A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 18

Sizzle!

The beef was placed on the sizzling hot grill.

Garlic, mushrooms, scallions, and kimchi found their place on the empty spots of the grill as well.

Sizzle, sizzle.

The beef juices condensed, producing a delicious aroma as it simmered.

“I’m starving. It looks delicious,” said Kim Taewoo as he sat next to Sojun.

Sojun nodded in agreement. Ever since he started accessing virtual reality, he felt especially hungrier.

‘Most third-year high school students usually gain weight.’

This was mainly because mental activities like studying surprisingly do not burn many calories. While the brain uses approximately 1.5kcal per minute, even light walking burns about 4kcal per minute.

Intense exercise can burn up to 10kcal, but the perceived energy consumption of students who study continuously is high, leading them to eat more than the energy they actually use.

‘Virtual reality is the opposite.’

Although it’s a mental activity, it does not have a high perceived calorie consumption like studying, so most people don’t experience severe hunger like Sojun does.

Sojun believed this was due to his low assimilation rate.

People with a high assimilation rate don’t feel tired even if they stay in virtual reality all day. This indicates that their brains are well-suited to virtual reality and use energy efficiently.

However, for Sojun, it inevitably meant using a lot of energy.

It was much more comfortable for him to stream in reality like this.

“Hello, everyone!”

Taewoo said, waving at the streaming camera set up at the end of the table.
– Taeha
– That looks insanely delicious.
– My mouth is watering.
– Give me some meat, too.

They all looked at the chat window on their phones.

The current viewership was in the mid-20,000s. Alpaca mentioned that at peak times, they momentarily surpassed 30,000 viewers.

This indicated a big hit.

They had temporarily changed Travel’s stream category to ‘mokbang’ (eating stream).

Now, all that was left was to chat and eat comfortably before concluding.
– Is that why today’s break day?
– Taewoo, finish eating there and start streaming again. Broadcast over health.
– Taeha
– Why are you there?

Messages, likely from Taewoo’s viewers, popped up in the chat.

Being a mid-tier streamer himself, it was clear that many of the current 20,000 viewers were his audience too.

As Alpaca flipped the meat, he said, “You’re asking why Taewoo is here? I found it fascinating too, but Taewoo and Sojun are actually good friends. Taewoo reached out for a collaboration.”

– Oh?
– If Taewoo had such an awesome friend, he should have invited him on stream ages ago, lol.
– Exactly, LOL.

“That’s right. I introduced him to the world of streaming!”

Taewoo said, attempting to place a hand on Sojun’s shoulder, but Sojun brushed it off.
– Parrying here too, lol.
– Stunned, LOL.
– How did you guys meet?

Sojun explained, “We became friends in high school. After graduation, we started living together…”

The reaction was unexpected.

Taewoo’s viewers burst into laughter, while others who didn’t know the context wondered why they were laughing.

Then the heads of the remaining three turned towards Taewoo.
-?? What’s going on?
-Why are you guys laughing?

Taewoo seemed momentarily flustered.

“No, folks, it’s nothing particularly funny. Isn’t that right? Ha ha. Hey, our viewers should read the room.”

『”No way”-nim made a generous donation of 1,000 won! – video clip』

A video donation was turned on. Commonly abbreviated as Yeongdo, it was a form of donation that showed video clips or iTube videos without copyright issues. The clip sent by the viewer now was a clip of Taewoo. The video started playing, and Taewoo began to speak.

『Folks, I mentioned I have a friend I live with, right? Usually, they are very calm and mature, but sometimes they do strange things that make me question if it’s the same person.』

On the screen, Taewoo looked like he had just started the stream.

『Yes, yes. That’s the same person who once washed their phone with soap. So, what did they do yesterday? I streamed for a long time yesterday.』

Alpaca and Lee Suhan then looked at Sojun, as if to ask if such a thing had happened.

『After I ended the stream, my capsule was too hot, so I thought I’d have to keep the cooler running. I asked them to cool the capsule down while I took a shower.』
『When I came out of the shower, they were crouched next to the capsule, fanning it with a serious expression. Folks, I’m not making this up; it’s a true story. You might as well turn on a fan! That would make sense, right?』

-Seriously, is this true? Hahahaha
-Are they dumb?
-With this, the earlier suspicion of donation inducement being a fraud is completely dispelled hahaha
-Just don’t touch anything hahaha
-News flash: Lee Suhan has gone to check if his own capsule is broken hahaha
-There are a lot of other legendary stories haha

Under the table, Sojun firmly stomped on Taewoo’s foot and nonchalantly grabbed a piece of well-cooked meat. “Tsk. Eat quickly.”

* * *

Sojun had the chance to hear various concerns of streamers from Taewoo and Alpaca. He also heard the success stories of Alpaca and Lee Suhan.

