Chapter 29
Chapter 29
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: The Operator Pulling Submarine Patches
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Awakener Yoo Euisul.
Lately, she'd been spacing out more and more, just staring blankly at her beloved sword—formerly Excalibur, currently Iron Sword No. 3.
The reason was undoubtedly the sword's name.
Yoo Euisul.
She was a first-generation Awakener, even among the first generation.
Back in the day.
During the time when Anomalous Phenomena were called the "Great Catastrophe."
She was one of the great heroes who had charged into the front lines at the tender age of a high school student.
Her experience as an Awakener could be summed up in one sentence.
Awakener Association Chairman Scheduled Hwan.
Was not her master.
He was her peer.
Her beloved sword, formerly Excalibur.
Was an item she'd acquired less than a month into her Awakener career.
To Yoo Euisul, Excalibur wasn't just any sword.
Can inanimate objects become friends?
Of course.
They can.
That's why there's a term like "attachment doll"—a beat-up old thing you've kept for decades without throwing away.
At the very least, to her, Excalibur wasn't just a sword.
It was more precious than a friend, a blade she'd swung alongside for a full decade, conquering Anomalous Phenomena.
And now, that irreplaceable treasure of a sword.
Had been forcibly renamed overnight by Lee Jia.
From Yoo Euisul's perspective, there was no way she could feel good about it.
In other words.
Thanks to Lee Jia, Yoo Euisul had properly taken the red pill.
Of course, she'd been the one to first ask Lee Jia to check the sword's info.
But as everyone knew, Yoo Euisul was a woman who cared far more about results than causes.
The cause provider was herself.
But the result provider was Lee Jia.
Still.
If she tried to think as positively as possible.
It wasn't the common word "iron" sword, but the third sword forged by a blacksmith named "Iron."
She didn't have to be that depressed about it...
"Argh, my Excalibur!"
...No matter how positively she tried to spin it.
The dazzlingly cool name "Excalibur" kept shimmering before her eyes.
Fine, whatever about the name.
There was one more thing she needed to think about regarding this sword.
Yoo Euisul recalled the conversation she'd had with Lee Jia just yesterday.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "But Euisul."
"Euisul unnie."
"Euisul. About this sword. I'm not entirely sure, but... it seems like it has some hidden ability?"
"...Is that for real?"
"Yeah. The wiki doesn't lie."
Lee Jia shared three pieces of information with Yoo Euisul.
"First effect: It never breaks."
This was something she already knew.
Her sword—formerly Excalibur, now Iron Sword No. 3—hadn't rusted or even gotten a single nick after a full decade.
"Second effect: It can sever the target's properties."
This, too, was something she already knew.
So.
What was the third effect?
Yoo Euisul, who had swung the sword at least a million times over ten years, had no idea about some other effect?
"I don't know either."
"...Hey, big-tits pink-hair. I'm not in the mood for jokes right now."
"N-no joke! I really don't know. It's censored, so I can't check it."
"How do you check the censored part?"
"Beats me. Reflecting Myriad Stars might know."
"How do you meet this Reflecting Myriad Stars person?"
"I told you, it's not a person—it's a god."
"...You wanna test that?"
"No joke! And I don't know."
"What the hell do you even know?"
"Nothing."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The conversation with her had been pretty frustrating.
But even so, just the info that "this sword has a hidden ability" made it incredibly valuable.
After resolving the Anomalous Phenomenon with Lee Jia.
Yoo Euisul cut back on sleep and threw herself into training to awaken the sword's new effect.
The results weren't great.
...Well, duh.
A hidden effect she hadn't discovered in ten years wasn't going to pop up overnight.
In the end.
With no real ideas coming to mind, Yoo Euisul thought she should contact Lee Jia again.
'Right, she said she does internet broadcasts.'
On a whim, Yoo Euisul decided to drop by her stream.
She was live right then.
Stream title.
[24-Hour Keonwang Broadcast - Part 2, Horror Game 'All - Call of Gularaz']
Yoo Euisul was a total newbie when it came to VTubers.
"What the hell's with this cam setup?"
So she mistook it for Lee Jia streaming with her camera on.
Live viewers.
4,287.
Even at 3 a.m., that was a ton of people.
Lee Jia was apparently a big-league streamer.
Yoo Euisul didn't know much about VTubers.
Or about Lee Jia.
So the chat spewing unknown slang made no sense to her.
But one thing was crystal clear.
'This girl is absolute trash at games.'
[Ziyaaaaaack!]
Lee Jia let out a scream.
There wasn't even a ghost.
Nothing showed up at all, and she still screamed.
