Chapter 14: The Experienced Newcomer

Actually, I didn’t expect much.

Even though it hasn’t been a long time, I’ve had some brief experience with streaming.

So, I knew very well that it was unrealistic to expect people to flock to my first stream.

Well, come to think of it, I didn’t even change accounts, so maybe it wasn’t my first stream.

Technically, my first stream was a long time ago.

Let’s just say I’m an experienced newbie.

As an experienced newbie, I knew that premature expectations or overconfidence could be detrimental.

I had promoted the stream in forums, collaborated with other creators, and even appeared on a famous streamer’s show, but I still had low expectations for viewers.

By not expecting much, I wouldn’t be disappointed.

After all, with internet broadcasting, no matter how hard you work, success isn’t guaranteed.

Leaving aside qualities like diligence, entertainment value, creativity, and charisma, you still need some moment that can get your face and name known.

That “moment” is often something trivial.

Simply put, it’s luck.

Turning that luck into an opportunity requires skill.

In my case, I couldn’t deny that I was in an environment where luck might come a bit more easily.

Still, I was anxious.

When has life ever gone the way I wanted it to?

I had already learned through life that it doesn’t unfold according to my plans.

The fact that I had transformed into Camilla’s body against my will only made me feel more uneasy.

The saying “easy come, easy go” kept nagging at me.

Even though I had a chance to take life easy, I couldn’t bring myself to be confident about it.

The same applied to streaming.

Deep down, I was worried, wondering, “What if I stream for a month or even a year, and nobody shows up?”

So, I tried not to expect anything.

Just a little more than before.

Back when Abyss was a flop and I streamed without a camera or microphone, I hoped that just a few more people would tune in than back then.

I thought, “Maybe about 50 viewers… That should be enough for a steady flow of chat, and I won’t have to talk to myself, so I’d be satisfied.”

So, my first plan was to aim for 50 regular viewers and stream consistently.

Today, I decided not to be disappointed even if no one showed up.

I promised myself that I wouldn’t be hurt even if the stream ended with no chat messages.

But then…

[You’re finally noticing us.]

[Is this really Kayak?]

[Was having the mic off just an act?]

[Girl? Girl? Girl? Girl? Girl?]

[Wait, why is Kayak a girl?]

[The same Kayak who used to clash with the mods on the gallery during the dark days of that flop game? A girl…?]

[What’s with that voice… What’s with that voice… What’s with that voice…]

Suddenly, this happened.

It took longer than expected for me to figure out what was going on.

I was so focused on the game that I didn’t notice how the empty chat had suddenly filled up.

I didn’t even realize that my microphone was off.

Even when people were begging in the chat for me to turn it on, or when they started sending donations one after the other, I didn’t notice anything strange.

Of course, I couldn’t hear the donation sounds either.

I had muted them all.

No wonder I couldn’t hear anything.

At this point, calling myself an “experienced newbie” feels embarrassing.

I’m just a complete beginner at streaming, aren’t I?

“The chat is moving too fast; it’s hard to read.

Could you all slow down a bit…?

Oh, I didn’t realize my mic was off.

I’m sorry.”

[Slow down a bit, slow down a bit, slow down a bit…]

[Whoa;;]

[Wow, is this an ASMR stream?]

[My ears are tingling.]

[Why does your voice sound so good?;;]

[From now on, Kayak is the official gallery master of the Abyss gallery, and any attack on her will be considered an attack on the entire gallery.]

It seemed my short streaming experience would not be of much help in this situation.

After all, I had never encountered such a chaotic scenario during my past streams.

A broadcast with an average of 18 viewers couldn’t possibly generate the energy I was experiencing now.

Since I had never experienced it, I didn’t know how it felt.

A stream where the chat moves this quickly, and where people all have their own things to say, didn’t exist in my manual.

There was no way the viewers would comply with my request to type more slowly.

The slower they typed, the more their messages would get buried.

I was well aware of their psychology, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit resentful.

I occasionally saw requests for slow chat, follower-only chat, or subscriber-only chat, but I didn’t know how to use those features.

Honestly, I was surprised that I had subscribers at all.

I had subscribers for my stream?

Those additional features could be learned gradually.

What mattered now was managing this chaotic situation.

<So-and-so has donated 1,000 won!>

  • The fact that Kayak, the president of the Abyss gallery, turned out to be a sickly cute girl has made the gallery members very happy.

