Chapter 58: “To the Top”

There were no surprises.

As expected, the two-tier gap was insurmountable.

The victory went to Kim Jae joon, the Platinum-tier player.

Though he hadn’t played Camilla much, it was impressive how quickly he adapted by reading skill descriptions and practicing them a few times.

You could say he had a high level of game understanding.

It felt like a waste for him to only play Renok, a hero neither as stylish nor as fun as Camilla.

“Camilla’s not bad, right?”

“Yes, it’s better than I thought, but… this was a 1v1. If I had to control her in a chaotic fight, it’d be so overwhelming. Would I even be able to see my character?”

“But it’s fun, isn’t it?”

Nod, nod.

As the eldest in the group, Kim Jae joon nodded silently, proving he hadn’t gained his years in vain.

I was pleased with his reaction, as it was exactly what I’d hoped for.

My own expression showed satisfaction as well.

“Sniff….”

On the other hand, Yushia was crestfallen after losing to Kim Jae joon.

Losing must have stung deeply because tears had subtly welled up in her eyes.

“You did great, Shia.”

It wasn’t empty flattery; it was genuine.

The match was a best-of-three set.

While Yushia didn’t dominate against Kim Jae joon, she didn’t just roll over, either.

In fact, she managed to take one set by landing Camilla’s ultimate combo, a move only Camilla could pull off, against the steady and controlled gameplay of Kim Jae joon.

It was one of the combos I had demonstrated countless times during my tutorials in training mode for my viewers.

It seemed her claim of practicing Camilla while watching my streams wasn’t a lie.

If she could execute that combo in an actual match, it was safe to say she was a respectable Camilla player.

Even though her rank was only Silver and she ultimately lost to Kim Jae joon, her effort and determination were enough to leave an impression on me.

However, Yushia seemed unable to fully accept my compliment, lowering her head slowly.

“So, since I lost, is it over now? Is Jae joon going to become the editor for KayakTube?”

“Ah, about that.”

Yushia’s face showed deep disappointment.

I considered teasing her a bit more but decided to reveal the truth when I saw her expression.

“I’m hiring both of you.”

“What?”

“Both of you can be my editors. Since it’s come to this, let’s run a two-barracks system.”

KayakTube will operate 24/7 on a two-shift system!

Well, the big-name VTubers have entire editing teams dedicated to them, so hiring two people isn’t extravagant by comparison.

While it’s rare to start with two editors, it’s not unreasonable if you see it as an investment.

“Thank you, thank you so much!”

“Thank you for choosing me, boss.”

“Being called boss all of a sudden feels weird.”

Yushia repeatedly bowed at a 90-degree angle from her PC café chair, while Kim Jae joon gave a single polite bow.

The situation felt oddly out of place in a PC café, drawing curious glances from the surrounding patrons.

“I’m fine with working for free….”

“For free? Really? Then can I work you to the bone without paying you anything?”

“Boss, I can’t do that. I need money.”

“I’m kidding, just kidding. As if I wouldn’t pay you.”

In the end, I made this decision because I liked both of them.

They seemed like good people with pleasant personalities.

Meeting them in person turned out to be the right move, and I couldn’t help but smile quietly.

“Shall we go grab dinner now? We can talk about VTubing while we’re at it.”

“So, that’s how it is. Yep. So, friends, don’t forget to subscribe, like, and turn on notifications, alright?”

The newly created VTuber channel was called Kayak.

I moved the mouse cursor around the channel, urging the viewers to take action.

[Wow! VTubing!]

[We kept asking for this, and you finally made it!]

[So what’s next with the editors? What are you doing with the editors? What are you doing with the editors?]

[Didn’t they say it was just an interview?]

[Not that kind of interview, hmm….]

[I’m so jealous of the editors; they’re going on dates with Kayak….]

[At least there were three people, so it’s fine.]

[Three people make it even more scandalous.]

[Hey, hey.]

[Gasp.]

[Why are you talking like you’ve already subscribed?]

[There’s only one video uploaded, though.]

[Nope~ I’m not subscribing~ Why would I?]

“Hm, so you’re not going to subscribe, huh? That might make me feel a little evil….”

[Sorry, sorry, sorry.]

As I hovered the mouse cursor over one viewer’s username, they immediately backed down.

“We’re all trying to get along here, so let’s keep it positive.

“I’m already paying double with two hires. You guys were the ones who said I should hire both, remember?

“The poll was split fifty-fifty, so I picked both editors.

“That means you all need to subscribe, watch the videos, and promote the channel to your friends, okay?”

[Not cutting any slack even for the subscribers, lol.]

[Lol, subscribe to Twitch and now VTube, too?]

