Chapter 118

CHAPTER 118

“Newbie and Veteran of a Game Released Less Than 3 Hours Ago.mp4”

There were many viewers who didn't usually watch Seo-jun's iTube channel, and the Premiere feature let everyone see their reactions in real time.

At the beginning of the video.

A doll falls from the ceiling and approaches menacingly before the screen goes black.

Then text appears.

[Newbie]

A short 4-minute video was uploaded as a Premiere on Seo-jun's iTube channel.

Since Seo-jun's channel had gained a lot of subscribers, the livestream footage drew plenty of attention.

The video begins inside a corridor.

A sense of urgency. Pressure that gradually tightens.

What is approaching? What are they running from?

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk!

The sound of something chasing them can be heard.

And then.

When the owner of the viewpoint turns around, a doll comes into view.

The scream belonged to Tae-woo.

The doll, getting closer every time he looked back, created a thrilling sense of tension.

It felt like he would be caught if he stopped running for even a moment.

Yet in the middle of such a desperate chase scene, Tae-woo's reactions—now those of a seasoned horror-game veteran—were more than enough to make viewers laugh.

[Aaaagh!]

• Is that Tae-woo?
• Makes me want to watch him again. Or maybe see another streamer I like play it.

In other words, viewers would start wanting to see various people try the game. If it became a trend, it could become an enormous hit.

People might dislike forced horror or cheap jump scares.

But chase sequences were different.

Their unique atmosphere was perfect for streaming.

Then a calm voice was heard.

The camera, which had been focused only on the escape route ahead and the doll chasing from behind, shifted to the side.

There, someone was walking backward slightly behind the others while casually giving directions.

It looked bizarre to anyone watching.

[Open it! Hurry up and open the door!]

[We turned left earlier, idiot.]

• Is that the channel owner?
• Looks like he's doing something weird again.
• Why's he walking backward?

But Tae-woo's frantic sprint was so fast that Seo-jun quickly disappeared from both the screen and everyone's attention.

As soon as the automatic door opened, Tae-woo rushed through and started looking around like a madman.

At that moment, Seo-jun finally emerged from the corridor and fired a nail.

Pew!

A nail embedded itself in the control panel, causing the descending door above to stop midway.

[D-d-d-d-daaahhh!]

Completely tense about a doll potentially jumping out in front of him, Tae-woo made an incomprehensible noise before ultimately screaming and dodging to the side.

After that they moved to the next corridor, solved a mechanic, then moved on again.

And then.

Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk!

The approaching footsteps grew louder.

The doll thrust its head out from the corridor.

At that exact moment—

The descending door came down like a guillotine.

The doll's neck was severed, and its nearly bald head rolled across the floor.

• Whew, that was scar—...?

[Aaaaah—huh?]

• What?
• No way LOLLLLL

Tae-woo had been about to unleash another massive scream, but his tension instantly evaporated.

Not because the chase was over.

But because—

Something had been embedded in the doll's face.

Something that clearly couldn't be called its original appearance.

Nails.

And those nails had formed a pair of thick eyebrows.

Just as viewers started wondering what on earth had happened, the screen darkened and the scene changed.

[Veteran]

This time the viewpoint was from the rear.

A doll could be seen climbing onto a conveyor belt along the wall.

It rapidly and menacingly approached.

When they entered another corridor, it even squeezed its body through the opening.

Like before, the sequence started in a narrow corridor.

But the perspective was different.

The player was looking in the opposite direction from where he was moving.

The corridor ended and a dark room appeared.

Yet his gaze remained fixed behind him.

• Wow! He's running backward!
• That's obviously the streamer.
• So this is why he's called a veteran LOLLLLL
• But honestly this is even scarier.
• This is real horror.

If it was scary, normal people would simply look forward.

But a veteran's way of thinking was different.

The live chat reactions from viewers watching on iTube were exactly the same as the reactions from people watching Seo-jun's stream.

If occasionally looking behind you created sudden scares, then staring at the threat the entire time was pure horror.

Then a voice came from the video.

[Should I give it some eyebrow tattoos?]

• ???
• What are you talking about?

[I'm trying to make it less scary, but somehow it's even scarier.]

• Life is easier if you stop trying to understand LOL

His ability to act immediately on his ideas was extraordinary.

Even while running backward in a situation where a single mistake could get him caught, Seo-jun pulled nails from his waist and threw them by hand.

The number of nails embedded in the pursuing doll's eyebrows began to increase.

Tae-woo hadn't noticed because he was only glancing back occasionally, but the nails steadily accumulated on the doll's forehead, forming thick caterpillar-like eyebrows.

Since the doll's head was nearly bald, the densely packed nails stood out with overwhelming presence.

Its ridiculous appearance instantly transformed the genre from horror to comedy.

• Why are you humiliating the doll instead of running? LOLLLLL
• Those caterpillar eyebrows are killing me LOLLLLL
• And his hands are insanely fast, what the hell LOLLLLL

On top of that, even while walking backward and diligently "tattooing" the doll, Seo-jun never forgot to handle the game mechanics.

