[That bitch Willow is definitely cheating.]

To be honest, if someone were to ask if she was famous, the answer would be no. For the most part, people only knew her through Evangeline's stream. The majority of people didn't even know she existed.

However, the turning point in her fame came when her username climbed onto the special ranking board for Battle Over Strike.

B.O.S. had several ranking boards, including one for those who climbed the fastest in a short given period.

Since the game had so many hardcore veterans, most of those who made it onto the board, unless they were truly freakishly gifted, were using secondary or smurfing accounts and bullying noobs.

However, out of nowhere, Willow had confidently snagged the number one spot on that ranking board by a wide margin. Naturally, most users assumed that it was some pro’s smurf account.

However, none of them claimed ownership, rumors that some shameless unknown pro had created a secondary account spreading nonetheless.

When viewers of Evangeline’s stream began spreading the word about Willow, she quickly gained notoriety, with people talking about who she was and spreading all kinds of rumors.

Amidst the debate, someone uploaded a clip of her gameplay and started claiming she was a cheat.

The author of the post decided she was clearly a cheater after they were killed by Willow in a ridiculous manner.

Instead of leaving the game, he recorded the rest of her gameplay and uploaded it without permission.

- Honestly, the video says it all. The game time is about twelve minutes, but I ran into her at the three-minute mark and got my head popped, so I recorded the rest because it was so sketchy. The footage around the seven-minute mark is fucking insane, there's actually no way.

The seven-minute mark showed Willow fighting a shotgun user they had suddenly run into.

- As you know, nothing beats a shotgun at close range in this game. But this bitch, carrying a sniper rifle, was strolling over like a total noob, only to headshot the dude the moment she saw them. Seriously? It's impossible unless she already knew, and she was using one of the toughest sniper rifles to aim with. Her reacting in that short instant and popping their head is a dead giveaway on ESP and aimbots.

He went on to reference several other videos to push his theory that she was a cheater.

- With that, my briefing on this cheater is done. No matter how hard you try to argue, I know I’m right, so just shut up and accept it. Not that there's anything to argue about, anyway. I've already reported her. CHECK HER PC. THIS IS NOT NORMALLY !!!

He spoke as if counter-arguments weren't even worth hearing. It was true that her reaction speed and precision were so exceptional that it stretched the limits of belief.

Countless people debated whether she was a cheater or not in the comments of the post.

- Hacker or not, I don't know why you're jumping to conclusions and ganging up on her.

- She could be using a hack.

Of course, most people didn't really care if she used hacks or not. All they cared about was munching on popcorn while watching others tear each other apart.

For the try-hards who actually cared, whether Willow was a cheater or not was of utmost importance. If she were cheating, it wouldn't be fun anymore, yet if she wasn't, it proved she had phenomenal skill the community had never seen before.

She was currently in the diamond tier for her promotion match. There were only two higher ranks than her, which were master and grandmaster.

Given the enormous player base of Battle Over Strike, it was undoubtedly an incredible feat.

“This is ridiculous! They think I'm a cheater?!”

Willow wrote a rebuttal filled with annoyance.

- It’s clear as day that she’s not using any hacks. What nonsense are you spouting? And did you even get permission to upload this video?

She couldn't stand the sight of someone trying to frame her as an underhanded player.

Just then, a ding sound went off, and she saw a reply on her comment courtesy of none other than the original author.

- I said I'm not taking arguments, are you dense ??? And why would you ask that about the video of a cheater?

Her forehead furrowed. “Well, well, look at this jerk.”

- What if she's not a cheater?

- No, she's definitely a cheater. I guarantee it with all my B.O.S experience. 100% cheating.

- That's just your opinion. Do you have any real proof?

- Forget it. I'm just blocking you.

Were he to dedicate his dense skin and hard-headed talent toward playing a tank role, he could well become the best player ever.

Willow was furious.

It looked like having a proper conversation with this guy would be impossible.

“Wiwow! Wiwow! Calm down! Don't be mad!” Just then, Red Ribbon scampered over to her side, grabbed her arm, and looked up at her with sparkling eyes.

Willow’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Red Ribbon and asked, “Where's Blue Ribbon?”

“Playing with Evangeleen!”

“You go play there too. I’m busy,” Willow said, blowing her off.

“Wiwow play with Red Ribbon too!”

“I'll play with you later...”

Although she was already annoyed, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything harsh to Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon. She often referred to Super Ribbon as an idiot, but they were different.

