Chapter 25

"Ah. It's over."

The screen returned.

The sensation of losing control of his body and then regaining it again felt strangely unfamiliar.

Seo Jun looked around.

"Why's nobody here?"

The entrance of the Magic Tower.

The once-crowded streets were completely empty.

The windows of the buildings were shut tight, and the curtains were drawn.

-Lololol after all that noise, who'd still be outside?

-The thunder sounds were insane lol

Seo Jun looked around briefly, then turned his head.

The completely empty Magic Tower.

It felt oddly familiar.

Apparently the viewers thought the same.

-Oh no lololol another one?

-No way.

"Well, looks like I perfectly completed another assassination this time too."

Seo Jun spoke like someone calmly stating facts.

-This bastard's shameless lololol

-The devs literally confirmed it wasn't assassination, what are you talking about?

-If the streamer says it's assassination, then it's assassination.

-If there are no witnesses it counts, but this feels excessive.

"Everyone, developers and witnesses are not important."

-Then what IS important?

-The dictionary definition of assassination is literally killing a person though?

"You can't unfairly bring in dictionary definitions. Final warning."

There was no warning system in Seo Jun's broadcast rules.

Meaning he was just saying whatever he wanted.

-Sorryyyyy lol

-The viewers are too weak!

-You're supposed to fight with propaganda and fabricated claims, not facts.

-Justice prevails.

Seo Jun snorted and started walking.

"Well then, now—"

That was when it happened.

A hand suddenly shot out from an alleyway, grabbed Seo Jun's arm, and pulled him inside.

It was Bristina.

[You have acquired money.]

[Your reputation increases.]

Notifications immediately appeared.

Rewards for killing the Rulers.

"You said you didn't need it though."

-Shove it in, shove it in.

-lololol she's good at slipping stuff into sleeves.

-Why don't other NPCs give him things too?

-By the way, who's that guy standing next to Bristina noona?

Seo Jun thought the same thing.

The handsome middle-aged man beside Bristina was an NPC he had never seen before.

Of course, from Seo Jun's perspective there were still plenty of NPCs he hadn't seen, but the viewers' curiosity meant this newcomer was important.

"Nameless one, thank you. Thanks to you, three Rulers have already disappeared. However…"

Automatic dialogue progression began, and Bristina first thanked Seo Jun.

Then the man standing beside her interrupted.

He stepped forward and greeted him.

"Allow me to explain from here. First, greetings, Nameless. My name is Arthur Hermiq, branch leader of Malteon."

-Oh? So THAT guy was the branch leader?

-That bastard never even meets us but personally came to see the streamer.

-Why's he talking casually though?

-Wow, even the branch leader's handsome. I hate this world.

Arthur, branch leader of Malteon.

Within the game's lore, he was one of the highest-ranking NPCs in the Assassination Squad.

And at the same time, an NPC who had remained shrouded in mystery until now.

"On behalf of all assassins, I express my gratitude to you. Thanks to you, the streets of Malteon have become far safer."

Arthur bowed deeply to Seo Jun in thanks.

-Yeah… the streamer DID clean up the city.

-<<<< Guy who fought a boss while pickpocketing.

-Why didn't he appear when WE killed Rulers?

-Who knows.

"But."

Arthur slowly raised his body.

His eyes gradually revealed themselves from the shadows.

"I ask that you stop assassinating Rulers for the time being."

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, dialogue choices appeared.

[ --> Why? Give me a proper reason.]

[ --> No. You couldn't even handle them without me.]

lololol

-Why can I already see what the streamer's gonna pick?

-Same.

Without even a moment's hesitation, Seo Jun reached toward the second option—

then froze after glancing at the chat.

And naturally, many viewers didn't miss that reaction.

-Just pick it already lololol

-Typical beta male behavior) gets read completely and stubbornly picks something else out of pride.

-If he picks the first option now it'll look pathetic.

"Well, can't be helped. Since everyone seems to want me to choose the second option, I'll follow your wishes."

