Hearing that a 100,000-subscriber YouTuber was my fan was already shocking enough.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
There was another one.
Ronze, a second-division pro gamer in Knight of Legend.
[Actually, part of the reason I invited Magia-nim today is because I was curious. You’re the one who created the Dark Cloud Demolition Meta, right?]
"Ah. Uh... Huh? Created it?"
[I saw your Apolla backdoor play on Komari-nim’s stream. The clip ended up making its way to my channel, so I watched it by chance.
Thanks to that, I used it as a surprise strategy in a tournament. That win kept us from getting knocked out of the playoffs this year.]
“Wait, what.”
No, I didn’t create a meta—I just played Apolla that one time.
And Komari nagged me the entire match about playing properly.
How does that turn into something worth being grateful for?
The sudden pressure weighed on me so heavily that I started chewing on my lip, wanting to escape. But before I could process it, another person jumped in.
[Thanks to Ronze-nim, we’re actually getting to talk to Magia-nim. Lucky us.]
[For real. Never thought I’d get to game with her.]
[Whoa, whoa, you guys have it wrong. It’s not thanks to me—it’s thanks to Maru-nim for inviting her.]
[Oh, that’s true. Thanks, Maru-nim!]
[Ahem. You should be grateful. If I hadn’t asked, Gia-nim would’ve probably just gone home and sent a toxic donation instead.]
[No way.]
[Pfft. Wait, wasn’t Magia-nim a notorious sniper in Momo-nim’s chat? Is that true?]
"Uh. Um."
[You can’t just ask like that and expect a straight answer.]
[I mean, sniping isn’t inherently bad, right? It’s not like she relentlessly bullied Momo-nim until she cried or anything.]
[I saw some old clips of her sniping. She was actually kind of sweet. She’d mess around but then run in to save her afterward.]
[Oh, seriously? So it wasn’t just sniping—it was sweet sniping?]
[What the hell is ‘sweet sniping’...? Sniping is sniping.]
[Hold up, why are you guys analyzing Gia-nim? Why not just ask her directly?]
At a time like this, I thought for sure that Maru or Komari would step in to help me out.
But considering how I had been ruthlessly dunking on them with facts all this time...
I guess this was karma coming back to bite me.
Maru took the opportunity and shouted at the top of her lungs.
[GUYS——!! GIA-NIM HAS SOMETHING TO SAY———!!]
[Wait, really?!]
The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.
[What is it? What is it?]
[We’re all ears! Hurry up and tell us!]
[Let’s gooo.]
[Speak, speak, speak!]
W-wait, hold on.
Something’s seriously wrong here.
Why does it feel like everyone knows me?
I’m not famous.
I’m just Magia, a behind-the-scenes staff member in Parallel.
As I kept standing there, unable to say a word, Komari finally stepped in.
[Uh... I bet Gia-unnie is wondering why everyone here knows her. The thing is, our concert blew up a few days ago, right? So all the collab members today already knew about her.]
And?
[While we were chatting, Gia-unnie’s name naturally came up. I’m guessing that’s why Maru-unnie sent the invite.]
So, basically...
All eleven people in this collab knew who I was.
Everyone here recognized me.
And on top of that...
[Magia-nim, you’re actually really shy, huh?]
[Isn’t it cute how different she is from her stream presence? Fufu.]
[Gap moe. It’s totally gap moe.]
[Say something! Say something! Say something!]
[Oh, cut it out, guys. She’s gonna run away at this rate.]
[Magia Magia Tenshi~.]
[WHO JUST SAID THAT?! That was hilarious.]
[AHAHAHAHA!]
Most of them were genuinely expecting something from me.
The only reason I even realized what they were implying was thanks to Momo’s teachings—but explaining it now would be too much effort.
Ronze had assembled the party.
Maru had sent the invite.
And yet, somehow, I had ended up as the main character.
This wasn’t the atmosphere I wanted at all.
***
30 Minutes Ago
[Ronze (Pro Gamer): I sincerely apologize. I didn’t expect my brother’s schedule to change at the last minute.]
[Maru (Parallel): Ronze-nim, do you have an open slot? If so, would it be okay if I invite someone?]
[Ronze (Pro Gamer): Yes, please go ahead.]
Ronze, a second-division professional gamer for Naore's ATX team.
For someone with a keen interest in VTubers, the explosive rise of Parallel and other domestic VTuber agencies was a golden opportunity.
In any industry, when corporations enter the scene, mainstream acceptance grows, expanding the consumer base. To retain that base, the culture itself evolves.
