Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Everyone Wants to Collab with Me? But What Should I Do? I'm Planning to Go Solo...
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"Hik!"
"Heop!"
Everyone straightened up at the sudden appearance of Dokgo Hwayeon. And they all pretended to train diligently.
I was no different.
I demonstrated the Ironclad One Flash I'd just learned again.
Flicker!
This time, it was even better than before.
Of course, Dokgo Hwayeon didn't see it. She didn't seem to have the mind for it.
And she suddenly gathered us all together.
"......Everyone, come over here."
"Yes?"
"Ah, yes!"
We quickly moved over to Dokgo Hwayeon.
"Manager? Could you turn off the mic for a bit?"
"Yes!"
The stream mic was soon turned off. Everyone swallowed hard at the somehow intimidating sight of Dokgo Hwayeon.
Gulp.
"Whew, something bad came up suddenly."
"Something bad?"
"Yes. That bastard Kim Kang-rok... no, Kim Kang-rok has started openly targeting our stream."
"R-Really?"
"Yes. It's true. On the day we do our final content, he's made a deal with Seoul City for a massive magic show."
"Heop!"
From what I heard, the situation was even worse than I'd expected. Kim Kang-rok wasn't just targeting Dokgo Hwayeon this once. He'd brought out a huge event just like ours to completely ruin her content.
At this point, everyone realized what was going on.
A few quick ones even went pale.
And there was a good reason for that.
"So from now on, we're starting some seriously intense training. That's why I called you all here."
"Th-That... Could we know why the training suddenly has to be so intense..."
Was she really from the fourth dimension?
Harin stepped up and asked Dokgo Hwayeon the question on everyone's mind.
Fortunately, she didn't get mad. Instead, she explained the situation to us in detail.
"Oh, I didn't mention that. For our final spar, we'll be dueling in front of thousands."
"Yes?"
"It just changed to that. So we can't show a sloppy performance, right? We have to train hard."
Dokgo Hwayeon didn't back down from Kim Kang-rok's sudden pressure. She fired back. That's how we'd ended up with this result.
"Got it? Manager, turn the mic back on. Alright, let's dive into some seriously intense training right now!"
"L-Like that..."
The other three hadn't adapted to the training difficulty yet. And now the intensity was suddenly ramping up. They couldn't help but panic.
But Dokgo Hwayeon didn't comfort them.
Instead, she started pushing us even harder.
"Alright, next up, I'll teach you the second form. If you can't do it, that's 100 squat jumps!"
"Ah, no way..."
"Th-That's..."
Dokgo Hwayeon soon demonstrated it just like before. It was the second form of the Ironclad Swordsmanship: Iron Wall Rigid Shred.
It was a technique that used the sword like a shield for defense, then immediately countered. And I recognized it right away.
But the other three didn't.
"Why can't you do this in one go? Look at trainee Park Jae-ho over there! He nailed it on the first try! You three, 100 squat jumps now!"
"Hiiing..."
"That's because Jae-ho is a genius..."
"I learned it on the first try too. You can do it! Get to it! Do it!"
"Do it..."
I watched the three women getting fired up. And sighed inwardly.
'It's not something you learn like that...'
I'd probably need to talk to Dokgo Hwayeon later.
Of course, she was an excellent teacher to me. Everything she said clicked perfectly. But not for those three.
'I'll have to teach them on the side a little.'
I wasn't exactly gifted at teaching either. But I figured I wasn't as bad as Dokgo Hwayeon.
And so, from day one, we dove into intense training.
This wasn't the content it was supposed to be. It was meant to be lighthearted fun training.
But the content had suddenly turned into hellish boot camp.
The faces of the three others—excluding me—were filled with despair.
Ah, of course, I was fine.
Not arrogance—just the honest truth. It was manageable.
Life really did come down to talent.
I could feel it clearly this time.
***
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A few days later.
"The team that won this practice inspection game... is Team 1!"
"Woo!"
"Yeah!"
"Awesome!"
We jumped for joy right there. Even Dokgo Hwayeon was thrilled. It made sense—it was just a mid-training check, but we'd taken first place.
We were currently at the Dokgo Clan's main training grounds. We were bonding over some light games there.
Ah, naturally, everyone selected in the audition had gathered. We'd played games with streaming rights on the line, and Team 1 had proudly claimed victory. No way we weren't thrilled.
I looked at Dokgo Hwayeon celebrating beside me.
Lately, she'd been struggling because of Kim Kang-rok's targeting. Even her face looked a bit thinner in the cheeks. It meant she'd been stressing out more than expected.
But even in that situation, our team taking first made her happy. She really had that martial artist's competitive fire.