By the time they reached the final room, he put on a crazy display of skill using the nail gun.

Pew!

• Running backward, insane skill, completely unhinged behavior. No matter how you look at it, that's definitely a veteran player LOL
• ??
• What was that nail just now?
• Is this what a true veteran looks like?
• Didn't they say the game had only been out for 3 hours?! It's a brand-new game!

This video, containing the reactions of a streamer who had somehow already become a veteran just three hours after release and horror-streaming specialist Tae-woo, was uploaded to For the Alliance with that exact title.

The users of the forum had suffered far too much at Seo-jun's hands and roughly knew what he had been up to lately, so they immediately understood the title and showed great interest.

The post quickly gained traction and shot straight into the Top Ten rankings.

Chase sequences were already guaranteed entertainment, but the starkly opposite reactions were so unique.

The first time was terrifying.

The second time made people laugh from sheer disbelief.

Now the game had everyone's attention, and its popularity was guaranteed.

Only time would tell how successful it would become.

The story of the final game ended with the revelation that the being who had left messages inside the box was actually a fairy, and that fairy had been trying to instill true teamwork into the two protagonists.

After finishing the game, they came back outside and resumed the broadcast.

"I didn't know you were that scared of horror games."

After sitting down at the table, Seo-jun spoke.

"I didn't know either."

At that moment, viewers were continuously donating edited clips that compiled every single moment Tae-woo had screamed.

The final game's story had revolved around the fairy who left messages inside the box.

"First place in the Top Ten? And it's on the Trending list too? No. Stop... stop right there."

Tae-woo was probably imagining the countless requests to play horror games that would come in the future.

And the scenes from today's stream would undoubtedly continue to resurface in his broadcasts forever.

"Ha. I should just end the stream."

"Order some chicken first."

"Again today?"

"Yep."

After saying that to Tae-woo, Seo-jun settled the mission reward they had received from the tutorial.

"Thank you."

Each of them took home more than 1.5 million won.

• LMAO
• I'm never falling for this again!
• If there aren't any safe investments, where are we supposed to invest our money?! How are we supposed to survive?!

After stepping into another room briefly, Tae-woo returned and said,

"I ordered it."

"Good."

The two often ate late-night meals whenever their streams happened to end around the same time.

And since they had done a collaboration stream today, it was only natural.

Tae-woo addressed the viewers.

"We'll keep streaming until the chicken arrives."

• Why not do a mukbang?
• Want to die?
• Remember your roots.
• Give us your address ^^ We'll block the delivery guy.

A professional streamer like Tae-woo wouldn't even blink at threats of that level.

Seo-jun simply pretended not to see them and left everything to Tae-woo.

He, too, was now a professional streamer.

The remaining time was free time.

Seo-jun and the viewers chatted about random things.

The game they had just played.

Stories about For the Alliance.

Occasionally, there was discussion about Dawn of the Assassins as well.

Some viewers had already defeated all the Rulers and completed the hidden quest.

Others lamented that they still hadn't seen Christina's cutscene.

And so on.

"What game am I playing next?"

Naturally, the topic that attracted the most attention was what Seo-jun would be streaming tomorrow.

Seo-jun paused to think.

It wasn't because he hadn't decided which game to play.

At this point, it was about time he started The League.

However, since the registration announcement for the League of Streaming (LoS) hadn't been posted yet, he was debating whether or not to openly express his intention to participate.

Most people usually stayed quiet until they were officially selected.

If he announced that his next game would be The League, those kinds of questions would undoubtedly flood in.

"Tomorrow I'll be taking a day off—"

The atmosphere instantly turned hostile.

Seo-jun flinched.

"Just kidding. Starting tomorrow, it'll be The League."

The moment he finished speaking, the chat began moving twice as fast.

Even faster than when he had joked about taking a day off.

The League had such an enormous player base that it was often called the nation's game.

It was also the largest game in the virtual reality professional scene.

It couldn't claim the title of the first VR game ever made.

Even so, when people thought of virtual reality games, The League was the first game that came to mind.

That was an undeniable fact.

• Yessss!
• Conquer The League too!
• Is he joining LoS? Is he joining LoS? Is he joining LoS? Is he joining LoS?
• Right! LoS exists! Let's go!
• Time to compare his skills with real pros LOL
• But what if he gets recruited by a pro team? Is he going to quit streaming?
• Is he going to use a sword in The League too? Honestly, that's kinda questionable.

He had already received professional offers long ago.

And as for swords...

Seven years ago, The League was the only game he played, and every character he used wielded a sword.

Back then, he considered himself extremely skilled.

Though a lot must have changed over the last seven years.

He would find out soon enough.

Deliberately ignoring the flood of messages asking about LoS, Seo-jun said,

"Any other questions?"

Then a donation alert sounded.

['○ o' donated 50,000 won!]

[How did you and Tae-woo become friends in the first place?]