Chapter 75: Battle Royale

Being surprised by the sudden appearance of the collab kidnapper was one thing.

My body was very honest.

“—Yes, so I came a bit early today.”

Please understand.

-No, what?

-So you turned on the stream?

-Did Jisu kidnap you for a collab?

-Finally lol.

Thinking it would make good YourTube content, you can tell by how I immediately turned on the stream and am preparing.

If everyone else is streaming and I’m the only one not, wouldn’t it feel like a waste?

“So, since I turned it on now anyway, I’m planning to stream for a bit longer and then end it.”

-It doesn’t really matter to us what time you stream.

-I’m just listening to the audio at work anyway.

-Jisu works hard lol.

-God CEO  (shivers).

-You’ll stream until evening now, right?

“No, I’ll be sleeping then.”

The viewers’ reactions to my words.

And at night, I should just sleep.

I originally planned to rest during the day, but now that my plans have changed due to this, it’s right to rest at night again.

(Diring-!)

I entered the Discord room password so it wouldn’t appear on screen.

Then, as always, the collab members appeared.

“Hello···?”

“Ah, Cheongha-nim, you’re late~!”

Should I say, as expected?

They immediately started to corner me.

My goodness, I didn’t even have an appointment originally.

“Then, since I’m late anyway, I just won’t come.”

“Ah ah, sorry sorry!!”

Just stay here.

After somewhat organizing the situation.

We greeted each other again.

“It’s been a while.”

I’m Rupyung.

“Ah, yes.”

Rupyung.

Hello.

I greeted Rupyung, the streamer who was among the members.

I saw this person during the Denador collab last time, right?

This person was also a big shot on a similar scale to Baekro, so along with Bellena, who had gone through thick and thin with them, they left quite an impression.

Especially their reaction when they died was very entertaining.

“Um, Cheongha, were you kidnapped too?”

“Ah, yes···.”

“It’s a bit bewildering, isn’t it?”

I was like that at first too.

So this person is the same.

I didn’t realize it when I watched on YourTube, but seeing it like this, it was a bit bewildering.

To think he’d just scout people with his own agenda and then leave.

If he comes out like that, isn’t it hard to refuse?

‘Well, I didn’t intend to refuse in the first place, though.’

I was lacking content I could do alone anyway, so if he comes out like this, it’s a gain for me.

Since my fellow broadcasters weren’t all extroverted, it was a method that would work well.

Or did he just call someone who seemed easygoing?

Although I’m famous as a celebrity, I’m still a newcomer as a broadcaster.

I don’t think it would be too burdensome.

“But don’t we need one more person?”

Find someone quickly.

“Who should we call?”

Baekro?

“Ah, Baekro is doing homework right now.”

In order, it was Gu Jisu, Bubugi, and Rupyung.

Still, it’s a relief that there are people I know.

‘By the way, homework…’

In the internet broadcasting industry, homework means advertisements.

Especially since this one was an ad directly from a game company, it would be particularly important.

‘By the way, how much would the pay for that be?’

This one, considering it’s not just simple brand exposure but directly playing the game, would probably earn quite a bit more.

Besides that ad, considering I also receive monthly payments for the headset or computer ads I do, it’s probably similar to what I earned filming ads during my celebrity days.

After deducting what goes to the company and other miscellaneous things, if I just consider what I purely receive, I think I can get a rough estimate.

‘Well, anyway…’

If she’s working, she’ll definitely be busy.

It would be hard to call her to play a game.

However, other people.

Especially our CEO, seemed to think differently from me.

“Really?”

Then there’s nothing to do, should we just call her?

“Yes?”

Seeing him tell me to call her like that.

“Um, she’s in the middle of an ad, and you want me to call her?”

“Ah, just tell her to ditch it and come!”

I’ll give her my ad later!

I have 12 ads backed up this month alone!!

“No, if you have that many, go film them, you crazy bastard!”

…Is that something an MCN CEO should say?

More than that, to be so relaxed even with 12 ads backed up, as expected of a big shot with 900,000 subscribers.

