I Couldn’t Afford to Buy Mana, so I Started Streaming

[Whoa! I seriously thought they were completely insane! Thank goodness Adella was strong, or else Forest Keeper, you would have almost died on your first mission!]

Thanks to Adella’s performance, I was able to easily clear the 4th Round Observatory.

In fact, it felt even easier than when I fought alone in the 1st Round.

-God-della Hwang-della, praise!
-Nyangnyangnyangnyangnyangnyangnyangnyangnyangnyangnyang!!!!
-What’s up with Adella? Why is she suddenly so good at fighting?
-Are the specs for companion NPCs random?
-Looking at the damage, it seems the same though.

Her potential with daggers was outstanding, but her skill level always fell short.

However, I could clearly see Adella growing stronger in real-time as we fought.

NPC growth.

It’s hard to believe, but she was gradually improving, not just in stats, but in all aspects.

“Is the next place the Materials Warehouse? Hoo… my stomach feels a bit off, and I have a bad feeling. How about we just raid the Admissions Office first?”

But I couldn’t just keep moving the story forward.

Unless someone really skilled taught Adella how to use daggers, I personally didn’t have the know-how for knife fighting.

[You are out of combat.]
[A safe zone has been secured.]
[Would you like to pause the game?]
{Accept/Reject}
[Accept]
[Would you like to exit the game?]
[Exiting World of Arseria.]

Should I learn some dagger techniques somewhere?

At least until she was capable of facing Jin Chronicle on her own, I didn’t deserve to awaken the Gray-Tinged Stillness World.

[Broadcasting Time – 5:24:11]
[Number of Viewers – 6299]

‘What time is it?’

I had completely missed the 12 o’clock promise with Professor Chun. In just a bit, it would be 1 o’clock.

I needed to start wrapping up the stream.

“Okay, I’ll stop here for today.”

-So soon? It’s still lunch time!
-Lolololololol
-Lunch? You guys are still ‘Second String’!
-So is the First String just getting up now?
-I don’t know about the First String, but I just woke up. Why are there so many viewers compared to the number of subscribers?
-You haven’t seen this legendary footage? You’ll regret it all night long, lol!
-It’s only been 5 hours, but today’s stream was packed (like, really packed).
-Lol, I cleared Wagal on the first attempt, too, and as a priest, even with stacking penalties! I’m in the historical moment right now!
-Lol, the biggest harvest was discovering Adella’s hair-brushing content!
-People from the Nyangster Call 1,000 squad still have no news?
-Seeing no updates in the Discord room, I guess so.

People are always amazing to watch.

I believe broadcasting is ultimately an act of sharing one person’s life.

Viewers experience the same sensations that I see and feel.

It offers a level of immersion that’s somewhat different from books or movies, and sometimes even deeper.

Just like when I was holding my breath watching a streamer in an intense battle, viewers mourn for Adella’s death.

Sharing the same time stream feels oddly awkward yet profound.

[‘Daehagwonsaengsalryeo’ donated 10,000 won!]
-Can NoName at least chat? Just for 30 minutes… or maybe 15 minutes…

“Thank you for the 10,000 won donation. I’m going to bed early today, so I’ll stream just until one o’clock.”

-Thank you for the first donation! That’s cute!
-Lol, the streamer is collecting money well.
-Are you actually a high schooler? Haha, grow up faster!

When I ended the game, the number of viewers dropped to 5,000, but the chat window kept flying by.

Even with excellent reflexes, there’s a limit to how much information I can take in.

“My head hurts… I’ll only take questions through donations.”

Why? Well, I don’t really deny that I’m a slave to capitalism to the core.

[‘heureusement’ donated 30,000 won!]
-Can I add you as a friend in Wagal?

The first donation wasn’t a question, but a request for personal gain.

Sure enough, chat overflowed with expressions of anger that could not be captured in words.

“Can I add you as a friend without a multi-account? I haven’t cleared it yet.”
-?
-?
-????
-What does it mean?
-Is this your first try at Wagal?
-Come on, say something that makes sense;;
-I really can’t see the account?

“I’ll remember to add you later. But the game is quite difficult, so it might take some time.”

These kids nowadays learn pretty much anything at taekwondo studios. I was even shocked to see they teach English.

I figured there might be places that teach dagger techniques if I looked hard enough.

Until I was confident I could truly teach Adella properly, it seemed like I wouldn’t be able to start the game.

