The Accidental Stream Star

While Lee Da-bi was setting up, one of the Power Warrior Guild members spoke up. "Tae-hyun, why don't you start your own personal stream?"

"Too annoying."

"..."

An utterly unexpected reason! He brushed off something others were dying to do with such casual indifference.

"It... it's really not that much of a hassle. I stream too, and..."

"Really? What kind of stream?"

"Just a personal channel..."

"Right. Sounds like it'd be unpopular."

"Urgh!"

Struck by Tae-hyun's verbal blow, the guild member staggered.

"B-but other rankers do a lot of personal streaming. Even if they aren't signed to a network, managing a personal stream is surprisingly easy. And content-wise, you can do things much more comfortably than on a network broadcast..."

"Have you ever signed with a network and streamed?"

"Huh? No."

"Then how do you know?"

Tae-hyun asked without much thought, but the guild member's expression grew even gloomier.

"...That's what other rankers said on their personal streams... I'm sorry for talking when I've never even signed with a network..."

"No, why are you apologizing? I was just asking."

Tae-hyun hadn't meant anything by it, but what the guild member said was true. Broadcasting on TV through a contract with a network had the advantage of a stable, large audience, but that was strictly a domestic story. Fantasy Online was a global game! Some of Korea's famous rankers were celebrities abroad as well. In fact, the MBS broadcast videos featuring Tae-hyun were subtitled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and shared by international fans.

If an individual streamed directly on the internet, it wasn't as stable as working with a network, but the viewer base was much wider. The difference between TV and the internet! International fans naturally found it easier to access the internet than Korean TV.

"I'll think about it later if it comes to mind."

"Yes! If you ever want to do it, just let me know!"

While they were chatting, Lee Da-bi seemed to have finished her preparations.

Clap!

With a clap of her hands, Lee Da-bi's stream began.

The official personal internet broadcast of the Power Warrior Guild!

Tae-hyun, curious, asked, "How many people are watching?"

"Uh... about 1,200."

"What? Seriously? Your stream?"

To think there were 1,200 people with nothing better to do at this hour. Tae-hyun couldn't hide his astonishment. And she had just started!

Of course, those who had bookmarked the Power Warrior Guild's channel would receive a notification window saying "Stream has started" even while playing the game. Still, 1,200 people. No matter how global Fantasy Online was, it was still amazing.

'Is Power Warrior more popular than I thought?'

Tae-hyun had thought of the Power Warrior Guild as nothing more than a bunch of malicious spam emails, but he decided he should reconsider.

However, that thought was premature.

The comments flooded in next to the stream in an instant! Half of the people who entered the Power Warrior stream were those who had a lot of grudges built up against the Power Warrior Guild.

"This guy looks like someone who got hit in Abalab City."

Tae-hyun keenly noticed from the last comment.

"Ha, haha... Usually, the comments aren't this bad..."

"Really?"

"...Actually, they're always like this."

However, not all viewers came to curse them out. Since Power Warrior was so famous, many came to flame them, but there were also many who didn't.

Tae-hyun, curious, asked, "Are they your guild members?"

"No..."

"Then why are they posting comments like that?"

"Maybe they're just bored."

"There really are a lot of people in this world with nothing to do."

Bored people posting promotional spam comments even though they weren't even members of the Power Warrior Guild! They were one of the pillars of the Power Warrior stream's audience.

And finally, there were those who were seriously trying to get information.

Although the Power Warrior Guild was a bizarre guild, they didn't stream poorly. If they did, people would only watch for a bit at the beginning and then leave. People weren't stupid.

The reason so many people gathered for the Power Warrior Guild's stream was that they revealed quite useful information.

The Power Warrior Guild, which possessed overwhelming numbers! With so many guild members, they naturally heard and saw a lot of information. Of course, they couldn't get information that other guilds hid and monopolized, and there was quite a bit of incorrect information...

But people found even that level of information highly interesting.

"Ah, ah. Today, before we reveal the information, I'd like to introduce a guest."

