Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Tidesand Subjugated
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The biggest change in Tidesand as it entered its second phase was the fruits clustered thickly on its branches. Fruits that, as expected, gleamed with a vivid blood-red hue.
Tidesand swung one of its branches. The fruits detached and flew toward Yusung like shooting stars.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
They exploded in midair, spewing forth a crimson liquid. It looked just like a shower of blood raining down. No one would want to get hit by that.
But even Yusung couldn't completely dodge the liquid spraying widely from the sky.
Splatter! Splatter!
Of course, his nimble movements were as sharp as ever, so only a few drops landed on his body.
[He's dodging that?]
[Don't you have to just tank it?]
The viewers marveled even at that.
The liquid that fell on Yusung's armor turned into red smoke, as if evaporating, and flowed back toward Tidesand. Yusung checked his HP. It had decreased.
A move colloquially known as Blood Spray.
In phase one, Tidesand absorbed HP by making contact with its extended branches, but in phase two, it added this attack that sprayed red liquid.
The more red liquid you got drenched in, the more HP it stole in proportion.
If you were unlucky enough to get completely covered in it, you could even die instantly.
Amid the ongoing attacks from branches and roots, there was this unavoidable area-of-effect assault from the sky. And if it hit, the boss's HP—the one you'd worked so hard to whittle down—would recover.
It was an insanely tricky foe. It more than lived up to its reputation as an extra boss.
Tidesand sprayed its fruits once more. At that moment, Yusung raised his gun and aimed at the fruits floating in the air.
Bang! Bang!
Two gunshots. Two of the fruits burst with a 'splat!', spraying their liquid. Yusung had already moved out of the space where the exploded fruits' liquid would fall.
Splatter splatter splatter!
The red liquid poured down. But not a drop touched Yusung.
[So that's how you handle it.]
[Too bad. I'm not a ranged class, so no way for me.]
[Even ranged classes can't do that.]
The viewers, now resigned to just enjoying the show, watched Yusung's fight like a documentary about exotic animals.
The battle remained fierce, but with its final resort sealed off, Tidesand had no more ways to resist.
It unleashed a variety of patterns, but none landed a solid hit on Yusung.
And then.
Bang!
Thud!
Tidesand collapsed after taking the final shot.
[He got it!]
[Whoa!]
The chat exploded with exclamations of awe. Most of them were seeing an extra boss taken down live for the first time.
[Three extra bosses in a row!]
[Wow, I couldn't even take down 10% of that thing.]
Yusung smiled contentedly at the buzzing chat. That buzz was all attention.
[But the protagonist is kinda deadpan?]
[Yusung, no reaction?]
“…A reaction?”
[Yeah. Everyone does one when they beat a tough one like an extra boss.]
Come to think of it, he'd seen streamers like Naltorri and Bom Bomi doing reactions. Yusung scratched his head. He raised his fist and opened his mouth.
“Ace?”
<lololololol>
<lolololol>
[Lololol Ace Lol]
[lmao the most lackluster reaction I've ever seen]
[It wasn't even that hard, so why would he feel accomplished lolol]
[That's fair. You'd only react like that to a real challenge lolol]
[This is on us lolol]
The viewers' reactions to Yusung's utterly unforeseen "reaction" exploded.
He knew his attempt wasn't quite what they wanted, but Yusung didn't mind. As long as they reacted well, right?
Yusung collected the items Tidesand dropped.
Some money and junk items. And a sword and spear.
“Nothing usable here.”
The sword and spear were decent items in their own right, but not for a Gunner like Yusung.
Of course, they were still good—they could be sold for some cash, after all.
“But no level up.”
Every time he'd beaten an extra boss so far, he'd leveled up. But not this time. No level-up chime.
[Probably 'cause you're over level 30?]
[Levels get dirty slow after 30.]
[Still, an extra boss should've given at least +2.]
[Extra bosses are straight-up trophies, Utopia said so themselves.]
[Rewards are stingy compared to the difficulty.]
But Yusung wasn't too dissatisfied. Beating extra bosses was purely for the attention anyway.
'A bit of a shame.'
That was the extent of his feelings.
“No helping it.”
With that, Yusung pulled a black bread from his inventory. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't eaten a single meal since starting his first stream today.
He'd grabbed it almost on instinct, but the effect was tremendous.
<Ooh>
[Black bread!]
The viewers cheered. Yusung's love for black bread was legendary.
Up until now, Yusung had always tried to respond whenever the chat heated up. But not this time. He didn't even glance at the chat as he brought the black bread to his mouth.
[Lololol He's Ignoring Us Completely]
[Can't be helped during black bread time lolol]
The laughter was short-lived. Soon, cries of envy filled the chat.
[How does he make black bread look that delicious?]
[I'm hungry.]
[I ate 10 minutes ago.]
[Can't take it, gotta eat something.]