As a result, VTubers with an appeal suited to Korean audiences began emerging, either through independent success or corporate backing.
Ronze had always enjoyed Japanese VTuber content, but the language barrier had been a constant hurdle. Now that it was gone, he fell into the rabbit hole fast.
And among the talents that debuted in this era, Parallel’s first-gen member, Komari, stood out.
An elf completely obsessed with Naore.
The moment she got into the game, she became a battle-crazed trash talker—and that raw energy drew Ronze in.
When Komari was struggling to reach Diamond rank and asked around for advice, Ronze had personally stepped in to help.
He was a dedicated fan.
And then, one day, he came across something shocking.
“But if you’re playing a Siege-class, aren’t you supposed to push towers, farm gold, and pave a highway straight to the enemy Nexus? Even if I take them down, the gold still goes to my team. I thought that was just common sense.”
“Losing 300 gold isn’t that big of a deal, is it? You can make that back with just one kill.”
“I mean, yeah, I did it. But why would I trust what an Iron-ranked player says?”
It was a comment as blunt as Komari’s infamous trash talk.
But since it came from someone who was Diamond in another game, it was acceptable.
And because it hit at the core mechanics of the game, it felt like a breath of fresh air for Ronze.
What’s more, her Dark Cloud Full-Offense Apolla playstyle lit a fire in him.
How much, you ask?
Enough that he spent the entire night grinding over ten solo queue matches testing out Full-Offense Apolla.
And when his team was struggling in the playoffs—down 1:2 in a Best of 5, one loss away from elimination—
Ronze made a decision.
"Let me do it. Just trust me."
He locked in Apolla as the 5th pick.
It was a champion that hadn’t been used in a pro match for years.
The opponents panicked.
The casters panicked.
Even the live audience panicked.
And in that moment of chaos—
Ronze worked a miracle.
With a relentless split-push and backdoor tactics, he secured victory in Game 4, tying the series at 2:2.
That momentum carried his team to a final Game 5 win, sending them to the next round.
They didn’t make it to the championship.
But still—
Ronze had always felt a debt of gratitude toward the one who gave him the idea.
He’d been waiting for the right chance to say thank you.
And then, that chance arrived.
[Maru (Parallel): I invited Deputy Manager Magia.]
[Maru (Parallel): She’s not a content creator.]
[Maru (Parallel): Is that okay with everyone?!]
So he seized the opportunity.
[Ronze (Pro Gamer): I’m fine with it.]
But what Ronze hadn’t expected...
Was that he wasn’t the only one thinking the same thing.
[Serena (Lafitz): Whoa, no way.]
[Serena (Lafitz): I’ve been dying to meet Magia-nim, lol.]
[Loopko: Same here.]
[Kamik: This is insane, just invite her already.]
Aside from Komari and Maru, all nine other collab members gave instant approval.
It was probably because of the recent concert and pre-festival hype.
But for Ronze, who just wanted to express his thanks, this situation wasn’t ideal.
[Magia-nim, you’re a Werewolf, right? You’re a Werewolf, aren’t you?]
[No, no I’m not.]
[Oh, come on. If you don’t admit it, I’ll shoot you. I’m a Vigilante.]
[I told you, I’m not.]
Magia was way too popular.
She was just a manager for a VTuber group.
She had barely appeared in a handful of streams.
And yet, tonight—
She was basically the main character.
[Kamik! Grab Magia-nim! She’s totally a Werewolf!]
[Whoa, whoa. Magia-nim, stop. If you keep running, I’ll press the button. If we vote, you’re getting ejected this round.]
[I SAID I’M NOT THE WEREWOLF!]
— The way everyone is hunting her down, she definitely seems guilty.
— They’re terrifyingly aggressive, lol.
— Classic bandwagoning.
— It’s hilarious seeing her, of all people, struggle like this, lol.
:: An anonymous donor has sent 1,000 Clouds! ::
:: Memo: Magia is bad at handling excessive praise... ::
This was all because of the first-gen anniversary concert blowing up.
The pre-festival VOD had racked up 150,000 views—despite being an unedited four-hour stream.
Right now, Parallel was the biggest name in VTuber-related content.
And then, the legendary Pokémon, Magia—the one who never appeared outside Parallel streams—
Had been fished out by Maru’s bait.
If she were a rare Pokémon, she wouldn’t just be any normal one.
She’d be a shiny variant with an absurdly low encounter rate.
Of course, everyone wanted to milk the content.
Even if no one actually cared about her,
Ronze was worried his gratitude would be drowned out by all the noise.
