The Streamer From Another Dimension

Chapter 3 – Rookie, Day 1, Secondhand Streamer (2)

—–CROW—– 

They say humans are adaptable animals.  I’d even adapted to the military after some time.

However, a week seemed too short for *this* kind of adaptation.

“Ugh, this really won’t come off.”

I adapted surprisingly quickly to the fact that this world was different from the one I knew.  This was because there weren’t many differences, as long as I stayed away from virtual reality games.

Even though virtual reality games existed, people still used PCs and smartphones more frequently in their daily lives, so I didn’t feel much of a difference from the world I used to live in.

“The real problem is Ahyeon-ssi’s body.”

Living as a woman after about 30 years of living as a man wasn’t as easy as it sounded.  Putting on and taking off underwear, in particular, was something I still found difficult.

“Phew, it finally came off.”

The moment I confirmed the hook was undone, all my strength drained. I’d never imagined taking off underwear would be so difficult.

Honestly, I thought it would take quite a while to get used to living as a woman.

“And averting my gaze while showering is also awkward.”

Perhaps because it was the body of someone I knew, I felt a strong sense of guilt about such things, even though it was the body I was currently using.

Besides that, there were many other troublesome things, like my heightened senses due to sensitive skin and the discomfort of my chest being compressed when I lay on my stomach.

“Ah, uh… Hello. Ah, uh.”

And I had to start from scratch in finding a pleasant voice tone for broadcasting.  At first, I kept speaking in an awkward tone, probably because I was used to my original body.

“Oh, I got an email.”

I had hired a private investigator last week to find out something I’d been wondering about.  It seemed the answer had arrived.

[We have confirmed the information you requested. It appears that ‘Ryu Jihan’ passed away in a traffic accident a year ago. Please check the attached file for detailed information.]

“…What?”

I’d thought there might be a version of me in this world.  If so, I thought Ahyeon-ssi might be in *that* body, so I’d hired a detective agency.

But he was already dead a year ago?

“Don’t tell me I ended up in Ahyeon-ssi’s body because mine doesn’t exist in this world?”

It was the opposite in my original world. I was alive, but Ahyeon-ssi was dead.

So, did I end up in Ahyeon-ssi’s body because it was empty?

It certainly made sense logically. But I had no idea why this had happened to me.

“Sigh, System.”

[Name: Shin Ahyeon

Remaining Time: 4,270

Traits: None]

Since arriving in this world a week ago, I’d been trying to adapt to the situation. I had a new goal—to start broadcasting again, even if it was forced upon me.

Once I was discharged from the hospital, now that I was cured, I found a decent place to live and bought broadcasting equipment.

“It’s a good thing Ahyeon-ssi’s bank account was quite full.”

And I’d bought a Cube, the device for virtual reality games. When I told them it was for broadcasting, they recommended I get the top-of-the-line model, so I did.

“Now, I’ll be strapped for cash, except for living expenses for a while.”

While learning about the current situation, I’d discovered a few additional things.

First, Ahyeon-ssi had an account on Switch, the broadcasting platform, but she hadn’t been very active, so there was no need to worry about anyone recognizing me if I started broadcasting.

Second, Ahyeon-ssi had no experience with virtual reality games through the Cube. I’d contacted customer service to check her login history, just in case, but it was completely blank.

“Thanks to that, my first broadcast content was decided.”

A newbie experiencing virtual reality for the first time.

I’d heard it used to be quite popular broadcast content. It was certainly good material for a first broadcast.

And I’d spent a lot of time watching broadcasts to get a feel for the atmosphere of CubeOn and Switch.

However, I’d deliberately avoided virtual reality game broadcasts to preserve the novelty for my first stream.

“I never imagined viewers would be called ‘Soosus.’”

Honestly, I laughed in disbelief when I learned this.  The overall atmosphere was very similar to the broadcasting platform I used in my previous world.

Calling viewers “Soosus,” short for “Switch Bums,” was just the tip of the iceberg.

There were many other similarities, enough that I was able to adapt to the Soosu life in just a week.

“But I’m not a Soosu, I’m a streamer.”

Even though it was familiar, there were some differences. If I didn’t properly grasp those differences, it could cause problems.

One thing that felt particularly strange was that the streamers I knew from my previous world were nowhere to be seen in this one.

“That’s odd…”

Perhaps it was due to the different nature of broadcasting. There was one major difference between Switch and the platform I used to use.

That was the presence of virtual reality games using the Cube.

