“I can’t help but talk about this story! I brought up a hot topic in the community lately, and it’s none other than ‘World of Arseria’!”
“Suddenly about content? But isn’t World of Arseria a game?”
“That’s right! It’s a globally famous game that has ranked 2nd in PC Bang market share in Korea.”
“Can I finally heal a bit with some gaming…!”
But Woo Da-yeon still couldn’t shake off her anxiety even in front of the camera.
She had already been at Hicks Studio for three months after being encouraged by her physics fellow student Ji Sung-hoon.
She was part of ‘Letterbox’, a representative MCN in Korea, and she held the position of content PD for the physics department on a popular V-tube channel with 1.45 million subscribers focusing on Science & Magic Studies content.
The topic from last month, “Can humans cross a river using the principle of water dropping?” remained a nightmare for Da-yeon.
Having been too scared to ride even a roller coaster, she had to overcome all her fears thanks to the gravity resistance training (g-test).
“Isn’t it just playing a game? Right…?”
“Why don’t you trust me? Wasn’t the water dropping segment somewhat fun?”
“I was scared to death!”
“Anyway! Since it seems like Da-yeon has been through a lot, I prepared something she’ll like for this content.”
“I already feel uneasy about it!”
While pondering what to do next, Ji Sung-hoon suddenly zoomed in with the camera to capture the V-tube angle.
She almost panicked but decided she wouldn’t look unprofessional, so Da-yeon naturally went along with Sung-hoon’s intention.
“Have you played this game before?”
“No, I’ve just seen clips of it popping up on V-tube shorts.”
“Shall we watch a hot video first?”
The fluorescent lights in the workroom turned off, and the beam projector powered up.
Da-yeon bit her nails nervously.
Sung-hoon’s sly smile was the most unsettling thing in the world.
He was the top student in the physics department of Korea University and absurdly holding a double major in the Theory of Magic Department, but he was also an enormous eccentric.
Thanks to him bringing in innovative content, Da-yeon also gained fame at Hicks Studio, but the journey wasn’t always smooth.
She had often worried she might drown in the middle of the Han River at such a young age.
Suddenly, the screen lit up, revealing a stunning blonde woman.
In a lush forest under a full moon, she snatched a knight’s sword that charged at her.
Many knights surrounded her again.
But she faced them with a confident gaze.
‘Woah, wow…’
With dazzling movements, she knocked down the knights one by one.
She effortlessly cast magic too.
She altered the trajectory of a suddenly thrusting sword and even executed a three-way combined magic circle operation without breaking a sweat.
The screen quickly transitioned to a vintage-style library where an NPC screamed as they were smashed into the ceiling to signal the start of the battle.
In what would be nearly impossible to recreate in reality, the woman skillfully maneuvered through the tight space.
Most impressively, Da-yeon was in awe during the scene where the woman landed the final blow on the boss.
‘A four-way combined magic circle? Or was it five…?’
Before the video ended, Da-yeon leaned over to Sung-hoon and whispered.
“Was there a magic assist function in this game too?”
“None except for scrolling.”
“That’s really amazing.”
The video ended with a gentleman in a stylish suit crashing down.
As the surroundings brightened up again, Da-yeon rubbed her eyes.
Sung-hoon signaled that the camera was rolling and asked for her thoughts.
“I never imagined World of Arseria was such a game. I really want to try it!”
Above all, the character was just Da-yeon’s type.
Wasn’t the lovely female protagonist from an action movie the one going on a mass slaughter?
“But there won’t be many opportunities to play it directly! This content is more focused on analysis than experience!”
“Analysis?”
“What we just saw was gameplay footage from a streamer called ‘NoName’.”
“Was that really gameplay footage? Not a teaser or anything?”
Even in a virtual reality game with high freedom and assist functions, what she just witnessed was too abnormal and unrealistic.
Why was someone with such talent wasting it on streaming?
With that level of athleticism, they could train at the Jincheon Athletes’ Village and prepare for the Olympics, and even if reality’s body couldn’t handle it, looking at the casting time, they could achieve greatness in magic studies.
“So, I prepared this! Our content will analyze the magic used by NoName! This will be a boring video for both Da-yeon and me to watch together from today.”
“How many of these do we have? Can’t you see the video length? Plus, I don’t know about magic circles as well as you, Sung-hoon…!”
“Actually, there are three episodes, but I only brought the first for you, so no more complaints! And wouldn’t just analyzing be boring?”
“What else are you plotting…!”
“Let’s calculate how much money it would cost if we used that same magic in reality! Let’s do our best!”
Before Da-yeon could protest further, Sung-hoon quickly hit the end button on the video.
Releasing her frustration, Da-yeon pressed him hard.
“Are we really doing this? Can’t we just delete this and switch to another topic even now?”
“Why? This looks fun! Didn’t you see that gameplay? Just that one video already has over a million views! Just us analyzing will easily net us at least two million views as a minimum!”
“Then why isn’t anyone else doing it?”
