Free Web NovelFrom Foxgames: I don’t need anything right now. Government support’s coming in solid. Just the other day, I even got a direct supply drop—food, drinks, the whole deal. :)
SKELTON: Just in case things go south later. You know as well as anyone—I’m probably the most useful person you could have on your side.
From Foxgames: Hmm... Nothing’s dangerous at the moment. And if it gets dicey, I’ll just reach out to Dies_Irae.
SKELTON: Dies_Irae? You think he would protect you?
From Foxgames: Sure, Dies_Irae posted some borderline stuff now and then, but he’s an ally. Plus, he doesn’t touch the original members of our board. He’s got the same pureblood mindset as me.
From Foxgames: Anyway, maybe it’s not a bad idea to do Skeleton a favor for once. I’ve got three spare avatars—sending them now. Pick the one you like. As for OBS setup, our SYSOP “The Fox” will walk you through it. :)
Foxgames sent three character models.
The first was a cartoonish male avatar with a cowboy hat and a protruding jaw for some reason.
The second was an anthropomorphic animal—a cheetah in a generic government-issued-looking business suit.
The last was a female character, unlike the others. She was synced with the phone for motion tracking—a so-called “VTuber-type” avatar.
Naturally, I chose the first one.
[Dr. Emiless Channel]
The channel was named after my new alter ego, Dr. Emiless.
It was a completely fresh start—none of Skeleton’s legendary fame to fall back on. Truly starting from scratch.
But I am who I am.
No matter the board, no matter the community, I’m a born natural. A self-made name on every platform I’ve touched.
I launched the stream boldly and confidently.
An hour passed.
“......”
That’s when I felt the difference between message boards and streaming.
A board post doesn’t vanish unless it’s buried—and it can carry every message I want in a single post.
Streaming is different.
[Current Viewers: 1]
That meant no matter what I said on stream, only one person was hearing it.
And that one person?
mmmmmmmmm: Yo, owner~ do some beatboxing or something. You’ve been silent for like, what, thirty minutes? Is this a monk stream?
It was M9, the human viewer counter.
I’d launched ambitiously, but no one came.
What’s the point of talking when there’s no one there?
I sighed and stared at the unmoving viewer count.
[Current Viewers: 2]
Someone joined.
The real first viewer!
mmmmmmmmm: 2!!!!!!!!
I leaned into the mic and said in the smoothest, most dignified voice I could muster:
“Hello? This is Dr. Emiless. Welcome, dear viewer.”
[Current Viewers: 1]
“......”
The second I spoke, they left.
mmmmmmmmm: 1
All that remained was M9’s hollow echo.
I ended the stream right there.
But not before calling out to M9, my sole viewer.
“Where are you? If you’ve got time, drop by.”
Just as I leaned back for a break and glanced out the window—
Moon Yang-gyeong was hovering up front.
Clearly had something to say.
“What is it?”
I didn’t particularly like her, and had no intention of talking—but after the sorrow of being a one-(zero)-viewer streamer, I decided to give her the time of day.
Sure enough, she’d been waiting for the chance.
She glanced around, then started rambling excitedly.
The topic was something I’d been watching for a while.
Her being ostracized by the others.
“Boss. Did I do something seriously wrong?”
A typical young person’s dilemma—but with a chilling undercurrent.
What I sensed was that she’d been discarded by Kang Han-min’s faction.
Or maybe she was just packaged up as part of the discard pile.
I told her:
“It’s true you’ve earned your teammates’ dislike. You admit that, right?”
“Well... yeah, I guess I can’t deny it.”
Moon Yang-gyeong sighed and stared at me.
“Should I give them a gift or something?”
I shook my head.
“This isn’t a game. Gifts won’t raise your affection stat. I mean, sure, pre-war—if you handed out ten or twenty billion won, people might’ve become besties. But this isn’t that kind of world. And we’re not in that kind of business.”
“So what should I do?”
I looked out the window at the passing scenery and answered in a soft voice.
“You change first.”
“Me...?”
“I’m not saying some dramatic transformation. Just small, steady changes. Start with empathy, I’d say.”
She was smart enough to understand what I meant.
She asked:
“Will that even work?”
“It’s better than doing nothing. Before you get impatient about results, think about how many points you’ve burned through on this train. But before that...”
“?”
I turned to her somewhat gently and said,
“Start by apologizing. Doesn’t matter what for. Think of it like a declaration—just bow your head.”
She nodded and left.
For just a moment, I thought she might’ve smiled at me.
M9, who’d been lurking nearby, whistled.
“Ohhh. Look at you, Skelton. A real counselor now?”
It wasn’t just M9. freeweɓnøvel.com
Woo Min-hee, who’d somehow become besties with him, was looking at me with a meaningful smile, eyes shining.
“You were the top dog, after all. Everyone wanted to team up with you. Problem was—your godawful attitude scared them off.”
She smirked and added:
“If you’d been like this back then, maybe you’d have been way more popular. Like just now.”
I’ve always thought that nothing’s more pointless than hypotheticals about the past.
My focus is only forward.
“...How do I increase my viewer count?”
M9 answered.
“Content. It’s always about the content. Look at Kang Han-nam. He started off as a nobody, but now he’s rewriting history with stuff that slaps other streamers into the dirt.”
“I don’t think my content is lacking. The problem is, I haven’t even been given the chance to show it. You know that.”
I’ve got plenty of content.
Honestly, it’s not bragging—my gift of gab is undeniable.
Just look at how I impressed Moon Yang-gyeong.
Plus, I’m destined to be a name.
Streaming won’t change that.
