Chapter 72: Influencer (2)

Sometimes, Japanese viewers would show up in my stream.

They’d type clumsy Korean chat messages, busy trying to undermine my skills, though I had no idea where they got their translations from.

Of course, the Evil Gang quickly identified these Japanese viewers and naturally ostracized them.

It was true that there was no villain like me for the Japanese.

From the start, the content that had initially drawn viewers’ attention with high tension was nationalist content.

Naturally, people from other countries didn’t like me.

“Can you play this without an ID?”

“…Yes.”

“Oh, thank goodness. I was worried about what to do because I don’t have an ID.”

– Not “don’t have,” but “banned.”

– Has the ban not been lifted from last time?

– Lol, would you want to lift the ban if you were the game company?

– For real, lol.

– Look at him shamelessly saying that. He’s so cute I want to give him a kiss on the lips.

The viewers’ reactions were predictably enthusiastic.

They were getting all fired up, making jokes about “Liphatman Returns” and such.

On the other hand, I could sense complicated emotions from the booth manager staring at me.

At that moment, Na-young, who was beside me, smiled and spoke.

“They say there’s a two-player mode. Want to play together, Chan-sik?”

“Shall we?”

Combining Na-young’s and my viewer counts, there were about 40,000 people watching.

The booth manager seemed to be aware of this, hesitating to outright refuse us.

I’d heard that they had made sure the map wouldn’t appear for Korean IPs…

Such a petty tactic. Do they think they can cover the sky with their hands?

The existence of that map had already been blatantly exposed on my stream.

It was still an annoying game.

I smiled slightly and spoke to the manager.

“The viewers are really curious, so we’ll just play once and leave. And I’m interested in those event prizes too.”

“W-what?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll give you good publicity this time. We’re all just trying to make a living, right?”

When I spoke with a subtle tone, the manager finally nodded with a heavy expression.

If rumors spread that the booth kicked out a streamer at VR Star, it would be quite unfavorable for them.

They were already clutching at straws.

They were lagging behind in Japan, and if they didn’t act aggressively like this, they had no way out.

Well, it was a doomed game from the start anyway.

Still, seeing it here, I couldn’t help but feel a bit pleased.

Wouldn’t this make a good video for AkTube?

Anyway, after a moment of hesitation, the manager led us to a place prepared for streamers.

There were other guests who had arrived earlier.

It was Sae-rin nuna and Yoo-seon nuna from ChickenBox.

They had just finished a game and were getting out of the capsules when they met our eyes.

“Chan-sik?”

“Hello, nunas.”

“Hi there!”

“Hey, don’t you think it’s a bit… crossing the line for you to play this game?”

Sae-rin nuna smiled faintly as she looked at me.

There were filming drones slowly flying around them.

It seemed they were also streaming.

I shrugged and smiled at Sae-rin nuna’s words.

“They said it’s allowed.”

At my cheeky reply, Sae-rin nuna patted my back a few times and then looked at Na-young standing next to me.

She reached out for a handshake and said,

“I really enjoy watching your streams, Na-young. It’s much more fun than Chan-sik’s.”

Then Na-young took her offered hand with both of hers and responded.

“You look even prettier in person! I watch your and SunCat’s videos on MeTube every day. I even subscribed!”

SunCat, that is Yoo-seon nuna, was quite popular among men, while Sae-rin nuna had a large female following, owning her girl crush charm.

Na-young bowed politely to the two female streamers.

They smiled as they looked at Na-young.

“From now on, just call us unnie comfortably. You’re the same age as Chan-sik, right? What do you think, Yoo-seon unnie?”

“Sounds good. Who wouldn’t love such a cute younger sister?”

“Oh! Really, can I?”

“Of course.”

I nodded approvingly as I watched her quickly building rapport.

It was a relief that Na-young was fitting in well.

With this, she had probably secured her spot, and it would be great if she could collaborate with other female streamers.

As their chatter continued, the manager standing next to us cautiously spoke.

“Um… there are others waiting behind you…”

“Oh, where’s my mind? Chan-sik, come visit the Twipod booth with Na-young later.”

“The Twipod booth? There’s something like that?”

“Yeah, Yoo-seon nuna’s merchandise is being sold there today. Come buy a few things.”

“…Why do you have to say that so embarrassingly?”

“Unnie! We need to sell!”

– Note… Twipod booth… SunCat… merch.

– SunCat looks beautiful as always.

– So cuteㅠㅠ

– Can I hang out with pretty girls like that if I start streaming?

– Lol, nope, you’d be a small-time streamer.

– I’m so jealous of our villain today.

“Hey, do you guys like this so much even when I’m not saying anything? Then why do you watch my stream?”

– ???

– Lol, just shut up and play Samurai Wars, lol.

– You’re most attractive when you keep your mouth shut.

– For real, lol.

– Why are you acting up again?

Sometimes, watching my viewers made me feel annoyed.

Anyway, after briefly greeting us, the two women giggled and left the booth.

