Chapter 9
Chapter 9: Merge with Yu Ye-rin
The Castle Defense Gallery, livelier than before, was in full bloom with talk about Mu-yeong when a post with an interesting title appeared.
[Today's veteran legend play.gif]
—Found this guy while browsing streams on Jijijik today, he's insane so I brought it over.
(A clip of someone dodging all of the fourth-floor boss's attacks with their eyes closed)
(A clip of someone catching a flying arrow and turning the tables)
(A clip of someone executing the fifth-floor boss with an axe)
Roughly five-second-long clips.
Everyone who clicked the post rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
—This isn't just veteran-level, this guy's insane!
—But that first clip, isn't that the fourth-floor boss? How is that even possible?
—The last one is Bask???
—Holy sh*t, what did I just watch?
Comments began pouring in one after another. Normally most of them would have been about it being faked, but perhaps due to Mu-yeong's effect of clearing up to the seventh floor—it didn't escalate that far.
[But where are all these old-guard types suddenly popping up from?]
—Did the sky spring another leak somewhere?
—Must've come out of some cave after living there a long time.
—There are some like that every once in a while, you know. Martial artists who couldn't adapt to modern things and just trained out in the mountains.
—Kind of fascinating lol
[Is this secretly a patched difficulty nerf?]
—Otherwise there's no explanation. How do two people clear the fifth floor on back-to-back days?
—I tried it earlier this afternoon and it's the same as before.
—But that kind of movement isn't something you can pull off just because the difficulty got nerfed.
—Fr, look at how this person moves. I could never do that.
All sorts of theories surfaced, making the gallery even more active. In the midst of it all, a witness appeared.
[That person is Mu-yeong, yet this place still doesn't know.]
—I watched the stream from start to finish, and at one point he said his name was Mu-yeong.
If you don't believe me I'll give you the stream link, go check it out later.
—But the streamer's username is guest437123, so you're lying?
—It's not like this person just got internet yesterday, what even is that username lol
—Is this your alt account?
—I'll check the VOD and be right back. Just you wait.
People rushed over in droves. A little while later, favorites and notifications began shooting up.
.
.
.
.
The stream that day wrapped up with clearing the fifth-floor boss. The donations had come in more generously than expected, and it was also the perfect point to cut things off.
When Mu-yeong stepped out of the capsule, Iron Blood Witch and Divine Dragon were waiting for him.
"You've worked hard, Young Lord. How was your first stream?"
"Quite fun. I didn't know I'd missed interacting with people this much."
"You've been alone for so long, that's more than understandable. I'm truly glad you enjoyed it."
"More importantly, Iron Blood Witch—where do I check how much in donations I received today? I want to see it quickly."
"Ah, that would be, let's see. Over here……."
Iron Blood Witch clicked on the monitor set up outside the capsule. After pressing this and that a few more times, she stepped aside.
"Have a look."
Mu-yeong stepped forward.
[Total Amount Received in Donations: 3,200,000 Won]
[Withdrawable Amount: 3,200,000 Won]
3,200,000 Won.
He had roughly expected it to be around this much, but seeing it directly felt different altogether. Mu-yeong smiled with quiet satisfaction.
"Yu Ye-rin did something truly significant today."
"That's right. That big mission she set at the end was what made the biggest difference."
"To think I'd ever receive this much help from the Daehwasan Sect. How strange."
"Indeed. Hoho."
Whatever this thing called money was—Mu-yeong felt an internal fondness for Yu Ye-rin rise within him, despite never having met her. Not by much. Just a little.
Still gazing at the monitor, he spoke again.
"So, if I want to use this money to repay the sect's debt, what do I need to do?"
"I'm fully in charge of that. There's a dedicated debt account, and once you deposit into it, it automatically withdraws once a month—ah, actually, let me explain this separately another time."
Iron Blood Witch quickly cut herself off upon seeing Mu-yeong's expression go flat.
To Mu-yeong, who had only recently been exposed to modern civilization, the financial system was as distant as a star in the sky.
Instead, she rubbed her hands together and changed the subject.
"Now then, Young Lord—do you plan to stream again tomorrow?"
"I have to. I want to pay off the debt as soon as possible, but I've also taken a liking to it myself."
"Ah, then would it be all right if I took a look at your stream settings? This is a new device, and I'd like to make sure everything is configured properly."
"I was about to ask you the same thing, so thank you."
"It's nothing."
Iron Blood Witch smiled and began pressing this and that again. Then she suddenly spun around to face Mu-yeong. Her expression was very serious.
"Young Lord, did you stream it exactly like this?"
"I did."
"You're remarkable in a whole different sense……. Do you see this, right here?"
Mu-yeong's gaze followed the tip of Iron Blood Witch's finger.
[Guest437123]—Castle Defense.
"It's a wonder you managed to get forty viewers with a username and stream title like this……. This is genuinely the worst possible combination for attracting anyone."
