Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Lurking Isn't Optional—It's Essential
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Who am I?
Where am I?
Ah.
I remember now.
I'm Lee Jia, the poor soul who got wrapped up in black smoke overnight and became a slave to a god.
And this is the Awakener Association's conference room.
"So you're saying Kim Junghwan verified the facts himself! Lee Jia's ability would be incredibly useful to the Awakener Association..."
"Which is exactly why we need to protect her even more, isn't it? A newbie who's just awakened heading into an Anomalous Phenomenon zone has less than a 10% survival rate..."
"If we don't investigate the Anomalous Phenomena and items, we're dead! What the hell have you been listening to all this time?!"
The moment I revealed that I'd be disposed of if I didn't find an item and an Anomalous Phenomenon within 20 days...
Kim Junghwan immediately called an emergency meeting.
I got dragged into the conference room in a daze.
I demonstrated my ability.
And I told them I'd die in 20 days.
That's how this mess started.
I'm watching in real time as the big shots from the Awakener Association raise their voices, dropping my name left and right.
I don't feel like I've done anything wrong, but it still feels like I'm sitting on a bed of nails.
...No, wait.
Did I mess up?
If I'd come clean on my first visit to the Awakener Association, things probably wouldn't have spiraled this badly.
But still.
It wasn't like I had a choice.
I'd just awakened my ability and my head was spinning.
The pressure to stream was intense.
And I was terrified that revealing my power would get me dissected alive.
There was some heated debate, but the meeting eventually reached a conclusion.
I'm the one who gets scrapped if I don't personally lay eyes on an Anomalous Phenomenon and an item within 20 days.
Like it or not, I have to enter an Anomalous Phenomenon zone.
And the higher-ups at the Awakener Association understood that perfectly well.
With that settled, the discussion shifted to "how to maximize my survival odds."
"Items are one thing, but Anomalous Phenomena are the real problem."
"First, let's notify all Awakeners. Tell them that if a new Anomalous Phenomenon or item appears, they report it first before doing anything."
"Agreed. To maximize Jia's survival rate, pairing her with a veteran Awakener seems best... We need to decide on the most suitable candidate."
Hmm.
My ability...
Feels like people are hyping it up way too much.
Of course, Anomalous Phenomena and items are completely beyond modern human science—we can't even grasp basic info on them.
From the Association's perspective, my wiki-writing ability that reveals their details is undeniably valuable.
But.
The wiki entries might turn out to be total duds.
For example.
Black Smoke 1. Overview 2. Trivia 1. Overview The black smoke that appeared in Lee Jia's home. 2. Trivia Lee Jia turned into a woman after being enveloped by this black smoke. Lee Jia's race changed after being enveloped by this black smoke. Lee Jia awakened her ability after being enveloped by this black smoke. ...Something like that.
The wiki could end up being surprisingly lame.
I haven't actually used my ability on a real item or Anomalous Phenomenon yet.
No one knows how those entries will look.
Not me.
Not you.
Not even Reflecting Myriad Stars.
Anyway, no one knows.
Being a god doesn't guarantee omniscience, right?
Reflecting Myriad Stars might not be some divine entity after all—just a slightly smarter mortal or...
BAM!
"Gwehk!"
N-No, take it back!
Reflecting Myriad Stars knows everything!
"...Jia?"
"Ah... It's time for my prayers. Reflecting Myriad Stars, forgive me! Thank you! Reflecting Myriad Stars is a god and invincible!"
"..."
Ah.
The way people are looking at me has changed.
Before, their eyes held pity for me and greed for my ability.
Now, they're just staring like I'm some deranged lunatic.
I'm not a lunatic.
Just your average fanatic.
...
...
...
"So."
In the center of the conference room.
A middle-aged man who seemed to be the top dog spoke up.
"What do you think, Jia?"
"About what?"
I snapped back a bit rudely.
The people around reacted fiercely.
"Show some respect to the Chairman!"
Ah.
So he's the Chairman?
I-I didn't know.
I'm only interested in VTubers, not this stuff.
Of course.
Even an idiot like me who only knows VTubers would recognize the name of the Awakener Association Chairman.
Awakener Association Chairman, Scheduled Hwan.
The name's so unique, it's burned into my memory.
This man.
He's the national hero who saved Korea from crisis in the early days of Anomalous Phenomena outbreaks.
He calmed the room and asked me again.
"You haven't said a word since the meeting started. I figured you might have some good ideas, so I asked."