“Good question. First off, the magic used by NoName is so difficult for a first-circle that it’s a huge hurdle.”
“First-circle magic? That was all first-circle magic just now?”
Da-yeon felt suspicious right away.
First-circle magic was the kind of extremely simple magic that you’d already learn by middle school, right?
Were all those complicated magic circles that made her head hurt all first-circle?
It seemed more plausible to solve the KGSAT math section just using basic arithmetic.
The expansion of magic was an expert domain. No matter how smart Sung-hoon was, this was clearly crossing the line.
“And the amount is too much for one person to analyze alone.”
“Definitely. There are over a hundred spells alone.”
“Right. And there’s barely any overlap. So, this isn’t a ‘hot issue’ but a ‘hot potato.’ It’s hard to handle, so everyone’s just stuck. If only it could be eaten, it would be a jackpot, but it’s too hot!”
Da-yeon turned her gaze back to the V-tube video Sung-hoon showed.
The view count was still rising sharply in real-time.
Since World of Arseria was a US game, there were quite a few foreign comments too.
In other words, if played right, this was a fantastic opportunity for Hicks Studio to gather foreign subscribers.
“But do you have a plan? I’m feeling lost. Do you have a rough idea?”
“Not a bit…?”
“What do we do then!”
“If my head isn’t working, I’ll just have to use my legs. We have good connections and a strong background, right?”
In short, his plan was to rope in idle graduate students and professors from Korea University’s Magic Studies Department to analyze the magic circles she showcased.
As the saying goes, food made by others tastes the best, Sung-hoon had already begun contacting people he knew.
Da-yeon felt a strong premonition that this content wouldn’t go smoothly.
*
[Streaming starts: 0:00:01 – NoName]
[Just Chatting – Please set a title.]
[Broadcasting Time – 0:00:02]
[Number of Viewers – 4]
-??
-Is this a dream or reality?
-Where have you been all this time!!!
-Can you type in the chat as soon as you start streaming? What a remarkable development, NoName!
[Broadcasting Time – 0:01:24]
[Number of Viewers – 439]
-What’s with the influx speed? What even?
-This was my little insomnia cure!!! I liked you first!!!
-Just one broadcast and you’re worldwide ㄷㄷ
-But why has this person been dropping the ball while the water’s flowing?
-ㄴ She literally sunk the boat when the water was flowing!
-ㄴ laughter
[Broadcasting Time – 0:03:08]
[Number of Viewers – 1092]
-Come on, say something, room leader!
-Can you really go offline for two weeks without a notice?
-NoName is legit!
-Wasn’t she originally a notorious troublemaker? Suddenly, wow! 😂
-Do you want to get a taste of League of Legends?
-Fact) The room leader is immune because she’s a League of Legends girl.
-Have you seen NoName’s V-tube?
-I want to see Adella quickly! Turn on World of Arseria!!!!!
The chat window was utterly chaotic.
It seemed that NoName’s past was heavily discussed in the World of Arseria community, but it got quickly buried under the ACK pro gamer match-fixing confession.
Still, those who are meant to rise will eventually rise.
With fragmented gameplay videos uploaded on V-tube, NoName’s fame slowly expanded beneath the surface.
And two days ago, the most famous science content channels in Korea, ‘Hicks Studio’ and ‘Dobi Science,’ uploaded videos featuring NoName almost simultaneously, becoming the catalyst.
It was as if they conspired, providing audiences with friendly information about NoName’s exploits, making it accessible even to those who don’t play the game.
So much so that there were even comments in several broadcasting stations saying they wanted to interview NoName.
-Where on earth has this brat gone?
-Why is this chat not about World of Arseria? Why is it here? Why this chat?
-Oh wait, there’s no title! What the heck 😂
Due to NoName’s irregular streaming hours, most of her subscribers participated in the broadcast with their heads boiling with anger.
Listening to NoName’s sweet voice while cooling down their anger became somewhat of a custom.
Yet the most recent viewers were puzzled by the fact that she hadn’t said anything for a few minutes since starting the stream.
Reassuring comments from existing viewers about how this was just her normal style got swept away in a wave of rough texts.
[‘Uncle Bob’s Magic Classroom’ donated 10,000 won!]
-If NoName wants to slack off on the stream, upvote this! 😂😂
Soon enough, the first donation burst forth in her broadcast.
It was a donation sent with the hope that the room leader would guide the lost refugees.
Anything was welcome.
They could try the highest difficulty of World of Arseria that no one could clear or could hope for NoName to achieve Challenger rank in the long-abandoned Legacies of Legends.
As people wanted to sarcastically poke fun at NoName’s whimsical streaming style, chat filled with intense comments again.
-Upvote!
-Crying while upvoting! 😂😂
-What upvote? Hurry up and get out of here!!!
-Upvote!
–Upvote
-?
-?
-???
-What was that above?!
-??????????
-Why not stream instead of chatting!
-For real, it’s NoName! 😂😂
-This is insane! 😂😂
Suddenly recognizing the viewers searching for NoName blending in with the stormy current.
