The Server Opens with a Bang

I knew the infamous streamer EvilDogTV all too well. His real name was Kang Tae-seok, a YouTuber with over a million subscribers. The moment the Zeniths scandal broke, he was one of the first to publicly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rip into it.

I’d grown numb to all the Zeniths hate by now. But that signature mocking, twisted logic of his… that was something else entirely. He had a real talent for stirring up drama, like those sunglasses-wearing wrecker YouTubers. Add in his flashy way with words that somehow only shone when it came to being an asshole, and you had the perfect storm. In short, he was a total bastard. A principled one, at that. The same breed as those guys who read one book and suddenly think they’re intellectuals. Except the one book he’d read just happened to be My Struggle.

Anyway. Latte-noona’s voice came through the phone, thick with worry.

“Yeah… well, I’ll just have to deal with it.”

You can’t skip making kimchi just because you’re scared of maggots. Compared to the benefits I could gain from this server, the risk of running into EvilDog was something I could overlook.

“Besides, it’s not like I’ve ever been free of controversy myself.”

Even now, some communities were still endlessly bashing Zeniths. My reputation was decent only within VTuber circles. To the general public, Sung Eunha was still just another brainwashed bitch from that group. And since public perception of VTubers wasn’t exactly glowing either, every time my story came up the communities would explode. Of course, that was all according to what Dohajun had told me. I wasn’t exactly eager to stare into the abyss myself.

I continued speaking to Latte-noona. “If I freak out over something this small, I’ll never make it. My goal is two million subscribers, after all.”

Noona clicked her tongue like she was fed up, but she wasn’t about to give up over something this minor. Like I’d told her, my first goal was to catch up to Angel’s level of fame. In that sense, this server was an opportunity I couldn’t afford to miss. A massive event hosted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠by a two-million-subscriber VTuber herself. It was a chance to see my future target right in front of my eyes.

Plus… I have some personal questions about Angel.

Even now, I still couldn’t make sense of what had happened back then. Think about it logically. Why would a two-million-subscriber YouTuber come to a newbie VTuber’s (or whatever I was) stream just to pick a fight? What could she possibly gain from it? Why throw away two million won like it was nothing? It probably wasn’t just for fun. So this was the perfect chance to press her for some answers. Or I could just use it as an excuse to meet her. Assuming I even got the chance.

“Anyway, I’ll invite you once the server starts, so don’t worry too much.”

“Will do.”

Click. The short beep of the call ending. I closed my phone and immediately headed to my computer. With a huge event coming up, I couldn’t afford to slack on streaming even for a single day.

[Screenshot of participant list]

MyCraft is a traditional Korean pastime, a historical fact even mentioned in the Goguryeo watermelon records.

…is complete bullshit, of course. It just means the game is that popular in Korea. A world made entirely of cubic blocks, with mining, building, combat, and countless other gameplay elements. The game that basically defined the sandbox genre. MyCraft.

And after nearly ten years, I was finally launching it on my PC again.

“What the…? Is this how you do it?”

“Wait, why are you all giving me advice just because the address leaked… Oh, did it work??”

Thankfully, after about twenty minutes of suffering, the loading bar finally appeared on the dirt-filled screen. The moment it finished, a health gauge popped up at the bottom and the game started running properly.

“Did I do it???”

“Just kidding. It worked.”

“Huu…”

The chat window looked especially vicious today, probably because I’d roasted them too hard earlier. I cut out a few of the worst offenders as an example, then smiled at the viewers.

“There was a little commotion just now~”

While I was normalizing the chat with the practiced hand of someone who’d done it many times before, I suddenly heard someone calling me from afar.

“Yume-nim…!!”

It was the voice of a young girl. But I’d never heard it before. Saint Noa’s voice was also youthful, but hers was usually very soft and gentle. This one was sharp enough to pierce straight through your eardrums. I reflexively looked around and soon spotted a blonde, blue-eyed girl character.

A familiar nickname. It was Angel. She spoke to me in an extremely excited voice.

“It’s been so long, Yume-nim!! Have you been well?? Wait, no. This is actually our first time meeting in person, right??”

“U-uh, yes?”

“Anyway, you’re on the server now, right?? Have you done the tutorial yet?? If not, I can help you!!”

“Um… well…”

Her speech was so energetic it felt like every sentence had two exclamation marks. While I was still trying to pull myself together and stuttering like a total social outcast, a system alert suddenly started ringing in the corner of my screen.

I could tell just from the username. It was the famous troll among streamers, EvilDog. Angel broke out in a cold sweat and said,

“Ah… I’m sorry! Looks like EvilDog-nim is calling me, so I have to go…”

“I-I see…”

“I’ll finish up as quickly as possible and come guide you!! See you soon…”

She disappeared as if fleeing, without us even having a proper conversation.

“……”

It felt like a storm had just blown through. I stood there blankly for a moment before finally snapping out of it. I gave an awkward laugh and told the viewers,

“…Well then, shall we start with the tutorial?”

This really… wasn’t going to be easy from the very beginning.

The tutorial didn’t take that long. The system was simpler than I expected, and the server itself didn’t have that many features, so there wasn’t much to learn.

“So basically the whole system is just shops, coins, and gambling?”

“……”

This content seemed like something a certain someone currently in prison would love. Well, the game itself was made for dopamine, so it wasn’t surprising. Anyway, from what I understood, the server’s progression was simple. First, you gather items by mining, hunting, farming, and so on in the wild. Then you sell those items to build up starting capital, and use that to aim for a big win with coins (stocks).

There were more detailed rules, of course… but that was basically it. It was ridiculously simple: just earn money and spin the gacha. They’d gathered dozens of famous streamers just for that.

And my thoughts on it were:

“This looks fucking fun.”

Humans have always been drawn to simple, primal things. You know, Occam’s razor? Think of it like skill descriptions in games. The longer they are, the harder they are to understand and the more awkward they are to use.

It wasn’t quite that simple, of course. But anyway. I’d already started late because of the download issues, so I didn’t have time to dawdle. I quickly finished the remaining tutorial and told the viewers,

“Then shall we head straight to the plaza? We need to get started before we fall behind.”

After finishing the tutorial and stepping outside, a forest of buildings filled the screen. I walked through the cityscape for a few minutes before finally emerging from a narrow alley. A wide open space centered around a fountain spread out before me.

“Wasn’t the NPC that gives equipment next to the fountain?”

As I approached the NPC by the fountain to get my equipment, I started hearing a commotion. Two familiar nicknames entered my view.

“I told you, the money you lost in coins can’t be recovered…? It literally says refunds are impossible on the exchange…?”

“No, fuck, I’m telling you the probabilities are rigged?? What is this, some ocean story or MapleStory?? How the hell does it drop four times in a row!!”

“……”

Angel and EvilDog. I was momentarily stunned by the unexpected faces, but I immediately tried to change direction and walk past the fountain like someone who’d just spotted a clown on the street. Unfortunately, I was a step too late. EvilDog spotted me and greeted me with exaggerated enthusiasm.

“Whoa?? Isn’t that the whore group??”

“……”

The insane greeting that immediately dropped the word “whore” the moment he saw my face. After a brief pause, I responded with the entertainment industry’s traditional way of returning a greeting.

“Welcome, you cyber male prostitute.”

And then the chat exploded.