Ssa-yo's Breakthrough

Before the regression, Kim Hak-do's first-day broadcast after moving into Rena World was an absolute smash hit.

Of course, some of that was inflated hype simply because he was a major-agency streamer. People even claimed he, alongside Apple-mong, had played the single biggest role in Rena World's early boom. Honestly, that last part was overselling it — Apple-mong had been grinding from day one. Still, there was no denying that Kim Hak-do's stream had a massive impact on Rena World's popularity. After that, other big-name streamers started taking a real interest in the server.

Which naturally raised a question.

How exactly had Kim Hak-do's Minecraft broadcast won over his fans so thoroughly?

I mean, no matter how you looked at it, a bunch of brain-fried LoL bros didn't seem like the type to suddenly fall in love with a completely different kind of content.

…And yet, astonishingly, those very same LoL bros were the ones leaving glowing reviews that day.

It was a similar case to the hangover after the StarCraft occupation era. Kim Hak-do's 2022 Master-tier climb had ended in failure, and his League broadcasts had settled into a meaningless grind. The regular season was already over and preseason had begun, so the LoL bros' attention spans were at rock bottom. Why obsess over a preseason rank that didn't even count officially? In the end, even the hardcore LoL crowd started craving something new instead of grinding unranked solo queue.

And right then, with perfect timing, a Minecraft server called Rena World appeared in front of them.

It offered a flavor those LoL bros had never tasted before.

First experiences always feel fresh and new. For LoL bros encountering Minecraft for the first time, even digging up coal or copper ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠buried in the ground was enough to make them cheer. And the reasons for the boom didn't stop there.

There was the unexpected chemistry between Kim Hak-do and the virtual streamers. Until then, his fans had only ever watched game streamers — the kind who snarled through CK matches or LoL Land, spat curses, and played dirty politics. The virtual streamers he met in Minecraft were completely different. Unlike game streamers specialized purely in unit control, these ones could actually hold a conversation, banter back and forth, and naturally pull the stream into a Vora — visible radio — style of broadcast.

The one who carried that first-day stream was a no-name virtual streamer named Ranchu. A Wooga-dol audition reject who'd briefly caught the spotlight after getting tied into content with Ttoon-nyang, only to sink right back into obscurity. But the moment she ran into Kim Hak-do in Rena World, her spicy talk finally got to shine. She put on a full performance as the generous pushover girlfriend who showered him with everything she had. Calling herself Kim Hak-do's girlfriend, Ranchu delivered a sharp tongue that didn't back down even against a major-agency streamer.

Thanks to that, the LoL bros burned out on boring solo queue got a proper change of pace, and started watching Kim Hak-do's Minecraft activity with genuine goodwill.

Meeting Ranchu on day one had already been peak entertainment — so what about the chemistry with other virtual streamers? Enough LoL bros who still had a few brain cells left started defecting to the Minecraft faction that Kim Hak-do's first day on Rena World delivered one wild scene after another.

Right. That was the pre-regression story. Now there's a cheat key named me thrown into the mix.

I'd made a brief early appearance after Kim Hak-do entered Rena World, left an impression every bit as strong as Ranchu's, and then vanished. And because I hadn't clung on — just dropped the fun and coolly kept my distance — my image was already better than hers. Looking at the communities, I could already feel public opinion swinging my way.

Unlike the other virtuals who still felt completely unfamiliar, I'd already put my name and face in front of Park Bong-sik's fandom through MCK, and yesterday's encounter with Kim Hak-do in Rena World had given me a foothold with that side too.

Honestly, if you combine those two weight classes, you've basically covered almost half of the major-agency streamer audience.

The recognition boost was enormous. As long as I didn't cause any scandals and kept a positive image going forward, I'd almost never have to worry about low viewer counts whenever a big content event rolled around. That put me in a position that, among virtual streamers, was practically unmatched — Freeca's members aside.

What? How could Freeca, sitting still while focused on the overseas market, have higher name recognition than me?

The reason was simple. Every time he collabed with major-agency streamers, Ssa-yo ran his damn recorder nonstop — please take a good look at the members of Freeca, the virtual idol crew I produce. Thanks to Ssa-yo's absurdly stacked connections, Freeca's members were getting more promotional value than I was without ever even showing their faces on a big streamer's broadcast.

Ha. People without a backer really do get the short end of the stick…

Still, the advantages of not belonging to Freeca were even bigger. First, my broadcast direction wasn't under Ssa-yo's control, so I had freedom. Second, I didn't have to maintain an idol concept, which meant I could push Candy donations a lot more aggressively.

Honestly, that second reason was what really got under Freeca fans' skin. The ones who passed the audition were Freeca's members, but Decrescendo's members were making several times more money.

Especially once January 2023 hit — Rena World's absolute peak boom period — the virtual-related galleries would be flooded with snide posts like that. Park Na-na alone had earned more that January than Freeca's four members combined. Passing the audition had actually been a bad move for Freeca members' streaming careers, people said.

Living in a capitalist society, that was a jab that was bound to sting hard. It wasn't even a close gap — four people's income combined still couldn't match one person. And by then Freeca had been uploading YouTube videos, running game ads with Ssa-yo's help, and doing all sorts of activities, yet they hadn't produced any flashy results. The only thing that kept fans somewhat satisfied was the steady avatar upgrades.

In the end, to break through that stifling reality, Ssa-yo planned a new way out.

Namely: an additional member audition for Freeca, to fill a seat that had unpleasantly gone empty!

What? Sounds like a joke of a storyline?

No, I'm not kidding — this is real. How is this real?!

Christmas Eve.

Ssa-yo's sudden notice once again shook the virtual scene on Pangea TV to its core.