I Regressed but the World Didn’t Fall Apart

Chapter 66

Returned, the World is Not Ruined -66-

066.

Sponsored by Banco Spirits and SI Entertainment (the organizers of the EVO tournament), and hosted by Twork, the Iron Fist tournament.

Twork Rivals: Iron Fist Invitational.

A event where streamers from South Korea, China, and Japan participated, the qualifications were quite loose due to its event nature, resulting in a considerable number of streamers participating.

As a result, there were preliminary matches for each country.

[“Idohyuk’s broadcast has started.”]

Idohyuk’s broadcast started only after all the preliminary matches were over.

– The door’s open!

– They’re here!

– Do-ha

– Hyuk-ha

– Did you watch the preliminaries?

“Hello, everyone. Ah… I didn’t watch the preliminaries. But someone did upload a summary to Twork. They said Geomdoengso-nyeo won?”

– Yeah

– Quite impressive

– She seemed to have practiced hard ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– Geomhee was only briefly in a past season, but there was a time she dominated.

Idohyuk was exempt from such preliminaries as an “invited guest.”

A qualification that allowed one person to be selected from each Twork branch in South Korea, China, and Japan.

Twork Korea had chosen Idohyuk.

“Thanks to Anatol-nim, I was able to skip the preliminaries.”

Of course, Anatol’s strong recommendation, who has wielded significant influence in the Korean gaming and internet broadcasting scene since the Ultimate Fighter days, played a major role.

But it wasn’t just for that one reason.

[Hm, is that so? / KR]

#1774

[72 wins 0 losses]

Idohyuk’s Iron Fist account record.

An undeniably impressive win rate.

Not a single loss in a single game, maintaining a 100% win rate.

Moreover, he held the highest rank, just below the Godslayer, the Celestial God!

Considering the entire Asia server, this rank placed him within the top 200.

Above this, it could be said without exaggeration that 99 out of 100 Rankers were practically professional players.

And the Twok Rivals: Iron Fist Invitational was, after all, a streamer competition.

Thanks to a trick by the creators of Iron Fist, Vanco Spirits, professional gamers with “less than a year of pro experience” but “over a year of streaming experience” were allowed to participate. However, there weren’t many Korean pro gamers who met these qualifications.

There might have been one or two if you looked closely…

[-Hey, you sure you won’t just embarrass yourself going out there?]

[-Are you crazy? I heard that Idohyuk guy is competing. You think you stand a chance against him?]

A professional player who met the criteria mentioned going out to Rivals was merely a conversation they overheard from other players around them.

In reality, it had already been several days since Idohyuk started Iron Fist.

The rumors about Idohyuk had spread among domestic pro gamers a while ago.

Just a few days back, Anatol either taught or was taught in an educational broadcast.

[-Wow… Damn, he’s good!]

[-Looks like the guys didn’t just make up stories for nothing…]

[-Coach, can you help me analyze this replay?]

A considerable number of them had faced defeat at least once in the past few days encountering Idohyuk’s account ＜Heumgeujeongdungga＞.

Former pros in Elpha had experienced being trounced once, and they, too, had recently gone through the same.

Therefore, for a while, within various Iron Fist teams in Korea, a “solo queue alert” had been activated.

If you happened to meet the wrong opponent, you’d end up getting stripped bare, your mechanics getting twisted in strange ways.

Anyway-

Thus, Idohyuk became the highest-ranked Korean gamer among those participating in this competition.

With Anatol’s recommendation added to the mix, and considering that even within Twok Korea, this rookie streamer Idohyuk had been gaining quite a bit of attention, it was only natural that he obtained the qualification to compete.

“Shall we watch the main tournament draw together then?”

-DGDG

-Shinjiro was supposed to meet the Japanese invitee, right? If only they’d met right away lol

-No, meeting in the finals would be more fun, honestly.

-Lololololol, those Japanese folks still don’t know much about Dohyuk-sensei.

-For real, I watched their community and they seemed to think he’d already won.

Idohyuk spoke as he turned on the official broadcast of Twok Rivals.

With the preliminary rounds over and all the finalists decided, the drawing of the brackets was up next.

As he tuned in, he saw the Korean commentators watching the Japanese broadcast.

Although three countries participated, due to Twok Japan being the sponsor and organizer of the event, it seemed that the draw was being conducted on the Japanese broadcast.

-What’s that lol

-Are we in the 20th century or what?

-Lmao lol lol

“..Wow.”

In true analog-loving Japanese fashion, the draw was being done manually in a studio, not through CGI.

Panels full of handcrafted traces of paper-folding, sticking, and adding were visible.

[Now, before we finally proceed with the eagerly awaited bracket draw!]

