Chapter 8: This is completely crazy

Typically, the internet broadcasting scene has more men than women.

The male-to-female ratio is higher in internet broadcasting.

Delving deeper, the ratio becomes even more skewed when it comes to gaming streams.

Female broadcasters who focus on gaming as their main content are rare.

While their numbers have increased, the overall number of female gamers is still less compared to male gamers.

Most female streamers tend to be gamers first, transitioning to broadcasting from there.

So what about female gamers with top-tier skills?

Due to the overwhelming number of male gamers, the majority of high rankings are held by men.

For the smaller pool of female gamers, the probability of ranking among the top becomes extremely low.

However, if a female gamer does possess top-tier gaming skills against such odds,

and if that female gamer is also a broadcaster focusing on gaming,

it’s natural that she would draw attention.

Whether that attention becomes beneficial or harmful is up to her.

[Is it a girl? Is it a girl? Is it a girl? Is it a girl? Is it a girl? Is it a girl? Is it a girl? Is it a girl? Is it a girl? Is it a girl? Is it a girl? Is it a girl? Is it a girl? Is it a girl?]

[What the hell is this?]

[Then are that hand and this voice from a man, huh? ᄏᄏ]

[I was skeptical since the hand cam turned on, but hearing the voice confirms it.]

[I liked the teacher from the start.]

[Mollru, I feel weird down there… Mollru, I feel weird down there…]

[What’s up with the voice…?]

The chat was so busy it could barely keep up.

The chat would pause, then flood with messages repeatedly.

Most of it was mindless spamming and malicious harassment, but the sheer volume was hard to ignore.

– Mollru (Live) 403

What seemed like a broadcast that no one would enter suddenly became chaotic.

It looked like coordinates had been shared somewhere.

“Hello, I’m Mollru.”

Her voice was somewhat tired but, because of that, sounded even more feminine—pleasant and soothing.

It was a calm voice that could lull listeners to sleep.

This was a different dimension from what the viewers had imagined.

She was a user skilled enough to win awards for a game that had been out for a while.

However, the account seemed to have been created not long ago.

This made her seem even more suspicious as a player.

Rather than following the conventional style, she showcased her own unique style and personality.

She played as a sniper, swordsman, and assassin—three archetypes beloved by EOWA players.

As a result, people thought of Mollru as a hidden master somewhere.

A stoic sniper who rarely chatted, a swordsman showing off unpredictable physical moves, and an assassin who could catch enemies off-guard in an instant.

When users saw the agents she played, they could imagine what she looked like.

A mysterious master with a deep voice and outstanding physicality.

Even Sua, the streamer, had such an image of Mollru, and most viewers did too.

Thus, the current situation created an even larger wave of reaction.

[Mollru! Mollru! Mollru! Mollru! Mollru! Mollru! Mollru! Mollru!]

[The master suspected of being a malicious hacker was actually a female user.]

[This is just like a light novel.]

[Even novels get criticized for lacking plausibility if written like this.]

[So why did she snipe Sua?]

[Oh ᄏᄏ It was just a fan meeting; it wasn’t a real snipe ᄏᄏ]

[Don’t slander our teacher; the 50 million Mollru fan club won’t stand for it.]

[When did it become 50 million?]

[A true fan, so much so that I want to meet her even in a sub-account ᄃᄃ She even captivated the goddess Sua!]

The suspicion that Mollru was a hacker had long since faded.

Just the last game alone proved the fact through the hand cam.

The image of that delicate wrist maneuvering a powerful sniper rifle and taking out heads didn’t quite match, though.

Even now, after finishing one round, Mollru matched again.

Choosing the swordsman as her agent, Mollru swung her sword indiscriminately, cutting down enemies.

Each time, her white hands, which looked almost translucent, clicked the mouse and moved around.

[You’re doing really well, crazy!]

[Please type nicely in chat.]

[What’s with the physical skills? ᄏᄏ Just wiping everyone out!]

[Just think of the opposing team as having been hit by a truck.]

[Her hands are so pretty… Her face must be beautiful too?]

[Teacher, please say something.]

[I want to hear your voice.]

Was this mindless groupthink?

Everyone was watching the same broadcast, yet the comments were all different.

Some talked about her gaming skills, some about her physical appearance.

Others focused on her voice.

Among them, the most frequent comments were about her voice.

[Is her mic off again?]

[We should buy her a new one.]

[How much are decent ones these days? Donate quickly!]

[Please say something, teacher—third request.]

Seeing the repeating comments, Mollru paused from slicing through enemies and finally spoke up.

To be precise, it felt like she was clearing her throat to prepare to talk.

What would she say?

The viewers listened intently, filled with anticipation,

“Wow, so many of you have come… At this point, I think I’ve proven I’m not a hacker, so please leave.”

They thought this streamer was not quite normal.

What was going on?

While I was absorbed in the game, quite a few—no, a huge number of people—had gathered for my stream.

-Live 502

Five hundred. A staggering five hundred.

I blinked several times, questioning whether the number I was seeing was correct.

Was being on stream this impactful?

It seemed that Sua had quite a bit of recognition as a broadcaster.

Her skills weren’t something I felt I had to seek out.

I had anticipated some level of attention, but I never expected it to be this much.

I hoped many people would watch since it was a stream clarifying that I wasn’t a hacker, but seeing the number five hundred made my mind go blank.

Because of that, I blurted out something nonsensical, but the viewers seemed to enjoy even that.

[Is there a stream that tells viewers to leave?]

[A streamer who tells people to leave, ᄏᄏᄏᄏ]

[On the first broadcast, telling unwanted viewers to leave—this isn’t going to be easy already.]

[Oh ᄏᄏ Why leave? It’s so fun here!]

[I love your voice… Please talk more.]

[Please tell me to leave just one more time.]

