Chapter 8
First Broadcast (1)
1.
<Title: This Meteor guy is 100% fake lol>
Content: You know how lately Inseop’s stream has been under fire for staging stuff? His MiTube channel views have been dropping. He’s just a guy pretending to be nice behind a mask. Even clout-chasing channels are onto him. Did you see Kkeokjeong’s latest expose? lol That Meteor dude or whatever, he’s probably just an actor too. Seriously, how does it make sense for a Red Drake Elite to appear on the first floor? lol They probably just brought in some illusion mage and staged it. I guarantee the truth will come out soon and Inseop will crash and burn. My buddy works as one of his filming staff, and he told me it’s all fake, lol. Anyone who actually knows him already knows what’s up, so don’t get baited.
ㄴ Is that a fact?
ㄴ I stopped reading at “Kkeokjeong,” lol. The kind of people who watch those cyber clout-vulture streams aren’t exactly geniuses.
ㄴ You dissing Kkeokjeong? He exposed three streamers who faked Abyss runs.
ㄴ Lol yeah, out of like 20 he tried to expose, only two were real.
ㄴ Even a broken clock is right once a day.
ㄴ Didn’t Meteor say he’s doing his first live stream today? Guess we’ll see for ourselves.
ㄴ Didn’t the Ability Management Bureau officially confirm the transfer phenomenon on the first floor?
ㄴ Koreans, typical: love to make a fuss lol. He’s just another scammer who’s gonna crash after a hyped-up show.
ㄴ I can read faces, and Meteor’s face screams “fraud.”
“Still the same old Korea. Burn brighter, burn.”
As soon as I announced my first stream, the attention toward me flared up.
Well, I expected this much. Honestly, it’s even weaker than I thought it’d be.
I’d been hoping the press would bite harder, but right now Korea is drowning in the huge news about “a mass naturalization of promising talents.”
The media kept hammering the government nonstop, and naturally, people’s focus stayed on that.
A little disappointing, but what can you do.
After all, I only just made my debut on MiTube—of course my firepower’s lacking.
Rumors that I’m a scammer, that I’m colluding with Inseop to fake it all—sure, those were spreading through online communities, but… I couldn’t care less.
Better to be baited and talked about than ignored.
Skill? That I can prove.
Time will sort everything out anyway.
And if the buzz doesn’t grow enough, I can just lean on the people I’ve recently networked with. Maybe do a collab with Inseop.
Still, I am curious how many people will show up when I start streaming live.
“Phew…”
I exhaled lightly and looked at the Abyss Gate before me.
Same one as yesterday—Seoul West Abyss Gate.
Yesterday I went in with Inseop, but today I’d be entering alone.
I’d already decided on the content for my first stream.
A quest Inseop recommended: a dungeon near the “Field of Silence,” the starting point of Seoul West Abyss Gate. Apparently, it’s brutally difficult.
<Samjjon! Play with me today! Come quick!>
Ian had said that this morning while we ate together.
Since Ian wanted to hang out with me, I’d better finish filming quickly and get home.
If I want to bring him a toy on the way back, I’ll have to really hustle.
Resolving myself, I headed toward the Abyss Gate.
The area around the gate was as lively as ever.
Merchants, guild recruiters, Ability Management Bureau staff—an entire cross-section of the new age gathered here.
I still couldn’t get used to this atmosphere.
“Excuse me, coming through.”
Just as I was about to slip past the crowd and enter the gate—
“Hold on a moment.”
A man stopped me.
His badge read: Ability Management Bureau, Special Team 2, Deputy Chief Choi Seonghun.
“Yes?”
“May I see your ID and Player Registration Card?”
“Ah, just a sec.”
Good thing I’d brought my Resident ID this morning.
The new one will take time, but my brother had my old one kept safe.
“I haven’t received my Player Registration Card yet. But I heard I can enter the first floor with just my Resident ID, right?”
“As long as you pre-applied, yes. Please wait just a moment.”
“Of course.”
They say Ability Bureau staff are usually rude, but Deputy Chief Choi was remarkably polite.
He carefully examined my ID, nodded, and handed it back.
“Confirmed. Thank you for your cooperation.”
“Oh, you’re serving the country—it’s only natural I cooperate.”
“I’m Deputy Chief Choi Seonghun of Special Team 2.”
“Ah, even someone at deputy chief level is out here on site…”
“Manpower shortage these days, haha. Besides, there was someone I really wanted to meet today. Here’s my card.”
He handed me his business card carefully. Clean and simple, as expected from a public officer’s card. The only unusual thing was the Bureau’s insignia, shaped like a tower.
So that’s what their emblem looks like.
“Player Yoo Seongwoo. Is your brother Attorney Yoo Jinseong?”
“Yeah, that’s him.”
“As I thought. The reason I came today was to meet you, Player Yoo.”
So my brother was right—they’re already moving.
Were they here to take me in for questioning? That’d be a problem.
“I actually have an appointment today.”
“An appointment?”