“Red Ribbon wants to play with Wiwow now though...”

“...I promise, we’ll play together soon.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Putting the little girl’s lingering disappointment aside, Willow nodded sharply.

She then watched Red Ribbon trot away, and some of the anger that had built up in her earlier was eased a little.

“Ugh, fine. It's ridiculous that I'm even stressing over an idiot who's just trolling on the internet.” She shook her head, tried to ignore it, and turned on B.O.S. again.

The main menu showed a character with the nickname Willow, who looked similar to her, standing in casual clothes with a pistol in one hand.

“It’d be more fun to run around in person than inside a computer...”

A virtual reality system. She remembered how Neltarid made one before to create Awakened individuals.

‘Then maybe I can do it too?’

The thought crossed her mind, but she quickly shook her head. The reason was simple—she was simply too lazy.

“Even if I remade a virtual reality system, it’d take a long time to make the game itself...”

In truth, if she just took the source code of B.O.S. and exerted a bit of her power, it wouldn't be too difficult to create, but she simply couldn't overcome her laziness.

As she was about to close the community forum, she saw the troll who had been getting on her nerves had posted another article.

“Phew. Sis, did you see the new post?”

Sure enough, Evangeline, with Blue Ribbon in her arms, chuckled, and got on her nerves.

“I told you to go easy.”

“I didn't think it’d be this bad...”

At first, she thought it was just because she was in the beginner area.

However, the same pattern continued even as she climbed tiers, and she began to feel confused.

“So. What do you want to do?”

“Should I just hit him with divine punishment?”

“Are you insane? Are you planning to kill someone?”

“He's being annoying.”

Evangeline could tell that she’d go find the guy and hit him with divine punishment if left alone, so she gently put the soundly sleeping Blue Ribbon on a bed and quietly pulled her arm back under the blankets.

“Where's Red Ribbon?”

“She's sleeping in the other room. More importantly, Sis, you know you've attracted a lot of attention, right?”

“Yeah. I can ignore it, but it would've been and pannoying.”

“It's a false accusation. Doesn't it feel unfair?”

“So?”

“You should clear the air on stream. You need to correct this,” she said with a bright smile.

Willow’s head tilted, rather puzzled.

“Well, I did do a live cam stream, and now they're still saying that stuff.”

“Well, you gotta do a hand cam, like everything. It's a pain, but what else can you do?”

“On your stream?”

“No? What's the point of that? You have to do it yourself.” Her eyes narrowed at the mercy of the clients themselves.

“Evangeline.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you telling me... to stream?”

“Okay, so here’s the thing. You don’t have to stream forever. Just do it for a bit and play a few rounds to clear your name. I would certainly pacify ather the crowd. The person who posted that stuff online doesn’t care whether you cheated or not. He’s just a troll. The important thing is to stop more fools from falling for his stupid stuff.”

However, Willow knew better that her cunning younger sister wouldn't have planned this for no reason.

“You're just trying to get some content off of me, aren't you?”

When she glared at her with half-lidded eyes, she avoided her gaze and gave an awkward laugh.

“Willow... D-Do I look like such a calculating chick?”

Willow put on a bitter smile as Evangeline strongly appealed to her wounded feelings.

Then, she answered decisively.

“Don't lie to me, you little brat. I’ve seen you since you pooped in your pants. Cut the crap.”

“Why are you bringing that up now?!”

* * *

Willow didn't want to put any unnecessary burden on Davey. In the end, she decided it’d all just fade away and erased the whole thing from her mind.

A few days passed since the initial incident. However, the guy who kept posting posts on the internet community claiming she was a cheater was relentlessly tearing her apart, like his life depended on it.

Because of that, even those who wouldn't normally be swayed started getting manipulated.

This tendency was even stronger because she happened to be the older sister of the now public figure, Evangeline.

Of course, she continued to ignore it.

During that time, she adjusted dimensions, met Davey, ate meals with family, spent small moments of leisure, and played B.O.S when she had time.

She thought everything would be fine.

Yet, one day, when she logged into the game, an absurd message greeted her.

- Your account is currently suspended due to a large number of reports. It is currently under review for release. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Crack!!

She had heard about this. Cheater or not, receiving a large volume of reports meant the account had to go into review according to the game's terms of service.

That was why even pro gamers created secondary accounts, some even occasionally have their accounts put under protection due to accusations of cheating during streams. Of course, after going through it once or twice, they wouldn't go into any kind of protection or probation system anymore, but Willow had a clean account that had never gone through such a process.

