Chapter 34: Exitra vs. The Weather God

“That went better than expected.”

— [Wow, amazing!]

— [That was seriously cool.]

— [You should’ve seen Charles’s face. He looked like he just bit into something nasty.]

— [This one was a total highlight.]

— [Ugh, I forgot to bring popcorn.]

— [It would’ve been even more fun with popcorn…]

[CaramelFlavorBest has donated 10,000 won.]

<Wait, what? Why didn’t anyone else bring popcorn? Don’t you keep at least one of every flavor at home?>

“Thank you so much for the 10,000-won donation, CaramelFlavorBest. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

— [Though there was a bit of posturing, lol.]

— [Yeah, definitely.]

— [Ox]

It was true that Exitra had shown off a little.

If Charles had kept denying things at that point, Exitra really wouldn’t have had a way to prove his claims.

That’s why he bluffed.

And it worked beautifully.

Exitra shrugged.

“So what if it’s a bluff? As long as they don’t catch on, it’s fine.”

— [Exactly.]

— [So shameless! But I loved it!]

— [That was pure art~ So cool, lol]

“Still, we saved a ton of money because of it.”

Exitra’s starting funds were 20 million gold.

If the negotiation hadn’t worked, he would’ve lost a substantial amount.

“What should I do with all this money now~”

— [Just how much starting capital does he have?]

— [The territory is in the worst shape, but he’s loaded.]

Exitra opened the window in the reception room and looked outside.

Below, the members of the Architect Guild were busily moving around, and the merchants were unloading goods.

The townspeople were also gathered, eagerly buying things.

Since no one knew when the merchants would return, it was best to buy anything you needed ahead of time.

“Alright, I should head down too—”

***

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!!

That’s when it happened.

The once-clear sky suddenly darkened as black clouds rolled in.

At the same time, as if a hole had opened in the sky, a torrential downpour began.

SHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Exitra’s face stiffened as he watched.

What in the world was going on?

Just a minute ago, it was perfectly sunny—and now, this?

This wasn’t normal.

“Aaaah! It’s raining!”

“Take cover!”

“What the heck, why is it pouring all of a sudden?!”

“Everyone, get under shelter!!”

The entire territory fell into chaos.

They’d just been about to begin construction, but the sudden downpour made work impossible.

“What the hell is going on here?”

— [Wow…]

— [The heavens gave him money but took away his luck.]

— [LOOOOOL]

— [LOL it’s actually raining now? What a mess!]

The chat was filling up with lines of “ㅋㅋㅋㅋ”.

The streamer’s misfortune was the viewers’ joy.

The more Exitra suffered, the happier his audience became.

Seriously, they were such perverts.

“No way… come on…”

The rain poured down hard—so much so that visibility dropped to near zero.

This made continuing the construction impossible.

“Exitra… sir…”

“Ugh, this rain is too much.”

Carter and Charles came inside.

They were both soaked from the sudden storm.

But something seemed off.

Charles had clear red handprints on both cheeks, and one of his eyes was swollen black and blue.

“Hey… what happened to your face?”

“Ah… haha… I had a bit of a situation.”

— [He got slapped.]

— [He definitely got hit hard.]

— [Was it a girl? Look at the marks—that slap had some real emotion behind it.]

— [Did he get punched in the eye too? LOL That’s what you get for cheating! Serves you right!!]

Charles rubbed his sore cheek.

It still stung and throbbed.

Then he turned to Exitra.

“Exitra, I’m really sorry, but with this rain, we won’t be able to work today.”

“Would it be alright to let the wagons and merchants take shelter in the lord’s castle? There’s nowhere else for them to stay.”

They asked cautiously.

If Exitra turned them away, they’d have to stand in the pouring rain.

“Let them in. There are plenty of empty rooms.”

There were many rooms that used to be servants’ quarters.

They could use those.

“Thank you so much!”

“Really, thank you.”

The two hurried back outside.

Once they left, Exitra let out a deep sigh.

“Why is everything going so wrong…? Has God abandoned me…?”

But it seemed the God of Streaming still loved him.