He’s completely hit the jackpot, huh?

Of course, he’s acting like that because he’s confident he can handle it all himself.

By the way, Inri, huh.

Hmm…

“But, I might not be good at this, is that okay?”

I’ve seen it passing by before, it’s like a mix of gacha game characters and rules?

It felt a bit like that.

I’m not particularly good with rules either, so I’m a bit worried.

“Ah yes, it doesn’t matter.”

This is easier than rules.

“Ah, really?”

“And well, would she be as bad as Baekro?”

…Baekro?

What on earth is her reputation like?

I suddenly became curious.

Still, she was pretty good at FPS, how did she end up…

‘Ah, not really that either, huh.’

While desperately trying to find excuses to defend her.

Suddenly, I remembered the grenade incident from last time and quietly shut my mouth.

Hmm, that’s quite understandable.

Considering a clip of her setting herself on fire with a Molotov cocktail just last week flew in, it was a surprisingly convincing course of action.

“Ugh, Baekro won’t do.”

While I was thinking that, the CEO seemed to have already finished his Discord call with her.

“Hey, try to tempt her by saying Cheongha is here.”

“Uh, I already tried tempting her with that, but it failed.”

“Ah, for real?”

“She even considered it, then it failed.”

F*ck.

Right, no matter what, it’s an advertisement.

It’s a bit much to just ditch it and come.

Still, since she said she considered it a bit, I was somewhat grateful for that.

Anyway, that’s that.

“Then let’s just pick one randomly and fill the spot.”

“Uh, that seems better.”

It seems other acquaintances are also either in the middle of ads, sick, or resting, so there’s no one to call.

What, so Baekro and I were really just poked because we seemed easygoing?

Baekro at least escaped with an ad, but I couldn’t even escape that and got caught here like this?

Sigh, this is strangely irking.

Someday, I will definitely hit a million subscribers and repay this humiliation.

With that resolution, the timing of which was unknown, I started the game with the collab members.

---

Infinity Returns.

A battle royale game where 24 test subjects fight each other on a small island, and the last one standing wins.

“This seems a bit complicated.”

It felt strangely similar yet different from the rules or FPS games I’ve played, so I was a little worried.

When the game started, the selection screen appeared.

“Hmm, let me pick a character first.”

Let’s see, what would be good?

Even with the same character, you could choose various weapons, so the playstyle differed for each.

What would be the most standard choice?

‘Should I just not spend money and try a free character first?’

No doubt, the characters provided in the tutorial would be good for getting a feel for it.

I won’t be using other paid characters now, so I’ll have to decide whether to buy them later or not.

The characters unlocked after completing the tutorial were basically three.

One high school student with a Japanese sword.

One female character in Hanbok.

And one pretty blonde female character.

“Still, a melee character would be a bit easier to handle, right?”

And since it’s a Japanese sword character, it feels strangely familiar.

I used a tachi in Titan Hunter too, and I’ve played many roles like this.

‘If only the hair here was changed to brown and she was dressed nicely in a kimono, it would be exactly my role.’

Although her hair color didn’t quite match, so I had to wear a wig and act.

Nevertheless, I was praised by the original fans for having a very high synchronization rate, so it remained clearly in my memory.

Anyway, to relive such memories a bit, I decided to choose this character.

Well, if it’s really bad, I can just change it later.

“Alright everyone, level up a bit and then come to the hotel area, okay?”

“Ah, yes.”

After deciding on the equipment to match and the route.

Cheongha spawned as decided.

“So, I just need to search these yellow glowing boxes, right?”

“Yes, just quickly grab the yellow triangles.”

I also just learned this.

Apparently, your level goes up if you eat items and craft, or hunt mobs.

Kkiiik-

For now, there are no mobs in this vicinity, and my weapon is still weak.

So, I decided to focus on farming first.

[+ Steel Plate 1]

“Oh, a steel plate came out.”

