Chapter 31 : GOAT, A Shadowy Broadcast With A Fanatic Concept

After finishing our meal, we went to a café and had a conversation.

Talking with Yoo Iseul was quite interesting.

She was a first-generation awakened being, now in her tenth year of activity.

Since I had many questions for her, we both had the chance to satisfy our curiosity about each other.

What I was most curious about was—

“Why did you become awakened? Just because someone awakens their abilities doesn’t mean they have to be active, right?”

“Back then, I had to.”

“Even though you were just a high school student?”

“You were old enough to know too, weren’t you? The shock when the anomalies first appeared.”

“…Yeah, I wouldn’t say I don’t remember.”

Honestly, I really thought the world was ending when I was a kid.

I thought God, Buddha, and Allah had joined forces to punish humanity.

Bang!

“Ugh!”

“…Is this the so-called ‘price of blasphemy’ or whatever?”

“S-Sorry! I won’t mention other gods!”

“You live a pretty exhausting life, huh?”

Can’t they just let this one slide?

Punishing people just for mentioning gods other than the Star of Light was a bit much.

Since I slammed my head on the café table, I ended up spilling my coffee.

As Yoo Iseul wiped the table with some napkins, she spoke in a bitter tone.

“As soon as the anomalies appeared, the government collapsed, and laws became meaningless. People could run away as much as they wanted, but…”

Then, she downed the rest of her coffee and said—

“Back then, I was fucking pissed.”

“…I see.”

I didn’t bother asking why.

I could guess without asking.

It was probably about her family.

Back then, countless people lost their families to the anomalies.

As for me, I had never had a family to begin with.

So, I would probably never understand what it felt like to lose one.

Enough with the depressing talk.

Next, it was Yoo Iseul’s turn to ask questions.

She seemed to have a lot she was curious about.

“Like I said, I checked out your stream yesterday. You hid the fact that you’re awakened, huh?”

“Uh… yeah, for now.”

“Why?”

“I think it’d attract too much attention.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“It depends.”

The sheer force of anonymous users is terrifying.

I’ve seen plenty of virtual streamers get ruined by waves of anonymous trolls.

There’s only one way to withstand their overwhelming firepower—

You need an extremely solid concrete fanbase strong enough to withstand the attacks.

So, it’s not the right time yet.

“And besides, I’m a VTuber. VTubers aren’t supposed to reveal their faces.”

“Why? You’ve got a pretty face and some big tits—people would love that.”

Here’s a surprising fact.

This was only my second time meeting Yoo Iseul.

And yet, she spoke without any mental filter, as if we were old friends.

If there was anyone who could talk like this in just a second meeting, it was probably only her.

Anyway, to get straight to the point—

“No, actually. They might not like it as much as you think.”

“Why not?”

“Because some people prefer 2D over 3D.”

“That’s bullshit. Who the hell prefers 2D over 3D?”

“They exist.”

“Where?”

“Right in front of you.”

“…You?”

“Yeah. Me.”

Yup. Me.

I like 2D more than 3D.

For example—

I have absolutely no interest in Ayase’s red pill.

Whether she’s an S-rank cool beauty in real life, Whether she’s just an average-looking girl,
Or even—

If she turns out to be a guy.

It wouldn’t matter to me at all.

Because as long as I don’t observe it, it doesn’t exist in my reality.

If I had cared about the red pill, I would have used my ability on her the moment I became a devout follower of the Star of Light.

But I didn’t.

Because I don’t care.

To me, Ayase is just VTuber Ayase—nothing more, nothing less.

“I don’t get it.”

“You don’t have to.”

“No, I get that some people prefer 2D over 3D.”

“And?”

“I just don’t get you.”

“…?”

“You look exactly the same as your… uh, ‘cardboard cutout’ or whatever. So that red pill thing? Wouldn’t it be meaningless for you? Since your real face is identical to your model?”

“That’s…”

I had nothing to say.

She was right.

The fact that my 3D face and my 2D model looked exactly the same—

That alone broke the unspoken rule of VTubing.

If I had commissioned my model myself, I might have been a little salty about it.

But I didn’t.

So why did the Star of Light make my avatar and my real face identical?

I don’t know.

You don’t know.

Only the Star of Light knows.

Or maybe—

The Star of Light just mindlessly copied my face without any thought.

Bang!

“Ugh!”

Bang!

“GYAAH!”

“Oh, that one was pretty hard, huh?”

Guess not.

There was some kind of intention behind it after all.

Then at least tell me what the intention was!

