chapter 5
His Debut (3) – [Let’s Kill Two]
005.
“So, this is how it is…”
Yudohyuk looked around as if fascinated.
While in the broadcast room decorated like a real room, he hadn’t realized it, but with the background changed, the sense of being in virtual reality became palpable.
From the peculiar musty smell of the mansion to the sudden onset of night, the sensations made it feel almost identical to reality.
“There’s a slight sense of unease.”
Even among others, it was because Lee Dohyuk had an exceptional sense that he was like that; in general cases, there might not be much of a difference from reality.
Just looking at Ji-an’s appearance, it was as if she had come straight to a haunted house, sticking closely behind Lee Dohyuk.
“Uh-uh···”
-So jealous···
-Scaredy-cat, so cute
-Don’t you have any courage?
That’s how the opening scene unfolded.
To summarize briefly the story in the opening scene:
‘It’s about receiving a letter from the missing former wife and coming to find her with the current wife. When they came to the address written in the letter, it was this haunted house.’
As the opening scene progressed on its own, scenes passed by like watching a movie.
The start was the sight of a couple conversing in front of the haunted house.
“Ethan, are you sure? Is Chloe really here?”
“If the letter is correct.”
Nervous husband Ethan and wife Ellie hesitated to enter in front of the haunted house.
Naturally, Ethan was Lee Dohyuk, and Ji-an was Ellie.
Then, the game background explanation continued through Ethan and Ellie’s conversation.
‘So, Ellie and Chloe were close friends in high school? But Ethan broke up with Chloe and married Ellie? Is it because it’s an American game? The relationships are quite dramatic.’
Marrying a former wife’s close friend.
Watching the opening scene, Lee Dohyuk found it fascinating.
Meanwhile, Ji-an was continuing to chat and communicate through the chat window.
“Everyone, please give me some tips. I haven’t even looked at a walkthrough···”
-Well, you learn by dying anyway lol
-First, farm weapons quickly
-You have to search for clues while moving around
Through the explanations in the opening scene and chat window, Lee Dohyuk could roughly grasp what [Ethereal Kills Two] was about.
A survival horror game mixed with action.
It seemed like the goal of the game was for two players to cooperate to avoid enemies and escape the haunted house.
-The early-stage mobs can be handled alone, but for the boss, cooperation between two players is crucial
-Yeah, there are only a few weapons effective against the boss··· and they’re mainly for escaping
-The key is the flashbang. One player needs to throw a flashbang to save the other player while dealing damage
-That’s all for the explanation lol Let’s not spoil the fun
Still, it seemed like someone didn’t want to see Lee Dohyuk and Ji-an glued to [Ethereal Kills Two] for days on end.
The viewers were providing tips that could be called appropriate.
Or perhaps it meant that the difficulty level was such that it was okay to reveal this much.
And then, right at that moment.
“Oh.”
“Eek!”
The sensation that had felt like simply watching a movie until now merged seamlessly.
It was Lee Dohyuk who had now gained the ability to directly control Ethan’s body.
And along with that, a window appeared directly in front of his field of view.
[Choose a mode]
-Game Mode-
-Reality Mode-
Itohyuk looked at his younger sister with a gaze that sought an explanation.
“Oh! This is for choosing whether to adjust. In Game Mode, you play according to the character’s specs, and in Reality Mode, you play with real physical abilities.”
“Ah, I see. So that’s why you scanned earlier.”
“Yeah. That was when we measured your physical abilities, sis.”
“Okay, got it.”
Before starting the broadcast, Itohyuk had his physical abilities measured in the capsule.
Status measurement.
It was a familiar process for Itohyuk.
Although he didn’t know the exact principle, scanning the body to measure a person’s combat power was a technique used among hunters.
Perhaps it was a development of virtual reality technology that was also applied to hunters.
-“Bro, what’s your stat?”
-“Judging by his body, he seems to have been exercising, probably over 100.”
-“Looking at his forearms, he seems to have been consistently working out for a few years, around 110? 115 maybe?”
-“Info) Chu’s stat is 49. It’s 20 points lower than the average adult female.”
