DCRBG 11

Chapter 11

First Broadcast (4)

7.

It was time for the fun part—claiming my rewards.

Leaving the chat, still burning with excitement, behind me, I walked forward with purpose.

Viewers could stay confused all they wanted—rewards were rewards. You can’t just skip those, right?

The Room of Rewards was instantly recognizable.

Inside the massive cavern stood a single golden door, glowing more brightly than anything else.

When I pushed it open and went inside—

“Oh. So dungeon rewards work like this?”

In the middle of a small room—maybe about 30 square meters—were four neatly arranged chests.

So that’s why the boss had vanished so easily.
Looks like this is where I get the loot.

• Four chests, huh.
• I’m a player, and just got a pop-up saying the Labyrinth of Leeches world record was broken.
• How long has it been since a Korean broke an Abyss record?
• Since he broke the record, there are 2 extra rewards. Normally there are only 2 chests.
• Damn.
• Proof delivered.
• Megod. Megod. Megod. Megod. Megod.
• LOL all the “it’s faked” guys need to come clean now.

“Let’s see what we’ve got.”

Excited, I reached for the leftmost chest.

Sure, I had no luck in real life—but in games, I often scored rare loot.
The Abyss felt game-like enough that I might just hit the jackpot here too.

Whirrrr—!

The chest glowed brightly, and out popped… a single dark-looking ring.

[You have obtained a Magic-grade item: .]

It looked like it had just been dipped in dark magic and yanked back out again.

“Is this… any good?”

• Wow…
• Wooooow… even if something drops, it’s that?
• Talk about bad luck.
• LOL that ring’s actual trash. Can’t even sell for more than a million won at the auction house.
• It’s just fodder material to melt down for dark-magic essence. Lowest-value item in the Leech Sauna, for real.
• Guess your gacha skills suck.

Judging by chat, the first chest was a dud.

Still, even a million won is nothing to complain about. It’s not like money grows on trees.

“Shame, but let’s move on to the next chest.”

If the first one was trash, surely the second one would shine.

I opened it with high hopes—and instantly a different kind of brilliance burst out.

[You have obtained a Special Reward: !]

• Ohhh
• Ohhhhhh!
• That gives 20 achievement points!
• Pretty rare drop.
• But it’s bound to the player LOL
• Still a good pull though.
• Helps you clear Floor 2 faster.
• Wait, wasn’t he supposed to be a Floor 1 player? Then it’s useless?
• You believe that crap? How could a guy who turned a deathtrap into a sauna still be on Floor 1? He’s totally scamming viewers.

So it was a crystal that eased the requirements to reach Floor 2.

Very nice reward for me.
Sure, it couldn’t be sold, which was a pity—but chat was right: Floor 1 had been way too easy.

Anything that sped up my climb to Floor 2 was more than welcome.

Some still doubted me, but I had plans for that.

“…Still, feels a bit stingy, doesn’t it?”

A crystal was nice, but… someone just risked their life clearing the dungeon, and all I had to show for it was a cheap ring and this?

Ridiculous. Wasn’t I supposed to be “Blessed by Fortune”?

Hmm. Maybe not.

After all, I’d nearly died multiple times since getting dragged to another world.
In real life, I’d been unlucky enough to be infamous for it.

And now that rotten luck carried into the Abyss? Totally unfair.

Fine. Time for the one method I knew.

“Let’s open the last two at once.”

If I opened both remaining chests simultaneously, at least one had to be good, right?

Come on… odds-wise, at least one out of four should hit….

Flaaaash!
Flaaaash!

Brilliant light burst out of both chests at once!

“They… they both hit?!”

I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking.

And sure enough—

• Wow.
• WOW.
• Capsules!!
• LOL TWO rare capsules at once?!
• What are the odds?!

…This was huge.
The way chat was going absolutely insane made it obvious.

Moments later, a dazzling message appeared before my eyes:

[Congratulations! You have obtained a Rare-grade Capsule with a 1% drop rate.]
[Congratulations! You have obtained a Rare-grade Capsule with a 1% drop rate.]