But luckily, for him—
{{ Game Start!! }}
{{ Werewolves: Ronze (Predator), Magia (Silencer) }}
He had one last chance.
A Mafia-style deception game.
The Werewolves win if they eliminate the Humans and Neutral factions until they have the majority.
If they could survive together, maybe he’d get the opportunity to say what he truly wanted.
The game began.
Magia, clearly overwhelmed, immediately sprinted off.
A crowd chased after her.
But her movement was... abnormal.
She was dodging and weaving expertly, as if she had years of practice escaping pursuers.
One by one, her followers dropped off.
Eventually, only Ronze was left.
He finally caught up to her.
"Gia-nim, Gia-nim, Gia-nim. Wait a second, wait a second."
[Huh? Yeah?]
"Come here for a sec."
They ducked into a sewer tunnel.
In I’m Wolf, only the Werewolves and a special class called the Plumber could hear conversations inside the sewers.
Since no one else was around, they were safe to talk.
"Okay. We’re both Werewolves. Let’s strategize. I’m a Predator, so my kills don’t leave a body. I’ll go on a rampage. Just back me up in meetings. If we play it right, we’ve already won."
Magia had been trying to avoid attention all night.
So Ronze thought she’d refuse.
That she’d just play passively and try to fade into the background.
But instead—
"Leave it to me. If anyone messes with you, I’ll tear them apart."
*
There was actually no way I could refuse Ronze’s proposal.
Want to know what happened right after we made our secret alliance?
[Magia-nim, why aren’t you doing any tasks?]
[Magia-nim, don’t tell me... you’re a Werewolf again?]
[Ah! Stop bullying Gia-unnie, everyone!]
[Mari, move aside. I need to check something.]
[Ugh. Maru-unnie, you too?!]
Maru was always unpredictable—she just followed the chaos wherever it went.
But the real problem was everyone else.
They swarmed me like a pack of zombies.
"Magia-nim, what do you think about this?"
"Magia-nim, what about that?"
Ughhhh.
Can you all just leave me alone?
I just want to quietly go with the flow.
My plan was simple—wait for an opportunity and practice taking the lead in a discussion.
But how am I supposed to do that in this mess?!
That’s why Ronze’s proposal was a godsend.
"I’ll take all the attention. You just back me up."
What a perfect deal.
So while Ronze boldly went around killing people,
it didn’t take long for a trial to start.
Since his "Predator" role left no corpses, the only eyewitness, Kamik, reported him.
{{ Trial Begins!! }}
[Ronze-nim is a Predator! I saw him eat someone!]
[No, you’ve got it wrong! I was doing tasks! Kamik-nim is the real killer!]
[Ronze-nim. Who’s going to believe that? No one.]
[Come on, "no one"? It was just the two of us there. You have no proof.]
Since they had been far away from the others, Kamik was the only witness.
[Hmm. Did anyone else see Kamik-nim or Ronze-nim?]
[I was somewhere else.]
[Hmm...]
With no solid evidence, the others hesitated.
And I?
I had a talent for burying people in confusion.
(Not literally—only online.)
Back on Momo’s fan forums, I knew how to wipe out troublemakers pretending to be fans.
It wasn’t hard to help Ronze.
Even though I couldn’t use VPNs or alt accounts in real life,
I had something even better.
Voice mimicry.
"Actually, I saw Kamik-nim heading north before Ronze-nim did!"
[Huh? Wait, Maru-nim, that’s not what you saw. You’re lying.]
"I’m NOT lying!! I was standing right there! Gia-nim saw it too. Right, Gia-nim?"
"...Hmm. Yeah, I think I saw something like that in passing."
With both suspects already under suspicion,
this kind of vague "evidence" carried enormous weight.
[Whoa. Kamik-nim was really about to frame Ronze-nim.]
[I mean, let’s be honest—Ronze-nim has been playing way too well this whole time.]
[No, no, guys. Think about it. Something feels off here.]
If you’re wondering why Maru wasn’t calling out my voice mimicry,
there was a very specific reason.
My "Silencer" role as a Werewolf let me mute one player during the trial.
It could only be used twice per game, so people thought it was underpowered.
But for me,
it was a game-changer.
Over on Maru’s livestream, the chat exploded.
Even though her audio was silent, her character model was flailing wildly.
She was definitely screaming inside her muted prison.
— Wait, was this the same person who was getting chased earlier? LMAO.
— She just pulled a full 180, wtf.
— DID SHE JUST FAKE SOMEONE'S VOICE TO FRAME THEM?!?!
— Holy shit, that’s insane.
— Wait... That wasn’t Maru talking?!
— LOL WTF