44,000 Followers
Gazing at the number displayed on the streaming site, I nodded with a slight sense of satisfaction.
Though I hadn’t actively done anything to instigate it, a series of consecutive events had propelled my channel to this absurd level of rapid growth.
Considering that even over the past three days, during which I’d only engaged in field hunting without any major incidents, my follower count had steadily climbed, it was safe to assume the channel itself had entered a consistent growth trajectory.
“…How truly remarkable,” I mused.
Of course, I had no intention of acting conceited about this fact.
This wasn’t due to any exceptional personal talent, but rather the result of a truly immense benefit.
Nevertheless, joy was joy.
No, had this been an achievement earned through arduous effort, the joy would have been of a different kind altogether.
Currently, it felt more like the dazed sensation of winning the lottery overnight.
Hopefully, I wouldn’t develop some kind of ‘celebrity sickness’ (TL Note: A Korean slang term, ‘yeonyeinbyeong,’ referring to the arrogance or self-importance that can come with sudden fame) from all this.
“Oh, right.”
As thoughts of celebrity sickness crossed my mind, I suddenly recalled the business card I had received at the gym a few days prior.
ENB Entertainment, I believed it was called. It seemed to be a rather famous talent agency in this world.
Having never been particularly interested in such matters, I hadn’t paid it much mind, but it was true that I knew almost none of the celebrities mentioned.
Male celebrities, in particular, seemed practically extinct.
Was that why they had given me a business card? Yet, if so, why had they merely tossed the card at me and then fled?
Honestly, it made no sense from any angle.
Thus, I hadn’t bothered to contact them.
“Me, a celebrity?”
I let out a small, self-deprecating laugh.
It was truly something I had never once considered in my entire life.
While my internet broadcast was doing well thanks to various factors, being a celebrity was an entirely different matter.
“No interest here~”
Smiling, I equipped my smartwear.
Even the things I currently had on my plate were already overwhelming.
–Hyunha~~~~~
–He’s starting the stream 20 minutes early lolololol
–Came early, f***ing praise him, give him a kiss, right now, damn it
–No no, damn it, why should I be punished for coming early lolololol
–Are you choosing your class now that you’re logging in?
“Yes, I’ll probably choose a class, then meet Mado, and we’ll head into the world together.”
–What class are you picking? Are you going with Elemental Magic again?
–But haven’t you mostly played melee characters, even when hunting? I feel like you’ll go with Spellblade.
–I heard from others who’ve advanced that Spellblade feels pretty good early on, yeah.
–For real, they say it’s better than the previous game.
–Actually, it’s hard to tell right now lololol.
Only about 0.3% of all users have advanced their class; it’ll probably take a month for things to really take shape.
Everyone was discussing what class I would choose.
Naturally, they were curious, as I had never explicitly stated my intentions.
It wasn’t that I had been keeping it a secret for this particular day; rather, I genuinely hadn’t decided what I would do.
While I could always create another alt character, the first character I created would likely become my main, fostering a greater sense of attachment.
Poof—!
With a puff of smoke, I spawned in the Beginner’s Village.
Specifically, I was in front of the house belonging to Lartein, the class advancement instructor NPC.
The crowd swarming before his house turned their heads towards me at the shout of one individual.
“Wow, it’s Hyun!”
“…What? Hyun?”
“It’s really him? Whoa, insane. This is awesome.”
“Oppa, you look better in real life than on stream~!”
“This isn’t real life either, though?”
Responding to the shouts from all directions with a slight bow and a smile, I pushed my way through the throng.
Honestly, who was I to receive such attention? While I wished I could answer each person individually, the situation simply didn’t allow for it.
Having navigated through the crowd, I finally reached the entrance of Lartein’s house.
Fortunately, there wasn’t a backlog of users waiting to advance their classes, allowing me to enter without difficulty.
Whoosh—
“…Oh.”
It seemed some kind of sound barrier had been erected, as the boisterous noise from outside was completely muffled within.
Moreover, the serene atmosphere of the garden made me feel at ease just by looking at it.
As I was admiring the tranquil scenery, an elderly, white-haired gentleman emerged from deeper within the garden.
“…It’s quite noisy out there. Have you come to advance your class as well?”
“Yes, I have.”
Lartein hummed, casting a displeased glance my way.
In the real world, he would have been just an ordinary NPC, but here, he was quite popular.
He had a certain ‘middle-aged coolness’ (TL Note: ‘Jungnyeon ganji,’ referring to a charismatic and stylish aura often associated with older, distinguished men) about him, or something of that nature.
“You appear to be qualified enough. Come this way and cross the bridge.”