The problem is that reality’s too cruel to even let me try showing what I’ve got.
“What if you changed your character?”
Woo Min-hee cut in suddenly.
“Character?”
“The one you’re using. Am I the only one who thinks it’s cringe?”
I stared at the cartoonish cowboy with the jaw jutting out.
Same art style as Kang Han-nam, but yeah... not great.
I’m not even American—why the hell am I using a cowboy?
Outdated icon, completely out of touch.
Back when I was team leader, I made quick judgments.
Never brushed off criticism—always responded instantly to get the best results.
Still the same now.
I showed the two unused characters to M9 and Woo Min-hee.
The cheetah in a suit and the glitter-covered female avatar.
“What ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) even is this...”
M9 chuckled at the female one.
“Oh my.”
Woo Min-hee’s reaction was similar—but she was naturally mischievous.
“Senpai, how about that one? Probably more popular than the others.”
“Come on, what guy uses a girl avatar like that?”
I’ve done plenty of online antics—including female cosplay—but not this.
Unlike RoxanneGirl, this one syncs to my face in real time.
I’d be putting a literal anime girl over my own face.
Even I’m not shameless enough for that.
But reality is cruel.
mmmmmmmmm: 1...!
mmmmmmmmm: 1!!!!
The cheetah and cowboy weren’t cutting it.
No one cares about talking animals or cowboys.
The internet’s crawling with guys who only want girls.
That’s been true since the legendary Sunbi incident.
In the end, the answer was clear.
“......”
I stared at the final avatar.
It stared back, as if from the void.
It was just motion capture syncing with my phone, but still.
Of course, being a third-rate dev’s gift, it had issues.
Once the test ran long, my laptop overheated. The girl avatar glitched—and my real face showed through.
That was a serious flaw.
Foxgames’ reply:
From Foxgames: Looks like it’s memory leakage from your phone. Follow the instructions I sent to re-optimize memory. Don’t stream too long, just in case :)
From Foxgames: Also, might be a good time to upgrade your setup. Streaming eats a lot of resources. OBS is a heavy program. Add VTuber motion capture on top of that, and your laptop’s too old. :(
I followed the instructions. Sure enough, the glitches decreased, and my face stopped leaking through.
Problem is, my phone is seven years old.
Looks fine outside, but the battery and memory are clearly degraded.
“Oh? What’s this? Senpai’s doing VTuber now?”
Cheon Young-jae showed up right on time.
Normally, an annoying guest—but right now, a reliable advisor.
I explained and asked for advice.
“Hmm. You know, there are a lot of streamers on FoxWeb right now—but no legit VTuber-type streamers. Ahh, this might actually grab attention from the get-go!”
He showed off his so-called expertise.
And naturally, followed up with a cutting remark:
“But hey. You’re using a girl avatar—broadcasting with a male voice? That’s bait and switch. I bet half your viewers would flee the second you speak.”
“Then what should I do?”
“Ask that Foxgames guy if he’s got a voice changer.”
“Voice changer?”
“Yeah. Turn your guy voice into a girl voice. It won’t be perfect, but better than hearing some dude from a cute avatar.”
I got the program from Foxgames and tested it.
“Hello?”
“Hello?”
Surprisingly, the character repeated my words in a very feminine tone.
And it didn’t sound that artificial—it was pretty smooth.
“Senpai, you’re sparkly cute now. Like, a total anime babe.”
Woo Min-hee snarked from the side.
I ignored her.
“......”
The point is to spread the truth.
To expose Kang Han-min’s one-sided smear campaign.
[Princess Elmiris Channel]
I created a new channel to match the new avatar.
I changed the name from Emiless to Elmiris for a more feminine flair.
Naturally, I’d already prepped my message.
It was simple:
Kang Han-min had avoided the Nemesis-type monsters.
I had more than enough evidence.
Most viewers were from the new Seoul he’d abandoned.
There were plenty of rumors—presidential assassination, loser in school, etc.—but I’d stick to facts and keep it classy.
Just before wrapping up setup, one critique came in.
“Your expressions suck. That avatar’s super cute—why waste it?”
A sharp observation from the streaming expert.
True—I barely emote.
Either blank-faced or faintly smiling, thanks to habit and training.
The avatar was designed to mimic facial expressions—but I wasn’t using even 10% of its potential.
“I’ll do it.”
Cheon Young-jae volunteered to handle motion capture.
Sure enough, the avatar came alive with a wide range of expressions, fully showing the charm the creator intended.
It was astonishing.
Somehow, that cute girl avatar reflected even the awkward expressions of the objectively-unattractive Cheon Young-jae—and still looked adorable.
Maybe that’s why he’d gained a following.
From Foxgames: OBS and the VTuber program running together are murdering your laptop.
From Foxgames: You might manage for 30 minutes max. Wrap it fast! And don’t forget you owe me! :)
Foxgames gave the green light.
As long as I kept it short, it’d be fine.
And I didn’t need long.
I looked at the broadcast screen.
A good start.
There’d been some pre-launch promo—but more importantly, as Cheon Young-jae pointed out, this was the first full-on VTuber stream ever on FoxWeb.
Over 100 waiting viewers before launch.
mmmmmmmmm: 98...!!! 99....!! 100.....!!!!
With trembling hands, I gave the signal to Cheon Young-jae.
He nodded and gave the OK.
“Start.”
The stream began.
[ON AIR]
The chat was still quiet.
Everyone had joined half out of curiosity, half for fun.
But then, one nickname caught my eye like a spell.
KangHan-nam: Hoo... what’s this?!
KangHan-nam: Very interesting.
It was Kang Han-min.
