Chapter 03
“…It’s having a bigger impact than I thought?”
The day before the first broadcast. Sang-hyun clicked his tongue at the results, which exceeded his imagination. Although the Korean virtual market had grown compared to before, it still wasn’t comparable to neighboring Japan or the English-speaking world.
“I think it’s a bit small, personally.”
Myeong-yun had been the god of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, which commanded millions of followers in his past life. All evil in the world had knelt and bowed before him. A mere few tens of thousands was hardly surprising. But Sang-hyun shouted that he was wrong.
“What do you mean?! What independent Korean Vtuber gets this much attention before even debuting? This is unprecedented!”
Myeong-yun, who knew little about the industry, nodded silently.
Of course, not all who gathered had positive reactions. Most of the people flooding Myeong-yun’s Chwitter and YouTube were barking that the Tusin match was rigged, or trying to tear him down, saying the concept was cringey. In reality, the majority of YouTube comments were still from non-believers.
[This is rigged. How can you clear Tusin difficulty with one hand? lol]
[I’ve played Tusin mode, so I know. 100% fabricated lol lol. Even if Vtubers are in a red ocean, fuck, do you have to go this far?]
└[I have something good on my channel, check it out right now…♥]
[HelloIamaTusinExpertIt’sriggedIfyoulookaround28secondsthere’samovementhumanscan’tdoIt’sdefinitelyAI…]
└[I have something good on my channel, check it out right now…♥]
There was a whole truckload of people flooding in calling it rigged. But neither Sang-hyun nor Myeong-yun cared. It was far better than no reaction at all. Sang-hyun said.
“Anyway, they’ll all die down by tomorrow.”
Because Sang-hyun knew Myeong-yun’s skill best.
And the day of reckoning arrived.
-The concurrent viewer count is legendary.
Before the broadcast started. Myeong-yun was already logged into New World, and Sang-hyun was assisting from outside. Even though the broadcast wasn’t even on yet, over 3,000 people were waiting. That was an enormous number for a first broadcast, and the numbers were still climbing in real time. The chat was also scrolling at a terrifying speed.
▶What kind of room is this?
Viewers who stumbled in via the algorithm.
▶Let’s go rigged~ Let’s go rigged~ Let’s go rigged~ Let’s go rigged~ Let’s go rigged~
Malicious spammers.
▶I’m so looking forward to Myeong-yun-nim’s first broadcast~!! Do your best!!
Viewers who were purely drawn to Myeong-yun.
In this chaotic world filled with all sorts of people, the time approached.
-Nervous?
“No.”
-Yeah, I figured. I’ve never seen you nervous. 10 seconds to start. Concurrent viewers: 8,000. I’ll start playing the PV now. I’ll tell you when it’s over.
-Remember the broadcast flow? For a first broadcast, introducing yourself is the standard… but for you, this *is* your introduction.
“Yeah.”
8 PM approached. The waiting broadcast switched to live, and the PV played first. When about 3 seconds remained in the PV.
-Standby, three, two, one. Start!
In a white space, a camera object appeared in front of Myeong-yun, who stood alone, and captured him. Myeong-yun slowly opened his closed eyes and intoned.
“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.”
With those words, the concurrent viewers broke through 9,000, and chats began to flood in at hundreds per second.
▶Wow so cringe
▶Go!!!!!!!! How dare a Cult Leader appear when the Martial Arts Alliance Lord Namgung Yeong-yeong is here!!!!!!!!!!!
▶Voice is god-tier
▶Wow!!!!!!!! Heavenly Demon Returns, Ten Thousand Demons Bow in Awe!!!!!
▶Explain the rigging Please explain the rigging Please explain the rigging Please explain the rigging
▶No but what’s with the voice? My voice is just a trumpet;
Myeong-yun ignored them cleanly. Sang-hyun also did his best to filter out the spammers and manage the broadcast so it wouldn’t break. Myeong-yun spoke.
“Just beating one wooden mannequin is so fascinating to you? Your Sovereign is the heaven of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Whether it be the Sword God, the Star Lord, or the Fist King, no one could ever defeat Your Sovereign.”
As he walked with slow steps, the camera followed, capturing his profile.
