The streamer Choa, whose real name is Jeong Da-hee, is now entering her fifth year of broadcasting.
She is a legitimate corporate-level streamer with nearly 70,000 followers.
Her average viewership for each broadcast easily exceeds three thousand, and she has a YouTube subscriber count of 430,000, making her a famous influencer.
Despite her rapid rise to success, Choa had her own concerns.
“Ugh, what should I do about the Hunter certification exam…?”
The Hunter certification.
It is a necessary credential for any awakened individual who wishes to work as a Hunter, and it is a vital qualification for her to achieve her dreams.
The purpose of this certification is, of course, to ensure the safety of awakened individuals who wish to become Hunters.
No matter how exceptional an awakened individual is in terms of magical power and unique traits, the dungeons beyond the gates are, quite simply, an unknown world.
There’s no way to be sure of anything, so if one enters without proper training, they might end up facing serious trouble.
In fact, for a lower-grade awakened individual with relatively weak magical power and traits, they could very well be killed.
Therefore, the government provides basic theory courses and training for those who aspire to become Hunters.
They teach the accumulated knowledge and expertise over the years and give enough practical experience to allow awakened individuals to fight as a Hunter in an actual dungeon.
Thanks to this, awakened individuals improve their skills, and in return, the government gains highly skilled Hunters as valuable resources.
This results in a positive cycle where both sides benefit, and the birth of the Hunter certification exam system is a natural consequence.
“Ah, if I fail this time, the viewers are going to tease me so much…”
However, education is always about grading and assessing students’ levels.
It tests whether the goals of the education have been achieved, whether enough results have been produced, and whether the individual is qualified.
It may sound obvious, but not everyone can pass the exam.
It takes a lot of effort, and despite all the preparation, the exam remains difficult.
And here, a corporate-level streamer who’s lounging around in her room is just another Hunter aspirant undergoing the same tough process.
“The theory is fine, but the practical exam is so hard…”
Bang, bang, Jeong Da-hee pounded the bed sheet violently with both arms as she lay face down on the bed.
The practical exam for the Hunter Academy was scheduled for about a month from now.
She had passed the written exam with excellent results, but in contrast to her outstanding written score, she had little confidence in the practical exam.
“Sigh, swordsmanship is really too difficult…”
Already having failed two practical exams due to poor performance, Jeong Da-hee had become a third-time examinee and wore a frustrated expression.
Swordsmanship. It was all because of swordsmanship.
She had more than enough magical power.
Her adaptability was decent.
Her strength and stamina were already solid, and she wasn’t the type to get scared or hesitate when facing monsters.
However, all those advantages were overshadowed by her poor swordsmanship.
No matter how many times she practiced, her posture was always sloppy and disorganized.
As a result, during dungeon practice, she couldn’t demonstrate proper power and often ended up exhausting herself unnecessarily.
In fact, during the swordsmanship evaluation led by the instructor, she had received harsh criticism, leaving her self-esteem at rock bottom.
“I want to be a swordsmanship master too…”
Letting out a huge sigh as though trying to release all the air in her lungs, Jeong Da-hee listlessly picked up her smartphone.
She unlocked the screen and opened YouTube, starting her mental escape and stress relief under the guise of trend research.
Usually, she would search for a lot of swordsmanship videos, growing her dreams while simultaneously trying to improve her disastrous swordsmanship.
Today, however, one peculiar thumbnail caught her eye.
With just over a thousand subscribers and barely surpassing 10,000 views, the video was from a small channel.
Perhaps because she often searched for swordsmanship videos, the algorithm suggested this video from a newly established channel.
Jeong Da-hee, out of simple curiosity, pressed play.
Exploring new channels and observing niche swordsmanship content had also become one of her hobbies.
“Wow, no way, what is this, really… Wow…?!”
But as the video progressed, Jeong Da-hee couldn’t hold back her exclamations.
Her initial curiosity had already transformed into amazement and shock, and the little curiosity left was now filled with wondering why such a person’s channel was so small.
“How is this even possible?”
This person was truly a master, an expert.
Even the outfit and tone they used created an atmosphere that she found completely captivating.
Completely absorbed, Jeong Da-hee kept rewatching the video without realizing how much time had passed.
Finally, she swallowed a gulp, unable to look away.
At the beginning of the video, one sentence from the man who had already become her role model lingered in her mind, refusing to leave.
Rewinding to that part of the video and playing it again, the speaker on her smartphone seemed to confirm that it wasn’t just her imagination.
