Chapter 10: Brotherly Betrayal

Exitra looked at the viewers.

“Everyone, please trust me just this once.”

— [Let’s trust him this once. Honestly, Exitra’s brain play was pretty impressive.]

— [If he fails, he can just try again anyway. LMAO.]

Some viewers supported him.

With their encouragement, Exitra turned off the viewer chat mode and selected Option 1: [Keep him close.]

The screen transitioned back into an event scene as the conversation resumed.

“I will keep Alfredo by my side.”

At those words, Brain looked surprised.

Alfredo, who stood nearby, wore a similar expression.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. Even though we fought over the position of heir, we don’t need to do that anymore, right? I can’t cast away my one and only brother.”

“Oh…”

Brain’s usually stern face began to soften a little.

“You’ve made a good decision. Yes, brothers—family—should look out for one another.”

He nodded in approval, clearly satisfied.

After a brief succession ceremony, Exitra officially became the heir.

In the future, he would inherit Brain’s title and domain.

[You have officially become the heir of the Raiders family.]

[You can now access the territory management screen to check the status of your land.]

[You have successfully cleared the tutorial.]

***

After the succession ceremony, he stepped out of the audience chamber.

The tutorial was officially cleared.

Now, the real game would begin.

“Brother, why did you decide to keep me by your side?”

Alfredo spoke first.

The event scene hadn’t ended yet, so Exitra couldn’t speak freely.

“Why, you ask? Didn’t I say it already? You’re my brother. I want you by my side. Do I need a reason for that?”

Alfredo furrowed his brows.

He didn’t seem thankful or even remotely grateful.

Instead, he looked angry.

“Don’t pity me. You’ll regret the choice you made today—without a doubt.”

His eyes were full of hostility.

With those final words, he walked away.

And the event scene finally ended.

— [What a jerk!]

— [Literal trash!]

— [He almost died, and this is how he reacts?!]

— [God, he’s so infuriating…]

— [Can someone please give us some justice already… this is so frustrating…]

“Hahaha, well, that’s one way it could go. Don’t worry.”

Exitra had a reason for sparing Alfredo.

“Alright, then… huh?”

Just then—

Ding!

A notification sound chimed.

It was an alert that Dogry had started his stream.

“Oh, wait. Dogry just started his broadcast again.”

— [Ah! That’s right!]

— [We’re Dogry refugees, lol. Almost forgot.]

— [Time for the head-shaving ceremony! LET’S GO!]

“Haha. I was about to end my stream anyway, so let me just send you all over there. That way, you won’t have to click around.”

“And I want to watch, too.”

Exitra immediately redirected his viewers to Dogry’s broadcast.

Today was the long-awaited head-shaving ceremony.

He was really glad he’d prepared popcorn in advance.

***

— [We’ve been waiting~]

— [Dogry’s scared, huh? Look at his face! LOL]

— [Wow, the webcam quality is on point today.]

— [This is so satisfying.]

— [Sure, Exitra took everything from him, but think of it as an entry fee. Worth it.]

— [I’m seated and ready.]

[Chairman has donated ₩10,000.]

<Is the clippers ready? Please take your seat.>

Dogry shut his eyes tightly.

“You evil people… Do you enjoy watching me shave my head that much?!”

— [Of course.]

— [You made the bet, remember?]

— [Ahhh, this is the best. Hurry up and do it.]

— [Bro, can you mail me your hair when it’s done? LOL]

“What the hell?! Why would I send you my hair?! Are you some kind of pervert?”

Dogry shook his head as he looked at the chat.

These people were definitely out of their minds.

“Seriously though, how is it even possible to play that way as a Spirit Summoner? Do you really think that makes any sense?”

— [You’re not wrong.]

— [Yeah, fair point.]

— [But that’s not important right now.]

— [Right. First, the hair. Then we talk.]

— [Stalling is so pathetic. Just shave it, Dogry.]

[Dog Groomer has donated ₩3,000.]

<Hello! I’m here for today’s scheduled pet grooming. Dogry, please come this way.>

— [By the way, we already clipped the footage. Escape attempt is useless.]

— [Take your seat!]

— [You said you had clippers, remember?]

— [Came from another stream~ Is this the place for that infamous shaving party??]

— [Bald Challenge~]

“Grrr…”

There was no way to escape now.

He had made the promise himself.

If he said he wouldn’t do it now, all the trust he’d built so far would be gone.

‘Falling to rock bottom only takes a second.’

In short, if he wanted to continue streaming, he had to shave his head.

He had sworn never to shave it again after doing it once for military service…

He never imagined it would come to this.

“These damn devils…”

If he could go back in time, he’d slap his past self who made that promise.

Bzzzzt!

Unfortunately, the hair clipper was fully charged and roaring to life.

It had been bought a long time ago, but it was still eager to prove it was in working condition.

Seeing it, Dogry squeezed his eyes shut.

