I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 388

After that, I started learning about internet broadcasting.

I watched other people’s broadcasts and studied the culture and rules of the scene. I observed, listened, and memorized how this world operated.

Only then did I realize how naive I had been.

As I adjusted my broadcasts based on what I learned, viewers began to trickle in.

I added a camera to my setup. I bought lighting equipment. I purchased a separate PC specifically for broadcasting, in addition to my gaming PC.

I created a channel where video clips were saved and started managing a community for my viewers.

Slowly but steadily, the number of viewers began to increase.

I wasn’t particularly talented at anything.

Broadcasting was no exception. I wasn’t a natural talker, and my showmanship was clumsy.

But I had the tenacity and persistence to keep going without giving up. I was determined to continue this work I had started for the long haul.

I practiced my pronunciation, tried to keep up with the latest internet trends, and brainstormed broadcast ideas…

About a year passed like that.

One of my video clips unexpectedly went viral.

It was a clip of me clearing a game that had been giving me trouble for about a month, and I was dancing with joy.

I danced along with the main character’s dance at the end of the game. I guess that dance was a bit ridiculous.

– Why is that guy dancing?

– I think he just beat the final stage of the game called XXX. That’s what’s on the screen.

– Wow, that game is a real classic. I also played it when I was young but gave up.

– That old man only plays difficult retro games.

– Does he take game requests?

Viewers flocked in from everywhere, and word of mouth about me spread little by little within the community…

And luckily, the next game I played was a classic but quite famous game at the time, so a lot of viewers who were feeling nostalgic came to watch.

After that, the number of viewers fluctuated depending on the game I played, but I broadcast consistently, and the overall trend of the broadcast was upward.

I aimed for a broadcast that was easy to watch and controversy-free, and I steadily increased my regular viewers.

And when I entered my third year of broadcasting.

I became a broadcaster who was not just mid-tier, but also close to the top of the broadcasting platform… well, not quite.

I was just barely in the upper ranks.

***

The viewer who watched my broadcast for the first time continued to visit my broadcast.

He called me ‘hyung’ [a Korean term used by males to address an older male, like ‘older brother’]. I called him ‘jammin’ [a playful term, like ‘kid’].

I didn’t know his name, age, or anything else. But he was my oldest viewer and my most loyal viewer.

Especially in the early days of my broadcast when I was struggling to find my footing, he helped me think about the direction my broadcast should take, and sometimes volunteered to be my manager and helped me out.

I was sincerely grateful to him. I even wanted to meet him and buy him a meal.

But he rarely talked about himself.

He avoided meeting me, and he also avoided talking about his personal information. So I didn’t bring it up either.

In the first place, excessive fraternization between viewers and broadcasters should be avoided.

……

As the broadcast grew, and now that I was completely established in this scene.

From some point, he stopped coming to the broadcast.

I was sad, but I was too busy to even dwell on that sadness. I just assumed that he was also living a busy life.

And then more time passed…

I suddenly thought of him. I searched his chat logs. I wondered if he had left a message while I wasn’t paying attention.

Then,

– It’s been a while, hyung!

It was there.

A chat log that he had left a few weeks ago, which I had not read.

– The broadcast has grown a lot while I haven’t been here?

– Now you don’t read chats unless I donate? lol what is this

The number of viewers had increased so much that at some point, I couldn’t read all the general chats.

It had been a long time since I and the viewers had been communicating through messages displayed during paid donations.

– Hmm… I don’t have money to donate…

– ……

– You know, hyung.

– I’m going to have surgery soon…

– Can you just say one word of encouragement?

The message stopped there.

I stared blankly at the log and jumped up from my seat.

It had been a few weeks since he left that chat. It was already a long time ago, but.

I had to do something.

***

He tried not to reveal much information about himself.

But even in internet broadcast chats, there is information that inevitably gets revealed.

He frequented a hospital in Seoul, was young, male, and sometimes complained of chest pain and turned off the broadcast because he had difficulty breathing.

I inquired about the hospital, and it wasn’t too difficult to find him among the long-term patients.

He was in a coma, unconscious, lying in bed, breathing only with the help of machines.

“……”

He was a child.

He had been stuck in bed for years without being able to move properly, so he looked much younger than his actual age.

He had a shaved head, wore a patient’s beanie, had an oxygen mask on, and was asleep with his eyes closed.

Beep- Beep-

A regular mechanical sound echoed in my ears.

I stood by the bed and quietly looked down at the child.

Beep- Beep-

Beep- Beep-……

His breathing was so faint that it was almost inaudible between the mechanical sounds.

I couldn’t watch anymore and squeezed my eyes shut.

“Our child really liked Goduk-nim’s broadcast.”

His mother bowed several times, thanking me for coming.

