12

Accidents always happen at the most unexpected times and in ways you can't even imagine.

The moment I realized something unusual was happening might have been after I finished an unexpected collaboration stream with Hero Forming and was left alone in the MS Room.

[Warning! The user's condition has entered a critical state.]

At first, I thought it might be a device malfunction or an issue with the virtual reality responsiveness, so I didn't take it too seriously.

After all, there was no problem with the sensations I felt in my body.

Since there was no apparent issue, I thought everything would be fine. But…

[Proceeding with forced logout.]

That complacency hit me hard, like a slap to the back of my head.

"What the—?"

Like surfacing from underwater, the connection was severed, and the sensations of reality began to wrap around my body.

As my eyelids lifted, I finally understood what the alert from my electronic assistant was trying to warn me about.

A heavy, throbbing headache and an overwhelming lethargy made me lose all motivation for anything.

Caught off guard by the sudden change in circumstances, I could only respond in one way.

"Ugh, what now?"

Frustration surged within me at this abrupt shift.

If this had happened during the collaboration with Forming, it would have been a serious discourtesy to her.

My body ached, and the pressing headache was enough to drive anyone crazy.

As a hero, I had never experienced this kind of physical state before.

I had to get up and check what was going on…

***

With a hiss, the capsule opened, and I dragged my sore body out.

Only then did I realize what had happened to me.

It wasn't just the lethargy overwhelming me.

My lower half felt damp, and my pants felt unusually heavy, almost as if they were being pulled downward.

Looking down, an expletive involuntarily escaped my lips.

"Damn it…"

The weight wasn't just in my condition.

Even my pants were soaked, adding to the oppressive weight.

It was my period.

This had never happened to me before!

During all my time as a hero in another world, I had never experienced anything like this.

"Shit."

'Why did it have to happen now, of all times?'

It wasn't excruciatingly painful, but the peculiar throbbing headache was impossible to ignore, and another curse slipped out.

But I had to clean up the mess first, no matter how annoyed I was.

'With no one else in this big house to rely on, what choice did I have?'

As a result, I ended up showering three times today.

***

Lying flat on my bed, I stared blankly at the ceiling.

When I glanced at the clock earlier, it was around 3 a.m., but I couldn't close my eyes.

I had no idea why my period had started now.

It never happened while I was active as a hero in another world.

'Could it be some sort of rebound effect from returning to my original world?'

Although I had already cleaned up, the discomfort of my heartbeat pounding within my chest made irritation bubble up.

'Guess I'm not sleeping tonight.'

Not wanting to waste time lying around, I sat in my gaming chair and turned on the computer.

No, that's not entirely true.

Saying I didn't want to waste time was just an excuse.

I was clearly trying to avoid reality.

The human mind is peculiar.

Even knowing that avoiding reality means creating a new one elsewhere, people still do it all the time.

Although my body had changed to that of a woman, I still identified more strongly as a hero than anything else.

But this incident quietly, persistently gnawed at my mind.

***

The calm, restrained hum of the computer filled the room, soothing my nerves slightly.

Feeling a bit more settled, I opened the internet and logged onto YouTube.

I searched for Hero Forming's channel.

Since I'd decided to collaborate with her, I figured I should at least get a general idea of who she was.

After browsing her channel and watching a few things, I came across an unexpected discovery.

"Huh, what's this…"

"She's been doing this for quite a while."

It seemed like she started streaming back when she was still a student, over a year ago.

Clicking through a few more times, I noticed that compared to her current dismal subscriber count, her old videos had decent viewership.

On average, her videos had about 50,000 views each.

Not enough to be considered a corporate-level streamer, but certainly a solid following.

Then, her uploads stopped.

Without any notice, she disappeared completely.

She came back two years later—about six months ago.

But how could a streamer lose tens of thousands of subscribers so suddenly after returning? It was just bizarre.

'This is too irregular…'

And yet, she kept streaming through all this?

To have a mental fortitude like that—it must be made of titanium.

Curious to learn more, I accessed World Tree Wiki and searched for Hero Forming.

As I expected from her subscriber count, she had a dedicated personal page.

Her broadcasting history, content, memes, side stories, and so on…

'Her original nickname was [Forming].'

Without the "Hero" attached.

Back then, she was a high school girl streamer, famous for her entertaining and lively broadcasts, whether it was gaming or chatting.

Two years of hiatus.

She vanished without a trace, like a runaway ninja, only to reappear six months ago with a new identity: Hero Forming.

"She returns after two years of inactivity and claims to be a hero? Hmm."

Considering the curse surrounding Hero Forming, doesn't it make you wonder about a lot of things?

Hero Forming is…

"She really seems like a genuine hero."

Just like me—a hero who had returned from another world.

***

"Alright! That's it for today's quota!"

Throwing my mouse aside, I basked in the liberation of being done with work.

Even after the stream ends, a streamer's work isn't over.

You still have to upload the day's broadcast to your YouTube channel.

Of course, simply uploading the entire broadcast would be foolish.

Extracting the highlights, carefully crafting the editing and presentation—that's where the real effort goes.

"Good work, Dayoung."

Ignoring the chirping encouragement of the flying Pepe, I stretched to ease my stiffened body, a smile forming on my lips.

The video I stayed up all night editing turned out to be of quite decent quality.

This broadcast was packed with substantial content, both in length and substance.

Surely, the YouTube channel would get a good response.

"In the past, I would've hired an editor. Self-sufficiency sure is tough, don't you think?"

"Heh, isn't this the fate of a small-time streamer?"

Even as a fallen hero, perhaps my title still carried weight.

