Chapter 24: Second Broadcast

After the events at the arcade, Holcop finished his stream and was heading home with his manager when,

“Ha…”

He suddenly sighed.
His manager tilted his head and asked,

“What’s wrong?”

Having worked together for a long time, he recognized Holcop’s troubled mood.

Holcop rubbed the back of his neck and looked at the sunset painting the world in warm hues.

“Just…feeling a bit strange.”

He gave a wry smile.
The manager nodded as he fiddled with the filming equipment, indicating agreement.

“She was a unique person, that’s for sure. What a coincidence.”

Holcop nodded as well,
Thinking about Yujin, who had left immediately after their handshake following the game.

‘Seriously, who is she?’

Everything was a mystery.
After Clash, he tried to find out more about Yujin right there.

Reading countless chat messages, browsing internet forums and Ratube, he discovered a lot,

‘Complicated…’

But nothing concrete.

Most of what he found was already mentioned in the viewers’ chats, and the rest was mostly speculation.
The name ‘Ashilis’ itself
Was completely unheard of. He wondered if it belonged to a retired Awakened, but that wasn’t the case either.

“How was the stream?”

Holcop shook his head, changing the subject. His manager shrugged, as if it were nothing special.

“The reaction was explosive. If I edit it well, the views will go through the roof.”

“We got a million won in donations instead of the mission reward. Guess it worked out well, then?”

–I suppose so.
The manager finished his thought.

His friend’s tone was curt, but the underlying concern put Holcop at ease.

He looked at the distant sunset and then picked up his phone.

And—,

“Hmm? What… Huh? You’re going on hiatus?”

The manager felt his phone vibrate, checked the notification, and then stared at Holcop with wide eyes.

“Yeah. Just a short break.”

Holcop had posted an announcement on his phone that he would be taking a break from streaming. The manager frowned in confusion.

“Really? Why so suddenly?”

It was a natural question.
They had record-breaking viewership, and it was a given that the next stream would also attract a huge crowd.

The manager’s question wasn’t an accusation.
Holcop considered whether an explanation was necessary, then smiled brightly and murmured casually,

“If I disappear for a bit, won’t the viewers be anxious? And then, I’ll make a grand return.”

“…Well, whatever you say. As long as I get paid properly.”

“Heartless bastard.”

“Your face.”

The manager raised his middle finger.
Holcop burst out laughing, and the manager shook his head, muttering about sudden whims.

Neither of them understood the reason behind it.

But Holcop wanted to savor the lingering feeling from his encounter with Ashilis, with Yujin, just a little longer.

‘She was a strange one. Incredibly beautiful, insane physical abilities, just who is she? The viewers said she streams too.’

Lost in thought, Holcop then heard,

“Streamer Holcop.”

“…?”

Both he and his manager turned their heads at the voice from behind. At first, he thought it might be a viewer who recognized him, but then,

“Unregistered C-rank Awakened, Jang Yu-jun.”

“Who…are you?”

His real name,
Spoken in a man’s voice,
A strangely blunt voice, made Holcop instinctively step in front of his manager.

In contrast to Holcop and his manager, who were backlit by the setting sun,

“We would appreciate it if you wouldn’t be alarmed. We have a few questions. Could you come with us?”

This time, it was a woman’s voice.
The sudden appearance of two people in black suits, bathed in the warm glow of the sunset, made Holcop blink.

[Eftarel Verden Forum]

[Title: Admit you’re salty if you missed Holcop’s stream today lol (★)]

(Video)
(Picture)

Seriously legendary, upvote if you agree lol

I was watching in the spectator room, it was so exciting lol

So satisfying to see all those idiots who were calling it rigged and saying he’s washed up after the first set shut up lol

[Comments]

-This fcking btch wasn’t playing Eftarel, wasn’t streaming, just doing that over there

-Is that video real? Who is she?
ㄴ You don’t know her and you’re on the Eftarel forum?
ㄴ Some random civilian who appeared on Holcop’s stream lol
ㄴ Random civilian my a*s lol

-Isn’t that appearance modified?
ㄴ I saw a picture posted by a forum user who was at the arcade, and she’s seriously gorgeous as f*ck lol
ㄴ Ah, it got deleted;

-That face and those physical abilities? Eftarel’s one thing, but she’s like that in Clash too lol;
ㄴ Holcop isn’t bad, but I was shocked seeing him get beaten like that lol

