Collab Character Debut! RenaPpi Finally Enters the Game ~ Demon God Legend Hermenian ~ (1)

* A little while back—back when Yoo Min-ho, who had just dropped a donation on RenaPpi under the nickname Subway-Old-Man-Denture-Stealer, was still lying in a coma.

RenaPpi, who had started gaining a bit of recognition through her singing streams and no longer faced an empty void of viewers when she went live, fired up her stream for the first time since changing her nickname. This was her first game stream in ages.

Now, whenever she hit that broadcast button, around 200 people would flood in quickly, hanging on her every word. Considering she had only started singing streams on Jit-leus's advice not long ago, this growth rate was nothing short of astonishing. Just a short while back, during her 100-day milestone stream, she hadn't even had two viewers, let alone 200.

'Sure, but that's when I got to meet Jit-leus-nim.'

The memory of that 100-day stream had long since lost its sadness for her. It was the day she spent a full two hours chatting with Jit-leus-nim—the man who recognized her worth and gave her the advice that drew in all these viewers!

'He hasn't shown up lately... but if I keep streaming like this, I'll run into him again soon, right?'

Recalling that cherished memory from her 100-day stream, she kicked off today's broadcast with her usual pep.

"Hey everyone! Thanks so much for tuning in today!"

"Oh, right! I have a fan name now? I'm a streamer with a proper fan name!"

She swung her avatar side to side as she said it. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠At the same moment, the little sun in her eyes sparkled brightly. Truly a cute avatar, just as Jit-leus-nim praised, she thought. The viewers seemed to agree, judging by the flood of positive reactions in chat.

"Yes! Awesome! Sand Grains, everyone! Mo-ha! Thanks for coming to my stream today!"

Every time she uttered the fan name "Sand Grains," it sent a ticklish, awkward thrill through her— but a good one. Who would've thought people would gather in her stream, back when not a single soul paid attention? And that she'd get to call those people her fans by name!

All because of one person.

'I miss him.'

Would he drop by today's stream? If he did, she wanted to show off for him—broadcasting in front of a whopping 200 people!

Lost in those thoughts, her mind suddenly cleared on exactly what to do for today's stream.

"Ah! No song stream today!"

Her recent streams, filled with viewer-requested songs, had been a massive hit, so she'd stuck with singing. But Jit-leus-nim hadn't just told her to only do song streams forever. He'd given her tons of practical advice, including this gem:

"You know Demon God Legend Hermenian?"

"It's a mobile game— the kind no big streamers touch, but if someone did stream it, it'd draw curious viewers. Like the borderline minor game that feels just right for that. You get the vibe, right?"

When she'd asked what game to play, he'd recommended it without hesitation.

'The next step has to be that game!'

Sure, it was a game even RenaPpi herself had never heard of, and she'd never seen another streamer touch it. But this was a recommendation from Subway-Old-Man-Denture-Stealer himself! Thanks to his song stream advice, she'd gone from zero progress in 100 days to averaging 200 viewers in far less time. Was it that experience? Or the special two-hour phone date they'd shared? To ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her now, the user Jit-leus was her one and only precious compass.

So, without a second thought, she pulled it up.

"Today's a game stream!"

Groans popped up in chat right away. Hakko streamers like her were easily swayed by comments like that. With viewer counts under 1,000, it was tough not to let "This sucks" or "Not great" get to you. Big streamers could push through with grit, but that's why they weren't hakko anymore. Trolls even targeted small streams just to stir drama.

But RenaPpi, tiny operation or not, had something no one else did: her sturdy golden compass.

"Nope! Today's game is gonna be fun for sure! Even if it's not, I'll make it super fun!"

"Today's game is... Demon God Legend Hermenian!"

She declared it proudly, her inner sun sparkling once more. But chat hooked back with confusion right away.

"Not an ad! It's a game I picked 'cause I wanna play it."

As confusion spread, a couple viewers who knew it chimed in.

Seeing that reaction made RenaPpi's heart swell once more.

'Jit-leus-nim nailed it again! Some people do know it!'

At this point, maybe she was shoehorning him in, but either way, it had gotten her this far.

"Anyway! We're playing this today. First time for me, but I'll give it my all!"

The reactions weren't stellar, but to her, just seeing chats like these meant the stream was already a success. Her past game streams? Total ghosts. Plus, this was Jit-leus-nim's pick—she was determined to make it work. Who knew? Maybe he'd pop in and go, "You're really playing this?"

'I hope ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Jit-leus-nim comes to watch...!'

With that, she flashed a cute avatar expression, pulled up the game window beside her, and beamed.

"Alright, let's get into it~!"

She hit [Game Start].

* And now, right this moment. I blinked a few times.

The game she was playing—Demon God Legend Hermenian. I knew it inside out.

'That's... the one mobile game I actually played...?'

In my life devoted solely to my girlfriend, two things had brought me joy. First: internet streams. Diving into Prwichi TV, bantering with toxic streamers like hanging with buddies. Second: this very game.

An outdated relic few knew, with zero active communities. A mobile online game, but I played it solo in isolation. Still, it was my one guilty pleasure, squeezed into my packed workdays as a game lover.

Even I could say, though: minor fans might care, but it wasn't built for long-term streaming.

But... RenaPpi as a collab character?

'Wait a sec.'

It hit me—the phone date.

'I... think I recommended Demon God Legend Hermenian to her...?'

When she'd suddenly asked for game recs, this was the one that came to mind. It was the only one I knew well. Back then, I figured a niche game wouldn't boost viewers or whatever.

I checked her viewer count. Not long into the stream, and she was already at 30,000+—all seated for a stream of this dusty old game, Demon God Legend Hermenian!

'......'

I minimized Prwichi TV and pulled up SproutWiki. When subculture scenes threw curveballs like this, SproutWiki was the most reliable spot. Subculture only, mind you—don't use it for real-world facts, or you'll end up a walking glitch.

Anyway. The page had the usual rundown on Demon God Legend Hermenian that I knew by heart. I scrolled absently.

Then, a line jumped out and grabbed my eyes.

'......'

RenaPpi, you again?!

I clicked the [RenaPpi/Game] page.