—The first wave was just rich people with money to burn who were curious.
—Seriously, it’s a one-off cash grab.
—With Simin’s trash personality, he’s probably making at least double that in profit.
—Hope they all co back broke, that’ll teach ‘em, lol.
—I heard so people went with just the 30 Gold and are now stranded over there.
The lants of those who couldn’t go dragged on.
One day, then two.
Even before any news ca back from the Demon World, they prejudged the situation, delighting in the thought of others’ losses.
However, their laughter didn’t last long.
—It’s insane. I skipped a trip to the U.S. to go sightseeing in the Demon World instead. I stayed three days and ca back when the second wave arrived. Then, get this: I picked up a rock off the ground because it looked pretty, and the Mage Tower bought it for 300 Gold, hahahahahahaha. I don’t even rember what kind of rock it was. I just went for the experience and walked away 240 Gold richer. I signed up for the next trip on the spot, lol. The third recruitnt is almost closed, but I just squeezed in and I’m going again the day after tomorrow. This ti I’m going to spend a whole month wandering around and picking up anything that looks new to , lol.
—I’m a miner. I got lucky and dug up a diamond three months ago, sold it, and went. Over there, ores that don’t even exist on the continent are just buried under your feet. I couldn’t get to the actual veins because of the monsters, but I still made over $50,000 on a three-day trip and finally escaped the rental life.
Every report that ca back was good news.
People wanted to believe they were just isolated cases, but no one claid to have taken a loss.
Even users who ca back with no tangible profit said it had been worthwhile just to see a new world.
The most concrete proof was the Gate’s opening cycle.
—He’s opening the Gate once every three days.
—They’re already closing recruitnt for the fifth wave, lol.
—At this rate, if you apply now, you won’t be able to go for a month.
—I need to sign up fast.
Users who had been cursing him out began to change their tune one by one and started scraping together Gold.
Any worries that the continent would change too drastically or that content would be consud too quickly were proven to be nonsense. As Demon World goods and resources poured onto the continent, prices naturally dropped from their initial highs, but not enough to deter anyone.
It couldn’t be helped.
—Holy crap, Demon World monsters are insanely strong.
—I found sothing worth 500 Gold and died more than three tis trying to get to it.
—Hey, is there seriously no guide or anything? I paid 30 Gold to co here.
—Where is all this stuff that’s supposedly lying around? I’ve been wandering for a week and haven’t seen anything valuable, or even a single monster.
The Demon World was larger than the continent.
It was vast, and users lacked the eye to recognize what was valuable.
Even those who just picked up whatever they could find said that landing even one good item was a jackpot.
Beginner’s luck was only ever granted to beginners.
The users who rushed in after hearing about that luck were now starting to take losses one by one.
Because of that, prices on the continent didn’t swing wildly.
The only one laughing through it all was a single man.
Han Simin.
“Wow, I really miscalculated. So this is why people say you need a college degree.”
“Why?” Yeseul asked.
“Well, I thought this business would net $30 million every ti I opened a Gate.”
“Yeah. That’s right, isn’t it?”
“It wasn’t.”
“What? Then what? Is it less?”
“No, it was $45 million per trip.”
She was speechless.
“Why did it never occur to that I could charge the return fee when I opened the Gate?”
He shook his head.
“This is why real-world experience matters. I didn’t realize it when I was just doing the math, but once I actually saw the money co in, it clicked.”
Once he opened a Gate, travel was possible from both sides.
Therefore, people returning from the Demon World could set their own schedule and simply pay to co back whenever the Gate opened.
A true creative economy with zero investnt cost.
Money kept piling up in Han Simin’s bank account.
*
The fatter the master’s wallet grew, the more complaints Sudal had.
GGUEEONG.
What was the point of churning out gold mines like crazy?
By the ti the gold was ready, Squeaker would show up and take it all.
After months of this, he’d truly lost his will to live.
Work is only satisfying when you can see results, but this... every day he just felt like, ’What’s the point of living like this?’
He couldn’t go on.
The bribes he was given no longer brought him any joy.
Sudal decided to leave the mountain range.
He considered running away but gave up when he realized there was nowhere on the continent outside his master’s grasp.
So he decided on a direct approach: a labor strike.
Just as he made up his mind, Squeaker ca flying in.
“Ggueeong! Ggueeong! Ggu-ggu-ggu-ggueeong!”
’You damn golden pig-dragon brat!’
“Bbaeeek!”
“Ggueeong!”
’You stuffed your face yesterday, and now there’s no gold left! Get lost!’
As Sudal raged, Squeaker flapped his wings, landed on Sudal’s shoulder, and tried to calm him down.
He had about as much conscience as Han Simin, but he acted as if he understood Sudal’s feelings, as if they were in the sa boat, and that pretense soothed Sudal again.
’Yeah, what’s this little guy’s fault? I know the master works him to death every day, too.’
A small misunderstanding went a long way toward building a sense of camaraderie.
Once Sudal cald down, Squeaker pulled out what he had brought.
“Ggueeong?”
Sudal’s eyes went wide.
His drooping shoulders, sagging from lost motivation, began to twitch.
From Squeaker’s belly, which stuck out more than a middle-aged man’s, poured an endless stream of jewels.
“Ggueeong?”
“Bbaeeek!”
