Chapter 11
“Enemy! An enemy has infiltrated!”
An NPC, who patrolled in a set pattern, grabbed the alpaca’s tail.
‘Damn it. It’s too crowded.’
The alpaca immediately used smoke and clone skills to disperse the aggro and clung to the outer wall of the second-floor audience section.
‘My stamina has to hold out.’
Every time he did parkour, his stamina would deplete.
He could have saved it by using wires, adhesives, or other tools, but the alpaca was currently taking on the challenge of assassinating bare-handed.
‘If I fall, they’ll swarm and catch me. If I go up, the NPCs are still on alert. If I stay in one place too long, the mob on the first floor will find me. Which skill should I use…’
He quickly racked his brain based on the experience he had built up over about a week.
But such worries were in vain.
“Ha ha ha ha ha!”
A burst of maniacal laughter echoed, and he heard something slicing through the air.
Swish!
The alpaca turned around while hanging. Reflexively, he closed his eyes tightly at the fast-approaching object.
A blade embedded itself right between his brows, and he fell from the second-floor audience section where he was hanging.
Thud.
“Ahhh! I failed again!”
He was ruined.
Every time he died, his reputation dropped, and now to buy information from the guild, he had to grind repetitively to restore his reputation.
Otherwise, he had to do another tedious task like a side quest.
Both were equally troublesome.
He needed to handle Drake somehow with the reputation he had gathered naturally by assassinating other NPCs.
-You’re so bad, just quit the game, lol.
-Do the grind.
-Give up on going bare-handed.
The viewers, who were happier than anyone about his failure.
‘Evil, truly evil.’
He wondered if they really enjoyed it that much.
He thought his stream wasn’t one that gathered the worst kinds of people, but he knew from his years of streaming experience.
Most viewers had a bit of malice in their hearts.
[‘○○’ donated 1,000 won!]
[There’s a new route to get Drake’s location in the community. Check it out.]
“Oh? Thank you for the 1,000 won donation!”
Right.
These viewers gave him strength!
‘No, no.’
When he actually checked, there would usually be poorly edited pictures of a real alpaca caught on a fishing line.
‘But knowing and still falling for it is the streamer’s fate.’
The alpaca paused the game and went back to the lobby.
A vast alpine meadow spread out, and the alpaca sat on a hay-shaped chair.
The entire background was a custom gift made by fans.
‘At first, I thought they were messing with me.’
The chair was much more comfortable than expected, and the scenery was pleasant.
In the end, considering the fan’s effort, he set this meadow as his default background.
Baaa! Baaa!
As he sat on the hay chair, the alpaca, which always resided in the lobby, approached him. Its name was Daebak.
With its white fur and perpetually displeased but cute face, it was a highlight of his stream.
Spit!
When Daebak spat, the alpaca turned his head to the side.
“Ugh!”
Even though he knew it was just graphics, his reflexive reaction was to dodge.
-Daebak is here!
-When will you ever get used to it? LOL
一人一
. -ㅇ- ((Spit!)
‘Did they really have to include the spitting animation?’
Even loyal fans who created high-quality lobbies would include one annoying element because that’s what viewers do.
Baaa!
Ignoring Daebak as it nibbled on the hay he was sitting on, he opened the internet.
“What should I search? Should I check the information board?”
-Check the trending posts.
-Debate board.
-News and incidents board.
-Free board.
-Tips and tricks board.
These guys.
Who could he blame?
It was his fault for asking the viewers.
“Let’s see. Here it is.”
[Summary of New Route to Find Drake’s Location]
In the video, someone was extracting information from an NPC in a unique, no, very unique way.
“Wow! So there’s a method like this. Who was kind enough to share this?”
The alpaca, who knew a bit about parrying, smiled as his expression relaxed. He didn’t have to do the tedious reputation grind.
“By the way, the person who discovered this, and the developers who hid this route, are truly amazing. Don’t you think?”
-True.
-Wow.
-The completeness of an open world comes from the detail of its freedom.
-This game is a masterpiece!
With the burden of Drake’s base location lifted, the alpaca began to count how many more attempts he could make during today’s stream.
Then, a long donation message appeared.
[‘ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ’ donated 10,000 won generously!]
[Is this really the time to be impressed? LOL]
The donation message was packed to the character limit.
A voice chat followed.
