Fifteen years since my Awakening.
And one year since I slew the Demon Lord and crossed over into this world.
Over that combined total of sixteen years, I had spent fifteen in combat and slaughter, while the remaining year I called a sabbatical and just lay sprawled out doing nothing.
So even if I had forgotten that I could earn money through streaming, it wouldn't be all that strange.
But as I watched this and that stream following Nyua's lead, various memories that had been dormant in my head began to stir awake.
The days before my Awakening, when I diligently watched streams every night.
Scenes from that time vividly came back to life.
There were no virtual reality games in those days, but the profession of streamer already existed.
People who communicated with viewers through a screen, running their broadcasts in their own ways.
Some through chatter.
Some through games.
They laughed and chatted with people in all sorts of ways and made money.
And now.
This world continued that culture in a far more advanced form.
In this era where capsules had become ubiquitous.
Most streamers broadcasted through full-dive capsules.
Some shared their daily lives with viewers in a private room.
Some captivated viewers with spectacular battles and adventures in a virtual world indistinguishable from reality.
People began to grow even more frenzied over the streamers' more realistic appearances as realized in virtual reality.
And that popularity burned far hotter than in the world I knew.
It was an age where the truly famous received treatment rivaling celebrities'.
You could truly call it the world of superstar streamers.
So many people were diving into that world that you could call it a red ocean, but.
I was confident.
Confident that I would rise.
Skill-based streams always drew people in.
When unbelievable physical ability, reaction speed, judgment, and sense all came together, people couldn't leave the stream.
And they went wild for, became obsessed with, the streamer who showed them that.
If it were a game played on a computer, I wouldn't have been so confident.
'But this is a virtual reality game.'
A world where physical stats were power itself.
An S-rank Hunter.
The world's greatest Hunter, and the last remaining Hunter.
There was no way I, who had held all those titles, would lose out physically in this world.
Even Gang Daehan, said to possess the greatest physical stats in Korea, had looked like a child in my eyes.
If people went wild for a childlike display like that.
What about me?
And even if physical specs were standardized in a fair environment.
Fifteen years of honed combat experience.
Sense, judgment, physical ability.
I guarantee it. I'm the best.
Even if the VR game fell short of my expectations and I quit streaming first, there was absolutely no way I would fail to rise doing a skill-based stream.
If I don't rise.
'I should just go die, what else is there to do.'
It would mean the fifteen years I spent fighting and surviving were all for nothing.
What would be the point of living then.
It had been a few days since I'd been surviving on cup ramyeon.
And a few days since Nyua yanked my hair out.
"It's finally here."
"Nyua!"
A capsule emitting a brilliant gloss, occupying a corner of my room.
Sleek curves. A metallic texture against my fingertips.
I had bought it to play games, but...
Hell, from its appearance alone, it was a man's very dream.
Nyua seemed excited too, sliding down the capsule like a slide and bouncing up and down.
Bounce, bounce.
I pressed the power button beside it, and the capsule opened with a hiss.
Oh, fuck.
This is fucking insane.
With an excited heart, I got inside the capsule, and Nyua followed me in.
"Nyua!!"
"You want to get in too?"
"Nyuaa!!"
"Sure, I don't know if it'll work, but let's try."
Technically, it shouldn't be allowed.
But Nyua was a surprisingly versatile fellow.
He was a Spirit King who had survived until the very end, after all.
'He'll find some way.'
If I left him alone, he'd manage on his own.
An instruction manual was placed on the chair inside the capsule.
Before starting, the technician had told me to read it, but.
"I don't need it."
I tossed the instruction booklet right outside and closed the capsule door.
"A real man just goes for it."
Of course, my body was a woman's now.
Anyway.
To read some instruction booklet when I could use the capsule right this instant?
That was nothing but a luxury.
The inside of the capsule was soon shrouded in darkness.
*Whirrr.*
Along with the spinning mechanical sound, my consciousness slowly began to sink.
Shortly after.
Feeling my consciousness surface, I opened my eyes.
"Oh... not bad."
Looking around, a pure-white room greeted me.
My senses were still somewhat dull, but that meant the body scan hadn't finished yet.
Fingerprints, irises, skeletal structure, and so on—all my physical structures were being scanned for use as personal data, so it took some time.
And after some time had passed.
A woman resembling me appeared in the center of the room.
'No, it's not just someone who resembles me—it's me?'
Hair that looked as soft as black silk.
Red eyes as though camellia flowers were embedded in them.
Lips that somehow looked moist despite having nothing applied to them.
My appearance, now that of a woman I had grown used to.
When I touched it slightly, it felt like real skin.
'Fascinating.'
I had wondered, but I couldn't believe it was reproduced to this degree.
There was a slight sense of dissonance, but at this level, the realism was exceptional.
If Gates had never existed, would our world have had things like this too?
Virtual reality games being all the rage, everyone enjoying streams like that.
I had drifted into idle thoughts for a moment but soon shook my head.
It was nothing but a hypothetical that could never happen.
There was no point in thinking further.
[Do you wish to confirm your current customization state?]