— [Maybe not all gods, but you’re definitely favored by the God of Broadcasting.]

Ding~

[I’m cheering for you. By the way, I have nothing to do with the rain. That’s under Zeus’s jurisdiction… So yeah, this isn’t on me.]

The moment the word ‘god’ was mentioned, Chronos quickly sent a message.

He clearly didn’t want Exitra to misunderstand and blame him.

‘Seriously, why does misfortune keep stacking up like this…? Don’t tell me I’ve got some kind of cursed skill I didn’t even know about?’

Exitra began to suspect a skill was involved.

Ding~

[I didn’t give you any skill like that. This is just… your fate. Pure and simple.]

“…Haa…”

To be told it was fate—by a god, no less—was heavy.

“What am I even supposed to do now…”

***

“Big bro!”

Just then, Alfredo came running into the reception room.

This was a first.

Unless he was summoned or going somewhere together, Alfredo never sought Exitra out on his own.

“Ooh~ my dear brother, what… happened to you? You look like a drenched cat.”

Alfredo was soaked to the bone.

He must have gone outside to test the performance of his new dagger and gotten caught in the sudden downpour.

— [A drenched little brother…]

— [What is this? I suddenly feel maternal.]

— [He’s completely soaked…]

“I was just doing something outside for a bit… Ah-choo!!”

Alfredo sneezed.

If left like that, it was obvious Alfredo would catch a cold.

“Haa…”

Exitra summoned his spirits and thoroughly dried Alfredo’s soaked body.

He used the spirits of wind, fire, and water in combination.

First, he removed the moisture with the water spirit.

Then, he created warm air using the fire and wind spirits to dry him completely.

— [Wow… look at how he handles the spirits…]

— [This laundry shop does good work~!]

— [So soft and fluffy~!]

— [Forget dryers, we’ve got spirit tech right here~!]

“All done.”

Alfredo clicked his tongue lightly.

Anyone else might’ve said thank you, but he was still full of rebellious energy.

Well, that’s what made him kind of cute…

Ding~

[You find his attitude cute… You’re… twisted…]

‘It’s not like that…’

“But why’d you come looking for me first?”

“Hmph. Normally, I wouldn’t seek out my big brother like this.”

He turned his head sharply.

“Do you know what’s going on with this downpour outside?”

“The rain?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, it’s rain, right?”

[Mmmmf—!]

“No, I mean, yes, it’s rain, but… haaa…”

Alfredo let out a deep sigh and shook his head as if Exitra were hopeless.

“That’s not what I meant. The weather was clear just moments ago, but now we’re hit with a torrential downpour. Don’t you think that’s strange?”

“Now that you mention it, yeah.”

“There’s a reason behind that downpour.”

— [What reason? It’s just Exitra’s fate, obviously.]

— [Or maybe it means the gods of broadcasting love him?]

— [LMAO]

Exitra had a hunch about the cause.

He had seen something like this before, in the timeline before his regression.

If he had access to his “Life Flash” skill right now, he could confirm it for sure—but he couldn’t use it. There were too many eyes watching.

“A cause?”

“Yes. The one responsible for this storm is a Goblin Shaman.”

“A Goblin Shaman?”

“Yes. You do know what that is, right?”

His tone was a bit condescending.

It was as if he were saying, ‘You? Know that?’

But Exitra simply nodded.

“Yeah, they’re the ones among goblins born with an unusual amount of mana, right?”

“Hmph. So you do know the basics. Impressive.”

“Hehe. Thanks for the compliment.”

“I wasn’t complimenting you!”

“Then were you insulting me?”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Then it’s a compliment.”

“Ugh… fine, whatever.”

Alfredo had meant to be sarcastic, but Exitra had taken it as praise.

Seeing that, Alfredo muttered under his breath, “You really can’t talk to this guy…”

— [Looks like the little brother is fed up LMAO]

— [I’d be frustrated too.]

— [Talking to a brick wall probably feels more productive.]

— [The answer’s already set! It’s praise. No matter what, it’s praise! I don’t care, it’s praise!]

“But why would a Goblin Shaman suddenly flood our territory like this?”

