Chapter 216
Chapter 216
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 216
>Chapter Title: Kaiser's Identity Revealed
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>NewTube often sent small gifts to NewTubers who reached a certain number of subscribers, and the most representative one was the button.
There were buttons ranging from silver to gold and diamond.
The one Do-hyun had received was the gold button.
‘A congratulatory gift given upon reaching one million subscribers….’
Compared to the silver button awarded at 100,000, it was a monumental yet not unattainable number.
That was why so many NewTubers aimed for the gold button.
Do-hyun had thought that when the day came that he got one, he’d feel proud….
‘No, why is this happening already? I didn’t even apply for it?’
But experiencing it in reality brought only bewilderment.
He’d heard that they sometimes sent them without application to famous celebrities or those with abnormally rapid subscriber growth, but he never imagined it would be him.
Fine, that much was okay. But why did the timing have to be like this!
“…Crazy. Oppa, you were Kaiser?”
“Uh…. That’s not…. Um.”
Bzzz—
Ignoring the call from Soo-yeon, his scheduled meeting partner, Hyun-ah twitched her eyebrows and pressed him, leaving Do-hyun with no choice but to choose his words carefully.
He had to word this right. But he couldn’t delay his response too long either.
“W-Well, remember when I did Demolock? So I was a fan of Kaiser….”
“Oppa, you’re not about to say something ridiculous like you’re handling the editing or you’re acquaintances with Kaiser that even a passing dog wouldn’t believe, right?”
“…….”
Do-hyun quickly judged the situation and tried his best excuse, but it didn’t land at all.
Of course not—GuX wasn’t some neighborhood market; it was a massive corporation.
There was no way they’d send a gold button to an editor or fan instead of the actual creator, so who would believe him?
‘…This is hopeless.’
No matter how he racked his brain, no words came to mind to get past this, so Do-hyun let out a deep sigh.
He never imagined he’d be found out so anticlimactically, but there was no helping it.
He was already dreading Hyun-ah’s reaction, but with things out in the open, frontal assault was his only option.
Do-hyun decided to go bold instead.
“Yeah. Actually, I’m Kaiser.”
“…Crazy.”
Deeply impressed by his bold confession, Hyun-ah fired back with a crisp curse.
She looked utterly baffled and distraught.
“Oppa’s Kaiser…? My oppa? That game otaku is that Kaiser? Crazy, is this reality? Maybe it’s a dream.”
No, distraught wasn’t quite right—more like a complete lack of reality.
She seemed so shocked she hadn’t even considered her brother might be Kaiser, her soul practically floating out of her body, making Do-hyun scratch his head.
‘Huh. Is it that bad…?’
The timing of Kaiser’s disappearance overlapped with his military service, and his return matched when Do-hyun started gaming.
Plus, he’d made a ton of money right from the start with his skills.
He thought he’d hidden it pretty perfectly all around, but her reaction left him feeling oddly uneasy.
“You didn’t suspect anything at all?”
“……Just be quiet for a sec? I’m freaking out here.”
“Ah, okay.”
Do-hyun clamped his mouth shut as Hyun-ah held up her palm to silence him.
If she was speaking like that, it must be serious. And true to his thoughts, Hyun-ah’s face was gravely serious.
‘What did I just hear? So, oppa’s Kaiser? That Kaiser who soloed Hero Guild like it was nothing?’
And that wasn’t all.
Kaiser was currently one of the most popular God of Savior players, ranking in the top 10 for fan votes.
It was a recent shift.
Before, only die-hard fans like the Kaiser cult had that level of devotion, but after this incident, he’d exploded in popularity.
All his past achievements and actions burst forth like a dam breaking.
That’s why every group chat with friends or God of Savior talk was filled with Kaiser mentions.
‘And I became even more of a fan because of this….’
Even her friends were totally smitten with Kaiser’s charm….
And that Kaiser was her oppa?
Not even ice water could douse her like this.
‘Thinking about it, it was weird. He demolished Demolock but never shared his nickname no matter how much I asked, and his military timing lined up….’
Then, when he returned from service, bam—Kaiser came back too.
Now that she thought about it, it was weirder that she hadn’t figured it out until now.
Maybe the sibling DNA had instinctively rejected the idea. As she harbored that rational suspicion,
‘…Wait a second.’
A flood of memories flashed through her mind.
Approaching Kaiser during a field boss hunt in Pratel to ask for an autograph, and clinging to Do-hyun while praising Kaiser—those scenes played out like a panorama.
‘So I was praising oppa right in front of him?’
And just moments ago, she’d been gushing about how cool and amazing Kaiser was….
Her thoughts reached that point, and she heard a snap in her head, like a string holding something together had broken.
“Aaaaaaah!!”
A high-pitched scream echoed through the living room.
Startled, Do-hyun shouted back.
“W-What? Why are you suddenly like this? Are you crazy?”
No, she’d been brooding alone, and now she was tearing at her hair and screaming like a madwoman—what the hell?
“Y-Yeah, I’m crazy! I’m going insane! Aaaah!! Urk, blegh!”
