Chapter 43 : New month, new duties.

The Next Day.

A new month began.

[Duties of the Archivist] had been updated.

[Duties of the Archivist]

1. You can only take a break if you’re dead. If you don’t start a broadcast at least once a day, you will be forcibly recalled to the Omnia Archive.

1-1. Once a broadcast starts, it must last at least 30 minutes.

1-2. You must reach at least 500 followers within this month.

[Duties Completed]

2. You must create a new [Item] document at least once a month.

3. You must create a new [Phenomenon] document at least once a month.

4. Failure to meet these duties will result in the immediate revocation and disposal of the archivist status.

The duties of the Archivist are updated in real-time.

There are three major points to note.

The newly added 1-2 clause, and the 2nd and 3rd clauses.

First, in the case of the 2nd and 3rd clauses, the phrase [Duties Completed for This Month] had disappeared as the month changed.

This meant that, once again, I would have to personally visit the anomaly sites.

Unlucky, yet lucky at the same time.

Recently, for some unknown reason, the occurrence cycle of anomalies has sped up from once every two weeks to once a week—doubling in frequency.

I had been worried that, as the anomaly cycle sped up, the Duties of the Archivist would also become even more brutal.

But, no.

This isn’t unfortunate.

This might actually be fortunate.

The 2nd and 3rd clauses are whatever.

The real problem is the newly added 1-2 clause.

[1-2. You must reach at least 500 followers within this month.]

Once again, a stealth patch.

If you’re going to patch something, couldn’t you at least put up an announcement?

Seriously, what a petty god.

Reaching 500 followers.

It might sound arrogant, but from my perspective, that number is laughably insignificant.

Just one day ago, after appearing on Ayase’s Abyss Show, my follower count had exploded.

No joke—over 5,000 new followers just yesterday alone.

Right now, my follower count is hovering around 25,000.

As Kim Joong-hwan, an investigator from the Awakened Association and a VTuber expert (as well as a certified idiot), said, I might hit 50,000 followers soon.

500 followers?

I surpassed that ages ago.

If I remember correctly, I hit 500 on my debut day, and even reached 2,000 right after.

So in that sense, this new 1-2 duty is completely meaningless to me.

I don’t need to pay it any mind at all—

Or so I thought.

Big mistake.

This isn’t about the number of followers.

The problem is that another duty has been added.

And duties update in real-time.

That 500 could turn into 1,000.

Or 10,000.

Or 100,000.

No one knows—except for Beholding Myriad Stars.

I knew it.

My prediction was right: I need to take my broadcasts seriously.

If I had just half-assed my streams and focused only on barely clearing my duties, then… what would have happened?

…Yeah.

I don’t even want to imagine it.

The thought of having to pull some ridiculous clown act just to boost my follower count makes me sick.

Since I don’t know how things will unfold, expanding my channel’s reach was the right decision.

Anyway, this update to the Duties of the Archivist made one thing clear.

Beholding Myriad Stars and Omnia Archive

I want my channel to grow.

Unfortunately, I still have no clue what Beholding Myriad Stars’ real goal is.

Surely…

They’re not planning to gain as many followers as possible and take over the world, right?

Kong!

“Guh—!”

A very mild “Punishment for Blasphemy” struck me.

…Oh.

Guess that’s a no.

Well, good to know my deity isn’t a conqueror.

Anyway.

This update to the Duties of the Archivist feels like a warning.

Beholding Myriad Stars isn’t stupid.

They already know I passed 500 followers a long time ago.

This is silent pressure—a way of saying,

“Keep streaming seriously.”

…No, actually.

Forget silent pressure.

This is just straight-up blackmail.

Since I was at it, I decided to reread my [Lee Jia (VTuber)] entry from beginning to end.

[Lee Jia (VTuber)]

Overview

Details

Broadcasting

Trivia

The Overview and Details sections were unchanged.

The Broadcasting section, however, had been newly written.

3. Broadcasting

3-1. Broadcasting Characteristics

Despite her beautiful appearance, she has a rough and unfiltered manner of speaking.

Unlike other VTubers, she has absolutely no pretense, leading to frequent chat messages questioning whether she’s actually just a dude in disguise.

Her streams don’t focus on any specific main content, making them a chaotic mix.

However, she seems to have an innate talent for broadcasting, as every type of content she tries becomes a massive hit.

Confession Broadcast – The Beginning of a Legend.

To be honest, this content wasn’t carried by Lee Jia, but by her viewers (a.k.a. devotees).

This was a segment that provided an indirect glimpse into the average mindset of her audience.

Horror Game Stream – An All-Time Legendary Stream.

Lee Jia took a one-hour horror game and stretched it into a grueling six-hour ordeal.

For reference, the exact number of screams she let out during the broadcast was 215.

Lodernar Placement Test – A Different Kind of Legendary Stream.

On this day, Lee Jia received a lifetime’s worth of insults in just a single day.

As a bonus, she was immortalized in the Lodernar gallery as a toxic troll and a ranked sabotage menace.

