Chapter 54: The Hero Goes to the Academy (Part 1)

“300,000 won?”

Ji-eun, focused on a snow crab leg, looked up. Her eyes widened as she stared at Shihyun. She exclaimed, “Wow… A chairman appeared on the first day. As expected of Shihyun.”

“Chairman?”

Shihyun tilted her head. Ji-eun, returning her attention to the crab leg, explained, “That’s what we call big donors on streams. Chairman, like the chairman of a company, because they have a lot of money.”

“Ah.”

The term “chairman” now made sense.

Someone who could casually donate 300,000 won certainly deserved the title.

Shihyun nodded, and Ji-eun, having finished the crab meat, looked at her meaningfully. She tapped the empty crab shell with her chopsticks.

“So that’s why you bought crab today? Well, it makes sense to celebrate after receiving 300,000 won.”

“Hmm, not just because of the 300,000 won. The signing bonus came in too, right? It’s a combined celebration.”

Five Star had sent the signing bonus the same day she signed the contract. Practically instantaneous. Thanks to that, her bank account was overflowing.

Their promptness made Shihyun feel good about her choice of agency.

“I’m not complaining. Free food is always welcome.”

Ji-eun said, swirling her beer glass. A faint blush colored her cheeks. She hadn’t drunk that much; was she a lightweight?

‘Well, it’s fine.’

As long as she didn’t get rowdy, it was all good. And knowing Ji-eun’s personality, she would have warned Shihyun if she had a low tolerance for alcohol. Since she hadn’t mentioned anything, Shihyun assumed she wouldn’t cause a scene.

‘Besides, it’s common courtesy to pace yourself and not get completely drunk.’

With that in mind, their drinking continued for quite a while. They both paced themselves, so neither of them blacked out.

And perhaps because of that…

They were caught off guard by an unexpected enemy!

And that enemy’s name was…

‘Hangover…’

They had been drinking steadily without feeling particularly intoxicated. So, they hadn’t bothered with any hangover cures!

“Ugh…my head.”

“Shihyun…water…”

“…I only have Pepsi Zero at home.”

“…?”

The next morning, they both experienced hell.

…At least they hadn’t thrown up on the street, right?

While Ji-eun stared in horror at the Pepsi Zero dominating Shihyun’s refrigerator, Shihyun quickly finished showering.

‘That’s better.’

The shower helped clear her head. Showering was a ritual of purification, cleansing the body with body wash and shampoo. A hangover was a debuff, so naturally, it was washed away by the power of body wash, right?

…Ji-eun looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.

“Shihyun, you’re still drunk.”

“No, isn’t that right?”

“…Right about what?”

“But I feel like my hangover is better.”

“Hey, Sung. Stop talking nonsense and decide what we’re having for hangover soup.”

At Ji-eun’s scolding, Shihyun opened a map app on her smartphone. A quick search revealed a nearby sundaeguk (blood sausage soup) restaurant. Fortunately, Ji-eun wasn’t picky about her soup. So, sundaeguk was decided.

“Tsk, a proper hangover cure requires a shot of alcohol with your soup.”

“…That sounds like something a construction worker would say.”

“…What?”

It seemed Ji-eun liked to drink. Her praise for the horrific practice of “hangover alcohol” was proof enough.

‘I should be careful with alcohol.’

It was just a few beers this time, but people who enjoyed drinking tended to escalate. Beer could turn into soju, and soju could turn into something stronger.

Shihyun wasn’t a heavy drinker. She preferred to drink just enough to quench her thirst. Frequently drinking with Ji-eun might be detrimental to her liver.

As Shihyun pondered this, Ji-eun spotted the sundaeguk restaurant sign in the distance and exclaimed, “Is it that one? Oh, it looks like a good place.”

[Kim’s Mom’s Sundaeguk]

The strangely named restaurant was bustling, despite the early hour. Shihyun glanced at the customers; most were middle-aged men in work clothes. From a nearby construction site, perhaps?

“Sundaeguk restaurants filled with older men are usually the best.”

“Is that so?”