In addition, her play was often so instantaneous it was indeed questionable whether an ordinary individual could have that kind of reaction speed, which likely led to her account being flagged.

The mouse in her hand was shattered instantly, and divine power began to surge around her.

“This is a lost cause,” Evangeline nervously told her. “To others, your gameplay is at a wondrous level, almost like a cheat. Everyone just keeps reporting you... plus, that guy who's constantly posting on the official forum saying you're a cheater is making it worse.”

Users who had recently been unfairly beaten by Willow went to the community site, saw the troll’s post, and reported her, thinking she might actually be cheating.

“Evangeline,” she called out.

“Yes?”

“I'm genuinely curious... what color do you think his blood is?”

“Sis, just calm down first. It's a simple matter of clearing the air. Besides, how would you even find that guy—”

“Enough. I'm gonna take care of this bastard today.”

As soon as she sprang up, the wings on the back of her clothes flapped and released light.

“You think a goddess is a pushover? That bastard’s dead! Seriously.”

“Sis! Sis! How are you going to find him?!”

“You think I can't find a guy like him? I'm a goddess, for god’s sake.”

Evangeline had no way of knowing that Willow, who had become a true goddess, could see other things.

She sighed as she looked at the spot where Willow had vanished. At first, Willow was only capable of descending to Evangeline's lair. Due to repeated practice, she had since reached a level where she could briefly stay in other dimensions, including Earth.

As Evangeline kept staring at the same spot, she made a strange expression.

“But it’s kinda weird that Abel never talked about Willow when he came from the future?”

* * *

A high school located in Daegu.[1]

Park Dong-Soo, a student at Gyesu High School, cleaned the bathroom with a weary look on his face. “Ugh. How’d I end up doing this...”

The bathroom was quite large, but he was the only one cleaning it now. That was because all the guys who were supposed to clean with him had run away.

“Damn those crazy boomer teachers. Do they actually think a handshake and an apology fixes the assaults a bunch of thug bullies did...”

Sighing, he slopped the mop across the floor.

- Okay, okay. Shake hands and apologize. Let's just end it here. Don't make a big deal of it, alright?

That was what his homeroom teacher had said.

Park Dong-Soo was just an average student. He was a kid born into an ordinary family, living an ordinary life, and expected to continue living ordinarily.

However, as a painfully average boy, he had become the victim of a group of malicious bullies among his schoolmates.

“Fucking hell, the world seemed like it was going to end, but nothing's changed.”

At one point, monsters ran rampant, paralyzing the school and public offices. Yet, as soon as the situation settled somewhat, the school went back to teaching students as if nothing had happened.

Unfortunately, the nasty jerks were the same as ever.

Park Dong-Soo was the perfect target for those thug bullies to pick on as a pastime.

“Look at that, you already finished it all by yourself? Our Dong-Soo sure is good at cleaning!”

He frowned at the irritating voice and turned his head to see four or five boys walk in.

“Oh, watch it bro. I don’t know what I’ll do if you keep up with that face. But hey, did you really finish all of this by yourself?”

“If you don't have business here, get lost like you did before,” Dong-Soo coldly told them.

Despite being a victim, he wasn't the type to easily back down. Alas, they only harassed him even more.

One boy sneered at his sharp reply. Then, he kicked over the bucket of dirty water. “Is this bastard out of goddamn mind...”

“Hey. I think he needs another beating?”

“Yo! You know Seo-Hyung’s getting investigated today, right? But you know, his dad’s pretty up there.”

A boy rubbed his own shoulder.

“You can do all the shit you want to, but it'll never work. He's never going to be punished.”

Park Dong-Soo was speechless, feeling utterly wronged.

While the guys around him now were bad enough, the absolute worst was Park Seo-Hyung, their little group leader, who was currently under investigation.

Park Seo-Hyung was the main culprit who led everyone else in relentlessly tormenting him.

When he finally couldn't take it anymore and reported all their actions to the police, this was the result. Park Seo-Hyung was dragged in for the sake of the investigation.

Sure, juvenile protection laws had been significantly weakened thanks to the Saint of Tionis. However, Park Seo-Hyung's father was a high-ranking police official, and it seemed he had exerted significant pressure on the proceedings, as he didn't want his son involved in such an incident.

The school ended up claiming that Dong-Soo’s actions had tarnished the school's image, then scolded him instead of the bullies.

