Chapter 15 : Rydel’s Gratitude (2)

“She’s just giving me a VR device?”

Holding a cup of instant noodles, her hands trembled at Rydel’s unbelievable message.

VR devices were luxury equipment that started at 10 million won even for the most basic models.

And she wasn’t just lending it—she was giving it away for free.

Of course, she mentioned it was a used one, meaning it wasn’t brand new.

But still—”Even secondhand ones are insanely expensive, right?”

Even used, VR devices weren’t something you could buy cheaply.

A decent one would still cost at least several million won.

For someone like him, surviving on instant noodles day by day, that was an impossible amount of money.

“It’s… it’s probably not a scam. I think.”

The offer was so good that her first thought was, “Is this some kind of new scam?”

She claimed to have 2,000 average viewers, but there was no real proof of that.

Just to be sure, she minimized Chain Roller and opened an internet browser.

“The streamer’s name was… Rydel.”

She had said she had an average of 2,000 viewers,but she wanted to check for himself if that was really true.

It didn’t take long to find her streaming info.

Rydel.

A Soopzijik streamer.

And since she was currently live, she immediately clicked into her stream.

“Wait… that’s not 2,000.”

Even 2,000 viewers was a lot, but—For some reason, Rydel’s current viewer count was over 40,000.

On the screen, the Chain Roller game window displayed a clear message.

And in the bottom right-hand camera feed,a cute-looking female streamer was nervously biting her nails.

“Uh, why isn’t Silver responding?”

Her voice was filled with impatience.

「Honestly, if someone suddenly offered me a VR device, I’d be stunned too. LOL」

「What if she thinks it’s a scam? LMAO」

「If she doesn’t know she’s a streamer, she might misunderstand.」

‘They’re talking about me.’

It was definitely because of the VR device offer.

The chat wasn’t wrong—She really had thought it might be a scam and had rushed to check her stream.

‘Getting Rank 1 in Chain Roller really made an impact.’

She said her average viewers were 2,000,but now her viewer count was over 40,000.

Since she had just achieved Rank 1 in a trending game,it wasn’t unusual for such a huge audience spike to happen.

She had watched enough VTubers and internet streams to understand the situation.

Seeing the chat, Rydel pouted, looking offended.

“I only said I’d give him my used one because I didn’t want him to feel pressured! It’d be weird if I just bought him a brand-new one, right?”

「Whoa, she actually put a lot of thought into this.」

「Translation: ‘New ones are too expensive, so I’ll give him a used one.’」

「Rydel, the master of budgeting. LOL」

《”Daylight” donated 5,000 won!》

“Honestly, even secondhand ones cost 5 million won. What’s there to complain about?”

“Seriously, stop the pointless hate.”

“She’s literally giving away a 5 million won device with no strings attached, and people are still complaining.”

“Just trolls trying to stir things up. Don’t feed them.”

It wasn’t even something worth arguing about,but with over 40,000 viewers, the chat was pure chaos.

She had said her average viewer count was 2,000,yet now, she had over 40,000 viewers.

That meant 38,000 new people had flooded in—a perfect opportunity for trolls to start causing trouble.

“Alright, stop fighting in chat. I’m enabling a 30-day follow restriction for now.”

Despite the chaos, Rydel calmly set a chat restriction,allowing only those who had followed for at least 30 days to participate.

It was a clean, efficient move.

As the influx of new, disruptive viewers was silenced,the chat instantly became far more readable.

“I swear, it’s not because I’m stingy. I only offered a used one so Silver wouldn’t feel pressured.”

“I don’t regret the 5 million won at all. Thanks to Silver, I hit 40,000 viewers today—this is just my way of showing gratitude.”

“And honestly, a brand-new device costs 10 million won… That is a lot of money!”

“But I really want to see Silver stream more!”

“If it means helping Silver debut, I’m willing to invest even 10 million won—without hesitation!”

Rydel pounded her chest confidently,her gaze unwavering.

She spoke playfully,but there was no doubt—she was completely serious.

‘Even just the secondhand one is more than enough…’

There was no way she was shameless enough to complain about not getting a brand-new one.

After all, even a used VR device was insanely expensive.

Making her wait any longer would just feel rude.

[SilverSilver: Rydel.]

[SilverSilver: I was looking for your stream, so I couldn’t reply right away.]

[SilverSilver: Sorry for the late response ;;]

〈Oh! Silver, it’s totally fine! As long as you’re not AFK, no worries.〉

Seeing my message, Rydel let out a relieved sigh.

