Chaemoney’s Sleepover (Part 1: Avatar Option Gacha)

- Haeeeng~ Chaeraemong~

- Huaaang, Mom, help me.

- Haeeeng.

- Kya~ The final boss has finally appeared.

- Early Chaehi.

"Chat, chat!"

Last time’s embarrassing past had left me with a fresh scar, and now the Haeeengs had started flooding the screen. It wasn’t the kind of thing I could ban people for, and even if I could, all I could do was grit my teeth and endure it.

Knock knock!

Meanwhile, Chaemoney, who’d been watching the stream, came to the door with a polite ask: was it all right if she came in?

"Just a sec. I’ll go open the door."

- Gone?

- Going to pee?

- Haeeeng haeeeng

- Going out for a cigarette

- It’s true.

- You’ve come to the right place.

- Hyaaang hyaaang

"Hey! I’m not going out for a cigarette, okay? What is your nickname, seriously?"

- Gasp

- Gasp

- She’s back already

- Emergency!

- Got caught lol

- See ya

CEO Chae came over with a chair, carried it to my side, and sat down. Then, with practiced ease, she introduced herself.

"Hello, everyone watching Haruru’s stream. I’m Chae Eun."

"Yeees! At last, you’ve arrived. My spiritual and material pillar, the CEO of Shining Parade—Chaemoney!"

- Kyaa~

- Great Chae Eun

- Chaemoney, I only realize your worth now

- Early Chaehi

- Early Chaehi

- Fair enough.

- Fair enough.

- Chaemoney really does roll off the tongue.

"A surprise worship session right here. Ah, as expected..."

"That’s not necessary."

"Yep."

- Kyaa~

- Cut off cleanly

- Chaemoney has the best stream sense

"Then before we start, there’s just one thing I want to ask."

- Gasp

- Gasp

- That’s a heavy first question

"Not that question!"

"Haha. Our Haruru’s been on a huge upswing lately—why would we graduate her? If anything, we should be pushing her harder."

- Krrr~

- Great Chae Eun

- CEO Chae really is operating on a different level

"See that? See that? Chaemoney’s got class. That’s what I’m talking about."

As I tried to steer things off in another direction, CEO Chae asked me back, "So what question did you want to ask?"

"Ah. A lot of people are curious. Why did you want to do a collab on my stream of all places, and why Unknown Universe, too? I mean, I know the reason, but for the viewers, please explain."

"Well, most people have probably played Unknown Universe at least once when they were younger. There was a time when it was called a national game, after all."

- Yep

- Back then it wasn’t this total pay-to-win hellscape

- Such memories

"So, to revisit those memories, and to see exactly where all that money went after you’d already borrowed over ten million won..."

"Kuh."

- Emergency! Emergency!

- This really might be the final stream today

That damn “final stream” bait again!

But if I messed this up, it might actually become the final stream this time. Better be careful.

- As I said, that won’t happen. And I’m not sure I should say this, but once I started watching, it was kind of fun. So I just came to Haruru’s stream for a bit.

"Krrr~ What if you get hooked on Unknown Universe?"

"Still absolutely not."

- lol

- So strict

- If she does, Shining Parade would really go under

"Ah, I see. Then let’s begin."

On the broadcast screen, my Haruru VTuber avatar was bobbing around. Next to it, I displayed our CEO’s custom character: a SD-style figure with black hair and those faintly cool, chic eyes. It didn’t move.

"Now that I’ve got Chaemoney’s character next to me, it feels like today I can do anything. I should keep her up as a good-luck charm even on normal days."

"And if you crash and burn, you won’t blame me for it, right?"

- lol, exactly

- One hundred percent

- Chaemoney really can read the room

"Oh, come on. I’m not that petty. Everyone watching knows it too. There’s nobody broader-minded than me."

- Hmm.

- Hmm.

- Not sure about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that

- That’s true~

- lol

- Scaredy-cat?

- Cowardly black fox

"No, I didn’t click it because I wanted to do this with Chaemoney."

Since the topic had come up, I brought up the skill book screen right away.

"All right. Chaemoney! How about you click it for a little taste?"

"If this fails, the item disappears, right? Is that okay?"

"Not really. I’d have to grind like crazy... So if possible, it’s better to succeed. But if it fails, I absolutely won’t blame you. Just click it comfortably!"

Click!

"Aaaah! Chaemoney! High five!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

- Kyaa

- Great Chae Eun

- High five lolol

- Is that the trendy phrase these days?

- The spoiler was wrong after all

I got so excited I asked for a high-five without even thinking, and she played along. The camera didn’t show my hand, but since mine was so tiny, a soft little sound went out over the stream.

"Was that good? Did I do well?"

"Yes. Heeheeheehee."

- What was that just now lol

- Where did that pig-slaughter squeal come from?

"Good to hear."

"What do you think? This feeling, like my body’s just about to burst with dopamine! This feeling of being all jittery and thrilled! Can you feel it?"

- You’re the only one feeling that lol

- Haruru’s having way too much fun ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lol

"I don’t know. I don’t really get it, but watching from the side... do we need to send our Haruru to a gambling center?"

- Send her right now

- She’d probably gamble there in secret too

- This is a serious gambling addiction

"I’m only like this because it’s Unknown Universe. I don’t gamble in real life. But thinking about it... is real gambling actually better?"

- Hmm.

- Hmm.