At first, it was tough and challenging, but just as a hero overcomes trials, I've now become somewhat adept at video editing and production.

One could call it remarkable growth.

"Still, today's broadcast went well, so let's ride this momentum and aim for a comeback as a top-tier streamer."

If only Pepe would drop that irritating tone of his.

Shooting a sharp glance at the floating frog plushie—my contracted partner who had made me a hero—I said, "Can we please go back to basics? We're supposed to be a hero duo, so why are you talking like that?"

"'We'? Who's 'we'?"

"Never mind. Look at this."

She pointed at the screen, which displayed the day's viewer statistics.

Compared to yesterday's broadcast, the number of viewers had clearly risen along a steep curve.

Moreover, the increase in subscribers and notification settings suggested today was a lucky day.

"We surpassed 1,000 viewers today. That's more than double compared to yesterday."

"Used up all your luck, huh?"

"Luck? No way! This is just the beginning."

Though I retorted hotly, today's broadcast indeed had a different vibe than usual.

'Something definitely changed.'

It was just a regular gaming broadcast, 'but could there have been another reason?'

If I could figure out the cause, it might open the path to escaping obscurity.

Mulling it over, I reached a conclusion and turned to Pepe, who was buzzing around annoyingly.

"Pepe, what did you think of today's broadcast?"

"What's with the sudden question, Dayoung?"

"I mean, today's stream stood out more than usual. Compared to past broadcasts, do you think there was anything different? I'm curious about your thoughts."

Ah, so that's what she meant.

With a sly grin, he spoke mischievously.

"Heh, do you really think your stream's success is all your doing? That's ridiculous."

"What… What are you saying, you annoying frog…?"

"Are you blind? It's obviously thanks to that 'Radiant Hero Friedé.' Don't you see it?"

"Yeah… I figured."

Though Pepe's crude expression annoyed me, he hit the nail on the head, leaving me speechless.

The broadcast content wasn't particularly different from usual.

The real reason had to be that user, "Radiant Hero Friedé."

'Her voice was amazing.'

Even someone like me, who had watched countless female streamers, couldn't help but be impressed by her voice.

'How does a voice like that even exist?'

Not to mention her premium skin and excellent gameplay skills.

'She's at Master rank now, but she'll surely climb to Challenger soon. That woman…'

Though I couldn't see her face because of her helmet, my intuition—honed through years of streaming—was screaming.

This woman could succeed as a streamer.

Fortunately, even after scouring the community, I found no broadcasts or connections related to Radiant Hero Friedé.

A true untapped gold mine.

If I was the first to discover her, there was only one thing to do.

"I've got it."

Before anyone else could snatch her up, I had to…

"Recruit her."

I had to obtain formal permission and start digging for gold.

"Are you really planning to corrupt a perfectly normal woman into a streamer?"

"Yep. I definitely see her potential. Once she debuts, she could become a top-tier streamer."

She wouldn't even need to show her face.

If risks were a concern, she could maintain her mystique by keeping the helmet and running with a mysterious concept.

Given the male-dominated game Soul Warfare, her potential could shake up the industry.

With my decision made, I grew eager.

"I'll invite her to the next stream."

Since we were already friends in the game, I sent her a message through the linked app, keeping it as polite as possible.

[Hero Forming: Hello, Friedé. This is Forming from yesterday's stream.]

[Sorry to contact you at such an early hour.]

[I wanted to talk to you about joining the next broadcast. Would you be able to meet in the MS Room this afternoon?]

Pepe, reading the invitation over my shoulder, smirked cynically.

"Heh, Dayoung the parasite. Sucking every last drop from the marrow, huh?"

"You annoying little frog, should I boil you slowly?"

"Whoa, whoa. Who'd believe you're a hero and not a demon lord?"

Ignoring the snickering plushie, I contemplated what kind of broadcast I could create with Radiant Hero Friedé.

'Maybe I could start with a recap of the SCK League before the stream?'

'Should I email now to see if I could still apply for broadcasting rights?'

Yeah, that sounded like a good idea.

Digging through my stored content data on my smartphone, I started planning the schedule and structure for the broadcast.

A Soul Warfare duo ranked match challenge to Grandmaster tier could be exciting, like a "play till you win" program.

Once the channel gained traction, maybe I could cycle in classic games or even horror games.

'Would she like fighting games like FOK 98?'

Pepe, watching me excitedly plan for someone who hadn't even agreed yet, sighed and shook his head in disbelief.

Then it happened.

Ding!

An email notification drew my attention.

"What's this?"

"Heh, could it be a reply already?"

No way, that couldn't be.

While dismissing the idea internally, I clicked on the email out of curiosity.

My eyes widened slightly.

[Radiant Hero Friedé: Sure.]

Just three words. But as I carefully reread the email, I clenched my fist.

"Yes!"

'Good news comes in waves, doesn't it?'

Even though all my promotional efforts had fallen flat before, this felt like a breakthrough.

Of course, there was no guarantee she'd join the stream.

But for someone like me, who was used to being ignored, just getting a response was a huge win.

Seeing my exuberant celebration, Pepe had a nagging feeling of foreboding.

But…

'It'll work out.'

Looking at Dayoung's joyful expression, he didn't want to dampen her spirits with unnecessary comments.

Shaking his head, he buried his unease deep within.

As a hero who had defeated the Demon Lord, she deserved her rewards.

"Heh, top-tier streamer status, here we come."

"Ugh, Pepe, shut up already. Stop crossing the line."

Though I snapped at Pepe's ominous words, a bright smile lingered on my face.

Amidst the playful banter, neither of us noticed the shadowy figure lurking nearby.

It trembled with dark, vengeful energy before vanishing without a trace.