NOVEL NEXT Chapter 107
Chapter 107
『Starting the Stream』
Sojun’s stream flickered on at the relatively early time of 5:50 AM.
『(Homework) Collab with Streamer Kim Taewoo』
A new type of game.
In essence, his first sponsored stream.
‘If you think about it, this is the first time I’m playing a game together with someone on a collab, isn’t it?’
Even if today’s results weren’t of monumental significance, the unfamiliar situations piled up, and Sojun found himself enjoying the novelty.
“Hello.”
While planning to play various games in the future, it wasn’t easy for viewers to keep up with all those games.
A primary game—a staple that takes up most of a stream’s streaming time—was essential, even for a general game streamer.
However.
‘I don’t plan to stick to just one thing.’
How many games were in the world?
He wanted to stream while playing what he liked.
He didn’t want to stream by using the excuse of work, making considerations based on the viewers, or worrying about income.
Conversely, he also didn’t want a stream where no one shows up.
Therefore.
He needed to make sure people sought out Jin Sojun himself, not the games he was playing.
‘How can I achieve that?’
He didn’t know yet.
But surely, by steadily streaming and building up over time, he would figure it out.
“Are you no longer the Heavenly Demon? Yes.”
After all, there was no more Demonic Cult.
-That was blunt, hahaha
-Keeping up the act outside of the game is a bit much, haha
-The abandoned Demonic Cult members are crying, hahaha
If “For Justice” had been his main game, it might have been different, but otherwise the image of the Heavenly Demon was too strongly ingrained and it wasn’t good.
“What’s the Heavenly Demon? I really don’t know.”
Thus, even if he shaped a persona when facing game users, he maintained his speech pattern with viewers to create a distinction between Streamer Jin Sojun and the game user Heavenly Demon14.
-Brazenly drawing the line, haha
-I dunno?
-I really don’t know, if you keep following me, I’ll report you! Cultist!
There was no need to forcibly block discussions about “For Justice.”
Anyway, the stream would naturally cover that when the game started.
“Alright, shall we accept the invitation now? There’s no need to tell me through chat.”
Someone had been trying to explain at length how to get to another streamer’s lobby from earlier.
Clearly, it was a tease.
Sojun skillfully found and opened an invitation notification that had popped up.
『Kim Taewoo has invited you to the lobby.』
-You’ve mastered this
-Oh yeah! Cheers!
-He once couldn’t find this and had to directly ask the Alpaca, haha
-Though he used to be respected like a professor, his credibility plummeted
The space that had basic furniture like chairs standing idly in a stark white room began to change.
‘I should change my lobby too.’
The lobby was often used as a meeting place when inviting other streamers.
There weren’t many spaces within a game suitable for chatting before and after collaborations.
Hence, streamers often put effort into decorating their lobbies.
Like streamer Alpaca, who had transformed his lobby to mimic a high-altitude area inhabited by real alpacas.
“You finally came.”
“Hello.”
“Hello, everyone.”
And Kim Taewoo’s lobby? It was a simple, serene beach resort.
An emerald ocean and shoreline.
And a hotel visible along a wooden path over the sea.
“Oh.”
Sojun slightly opened his mouth, a look of awe on his face.
It felt like he was truly visiting a resort.
-Like a Neanderthal seeing fire for the first time, haha
-This is what we call civilization
-Change your lobby too, host, haha
-But wait, was it Neanderthal?
Sojun looked around and remarked.
“Isn’t it Homo erectus?”
The first humans to use fire.
He couldn’t see the relevance of that.
He hadn’t changed his lobby because there wasn’t any option from the store that he wanted.
He hadn’t delayed changing the background due to any difficulty in doing so.
Jeez, that’s some blame.
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh. The viewers are calling me a Neanderthal seeing fire for the first time.”
“Hehe. How’s the lobby of this noble body?”
“It looks good. But, is it a manufactured product?”
In the chat, others also said it looked similar to theirs.
With a glum face, Kim Taewoo feigned pity.
“Yeah. No one’s made one for me……”
But it was quickly exposed.
“No way? Someone in the chat said they sent you an email but you ignored it.”
Yeah, why pretend to be pitiful?
Kim Taewoo’s expression quickly changed.
“Who is it? Loyal friends of our room should not stay over there.”
“They said they won’t go because they aren’t loyal friends.”
“Hmm……”
“That’s true.”
“Ah, geez. Just come over.”
They said no.
If they were going to, they’d already be in your room, Taewoo.
“Anyway.”
“Yeah.”
“Did you install the game?”
“Of course.”
The release time for game access was precisely 6 o’clock.
One minute remained.
‘Given it’s an indie game, it’s unlikely there’ll be many users keen to download and play it right at release.’
With a renowned developer, the game could catch gamers’ attention before its launch.
Even with a publisher backing it with grand promotions, it could build awareness.
But this game was neither.
Which made their advertisement crucial.
‘The reason they’re streaming on release day might be because…….’
Maybe confidence?
That’s probably it.
Anyway.
“Folks, you can purchase this game on the stream.”
Sojun commented as he witnessed the change in time.
“It’s starting.”
He launched the game.
『Two Heads are Better』
The game logo appeared first, followed by the start screen.
The start screen was split into two, with Sojun’s name on the right.
“Do I need to send an invitation?”
