TGAT 02

Chapter 02

The rapid pounding of his heart seemed to echo in his ears.

“Ah, right! Recording.”

A shallow regret washed over him. If only he had recorded this, he could’ve just made a YouTube account and uploaded it to rake in views effortlessly.

“That damn record… wait? The game? The record?”

Memories from his previous job flickered through Songjun’s mind. Wasn’t the one thing that guy bragged about constantly his top scores in all kinds of games?

“Ah. Too bad… no, wait. I can just do it again, right?”

He had been too excited and forgotten. That record could be beaten multiple times.
If so, he just needed to surpass the game skills and record that guy always boasted about.

And upload it to YouTube?

If it was Kim Geuntaek, Songjun knew for sure he would go absolutely berserk trying to catch up after seeing it.

‘But it won’t be easy. He barely broke the 5-minute wall despite all his crazy efforts.’

Grinning, Songjun opened a timer on his screen recording program as well.
Having tried it once already, the pattern was firmly etched in his mind.
Relaxing his hand muscles, Songjun focused on the monitor and rapidly tapped the keyboard and mouse according to the boss’s patterns.

Faster and more precise than the previous attempt.

Rubbing his tired eyes, Songjun stretched.

“Ughhh…”

Checking the Fallen Kingdom Hard Mode rankings on the video editing screen, he couldn’t help but grin.

[1st: S-J – 4:30 [PP]
2nd: S-J – 4:38
3rd: S-J – 4:43 [PP]]

On his second attempt, he experimented several times to shave off time.
Though he reduced the time, he failed perfect play.
On the third attempt, he executed a flawless run without wasting a single turn, filling the rankings entirely with his name.

One thing became clear after those few games:
The more skilled you get, the more noticeable your improvement becomes.

“Hehe… 4 minutes 30 seconds… that’s impossible to beat.”

Perhaps because he hadn’t had a proper meal all morning, his stomach kept sending relentless signals for nutrients.

He cooked two packs of ramen and played the recorded video. It was about ten minutes long.

Slurrrp—

The noodles, softened while thinking about video editing, made a satisfying slurping sound as they disappeared into his mouth.

He planned to make four videos: two full playthroughs and two shorts.

“Highlight scenes repeated, add some BGM… highlight reel style.”

Extracting the source for the first video, his fingers flew over the keyboard for rough editing.

Before, he spent hours deciding the style, which scenes to connect, and how to present them.
Now, fueled by the thought of getting back at that guy, ideas danced through his head effortlessly.

.
.
.
.
Within a few hours, all four videos were complete.

He created a small “Beating the Records” channel and uploaded the videos, giving them rough titles.

“Haaah…”

Having experienced so much in just one day, he was already starting to feel sleepy even before sunset.

Weee—

[Jooyoungseok: What are you doing?]

A faint smile appeared on Songjun’s lips at the message from his longtime friend.

[Jooyoungseok: Did you see your grandfather off well?]
[Thanks to you. Appreciate you coming.]
[Jooyoungseok: Of course. By the way, I heard you got fired from Kim’s Game Factory.]
[I didn’t get fired! I quit.]
[Jooyoungseok: Well, good. We’re also looking for an editing part-timer. Let’s grab a drink tomorrow.]

His friend worked at Starburst, a major MCN, so Songjun happily agreed.

As usual, it was 9 PM.

The main stream showed channel art and a webcam, while the other monitor displayed the live broadcast and chat.

‘Broadcast ready. Checked the game for today.’

After finishing all preparations, he turned on the camera and microphone.

“Alright~ The overwhelmingly skilled Kim Game Pack! Geuntaek is here!”

Kim Geuntaek shouted energetically, signaling the start of the broadcast.

• Kimha!

• Kimha! Sharp as always at 9!

• Finally here! The Physical Master!

The chat was full of praise for his physical gaming skills as usual.

Watching the chat affirm that no one in the industry could match his physical skill boosted his confidence.
After some casual chatting while monitoring the chat:

• But you were offered to join the Legendary League Pro, right? Why did you turn it down?

The awaited chat appeared.
Clues are usually revealed gradually to maintain momentum and engagement.

• Really? A pro offer?

• Of course, he’s Kim Game Pack. He must have received offers.

• But there’s a difference between pro and amateur.

• He’s physical-level god-tier.

After a short pause, the chatroom buzzed with speculation among viewers.

“Hehe. There were offers, yes~ That was a long time ago. How did you know? I haven’t told anyone! Are you an insider?!”

• Of course, Kim Game Pack!

