303. I Think It'd Be Better to Gear Up Serin...?
303. I Think It'd Be Better to Gear Up Serin...?
***
After breakfast, Soyul and Hayoon wrapped up their light conversation and got ready to leave.
I kept telling them it was fine for them to stay longer, but the two of them said they felt like they'd be imposing and left anyway.
After that, I didn't really do much, but time flew by.
Normally I'd be spending this time prepping for my stream, but today, for some reason, I'd left my room and was savoring a brief moment of leisure.
Slurp.
Serin, who'd been sipping through a straw, lifted her head, eyes hazy at the brain-freezing coldness of the coffee.
Above her, a perfectly clear sky stretched out.
'It's really clear.'
The blazing sunlight poured down pleasantly, making the scene look like a painting.
The weather was still hot, but passing the time with an iced coffee wasn't as bad as I'd thought.
"Pfft..."
I let out a big sigh of drowsiness, then a pointless laugh slipped out.
'I've really started laughing over nothing.'
Lately, the frequency of me laughing for no reason at all seemed to be increasing.
Originally, even the act of relaxing idly like this would have felt awkward, but now I'd even developed the composure to think, why not just rest like this?
Sitting out on the terrace drinking coffee was proof of that.
"People really do all live busy lives."
The daytime scenery from the terrace had something different from what I saw at night.
The lively yet oddly busy way people moved, the way everyone strolled the streets in light clothing—it drew my gaze all on its own.
"And it's peaceful, too."
I muttered that offhandedly, wondering how to run today's stream.
BaTalk!
A small sound rang out as the smartphone on the table vibrated.
Yoo Eunha.
[Serin, did you have lunch?]
It was a BaTalk message from none other than Eunha.
"Is it already lunchtime?"
I blankly checked the time and saw it was already 12:49.
But maybe because I'd had a hearty breakfast, I didn't really feel like eating even though it was lunchtime.
Me.
[I had a light Korean meal. What about you, Eunha? Did you have lunch?]
Still, rather than replying that I "didn't feel like eating," I decided to give a thoughtful response.
It was something I'd felt while talking with the editors yesterday. Eunha's influence was beyond imagination.
The two of them had said that RinTube's explosive growth was, knowingly or not, partly due to Eunha's influence.
BaTalk!
Yoo Eunha.
[A Korean meal that you made yourself... now I want some too. Ah, I just had steak at the team house.]
"Steak for lunch... Eunha really does live in a different world."
I let out a wry laugh, wondering what kind of environment you'd have to live in to eat steak for lunch.
I started typing to keep the conversation going a bit longer.
Me.
[I'll be sure to watch all the upcoming playoff matches. So you have to take good care of your condition until the finals, okay? I'm sure someone with your skills will win it all.]
I sent an unusually long message and waited for a moment.
BaTalk!
Yoo Eunha.
[Thank you. Serin, I'll get good results and make time somehow, so let's definitely spend time together then. I'll try to catch your streams whenever I can too.]
I figured it'd probably be hard to meet for a while until the tournament ended, but I could clearly feel from her messages that she wanted to see me.
"Eunha, really... even during tournament season."
But saying that didn't make me feel bad.
It made me feel like she really cared, and strangely, talking with Eunha was comfortable and pressure-free.
After exchanging a few more messages, she got up.
My coffee time had been satisfying enough.
......
"Starting the stream on Thursday, September 2nd."
I began the stream with my usual opening line and cleared my throat.
[Rinnnnnnnn]
[I really enjoyed yesterday's stream!]
[This is Rin's stream, right?]
[I came to check out the stream our Eunha mentioned!]
[Wow, her voice really is nice]
[What the heck, why is chat like this all of a sudden???]
[Why is Rin's stream getting so many new viewers today]
[She's a real major streamer now, look how fast viewers are pouring in the moment she turns on the stream lolol]
Just like always.
'No, this feels like more than usual?'
The speed at which chat was scrolling was a bit off compared to normal.
Usually, right after turning on the stream, chat would scroll at a somewhat relaxed pace.
But now it was moving as actively as if the stream had been on for over an hour.
Viewers: 10,309.
When I glanced at the viewer count, it definitely seemed abnormal.
"Did something happen today? It feels like way too many people showed up as soon as I started."
