“What is it with this? Every time I wake up, some new incident explodes. It’s absurd. I swear, lately I feel like I’m being secretly filmed. You’re all AIs, aren’t you?”
[How did you know? You figured it out, lolol.]
[EMERGENCYYYYYYYY The test subject figured it out.]
[Actually, all of this is an experiment orchestrated by the state, and—]
[I’m not sure what you’re saying. Could you please repeat that? (In a TTS voice)]
…Everyone seems to be having a blast.
Indeed, from the viewers’ perspective, it must be quite exciting.
Their favorite streamer has spread overseas, with clips circulating everywhere.
[The Korean male streamer whom Japan fears and America trembles before, hahaha.]
[Seriously, you can’t find a case like this anywhere else in the world; it’s on another level.]
[This is it, lolol. Taste the K-manliness (TL Note: A vulgar Korean slang term, ‘K-gochu,’ literally ‘K-chili pepper,’ used here to boast about Korean virility in a crude way), you Yankees, lolol.]
[Excuse me, but I’d like to taste that first…]
[That queue stretches from Jamsil (TL Note: A district in Seoul) to Hapjeong Station (TL Note: A subway station in Seoul). Please take a number.]
[These crazy bitches are seriously going to get sued soon, lolololol.]
Looking at the chat window, a sigh involuntarily escaped me.
These people truly have nothing but teasing on their minds.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely bad news; in fact, it was closer to good news.
Actually, the online public opinion was surprisingly favorable, so when I secretly did an ego-search before starting the broadcast, I was quite astonished.
It was truly the first time I’d seen community posts this clean. Except for the occasional sexually explicit posts that seemed to come from VPN users.
If anything, those communities seemed even more hardcore than typical male-dominated communities. Even I, who had grown somewhat accustomed, found my head spinning when I read them.
Right now, there were a few crazy people in the chat window, too.
“…Alright, let’s rein in the crazy talk. Today, we’re going to log in and open the tutorial rewards.”
Calming the chat window, which was slowly losing its mind, I logged in with the character that had completed the tutorial.
[You have cleared the tutorial!]
[Clear rewards are being distributed!]
[Superior HP Potion (Lv 25 or below, Untradeable) X 50]
[Superior MP Potion (Lv 25 or below, Untradeable) X 50]
[Mystical Beginner Weapon Selection Ticket X 1]
[Mystical Beginner Armor Selection Ticket X 5]
[Mystical Beginner Accessory Selection Ticket X 3]
[Storage Expansion Ticket (25 Slots) X 1]
[Town Mount Gacha Ticket X 1]
“Oh, wow.”
Seeing the list, a slight gasp of admiration escaped me. They said there wasn’t much difference, but the rewards were better than I expected.
Then again, it seemed the Storage Expansion Ticket and Mount Gacha Ticket were likely bonus rewards for higher difficulties, so perhaps it was just a generally good haul.
Even the Beginner Equipment Selection Tickets would need to be replaced once I reached Level 25, when class advancements became available.
[Wow, they give a mount gacha ticket?! Isn’t that worth 50,000 won (TL Note: Approximately 38 USD)?]
[No, it’s good, but lolol, honestly, a town mount is a bit stingy.]
[Seriously, if I had to clear that difficulty just for this, I’d probably just pay the 50,000 won.]
[They said there wouldn’t be a difference in tutorial difficulty, lolol. Of course, the easy difficulty doesn’t get the ‘Mystical’ prefix on equipment tickets, though.]
The audience’s reactions were unexceptional. In truth, I wasn’t the only one who had cleared the Impossible difficulty, so it was highly probable they had already seen this elsewhere.
I opened the personal storage interface, placed the potions inside, and then used the Storage Expansion Ticket.
“I’ll just use a one-handed sword for the weapon. I’ve kind of fallen out of love with greatswords.”
[Lolol, but it’s too much for a beginner, unless you’re going for romance.]
