The Birth of a Star (2)
“...”
I carefully gauged Eunseo’s reaction. From her serious expression, I knew I’d made a mistake.
“F-forget it. Everyone, just forget it!”
- I forgot it
- What did you say?
- I forgot everything, don’t worry
“Oh, really? Thank you.”
As I bowed my head, the chat window sped up.
- You think they forgot lol
- Ah lol
- She’s cute lol
- This is also delicious lol
- They’re teasing you, you know lol
“What?! They’re teasing me? Ah. Seriously! I’m being serious right now!”
- You fell for that?
- Wow, a cute airhead, this is rare
- What kind of concept is this really lol
- Wow, it’s delicious for now, right? lol
- Mmm, gourmet~
I bit my lip, and the chat went even wilder. My face felt hot. I thought they were just people without much on their minds, but it seemed they were experts at embarrassing me.
- Look at her face turning red
- She is gauging the mood, right? lol
- She must be embarrassed lol
“So why did they call you?”
At someone’s question, annoyance reflexively popped out.
“I don’t know! They keep calling me even though I said I didn’t want to. That’s why I’m going, I have no choice. I don’t really know either. They just said a bunch of difficult words, so I pretended to listen.”
“H-Hyunseo, maybe we should stop...”
“Huh?”
“Should we stop talking?”
- No, don’t answer when they ask lol
- You said it was an embargo lol
- They kept calling her even though she said no, ah lol
- She said she pretended to listen because they used difficult words lol
- Yup, it’s already ruined lol
- Honest confession time lol
I sat in the chair as if there was nothing else I could do.
“I don’t know either. Anyway, all I understood was that the President wanted to see me.”
At my words, Eunseo slapped her forehead.
“R-really? That’s all you understood? Then... what about the conversation in the car...”
“That? I was just looking out the window...”
“Uwaaaah! You should have said you didn’t know if you didn’t know! Why did you just stay quiet when you didn’t know what was going on!”
“If I said I didn’t know, you guys would tease me!”
- Are you a kindergartner? lol
- The kind host who uses honorifics for such an airhead lol
- The host is even older than her;;
- She says she only learned swordsmanship so she doesn’t know anything else
“That’s right, I’ve only learned swordplay my whole life, so I don’t know anything else. So don’t tease me.”
- But you’re a supporter;;
- How much did she only do swordplay;;
- “Supporter is a hobby. Swordplay is life.”
- What kind of dogshit is that?
- Are you a national kendo athlete?
“There’s a reason for that. Anyway, I’ve barely done any supporting. Instead, I’ve been eating off the sword for a long time.”
- A supporter who doesn’t help lol
- I perfectly understand why you’re D-class now
- What’s the point if you’re good at swordplay lol
- What kind of supporter just swings a sword in the front lol
- She was a troller lol
- A supporter who reduces damage by eliminating enemies lol
- If you eliminate the enemies, damage doesn’t come in, so she is a supporter, right?
“Ah, my master taught me. But my master also said my swordsmanship was top-notch, that for slicing people up, it was beyond compare, ugh...”
“S-stop talking, Hyunseo-nim! If you make any more mistakes, I can’t handle it.”
- She was a hunter, right?
- Suddenly it’s super scary;;
- Slicing people...
- Ugh...
RhythmFiend: If you’re that good at swordplay, you must be good at Rhythm Saber too, right?
“What’s that? If it’s something you do with a sword, I’ll probably be good at it.”
“Uh... would you like to try? I think I have a virtual reality implementation device.”
“Virtual, what?”
Eunseo hurriedly handed me a small machine the size of a fist.
“For now, it’s better to do something like this than to talk.”
Just as people were being noisy, Eunseo’s phone rang. *Vrrr- Vrrr-* As she looked at the phone, Eunseo’s face turned pale.
“H-Hyunseo-nim, could you just play the game for now? That...”
Eunseo pointed at the camera and said, “D-don’t do anything strange, okay? Just play Rhythm Saber, okay?”
Eunseo left the room after taking the call.
“Hmm.”
I tilted the heavy machine back and forth and frowned. No, Eunseo, my loyal servant. You should have told me how to use it before leaving.
RhythmFiend: Okay, first turn the machine on.
“How do I turn the machine... on?”
- Starting from there? lol
- You have to chant a spell. Usually, it’s ‘Turn on.’
“I have to chant a spell? Do I have to use magic?”
I placed the strange-looking machine on the floor, brought my hand to it, and closed my eyes.
I slowly drew mana from within my body and turned the embodiment of my desire into words.
