I tilted my head as I watched viewers indiscriminately throwing Molotov cocktails in the chat.
‘Was there a difference between the expectations I had for the viewers and the expectations they had of me?’
“A legendary hero like Friede descending in real life?”
If this goes on, I can’t predict when the fire play will end.
For a streamer who has limited time to broadcast, this is catastrophic.
First, I need to calmly talk to them.
“Wait, everyone, calm down.”
My efforts were as powerless as a leaf blown away by a typhoon, drowned out by the echoes in the air.
[Hey, what the hell are you doing with that broadcast title?]
[That was so exciting, you bastard!]
[When can I see your face, sister?]
[10 years?]
[Shut the hell up, in 10 years you’ll be calling her ‘Aunt’ instead, haha.]
“My face? I never said I was going to do a face reveal. Is this even a face reveal broadcast?”
[Stop this blind baiting, haha.]
[No, it’s just because you’re too ignorant and fell for it.]
[But… seeing the sister’s cam, I can’t help but fantasize.]
“No matter what I do, I won’t be doing a face reveal. If I was going to do it, I would have been upfront about it. And…”
[Fan service is really strong, Sensei.]
[Who cares about seeing your face, it won’t change anything.]
[Is your face a low-tier one or something?]
[Wahh, Friede, it’s only your third day of streaming. You’re still new and wrinkled, we have to take care of you.]
The atmosphere was far from calming down.
The face reveal, which I thought was already settled, seemed to have sparked a new hope through this stream.
‘But what can I do?’ If a face reveal happens, it’ll probably be at least a year away.
I had no choice but to play my final card.
“If this keeps up, I might just switch to the Islamic…”
[This is exactly the type of stream I’ve been waiting for.]
[Sister, please start the game already]
[Here we go again, haha.]
[No one should make this person angry!]
As expected, the Islamic warrior tactic worked.
It was highly effective.
The chat finally calmed down, but it was still not the right moment to start the game.
I needed to relax the tense atmosphere that had been locked up by the face reveal talk.
“By the way, how do you like this? This is the armor used in my character creation.”
I felt a bit embarrassed to show it in real life, but wait, no.
I had to change my mindset.
‘What’s so embarrassing about a hero’s equipment?’ It’s my valuable companion.
“Look at this cape. It’s quite special, you know?”
[Wow, look at the details of the cape…]
[Sister, I thought there was some graphic enhancement, but it’s all raw?]
[Can you show the gauntlets up close?]
[Sensei, please share the artisan site you used for this.]
[Whoa, look at the patterns on it. Armor, yeah!]
The reactions were better than I expected.
After all, this wasn’t just any ordinary item.
It was a special gift made directly by the goddess.
“This armor was made by someone with a mysterious aura. Hm? Does it look like my face? Well, I guess. I do like mysterious things. Anyway, the first reason I started this stream was to show off the armor used in my character creation. Today, I want to try something a little different.”
[Oh? Friede sister’s new game… This sounds interesting.]
[Since this is a real-life cam stream, is it a PC game?]
[What’s the title?]
Instead of answering the viewer’s question immediately, I couldn’t help but smile a little as I looked at the cam.
I waited just long enough for the reactions—little grains of rice called comments—to get more sticky and fully cooked.
When the chat had passed one full page, I added just a hint.
It would be boring to give the answer right away.
“It’s a 90s blockbuster game, and the genre is romance.”
[Is there even a blockbuster romance game from the 90s?]
[Ah, you don’t know Glarnad?]
[Back in the day, people used to call adult games literature, life, or even poetry.]
[Shut up, haha, you’re saying visual novels are serious literature now?]
[This is so old, I can’t even respond to it properly. Are you all old folks?]
[20th-century stuff? This isn’t modern history class, Sensei.]
‘I expected reactions like these, but modern history?’ That was an unexpected comment.
If I hadn’t been summoned to this other world, I would have probably had a hard time dealing with the generational gap with the viewers now.
Well, before that, I wouldn’t be able to stream in my current condition.
‘But what can I do?’ Right now, I’m still 22, blessed with the grace of the Bean.
It’s the most beautiful age.
That means I have an obligation to expertly handle the awkward viewers.
“Now, let’s check it out.”
I expected a mix of surprise and cheers from everyone as I opened the folder on screen and showed the game icon.
***
A small spaceship icon, one that people from the early days of PC cafes would never forget.
Korea’s traditional folk game.
It’s called, “Ta-da~! It’s Stella Craft!”
[Stella?]
[Stella?]
[????]
“I saw it… I clearly saw that bastard choosing the Jeon Gwe-dam Wol-hee.”
[This sister has an old-school taste when it comes to picking games.]
The reactions weren’t quite what I expected, but it seemed I had achieved my goal after reeling in this many hooks.
Just then, a robotic voice from the speakers interrupted the broadcast.
[BlackRing has donated 5,000 KRW!
-What part of this is romance?]
“Don’t you all know?”
[Isn’t it you who doesn’t know?]
[Does Sensei even know what romance is?]
[Since when did the RTS genre turn into a romance?]
