Chapter 17
Ever-Growing Followers (2)
3.
The next morning dawned.
Today feels like it’s going to be another wonderful day.
Why, you ask?
Because before leaving the house, my Ian gave me a kiss.
“Uncle, fighting!”
Ah… after receiving a kiss from my adorable nephew, how could work possibly go wrong today?
I heard that Binna noona and Ian are going on a picnic with some neighborhood friends. Honestly, I kind of want to go too.
…Maybe if the broadcast ends early, I’ll make a surprise visit.
“Hyung.”
“You got here first?”
The Abyss Gate in western Seoul—by now, I’m really used to it.
True to his reputation as the embodiment of diligence, Inseop had already arrived before me today.
It was different from the first time we met.
No cameramen, no directors—just Inseop, all alone.
“Did you eat?”
“Had a sandwich. You?”
“Hangover soup.”
“In the morning?”
“There’s a hangover-soup restaurant right in front of the Abyss Gate. It’s a real hidden gem. The broth’s thick, the meat is generous—it’s perfect. I had five bowls.”
Of all the foods I missed most while in Avalon, hangover soup topped the list.
The day after me and my party members downed ridiculous amounts of liquor, I craved that soup so much.
“Yeah, that place is good. Just a little pricey.”
“Everything’s expensive these days.”
“Well, it’s near the Abyss Gate, right? Most shop owners avoid opening there. That guy’s a player himself. If you eat there, I bet you even get buffs.”
What a bizarre world.
Even the owner of a soup shop is a player.
A culinary-type player, maybe?
That explains why, after finishing five bowls, a message window popped up.
[You feel <Satiety>. For 4 hours, all physical stats increase by +5.]
Delicious and gives stat boosts.
I’ll pack a few more bowls to take home later.
“You’re streaming today too, right?”
“Nah. Just filming some footage. I already posted a notice that I’d be guesting on your broadcast.”
“Really?”
“Come on. Today’s your show. When I push someone, I push hard.”
This is why I like Inseop.
Lately, he’s been focusing more on creating content for his channel rather than doing live broadcasts.
Hmm.
Well, Taeo will upload mine anyway.
When I sent him the footage of me wrecking the first floor, he loved it. Said he’ll edit and upload it within this week.
“But is the second floor that much harder than the first?”
“The difficulty jump is huge. Usually, people stay on the first floor for about two months before moving up. You need to level up a lot, and get your gear set up.”
“Sounds like a video game.”
“Pretty much. Strategies up to the fourth floor are already standardized. Routes are optimized for XP and achievement points.”
In short, fully optimized.
I nodded, and Inseop chuckled.
“Foreign players are more carefree, but Koreans… well, you know.”
“A nation obsessed with efficiency.”
“Exactly. That’s why Koreans usually speedrun to the fourth floor.”
No kidding—calling us the nation of optimization wouldn’t be wrong.
We absolutely hate losses.
Naturally, today’s guide is Inseop. He’s going to walk me through the standard second-floor route.
And since I’ve got Korean blood in me, of course I want to go full efficiency mode.
That way I can climb higher faster… and get famous even faster.
Oh, of course.
“…Isn’t that him? Meteor?”
“Yeah.”
“And the guy next to him—that’s Inseop, right?”
“Wow. Do you think he’ll let me take a picture?”
Compared to day one, I’ve gotten much more popular.
Several players waiting to enter the Abyss were whispering about me.
I even saw some reporters stationed along the way.
“Today’s first quest is the standard second-floor quest: Troll Canyon. The byproducts sell high, plus the XP and achievement points are insane.”
“Trolls, huh. So the Abyss has them too.”
“You’ve seen trolls before?”
“You could say that.”
Avalon had trolls as well.
Highly intelligent, shamanistic, tribal demi-humans.
Their absurd regeneration was their defining trait.
Maybe it’s the same here?
“Second-floor trolls use axes or spears. Third floor introduces shaman trolls.”
“Guess the Abyss creator was lacking imagination.”
“They’re easy if you know the strategy. I even brought the right gear today.”
Inseop pulled out a gauntlet from his inventory.
It radiated heat—enchanted with fire magic, no doubt.