[‘Some idiot’ donated 10,000 won generously!]
[???: If you succeed, I’ll become that person’s disciple, learn from them, and beat Drake effortlessly!]
Huh?
“Someone already did it? No way. No matter how much you guys say, I won’t fall for it.”
Even in virtual reality, the alpaca felt a chill down his back.
Anxiety.
Suddenly, he remembered that Etorre was captured yesterday. No way. How did I not think of this earlier?
As he was berating himself, more and more people in the chat began to laugh.
People who said nothing but typed ‘ㅋㅋㅋ.’
Given his viewers’ notorious inability to unify, there was only one time they laughed together.
‘When I’m having a hard time.’
Just then, another post with 30 recommendations appeared above the one he had opened.
[First Drake Solo Clear.]
“Wow, seriously? Did you manipulate the recommendations to trick me? I told you, I’m not falling for it. You guys are really something.”
Gulp.
Although he verbally denied it, his hand slowly moved towards the post.
And the truth was revealed.
A man holding a pipe was effortlessly beating Drake.
Really effortlessly.
At first, he thought:
‘Huh? This might be doable? Maybe I can clear it?’
But right at that moment, the man on the screen parried a sword, tilted his head slightly to dodge a chain coming from behind without even looking back.
Any sense of relief disappeared, and the sequence of events forced him to face reality.
‘I’m screwed.’
He couldn’t replicate that.
He already struggled with assassinations, let alone a solo clear.
So.
“That video looks edited. Right? There’s no way a person can do that. Right? Agree with me, guys. Please?”
Lol
He began to deny the video.
-No way, lol
-He’s rambling, lol
-Alpaca started denying reality, lolololol
-Blackmail on
-Streamer exposed. Everything comes out during travel
Of course, his denial was futile.
“Oh, this is the streamer who solo cleared Etorre.”
He started to change the subject.
-??? Etorre got captured?
-??
-Alpaca got beaten by Etorre for 10 hours on the first day of open beta trying for a first clear. Now someone actually beat it.
-How did they do it????
His viewers knew how difficult it was to capture Etorre because of his failed attempt a week ago.
Suddenly, the viewers’ interest shifted to how Etorre was captured, and Alpaca thought it was a good topic change.
[‘Here’s How to Capture Etorre’ donated 10,000 won generously! – travel clip]
A perfectly timed video donation played.
A streamer named Jin Seo-joon wielded a flail, demonstrating his skills.
Even Alpaca, who had seen it before, was once again impressed.
How much would he have to practice to achieve that?
Smooth, yet flexible and controlled movements.
-Wow! As expected of the nameless hero.
-Whoa, that’s insane.
-So different from someone else.
-Hahahahaha
-Is this what it takes to solo clear?
-What’s the streamer’s name?
Even new viewers were amazed.
“And the more amazing thing is, he’s only been playing for two days. When I found out, I was completely shocked.”
-?? He’s insanely talented.
-Is he some kind of intangible cultural asset in real life?
-He’s not a Choi.
-We know that, but you still have to clear it.
Alpaca’s eyes shook like a sailor facing a fierce storm as he read the chat.
He could hear a condescending voice from the sky saying, ‘Do you really think you can do it?’
Once again, voice chat turned on.
[‘Some idiot’ donated 10,000 won generously!]
[???: If you succeed, I’ll become that person’s disciple, learn from them, and solo clear Drake!]
“Sigh…”
Alpaca let out a deep sigh that seemed to sink the ground. Changing the subject was pointless.
He deeply regretted his reckless past self.
‘Maybe if I stream for three days straight, they’ll cut me some slack…’
Catching Drake to end the stream wasn’t even a consideration.
With a tearful face, Alpaca saw the title of the next post and shouted for no reason.
[Raise your hooves if you’re an Alpaca trembling because Drake got captured, lol]
“Hey! If I had hooves, would I be wearing shoes? You fools! Stop recommending posts like that. I’m already upset.”
-Hahahahaha
-Alpaca hooves, lol
-Who wrote that? Well done.
-Hahahaha
一人一
[Upvote if you think the handsome Alpaca reading the forum is awesome.]
Now that’s more like it.
Alpaca sneakily entered the post and upvoted it.
-Traitor!
-Get rid of the traitor!
-Where’s the manager?
Consistent as always.
