Chapter 20
Increasing Followers (5)
9.
This is insane, insane.
“Seriously, it’s unfair.”
“Why, Inseop?”
“…I’ve been playing for five years and never gotten a Unique-tier capsule. Why did you get one the moment we entered the second floor?”
“If you were jealous, you should’ve eaten a Lucky Matryoshka too.”
“Wow. Vtic is seriously pissing me off. Wow… wow…”
Our proud Lucky Matryoshka pulled off another miracle!
Hidden Quest?
What even is that?
It just exploded like fireworks, and all that was left was ashes.
Unique-tier capsule siiiiiiiiiii
How much would that sell for?
With the luck attached, probably hundreds of millions? Were there any expensive second-floor uniques?
Second floor has bound items that are really good. Even if you can’t sell them, they’re super useful. A bound unique is authentic, so its performance is way better than a replica.
What even is this guy? He can’t fail at anything and has amazing luck.
From today onward, all exclamations will be “Memen.”
Memen
The chat, which had been shocked by the magic I’d shown, was gone, replaced entirely by talk of the Unique-tier capsule.
Kind of disappointing.
I cleared the hidden quest impressively, but everyone is more focused on the capsule?
“The second-floor unique capsule is at least 100 million. Since it has luck attached… maybe even 200 million?”
“…Is this finally the moment I can buy a supercar?”
Bro! I, who used to just waste rice at home, have succeeded like this!
Yeah. A 200-million-yen capsule dropped, so of course everyone’s attention is on the capsule!
Alright. First, I need to loot the capsule quickly.
On the first-floor sauna, capsules dropped abundantly, but here, even after clearing the hidden quest, there’s only one.
If I complain about that, I’d probably get slapped.
It’s a Unique-tier, after all.
I barely held back a grin and approached the “once-troll-chief.”
Then I picked up a capsule that was emitting a dazzling light.
Alright. So that’s 200 million in…
[Congratulations! The drop rewards have been enhanced for the first-time completion of the Hidden Quest!]
[You have obtained <Unique-tier Capsule (Bound)> with unknown probability!]
[The Hidden Quest Clear achievement has been announced throughout the Abyss!]
[Title <Troll Slayer> acquired. All damage dealt to trolls increases by 15%!]
…Huh?
“Wait, this is bound?”
Bound items can’t be sold.
Doesn’t that mean it’s useless?
“Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. Siiiiii!”
Oh, seeing Inseop’s reaction, it seems it’s not useless.
After checking Inseop, it’s time to check the audience reactions.
Bound?
Don’t drive home today. Take the subway. Or better yet, walk.
If you take the subway, it’ll derail. Seriously.
Wow
Even walking, a car might fall from the sky and cause an accident?
Is this the power of Lucky Matryoshka? How is this even possible?
lolololololol not just a unique capsule, but a bound unique capsule
The reactions are hilarious.
Just watching Inseop and the viewers, you can tell.
Another jackpot.
If someone asks me whether jackpots get boring, I’ll confidently say:
Jackpots are always thrilling. The best.
But I still don’t fully understand what this <Bound> capsule really means.
I could ask the viewers, but I have my ultimate Abyss guide: Inseop.
“InGPT, explain the bound capsule.”
“Sigh. A bound capsule only drops bound items of unique grade. Unlike other bound items, unique-grade bound items are significantly stronger than other bound items with the same name.”
“Why?”
“That’s how the items are set. A bound unique is authentic, while a unique without the bound category is a replica. Uniques exist as a single item in the world.”
So, in simple terms, unique items without the bound tag are fakes, and bound unique items are real? Got it.
Makes sense.
After all, the item grade itself is unique.
A truly unique item can’t exist in multiples, right?
“Am I the first to get a unique-tier bound capsule on the second floor?”
“No way. You’re probably like the fifteenth.”
What a shame.
I thought I’d get the world-first title again.
How lucky are those who got it without a Lucky Matryoshka?
But it’s definitely a good thing.
Seeing InGPT get so excited, I could guess as much.
A jackpot from the very first quest on the second floor?
And my experience went up significantly.
[Experience needed for the next Transcendence Level: 5/100%]
Five percent.
I could really feel how much transcendence points enhance skills, and yeah, this level of boost shouldn’t come easily.
Still, it jumped by 5% in one go.
If I hunt diligently, I can strengthen it even more, right?
I might actually become stronger than in Avalon.
Can we go straight to the gacha stream?
Hurry to the Supernatural Management Department for appraisal, I’m dizzy
Please
I wonder what scam we’ll see this time
We’re going straight to part 2 stream, right?
The viewers are already getting impatient, which is fun to watch.
Let’s see…
The stream has been going on for about an hour.
“Inseop, are there more quests around here for XP?”
Since we’ve already entered, I should at least grab achievement points and transcendence XP.
After tasting transcendence points once, they feel as important as unlocking <Interest Disease>.
Inseop pondered for a moment, then nodded.
“Of course, I prepared the optimal route. The next quest takes about 20 more minutes from here.”
“Sounds good.”
As Inseop and I exchanged words, the chat reactions weren’t normal.
What are you doing?
First, we need to do the capsule gacha ;;
Now I get why you’ve been rough for 7 years
Eh, Megat is just doing as he wants
Isn’t it the streamer’s job to satisfy viewer curiosity? I want to unsubscribe.
Memen.
Ban them all, lol. The stream is only a few days old and they already try to control the streamer
Info) This stream doesn’t have a manager yet
Some demanded I go to the Supernatural Management Department for appraisal, and some shielded me.
Finally, a day came where viewers actively shared opinions.