“Trolls have crazy physical resistance and regen. That’s why people usually use fire magic or fire-related items. Shamans are a different story, but for second-floor trolls this is perfect.”
“Come to think of it, I never asked about your class.”
“Combat type. Sword specialization. My trait is <Phantasmal Blade>, lets me apply debuffs through swordsmanship.”
“Really?”
I’ll have to teach him a bit of swordsmanship later.
Though I look like this, I know my way around a blade.
I waved off the gauntlet he tried to hand me.
“I’ll pass.”
“This would make things way easier, though.”
“If you smash a troll’s head, they can’t regenerate. Trust me, I’ve done it plenty of times.”
“…What the hell did you even do for those seven years?”
“Don’t ask. Ugh. Anyway, I don’t need it.”
It’s true—trolls die if you destroy the head.
Unless you’re fighting something like a Twin-Headed Troll, once the head pops, it’s over.
But that aside, today I wanted to try a different broadcast approach.
I’d seen this post on a community board:
[Title: Let’s Analyze Meteor’s Powers]
Contents: He’s definitely combat type, probably martial arts class. Likely has a hidden trait that massively boosts physical stats. Bottom line:
He’s just some meathead relying on brute strength. He’ll get himself killed sooner or later.
Upvoted
Same here
For real, martial players always die fast lol
You can tell just from his footage
Plenty of people were convinced I was martial class.
Back during my first Abyss entry, I had been borrowing skills from Jerach, so technically that wasn’t wrong.
But today was different.
My seal release had reached 15%.
[Unique Trait <Skill Archive – Velua> is active.]
[You can now use <Tower Master of Madness – Velua>’s 2nd Circle magic!]
Velua’s second-circle spells were unlocked.
The first circle wasn’t really combat-oriented.
But from the second circle onward, the title “Tower Master of Madness” became terrifyingly apt—tons of brutal battle magic.
So today’s broadcast title was this:
[Broadcast Starting…]
[Title: Record Holder for Fastest Second-Floor Entry in the World. Today’s Goal: <Breaking Trolls Without Throwing a Punch>]
Time to put on a spectacular show.
And no, it’s not because I was salty about being called a dumb musclehead martial player.
Absolutely not.
4.
With the second-floor entry rights unlocked, I now had a choice:
First floor or second.
I chose the second.
[<Floor 2 – Foul Swamp (Seoul West Starting Point, Republic of Korea)>]
[Player <Meteor>, welcome to your entry.]
[<The Scales> continue to watch you.]
The scenery was nothing like the first-floor starting point.
Oppressive humidity, insects buzzing in the air.
The second floor was unpleasant from the start.
“West Seoul’s starting point is notorious worldwide. That’s why most people enter the second floor from the East Gate instead.”
“So each gate has a completely different starting area?”
“Exactly.”
As expected, Inseop knew everything.
I flicked a fly away and glanced at the filming drone.
“Hey guys, it’s me.”
Meteor hi
Meteor hi
Is it true you entered the 2nd floor?
Why did you skip grinding????????
lolololol no way he actually did that
We told you to stream or else we’d die lol
What a man. Skipped 1st floor broadcast ‘cause it was boring
The chat exploded.
Maybe because Inseop had announced the collab, the viewer count skyrocketed even faster than last time.
Five thousand in an instant? Must’ve been people waiting.
“The first-floor advancement video is being edited right now. Should be uploaded this week. Sorry for not streaming it, but honestly, the first floor was boring as hell. Anyway, today we’ve got a guest. Inseop, say hi.”
“Hello, everyone. Abyss experience stream? I’m Inseop.”
They really seem close
Has Inseop ever collabed this often before?
Twice in one week? That’s rare
Heard they used to be small-time streamers together lol even collabed in a basement room
Any old videos?
Yep. They looked so young back then
Public opinion clearly favored him.
And as soon as he appeared, the donations poured in.
[<DeepSeaExplorer> donated ₩100,000!]
Love the chemistry between you two
[<Meteor♥Inseop> donated ₩100,000!]
Wishing you a beautiful love ♥
[<AbilityManagementDept_Official> donated ₩100,000!]
Congratulations to Player Meteor for reaching the 2nd floor! A true pride of Korea!