Alpaca took a deep breath and declared his surrender.
“Well, a promise is a promise.”
If he collapsed while streaming, his viewers would understand.
-Nice!
-Cool, Alpaca!
-Is the next stream title going to be a New Year’s waiting room?
-Get into the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest stream, lol
-Who wants to bet whether a new Assassin’s Creed game comes out first or Alpaca finishes this?
-He basically declared he’ll stream until he dies in this life.
Right?
Alpaca glared at his viewers.
On another note, he thought it would be fun to collaborate with the streamer.
-It would be fun to have that streamer on the show.
-I just checked the forum, and he’s really good.
As if they read his mind, similar messages popped up.
However.
“First, don’t mention me if you go to his stream. It’s rude.”
He needed to give a clear and firm warning about these matters.
-Yes
-ㅇㅇ
The fact that he’s a streamer with only two days of experience worried him.
He probably hadn’t collaborated before, and seeing how smoothly things were going, it could end up being a disturbance. He might feel pressured.
‘Hmm’
As Alpaca was contemplating, a Travel notification popped up.
He checked it and his eyes widened in surprise.
“For now, I’ll end the stream here.”
He admits it today.
-The next stream will never end, so getting mad about this is heartless, lol.
-Lol, exactly.
“Thank you for watching.”
[The stream has ended.]
That day, a collaboration announcement was posted on Alpaca’s fan café.
Meanwhile.
At the headquarters of MovieSoft, which oversees more than ten subsidiaries worldwide.
Someone burst into the office of Yves Faïmaux, the president of MovieSoft Korea, the studio behind the development of “Assassin’s Dawn: Shadows in the City.”
“President, we have a big problem.”
“What is it?”
Yves Faïmaux turned his chair to see who had just entered.
It was Kim Yoon-chan, a highly optimistic subordinate.
“The boss has been defeated, President.”
“Solo-cleared.”
Yves Faïmaux, sensing a complicated issue, asked for more details.
“Who?”
“Drake.”
“Then it doesn’t matter. It’s about time he got defeated. Isn’t he the weakest?”
Yves Faïmaux’s serious expression relaxed.
“But if people start getting curious about the Order Shards…”
Yves Faïmaux cut him off.
“Enough. It’s unnecessary worry. Even if all the Order Shards are collected, it would disrupt our plans. But you’re the one who designed the mechanism to prevent that from happening, right? So why are you worried?”
Order Shards can be obtained every time a boss is solo-cleared.
One boss, however, cannot be defeated by skill alone and requires the use of a specific ability.
They designed it to take players a considerable amount of time to unlock this ability, so there’s no immediate need to worry.
“I understand, but you never know what might happen. Moreover, that person was a streamer. They just cleared it on stream. Just walked right through.”
“You optimist.”
“I have a hunch.”
“Quiet and get back to work. Wait… just now? So you were watching streams during work hours?”
“Oops, I’d better get going.”
The next day.
“What are you doing?”
“Just looking up information on game skills.”
Tae-woo shook his head in disbelief as he saw Seo-joon browsing the community while sitting next to him in the taxi.
“Don’t get too caught up in that.”
“I need to double-check things for the collaboration. So be quiet.”
They didn’t have much time to discuss due to the sudden collaboration, but they had at least agreed on how to conduct it.
“Why are you even coming along, Tae-woo?”
“I also wanted to see that guy after a long time.”
“What about your stream?”
“I’ll just go to a nearby capsule room and stream from there. It works fine.”
*Sigh.*
Seo-joon sighed deeply.
The composure of a veteran streamer shone through.
“We’ve arrived.”
The taxi driver announced their arrival, and they paid the fare and stepped out.
“Follow me. I’ve been here a few times.”
“Sure, but why did you meet him before?”
“He used to have a new talent discovery segment. That’s when we met. Though I was a four-year streamer and you were only three days in. Damn.”
Despite his words, Tae-woo didn’t seem genuinely envious or self-pitying.
Tae-woo had also endured a tough period and eventually succeeded.
Comparing oneself to others was meaningless; he knew focusing on oneself was what mattered.
After wandering for about 30 minutes, they finally reached their destination.
“I thought you said you’ve been here before.”
Seo-joon shook his head in disbelief and rang the doorbell.
Ding-dong.
After a while, the door opened, and someone came out.