"Is there a problem?"
"Quite a few! A username is a streamer's face, and the stream title is like a signboard that draws people in. With something this half-hearted, no one will come to watch!"
‘Is that so?’
Mu-yeong glanced at Divine Dragon, who was also nodding vigorously.
If two experts in this field were saying so, then it must be true.
"Then how should I change it?"
"For now, this should be Young Lord's name, Mu-yeong, and the stream title should be something provocative enough to make anyone want to click at least once……."
Tak-tak-tak-tak.
Iron Blood Witch typed away enthusiastically at the keyboard.
The result was soon revealed.
[Mu-yeong—Castle Defense Non-stop Till Clear, No Stream End]
"Oh, as expected of the Hao Clan Leader!"
"Right?"
"This will definitely pull in a massive crowd!"
Divine Dragon and Iron Blood Witch giggled and cheered. Seeing them clap their palms together, Mu-yeong smiled inwardly.
'Watching those two rejoice like children puts me in a good mood too.'
It was something he couldn't have imagined in the past.
In the midst of that shared joy, Divine Dragon suddenly pointed at the screen.
"Young Lord, there's a message for you."
"A message?"
"It wasn't there until just a moment ago. I think it'd be best to check it quickly."
"Let's do that."
Mu-yeong pressed the small envelope-shaped icon.
And there, listed as the sender, was someone he hadn't expected.
[Yu Ye-rin]
“Hello! Mu-yeong!
This is streamer Yu Ye-rin—the one who set the 2,000,000 Won mission earlier!
I wanted to reach out because I was so deeply moved by your stream today!
As someone who also plays Castle Defense, it was absolutely incredible.
So, I wanted to ask—would you be interested in doing a collab stream tomorrow, if you're open to it?
It'd be great for me, since I'd get to watch you fight up close, and great for you, since you'd get the overflow from my viewers.
I think it'd be mutually beneficial for both of us.
I'll be waiting for your reply!
Thank you!”
"So she says."
Mu-yeong read it aloud and looked around with his eyes, seeking opinions.
Iron Blood Witch raised her hand.
"I'm in favor. As far as I know, Yu Ye-rin is a mid-tier streamer with an average viewership of around 2,500. That number is nothing but helpful for the Young Lord—it couldn't possibly be a disadvantage."
"Agreed. The split on donations will likely be fifty-fifty, but there's a very high chance that so-called 'big hands'—wealthy viewers—will donate generously."
Neither of them said a single negative word.
That meant this was something to accept without question.
Mu-yeong had no particular reason to refuse either.
She was offering to promote him herself and bring in money on top of that—this was essentially a windfall rolling right to his door.
He nodded immediately.
"Then let's send a reply."
Mu-yeong placed his hands on the keyboard and began moving his fingers.
Tak…… Tak…… Tak…… Tak.
Hunt-and-peck typing.
At the sight of him raising one index finger and pressing each key one by one, Iron Blood Witch turned her head away. Divine Dragon also clamped his mouth shut to make absolutely sure no sound escaped.
Tak…… Tak…… Tak…… Tak.
In the quiet of the room, the sounds didn't stop for quite some time.
.
.
.
.
"Please please please pleaaase……."
Yu Ye-rin sat hugging her knees, continuously hitting refresh.
She had been around long enough in this world, yet the reason she was trembling like this was simple.
It was the first time she had ever proposed a collab.
"I tried to write it as nicely as possible…… but what if they say no? Should I send another one?"
Tak-tak-tak-tak!
She hammered the F5 key repeatedly. The notification that the other party had read her message was clearly showing—but there was no sign of a reply coming.
Just as she was about to give up, a new message appeared at the top.
Yu Ye-rin's hand moved at the speed of light.
She checked the contents and let out a cheer.
"It worked!"
[I'll accept. What time shall we meet tomorrow?]
There were two reasons Yu Ye-rin was this excited.
The first was to confirm whether he was a hacker. Castle Defense supports multiplayer for up to four players. Solo play was one thing—but with a collab like this, she could catch evidence far more clearly than through a monitor.
The second was pure curiosity.
Back then and even now, Yu Ye-rin had always hungered for strength. So even amid her busy schedule, she had steadily trained her Swordsmanship and Footwork here and there. She held no small amount of pride in her abilities.
But then Mu-yeong appeared—someone who shattered common sense entirely.
'He looks around my age, so how is he that strong?'
Truthfully, the second reason was far more significant.
The trigger had been the way he handled the fifth-floor boss.
"I completely missed his movement."
Mu-yeong's hands had passed like a ghost—impossibly fast.
It had clearly seemed like a form of energy-sealing technique, yet something about it was different. As though he had created it on the spot, right there in that moment.
Of course, Yu Ye-rin had rewound the VOD multiple times and tried to follow along herself. But the angle of the broadcast camera and the motion blur made it anything but easy.
Eventually, after giving up, the thought she landed on was the collab proposal. If she could observe him up close, it would be an unparalleled opportunity.
