Chapter 264

After the battle, the entire internet was turning Do-Jin’s name into a buzzword.

[Hidden Details Behind the Legendary Magic Clash: Do-Jin vs Kraus]

[This Is How Mage PvP Should Look. The Man Who Became the Textbook.]

[Every Choice That Mage Made Had a Reason. The Secret Ninety-Nine Percent of Viewers Missed.]

[There Is Something We Can Learn From Do-Jin. Let’s Break Him Down.]

[A Monster So Terrifying Even Spirits Ran Away.]

Videos covering the same fight flooded every platform like a tidal wave. People devoured them the way starving animals tore into hot food before it could cool down, clicking one after another without stopping.

—The insane level of detail this mad mage showed is embedded in every moment of the fight. He was not a gladiator stepping into the arena. He was a grandmaster sitting in front of a chessboard.

—This moment gave me goosebumps. You see where Kraus’s blade explodes, right? It blows up right in front of his fucking face. And Do-Jin does not even blink. Why? Because he already finished all the calculations. Damn it, he broke that blade on purpose at point-blank range!

The creators behind those videos were having the time of their lives. Every upload got scooped up by the algorithm instantly. Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, then millions of views piled up without effort.

Not a single one of those content creators shied away from profiting off the situation. They all analyzed the fight in loud, excited voices. Whether their analyses were accurate or completely off the mark didn’t matter at all.

└ No matter how useless it’s gonna be, I still click the second I see that title and thumbnail. It’s like I’m possessed or some shit.

└ I’m actually proud I caught this live. Watching it again still gives me chills all over. That fight was insane as fuck.

└ Goddamn it... what the hell’s the point of working to survive when overtime always lands on the exact day Do-Jin’s match is on. Of all days.

└ Bro, are you dumb? You should’ve just quit your job.

People were satisfied just feeling that same rush again, the one they had felt watching the match live. That was enough.

Across MeTube trending videos, top search terms on national portals, hot topics on every major social media platform, and Lotranet’s most upvoted posts, Do-Jin’s match clips were sitting near the top like they owned the place.

Thanks to that, the LOST streamer PvP tournament sponsored by the Rael Group, Colosseum L, became a runaway hit far beyond anything they had expected. Every metric blew past projections by absurd margins, and the people involved could hardly hide their satisfaction.

The ones smiling the hardest were the employees on Rael Entertainment’s marketing team who were monitoring the numbers in real time.

“Team Leader, Olivia Eve just posted a support video for Do-Jin on her social media!”

LOST’s popularity had exploded to the point where a ridiculous number of celebrities played it. As the Do-Jin versus Kraus showdown gained traction, overseas celebrities started mentioning Colosseum L and Do-Jin on their own social media accounts.

Kim Young-Hee wanted to scream in excitement every time a staff member opened their mouth with another update. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks.

“Wait... who did you just say?”

Even though her phone was ringing and she knew she should have picked it up, she needed to confirm this first.

“Olivia. Olivia Eve, Team Leader.”

“Holy shit.”

She was an X-Toria Secret Angel. How much money would it normally take just to get a woman like her to post a single line? Kim Young-Hee clenched her fist instead of screaming, forcing herself to stay composed.

Just as she was about to answer the phone, another employee shot up from their seat and asked, “Team Leader, do you think we can start posting now?”

That employee handled all the social media management for Rael Entertainment’s roster.

“You filtered the list down to people who actually show interest in games, right?”

“Yes. We only prepared people who will not stir up unnecessary drama.”

Right now, LOST, PvP, Colosseum L, and Do-Jin were attention magnets. Anyone foolish enough to let momentum like this slip had no business surviving in the industry.

“You can go ahead and start letting them post.”

The moment Kim Young-Hee gave the order, Rael Entertainment’s artists’ social media accounts began to post. The internet streamers under the label had already posted their own support messages. The posts going up now belonged to idols, singers, and actors who had previously shown genuine interest in gaming.

“I have notified them that they can post sequentially. Ah, the first one just went up.”

The internet reacted instantly.

[Title: (LIVE) A gaming nerd getting cheered on by idols]

[(List)]

└ Was wondering what the hell everyone was talking about. It’s Do-Jin again. Of course it is.

└ “Gaming nerd.” I mean, it’s not wrong, but why does that sound funny as fuck?

└ What is this? Why are there so many posts all at once?

└ Viral marketing bullshit.

