Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: The Veteran Sensei's Debut
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Donations kept pouring in without end, piling up faster than we could handle.
Switching chat to subscribers-only just led to a flood of new subscriptions.
That was the state of the subscriber chat spam.
Even Hanami and the managers had no idea where to start cleaning it up.
If viewership grew any more, chat wouldn't be the issue—it'd be whether the stream could even stay online.
"Um, hello? Yeah. Is the mic acting up?"
"No!! We can hear you fine!! Just give us a sec, please?! We've got some issues on our end!!"
"Hey!!! You're the problem here—read the room yourselves!!"
I masked my anxiety and tried to lighten the mood.
The backlog of donations had eaten up too much time already.
This was still more than usual, but punches of 5,000 won were flying from everywhere.
"Smash that!!"
My head was spinning for real.
Raising the donation tiers any higher would tank revenue in the end.
Still, I gritted my teeth and bumped them up.
Whatever—gotta push forward...
"Everyone, calm down a bit. We still gotta do the content, right?!"
The stream's momentum, which I'd barely managed to wrangle, ground to a halt.
Cleaning up the mess took way too long.
In the meantime, the guest had been left high and dry like a stone statue.
He was fidgeting awkwardly, looking terribly uncomfortable.
As host, I'd dropped the ball, but I didn't feel too guilty.
Every time the guest chimed in casually, the vibe I'd just sorted exploded again.
"...Everyone. Should I step out for a bit?"
"Argh, seriously!! This is unfixable, so time for reign of terror!!"
In the end, after a massive ban wave, the chaos finally died down.
We hadn't even properly started the collab, and Hanami plus the managers were already wiped out.
Still, Hanami's expression wasn't bad.
She'd boldly promised bonuses.
The identity of the purple-clad slacker in panties? A mysterious young woman.
Jackpot.
The already scorching reactions were about to hit new heights.
"S-So much happened, Sensei. This is exhausting."
"Just getting started?"
"Sorry for the commotion."
"Haha. It's fine."
"Whoa. That voice is straight-up cheating."
"?"
Every single laugh sent the chat into a frenzy—it was that hot.
If we didn't speed this up, it'd never end.
"Alright!! Let's finally kick things off. Took a while, huh?"
"...Yeah, it did."
"A... haha. Truly sorry. We thought we prepared, but..."
"Still, the way you handled traffic was impressive."
"Thank you... Guess that shows just how much impact you have, Sensei?"
Jicheol let out a wry chuckle.
Being left like a stone statue right after arriving as a guest had been mortifying.
But watching Hanami twist herself into knots to rein in the stream? Impressive. And it eased his nerves.
"First off!! Our guest of honor, the veteran Sensei we invited as today's instructor!!"
"Woooah."
"Viewers probably recognize you too? You're blowing up lately, so it was a real struggle to get you here. Mind introducing yourself?"
"Hello. I'm Backside, a Hel: Odin's Daughter player."
Hanami couldn't hide her inner admiration as she ran the interview.
Deep voice, but crisp and clear tone. Perfect diction.
Even the earlier modulator glitch talk was seamlessly glossed over.
What was this guy? How does someone end up a burnout for a hardcore game like this?
"What's the story behind the nickname Backside?"
"It means I'll neatly carve open your backside."
"...For real?"
"Yep. For real."
"Whoa... What's a backstep?"
"Ah. This game has two crit types. One's the front hit that pops on groggy. The other's the perfect back grab."
"Ahh!! Like an assassin game?"
"Close enough."
Straightforward, concise, easy to follow.
Up close, it might just be tense flat responses, but that voice made it all endearing.
"Teacher! You watching the stream?"
"Got it open beside me."
"Read the title for us?"
"Uh... Veteran Invite. Purple Eyesore's A to Z on Hel: Odin's Daughter... Eyesore?"
The guest was gradually melting into the stream.
I'd been too frazzled to lead properly, yet we were bantering naturally.
"That one's kinda cute, right?"
"Ah... it's a bit much..."
My worries about him freezing up were for nothing—he was reading chat and ping-ponging off it on his own.
Great voice, killer at the game, and decent on stream...?
That voice was borderline fraudulent.
Solid projection, clear pronunciation.
I'd briefly attended vocal training myself, so it hit home.
Hanami had profited big time from her unique voice, especially her killer cry reactions.
It's no joke that a good voice carries half the stream.
Fill the other half, and you run long-term. With a unicorn like this...?
A strong premonition hit.
Sure enough, checking messages: Boss bombarding with texts.
Hanami swiftly muted notifications and pressed on.
"Shall we start with a quick interview? Asking age might be rude...?"
"Uh."
Jicheol pondered inwardly.
Twenty, right?
Won't sound off?
"Skip that!! So, when did you start?"
While he hesitated, Hanami jumped to the next line.
Pro streamer move.
"Thor and onward. First game in the series."
"First one? That's ancient."
"Ah. Neighborhood... bro made me. Been playing since."
Almost said neighborhood bro again.
Swallowing a mental sigh, Jicheol rolled "oppa" on his tongue.
Nope, way too awkward.
"Gasp. Since you were a kid, then."
"Eh, lifetime basically. Twenty years or so."
"Now for the main content. All set?"
"I'll do my best."
"Let's go, Sensei!!"
From there, it followed the pre-agreed script.
Hanami stuck behind the veteran, mindful of framing.
Chatting during movement confirmed it.
Beyond a pleasant voice, it had addictive pull—wanted to keep listening.
Easy on the ears, perfect for leaving on loop.
Not just voice—considerate speech and demeanor made conversing effortless.
The type you wanted to call "sis" without thinking.
Heard he was a college student, so younger than me, probably.
Wonder how old exactly.
"Parry the hallmark of veterans?"
"Nah. No parry, no afterimage tech. Hard to apply in real fights."
"Gasp. Right you are, Sensei!!"
"I aim for newbie-friendly lessons."
"Afterimage isn't essential anyway."
"Really?"
"Sure, Arena... top PvP needs some. But Hel: Odin's Daughter shines in PvE too. Few obsess over PvP."
"Not needed for open-world fun. Better tips exist."
"Ooh."
"Just the essentials for you, Hanami."
Dunno if it was the voice, but explanations landed with mad persuasion.
"First, hit ESC for settings."
"Settings first!!"
"Yeah. Gameplay, input, commands."
"Done!!"
"Perfect. Attack key, then DEL."
"Pressed."
"Clear all other attack bindings too. Good."
"Yes!!"
"Save."
"...Sensei? Won't this make attacks impossible?"
"Exactly."
"Exactly?!"
"Hanami doesn't qualify for attack keys yet."
The veteran whipped out a bow and sniped the boss.
Before Hanami could react, the BGM shifted.
"Fighting!!"
"Sensei!?"