MSS 05

Malicious Stream Sniping (5)

What exactly was this virtual reality that had rich kids hopelessly addicted to it?

Some experts said it was an illusion, created by stimulating brainwaves.
Others claimed it was a recreation, using mechanical signals to reproduce the five senses.

Illusion or recreation—no one really knew.
There wasn’t a neuroscientist alive capable of explaining it.

So then… how was virtual reality made?

Well, be patient. The “VR teacher” giving the lecture just left for a bit to recharge his donation balance.

「Thanks for the ₩1,000 donation!」
▶ “Fact: humanity didn’t invent VR. What they made was the AI capable of creating VR. Opinions differ, but the most—”

「Wow! That’s exactly the kind of info I wanted to know!」
「I’m losing my mind I’m losing my mind I’m losing my mind」
「God this VR geek has been rambling for 30 minutes straight lol」
「Aaaagh admin! Please ban this guy already!」
「Quit hogging the donation box, at least summarize it in three lines!」

The only reason I hadn’t banned the self-proclaimed “VR Teacher” shoving facts down everyone’s throat was simple:
I needed to kill time until God of Star War finished installing.

But the viewers’ patience had reached its limit.
Maybe I should check how much time was left…

[Installation Complete.]
—Message received 20 minutes ago.

…Oh.

Turns out it had been done ages ago.
Guess I was actually focused on his lecture.

「Please, just tell us the install’s done before I get banned for cussing this guy out…」

No need to admit it had finished 20 minutes earlier.

I launched the game right away.

“Install’s done! Time to start some real hands-on analysis!”

―God of Star War.
(Start / Settings / Quit)

I swiped at the glowing word Start.

My first VR game.
It was beginning.

The Opening

―Whoooosh!

A violent wind roared.
I rolled my eyes upward—white clouds floated right beside me.

‘Wait… am I flying?’

Not flying.
Being hurled upward, pushed higher and higher by the wind.

Through the clouds, into space.
A planet that looked like Earth shrank below me, round as a fruit.

A man walked the Milky Way as if it were a carpet.

「“I, the all-powerful Victor, claim my right to enter the Zodiac!”」

A red-tattooed man.
My body, now shaped like Victor’s, shouted the words on its own.

I couldn’t control my movements, but figured it was just VR’s opening cutscene and let it play out.

「“Stars of the cosmos, descend and greet me, who shall become a new constellation!”」

The universe trembled at his booming voice.

Tiny star-shaped beings flew close, their voices mocking.

「“Victor? Aren’t you the minor star who descended in place of the great constellation gods?”」
「“How reckless. Take my advice, Victor—before the gods’ wrath falls on you, shut up and leave.”」

They laughed at him.

But Victor didn’t get angry.
He simply reached out—
and crushed one of the little stars in his massive fist.

「“Aaaagh!”」
「“Victor! What are you doing?!”」

The cries didn’t last long.
The little star burst apart in his hand, scattering dust across space.

「“Begone, cosmic trash. Watch as I rise to take the throne of the constellation gods.”」

He strode up the Milky Way.
The higher he climbed, the brighter he blazed—shining so brightly he could be seen even from Earth.

Could something like that really be called a “small star”?

Twelve colossal constellations barred his path.

「“Arrogant little star.”」
「“Step aside, Victor.”」
「“This path is for us alone.”」

The Zodiac glowed brilliantly, pressing down on him.

Victor didn’t flinch.
He asked, voice shaking the cosmos:

「“What makes me different from you?”」

Light burst from his body—twelve stars hidden within him illuminating the void.

「“I hold thirteen Starforce. More than some of you pathetic Zodiac trash. That alone proves I’m more worthy of this title than you!”」

The constellations roared at the insult, but none dared strike him.
Because they knew—Victor’s power rivaled theirs.

Until Pisces reached out and plucked a star from Victor’s chest.

In moments, the others stripped him of all twelve.

Victor was left with only his own dim light.

「“Damn it all—I’ll destroy you!”」

He charged, axe raised.

But Cancer swatted lazily.

―Flash!

Victor shattered into stardust.

「“Hmph. Nothing but more cosmic dust.”」

The gods disappeared.

All was silent.
Until a voice called out—

「“You are no small star, Victor. Do not become a constellation. Become the god who devours stars.”」

A black hole coalesced his dust, granting him a single black star.
A star that consumed light itself.

「“You are the god of war.”」

Victor plummeted to Earth like a meteor.

The cutscene ended.

The meteor cracked open.
I stepped out.

“…Holy crap. What a god-tier game. Why would anyone still play something like Legend of Heroes?”

「LOL」
「LMAO immersion ruined」
「Streamer please stop making Victor talk like that 😂」
「But damn, what an opening.」

The visuals were stunning, sure.
But what amazed me more was Victor’s sheer physical power.

―Boom! One stomp, and the earth trembled.
―Wham! A punch sent shockwaves like a dust storm.
―Thud! A casual jump carried me to the sky.

「VR newbies are always adorable lol」

One taste of this, and yeah—I finally understood the VR addicts.

I looked into a puddle to check my reflection.
Not Victor’s tattooed face.

But my own—Park Yuseong.

With Victor’s insane body.

“Damn… my face on this body? Looks weird as hell.”

「LOL every streamer says the same thing」
「Nah bro, it suits you」
「Dude your proportions are insane」

“Why would I bother with the gym? I’m living here from now on.”

「Thanks for the ₩1,000 donation!」
▶ “LMAO this guy was born to be a VR addict.”

Now I understood why PC games had died.
The burnt smell of the meteor, the chill of the air, the godlike body under my control—
This was gaming’s perfected form.

The navigation trail of stardust led me forward.

Suddenly, robed figures appeared, chanting.

「“That star consumes light! Kill him!”」

They shed their cloaks—revealing snake-tailed monstrosities.

Time froze.

[Combat Tutorial Initiated.]

「???」
「Why is he getting the basic tutorial?」
「Ohhh first VR game ever.」
「This guy played Legend of Heroes 2000 times instead lmao」

The fight began.
I let Victor’s body move.

One karate-chop pierced a monster’s hide.
A hook of my leg caught its throat.
Superhuman strength. Perfect control.

「Holy shit, that’s not normal」
「So clean!」
「This guy’s no newbie…」

I crushed a serpent cultist’s skull in my palm.

「Thanks for the ₩10,000 donation!」
▶ “Wtf is this guy, a pro fighter? No backseat coaching needed.”

The chat joked about my military shooting scores, calling me a sniper.

「Thanks for subscribing!」
▶ “Bruh if he picks up a gun, it’s over. I’m staying subbed.”

“Appreciate the sub, StarWarNewbie!”

I dusted off my hands.

“All done. Just follow the stardust, right?”

「Yep just keep running straight」

But in the few seconds I glanced away, the chat had already started fighting.

「No you’re supposed to go down, that route’s better」
「Nah, main boss is up top, idiot」

Two of my loyal viewers arguing over the route.
Painful, really.

If I’d been Wizard, I’d have insta-banned both.

But as a small-time streamer, every viewer was precious.

So I smiled and mediated:

“Alright, so the lower path leads to a sub-boss, upper to the main boss, right?”

「Correct」
「Yeah but lower path’s cleaner」
「Main boss required for tutorial」

“Okay, I’ll check out the sub-boss first, then head to the main if it doesn’t work out.”

「Good attitude lol」

(Viewers: 790)

That’s the kind of mindset a streamer needs.
No stress.
Keep the chat happy.
And sponsors will follow.