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Malicious Sniping Stream (21)
The tip of the iceberg.
Maybe I only saw a tiny part sticking out of the water and fooled myself into thinking I’d understood the whole massive iceberg.
What am I suddenly talking about?
A happy ending? Don’t make me laugh.
I finally caught a glimpse of what viewers mean when they say Kagero.
“…Wait, what is this? Isn’t this a confirmed bad ending?”
After finishing the prologue.
When I tried to leave the cave in Kagero’s body, I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.
“It’s been eight hours since they went into the dungeon—why haven’t we heard anything yet?”
“Contact Choi Seorin, the S-rank hunter leader!”
Humans surrounded the exit in a blockade.
Seriously, is this real? How am I supposed to get out of here?
With Kagero’s pathetic base stats, fighting isn’t an option.
“Uh, so what do I do here?”
No need to rack my brain alone.
That’s what chat’s for, right?
I glance at the chat window, hoping for answers.
Chat exploded:
“Hands off your keyboards, everyone!!”
“No backseating! Absolutely no backseating!”
“★BACKSEAT BANNED★”
“…Uh, excuse me? This is a backseating-allowed stream.”
Donation alert pops up:
“Thanks for the ₩1,000 donation, SnipingKingSphinx! → Streamer doesn’t know anything! This is a no-backseating stream!”
Haaah, fine.
No useful advice, but at least I learned what the viewers want.
“So you guys want to see me carry without backseating, huh?”
What choice do I have? A streamer can’t ignore the expectations of their audience.
Two options come to mind:
-
Sprint like crazy and break through the blockade.
-
Pretend to be human and bluff my way out.
For Star War’s protagonist, brute force (1) would make sense.
But for Kagero—a doppelgänger—option (2) seems right.
[You used Seorin Choi’s “Shadow Fragment.”]
Good. Let’s try this.
Back in Star War, trusting my gut led me to hidden routes.
So Kagero transforms, imitating Seorin Choi, and walks out.
“Choi Seorin! She made it out of the dungeon!”
“Camera crew, move in! Hurry!”
“Seorin, did you clear the dungeon?!”
Journalist-shaped data clusters surround me.
How do I answer?
[Kagero mimics the target’s thoughts.]
Control slips from me.
Kagero speaks in Seorin’s voice:
“The raid failed. The monsters were stronger than expected. We were outmatched.”
“Then… what about the other hunters…?”
“I’m sorry. I need to rest first. Please step aside.”
My perspective shifts to third-person.
Seorin-shaped Kagero brushes past the crowd.
[Kagero reads the shadows of humans.]
Faces zoom in, their voices magnified:
“This isn’t good. Even S-rank Seorin couldn’t handle it.”
“Shouldn’t we stop filming? If a dungeon break happens, we’re in danger too…”
“Shut up! At least get her interview!”
“…But didn’t Seorin look strange just now? Her face seemed… off.”
“Damn it, her form vanished! Quit yapping and find her!”
Suspicion +30
Kagero’s mimicry wasn’t perfect. A suspicion gauge—shaped like an eye—fills up.
If that maxes out, it’s obviously a bad ending.
Then, new voices emerge:
“…How the hell did she come back alive?”
“We need to silence her. If our guild’s name reaches the reporters…”
“Relax. We always keep a plan ready.”
??? Clue +5
Hmm.
Just like Star War, Kagero feels lacking in explanation. Some context is missing.
“Uh, what’s a Hunter exactly? A monster-hunting guild?”
Donation alert pops:
“Thanks for the ₩1,000 donation, StarWar9thRunNoob! → Don’t overthink it, just feel it. That’s Kagero.”
Fine. Even without perfect explanations, I can follow the flow.
[Kagero retrieves ‘Scattered Shadows.’]
Suddenly, Kagero stops.
The cutscene ends, first-person view returns.
Humans chase me, demanding answers.
But… if the devs gave me back control now, that must mean—
“Run!”
Chat bursts out laughing:
“LOL the facial recognition, Seorin’s face but with Sphinx’s expression, I’m dying”
“Our Seorin would NEVER make that face”
“But streamer’s game sense is impressive—finding the right answer blind!”