“If you desire the truth so much, I shall show it to you. Why Your Sovereign is the master of all demons.”
-Okay. Shall I summon them?
At Sang-hyun’s voice, which only Myeong-yun could hear, he nodded slightly. A mannequin was summoned before him. This time, Sang-hyun had changed the settings, and the ‘Tusin’ difficulty was displayed above the wooden mannequin. A timer was also shown on the broadcast screen, meaning they intended to show it properly.
However, Myeong-yun went one step further.
“But this alone would be too boring. Bring what you’ve prepared.”
-Can you really do it? Ah, screw it. I trust you.
As Myeong-yun extended his hand, another mannequin appeared. That mannequin was also ‘Tusin’ difficulty. Two Tusin difficulty mannequins. Myeong-yun declared he would challenge the impossible.
“Watch closely. That Your Sovereign is indeed the Heavenly Demon.”
▶lol Two Tusin mannequins? That’s ridiculous
▶5 seconds until the rigging is exposed lol lol
▶Apologize while you still can
Myeong-yun faced the two mannequins head-on, and a countdown began between him and them.
As before, Myeong-yun kept his left hand behind his back and extended his right hand forward. A mannequin kicked off the ground hard and charged, throwing a punch. From the opposite side, the other mannequin also rushed at him.
In the next moment, people expected Myeong-yun to be thoroughly destroyed.
But what unfolded before their eyes was an unbelievable spectacle.
Myeong-yun’s outstretched right hand wrapped around the mannequin’s fist, deflected it sideways, and lightly pushed its solar plexus with his palm. In a flowing motion, he also dodged the attack of the mannequin coming from the other side by a paper-thin margin, pushing it away with his palm similarly.
The mannequins, pushed back a step, re-established their stances and launched an offensive like a raging storm. As before, the countless martial arts programmed into them pressured him. Every single movement was that of a world champion, and their strength, agility, and flexibility were at a superhuman level.
Yet, Myeong-yun, as if mocking them, deflected all attacks from the two mannequins using only one hand. The mannequins’ attacks were uniformly sharp—vital-point-focused strikes made possible by virtual reality. The advanced artificial intelligence would mix in feints or deliberately show openings to bait Myeong-yun’s attacks. But Myeong-yun wasn’t fooled. Rather, to fool the AI, he showed his own openings to bait their attacks, then entangled their movements and knocked them down in one go.
‘This body is becoming familiar too.’
Many people had challenged the Tusin mannequins, but now, the Tusin mannequins were the challengers. How long had it been since they’d met such a worthy opponent? It was immensely enjoyable. If he had internal energy, he might have unleashed his martial arts immediately. But the moment he did, the fun time would end.
Like sparring in the martial arts world, they exchanged moves and changed positions as if dancing. Myeong-yun, feeling a long-lost sense of pleasure, wanted to play with the mannequins a little longer, but…
-Hey, you should wrap it up soon!
“How unfortunate.”
At Sang-hyun’s words, returning to reality, Myeong-yun grabbed the wrist of a mannequin that was passing by a paper’s breadth from his nose and spun it around in a large circle. The mannequin, airborne, extended its leg sharply to counterattack, but he easily ducked in and drove a straight punch into its abdomen. Meanwhile, the other mannequin aimed for Myeong-yun’s opening, but he, without even looking, grabbed its wrist and changed the direction of its force. In mid-air, the two mannequins collided and were brutally smashed to pieces.
Then, the letters ‘WIN’ appeared.
Myeong-yun straightened up, looked down at the shattered mannequins, and said.
“Is this all you have?”
The timer displayed on the broadcast screen read 7 minutes and 21 seconds. A full minute faster than the time Myeong-yun had initially registered. On the Tusin difficulty clear ranking, which boasts fewer than fifty people worldwide, both 1st and 2nd place now bore Myeong-yun’s name. Moreover, this new 1st place record was achieved against *two* Tusin mannequins simultaneously. It was undoubtedly an unprecedented feat.
-Current concurrent viewers: 12,000… Want me to read some chat?
“Hm.”
Myeong-yun turned his gaze to the chat window floating in a corner of his vision. Thousands of chats per second flooded in, making them hard to read. However, Myeong-yun’s dynamic visual acuity accurately caught a few.
