Chapter 02
“So, when’s the first broadcast?”
Myeong-yun asked Sang-hyun, whom he met again at school the next day. Sang-hyun had hurried home with the video file right after logging off New World the day before. He hadn’t been in contact since, so Myeong-yun wondered what had happened.
“…Let’s set a date for later. I’m dead tired.”
Sang-hyun flopped onto his desk with hollow eyes. He seemed to have barely made it to school, so Myeong-yun didn’t press further. Sang-hyun, lying on the desk, tried to sleep, but the dopamine that had been surging since last night kept him from dozing off easily.
‘Crazy, absolutely crazy.’
He already knew Myeong-yun had good athleticism and was good at sports. He always placed first in P.E., a talent that sports teams constantly tried to scout. Though Myeong-yun himself didn’t seem very interested. Even when he showed interest, it was only occasionally in martial arts?
‘But yesterday was on a whole different level.’
He’d chosen the Tusin difficulty intending to tease Myeong-yun, but hadn’t he cleared it with such ease? Perfectly, without taking a single hit.
‘I knew he was athletic, but this much? As far as I know, no one has ever shown this level of performance.’
And that wasn’t all.
He had perfectly realized his own image, just like a real Heavenly Demon from the martial arts world. It was the first time Sang-hyun had ever known such a thing was possible.
Sang-hyun glanced sideways at Myeong-yun. Since the CSATs were over, the atmosphere was relaxed for everyone except those preparing for arts or sports practical exams. Myeong-yun, having nothing to do, was staring out the window, killing time.
‘Heavenly Demon, huh. This bastard wasn’t actually a Heavenly Demon in a past life, was he? He seems strangely fixated on it, too.’
Sang-hyun recalled yesterday’s events. His appearance wasn’t a concept. He looked like a real ‘Heavenly Demon.’ Sang-hyun was certain that Myeong-yun would make a huge mark on the virtual industry, for better or worse.
-Did you see it? Awesome, right?
“It’s decent.”
-That’s all you have to say?! I stayed up all night making it!
Around 10 PM at night.
Myeong-yun, a well-behaved child about to go to sleep, received a contact from Sang-hyun. What Sang-hyun sent was none other than a promotional video, a PV, for the virtual streamer ‘Heavenly Demon.’ Myeong-yun played the roughly one-minute-thirty-second video again.
A grand Chinese-style background music with drumming.
A dark atmosphere. A tall man in a fluttering black robe walks out from the black mist. The camera angles change, illuminating the man’s sculpted face from multiple angles, emphasizing his overwhelming presence.
The tempo of the background music changes rapidly, heightening the tension. A heavy string instrument joins in, showing Myeong-yun casually dealing with the Tusin-difficulty wooden mannequin. Various ink-painting-like effects flow along with his movements, adding beauty and weight to his actions. After defeating the mannequin, Myeong-yun looks toward the camera. He withdraws his outstretched hand, clasps it behind his back, and slowly raises his head.
The solemnity, arrogance, and haughtiness emanating from his distinct features. Yet, the shadowed face and the aura he exudes allow no rebuttal. Who would believe there’s a nineteen-year-old inside that? A black dragon rises from behind Myeong-yun, accompanied by flashes of yellow lightning, and a dark red brush inscribes the two characters ‘å¤©é’ (Heavenly Demon) in ink. Myeong-yun opens his mouth. His deep voice resounds majestically.
-Your Sovereign is the supreme ruler of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the Heavenly Demon.
As Myeong-yun finishes speaking, the screen fades to black, and ‘Deb soon…’ appears. The video ends there.
After watching the PV, Myeong-yun thought the quality was truly amazing. He knew Sang-hyun had been tinkering with computers since childhood, but he hadn’t known he could produce videos of this quality.
“Come to think of it, you said you were going to college for film/video, right?”
-Yeah. I got a full scholarship as a special talent, you know?
“For a friend like you to make my video, I should probably bow down to you.”
-Now you finally realize how amazing I am.
Sang-hyun’s skills were good enough that he wouldn’t be out of place in the industry immediately. Myeong-yun hadn’t known because he wasn’t interested in that field, but this incident made it clear. What kind of talent his friend possessed.
“So, the PV’s out. When does the broadcast start? Tomorrow?”
-Not yet. You can’t rush this. I got too hyped and made the PV first, but originally, you’re supposed to set up SNS first and do some promoting.
“Promotion?”
-Yeah. For a virtual streamer, the success of the debut broadcast determines the future.
“So, you need to start off on the right foot. Got it.”
-I’ll make a promotion flyer and send it to you tomorrow. For now, just create an SNS account today. Ah! You have to use Chwitter for SNS. That’s where the otakus hang out.
“Chwitter. Do you have an account too?”
-Yeah, I do, but I’m not telling you what it is.
Why wouldn’t he tell him?
Myeong-yun followed Sang-hyun’s advice, created a Chwitter account, and finished the basic settings.
-Ah, I see it. But are you really going to use that name? It’s your real name.
“Yeah. It’s the only one. And my real name doesn’t really sound like a real name, does it?”
-I guess not.
And so, the completed SNS account name was ‘Heavenly Demon Myeong-yun.’ The Myeong surname is uncommon, and a single-character given name is also rare, so no one would think it was his real name.
-I’ll come up with a suitable profile description and send it to you tomorrow. For now, just post something like a greeting.
“Got it.”
After ending the call with Sang-hyun, Myeong-yun logged into Chwitter and posted a single line.
“That’s the only thing a Heavenly Demon would say.”
