Chapter 26: A Skilled Streamer

“Eh, it’s not even time for video donations yet.”

Although internet streaming didn’t exactly have strict rules, there was a designated time for accepting video donations.

Without such structure, viewers could send videos during critical moments of the stream, disrupting its flow.

[What’s with the random video donation?]

[Just skip it.]

[Surprise video donations are the worst.]

[What’s this all of a sudden?]

[You should immediately shut those down, lol.]

[But hey, that’s a decent amount of money.]

Normally, I would’ve rejected it without even watching, but the donation amount was significant—not just 1,000 won, but a full 10,000 won.

“Well, let’s at least check what this person sent, and after this, I’ll block any future random donations.”

[Yeah, that’s the way to do it.]

[If you keep allowing it, trolls will come out in droves, lol.]

[If it was 1,000 won, no one would’ve even acknowledged it.]

[Not just ignored—they’d have been roasted alive in the chat, lol.]

[What could be so important that someone sent 10,000 won when it’s not even video time?]

Without much thought, I played the video donation.
The clip appeared in the corner of the screen.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better. You didn’t seem to be doing well, so I was worried about you.”

“Huh? That’s Jaehun.”

[Hi, Jaehun!]

[Glim, you lucky bastard, even Jaehun is showing you concern.]

[Reason for concern: sulking over a game, lol.]

[This reason is pathetic, lmao.]

[Imagine getting mad at a game and having someone else comfort you. What kind of life is that?]

“Hey, hey, it’s not like that! I really wasn’t feeling well!”

[Hmm…]

[If you say so, sure, hmm hmm.]

[Take a moment to reflect on your usual behavior, Glim, lol.]

[The great Jaehun.]

Glim tried to defend herself as the video played on.

“If Glim doesn’t mind, I think it’s fine to talk about her. I like Glim, personally.”

The video donation ended on that note.

“…Hmm hmm. I guess I do have a bit of a magnetic charm.”

[?]

[This guy’s absolutely loving it, lolol.]

[Not loving it would actually be weird, lol.]

[Honestly, I’d be thrilled too.]

[The way his voice is trembling is hilarious, lol.]

[Just admit you’re happy, Glim.]

[If Glim’s grinning from ear to ear right now, big thumbs up, lol.]

[scratch scratch]

Though I felt slightly better, I knew Jaehun probably didn’t mean that in a serious way.

He must’ve said it as a casual, stream-friendly comment.

But even so, I couldn’t help feeling a little happy.

“Well then, let’s dive right into ranked.”

[Let’s gooo!]

[So simple-minded… This guy gets one compliment from Jaehun and suddenly he’s on cloud nine.]

[Glim’s brain <<< This guy’s so pure it’s crazy.]

[It’s like his brain’s been bleached, lol.]

[Ranked time, let’s go!]

[I thought you’d dwell on this for a while, but you’re jumping right into it.]

[Dude’s so hyped he’s skipping his warm-up rituals and going straight for the matches, lol.]

…Somehow, I felt like today’s stream would go well.

The plan for today’s stream was simple.

It wasn’t going to be an art stream, of course.

Most people who commission me don’t want their artwork shown publicly while it’s still in progress.

The ones who had allowed it before were an exception, not the norm.

That’s why I couldn’t do art streams anymore.

Of course, I could draw something unrelated to commissions, but… I didn’t really feel like doing that.

I already spend so much time drawing that I didn’t feel like setting aside even more time just to stream myself drawing.

Besides, my major was in art anyway.

“Well then, how about we just play some games today?”

[+HurryAndLeave: Ugh, why won’t you ever do an art stream?]

[So you’re never doing art streams again, huh, lol.]

[Just accept it, folks.]

[You hogged all the early art streams to yourself, LikeYogurt. Give others a turn!]

[Pepe: Look at how many viewers there are right now—do you really think a peaceful art stream is even possible, you idiot?]

[Let’s dive into the games already!]

Originally, I hadn’t planned on playing games during streams.

But as time went on, I realized that gaming was one of the easiest ways to keep a stream flowing smoothly.

‘Though, I still can’t manage story-driven games yet.’

I’d like to try streaming a story-based game once I have enough viewers.

Maybe around 1,000 viewers would be a good benchmark.

Looking at the current viewer count, though, it felt more like wishful thinking.

[Viewer Count: 226]

“All right, let’s try out that game. I’ve heard of it, but this will be my first time playing it.”

[+HurryAndLeave: That game’s fun, lol. You should try it.]

[It used to be really popular, and now it’s trending again.]