LMAO that’s really the Ability Management Department
Doesn’t this count as government backing?
Never seen an agency donate to a personal stream before
Donations raining in from the start
As expected of MetGod
The GOAT is back. Is the Messi bloodline reborn?
Well, that’s nice.
With all these donations, I had to give them a proper reaction.
“Thank you, thank you, bosses!”
In high spirits, I did three mid-air flips above Inseop’s head.
The circus just went out of business.
This was Meteor’s trademark reaction—the Meteor Circus.
This streamer does this for your money
Voted most insane player broadcast
But seriously, is that pure muscle power? Or is his trait jump-related?
Lol his reactions are god-tier
Look at Inseop’s face, he’s already ascended
Oh right—why am I reacting so hard?
Because of the second objective that appeared after I reached 100k subscribers.
[Condition for Second Unlock: Reach 1,000,000 subscribers and 10,000+ membership subscribers.]
So it’s not just about total subs, but also paid memberships—those who regularly pay to support my channel.
And to get those, you need trust.
A streamer who always delivers when supported.
That’s the image I need to build for the second unlock.
So reactions like this are only natural.
“Alright guys, today we’re hunting trolls. Inseop even planned the route. Right, Inseop?”
“…Yeah. Everyone, today we’re off to Troll Canyon with your neighborhood idiot. You all know the place.”
Troll Canyon
The classic 2nd-floor starter course
People grind it multiple times ‘cause the XP is so good
Abyss newbies go to Intube
Did you bring fire or poison gear? Trolls are walls against physical attacks. Meteor, aren’t you martial class?
Lots of “experts.”
Which only proves how common Abyss streams are.
So, with chat buzzing, we headed straight to Troll Canyon.
“As today’s title says, I won’t be using my fists. To be exact, I won’t be fighting in close combat.”
“Hyung… we didn’t bring any throwing weapons. You should’ve told me before we started the broadcast.”
“Tsk, Inseop. Don’t interrupt when hyung is talking.”
Kontor (Control freak + Meteor lol)
Bro, maybe listen to advice from a veteran Abyss player?
No way he’s beating trolls today
If martial class doesn’t go melee, then what’s he gonna do?
You’re watching a 2nd-floor player tell a 5th-floor player to shut up live
As we bantered, we arrived at the canyon.
Past the muggy swamp, into a gorge.
[You’ve entered <2nd Floor – Troll Canyon>.]
[Quest: Defeat Trolls LV.25 – 0/50]
Fifty trolls.
Quite a lot.
And the terrain wasn’t great either. If enemies ambushed from above, it’d be a massacre.
“Sometimes you get unlucky and trolls spawn up top. See how huge this canyon is? If they spawn there, we can’t hit them. Usually, you just retreat—whoa, hyung.”
“What.”
“I think trolls just spawned up there. That’s my first time seeing it.”
“Oh yeah? Is that good?”
“Yeah. Good if you wanna die.”
Looks like the Abyss really wants me dead.
The moment I stepped in, shadows loomed overhead.
Our drone zoomed in and made the situation crystal clear.
?
Is that a boulder next to the troll?
I’ve never seen this before????
Do 2nd-floor trolls use strategy?? Are they gonna roll that rock??
Run.
Seriously, get out. That height would one-shot even a 5th-floor player.
First 2nd-floor broadcast and he’s already got legendary RNG lol
Guess he burned all his luck on gacha
Weird.
I do have <Lucky Matryoshka> in my inventory…
“Inseop, you’re saying this almost never happens?”
“Spawns on top happen maybe once in a thousand tries. But trolls dropping boulders? This is a world first. We need to bail—like seriously, if that hits, you’re dead. Your head will pop.”
“…World first!”
Ah, so this is the true meaning of Lucky Matryoshka!
Viewers panicking, even Inseop telling me to retreat.
But if I back out now, I’m a noob.
They said it themselves—it’s a world first.
What better broadcasting opportunity could there be?
“…Legendary.”
“What are you on about?”
“Today’s broadcast is legendary.”
The god of streaming must truly love me.
And sure enough, moments later—
[<The Scales> laugh as they watch you!]
RUMMMBBLEEEEE—!!
With a deafening roar, massive boulders began to crash down.