“With viewers. Today’s the day of my very first Abyss stream.”
“Ah! So that’s why you filed the broadcast report.”
Of course—my brother had handled everything meticulously.
“Broadcasting is a player’s freedom. We don’t restrict that. However…”
“However?”
“We believe Player Yoo has tremendous potential. We’re considering how to act in your best interests, but may I ask why you’re intent on streaming? Broadcasting can put your personal safety at risk.”
So they’re here to persuade me.
That just shows how seriously they value rookies. I get it.
But my answer is already decided.
This is both my lifelong dream and a crucial way to reclaim my power. No reason to delay.
Still, I won’t show all my cards.
“I’ve had this dream for a very long time.”
“…A dream?”
“Yeah. Maybe you’ve seen my records, but even before my disappearance, I was already streaming.”
The Bureau must be dying of curiosity about my missing seven years.
Even I’d suspect myself of being a spy.
But so what?
I want to stream, and that’s that.
“My dream is to be the world’s number one Abyss streamer. Korea… isn’t it a country where every citizen can dream? I love that about Korea. Don’t you, Deputy Chief Choi?”
“Uh, y-yes. I… love Korea.”
“Exactly.”
That should be enough for him to get it.
And if not, who cares? Not my problem.
Deputy Chief Choi furrowed his brow briefly but quickly recovered a professional smile. Then he handed me a box.
“To support your dream, Player Yoo, we brought a small gift: the latest BOD-7 filming drone. It hasn’t been released yet—it’ll hit the market in three months.”
“Oh wow, you really didn’t have to.”
“The Ability Management Bureau always supports players’ dreams. May we visit you formally sometime soon?”
“Of course, call anytime.”
“Thank you. Sorry for taking your valuable time.”
He left as quickly as he came, gift in hand.
I chuckled at his retreating figure.
They’d even prepared a gift in case I refused.
“Competent guy.”
The Bureau might turn out to be a fun organization.
I nodded, picked up the box, and headed toward the gate.
Might as well take advantage where I can. Jackpot.
2.
[<Floor 1 – Field of Silence (Seoul West Starting Point)>]
[Player <Yoo Seongwoo>, welcome to the Abyss.]
[<The Scales> is watching you, but due to prior intervention, cannot interfere again. Time remaining until next intervention: 6 days 7 hours 12 minutes.]
Entry complete.
Maybe because I’d done it yesterday, it felt more familiar this time.
Soon I spotted a few players nearby—around two hundred total, armored and chatting.
Of course, nobody recognized me. Not famous enough yet.
‘Keep walking northeast and I’ll reach the dungeon, right?’
Leaving the safe zone, I stopped in a quieter spot.
“Inventory.”
The Earth system does have one advantage over Avalon’s system: the Inventory function.
A personal subspace for storing items.
Avalon had Velua’s subspace pouches, but Inventory is even more convenient. Just a spoken command, and it opens.
I pulled out my streaming gear: earpiece and filming drone.
The earpiece was from Inseop; the drone, from Deputy Chief Choi.
I still had the one Inseop gave me, but that could be my backup.
“Streaming is all about the gear.”
And this one’s the latest model. Gotta use it.
I put on the earpiece—
[Welcome, Player Yoo Seongwoo.]
[Synchronized with your system.]
[Currently linked channel: <MiTube – Meteor>.]
Then I powered on the drone.
[Filming equipment detected.]
[Connect to <BOD-7>?]
“Yep.”
[<BOD-7> connected.]
[AI Streaming Mode activated.]
Simple and smooth.
In combat, the AI would automatically keep the right distance.
AI is the best.
Broadcast prep done.
HUD showed it was already 10:50. I’d planned to start at 11, but… might as well now.
Feels more nerve-wracking than when I first dropped into this world.
“Phew…”
After a deep breath—
“Start stream.”
[Starting broadcast.]
The stream went live.
My channel already had 15,000 subscribers.
I’d worried not many would show up live, but—
-Whoa, he actually went live
-hey
-So this is the scammer Meteor’s famous channel?
-Explain yourself
-Explain yourself
-lol you started streaming? What’ll you do when you get exposed?
-We’re from the National Cyber Clout-Chaser Association. Is what Kkeokjeong said true? Please clarify.
-Morning Abyss stream? That’s rare
-Isn’t Inseop joining today?
-No mod here? Someone manage this chat
Guess I didn’t need to worry.
Viewer count spiked instantly to 100, then shot up—200, 500, 1,000. Someone must’ve dropped the coords.
‘Ah, I forgot about having a mod…’
With no mod, trolls flooded the chat.
But that’s fine. I’m a pro.
Even trolls are fans.
Time to handle it calmly.
“Thanks for coming. Now let’s get this first stream—”
Wait, no. Too bland.
Not enough spice.
Time for some flair.
“Why’s everyone yapping so much? If you’re salty, come duel me Abyss-style.”
Naturally—
-????????
-?????????
-lololololololololol
-lolololololol
-Is this guy insane?
-lolololololol
The chat exploded.