└ Every time something blows up, someone yells viral like it’s the only word they know. Calm the fuck down.

└ Maybe for the others, but our Cash has been known for playing LOST from the start. That part isn’t fake.

└ The ratio of male and female idols posting support is almost fifty-fifty. I’m jealous as shit.

└ Who cares about idols right now? Overseas influencers are going crazy on their social media too. It’s a full-on storm.

└ LOST’s popularity is insane. Seriously.

└ The game’s popular, but the real reason is all the hype from the recent event. They’re riding the wave for exposure. That’s just how this shit works.

“The second it went up, all the Wish members started seeing traffic flood into their social media accounts, and their follower counts have been climbing nonstop,” an employee reported.

The effect was immediate. Fans from different communities began spilling into one another’s spaces, and follower and subscriber counts rose together in real time. It was exactly the kind of cross-traffic marketers dreamed of, and one they almost never got without spending a fortune.

Of course, on Do-Jin’s channel, there was no dramatic spike anyone could point at. His numbers were already exploding from every possible direction, so a few more waves of traffic barely registered. He was already sitting on a mountain of attention, so another truckload of it did not change the silhouette much.

“Yes, yes. Of course. We truly appreciate it. We look forward to continuing this partnership.” Kim Young-Hee wrapped up the call with an advertiser who sounded like they were about to lose their mind from excitement.

As good news kept bursting in from every corner, she felt joy rising in her chest, but there was also a strange bittersweet edge to it.

It isn’t even over yet, but it already feels finished.

The numbers scrolling across the monitoring dashboards were insane. Every metric was blowing past projections by several multiples. By any reasonable standard, this was a massive win.

Yet, even while staring at performance like this, a greedy thought crept in. It would have been perfect if Do-Jin versus Kraus had been the finals. The fact that numbers this good still did not feel like enough proved something simple and brutally honest. There was no ceiling to human greed. And Kim Young-Hee was not the only one thinking it.

└ Honestly, the Do-Jin versus Kraus match might not be all upside.

└ What the hell are you talking about? Are you out of your damn fucking mind?

└ No, that came out wrong. What I meant is that the Do-Jin versus Kraus match was so impactful that everything else might feel underwhelming now.

└ Wow... seeing a civil comment like this on MeTube is wild as shit.

└ Nah, bro. I get you. That fight basically had full finals energy. The remaining Tier 1 matches are going to feel bland as hell in comparison. And as for who’s taking the championship, that part’s pretty obvious at this point.

└ How is anyone supposed to beat someone who makes even spirits get scared and wave the white flag? The streamer who has to face Do-Jin in the semifinals might as well be hosting his own funeral special right now.

Reactions kept popping up that said the same thing. People felt the rest of the matches had gone flat because they had just witnessed something too incredible.

Of course Do-Jin’s match will pull insane viewer numbers... No, wanting more at this point would be pure greed. If we just wrap up the rest of the tournament cleanly, that is more than enough.

With that thought, Kim Young-Hee glanced down at the remaining match schedule.

***

Just as everyone had expected, Do-Jin’s semifinal match ended in a comfortable win. It was clean and one-sided, and there was never really a moment where the outcome felt in doubt.

Melrose, who had faced Do-Jin in the semifinals, had already held what she jokingly called her own funeral stream the night before the match.

「You all watched that match, right? That’s why I prepared this. Welcome to Melrose’s funeral, everybody.」

She had said it with a crooked smile, half joking and half serious.

「You’re asking why I’m giving up before even fighting? Are you kidding me? Even Kraus, no, even the AI spirit got scared and threw in the towel. What am I supposed to do about that? Since we’re on the subject, why don’t you all tell me. You love backseating so much, so go ahead and give me a solution.」

She glanced at the chat and snorted.

「Look at this. The second I tell you to give advice, it goes dead quiet. You all know there’s no answer, but you’re still typing things like ‘It’s pathetic to give up before the match.’ Who said I’m giving up? I’m going to fight hard. I know I’m probably going to lose, but I’ll fight like hell anyway.」

On her own funeral stream, the red-haired beauty Melrose had worn a bitter smile and emptied three cans of beer in a row.

Then came match day. Standing face to face with Do-Jin, Melrose did exactly what she had promised. She fought like hell. As a knight-class player, her fighting style was clean and disciplined. She would wait for an opening, then use a short defensive skill that ignored crowd control to close the distance instantly. After landing the first stun, she would chain precise CC skills with razor-sharp timing and weave in crisp damage combos in between. It was textbook execution.

