Second Game, Preparations (3)
For novice streamers, what truly matters most isn't their first piece of content, but their second.
That's because, given the nature of this industry, one-hit wonders who flash brightly for a moment and then fade are far from uncommon.
For that reason, most beginner streamers, once their first content takes off, throw themselves into creating the second with considerable passion, clinging to the hope that they too might rise into the ranks of the big names.
And a good number of them end up deeply disappointed when the response to that second piece of content turns out somehow underwhelming.
But that is an entirely natural phenomenon.
Once a piece of content ends, viewers inevitably drift away.
Yet the majority of novice streamers, witnessing that drop, are seized by a vague sense of urgency. They start to wonder if they're making some kind of mistake right now, and in their anxiety they throw out all sorts of reckless moves.
The result is that they sink into the ranks of the utterly ordinary streamers who litter this scene—cases like that can be found by the dozens.
And when Winter had been planning Yujin's second content after Nightfall, that was precisely the part that had worried her the most.
Even though a few broadcasts had already elevated Yujin into the big-name tier, he still lacked anything that could truly be called a fixed fanbase.
In other words, the moment Yujin finished Nightfall and moved on to another game, a certain drop in viewer numbers was something they simply had to accept.
But right now, Winter realized that every worry she had nursed until this point had turned into something completely pointless.
"…So, to summarize Master's words, the me standing here is nothing more than a shadow derived from the original body, and by no means the real thing. That is why I have once again taken the form of a puppet."
"Yeah."
"And Master is currently residing in a world other than Arkham, and summoned me because you needed a usable weapon. Is that correct?"
"Exactly."
When Yujin nodded at Yuria's words, she stared at him with an expression of pure disbelief.
"Haa… No matter how much this world of strife is an endless struggle, I never once imagined you would go looking for fights in other worlds as well. Master truly is something else."
Having said that, Yuria crossed her arms and regarded Yujin steadily.
"To be honest, I feel a little resentful… but I suppose it can't be helped. If I don't look after Master, who will?"
"Mm…"
"However, there is one condition. I can't very well keep being worked to the bone by Master for free forever, after all."
"…Condition?"
At Yujin's murmur, Yuria spoke in a tone that was thoroughly resolute.
"One date per summoning."
"What?"
"In other words, I have no desire to keep moping around alone in that cabin forever. Now that I've finally regained a human body, shouldn't I get to enjoy everything there is to enjoy?"
Watching Yuria bicker with Yujin like that, Winter felt something electric flash through her mind.
Through Yujin's unique skill, Yuria—a character from Nightfall—had been summoned into One of Thousand.
And from the moment Yuria was summoned into this space, Winter no longer needed to worry in the slightest about the possibility of Yujin's existing viewers leaving.
Because that meant he could hold onto both the viewers who wanted him to keep playing Nightfall and the ones who wanted to see his new content—essentially all of them.
This is insane… This is completely insane…!
While Winter was cheering internally, the negotiations between Yujin and Yuria were also reaching a dramatic conclusion.
"Then I shall see you again later. I find myself quite looking forward to the moment I reunite with Master in this world."
With that final chuckle from Yuria, she completely vanished from this world.
The duration of Yujin's unique skill, Master of Swords, had reached its limit, and Yuria's manifestation had naturally been released.
"This… seems like a pretty interesting skill."
Gazing at the empty space Yuria had left behind, Yujin muttered to himself.
Yes. It really was interesting.
It didn't seem like a unique skill with outstanding versatility or overwhelming applications, but depending on how it was used, it was clearly capable of producing considerable surprises.
And then, right at that moment—
"Um… Teacher?"
"Hm?"
"I may have become your disciple, but actually, there's something I'd like to teach you as well. About the hidden systems inside One of Thousand, that is."
"…Hidden systems?"
"Well… in a sense, it might be better to call it a technique that can be applied not just to One of Thousand's hidden systems, but to almost every virtual reality game. Anyway, I think someone like you, Teacher, will get the hang of it right away."
"Oh?"
At Sia's words, Yujin's eyes lit up.
A hidden system of One of Thousand that could also be applied as a technique across nearly every virtual reality game.
A fresh wave of pride washed over him at the thought that he had truly chosen an excellent disciple.
"Then… before I teach you properly, I'll explain the basic principles first."
Saying so, Sia tapped her temple with a finger.
"Teacher. You already know well that the power of human imagination has no limits."
"Yeah."
"But even though a person's imagination has no limits, the real world is full of impossible things that human strength simply cannot achieve. Do you know why that is?"
"Because the human body that would have to turn that imagination into reality has its own limits."
Yujin answered Sia's question without the slightest hesitation.
After all, back when he had been learning Uinyeom, he had once exchanged a similar question and answer.
"But if you reverse that, it means that if the body doesn't get in the way, human imagination can produce infinite power. Especially inside a virtual reality game, where you control an avatar with nothing but thought and no actual physical body, that becomes even more true."
"…."
At Sia's explanation, Yujin blinked without meaning to.
Not because he failed to understand her words, but because they somehow felt familiar.
"If a single person's thoughts go beyond merely controlling an avatar and begin to influence the systems inside the game itself… then they gain the ability to reshape this world according to their will."
As she spoke, Sia closed her eyes and showed signs of intense concentration.
A low hum filled the air—
And a short while later, a faint white energy began to gather above Sia's hand.
It was not something produced by a unique skill or special ability, but something that originated purely from her mental power.
"Look. My intense thoughts have concentrated in one place and succeeded in twisting the laws of this world. This power is projected onto the world with me as its source, so it possesses its own unique laws."
"…."
"Only an extremely small number of players can even recognize this power, let alone wield it partially. We call this power Uinyeom."
"…."
By this point Yujin's expression had gone beyond mere astonishment into something indescribable, but Sia completely failed to notice the atmosphere.
Because her mastery of Uinyeom was still extremely crude, she needed tremendous mental focus simply to manifest it.
That was also the entire reason she had been completely unable to use Uinyeom during her past duel with Yujin.
"Although I lack talent and even manifesting Uinyeom is extremely difficult for me… people with monstrous talent can apply it in far more varied ways. For example, constructing their own mental image within a certain domain and then realizing it…"
"…Realizing a mental image? Constructing a domain?"
When Yujin muttered that, Sia couldn't help but give a bitter smile.
"It's only natural to be curious, but unfortunately I haven't reached that level, so I can't demonstrate it. To begin with, I've only ever witnessed someone who could use a 'Domain of Thought' once—"
"…Is that so?"
And then, right at that moment—
"So what you're saying is, you've met a guy who can realize his own mental image?"
With an excited look on his face, Yujin thrust his arm forward.
"By any chance, was the thing that guy used something like this?"
In that instant, Sia felt something awaken from within Yujin.
And that "something" originating from his inner self began to blanket the entire surroundings in the blink of an eye.
The Uinyeom that had been gathering in Sia's hand lost all meaning in the face of whatever Yujin was unleashing.
"Th-this is…"
And Sia could only stare blankly at the spectacle, at a complete loss for words.
The deployment of an Uinyeom domain that could only be called overwhelming.
Through the fundamental mental image he had constructed, he was rewriting the fundamental laws of the world itself—a true miracle!
Mental Image Manifestation: Divine Domain Summoning
Sword Festival
In that instant, the world transformed completely.