[Curse at me.]

The reactions were intense.

Watching five hundred people each say something different was a unique experience, something that might happen once in a lifetime.

Hmm, shouldn’t I say something?

I thought that, but for someone like me, who struggled to speak, rambling without a topic was no easy task.

It felt like the pressure of a stand-up comedy routine where you get paid to make people laugh within a time limit.

Indeed, there are no easy jobs in this world.

It didn’t seem like a good choice to keep showing just the gameplay screen.

Streaming was somewhat like a business.

Just as a restaurant serves delicious food to customers who come to eat and charges them for it,

I needed to provide some entertainment to the viewers who tuned into my stream.

It felt more like a sense of obligation than pressure.

Doing nothing but playing games without speaking wasn’t really broadcasting.

Perhaps because I had five hundred viewers, my mindset had naturally shifted to that of a professional streamer.

“Everyone, do you know what a servant says when parting from the king?”

[Suddenly?]

[My ears are tingling ᅩᅮᅣ Please whisper more.]

[What’s with this out-of-the-blue comment?]

[Could it be what I’m thinking?]

[Please!] Ah

[Viking?]

[Not a Viking?]

I glanced at the chat.

It was fascinating to see viewers reacting to my words in real time.

Because of that, I almost missed an enemy ambush.

I parried the enemy’s attack from behind with my sword.

I timed my command perfectly and succeeded in the parry.

Following that, I cleanly cut down the enemy.

I managed to react to an ambush that normally wouldn’t have caught me off guard.

My counterattack was a result of reflexes and reaction speed, separate from my understanding of the game.

…Talking while playing is no easy feat.

To be precise, my thoughts about the broadcast kept me from concentrating on the game.

There was also the issue of my eyes darting around, making my vision blurry.

So far, the game situation hadn’t been too intense, allowing me some leeway.

I recalled Sua’s stream from yesterday.

Despite dying to me multiple times, she never shut up.

She must have been very flustered.

Professional streamers manage to maintain their composure while playing.

Though I hadn’t planned to pursue streaming, I felt an inexplicable pressure.

A strange burden to satisfy the viewers who flocked to my stream.

I quickly surveyed the battlefield again and continued speaking.

“The answer was Viking! A few of you got it right.”

[What is this person doing?]

[Since people aren’t leaving, she’s doing a self-anting, ᄏᄏᄏᄏ]

[Is there a streamer making dad jokes on their first broadcast?]

[But seriously, how did she just react? I didn’t even see the opponent turn around.]

[Look at the screen, ᄏᄏ Physical skills ᄉᄇ]

[It seems like she just reacted based on instinct; her reaction speed is insane.]

[So, why the Viking joke, teacher?]

I shifted my gaze back and forth, monitoring both situations.

The viewers’ reactions weren’t bad.

Seeing the chat scroll quickly indicated that my joke had some effect.

My clever joke landed well.

In reality, humor is subjective; some may find it funny while others might not.

Fortunately, it seemed that the viewers matched my sense of humor.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it. Now, here’s a more difficult question. What do you call it when a pig farts?”

[Totally crazy.] This one.

[Must be chaotic to play while making jokes like this, ᄏᄏ]

[Do you fart too, teacher?]

[Looks like you’re farting with your mouth right now.]

[Molru) The viewers seem like pigs ᄃᄃ This could spark controversy.]

[Can you just quietly play the game?]

[Please keep talking; your voice is so nice.]

[God is fair; He gave Molru-chan such flaws.]

As I continued the battle, my ultimate gauge filled up.

This was my chance. I signaled to my teammates and boldly charged into the enemy.

I aimed for the opening now that the enemy’s key skills were on cooldown.

Perhaps they didn’t expect me to come in at this moment, as the enemies panicked at the sudden appearance of a swordsman.

I raised my sword and took down the first one.

I quickly eliminated the annoying long-range attacker.

The swordsman’s ultimate is specialized for slicing through fragile targets.

As I entered the heart of the enemy territory, a heavily armored giant charged at me.

It was a typical tank character, the “Iron Man.”

It seemed he intended to catch me and restore balance to the battlefield.

A massive iron mace came flying toward me.

If hit, it would stun me for a second—an iconic crowd control ability in EoWar.

-Thunk!

The mace sliced through the air and slammed into the ground.

I dodged just in time to avoid the other skills, then slowly retreated.

With me paving the way, my teammates swiftly switched in.

This was a perfect example of aggro ping-pong.

I moved to the back to receive healing from the healer and regrouped.

The Iron Man, surrounded by my incoming teammates, couldn’t withstand the focused fire and fell.

I had taken out the enemy’s key dealer and tank.

Since their respawns were now staggered, we were at an advantage.

Having gained control of the game and feeling relaxed, I spoke up again.

“The answer was tonkatsu! This time I was a bit busy, so I couldn’t read the chat. Some of you must have gotten it right?”

[The concept is really terrible.]

[If you mute it, it just looks like a mad movie.]

[Why am I doing this? Well… because it’s fun.]

[Tonkatsu? Tonkatsu? Tonkatsu? Tonkatsu? Tonkatsu? Tonkatsu? Tonkatsu? Tonkatsu? Tonkatsu? Tonkatsu? Tonkatsu? Tonkatsu? Tonkatsu?]

[I’m having so much fun ^^] Teacher

[It’s even more infuriating hearing that tired voice.]

[ᄏᄏ I know you’re pretending to dislike it while actually enjoying it, ᄏᄏ] Ah

The chat was moving faster than before.

I was surprised by the intense reactions.

It felt rewarding to pose a more sophisticated question.

I found myself smiling without realizing it.

I was glad to connect with those who were excited about my play and laughed at my jokes.

Indeed, streaming unexpectedly turned out to be quite fun.