"If he really is the Mu-yeong ranked first, he'll be able to show it again this time, won't he?"
The seventh floor—or perhaps, a new world beyond even that.
Yu Ye-rin began typing her reply, her heart pounding.
.
.
.
.
The next day.
Mu-yeong turned on his stream ten minutes ahead of schedule.
—Oh, he's here!
—Muha
—Hey hey
—Missed first.
Mu-yeong was startled by the chat flooding in all at once.
'Is this the Yu Ye-rin effect?'
He hadn't posted any announcement, yet people were already pouring in like a tide.
Mu-yeong cleared his throat. And he recalled what Iron Blood Witch had told him in advance.
—Young Lord, you really need to fix that stiff way of talking.
—Someone mentioned that yesterday too. But what does "stiff" mean?
—It means the formal, rigid speech you're currently using. And the majority of viewers are modern people. So try to be a bit more casual…… try repeating after me. Muha-muha~ Thanks for coming to today's stream too!
—Ugh……
His stomach suddenly turned.
His body was rejecting it, declaring it would sooner die than say that.
He considered just keeping his mouth sealed shut, but since these were people who gave him money, he decided to make an attempt.
He thought it through and then……
"Everyone came quickly. Good to see you."
He had clearly rehearsed lines in his head, but his mouth simply wouldn't cooperate.
Strangely, though, the atmosphere in the chat was warm and cheerful.
—He seems around my age, but the way he talks is so funny lol
—His dead-serious face makes it even funnier lol
—Fr, the more you watch him the more adorable he is.
The reactions were actually good.
It seemed like he didn't need to change it after all.
As he let out a quiet sigh of relief, the viewership had already broken fifty.
Ten more than just before he ended the stream the day prior.
Even so, the number still didn't make sense.
Which left only one explanation.
"Is everyone here for Yu Ye-rin?"
—?
—Why'd you bring her up out of nowhere?
—We're here for you though?
—Ah, maybe you don't know, but you got pinpointed on the community board.
—Shh, don't let on.
'Pinpointed?'
‘Did someone recommend my stream?’
‘Well, I did clear up to the fifth floor—it makes sense word would spread.’
‘I'll have to check on that later.’
"Ah, hello! Am I a little late?"
Less than a minute after he had been waiting in the lobby, a woman in a Martial Robe appeared. It was Yu Ye-rin, wearing clothes emblazoned with plum blossoms—clearly advertising Daehwasan Sect to anyone who looked.
The chat exploded.
—No way, it's actually Yu Ye-rin??
—Wait, is this a collab today???
—No waaaay!!!
—She's genuinely incredibly pretty wow
Watching her wave her hand, Mu-yeong pursed his lips slightly.
'She certainly lives up to being called the Greatest Beauty of Daehwasan.'
No—that was an understatement.
She had looks that could more than hold their own far beyond Daehwasan. Taste varied, of course, but she was comfortably comparable to Iron Blood Witch, who had been called one of the Three Beauties of the Martial World.
It was immediately clear why she was so popular.
Mu-yeong took a step toward her.
"Mu-yeong."
"I go by Yu Ye-rin. Nice to meet you!"
Before the introductions had even finished, a Transmitted Voice reached Mu-yeong.
—It seems like you don't have much streaming experience, so would it be all right if I took charge of things?
—Please do.
—Sure! Then let's have a great time today!
Yu Ye-rin smiled and spread both arms wide open.
"Were you all surprised? Those who already know might recognize me, but I was so deeply moved watching Mu-yeong's stream yesterday. So I proposed a collab, and he was kind enough to agree!"
—Wow
—Insane.
—Amazing.
—This person clearly came to collect after getting 2,000,000 Won drained out of her lol
—Fr lol
Mu-yeong saw it.
The moment Yu Ye-rin's eyebrow twitched.
But she was a professional through and through, and didn't let it show.
—So what's today's content?
—Obviously Castle Defense at this point.
—There's really nothing else lol
"As expected, you've all figured it out. Today, Mu-yeong and I will be doing a Castle Defense playthrough stream together. Now then, standing around in the lobby isn't really our style, so why don't we go ahead and get into the game?"
At Yu Ye-rin's signal, an invitation message appeared in front of Mu-yeong.
[Yu Ye-rin has invited you to Castle Defense.]
[Will you accept? Y/N]
"Accept."
The moment Mu-yeong spoke, everything in front of him brightened. The viewers watched the same screen, chatting among themselves as the loading finished.
—But in multiplayer, aren't the enemies stronger?
—Well, there are two of them, so that's only fair balance-wise.
—But Mu-yeong hadn't explained that. He doesn't know yet, right?
—That's what makes it more fun lol
—Fr, he's ranked first, I'm sure he'll figure it out.
Everyone wore a mischievous grin at that very moment.
The loading finished, and the familiar sight of the castle walls appeared.