[A Natural Monument’s First Experience in Cube Games]

After much deliberation, I finally decided on a title for my first broadcast. I thought it would be enough to attract attention.

Turning those who clicked into my viewers was a separate matter, but if there was no inflow of viewers in the first place, it didn’t matter how entertaining the broadcast was.

“The test broadcast went fine…”

However, I was concerned that I hadn’t been able to conduct a test broadcast of a virtual reality game to avoid creating a login history on the Cube.

Of course, I thought I’d proceeded as instructed, but I couldn’t help but worry.

[‘WhiteStar (ZN_prayer)’s Channel]

At first, I was going to use Ahyeon-ssi’s real name, “Ahyeon,” for the broadcast.

But I felt uncomfortable using her name, so I created a new broadcasting name: “WhiteStar.”

[Live Broadcast ON]

I turned on the microphone and waited for people to join. I had the Cube login history and the chat window displayed on the broadcast screen.

I could start talking now, but it would be better to wait until a few people joined.

– Meow meow. A real natural monument.

The viewer count became one. It felt good that my first viewer was even kind enough to chat.

And after waiting a bit longer, a few more viewers joined.

“This feels pretty good.”

It was probably because of the clickbait title, but having this many people for a brand-new channel was no easy feat.

I carefully turned on the microphone and started speaking.

“Hello, I’m rookie streamer WhiteStar. As the title suggests, I’ll be playing a virtual reality game for the first time today.  However, this is literally my first time even touching a Cube, so I might fumble a lot. Please bear with me.”

– Nice voice.

– There are still natural monuments left?

– First experience, oh la la.

“Welcome, everyone. This is WhiteStar, and it’s my first broadcast. I’ll try connecting to the Cube now.”

I wrote “Attempting connection” on the screen. Then, I activated the Cube connected to the computer and took off my clothes.

“Please, let there be no problems.”

There were two main ways to connect to virtual reality games on the Cube.

One was semi-dive, a simple method where you just lay down on the Cube.  However, the maximum connection time was short, and it couldn’t be used for the initial login.

The other was full-dive, which required filling the Cube with a special solution and entering naked.  Since this was my first login, I had no choice but to choose this method.

“Ugh, this feels gross.”

Goosebumps rose as the slightly viscous solution touched my toes.

Perhaps my sensitive skin made it feel even more unpleasant.

As I lay down inside the Cube, the door closed, and I felt increasingly drowsy. I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them again. The sensation of the solution was gone.

[Welcome to ZN_prayer’s Cube.]

[As a first-time user, a scanning process is required. Please read and agree to the terms and conditions.]

– Oh, here we go.

– Wow, a real newbie.

– First scan, lol.

“Can you see me okay?  This is my first time, so I’m a bit confused. Oh, so this is how the chat window appears.”

It seemed the settings were fine. I could see the chat window clearly in the corner of my vision, and the Switch broadcast UI I’d set up beforehand was working properly.

– Looks good.

– ? Haven’t you watched other broadcasts?

– Agree to the terms and conditions, go go.

– This used to be popular content.

– Old farts, your Cubes are confiscated for two weeks.

“Watching broadcasts makes me a pseudo-newbie. I really don’t know anything. The terms and conditions… Oh, so this is how you control it.”

[Collecting body data.]

[Complete. Loading data.]

“…Huh? What the…!”

A curse slipped out in surprise at the unexpected situation.

The surrounding scenery changed, and a mirror appeared, reflecting my image.

And the reflection in the mirror was identical to my real-world body.

– Thankfully, she didn’t say the actual curse word.

– Oh la la.

– Goddess has descended, oh la la.

– Oh la la, freaking awesome.

– Is that dyed? Wow, but she’s a real goddess.

– Is she Korean?

– Purple eyes, damn.

“Um… I’m sorry. I was a bit surprised. I wasn’t planning on hiding my face, but it appeared so suddenly…”

– It’s okay, we understand.

–  These perverts are probably enjoying your reaction.

– Soosus are all clipping this right now, lol.

In the end, I considered all of this as content, so I’d avoided spoilers.

Still, I had to be careful. What if I hadn’t intended to reveal my face?

I’d have to be a bit more cautious in the future.

“So this is the basic model setting.”

I’d heard that many Cube games frequently used the basic model.

Of course, I didn’t know it was generated this way.

– Absolutely keep it as is.

– Is there anything to change here?

– For real.

– She’s already a goddess.

“Hmm, it says I can change it later, so I’ll skip it.”

