Streaming of a Reincarnated Genius

Episode 1. The Last and the First

A space with no walls or ceiling, covered in endless white light.

In the middle of it, a man stood alone. He clapped his hands and spoke.

“Alright. This is the end. I really won’t do it anymore.”

As if answering him, donation messages popped up with loud pings.

[User 3470 donated 1,000 won!]

“So this is really the end, right? You’re not tricking us?”

[Nineleaves donated 1,000 won!]

“One more round? Just one last, final, ultimate game?”

Seeing the messages, Hyunseong smiled bitterly.

“Come on, we’ve been doing this since midnight. It’s already 3 AM. You all have work tomorrow.”

[Midongryung donated 1,000 won!]

“But after this, your channel will be gone…”

“I’m really sorry about that. But there are plenty of fun streamers out there. You won’t be bored.”

[PleazBB donated 1,000 won!]

“Still, I was happy because of you, you damn jerk.”

“Aww, I was happy too. Even though it’s ending like this, it was a great experience. Thank you for staying with me until the end.”

Then, another donation sound rang.

Hyunseong looked at it and couldn’t speak.

[st321 donated 1,000,000 won!]

A huge amount.

And more than that… It was a familiar name.

“I’ve been too busy to watch lately, but hearing that you’re quitting is really sad. Thank you for everything. If you ever decide to come back, we’ll be waiting.”

st321.

A viewer who had been there since the very beginning, back when Hyunseong’s channel was tiny and unknown.

Gratitude, guilt, and sadness mixed in his heart.

Still, he spoke calmly.

“I hope I can come back too. But… I don’t want this to be a sad farewell. So this is really the end.”

He lifted his hand. He had pressed this button thousands of times before.

But this time, there would be no “next time.”

[Stream Ended]

The white space disappeared.

Darkness filled his vision.

Hyunseong took off his headset and opened the hatch.

Creak.

A tiny, messy room greeted him.

For the first time, reality sank in.

“It’s really over.”

Eight years of streaming.

Including the preparation time, it had been ten years.

An internet streamer—one of the many who focused on competitive gameplay content.

The passion he had since childhood had now completely ended.

[Total gratitude to all viewers]

[Peak viewership: 125]

Not exactly a grand achievement, considering how much effort he had put in.

But fine. No point thinking about it now. The decision was already made.

“Tomorrow, I’ll eat something really good.”

“I’ll sleep in for once.”

“I’ll play games just for fun—not as content.”

Damn it.

Hyunseong lowered his head.

Between his hands, emotions he had been holding back finally spilled out.

Deep down, he had always known.

Some efforts never get rewarded.

And sometimes, what you love just… doesn’t work out.

Get it together, Kang Hyunseong.

You already decided. No turning back.

With a deep breath, he threw himself onto the bed.

Tomorrow morning, he had to wake up early for his new part-time job—the one he took to cover his living expenses.

***

—And then, he dreamed.

Not of his childhood dream of being a successful streamer.

What the hell is this?

In his dream…

He was a knight.

Covered head to toe in heavy steel armor.

Rushing through a bloody battlefield, swinging a sword.

“Uwaaaaaaaah!!”

—Splat!

With a single swing, heads flew into the air.

Blood sprayed, splattering all over him.

What the—?!

His mind screamed, but his body—the knight—let out a wild battle cry.

“CHAAAAARGE!!”

The enemy soldiers panicked. Their faces twisted in fear.

Hyunseong could feel it. The knight’s thrill, his excitement.

This is crazy. Seriously, what the hell.

The deafening noise. The battlefield littered with corpses and soaked in thick, bloody mud.

Everything was disgusting.

But… if he ignored that, this dream was actually new and exciting.

More than anything, it was the most realistic and thrilling dream he had ever had.

“Break through the walls! Leave no one alive!!”

Oh wow. This guy fights really well. Not bad.

For a moment, he forgot everything—his failed streaming career, his future, all the complicated stuff.

He just followed the knight’s instincts, swinging his sword, caught up in the battle.

—BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Suddenly, a loud, mechanical alarm cut through the dream—a noise that didn’t belong in a medieval battlefield.

Hyunseong groaned in frustration and swung his alarm.

The dream was getting really good, and now it was ruined.

Too bad. Once a dream was broken, it never came back.

And reality hit him—he had to wake up for his part-time job.

“Ugh… I really don’t wanna go.”

Grumbling, he forced himself to get out of bed.

And then—

Something felt weird.

His body was… light.

As if the exhaustion from years of streaming and manual labor had completely vanished overnight.

Wasn’t there some joke that 90% of office worker illnesses disappear as soon as they quit?

That would be terrifying if true.

But he didn’t get to finish that thought.

Because—

This wasn’t just nonsense.

Something was really, really wrong.

“…Why is my old phone here?”

No, wait—why did his room look different?