Heavenly Demon Myeong-yun @天é_ęå«
天éåčØ č¬éä»°ä¼
(Heavenly Demon Returns, Ten Thousand Demons Bow in Awe)
On the weekend, Sang-hyun came to Myeong-yun’s house late in the morning and helped him with various settings. From the New World broadcast settings to the Chwitter account settings. As Sang-hyun fiddled with all the settings, Myeong-yun asked.
“Why are you helping me so much? Doing all this stuff.”
“Because it’s obvious you’d screw it up if you did it alone.”
“You’re not doing it?”
“I don’t really have a talent for this kind of stuff, you know? The virtual streamer market is already a red ocean. I decided it’d be better to make you a nuclear bomb in the industry. If you do well, I might get a piece of the action too.”
Sang-hyun said this and set a date for the first broadcast. Four days from now, at 8 PM, when the most people would be online. Sang-hyun wanted to do it on the weekend, but after Myeong-yun’s pressure, he settled on four days later. He quickly added the date to the promotion flyer on his laptop and even set up a YouTube channel.
“I got the illustration from someone I know. The flyer turned out pretty good.”
“You have connections in that area too.”
“There’s quite a bit of exchange between the video production side and the illustration side. Alright, shall I post it?”
Sang-hyun posted a message on Myeong-yun’s Chwitter account along with the flyer.
Heavenly Demon Myeong-yun @天é_ęå«
Heavenly Demon Returns, Ten Thousand Demons Bow in Awe.
The true Demon descends, and all demons shall submit.
#New_Vtuber #Virtual_Streamer
#HeavenlyDemon #MartialArts #HeavenlyDemonReturns_TenThousandDemonsBowInAwe
#RT_Event #Vtuber_Promotion
(Illustration Flyer)
(@天é_ęå« The mentioned account can reply to this post.)
“It’s done.”
“Will people see this?”
“Yeah. Usually, you’d release things gradually, but you want to broadcast soon, right?”
“…I can’t say no.”
“I knew it. Let’s post the PV and video tomorrow or the day after, depending on the reaction. Usually, you’d post a singing cover… but you can’t sing. Oh, we’ve got a reaction.”
Myeong-yun’s smartphone started buzzing incessantly. He checked the notifications. People on Chwitter were retweeting the post he’d just made. At first, he thought it was because of the event, but surprisingly, there were many positive reactions.
“‘The illustration is handsome,’ ‘Tall with black hair is my type’… Is that good?”
“Well, it’s decent. Still, I wonder how many will show up for the debut broadcast. We’re independent, after all.”
“Independent?”
“Virtual streamers can be independent or part of an agency. Naturally, agency streamers get more push.”
Myeong-yun brushed aside the complicated talk. He just wanted to become the ‘Heavenly Demon’ again, roam the battlefield, and compete with people like the Martial Arts Alliance Lord. That was enough.
Ding, ding, ding, ding…
The notifications wouldn’t stop.
“…There’s a strangely high amount of reactions? What’s going on?”
Sang-hyun frowned, checked Chwitter, and then slapped his own forehead, muttering.
“…Ah, right. Did you register for the ranking? The fight with the mannequin?”
“Huh? Yeah. I did. Under the name Heavenly Demon Myeong-yun.”
“Ha, that’s why. It looks like it’s been revealed that you’re world rank number 1. It’s even more of a topic because your time was 10 minutes faster than the 2nd place.”
They had both forgotten.
Though its popularity has waned somewhat now, it’s still content many people challenge. Clearing the Tusin difficulty. Announcing his arrival with a massive gap from 2nd place. This truly was the beginning of the legend of ‘Heavenly Demon Myeong-yun.’
“…The retweets are already over 1500. Quotes are 600 too. Followers are pouring in. Most of the quotes are calling it rigged, of course. Bullshit.”
“Is that a lot?”
“It’s been just over 10 minutes since I posted! This is insane! Damn it, strike while the iron’s hot!”
Sang-hyun made a decision. He immediately uploaded the PV and Tusin difficulty clear video to YouTube, which he’d originally planned to post tomorrow or the day after. He updated Chwitter too, and reactions poured in like rain. The constant buzzing forced Myeong-yun to turn off notifications altogether. Sang-hyun checked the comments on the YouTube video.
[Seriously, why are there so many lying bastards these days? Tusin? lol Of course it’s rigged]
[Even attention-seekers aren’t this bad. He’d get wrecked in 10 seconds lol lol lol]
ā[I have something good on my channel, check it out right now…ā„]
“…Views are skyrocketing. The comment section is a warzone. Rigged my ass. They still don’t believe it even after watching.”
“It seems there are as many non-believers as on Chwitter.”
After a moment’s thought, Myeong-yun posted on Chwitter. Sang-hyun checked what he’d written and chuckled.
“Yeah, that’s totally you. Let’s show those non-believers. What kind of person you really are.”
Heavenly Demon Myeong-yun @天é_ęå«
Right or wrong regarding Your Sovereign will be revealed in the live broadcast four days from now.
XX/XX at 8 PM.
Come and see Your Sovereign.
(@天é_ęå« The mentioned account can reply to this post.)
Four days later.
Promotion post retweets: 9,000.
Chwitter followers: 20,000.
YouTube subscribers: 40,000.
PV views: 80,000.
Tusin difficulty clear video views: 250,000.
And, concurrent viewers: 8,000.
A new Vtuber, bringing insane levels of attention, had taken its first step into the internet world.
ā[HeavenlyDemonDebut TenThousandDemonsBowInAwe]ā
“Your Sovereign is the sky above the sky, the master of all evil. I am Myeong-yun, the 8th Heavenly Demon of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”