Especially since didn’t we have the performance assessment guidance tomorrow?

There must be a ton of journals piling up that I missed while in the hospital.

I also need to make some quick money… with so many situations piling up, my head hurts.

[‘Rehuja’s son’ donated 10,000 won!]
-How old are you, Room Leader?

“I’m seven years old.”

-Seventeen?
-He said he’s just seven, lolololol
-What kind of random concept is this now?
-Who cares if you’re cute, what’s age got to do with anything?
-Lol, a noodle-slurping cringe.

Oh wait, is Wagal’s Nightmare a rating for ages 15 and up?

A swift correction was needed.

“No, actually, I’m fifteen years old.”
-What??
-You must not want to answer.
-Does that mean you need to catch up to your age?
-Even if you said fifty-seven, I’d just let it slide.
-Just keep it real, lol.
-Real lol.
-Real lol.

A sudden sharp comment caught me off guard in an amusing way.

[‘Rika’s Great Sword’ donated 1,000 won!]
-Is this your true first playthrough of Arseria?

“No, as I mentioned earlier, I did the prologue with a younger associate before.”

-That means you’re already one go in, right? Come on!
-What’s with you? Why are you so concerned?
-Is this the difference in talent?
-You can’t explain that gameplay just with talent;;

[‘Veixel’ donated 100,000 won!]
-Can you teach me about the Ballum Benavons strategy? What spell were you using in phase 2 that negated Ballum’s attack?

[‘OVERDOSE’ donated 130,000 won!]
-Please explain the secret technique used during the battle with Jin Chronicle.

[‘Nyangster Call’ donated 300,000 won!]
-Please tell me how to brush Adella’s hair!

Despite the donations stipulating conditions, I couldn’t quiet the viewers’ mouths.

I quickly closed the donation window and decided to answer just the last few questions.

-We, who don’t have any money, are so miserable, we can’t even liveㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-The amounts are insane, seriously, lol!
-If they do it right, it’s totally at 10 difficulty, of course, I’m confused.
-But honestly, it feels too precious to share even for 100,000 won.
-I feel like it would be a shame if the method for brushing Adella’s hair cost 300,000 won, lol!
-Nah, not at all?
-You think 300,000 is a waste????
-If my account was charged, I’d have donated 1,000,000.
-Jeez, the whole world is full of Nyang-bark…

“For the first question, I used a 3rd Circle Polarization Magic, implemented as a 1st Circle enhancement. The second question is because the boss kept shooting water cannons, so it’s based on a water molecule disruption technique. When you break it down, it’s nothing special.”

And for the last one…

“I’m not sure about that last one. Thank you for the 300,000 won donation, Nyangster Call!”

*

I brushed the sweat from my hair.

Even my pajamas didn’t escape it, leaving my back itching from heat rash.

I headed to the kitchen without turning on the light and opened the refrigerator door.

Ice. If there’s no ice, at least some water.

Just then, a cold barley tea bottle caught my eye by the door.

“I’m so tired…”

Every single game is exhausting.

It’s different from the half-hour playtime of League, consumed like instant food.

The cool liquid flowed down my throat, cooling my feverishly heated body.

Since there were so many comments questioning my last statement, I named every viewer who donated at least once today to settle them before ending the stream.

And it came to a lull.

The collective intelligence of my viewers might be made up of adults, but they acted and thought like emotional, impulsive five-year-olds.

Yet at the same time, they are pure and fragile in their goodwill.

From the first donor, ‘Daehagwonsaengsalryeo’, to the 101st donor, ‘Nyangster Call’.

There may have been overlaps in between, so it’s likely there were fewer than 101 unique names, but still, just hearing their names made them truly happy.

Both those called by name and those not called, they all acted like one single body and mindset.

Because of that, when bad public sentiment brewed, they would immediately sync up like black paint splattering on white canvas.

They cursed Adella as if they had carried such malicious intent from the beginning, sometimes even mocking her.

A child needs etiquette education suitable for a child’s level.

I vowed to prepare better for the next stream as I put the water bottle back in the fridge.

“Is it over now?”

Just as I was about to return to my room, Professor Chun rustled out from the master bedroom.

“Oh… you’re awake?”
“We agreed to only play until twelve o’clock.”
“Yes… that was the case.”
“But?”
“It’s one o’clock now. I’m sorry…”

But I ended up receiving a lecture instead.

In the end, I couldn’t return to my room until Professor Chun’s nagging hit me squarely in the head.

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