And at that moment.

“···Huh?”

[Today’s Special Guest is Here!]

With the announcement of a special guest, a figure appeared.

“Isn’t that person from back then?”

-hahahahaha.

-Yes, Hisashiburi.

-Student No. 4, come on in.

-hahahaha, nice to see you again.

-No. 4 is here, hahahaha.

Viewers welcomed Student No. 4 with joy, calling out his name.

This No. 4 was a meme born from the Ultimate Fighter videos on his YouTube channel these days.

Student No. 1 was Black Girl, Student No. 2 was Anatol, Student No. 3 was ‘That Beyond,’ and Student No. 4 was…

From Noble mtl dot com

[The Emperor of the Japanese Fighting Game World—!!! The star of the semi-finals legend in the last world championship—!]

“Wolfgang, right. Ah, what was his name again. It was… Chaki?”

-hahahaha, Chaki is the best.

-hahahaha, try to remember.

-Too much, hahahaha.

It was indeed Chaki.

“Now, let’s welcome Player Chaki!”

“Oh, right. It’s Chaki. Skilled in dual-wielding weapons.”

-hahahaha, Chaki must remember Sensei Do-hyuk.

-He only remembers who he hits, doesn’t know the one who hit him well.

-How do you know that?

-Oh…

“Now, let’s welcome Player Chaki!”

The commentator called out Chaki loudly.

The Emperor of the Japanese gaming world, the great Chaki, who showed overwhelming skills and won the recent Japan tournament!

Of course, across the sea in the peninsula, he was just ‘Student No. 4,’ but as a commentator, there were things yet to be known.

“Hello, everyone. I’m Chaki. Today, I meet you not as a player but as a commentator. Please take care of me.”

“hahahaha. We also ask for your care, Player Chaki. Oh! I heard that you initially rejected the offer to commentate but later changed your mind. Was there a special reason for that?”

“······”

Chaki, upon hearing the question, paused for a moment.

He would have been fully focused on practicing for EVO at the time, but he had accepted the offer to commentate.

‘Why did I do that?’

He couldn’t say that he wanted to witness the despair of the foolish black mages who summoned the Demon Lord with their own hands, as revealing such thoughts was a taboo for a Japanese person.

“Ahem. It’s nothing special, just that among the streamers participating in this tournament, there was someone I had my eye on, so I accepted the commentary offer for analytical purposes.”

That was Chaki’s response.

In truth, it was a somewhat truthful statement.

“Oh, somehow I feel like I know who that is. Could it be Shinjiro, the player?”

-www

-Everyone knows it’s the Shinjiro EVO Sending Competition www

-Who’s better at Iron Fist, Shinjiro or Tsuki? (laughs)

Of course, Tsuki’s words were interpreted by the casters and viewers as naturally referring to Shinjiro.

“Well, it could be, or it could not be. Although I’d like to speak my mind, I’ll refrain from doing so because if I mention it, it might burden him in future competitions.”

Tsuki didn’t outright deny it either.

But he didn’t confirm it either.

If the conversation shifted from Shinjiro to Ido Hyuk, Tsuki might become a traitor for supporting a Korean even before the main event started.

On the other hand, if it was about Shinjiro, he might hear criticisms of being ignorant about Iron Fist after the competition.

So, Tsuki gave an answer that could allow him to escape at any time.

This was the attitude that a seasoned Japanese person should have.

-I’m curious about Tsuki’s thoughts on that Korean streamer with an impressive win rate 草

At that moment, a mention of Ido Hyuk came up in the official broadcast chat.

The caster asked Tsuki about it.

“Oh, right. There’s a Korean streamer who’s been a hot topic lately, right? Ido Hyo-ku. Has Tsuki met that streamer?”

Using the same Asian server as Korea, Japan naturally couldn’t help but be interested in Ido Hyuk’s account, which suddenly appeared and was breaking through top-tier gamers with a 100% win rate.

However, only rumors were circulating, and detailed information about Ido Hyuk wasn’t widely known in Japan.

“He’s not in Iron Fist. I’ve faced him a few times in Ultimate Fighter.”

“Hmm, I see. Tsuki must have won, right?”

“…I lost.”

“Eh-? Seriously?”

First and foremost, it wasn’t widely known that Tsuki had lost to Ido Hyuk in Ultimate Fighter.

[Gasp-!]

[Hmm… A gap here. Ah, here too]

[Thud! Boom! Clang!]

And it wasn’t just a loss; Tsuki, in derogatory terms, had been utterly defeated.

-www Is this for real?

-Hey, Tsuki- Forget about acting!

-Hey hey, it’s not even funny anymore

Tsuki’s viewers watched this unfold.