Messages like "Since when did you ever listen to us?" and "Running away now makes you look weak" flooded the chat, but Seo Jun didn't even blink as he selected the second option.

"No. You couldn't even handle them without me."

Arthur's hand twitched slightly after hearing that.

But he calmly began explaining.

"Yes, that is certainly an undeniable fact. However, problems arose because you killed the Rulers…"

Currently—

The Society's upper command, having already lost three Rulers, sensed danger and raised their alert level.

Meanwhile, the lower-ranking members had lost control and begun rampaging uncontrollably.

Arthur explained that if the final remaining Ruler disappeared too, even greater damage could occur.

"As you know, even if all the Rulers are eliminated, the Society itself will not disappear. In fact, they may only become more violent. At the very least, I hope you will wait until we finish organizing Malteon and preparing to clean up the aftermath."

Having said that, Arthur stepped back into the shadows.

"Then… farewell. And thank you."

Bristina also smiled sweetly, then pulled her hood back up and melted into the darkness.

-As expected, Bristina noona is the best.

-But the branch leader feels kinda shady.

-Yeah, something about him seems suspicious.

-Guys like that are always hiding something.

-But if that purple-haired woman from the cutscene earlier is Society, doesn't that contradict this?

"True. Maybe? Though honestly, it's not like I'm gonna stop hunting them anyway…"

-The streamer REALLY looks like someone who never listens to people.

-Honestly that accusation's unfair.

-They're just jealous because he's handsome lol

Seo Jun checked the time.

It was about time to end the stream.

"Well then, I think that's enough gaming for today."

-Nooo.

-Right!

-Please stop ending streams with cliffhangers T_T

-Bye streamerrrr!

Seo Jun immediately exited the game and returned to the lobby.

The background changed in an instant.

Afterward, Seo Jun fiddled with the window.

-Why aren't you ending the stream?

-You're supposed to turn it off now though?

-Don't tell me he forgot how to end broadcasts too?

-Technology illiterate lol

"Sigh. It's not that I don't know how to turn it off. First of all, a reply came back really fast. Here."

[This is the MovieSoft Customer Support Team.]

[Hello, customer Jin Seo Jun.

First of all, thank you for your inquiry.

We have carefully reviewed the contents of your report.

You stated that you believed you may have unknowingly used cheats.

However, no unauthorized programs have been detected so far.

Therefore, it appears that you were NOT using cheats! Congratulations.

We hope you continue enjoying Dawn of the Assassination Squad comfortably and happily in the future.

If you have any additional questions or other inquiries, please feel free to contact us anytime through 1:1 support.

This has been the MovieSoft Customer Support Team.

Thank you.]

-Why would you even send something like that lol

-They could've just ignored him.

-This nuisance lololol

-How's that nuisance? MovieSoft isn't a fire station or police department, it's just a game company.

-Serious mode OFF.

-He's just messing around with the game company lololol

"Yes. Thus, I have officially proven that I am not a hacker."

Seo Jun wore a proud expression.

-lol

-Wait lol what if he's secretly connected to the developers? That skill supposedly isn't cheating?

-Lol didn't a dev literally post the mission earlier?

-Oh.

-Ohhhhh lol

-Maybe he turned himself in and got pardoned seriously….

kkkkkkkkkk

"Anyway, probably not. Now then—"

-Bye stream.

-See ya.

"There's one last thing I want to say."

-Hurry up and leave already.

-Can't you play just a little longer?

-So what is it?

Seo Jun hesitated for a moment.

He had thought about it a lot.

MyTube.

If Seo Jun planned to retire from streaming soon, it would've been more efficient to simply hire editors through outsourcing agencies and use the channel purely for recognition.

But he didn't want that.

"Would this really be the right thing?"

He wanted to continue streaming.

Even if he failed to win tournaments later and ended up just scraping by through strategy guides.

So—

"I'm looking for an editor. If any viewers here want to edit my videos, please take any of my gameplay footage, edit a short clip, upload it privately to MyTube, and send me the link through email."

