The following day, news of the aftermath of the 10th-anniversary update of Heroes Saga also reached Maxwell's VR room. The place was bustling with people, and Maxwell appeared busy attending to the customers.
"Still, I should greet him since I'm here."
After waiting about five minutes, it seemed like he was finishing up with the customers.
"Welcome... Oh, it's you!"
"Yeah, have this while you work."
He handed Maxwell an iced Americano he bought from a nearby cafe. Maxwell drank a third of it in one gulp, his throat seemingly parched, then he blinked and approached Ethan.
"You made it to Inven. Have you seen the video?"
"Yeah... Lily showed it to me yesterday."
"That's incredible, amazing! People were going crazy about it. And what's the deal with the pain ratio?"
"Well, it happened by chance."
"So that's why you were drenched in cold sweat yesterday. But wait, how did you manage to keep it a secret from Lily? Didn't she say anything?"
Ethan explained what happened with Lily yesterday, but he was honest with Maxwell about the fact that the 'pain' was excruciatingly intense in the game.
Listening attentively, Maxwell burst into laughter as if he found it exhilarating.
"It's a secret from Lily."
"Of course. But are you sure you'll be okay without lowering the pain ratio?"
Ethan nodded.
"Since you said you'll be fine... will you keep broadcasting then?"
"That's only natural since I made a promise with Lily. Well, I don't know if I'll become a super streamer."
"No, you will. You'll definitely make it."
"How do you know?"
"Because you're a legend."
"...Haha."
He chuckled, partly taking it as a joke, but deep down, he felt a glimmer of truth in her words.
In reality, a streamer's popularity can be influenced by various factors, including their quick wit and gaming skills. It's a natural and instinctive human tendency to be drawn to attractive and good-looking individuals, and the same holds true for the entertainment industry.
However, when Maxwell said, "You'll definitely make it," it wasn't solely because Ethan was good-looking.
Although his handsome appearance was undoubtedly a great advantage, becoming a super streamer required more than looks. There were other captivating qualities that could attract viewers and keep them engaged.
After watching the video on Inven and observing the users' reactions, Maxwell could see that Ethan possessed the potential and those additional qualities necessary to become a successful super streamer.
"Go to slot 3 and play the game, future super streamer!"
"Sure, thanks."
"Oh, and are your chat and donation functions off while streaming? I haven't watched your stream myself, so I'm not sure if it's true, but I saw on Inven that you don't interact with viewers."
Ethan was familiar with the concepts of chat and donations from watching other streamers, including the 5th-ranked wizard, Mathew Leicester. However, in Ethan's case, he hadn't intentionally disabled them; he simply didn't know they existed.
He had noticed that he had 12 viewers before starting to hunt goblins on the 4th floor of the tutorial, but he never expected to receive donations. Ethan sincerely thought these were just casual viewers, so why bother chatting?
Upon logging into the game, he noticed a landscape slightly different from the familiar vast plains of floors 1 to 4 in the tutorial. Instead, about 300 meters away, he saw a village-like area enclosed by wooden fences. A few shabby huts were scattered around, with goblins wandering inside them. Two goblins stood guard at the entrance, spears raised in a defensive posture.
"The wounds have healed."
The dagger lodged in his back, and the arrow that pierced his thigh were nowhere to be seen. Even the burnt skin from the firebolts had reverted to its original state as if the injuries had never occurred. His body felt light and rejuvenated.
"So, when you move to the next floor, the wounds heal," he speculated.
While contemplating the nature of the tutorial, a message popped up:
[Tutorial 5th Floor]
[Objective: Subdue the Goblin Stronghold]
[Remaining Monster Count for Subjugation: 50]
Ethan deduced that the area resembling a shabby village, known as the Goblin Stronghold, was home to 50 goblins. The sudden realization that he would be facing 50 goblins increased the perceived difficulty of the challenge.
Nonetheless, he wasn't fazed by it. As both Lily and Maxwell had mentioned, the tutorial was optional, and many players chose to skip it altogether. The only consequence of failure was the inability to retry the tutorial.
Although this might be considered a penalty, most players didn't find it concerning.
However, this didn't mean he would approach the game lightly. Since he had decided to play, Ethan was determined to take it seriously. After all, if he was going to do something, he believed in giving it his best effort.
Name: Yu Il-shin
Level: -
Abilities
▸ Strength
▸ Agility
▸ Stamina
Skills
▸ Combat Sense
▸ Pain Tolerance
▸ Mental Focus
▸ Fire Resistance
[Pain Tolerance]
- Type: Passive
- Effect: Reduces the damage received from enemies.
- Proficiency: E
[Mental Focus]
- Type: Passive
- Effect: Physical abilities improve as health decreases.
- Proficiency: E
[Fire Resistance]
- Type: Passive
- Effect: Reduces the damage received from fire-based attacks.
