Chapter 107

CHAPTER 107

(Homework) Co-Streaming with Streamer Kim Taewoo

Chapter 107

[Starting the Stream]

Seojun's stream went live at 5:50 PM, earlier than usual.

A new type of game.

Practically his first sponsored broadcast.

Come to think of it, is this also my first time actually playing a game together during a collab stream?

Today's result might not be critically important, but with so many unfamiliar things happening at once, Seojun couldn't help feeling excited.

"Hello, everyone."

From now on, he planned to play all sorts of games, but it wasn't easy to expect viewers to watch every single one.

A main game.

Even variety streamers needed one—the game that occupied the largest portion of a broadcaster's streaming time.

But—

I have no intention of tying myself to just one.

There were countless games in the world.

He simply wanted to stream whatever he felt like playing.

He didn't want to force himself to stream for the sake of work, using viewers as an excuse while constantly worrying about income.

At the same time, he didn't want to become a streamer nobody watched.

So—

People shouldn't be looking for Jin Seojun who plays a certain game.

They needed to look for Jin Seojun himself.

How do you make that happen?

He didn't know yet.

But if he kept streaming little by little, steadily moving forward, maybe he'd figure it out someday.

"So I'm not the Heavenly Demon anymore? Yeah."

The casual way Seojun answered made everyone laugh.

• So decisive lololol
• Keeping the roleplay outside For the Sake of Chivalry would be a bit much lol
• Abandoned Demonic Cult followers in tears

"What even is a Heavenly Demon? I seriously don't know."

That was why, even though he played up the character when dealing with players of that game, he had consistently maintained his normal streamer manner of speaking with his viewers.

So people wouldn't equate Streamer Jin Seojun with the player Heavenly Demon14.

If For the Sake of Chivalry had been his main game, things might have been different.

But since it wasn't, having the Heavenly Demon image become too deeply ingrained wasn't a good thing.

• Shamelessly drawing the line lololol
• Dunno~
• Seriously, I said I don't know lol. If you keep following me around, I'm reporting you! You're a cultist!
• Fact: The Demonic Cult really is a cult

They were obviously teasing him.

Seojun skillfully opened the invitation window where a notification had appeared.

That didn't mean there was any need to stop people from talking about For the Sake of Chivalry.

Once he started another game, viewers would naturally switch to talking about that instead.

"Alright then, shall we accept the invitation? Ah, there's no need to explain how invitations work in chat."

For a while now, someone had been posting long messages explaining how to enter another streamer's lobby and send invitations.

[Kim Taewoo has invited you to the lobby.]

• He's definitely mastered it now
• Kyaaa!!! Bring out the drinks!!!
• I'm moved
• Back in the day he couldn't find this and had to ask Alpaca directly
• Pretty sure our streamer was supposed to be an assassination professor, but my trust in him plummeted back then

The plain white room, containing only basic objects like chairs, began to change.

I should customize my lobby too.

The lobby was often used as a meeting place when inviting other streamers.

Since the game didn't provide a dedicated space suitable for chatting before or after collaborations, streamers used their lobbies instead.

As a result, streamers put a lot of effort into decorating them.

Like the streamer Alpaca, who had recreated an actual alpaca habitat complete with alpacas, set against a mountainous highland backdrop.

"Finally got here."

"Hey."

"Me too. Hello, viewers of this idiot."

Taewoo's lobby currently had the simple appearance of a peaceful resort.

An emerald-colored sea and a sandy beach.

And a hotel visible along a wooden walkway stretching over the water.

• Ahhh, this is what civilization looks like
• Streamer, change your lobby too
• But isn't he actually a Neanderthal?

Seojun's mouth opened slightly in admiration.

It genuinely felt like he'd arrived at a real vacation resort.

• A Neanderthal seeing fire for the first time lolololol

Looking around, Seojun said,

"Wouldn't that be Homo erectus?"

The first humans to use fire.

Though he wasn't sure what that had to do with anything.

The reason he hadn't changed his lobby wasn't because he was worried the settings would be difficult.

There simply weren't any presets in the store that he liked.

It wasn't that he had been putting it off because changing backgrounds seemed complicated.

Seriously, give him a break.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh. Chat said I look like a Neanderthal seeing fire for the first time."

"Heh. So, what do you think of my lobby?"

"It's nice. But is it a mass-produced preset?"

People in chat are saying they have the exact same one.

Taewoo put on a gloomy expression and pretended to look pitiful.

"Yeah. Nobody made one for me..."

But he was exposed immediately.

"Huh? Someone in chat says they emailed you one and you ignored it."

Why was he suddenly acting pathetic?

Taewoo's expression changed instantly.

"Who was it? Come on, loyal subjects of my stream, stop hanging around over there and come back."

"They said they're not loyal subjects."

"Hmm..."

"Fair point."

• It's hilarious that Taewoo's viewers aren't moving because they're not loyal subjects lol
• If you'd shown performances on our streamer's level, maybe you'd have loyal fans. But not you, Taewoo!