[…………This is a broadcast teaching martial arts.]
Teaching martial arts.
The broadcast wasn’t just about demonstrating swordsmanship; it was about sharing his exceptional skills with others.
She didn’t know how much he’d teach, but if she could learn directly from someone like him, wouldn’t her swordsmanship improve too?
That thought crossed Jeong Da-hee’s mind.
‘Wait a minute, he said it’s a broadcast, right?’
It wasn’t just a video teaching martial arts—it was a broadcast teaching martial arts.
In other words, if she went to the broadcast and asked, she could probably have a conversation, even if just for a little while.
With this realization, Jeong Da-hee quickly began moving her fingers.
She turned her smartphone from full-screen mode to a smaller window, then tapped the description box to find the broadcast link.
‘This is really a new streamer…!’
Her first broadcast was just yesterday.
Perhaps because of his skill, the number of followers was surprisingly high for a streamer on just their second day, but it still hadn’t reached triple digits.
Most importantly, the broadcast was live.
[Live / Song Cheon Hwi: I will become a master of martial arts!]
What perfect timing.
Jeong Da-hee, trying to calm her nervous and excited heart, swallowed and steeled herself before entering the broadcast.
‘This might be a sensitive question, so… maybe I should donate a larger amount?’
She hesitated a little, but the thought of asking a question in return for a donation didn’t seem like a bad deal.
With trembling hands, she set the donation amount and typed her question in the chat.
After a brief pause, her hand clicked the arrow next to the text input.
(Choa’s donation of 100,000 KRW!)
“Do you offer martial arts consultations? I think my body is quite sturdy!”
“Please, please…!”
What would happen?
Jeong Da-hee stared intently at the broadcast screen, desperately hoping she wouldn’t be immediately turned down.
The person on the screen was none other than the host of the broadcast, a hidden martial arts master who had quickly become her role model.
Staring wide-eyed at the screen, he finally opened his mouth with a smile.
[Consultations are always welcome. Since you say your body is sturdy, we might even be able to start training right away.]
That was practically an approval.
Lying idly on her bed, Jeong Da-hee shot up with a start, her body suddenly full of energy.
She wanted to scream with joy, but there was no time to waste.
Her fingers moved faster and more precisely than ever before.
The sound of typing echoed, and her completed message appeared large on the broadcast screen, accompanied by another donation notification.
[Choa’s donation of 10,000 KRW!]
“Do you use Discord? If so, I’ll send you the Discord code through a private chat!”
Most streamers would use Discord, but with his attire and the overall atmosphere, he gave off the vibe of someone detached from the ordinary world.
For a moment, Jeong Da-hee wondered if he might not use Discord at all, but fortunately, it seemed he was indeed a person living in the modern world.
[As for Discord, I use it regularly. If you send me your code through private chat, we can continue talking over a call.]
“It’s, it’s happening!”
Jeong Da-hee’s face lit up, a wide smile spreading across her face.
Unable to contain her excitement, she cheered out loud, quickly gulping down a few glasses of water before powering on her computer to talk with her role model.
“Come on, come on…!”
The booting time, which normally would have felt short, seemed unbearably long.
Impatient, Jeong Da-hee kept glancing between the computer’s booting screen and the smartphone’s broadcast, her hands hovering over the mouse and keyboard.
As soon as the computer booted up, she quickly copied the Discord friend code and, with lightning speed, logged into Trizik to open the private chat.
[Choa’s donation of 10,000 KRW!]
“I’ve sent you the Discord code via private chat! Please check it!”
Next, Jeong Da-hee quickly set up the basic essentials of a professional streamer: a multi-monitor setup.
She displayed Cheon Hwi’s broadcast on the main monitor, while on the left-side sub-monitor, she opened Discord in full-screen mode.
Then, ahem, ahem, cough cough.
She cleared her throat to adjust her voice to a more professional tone.
Soon after, a friend request notification appeared, and Jeong Da-hee quickly accepted the request and immediately called.
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong.
After a couple of notification sounds, the call was finally connected.
“Choa, can you hear me?”
“C-c-can you hear me?!”
Flustered, her voice, which had been about to shout excitedly, cracked and faltered with a hiccup.
As Cheon Hwi went silent, checking if his voice was coming through, a flood of laughter appeared in the chat window, which had been slowly rising.
“Um, um…! C-could you pretend you didn’t hear that… please…?”
Jeong Da-hee’s face turned as red as a tomato.
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