However, that was exactly where the problem began. That kind of straightforward, orthodox style was the easiest thing in the world for Do-Jin to dismantle. He read the rhythm, baited the approach, and controlled the spacing without panic. Every attempt Melrose made to force an opening got smothered before it could breathe.

In the end, she lost both rounds in a row without even managing to brush the hem of Do-Jin’s coat.

└ Wasn’t Melrose’s nickname “Mage Killer” or some shit?

└ That’s because most mages have to stand there casting. They’re weak to crowd control, and they don’t have the kind of burst that threatens tanky knight classes. That’s usually how it goes anyway.

└ They do have burst, sure. The problem is they get butchered five times over trying to set it up. But Do-Jin doesn’t have the usual mage weaknesses, and his strengths are pushed way past the ceiling. The guy’s an irregular freak.

└ Damn, the whole tournament feels kind of flat now.

└ For real, this is basically the Do-Jin show. It doesn’t even feel like a proper tournament anymore. It’s like a fucking Do-Jin highlight reel factory.

└ And what’s wrong with that? When else is there going to be a chance to see him fight this many different opponents back to back?

└ That’s true. I can’t even watch the World Cup because I get too stressed. At least with Do-Jin’s matches, I can sit back and not have my heart ripped out. That’s a nice change of pace.

└ It’s a tournament full of streamers to begin with. Even if they only picked absolute monsters based purely on skill, there’s still a good chance Do-Jin would’ve turned it into a one-man show. That’s just how far the gap is.

└ But are you all seriously not watching the other matches at all? The guy coming up from the opposite bracket isn’t normal either.

└ Who?

└ You mean the ones playing next?

└ Come on, at least show some interest. They made it to the semifinals. And one of them’s Do-Jin’s teammate, for fuck’s sake.

└ Oh right. Tanto made it to the semifinals.

The players who had quietly climbed into the final four were all overshadowed by Do-Jin’s presence. Among them was his teammate, Tanto.

└ I don’t know, man. Tanto hasn’t shown anything crazy. I watched all his matches and they ended kind of flat.

└ He just had an easy bracket. Got lucky and breezed through.

└ Do you idiots still not get it? Just because something looks easy doesn’t mean it actually is. It only looks that way because the person doing it is that damn good.

Opinions about Tanto were sharply divided, but that only lasted until his semifinal match. Up until then, he had won so cleanly that there had barely been a chance to measure his true ceiling. When he finally got dragged into a real back-and-forth fight and secured his spot in the finals after an intense exchange, the tone shifted fast.

└ Holy shit. Did you see that final exchange? I thought I was watching a movie.

└ Tanto’s knife fighting is insane. Catching his dagger midair three times in one sequence? What the fuck was that.

└ His movement makes no sense. And the way he just tanked that explosion trap and pushed through it. If he can do that, maybe he can break through Do-Jin’s spell barrage too.

People started reassessing Tanto’s real level. He had always been known as a highly skilled player, but comments began popping up everywhere saying no one expected him to be this good. The semifinal forced everyone to recalibrate.

└ Wait, what? The finals are a week away? Are they trying to make everyone die waiting for this shit?

└ I honestly thought the championship was basically locked for Do-Jin, but after watching Tanto’s match, I’m not so sure. A rogue at that level would be a real threat even from Do-Jin’s perspective.

└ I’m a hardcore Do-Jin fan, but I agree. More than anything, Tanto’s been in the same party as him this whole time. They know each other inside and out. That kind of familiarity makes them the most dangerous opponents for each other.

└ No one’s denying Do-Jin’s still the favorite, but calling it guaranteed feels reckless now. Tanto’s got too many variables. That unpredictability is scary as hell.

For the organizers, this was an unexpected blessing. The tournament had been at risk of ending on a flat note, but now real heat had ignited for the finale. The storyline practically wrote itself.

It was teammate versus teammate. One was the mage who had smashed through every round in spectacular, brutal fashion, blowing past opponents like they were nothing. And while everyone’s eyes were fixed on that overwhelming display, they overlooked the other finalist: an assassin who had quietly climbed the opposite side of the bracket, cutting down opponents without flash or noise, and without anyone fully realizing how dangerous he was.

└ Holy shit. If you think about it, this is basically Korea versus Japan all over again.

From a narrative standpoint, this was the absolute best scenario anyone could have hoped for.