Chapter 26
[It's Wayoㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
(Photo of Emperor Wayo)
If he's just the GOAT, smash that recommendㅋㅋㅋ
-We bow before the god of collabs..
-The GOAT in the history of carbon-based lifeㅋㅋㅋ
-The server was boring as hell, but he made it explode at the end
ㄴ The server was a legend, though?
ㄴ You've never seen another large server?ㅋㅋ
[This bastard is just this bastard, yep..]
(A composite image of a famous taxi-driver movie poster and Wayo)
-Wagangho gets a passㅋㅋ
-For real, he made a whole movie in one go
[The best scene from this large server]
(Steelix arriving alone at the riverside)
(Wayong slamming the van)
Who wrote this script?ㅋㅋㅋ
-That was insaneㅋㅋ
-This is going to be talked about for years, for real
-The lines are so damn scripted you'd believe it even if someone said they wrote them
[Isn't this bastard just a mere mortal?]
(Zhuge Liang)
He couldn't even be a kingmaker with that easy setupㅋㅋㅋ
-For real
-Unlucky Wayoㅋㅋ
-He couldn't even manage the Northern Expedition?ㅋㅋ
[Wayo is seriously romantic]
This bastard... What would he be like in top lane?
-Don't watch him when he plays Rell; he's a complete fucking delinquent
ㄴ For realㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Wayo on Rell is such a turnoff
ㄴ That's exactly right
[Shouldn't the taxi company be bowing to Emperor Wayo?]
While the others were forming a union and going on strike,
he single-handedly boosted the taxi driver's image through the roof
-Isn't it the fisherman's image that got boosted, not the taxi driver's?ㅋㅋ
ㄴ For realㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ The Emperor is a fisherman
-The next server's going to have a fisherman character
ㄴ One hundred percent, for real
ㄴ Fishing actually had a surprising amount to doㅋㅋ
[Wayo's final great-escape-show mad movie]
(Wayo filming a chase scene alone in the city)
This bastard is built different when it comes to FPS games
-Wow, his aim really is insaneㅋㅋ
-Why the hell does he play Rell??
ㄴ For real
-He becomes a completely different person whenever he plays FPSㅋㅋ
[Wayo's viewership just now]
(Viewership captured during the escape show)
From now on, if you call Emperor Wayo a small-time streamer, you're fucking deadㅋㅋㅋ
-He's a major streamer nowㅋㅋ
-The great Wayo
-Isn't that only temporary?
ㄴ Wayo isn't an idiot; he'll try to maintain it
ㄴ With the Emperor's skill, all he has to do is not play Rell or take days off
ㄴ For real
[?? What's with Wayo's day-off notice?]
He made a legendary scene yesterday and is taking today off??
-??
-What a dumbassㅋㅋㅋ
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋ He's declared that he won't row the boat
-Yep, no stream today~
-This is all part of Wayo, yep..
-Emperor Wayo's swagger is really something
[Wow, this was the perfect time to row hard and go full-time]
He's not doing it?? Heaven literally helped him??
-Wayo just likes having two jobs
-The Emperor throws all that shit out the window, yep
-Why? His main job is already a major corporation
ㄴ Is this actually for real..?
ㄴ Does he clock in online from Silicon Valley?ㅋㅋ
[Wow, Wayo is fucking crazyㅋㅋ]
He takes a day off, comes back, and fishes again?
Does this bastard have no instinct at all..?
-That's literally what Wayo is???
-Once your numbers get pumped up, you have to shake off all the ants and leave, yep
ㄴ ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ For real, you do have to do it at least once, yep
[??: You say now's the time to latch on and blow up?]
(A Wayo reaction image)
"I know."
-Kyaㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-The Wayo eldersㅋㅋ
-This is exactly the Emperor's swaggerㅋㅋ
-Wayo-dad just likes running a little corner shopㅋㅋ
**
Wayo is a VTuber, but he has one trait that sets him apart from other VTubers.
-Don't you sing?
Namely, he absolutely never sings on stream.
He doesn't even have one of those common cover songs.
Of course, it's not because I can't sing.
In fact, since I even learned vocals from Teacher Han Seonghwa, you could say I'm fairly good at it.
Come to think of it, I don't know why my modeling teacher taught me vocals too... But Teacher Han Seonghwa is an all-around entertainer, so let's let that slide.