A cold reaction! Considering what Power Warrior usually did, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it was a natural reaction.

"...Today is different! Look here! It's player Kim Tae-hyun!"

Lee Da-bi grabbed Tae-hyun's arm and pulled him into the camera's view.

"..."

Tae-hyun was speechless at the comments. Lee Da-bi avoided his gaze.

But not everyone was suspicious.

In any case, the reaction was explosive.

As if the rumors had spread in an instant, the viewer count began to skyrocket.

"1... 10,000?!"

Lee Da-bi was shocked when she saw ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the viewer count. 10,000 was a number the Power Warrior Guild stream could only hit at its absolute peak!

"Is that a lot?"

"Of course it is! Famous rankers only get about 30,000 to 40,000 when they stream!"

Lee Da-bi's eyes sparkled. She knew Tae-hyun was famous, but she hadn't expected so many people to flock to a personal stream just because he made a brief appearance! His influence was far greater than she had imagined.

Actually, it was only natural. Tae-hyun didn't communicate with others at all outside of his network contracts. He didn't have a personal stream, nor did he even run a community site. Naturally, when he appeared on a personal stream like this, attention was bound to be concentrated.

"I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I feel like you're looking at me like I'm a pile of gold."

"It's just your imagination, your imagination!"

For a split second, Tae-hyun thought he saw gold coins flashing in Lee Da-bi's eyes.

'It's probably because of her class characteristics, right?'

The comments were coming in so fast and in such large numbers that it was hard to respond to them individually.

Instead of answering, Tae-hyun gestured to switch the stream screen.

The blazing Sadiq's Flame!

"Why do you think I came to the Auston Kingdom? It's because of this flame."

"To clear this flame, you need Sadiq's Sacred Ring. This ring. See it?"

Ignoring the reactions, Tae-hyun continued speaking.

"Well then, I'm turning it off now."

His voice was as casual as someone turning off the lights in their room before going to bed!

The flames spreading wide across the plains began to shrink in an instant. Watching his rapidly decreasing Divine stat, Tae-hyun smacked his lips. It was a pity, but there was nothing he could do!

'Tsk. I can always raise it again.'

The Divine stat was relatively easy to raise compared to other stats. Of course, that was only true for Tae-hyun. For others, the Divine stat was just as difficult to raise as Strength, Agility, Constitution, or Wisdom...

But not for Tae-hyun.

His position as the Pope of the Archisus Church and his class as the Avatar of Archisus.

Both were highly specialized in raising the Divine stat.

If he could designate the Archisus Church as the state religion of the Auston Kingdom, he could easily recover the Divine stat consumed here.

'...!'

Come to think of it, achieving this much of a feat naturally warranted a title. Except for the part where Tae-hyun was the one who set the fire in the first place.

The title was extremely useful for Tae-hyun, who had many occasions to fight against the Sadiq Church. Furthermore, the skill was a bonus!

Checking the dizzying array of message windows, Tae-hyun caught the dying embers of Sadiq's Flame on a heavy wooden staff.

Whoosh!

"What are you doing?!"

Cain shouted in surprise. Tae-hyun had done it so casually that Cain almost missed it.

"Lighting a fire."

"If you don't put that out, it'll spread again!"

"It's fine. I can put it out."

As Tae-hyun and Cain bickered, the viewers watching the stream grew curious.

Lee Da-bi turned her head. She saw Tae-hyun catching Sadiq's Flame separately to keep it.

'How can I show them that!'

"Uh... it's nothing! Ta-da! The fire on the plains is completely out! Long live Kim Tae-hyun!"

"Well then, everyone! See you next time! Donations and bookmarks are always welcome!"

As things started getting weird, Lee Da-bi hurriedly shut down the stream.

Regardless, Tae-hyun stared at Sadiq's Flame burning at the end of his wooden staff with a satisfied face.

Crackle!

"This will be perfect for setting fires."

"..."

Lee Da-bi wanted to ask, 'Where?!' but she couldn't bring herself to say it.