I slowly broached the subject, cautious in case some incident I didn't know about had occurred.
'Did I make a slip of the tongue or something?'
Yesterday's collab had plenty of material that could become controversial.
The collab with the famous celebrity Seo Eunwoo, Eunha directly mentioning Rin, and so on.
[lololol]
[I'm a TSJ fan, thanks for helping our Eunha during her break!]
[I'd never seen Jeanne d'Arc laugh like that before, so I came to find out who Rin was]
[When are you playing Another World?]
[Are these Jeanne d'Arc fans? What's with them all of a sudden?]
[Looks like the aftermath of Jeanne d'Arc's interview yesterday is still going]
[lolol yesterday Seo Eunwoo was one thing, but Jeanne d'Arc mentioning Rin almost blew up the stream too]
[Rin, are you not turning on your cam?]
As I watched the chaotic chat, I started to understand the situation.
'The sudden increase in viewers is Eunha's fans?'
The viewer count had spiked abnormally due to Eunha's interview yesterday, so I felt a sense of relief.
I'd been nervous, thinking I'd made a slip of the tongue in front of a genuinely famous celebrity.
"Thank you all for coming. I'm a streamer focused on skilled Another World gameplay..."
I was calmly continuing my introduction when—
Ding-a-ling!
『LEIONA has gifted 50 Tier 1 subscriptions to the community!』
《A Midsummer Santa has appeared!》
A fanfare burst across the screen as the first subscription gift notification appeared.
[Whoa, Rin's stream got subs too?]
[Holy shit, they did]
[There are so many viewers]
[Me too]
[A sub Santa appeared!]
[What Santa in summer lololol]
[Hand!]
[H!]
Chat flooded with similar messages like a macro, and while wondering what was going on, I first expressed my thanks.
"Thank you, LEIONA, for the 50 subscription gifts. Thank you so much for the 50 gifted subs."
Today was the first day I'd enabled the subscription system since becoming a partner streamer, and seeing subscription gifts go off right away made me laugh for no reason.
Subscriptions.
On tweetie, subscriptions were, strictly speaking, similar to donations but conceptually different.
While a donation meant handing the streamer the exact amount of money you entered, a subscription meant purchasing a monthly recurring subscription to that streamer's channel.
As a result, an emphasis mark for that streamer's channel appeared in front of the viewer's ID, making them stand out a bit more?
But the biggest benefit of all was not having to watch ads on that streamer's broadcasts.
From the streamer's perspective, the major difference from donations was that subscription fees were split between the streamer and the tweetie site at a set ratio.
And before long, I witnessed an unexpected downside of subscriptions.
—Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling!
Subscription notifications rang out one after another, along with a shower of gifted subscriptions.
From Eunha's personal fans to viewers who'd started watching because of Seo Eunwoo—they were all viewers, and the first subscriptions held great meaning for existing viewers too.
"...Chin, MemoryOfYou, Lee Yeongryun. Thank you so much to everyone subscribing, but hold—hold on a moment."
I hurriedly tried to stop the subscriptions.
Unlike donations, which had a high minimum of 50,000 won, the subscription price itself was fixed at around 7,000 won.
Compared to donations, the subscription price was relatively low, so the number of people subscribing right now was no joke—some people were even using subscriptions instead of donations.
Notifications kept popping up on one side of the screen showing that someone had subscribed, and it was overwhelming to keep acknowledging each one.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to mention everyone who subscribes from here on. I won't be able to keep the stream going at this rate..."
I carefully tried to manage the situation, but chat was already in an uproar.
[???]
[Why aren't you reading my sub message...?]
[For real, I subscribed too]
[Rin is insane, no joke]
[How much money is going off right as the stream starts lolol so many people gifting 10 subs at a time]
[Any broke losers who still haven't subscribed? lololol?]
[Compared to donations, subs are so cheap lolol you'd be an idiot not to]
[Wait, she's stopping subscriptions...?]
People who'd subscribed but hadn't received thanks, people asking why I was stopping subscriptions. Watching all the varied chat messages, my mind went blank.
'What should I do?'
Flustered, I quickly racked my brain.
Then I decided to just boldly turn off the subscription notifications.
