The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1304

When assessing any competitive advantages, whether Evangeline was an ancient dragon or possessed some kind of special power didn’t really matter. Since the whole idea of a game played on a computer was just pressing buttons with your fingers, the most anyone could do was have slightly better reaction speed.

However, whether it was talent or something else, Evangeline adapted to the game with shocking speed, eventually toying with the other streamers in her match.

“What, Eva’s the killer again?!” one of the streamers shouted.

“How is that even possible?!” another incredulously asked.

“I told you, didn’t I?! She’s totally a snake! You can’t trust her!”

“Come on, who would’ve suspected her in that situation?”

Evangeline quietly giggled to herself and watched the confused streamers fall into chaos. Still, it wasn’t long before she started to feel tired.

“Thank you for having me. We should play again sometime.”

“Oh? Really? You mean it?”

“Yeah. Just call me anytime, and feel free to speak casually.”

“Alright then! Let’s do a survival game next time!”

Evangeline was especially doted on by the other streamers, and her popularity was undeniable.

Yet, she didn’t drag the stream out with a dramatic goodbye. She left cleanly. It hadn’t been a planned collaboration to begin with, just a surprise guest appearance, so there was no need to stick around until the end.

After ending the voice chat with the streamers who were seeing her off, she paused for a moment as if thinking, then switched her stream’s display to the waiting screen.

“Shall we just chat a bit while I doodle?” After saying that, she opened the drawing software and started scribbling away. Even though it was just a rough doodle, the quality was surprisingly high, and she let out a delighted laugh. “The game was more fun than I expected.”

[Ahh, boss is already picking up bad habits.]

[I saw boss being the killer and going full toxic mode.]

“What do you mean, ‘toxic’? That was just a little dance of happiness!”

[News flash: That’s exactly what people call toxic.]

[You don’t know what teabagging is? Really?]

“T-Teabagging?! W-whatever. Well then... Let’s think of something to do before we end the stream.”

[Wait, there’s a streamer who just throws the content planning onto the viewers?]

[Is this what job abandonment looks like...?]

She decided to tease them, asking, “Should I just end the stream here?”

[Obviously, we’ll think of something for you boss :)))]

[Hurry up and start brainstorming everyone, lol]

[Salute, salute.]

“I’m kidding. I was planning to stop here, anyways. Even so, it seems like you all still want more, and I’m kind of restless too. I’ll just use it as an excuse to stay a bit longer.”

She looked away, embarrassed. “Uh... Anyways, think of something. Hurry!”

While she tried to ignore her embarrassment and think of an idea, someone gave a pointed question.

[But boss, do you have any other hobbies? Besides drawing.]

Evangeline’s head tilted at the question. “Do I need to have multiple hobbies?”

[No, not really...]

[You just seem like you’d definitely have some other hobby.]

“Not really. If anything, I used to run away from home because I wanted to be a hero or something...”

[News recall: Boss isn’t even five years old yet.]

[Wow, boss saying something like that really puts it into perspective GG LOLS]

[Crazy! A more mature three-year-old than most grown people out there lolol]

“Ugh. What does age have to do with anything?! I grew up differently!” she suddenly shouted, embarrassed. “Phew. I guess I’ve got nothing else, so for today’s stream...”

Knock knock.

“Eva, are you in there?”

A knock had come from outside the streaming booth.

“Hm? Super Ribbon?” When she got up and opened the booth door, there stood Super Ribbon, her blue-red hair tied up neatly, holding a plastic bag in one hand.

“Oh! Bungeoppang!”[1]

“Hehe, I thought of you on the way back from school and picked some up.”

Evangeline jumped for joy and opened the bag. “Wow... Thanks! You know how much I love them!”

“Of course. You’re streaming, right? I’ll go ahead and leave so I don’t bother you.”

“W-what?”

[Nooo. Don’t leave!]

[How can you just send away a guest who showed up with gifts like this?]

[She’s content just by standing there, and you’re giving that up?]

Watching the viewers go wild, Evangeline’s eyes narrowed. “Super Ribbon, stay and hang out for a bit.”

Super Ribbon was surprised to hear that. “Huh? Won’t I be in the way?”

“No, it’s fine. I wasn’t planning to do much else anyways, to the point that I was about to end the stream.”

“If that’s the case... Hello, everyone! I’m Super Ribbon.”