So, from the perspective of those who had been Tsuki’s longtime fans from his days in Ultimate Fighter to now in Iron Fist, it was both understandable and unacceptable that Tsuki, who they had supported for so long, would be so thoroughly defeated by a random Korean.

At first, they probably thought it was a hidden camera prank.

But such defeats didn’t end after just one time.

[Oh, oh no!]

[Hmm… That was good just now.]

Two times, three times…

[Sniff!]

[Hmm, it’s getting quite long now?]

[Thud! Clang! Bam!]

Eventually, as the 5th consecutive match unfolded.

And when Tsuki was defeated in that 5th match.

-Kkyaaah!

-Woah!

-This can’t be happening!

Faced with an overwhelming terror, they were on the brink of despair.

The strongest in Japan’s fighting game scene, the reigning Iron Fist of Japan, the emperor of the Japanese fighting game world, Tsuki, lost to a sudden appearance of a mere streamer?

It was different from Anatol and Beyond’s fans who faced similar situations.

It had to be that way.

Because the one who shattered their idol from their perspective was also a fellow Korean, Ido-hyuk.

But to Tsuki’s fans, Ido-hyuk was a foreigner.

Not just any foreigner, but a Korean… Kangkokujing!

No… Josenjing!

So, in order not to go insane, Tsuki’s fans chose one method.

Brain record obliteration.

-Huh? Doyokku? Was there such a person?

-I have no idea?

-Tsuki played Alpa yesterday? That never happened?

In the end, after the battle of that day, Tsuki’s fans who mentioned the 5 consecutive matches between Ido-hyuk and Tsuki ceased to exist.

Bringing it up would damage Tsuki’s reputation, and ultimately their own.

During the Ultimate Fighter days, Tsuki, who was once ridiculed by fellow Japanese for losing to an inexperienced Anatol, endured those hardships.

As Tsuki’s fandom, who stood by each other through those times of hardship, their solidarity extended beyond borders, making them the strongest in Japan!

It was because of this strength that they managed to withstand the rumors about the genius disaster called Ido-hyuk without spreading.

Moreover, Tsuki’s fandom didn’t stop there.

[Who owns this Korean account?]

Hmm, who could it be? / KR

#1774

The win rate is abnormal?

A few days ago, a post surfaced in Japan’s Iron Fist community.

-True, maybe it’s not Anatol www

-Apparently, it’s a Korean streamer?

By the time a comment or two appeared there.

-That’s an abusive account lol

-lol They paid to post it

Similar comments started pouring in, outnumbering the rest.

It was Tsuki’s fandom leaving those comments.

In a corner of their hearts, such sentiments resided.

“…You should suffer too.”

If Tsuki’s 5 consecutive losses were revealed, it would become Tsuki’s sin.

The guy who heard the voice of the emperor of the Japanese fighting game world dared to lose to an outsider.

But what if the person who was defeated wasn’t Tzuki alone?

If all the other Japanese gamers also get defeated?

Then, it wouldn’t be just Tzuki’s personal sin anymore; it would become a hardship that the Japanese fighting game world as a whole must endure together.

So, hold on until then!

While hiding Tzuki’s defeat as much as possible!

“Oh, you were quite a skilled gamer. But Ultimate Fighter is a game of the past. I wonder how you’d fare in Iron Fist. Of course, you wouldn’t be a match for Shinjiro, the player, right?”

“hahahaha… Is that so?”

And on the other hand, Tzuki’s fandom had such hopes.

“Please let Ido Hyoku vs. Shinjiro happen in the Round of 16!”

“If not, at least in the quarterfinals…”

In this tournament, it would be great if Ido Hyoku could meet Shinjiro as soon as possible.

The current emperor of the Japanese fighting game world, Tzuki.

And the current prince of the Japanese fighting game world, Shinjiro.

They were called the emperor and the prince, but wouldn’t it mean that Shinjiro would eventually succeed Tzuki’s throne if you put it differently?

In fact, Shinjiro’s fandom often spread such rumors.

Shinjiro, who hadn’t even been playing Iron Fist for a year, was already at this level. If given more time, he would soon defeat Tzuki, and then the Japanese fighting game world would stand at the top of the world.

Apart from the friendly relationships between the players, from the fans’ perspective, it was a convincing argument.

“Well, let’s start the draw!”

Thud, thud, thud…

And the draw results were revealed.

Round of 16, Match 1.

[Shinjiro] VS [Dark Maiden]

The wishes of Tzuki’s fans didn’t come true.

Round of 16, Match 7.

[Ido Hyoku] VS [Jao Lung]

Even Ido Hyoku was far away from Shinjiro.

It seemed they would only meet in the finals.

And when the first match ended.