Compared to donations with a 50,000 won minimum, subscriptions at 7,000 won were displayed equally on screen, which felt off.
"First of all, everyone calm down. I'll mention everyone who subscribed later. Please don't worry too much."
Mentioning every subscriber while running the stream seemed impossible on the first day the subscription system was enabled, but then a thought struck me.
"Before the stream ends, I'll do a separate chat stream where I mention each and every person who subscribed. So please don't feel too disappointed right now. I can't help it because I need to keep the stream going."
I spoke slowly so everyone could hear, and after catching my breath for a moment, chat quickly changed.
[A chat stream?]
[She's telling us to watch until the stream ends, lol]
[Why is Rin so calm, damn]
[I thought streamers all freaked out, but is this one different?]
[This is Rin for you lolol]
[Actually, I like it!]
[The viewers turning into docile sheep the moment Rin says one word, seriously lolol]
Putting the small commotion behind her, Serin calmly continued the stream.
The viewer count, which climbed rapidly every minute, was certainly lower than yesterday's collab, but it still maintained a sufficiently high number.
The average viewer count reached 40,000, and when she turned on Another World, the viewers actually increased, maintaining 50,000.
***
—Ah, this bracelet? I received it as a gift from Seo Eunwoo.
When Serin appeared on screen showing off the bracelet, Sua let out a small laugh and shook her head.
"Seriously, Serin..."
She glanced at chat, which was flooding with question marks and overflowing with all sorts of questions.
A Mythic item gifted by the famous celebrity Seo Eunwoo—and the person wearing it was none other than Serin.
The answer was already set in stone from that moment.
'I really should have bought one when I had the money.'
Because it was obvious the item's price would rise after this.
The overall rise in Dancer Mythic items was largely due to Serin's influence. With Serin openly showing off a Mythic bracelet like that, there was no way demand wouldn't follow.
"I'm kind of tempted too."
Even though I wasn't a Dancer class, the bracelet's appearance looked pretty to me as well.
Since the 'overlay' system allowed you to replace appearances, you could equip Dancer-exclusive armor and accessories, so it caught my eye for no reason.
BaTalk!
A notification rang while she was watching the stream, and when she checked it, it was a message from the person she'd been waiting to hear back from.
Bloody Night.
[You offered me a raid spot, and I'm honored. You don't need to pay me an appearance fee—I'd really love to do it together.]
"She doesn't need an appearance fee?"
Sua tilted her head slightly as she spoke.
The user Bloody Night was a top-tier ranker, so Sua had known of her for a while.
Of course, they'd never met in person, but they had a certain level of online acquaintance.
She was a female user who was decisive about her relationships, so Sua had offered a high appearance fee.
'What's gotten into her?'
And yet she'd said she didn't need the fee.
Yoon Sua.
[I'll take it that you're satisfied with the offered amount, then. I'll coordinate the schedule and get back to you.]
Bloody Night.
[Yes. I work freelance, so I can adjust my schedule. Contact me whenever it's convenient.]
Her replies were so friendly that Sua was a bit skeptical, but she figured, why not?
"Well, she's not a problematic person."
She had no toxic history as an Outlaw, and from their past conversations, she wasn't someone with a flawed personality.
If anything, her decisive nature made her personality easygoing, so Sua actually found her likable.
The Five Million recruitment was done, and once they discussed the schedule and started preparing for the raid in earnest, things seemed like they'd go smoothly.
"Hmm... should I use the project budget to gear up Serin instead?"
Her eyes drifted to Serin on the screen.
The Mythic weapon Moonlight. The Mythic-grade bracelet, Rainbow Bracelet of the Celestial Maiden.
Those two Mythic items were dazzlingly flashy and drew the eye.
But the rest of the items Serin had equipped were a bit... lacking.
Not that there was anything wrong with them.
But she was wearing two Mythic items while her armor and other accessory slots were equipped with Unique items, not even Legendary grade.
And what's more, they were items I'd gifted her, so I couldn't not recognize them.
"Even if Mythic items are out of reach, Legendary items should be doable."
She wondered if using the project budget this way was right, but rather than prepare something else, wouldn't gearing up Serin produce a more practical increase in combat power?
At that thought, she unconsciously nodded.
"Seriously, maybe it'd be better to gear up Serin...?"