Hell yeah, that’s what I’m talking about!

Two fist-sized, golden-glowing objects floated before me.

But… how do you even use these things?

More importantly—first, I needed to confirm with chat.

“Hey folks, is this good? Maybe it’s because I donated blood the other day, haha. You should all donate too, seriously.”

• LOL streamer doing a PSA.
• Nah, it sucks. Just toss them.
• Congrats congrats congrats congrats!
• Some guys really are born lucky.
• What are the odds? Two 1% drops at once?!
• We’re making a raid party for the Leech Labyrinth right now. This makes no sense.

Judging by the madness in chat, yeah—it really was that good.

But why? They were just capsules the size of my fist.

Wait. How do I check their info again?

[Rare-grade Capsule]

• Grade: Rare
• Description: Guarantees a Rare-grade item. Must be opened by someone with an Appraisal-related trait.

Got it. So basically a gacha capsule.

Damn Abyss, even the chests were gacha, and then they add more gacha inside? Brutal.

Could still end up with trash….

• You could sell those for 20 million won each.
• And that’s why everyone risks their life going into the Abyss.
• Total jackpot.
• If I were you, I’d sell them as-is.
• You got the fun and the money. That dungeon’s practically a generous spa.
• Is this what you meant by “the Giving Tree meta”?
• Careful though, some rare items aren’t worth even 10 mil.

“Wait… these tiny things are worth 20 mil each? But hey—where do I even get them appraised?”

• Appraisal specialists.
• The Paranormal Ability Management Bureau does it for free.
• Just go there.
• They’ll even buy capsules directly.

So yeah—it was official. This was massive.

From my very first dive into the Abyss, I’d already struck it rich. I was set.

But then a thought popped into my head.

Wouldn’t it be boring, as a streamer, to just sell these outright?

I mean, back in the day, all those YouTubers playing gacha games—their biggest content was opening the gacha.

And here was content walking right up to me. What kind of fool wouldn’t open them live?

Money wasn’t urgent anyway. What mattered most right now was subscribers.

Alright. Decision made.

“How about I do a capsule-opening stream next time?”

• Just do it today!
• Please!
• Pleeeease!
• Are you going straight to the Bureau now??

The moment I brought it up, chat went crazy.

Viewer count: 7,000.

Seven thousand for a first stream? Unreal.

But greed ruins everything.
As the saying goes: Leave while they’re still clapping.

Best to let them stew in anticipation, so they’d definitely come back for the second stream.

“That’s it for today’s broadcast.”

The moment I started wrapping up, viewers exploded.

• ?????
• OPEN THEM FIRST!
• [CleanBot has detected inappropriate language]
• I just joined, why are you ending??
• No way.
• Open the capsules already!

No way was I opening them today.

Oh—and I had one last bomb to drop.

“Since I reeled in a big one today, let’s do a subscriber event. The prize will be one of the items from these capsules. Want to know what’s inside? Subscribe, and I’ll announce it tomorrow morning.”

• A subscriber giveaway??
• You’re giving away something worth at least 10 million??
• What are you, a Middle Eastern prince?
• Megod… operating on another level as always.
• Megod.

The world’s biggest YouTubers often did this kind of giveaway.

And I’d follow suit.

Subscribers were alpha and omega. With all this loot, why hold back?

In life, you get what you invest.

So I threw my bomb at the viewers—

“Oh, right. From the next broadcast, I’ll just talk casually. Later, bros.”

[Broadcast Ended]

No hesitation. Stream over.

Meteor’s first broadcast—
A smashing success.

8.

When I left for the Abyss in the morning, my hands were empty.
But when I came home, they weren’t.

“Bitna noona, Ian! I’m back!”

I walked in carrying armfuls of Grade 1++ premium Korean beef ribeye.

Gone was the penniless Sungwoo who’d had to go begging at the police station the day he returned.