[I didn’t think you’d actually hire two editors….]

[Unnie, I already promoted the channel to my friends! TT]

[Threatening us with bans, dictator Kayak.]

[How does this guy have enough money to pay two salaries?]

[Bold investments.]

[Smart young man.]

[This guy’s really serious about VTubing, lol.]

[As long as KayakTube succeeds, there won’t be any problems.]

[He’ll pay it off with the revenue.]

[If things go south, he’ll probably let one go.]

“I don’t have much money, okay? I’m not some trust-fund baby.

“I’ve only been streaming, so where would I get the money?

“For now, I’m using savings from before, but yeah, if things don’t go well, I’ll have to make adjustments.

“I might have to reduce to one editor, or learn editing myself and run things solo.

“But hey, let’s not talk about gloomy stuff like this so early on.

“Let’s be hopeful, okay? If things go well, it’ll be great.

“And for that to happen, what do I need? I need all of you to help me out a lot~.”

Thankfully, the money I earned back when I was a man remained intact, even after the world transformed.

That’s what I was boldly investing now, which led to sudden rumors about me being rich.

I rambled on about how I was just using my old savings.

<Ding! [User XYZ] donated 1,000 won!>

“Is there no event for reaching 10,000 subscribers?”

“Thank you for the 1,000-won donation. A 10,000-subscriber event? Isn’t that too soon? I just barely passed 1,000 subscribers.”

Honestly, even 1,000 was an amazing number for me.

Back in the day, I couldn’t even attract 100 viewers to my streams.

But as soon as I asked for subscribers during the broadcast, I effortlessly surpassed 1,000.

Even now, I feel dazed but happy.

At this rate, I can’t help but wonder if I’ll be printing money through VTubing.

But an event, huh? A 10,000-subscriber event….

“I don’t really have any ideas yet. A Q&A? Isn’t that too cliché? A ‘Jot-cam’? Wait, is ‘Jot-cam’ what I think it is?

Lily from The Strange Land, what kind of nonsense are you spouting….

You shouldn’t say things like that. Go cool your head for a bit.

Oh, one of the editors I met recently is pretty good at Abyss.

Should I create content where Camilla gives lessons on it?”

[None of the ideas are really appealing.]

[If not a Jot-cam, at least a hand-cam!]

[Will you do a full-body cam when you hit a million subscribers?]

[What’s with a million sounding like it’s just some pet’s name?]

[Once you hit 100,000, you’ll have to reveal your face. It’s only fair.]

[An event of just gaming for 10,000 subscribers…?]

[You clearly don’t understand what your viewers want, teacher.]

“By the way, one of the editors is a woman.

You know Oh Gal’s mod, ShiaShia, right?

When I met her in person, she was super cute.

Her rank? Silver.”

[Gasp.]

[Wait, is it Coja?]

[Nunaaaaaaa!]

[Teaching Coja editing, lol.]

[This is already fun.]

[Kayak and the mods—so many women in Oh Gal….]

[Not really, if you look at the proportions, lol.]

[So, did this guy just eat with women on both sides?]

[FanTube, you rascal!!!!]

Whenever it involves women, people just lose their minds.

Their predictable reactions made me laugh without realizing it.

I had already obtained permission from Yushia, one of the editors, to reveal her gender.

She was even proactive about managing the chatroom in my streams.

Her words implied she was willing to act as a “janitor sword,” so to speak.

When I asked if she could manage all that while still editing, she said she’d do it during her spare time.

After all, she was already spending her free time watching my streams anyway.

She explained that if inappropriate chats weren’t addressed, they’d only get worse.

Honestly, her concern didn’t fully resonate with me.

There were occasionally incomprehensible messages in the chat, but overall, I thought it was manageable.

Still, since she volunteered to handle it, I saw no reason to refuse.

I assigned mod roles to both Yushia and Kim Jae joon.

People had been suggesting I hire chat moderators anyway, so it felt like the perfect opportunity.

“Anyway, I’ve hired two editors and started the VTuber channel.

For now, I’ll aim for one video per day.

Please give it your attention and support.

Today’s stream was just a casual update.”

Dramatic background music played, and the viewers began to cheer.

In some streams, launching a game would cause viewers to leave, but that didn’t seem to be the case here.

That was a relief.

I couldn’t imagine talking aimlessly for hours without a set topic.

I brought up the familiar game screen and quickly started matchmaking.

“I’ll be climbing the ranks. Now that the tournament’s over, I’ll take my time increasing my score….

Goals? I don’t really have one, but I should at least hit Challenger by the end of the season.”

The moment I said that, the queue popped immediately.