Originally, Lee Suhan had been an early viewer of Alpaca. At that time, Alpaca couldn’t afford an editor and had only created the channel, leaving it neglected. He had been a minor streamer with only about a hundred viewers for his live streams. That had been Alpaca’s past.

Lee Suhan saw potential in Alpaca and proposed that they grow the iTube channel together. At that time, Lee Suhan was a well-treated editor at a company. Due to the unique nature of capsule games, where viewers had a free perspective, a skilled editor who could handle this smoothly was rare.

Earning revenue from iTube, divided equally with Alpaca, allowed Lee Suhan to make much more money than when he worked at the company. However, at the time, it had been a risky decision. Thankfully, with the editor’s addition, Alpaca’s YouTube channel grew, which in turn increased live stream viewers.

“An editor, huh.”

Lee Suhan specially offered to edit Sojun’s videos if he couldn’t find an editor himself.

Back home, Sojun took a beer can and went out to the veranda to clear his complicated mind. Beyond the veranda, he saw the plum tree he had planted. Sojun imagined the bright red flowers that it would bloom and swept his hand across the cold floor of the veranda. It reminded him of the day he first met his master. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant memory, but somehow, it calmed him.

“Hmm. What should I do?”

The topic Sojun was pondering was iTube. The people he met today naturally assumed he would start iTube. If he wanted to succeed as a streamer, it made sense.

But.

Sojun’s plan was to qualify for and win the LoS tournament, get a capsule, and then quit streaming. That was his original intention.

The problem was.

Streaming was fun for him. Playing games with others was enjoyable. Watching people react to his gameplay in various ways, teasing each other, and sharing the experience.

“Interesting.”

Clink.

Pop.

Sojun cracked open a can of beer and took a big gulp.

Then, he gazed out the window nonchalantly and spoke.

“Was I lonely?”

Perhaps he was. Remembering his past life was like having a hometown he could never return to, always longing for it.

“What should I do?”

It was a day of deep thoughts.

At times like this, simplicity was key.

“I guess I’ll head to the gym after a long time.”

He needed to move his body.

***

Lee Dongsu was a main player on a famous professional gaming team.

He had woken up early and arrived at a gym often frequented by celebrities.

His team had achieved a commendable, if not impressive, second place at the latest world championship.

However, in the world of sports, anything less than first place held no meaning.

The coach instructed each player to undergo exceptional training tailored to their needs, to prepare for next year.

Dongsu’s special training was to learn how to fight in real-life situations.

“Helps build endurance too.”

The team’s front office found a gym through word of mouth—one that guaranteed privacy, attended by many celebrities, and also taught martial arts fighters.

Of course, there was nothing particularly special about it.

The people working out kept to themselves, and the fighters, although noisy, were quite friendly.

“Dongsu, you’re here? Go hop on the treadmill.”

The gym owner looked down at him.

The owner was overwhelmingly large and had a rugged face.

“Seriously, boss? Even today?”

“Yes, especially since this is real life. Your stamina needs to back you up first.”

Dongsu was rather upset by this.

Yes, he’d only been coming here for two weeks, but still.

“Only stamina and basic skills—this is too much.”

He couldn’t stand this treatment any longer.

He was a professional.

A pro gamer from the world’s second-strongest team.

Even though there was a difference between virtual reality and real life, someone of his caliber was undoubtedly skilled in handling his body.

In the game, pros like him constantly adapted to changing physical specs.

“I want to learn real combat skills. Seriously.”

The gym owner chuckled dismissively.

Waving his hand as if to pacify a nagging child, he said, “Fine, fine. Just have a quick spar today, so hurry up and get running.”

“Yes! Can I choose my sparring partner then?”

“Go ahead. You won’t beat any of them anyway.”

Shooing him off, dongsoo eagerly started running with more passion than usual.

At 18 years old, he had dropped out of school to live as a top professional player, but fundamentally, he was a vibrant high schooler.

“Bring it on.”

He was certain today’s opponent would be a martial artist, but he had full confidence in his victory.

Recently, he felt he had physically improved a lot with all the exercise.

While running, he started scanning the people around him, wondering who would be the best to fight first.

“As long as the weight class isn’t too different…”

At that moment, the entrance door opened, and someone resembling a streamer he had seen yesterday walked in.

Annoyingly handsome.

It wasn’t just a resemblance—this was the very streamer.

His teammate had raved about him so enthusiastically that Dongsu had watched a short clip of his play.

“He’s not that good.”

Thanks to his teammate and good friend, he knew way more details about this streamer named Sojun than he cared to.

“His face looks just like his avatar. Wasn’t he just a small-time streamer on his third day? How did he get in here?”

Anyhow, it didn’t matter.

Seeing him chat with the gym owner, they seemed quite familiar.

And he didn’t seem particularly muscular.

“Perfect.”

Perfect for his first sparring partner.