Hyunseong’s breath caught in his throat as his eyes landed on something.

A cheap, full-length mirror in the corner.

His reflection.

Familiar, yet strangely unfamiliar.

He swallowed hard.

Okay, let’s sum this up.

I, Kang Hyunseong, have suddenly returned to eight years ago—without warning.

He said it out loud, just to hear it.

Still didn’t feel real.

But instead of asking, How is this possible?, he made a decision.

“Whatever this is… I can change everything now.”

Hyunseong didn’t know how or why this happened.

But one thing was clear—he had returned to a crucial turning point in his life.

“I can change everything now.”

In 2030, he was 28 years old.

Now, he was 20—young enough to redo everything.

If he wanted, he could erase the past eight years.

He could forget streaming completely and pretend it never happened.

Instead…

He had savings.

He had already finished his military service.

He had a decent apartment.

If he wanted, he could go back to college, live a normal student life, study hard, build his resume, and get a stable corporate job.

But…

Do I really want that?

Hyunseong suddenly laughed out loud.

“Wow. I must be insane.”

The first thing that came to mind wasn’t a fresh start—

It was streaming.

“But this time… I won’t fail.”

If he tried again, this time, he was confident he could succeed.

Not just some baseless confidence.

He had an advantage.

He knew the future.

He knew which games would become popular.

Which content styles would trend.

And most importantly—he knew all the major events that would shake the streaming world.

For example—

The website he was on right now.

The platform where he used to stream.

AmerikaTV.

At this moment, it was the dominant streaming platform in Korea.

But six months from now, things would change.

He knew exactly how and why AmerikaTV would crash.

“I already know what will happen next.”

His fingers flew across the keyboard, typing a name.

[PinboxTV]

He pressed Enter.

A small, unknown website appeared at the top of the search results.

“Hmm, let’s see… The top streamer only has… 400 viewers? Wow. That’s tiny.”

Even considering it was morning, the numbers were pathetically low.

But—

That was about to change.

Six months from now, a major corporation would take an interest in PinboxTV.

They would buy the platform and completely rebrand it.

At first, everyone thought it would be a disaster—just another big company failing at streaming.

But then—

Everything changed.

To everyone’s shock, PinboxTV exploded in popularity.

Within a few years, it became a global streaming giant—

Even bigger than AmerikaTV.

“The stock prices went up a lot too”

“If I had known this would happen, I would have bought stocks as soon as the acquisition rumors started…”

That was what people kept saying online years later, regretting their missed chance.

Wait. Hold on.

His fingers typed faster than before.

[PinboxTV stock price]

₩1,240

(▼₩16.19)

Oh?

The last time he checked, PinboxTV’s stock was over ₩130,000 per share.

Right now, it was only ₩1,240.

That’s… more than a 100x increase in the future?!

“…Wait a second.”

The stock market is open.

PinboxTV is already public.

I can… buy stocks.

Oh. Oh. Oh.

He quickly did the math.

After subtracting what he needed to survive, he had around ₩30 million in cash.

“If I invest all of it now… In three years, I’ll have over ₩3 billion?!”

Hyunseong froze, overwhelmed by the sheer insanity of the idea.

Then—

He grinned.

He clicked.

And six hours later—

After ignoring food, water, and sleep, fully absorbed in his plan—

He suddenly threw his arms in the air and let out a victory roar.

“KYAAAAAAAA! I’M RICH!!”

Well, not yet.

But soon.

His wild laughter suddenly stopped.

“…So, now what?”

His eyes drifted to a full-length mirror on the other side of the room.

Right next to it sat an old VR capsule—even by this year’s standards, it was outdated.

“Huh. I can’t think of anything else. Maybe… gaming?”

Or—

Streaming?

Not because he needed to.

Not because he had to succeed.

Just because…

It sounded fun.

And this time, why not try a different platform?

PinboxTV.

Alright. Let’s do this.

Hyunseong stepped into the capsule.

The familiar log-in screen appeared before his eyes.

His gaze softened as he saw an old, familiar username.

“Oh… So this is what I used to do back then?”

Hyunseong’s eyes widened as he discovered something nostalgic.

A large-scale medieval battlefield game where NPCs and players clash in intense close combat!

It was just like the dream he had last night.

Back in the day, Hyunseong had played this game a lot and enjoyed it. And now, after traveling back to this year, it was a brand-new release again!

That meant there would be plenty of fresh content to experience.

Excited, he quickly adjusted his streaming interface and set “Currently Playing Game” to Knights of Honor. Then, he launched the game.

“Wow, yeah. This was the vibe of Season 1’s main lobby. Feels nice.”

On the screen, a siege battle was unfolding on a vast plain. Soldiers with tense expressions boarded siege weapons.

And right in the middle of it all—was his own in-game avatar.

The game used the player’s real body data to create an avatar, making the battlefield feel incredibly immersive.