‘What I want is for the machine to operate.’
Mana flowed along my blood, and the skein of mana that had been tangled like a ball of yarn began to unravel little by little. As the threads of mana surrounding me began to spin rapidly, my hair fluttered.
‘Hmm, it’s definitely stronger because my mana has increased. The reaction is intense.’
- Is she really using magic? For real?
- Stop the fool concept~
- Wait, aren’t you not supposed to use skills in reality?
- Using hunter skills is heavily punished;;
- The Hunter Bureau will go crazy lol
- The Hunter Bureau official watching this must have fainted lol
- She’s really using magic, right?
- Is that even possible?
A blue magic circle began to be drawn under the machine.
RhythmFiend: That’s not it! Just press the button on top!
I was startled by the woman’s voice from the computer and canceled the magic.
“What, it was a lie?”
“It’s easy.”
Rhythm Saber was a game where you swung a glowing sword to hit flying boxes or monsters. Aside from the flashy reactions and the music, it wasn’t much different from fighting in the Tower. As I swung my sword to the music, I soon became immersed.
[Perfect! 100% combo!]
I breathed heavily and smiled proudly. A strange sense of accomplishment rose up, and it was surprisingly fun.
“So, I hit everything, right?”
- I’ve never seen anyone clear this with a perfect before...
- Even hunters couldn’t clear this...
- She’s really good, isn’t she?
- Is this her first time playing?
- She’s a genius...
- I thought she was a pro gamer...
- I acknowledge it, Hyunseo-Hyunseo, you are a hunter.
“It’s better than I thought. Especially the tactile feel when slicing. And the block appeared in the center on purpose at the end, right? So I could naturally finish the motion.”
- Wow, this girl has talent lol
- That’s exactly the intention lol
- Wow, she grasps the essence of this song at once
- A newbie picking out the tastiest parts
- Veteran: Ascends
- Wow, she’s really good lol
RhythmFiend: If you cleared that, try this song too, it’ll be fun. (LUNA TAPE)
“Ah, really? But 100,000 won... Wow...”
I stood there for a moment, staring at the number. “Is this really 100,000 won coming in?”
- You said you were a hunter...
- You have a lot of money saved up, right?
- A hunter surprised by 100,000 won?
- You have hundreds of millions, right?
“I don’t have a single penny.”
- Why?
- Did the guild leader take it?
- How can you have no money?
- You’ve never even touched money?
- You must have sold items before coming out, right?
- Don’t lie lol
- What about your card and bankbook?
- She’s just using the beggar concept lol
“I’ve lived in the Tower my whole life, so where would I have a card or bankbook? My identity was only created recently anyway.”
- Uh...
- This is also a concept, right?
- What are you talking about lol
- Stop the concept...
- Uh... wait a second, is this for real?
- No, the forced concept is getting too severe;;
- She didn’t have an identity lol
- Stop it now...
- Yeah, I know you have greed for broadcasting, that’s enough
- I don’t understand right now lol
“Yeah, you don’t need to understand. But this... ah. The E-something, was it?”
I suddenly remembered a conversation in the car. Come to think of it, they said something about national sentiment or whatever and told me not to talk about it. Could it be this?
“Hyunseo-niiiiiim!”
Eunseo hurriedly ran into the room and turned off the broadcast.
As I blinked, Eunseo said with a desperate expression, “This is also an embargo... I clearly told you in the car...”
“Ah... as expected.”
Vrrr- Vrrr- Yeon Eunseo’s phone rang pitifully again. Eunseo hesitated to answer.
“This... it’s a big problem, right? I just apologized and hung up.”
“...”
Sigh. Was it a secret that I only lived in the Tower?
Eunseo, who answered the phone, took the call with apologies.
“I’m sorry. Yes, Director. Yes. Ah, yes, yes. I’m sorry. Yes.”
Eunseo, who kept answering with an apologetic expression, asked me, “They’re asking if it’s okay to just reveal that you lived in the Tower since it’s already like this.”
“Well, I’ve already said it.”
Eunseo nodded and continued the call.
“...Tsk.”
Maybe it’s because I have a habit of talking to myself, but I said it too easily. I should be careful about what I say outside.
“But what big problem could there be? It’s just an internet broadcast.”
I turned off the computer without much thought.
Contrary to Hyunseo’s thoughts, the internet was a much more enormous thing than she thought. This provocative news, which started with a few thousand people, spread as fast as light, and it didn’t take even a few hours for all of Korea to burn with this news.
EP.02 Daily Life END