[Ahh... I feel healed.]

[News reminder: Super Ribbon isn’t that much older than Evangeline]

[No way, lolololol]

[A college student who’s not even ten years old? Oh wow...]

Super Ribbon was a different case from Blue Ribbon and Super Ribbon, so her age didn’t really matter. Yet, for regular people, that kind of thing would definitely be hard to process.

“By the way, what’s that on your back?”

“Oh, this? I’ve been learning to play the gayageum[2] lately. Mute’s been teaching me! I told Father about it, and he made one for me on the spot.”

Sporting a proud smile, Super Ribbon unzipped the large bag and pulled out a light-colored gayageum. Though it looked a bit different from a traditional one, once she plucked a string with her finger, a clear and beautiful sound rang out.

“Ooh! Then can you play something for me?”

“Hmm? I don’t know. I’m still kind of shy to show others...”

“But you were really good at piano. Come on, show us, show us!”

Super Ribbon hesitated for a moment, then placed the gayageum on her lap and lightly plucked a few strings. “Alright, should I give it a try? I hope I’m not being a nuisance to the viewers.”

[Who said that?! I’ll beat them myself!]

[No one better say anything!!]

Super Ribbon had built up quite a bit of popularity as a guest on the stream, especially after having joined the Gourmet Research Society streams from time to time.

“So, what should I play?”

“The gayageum’s a Korean instrument, right?” Evangeline clarified.

[Yep.]

[Yup, yup.]

“Then how about something from another country?”

Super Ribbon closed her eyes and plucked the strings a few more times. “Ah, there’s something I recently learned from Father that fits the requirements.”

She gently silenced the trembling strings with her palm and took a short breath. Then, looking nervous, she glanced at Evangeline. “Ready?”

“I’m excited!”

“Don’t get too excited...” she murmured softly, then lowered her gaze to the strings.

Then...

“Ahh—”

As she plucked the strings, she also sang in a beautiful, clear, and sacred voice. The melody that followed was breathtakingly beautiful, enough to make anyone present stop and hold their breath.

The piece she chose was none other than a hymn.

“Oh! I know this one. It’s Amazing Grace!”

Evangeline sat beside her, watching intently with wide eyes.

The chat, which had been buzzing just moments before, quickly fell into a stunned silence the moment Super Ribbon started to truly sing and play.

While the chat went up now and then with words of amusement, it was quiet for the most part.

As her pure voice poured out in beautiful syllables, the sound resonated through the setup Evangeline had fine-tuned beforehand, creating an even more immersive and holy atmosphere.

Her performance wasn’t filled with any flashy techniques or dramatic flair. Nonetheless, her performance pierced straight into the hearts of many. The harmony was so stunning that it was like a massive choir had joined in the chorus.

Evangeline watched, wide-eyed and mesmerized by Super Ribbon.

She’d seen Super Ribbon play music before, but she was now seeing something entirely different. After being taught by Mute, the minstrel hero who dwelled in the Saint Sanctuary, Super Ribbon’s skill and performance was incomparable to how she used to be.

‘Come to think of it, Mute did compare her to Dad a lot.’

- Wow, she’s something else! A bit more polish and she’ll blow your dad out of the water.

She had thought he was joking, but it now appeared he wasn’t. Not in the slightest.

Her performance shook Evangeline’s soul to the core.

Once she finished and silence settled in, Super Ribbon gently placed her hand over the gayageum strings, and the ethereal sound that had filled the air completely faded away.

Then, for about five seconds after the performance ended, no one reacted.

[???]

[Did gayageums always make that kind of sound?]

[Holy crap, my ears feel purified.]

[That hit so hard...]

[Holy...]

They say music is a universal language, in which case Super Ribbon was fluent.

Finally snapping out of their trance, the viewers surged back in, flooding the chat with enough firepower to nearly break it.

“Whoa... That was incredible! And hey, you guys, calm down in chat! You’re gonna crash the server!!”

Caught off guard by the sudden flood of responses, Evangeline tried to regain control, but the relentless wave of explosive reactions soon overwhelmed even her sturdy channel.

* * *

“Whoa... This is... just... whoa.” Park Si-Hyun, who had been listening alongside his older cousin Park Si-Woo, the former pro gamer turned streamer, was completely speechless after hearing the music coming from Evangeline’s stream.

“Si-Woo, seriously. You haven’t contacted them?”

