Yuzen ran, his shoes pounding against broken pavement. The Dome was behind him, and every turn pulled him deeper into unfamiliar, ruined streets. His breath came fast and his chest was tight, but he couldn't stop.
He knew this was a stupid decision, but he couldn't just stay in place. Not while his suicidal MC kept running straight toward any monster he could find.
He had received the same notification many times and had chosen mods to help him. One time it was a sword, but the sword was a one-time use item. His MC had thrown it away.
Another time Yuzen chose a mod that gave him a potion. It would extend a skill's duration but cause paralysis after. The MC had thrown that potion to the ground too.
Yuzen really didn't know what the heck was wrong with his MC. Why was he so adamant about fighting monsters by himself and refusing everything Yuzen gave him?
Not to mention he kept wandering around looking for new monsters even after surviving by just a hair.
Yuzen thought maybe he should go there himself and bonk the guy in the head, or at least persuade him to stop doing this.
Or… not.
Yuzen stopped.
He knew persuading wouldn't work, not to mention trying to bonk a guy who could kill monsters in seconds.
He didn't know what to do at all, since his MC had refused every help from him. But he was frustrated anyway and felt like he needed to find the guy and drag him by the collar if that's what it took to get him to a safe location.
He flicked his watch screen upward, and the hologram spread into the air.
[Channel: #WORLD7613 — Live — 7,213,804 watching]
The livestream banner glared above him while comments scrolled so fast they blurred.
[#truesupreme]: The MC is literally gonna die for sure, what the heck is the channel owner doing?!
[#lovelovehani]: Please save him! I still wanna see my goddess Hani!!
[#doctor777]: Fr, can't the channel owner do something about this situation? I've donated so many Loens already and this is what I get? This crappy story? Lol. Might as well go back to Towerlord channel, Lucien's story is 1000x better than this.
The replies flared fast.
[#truesupreme]: Boo, then go back! Who needs your money here anyway?!
[#highflo31]: Lol those tower climbing streams got boring after floor 120. Just the same routine, over and over.
[#lovelovehani]: This MC also acts like a saint. Rejecting goddess Hani again and again. Maybe he can't get it up after his prev girl died, lololol.
[#6327anon]: Or maybe he also swings another way. Like bi, you know?
[#sh69]: I ship MC with the new hoodie guy.
Yuzen, who had kept moving, almost tripped over a chunk of broken concrete. His stomach lurched as he caught himself.
Disgust crawled under his skin. Jaein was fighting for his life somewhere out here, yet all these people cared about was smut, gossip, and stupid shipping jokes.
Shipping characters in stories was one thing. But shipping real people? There had to be something broken in their brains.
But then the truth hit him.
Wait. For them, it is fiction.
His gut twisted tighter. To the millions watching, Jaein wasn't a real person bleeding out. They were just characters. Entertainment. Just like how Yuzen used to think.
Another small alert popped up.
Yuzen stopped in his tracks, catching up on his ragged breaths. He stared at the livestream and realized he could never find Jaein by running around blindly like this. At first he'd tried to match the location by the visuals, but every ruined building looked the same to him.
If the buildings still had their old appearance from when this channel was a #romance #slice-of-life, maybe he could match some places from memory.
The bookstore the MC used to visit with his now dead girlfriend.
The supermarket where the MC went shopping with his mother.
The riverbank where the MC played catch with his best friend.
But all those locations were unrecognizable now, at least to Yuzen who had only ever seen them in passing.
Guilt surged forward again. Yuzen clenched his shirt over his chest and felt like he couldn't breathe.
Suddenly a new notification popped up, different from the others.
[Are you watching? I know you are.]
[Stop giving me stuff. I don't need it.]
[I would rather you reply to me.]
Yuzen stared at the hovering hologram.
He finally decided there was no other choice.
[Use it. You can't die.]
The response came back at once:
[You finally reply.]
[Why can't I die? You haven't had your fun yet?]
Yuzen felt a lump in his throat.
[You need to survive.]
The next message blinked into existence, sharp and raw.
[For what? Why did you do this to me, God? Why did you take everything from me?]
Yuzen didn't know how to reply. He didn't know from where or how he should shape his words. He couldn't tell the truth and he didn't want to lie. To Jaein, he must look like an evil god bringing despair into his life. And that wasn't wrong at all.
[Not replying again? Then watch. Watch as I die, while bringing down all these things you created.]
A cold feeling shot through Yuzen's chest. He stared at the glowing text in panic and quickly clicked the livestream open. The projection spread wide above his wrist.
His MC was surrounded by the same giant white-haired creatures from before. There were six Yetis now, their fur streaked with dark blood. The camera zoomed slowly toward Jaein's face as a smile crept up his lips, but his brown eyes looked empty.
Jaein moved first. He lunged at the nearest beast with no hesitation, his sword a fast arc of steel that split fur and muscle. A claw raked across his shoulder, but he didn't flinch.
He spun under another swipe and drove his sword straight up through a Yeti's jaw. Blood sprayed across his tattered clothes. Another Yeti came from behind, and Jaein twisted, letting its claw tear across his side.
The pivot allowed him to cut deep into its neck. His movements were fast and brutal. He fought like someone who didn't care if he lost an arm as long as the strike landed.
His breath caught as the MC ducked low under a swipe. He rolled across the ground and rose into a thrust that impaled a third monster's chest. The beast screamed and toppled, but the fourth was already there, its jaws closing on Jaein's sleeve.
He yanked his arm free, ripping the fabric. He used the moment to slice open the beast's belly. Dark blood poured out over the shattered pavement.
Another claw caught him across the back. He staggered forward but didn't slow down, swinging wildly at the next one. His blade cut deep, but the fifth Yeti slammed its paw into him, knocking him across the street.
He hit the ground hard, rolled once, and came back up bleeding and grinning. The sixth came in from the side, and he met it head-on. He let its claws scrape across his arm so he could step inside its guard and ram his sword up into its throat.
The beast thrashed and fell, dragging the blade halfway from his grip before it stilled.
Jaein ended up half kneeling on the ground, his sword the only thing keeping him upright. His clothes were shredded and soaked in blood. The smile was still on his face, and with blood smeared over his skin, it looked even more eerie.
Yuzen kept trying to send the mods, but none of them were used. The same notification kept flashing over and over, telling him the MC was in danger.
Then, in the corner of the screen, a Yeti Yuzen thought was dead suddenly roared. It surged forward, charging straight at Jaein.
A new chat message flashed across Yuzen's watch.
[How is it? Do you like it? Is this entertaining enough for you?]