The first alarm rang at six, and Hajin killed it with one hand while peeling Bibi off his cheek with the other. She started the night on his neck and ended up on his face, snoring softly until his skin went cold.
"Up," he said, pushing himself upright and rubbing his eyes. "We have a lot to do today."
"Bi," Bibi chirped after bouncing to his shoulder and poking his ear.
'Yeah, same,' he thought as he dragged himself out of bed and listened to rain hit the window.
In the morning light, the room looked cramped, with wet socks by the heater and a torn pillow shoved under the desk from yesterday's bite. He pulled on a clean shirt, opened his bank app, and stared at the same numbers.
[Current balance: 187,420 won]
[Rent withdrawal in: 2 days 18 hours]
"This is kind off good motivation, gets me off my ass," he muttered as he locked the screen.
He opened the streaming app, logged into the new channel, and found the name he typed before crashing.
[Channel: SilverStream]
[Followers: 0]
[Monetization: Basic]
The payout panel loaded while Bibi climbed across his wrist and tried to chew his phone case. He pulled his hand back and looked at the loaded information closer.
[Live donations: Enabled]
[Platform share: 30%]
[Ad share unlock: 100 followers]
[Clip bonus unlock: 10,000 views]
"Don't eat the phone," he said, lifting his wrist away.
Bibi paused, made a guilty sound, and tapped the [Followers: 0] line, making him exhale.
"Bi," she chirped, tilting her head.
"Exactly," he said with a snort. "We have to fix that 0 followers today, no matter what."
He spent twenty minutes filling legal forms with one hand and blocking Bibi from the keyboard with the other, then uploaded his awakening card for verification. Approval came back fast, but the tag looked bad.
[Rookie status: Active]
[Discovery priority: Low]
[Gate livestream access: Approved]
'No starter perks huh,' he thought, rubbing his chin, 'well, that's fine, not like I expected anything anyways.'
SilverStream needed gear first, so he packed his charger, notebook, and spare tape before heading to the old market where broke rookies bought whatever they could find for cheap. Bibi rode in his hood most of the walk and popped her head out whenever someone came too close.
By nine, he stood at a narrow electronics stall with old signs and broken drones on hooks. He dropped his bag on the counter and waited for the owner to look up.
"Hello, I need a budget setup," he said when the man finally glanced over.
The owner gave him and Bibi a quick once-over, then flashed him a polite smile which faded before he answered.
"How tight is your budget?" the owner asked, still holding his tablet.
"Eighty thousand max," Hajin said, tapping the counter once.
"Then you rent, not buy," the owner said as he crouched behind the counter.
He set down a scratched chest cam, a clip mic wrapped in tape, and a micro-drone that buzzed with a sound that made it clear it was not in good shape.
He nudged them closer to Hajin, "The cam and mic both work just fine, the drone is the one that has hiccups from time to time."
Hajin checked the cam strap while Bibi stretched toward a bundle of cable ties by the shelf, noticing her too late.
"No," he said but she still snapped one tie into her mouth before he could grab her, then looked up and chirped.
"Bi."
"Oh, quite the interesting slime you got there," the owner said with slight interest.
"Please forgive her, she has an eating disorder," he said, holding out his hand for the stolen tie.
Ten minutes later, he walked out with the rented gear, one spare battery, and a cheap selfie rod in a secondhand sling bag. The bag was old but usable, and Bibi stayed in his hood chewing the cable tie she kept.
'This is a poor start but I can't back out now,' he thought as he tightened the strap, 'with these, I cant at least start and try.'
He grabbed two triangle kimbap rolls from a street cart, fed Bibi one piece at a time, and spent lunch checking gate listings on the Hunter Association app. Most beginner gates paid nothing and pulled no audience, while safer training gates were dead content unless the streamer was already famous.
One listing with a yellow caution icon and an open queue stopped his thumb, so he opened it.
[Gate ID: SB-F11]
[Type: Combat Gate]
[Name: Seongbuk Slime Den]
[Rank: F+]
[Recommended: F-E party]
F+ was still rookie territory, but monster density was higher and the page showed a mini-boss marker in the final chamber. The risk was high, but at least people might watch.
'If I pick an easy dungeon no one will watch,' he thought as he zoomed in on the details. 'If I pick this, at least someone might clip it, saying it's funny or something.'
He tapped reserve, confirmed the slot, and watched the timer lock as the listing disappeared from the open queue.