“Damn it…”

And that day, Dogry became the smooth-headed streamer.

***

After ending the stream, Minseop checked the time first.

‘What time is it?’

It was already 7 p.m.

He had to go to the hospital today.

That’s why he started the stream early and ended it quickly.

‘Is it okay to go late?’

In the past, maybe not—but these days, it didn’t matter as much.

Since the law changed, hospitals operated 24 hours a day with rotating shifts.

Besides, Minseop could only go once his mom got off work, so he had no choice but to go late anyway.

“Haa…”

He had to get a diagnosis and receive a prescription.

Minseop hated this day the most.

‘It really eats up money.’

Between the diagnosis and the medicine, it cost at least 600,000 won each time.

Every month, he was spending a fixed 600,000 won just on hospital bills.

Even though his mom and dad were working hard, it was still a heavy burden.

‘But I got over a million won in donations this time. After the monthly settlement and the platform’s fee… wasn’t the fee only 1%?’

The platform Minseop streamed on was called Trs TV.

It launched five years ago and was known for offering high-quality service.

While DaeRuk TV was taking a 40% cut from 1,000 balloon donations per BJ, Trs TV had a ridiculously low fee.

Because of that, many BJs migrated from DaeRuk TV to Trs TV.

40% versus 1%.

Even a kindergartener could tell which one was better.

‘If I earned a million won today, that’s 990,000 won after the fee, right?’

And this was just the first day.

If he considered future earnings, he could definitely make even more.

Minseop was confident.

‘I have information. In streaming, information is power.’

Thanks to his regression, he had a massive knowledge advantage—and even skills to go with it.

If he used them well, becoming a major figure in the industry wasn’t a pipe dream.

‘I can do this.’

That belief kept pushing him forward.

After all, hadn’t he already succeeded in his first stream after regressing?

It was a huge success.

‘Well, it was only possible because Dogry helped me… but still, no matter the reason, it was a satisfying result.’

Minseop smiled as satisfaction filled him.

***

Ding!

[Today’s stream was really fun~ See? I told you you could do it.]

A private message from Chronos.

He had also watched Minseop’s stream.

“Wait, what? Where was he watching from? Chronos wasn’t in the chat.”

He had checked before starting the stream—Chronos wasn’t there.

But apparently, he had been watching.

‘How?’

Ding~

[You really are clueless. Did you seriously think I’d show up with the same nickname?]

‘So he had changed his nickname.’

‘It made sense.’

If your identity had already been exposed, coming in under the same name would just be stupid.

Thinking about it now, it should’ve been obvious—but Minseop never imagined even a god would bother to change a username.

Ding~

[Anyway! You’ve just gained the opportunity to achieve true freedom. Keep pushing forward.]

“Huh?”

That was the end of the message.

Minseop tilted his head.

“What does that mean?”

‘True freedom? Advancement? What’s he talking about?’

Minseop frowned and tried to make sense of it.

He replayed the message in his head, trying to interpret it.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out.

“What the hell is he even saying?”

“Minseop.”

Just then, his mother opened the door and stepped into the room.

Startled, Minseop quickly closed the message window.

Even though he knew no one else could see it, he reflexively shut it off.

“What were you doing?”

“Ah, n-nothing!”

He reacted like a high school boy caught watching something suspicious.

His mother narrowed her eyes in a suspicious squint.

But she decided to let it go.

“Really?”

“Yes!”

“Are you ready? We need to go to the hospital.”

“Ah! Yes, okay.”

“I’ll bring the wheelchair, so wait here.”

“Okay!”

As she left the room, she mumbled under her breath, “My son really is a man after all…”

It was quiet, but Minseop heard her loud and clear and shouted in surprise.

“That’s not what you think!!!”

Ding~

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

***

They arrived at the hospital, and Minseop received his diagnosis.

But there hadn’t been any improvement.

He even started to wonder if this was something that could be cured at all.

“Haa…”

His mother let out a deep sigh.

They were paying so much to go to the hospital and get medicine, but nothing was getting better.

She was clearly frustrated.

“I’m going to go get the prescription. Wait here.”

“Okay.”

His mother walked toward the pharmacy with heavy steps.

Watching her go, Minseop’s expression turned bitter.

‘At the very least, I don’t want to be a financial burden.’

That was why he started streaming in the first place.

Before the regression, things hadn’t gone well, and the income had been poor—but now things were different.

‘This time, I’ll succeed no matter what.’

He was determined.

To make life easier for his parents, to truly repay them, he needed money.

A lot more than he had now.

“When I start earning, the first thing I’ll do is make Mom quit her job at the grocery store… She’s worked way too hard.”

Just thinking about her hands—covered in wrinkles and rashes before the regression—still made his heart ache.

‘And Dad suffered a lot too back then…’

‘I have to do my best.’

With that thought, Minseop pulled out his phone.

He wanted to check the reactions to today’s stream.

The comments were already coming in quickly in real time.

‘There they are.’