Streaming of the Absolute

Absolute’s Streaming –Episode 2

“What the hell is this guy saying all of a sudden? Did he eat something weird?”

Seonghoon stared at Minseong, baffled.

“…You’re going to play Blasa?”

“Yeah.”

“Just like that? Out of nowhere?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Looks fun. And I can make money.”

This was the same Minseong who used to scoff at the mere mention of Blasa.

And now he suddenly wanted to play?

Is this dude out of his damn mind?

Seonghoon gave him a long, suspicious look.

But Minseong had already made up his mind.

He was standing by the front door, ready to leave.

Hat pulled low, completely geared up to go outside.

Then he casually pushed the door open.

“What are you doing? Hurry up.”

Seonghoon snapped out of it.

“Hey! Lee Minseong! Wait up!”

He scrambled after his friend.

Ever since Blasa launched, capsule rooms have popped up everywhere.

It was only natural, considering how fast the game had blown up.

And with each capsule costing well over ten million won, renting them out as a business was an obvious move.

As they walked, Minseong turned to Seonghoon.

“You said there’s a capsule room you go to often around here, right?”

“Uh… yeah?”

After getting into Blasa, Seonghoon had practically lived in that capsule room, sometimes even pulling all-nighters before heading straight to work.

“Then let’s go there.”

Minseong’s confidence threw Seonghoon off.

“Uh… yeah, sure…”

Still confused, he scratched his head and led the way.

Minseong suddenly decided to play Blasa, which was unexpected.

But from Seonghoon’s perspective, this was great news.

Sharing the same hobby meant they’d have more to talk about.

Then, out of nowhere, Minseong hit him with a question.

“How do you make money in Blasa?”

Seonghoon raised an eyebrow.

“Dude, aren’t you getting ahead of yourself?”

“How?”

“You haven’t even played yet, and you’re already asking how to make money? That’s like a baby asking how to run before it can crawl.”

Even as he said it, Seonghoon went ahead and answered anyway.

“There are two main ways to make money in Blasa. One is selling in-game items for real cash. It works, but… that’s not where the big money is. Remember what I was watching earlier?”

“The stream?”

“Yeah. All top Blasa players stream. It’s practically mandatory. You can make crazy money from it.”

He broke it down.

Donations from viewers. Sponsored missions. Ads. And the chain reaction that follows.

“Hm…”

Minseong nodded, getting a grasp of the whole system.

Then he hit Seonghoon with another question.

“You know how to set up a stream?”

“Yeah, I do… Wait. You’re not thinking of streaming, are you?”

“I am.”

“… all right, whatever. Do what you want.”

Seonghoon just shook his head, resigned.

There was no point in arguing.

Everyone has a plan… until reality punches them in the face.

While they talked, they finally arrived at the capsule room.

It was packed.

People were even waiting in line.

Even on a weekend, this level of popularity was insane.

“Welcome— Oh! Seonghoon!”

The owner, recognizing him, waved.

“Hey, boss.”

“Here early today, huh? I saved your usual spot.”

Seonghoon really was a regular.

Despite the crowd, the owner had set aside a spot for him.

Just as the owner was about to leave, Seonghoon called out.

“Boss!”

“Yeah?”

“My friend needs an ID card.”

“Oh!”

Only then did the owner notice Minseong.

“You’re Seonghoon’s friend? Mind if I talk casually?”

“Go ahead.”

“You starting Blasa?”

“Yeah.”

“Nice. Another regular for me.”

The owner stepped closer and tilted his head, peering under Minseong’s hat.

“Whoa… You’re really good-looking. Actor? Singer?”

Seonghoon answered for him.

“Nope.”

“No? Huh… Anyway, follow me.”

As they walked, Seonghoon glanced at Minseong.

Lucky bastard.

The owner’s reaction wasn’t anything new.

People always mistook Minseong for a celebrity.

He’d even been scouted off the street a few times.

But he never bothered chasing after that kind of stuff.

If he did, though… he had the face of a born actor.

This was why he always wore a hat when he went out—to avoid all the attention.

“Life’s unfair…”

Seonghoon muttered under his breath.

At that moment, the owner stopped in front of a counter.

“There’s one customer inside getting an ID made right now, so wait here a bit. In the meantime, let’s handle payment. The capsule room membership is 100,000 won. Registration costs 350,000 won. That’s 450,000 total, but… I’ll cut it to 430,000. Gotta take care of Seonghoon’s friends.”

“Boss, you’re the best! You really know how to keep customers coming back.”

“It’s just a little discount.”

They grinned at each other.

This was why being a regular paid off.

A whole 20,000 won were saved. Not bad.

With payment done, Minseong waited for his turn.

Soon enough, the previous customer stepped out.

“All right, let’s go.”

The owner handed Minseong his card.

Taking it, he followed the owner into the back room.

The ID setup was quick—iris scan, fingerprint scan, the usual.

“All that’s left is character customization. Just hop in the capsule and insert this.”

The owner passed him the ID card.

So this is the capsule…

Minseong stepped up and slid his card into the designated slot.

With a soft whoosh, the capsule door was sealed shut.

[Reading card data.]

[Please put on the goggles.]

A pair of goggles lowered from above.

As soon as he put them on, his body slowly reclined.

From a sitting position, he was gently laid down.

Then—

His entire vision changed.

He was standing in front of a massive mirror.

His reflection looked exactly like his real self.

[You may only customize hair, height, and skin tone.]

A robotic voice rang in his ears, but he wasn’t paying attention.

