Gathering the Party
The chat window was busy scolding Giseong for being late.
"Aaaagh!"
"Aww, you little shit."
"lololol"
"You're seriously late?"
"lololololol"
"Gross."
"Aaaack lololol"
Meanwhile, I simply watched Giseong quietly taking the scolding. Yeowu and Junsu suddenly became much more talkative once he arrived. It made sense—having someone familiar around always eased the tension a little.
'…At least I have Yeon-a and Haram, so I'm doing better than him.'
With that thought, I turned my screen toward my friends. Yeon-a immediately tossed an item my way.
[Eat this.]
"W-what is it?"
[Bread that comes with donations.]
"Oh… Thanks, I'll enjoy it. Thank you, Donggyul-nim and everyone……."
I bowed my head toward Yeon-a as I spoke. She smiled warmly and relayed the chat's messages.
[Everyone says to eat well.]
"Y-yeah, these days I… manage two or three meals every one or two days……."
[Oh, you're eating properly?]
Yeon-a's voice trembled slightly. I glanced at the chat, wondering if something was wrong, but it was filled with nothing but praise.
Being praised just for eating one meal felt strangely touching.
[You really need to keep eating well… seriously.]
"I-I am……."
[Don't get sick.]
Haram's worried voice made me smile and nod. Then Server Master's gentle voice came from behind.
[Let's all gather as a party and do proper introductions before we go.]
At his soft tone, the three of us answered and walked over to the three big-name streamers.
The chat was flying by in excitement. Watching it made me excited too.
'I'm… doing a collab with these amazing people…!'
While I still couldn't quite believe it, the introductions began one by one.
[Hello, I'm Kei, the one who opened this friendly server. Nice to meet you all.]
A straightforward greeting. Unlike Windmill.
Everyone clapped and welcomed him. Next was Yeowu, whose voice and appearance were both lovely.
[Hello…! I'm Yeowu, a former pro gamer now streaming full-time! My baby might pop in sometimes, sorry in advance. I'm not an ajumma, okay?! I'm twenty-eight!]
Yeowu showed the real side of a mother, unlike Haram's vtuber mom persona. I found myself wanting to make a good impression on her.
After Yeowu, it was Giseong's turn—the one who had gathered the party.
[Yes, I'm Giseong. Nice to meet you.]
Giseong kept his introduction short, probably because he was the one who invited everyone. Haram and Yeon-a followed with brief self-intros.
[You can call me Kits. We're both foxes, Yeowu-nim.]
[Oh, we are.]
The two bonded over that. I thought I should get close to them too and slowly opened my mouth.
"Ah… hello… nice to meet you…!"
That was as far as I got. My mouth wouldn't open any further. I'd gotten a little nervous and my brain had frozen. Anxiety crept in.
"Uh… um, so…."
When I looked around nervously, I saw the chat full of people cheering me on. That helped my mouth loosen up. I took a deep breath and continued with bright eyes.
"V-vam! That's my name… yep… um… please take care of me!"
[How cute.]
Yeowu called me cute the moment I finished. Feeling happy, I shyly bowed and thanked her. I could feel cold sweat running down my back, but I also felt like I'd done pretty well. My heart pounded, as if congratulating me for overcoming the first hurdle.
I glanced at the chat reactions.
Who would've thought a single self-introduction could feel this moving? I winked once, my face bright red, then hurried after everyone.
[Now let's head to the raid location. Today's target is the Red Dragon… I'll explain once we get there.]
Following Server Master Kei toward the gate, I equipped the sword I'd prepared for this moment.
'I can do this…! I'm confident when it comes to fighting!'
Even if it was scary in real life, fighting in-game was something I was good at. It was the only area where I had real talent. My heart started pounding again.
* * *
Junsu was honestly a little worried.
'Kits-nim and… Akari-nim are famous for being bad at games.'
Kits and Akari both had reputations for terrible gameplay. Kits was a healer priest, so that was manageable, but Akari was on another level.
'The worst one makes me nervous.'
The chat shared his concerns.
'…Concern?'
Both the viewers and Junsu had every reason to worry. Failing a raid carried a hefty penalty—you lost half your valuables and got locked out of the highest-reward content. So Junsu quickly assessed who could actually contribute. Yeowu and Giseong were obviously helpful; a legend-tier pro and her disciple meant solid game fundamentals. He ruled them out as concerns and turned to the other woman walking beside him.
[Ah…! Huee… I-is something uncomfortable…?]
"No, I'm fine."
[Ah… okay…….]
Looking at the rather cute girl, he couldn't help wondering if she'd be any help at all.
'I heard she's good at games, but…'
Without time to check, the unease lingered. The chat seemed to agree.
While the chat members laughed among themselves, they arrived at the gate. Ready or not, it was time for the raid.
'With Yeowu-nim here, it'll work out somehow.'
With a determined expression, Junsu pressed W. Unlike him, Suhyun standing beside him felt no pressure at all. After all, she loved fighting.
'Hehe, I hope my mentions go up a bit.'
She was simply beaming.