They even forced a ridiculous reconciliation, then punished him with the exact same penalty as the perpetrators.

“Get lost. I need to clean.”

“Sounds like a personal problem to me.”

Thud!

A boy strongly shoved his chest with his palm and grinned. “You know what?”

Dong-Soo didn't even bother answering.

“Seo-Hyung's waiting for you right now. What are you doing? Let's go together.”

He sighed. “Fucking shit, nothing ever goes right in my life.”

Pow!!

The punches kept coming.

‘No one's going to help me anyway. What's the point of there being a god if nothing ever changes? This fucked up world should just end.’

The perpetrators continued to hit him. As he bled, they dragged him up the stairs.

Once they reached the top floor, one of them kicked the door open. Even though it was supposed to be locked, it opened for some reason, and the boys dragged the bloodied Dong-Soo onto the rooftop.

“It’s about time!” a voice called out.

“Park Seo-Hyung,” Dong-Soo responded.

“Well, well. Thanks to you, I had a good experience, you know?”

He stood up and slowly approached him.

The others then grabbed his arms on both sides so he couldn't move.

“Hey.”

No response.

“Fucking Dong-Soo.”

Seo-Hyung slapped him hard, grinned, and lightly slapped his cheek over and over.

“Hey. Did you think calling the cops would fix everything? Don’t tell me you thought there wouldn't be any trouble after that Saint of Tinonis or whatever recently caused a ruckus and got the law changed, huh?”

He snickered.

Then, he flicked a cigarette butt to the ground and stomped on it.

“Nothing changes, you fucking idiot. This country’s like that. No matter how much a lowlife like you screams, my dad’s a high-ranking police official, and I'm from the upper class. You think you can do anything to me?”

No response.

“Your parents made such a fuckin’ fuss that I even had to be investigated. Since I had such a great experience, it would feel a little off not to return the favor, wouldn’t it? Eh?”

He pulled a small blade from his pocket, a vicious smile spreading across his face. “Tell your parents I'll be seeing them soon. For today, you'll just get beaten, but not enough to die.”

“Park Seo-Hyung, you son of a bitch!!”

Thwack!!!

Suffering an immediate follow-up attack, his body folded bizarrely.

“Cough. Gasp!”

Park Seo-Hyung wasn't particularly big, but his strength was clearly beyond that of an ordinary person.

An Awakened individual. He was one of those Awakened individuals who kept his power hidden because he hated being bound by unnecessary laws.

“Being an Awakened... How long do you think you can hide it?”

“At least I won't get punished for this, even if I get caught. Right? I sure have a lot of debt to pay back to you.”

Pow! Pow!

The beating went on for a while.

Park Seo-Hyung, breathing heavily, chuckled as if something had just occurred to him. “Hey. It'd be a pity to let you go just like this. Since we're here, we might as well break one of your legs. Hey, bring that over.”

He pointed to a piece of lumber lying to the side and grinned.

“You're going to die by divine punishment, you bastard,” Park Dong-Soo mumbled as he spat blood.

“Haha. Divine punishment? Hey, hey. The world’s all about money and power, dumbass. Didn't you see the Saint of Tionis? That bastard lives however he wants because he has power. Isn't that right?”

He smirked and took the piece of lumber, gripping it with both hands.

“Hold his leg tight. We need a clean break so there are no problems.”

Park Dong-Soo watched the others grab his leg while he struggled desperately, flooded with intense frustration and rage. He raged at the reality of having to suffer under jerks like them and at the thought that his parents could also be in danger.

‘Fuck... If there's a god in this world, you better fix this shit soon. This is truly wrong.’

His parents were devout followers of the Church of Neltarid, which only intensified his anger.

He clenched his teeth, cursed the world, resented God, and braced for the pain to come.

A beautiful voice rang out, asking, “Who here is Park Seo-Hyung?”

Everyone turned their heads.

“Who is that chick? What's with her clothes?”

A girl wearing a pure white winged robe had appeared out of nowhere.

“What are you looking at?! Fucking get lost!”

She looked at him as he barked at her, and asked again, “Which one of you is Park Seo-Hyung?”

“That's me, you bitch. Who do you think you are, calling people out—”

The girl, Willow, trudged forward.

“Oh, it’s you?”

Boom!!

The rooftop door slammed shut with a loud bang, and everyone looked at her with shocked eyes.

1. Daegu is a fairly large city in the southern part of Korea, with a population of 2.3 million people. ☜