[Honestly, greatswords don’t really suit a man, haha.]
[?? A male swordsman wielding a massive sword, muscles glistening with sweat, is seriously hot.]
[Ugh, these crazy bitches are just spewing their weird fetishes.]
[Strong men… distorted desires…]
The weapon selection granted a one-handed sword, imbued with a reasonably useful Mystical effect of Sharpness increase.
For armor, I chose a leather set for the top and bottom, both of which received a durability increase.
The remaining helmet and boots came with a Mystical effect of slightly increased defense. Finally, when I drew the gloves, a dazzling effect burst forth, unlike any other.
*Bam-ba-ra-bam!* (TL Note: Onomatopoeia for a fanfare or trumpet sound.)
A trumpet sound accompanied by a burst of radiance and sparkling stardust.
Floating in the air alongside it was a pair of gray gloves.
[Werewolf Leather Gloves of Damage Amplification (Mystical, Unique)]
▶Equip Requirement: Level 1+, Beginner
▶Physical Defense: 5
▶Magical Defense: 10
▶Increased damage for all physical attacks: 5%
▶Increased damage for all ice-attribute attacks: 7%
“…My, what a mouthful of a name.”
Seriously, the item name was like a piled-high bowl of rice.
To be honest, I didn’t have any particularly grand impressions.
Spirial’s equipment grades were divided into Normal, Rare, Unique, Legendary, Epic, and Transcendent.
Naturally, the equipment I used in the previous game was entirely decked out with top-tier Transcendent options.
Even in my original world, where I barely spent any money, I only compromised slightly on options; most of my gear was Transcendent.
“Still, I’ll probably use this well for a while.”
Of course, it was quite lucky to have pulled a Unique item for this level of equipment.
By the standards of the previous game, would the probability have been about one percent?
After that, I used the remaining accessory gacha tickets.
They generally came with decent, neither good nor bad, options, and since I hadn’t expected much, I remained indifferent.
[I’m really curious what mount will come out, lolol.]
[Yeah, equipment performance doesn’t vary much anyway.]
[If a super cool mount comes out, that’s another clip-worthy moment, right?]
[The mount gacha is seriously the most poisonous pay-to-win feature, lol.]
[Seriously, I’ve seen people burn 7,000,000 won (TL Note: Approximately 5,300 USD) on it, lolol.]
“Hmm.”
Well, I didn’t expect anything great here either.
I wasn’t particularly lucky, and I’d already gotten a Unique item earlier, so…
Just as I casually cleared my mind and used the gacha ticket, it happened.
*Rumble—rumble-rumble—*
“…?”
Suddenly, a clap of thunder echoed from the sky.
For a moment, it was hard to tell if it was a mere coincidence or if it was caused by this gacha ticket.
But as I looked around, it became clear. Dark clouds and lightning were striking directly above only my head.
*CRACKLE! CRASH!*
That boisterous display left me a little stunned.
“…Seriously, what’s popping out?”
Since the previous effect was for a Unique item, for something of this scale, surely—
*CRASSSHHHH!*
Suddenly, the shockwave of lightning that struck directly in front of me made me instinctively recoil.
Amidst the ground billowing with smoke, a silhouette became visible through the hazy view.
*Hee-hee-hee-hee-hing—!* (TL Note: Onomatopoeia for a horse’s neigh.)
A mighty neigh. It was clearly a horse.
But unlike an ordinary horse, its cry seemed to pierce directly into my mind.
As its form soon revealed itself, I mumbled blankly.
“Phantom Steed…”
It was a truly magnificent, splendid, and utterly gorgeous ghost horse, emanating a brilliant spiritual aura from its entire body.
****
“My life definitely changed after clearing the Impossible difficulty.”
[???]
[Ugh, here we go again, lolol.]
[Seriously, he’s been like this for an hour, lolol.]
[The bullshit show begins, lolololol.]