Good, now it was time to play the game.

After our brief encounter ended, Na-young and I entered the capsule reserved for streamers.

[Welcome to the trial mode of !]

[ boasts the best action! A game that will satisfy all your senses.]

Simple notification messages appeared in front of me as the game’s intro video played.

The intro video, showing ninjas, samurais, and other heroes of the game using their flashy skills in battle, played vividly.

Every time, I felt that the intro video was dazzling.

Moreover, from my previous play experience, the game itself had no major issues.

It was just irritating.

Watching the videos, I grinned.

I didn’t know what modes were available, but I should make a good video after a long time, right?

As I smiled, a new message popped up in front of me.

[Please choose your nickname for the trial mode!]

There was no room for hesitation.

“LittleBoyFatMan.”

A nickname that had once created countless memes before being gloriously banned!

In trial mode, I should be able to use it again, right?

But my hopes were dashed.

[This nickname cannot be used! (Reason: Inappropriate, Political)]

– Lolololololololol

– Did a game also retire your nickname?

– Eternal retired nickname, legend lol.

– Already a nickname lost in history!

What a pity!

### 4.

The trial mode of was slightly different from what I had expected.

Choosing your desired hero was the same, but the gameplay was quite different.

Instead of modes like or , it was more of a story mode.

You had to team up with another player to break through AI bots and reach the destination.

It seemed like a mode specially prepared for this VR Star event.

– Hook Master ON

– It’s been so long since I’ve seen Hook Master, lol

– Hasn’t our villain not played Samurai Wars since then?

– Who would play this kind of Japanese-pandering game again? There’s no reason to play unless it’s a chore.

– But thanks to our villain, the game has changed a lot. Even in the Japanese pro league, they’re all using the hook like Yoru, lol

So the pro league still exists.

I thought all the Japanese pro gamers would retire after , but it seems they’re still hanging on.

Anyway, the hero I chose now was .

It was the hero I had a lot of fun with during the last “Japan Sinking” event.

I casually swung the hook around and looked to the side.

There, Na-young had finished choosing her hero and was drawing the sword from her waist.

“This is fascinating.”

A samurai-type hero named Ken.

My memory was fuzzy, but I remembered this hero being quite difficult to play.

It had a difficulty level similar to ninja-type heroes, with performance greatly varying based on physical skill.

But since the difficulty of the trial mode wasn’t that high, it didn’t really matter.

Just enjoy the game.

“Na-young.”

“Yes?”

“I want to win the first prize.”

Na-young then smiled faintly, nodded, and replied.

“You mean just follow your lead?”

“Oh, does it sound like that?”

“I’ll try my best to follow.”

“Take your time.”

As long as one person reached the destination, it didn’t matter much.

Na-young had only experienced Samurai Wars through my videos.

In other words, she was a beginner.

Her mindset had to be different from mine, who was aiming for the top prize in the time attack.

I adjusted my grip on the hook and glanced at the chat.

“I’m going to give away the capsule I win as a viewer event, so cheer me on. Got it?”

The Phoenix Infinity was now a symbol of high technology supplied to most streamers.

I heard even pro gamers only used the Infinity.

Naturally, it was expensive.

At my bombshell announcement, the viewers cheered.

– Our villain! Our villain! Our villain! Our villain!

– Oh, king. Oh, king. Oh, king.

– If it were me, I’d sell the capsule on the second-hand market right away.

– What a generous viewer event!

– Shayo? He was… the best streamer I’ve ever seen.

I was ready to go all out to win the event prize.

I grinned broadly as I looked ahead.

The map was quite simple.

There were seven gates in total, each guarded by a hero and some minions.

Because of its tutorial nature, it showcased a wide variety of heroes.

Ninjas, samurais, shamans, healers.

Heroes representing each category were visible.

Thanks to playing Samurai Wars before, I recognized a few heroes.

[Do you want to start the time attack?]

“Let’s go.”

[Time attack is starting!]

From now on, I had to proceed as quickly as possible.

According to Sae-rin nuna and Yoo-seon nuna, who had played earlier, the trial mode wasn’t very difficult.

The minions could be taken down with a single hit if struck accurately, and the AI of the heroes wasn’t very sophisticated.

Thus, I wasn’t too worried and was confident I could take first place.

Once I’ve played a game, I was confident more than anyone in the world.

However, I soon realized something was off.

“What the… Why aren’t they dying in one hit?”

The minions, which were supposed to be taken out in one hit, didn’t go down easily, and the AI heroes, said to be dumb, began to showcase skill combos more impressive than those of many players. �

– Lololololol

– Did the booth manager secretly change the difficulty setting?

– Difficulty

– This is so petty, lol

– Truly the descendants of Petty Leaf Village.

It was such an obvious trick that even the viewers noticed at once.

However, I nodded with a delighted grin.

“It’s more satisfying when it’s difficult, right?”

They might be struggling desperately to stop me…

But no way!