“Well…”

Alfredo hesitated for a moment.

But—

***

Swoooosh!!

The downpour outside had grown so intense that you couldn’t see even a step ahead.

At first, it might’ve seemed fine.

But if this storm continued…?

The entire territory would undoubtedly be devastated by the rain.

They had to deal with the source before it was too late.

Alfredo bit his lip hard.

After a moment of silent conflict, he let out a small sigh and slowly opened his mouth.

“Haa… I was testing the dagger’s performance… and then…”

“I see…”

He had gone out to hunt goblins and test the weapon, but things got rough…

— [So the little brother was the cause LMAO]

— [The snowball started rolling from dagger testing?? LOL]

— [So technically, Exitra’s the one at fault for tempting Alfredo with that dagger.]

— [Clearly, it’s Exitra’s fault.]

— [Everything leads to: It’s Exitra’s fault.]

Alfredo didn’t finish his sentence.

But with all the context, the conclusion was clear.

He attacked because there was a goblin camp nearby, but the enemy turned out to be tougher than expected.

And among them, there just happened to be a shaman, who fled and now was unleashing this revengeful storm.

[Quest “Cause of the Downpour” has been generated. Do you accept? (Y/N)]

[Cause of the Downpour]

[Description: You’ve discovered the cause of the torrential rain. The culprit is none other than a Goblin Shaman! Among goblins, shamans are rare mutations born with a large amount of mana. This one is manipulating the storm. If you don’t deal with it quickly, no one knows what kind of damage this rain will cause.]

[Success Condition: Defeat the Goblin Shaman]

[Reward: 10 Points]

[Failure: Leads to linked quest “Rain That Never Ends”]

The quest had now appeared.

Seeing it, Exitra immediately paused the game.

— [No way… You wouldn’t…]

— [Dude. Not cool…]

— [Bro!! You can’t leave it like this!]

“Hahaha. Everyone, you know what this means, right?”

— [No. You’re not doing this.]

— [There’s a limit, man.]

— [This guy’s actually crazy?? He’s ending here??]

[‘BlackCow’ has donated 50,000 won.]

<Please extend the stream. You can’t end it here.>

At this point, it was all too predictable.

Everyone knew what Exitra was about to do.

Ding~

[Exitra, please don’t do this. How am I supposed to survive the wait?!]

“Haha. Everyone~ sorry, but could you check the time for me?”

— [What? Why?]

— [Huh? What’s with the time?]

— [Wait, what?]

The current time was exactly 1 a.m.

Considering he’d started the stream at 8 p.m., it meant he had already been streaming for five hours.

“It’s late, right? I actually planned to end earlier, but I promised yesterday I’d stream a bit longer—so that’s why we went late.”

— [Wow, I didn’t even notice time passing;;;]

— [Where did my evening go?]

— [I just wanted to take a break before studying… now I’m screwed. My exam’s ruined. Pay up.]

“Do you really think you were gonna study? I mean, let’s be honest.”

— [Excuse me??]

— [Whoa! Personality exposed~!!]

— [He just tanked someone’s GPA and laughed about it~! Wow, what a guy~!]

The chat exploded with reactions.

Exitra’s “personality controversy” was heating up.

“Anyway, since it’s so late, I’m going to end the stream here!”

— [Bye, Exitra~]

— [Thanks for the stream!]

— [Take care!!]

***

Exitra ended the broadcast.

After logging out of the virtual world, he sat quietly for a moment, deep in thought.

‘Should I… make custom reactions for each subscription stage?’

The channel had subscriptions split into Stage 1, Stage 2, and Stage 3.

It made sense to prepare separate reactions depending on the tier.

It was something he hadn’t even considered before his regression.

Back then, only a tiny group had subscribed, so he hadn’t felt the need to do much.

‘I think I just waved and said thanks back then, right?’

But now things were different.

So many viewers were watching him now.

They were subscribing, donating, and sending missions.

He couldn’t just let that go unappreciated.

‘Maybe for Stage 1, I do a simple thank you, Stage 2 a little dance… and Stage 3… hmm…’

“Maybe… something cute?”

His expression was deadly serious.