A Swordsman’s Stream

Chapter 2

League of Streaming.

Sojun researched it while walking home.

“Averaging 300,000 viewers per live stream? This is almost on par with official tournaments!”

Sojun knew from Taewoo that the event was quite popular, but he didn’t realize it was watched by so many people.

However, after delving deeper, he quickly understood that while 300,000 was a lot, comparing it to official tournament standards was his clear misunderstanding.

“Ah, official tournaments in Korea alone start with at least a million viewers.”

The finals reportedly had 15 million real-time viewers worldwide. The league in Korea, that is.

The popularity of Capsule Games exceeded Sojun’s imagination.

They said the enthusiasm even reached adults who didn’t have the time to play.

Sojun had intentionally avoided issues about capsules, so he wasn’t well-versed.

“So many people are actually doing it…”

Even seven years ago, he hadn’t paid much attention to the virtual reality market. But he knew it wasn’t nearly this popular back then.

After arriving home, Sojun decided to ask an expert.

A professional streamer.

“Hey, do you know anything about League of Streaming?”

It was his friend.

Taewoo, who was lying on the sofa with his phone, answered Sojun’s question.

“Huh? Of course, I know. I participated last year and got eliminated miserably. Huh. Man, I really wanted last year’s grand prize. Such a shame.”

Talking about winning while claiming he got eliminated quickly.

Sojun mentally clicked his tongue.

“What was the prize?”

“A car. Moreover, they even gave a supercar to the MVP. Quite a grand prize, right? Since so many people are watching, companies sponsor it.”

“I know how many people watch it; I looked it up.”

“You did? Why the sudden interest in this? You’ve never been into virtual reality.”

“I don’t know either.”

For the past seven years, he had lived well without virtual reality.

He could continue to live well without it.

So why did he look up League of Streaming?

“Damn it.”

In truth, he knew why.

He had looked away only because there was no way before.

The virtual reality he experienced seven years ago…

It was fun. Enough to make him want to dive back in.

Isn’t that enough?

“It’s not like I’m spending a fortune.”

Thanks to Oh Jihye’s generosity, he could borrow it for free until the tournament ends.

It’s not like he would be wasting years.

“No reason not to.”

Sojun sat next to Taewoo.

From now on, he needed to think about the “how” rather than the “why”.

“Taewoo.”

Sojun’s eyes began to shine.

“Hmm?”

“What are the conditions for participating in the League of Streaming?”

“Why do you ask? Sigh. Well, although the organizers haven’t explicitly stated it, you obviously have to be a streamer. Middling streamers with a decent following usually get in.”

“And if you’re not popular?”

“Then it’s a lottery. Viewers typically want streamers they’re familiar with, so it can’t be helped. Not that they completely exclude lesser-known streamers.”

Taewoo mumbled to himself.

“So, how do you succeed as a streamer?”

“Are you serious?”

“Seriously.”

Taewoo thought for a moment, then got up and straightened his back.

His seldom-seen serious expression felt awkward.

“I don’t know either.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Do you know what I hear the most?”

Sojun shrugged.

“No idea.”

“They say they’re jealous that I get to play games and make money. That my life is easy and I don’t struggle.”

“…”

“But they don’t know that for four out of the seven years, I had fewer than 100 average viewers, yet I still streamed eight hours a day without fail. Did I earn enough to cover the electricity bill? Probably. After graduating, I felt like I was leeching off you for a year.”

“Really.”

While the advent of virtual reality increased the pool of viewers, the proportion of streamers also skyrocketed.

The biggest challenge for such streamers was gaining viewers.

“Still, I consider myself quite lucky. It could have taken longer than four years. If you hit it big, you’re set. But we never know when that will be, do we? We don’t know the method. If it takes ten years and still doesn’t succeed?”

Taewoo continued.

“There are people who skyrocketed to a million viewers within a year after experiencing five years of obscurity. Even after all that, they might still not hit it big…”

Of course, there would be various rules within.