Ayase’s Abyss Show – A Legendary Stream, Not Because of Lee Jia, but Because of Beholding Myriad Stars.

Beholding Myriad Stars single-handedly carried the entire stream with Divine Punishments at Perfect Timing™.

Thanks to this, countless Awakened fans praised the stream, ensuring its successful conclusion.

…I’ve always been curious.

This very subjective yet surprisingly accurate wiki entry—

Who the hell is writing it?

Is this some kind of software-generated log, like the Omnia Archive Program?

Or is it something my subconscious mind automatically compiles?

I’m betting on the latter.

Because most of the subjective descriptions in the wiki entry—

I actually agree with them.

For example, the [Ayase’s Abyss Show] section.

I, too, think that stream wasn’t my success, but Beholding Myriad Stars hard-carrying me by the collar.

If I hadn’t headbutted the floor in spectacular fashion at the end, would it have received such overwhelming praise?

Nope.

Not a chance.

Gotta give credit where it’s due.

Mm-hmm.

I continued reading through the wiki.

3-2. Gaming Skills

Her gaming skills are beyond terrible—utterly catastrophic.

She is horrendous at horror games.

She is horrendous at AOS (MOBA) games.

At this point, one has to wonder if there’s even a single game she’s actually good at.

Her catastrophic skills have prompted her viewers to frequently question:

“How can your skill bag be so massive, yet you’re this trash at games?”

…Yeah.

This confuses even me.

Do I really not have a single game I’m good at?

Actually, this gaming skill issue had already given me an idea for new stream content.

Starting today—

I plan to test out every genre of game, one by one.

Strategy simulation.

Dating simulation.

FPS.

RPG.

Puzzle.

Roguelike.

Shooting, bullet hell, adventure, action, rhythm, and everything else.

If I try everything, then as a human, I should at least find one game I’m good at, right?

…Or maybe not.

I mean, I’m not even human—so maybe I’ll just suck at everything.

3-3. Broadcasting Rules

There are no officially established broadcasting rules.

However, unspoken rules do exist.

1. You must not insult Beholding Myriad Stars or the Omnia Archive.

Lee Jia laughs off insults directed at herself.

However, she immediately bans anyone who insults Beholding Myriad Stars or the Omnia Archive without hesitation.

This strict stance truly shows her dedication as an Archivist of Omnia.

That said, if the insult is “playful”, she lets it slide.

A clear example of her hypocrisy and double standards.

2. Insulting Stars is an instant ban.

Especially Ayase.

If someone disrespects Ayase, she loses her temper completely, treating viewers to the full force of her thunderous voice.

3. Backseat gaming and policing in chat are also instant bans…

A Month Later…

There were a lot of new additions to the rules.

At this rate, in six months or a year, reading through the wiki alone might take an entire lifetime.

Having finished reading the updated wiki, I settled into my computer chair, preparing to start streaming.

That was when—

I got a call from the Awakened Association.

A new anomaly had been discovered.

They wanted to know if I could come immediately.

I agreed without hesitation and started grabbing my clothes—

Until I changed my mind.

“Actually, I’m not going.”

[Ah, by the way, this time, instead of Yoo Iseul, you’ll be with another Awakener—]

“I’ll go next time.”

[B-But the Awakener in charge is quite reliable, and you’ll be with a team of five—]

“Still, I’ll go next time.”

Yoo Iseul isn’t coming?

Then forget it.

No way.

I worked too hard to build rapport with Yoo Iseul.

According to her, when it comes to resolving anomalies, the key factor isn’t the number of people, but rather each individual’s abilities and equipment.

Yoo Iseul’s ability: Complete immunity to all mental attacks.

Yoo Iseul’s weapon (Iron Greatsword No. 3): Can sever a target’s essential properties.

In theory

Yoo Iseul is one of the only people who can solve any anomaly they encounter.

Of course, that’s only in theory.

Anomalies are living masses of unpredictability—variables that can drag even the strongest into the abyss.

However, with my ability to document entities in wiki format, I can preemptively shut down those variables.

Which means—

Yoo Iseul wouldn’t be “theoretically invincible” anymore.

She’d be “practically invincible.”

For the sake of my survival, I have to ensure I always enter anomalies with Yoo Iseul.

Besides—

I still haven’t received the official anomaly training from the Awakened Association.

If the anomaly cycle was still at two weeks per occurrence, I’d have rushed in without a second thought.

But now that anomalies are appearing weekly, I can afford to take my time.

Right now, streaming takes priority.

I had replaced my desk, monitor, and keyboard with brand new equipment.

That wasn’t all.

I bought extra desks, monitors, keyboards, mice, and even three additional PC setups, fully setting up a multi-station broadcasting environment.

…Yeah.

I burned through all the money I earned from streaming over the past few weeks.

But it was worth it.

Anything was better than having to rush to an internet café for emergency streaming.

Finally, I hit the “Start Stream” button.

Stream Title:

[Abyss Show Recap & Game Exploration]