-The Clash forum is going crazy too lol
ㄴ Rigging accusations are flying because of the techniques in the fourth set lol But it’s understandable;

-Fastest rise to fame lol

-Holcop must be ecstatic lol
ㄴ Seriously, he just challenged some random person and it turned into a legendary stream lol
ㄴ But in reality, he ended the stream right after the game, damn it lol

-It was so funny how Holcop was getting wrecked and then went berserk after the Hero said something to him lol
ㄴ Hey; That wasn’t it, their hearts connected. Don’t slander them
ㄴ It’s hilarious how she isn’t just caught up in the concept lol
ㄴ Proven that she’s like that in real life too ㅇㅇ;

-Ah fck, that Hero btch ran off right after the game? Someone go find her and tell her to stream;
ㄴ Why did Holcop end the stream right away, damn it
ㄴ Are those two the same as you? They’re probably spending some quality time together lol
ㄴ Our Hero noona doesn’t know things like that…

-Stream, Ashilis, you btch!
ㄴ Waiting for a stream at home… pathetic…
ㄴ ‘Aren’t you ashamed?’
ㄴ I feel like I’m ‘wasting’ my time…
ㄴ Fcking nerds lol;
ㄴ I’ve always been ‘sincere’…

-But the Hero’s real name was never mentioned, right? No one’s talking about it;
ㄴ Hey…
ㄴ I’ll let this slide just this once~
ㄴ Don’t try to dig up personal information lol You know how many people got f*cked over for that, right?
ㄴ Try it if you want to have a real-life fight with an S-rank Awakened lol

At the same time,
When Holcop encountered the two strangers, someone else was suffering immensely.

“Ah, ow!”

On Ratube,
There were many streamers who made a name for themselves through Eftarel Verden.

And,

“Aaaagh! I died again!”

-Yep~ Get rekt lol
-I’m bored of this now, b*tch;
-Does 20 million won look like a joke to you? Work hard if you want it lol
-Despair in real-time lol

At the hands, or rather, hooves of Ebion in the second phase of the Mobidik fight, a female player lay defeated.

Lee Hae-min was one of them.
As soon as she failed to clear Mobidik, she hit the restart button, resetting the tutorial.

And starting again, she once more opened her eyes at the beginning of the tutorial.

“No! How many times is this?!”

She screamed in frustration.
A cry directed at the viewers’ chat messages displayed in her field of vision.

-I don’t care~ lol
-Mobidik’s despair is never light…
-You chose this mission, so bear with it
-A-ten-hut! Back to your position!

“Agh! I was crazy!”

Right before restarting the tutorial, Hae-min clutched her head and cursed her past self.

From the Eftarel Verden forum
To the official overseas website.

A user who suddenly rose to fame in Eftarel Verden at an incredible speed.

The Hero, Ashilis.

First clear of Lunatic Mobidik.
First to unlock the hidden route in Eftarel Verden.
The first to possess the last fragment of the Holy Sword. An enigmatic woman about whom nothing else was known.

“Why did I do this…?”

-Don’t ask us lol
-Why indeed lol
-This is how scary money is, everyone~

Hae-min had decided to emulate her achievements.

She challenged the impossible: clearing Lunatic Mobidik.

Blinded by ten million won.
And now, with the amount doubled to twenty million won, there was no turning back. Hae-min swallowed her tears and gritted her teeth.

It had been two days.
At first, she analyzed Ashilis’s gameplay videos countless times until her head felt like it would explode. Then, experiencing it firsthand made her lose her mind.

“No, this is seriously impossible for anyone but her!”

Hae-min cried out in frustration.

But the viewers showed no sympathy, only mockery.

-And you know that, yet…lol
-Why are you complaining to us, b*tch? lol

“I mean… Ugh.”

–What do I even expect from you guys?

Hae-min trailed off, and though question marks flooded the chat, she ignored them and continued lamenting.

“Ha, I’d love to contact her directly, but…”

-As if that would happen
-She was on Holcop’s stream today, right?
-Yeah, they met at the arcade and played Clash
-How can you be sure it was her, you dumbasses lol
-Listen to the legendary lines from Holcop’s stream, and you’ll know lol

A familiar streamer’s name made Hae-min’s eyes widen in surprise. She was on friendly terms with Holcop.

