36. Serin! You Like Spicy Food Too!?
36. Serin! You Like Spicy Food Too!?
***
The Q&A session that followed didn't go on for very long.
Actually, questions were pouring into the chat like crazy.
But most of them were questions I didn't want to answer, so I had to pick out the ones I was actually willing to answer.
People kept asking about my personal information, and even though I was deliberately ignoring them, the questions kept coming as if the new viewers hadn't heard me.
It was basically an endless loop of "questions about my personal info → I don't take questions about my personal info."
Still, even setting those aside, there were definitely questions I did want to answer.
"The reason I chose the Crescent-Moon Weight... honestly, there's no special reason. The Dancer class's original main weapon just happened to be the Crescent-Moon Weight. If the Dancer class's main weapon had been a greatsword, I probably would've used a greatsword."
I meant every word of it.
I'd picked the Dancer simply because its customization looked the prettiest.
And in the world of Black Ark, my character's traits had been tied to the Crescent-Moon Weight, so that was why I'd used it.
Personally, I still remembered the heavy feel of the greatsword I'd briefly handled while trying to get used to it.
[Greatsword?]
[Dancer + greatsword, damn]
[So are you gonna try a greatsword?]
[Greatswords are the dream for melee classes]
[Wait, you said you'd take questions but then you pick and choose? What's the point?]
[Greatswords are cool though, this one gets it]
[fr there's a reason so many people use greatswords]
The chat's reaction wasn't bad either. Once I'd settled on how I wanted to approach streaming and relaxed, the words came surprisingly easily, and keeping the stream going wasn't a problem.
A few people in chat got mad that I wouldn't answer personal questions, but everyone else mostly knew better than to feed the trolls...
Click.
Click.
On top of that, while I focused on interacting with the viewers, Sua was beside me clicking her mouse and banning the toxic viewers one by one.
She'd said she'd take full responsibility if it ever became a problem, and despite her refined appearance, the more I saw how she acted and talked, the more dependable she seemed.
The type who seems better and better the closer you get?
It made me naturally think I should be considerate of her too.
"Oh, and I do use the Crescent-Moon Weight, but I really don't recommend it to viewers. I only use it now because I've gotten used to it. When you first pick it up, it has way too many drawbacks."
Honestly, the Crescent-Moon Weight was a weapon with far too many drawbacks until you truly mastered it.
If you could spend years honing it on the edge of life and death, it had its strengths. But setting that aside, off-meta weapons were off-meta for a reason.
There was a reason the standard choices were considered standard; an ordinary player would see much more obvious improvement with a sword or spear.
If I had no proficiency at all right now and had to pick a new weapon, I wouldn't choose the Crescent-Moon Weight either.
"Oh, and right. While we're on the subject, I actually know how to use other weapons too."
[???]
[What other weapons?]
[So does that mean we can see you use a different weapon next stream?]
[Greatsword go go go]
[Greatsword Dancer? I'll donate 100,000 won right now fr]
[I want to see you use a spear, do you know how to use one?]
[The flower of the Dancer is sword dance no matter what anyone says. Dual swords or any sword type would be really pretty]
"I can't handle every kind of weapon, but I can use most of them—at least well enough that it shouldn't look bad to you."
I was confident enough to say that boldly.
From experience, I hadn't really handled ranged weapons much, but I knew how to use most weapons in the melee category.
I'd probably have to learn the skills associated with each weapon from scratch, but simply using them should be doable.
'Maybe I should settle on a theme for a while.'
The thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Against Sua right beside me or other Challenger-level top rankers, I'd obviously have to use the Crescent-Moon Weight. But considering my current Arena tier, using other weapons to raise my weapon proficiency didn't seem like a bad idea.
"For tomorrow's Arena stream, I'll go with greatsword Dancer then. Seems like a lot of people in chat want the greatsword too."
Click.
"...?"
Sua, who had been moving her mouse and banning toxic viewers, glanced over when Serin said that.
Having used the Crescent-Moon Weight herself, she knew its difficulty was high, so she'd thought other weapons would be manageable enough.
But a greatsword, of all things.
'Isn't the type way too different?'
Even a one-handed sword and a greatsword had quite different handling, and she'd also tried a greatsword out of curiosity before giving up because the weight itself was on another level.
And considering the Crescent-Moon Weight was lighter than a one-handed sword, it should be even further from a greatsword. She wondered where all that confidence was coming from.
And Sua wasn't the only one thinking that. The chat quickly came alive.
[You're really gonna use it?]
[lolololololol]
[Greatsword Dancer fr?]
[lolololololol no wait, nobody plays Dancer class with a greatsword because it doesn't fit]
[Won't it be hard to handle a greatsword because of the character's base stat adjustments?]
[Greatsword + Dancer class, what kind of combination even is that lolololololol]
[lolololololol if you really do it I'll donate tomorrow too fr]
Watching the chat fill with worry, doubt, and disbelief, Serin smiled faintly.
"Well, I can't claim I'm ranker-level, but I should at least be good enough that it won't look bad to you all."
She'd definitely seen a greatsword user a few days ago on Hana's stream.