’Dad told to bring these for you!’
At that one proud declaration, Sudal’s eyes grew misty.
“Ggueeong.”
’As expected of Master. He hasn’t forgotten .’
’He hasn’t forgotten all my hard work.’
Faced with the mountain of glittering jewels, Sudal steeled his resolve.
“Ggueeooong!”
’Let’s work hard again!’
Yeah, what was life, really?
If you worked like a bear and had even one day like this as a reward, that was enough.
There wasn’t a single useless gem in the pile.
Sudal was moved by his master’s thoughtfulness in not just grabbing random stones but selecting each one.
How he had gathered them didn’t matter.
Since the master had sent them, he must have worked hard to collect them.
Or so Sudal believed.
*
He remained silent.
Grokile’s face was twisted into a deep scowl.
“Why? Do you have a problem?” Epia asked.
“...No, Demon King.”
“You’re not a succubus, so why are you so obsessed with jewels? You’re a man. My consort needed them, so I sent them. Do you have a problem with that?”
“No. I would never dare.”
“Right?”
“...Yes.”
“You worked hard. It must have been difficult to get them.”
He didn’t dare respond.
“Now go back to work.”
“...Yes.”
*
14.
Han Yeori stepped out from under Han Simin’s shadow and started her own stream.
At first, it was hard.
Thanks to the boost from being associated with Han Simin, she had a base of regular viewers, but that number was at most two hundred.
For soone like her, who, like her brother, had set her subscription fee at $50, it was a lot, but it was a far cry from her goal of becoming as rich as him.
Even so, she didn’t get discouraged and kept working.
The content she chose was the Demon World.
“I’m going to show you my growth in the Demon World!”
She was a Buffer.
It wasn’t strange for soone like her, who could both fight directly and support a party, to hunt solo.
But the Demon World was a different story.
The content was good, but there were already plenty of strears with a “hunting in the Demon World” concept.
She needed to differentiate herself.
She decided to team up with Specialists to stand out.
It hadn’t been her idea.
“Yeori, I heard you’re going to the Demon World. Want to hunt together?”
“Sure!”
It was a win-win situation.
Regardless of level, Yeori was a support who could provide Specialists with enormous buffs, while Specialists was a reliable partner who could serve as a springboard for Yeori’s growth.
So they started hunting together in the Demon World.
Even so, their viewer count barely increased.
Including viewers who ca just to see Specialists and her own regulars, hitting a thousand was sothing to be grateful for.
That was how dismal the paid streaming market was for everyone except Han Simin.
Still, she kept grinding, believing that good days would co eventually.
Specialists, for his part, hadn’t stread at all after the very beginning, so watching Yeori, he felt sorry for her. One day, Jeong Hyeonsu spoke up.
“She looks like she really wants to succeed. Want so advice from a viewer’s perspective on how to blow up?”
“Yes!”
Jeong Hyeonsu glanced at Jeong Seolah.
Fortunately, Seolah was a short distance away, busy dismantling monster corpses.
Kang Yeseul was also back in town for a bit.
After a mont’s hesitation, Hyeonsu lowered his voice.
“Change your outfit.”
“Sorry?”
“Your outfit. I’ve been watching streams lately. Soone like you—Yeori—you’re pretty, you have a Legendary class, every condition is perfect. The only reason you’re not blowing up is one thing. Your viewer count is stable, which ans you’re constantly getting new people, right?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“But if your numbers aren’t growing, it ans the new viewers are leaving just as fast as they arrive. Think about it. I’m giving you this advice as a viewer.”
“Mm. Okay.”
Han Yeori understood what Jeong Hyeonsu ant.
Even so, she tilted her head, not entirely convinced.
’Would wearing lighter clothes—not stripping, just showing a bit more—really increase her viewers?’
Using a thod she didn’t understand felt uncomfortable.
So she asked her master.
“Simin. My viewer count is stuck, so I was thinking of showing a little more skin. Do you think that would actually help?”
“What? Skin?”
“...Yeah.”
Han Yeori flinched at Han Simin’s explosive reaction as he sprawled on the sofa.
’Did I make a mistake, asking my own brother sothing like this?’
’He really is my brother, after all. Is he worried about ?’
“You an you haven’t been showing any skin this whole ti?” he asked.
“It’s a privilege unique to won. You don’t have to strip, just show a little skin. That’s how you grow your viewer base. In a world as open-minded as this, plenty of girls walk around half-naked even when they’re not streaming. If you keep it moderate, it can only have a positive effect.”
“...Okay.”
“And put on so makeup.”
Even hearing it directly from her ntor, Han Yeori couldn’t quite wrap her head around it.
So, she decided to stop trying to understand and just give it a shot.
In the ga, she applied heavy makeup and changed into a thed outfit with high slits that bared her thighs. She put her hair up to reveal her slender neck and highlighted her bright red lips.
The buffs she cast felt completely different as she charged into battle.
After streaming like that for exactly three days, her viewer count had already surpassed ten thousand.
From then on, it was smooth sailing.
As a blood relative of Han Simin, she lacked for nothing.
“Oh, you’re in the Demon World and want my buffs? You can see the price list right here, can’t you? Once I gain twenty more levels, I’ll be adding an EXP buff as well, so please look forward to it!”
It was the birth of a second Han Simin.
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