Above his avatar’s head, text was displayed:

(8 214)

Hyunseong nodded in satisfaction.

“Nice. The squad placement is already set. I can jump right in.”

The best part? He didn’t have to go through the boring tutorial or the tedious early game again.

<0:02>

“Wow, got a match in just two seconds? That’s insane!”

Back in the day, it took over ten minutes to find a game in high-ranked lobbies. This was heaven in comparison.

A realization struck him.

“So I can actually relive this era of the game…?”

That golden period right after a game’s launch—when everything was fresh, and players were still learning.

He was about to experience that all over again.

At that moment, a notification popped up.

A new viewer had joined the stream.

Hyunseong, a seasoned streamer, immediately greeted them with enthusiasm.

“Welcome, lq2w3e4r!”

A message appeared in the chat:

[This is a game streaming channel. Today, we’re playing Knights of Honor.]

The viewer, lq2w3e4r, didn’t respond.

But they didn’t leave either. That was good enough.

“Doesn’t matter why they’re here. If I got their interest, that’s all I need.”

Just in time, the match was about to start.

< Player Joining… >

< 64/64 >

< Game Ready. >

< Choose Your Class and Weapon. >

“What class should I pick?”

[Chat] Mid-Guard is pretty strong now.

“Mid-Guard, huh? Yeah, I heard it’s one of the best classes right now. Strong and fun. Should I go for it?”

[Chat] LOL just play whatever you want.

The chat went silent again. It was their way of saying, Do whatever. But that didn’t mean just picking randomly. After a brief thought, Hyunseong chose what he was best at.

< Class: Heavy Guard >

< Weapon: Greatsword >

With a clanking sound, heavy armor started wrapping around Hyunseong’s body.

[Chat] Tank build? Respect.

It was a compliment. But more than that, the realism of the armor surprised him. It felt almost real, as if he had actually worn heavy armor in real life before.

Now that he thought about it… he had a dream last night. A dream where he wore armor just like this.

As that thought crossed his mind, he reached for the greatsword next to him—the Bihander.

At that moment, something felt… strange.

[Chat] Bug? Try reloading.

“Hmm. I don’t think it’s a bug. But let me check.”

Hyunseong said that, but the feeling didn’t go away. The greatsword fit perfectly in his hand, as if it belonged there.

Was it just nostalgia? The excitement of replaying an old favorite? Maybe. But that wasn’t all.

It felt like… an old battle companion, finally back in his grasp. Like he was meant to hold it.

Meanwhile, in the main lobby, the massive siege tower that had been standing tall since the start of the match… began to collapse.

Beyond the broken walls, enemy players and NPC soldiers charged forward together, shouting, “Uwaaah!”

But Hyunseong… he was still lost in that odd feeling.

“Mars, you useless idiot! Focus and attack!”

< Warning! Return to the battle zone immediately! >

< If you do not leave the starting area within 10 seconds, you will be considered inactive >

An NPC officer on the siege tower smacked him on the back with the flat side of his sword.

[Chat] Why isn’t he moving? He did the same thing when I played.

[Chat] Bro’s just standing there.

Someone else joked, wishing the game had a special event for artillery strikes.

[Chat] LMAO 20/10

Taking a few steps forward, Hyunseong finally left the siege tower.

And then—

“UWAAAGH!”

A scream.

Out of nowhere, a soldier lunged at him.

No formation, no strategy—just a reckless charge, like a headbutt. Definitely a player.

“Well, that’s convenient. A warm-up fight.”

Even though it had been a long time since he last played, and his opponent was a real player, he didn’t feel anxious.

If anything…

That strange feeling from earlier was still there.

It wasn’t a disadvantage, though. If anything, it sharpened his senses.

The enemy was charging in, spear leading the way. But to Hyunseong, it all looked… slow.

The angle of the spear.

The direction of the enemy’s gaze.

The way their feet hit the ground.

Everything stood out in perfect detail.

A spearman’s charge attack was notoriously hard to counter from the front. Back in the early days of the game, only a handful of players had ever managed it.

But for some reason—

“I think I can do it.”

After a brief calculation, he shifted his stance.

The spear was aimed at the gap between his chest plate and leg armor. It wouldn’t pierce his defense, but if it struck hard enough, it could knock him down.

That was the opponent’s plan.

A heavy-armored soldier would struggle to get back up. If the fight turned into a ground battle, the spearman would have the upper hand.

A solid strategy.

But only if it worked.

Hyunseong timed it perfectly.

Just before impact—

CLANG!

With flawless precision, he deflected the spear with his sword.

The opponent’s plan crumbled instantly.

Hyunseong’s eyes met theirs.

For a moment, the player just stared at him—almost in awe.

And then, with a single clean slash, Hyunseong struck them down.

Just like the knight he had seen in his dream.