▶Rigged, it’s definitely rigged. Isn’t this pre-recorded animation?
“Hm. Even after seeing the ranking update just now, you still refuse to believe.”
▶This is a hack of the ranking, right?? It doesn’t make sense wtf;;
“That is what the Heavenly Demon is. An incomprehensible being that worldly humans cannot understand. That is the master of demons.”
▶What was that just now? What just happened? Is it some kind of martial art?
“The technique used at the end was the 3rd form of Byeokma Surakwon (Demon-Blocking Asura Fist), Chomarasu (Transcendent Demon Hand).”
▶Heavenly Demon Returns Ten Thousand Demons Bow in Awe Heavenly Demon Returns Ten Thousand Demons Bow in Awe Heavenly Demon Returns Ten Thousand Demons Bow in Awe!!!
“There were followers of the Heavenly Demon Cult here too. Excellent. Keep striving.”
After reading a few more chats, Myeong-yun felt a bit drained. In his days as the Heavenly Demon, he hadn’t needed to answer every single question. Back then, he could move the world with a nod or a gesture. Still, it wasn’t bad. He spoke.
“Your Sovereign commands: if you found it entertaining, press subscribe. Also follow on Chwitter. Ah, and I will take questions later, so if you have any, check the YouTube post.”
And as Myeong-yun spun his body, his long black robe fluttered dramatically, and the screen faded out. The two characters ‘天魔’ (Heavenly Demon) rose in gold on the black screen, followed by the words ‘Broadcast Ended.’
A short debut broadcast of about 15 minutes. It was a short but powerful first broadcast, but it was undoubtedly a signal flare announcing the start of a legend.
And even after the broadcast ended, people couldn’t escape the sight Myeong-yun had shown them.
▶The bar for Vtubers these days is seriously high
▶If the New World home screen is default, isn’t this his first time in VR too?
▶But what’s with the modeling? Why is he so handsome? That’s almost agency-level. No word on a major company debut?
▶…Could it be that he actually entered VR for the first time as a virtual streamer? He’s not agency, right?
▶Rigged lol
“Phew.”
As Myeong-yun took off the New World and ended his connection, he sat up on the bed. Sang-hyun rushed in and hugged him, shouting.
“Wahaha! You crazy bastard! You actually did that?! Wow, you’re insane! In a positive way!”
“Let go.”
Myeong-yun peeled Sang-hyun off with strength and asked.
“How’s the reaction?”
“Of course it’s insane! You cleared Tusin difficulty live, and two at once! The ranking even updated, so no one will be able to deny it?!”
Well, not everyone believed it. Even though it was broadcast live, there were still people saying that what Myeong-yun showed was a bug, or that it was actually pre-rendered. Sang-hyun quickly edited and uploaded the second Tusin match, and placed Myeong-yun’s first-person perspective in the corner of the video.
“During the live broadcast, the concurrent viewer count peaked at 15,000. YouTube subscribers and Chwitter followers are still increasing… I think we just caused a real stir, you know?”
“Hm.”
“This is seriously an unprecedented debut?! The Tusin match video views are still climbing… Oh! Monetization has been approved!”
“Monetization?”
“On YouTube, if you meet the subscriber and watch time requirements, you can earn money. From sponsorships and views.”
“I see. To do great things, one needs funds.”
“Are you still stuck in your concept? Separate reality from broadcasting a bit. So, next broadcast… tomorrow? How about tomorrow?”
“Strike while the iron is hot. I’ll leave the game selection to you.”
“Great. Physical games are the main focus, right? With games that can build a fanbase. We also need to maintain your concept…”
Having watched many Vtubers over the years, Sang-hyun was practically the owner of a big data set. It was obvious what kind of game should be played in a situation like this to retain viewers.
“Alright, I’ll post this week’s schedule first… Is there any content you want to do during the broadcast?”
“Hm. I’d like to be able to fight strong opponents a lot.”
“Alright, that settles it then.”
Sang-hyun smiled broadly. It was an eerie smile that reminded Myeong-yun of the notoriously fearsome demonic figures from the past Heavenly Demon Cult.
