Chapter 71 : The fact is, this too is a blessing from Beachy Mutbyeol.

“Mr. Kim Jung-hwan, are you sure you didn’t take a wrong turn and end up in a rich neighborhood?”

“It is a rich neighborhood.”

“But I’m not rich.”

“However, you are an Awakened One.”

The detached houses designated for Awakened Ones were located in what people commonly referred to as “the wealthy district.”

I’d never even been near this area before.

Every house we passed was so extravagant that my jaw practically dropped, and I had to ask Kim Jung-hwan just to be sure.

“Are all these houses I’m seeing right now…”

“You’re asking if they’re all Awakened support housing?”

“…Are they?”

“They are not.”

Phew.

For some reason, I let out a sigh of relief.

If I were given a house this extravagant, I’d feel too pressured to live in it.

“Of course, gathering Awakened Ones all in one place would naturally lead to all sorts of problems.”

“Oh. That’s true.”

Paparazzi.

Overzealous fans.

Or lunatics jealous of the Awakened might swarm in, so it’s not exactly wise to group them all together.

“This neighborhood is home to quite a variety of people—corporate chairmen, actors, influencers, and so on.”

“Pfft.”

“Hmm? What’s so funny?”

“It’s… oh, nothing. Just a funny thought popped into my head.”

Kim Jung-hwan was probably confused.

There wasn’t a single thing in what he just said that could be considered humorous.

It’s just.

When he said “corporate chairman,” I instantly thought of the chairman from Ayase’s stream and burst out laughing.

The fact that the first thing that comes to mind when I hear “corporate chairman” is internet broadcasting—I must be pretty far gone as a streaming addict myself.

Anyway, even if it’s a 70-pyeong (approx. 2,500 sq ft) detached house,it’s still probably not as fancy as the kinds of places actual chairmen live in.

To be honest, I still had no real sense of how big 70 pyeong actually was.

Living in a cramped one-room studio barely five pyeong in size, where I could hear every sound from my neighbors above, below, and beside me,a 70-pyeong detached house felt unimaginably spacious.

Then, shortly after—When I was told, “This is the house you’ll be moving into, Ms. Jiah,”I said,”Is this a hidden camera prank or something?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

First, I doubted it.

“Does this even make sense?”

“Uh… why wouldn’t it?”

Then, I denied it.

“This is really the house I’m moving into?”

“Look, you can see the construction work happening, can’t you?”

“Heh.”

It wasn’t until the third time that I could finally accept it.

If I had to describe my impression of seeing a 70-pyeong detached house for the first time in one sentence:It looked like the kind of rich person’s house you only see in movies.

That thought just naturally popped into my head.

The house came with a lawn in the yard.

And apparently, the yard wasn’t included in the 70-pyeong measurement, because just the yard alone looked to be at least 30 pyeong.

The layout of the house included a first floor with a living room and dining area,a second floor with the bedrooms,and finally, a basement training area.

Seeing that it had a training ground built into the basement, it was clear the place had been designed from the start to support an Awakened resident.

Thunk-thunk-thunk.

Rhythmic hammering echoed from the basement.

Before heading down to the busy construction site below, Kim Jung-hwan gave me a quick tour of the house’s layout.

From my mouth came a steady stream of dumbfounded noises like “Heeuh,” “Huhhh,” and “Wahhh.”

Maybe he was enjoying my reactions a little too much, because Kim Jung-hwan grinned as he spoke.

“Do you like it?”

“Like it or not… to be honest, it’s kind of overwhelming.”

“There’s no need to feel burdened. You are an Awakened One, after all.”

That damned word again—Awakened.

Honestly, I still didn’t even feel like I was one.

Hmm.

Is this what it feels like to suddenly become a nouveau riche overnight?

At this rate, I should probably get on my knees and thank Beachy Mutbyeol for turning me into their loyal follower.

After giving the house a quick once-over, we headed to the basement.

The training area—formerly, anyway—had already been partially converted into a broadcasting studio.

Most of the exterior work was done; now it was just about fine-tuning the details.

As I carefully inspected the studio, I started listing off equipment requirements to Kim Jung-hwan one by one.

Someone might ask, “Can’t you stream with just a decent computer and a mic?”

But no—it’s not that simple.

There’s shared equipment like stream decks and audio interfaces.

Proper lighting and a high-quality camera are essential for face-cam streamers.

And for VTubers, you need tracking cameras and more.

Sure, I’m sort of cheating with the overpowered ‘Omnia Archive Program’ app.

But to stream in a smooth and professional environment, you need quite a bit of gear.

People who don’t know much about VTubing often say,“Isn’t VTubing just an easy shortcut?”

Total nonsense.

Just a Live2D model alone costs hundreds of thousands of won, at minimum.

Every time a new outfit is released, that’s another few hundred.

Releasing a cover song?

Another few hundred.

Full-tracking gear is so expensive that most people just rent it for tens of thousands a day.

Releasing an original song?

That’s at least several hundred more.

In fact, being a VTuber rather than a face-cam streamer often requires even more investment.

That map used in Ayase’s Fallen Show?

Ayase commissioned that from a professional map designer and paid for it out of pocket.

What’s even more absurd is that this level of reinvestment isn’t exclusive to ultra-high-tier VTubers like Ayase—even mid-tier VTubers actively do the same.