[Me first, ㅋㅋ]

[So funny, ㅋㅋ]

[Kayak! Kayak! Kayak! Kayak! Kayak! Kayak!]

[Let’s take Kayak to the National Assembly!]

[Is this person into politics too? ㅋㅋ]

I felt dizzy.

Didn’t big-time streamers always broadcast in such chaotic environments?

From the way they were chatting, it seemed most were new viewers from the gallery.

Were there really this many people coming in through the gallery?

Unlike before, the scale of the gallery had increased, making it hard to gauge how many people would show up.

Perhaps the number of viewers was similar to the past, but only a few of them were actively chatting.

It was a plausible theory, given the diversity of their usernames.

No, wait.

I could just check the viewer count to see how many people were actually here.

It would be enough to see it for myself.

Let’s see…

So, the current viewer count is…

Live – 183

“One hundred eighty-three…?”

I was taken aback by the unexpected number.

Not just two digits but three?

Moreover, it was still slowly increasing in real-time.

As I watched the viewer count climb, surpassing 200, I turned my gaze away.

Hmm, I had a feeling it was a mistake to check.

After seeing the viewer count, I felt even more pressure.

I hadn’t completely ruled out the possibility of so many people suddenly showing up for my first stream.

I sometimes imagined such scenarios before going to sleep.

But when it actually became a reality, I was utterly flustered.

I couldn’t maintain my composure.

[Did you say eighteen?]

[Why are you swearing? ㅠㅠ]

[I think you saw the viewer count.]

[I can tell the gallery master is surprised. ㅋㅋ]

I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

Let’s think of it simply.

Whether there are 100, 200, or 20,000 viewers, what I have to do remains the same.

I just have to play the game.

That’s what I do best, and it’s what the viewers want too.

“Thank you all for coming to watch.

I’ll start the queue now.

You all came here wanting to see a skilled artisan play Camilla, right?”

[No.]

[I came to see the teacher.]

[I heard a rumor that Kayak isn’t a strong player but an ordinary one.]

[Turn on the camera, turn on the camera, turn on the camera, turn on the camera, turn on the camera.]

[Wow! Finally, ranked games!]

[Just say you love me once.]

[Does this person only play Camilla?]

[What’s the relationship with Taker?]

[If you ditch Camilla and play something else, you’d easily hit number one in the challenge…]

Indeed, the reactions proved my expectations correct.

As expected of Abyss, which has become a popular game, just playing it was enough to draw people in.

Of course, the curiosity about the non-mainstream hero Camilla also contributed to the influx of viewers.

There are those who want to play Camilla but hesitate because of her difficulty.

People curious about her playstyle.

Others wanting to reference her item build and strategies.

All of them would watch my stream.

There weren’t many decent guides on the VTube channel, and I was the only one known as a Camilla master.

That’s just how non-mainstream heroes are.

There isn’t a well-established theory, so one has to meticulously study everything from start to finish.

As a result, users naturally tend to play other heroes, which have established builds that are easier to use.

It’s a vicious cycle that repeats.

However, today I was going to break that cycle.

Through my stream.

It was time to present the results of my research.

“I’ll take questions since just playing the game might be boring.

If you have questions about Camilla, like her playstyle or item build, just ask, and I’ll answer right away.”

[Hmm…]

[Teacher, I’m sorry, but no one cares about Camilla.]

[Who would play such a trash hero?]

[Oh, come on.]

[But she’s pretty.]

[Camilla’s got a nice body; do you know her measurements?]

[Gallery opinions;;]

[Teacher, how old are you?]

[You were stuttering, but suddenly you have a lot to say about Camilla.]

[What does Camilla mean to this person, anyway?]

I scanned the rapidly rising chat and smiled with satisfaction.

Well, there’s that saying, isn’t there?

You can tell the rise and fall of a stream just by the speed of the chat.

Typically, successful streams have chat moving at a speed that’s hard to see.

Viewers find the stream so enjoyable that they can’t help but chat excitedly.

A stream where viewers want to chat.

A stream where they want to communicate with the streamer.

That was part of the goal I set when I started streaming.

From that perspective, the chat was moving at a very decent speed.

It was hard to believe this was my first stream.

  • Dance with me.

As I picked Camilla and headed to the battlefield, the chat maintained its original speed without any drop.

[Wow, you really are just playing the game….]

Yeah, my first stream went quite smoothly.

 


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Kzalca
Kzalca
3 months ago

If only streaming was this easy irl…

Thanks for the chapter.