"Well... I'm clueless about all this, so I was just gonna let you guys handle it."
"Your opinion is the most important. Even if we reach a decision, if you reject it, we won't force it on you."
Whoa.
This was outside my expectations.
This guy and the Association seem surprisingly open-minded.
But anyway.
They ask for my opinion, and I've only got one thing to say.
"I just want to live."
"..."
"I don't care about profiting off Awakener work or getting famous. I've got a decent side income from streaming lately, so..."
I hesitated for a second before speaking.
Then I nodded and went for it.
"Can't you just assign me someone ridiculously strong?"
Truth be told, watching the meeting had me frustrated to death.
This won't work.
That won't work.
Why are they beating around the bush so much?
Just slap a super powerful Awakener on me and call it a day—problem solved.
Sure, someone might call my tone rude, but...
Imagine you only have 20 days left to live.
Watching this drawn-out meeting would make anyone curse.
The Chairman, Scheduled Hwan, pondered for a moment.
"Understood. We've reached a conclusion."
Then he nodded and continued.
"We'll assign her to Jia."
"N-No, Chairman! That's too dangerous!"
"Who knows what that crazy maniac might do..."
And with that.
The meeting ended.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After the meeting wrapped up.
I got registered as an Awakener right away.
Registration didn't mean I had to dive into an Anomalous Phenomenon zone today.
Anomalous Phenomena and items pop up once every two weeks or so, at random times.
No one knows when, so you can't camp out in a zone 24/7.
Plus, I've gotta stream once a day no matter what.
They promised to contact me the moment a new one appears.
My request for "anyone, just make sure they're strong" was eagerly accepted.
They wouldn't tell me who, though.
Said knowing the name ahead of time wouldn't help anyway.
All the info I have on this Awakener is:
1. She's a woman.
2. Top of the performance charts.
3. Psycho personality.
That's it.
Anyone who knows Anomalous Phenomena and Awakeners could probably guess who from that alone.
But as I said, I'm a VTuber-obsessed dummy.
Whatever. All I have to do is wait for the call, right?
The Association seems to see me as a valuable asset, so I can relax a bit.
No way they'd let precious me die.
Before starting my stream, I watched Ayase's broadcast like always.
💬 Stream Chat — Ayase [Today's a rare cafe crawl to start things off. Everyone, take a seat~] — Viewer - Seeeeeeeated — Viewer - Seated Cafe crawls.
Classic VTuber just-chatting comfort food content.
I'll be streaming for life now, so maybe I should start a fan cafe.
Hmm.
Decided. Today's stream content: opening a cafe.
Good things deserve copying—that's how you grow.
Watching Ayase's cafe crawl melts my heart.
This is healing.
Why go to clubs?
Ayase's streams are my club and my dopamine hit.
While I was glued to Ayase's broadcast.
— Viewer [Recent update on that new VTuber who just debuted...? Kinda curious.] Ah.
No way.
Right?
— Viewer [Lee Jia? Wow, why is she so pretty?] ...Yup, it's me.
Who the hell dumped my info post in sacred Ayase's cafe?
Posting about other streamers in a personal fan cafe can be seen as bad manners.
But Ayase has the mindset that watching other VTubers helps her grow, so she's super lenient about mentions of rivals—especially fellow VTubers.
I know that better than anyone.
But still.
— Viewer - Heard that VTuber is an Ayase fan — Viewer - True A-dong from debut lololol — Viewer - Whole world's A-dong... — Ayase [Oh, really? That's an honor! Then I'll be Jia's fan starting today too~] Hearing my name drop from Ayase's mouth in real time was mortifying.
Of course, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thrilled she noticed me.
But a true Ayase fan...
Declines getting name-dropped and turning into a named viewer.
I haven't seen a single named viewer meet a good end.
...Though I'm a VTuber now, not just a viewer.
Anyway.
I couldn't handle the embarrassment and fired off a donation.
[Anonymous donated 100,000 won.] — Viewer Hmm... but is that enough? That VTuber's RP was kinda intense, not my thing. Mistake.
I messed up in my desperation for her to stop mentioning me.
The lurking master known as me failed to lurk for the first time in her life.
— Ayase [Don't bash other VTubers! Think I won't notice anonymous shade? Let's see, your name... Oh my. A 15-month sub saying that? Per stream rules, 1-week ban.] "Gaaaaah! I was wrong!"
That day.
My world crumbled.