Yes / No
'Hmm. What should I do?'
Normally, I would have adjusted the customization to some degree.
But right now, my body was itching.
I wanted to get in and enjoy various things as soon as possible.
Even the time spent customizing felt like a waste.
In the end, without any hesitation, I pressed 'Yes,' and the room's scenery quickly changed.
Into a space with a bit more everyday life to it.
I figured it was probably a basic private room.
While I was looking around at this and that for a moment.
"Nyua!!"
With a loud cry, Nyua appeared.
I knew this would happen.
'You've got to be moderately versatile, at least.'
To think he'd even enter the virtual reality world.
'I guess a Spirit King really is a Spirit King.'
Watching Nyua fly around excitedly, I nodded.
It wasn't the first or second time.
"Nyua, come here."
"Nyua!!"
Nyua responded to my voice.
He quickly flew over and latched onto my neck in the form of a choker.
For some reason, ever since I became a woman, he always clung to me like this.
'Back in the day, it used to be a necklace or something.'
Such unique taste.
He was more stubborn than I thought, so he wouldn't change even if I told him to.
I shook my head and soon moved my fingers to do what I had thought of first.
*Tap.*
An interface appeared before my eyes.
It reminded me of the old status windows, stirring up a strange mix of nostalgia and novelty.
Moving my fingers this way and that to check the menus, I soon found what I was looking for.
'Here it is.'
Training Simulation.
One of the basic programs provided for first-time capsule users.
The provider had included it out of consideration so that people could get as familiar with virtual reality as possible.
Thanks to that, most people started with this program when they began using a capsule.
But there was something funny about it.
'The fact that there's a leaderboard right away.'
A ranking in a training program?
Everyone had been flabbergasted at first, but by now it had become a fun factor instead.
The developers' opinion was this:
"Since you're doing it anyway, wouldn't it be more fun with a competitive element?"
Those words became reality, and now the Training Simulation had established itself as a standalone piece of entertainment content.
When I pressed Training Simulation, a white room greeted me.
Different from before, all sorts of amazing-looking machines and devices were lined up everywhere, and over there on the wall was a leaderboard.
[K-Server Training Simulation Ranking – TOP 10]
(Based on Q2 2030)
Rank Reflexes Agility Accuracy Evasion Focus Total Score
1st Gang Daehan_K 99 /98 /97 /99 /100 /493
2nd Unknown 97 /98 /95 /96 /98 /484
3rd Keisha 96 /98 /94 /96 /97 /481
4th Unknown 95 /95 /94 /95 /95 /474
5th CUN_THEGUN 93 /92 /99 /90 /96 /470
6th Unknown 92 /91 /95 /91 /93 /462
7th MiMi_JjangTv 92 /90 /88 /95 /92 /457
8th Kim Seondu 90 /88 /85 /88 /89 /440
9th Unknown 87 /86 /88 /87 /90 /438
10th Gang Soyeon 79 /82 /85 /86 /87 /419
I skimmed the leaderboard from first place down and slowly loosened my shoulders.
"Good. Then shall we give it a go?"
If I'm going to do it, there's no reason to do it half-heartedly.
Those names up there right now.
As of today, they're all dropping down by one rank.
"Nyua!!"
Nyua, who was attached to my neck, cried out too.
***
---- Training Simulation Board ----
Title) Isn't this fake?
What the fuck is this? Is it a hack? How does someone get 500 points?
[K-Server Training Simulation Ranking – TOP 10]
(Based on Q2 2030)
Rank Reflexes Agility Accuracy Evasion Focus Total Score
1st Haerang 100 /100 /100 /100 /100 /500
2nd Gang Daehan_K 99 /98 /97 /99 /100 /493
3rd Unknown 97 /98 /95 /96 /98 /484
4th Keisha 96 /98 /94 /96 /97 /481
5th Unknown 95 /95 /94 /95 /95 /474
6th CUN_THEGUN 93 /92 /99 /90 /96 /470
7th Unknown 92 /91 /95 /91 /93 /462
8th MiMi_JjangTv 92 /90 /88 /95 /92 /457
9th Kim Seondu 90 /88 /85 /88 /89 /440
10th Unknown 87 /86 /88 /87 /90 /438
------------
: ?
: What's that?
: Fake?
: lmfao OP fucking put real effort into faking this shit
: Is Gang Daehan dropping real? lololol
: Are there hacks in VR games now too?
: It's fake anyway, don't take the bait, just ignore and move on
: └ I just checked and it's real though?
: That's real?
: Fuck, how is that real?
A simple post uploaded by a user, seemingly dumbfounded.
Because of that single post, the Training Simulation board erupted in an instant.
Existing veteran users were shocked, and 'Haerang' instantly became the center of the issue.
Just who was 'Haerang'?
But the very person in question, Kim Yeonu.
"Hmm... it's too easy, though?"
She was loosening up, rotating her shoulders.
"I should look to see if there's a higher difficulty."
"Nyuaa!!"
And Nyua, spinning around excitedly by her side.
The two of them had no idea how heated the board was right now.