“Hey, what’s wrong with you all of a sudden? If you’re gonna puke, go to the bathroom, you idiot! Huh? You’re really going? Hey, that’s not the bathroom, that’s your room!”
“Aaah! Please don’t talk to me right now!”
Bam!
Hyun-ah rushed into her room and collapsed, clawing at her hair.
‘What the hell is happening. Oppa’s Kaiser….’
Oppa was Kaiser?
That was fine.
A bit shocking… no, pretty shocking, but something she could accept.
In time, she’d even be proud of it.
She’d thought her brother was just a shut-in game nerd, but turns out he was that ultra-hot Kaiser, hotter than celebrities lately—not bad at all.
‘What? He’s gotta be a total pro, right? A real man needs ambitions like Kaiser? Aaah! You idiot! Why did you say that crap?!’
But this was too much.
Praising him to his face without a clue he was Kaiser.
The embarrassment was off the charts.
‘That wasn’t a mishearing after all….’
Suddenly, she recalled first seeing Kaiser in Pratel.
She’d thought she heard “f*ck,” but dismissed it as a fluke since it was so sudden.
Now she got why Kaiser cursed, and why oppa defended him.
The puzzle pieces clicked.
Imagining what he must have thought seeing her shyly ask for an autograph made her want to die of shame.
Tap, tap.
Her body burning up, her face ready to explode, Hyun-ah turned on her phone to shake off the thoughts.
Maybe focusing on something else would help a bit.
But that was the wrong choice.
-The guy standing at the end is the strong one. That’s why we play this game.
Slash—
Her trembling hand turned on the phone, and Kaiser’s voice… no, oppa’s voice flowed from NewTube.
She’d been rewatching the end of the video.
-Ah, the almighty Kasin’s quotes grow ever more.
-The one standing till the end is the strong one… -Kasin Quote #23-
-Divine words~
-That dating sim geek just got schooled, huh?
-Hero Guild already had a bad rep, and now the guild’s gone too—what now lololol
-Recruitment war’s gonna happen. They’re promising talents in their own way. Guild members are fine. It’s Berze who’s screwed now.
Hyun-ah dry-washed her face while reading the comment section full of Kaiser praise.
She remembered just earlier sharing those comments with friends, cheering “yes, yes!”
She’d even joined the Kasin cult….
“Haa….”
Covering her face with her hands, Hyun-ah muttered softly.
“How am I supposed to face oppa now?”
Her favorite celebrity turned out to be her own brother?
A deep sigh from the 22-year-old girl experiencing a soap-opera twist straight out of a novel swirled around the room.
* * *
[You have logged into God of Savior.]
[Welcome to Paradise of Adventure.]
-Master, welcome back.
-Liza-liza!
-Welcome, my lord.
And the next day, in the morning.
Do-hyun logged in right after waking up like usual and let out a sigh.
-Hm? You seem low-energy today, master? Something wrong?
-Liza? Liza-liza?
-To trouble my lord! Tell this lowly sword who the insolent fool is, and I shall sever their head at once….
Jihad tilted his head at Do-hyun’s reaction, while Eliza hopped onto his head and asked worriedly.
Charlie was already making a fuss, ready to draw his sword any second.
[Guardian Eliza’s loyalty is at maximum.]
[Guardian First Sword Charlie’s loyalty is at maximum.]
[Guardian ‘Jihad Black’’s loyalty is high.]
[Loyalty 80 / 100]
The other two had max loyalty from the start, so no comparison.
But seeing Jihad’s loyalty made him feel how close they’d grown.
Back when they first met, he’d wondered what kind of pathetic guardians they were.
Time really was the answer to everything.
‘…Yeah. Time heals all, right?’
Recalling yesterday, Do-hyun scratched his head.
Ever since, Hyun-ah screamed and fled whenever their eyes met.
They’d never been the sweet-talking type of siblings, but not like she’d seen a cockroach either.
It must have been quite the shock that he was Kaiser.
‘…Or maybe it’s a good thing she’s reacting like that.’
Considering her personality, she could’ve used it as leverage to threaten him about telling her friends.
He’d been worried about it spreading further.
In that sense, her current reaction might be better—no risk of it leaking to friends.
Of course, if it kept up, it’d be a problem….
‘Eh, it’ll blow over.’
Pushing future worries aside, Do-hyun turned his gaze.
A message was floating there.
[Ast: This jerk finally logs in. I’ve been waiting for you.]
[Ast: Come to my office right now.]
[Ast: How the hell did you do it? The more I watch the video, the less sense it makes. I’ve got a ton of questions.]
[Ast: My head’s spinning—get here now, now!]
[Ast: Got stuff to say, so don’t go anywhere else.]
Ast’s whispers poured in relentlessly the moment he logged on, like he’d been waiting.
‘Old man must’ve been dying of curiosity.’
Fair enough—with his infamous bad reinforcement luck, he’d maxed everything at +12, pulled another legendary skill for two total, and even used the Black Dragon’s power….
‘Even I couldn’t hold back from this.’
No wonder he had a mountain of questions.
Do-hyun smirked, sent a whisper that he was coming, and was about to move when—
“Um….”
“Hm?”