As we continued our deep, head-smashing conversation, time flew by.

Before I knew it, it was already 5 PM.

I should probably start heading home.

I turned to Yoo Iseul and let her know.

“Alright, I’m gonna head out.”

“Yeah, go.”

“…Oh. Okay.”

She was even more chill than I expected.

She let me go way too easily.

“Well then, see you next time.”

“Talk casually next time.”

“Okay.”

“You said ‘next time,’ right?”

“…Yeah.”

I mean, whether I speak casually now or next time—

What difference does it make?

Anyway, next time we meet—

Guess I’ll call her Eseal-noona.

Time to Relax

I still had some time before my own stream started.

So I prepped for my broadcast while watching Ayase’s stream.

Yeah.

This is life.

This is what happiness looks like.

Finally—Ayase’s one-week ban was over.

The past week has been hell.

I dealt with anomalies, Met Yoo Iseul, Did a 24-hour stream…

Way too much happened.

I’m exhausted. Seriously.

[Today, I’m gonna try playing a horror game!]

Ohhh???

BIG EVENT INCOMING

Wait, isn’t Ayase a total scaredy-cat?

Lmao, is Ayase doing this after watching that stream?

Ahh.

My soul is at peace.

Hearing Ayase’s voice again after so long feels almost holy.

Yeah…

Ayase is my one true god—

…Wait, NO!

N-Not a god.

Let’s just say…

She’s someone I admire.

I had to sell my conscience out of fear of divine retribution.

I’m sorry, Ayase.

[Yep! I’m playing this horror game because of that stream!]

Ayase is someone you can learn a lot from.

It’s already been over a year since I started watching her streams.

In that entire time—

Not once has she broken a promise to her viewers.

Not once has she lost her temper on stream.

Not once has she ruined the mood in a collaboration.

Not even once.

Ayase is definitely someone worth learning from.

But if I tried to copy her style…

I’d probably fail miserably.

Because her way of streaming is so unique that no one else can pull it off.

There’s a reason she sits at the top of the independent VTuber world.

[The horror game I’m playing today is Call of Al Gulazad! I originally had no plans to play it, but after watching Zia’s 24-hour stream, I changed my mind!]

See?

This is one of Ayase’s strengths.

She’s super generous when it comes to mentioning other streamers.

More specifically—

She frequently talks about smaller VTubers or rising newcomers in her streams.

For indie VTubers, just having their name mentioned by a big corporation VTuber can help them grow immensely.

And that includes me.

Since Ayase just mentioned my name, her viewers will probably check out my stream, and I’ll get a nice—

…Wait.

WHAT?

[Did you all see that? “GIIIAAAAGH!” Was that it? I seriously laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe when I heard that.]

LMAOOOOOO WE SAW IT

How does a human even make that sound??

Dude sounded like a literal monster

Everyone’s playing this game now because of that VTuber

…Oh no.

Oh HELL no.

[What do you guys think my clear time will be?]

I’m guessing three hours.

Ayase is secretly good at games, she might finish in an hour.

She’s good, yeah, but she’s also a total scaredy-cat!

Scaredy-cat.

[Are you challenging me? Fine, I’ll clear it in under an hour! No matter how bad I am, I definitely won’t take over eight hours like Zia did.]

“GIIIAAAAGH!”

Hearing my name come out of Ayase’s mouth so many times—

I slammed my forehead into my desk.

This was the price of embarrassment and shame.

Of course—

Having Ayase mention my name on her stream was something I was truly grateful for.

More than anyone, I knew that this was her way of giving me a shoutout.

I knew that. I really did.

But still…

What if she ended up getting dragged down because of her association with me?

Honestly speaking—

My stream is basically the abyss.

Sure, thanks to my cardboard cutout, I managed to maintain a pretty high viewership.

But I can’t just drop the RP midway.

I’m stuck with this fanatic cult leader persona until the day I die.

Which means I can never step into the mainstream light.

Thinking about all this, I sighed and started my stream.

“Haah…”

ZIAAA

FFFFFFFFF

IT’S TIME, BOYS!!!

All hail the High Priest!

All hail the High Priest!

I-I offer my donation! ???

I have no need for it.

When Ijia started streaming, there was light.

This too must be the blessing of the Star of Light…

The Star of Light! The Star of Light! The Star of Light!

Omnia Archive! Omnia Archive! Omnia Archive!

Holy Energy Pouch!

Holy Energy GOAT

If this isn’t the depths of the abyss, then I don’t know what is.