When I heard that the Association was going to provide a 70-pyeong (about 2,500 square feet) single-family house, I got so excited that I immediately asked Yui Seul.
“Are there any conditions for moving in? Will I be monitored by CCTV? Can I break the floors if I want to?”
At that, Yui Seul spoke up without even turning her head toward me, sounding clearly annoyed.
“Why are you asking me that? Go ask Kim Jung-hwan, he’s your assigned agent.”
“…”
Well, she had a point.
Yui Seul wasn’t living in a house provided by the Association.
Her place was an enormous mansion—no way that came from any Association support.
She probably didn’t know the details of the housing policy, either.
“The only thing I know for sure is that it’s a modified house designed for Awakened Ones, so yeah, you can probably smash up the floor if you want.”
“Does that even make sense?”
“Isn’t it weirder for Awakened Ones to use a house normally? Have you ever once thought about why the Association gives out such big houses?”
“Nope. This is actually the first time I’m hearing about it being a single-family house or that it’s 70 pyeong.”
“Then use that brain of yours and come up with an answer that’ll satisfy me.”
“Uhh…”
I thought for a moment at Yui Seul’s words.
And soon came up with a plausible answer.
“Because Awakened Ones are high-maintenance weirdos?”
“It’s not a perfect score, but at least it’s not a zero. Thank goodness—seems like you’re not as much of a dumbass as I thought.”
“Excuse me? You’ve been throwing shade at me this whole time, but how smart are you, exactly, Yui Seul…?”
Yui Seul ignored my comment and continued.
“What do you think Awakened Ones even do at home?”
“Play games.”
“For the love of—can you try thinking before speaking…”
“You play Battle Lounge at home, don’t you?”
“…”
Her face flushed just a little at my spot-on reply.
So she can feel embarrassment.
It was the first time I’d seen a human side to her.
Rather than answer me, Yui Seul.
Screeeeech.
She stopped the car and said coldly,”Get out.”
“…Are you mad?”
“I said get out.”
“W-Wait, even if you’re mad, shouldn’t you at least drop me off at home?”
“This is your place, you airheaded dumbass.”
“Oh.”
So we were here.
Uh.
Right.
I gave her a polite bow.
“Get home safe.”
“Sure. I’ll call you later. Oh, and—”
Then she rolled down the car window.
To block the rays of the setting sun, she slipped on a pair of sunglasses with a smooth motion,and in a cynical voice, said:”I really enjoyed your half-cam stream.”
“…Sorry, what?”
And just like that, Yui Seul disappeared from my view.
Not ‘had fun watching’, but ‘enjoyed it deliciously’?
What the hell does that even mean?
Before going inside,I called Mr. Kim Jung-hwan.
Still buzzing with excitement over the news that I was being offered a 70-pyeong single-family house, I immediately pressed him:”Give me the house!”
[…Excuse me?]
“The Awakened housing support! I need it!”
[B-But last time you clearly said you didn’t—]
“My situation’s changed.”
I gave Mr. Kim Jung-hwan a quick summary of everything that had happened recently.
Fortunately, Mr. Kim Jung-hwan was one of the “believers” who constantly monitored my stream under the guise of “supervision.”
He also understood the concept of the “Price of Blasphemy,” so it was easy to convince him.
[Understood. Got it. Then I’ll make arrangements so you can move in as early as tomorrow.]
“…Excuse me?”
[Is something wrong?]
“Well… aren’t there any conditions for moving in? Don’t I at least need to sign a contract or something?”
[All unnecessary procedures can be skipped.]
Then Mr. Kim Jung-hwan went on to explain.
Apparently, since this support policy was meant for Awakened Ones, all time-consuming formalities could be completely omitted.
Just show up with your body—literally, that’s it.
If I’d known moving in would be this simple, I would’ve applied a long time ago.
Plus, it was only a five-minute walk from the Association headquarters, so even when they asked me to evaluate Items from time to time, it wouldn’t be as much of a hassle.
Suddenly, I remembered something Yui Seul had said to me.
I really haven’t internalized the fact that I’m an Awakened One, have I?
Come to think of it,Awakened Ones are humanity’s last line of defense and the only ones capable of facing Anomalous Phenomena.
If people who risk their lives dealing with that kind of threat don’t even get this much treatment, that would be pretty messed up too.
That said—Moving in tomorrow still feels like a bit much.
Before moving, I should properly apologize to the neighbors above, below, and next door.
And I need to sort through my stuff.
“I have one last question.”
[Yes, go ahead.]
“…Is it okay to, like, break the floor?”
Living in a single-family house means I won’t have to worry about noise complaints from downstairs anymore.
But it’s not like the floor is made of adamantium or anything.
When I get hit with the Price of Blasphemy, the floor still cracks.
Rather than cause an incident and confess after the fact, it’s better to ask in advance.
Mr. Kim responded like it was no big deal.
[Of course. The house is built exclusively for Awakened Ones, so breaking the floor is honestly no big deal.]
“Yui Seul said something similar to me earlier. But what exactly does that mean?”
Yui Seul left without giving me a clear answer.