Seven years ago, when I asked “What should I do tomorrow?” no one answered… sigh.
But that’s all love, isn’t it?
So I’ll repay it with love.
“Do you all really want to see me open the unique-tier capsule?”
Yessssss
Honestly, I do
Please
My dopamine’s already flowing, bro
Megat Megat Megat Megat
Viewers switched gears instantly.
They must be dying to feel vicarious dopamine.
The stream hasn’t even been a week yet, so time to assert some discipline.
“I don’t want to.”
Excuse me?
???
What did you say?
lolololol
lolol
“Stream ends here. Good job, guys. I’m out. Stream terminated.”
[The stream has ended.]
[Switching from <Live Streaming> mode to <Video Recording> mode!]
The stream ended instantly.
Inseop, shocked again, opened his mouth dumbfounded and said weakly:
“You’re seriously insane.”
“Inseop, this is how you assert authority.”
“…Yeah, somehow it’ll work out?”
“That’s exactly it.”
Ah, today’s stream was satisfying!
10.
After ending the stream, Inseop and I hunted hard for about four more hours.
Of course, we recorded everything.
Golems, bears, even cleared a dungeon.
With a friendly guide and an optimal route, the results were excellent.
[Experience needed for the next Transcendence Level: 21/100%]
[Achievement points left to enter the third floor: 40/200]
It was a truly fulfilling day.
I wanted to keep exploring with Inseop, but due to his stamina, we had to exit the Abyss.
“Why is a fifth-floor player so weak?”
“Normal people get exhausted after more than five hours in the Abyss.”
“Why?”
“The Abyss’ mana burdens players. Aren’t you tired?”
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah, because you… well, you’re not exactly normal.”
Did I push Inseop too hard?
Feeling a bit guilty.
I took out five mid-level magic stones from my inventory and handed them to him.
Thanks to his efficient routing, we collected plenty of stones.
No additional capsules dropped, but mid-level second-floor stones are 700,000 each.
We got 50 low-level stones and 10 mid-level stones, so that’s a solid haul.
“Thanks for guiding today. Sorry we only did an hour of co-op?”
“No need to apologize. By tomorrow, shorts stitched from our videos will already be circulating. And you didn’t have to give me this, bro.”
“If you give it, I take it.”
“You’re still bossy as ever.”
Inseop chuckled and collected the stones I handed him.
He doesn’t need the money, but he understands human sentiment.
Ring-ring!
The moment we left the Abyss, my phone rang.
It was our editor, Taeo.
Since we agreed on a brotherly rapport, I answered casually.
“Hello?”
Ah, bro. Are you… busy?
“I just got out of the Abyss. What’s up?”I had a good idea. You mentioned wanting to activate the membership… so I thought about it myself.
That’s why a team is necessary.
While I’m destroying the Abyss without thinking, talented people proactively bring ideas.
Taeo’s enthusiasm was impressive.
Before entering, I had also mentioned membership content.
The second goal of the unique trait <Interest Disease> requires 10,000 membership subscribers.
10,000 members. Out of 100 subscribers, only 1 becomes a member—harder than reaching a million subscribers.
“Taeo works too hard, doesn’t he? He could take it easy a bit.”
I was watching the live stream too.
“Professionalism at its finest. Monitoring while editing? Bonus time.”N-no need…
“Passion comes from money.”
Back when I had part-time jobs, I hated the sense of ownership expectation.
You can’t expect dedication without paying adequately.
People work according to what they’re given.
“What’s your good idea?”
I saw the bound unique capsule. I thought… making a gacha video of that… released first for members… wouldn’t that be great?
“Bam.”
I had to nod.
How could he think exactly like me?
My trust in Taeo skyrocketed.
If it’s not good…
“Go ahead. I’ll handle it. Later, you can shoot the gacha video at the Supernatural Management Department. I didn’t want to do a live gacha myself anyway.”
The second stream was a gacha.
If the fourth stream is also gacha, it’s too repetitive.
Some cooldown is necessary; too much repetition gets boring.
Same with other content, too.
Thanks for listening.
“I really am lucky. Taeo, if you have a good idea, tell me immediately.”Yes, yes! I’ll finish my work first then!
“Good work.”
Click.
An editor with ownership… truly mythical.
But who would hurt such a valuable person?
“Inseop.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you know who worked with Taeo before?”
“Yeah, there’s one guy with a bad rep. 9 million subscribers, mistreats staff, pretty famous around here.”
“That guy has 9 million subscribers?”
“Handsome… and one of the rare sixth-floor players.”
“Send me his channel later.”
“What for?”
“Good to know.”
Maybe one day, I’ll need to give him a lesson for Taeo.
Inseop shrugged and nodded.
“Also, bro. From now on, we need to be careful. They’ll know you can do both magic and melee. Some scouts will go wild, and some are shady.”
Inseop genuinely worried about me.
Good kid.
But one clarification is needed.
“Bro, that’s not a dual trait.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, never mind. I do have two traits, but it’s a long story… let’s talk at the hangover soup place. Makes me crave soju thinking about the old days.”
“Bro, it’s still daytime.”
“I’ll be the only one drinking.”
After finishing the Abyss, soup and soju are a must.
I should also share the seven-year story with Inseop.
“I’m hungry. Let’s go.”
“Sigh.”
“I’ll pay… hmm?”
“What’s up?”
“Ah, nothing.”
I glanced back and smiled.
Indeed, Inseop is right.
Apparently, I am…
[Passive Skill <Intuition> activated.]
[Someone is watching you.]
I might have really become a person to watch out for.
