I Became a Malicious Streamer

The testing location was pretty spacious.

Naturally, it had to be wide since they were setting up 50 capsules, but the passage to move between the capsules was quite cramped.

Thick wires branching out from the capsules and the machines installed at their ends occupied a significant amount of space, looking quite ominous.

It resembled more of a research lab than a game company. In fact, the behavior of the people who seemed to be employees resembled that of researchers. The only difference was that they wore shirts or polo shirts instead of the white lab coats typical of researchers.

It was quite impressive to see someone peering over a file folder and engaging in chit-chat with the person next to them.

– “When you enter the capsule, you will find a helmet that covers the front of your face. This helmet analyzes your brainwave patterns, so please ensure you wear the helmet before starting the test.” –

An announcement flowed from the giant screen in front of me. It was an explanation of how to activate the capsule and access the virtual world.

Despite its unfamiliar and complex appearance, operating it didn’t seem too difficult.

“Let me see…”

“Is this how you do it?”

“If you don’t know how to do it, please raise your hand! We’ll help you!”

While some people raised their hands for help, I successfully activated the capsule without any trouble.

With the lights coming on and the sound of the machine starting up, the lid of the capsule opened. A space resembling a recliner was made for the user to lie down.

I tried wearing the helmet once. Since my head was so small, it felt a bit loose.

Searching for an adjustable device, I found a button. When I pressed it, the helmet automatically shrank to fit perfectly on my head.

“Whoa…”

Did it measure head size inside and adjust to fit like this? It felt amazing, yet also like a given for a company making such a virtual reality device.

I took off the helmet and tried to manipulate various functions inside the capsule. While exploring, I discovered the number 28.

Was this the capsule number? A glance at the capsule next to mine revealed it had the number 29 written on it.

I completed all preparations as instructed by the announcement. While I waited idly, a staff member approached me.

“If you’re all set, you can connect now.”

“Is it okay if I go ahead without waiting for others?”

“Yes, it doesn’t matter the order.”

I looked around to see one by one entering their capsules, and slowly the lids began to close.

After watching them, I finally settled into my own capsule.

Time to go!

*

“All clear?”

Yep, all clear. So far, 38 people have entered.

Reports echoed from various corners.

This place was a monitoring room to keep track of those accessing the virtual world in real-time. You could call it the command center for this project.

Mike, the project lead, wandered around, examining the screens the employees were observing.

The numbers displayed were a jumble that only those involved could make sense of.

“All 50 have entered.”

“Okay.”

Mike gazed straight ahead. On the left side, from 1 to 50, the screens displayed the participants’ statuses in the virtual world.

The 50 participants eagerly explored a new world, astonished, moving their bodies this way and that.
They jumped, sprinted, and threw punches in mid-air, testing the differences between reality and this virtual realm.

Mike took all of it in slowly. Since beta testers can be selected from here, he observed carefully.

What were the criteria for being chosen as beta testers?
You had to show the game’s allure simply through playing.
You needed to identify unknown bugs that might exist within the game.
You had to confirm whether the measures set by the developers were functioning properly.

They were essentially the vanguard. They scouted the area for any dangers for the allies that would come later, also assessing the terrain.

Therefore, simply being able to play normally was essential. Adaptability in the virtual world was crucial.

Those who were too slow or struggled with controls were deemed unsuitable.

“Participant 16, eliminated.”
“Participant 5, eliminated.”
“Participant 11, eliminated.”

People lost in the virtual world, aimlessly wandering.
Participants still stuck on the tutorial compared to others.
Those with unstable connections to their capsules, causing continuous errors, were excluded.

The test consisted of 30 stages in total.
The first stage taught simple controls, and if you could follow it, you passed.
The second stage required jumping to cross stepping stones. The third was finding a path in a maze.

Each stage demanded something different from the participants, and the difficulty gradually increased the further you went.

Stages 25 to 30 boasted the highest difficulty, not even made for the developers to clear casually.

So what purpose did these stages serve?
They were to observe any changes occurring in individuals put in extreme situations.
Testing human limits while checking whether their brain activity functioned normally without any issues.

So, from stage 25 onward, it was a crucial zone for developers to observe.
Until then, the difficulty was easy, and previous teams had smoothly made it through, so there was no point in worrying.

“Participant 14, entering stage 25.”

It was natural for all the higher-ups, including Mike, to turn their heads at that announcement.

“Already in stage 25? That’s quite fast.”
“Make that screen bigger. Reduce the size of the others. Yeah, just like that.”