〈Wait, does that mean you’re watching the stream right now? Silver, ah, ah, can you hear me?〉

[SilverSilver: Yes. You can talk through the stream, it’s fine, haha.]

The moment I confirmed I was watching,the chat, which had slowed down due to the 30-day follower restriction,exploded back to life.

「Wait, Silver is actually here?」

「Tell us your username!」

「SILVER! SILVER! SILVER! SILVER!」

「What should I eat to get better at this game?」

「Are you secretly chatting right now?」

Since I was also restricted by the 30-day follow limit,I couldn’t chat.

〈Ah, so about my offer… What do you think?〉

She was talking about my streamer debut—offering me a free VR setup, practically begging me to start streaming.

There was absolutely no reason to refuse.

I had already been considering trying out streaming,and now someone was giving me the equipment for free.

There was no reason to turn this down.

[SilverSilver: Of course, I’d love to!]

[SilverSilver: But I feel kind of guilty accepting something this expensive.]

[SilverSilver: I know VR gear costs a fortune ㄷㄷㄷ]

「Silver is so nice, lol.」

「If it were me, I’d just take it first and think later, lol.」

「It’s worth 5 million won. Anyone would normally lose their mind over it, lol.」

《‘EmperorChukShinDoo’ donated 5000 won!》

Honestly, if it were me, I’d take it and sell it on a secondhand market right away, lol.

「Classic scamming move, lol.」

「Of course, our guy is all about the quick grab-and-go, lol.」

〈No, really. I already said this earlier, but… Thanks to you, Silver, so many people have come to my stream today.〉

〈So please, don’t feel burdened at all. Just think of it as a natural way of showing gratitude.〉

Hearing that, I really did feel less pressured.

She had a way of saying things beautifully.

It really made me realize just how different top streamers were.

With him saying this much, I couldn’t refuse anymore.

[SilverSilver: Alright. Thank you.]

[SilverSilver: Then I’ll gladly accept it.]

「Nice, deal secured!」

「👏👏👏」

「Rydel really pulled off something big today…」

「🔥Big Rydel🔥」

「Silver is gonna start streaming now?」

「Open the new channel already!」

〈That’s up to Silver whenever they’re ready. There’s no rush.〉

Seeing the chat, Rydel shook her head furiously.

〈I mean, I’m just asking for a stream, not forcing a contract or anything, right?〉

〈You wanted to stream, but you didn’t have the setup, so I just helped out. Again, no pressure at all.〉

〈And if you ever want to collab, just hit me up! I’ll clear my schedule right away.〉

〈By the way, I used to be a Master-tier player in R&M. A rank rarer than wild ginseng. Just saying…〉

「VR collab incoming??」

「Are we getting an R&M collab?」

「If this is their first time with VR, it’s probably their first time with R&M too.」

「I don’t care what it is, just start streaming already.」

〈Anyway, Silver, when you get the chance, send me your address via Steam private message. I’ll ship the package right away.〉

***

After Rydel’s stream ended, I poured out the now-cold cup ramen broth.

‘I was nervous that I’d have to start streaming right away.’

But Rydel said there was no rush.

The VR headset was a gift, and I didn’t need to feel pressured to stream immediately.

Since I was already planning to become a streamer, I was going to prepare anyway.

More importantly…I confirmed that I wasn’t talentless at gaming.

Rank 1 in Chain Roller.

The gap between me and second place wasn’t huge, but I still took first place.

“Actually, if I think about it…”

The gap was quite significant.

I didn’t check the exact time, but it felt like I finished the game in less than 30 minutes.

Yet, my recorded clear time was 4 hours and 21 minutes.

It’s not like I lost track of time because the game was so fun that four hours flew by.

The game must have synced my time with the host’s—Rydel’s playtime.

I had no complaints since I won and even got a VR headset.

“Click—”

I scrolled down the ranking records.

Second place: 4 hours and 32 minutes.

Every other player below that took over 5 hours.

“Does this game really take over four hours to beat?”

Hmm.

Maybe.

If you played by the intended method, it would take longer, but I felt like it could be cleared in about an hour.

“Because…”

It’s a three-player game.

There are a lot of variables that don’t exist in single-player mode.

They probably had their own issues too.

I set my desk in order and grabbed my clothes.

“Hoo…”

I took a deep breath.

Because I was about to do something way harder than clearing Chain Roller in 21 minutes.