He planned to post on editor recruitment sites too, but if possible, Seo Jun wanted to recruit from among his viewers as well.

-Oh? Starting MyTube seriously?

-His gameplay alone is already fun to watch.

-He really needs to pick a good editor though.

-The raw footage is already insane and now it's getting edits too? Legendary.

-Ez subscribe.

"Alright then, for real this time, bye!"

-Byeeee!

-Why's everyone yelling?

-They're saying "stream bye" lololol

-Bye streamer!

Seo Jun climbed out of the capsule, washed up, and came into the living room.

The savory smell of fried chicken drifted through the air.

"It's literally dawn right now."

Seo Jun looked toward Tae Woo, who was sitting at the kitchen table.

"So? You not eating?"

"Of course I am."

Seo Jun answered instantly.

At a speed bordering on absurd.

"Then sit down already."

Tae Woo glanced at Seo Jun as though he had expected exactly that.

"Yeah, I'll eat well."

Seo Jun sat at the table and picked up a piece of chicken.

The batter crunched perfectly.

"After-stream fried chicken. This is the life. But Seo Jun, are you seriously looking for a MyTube editor?"

"Yeah. You figured it out from the stream?"

"Yep. Anyway, if you're looking for editors, wanna join our MCN?"

MCN—Multi Channel Network.

A third-party service company that partnered with multiple MyTube channels.

Usually they provided viewer growth support, content organization, financial backing, partner management, creator collaborations, digital rights management, revenue generation, and related services.

"If you join our MCN, the company basically manages your entire MyTube channel for you. The advantage is that life gets easier. More professional too. That's why I'm signed with them."

Of course, the downside was sharing MyTube revenue with the company.

Still, even hiring editors independently often meant sharing profits anyway, so it wasn't necessarily a pure disadvantage.

Even so, there was an undeniable difference between editors personally chosen by a streamer and editors assigned through a company.

Tae Woo stuffed chicken into his mouth and spoke while chewing.

"Though our CEO's personality is kinda unique, so if you join you'll probably have to meet him a lot. Stuff like meetings. He said he has time tomorrow, what do you think? He talks a lot, but he's a fun guy."

Interestingly, the head of Tae Woo's MCN was himself a streamer.

Because the CEO had founded the MCN personally for himself and his colleagues, it was famous for streamer-friendly policies.

"Well, I don't even have a MyTube channel properly set up yet, and tomorrow won't work."

Crunch.

The fried coating shattered.

Juice burst out from the tender meat beneath.

"Mmm. This is good."

"So why not? Didn't you say you were free tomorrow?"

Gulp gulp.

Seo Jun drank down a cold beer.

"Well… about that…"

Seo Jun coughed awkwardly.

"MovieSoft wants to meet me."

"What? What kind of nonsense is that?"

"Apparently they contacted me because they want to talk. We already set up an appointment…"

[Web Message]

[Hello, streamer Jin Seo Jun.

My name is Kim Unchan, team leader at MovieSoft Korea.

There is something we would like to discuss regarding Dawn of the Assassination Squad, which you are currently playing.

Would it be possible to meet sometime tomorrow?

Please! We sincerely ask.

If you tell us the time and place, we will come immediately.]

"Holy shit. Why would a game company contact you directly? Wait, is this sponsorship? But the message sounds weird."

"Can they even decide that through this alone?"

"Apparently they can."

"And besides this, they also sent emails and in-game messages. The Travel message and capsule notifications too. At this point it really seems like the actual company."

After hearing that, Tae Woo rubbed his face with a dumbfounded expression.

"Wow… that's kinda huge. Did you do something wrong or what?"

"Maybe it's because I jokingly submitted that inquiry?"

The two burst into laughter simultaneously.

"Hey, just don't go. Sounds like they're gonna scold you."

"Could be."

Well, it wasn't impossible.

"Who knows. Maybe they'll give me a gift or something."

"Gift my ass. You should just be thankful you're not getting banned. You're obviously suspicious."