- Proficiency: C
As he progressed to the 5th floor, Ethan decided to check his abilities and skills. He had obtained a total of four skills, and some of them had even increased in proficiency. Notably, the Fire Resistance skill had advanced more than the others. However, he couldn't help but wonder why his level wasn't displayed.
Despite not seeing any level indications, Ethan knew that his abilities had indeed improved. While hunting goblins, he had received messages like 'Your strength has slightly increased,' and he could feel the difference in his physical prowess compared to when he was on the 1st floor of the tutorial.
"Well, I suppose my status is alright for now..."
Suddenly, a surprising message popped up:
[Selected for a Rapidly Rising Broadcast].
Ethan was taken aback, but he concealed his surprise and checked the broadcasting feature:
[Current Viewers: 352].
"What's going on here?"
Ethan was well aware of the automatic streaming feature in Heroes Saga. Whenever he logged into the game, his gameplay would be broadcasted on the "Streaming Today" section, allowing people to watch his stream. However, he never anticipated such a large audience so quickly.
It had only been 10 minutes since he started broadcasting.
[Current Viewers: 509]
[Current Viewers: 637]
[Current Viewers: 776]
The number of viewers was growing exponentially in real time. Ethan was aware that his gameplay had been featured on the "Heroes Saga Inven," a prominent community within the game, but he never imagined the impact would be this significant.
[Current Viewers: 1,089]
In just 30 minutes since he started broadcasting, the number of viewers had surpassed 1,000.
However, he couldn't interact with the viewers or receive messages because the chat and donation functions were disabled. 'Is this the setting I need to change?'
[Streamer Features]
[Chat: OFF]
[Donation: OFF]
Ethan changed the setting from OFF to ON, and that's when it all began.
-Oh, the chat's working!
With that one message, the chat exploded with excitement.
- Wow, he's seriously handsome.
- Hey, dude, how does it feel to become famous?
- The 5th floor of the tutorial looks so real! My heart is racing!
- I heard he's using bugs. Is that true? Will you sue the company too?
The chat was moving so fast; he couldn't keep up. Ethan decided not to respond and closed the chat window. It was overwhelming. Then, something extraordinary happened.
['Anonymous' has donated $80.]
- Say something, at least.
A lively sound effect played, and a voice message popped up.
He couldn't believe it; an $80 donation, which was equivalent to a day's wage. Although Ethan wasn't particularly money-oriented, he couldn't help but be surprised.
"Hello."
He greeted briefly and didn't look at the chat.
[Current Viewers: 1,583]
Even with 1,000 viewers earlier, the chat was already overwhelming. Now, with 1,500 viewers, he knew the chat would be even more chaotic. And to think that super streamers with over 100,000 viewers manage all this chat...
"I am Ethan Williams. I hope you'll support me from now on."
He wondered if that was enough for an introduction. Did he have more to say?
The viewers seemed eager for more interaction.
As evidence,
['Aiden Benjamin' has donated $1.]
- Why didn't you skip the tutorial?
['Ezra Nolan' has donated $1.]
- If you set the Sensory Resonance to 100%, does it not hurt?
['Grayson Young' has donated $1.]
- What is the purpose of the 5th-floor Tutorial?
A barrage of questions poured in. Along with those, there were numerous inquiries about his personal life, such as whether he had a girlfriend if he was really a civil servant, and how he got into gaming. The messages that came along with the donations were called 'Super Chat.'
Ethan silently observed the Super Chat messages without responding. Once the flurry of messages slowed down, he composed himself and finally spoke.
"First of all, I hope you understand that I'm not as talkative as other streamers. I started playing Heroes Saga at the age of 30 as a personal hobby after spending my childhood playing StarCraft in a PC cafe, and I haven't explored many other games since then."
He addressed the questions that had come in:
Q: Why didn't you skip the tutorial?
A: I believe that fundamentals are crucial in everything. So, I decided to go through the tutorial, as it lays the foundation for the game. Some viewers might not be aware that they have skipped it.
Q: If you set the Sensory Resonance to 100%, does it not hurt?
A: That's a secret.
Q: What is the purpose of Tutorial 5th floor?
A: It's said that we need to subjugate the Goblin Stronghold ahead. There are a total of 50 goblins.
As for questions about my personal life, I find it difficult to answer, and I politely declined to do so. Regarding the question about Sensory Resonance, I simply responded to Lily, 'It doesn't hurt.'
With some thoughts kept to himself, Ethan replied with a simple "It's a secret" without elaborating further.
Phew.
A message popped up after wrapping up the Q&A, indicating that two hours had passed since he logged into Heroes Saga, and the viewer count had reached 2,000.
"Now, let's focus on the game. Communication might be challenging during battles, so please understand. Enjoy watching."
Ethan respectfully bowed his head toward the invisible viewers. Taking a deep breath, he set out towards the Goblin Stronghold.