Anyway, back when I was in middle and high school and made occasional appearances on TV, I even sang as a special talent on a few variety shows.
If anything, that's precisely why I can't sing on stream.
Of course, my voice is a slight concern too.
Back then, compared to now, I definitely sounded younger.
‘Hello! I'm Kim Ahyeon!’
Honestly, I was nervous about appearing on TV back then, so my tone was a little higher.
Surely nobody could match the two just by comparing them now.
But singing is different.
Since there was even the slightest chance I'd get caught, I simply didn't do it.
Anyway, the reason I'm bringing this up now is....
-Don't you do concerts??
-You're a VTuber too, so why..
-Go on stage and S I N G
-New viewer) Can this VTuber not sing??
The large server had ended, and there was one last concert being held to commemorate it.
Seeing the VTubers performing there, the viewers were hounding me to get on stage too.
Haega bastard and Yeongukno had even performed once each with their own crews, making everyone even more persistent.
“Mhm, mhm.”
-Mhm, mhm my assㅋㅋ
-But for real, we really have never seen you sing once
-You're a VTuber;;
But Wayo wouldn't be Wayo if he gave in just because they whined.
And besides.
“Are VTubers people who sing?”
Are VTubers singers?
If you ask me that, I don't know.
-..? Isn't that what they are?
-They're virtual idols.
“Huh? VTubers are fundamentally game streamers.”
Modern VTubers do sing an awful lot,
and they do release albums and perform concerts.
But the root of VTubers is variety-game streaming, like Wayo's.
Well, the peak of modern VTubers does come through singing, so the viewers are half right.
Aren't people with distinctive voices the ones who become VTubers in the first place?
A distinctive voice leads to a distinctive timbre, so naturally viewers want to hear it even more.
[I~ don't~ know~ you~]
Besides, modern VTubers are good at singing.
I looked up at the VTuber who had been singing onstage for quite a while.
Who was that again? I heard they were a practical-music major, but they were unbelievably good.
-Kyaㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-That's insane
“You're good.”
Still, the way you handled the endings was a little lacking, wasn't it?
I may have learned from a hack vocal teacher,
but I had still been recognized by a real singer when I appeared on TV.
From that perspective, I could spot a few small mistakes, but Wayo was a socially-minded VTuber, so I didn't bother saying it out loud.
-)))
-(((
-))
Besides, everyone was just enjoying the atmosphere.
“Ah, this is nice.”
-He really is good at singingㅋㅋ
-Teacher, sing one song too
-I feel like you'd be good if you sang
-Why go to a singer's concert?? You can just watch VTubersㅋㅋ
Anyway, just as I was enjoying the singing,
“Hey~ Master Wolong.”
a man came over to the corner of the audience where I was sitting.
He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and was a little older.
-Ohㅋㅋ
-The Steel Gang bossㄷㄷ
-Haven't seen him in agesㅋㅋ
Yes, it was none other than Mr. Steelix, who had become the owner of this server.
“Long time no see.”
And he was also the only connection I'd made on this server.
“How come you never showed your face even once?”
“Were you looking for me?”
“I went a few times, but you weren't there.”
“Ah, I was looking for another spot.”
-This crazy fishing-hound bastardㅋㅋ
-He came looking for you there?
-For real, it would've been nice if you'd met once
“I thought we'd meet at least once before the server ended.”
“I was busy looking for skipjack tuna.”
“Really? And you caught it in the end?”
I grinned and pulled out a sheet of paper.
“That....”
When I took the huge sheet of paper from my inventory and spread it on the floor, a massive ink mark appeared.
It was the seal I'd stamped the instant I caught the skipjack tuna.
-Kya
-This is what I'm talking aboutㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-For real, it really is fucking huge
“You really did it in the end.”
“I did.”
“Is there a seat beside you?”
“No.”
Mr. Steelix looked down at the paper, gave a small smile, and sat in the seat beside me.
For reference, since I was a lone-wolf VTuber, there wasn't a single person around me.
Haega bastard and Yeongukno were with their crews, and I had no other real connections.
-Someone finally sat down next to him
-Honestly, smash that recommend if it was hard to watchㅋㅋ
-This bastard was alone right up until the end;;
You could practically say I was ostracizing the entire world.
“Where are your underlings? Why are you alone?”