[Entry time: 14:40]
[Window length: 30 minutes]
[Solo entry: Approved]
The ride to Seongbuk was packed with couriers, students, and low-rank hunters, and Hajin spent most of it rehearsing his opener while adjusting his camera angle with two fingers. Bibi sat on top of his hood, and every few stops someone stared before looking away.
A middle-school kid pointed at Bibi from two seats away while his mom watched.
"Is that your summon?" the kid asked.
"Yeah," he answered, adjusting his strap.
"It's cute," the kid said, leaning forward.
Bibi puffed up and snapped at the air near the kid's finger, then smacked her body against Hajin's hood in protest.
"Bi."
"Be careful, she has a bad habit of trying to eat everything," he said, making the kid laughed while his mom pulled him back.
At the gate district, white tents lined the block as rookies tested mics, checked armor straps, and tried to look calm. Bigger channels rolled past with full camera crews and branded outfits, while most people ignored the small setup lane.
Hajin signed in at the SB-F11 desk and waited while the clerk checked his slot, stamping his wristband without looking up.
"Are you going solo?" she asked, already reaching for the next form.
"Yes," he said, handing over ID.
"You have no insurance package on file," she said as she scanned his form.
"Uh, I can't afford it," he said, keeping his tone friendly.
She stamped anyway and slid a laminated warning card across the desk. He took it without arguing.
"The exit beacon is one use only," she said. "If you trigger it, run straight out."
He tucked the card into his pocket and moved to prep, stopping in front of a cracked mirror between two empty lockers.
"Phew, this is it," he said while clipping the mic, "my first step into the streaming and hunter world, I hope I don't die on my first stream."
Bibi bounced from his shoulder to his wrist while he tested audio.
"Sound check."
[Mic level: Stable]
[Video feed: Stable]
[Latency: 1.8s]
He opened SilverStream, set the [Rookie Gate] category, typed a title, hovered over [Go Live] for a moment, then pressed it.
[Title: F-Rank Summoner Solo - Slime Den Run]
[Category: Rookie Gate]
[Visibility: Public]
'No backing out now,' he thought.
The feed opened to zero viewers, then two anonymous accounts joined and stayed as he stepped into frame, giving a short nod.
"I'm Kwon Hajin, an F-rank Summoner," he said. "First live gate run starts in a few minutes."
Chat sat still for a second, then started moving as names stacked in the corner.
[SeoulGateLurker]- "hold, isn't this that 8% guy?"
[CrownCounter77]- "no way he is going in solo, is he that desperate?"
[ClipFarmOperator]- "that summon is really tiny, can that even help in a fight?"
[RefundQueueMain]- "hamster class live"
Bibi stared at the overlay and slapped at the air in front of it, "bi!"
"Yeah, don't let them get to you too much," he said as he tightened his strap.
More users joined after nearby rookies dropped his title in public chat, most coming to watch an F-rank fail live.
[Live viewers: 19]
Two tents over, a spear user in a sponsored jacket glanced at Hajin's setup and laughed into his own mic, making a few nearby hunters turn their heads.
"What the, he has no team or a single armor set," the guy said to his stream with a grin, "does he have a death wish? Whatever, good content for the viewers I guess."
Hajin heard every word, checked his battery again, and kept his breathing even without looking over.
'I can try and act all nonchalant,' he thought, 'but hearing people talk trash about me still stings.'
He pinned one short line so spam would not bury real messages, slowing the flood enough to read.
[Pinned: Watch if you want - clip anything you deem viral worthy]
Bibi settled on his shoulder and watched the gate where blue distortion moved between two pylons.
"Ready?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the board.
"Bi," she chirped, sticking herself on his cheek.
The entry board flipped to green, and his slot flashed with the countdown. People in line went quiet and watched the timer.
[SB-F11 Entry Window]
[Slot: Solo-27]
[Time remaining: 00:00:45]
He rolled his shoulders, checked the exit beacon at his belt, and stepped toward the line as chat sped up, the scanner queue moving faster than he expected.
[SeoulGateLurker]- "he is actually doing it"
[ClipFarmOperator]- "I bet this ends in 3 mins"
[CrownCounter77]- "tiny slime will carry"
The barrier opened when his wristband hit the scanner, and cold air rushed out as the floor marker lit under his boots.
[Entry authorized]
He looked at the distortion, tightened his grip on the camera rod, glanced at the climbing count in the corner, set his stance, and stepped forward.
[Live viewers: 47]
'Forty-seven is enough to start,' he thought as step through. 'Now we keep them watching.'