Fortunately, perhaps thanks to spawning in a decent location, I was able to obtain weapon materials relatively quickly.

This, this was a material that could be used to craft a Japanese sword, right?

“Let’s try crafting once for now.”

Tang-

Tang-!

[Crafting Japanese Sword…]

Following the sound of a hammer striking, a Japanese sword was born in my hand.

Wow~ Look at this beauty.

I already feel reassured.

[Level Up!]

And my level went up too.

This is a good omen from the start.

「Hyaaat-!」

The character attacking, brandishing the freshly made, piping hot Japanese sword.

“Hmm.”

This is pretty good, isn’t it?

Kim Cheongha with a Japanese sword?

Alright, no one can stop me now.

“Hey, Japanese swords are a bit weak in the early game.”

So, level up a bit more first.

Don’t go around causing trouble.

“Ah, yes.”

Heeding the words of the experts, I put aside my confidence and obediently went back to farming.

I’m still a beginner, so there’s nothing wrong with listening to them.

After mostly clearing out the surroundings, I teleported to the next route point.

And not long after.

“Oh my, Cheongha-nim!”

“Oh, Rupyung-nim!”

I was able to meet Rupyung, a member of the team.

“You chose a pretty character, huh?”

“Ah, yes.”

Cheongha-nim is···.

“I like the one with the Japanese sword.”

Looking at her, it seems that person is a ranged dealer.

Hmm, a melee dealer and a ranged dealer combination.

It was neither a particularly good nor bad combination.

It would be best if there was a tanker nearby.

Since we’ve gathered anyway, let’s just move together.

“Rupyung-nim, what are you doing?”

“Ah, I’m about to start hunting soon.”

“Ah, hunting is good.”

Come to think of it, they said you could also level up by hunting.

Perhaps because she’s experienced, it seems she has already upgraded her weapon to some extent.

They told me to at least get up to Kujikanesada before fighting.

“Um, do you happen to know where this comes from?”

And this one···.

“Ah, the ore?”

Well, the ore is from here···.

When I asked about the locations of the materials needed to craft Kujikanesada, Rupyung kindly answered.

First, I made Muramasa using ore, then combined it again.

Eventually, I was able to obtain the hero-grade sword.

Kujikanesada.

“Oh···.”

“Do you like Japanese swords?”

Seeing me admire the brilliant purple Japanese sword, Rupyung spoke with a pleased expression.

“Yes, it varies by type, but.”

This one is my favorite.

It’s a sword that often appears in anime anyway, right?

Otakus usually find it hard to dislike.

I didn’t dislike it either, but among them, this one was particularly special.

The one I wielded in Director Tatsuya’s movie was based on this,

And I also like that there are letters engraved on the blade.

Come to think of it, I had a rubber prop of this at home.

I should have just held it and threatened the stalker when he was chasing me.

Wouldn’t he have been scared the other way around and run away immediately?

It really looked like steel, so you wouldn’t know it was fake unless you touched it.

While I was having such silly thoughts.

Rupyung’s puzzled reaction returned.

“Ah, are these all different types?”

“···What did you say?”

“I’ve never used a two-handed sword before···.”

At that innocent question, I couldn’t help but ask back.

No, she can’t distinguish something that simple?

“No, this is completely simple···.”

It was the moment I was about to explain the differences between Japanese swords.

“Excuse me, Cheongha.”

“Yes?”

“Normally, even most otaku can’t tell them apart.”

You’re the weird one.

“···Really?”

Come to think of it, it was normal for even most Japanese people to not be able to distinguish these well.

Even for me, it was a case where the character I played was a sword otaku, so I just went along with it to immerse myself in the role.

Before that, I didn’t really know what was what.

Considering there are many historical inaccuracies in anime and such, it’s not strange that Koreans wouldn’t know either.

Yes, that’s true, but…

‘I feel a strange sense of defeat.’

I couldn’t shake the feeling that my favorite weapon was being subtly disregarded.

Damn it, have I also been consumed by a role?

I shouldn’t have been criticizing our CEO.