Chapter 87 : A VTuber Who Picks a Fight with Kirinuki

If you’re a full-time streamer—especially a VTuber—then running a YouTube (U-tube) channel isn’t optional. 

It’s a must.

I mean, the very word “VTuber” itself is a mash-up of virtual and YouTuber.

Strictly speaking, streamers like me who only do live broadcasts should be called virtual streamers, not VTubers.

But whatever—nobody bothers to separate them that precisely. 

Anyone who uses a virtual avatar to broadcast just gets lumped in as a “VTuber.”

So then.

Why does a VTuber need to run a YouTube channel?

Because of the entry barrier.

Jumping into a VTuber’s livestream isn’t as easy as it sounds.

Let me give you an example using myself.

Imagine there’s this random guy who knows nothing about VTuber culture.

He’s just scrolling for something to watch and stumbles across a VTuber ranked pretty high—someone named Lee Jiah.

He clicks on the stream… and what the heck?

Lee Jiah’s doing a confession session stream.

Naturally, he has no idea that Lee Jiah is a VTuber with a fanatical cult RP, or what the stream’s vibe is supposed to be.

Now, say this guy is a devout Christian.

He’s immediately turned off by what he sees as her mocking religion, and he blocks her channel on the spot.

Yeah, something like that.

It’s an extreme example, sure—but the point is that the barrier to entry is high for VTubers.

And the thing that helps lower that barrier… is YouTube.

Unlike livestreams, YouTube lets you edit.

You can use subtitles to quickly and effectively explain what kind of streamer you are.

You can clip just the funniest or most interesting parts of your stream, so even a two-minute video can give viewers a quick dopamine hit.

Even someone unfamiliar with VTubers might find it interesting to see a pink-headed girl with suspiciously massive divine energy orbs getting punished for blasphemy.

They might not know what the heck’s going on, but at least it feels fresh.

So, if I’m aiming to make a career out of virtual streaming, running a YouTube channel isn’t optional—it’s mandatory.

[Obligations of an Official Archivist]

1. Breaks are only allowed after death. If you don’t stream at least once a day, you’ll be forcibly recalled to the Omnia Archive.

1-1. Each stream must last at least 30 minutes.

1-2. You must gain at least 1,000 new followers by the end of the month.

[Obligation Completed]

2. Write at least one new [Item] article each month.

3. Write at least one new [Anomalous Phenomenon] article each month.

[Obligation Completed]

4. Failure to meet these obligations will result in immediate disqualification as an Official Archivist and termination.

Archivist obligations are updated in real-time. 

As seen in this month’s newly updated obligations,The follower requirement has doubled compared to last month.

I still don’t know what standard they’re using to raise the follower quota.

Maybe it just increases by 500 followers every month.

Or maybe it doubles each month based on the previous month’s number.

Whatever the case may be.

One thing is clear: Beachy Mutbyeol is demanding constant growth from me.

I was lucky enough to experience explosive growth right from debut, so things are fine for now, but wait until a year or two passes.

It’s going to become quite a mental burden.

So, in that sense.

It’s about time I started running a YouTube channel.

To operate a channel, you need at least two people.

A channel manager to handle everything overall, and a video editor.

In Ayase’s case, she has a channel manager, a video editor, a thumbnail artist.

I heard there are more than five people dedicated to her YouTube channel alone.

But that kind of staff scale is only possible because she’s Ayase.

For a mid-tier to high-tier VTuber like me—not quite top-tier—a single editor is honestly enough.

But still.

It’s true that running a channel myself feels a bit overwhelming.

I’m a busy person.

I’m not pretending to be busy—I’m actually busy.

I have to deal with anomalous phenomena.

I get regular training from Yui Seul.

I need to visit the Association to appraise Items.

So, for now, I’m thinking of hiring just two people to start the channel: one editor and one channel manager.

As for the channel manager—I already have someone in mind.

There’s someone I completely trust to handle it for me.

“Do it.”

[…]

“Please do it, Jung-hwan. I’ll make sure the pay is generous.”

Kim Jung-hwan already monitors all my streams under the pretext of surveillance, anyway.

If you think of it as running the YouTube channel while monitoring, it’s not that unreasonable of a request.

[It is unreasonable. Or to be precise, it’s downright impossible.]

“…Why?”

[Jiah, I’m an employee of the Awakened Association.]

“So?”

[Employees of the Awakened Association are treated like semi-civil servants. That means we’re not allowed to have side jobs or make extra income.]

“…Ah.”

So that’s what it was.

[Besides, I had no intention of taking on another job in the first place. I need to rest when I can. Monitoring your streams may be called surveillance, but in reality, it’s just my dopamine sou— Ah. Th-that was a slip of the tongue.]

“…”

Kim Jung-hwan didn’t seem even remotely interested in becoming my YouTube manager.

He said that when he’s watching the stream, he just wants to turn off his brain and forget about work.

Before I knew it, he’d completely forgotten about his original “surveillance” mission.

This guy.

He’s just become an ordinary believer now.

Well, it couldn’t be helped—I let him go cleanly.

Actually, there was one other suitable candidate besides Kim Jung-hwan.

No need to hesitate.

I immediately sent him a 1-on-1 café message.