[Bug and Lastos are acting all lovey-dovey and making hybrids, so I guess it’s romance… argue with me if you want.]
[Is inter-species breeding romance? lol]
It seems the viewers were missing the essence of genre interpretation.
“Romance… what is romance? Is it just about a guy and a girl having a ‘thing’ and kissing… or maybe some 19+ stuff, that’s romance?”
[Why are you asking us?]
[Of course, it’s romance. What else would it be?]
[Sis, if you’re gonna talk nonsense, at least play the game first.]
[Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!]
See? They’re all blinded by stereotypes and can’t see the essence.
I, as the hero, must enlighten these poor lambs.
“I’ll tell you why it’s romance.”
Stella Craft.
It’s a game that still has players, and it’s a tradition that has been consistently and actively carried on in Korea.
For me, it was a game I was finally going to enjoy again after many years.
In fact, it was one of the more comfortable games for me to adapt to.
Aside from small bug fixes, nothing had changed.
With a slightly trembling heart, I clicked the icon.
It was a return to the past, a reunion with long-lost memories.
Finally, the thumbnail for Stella Craft: Species Breeding appeared on screen.
In the center was the female character, the Bug Queen Gojimgo, to the right was the Lastos evil priest Dragunis, and to the left was the stern and lifeless Old Man Lampard Dougal.
“Look, everyone. This composition—two male characters aiming for the female character, a tragic one-sided love…”
Love and betrayal, emotions blooming in the midst of a fierce battlefield.
A space romance set against the backdrop of the empty universe.
“From the thumbnail, it’s already a romance rule, isn’t it? The female character in the center with two male characters on either side…”
[Stop talking nonsense and play the game already.]
Seems like it didn’t land at all.
I had tried to speak seriously about the game, but it felt a bit disappointing and embarrassing.
I was glad I wore the helmet.
Though it wasn’t perfect, at least I had covered it up, so I quickly logged into WarNet.
I created a temporary ID and planned to explore the custom matches before jumping into ranked.
“Ah, it’s been a while.”
***
Upon entering the custom matches, I saw familiar titles, some with more than 30 years of history.
<1:1 Fighting Spirit Only Beginners!>
<1:1 Battle Only Toss Beginners!>
Fighting Spirit Only Beginners ^^>
<1:1 Warmth between Beginners, Red Storm, just come!>
<4:4 Hunter Beginner Battles>
That’s right.
This game, which had become stagnant for years, was now a playground for people hoping to find new beginners.
How many years have we been playing just for Fighting Spirit? Well, Fighting Spirit is the best, though.
[How old are the guys playing this game?]
[They must be nearing their 60s, huh?]
[Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.]
[My uncle plays this too.]
[Sensei, you know how to play this game?]
[Yeah, right, these days, who would even play Stella Craft?]
[Based on what we saw on SoWa, you’d probably just get destroyed.]
[Is SoWa even the same as Stella? lol]
“Ah, don’t underestimate me. I’m a 1,800-point user.”
[Wow, that’s quite a bit.]
[Ha, ha, ha, are you sure?]
[I can already imagine how badly you’ll be dominated… yum.]
[Even with the fashion ranks, you should know the builds… Sensei, let’s go!]
Encouraged by everyone, I scrolled through the custom match list.
Is there a room that looks particularly interesting, one that everyone would enjoy watching?
‘Everything’s the same.’
Most of the rooms were filled with deceptive titles like “Only Beginners,” full of false pretenses…
Even after many years, it felt like déjà vu, like seeing identical twins.
“The titles are all the same. In the past, wasn’t oil made from dinosaur bones? Well, anyway, after a long time, it’s hard to tell the difference, right? Maybe this custom match is the same.”
[What can you expect from stagnant water?]
It’s true. Stagnant water is always like that.
They’re the ones who’ve already enjoyed all the content and are just hoping for something new.
Even before I was summoned to this other world, I remember Stella Craft being full of people who liked to prey on newbies.
These are all players who’ve been around for more than 10 years.
I wonder how bizarre this experience will be.
My heart races already.
“This room looks good.”
The title I chose was this one.
<1:1 Fighting Spirit Only Beginners Welcome.>
A title that demanded beginners, written with a commanding tone.
It was a perfect Stella-like title, worthy of the legendary conqueror.
Let’s see who the opponent is.
“Whoa?”
As I entered the room, I saw the stats displayed.
***
[Korea] Custom Game
[Host] yaSergei: ᄒᄋ
Wins: 20,398, Losses: 9,994, Disconnects: 1,015
[Shit, haha.]
[Of course, I get matched with this guy.]
[Sensei, you shouldn’t even try a gacha now.]
[Wow, so that’s a real record.]
[This is what 40 years of experience in the game looks like… it’s dizzying.]
[SoWa’s highest stats look weak compared to this guy.]
The stats weren’t the usual ones I was familiar with for Stella Craft.
The weight of those 30,000+ wins pressed down on me like a heavy force.
Not just stagnant water, but the fossil of a player who’s been around for 30 years had matched with me.
‘Of course… why did I get matched with this guy?’