Their stance had been hopelessly sloppy, and they seemed to rely entirely on skills because they couldn't handle the greatsword's weight.
Maybe they'd been one of Hana's viewers. She couldn't remember their username, but she'd heard even a player like that was Diamond Tier.
Considering her own Arena tier was around Gold right now, she didn't think she'd lose even if she wasn't familiar with the weapon.
Even if gear mattered a lot, PVP adjustment was 20%. If she just swapped weapons, her current gear was decent enough, so it was doable in many ways.
And even if she kept a win streak in the newbie bracket, thinking about how she'd stomped dozens of games, using a weapon other than the Crescent-Moon Weight as a handicap while climbing tiers didn't seem bad either.
The more she thought about it, the better it felt.
"And the next question is..."
The Q&A session continued for about an hour after that.
The viewer count broke through about 5,000 during that time and kept climbing little by little.
Burden, pressure. She didn't feel any of that.
Rather than finding streaming difficult or exhausting, what stood out was how much more fun it was than she'd expected.
She'd spent so much time alone that simply talking and interacting with other people felt new and interesting in itself.
Even if the people she was talking to were viewers she couldn't know individually, having thousands of them meant hearing ideas and opinions she'd never considered, which kept things feeling fresh.
"Ah, then I think I'll wrap up today's first stream here."
She was getting ready to end the stream. At this point, the Q&A seemed to have gone reasonably well.
And while Sua was helping her beside her, she couldn't keep holding onto her forever.
The time had already reached 5 p.m. Considering it was her first stream today, it seemed like the perfect time to wrap up.
[???????]
[?Already]
[No, that's too much]
[fr that's fucking ridiculous]
[No, you got that many donations and you're leaving already?]
[If Plea's there, let us hear her voice!!]
One message complaining that it was ridiculous to leave after receiving so many donations caught her eye.
Thinking about it, the amount she'd received in donations that day was almost absurd.
In the donation settings, she'd set the minimum amount to the highest option of 50,000 won, so she'd naturally assumed no more donations would come in. But during the hour and a half of Q&A, she'd received an additional 300,000 won.
Specifically, there had been four separate 50,000-won donations and another 100,000-won donation.
In less than two hours of streaming, she'd made 400,000 won in a single day.
For a moment she wondered if this was the life of a streamer, then reminded herself that her case was far from normal.
She glanced to the side and found Sua quietly watching her. What big-name streamer would come over for a rookie, personally set up her stream, give her advice, and show that kind of dedication?
I really had just been absurdly lucky.
Looking at Sua, I slowly opened my mouth.
"Actually, Plea needs to get going soon too. And it's my first stream... I think ending here is the right call. Plea, would you like to say goodbye to the viewers before I end the stream?"
"Yes, hello, viewers! Actually, I came to help Rin if she had trouble or needed advice about streaming, but she did so much better than I expected that I didn't even have a chance to step in. I'll see you on my stream in about four hours!"
As expected of a big-name streamer, she gave a polished sign-off. I followed up with a few words about my next stream and wrapped things up.
"Then I'll turn on the stream again tomorrow around 4, so please come watch again then."
With those final words, I could see the chat scrolling at a terrifying speed, but I didn't bother checking the contents.
Now that I'd already given my sign-off, dragging things out would only make things awkward for both sides.
—Stream ended.
And with that, I pressed the End Stream button and finished my first broadcast.
"...Haaah."
I let out a small breath without realizing it and leaned back in my chair.
My mind was still at ease and the stream had felt fun, but I'd never talked this much before, so my body felt tired.
"Serin! You did really well for a first stream."
Now that she no longer had to whisper quietly enough to stay off-stream, hearing her speak beside me at a normal volume was kind of cute.
"No, it's all thanks to your help, Sua."
"Oh, come on. Even I was completely out of it during my first stream. You did really well just now, Serin. You handled chat well too."
Being praised to my face like that was a little embarrassing, so I turned my head away.
"Thanks for saying that. Oh, and Sua, would you like to have dinner here before you go?"
Considering everything I'd received so far, I thought I should at least treat her to dinner.
"Hmm. Now that you mention it, it's almost dinner time. Then I'll take you up on that, thanks."
She seemed to think for just a moment, but in the end she didn't refuse.
Confirming that, I nodded, stood up from my seat, and stretched lightly.
Maybe sitting while gaming and sitting while streaming were different things, because my body felt stiff. I loosened up and spoke.
"So, Sua, is there any food you especially like? I'll keep it in mind when ordering."
At that, she seemed to think for a moment before breaking into a bright smile.
"Oh. I'm not really picky about food, but I like spicy food!"
Hearing that, my body froze without me realizing it.
I turned my head toward her with a stiff, almost creaking motion.
"...Spicy food?"
"Yes! I really love spicy food! Serin! You like spicy food too!?"
She was already imagining some dish, gulping as she asked, and I couldn't bring myself to refuse.
"I like spicy food too."
"Right? Right~? I knew you had good taste, Serin. When it comes to spicy food, I like fire-braised pig's trotters, or..."