“But if I had to point out the most crucial, it has to be entertainment value.”

Taewoo began his explanation.

To succeed in game streaming, one must possess either humor or exceptional skills.

Surprisingly, pure skill streams didn’t attract many viewers.

That’s because there were many substitutes like professional broadcasts or edited videos.

“So, it’s hard to succeed with just skill. Not impossible, but difficult. Look at this.”

Taewoo found an article and showed it to Sojun.

『”A game streamer should focus on the term ‘streamer’ rather than ‘game.’ Surprisingly, the importance of the game itself isn’t that significant.”』

This was one of the insights from a famous streamer who had a 100% objectivity test rate.

When Sojun carefully considered this, Taewoo asked again.

“Are you really interested in becoming a streamer?”

“Just now.”

“Hehe. Because of what I just said? I’m not stopping you, but what makes you so confident?”

Sojun closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.

What makes him confident…

Even though he hadn’t been able to properly log into virtual reality for the last seven years, Sojun was sure of one thing.

‘Most people wouldn’t be better than me.’

Many types of games centered around swords, and it didn’t matter even if they didn’t.

Even just by memory, Sojun had literally experienced all sorts of situations in his past life.

He slowly opened his eyes and tried to suppress a laugh as he spoke.

It was too ridiculous even for him to say out loud.

“Well, maybe my skills?”

“It’s not just about being good at games to become a streamer.”

“Then, how good do I have to be?”

After pondering for a moment, Taewoo replied.

“If you’re better than Shin Hayun, you’ll make it. No, if you’re better than Shin Hayun, you’re guaranteed success. I assure you. You know who she is, right?”

Shin Hayun.

She was a famous female pro gamer. She was as popular as top-tier celebrities and was synonymous with virtual reality gaming. In a way, she was like an icon of the virtual world.

The reason for this was, of course, her overwhelming skill demonstrated in the pro leagues.

“I see.”

After some contemplation, Sojun made his decision.

Let’s give it a shot.

That day, Sojun sent a message to Oh Jihye to rent a capsule.

* * *

“So… you bought it because you’re confident you can be better than Shin Hayun?”

“Yeah.”

“You crazy guy. In that case, you should go pro.”

“That’s risky, so no.”

“You’re really crazy.”

* * *

Oh Jihye’s reply and the delivery were swift.

It didn’t even take a day.

As if they were waiting.

There was just one minor issue.

“Ugh. Move aside for a bit, I need to connect the wires. Didn’t I tell you I’d call someone to install the capsule for you? Or at least, don’t touch anything until I finish my stream!”

Sojun quietly hung his head as he listened to Taewoo’s scolding while installing the capsule.

“Hey. Didn’t I tell you last time when your phone broke because you washed it with soap that you’re hopeless with machines?”

It did seem like something he would do.

“How could you almost break the installation of just one capsule! It looks expensive just by seeing it!”

Sojun didn’t know what to say, so he just repeated touching the capsule placed in the corner of the room.

Taewoo glared at Sojun, plugged in the last wire, and then flopped down on the bed nearby.

“Ugh, it’s done. The installation is complete. Do you have a bio account?”

“Yes.”

“Then you should be able to connect right now.”

“Alright, thanks.”

“What are friends for… By the way, isn’t this a bit overkill for streaming? This model is high-end.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

I borrowed it.

“Sigh, where do you plan to stream?”

“Travel.”

Travel was currently the dominant game streaming platform.

“Same place as me. Anyway, let me see your record. Just how good were you seven years ago to be this confident? You have MyVR installed, right?”

“Here.”

Sojun turned on his phone and opened the app Taewoo mentioned.

The screen displayed information about Sojun’s virtual reality ID.

It was an app used to manage everything from the creation date to game playtime and records.

“Huh? Are my eyes playing tricks? I see an account created less than two days ago. When did you lose your sense of time?”

“Oh, that? I had one before, but I deleted and recreated it.”

“Don’t lie.”

“I’m serious.”

Seriously.

