Please Stop The Pope

Episode 7

“Wow, it’s real. They’ve got it all taken care of. Dude, you can livestream right now, and it’s not just MyTube. I’ve got Paprika and Twitpod accounts all set up. This stuff usually takes like two weeks.”

“They sure do work fast.”

“Yeah, well, the most powerful agency in South Korea right now is the Ministry of Information Technology. Wow, and they did it in three hours. That’s amazing.”

In Wook let out a small exclamation as he tapped away at his keyboard.

He had just confirmed that the Player Permissions had been approved for all internet platforms, including YouTube.

I thought Team Leader Kim said he’d take care of it, but I didn’t realize he’d already done it.

-As of this time, Mr. Shi Yu, you are now a VIP of the Ministry of Ability Management. If there is anything else you need to take care of, please contact us first.

I suddenly remembered the words of the Minister of Ability Management.

I’m still nervous about this, but maybe it’s a good thing I started with the Ministry.

I nodded slowly, then looked at In Wook and said.

“Right. There’s one thing I didn’t tell you.”

“What is it?”

“Well, for the time being, my perks are going to be Disaster-class standards. Apparently, there’s no clear standard in this country yet, so they’re going to introduce a bill to expedite it.”

“What kind of perks do you have?”

“There’s a lot of them, but the one I remember is tax exemption, which is just exempt from all taxes. But you have to go to the tax office once a year for an audit.”

In Wook’s mouth dropped open when he heard that.

“That’s crazy. The tax audit is to prevent someone else from illegally evading taxes by using you.”

“Hey, are you smart?”

“No, it doesn’t mean you’re exempt from taxes …… No, it makes sense when you think about it.”

In Wook turned serious, then looked at me with a proud look in his eyes and said.

“If they want you to stay in Korea, you deserve that much. That’s the kind of person you are, don’t you think?”

“You’re so full of family love today. Is that why you paid for your brother’s funeral?”

“Do you know how expensive the sapling I planted in the Tree graveyard for you was? No one is more family-oriented than me.”

Shamelessness runs in the family.

Maybe it’s because we’re brothers, but we’re very similar.

I smirked as I watched In Wook spout off the lie without changing his face, then slapped him lightly on the back.

“Just tell your hyung what you want to do. You said you had a plan.”

“A big plan.”

With that, In Wook tapped away at his keyboard, and soon, a MyTube channel with 5.42 million subscribers popped up on his monitor.

The channel name was simple.

<Player K>.

And I immediately recognized what made this channel so popular.

“He’s handsome.”

“You think so, right? He’s got a good personality. He’s never been in any controversy, and he’s always paid me right away whenever I’ve helped him out.”

“He’s never missed a payment? Then he’s a good guy.”

“Yes, and…… he hasn’t.”

Being prompt with payments is a big part of trustworthiness.

At least he seems trustworthy.

In Wook continued to scroll down the page.

“As you know, the easiest way for someone new to broadcasting to get attention is to get help from a big company, or as they say in the slang, take advantage of someone else. The personal broadcasting ecosystem hasn’t changed much, so it’s easy to understand.”

“Well, I’m great at taking advantage of people, but what did you tell this guy? You didn’t even know I was an Irregular.”

“Oh, he just happened to have some content that he was hosting that you could join.”

With that, he clicked his mouse again.

A moment later, a new playlist popped up in front of me, and I smirked at the title of the playlist.

The title was simple.

It was core content that anyone could see, boasting an overwhelming number of views even compared to other videos.

“The players who have just awakened are called newbies. This brother, or Minsoo, hosts content that teaches those newbies. They recently had a vacancy.”

“A vacancy?”

“One of the guys got seriously injured while killing monsters, but anyway, they’ve been looking for more people lately. I told him about you, and he asked me to come in for an interview.”

That sounds pretty plausible.

Judging by the number of views, it’s definitely a hit.

However, the premise was wrong from the start.

I turned to In Wook with a slightly furrowed brow.

“Am I a newbie in your eyes?”

No, to put it bluntly, the owner of this channel, Player K, was also a newbie in my eyes.

It didn’t make sense for me to be called a newbie and appear on the channel.

But In Wook smiled as if he’d been waiting for my point.

“Exactly, hyung.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“We’re going in with that concept. I just came up with a name for the project. Do you want to hear it?”

In Wook paused for a moment and then spoke in a serious voice.

“The main character hides his power. What do you think, bro? My plan is awesome. I haven’t told Minsoo the details yet, but if I do, he’ll probably approve of it because he likes this concept. It’s the best concept for a new face.”

What kind of monster had I woken up?

The protagonist hides their powers.

This is one of the most popular tropes used in webcomics and web novels in the early 20th century.

To put it simply, it’s a trope where the protagonist hides their powers.

-Trainee #3! When it gets hard, you give up.

Are players that easy? Do you think they’re all the same just because they’re awakened?

-I apologize, we’ll fix it!

-When exposed to the poison used by the goblins, players with low resistance will die! And when you die, your teammates will fall as well…….

“That’s not how it works.”

I was watching <Newbie Military Academy> on In Wook’s computer.

For some reason, the plot seems to be similar to a content called “Fake Man” that was popular in the past, but fads come and go, so let’s move on.