- Maybe it is

- Haruru’s intelligence just shot up

"No matter how I look at it, that’s not it. In real gambling, there’s no Unknown Universe! No Cosmic Blade! No Shining Parade guildmates!"

- Kyaa~

- As expected, a romantic at heart

- Haruru’s intelligence just plunged again

"But was this what you were planning for today? Avatar option conversion, or something like that? Wasn’t that the thing?"

"This wasn’t originally on the schedule, but I got lucky and took down a boss, so... how should I put it? It’s kind of like the rice water you get served before eating gukbap..."

"You mean an appetizer."

"Yep. That."

- Rice water lolol

- That’s such a cozy, earthy comparison

- No wonder she speaks Korean so well.

- She’s not a black fox, she’s a black cow.

I immediately showed them the avatar I’d obtained today. And equipped it right away!

At last, my character in Unknown Universe could be adorned with fox ears and a tail, too.

"At long last, the true black fox Haruru is complete."

- Kyaa~

- Kyaa

- Black cow

- So cute

- Later, after we beat a cow boss, let’s get a cowbell avatar accessory and put that on too

"Then, Chaemoney. Before we start the gambling—no, the avatar option conversion, let me explain what it is and how it works."

"Mm-hm. I studied a little before the stream, so I already know some of it."

The word studied already gave off elite vibes. Right, she was a college graduate. Still, I didn’t get discouraged and explained it carefully.

"Since this is a game based on space, the avatar options come out as planet names. For example, name Sun, options blah blah blah. Name Jupiter, options blah blah blah. Stuff like that."

"I see. Because the game’s set in space?"

"Well, the reason is... I’ve heard it once before, but in the story setting... Ah, whatever. Who reads the Unknown Universe story anyway?"

- lol exactly

- Kill the lore already

"Ah. So that was it. I’m not really interested in the story, so... anyway, thanks, Teacher."

Seeing is believing.

If I just kept babbling in words, nobody would know what I meant, so I showed her the black fox ears and tail options currently equipped on my avatar.

"It looks like this, see?"

"Mm-hm."

What if I tried using one Stellar Energy Converter as a sampler?

"These usually cost three thousand won each... but once, when I was having a serious talk with Chaemoney, I turned on the game because I was getting a dinner on-time reward, remember?"

"Mm-hm."

- So proud of yourself lol

- Did you really need to bring that up?

"What I got then was this. I received five of them. Just one reward netted me fifteen thousand won’s worth."

- Krrr~

- Fifteen thousand won is fair enough

- Haruru, how much profit have you actually made off Unknown Universe, anyway? whoa

I tried one as a test.

"There were two options, and now it’s become three."

"Yes. Usually we don’t call them ‘pieces’ but ‘rows.’ You’d say, ‘Three rows came up.’ For reference, the maximum is four rows."

"If four rows come up, is that the end?"

"That would be nice, but unfortunately, not at all. The bare minimum is three matching rows, and they all have to be the same planet. For reference, the option I need to pull is Pluto. So..."

I opened a memo pad and showed her a good example.

(Good example)

Or:

"Only then do you get the extra effect called Star Synergy. I’ll also show you a bad example where three rows come up but you don’t get Star Synergy."

(Bad example)

"...like when something throws off the middle."

There were even cases where only two rows appeared and everything went to hell like a dog.

- “Gensei” lol

- You know more Japanese than Tama does

CEO Chae fell into thought for a moment, then calmly defined what this was.

"So it’s basically a four-line slot machine."

As expected of a Seoul college graduate! She’d figured it out instantly!

"I mean, you could look at it that way. The silver lining is that three matching rows are enough to count as a finish, so all you need is three of the same."

"Do you know how much the expected value for four rows is? How am I supposed to pull that?"

"Yeah, I’m scared, you punk. I’ve already borrowed way too much money from Chaemoney..."

I sneaked a glance at CEO Chae. As always, there wasn’t a flicker of change in her expression.

- The way she quietly glances over with just her eyes is so cute lol

- lololol

- If you’re scared, that’s fair enough

- So cute

"So, Haruru. What’s the expected cost to pull three rows?"

"Surprisingly little. Five hundred! For reference, the expected value for a four-row option is seven thousand. Compared to that, it’s practically free, right?"

- What do you mean, five hundred is little? lol

- Has her brain melted?

- Is fox anatomy different from human anatomy?

- Compared to four rows, it’s a bargain, but... hmm...

- Has the meaning of free changed somewhere along the way?

- Wow, what a steal! (crazy fox wench)

"Is there a ceiling?"

"Uh, no. That means you can spend more than the expected value, but what does that mean? It also means you might spend less."

- Kyaa~

- Never thought of it that way

- Is that a good thing?

- Fair enough

- She’ll get bitten hard once, eventually

"So the Unknown Universe I knew is truly gone..."

"Sigh. The Unknown Universe devs got greedy and that’s that."

I always found CEO Chae’s silence, when she was pausing to think, the scariest. Because as the leader of the Harusalidan, my life hung on a single word from the CEO.

"Still, let’s try. I’ll send the money."

- Great Chae Eun

- Chaemoney is at it again today...

- lol

- lol

- So that was the real meaning behind it...

But today was different.

"No! You don’t need to send anything."

A few days ago, I’d settled and received the money I’d been owed for all those donations. So, with far more confidence than usual, I said this:

"I can’t keep making Chaemoney carry everything forever! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Today, I’m using my own money. Just watch."