Streamer Soma (1)
It was early evening, right after Yujin's Nightfall stream had ended.
Even though the weekend hadn't arrived yet—normally a dead zone for new posts—the Streamer Gallery, the Powell Gallery, and every other community board were burning white-hot.
Of course they were. Today's Nightfall broadcast was the reason.
A stage that had transformed without warning or context, even for a hidden route. A rematch against Ariandel, the tutorial boss everyone had assumed would never appear again after dying once. And the hidden past of Yuria, the doll everyone had dismissed as a mere puppet—though Yujin had skipped the cutscene, so the full truth never came out.
Anyone who had ever played Nightfall even once couldn't ignore bait like that. They simply had to post.
In the normal route the things you fight are just some beast-looking trash, but the shit you face in the hidden route is straight out of mythology lmao
And even Ariandel, the final boss of the normal route, is nothing but a mid-boss in the hidden one…
At this point it feels like they forced the normal route into existence just so they could make the hidden one. Am I the only one who feels insulted???
= Can someone else do the thinking for me? I don't wanna use my brain. Waaah.
= I wanted to let out a long sigh, glare at my former master, and say:
"You and I were strictly in a master-servant relationship based on a contract, and I no longer serve you. I now serve a new master, so you and I are equals. Stop treating me like a subordinate and using the word 'rebellion.'"
But my new master is so introverted he just started swinging his sword at the old master without a word lmao. Looked like he had something to say though lmao
Soma you fucking bastard… so what the hell is my past supposed to be…
While people were having the time of their lives memeing about Yujin's stream, another issue exploded that yanked everyone's attention right back.
The reaction was absurdly explosive for the simple news that a celebrity had opened a YouTube channel. But if you looked at the real reason, the frenzy made perfect sense.
That was it.
During the collab stream with Ecclesia last time, Yujin had defeated her and thereby obtained the rights to the video that contained the method for entering the hidden route.
For the past several days, the entire world had been going wild watching Yujin play Nightfall's hidden route. The doll Yuria transformed into a holy sword, the battles against the Rulers, and the city of Arkham mutating into R'lyeh—every single element had captivated the viewers. Interest in how to enter the hidden route had never been higher.
And right then, the news dropped that Yujin's YouTube channel had opened and a video packed with hidden-route information had gone up.
How could people not lose their minds?
And just as promised, the moment the hidden-route video went up on Yujin's YouTube account, the pack of hyenas who had been waiting for this exact opportunity swarmed in.
"Hello! I'm BJ BasementNEET, the basement gaming expert who does nothing but play games in his room! Today I've brought you content related to Nightfall's hidden route!"
Even as the chat filled with insults, viewers poured in for the simple reason that someone was progressing through Nightfall's hidden route. The streamers knew it, so they just got even more shameless.
"Alright then, let's properly enter the hidden route. The condition was killing Ariandel in 'Paradise' without doing any level-ups, right?"
Using everything from the magic bullet gun Ecclesia had used to every other item they could scrounge, the streamers killed Ariandel and finally stepped into the hidden route.
"And here's the important part… you have to persuade the doll—Yuria—and receive the holy sword to fully enter the hidden route."
Saying that, the streamers carefully approached the doll sitting like a painting in the middle of Paradise.
"What business do you have, Hunter who defeated Ariandel?"
"Doll—no, Yuria. I heard you're keeping a holy sword that was created to eliminate the Rulers."
The moment the streamer said that, the doll's eyes turned sharp.
"Where exactly did you hear that? There should be almost no one left who knows that fact… No. That isn't what matters. What matters is that someone without the qualifications has learned of it."
"Even if you killed Ariandel… I cannot hand over a weapon beyond the station of one who lacks the qualifications. So be content with this."
With those words, Yuria handed the streamer a single sword.
◈ Description: An artificial holy sword created by every hunter of Arkham and the craftsmen of the workshops to oppose the Rulers. A test piece.
◈ Still in the development stage, so its performance is not particularly strong, yet it possesses the role of protecting its master's body against things from the "Outside."
◈ A weapon that seems suitable for an immature hunter of low skill.
"…Incomplete Holy Sword Alpha? Wasn't it supposed to be Holy Sword Omega?"
"You know of Omega as well? Regrettable, but that is not a weapon the likes of you may covet. It is a weapon granted only to a hunter who truly possesses the possibility of saving humanity. You should be grateful I even handed you Alpha."
Yuria waved her hand at the streamer as if shooing away a fly. No matter how you looked at it, the gesture screamed that she was done talking and wanted them gone already.
"…You're telling me to get out of here? You have no intention of coming with me?"
"I would rather serve Ariandel as my master than wander Arkham with the likes of you. I have no intention of serving anyone as master unless they are a hunter I myself have acknowledged."
Watching Yuria treat the hunters with a coldness that was the complete opposite of how she had treated Yujin, every single viewer realized the truth.
The hidden route itself was never special.
The so-called hidden route was simply a path the Nightfall developers had prepared in advance. As long as you knew the exact entry method, anyone could enter and enjoy it.
But depending on who played that hidden route, everything changed this drastically.
Even though that streamer was clearly playing the hidden route, the viewers felt none of the thrills they had experienced watching Yujin's broadcast.
So the hidden route itself was never special.
The truly special existence had been none other than the one who had been playing the hidden route all this time—Yujin himself.