More importantly, unlike me, Mr. Steelix should have had people with him.
Wasn't he the boss of the Steel Gang, the largest organization on the server?
“The boss has to step aside at times like this.”
In response to my question, Mr. Steelix pointed toward the stage where the concert was underway.
A group was clustered together in the premium seats right at the front.
Hmm, so those were the members of the Steel Gang.
Honestly, this was the first time I'd seen them. I would have had to visit the city to see them before.
“And I should be with my friends too, shouldn't I?”
“Friends?”
“Why? Aren't they?”
Hmm, my standards for friendship were a little strict.
Didn't someone at least have to watch my stream for a month to count as a friend?
Still, we'd filmed a mad movie together, so I supposed he qualified.
“Hmm, that's true.”
-ㄷㄷㄷ
-Wow, friends with Kang Seokㅋㅋ
-He fished all this time and actually succeededㅋㅋㅋ
“Ah, though maybe the age gap is a little big for us to call each other friends?”
“A little?”
-It's more than a littleㅋㅋㅋ
-How old is Wayo??
-Could there be a ten-year age gap?
-But it really could be only a little
I could see the viewers getting confused by my answer.
Ah, right. They didn't know my age.
For reference, there was roughly a ten-year age gap between us.
When I looked him up on the wiki later, he was definitely quite a bit older.
“You sing well.”
“Yes, they do.”
Anyway, after chatting for a little while, we watched the concert together.
As befitted a server with so many participating streamers, there were a ton of VTubers too.
It felt like everyone who could sing was taking the stage once.
It was practically a VTuber festival.
“Oh, right. We never exchanged contact information, did we, Master Wolong?”
As we watched the stage,
Mr. Steelix took out a cigarette in the game and asked,
“Does that mean anything?”
“Hmm, ah—the server ended, right?”
-It doesn't feel real at all..
-The server is really over..?
Well... it was funny that we didn't even have each other's contact information despite calling each other friends.
But what was the point of adding him now? The server was over.
“Yes.”
“Whew, after three weeks, it still doesn't feel real.”
“I only came in sporadically.”
-You're bragging, you bastardㅋㅋ
-Info) He took about a week off during the three weeks
I wanted to avoid taking days off during the server too, but what could I do?
I already had a pile of jobs I'd stamped contracts for.
So I had no choice but to take some time off.
Well, I could have streamed more if I pushed myself, but if that interfered with my main job, I'd be putting the cart before the horse.
“What will you do now that the server's over, Master?”
“Me? Hmm....”
At Mr. Steelix's question, I pretended to consider it for a moment.
Yes, I pretended.
Because... I'd already decided.
“...Rell?”
-?
-??
-??
-??????
-What the fuck is he saying?
...Ahem.
I'd started getting an itch.
It had been nearly a month since I played, so of course I'd be itching for it, right?
Fishing was nice, but I missed the fierce battles in the Rift.
“Oh, Rell? What tier are you?”
Unlike the viewers, who were utterly horrified, Mr. Steelix showed interest.
Well, he was a game streamer too, so he probably played plenty of Rell.
“Oh, I'm around Diamond.”
“Wow, that's good. Just as expected of you, Master.”
-?
-Aren't you Emerald 4?
-What's with the rank fraud?
“Want to play ranked together sometime?”
“What tier are you?”
“Me? I'm Silver.”
Silver?
No, that was a little....
“Our tiers don't match.”
“Don't you have an alt?”
“I do, but....”
“Then use that one.”
-Yeah, that should work
-Your alt's rank matches perfectlyㅋㅋ
-Info) Wayo made a fresh account, got placed in Gold, and quit
Well, I felt genuinely sorry to say this to Mr. Steelix, but....
“That account is destined to reach Master.”
“What?”
“Solo queue is out of the question.”
-???
-No way, he turned this down?
-Ah, fuck, tell him to latch onㅋㅋ
-This is unbelievably ruthless
-Is this part of his character too??
Still, duoing with a Silver player was a little much.
I'd only quit for a short while, but was I really going to ruin my alt's MMR?
That account was destined to reach Master someday.
Or was it not someday?
“No, when are you going to reach Master on an alt....”
“Soon.”
“Huh?”
I was going soon, after all.
-...?
-??
-All right, let's go~~
-Row the damn boat, fuck;;
The large server was over. Now the Rift was doomed.