I Quit Being an Idol and Became a Youtuber - Chapter 23
On a quiet afternoon, on a day when office workers had boarded the subway after work.
The scenery outside the window, which she glanced at absentmindedly, was bathed in a red sunset as if it were revealing her future.
“······.”
Ren quietly turned on her computer and started her broadcast.
Her eyes were dead, like an iced fish.
How long had it been since the broadcast began? With a notification sound, viewers started to enter.
– Is today the day?
– Finally going to see it?
– Everyone, take a number and line up!
– Hahaha, eyes are dead!
Unlike usual, the reactions in the chat were united as one.
“Hoo·····.”
Cheongha let out a long sigh.
The title she had written explained the current situation simply and clearly.
[Starting Horror Game]
Really, this was the situation she wanted to avoid the most.
‘Why did I accept such a mission······!’
Cheongha silently screamed.
The events leading to this incident began on the day she first played Battlefield.
*
Battlefield, the national game of streamers that anyone can play without issue.
The much-awaited first match ended in a roadkill.
“Still, this seems more fun than I expected.”
While failing aim practice by avoiding people, she still gained something.
‘I guess I’m not seriously that bad.’
Until now, she thought she was terrible, but surprisingly her skill might be similar to others.
Unless it’s a curse that ruins one’s life, it’s not like she’s under a curse for being bad at games. With proper practice, her skill could rise.
[League Increased]
[Beginner League → Novice League]
Thanks to placing 4th out of 100 players, her play ranking increased with the experience points earned.
From now on, she should be able to play with slightly better players.
A sense of confidence and accomplishment bloomed in her heart.
‘This reminds me of my debut day.’
Thinking back, the number of viewers at that time was similar to the current viewership.
Just like that underground concert venue she performed in back then, this was still a Hako room too.
As she was lost in memories of her debut, a message arrived at the top of the broadcast screen.
Ding—!
[The Guardian of the Hako Room has set a mission.]
“What? A mission?”
+ +
[Mission: Eat Chicken]
[Prize: 100,000 won]
[Time Limit: 2 hours]
+ +
“100,000 won·····?”
It was a large amount for a Hako streamer with about 30 viewers.
Did her broadcast surprisingly catch someone’s interest?
– Oh, 100,000?
– That person spends money well.
– He keeps setting missions every time he comes to the Hako room.
Some viewers seemed to recognize him as a somewhat famous explorer.
– Is there no penalty or anything?
– Yeah, 100,000 is quite a lot.
– Isn’t 2 hours quite generous?
– Can the anchor handle it? Hahaha
With the mission dropped suddenly, the viewers began to get excited.
“No, if I fail, I just won’t get the money.”
Cheongha spoke incredulously at the chat’s reaction.
Usually, if a streamer failed a mission, they wouldn’t get a penalty.
It would just end with them not receiving any money.
Isn’t it disappointing to miss out on money without having to get punished too?
At that moment, another message appeared on the screen. This time it was a donation message.
[The Guardian of the Hako Room donated 1,000 won]
– Add 100,000 more and call it a failure penalty for a horror game?
The message flowed in with the basic voice of the livestream.
“·····What? A horror game?”
Cheongha’s eyes widened as she read the message.
In her previous life, she generally liked most creative works.
Even if it was a terrible flop, as long as it didn’t cross the line too much, she would rate it somewhat okay.
However, even she had two genres that she hated the most in the world.
One was gore, and the other was horror.
“Ah, horror games are a bit·····.”
Without realizing it, her body shrank involuntarily.
– Is the anchor scared?
– Got scared! Hahaha
– That cold-looking avatar shrank! Hahaha
– Scared queen’s voice? Possible.
– But if she plays like just now, it might actually be possible.
– Let’s just get the last hit.
“···I’m not scared.”
It’s just scary.
Fear and being scared are definitely different feelings. At least, that’s how she thought.
[The Guardian of the Hako Room updated the mission.]
– Then go.
“······Yes?”
[Mission: Eat Chicken → Place in Top 5 (If failed, horror game)]
[Prize: 100,000 → 200,000]
[Time Limit: 2 hours]
Clink—
With the sound of coins jiggling, the prize for the mission increased.
200,000 won.
Now it was a considerably large amount for her as well.
Moreover, it was surprising that the difficulty of the mission had decreased.
‘·····What should I do now.’
With this, it would be awkward to refuse outright.
While she was seriously pondering in her head, her reason kept shouting.
If she were her usual self, she would have rationally thought it through and refused the mission immediately.