“Hah. If you can prove you’re better than Shin Hayun, or even better than me, I’ll do all the house chores. But if not.”

Huh?

A great catch landed without even casting the bait.

“You do them?”

“What’s wrong? Scared…”

Sojun answered without hesitation.

“Deal.”

He was glad he took the challenge.

“Huh! No backing out? I won’t go easy on you just because you’re a newbie. You’re not starting your stream today, are you?”

“No.”

“Come on in.”

* * *

Sojun watched the back of Kim Taewoo as he headed to his room before entering the capsule himself.

As the lid closed, Sojun comfortably leaned back against the seat.

He closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.

Streaming.

A field he knew nothing about.

He was neither innately entertaining nor did he harbor the naive belief that talent alone would make everything happen.

Thus, even if others criticized his current actions as a stupid waste of time, he had no counterarguments.

Yet still.

The corners of Sojun’s mouth lifted slightly.

“People always start off with many more things they can’t do than things they can.”

If one didn’t challenge themselves, there would be nowhere to go.

『Connecting to the virtual reality world in 10 seconds.』
『10』
『9』

. . . .

『1』

Flash—

As his vision momentarily darkened, a familiar sensation enveloped Sojun.

Whoosh—

Bright white light flooded through his closed eyelids.

This was the lobby—a pristine white room with nothing in it.

Streamers mostly communicated with their viewers here before or after starting a game.

Since Sojun’s ID had just been created, the lobby was entirely empty.

“I’ll need to fill this place with something too.”

『#105979 has sent you a friend request.』

A message popped up while Sojun was looking around.

When he accepted the friend request, another message quickly followed.

『Kim Taewoo has invited you to the ‘Sparring ground’.』

Accepting the invitation, the background changed instantly. The atmosphere was reminiscent of a martial arts sparring ground.

“You’re here?”

Taewoo approached, dragging what looked like a white robot doll behind him.

“This is the Sparring ground. It’s a basic game pre-installed in the capsule, so no need to download anything.”

“Like Minesweeper? They didn’t have this back in my day.”

“Back in your day? Come on, say hello. This is our sparring ground AI, Kim Cheolsu.”

Taewoo waved the doll’s arm as if putting on a puppet show.

“It looks cute.”

“Heh. Keep getting beaten up, and you’ll tremble just at the sight of Cheolsu’s face.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Taewoo gave a meaningful smile.

“First, why don’t you get hit? Let’s talk after that. What weapon do you want?”

Obviously.

“A sword.”

Taewoo placed Cheolsu in front of Sojun and went to what looked like a storage to fetch a sword.

“Take it.”

Sojun grasped the sword. As he looked ahead, an identical sword appeared in Cheolsu’s hand.

“Do I get an explanation now?”

“Uh… sure.”

“Alright. Cheolsu is a sparring AI. I came up with the name. You’ll be fighting him. If you defeat Cheolsu at level 7, I’ll do the house chores.”

“I could just fight you, though.”

“I don’t hold back, so that’s not an option. Anyway, here, everyone is on equal footing. It’s a place where you can purely test one-on-one skills. Cheolsu has levels 1 to 10. I’ve managed to defeat up to level 8. For a beginner… starting at level 4 would be appropriate.”

Taewoo shrugged.

“That’s only if you really have talent. For your information, pros can even defeat level 9.”

Sojun shrugged as well and started fiddling with the settings panel that appeared before him.

“Good for warming up.”

This seemed fun.

“Pfft, I should record this. How about this for a title: ‘A friend trying virtual reality for the first time recklessly challenges level 4 and gets beaten to tears.’ If the video gets good views, I might even do a special joint stream with you.”

Sojun just smirked.

“Just sit quietly and watch.”

“. . .”

“. . .”

“. . .”

“I’m watching. What are you doing? Aren’t you going to start?”

“Hmm, something’s off.”

“What’s off? Just press 4 and start.”

“No, that’s not it. Why is level 10 locked?”

“Hey, you…”