“But In Wook, do you really need to do this? Why don’t you just get the video of what your brother showed you at Yeouido Gate from the talent management department, edit it, and post it?”

That’s what I was wondering from the beginning.

It seems like In Wook had a plan for me, but it might have been more effective to just release the video without any plans.

But In Wook just smiles at my words.

He clicks the mouse in front of me and shows me the “#1 trending video in real-time”.

A video titled “Hidden Player?” posted an hour ago by a profile picture-less account called Smartcrow.

In less than an hour, it had already garnered over 15 million views and well over 100,000 comments.

The content of the video was really simple.

“This is your brother, right?”

“Yeah.”

The main character of the video was me.

A video of me unilaterally slaughtering wyverns at Yeouido Gate.

The video was trying to be careful with the censorship of MyTube, so the wyverns’ gory corpses and blood were mosaicked together in a cheap mosaic.

The video wasn’t that colorful.

That’s the way my fighting style is supposed to be.

Efficiently reducing enemies to the bare minimum, with no wasted effort.

It’s a habit I’ve acquired from nearly a decade of taking on large armies alone.

There’s no time for fancy stances when you have to reduce enemy numbers as quickly as possible.

Anyway, the video ends with the wyverns flying through the sky and falling down as if electrocuted.

A short video of about 3 minutes.

After I finished watching it, I scratched my head and said.

“Apparently, I’m supposed to wear an emblem for two weeks.”

“I’m sure there were other hired players there, and it’s hard to keep them all under control. I saw that one just now. But, Dude. What did you do at the end? If you can’t use magic, why did the wyverns fall on their own?”

I tried to think of a good answer to that question.

And as soon as I came up with something vaguely similar, I said it to In Wook.

“You know how they say you want to pee when you see something scary?”

“That’s right.”

“Imagine you want to pee, and your bladder bursts, and you die.”

“……Hmm, profound.”

“You could probably get that ability after killing hundreds of thousands of wyverns.”

In Wook is silent for a moment as he listens to my answer.

I’m not kidding, but it’s a skill that can stun wyverns for a short period of time.

It’s actually a passive skill called <Nemesis of the Wyvern>.

I’ve been meaning to check out the skill for a while, but my personal system windows are still out of sync.

Anyway.

If the video has spread this far, shouldn’t we be able to broadcast it right now?

“In Wook, I don’t think we need to go through the whole newbie cadet thing. We can just start right away. If we say I’m the main character in the video, won’t everyone come in on their own?”

“Good point, hyung. Here, take a look at this.”

In Wook said, and at the same time, he typed ‘Yeouido Han River Gate protagonist’ into the search bar.

And then.

“Yeouido Hidden Player? That’s actually……”

“Yeouido Hidden Player, premiering on my YouTube.”

“Hidden player? I don’t know.”

Countless videos poured in like a rain shower.

“I’m dizzy.”

“See, bro, this is the hard part. The cyber wreckers will smell it and come running, and it’s not going to be easy. One way to do it is to hire part-timers to spread the word, but that’s not cool.”

I’ve never seen In Wook be so logical in my life.

However, there was one blind spot in Wook’s argument.

“Then why don’t I just go to the Ministry of Human Resources and ask them to hold a press conference?”

It doesn’t have to start on MyTube.

Why not create a ripple effect through the established media and then bring it to MyTube?

But In Wook nodded in agreement.

“We should do that, too.”

“Huh?”

“Why are you thinking of doing just one thing? Why don’t we get the help of a big company, take a video, and hold a press conference, and the synergy effect will be maximized?”

I chuckled.

I could only applaud In Wook’s novel idea.

It’s said that three years at a village school is enough to recite a poem.

Now that he’s been an editor for five years, his way of thinking is almost that of a MyTuber.

Yes, In Wook is right.

It wasn’t a situation where I had to decide whether to eat Jajangmyeon or Jjampong.

You just order both. Naturally.

“Then why don’t I just call and say I’ll be there tomorrow? There’s a shoot tomorrow, and if you’re lucky, you might get to participate.”

“I don’t really have anything to do tomorrow anyway, so whatever, but In Wook, why do you seem to be more proactive than me?”

I said with a wry smile, and In Wook looked me straight in the eye and answered.

“I thought you said that your powers are limited…….”

“That’s true.”

“Shouldn’t you be proactive? It’s hard enough just keeping me and Si Yeon fed…….”

“I’ll try …….”

Something about the ending was fishy.

Just like that, In Wook and I were making plans for the future.

Beep, beep, beep!

“I’m home! Oppa! Oppa! Oppa!”

After going to school, Si Yeon came home, and as soon as she returned, she hugged me and smiled.

“Is our youngest home?”

“Hehe. I thought you had disappeared again, so I came back quickly. Did I do a good job, Oppa?”

“Of course. If you’re scared of me disappearing, why don’t you just stay with me tomorrow instead of going to school?”

“I can’t do that! I have to get my attendance award, big brother. Let’s order tteokbokki!”

“Okay, then. In Wook, order tteokbokki.”

“Si Yeon, the one you eat every day?”

“Yes, In Oppa.”

“Okay.”

I smiled as I hugged her and thought to myself.

My family must have suffered because of me, and I must make them feel better.

So let’s do something about it.

I wasn’t about to sit back and let my hard-earned power be taken away from me.