The Double-Edged Sword of Internet Fame

Suspiciously friendly messages flooded the chat.

"What is all of this...?"

The speed and atmosphere of the chat were completely different from just moments ago. I quickly identified the cause. It was undoubtedly the sudden explosion in viewers, which had ballooned to over two thousand.

Even with my limited knowledge of streaming, I knew that viewer counts didn't just pump like this out of nowhere. What on earth had happened here while I was busy swinging my sword? I turned to Hanya, my eyes demanding an explanation. She avoided my gaze slightly before opening her mouth.

"Um, by any chance, do you know what it means when 'coordinates are dropped'?"

"Coordinates?"

When I gave her a completely blank look, Hanya slowly began to explain.

"There are a lot of online communities dedicated to streamers. For example, the Virtual Reality Streaming Gallery or the Streamer Gallery are the most prominent..."

"It seems someone watching my stream clipped your gameplay and posted it in the gallery. Since your playstyle is so eye-catching, it caused a massive stir."

"And that's how everyone ended up flocking here to see the person from the clip."

Hanya finished her explanation with a deeply complicated look on her face. Finally grasping the situation, I nodded.

"So that's what you meant by 'coordinates being dropped.' Since I'm on your stream, someone in the gallery posted the link and told everyone to go check it out. Did I get that right?"

"Yes, you got it exactly right."

I understood the concept, but one question remained. It was about the expression on Hanya's face. Hearing the circumstances, it didn't sound like such a serious matter, so why was she looking so worried? If anything, wasn't this a good thing? Having her stream linked and bringing in so many viewers was essentially free promotion. My confusion was quickly cleared up by Hanya's next words.

"Well... to put it simply, the issue lies within the community itself."

"The community itself?"

"Jungwoo, do you believe that humans are inherently good?"

Whoa, we're suddenly getting that deep? Personally, if I had to choose between inherently good or evil, I leaned toward evil. Hanya seemed to share a similar sentiment, continuing in a slightly trembling voice.

"I used to believe that people were inherently good. Help others if you can, congratulate them when something good happens... That's how I lived since I was a kid. I guess you could say my head was in the clouds."

"..."

"But after I started streaming, my personality changed. I saw and met so many weirdos, got publicly humiliated and cursed at by people whose faces I didn't even know... I've really been through it all."

I had a feeling I knew what she was going to say next.

"Most of the things I went through were connected to those galleries."

"The ones you mentioned earlier?"

"Yes. Whether it's the VR Gallery or the Streamer Gallery, they aren't good sites to begin with. Their official purpose is to talk about streamers, but all they actually do is tear people down, create drama, rank everyone, sexually harass, judge appearances... Ugh, the list goes on and on."

Hanya let out a heavy sigh, as if the memories were bringing back all the raw emotion.

"That must have been really hard on you."

"It was. But it's all in the past now, so I'm okay."

Hanya flashed a bright smile, as if trying to lift the heavy atmosphere.

"Anyway! You get the gist of what I'm trying to say, right?"

"Yes, I understand."

This sudden surge in viewers wasn't something to blindly celebrate. The current situation was volatile. These viewers were like bubbles that would pop and disappear at any moment, and they weren't genuine fans like Hanya's regular audience. They were more likely to disrupt her stream and cause her grief rather than communicate sincerely and have a good time. They treated streamers like clowns or emotional trash cans. Of course, people jokingly said streamers were just lucky clowns, but there was a vast difference between 'something akin to a clown' and an actual 'clown.'

"You're already a celebrity in those galleries now, Jungwoo. It's not a good thing. If they find even the slightest thing they don't like, or if any drama happens, they'll pounce on you and tear you to shreds. Even if you're just an ordinary person who doesn't stream... those trolls don't care about that. At least your real name and face haven't been revealed, so that's a relief."

"Hmm..."

My real face had already been revealed, though. Not that anyone, including Hanya, would ever believe me.

"It's best not to look at those galleries at all, but if you ever do and see something that crosses the line or makes you feel terrible, let me know. I have experience filing lawsuits, so I can help you if you want."