“That seems likely?”
Next to him, Taewoo, who had been staring into space, responded enthusiastically.
“Then shall I invite you?”
“No, I’ll invite you.”
Sojun replied.
“Why?”
“Just because?”
“Why though?”
It was really just that.
“Pfft. Feeling victimized, huh?”
“?”
“Is it because you think I look down on you being a technophobe?”
He had begun teasing even before the game launched.
But Taewoo.
This is a co-op game, you know?
-Hahaha
-Starting a fight even before playing
-It’s a real quarrel with trivial matters, indicated they’re true friends, haha
Sojun nonchalantly ignored Taewoo and sent the invitation.
“It’s done.”
“Alright. Got it. Oh, it’s up.”
The screen, which had been split into two, displayed Sojun and Taewoo’s names.
The game start button, previously inactive, gained clarity and was illuminated below them.
Sojun shrugged and said.
“It seems we have to do this to start the game. Without a friend….”
Taewoo laughed, interrupting Sojun.
“Hey, don’t say such things.”
Oh?
Ah.
Friends.
-ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-A game unplayable if you have no friends
-Stop it
-Hahaha, friendless viewers were unintentionally shot down hahaha
-System Requirement: Friend
-No multiplayer option? No multiplayer option? No multiplayer option? No multiplayer option? No multiplayer option? No multiplayer option? No multiplayer option?
Sojun acknowledged his slip-up.
He failed to respect the ongoing ‘no friends’ joke of his viewers.
In reality, no person who claims to have no friends is truly a loner, but he needed to let it slide.
“My apologies. Then, how about playing with your partner? Right?”
“Wow. Did you do that on purpose?”
-???
-Is this for real?
-Oh… Host’s address, please…
-Even the greatest swordsman will truly die
Meanwhile, in Taewoo’s chat room,
-Why are we also getting hit? Hahahahaha
-Oh dear. Recently, the young folks have no sense of honor… *sigh*.
-Hahahahaha
Taewoo shook his head, not having met anyone who teases as effectively as his friend.
“Shall I start?”
“Go ahead.”
『Jin Sojun – Viewers: 19,000』
『Kim Taewoo – Viewers: 15,000』
* * *
『Two Heads are Better』
The game launched like a movie, its title emerging against a dark background.
The screen gradually brightened.
The current highlight was a cramped office, containing only two one-man desks.
The camera angle was positioned at the bottom corner of the office, looking up.
Bang!
The door opened, and two people entered, their faces obscured by the darkness.
They began arguing, gesturing wildly at each other.
Though their words were inaudible and their expressions unclear, the hostile atmosphere was unmistakable.
『…….』
『!』
『!』
One of them shook their head in frustration, grabbed a coat from a chair, and left.
The remaining person scratched their head in annoyance, turned off the computer and lights, hastily packed their things, and headed outside.
Squeak.
‘What is this?’
The door shut.
Then the camera began to slowly move.
From bottom to top. A larger spiral over the perimeter to showcase the entire office.
Simultaneously, as sunlight from the window filtered in, the office flickered between brightness and darkness, indicating the quick passage of time.
The office lay abandoned for a few weeks.
Leftover snack bags, socks, messy power strips, bottles of alcohol.
What was this space for?
The question was answered when the camera, slowly circling, paused on a whiteboard.
Pasted all over were photos of characters and a rough outline of a story.
It could only be a game.
“They were developing a game, I guess.”
Sojun murmured.
He couldn’t move but could speak and see the chat.
-Likely so
-Shambles, haha
-It’s probably Indie game development, haha, they always end in arguments haha
As the camera slowly surveyed the area, it approached the monitor.
And then.
Flash!
Suddenly, the monitor before them turned on.
And the mouse cursor moved erratically as if hacked.
-What the heck, that’s creepy
-I had something like this happen once, wasn’t hacked, my mouse was just faulty!
-Me too!
The cursor navigated through folders and executed a file.
Then, innumerable windows with black backgrounds appeared and vanished on the monitor.
-Is that due to faulty equipment?
-How faulty does something have to be for this to happen, hahahaha
-That’s really eerie
Continual windows appeared and disappeared on the monitor.
And then.
Flash!
The monitor turned off and then on again.
The background that appeared was different from before.
Was the game initiated?
In it, a character, represented in dots, walked along a path in a 2D world.
Step, step.
“That looks like the character from the whiteboard. The one marked as the protagonist with a circle.”
The photo on the whiteboard hadn’t been 2D, but it seemed they were now at the start screen.
Step, step.
-Oh
-Who turned on the game?
-Are you the protagonist?
Below was the blinking text ‘press start’.
Step, step.
The assumed protagonist’s appearance was simple.
A typical hero donning slightly slender-looking heavy armor.
As the hero reached the middle of the monitor.
Creeeak!
An incredibly loud creaking sound suddenly filled the room, causing the hero to stop and begin moving its head.
A frontward face typically hard to achieve in 2D dot graphics.
It felt as though the hero’s eyes meet theirs.
-??
-Is it horror?
-Why play eerie sounds…
‘I don’t think it’s that type of horror.’
Sojun smiled and waited.
Luckily, his instincts proved correct.
Highlighted by the green wind, obviously special, slipping through the window’s gaps and gently fluttering the curtains, stopping before the monitor.