Still, just finding the “right answer” isn’t enough.
To hit the hidden route, I need to do the unexpected.
‘But seriously… how the hell do I even find the hidden route?’
As I run, pursuers shout:
“Seorin killed all the hunters inside!”
“Don’t let her escape! Attack if you must!”
But I’m already far ahead.
Then suddenly—my legs freeze.
[Seorin’s Shadow Fragment fades.]
Her borrowed face crumbles to dust. My whole body turns shadowy.
The crowd yells:
“Damn! We lost her!”
Cutscene ends—Kagero disappears off-screen.
― You have escaped the Labyrinth of Deep Shadows.
Chat erupts:
“Yoooo, another first-try clear?!”
…But that’s not enough.
First-try clears don’t matter. Viewers only care about the hidden route.
[Kagero longs to blend into human society.]
[Choose Kagero’s destination.]
A scroll unfurls, revealing a map with selectable regions.
Seoul (South), Gyeonggi (North), Unknown Mountains, Chungcheongbuk-do…
So many options. Too many.
“Wait, there are this many routes? Isn’t the event order important here?”
Unlike Star War’s brute-force gameplay, this one demands trial and error.
Chat starts debating seriously for once:
“The standard route is Seoul South.”
“Yeah but if you follow standard, no hidden route.”
“Then unexplored areas first?”
“LOL that’s instant bad end.”
Just as I’m weighing choices—
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep.
A strange electronic sound.
Not from the game, but from the VR capsule itself.
“…Uh, hold on a sec.”
It’s a text from my manager.
―Sphinx-nim, the advertiser has a message for you. You may take the call on speaker.
…Weird. But if they’re fine with the audience hearing, it shouldn’t be anything major.
“Hello? I’ve picked up the call.”
It even shows in-game: my avatar lifts the phone.
Then the MCN rep’s voice:
“Sphinx-nim, could you restart the game?”
“…Restart? Did the graphics bug?”
“No, Mystery Circle wants to apply a test update.”
A test update? Out of nowhere?
But hey, I was paid to dance to their tune.
So I reload, patch applied.
Looking at the map again, something new pops up:
― Unknown Mountain (6 days travel) <RECOMMENDED ROUTE>
…What? A glowing “Recommended Route” tag?
The rep explains:
“They developed a feature to help guide players to hidden routes.”
“…So if I just follow the recommended, I’ll hit the hidden route?”
“Yes. The official patch will add it for second playthroughs.”
Whoa. Didn’t expect that.
A hidden-route navigation system.
Guess the company’s desperate. Even Otaseop, the so-called “Apostle of Romance,” is compromising with the players.
Chat reacts:
“Ooooh, now anyone can just go hidden route.”
“Finally, they listened to us!”
“Eh… feels cheap though. Trial-and-error was the fun part of Mystery Circle.”
Yeah, some pushback. But I can’t let negativity linger while the advertiser’s watching.
Time to flip the mood.
“By the way, you guys know when the ad meeting was held?”
Chat:
“??”
“And…?”
“It was literally two days ago. And look—they already built and shipped this UI!”
Donation alert:
“Wait, so they made this in TWO DAYS?!”
“Exactly. From scratch. That’s insane.”
Chat flips instantly:
“God Tae-seop strikes again.”
“The genius of game dev.”
“He’s just… addicted to romance.”
Mood successfully salvaged.
But then, the rep adds:
“Oh, by the way, CEO Otaseop predicts it’ll take you at least a week.”
“…A week? To clear the game?”
“Yes. Assuming you play over ten hours a day.”
Chat explodes:
“LOL 70+ hours to clear?!”
“This guy’s insane.”
“Not romance, just masochism.”
“He said—if you can beat it, then go ahead.”
I’m speechless.
Mystery Circle is in financial trouble, right? Shouldn’t they want me to finish quickly, reveal the hidden route, generate hype?
Instead, Otaseop doubles down.
I whisper without thinking:
“Shin Tae-seop.”
Screw the ad. Screw your so-called romance.
“If you’re daring me to beat it—then I’ll crush your ‘romance’ completely.”