“No way! I got re-measured, and it’s 53?!”
-hahahaha, barely got 53 after 15 tries.
-It seemed like the scanning AI kept annoyingly re-measuring, so it bumped up the score.
-Felt like it was a close call.
-Anyway, let’s go for Game Mode. Let’s crush it in Reality.
“Just about to press Game Mode… huh?”
“…Hm?”
Jian turned to Itohyuk with a surprised expression as she was about to select the mode.
Itohyuk also looked at Jian as if to ask why she was acting that way.
[Mode selection complete]
-Reality Mode-
-hahahaha, Reality Mode forcefully entered.
-There’s a streamer trying to beat a battle game with a stat of 53?! Hilarious.
Since Itohyuk had already completed the mode selection, Jian, who was about to press Game Mode, was surprised.
Of course, it was naturally Reality Mode.
“Oh… So this doesn’t just apply to me but to both of us?”
Itohyuk was equally taken aback.
While Itohyuk naturally preferred Reality Mode due to the comfort of his real body, in the 2-player game [It Kills Two], once one player selects a mode, it applies to both players.
This meant not only Itohyuk but also Jian had to proceed with the game in Reality Mode.
“Oh, brother…”
-Oh, failed miserably on the first clear!
“Do you know that if you restart the game, it counts as a forfeit?”
– Safety assets on
Viewers laughing at that sight.
The amount wagered on clearing the mission in the first round has exceeded one million won.
Of course, since it was being attempted by two newbies, it was already a safety asset with no chance of mission success, but by choosing the reality mode, Ido-hyuk had turned a 0.1% chance into a 0.000001% chance.
“<It Kills Two>” was a game where, even if the small fries might not know, when facing a boss, you had to run for your life.
With a total stat of 53, Jianshu had no chance of success.
A situation close to impossible to clear.
The viewers wouldn’t miss such an opportunity.
[“LipsChu” has applied for a 1,000,000 won mission.]
– If you clear within three rounds in real mode, go for it.
Time left: 47:59
[“ProtectChu” has applied for a 500,000 won mission.]
– Enjoy the clear in real mode~ No limit on attempts.
Time left: 47:59
Especially for big-shot viewers who had previously competed over clearing missions, like “LipsChu” and “ProtectChu.”
It was a perfect chance to show off their wealth by betting on a safety asset with virtually zero chance of actual success.
[“A Penny for Your Thoughts” has applied for a 100,000 won mission.]
– Big shots having fun, huh? Clear in real mode for 100,000 won.
Time left: 23:59
Other viewers, seeing that, began to wager on missions too.
Is there anything as fun as playing big-shot games with safety assets?
The increasing amount of missions piled up.
Ido-hyuk’s eyes sparkled at the sight.
“Well. So, if we clear in real mode once… that would be around 3 million won altogether, right?”
– Hyung, it’s not that easy, hahahaha.
– Newbies are cute.
– When I first did a full dive, I thought I’d be flying around in the game.
Of course, Ido-hyuk’s confident attitude was just another source of entertainment for the viewers.
Newbies who hadn’t played full dive games confidently chose real mode and soon found themselves dying.
A few years ago, when full dive games first became popular, many gamers and streamers entertained by showing such scenes.
Classics always had a way of never betraying people.
Many gamers who had underestimated full dive just because they were good at physical games in the VR games before had faced humiliation.
The viewers now overlapped with those gamers from the past and Ido-hyuk.
– Let’s hurry, go go.
– Open the door to the abandoned house and go to the basement, that’s where the real fun begins.
– Farm the pistols there, hahahaha.
Now viewers were even guiding the gameplay.
Following such guidance, Ido-hyuk and Jianshu entered the basement.
Creak-
The door opened with an unpleasant creak.
As they entered, what came into view was the corpse of an adult male.
“Ahh!”
Jian, who saw it, let out a scream.
– Scream Queen
– It’s tasty alreadyㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– ㅋㅋㅋScreaming Uma~
– Check behind the corpse
“Oh, Oppa, please do this.”