"Damn it. Anyway, hurry up and come over."

They said no.

If they were going to do that, they'd have been in your stream from the start, Taewoo.

"Anyway."

"Yeah?"

"You installed the game, right?"

"Of course."

The game would become playable exactly at 6 PM.

One minute remained.

Being an indie game, there naturally won't be many players who pre-download it and jump in the moment it launches.

If it were made by a famous developer, it could have attracted gamers' attention long before release.

Or if a publisher had heavily promoted it as a guaranteed hit, it could have built recognition that way.

But this game was neither.

Which was why their advertising campaign was so important.

They could've waited until after release and scheduled streams then, so why insist on streaming it on launch day...?

Confidence, perhaps?

That was probably the reason.

Anyway.

"Everyone, you can buy this game on Stream. I mentioned it in the announcement too."

As he spoke, Seojun watched the clock tick over.

"Let's begin."

He launched the game.

[Two Heads are Better]

The game's logo appeared first, followed by the start screen.

The screen was split into two sections, and Seojun's name appeared on the right.

"Do we just send an invite?"

"I think so?"

Taewoo, who had been staring into empty space beside him, responded.

"Then I'll invite you, Seojun."

"Nah. I'll invite you."

"Why?"

"Just because."

"No, seriously. Why?"

There really wasn't a reason.

"Hm?"

"Seojun, I was being considerate because you're bad with technology. Just let it go, let it go. Hahaha!"

"Pfft."

He was already trying to get under his skin.

What was there to let go?

And Taewoo—

This is a co-op game.

• They're trying to fight before the game even starts
• The fact they're arguing over something this pointless proves they're real friends lol

Seojun couldn't see any value in continuing the conversation, so he cleanly ignored him and sent the invitation.

"I invited you."

"Yeah. Got it. Oh, there it is."

Their names appeared on the previously split screen.

The Start Game button below them brightened and lit up, as though it had been activated.

Shrugging, Seojun said,

"Looks like you need this before you can start the game. If you don't have any friends, then..."

Taewoo laughed and cut him off.

"Hey, what are you saying?"

Hm?

Ah.

Friends.

• Stop hitting us
• The friendless viewers just got caught in the crossfire and panicked lol
• Minimum system requirement: friends
• No matchmaking? No matchmaking? No matchmaking?
• A game you can't play without friends...

Seojun acknowledged his mistake.

He had failed to respect the long-running joke of viewers constantly complaining that they had no friends.

Of course, most people who claimed they had no friends were actually social butterflies, but still, it was best to play along.

"I'm sorry. Then you can just play it with your boyfriend or girlfriend, right?"

Seojun said it with complete sincerity.

"Wow. Are you doing this on purpose?"

• Even the Sword God can die if he keeps this up
• As if they have a boyfriend or girlfriend

And Taewoo's chat immediately started reacting in much the same way.

• ???
• Why are we taking splash damage too?
• Seriously?
• Ha... somebody give me the streamer's address...
• End this collab immediately!
• Heh heh... Kids these days have no sense of honor... sob

[Kim Taewoo - 15,000 viewers]

Taewoo shook his head as he watched Seojun move his finger toward the Start button.

"Starting?"

"Go ahead."

"You cruel bastard."

[Jin Seojun - 19,000 viewers]

[Kim Taewoo - 15,000 viewers]

[Jin Seojun - 19,000 viewers]

"It's started."

A man sitting in an office finally looked away from the stream he had been watching and began scrolling.

(Includes Paid Promotion)

(Includes Paid Promotion)

(Includes Paid Promotion)

One particular label kept appearing on the screen.

The indicator showing that a streamer was currently doing a sponsored broadcast.

Among medium-to-large streamers currently live, nearly forty percent had that label displayed.

It was certainly an unusual sight.

Yet it was also a familiar one.

Every year around this time, the same scene appeared.

This was one of the periods when competition among game publishers became fiercest.

The goal was to attract as much attention as possible from gamers whose dopamine levels had temporarily cooled after the conclusion of major content releases such as large-scale battle modes.

The period was known as Super Week.

The most anticipated games launched.

The most money was spent promoting those launches and making them the talk of the industry.

And, as a result, it was the most profitable time of the year.

Over the past five years, this intense week had become a cultural event.

It affected not only the pride of the two giant platforms, but also the following year's revenue, and even the fate of indie developers and industry professionals.

And right in the middle of it all, Seojun had appeared.

Even if this was only a short sponsored stream involving two people, the streamer in question had just accomplished something unbelievable during a massive recent event.

Naturally, industry insiders couldn't help but pay close attention.

But what if that insider worked for Crown—the industry's number one company and the rival of Stream, the platform distributing the game Seojun had chosen?

Would they be nervous?

Or perhaps—

"Has your prediction changed at all, Assistant Manager Kim?"

The man who had been watching the monitor looked up.

"You mean that two-player co-op game? Or the stream itself?"

"Both."

"No. My opinion hasn't changed."

He answered without hesitation.

"They'll fail."

"Both of them."