A man was deep in thought. It was a marshy area where his feet were sinking. Rather than jumping straight in, he seemed to be thinking ahead.

“George.”

Someone mentioned the man in the screen by name. It seemed he had a familiar face to the person mentioning him. A few nearby nodded in agreement.

“Of course, it’s George.”
“Did he have a knack for capsules?”
“He’s good at games.”

True to their expectations, George interacted with the vines on the wall, using them like ropes and crossing the swamp after several attempts. It was like he was Tarzan.

George moved on to stage 26, with all eyes focused on him as he surged ahead.

“Participant 28, entering stage 25.”

Another person entered stage 25. The news of someone closely following George caught Mike’s attention.

“Who is it? Show me the screen.”

“Here’s the person.”

“Hmm?”

It was a face he hadn’t seen before. However, Mike wasn’t surprised simply because it was a new face. Given the project’s scale, the applicants were diverse.

The reason for his surprise was due to the appearance of the woman on the screen. A strikingly beautiful Asian woman. He became curious about her nationality.

“What’s the in-game language setting for participant 28?”

“Let’s see… Korean.”

Korea! It was one of the countries that strangely had many good players. Korean… Mike murmured, rubbing his forehead.

The woman with the nickname Mollru didn’t hesitate like George. She instantly grabbed the vines, weaving through the swamp with ease.

Her ability to clear the stage without any practice left Mike speechless.

“Amazing…”

There might be a chance of a new record.
So far, the highest stage cleared in this test had been stage 28.
Beyond that lay unknown territory no participant had ever experienced. It was not only hard to reach but also incredibly difficult to clear.

However, Mike had a strong premonition that a record might be broken.
That feeling turned out to be spot on.

Participant 28 cleared the stages at breakneck speed, surpassing even George and reaching stage 29.

By this point, everyone in the room began to pay attention to her.

“Who’s that woman?”
“What a crazy reaction time.”
“Even yet, her brainwaves remain very stable. Was she not under any strain?”

Unlike stage 28, where participants battled lizardmen, stage 29 had no enemies present.
This stage simply required surviving for a limited time to advance to the next stage.
Survival time was 3 minutes. Could she dodge the laser beams that would start out slow and gradually increase in speed every 30 seconds?

‘No way, this stage will be hard…’
Mike genuinely thought that.
During the three minutes, as only 30 seconds remained, the lasers would unleash madness without warning.
The participant from the morning session numbered in the 200s had bowed out under the laser barrage.

But paradoxically, while Mike thought it was impossible, he found himself clenching his fists and rooting for her.

Zing—

Lasers shot out unexpectedly at the start.

It was an attack before she could even grasp the type of stage. Normally, participants would die once here and restart, but she dodged the lasers effortlessly with slight shifts of her body.

After that, with minimal movement, she evaded all the incoming lasers. Her movements resembled a dance, capturing the admiration of people around her.

Finally, she reached the much-anticipated 30-second mark. The speed of the lasers now was unparalleled, causing the people in the room to scream.

“This is, this is insane!”
“There’s no way she can dodge this!”
“Please, clear it!”

Like Mike, their feelings were complicated, hoping while thinking it wouldn’t happen.
Participant 28, Mollru, thoroughly satisfied everyone’s expectations.

She showcased movements so swift that it was hard to track even for those watching her first-person perspective.

Wow—!
Someone exclaimed in utter delight.
If she continued like this, clearing it was assured. If she kept this pace, she would be the first participant to clear stage 29 and reach stage 30.
It was a stage the developers had wondered if anyone would ever play through.

With only 10 seconds left on the clock.
Mollru seemed to be struggling now, her face contorting. Her previously stable brainwaves now oscillated violently.

“5 seconds! 5 seconds left!”
“Hang in there!”
“Show us, Korean girl!”

In that moment with everyone’s encouragement, as the countdown reached 3 seconds left,
Everyone was convinced Mollru would clear the stage.
In that precise moment,
The screen broadcasting her gameplay turned black.

“What’s happening?”
“What just happened? Did she get hit by a laser?”
“Isn’t it too much for the screen to just go out?”

The enthralled audience murmured, sweating bullets, while the developers figured out the cause and opened their mouths.

“It seems the program overloaded. With her intense movements, her brainwaves… The player got ejected from the game.”

Simultaneously, the announcement came through that player 28 was waking up from the capsule with a befuddled look.
The room fell into silence for a moment, unable to process the situation.

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