Chapter 142

Pape was surfing the internet. It was for professional reasons, to check community opinions.

“Checking community opinions as a job? Is he a mansion security guard?” you might think, but it was genuinely necessary for his job.

Internet broadcasters are deeply connected to the community. By the way, this isn’t about YouTubers. It’s about internet broadcasters who stream on live platforms.

Even though traditional media is also connected to the community, it’s weaker compared to live streamers.

This phenomenon stems from the nature of live streaming being a time-consuming machine.

What does that mean?

It means that people who follow content that requires at least 12 hours a day are more likely to engage in the community.

Still don’t get it?

Come back when it becomes clear.

Anyway.

Pape is a broadcaster with a clear stance. That’s how he became a big name, so you could say it’s his unique trait.

Having a clear stance gives a person consistency. If someone is always the same, even if they do something unlikable, it becomes likable. That’s how important it is to be consistent from start to finish.

There were many ways to utilize this.

He could establish his own clear positioning, secure a fan base with consistent messaging, and build a brand identity with a consistent tone and manner.

Pape was smart. No matter how strong your stance is, if you’re not smart, you’re just a stubborn person.

So, Pape found other ways to utilize his strong stance.

Having a clear stance ultimately means not being easily swayed by others’ opinions.

There was no better trait for ego-searching.

No matter if people cursed, spread malicious rumors, or talked nonsense, he could just let it slide.

“Does Pape like Han Yoorim?”

He treats everyone the same, which makes it even more suspicious.

-Why?

┗Does it make sense to treat Han Yoorim the same even after seeing her face?

“Pape definitely likes Han Yoorim lol”

Snowball Garden, the human detector, already revealed it.

How can a childhood friend be just Han Yoorim lol

-But that’s really suspicious. If Rumen was also part of the childhood friends, I’d call it a stretch, but just Han Yoorim is a bit…

-Now they’re even speculating through games.

┗This guy definitely hasn’t played Snowball Garden.

┗┗If you’ve played it, you’d never say that lol

Pape took a sip of the tea he had set aside earlier.

As the hot liquid went down, he felt his brain start to work.

Recently, if you searched for “Pape” for ego-searching, you’d usually find posts like this.

No matter the post, Han Yoorim was always mixed in.

Somehow, the tables had turned for Pape.

Before, whenever Han Yoorim was mentioned, it was like, “Han Yoorim, that’s Pape’s childhood friend,” but now, when Pape is mentioned, it’s like, “Pape, that’s Han Yoorim’s childhood friend.”

That’s how much Han Yoorim had risen to a unique position.

But because of this, it became harder for Pape to get the information he wanted, but that was okay.

No one does ego-searching with just one keyword.

Pape typed “Coolzziniki” into the search bar and pressed enter.

Soon, posts flooded in.

“Coolzziniki has become boring lately, the streams just aren’t fun.”

I haven’t watched in a while because even the solo queue feels uninteresting.

-It’s because he has to play with Han Yoorim’s squad lol

“Coolzziniki’s comments have become bland since a certain point.”

It became boring after he started smelling like sunshine.

-It was exactly after meeting Han Yoorim lol

┗I felt it too. Right after meeting Han Yoorim, his sharp comments disappeared, and he became bland.

┗┗Bunny Run is the same, at this point, isn’t Han Yoorim the problem?

Hmm. As Pape read the posts, he went into self-reflection.

Solo queue always feels the same. I haven’t lost interest, nor have I gained more interest.

So, the first post was nonsense, but Pape didn’t completely ignore the comment.

If the person who wrote that was his viewer, then it’s a fact that they stopped watching his stream.

And if they stopped watching, there must be a reason.

And Pape thought that reason was in the second post.

“The sharp comments disappeared.” Indeed, Pape had stopped voicing complaints at some point.

When Pape voiced complaints like that, it was partly for himself, but more so to represent the viewers.

Scratching the itch is what made the viewers happy.

I admit it. This was a part that could be improved.

Once you recognize the problem, there’s only one thing left. Fixing it in the right direction.

“This is something.”

However, Pape scratched his head in frustration.

Recognizing the problem and fixing it are completely different stories.

Old seniors used to say, people change as they grow. The environment changes, the situation changes. Trying to maintain your old self is like a penguin trying to fly.

Pape had half-ignored that. He thought he was different. He thought he could always stay the same.

He wasn’t.

Pape realized why the old seniors said that.