In both her past and present lives, she was someone who utterly disliked horror.
But unfortunately, she was not in her right mind at this moment.
This time, she had just assembled a new computer, and she had just placed 4th.
An unknown source of confidence and achievement began to spread.
‘Anyway, if I win, it doesn’t matter, right?’
Success wouldn’t come to those who assume they cannot do it without even trying.
‘And, I’ve spent a lot lately.’
Including a new computer, broadcasting equipment was expensive, and her bank balance had decreased significantly.
Though she could hold on for a few more months, the fact that every penny was precious didn’t change.
Currently, she couldn’t even make a living solely through broadcasting, and there was no source of income coming in for the time being.
“I’ll do it; I just have to win, right?”
[The mission has been accepted.]
Saying that, Cheongha pressed the acceptance button.
⸺Looking back now, I was really crazy.
Regardless of future or past, it was a scene where I would grab myself by the collar in any time period I saw.
*
The next match started without delay.
Cheongha wore an unusually serious expression.
‘This time, I have to go for it.’
There were three things needed for this game.
First was quick action.
Second was precise aim.
Lastly, luck.
‘Honestly, if you just have the last one, the others aren’t really necessary, right?’
Especially this time, luck was unbelievably important.
Good guns, solid armor, and many healing items were virtually the keys to victory.
‘If I lose this time, it would be a real disaster.’
I absolutely detest ghosts or monsters.
No, it’s not just a dislike; it’s even scarier not knowing what might happen.
“Places with many buildings near the road, that’s right?”
– Yeah, that’s right.
Cheongha quickly entered the building recommended by the viewers from the last match.
There would be a lot of people since there were many good items, but as long as she could farm quickly, it would be fine.
Surely, just because she ascended to the next league, the players’ skills wouldn’t instantly improve, right?
Since everyone was still a novice, if she hid well just like before, it was certainly possible to record high rankings.
– But what if the seasoned players play with alternate accounts?
– Then it’s just gonna be a mess, haha.
– Who wants this match to just explode?
– Honestly, don’t people want to see the anchor scream?
– I agree, I want to see her cry.
– These devilish guys…
“I, this time, won’t d*e so easily.”
What’s with these people? Do they see me as a noob?
Cheongha’s expression hardened at the sight of the chattering viewers.
Boom—
Could it be that others were also starting to come for farming? She could hear the sound of car engines outside.
“Ugh·····”
Thud—
Small footsteps could be heard from the first floor.
Cheongha crouched. There was no way she could walk around making that much noise.
– Click
As the footsteps drew closer, Cheongha held the AK-47 she had just farmed.
Creak—
With the sound of the wooden door opening, Cheongha’s rifle fired at the door.
Tada-da-dang—!
“Processed.”
A pitiful victim who succumbed to the desperate instinct of a former idol lay helplessly on the floor.
[Newbeidlaslek11 was killed by Chungha24]
Fortunately, this time it was a normal person, not AI.
– Why does that person fall so pathetically? Haha.
– Ah, that’s so cruel…!
“Well then, let’s see what you’ve got·····.”
Ignoring the viewers’ reactions, she began to rummage through the corpse’s backpack.
It seemed she had begun to develop some immunity to chat by now.
“Ah, a fireman’s axe?”
In Battlefield, one person could carry three weapons.
Two ranged weapons and one melee weapon.
Naturally, being an FPS game, firearms served as the main weapons, but it didn’t mean that items like frying pans or crowbars weren’t usable.
Yet, perhaps considering that people wouldn’t use some weapons, a few had unique functionalities.
The hammer was for repairing, the crowbar was for dismantling, and the frying pan could somewhat block bullets coming from behind.
Among those, the fireman’s axe had the function of breaking through wooden items like fences or drawers.
In that sense, this was quite a decent weapon for her to hold.
If necessary, she could break through walls to escape.
There weren’t any special items left.
“This feels good. Let’s keep going like this.”
Now that she had farmed enough here, it was time to move to another area.
After stepping outside the building, she got on the buggy that was sitting on the roadside.
It hadn’t been there just a moment ago, so she guessed it must have been the previous player’s ride.
“Well, I got the weapons, so now I’ll just hide.”
Since she only had to place in the top 5 this round, there was no need for her to fight head-on.
– Anchor, isn’t that a bit sneaky…?
– Wow, that’s seriously underhanded. Haha.
– Captain, this isn’t what we wanted to see?
Cheongha gracefully ignored the chat that was reacting to her comment.
So what? They didn’t set those conditions, right?
I can’t deal with ghosts this way.