She'd probably be over the moon if we won the main event on the final day.
'Beating Kim Kang-rok would make her even happier.'
Kim Kang-rok had been relentlessly targeting Dokgo Hwayeon lately. Her slimmed cheeks weren't for nothing.
Every time we went live, he'd start his stream to snipe us. Sometimes it wasn't even Dokgo Hwayeon's stream—he'd target our teammates' solos too. It was vicious.
Still, we didn't lose viewers every time.
'Lost about three times, won three.'
Kim Kang-rok usually streamed solo. Not collabs like us. So viewer counts were neck-and-neck.
Even that was impressive. A solo stream threatening collabs.
Anyway, that was enough worrying for now. He wasn't streaming today anyway. He knew he'd lose.
'He's really weakened.'
All the big corporate picks from the audition were here now. Even Kim Kang-rok couldn't win that. So he'd chosen not to stream.
Which meant we could enjoy today without viewer worries.
Plus, the Team 1 winners could stream freely. Viewers would flock big time. That's why I'd gone all-in on the games.
Anyway, I pulled out my prepared smartphone with a bright smile. A backup I'd brought just in case we won first.
That's when the fourth-dimensional streamer Harin, who was nearby, approached me.
"Jae-ho! How about a collab with us?"
"Right now?"
"Yes! Come with me!"
I pondered her offer a bit. Streaming-wise, it wasn't bad.
But...
'Such a hassle.'
Today, I just wanted to chat with my fans. It was a rare chance.
Of course, it was unnecessary worry.
"Um, Jae-ho! Can I join too?"
"Jae-ho! Let me in!"
"Jae-ho! I'm from Tiger Squad!"
"Jae-ho!"
"Jae-ho!"
A ton of people swarmed me. They all wanted to stream with me.
Only our team could stream right now. The others desperate for airtime had no choice but to latch onto us.
About ten people clung to me. It perfectly showed who the rising star(?) was these days.
Thanks to the crowd, it was easy to slip back.
"Ah, so many people want to collab with me. But sorry, what can I do? I want some chill time with fans after so long."
A few streamers looked disappointed at my words. But no one clung.
"Ah, can't be helped then."
"I'll go with Harin then!"
"Me with Seing-i!"
"Jajangnim! With me!"
Fortunately, my teammates—minus me—were all women. Other teams lacked them; women were rare.
So when our team got streaming rights, most guys rushed straight to them.
Even big names like Tanguri.
"Um, Seing-i... Wanna stream together?"
"Ah! T-Tanguri! Sure!"
I slipped out naturally in the chaos.
Streaming with a big corp like Tanguri wasn't bad. Networking was part of why I'd joined this content.
But honestly, today I just wanted a casual fan stream.
I headed out of the training grounds casually. Then toward a distant pond. It was a pretty great streaming spot.
One I'd scouted in advance, you could say?
'It's gorgeous, right?'
True to the Dokgo Clan, it wasn't some ordinary pond. More like a lake. And in the center was a beautiful pavilion, the kind a Joseon king might've enjoyed. A stunning spot.
I moved to the central pavilion.
The sun was setting, bathing everything in sunset glow. It had real atmosphere.
I turned on the stream with the sunset at my back.
[Dokgo Clan Secret Spot Found.] Soon, tons of viewers flooded my stream.
💬 Live Chat - Jaeha! - JH - Rawr! - Long time no see!! - Eong! - Why isn't Dokgo Hwayeon streaming? - Pretty scenery... I already had a huge audience. Especially the biggest on our team besides Dokgo Hwayeon.
She still hadn't ended her broadcast and started streaming. So her fans flooded in too. Viewer count skyrocketed naturally.
'Whoa, 30k already?'
I was a bit shocked.
This content was definitely benefiting me big time.
'Not all these viewers are mine, though.'
Couldn't get cocky. They weren't my fans. Dokgo Hwayeon's. Forget that, and I'd regret it later.
Anyway, maybe because it was my first solo in ages?
They showered me with donations and subs. Way more than I'd expected.
🔔 SPONSOR ALERT 🔔 Ding! Ding! Ding! "Aigoo! Chairman! 500k!! Thank you! Ah! Heyni? Of course I didn't forget! Hahaha..."
Truth be told, this was why I'd gone solo. No—this was the main reason.
Collabs meant missing out on proper donations. They disrupted the stream.
But solo like this, I could rake in all the backlog. That's why I'd come to this empty spot alone.
Anyway, donations ate up 20 minutes of just thank-yous.
Of course, I wasn't complaining. Loved it.
"Aigoo! Thank you all so much for the support!"
You could tell from the grin plastered on my face.
Once I'd milked all the donations, I finally started some proper fan chat.