It’s really hard to change even when you want to.

It’s a surprising fact you only realize through experience.

Pape typed in a search term and pressed enter.

“Han Yoorim is really crazy.”

What kind of idea is it to release a hardcore collection RPG?

– I deleted the game after the Evoker I raised for a week died, but ended up reinstalling it. If there wasn’t a resurrection feature, I would’ve quit forever, but since it’s there, I keep playing.

– Hey science nerds, when’s strong AI coming out? They monopolize strong AI and casually drop hardcore games in 2036 like it’s nothing, lol.

[Seriously, Han Yoorim is riding the strong AI wave]

The game she made is insanely hard and brutal. There’s zero consideration for casual players, so structurally, it can’t attract mainstream popularity. But against all odds, it keeps hitting mega success. It’s just because you can only experience strong AI in Han Yoorim’s games. It’s literally a cheat code.

– Who doesn’t know that? But the gameplay itself is good.

┗Gameplay is deeply tied to difficulty. It’s not that I don’t acknowledge the gameplay. I love Han Yoorim’s games too. But the current mega-hit status is all thanks to strong AI. Originally, it wasn’t a game for this many people.

┗┗True that.

Han Yoorim.

She was someone who left a huge impact in many areas.

From the streaming world to the gaming industry.

There are countless streamers who started as Han Yoorim snipers. Many VTubers modeled themselves after her, and she herself was a colossal streamer.

She truly made a mark in the streaming world.

But even that pales in comparison to her influence on the gaming industry.

[Fantasy Life], [Excel Busters], [Resurrected Students Also Need Love], [Eternal World: Tower of Transcendence], [Cosmic Osuary], [Cosmic Origin], [RE: Snowball Garden], [Haunted Building].

And now, the newly released [Evoke Order].

The flood of high-quality games across genres shook the gaming world.

It got to the point where other game companies started copying Han Yoorim’s games, which says it all. Copying insanely hardcore games? Only someone out of their mind would do that.

In short, Han Yoorim’s games were shockingly mind-blowing.

Surprisingly, the Han Yoorim copies did achieve some success, but let’s not get into that.

The point is this.

Han Yoorim, who influenced so many areas, eventually influenced Pape too.

She completely changed his core. To the point where he could never go back to how he was before.

Well.

He changed once before, so changing again shouldn’t be too hard.

It felt new all over again.

Pape put on his AR device and sat down in his chair.

Lately, Pape has been deeply immersed in [Evoke Order].

There wasn’t a better game for streaming right now, but it was also just genuinely fun.

This is probably another one of Han Yoorim’s influences. Making good games.

―――

Finally, I can breathe.

Does this guy only stream from home with his AR device? lol

For real lol

―――

The chat rolled in.

Pape greeted casually and logged into the game.

Entering the Unlimited Field remotely, Pape summoned his Evoker.

Entity Name: Angel Knight

Name: Metatron

Rank: Triple Rank

[Strength 42] [Agility 21] [Stamina 25]

[Magic Power 29] [Life Force 22] [Soul Power 51]

[Constitution]

Heavenly Pulse: Occasionally, power descends from the heavens.

Master of the Holy Sword: Summons a sword with special abilities.

[Traits]

Monstrous Strength: Crushes enemies with immense power.

It was Pape’s Evoker, which he had raised diligently and was quite strong.

Despite dying three times due to his high-efficiency playstyle, the five resurrection stones given at the start kept him going. For now.

―――

The Unlimited Field EXP is insane. Already Triple Rank.

I’m too scared to go to the Unlimited Field.

―――

Glancing at the chat in the corner of his vision, Pape gave commands to Metatron (a name Pape came up with himself).

Metatron summoned a glowing sword and sliced a squirrel in half.

After taking down the squirrel Evoker, which had become a punching bag, Pape scanned the area.

Unless it was right after release, the Unlimited Field was a truly dangerous place now.

If you weren’t careful, you could lose your Evoker in an instant.

“Ahhh!”

Look. Like that―.

“Kyaaah!”

“Stop. Please stop.”

“Okay. I won’t come to the Unlimited Field again. Please.”

……

Pape stayed silent as screams echoed one after another.

Then the chat exploded.

―――

Is that Han Yoorim?

It’s Han Yoorim.

What’s the ghost doing? Not taking Han Yoorim away.

―――

Pape slowly walked towards the direction of the screams.

Honestly, I agree.