Streamer Crazy About Slaughter - Chapter 15

“Seoyoon, Seoyoon, look at this!”

As Han Seoyoon walked towards the next lecture while organizing her belongings, she turned her head absentmindedly at her friend’s chattering beside her.

Then, she looked at the phone being held out in front of her. The familiar background displayed on the phone made Seoyoon frown and shake her head slightly.

“…Chaerin, I said I’m not playing that game.”

A spectacle of characters wielding weapons in a strange array of lights; it was obvious that the video was about the currently popular game, ‘Another World’.

“No, Seoyoon! Just once, can’t you watch it just once? It’s really a fun video. This has already gotten 4 million views on Newtube!”

Chaerin continued to cling to Seoyoon’s side as she moved her feet. A friend who was so obsessed with the game that rumors about it spread throughout the entire university, Lee Chaerin.

Seoyoon and Chaerin had been in the same class since high school, and they naturally became quite close due to their compatible personalities. Now, both attending the same university, they were as close as best friends.

“Chaerin, I’m really sorry, but I don’t play that ‘Another World’, so I don’t find the video that interesting.”

That was why, despite Chaerin’s continued pleading, Seoyoon had a nonchalant expression as she walked into the classroom.

“Ah, fine, Seoyoon. How about this? I’ll treat you to a meat restaurant tonight, how does that sound?”

“…You know I don’t eat at unlimited refill places or grilled pork belly, right?”

“Oh, of course, I know. You know I’ve seen you when I took you to places and you saved money, right?”

“No.”

Eventually, under Chaerin’s persistent urging, Seoyoon replied meekly, as if she had lost.

‘…Where is this girl getting her money from?’

For sure, her friend Chaerin had been suspiciously wealthy lately. She definitely hadn’t been that rich back in high school.

It seemed like she had been treating them to meals quite often lately.

Resolving to watch one video in exchange for dinner at a meat restaurant, Seoyoon knew there was no downside for her.

“Okay, let’s stop and watch this video slowly.”

“I’ll tell you in advance… I can’t react positively, okay?”

“Ah, it’s fine, just try to watch the video simply. Let’s go!”

Chaerin grabbed Seoyoon’s arm, leading her towards a shaded area with an excited expression on her face.

Seoyoon couldn’t help but find it fascinating that her friend would treat her to dinner just for watching one video.

How interesting could the video possibly be?

As they moved to a shaded spot under a huge tree on campus, Chaerin began playing the video with enthusiasm on her phone again.

Holding her smartphone horizontally, leaning close beside Seoyoon, Chaerin zoomed in on the video and adjusted all the settings to optimal quality, excitement written all over her face as she pressed play.

Seoyoon simply leaned back against a bench, blinking her eyes at the screen.

As the video started, Seoyoon began blinking so rapidly as if her eyes were trying to comprehend something that made no sense.

“How is it? Isn’t it really cool? Look at that silver-haired character, the customizations are super realistic!… Seoyoon, if you start the game, you can level up fast… I can really take care of you… And…”

Keenly persisting next to her, Chaerin’s words faded as Seoyoon realized she wasn’t seeing or hearing anything else but the single figure moving within the screen.

The figure of her older sister, whom she had lost contact with lately.

When she checked the integrated control system app installed on her phone that morning, her sister hadn’t even logged any outgoing records at home, not even once.

But how was it that her sister appeared in a video that her friend had played?

Seoyoon’s mind was filled with this incomprehensible question.

“…Seoyoon? Seoyoon? Are you listening to me?”

“Uh, uh?”

“Han Seoyoon! You’re seriously overdoing it. You haven’t heard a single word I’ve said, have you?”

“Chaerin, I’m sorry, I got distracted by how pretty the character in the video is…”

Her sister really was stunningly beautiful.

Even just from the appearance in the video, it was enough to leave her in awe.

“Really? I bet even ordinary people like you find that character pretty? I’ve tried to customize my character to look like that, but strangely, even after investing several hours, I just couldn’t get it right. It would be nice if that user would share their customization.”

Character, customization.

That word snapped Seoyoon back to reality.

Yes, the character resembling her sister in the video may not be her sister after all.

Then, suddenly, the view count displayed below the video caught her eye.

‘Over 4 million, for real.’

The viewing count of around 4.2 million and the video had only been uploaded just over a day ago.

“…Chaerin, is that female character in the video someone famous?”

“That character? Yeah, she’s famous. Since yesterday, there have been discussions all over various communities and Newtube about that female user.”

“Then she suddenly became famous from yesterday?”

“Well, if you put it that way, I guess so?”

For sure… Seoyoon was aware that one of her sister’s hobbies was gaming.

But had she played ‘Another World’? Seoyoon couldn’t be sure.

Her sister was a gaming enthusiast on par with Chaerin, if not more so.

And the character in that video bore an uncanny resemblance to her sister.

Considering that ‘Another World’ was a game based on “virtual reality,” the possibility that it could be her sister seemed very high.

“……What on earth are you thinking, Sister Serin?”

Seoyoon couldn’t help but murmur.

Social anxiety.

Depression.

Since childhood, her sister had attracted all sorts of worthless people due to her exceptional looks, so her sister, who had always shown a passive behavior out of fear of people, wasn’t she?

Knowing that those symptoms had worsened with their parents’ recent unfortunate incident, Seoyoon found herself subconsciously worried.