He gestured towards a bridge spanning a corner of the lake.
I simply nodded in response and stepped onto it.
The bridge creaked and swayed beneath my feet.
As I unconsciously walked forward, focused only on what lay ahead, I suddenly noticed that my surroundings had changed.
The bridge was gone, as were the lake and garden.
It was an utterly dark space, just like when logging into the game.
From within that space, a woman’s voice resonated in my ears.
[ Do you desire the power to save the world? If so, I shall grant it to you… ]
Accompanying that voice, which seemed to whisper directly into my mind, a total of thirty-two class options materialized before my eyes.
“…There truly are a lot.”
–For real lol, how are there 32 classes lololol
–And that’s 32 *excluding* the 3 special advancements; so there are actually 35 classes~
–Spiral 1 had 27, which was already a ridiculous number, but it’s increased even more, yeah…
Artificer, Puppeteer, Blood Blade, Bowmaster, Pathfinder… I scrolled through the countless classes, examining each one.
Then, I paused at one particular class.
Elemental Sorcerer.
Frankly, by sheer inertia, I probably would have chosen this one again.
After all, it was undeniably fun, and I’d heard there were quite a few changes from the previous game.
“A shame, but I’ll pass.”
However, my thoughts had shifted in various ways lately.
I pushed that option to the very end of the list, then resumed scrolling through the others one by one.
“…Here it is.”
The place my finger finally stopped was likely a choice many would not have anticipated.
–No, damn it, you’re choosing *that*?
–No no, sir, you said you’d pick something that goes well with Artificer, considering you’d be playing with Mado often lolololol
–Truly an unexpected identity lolololol O_O
“This will go well with Mado. Probably.”
–”Probably” my ass lolololol
–No, how the hell does a Necro go well with an Artificer lolololol
–I’ve never heard of that combo in my life, for real.
The class I had chosen was Necromancer.
It was the very class that, since the previous game, had earned the nickname ‘Hands-Behind-Back Necro’ (TL Note: ‘Dwitjim neku,’ referring to a Necromancer who typically relies on summoned creatures while the player remains passive) for its tendency to operate summons while the player stood idly by.
Therefore, the audience’s reaction was, to some extent, entirely understandable.
“…But my Necromancer is a little different, you see. I’ll show you.”
–No, are you really going for it? Not kidding?
–Why would you play a Necro with *that* physique lolololol
–No no no no no, wait a minute, sir
–Everyone’s gonna die like this~~~~~~~
The chat window roared with protests, all expressing the same sentiment of dissuasion.
Ignoring them, I pressed the class advancement button.
〈Do you wish to obtain the power of the deceased, having overcome death—〉
Accompanying that, the guiding voice for class advancement echoed.
The audience’s reaction could be perfectly summarized by a single chat message that had just appeared.
–No, damn it, I don’t want that kind of power lolololol
I was truly, utterly despised.
****
Mado, whom I was meeting for the first time in nearly four days, appeared quite well.
I had been a little worried, even calling her on the contact number I’d received earlier after the stream ended, but back then, she hadn’t sounded well at all, panting throughout the call.
But now, she was positively glowing.
Of course, this was based on her in-game appearance, but it usually reflected her real-life condition to some extent.
“…Necro, is this for real?”
However, her expression betrayed a look of utter disgust, as if she had just bitten into a cockroach.
Truly, it was a face I had never seen on her since I’d known her.
“Yes, since I won’t be playing alone, I thought this would be better than something like Elemental Magic.”
“…You think so?”
Her doubt and disbelief were plainly evident on her face.
Her pouting lips were quite irritating; I almost felt like pinching them.
“Just trust me this once.
When I first met you, you didn’t believe in Elemental Magic either, did you? I saw it in your past streams.”
“No, honestly. Why bring that up…? I quickly acknowledged your skill after seeing you play well then.”
Mado stammered a defense, a bead of cold sweat subtly forming.
I smiled back at her and said,
“It’s the same with this.
Once you try it, you’ll change your mind. Try me today.”
“…Try you? Hyun?”
“Yes. I’ll show you how truly delicious it can be. I think you have every reason to be excited.”
“…Gulp.”
Was it really that good?
Watching her blush and gulp repeatedly, I found myself feeling pleased as well.
It seemed that after playing together a few times, a certain level of trust had indeed built up.
–Me too, damn it, I want to try him too
–Open the restaurant!!!!!!!!!!!
–Mado, that b*tch, her mind is already messed up lolololol
–The chat seems messed up too; damn it, why aren’t the messages coming in, you bitches, type faster!!!!!!!!
–Typing with one hand right now lololol
–Ugh, damn, the chat smells like squid;;