Shihyun didn’t know, but Ji-eun seemed familiar with such places, so she must be right.

They found a table and ordered.

Two bowls of sundaeguk.

As the waitress shouted “Two sundaes!” to the kitchen, Shihyun took out her smartphone. She opened the Tricky app and browsed the streams.

‘I have to study whenever I can.’

The streaming industry had changed a lot since she was transported to ‘that world’.

Even mountains and rivers change in ten years.

Five years was enough time for the streaming landscape to undergo a complete transformation, especially with the introduction of virtual reality.

‘And virtual reality became a thing, too.’

Even with Ji-eun’s guidance, Shihyun still needed to review, watch other streams, and study.

She had to observe how other streamers operated.

And…

“How about this one?”

Shihyun selected a stream.

A streamer with the nickname “Cognac.”

There was no particular reason for choosing that stream. The alcohol-related nickname simply caught her eye while she was thinking about hangovers.

[Thousand Cuts at Dawn]
[Cognac]

It was an unusual stream.

The title was intriguing, and the thumbnail didn’t look like a game. It seemed to be a street scene, suggesting an outdoor broadcast.

‘An outdoor broadcast…’

It wouldn’t hurt to watch.

‘Ji-eun said more content ideas are always better.’

Shihyun wasn’t planning on doing an outdoor broadcast anytime soon. She would need equipment, and simply filming the street wasn’t enough. She needed content.

‘Watching this might help me brainstorm later.’

Shihyun opened Cognac’s stream.

The screen lit up.

She saw a place that looked like a gym. A spacious area with safety mats scattered around, and people in uniform-like clothing.

Shihyun tilted her head.

“Huh? Is it a taekwondo studio?”

Was it a taekwondo studio exploration stream or something?

Ji-eun, overhearing her, peeked at Shihyun’s phone. She shrugged.

“It’s a swordsmanship academy.”

“Huh?”

A swordsmanship academy?

‘Oh, right. Those exist.’

With the global popularity of Arfellium Saga, people’s interest in swordsmanship had naturally increased.

While there were fantasy elements like magic and support roles, the core of Arfellium Saga was ‘swordsmanship’.

Western swordsmanship groups had benefited greatly. Swordsmanship academies, similar to taekwondo studios, had sprung up everywhere.

Shihyun remembered that and focused on the stream.

The streamer, Cognac, was sprawled on the floor in a training uniform, loosely gripping a longsword. A man who looked to be in his mid-30s stood before him with a troubled expression.

[Huff, huff, isn’t this too much?]

[Mr. Cognac, we only practiced the move 100 times.]

[100 times is a lot, huff! …Right?!]

[Get up, please.]

[Can I catch my breath for a moment?]

[No.]

The man, presumably the instructor, forcibly pulled Cognac up and adjusted his posture from behind. Cognac grimaced, but the instructor, his expression firm, made him swing the sword again.

Shihyun observed the stream intently.

Cognac’s swordsmanship training, the instructor’s guidance, the practice swords they were using, even the academy’s facilities and the number of students training in the background.

After watching for a while…

“Shihyun?”

Ji-eun’s voice snapped Shihyun out of her trance.

She looked up to see a bowl of sundaeguk placed in front of her. She had been so engrossed in the stream that she hadn’t noticed the waitress bringing their food.

“Are you okay? Is something wrong? Are you still hungover?”

Ji-eun looked at her with concern.

Shihyun shook her head and smiled slightly.

“Ji-eun.”

“Yes?”

“You told me to find content ideas, right?”

“Yes, I did.”

Shihyun subtly pushed her phone towards Ji-eun.

“I found one.”

“Huh? You found one? Content? Suddenly?”

Ji-eun’s eyes widened. She looked confused.

“You want to stream yourself attending a swordsmanship academy? But everyone already knows you’re good at swordsmanship.”

Stream herself attending a swordsmanship academy?

No way.

Shihyun shook her head.

And smiled meaningfully.

“How about…a swordsmanship academy dojo challenge?”

“…”

Ji-eun smacked her forehead, an expression of disbelief on her face.