Chapter 72

[Whew! I really thought they were insane! Thanks to Adella’s strength, you almost died on your first mission as a Forest Guardian, didn’t you?]

Thanks to Adella’s efforts, I was able to clear the Observatory in the fourth playthrough quite easily.

In fact, it felt easier than when I fought alone during the first playthrough.

-Godella, All Hail Godella!

-Njangnyangnyangnyangnyangnyangnyangnyangnyangnyang!!!!!

-What’s up with Adella? Why is she fighting so well all of a sudden?

-Are the specs of the NPC allies random?

-From the damage taken, it seems the same.

Her potential with the dagger was outstanding, but there had always been a bit of a disappointment in her skill level.

However, I could clearly see that Adella was getting stronger in real-time as we fought.

The growth of an NPC.

It’s unbelievable, but she was gradually growing outside of her stats during the battle.

“Next is the Material Warehouse, right? Hooo… my stomach feels a bit uneasy, and I have a bad feeling. How about we raid the Admission Management Office first?”

However, the story couldn’t continue like that.

Unless someone very skilled teaches Adella dagger techniques, I have no understanding of knife fighting.

[You have exited combat situation.]

[Safe zone has been secured.]

[Would you like to pause the game?]

{Accept/Reject}

[▶Accept]

[Would you like to exit the game?]

[▶Ending World of Arcellia.]

Should I learn dagger techniques somewhere?

At the very least, until she gains the ability to face Professor Cronicle, I didn’t deserve to awaken the desolate world tainted in gray.

[Broadcast Time – 5:24:11]

[Number of Viewers – 6299]

‘What time is it?’

It was well past noon, the time I had promised Professor Cheon. If I let it go a bit longer, it would be one o’clock.

I had to wrap up the broadcast soon.

“I’ll stop here for today.”

-So soon? It’s still lunchtime!

-LOL!

-Lunchtime? You guys are still “second string,” huh?

-So is the first string just waking up now?

-I’m not sure about the first string, but I just woke up. But why are there so many viewers compared to the number of subscribers in this room?

-You haven’t seen this legendary stream? You’re going to regret it all night! LOL!

-Only five hours, but today’s stream was packed (no joke).

-LOL! First clear of 월오아 10/10/10 Part 1, as a priest, with stacking penalties! I’m on the historical scene!

-The biggest achievement is uncovering Adella’s hair-brushing content!

-Is there still no news from the Njangsterol thousand squad?

-The lack of news in the Discord room suggests so.

They are always interesting people.

I believe that broadcasting is ultimately sharing one person’s life.

What I see and feel, the viewers also experience with the same senses.

It provides a different dimension that is somewhat deeper than books or movies.

Like when I held my breath watching a streamer’s intense battle, or how the viewers mourn Adella’s death.

Sharing the same timeline feels both embarrassing and mysterious.

[‘Save the Graduate Student’ donated 10,000 won!]

-NonoName, can I send a chat? Just 30 minutes… No, just 15 minutes…

“Thank you for the 10,000 won donation. I’ll just say it fast, so I’ll wrap it up by one o’clock.”

-Thanks for the first donation today!

-The low-tier streamer is making money!

-Are you really a high school student? LOL! Grow up quickly!

As I ended the game, the number of viewers dropped to the 5,000 range, but the chat flew by faster than ever.

No matter how good your eyesight is, there are limits to the information you can process.

“My head hurts… I’ll take questions through donations only.”

Why? Well, I don’t deny that I’m a slave to capitalism down to my bones.

[‘heureusement’ donated 30,000 won!]

-Can I add you as a friend in 월오아?

The first donor came in wanting to fill their personal desires instead of asking questions.

As expected, the chat was filled with expressions of anger, with violent words pouring out.

“Can I add you as a friend without a multi-account? I haven’t cleared it yet.”

-?

-?

-????

-What are you talking about?

-Is this your first game of 월오아?

-Come on, say something that makes sense.

-I really can’t see my account.

“I will remember and add you later. But the game is quite difficult, so it might take a while.”

These days, kids seem to learn just about everything at a taekwondo academy. I was a bit surprised to see them teaching English too.

I assumed that if I looked around, I might find a place teaching dagger skills as well.

I didn’t think I could start the game until I was sure I could teach Adella properly.