“Really? Ha… That lucky bastard. I sent him tons of messages, but no reply. If she streamed, I’d at least donate.”

-Give up lol
-You? Seriously?
-A streamer with 20,000 concurrent viewers getting called ‘you’ lol
-But compared to the Hero’s broadcast, isn’t she a nobody? How dare you compare yourself lol
-I heard donations are turned off on her channel, and she doesn’t even know she’s streaming ㅇㅇ

Hae-min was puzzled by the viewers’ comments.

“Hey, don’t be so harsh. Wait, she streams but doesn’t know it? What does that even mean?”

It was a natural question.

Everyone, including Hae-min,
Heard this:

[Some capsule-linked games have a live streaming function, so please pay attention to the terms and conditions.]

When purchasing a capsule, consultants gave various warnings, and the live streaming terms and conditions were among them.

Not just verbally,
But also in the capsule user manual. It was clearly stated in the terms and conditions when linking and playing games with the capsule.

-How would we know?
-She only started streaming yesterday lol
-She didn’t even read the chat once in the Clash spectator room;
-Maybe she forgot ㅇㅇ;

“Hmm… Ha. This isn’t the time to be worrying about that.”

Hae-min sighed after a moment of thought and decided to focus on the task at hand.

How many times had she failed?
She’d already received the twenty million won, so there was no turning back.

Equipping the basic tutorial gear,
Hae-min grasped the worn straight sword in her right hand and slowly walked forward, ready to attempt the tutorial again.

That’s when it happened.

–LeeHae-minBooger21 donated 10,000 won!

A donation came in.
The sound of exploding fireworks filled her ears, and in the seemingly frozen world, Hae-min thanked the donor.

“Oh, my booger donated! Thank you so…”.

…much.
She’d intended to finish her sentence, but after reading the donor’s message, her eyes widened.

-LeeHae-minBooger21: The Hero just started streaming, why don’t you check it out?

The viewers reacted faster than Hae-min.

-Seriously?
-For real? She’s actually streaming lol
-Keep struggling here forever lol I’m out~

Staring blankly at the message and the chat, Hae-min frantically started operating the capsule’s system.

She navigated to the list of live streamers linked to the capsule.

And noticed a colored bell icon in the top right corner.

A notification.
With a trembling heart, she checked it, and then yelled, trying to stop the viewers from leaving.

“I’ll be live streaming Ashilis-nim’s stream from now on!”

-What the f*ck?
-Trying to leech views lol
-Yeah~ No one cares about you lol

Quickly pausing Eftarel Verden, Hae-min connected to Ashilis’s stream.

Another instance of Eftarel Verden unfolded before her eyes.

And there she was.
The user everyone was talking about, whom Hae-min had only seen in videos and pictures.

She gazed at the white-haired woman holding the shining Holy Sword fragment in her right hand.

By default, viewers had a fixed third-person perspective.

Hae-min didn’t care.

-What’s she doing lol?
-Yeah~ Not watching lol
-Even if we watch, what are you going to do lol Learn some strategies?
-You can’t even comprehend her level, Hae-min. I’m serious

Ignoring the chat,
Hae-min tried to donate a hefty 100,000 won to Ashilis, but,

“What! Why can’t I donate! I’m trying to give her money! It’s my money, why are you stopping me?!”

-Ah lol
-Sounds like the male lead in a cheesy drama;
-Donate like that somewhere else;
-Do you think our Hero will be swayed by that measly money?
-Give it to me instead

Continuously blocked by the “donation unavailable” message, Hae-min felt a wave of despair.

Meanwhile, the Hero,

[Let’s go.]

Ashilis’s second stream began. Hae-min tried to ignore the viewers’ mockery, forcing back tears.

[Eftarel Verden Forum]

[Title: ‘That’ b*tch is here! (★)]

(Picture)

Let’s go let’s go let’s go

[Comments]

-No way lol?

-Heading there right now lol

-She appeared on Holcop’s stream and her name’s all over the forum, I wonder how many viewers she’ll get?
ㄴ Wow, 7,000 viewers already, and it just started lol

-Crazy, other streamers are relaying her stream too lol
ㄴ Seriously? Who?
ㄴ Lee Hae-min and Gale Force
ㄴ Lee Hae-min’s freaking out because donations are turned off, it’s hilarious lol