This place… felt real.

It was so real that he couldn’t tell if he was still in the game or the real world.

I thought it’d be realistic, but not this much…

He had prepared himself, but this was beyond expectations.

Of course, it wasn’t truly reality.

Just close enough.

Minseong was hit with a sense of déjà vu.

But this wasn’t something just anyone could experience.

This was something only someone like Minseong could notice.

And even that alone was pretty damn impressive.

‘All right then… where should I start…?’

With that thought, Minseong sharpened his focus.

His senses awakened.

And the moment they did, the world around him shifted.

It was as if someone had taken a dull, black-and-white painting and splashed vivid colors onto it.

His perception became razor-sharp—he could feel even the tiniest specks of dust brushing against his skin.

Time slowed down, stretching out before him.

A world that only he could step into. A world that only he could perceive.

Minseong let himself soak in the moment, just for a bit.

He could feel his mind burning through energy at an alarming rate.

But…

It didn’t matter.

‘Just like always… there’s no pain!’

The chronic pain that tormented him in the real world—completely gone.

Inside Blood Saga, he could push his senses to their limits without any problem.

‘Holy shit… this is actually happening?’

That realization hit him like a drug—an electrifying rush shot through his body, making his heart pound.

Minseong finished setting up his character.

He didn’t mess with anything.

Just like always, he only put on his signature hat, pulling it low over his face.

[Character customization complete.]

[Please enter a character ID.]

“Absolute One.”

The words slipped out of his mouth.

Absolute One.

That was the name he once went by.

Yeah, sure, it was a little cringe. Maybe even full-blown edgelord material.

‘But if I’m gonna stream, this name is perfect.’

Ever since Sung-hoon had talked to him about streaming profits, Minseong had made up his mind—he was going to give it a shot.

And if he was gonna do it, he needed a brand. A persona.

For that, Absolute One fits perfectly.

[Character ‘Absolute One’ registered.]

[Character registration complete.]

With that, everything was set.

Minseong was officially ready to dive into Blood Saga.

✦ ✦ ✦
“You done?”

Sung-hoon glanced at Minseong.

In response, Minseong casually waved his ID card.

“Yeah.”

“Cool. Let’s go.”

Sung-hoon walked over to an empty capsule—a reserved one.

Minseong frowned.

“You’re not playing? Let’s just switch capsule rooms.”

“No point. The others are packed—it’s the weekend.”

“Then what about you?”

“You’re streaming, right? I’ll just watch. Honestly, watching noobs stream is hilarious. There are actually people who only tune in to new players’ streams. Some even wait for noob streams to pop up.”

“For real?”

“Yeah. Trust me.”

Sung-hoon quickly typed in the stream title.

[Blood Saga Stream – Day 1: Putting Karen in Their Place]

Minseong raised an eyebrow.

“Karen? What’s that?”

“It’s just a thing. Like a benchmark fight or whatever. Don’t worry about it; it’s just for clickbait.”

“…Got it.”

Sung-hoon finished adjusting the stream settings.

“All set. Just plug in your ID card and login.”

“Thanks.”

Minseong stepped into the capsule.

He inserted his ID card, put on the goggles, and instantly, words appeared before him.

[Searching for character data…]

[One registered character found: ‘Absolute One.’]

[Log in as Absolute One?]

[Logging in…]

His vision went dark.

And then, in the blink of an eye—

“Where…?”

Minseong glanced around.

A vast, empty, blindingly white space stretched before him.

And then—

RUMBLE.

The ground trembled.

Right in front of him, massive letters began carving themselves into the air, one stroke at a time—

Deep crimson, like freshly spilled blood, they painted themselves onto the blank world.

[Welcome to Blood Saga.]

✦ ✦ ✦
At first, Minseong had been completely alone in that empty white void.

But now, that was no longer the case.

He stood inside something that looked like a colosseum.

A circular, enclosed battlefield.

Towering walls, at least 10 meters high, surrounded the area, with empty spectator seats perched at the top.

‘Damn. No wonder people love this game.’

It felt too real.

He rolled his shoulders and bounced on his feet a few times.

And then—

From the corner of his vision, messages started popping up.

– This dude REEKS of noob energy LMAO

– That ID, though. ‘Absolute One’? LOL cringe.

– ‘Putting Karen in Their Place’? More like getting his ass kicked.

– LMAOOOO

Minseong checked the view count.

[Current Viewers: 5]

‘So there really are people who only watch newbies… or maybe the clickbait worked?’

Five viewers right off the bat wasn’t bad at all.

He smirked.

“Welcome to the stream.”

He greeted them casually.

But there wasn’t time for chit-chat.

BOOM!

Someone leaped down from the spectator seats.

A towering man landed in front of him.

Broad-shouldered, solid build.

The guy grinned.

“Well, well. Welcome, rookie. The name’s Karen. I’ll be your instructor—the one who’s gonna beat some sense into your weak, clueless little ass.”

Ah.

Now, it made sense.

So this was Karen.

The so-called ‘benchmark fight’ everyone had been talking about.

Minseong tilted his head.

“Does he always talk like such an asshole?”

He wasn’t asking Karen.

He was asking to chat.

CHAT:

– LMAOOOOOOOO

– HE REALLY SAID THAT

– HAHAHAHA YOU’RE DONE

Karen’s eye twitched.

“What? An asshole?”

His grin widened.

“Well, well. We’ve got a real smart-mouthed punk here. Good. Very good. Beating some manners into you is gonna be fun.”

And then—

Without another word—

Karen charged.