Chapter 6

They still sold older games like Kingdom Age by the disc. These older games tended to build a devoted player base over time, but Kingdom Age had an unusually strong fanbase, likely due to its realism and challenging nature that remained refreshing even after multiple playthroughs.

Initially, the game discouraged many players as it targeted hardcore gamers, resulting in the majority giving up. Despite not having a large player base, those who remained were extremely loyal.

Similarly, not many users frequented the Kingdom Age forums, but the number of posts and traffic rivaled other popular games. Forum users passionately delved into the game, shared tips and tricks, and exchanged relevant information, creating a community where everyone knew each other.

A new post quickly gained traction with a title that guaranteed attention on the forum: "[Watched a weird stream today. Roman complimented a beginner.]"

The magical combination of "beginner" and "compliment from Roman" piqued the interest of any Kingdom Age player.

— Watch this clip.

— I'm serious. His capsule profile is in the description.

— Roman complimented him and left. Also, the cutscene where the boss is supposed to run away didn't appear because he died wtf LOL

The post, supported by a video clip and Aiden's capsule profile, narrated how Aiden killed the boss, bypassed a cutscene, and received a compliment from Roman.

Reactions were swift.

— Wow, I thought for sure this post was just fishing for attention.

— The heck, I thought it was a fake clip or something. How is this possible??

— What the…?

The majority either reacted with disbelief or outright refused to believe it.

— The account was made yesterday?!

└ Is this staged?

└ Of course it is. Is this your first time seeing someone fishing for attention? A new user?

└ The user above clearly didn't watch the clip…

— Isn't it an expert doing the bow challenge? It has to be a smurf!

└ Yeah, sure. Smurfing on a capsule. Good one.

└ Yeah, of course it's a smurf. You just need to get an entirely new body. It's not that hard LOL

└ LOL yeah, you're right.

Many users didn't believe it, citing their invested hours in the game and taking pride in their gameplay. However, the video provided evidence.

Fake accounts couldn't be made in the age of capsule gaming, which required fingerprints, retina scans, body scans, and various biological assessments to verify players. The public could also view when the streamer created their profile.

— Arrow? I googled him and nothing came up. What the heck?

— For real, where does he stream? Doesn't everyone stream on Treevy these days?

└ Treevy, you moron.

— He's on Treevy judging from the clip. Why's there no information on him?

— Hey, I'm the OP. He was just a complete beginner when I watched him. Even the stream title was auto-generated. It was like some code or something lmao. I left the link to his stream. Take a look. (LINK)

└ Wow, he didn't even have a stream title?

└ It seems like he doesn't know what he's doing LOL

'Oops.'

Aiden paused while reading the forum.

"Oh, crap…"

He just discovered that he streamed without a streamer name.

"Thank goodness they added a link too."

Thankfully, the post included a link to his stream. That would do for now. He read more of their reactions after calming himself.

— But that means he's like hella new to the game… How the heck did he do it…

— Killing the boss. Even JeonJaPa couldn't do it on his bow challenge, no?

└ Oh yeah, I remember JeonJaPa saying you have to use the bow to kill the boss because he can parry every other attack.

└ Apparently, you have to shoot with perfect timing too.

└ How can someone who made their account yesterday do something even JeonJaPa couldn't?

└ JeonJaPa… that guy used to do the bow challenge, but now he quit.

└ This game isn't worthy enough for JeonJaPa to play… he's too famous now…

They kept comparing somebody named JeonJaPa to Aiden.

'JeonJaPa?'

Aiden didn't know any streamer by that name because he only watched BubbleGum.

'I think I've seen the name before though.'

He vaguely remembered seeing it when he searched for top player streams. JeonJaPa must've been one of those pro gamers. Aiden recalled one particular comment.

— Faker, Dopa, next is JeonJaPa.

Twenty years ago, Faker and Dopa dominated their generation. Everyone knew them, even Aiden who had no interest in games. He even learned about them in school where their achievements were described as a textbook battle of the century.

Faker and Dopa, the legends of battle. Many users compared JeonJaPa to the greatest players of all time.

"Wow."

And now, they compared JeonJaPa to him. Granted, lots of people held strong opinions about it.

— Don't use JeonJaPa's name in vain!

— You think you can just throw JeonJaPa's name around like that?

└ Sigh, not even worth replying.

└ But it's true, no? JeonJaPa couldn't do that?

└ Don't you know? JeonJaPa isn't interested in older games.

└ Doesn't matter whether he likes it or not. He couldn't do it and that's a fact.

└ No one like you and that's a fact.

— Ah, the JeonJaFans are swarming again.

— It's like Beetlejuice. You're fucked if you say his name.

Aiden closed the forum.

"Woah…"

They already compared him to the best in the industry. He honestly felt overwhelmed, but Aiden had been an athlete all his life. He enjoyed the pressure.

"Hell yeah."

Aiden innocently smiled like a child.

Ring! Ring!

His phone suddenly rang.

[James]

It came from James. Aiden didn't have a chance to thank Joo-Hyeok yet and eagerly answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey, how did the stream go?"

"Yeah, it went well. Thanks to you."

"Really? That's a relief. The owner was a bit worried too."

"It's all good. I think everything is working properly."

"Are you getting any viewers?"

"Uh… I think there were around twenty viewers by the end of the stream."

"Two… twenty!? On your first day?"

James spoke so loud that it surprised Aiden.

"Uh… yeah. I picked a good game."

"Damn, you're cut out for this. Why'd you ever work here?"

"Easy entry to a big corporate job. Who wouldn't?"

"Fucker…"

"Anyways, I'll buy you a drink sometime. I have to stream now."

"Huh? It's lunch right now. Don't you normally stream in the evenings?"

"There's no lunch or dinner time. This is my job now."

"You used to never lift a finger at work even during lunch."

Beep.

James hung up, shaking his head.

"Haha…"

His tone sounded mocking, but he wore a smile.

'Thank goodness he's trying.'

James scolded him, but he always knew Aiden was diligent. It felt good to see Aiden showing that off while streaming too.

"Ah."

James scratched his head while smiling.

"I had something to tell him. Damn it, I forgot."

He called because the capsule café boss wanted to tell Aiden something.

'What was it?'

James tried to remember, but it kept eluding him. Something to do with getting the best physical connection or something. James didn't know much about capsule gaming, so the vocabulary confused him.

"Associate Kim!"

The manager shouted and interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes!"

"Look at this. How can you eat right now? Look at what your assistant did…"

'This motherfucker…'

Crunch. Crunch.

Aiden turned on the capsule while snacking on the Arrows he'd been saving for emergencies. He wanted to eat a proper meal, but didn't have time. His heart raced from the community's recent reactions, and he felt full of energy. He didn't need to eat because all their attention fueled him.

Gulp. Gulp.

Still, he needed to quench his thirst by drinking some milk. The milk and Arrow combination expanded in his stomach and filled him. They contained all the proteins, carbs, and fat for a surprisingly healthy diet. He often ate this substitute meal when he had no money.

"Shall we start?"

Aiden wiped the milk off his face and entered the capsule.

[STREAM IS STARTING]

He began streaming like yesterday, but a bizarre number appeared.

[CURRENT VIEWERS: 189]

"What?!"

Aiden's jaws dropped.

— Oh hey, Arrow's here.

— What the… Wasn't he supposed to stream in the evening?

— Lucky us.

— Oh wow, he started streaming right when I turned on notifications.

— Now we can see and judge for ourselves.

— Hi Arrow!

— Hi hi!

The number of viewers and chat messages obviously increased.

'This much?'

He couldn't have imagined how that small forum would impact his stream.