[To be fair, the number of concurrent players has always stayed consistent.]

[It’s the GOAT of Korean games.]

[Pepe: It’s more fun to play with others, though…]

“Well, I can’t collab every day. Sometimes I need to play solo, too.”

Maybe it was because I’d been doing so many collabs with Glim lately, but I felt like my ability to stream solo had weakened a bit.

That’s why I planned to spend more time streaming games alone from now on.

[Can we stream snipe?]

[+HurryAndLeave: Do you think that’s okay?]

[So you’re saying it’s okay? Cool, I’ll bring my account right now.]

[This is gonna be hilarious, lololol.]

[Let’s gooo!]

[Pepe: Can we join the game?]

“Of course, viewer participation isn’t allowed.”

I’d learned something from playing other games.

You should never get directly involved with viewers in a game.

While there are some rare viewers who play seriously even if they run into me, the majority are just looking for attention and end up disrupting the game.

[+HurryAndLeave: Yeah, it’s better not to allow viewer participation, lol.]

[If you do, it always leads to problems.]

[There’s a ridiculously high chance of shady people lurking around.]

[Pepe: Been on the internet for 14 years now, and I’m 100% sure this stream has its share of shady folks.]

Still, I thought about how impressive Glim was.

Even with my relatively small viewer base, I occasionally ran into viewers while playing games.

For someone like Glim, with such a huge audience, how often did she get stream-sniped?

Probably almost every game.

“All right, let’s jump into it.”

The game I had on was a battle royale.

You scavenge for items across the map, use what you’ve gathered to eliminate other players, and aim to be the last one standing.

Just.

One.

Person.

[I’m excited for this, lol.]

[This is gonna be so fun.]

[Let’s go, let’s go!]

[+HurryAndLeave: Have you played this game before?]

“This game? I’ve only heard of it back when it was trending ages ago.”

I’d never been the type to play these kinds of games religiously.

To be precise, I wasn’t a fan of games that required constant communication with other players.

But since I started playing these games on stream, I found a small kind of fun in them, so I’d been playing them more often lately.

[Wow, it’s rare to find someone who’s never played this before.]

[This game was super popular back in middle school—every guy was playing it at PC bangs, lol.]

[Man, I used to grind this game so hard in middle school.]

[+HurryAndLeave: Kind of surprising, considering you’ve tried almost every other game.]

As I was chatting with viewers, a loud thud echoed.

The game’s distinct sound signaling that the queue had been matched.

“I’m kind of excited now.”

Shortly after, I was spawned into what looked like a desolate ruin.

Naturally, my character was a woman.

There was no reason to play as a man, even in games.

But…

“Why are there so many people here?”

The area was swarming with players.

Looking at the top-left corner of the screen, it seemed like there were about a hundred people here.

[+HurryAndLeave: That’s because that’s where everyone spawns.]

[You chill here while everyone gathers, and the game starts once the lobby’s full.]

[Man, it’s been ages since I’ve seen this loading screen, lol.]

[Not many smurfs playing this game nowadays, so this is nostalgic.]

[Pepe: If you punch people here, you earn points.]

“Oh, really?”

Since it was a battle royale, it seemed plausible.

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be much point in gathering everyone in one spot like this.

Wham! Bam!

Without hesitation, I started beating the living daylights out of a bald man standing nearby.

I jumped while throwing punches, and I even picked up nearby rocks and hurled them at him.

Yet, despite my efforts, the bald man didn’t die.

“Am I actually earning points right now?”

I couldn’t hear any notifications about points being added, which made me doubt it.
Maybe I had to aim for a weak spot?

As I pondered whether I was doing it right, I glanced at the chat.

[+HurryAndLeave: OF COURSE YOU’RE NOT EARNING POINTS, LOLLLLL.]

[Why is he so pure, lol?]

[Wait, did he actually believe that?]

[Pepe: Umm… I didn’t expect him to actually fall for it, lol.]

[Trash behavior.]

[He’s just beating up random passersby like some low-life, lol.]

“Ah, I was seriously punching with all my heart…”

I realized it was a lie.

A wave of disappointment washed over me.

I had genuinely believed that punching people here would earn points.

[+HurryAndLeave: LOLLLLL.]

[Why did you actually believe that, lol?]

[That’s so ridiculously cute, honestly.]

[Pepe: The fact that you even picked up rocks to throw is insane, lol.]

As I stood there, feeling deflated—

“Ni wei shenme da wo!”

The bald man, who had been quietly taking hits all this time, suddenly snapped and started beating me up.