• Ah! Physical King!

• Is that why pros want him?

• That explains the smooth physicality!

• Wow, an insider, huh?

“One… two, maybe three? One was immediate join, two were offers. But the important thing is I’m a free spirit, and I just couldn’t handle it~ That’s how Kim Game Pack was born!”

He chuckled, a grin that came naturally because the story and atmosphere flowed as he wanted.

‘A few videos made already. Later, maybe invite a pro for a challenge and just show a tense moment.’

It seemed inevitable that people would soon rave about his pro-level physical skills.

Viewers gathered gradually.

“Alright! Enough chit-chat! Today’s game is… a returning Souls-like game! It’s quite difficult.”

• Hard mode, of course?

“Of course! Hard mode! Normal is too easy~ The game has to be tense and thrilling, like Fallen Kingdom Hard Mode.”

Subtly boasting again about his achievement, he was about to continue playing when:

[Brother, check this out?] donated 10,000 KRW.

“Oh! Thanks for the 10,000 KRW donation!”

With the words “Fallen Kingdom,” the donation came.

“Hmm? Forgotten King?”

A one-minute short played, and Kim Geuntaek focused. Surely, it wasn’t sent just to watch casually.

“Hm… smooth movements.”

He had long noticed that the movements in the video were smoother than his own.
Watching the video, his words dwindled, and unease crept in.

At the end of the short, subtitles appeared: Hard Mode, No Potions, Perfect Play.

• Crazy? Is that real? No Potions Perfect Play?

• And Hard Mode, not Normal.

• Physical skills insane! Who is this?

• Damn… check the time, not just the play.

• 4:30? No Potions Perfect Play?

• How did they even do that?

• Didn’t Geuntaek claim no one could do that?

The chat exploded. Not just chaos—literally flipped upside down.
All because of a single donated video, not his own play.

[Kick the bastard who donated that video.]

Kim Geuntaek couldn’t show his rising irritation but messaged his manager under the camera.

“Haha… everyone, calm down. As per chat rules, no mentioning other streamers. Still, that’s impressive.”

• Not another streamer?

• Just a few videos on a small channel.

• Wow. Game Pack, you see? Your brag all shattered.

• Hard Mode No Potions Perfect Play. Insane.

• Can someone really do that?

• Plus, see how they discard potions at the start? Didn’t even plan to use them.

Failing to suppress the video early was a mistake. The chat had already moved on.
Any clumsy reaction now would ruin the stream.

“Shall we watch the full video? ‘Beating the Records’? Oh, confident channel name.”

Curious, Geuntaek checked the channel: just two videos and two shorts, no channel art.

Even the channel name “Beating the Records” annoyed him. Felt like it was aimed at him.

“Fallen Kingdom Hard Mode No Potions Perfect Play 4:30. Even the title is sloppy.”

The video had only been up a few hours, but subscribers and views surged far beyond a first video.

Damn. Whoever this is… really.

If it weren’t live, he would have called his managers and demanded why it wasn’t checked earlier.

Near the end of the five-minute video, he scrutinized for flaws—none.
Perfect play, no chance of manipulation, timer displayed on-screen.

[Safe Asset] set a 100,000 KRW challenge.

• Can you clear Forgotten King Hard Mode in 4:30?

The chat flooded with anticipation for Geuntaek’s reaction.

Leading viewers with pro offer hints, everything was ruined.
The longer Game Pack stayed silent, the higher the “Safe Asset” amount went.
Past 30, 50, approaching 100.

• Scared?

• Game Pack’s silent.

• LOL, hopeless against someone better. Isn’t pro offer basically pro level?

• LOL, insane. Game Pack did 4:58 sweating, and they just line up three games.

• That’s true physical skill, god-tier of god-tier.

Completely cornered. If he gave up, fans would leave; if he challenged, no guarantee he could beat 4:30.
Even if he hit near 4:30, if not No Potions Perfect Play, it would still be compared.

Damn. Damn. Damn! Shouldn’t have played that video!

A chill ran down his spine, sweat dripping from his temples.
Even the 4:58 record required insane research and memorizing patterns.

But the 100,000–150,000 KRW mission reward made his dry throat swallow hard.
Time was plenty: 24 hours.

“Go for it! Postpone today’s game. Starting now: 24-hour non-stop Forgotten King Hard Mode challenge!”

Even a poisoned chalice was worth it if he succeeded.

Ultimately, Kim Geuntaek had no choice but to lift the poisoned chalice.
Unaware of whether Songjun was the owner of the “Beating the Records” videos.