'Scaredy-cat too... How'd a girl like this get stabbed?'
Yoo Euisul thought.
This Lee Jia girl.
The more she watched, the weirder she seemed.
And that made her like her even more.
Bit by bit.
Yoo Euisul's interest in Lee Jia was amplifying.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The aftermath of the 24-hour broadcast was intense.
Whoa.
I could've sworn I crashed into bed around 7 p.m. yesterday.
But when I woke up, it was 1 p.m. the next day.
And I was still tired.
My throat wasn't wrecked, my back didn't ache or anything.
This body's tough enough to shrug off sword stabs—what damage could a measly 24-hour stream do?
...Yesterday was seriously close.
I nearly passed out from exhaustion the second I hit the bed.
If that'd happened, I'd probably be in a one-on-one with Reflecting Myriad Stars in the Omnia Archive right now.
Speaking of which, I'm really curious.
The first of the Archivist's Duties.
[No off days except death. Fail to stream at least once a day, and you'll be forcibly sent back to the Omnia Archive.]
What the hell even is the Omnia Archive?
And what happens if you're forcibly returned?
"..."
Who knows.
But I'd bet good money it's something like total disposal.
Shirking your duties isn't exactly brag-worthy.
The thought crossed my mind, so I checked the Archivist's Duties again.
"Uh, fuck!"
I cursed out loud.
I had no choice.
⚙ ARCHIVIST'S DUTIES ⚙ 1. No off days except death. Fail to stream at least once a day, and you'll be forcibly sent back to the Omnia Archive. 1-1. Once you start a stream, you must broadcast for at least 30 minutes. 2. Create at least one new [Item] document per month. [This month's duty completed]
3. Create at least one new [Anomalous Phenomenon] document per month. [This month's duty completed]
4. Fail any duty, and you'll immediately lose Archivist status and be disposed of. - Archivist's Duties update in real time. - The Archivist's Duties.
1-1 had been added.
Ah.
Shit.
I'd figured the duties would change eventually.
But I didn't expect it this soon.
30 minutes...
Haa.
Sure, 30 minutes is short, and I already plan to stream at least four hours whenever I go live.
But now stream-controllers who boot up and quit after 10 seconds are blocked.
This is such bullshit.
No, why does this game patch so much in real time?
Where in the world is there an operator this diligent?
And no patch notes either.
If I hadn't checked the wiki, I'd never have known.
This is a submarine patch.
Don't you know submarine patches are bad manners?
The real problem is.
Later it could go from 30 minutes to an hour.
Then an hour to two.
Two to three.
In other words, this feels like punishment for insolence.
Like a divine warning not to stream-control.
Following the price of blasphemy.
Now the price of insolence too.
This is so unfair I'm dying.
How hard have I been streaming?
Cafe members hit over 5,000 today—that means 5,000 devotees of Reflecting Myriad Stars!
Shouldn't that earn some grace and blessings?
...Of course, I admit my stream blew up from debut thanks to top-tier pandering quality.
Still.
If there's blasphemy and insolence prices.
There should be grace and blessings too.
If I keep streaming hard.
If the god has any conscience.
Maybe it'll revoke that added duty on its own.
They say aim high.
Hit 100,000 cafe members.
Peak viewers at 100,000.
Even Reflecting Myriad Stars will have to acknowledge me then.
If it doesn't revoke that trash duty by then.
Fine, I'm done.
Forced return to Omnia Archive or whatever, I quit.
With that, I racked my brain, plotting future stream content.
Collabs?
Do 'em. Never planned on collabing with other VTubers, but nothing grows your stream tier like collabs.
Tournaments?
Enter 'em. Sign up for every streamer tourney that pops up.
High-confession streams?
Do more. No better national dish content.
Facecam?
Do it. Buy a top-tier cam over 500k won, I will.
I'm screwed, seriously.
Even out of spite, I'll make it big streaming and force Reflecting Myriad Stars to acknowledge me.
As I grumbled to myself, furiously planning content.
My phone rang.
Awakener Association?
Sadly, I have no friends, no family.
So the only place that'd call is the Association.
Checked the name.
Not the Association.
No.
Why's she calling all of a sudden...
"...Hello?"
[Hey, where are you.]
"Ah, Euisul. Hi. What's up..."
[Where.]
"...Home."
[Come out. Awakener Association training grounds.]
"...Now?"
[You eat?]
"No, just woke up."
[I'll buy food. Come out. Hanging up.]
Click.
She spat out her piece and hung up.
Who the hell does that?
Have you ever seen such a crazy bitch in the world?