“My child waited eagerly for the time you broadcast. When there was no broadcast, he would watch the recorded videos again…”

“……”

“Hospital life is so boring. And the chemotherapy must be so painful… It wouldn’t have been easy for that small body to endure, but thanks to Goduk-nim’s broadcast, he often smiled.”

Looking at her haggard smile, I stammered and asked.

“Why me?”

“Yes?”

“There must have been many other broadcasters who were much more fun than me… Why me of all people?”

By chance.

He came into a broadcast that no one was watching, greeted me.

And helped that foolish broadcast grow.

Why did he do that? This child.

After listening to my words, she was silent for a moment, then smiled faintly and opened her mouth.

“Why me?”

“Yes?”

“There must have been mothers who were much kinder and more patient than me, but why was this child born to me?”

Her hand stroked the child’s thin cheek.

“When this child wakes up, let’s ask him together.”

“……”

“Thank you for coming today. Our child will be happy if he knows that Goduk-nim came.”

I left the hospital, leaving her polite greetings behind.

“……”

He had been sick since he was born. It was a type of childhood cancer.

He had lived in the hospital his whole life. The only window through which he communicated with the world was the screen of that small smartphone.

In particular, he liked watching my broadcast.

What was so fun about watching this boring old man’s room?

……

In recent years, his condition had been deteriorating.

As a last resort, they attempted surgery. Surprisingly, the surgery went well.

But after the surgery, he fell into a coma, essentially becoming a vegetable, and has not regained consciousness since.

“……”

You reached out to me when I was trapped in a shell.

But I chased after money and ignored you when you needed me.

– Can you just say one word of encouragement?

What was so difficult about saying that one word of encouragement?

I didn’t read that request, and I left you abandoned until you were isolated from the world…

‘I want to reach out to you, who is trapped in a shell.’

Just like you did for me.

I also want to give you courage.

‘But what can I do…?’

That night.

I turned on the broadcast late and asked the viewers.

“Everyone. What’s the most difficult old game?”

I asked again, with a renewed determination.

“A game that is so difficult and challenging that it’s hard for anyone to win.”

Many people chatted, but one message caught my eye.

– How about the Hell Ironman Challenge?

.

It had been 10 years since its release, and it had some popularity, but no one had ever cleared the highest difficulty level – ‘Hell Ironman’ mode.

I decided to take on this challenge.

I kept it a secret from the viewers, but I had pledged to donate all the donation revenue I received until I cleared it to a childhood cancer support foundation.

I started the game.

It was not an easy game at all. And the Hell Ironman mode was really nauseatingly difficult.

I got a game over.

The empire fell, fell, fell, fell, and fell again.

But.

I won’t give up.

Even when a bright red GAME OVER screen appeared, I brushed it aside as if nothing had happened and started the next playthrough.

– PRESS START

Again.

Even when a playthrough that took dozens of hours was ruined by a ridiculous accident.

– PRESS START

Again.

Even when a playthrough that lasted hundreds of hours was ultimately destroyed by the enemy’s attack.

– PRESS START

Again.

Even when a playthrough that reached the very end failed at the last stage.

– PRESS START

Again, again, again, again, again!

Once more-

I won’t give up.

I will fight in my own way. I will overcome this challenge.

I will cheer you on.

So, you too.

Don’t give up.

Continue your fight…

……

Six months later.

I succeeded in the challenge on my 742nd attempt.

Defeated the final boss and cleared the last stage.

Finally reached the end of the game.

And-

***

……

The submerged consciousness gradually becomes clearer.

It was a sensation like waking up from a terrible hangover. I groaned and twisted my body.

Sensation returns to the extremities of my body. I become aware of my fingertips and toes. Twisting my aching bones as if I hadn’t used them for a long time, I barely opened my eyes.

My vision is blurry.

‘Where am I…’

I was definitely drunk… opened a teleport gate, fell into it, and then…

I fell into pitch-black darkness.

But here it is warm, soft, and even smells good.

‘What is this?’

After blinking a few times, the world became clear. Only then could I see my surroundings properly.

It was a lavishly decorated palace… Except for the bizarre sense of being decorated all in pink, it looked quite expensive.

I was lying on the floor of this palace. And someone was giving me a lap pillow.

What?

A lap pillow?

What I was lying on was a warm and soft thigh. No, who on earth is doing this grateful… no, embarrassing thing for me…

Slowly lifting my eyes to look,

《Ah. You’re awake.》

I saw the face of a woman smiling softly at me.

White skin, red eyes. Glossy pink hair, horns sprouting on both sides of her head. And her unique monastic attire.

…So, the 7th ranked commander of the monster army.

It was Salome.

The succubus queen smiled softly and asked me shyly.

《Did you sleep well, honey?》

Like a puppy waiting for its owner, she even wags her demon-like tail from side to side.

“……”

I stared blankly up at Salome,

“Whoaaaaa! You scared me!”

Without realizing it, I threw a punch and hit Salome’s chin.