『StarPork: (Map link)』
『StarPork: This is the location for the first round!!! Let’s meet here at 6 pm tomorrowㅎㅎㅎㅎㅎ』
『StarPork: I’ve reserved this place for the second round! The second round starts at 8 pm!』
『StarPork: (Map link)』
『StarPork: If you’re late, let us know!!!』
『Guntak: Thank you so much』
『Guntak: Our treasurer is the best!』
『Gorabox: ㅠㅠㅠ I have an urgent recording, so I don’t think I can make it to the first round. I’m sorry.』
『Gorabox: I’ll go directly to the second round. Sorry again.』
『Ark: Yeah, take your time coming!』
『StarPork: Yup yup! Don’t worry about it! The second round will be even more fun 😄 Let us know if your plans change!』
『Guntak: Oh no, if it’s just Revan and me among the guys, it’ll be a bit awkward』
『Guntak: I’ll look too much like an old man』
『Guntak: Gorabox, come quickly!』
『Gorabox: Yes, hyung. I’ll finish recording quickly and come.』
* * *
Morning.
The sunlight that crept through the gap in the curtains poked at my eyes, forcefully announcing the start of the day. Unable to withstand the light penetrating my eyelids any longer, I turned my head, gathering my scattered thoughts.
Feeling around by the bedside, I grabbed my phone to check. It was only 6 am. This was the price of hastily drawing the blackout curtains before falling asleep.
Since I was already awake… I logged into the chat, slowly reading through the messages exchanged the previous day. The chatroom created by the connections from the tournament was surprisingly active, creating a new daily task for me.
I never sent messages myself. Despite this, I checked the chat out of a sense of duty as part of the group…but in truth, I mainly enjoyed watching StarPork’s enthusiastic messages.
As light morning reading, it was quite entertaining. Occasionally, the letters seemed to blur slightly, like today.
… Maybe I drank too much. I felt no hangover. Perhaps because I was still clearly tipsy. In other words…the hangover hadn’t hit me yet. I did drink too much.
Unlike soju, where I measured my intake carefully, I had a tendency to over-indulge with wine. Perhaps it was because once I got tipsy, the sweet taste kept me drinking more. Or maybe it simply because I couldn’t remember how many glasses I had.
Or…maybe the game was just that fun. Perhaps the wine was innocent after all.
“The Rogue.”
This was a game I had never expected to play for so long. It had been ages since I fell asleep while playing a game.
Initially, the somewhat realistic survival feel was all that appealed to me—but within a week, *The Rogue* had become a god-tier game offering the satisfaction of a leisurely rural life.
What I liked the most was that, after about 30 days in-game (roughly 4 days in real life)….even the somewhat bothersome combat had disappeared.
I wasn’t sure if it was a bug caused by all the triggers for the hunter squads being exhausted, or if the design intent was that after killing a certain amount, no more would come—but anyway.
As a result, the diligently sharpened dagger was only being used to chop fish heads. There’s a method to unlock multiplayer, I heard, and I thought trying it out might be a good idea.
Being honest, only Revan and I could survive through the ongoing attacks of the hunter squads—but if we cleared everything out and enjoyed the rural life atmosphere, it would definitely be fun even with everyone together.
Meanwhile, I could do some rogue evangelism. Taking screenshots of Revan playing as a rogue and uploading them to the Warrior forum.
I could clip it and make video donations to either Revan’s or Dodat’s streams….though I might need permission for that.
Anyway, it was a plan close to killing three birds with one stone.
Not sure if the viewers would agree… but these days, the viewers seemed to be enjoying it somewhat. So, it should be fine.
The hunting, fishing, and gathering were simple… It couldn’t be said the game had an abundance of content, even with flattery. Nevertheless, the viewers’ immersion seemed to slowly rise enough to be felt.
Surely, there was an appeal in the great outdoors that tugged at the hearts of modern people.
When I thought about whether there was really a need to join the hero party and start a war, considering this peaceful life… and the riot that broke out at the mere suggestion of it… No matter how attractive nature was, giving up the clear objective seemed to be beyond acceptable limits.
But that was good too. The reaction was plenty entertaining. Watching the pulsating chat, I couldn’t help but feel a subtle satisfaction and wonder. What was this all about—no, what was it about me that made them so excited?
To refresh my mind, I mechanically accessed WeTogether and started reading new posts.
It was a precious place. While buried in it, the sinking heart would lighten slightly. Though it was a place full of various desires….anyway.
『Author: ㅇㅇ』
『Title: Someone is waiting for you!!』
『Comrades!
Are!
Waiting for you!!
Join us, you rascal!
There are comrades who think you’re dead!』
—Wow, your immersion is impressive.
—Don’t over-immerse LOL.
I wondered why this particular post, which wasn’t all that recommended and got buried, stood out to me.
I thought it had a good concept and tried to brush it off, but somehow I couldn’t.