Yusung ate like he was savoring a heavenly feast, and viewers started munching snacks, ordering delivery, or boiling ramen water.
But some couldn't.
[Why am I dieting-crisis-ing during a game stream?]
[Gotta lose it this time for real.]
[Gonna lose my 100k bet.]
The dieters wailed, while others laughed or tempted them to quit.
Yusung finished the bread and let out a long breath. Black bread was always delicious, no matter when.
As Yusung seemed to snap back to reality, the viewers asked in unison.
[Is black bread really that good?]
[What does it even taste like?]
“Of course it was delicious. And how else do you eat delicious food but with delicious flavor?”
[Lolol Bad Question Good Answer]
[Good question bad answer?]
[Bad question bad answer]
[Stop it you guys]
[But Yusung, why'd you block donations when they were coming in?]
‘Donations?’
Yusung rummaged through his memories. He recalled viewers throwing money directly at streamers.
‘Blocked? I never did that.’
He'd only bought the streaming rights—he'd never directly controlled the stream.
‘Strategy Guide, what's going on?’
【No information available.】
Lately, the Strategy Guide didn't know too much. A bit of frustration and unease built up, but there was nothing he could do.
“Anyway, that's how it is.”
He didn't know enough about streaming or that world to make up an excuse. Yusung just glossed over it. The viewers didn't complain.
Streamers who begged for donations without doing anything were an eyesore, but if the streamer himself refused money, what could you say?
'A little disappointing.'
In the past, he wouldn't have glanced at real-world money. But now, with a way to cross to that world, earning what he could was smart.
But there was nothing he could do right now.
“That's it for today's stream.”
[Aw? Already?]
[Just a bit more?]
The viewers tried to stop him. Yusung had intended to go as long as possible at first. Streaming cost money per session, after all.
But his first stream had left him mentally fatigued.
‘They say dealing with people tires you out. Is this it?’
He recalled a line from some book.
Plus, the stream had been rough around the edges in many ways. The viewers were just thrilled by Yusung's extra boss streak, but otherwise, complaints might've poured in.
‘Should spend a week shadowing other streamers to learn.’
Naltorri and Bom Bomi might help.
“First stream, so I'm a bit tired. See you next time.”
[Aw man]
[Guess it can't be helped]
Fortunately, the viewers cut him slack for it being his debut and just expressed regret without pushing.
[See ya]
[Yuba!]
Yusung ended his first stream amid the farewell messages.
* * *
After a reasonably successful debut, Yusung contacted Naltorri the next day. Naltorri gladly accepted.
There was no way he'd turn down a collab with Yusung, now a guaranteed ratings booster.
For a week, they hunted together—sometimes with Bom Bomi joining. Yusung observed and learned as much as he could, and they shared their know-how freely.
But Naltorri said his teachings probably wouldn't help Yusung much.
“Streaming—especially Ark streaming—needs something to hook people's interest. And you've got insane physical skills. Your debut got rave reviews.”
Naltorri had watched Yusung's stream.
“Plus your quirky side and weird tastes. What you need from us is just understanding what a streamer is. The rest? Lean into your strengths. From what I saw last time, just keep doing you.”
“I see.”
With Bom Bomi and the viewers agreeing, it seemed pretty convincing.
Their week of joint streams ended.
Back in reality, Yusung steadied his pounding heart.
‘Finally…!’
The one-hour cooldown for the other world was almost up. He could cross over soon.
‘Come to think of it, should get some info on that world?’
Yusung asked the Strategy Guide. But the response was disappointing.
【No information available.】
‘Lately, it doesn't know much.’
But on second thought, it made sense. The Strategy Guide was for Ark, after all.
‘Guess I have to figure it out hands-on.’
Staying away from that world wasn't an option.
42 seconds left on cooldown. Yusung stared intently at the ticking numbers.
‘Now!’
As the timer vanished and the purchase window reactivated, Yusung bought the item immediately.
In an instant, he stood in that familiar room from before.
“Yes!”
He clenched his fists.
He had set foot in this world once more.
Yusung approached the window. The breeze rustling the curtains felt refreshingly pleasant, just like before. Warm sunlight poured in, illuminating the vibrant green trees outside.
‘No sign of people.’
This world surely teemed with living, breathing humans like himself.
‘A remote area?’
He wondered if it was as empty as his own world. The thought crossed his mind.
‘No. Ark had tons of players.’
Yusung left the room and headed to the living room. It had an even larger window.
But still no people.
“…There are people here, right?”
At that moment, the massive TV dominating one wall flicked on by itself.
[They exist.]
The screen displayed those words.
“Strategy Guide?”
[Yes.]
“Didn't you say you had no info on this world?”
[The databases for that world and this one are separate. I can now answer your questions, Player.]
“Really?”
That made sense. And it was definitely to Yusung's advantage.