"
Jerry Kim shouted out while assuming the position of pulling an invisible bow.
The floating arrows of light around him started to swirl and gather up.
-Woooooooo!! Arrow Blaster!!!
-Jerry Kim’s trademark!!!
-Daddy Jerry Kim!! Take me!! (has pp)
-Sheeeesh~! Starting off with the signature move right away
Glance—
After taking a whiff of the chat…
"One for now!!!"
He let go of the bowstr—
BZZZZZZZZZZTTTTT!!!!!!—
Blue lightning struck down.
Ohjin, who had suddenly sprinted out, cut the Murloc's body in half with one strike.
"—huh?"
While Jerry Kim's two eyes were opening wide…
Swish!! Swaaash!!—
The silver spear engulfed in blue flames split apart the remaining two Murlocs.
Thud, thud!—
The blood and flesh that rained down formed a puddle on the ground.
"That's three for now."
Ohjin looked back at Jerry Kim and unfolded three fingers.
-What??
-??????
-What was that just now???
-Huh??????
An uncountable amount of question marks flooded the chat that was floating in mid-air.
