Chapter 22: Taste Tests and Battle Plans
1.
“I can’t eat anymore…!”
Noona collapsed onto the sofa.
Her tongue must’ve been exhausted from testing everything, starting with sour flavors.
“Good job.”
I chuckled, putting the seasonings away.
We might use them later, but they were bought with points, so I kept them.
“Thanks to you, we confirmed all flavors match reality. That’s a win.”
“It’s wild that it even feels filling.”
“Right?”
Replicating taste with mana and holy power was one thing, but feeling full? That was surprising.
“How does it even work?”
“No clue. Let’s just roll with it. We can’t research it ourselves anyway.”
“True.”
The Tower Master who taught me might’ve analyzed it, but I lacked that expertise.
“Let’s go eat real food now. Feeling full in VR doesn’t mean your stomach’s actually full.”
“I feel like I don’t need to eat…”
“No way. You need to gain some weight. You’re too skinny.”
“Still…”
Noona mumbled, eyeing me cautiously. I shook my head firmly.
“Nope. Your brain’s just tricked into feeling full. Once we’re out, that’ll fade.”
“…Fine. Oh, Hayul, have you decided what to cook tomorrow?”
She was clearly changing the subject, but I played along.
“Not yet. Honestly, I’m not planning to. I’ll make whatever’s requested on the spot. How’s that?”
“That’s better for streaming. But you sure? What if they ask for something you don’t know?”
“I’ll follow a recipe and try. Most things should be doable.”
I’d cooked all sorts of ingredients in the other world.
I might not know exact recipes, but I could wing it.
‘Plus, I’ve got magic and holy power.’
Better than MSG—my literal magic dust would make it work.
“Since we’ve got the stream plan sorted, let’s go eat for real.”
“Alright.”
What would happen on tomorrow’s stream? I was a little excited.
—
2.
【Streamer Gallery】
Streamer Gallery, once ablaze with drama, now cooled to ashes.
[General] Can’t someone stir up some chaos?
Yesterday was such a dopamine hit… Any more excitement? Someone slip up, please…
– Crazy bastard lol
– Your brain’s melted from dopamine;
– Please hold your breath for an hour…
– But yesterday was a wild ride ㅇㅇ How’s a sniper your long-lost sibling???
└ (OP) Right lol So fun
[General] Carrier, when’s your damn stream???
You said you’d climb to Challenger, so when’s it happening!!!
– It’s barely been a day since the explanation stream, you lunatic;
└ (OP) So what.
– Let them enjoy their reunion, ffs. It’s been decades, and you can’t wait?
└ (OP) Nope, can’t wait???
– If you’re bored, get a job or take care of yourself…
└ (OP) You do it.
└ Yes, sir.
Everyone was still hung up on yesterday, picking fights in the gallery.
[General] Breaking News! BREAKING NEWS!!!
[Elena, Noir, Carrier 3-person collab tomorrow! A cooking stream!!!]
Out of nowhere, an unexpected collab announcement hit.
– What???
– A three-person collab? Cooking? How??? Two are YouTubers, and Carrier’s not even on cam?
└ (OP) No clue??? They’ll figure it out
– Don’t bullshit;
└ (OP) It’s real, ffs. Check Elena’s community. It’s set for tomorrow.
[General] What the hell lololol
[Noir and Elena’s channels confirm the collab lolol It’s on Carrier’s stream ㅇㅇ;]
– Cooking with two YouTubers, hmm lolol Brave move
– Why Elena, though?
└ (OP) Streamer Gallery folks trashed Elena’s stream after Noir’s crying meltdown ㅇㅇ Probably that
└ That was a legendary moment lol
Skeptical at first, they believed it after seeing the posts on both channels.
A collab with the trending sisters and Elena, their loose connection—huge.
– Haven’t seen it yet, but if it’s a dopamine hit, I’m liking it lol
└ Mega like lol
– Gonna be fun as hell lol
Viewers were hyped but had questions. None of them showed their faces.
– They’re not just gonna show hands or food, right?
└ No way lol, That’d be lame
– Maybe they’ll wear masks?
– Noir or Carrier might show their faces, but Elena? Her agency won’t allow it
– How’re they doing this???
They speculated while eagerly awaiting.
– We’ll see their faces?
└ That’d be epic
– So hyped, wish it was tomorrow already
Time passed with their anticipation, and collab day arrived.
—
3.
“Will this really be okay, Hayul?”
Noona trembled. The impending collab with Elena had her on edge.
“It’ll be fine. You’ve already collabed with Elena-nim. Why so nervous?”
“That was a big group collab. This is just us three, and Elena-nim’s from a huge agency. What if tons of viewers show up and I mess up?”
“We had a ton of viewers for the explanation stream.”
“True, but I just read the script then. I barely looked at chat because I was so nervous…”
She’d been too tense to even show off the avatar we’d picked.
‘What to do…’
Starting the stream like this, she’d probably freeze up.
A holy power blessing could help.
‘A blessing that doesn’t drain too much holy power and eases her fear…’
There was one—used by priests to bolster soldiers against demonic fear.
‘The issue is it might make her too fearless and cause trouble…’
Better than a stiff stream. I could handle any chaos she caused.
“Noona, I’ll cast a blessing with holy power. Sound good?”
“There’s a blessing priests use called Courage. It removes fear and boosts bravery.”
There was also ‘Serenity,’ but it could make her fall asleep if used while tense.
“Want the Courage blessing?”
She thought briefly and nodded.
“Yeah, please. I’ll ruin the stream like this. We owe Elena-nim already; I can’t mess this up.”
“Got it. Stay still.”
I slowly channeled holy power.
“May the divine strengthen your steps and keep your eyes steady before fear.”
Golden light flowed from my hands into Noona.
Her eyes widened, and her lips curled into a confident grin.
“Khuhuh…”
I’d never seen her smile so boldly. It was so unfamiliar, I flinched.
‘They say attitude and expression change a person’s vibe… It’s true.’
Same face, but she seemed like a different person.
“Noona, you okay?”
“I’m great! Never felt better! Let’s invite Elena-nim now! Start the collab! I’m so pumped!!!”
“Whoa, uh…”
Her brazen attitude made me instinctively retract the blessing.
“Invite her quick— …ly…”
Her sparkling eyes dimmed instantly.
“Why’d you cancel it… I felt amazing…”
“S-Sorry… You seemed too fearless. I’ll cast it again after we start the stream.”
“Okay…”
“Should I invite Elena-nim?”
She nodded. I opened the friend list and clicked Elena-nim.
『‘Elena’ has been invited to this lobby!』
A portal opened, and a woman with silver hair strode through confidently.
“Hello!”
“Hi!”
She bowed with a smile, and we returned the greeting.
“Thanks so much for inviting me!”
“N-No, we’re the ones who should be grateful. After causing you trouble, you’re even doing this collab.”
Noona smiled awkwardly.
Elena shook her head.
“No need to say that. It wasn’t much trouble. It actually boosted my viewership!”
“That’s so kind of you…”
“So, we’re cooking here today?”
Elena looked around, asking. Noona nudged me, so I answered.
“Yes. We’ll make whatever you want here.”
“Looking forward to it. I read that VR taste is possible but quite different from reality. You sure it’s okay?”
“You’ll see once you try.”
I smiled confidently, and she grinned back.
“You sound sure of yourself. Shall we get started then?”
“Absolutely. Let’s begin.”
‘May the divine strengthen your steps and keep your eyes steady before fear.’
As I hit the start button, I cast the Courage blessing on Noona.
『Stream has started.』
Here we go.