"Sure."

I replied, though I doubted I'd ever need to take her up on that offer. My own life hadn't exactly been smooth sailing, so I had become quite numb to most things. More than that, I was curious about something else.

"But is it okay to talk about this so openly?"

After all, more than half of the two thousand people currently in the room were from those galleries. Hanya had basically trashed their home turf right in front of them.

"Before we started talking, I turned the camera away and muted the mic. If I hadn't, the chat would have exploded by now."

"Ah..."

She was surprisingly thorough. Then again, even if she seemed a bit clumsy at times, she made a living out of streaming, so this level of tact was only natural. As I was filing away this new knowledge about galleries in a corner of my mind, Hanya spoke with a meaningful smile, as if what she was about to say was of utmost importance.

"But that's just the general rule. Our current situation is very ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠different."

"Different how?"

"Usually, when coordinates are dropped like this, it's because a certain streamer is caught up in a controversy or an incident. It's mostly like a witch hunt where everyone flocks over to throw stones at the sinner, mock them, and make inside jokes..."

Hanya trailed off, her tone tinged with genuine surprise.

"But today, we didn't do anything wrong, nor did we do anything controversial. Yet, we still got linked."

"..."

I already knew the reason. She had said that I was the one who drew the entire gallery's attention.

"My streaming career isn't that long, but... this is rare. It's an extremely unusual case. Unlike their usual behavior, those gallery trolls gathered here purely to see the blonde beauty samurai. They must have been highly impressed by your performance today, because the sentiment in the gallery is actually very positive."

"Why? Honestly, it's hard to believe."

Based on Hanya's description, that place sounded like an absolute den of demons. It was hard to believe they actually liked me.

"Right? I couldn't believe it either until I went in and checked for myself."

"Well... hearing that I have a good reputation in a trash heap doesn't really make me happy."

What, was I supposed to feel like some kind of underworld king receiving strong support from the shadows? I was already used to being envied, admired, and cheered for, and I didn't really see the appeal of it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anyway. As I stood there with a lukewarm expression, Hanya let out a soft chuckle.

"Yeah, to be honest, it's a sight I never expected either. Who would have thought those gallery trolls would react so passionately to someone? Still, it's better to be liked than hated. They say even poison can be used as medicine if handled correctly, so it might come in handy someday."

"Is that so?"

"To give you a simple example, if our beautiful girl here decides to start streaming in the future, wouldn't having allies like them be reassuring?"

Hanya asked, subtly testing the waters.

Streaming, huh...

I imagined myself running a personal stream like Hanya. It certainly piqued my interest. For starters, there was absolutely nothing else I knew how to do right now. In my past life, I had lived as a jobless bum, and the only skills I possessed were swordsmanship and combat martial arts honed while rolling through another world. If people enjoyed the only thing I was good at, and I could make money from it... that sounded like a pretty sweet deal.

I had realized that I possessed a talent for drawing a crowd, and I knew my situation was quite unique. Since I had already made an appearance on Hanya's stream, starting my own channel would give me a massive head start compared to others. However, it was still too early to jump straight into streaming.

There's the school issue, and I'm currently staying at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠orphanage.

Solving those two problems had to come first. If I wanted to do anything else, I needed to escape my current restrictive environment.

And this was essentially a career choice. One must always be cautious when choosing a career path. While the 'Park Jungwoo' of my past life had lived like a jobless slacker after losing his family, I, having been granted a new life, intended to do my absolute best as 'Park Jeong-ah.' I wanted to engage in decent economic activities, enjoy what there was to enjoy, and live a proper life. To do that, I needed a steady income, even if it wasn't a fortune. How much a streamer typically earned was also a fairly important factor for me.

Now that I was interested in streaming and knew it could be a source of income, I could gradually learn more by asking Hanya later. In any case, the conclusion was that a group of people who liked me to an almost suspicious degree had emerged. Just as Hanya said, if I were to start streaming in the future, they would probably be of significant help. In a way, they were no different from fans.

"..."

However, I would definitely need to keep in mind that the people claiming to be my fans were a bit... unique.