To this day, I’m not sure why.
I tried hard to think it was okay to go out to after-parties, meet people…or stay alone like this.
I didn’t know why a post written without much meaning was stuck in my thoughts, making me mull it over again.
The slight smile that crossed my face, was it because I was tipsy?
Well.
I wasn’t sure either, but I wanted to start a broadcast.
『CravingWarmAmericano has started broadcasting!』
『It feels peaceful』
* * * *
7 a.m.
The diligent broadcasters who streamed until dawn had gone to sleep, and those who preferred daytime streaming were still preparing for work – it was the gap period of internet broadcasting.
Even the die-hard fans who identified themselves as the core of Lee Yena’s community would have found it hard to predict that her broadcast, which usually started randomly between 4 p.m. and 1 a.m., would turn on at this time without any notice.
『CravingWarmAmericano has started broadcasting!』
『It feels peaceful』
『Aha~』
『Morning broadcast, huh』
『Look at the legendary zero viewers rushing in LOLOLOL LOL』
『Did you think I wouldn’t be able to see it if you streamed at this hour? I’m skipping school today』
『Boss, I’m taking a day off today. I need to watch the fire』
『KoK? Finally, KoK?』
『Morning is for KoK. What is this nonsense about Rogues』
『Teacher, our dog is very sick. The vet said he would recover quickly if he saw KoK’s Greatsword Knight. Please have pity on our dog. I beg you』
『Let’s get into the boar farm~』
『What nonsense are you talking about? Today’s the day to build the roof』
Despite being a broadcast that people couldn’t have joined without separate notification settings, close to a thousand people swarmed in just within five minutes.
It was a scene that showcased the scale of the concrete layer she had unintentionally built up over time.
『??What’s with the broadcast title』
『???Where did the Rogue Revival Movement go』
『Is the Rogue Revival Movement season over…? Finally?』
『The title seems like she’s going to do more nonsense』
The viewers who rushed in as soon as they got the notifications were first struck by the absence of the term ‘Rogue Revival Movement’ in the broadcast title.
For those who had been watching her broadcasts from the beginning, this was quite a shock. After all, wasn’t she the one who tussled about doing the Rogue Revival Movement, without any intent of doing a proper broadcast?
Even when she did cooking streams, she added titles like ‘Rogue Revival Movement Explanation’-
Just a few months ago, she had been expelling more than half the viewers for not doing her broadcast, claiming there were not enough rogue broadcasts.
For those who joined during the tournament, it merely seemed like another instance of her not giving what they wanted, which was KoK – but for those who had been watching since Lee Yena’s first broadcast, it was a question of what kind of change in heart she had experienced.
However, regardless of the perspective, the chats pointing out the title didn’t last long.
– Heeh
The laughter that followed was partly responsible, but-
『Author: CravingWarmAmericano (👑)』
『Title: Broadcast』
『Doing it
Short
Very』
There was also a notice being written with the broadcast on.
What does “very short” mean, I can’t live like this, I can’t survive with broadcasts under 10 hours, a burglar broke into our house…… such comments flooded the chat. Lee Yena, who let out another small laugh, finally opened her mouth.
“《Ah. Can you hear me well.》”
-Hmm
“《Ah, a short broadcast…… Yes. I’m planning to do it short. Because it’s morning. Isn’t it weird to broadcast for long in the morning? Like grilling pork belly in the morning.》”
Her subtle tone and the way she picked out and responded to the flowing chats made it clear to everyone that today was another day she’d be reading the chat.
For viewers, this was genuinely welcome news.
Since she started playing “The Rogue’s Return”, Lee Yena had maintained a fairly open attitude towards communication, but until recently, there were suspicions that she had turned the chats off completely.
“《What do we do today…… I don’t know. Did I start without prepping…… Yes, seems like it. Normally, I don’t do this, but today…… I just wanted to see you all. When I woke up in the morning, suddenly.》”
『ㅠㅠㅠ We missed you too, noona』
『Look at this pure soul brewing some soup, my heart’s boiling』
『Our CravingWarmAmericano can do anything she wants! You can play the ocarina if you want!』
『Your voice is melting my heart』
『Then, can you do KoK?』
-Hohoh
“《KoK…… KoK. Actually, I’ve been wanting to do it now. Because I promised to defeat the bosses. Yes. How about we finish it now.》”
Her voice, which had seemed to falter somewhere, became slightly clearer, and then the broadcast screen went dark.
The Rogue’s Return.
A simple title logo passed by, indicating they didn’t have the budget for typography, and soon a lone rogue standing in a forest atop a high hill appeared on the screen.
The cozy sanctuary by the river was nowhere to be seen.
『??? What’s this』
『Was it here yesterday?』
『Huh where is this』
『Did she broadcast more yesterday?』
『Where’d the house go』
『???』
『Mommy, where’s our home?』
『Were you kicked out of your house too?』