“….Seoyoon, what’s wrong?”

“Chaerin, I’m really sorry, but I don’t think I can attend the next lecture. Can you tell the professor for me?”

“Okay, but why all of a sudden? Seoyoon, is something wrong?”

At Seoyoon’s sudden change, Chaerin quickly wiped the disappointed look off her face, her expression turning worried.

“Yeah, I think I have something urgent, and I need to head out soon.”

Seoyoon’s plan to wait until the weekend to visit her sister suddenly changed.

For whatever reason, she felt the need to see her sister right away.

After all, the only family left in this world for her was her sister and herself.

When her sister was going through a tough time, shouldn’t she be there to support her? Lately, Seoyoon had been increasingly preoccupied with that thought.

So, Seoyoon ultimately decided to forego the lecture and visit her sister.

“…Okay, be careful. Call me immediately if something happens, understood?”

“Yeah. Thank you so much, Chaerin, I’ll treat you to something big next weekend.”

“Forget it, you don’t need to.”

Expressing her gratitude towards Chaerin, who was looking out for her, Seoyoon finally left campus and started walking to meet her sister.

***

Beep.

Having just woken up, Han Serin immediately turned on her PC.

While she shook off the remnants of her drowsiness, she picked up her phone to check the time—it was already late afternoon.

‘…How long did I sleep?’

She just closed her eyes for a moment, and now it was 4 PM.

She hadn’t even slept in late at night; it felt like she had gone to bed early due to her intense fatigue.

In the process of tying her tousled silver hair neatly to one side, Serin navigated through her bookmarked community sites and unexpectedly stumbled upon a rare piece of news.

A single post at the very top of the community hot topics.

It was a post related to her.

[The user ‘Lin’ has officially been declared clean by the game company regarding cheating claims; here’s the attached document. JPG]

When she clicked the post, a photo that appeared to be the game company’s announcement came up first.

――――― We would like to inform you about a user embroiled in cheating allegations. ―――――

Hello, dear players of Another World,

Another World has always strived for a clean game. We have continuously endeavored to create a seamless gaming environment free of discomfort.

And this remains one of our top priorities that has not changed, as we continue to expand our relevant personnel and work diligently.

Currently, we have confirmed that there has been significant controversy over a user who has garnered attention all day, referred to as ‘Lin.’ Our management team has reviewed this matter.

After meticulous verification, we have concluded that ‘Lin’ is not a user utilizing so-called ‘cheats’ or ‘unauthorized programs’ but rather an ordinary user.

We would like to emphasize again that our security specialists and key management have conducted multiple thorough reviews, and no anomalies were found in the process.

We thank all players who enjoy Another World and remain committed to being a better gaming company.

Thank you.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

“What is this… This game company handles things pretty well?”

After reading the clean and straightforward statement that had no superfluous details, emphasizing security, Serin felt a refreshing sense of clarity, like a load was lifted from her chest.

Before she even inquired, the announcement from the Another World game company came out just under a day after the controversy arose.

That was the strongest evidence she could have that she wasn’t a cheat user, and the swift response of the Another World game company showed that they valued their individual users.

Moreover, judging by the time of the post, it seemed to have been uploaded around 1 AM? It had been remarkably quick, much faster than she had anticipated.

In stark contrast to her previous experiences playing the trash game Black Ark, where responses were slow, updates meant little, and the management showed an indifferent attitude towards users.

There were also various incidents, bugs, and neglect of punishment for users, among other issues.

Unlike the game company of Black Ark, which seemed to embody all those terrible qualities as a whole, the game company behind Another World showed none of those shortcomings.

Quickly scrolling down, Serin reviewed the comments on the hot topic post.

Since comments had continuously been added since the early hours of the previous night while she was sleeping, there were already over 600 comments on the announcement stating she wasn’t a cheat user.

[What? Was that skill?]

[LOL, the cheaters vanished as soon as the announcement came out, right?]

[Wasn’t this the guy who was a cheat user until yesterday?]

[If you only look at the Newtube video that was newly uploaded yesterday, they were clearly logged in without hiding, didn’t I say they weren’t a cheater?]

[The Another World game company works really fast; who puts up an announcement at dawn? LOL]

[Who is this ‘Lin,’ anyway? Are they a hidden expert or something?]

[An adorable, hidden expert!]

“No way… When did they shield me?”

Even while reading those comments, Serin felt utterly baffled.

It was as if the commenters had known all along she wasn’t a cheat user, and now that the announcement stating she wasn’t had come out, they changed their stance.

Her disbelief only grew stronger as she recalled that nobody had defended her in the posts labeling her a cheat user, but now they were openly commenting as if they had foreseen this.

“Well… anyway, this feels refreshing.”

Now, there was nothing to hinder her.

Having unwittingly gained notoriety, there was no reason for her to be troubled by playing or streaming games.

‘Oh, then isn’t there no reason for me to stream anymore?’

Suddenly feeling as if she no longer had a reason to stream, she had initially planned to broadcast to deny being accused of cheating.

“Still, I did spend hours yesterday studying how to be a streamer.”

But now, the thought of not streaming made her regret the efforts she had put into exploring how to stream throughout the day yesterday.

While Serin was immersed in this thought, there was an unexpected knock at the door.

“…?”