Although it seemed to have been dead for a while, the corpse showed no signs of decay, possibly out of consideration for trauma.
Ido Hyuk rummaged through the corpse’s belongings.
Naturally, it was a quite familiar movement.
The handling of corpses was a basic skill for those who had lived through the era of destruction.
– Oh, you seem familiar with looting
– Did you play with corpses when you were young?
– Ouch… Could it be PTSD…
What they found was a handgun and a hand axe.
Ido Hyuk handed the handgun to Jian and gripped the hand axe.
– The hand axe sucks, lol
– Give the axe and let the boss have the gun
– Even if you give him the gun, he can’t hit… Don’t you know about the legendary 3 magazines 0 hits?
– Info) It was even in a shooting correction state
“Oppa… I’m not confident with the gun…”
“Really? Then are you confident with the hand axe?”
Ido Hyuk’s question stemmed from pure curiosity.
“······.”
– ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Ughㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Are they siblings? They’re good at setting the mood for this house explosion
However, Jian’s expression, seemingly genuinely shocked by Ido Hyuk’s words, entertained the viewers.
– Change quickly, the boss is about to appear soon
– Stop with the spoilers -_-
– If you don’t even tell us this much, we’ll never forgive you
At that moment, a chat window announced the arrival of the enemy.
Almost simultaneously,
Thud-!
Something flew from the quiet corner of the room and attacked Ido Hyuk and Jian.
A bizarre arthropod with an appearance reminiscent of a bug.
It was the [It Kills Two] newbie cutter, the Neck Hugger.
And there were a whopping 4 of them!
– What’s with the 4 of them?
– Did I press the wrong difficulty level?
– No, this is Real Mode. The difficulty adjusts automatically.
“Screams!!!”
Jian, screaming in surprise.
Neck Hacker’s legs, spread wide, came dangerously close to her face.
And then, it happened.
Thunk!
An axe pierced Neck Hacker’s joint.
But that wasn’t the end.
Thunk! Sizzle, whoosh!
A few blood streaks painted in the air.
“Grk!”
Neck Hacker’s body rolled to the ground.
All four of them.
– ???
– What the…?
Of course, Neck Hacker is a minion.
A minion you can one-shot if the timing is right.
But with Neck Hacker’s speed, hitting that timing is quite challenging.
Still, once you adapt to the tempo of the game, it’s fine, but that’s after you’ve adapted.
Lying still like a dead mouse, then leaping to ambush any player passing by, Neck Hacker is nothing short of terrifying for newcomers.
And not just one, but four Neck Hackers charging at once.
But to take them down with just an axe, not a gun going ‘Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang!’, in a mode that’s not even the game mode but Realistic Mode?
– No, seriously… explain this.
– What did I witness?
– For real, what did I just see?
It makes no sense.
A spectacle of incredible physical prowess, unseen in Jianchu’s broadcasts until now.
Actually, unseen in any broadcast.
And the surprising part wasn’t the end.
“Screams, screams!!!”
Tada-da, tata!
A beat, or maybe two late.
Jianchu, who had shut her eyes at Neck Hacker’s appearance, pulled the trigger of the pistol Idohyuk had handed her.
Aimed towards where she had last seen Neck Hacker.
Or rather, towards Idohyuk, who was now wiping Neck Hacker’s bodily fluids off the axe.
“Ugh!”
“Huh, what?”
No matter how skilled Idohyuk might be, he couldn’t possibly dodge a bullet coming from an unexpected direction.
Unable to overcome the recoil, bullets were randomly scattered.
Among them, two hit Ido Hyuk’s thigh and chest.
Of course, since it was a virtual reality, the pain was alleviated, but even the character’s blood wasn’t spared.
“······?”
[MISSION FAILED]
-Eden has died-
Followed by a black screen.
“······.”
A brief silence.
[‘MilitaryEnthusiast21’ has donated 1,000 won.]
-hahahahaha, wait, what am I seeing right now?
Subsequently, with donations pouring in,
Ping- Ting-
The sound of falling shell casings hitting the ground adorned the climax of the broadcast.