I had to be an obedient streamer.  Since I was a newbie, the Soosus would be satisfied seeing me follow the instructions one by one.  That was the mindset of veterans watching a newbie.

After that, a simple tutorial on the Cube followed.  It covered basic interface controls and how to move my body in virtual reality.

“Now, it’s time to choose the game. It would be great if I had something prepared, but I went too hard with the concept today, so I don’t know any games. Please recommend some in chat, and I’ll play the one that’s mentioned the most.”

– Blood Emperor?

– Eternal War, go go.

– No, Simple World, you bad people.

– Honestly, she has to play Blood Emperor.

– The newbie national rule is Blood Emperor.

– Look at their personalities.

“What’s Blood Emperor?  Is it that one? It’s being mentioned the most.”

– Don’t cross that river.

– Absolutely. Play. Blood. Emperor.

– That’s not good, lol.

“…Um, I’ll try installing it.  It’s in the Cube Store, right?”

Paying for and installing the game didn’t take long.  Looking at the game introduction while I waited, it seemed to be an action RPG.

“Is it really that difficult? The reviews are completely trashed.”

– It’s not just difficult, lol.

– The developer is just crazy.

– They screw you over in ways you can’t even imagine.

– Look at their personalities, recommending this to a newbie.

“I’ll give it a try. Do I need to change the broadcast category?”

– No, Cube Mode changes automatically.

– Her first Cube game is Blood Emperor…

– Playing Blood Emperor? Oh la la.

As I started the game, the surroundings darkened and then brightened again.

And the floor became soaked with blood.  Wasn’t this intro a little too intense?

Butterflies made of blood fluttered around, and flowers bloomed with blood—a beautiful but terrifying display continued.

When I came to my senses, the intro seemed to be over, and the main menu appeared.

“Whoa…”

– Lost in the intensity, lol.

– I really thought it was a horror game at first.

– Lol.

– But it really is beautiful directing.

– Agreed, it’s beautiful.

I pressed “Start” on the game menu. Seeing a “Load” tab suggested the game had a save function.  Well, there was no need to rush to the ending, so this was better.

“The starting point seems normal?”

Weapons were displayed on the wall, and there was an opening on one side that looked like a passage.

This was a pretty unfriendly game with no explanations whatsoever. Of course, the viewers would give me tips on the basics, but it was a bit disconcerting.

– Yeah, just choose a weapon here and go out.

– Greatsword, let’s go!

– Axe, anyone?

– One-handed sword and shield is the safest bet.

– Axe is a bit…

“Hmm, what about a spear?”

– Not bad.

– Spear is good too.

– The reach is long, so it’s convenient.

– Whatever, you’ll die and come back anyway.

“Then I’ll go with a spear.”

I was a bit uneasy about fighting up close in virtual reality. Even though I knew I wouldn’t really die, I was still a little scared since it was my first time.

I exited the room, and a long passage stretched ahead. The red jewels that occasionally illuminated the path were a bit creepy.

I’d walked for a while when a figure suddenly popped out.

“Ah! You scared me!”

I was startled, but realizing it was a weapon flying towards me, I swung the spear at the right moment.  I had a feeling this was how you blocked attacks in this game.

*Clang!*

Sparks flew as the mob was pushed back. A parry, a common defensive maneuver.

“Whoa.”

However, while parrying in computer games was just a click, here, I had to physically swing the spear.  That was a big difference.

– How did she do that?

– A newbie parrying on the first try?

– Wow, crazy, lol.

– She did that?

“Hey, I might be a newbie at Cube games, but it’s not like I’ve never played action RPGs before.”

Despite my words, I was a bit surprised myself.  I’d played plenty of games with parrying, but in Cube, I had to move my body, so the feel and timing were completely different.

And yet, I succeeded on my first try?

Thanks to the successful parry, I easily defeated the first mob.

However, the sensations felt so real that I was already feeling fatigued.  The feeling of cutting something, in particular, was unsettling.

“This is doable.”

– Famous last words.

– Experienced newbie, lol.

– Lol.

– It would be in other games.

– But this is Blood Emperor.

I continued forward while reading the chat, and the next mob appeared.  It charged at me with a sword, so I timed my spear swing.

My spear, swung at just the right moment, parried the sword—no, it didn’t parry at all. My spear was cut in half by the sword.

Naturally, caught off guard, I was instantly killed by the sword.

“Aaack!”

– Lol.

– That scream, oh la la.

– The person who designed this is a devil.

– Torturing newbies again.

– God game, lol.

Was this even a game?

—–CROW—– 

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