How could breaking the floor possibly be considered “no big deal”?
[Jiah, do you happen to know an Awakened One named Oh Seung-hyun?]
“Oh, I’ve heard of him.”
Oh Seung-hyun.
Nickname: The Grand Mage.
Just like the mage class in a game, he’s an Awakened One capable of manipulating all five classical elements in real life.
[A few days ago, Mr. Oh Seung-hyun was practicing his abilities in the training yard attached to his single-family home… and ended up burning the whole house down.]
“…Yikes.”
[What do you think? Compared to the Price of Blasphemy, it’s nothing, right? My point is, Awakened Ones damaging their Association-provided homes happens quite frequently.]
“So… what happened to that guy? Did he have to pay for the damages?”
[No, although he did suffer some personal property loss since all his furniture burned down… he wasn’t held accountable. Instead, we provided him with a new house, with a bigger and better training yard.]
“…”
Clearly, the support benefits for Awakened Ones went way beyond what I had imagined.
I finally understood why they were giving us such spacious homes.
Right from the start—They were providing these huge houses so we could train our abilities at home.
[So you really don’t need to worry about something as minor as the Price of Blasphemy.
If anything happens, the Association can handle the repairs any time.
Jiah, you—]
“Sorry to cut you off, but… do all the Association-provided single-family homes come with a personal training yard?”
[Yes, they do. As I mentioned, these houses are designed exclusively for Awakened Ones. They’re customized to match your lifestyle and needs.]
“Mr. Kim Jung-hwan, I’m really sorry, but I have one request.”
[…Go ahead.]
Unlike the other Awakened Ones—I don’t need a training yard.
Even if there’s one, it’s not like I’d actually use it to train at home.
Right now, what matters more to me than training is—Streaming.
Broadcasting.
“Can you remodel the training yard into a streaming room instead?”
[…]
“Is that… possible?”
[…Somehow, I had a feeling things were going too smoothly for a case involving an Awakened One. Sigh…]
I wouldn’t be surprised if Mr. Kim Jung-hwan felt a bit betrayed at that moment.
Like he thought I was a polite and easygoing client, but I turned out to be one of those troublesome customers.
But hey—what can you do?
It’d be a waste to just let that training yard sit unused forever.
[…Understood. Just be aware that the move-in date might be slightly delayed.]
“That’s totally fine.”
Eventually, Mr. Kim Jung-hwan added:[Oh, and… I really enjoyed watching your ‘half-cam’ stream.]
“…”
[I’ll be in touch.]
He hung up after getting in a tiny bit of petty revenge.
Seriously.
What does “I really enjoyed it” even mean in that context, you damn weebs?
Moving was important, sure,But first, I had work to do.
At 7 p.m., I started my stream.
Maybe it was the lingering effects of the half-cam broadcast,But even though I hadn’t turned on the virtual avatar screen yet, the viewer count was rising rapidly.
•Big Jiah.
•Ultra Big Jiah.
•Cult Leader, take meee waaaahhhh.
•Bang! lol.
•Bangbang Gang forever!
•Bangbang Gang forever!
•Bangbang Gang forever!
•Noonaaaaaaaa I’m dyinggggg.
•Uhehehehehehehehe.
•Holy Power Pouch ON.
•Blasphemy Pouch ON.
[“DeliciousMagicSpell” has donated 10,000 won.]
•Really enjoyed the half-cam stream.
•Uhehehe.
[“RedPillOppa” has donated 10,000 won.]
As powerful as, or even more than, the Flat One.
[“UltraBigJiah” has donated 5,000 won.]
Holy power levels off the charts today, sheesh!
[“BritishGentleman” has donated 5,000 won.]
Forgive my impudence, but… may I bury my face in your screen?
Sigh.
This is the side effect of the half-cam stream.
The chat had gone completely feral.
Some messages crossed the line, but since the mod’s banhammer skills were top-tier,I didn’t really need to intervene.
After dopamine comes the detox.
That’s the golden rule.
Just because you’re a streamer doesn’t mean you always have to prepare some special content.
Because big events aren’t always a good thing.
Sure, the streamer suffers the most when hosting a major content event,
but the viewers also have to stay fully focused, and that naturally leads to exhaustion.
So, considering I just ran a big event yesterday with the “half-cam stream”.
Today’s stream will be—Very chill.
Something easy to watch without thinking too hard.
•And that is:“I’m gonna play a game.”
•KYAAAAAAHHH.
•Something huge right after.
•something hugeeeeee.
•Alert! Chovy-SAAAAANG!
•True ant extermination mode ON.
•?
•Why are people freaking out all of a sudden?
•Look at the new cultists looking all confused, lol
•Time to taste the Cult Leader’s gaming skills!
•The Cult Leader’s catastrophically tasteless controls are comingggg.
[“YupYup” has donated 1,000 won.]
What kind of catastrophic skills are we gonna see today AAAAAAH.
Don’t worry too much.
Today, I’m going to play a game I’m actually good at.
A puzzle game.
“I’ll be playing Professor Payton and the Strange Village.”