No matter how charming a person may be, if they keep showing the same look over and over, people are bound to get bored eventually.

To really establish yourself as a proper VTuber, you need to regularly update your Live2D model and release new outfits.

At the top of the VTuber equipment hierarchy is, without a doubt, motion capture.

Motion capture.

Unlike full-tracking, which only lets you move basic joints, motion capture allows for near-realistic movement—it’s the ultimate endgame for VTuber streaming.

In fact, motion capture is more commonly used in film and TV productions than in VTubing.

Mm-hmm.

That’s how astronomically expensive it is.

From the start, it’s not the kind of equipment an individual can handle alone.

Even so—I’ve decided to turn this broadcast studio into a motion capture studio.

Well.

I say motion capture, but strictly speaking, it’s not really motion capture.

Maybe I should call it Mut-tion Capture instead.

Thanks to Beachy Mutbyeol and the blessing of the Omnia Archive, I can replicate near-motion-capture-level movements without having to wear a skintight suit and stick sensors all over my body.

Thinking about it again, Beachy Mutbyeol, the creator of the Omnia Archive Program, really is incredible.

All hail.

The GOAT among gods.

When I told Kim Jung-hwan about my plan to convert the studio into a motion capture studio,he fiddled with his phone for a moment, then let out a dry, incredulous laugh.

“…Jiah, do you have any idea how much it costs to set up a motion capture studio?”

“I have a rough idea. If you go cheap, it’s a few hundred million won. For a decent setup, several billion. If you go all out, it can go into the hundreds of billions.”

“And you know that and still… Haah… This is going to be very difficult for us, you know.”

“Oh, don’t misunderstand. I’m not asking you to pay for it—I just meant the basic structure…”

Before I could even finish my sentence,Kim Jung-hwan’s phone suddenly started ringing.

As soon as he answered, he bowed at a full 90-degree angle.

“Yes, yes, Chairman Ye! This is Kim Jung-hwan, lead investigator of the Awakened Association, speaking!”

Then he walked straight out into the yard.

Wow.

That super cliche moment where the underling bends into a perfect bow while answering a call from the higher-up—it was happening right in front of me.

I had no words.

It really drove home just how high-ranking Ye Jeong-hwan must be.

The reason he called Kim Jung-hwan was obvious.

It must’ve been to talk about the item incident from earlier.

A little while later,Kim Jung-hwan returned with a noticeably lighter expression.

I asked him,“So, how did it go?”

I’m an Awakened One directly involved in the truth behind the Anomalous Phenomena and Items, so I think I have the right to be curious about that call, don’t I?

“Haaah, that’s a relief. Yes, he gave us the green light.”

“…Gave permission?”

What kind of fresh nonsense is this?

I never asked for anything, so why is he suddenly talking about getting permission?

“For the motion capture studio.”

“…Excuse me?”

“He gladly approved funding, saying it would be perfectly fine to support you with billions of won.”

“W-Wait, hold on a second! Weren’t you supposed to talk about the Anomalous Phenomena and Items?”

“Hmm?

Oh no, we didn’t talk about that.

That’s not the kind of thing you just discuss over a phone call, right?

Anyway, you don’t need to worry about the studio.

While I was out on the call, I also rang up the equipment team and asked them to start looking into the necessary gear for motion capture…”

I stood there with a dumbfounded look for a moment before finally speaking to Kim Jung-hwan.

“Call them back and cancel it. Immediately.”

“…What? Why all of a sudden?”

“I mean, could you please let me finish talking? I don’t need such ridiculously expensive motion capture equipment. I just need a few decent tracking-capable cameras, that’s all.”

“…How is that motion capture? That’s just full tracking. And besides, you’re not even human.”

Of course.

Kim Jung-hwan was well-versed in the world of VTuber streaming, so he clearly understood the difference between motion capture and full tracking.

However—there was one thing he overlooked.

“Mr. Kim, you’ve seen the quality of my model, haven’t you?”

“Of course. It’s top-tier in the industry. Practically motion capture leve—ah… oh…”

Mmhm.

Looks like he finally realized.

Kim Jung-hwan knew I didn’t have the kind of setup that could handle actual motion capture.

“How is that even possible?”

“That too… is thanks to the blessing of Beachy Mutbyeol.”

“…Please be serious. Just tell me properly.”

The funny thing is—it really is thanks to Beachy Mutbyeol’s blessing.

***

I’m back.

Back to my dear old home.

The first thing that greeted me as I returned?

A single sticky note on the front door, again.

[Please stop eating fermented skate. The smell’s coming up.]

Damn it.

Why are bad feelings never wrong?

Looks like the stench of skate fish somehow seeped down to the downstairs unit through the gap in the floor.

For a moment, I had a dream.

A sweet dream of living in a wealthy house with two floors and even a basement.

But reality is cruel.

There it was on the floor—a lingering trace of the Price of Blasphemy, flaunting its presence.

Even though I had opened the window and stepped out, the pungent ammonia stench unique to fermented skate still hadn’t gone away at all.

On top of that, trash was scattered all over the place without a care.

Yeah, this is what a home is.

This is life.

“…”

Before I move out, I’ll definitely have to bow my head properly and apologize to the neighbors.