After all, didn’t I have an assessment briefing coming up tomorrow?

There must have been a lot of journals piling up that I hadn’t seen while at the hospital.

I need to earn money quickly… all these situations are giving me a headache.

[‘The Rebellious One’ donated 10,000 won!]

-How old are you, streamer?

“I’m seven years old.”

-Seventeen?

-No, I said seven! LOL!

-What a random concept is this?

-If you’re cute, age doesn’t matter!

-No, that’s really cringy!

Ah, is the rating for 월오아 Nightmare 15 years old?

A quick correction was necessary.

“No, I’m actually fifteen years old.”

-Nuh-uh.

-Seems like you don’t want to answer.

-Is that a way of saying to meet the price?

-Even if I said fifty-seven, just take it as it is.

-Just LOL.

-LOL.

-LOL.

Suddenly, a sharp comment appeared, catching me off guard.

[‘Likael’s Great Sword’ donated 1,000 won!]

-Is this your first playthrough of Arcellia?

“No, as I mentioned before, I played the prologue with a friend before.”

-So that means it was your first playthrough, right? Tenryeon! LOL!

-Why is it like this?

-Is this the difference in talent?

-This isn’t something that can be explained solely by talent.

[‘Veixel’ donated 100,000 won!]

-Can you teach me the strategy for Balrum Venons? What magic did you use in phase two that made Balrum’s attacks ineffective?

[‘OVERDOSE’ donated 130,000 won!]

-Please explain the countermeasure used during the battle with Professor Cronicle.

[‘Njangsterol’ donated 300,000 won!]

-Let me know how to brush Adella’s hair!

Even with the condition of donations, I couldn’t silence the viewers.

I immediately shut down the donation window and decided to answer only the last few questions.

-We have no money; how can we live in sorrow? T_T

-The amounts are insane, seriously! LOL!

-If handled correctly, it’s an all-ten difficulty challenge, of course, it makes your head spin.

-Actually, it would be a waste to give away the secrets for 100,000 won.

-But would it really be worth 300,000 won to know how to brush Adella’s hair? LOL!

-No way!

-Is 300,000 won a waste????

-I would have donated a million if I had money in my account.

-The whole world is like Njang!

“The answer to the first question is that I implemented the third circle polarized array magic as a first circle upper casting. The second was based on the water molecular countermeasure since the boss kept spraying water cannons. If you think about it, it’s nothing special.”

And the last is…

“I honestly don’t know the answer to the last one. Thank you for the 300,000 won donation, Njangsterol.”

* * *

I brushed the sweat-drenched hair out of my face.

My pajamas were no exception, as I felt a rash forming on my back due to sweat.

I went into the kitchen without turning on the light and opened the refrigerator door.

Ice. If there’s no ice, at least some water.

Just then, I spotted a cold barley tea bottle near the door.

“It’s tough…”

Each game is exhausting.

It was different from the half-hour playtime of instant foods like League.

The cold liquid slid down my throat, cooling the heated body.

Because of the flood of chat saying I was a scammer regarding my last comment, I recited the names of all the viewers who had donated at least once during today’s stream before ending the broadcast.

That calmed things down a bit.

The collective intelligence of my stream viewers consisted mostly of adults, yet they reacted emotionally and impulsively, like five-year-old children throwing tantrums.

However, at the same time, they were pure and vulnerable to goodwill.

From the first donor, ‘Save the Graduate Student,’ to the 101st donor, ‘Njangsterol.’

There might have been some duplicates in between, so the actual number might have been less than 101, but still, just saying their usernames made them really happy.

Both the ones who were named and the ones who weren’t. They acted and thought as one body.

Hence, when bad opinions formed in between, they quickly agreed like black paint splattering on a blank canvas.

They cursed at Adella, as if they had harbored ill intentions from the beginning, and sometimes even teased her.

Children need etiquette education appropriate for their age.

Determined to prepare better for the next stream, I returned the water bottle to the refrigerator.

“Is it over now?”

Just as I was about to return to my room, Professor Cheon came out of the master bedroom, rustling.

“Oh… you’re awake?”

“You promised we would only play until twelve.”

“Yes… I did.”

“But?”

“It’s one o’clock. I’m sorry…”

Yet, I was the one being lectured.

In the end, I couldn’t enter the room until Professor Cheon’s scolding hit home.