I’d earned it. With such hard work, surely I deserved to indulge in some luxury for one day.

“Unc!”
“Whoa, Ian—what’s your uncle doing home at this hour?”
“Bitna had a reporting assignment. And I don’t have court today.”
“Tut.”

No warm, gentle Bitna this time—just my gloomy older brother waiting for me.

He eyed the beef I brought and sighed.

“So that’s why. I got a text about a big card charge.”

“I cleared a lot of missions today, you know. Made good money too. Don’t worry, boss, I’ll transfer it as soon as settlement clears.”

“I saw. But did you really need to do it that dangerously? You could’ve just done it the way you handled the Red Drake.”

Here came the nagging.

By now I was used to it—so I let it wash in one ear and out the other.

“Unc! Meat!”
“Ian likes meat?”
“Mhm!”
“Just like your dad. Uncle will grill some up for you later, okay?”

After ruffling Ian’s hair, I glanced around.

“Hey, what are those boxes? You order something?”

“Delivery from the Paranormal Bureau. Flowers and fruit baskets. Congrats on the first broadcast, I guess.”

“Wow. Public servants really going the extra mile, huh?”

I stashed the beef in the fridge, downed a cold glass of water, then sat on the sofa, satisfied.

What a productive day.

“Sungwoo.”

My brother sat beside me, Ian in his arms.

“Yeah?”

“You met someone from the Bureau, right?”

“Yeah, got his card too. Deputy Director Choi Sunghoon. You know him?”

“Deputy Choi… They’re serious about you. He’s got a strong standing there, close to the minister himself.”

No wonder the guy had been so sharp. Definitely seemed competent.

“By the way, bro, doesn’t your work often clash with the Bureau?”

“Most of my admin lawsuits are tied to them, yeah.”

“So should I… not get too close?”

Last thing I wanted was to cause trouble for my brother, after being gone for seven years.

But he firmly shook his head.

“Clashing doesn’t mean I dislike them. They’re doing their job, I’m doing mine. What matters more is your path, not mine. Planning to set up a meeting?”

“No need to antagonize them, right? I have to visit anyway to register as a player. And now I’ve got another reason.”

I needed to get my fresh gacha capsules appraised.

Might as well take care of registration and paperwork in one go. Save myself some trips.

“If they’re being this proactive, they definitely like you. The Bureau’s pretty desperate these days. So… thinking of signing a direct contract?”

“Not really tempting yet. Only day two since I got back, and I barely know anything.”

It felt good having someone to talk over future plans with.

“I heard a few Korean prospects already switched nationality. Timing’s in your favor.”

The more desperate they were, the better for me.
And that fed nicely into my career path too.

From browsing online, I’d noticed a gloomy trend: ever since young talents had gone abroad, defeatism was spreading.

Even the media was piling on with headlines like ‘Korea in Decline?’ and ‘Is Our Nation in Danger?’

“Hehe. Unc! Apple!”

Ian handed me an apple with his tiny hands. I bit into it happily.

How could a country with such an adorable nephew ever collapse? In danger? No way.

I wasn’t about to let that happen.

I knew exactly what people needed right now.

“Now’s the time for some good old national pride.”

The more content, the better.

Patriotism? That never fails.

So yeah—

“I’m visiting the Bureau tomorrow.”

No point in delaying.

I smiled down at my phone.

Oh? My debut stream was already making headlines.

[Breaking] Famous Floor 1 Dungeon , Korean Player Sets New Solo Record!
[Full Run Streamed Live on MeTube.]
[Video) Meteor: ‘This Place is a Sauna.’]
[Who is Meteor?]
[Paranormal Bureau Spokesperson: ‘Still Investigating,’ Admits Its Own Limitations?]
[New MeTuber Meteor: ‘I’ll Do a Subscriber Giveaway with Rare Capsules!’]

Most were low-tier internet news sites just copying each other, but it was enough.

[Unique Trait ’s First Goal Progression Rapidly Accelerates.]

Burn bright, baby!