[Lee Jiah: Oh disciple.]

[Lee Jiah: Answer me.]

[Mootbyeol Nunna’s Grace: Yes, cult leader.]

His true identity was the person who served as both my stream manager and the café manager.

It was “Mootbyeol Nunna’s Grace.”

Compared to Kim Jung-hwan, he was a bit lacking, but aside from him, he was the best fit to manage my YouTube channel.

[Lee Jiah: A divine revelation has descended.]

[Lee Jiah: Operate Lee Jiah’s channel.]

[Lee Jiah: And lo, salvation shall be granted unto you.]

Total nonsense.

It wasn’t a divine revelation.

And it wasn’t salvation either.

It was just me asking him to become the manager of my channel, and that I’d pay him regularly.

His response was so passionate it almost overwhelmed me.

[Mootbyeol Nunna’s Grace: O]

[Mootbyeol Nunna’s Grace: H]

[Mootbyeol Nunna’s Grace: YES!]

[Mootbyeol Nunna’s Grace: I’ll do it no matter what no matter what no matter what no matter what no matter what no matter what no matter what no matter what]

Right.

This guy was unemployed.

I’d rejected anyone who wasn’t unemployed when hiring a stream manager in the first place.

Now that he had a job, it’s no wonder he was so happy.

[Mootbyeol Nunna’s Grace: Unemployed loser job creation?]

[Mootbyeol Nunna’s Grace: Praise the many stars]

[Mootbyeol Nunna’s Grace: This too must be a blessing from Beachy Mutbyeol]

But hey.

Let’s get our facts straight.

[Lee Jiah: No, this isn’t Beachy Mutbyeol’s blessing]

[Lee Jiah: It’s my blessing]

[Lee Jiah: What did Beachy Mutbyeol even do that you’re giving all the credit to them?]

[Mootbyeol Nunna’s Grace: Whatever, it’s Beachy Mutbyeol’s blessing, 100%]

[Lee Jiah: No, it’s my blessing!]

[Lee Jiah: I’m the employer, goddammit.]

Is this the kind of unfortunate incident that happens when a believer gets too deep into their faith?

Blaming everything on divine grace—come on, that’s just unfair to me.

…

…

…

Now that I’ve got a channel manager, the next step is an editor.

And for an editor, there’s really only one person.

The owner of the clip channel Lee Jiah’s Sanctuary.

If it’s not this person, it won’t work.

Even if I don’t quite like how all their videos are overtly holy and indecently blunt in nature, that’s beside the point.

This person has really good editing instincts.

I believe a YouTube channel’s caliber depends on two major factors.

First, the pure entertainment value of the source material.

Second, the editor’s skill.

If the source is too poor in quality, even the best editing won’t make the video fun.

On the flip side, even if the source is fantastic, dry editing can kill the fun.

YouTube is like cooking.

A good chef needs fresh ingredients to make something delicious.

A prime example of that is Ayase’s channel.

You again, Ayase?

Well, it can’t be helped.

There’s a reason Ayase is called “the strongest among solo VTubers.”

Anyway, I’m convinced that the owner of Lee Jiah’s Sanctuary could edit my videos into something really tasty.

If there’s a suitable talent, the first instinct should be to recruit them, not suppress them.

Besides, if I can successfully “recruit” this person.

Wouldn’t I be able to take over the entire clip channel, Lee Jiah’s Sanctuary?

Since the clip channel already has a sizable following, there’s no need to start my YouTube from scratch.

Put simply.

I’ll terraform the clip channel into my main channel.

That’s why—no one else will do.

My editor has to be the owner of Lee Jiah’s Sanctuary.

There’s just one problem.

I have no idea how to get in touch with the owner.

Leaving a comment would draw too much attention—that’s a no-go.

More than that, sending a direct love call to this person… it just hurts my pride, you know?

Just look at the state of those videos.

Half of the thumbnails are plastered with “Busty Holy Power Pouches.”

Begging someone who runs a channel that only deals in such crude and lewd content to “Please be my editor!” with my hands pressed together in a desperate plea?

Hell no.

My pride won’t allow it.

I don’t know who you are, but you contact me first.

You kneel to me first.

Alright then.

From here on out, it’s a battle of pride.

***

I briefly looked around the broadcast studio set up underground.

Perfect.

There’s probably no better environment for streaming than this.

Dozens of high-quality tracking cameras were installed for motion capture—or rather, mootion capture.

With this level of equipment and the Omnia Archive Program, I could run a broadcast with production quality that rivals even the major corporate VTubers.

It’s almost a waste for me to use this studio alone.

But still, just because I have the studio now doesn’t mean I’m going to jump straight into mootion capture streaming today.

I haven’t prepared any backgrounds or content for a mootion capture stream, so doing one right now would be premature.

So today, I started streaming in a regular fashion.

Held the usual opening prayer session.

Received donations like always.

[Username donated 1,000 won.]

So what are we doing today?

“Ah, nothing too special today.”

And then I .

“I’m recruiting a clipper.”—casually tossed out the bait.

“Looking for someone to be the editor for my main channel.”

Bite, oh owner of Lee Jiah’s Sanctuary.

You won’t be able to resist.