“Nah, I’ve been too busy to ask.”

“This is going to blow up, for real! Damn. Father and daughter both have unreal talent.”

“Is it really that amazing? She said she just learned it recently.” Si-Woo tilted his head, unconvinced.

Si-Hyun let out a short laugh. “Alright, I’ll explain it in simple terms. How did you feel when you heard that just now?”

“It was insane,” Si-Woo quickly responded.

“Right? And why was it insane?”

“Huh? I mean... I don’t know?”

“Hard to explain, huh?”

Si-Woo nodded in response.

“Exactly. That’s the point. Fuck... I’ve worked in this industry long enough to see all kinds of old geezers saying whatever they want, like ‘this is good’ and ‘that isn’t.’ I mean, everyone’s got their own standards, you get what I’m saying?”

“Could you not say it like that...”

“But still, since I’ve been around long enough, I can usually see what they're basing those opinions on.”

Si-Woo wanted him to get to the point. “And?”

“What we just watched? This doesn’t follow any of that.”

What she played resonated with something primal in the human soul.

It was just downright good.

Si-Woo clearly had no idea how terrifying such a reaction could be.

“I swear, if someone clips that and uploads it, it’ll get hundreds of millions of views.”

“Come on, no way! That has to be a stretch.”

“Considering how many subscribers that Evangeline girl has? It’s totally possible. The video’s gonna go viral overnight, guaranteed.”

Si-Woo waved it off, thinking Si-Hyun was just being dramatic. However, a few days later, Si-Woo rubbed his eyes in disbelief. “No way this is real...”

The number under the video had reached 321,438,126 practically overnight.

“Three hundred million views?! Those friends of mine who chase after views have probably already reached out by now.”

“You’re kidding. Wait a minute... Do you mean the orchestra you were talking about?”

“Yeah, and here’s the crazy part. If one member in an orchestra stands out too much, they usually get rejected. Orchestras need everyone to be in sync, operating at the same level.”

Yet, they’d contacted her anyway, which could only mean one thing.

“Her performance elevates everyone else's. It pulls the entire group up with it! It’s the kind of thing that awakens the best traits in others through pure inspiration.”

Si-Hyun had realized how amazing she was after playing along with her video the day before. “Sure, they say the nail that sticks out gets hammered down first, but if that nail lifts the whole slab? That’s a different story.”

This wasn’t just about being an entertaining content creator.

“She’s... I mean, this isn’t something I, who hated being called a genius, should be saying... but she’s the real deal. An actual, once-in-a-lifetime genius. I’m not even in the same league.”

It was absurd when he thought about it.

“The sister’s a musical genius, the younger one’s an art genius... and the dad’s out there running the world. What can’t that family do?”

The younger sister had created a bunch of dragon-obsessed people with a single drawing, and the older sister had drawn in hundreds of millions of views with just one performance.

Sure, their looks played a part in some of the attention, but that was just a small factor when compared to their talent.

“Traditional gayageum performances don’t usually make it big internationally, but this? This video won’t be held back at the slightest. Anything she touches will blow up.”

Eyes sparkling, Si-Hyun pleaded to Park Si-Woo for him to call Evangeline. The gamer hesitated as he looked at Davey’s number saved in his phone. He didn’t know what he would say. He wondered if it’d be weird to suddenly reach out.

His mind raced with all sorts of thoughts. That’s when Evangeline’s message came through. Truly, she was someone he could talk to casually.

- Si-Woo, are we playing Mafia again today?

Si-Woo jumped up and skipped around, shouting, “This is it!”

“Si-Woo?” his cousin didn’t understand why he was suddenly so happy.

“Don’t worry, I’m gonna make your lifelong dream come true.”

“Holy crap, seriously?! I could die happy if I get to work with her.”

‘That music-obsessed lunatic.’

Si-Woo let out a dry laugh and messaged Evangeline.

‘Well, someone that focused on their own work probably wouldn’t cause any problems.’

At least, that’s what he thought. However, life always had a way of proving people wrong.

1. Bungeoppang is a popular street food in Korea. It’s a fish-shaped pastry often filled with red beans or custard that is most widely known to be eaten during the winter. ☜

2. The gayageum is a traditional Korean musical instrument. It’s a plucked zither with 12 strings, with the musician sitting on the floor and putting it on their lap to play. A performance can be found here. ☜