“Before, I couldn’t even make eye contact with the bullies in the beginner village, I’d just drop junk items anywhere and spit all over the place.”
[Oh, the spitting is a bit much…]
[Spitting is kind of hot, though?]
[Oppa, I’m opening my mouth now… hehe.]
[Please spit on me, I beg you for our family of four’s daily sustenance.]
“After becoming a Phantom Steed owner, I’ve been trying to maintain my dignity. Just now, I saw a junk item on the road, picked it up, and threw it into my inventory.”
[You just took it, you crazy bastard, lolol.]
[Easy to exploit structure;]
“Now, no matter how shitty things get, while showering I ask, ‘Who am I?’”
[‘Shitty things’ (TL Note: The original Korean uses ‘jotgateun,’ a vulgar slang term derived from ‘jot,’ male genitalia) is a strange expression, lolol. Is it a variation of ‘botgateun’ (TL Note: A vulgar slang term derived from ‘bot,’ female genitalia)?]
[‘Jot’ (TL Note: Male genitalia) is seriously such a vulgar word, lolol.]
[No, there’s a reason we don’t regulate the chat level, lolol.]
“A Phantom Steed owner.”
[Lolololol, what nonsense.]
[Judging by his momentum, he’ll probably be doing this for about a week, damn it.]
[But honestly, I’d do the same. I pulled a mount with an expected value of 300 million won (TL Note: Approximately 230,000 USD) for free.]
“Who am I?”
[Phantom Steed owner]
[Phantom Steed owner]
[Panty Stealed owner]
[Phantom Steed owner]
[? Something weird above.]
Seeing the chat window unite despite everything, a smile of satisfaction naturally spread across my face.
“…Ah, it’s really so cool.”
*Prrrr—* Even the way it snorted was cool.
If a Harley-Davidson was the 21st-century man’s dream, then perhaps in the past, it was a magnificent steed like this… I finally understood why ancient generals were so obsessed with horses.
“Guys, is there nowhere I can brag (TL Note: ‘Bitik,’ a Korean slang term referring to bragging about rare in-game items or achievements in a self-aggrandizing or undeserving manner) about this? I seriously can’t hold it in.”
[Lolol, thinking of bragging first is truly evil, lolol.]
[Go to Mado?]
[Ah, Mado! Lolol. She said she was going to play the game today.]
[If he goes there and talks a bit, her reaction will be priceless, lolololol.]
“Oh, right. Mado was here.”
Why hadn’t I thought of that?
Marveling anew at the viewers’ wisdom, I contacted her via Twitch DM.
The reply came back quickly.
Mado: —Hyunwoo, why?
Me: —Mado, are you streaming?
Mado: —No, I’m just playing with the stream off for now… I’m planning to turn it on later. Why?
Me: —Could you come to Beginner Village Channel 2? I’ll show you something good.
Mado: —…Something good?
[That that that that that damn pervert, what is she thinking, lololol.]
[Yeah, ‘something good’ was just the streamer’s super obnoxious bragging, lololol.]
[Ah, this is just too sweet. You should suffer too, you b*tch, lololol.]
The viewers, who had been enduring my teasing, erupted in protests.
Their shouts of ‘We can’t be the only ones to suffer!’ were quite gratifying.
‘You’re growing into fine little bastards, yes, yes.’
About a minute after sending the message to Mado.
“Ah, Hyunwoo, I’m he—”
She appeared, smiling brightly and waving her hand.
Her cute outfit and seemingly innocent face, now mixed with a strange array of emotions, made me involuntarily let out a little chuckle.
“Ah, you’re here?”
[Damn, look at him cackling, lololol.]
[The streamer is the worst of them all, lololol.]
[I didn’t know he was this kind of character at first, seriously, he’s a total bastard, lololol.]
Following my voice, which barely concealed its arrogance, her cute face sank into a grave expression.
“…Phantom Steed? No way.”
“Yes, I pulled it for free.”
At that remark, her face looked as if she had lost her entire country.
