Help! My Honkai Impact 3rd Livestream Attracted the Actual Characters!

Chapter 8: Seele Wants to Know—Who Is Big Duck?

"Airborne Splits-Cleaning Technician?"

A message floated across the chat.

Hokuto narrowed his eyes—

A new viewer?

And from the tone of the question, this person seemed very interested in his stream name.

Feeling slightly nervous, he cautiously responded, "Uh… Did you want to ask something, dear viewer?"

He was genuinely worried that the next message would be something like:

"You're slacking off on the job? Expect a disciplinary hearing."

But instead—

"That name… it's quite unique. Did you choose it based on your job?"

Job…?

Well, technically speaking, being a Captain scrubbing the Hyperion deck in Honkai Impact 3 could count as work, right?

Still, if this new viewer was actually Archbishop Otto…

Then he needed to be extremely careful with his responses.

After all, Otto wasn't called the Great Inventor for no reason.

A man of his intelligence was definitely trying to bait him into revealing more information.

So—

"Oh? Haha…"

Hokuto kept his tone casual.

But before Otto could probe further—

"So, what's your real job? Are you a full-time streamer?"

"Something like that. I also do some repair work on the side."

Hokuto's response was half-truth, half-lie.

He framed his side job—Schicksal's temporary worker position—as his "part-time gig" and presented his streaming as his "main job."

Technically, he wasn't lying.

He did repair things.

He just conveniently left out where and for whom he did that work.

Otto, reading the message, chuckled softly.

How interesting… He's wary of me.

In his office, Otto leaned forward slightly, his playful smirk fading into something more intrigued.

At first, he had assumed the streamer was some clueless small fry—

But now?

The way this "Hokuto" deflected his questions with well-crafted half-truths…

It was proof that he was aware of the danger of exposure.

Heh… No matter. Eventually, I will uncover your true identity.

"Haha, quite the talented individual. If you ever feel like it, you should consider joining my company—I'll make sure you're well taken care of."

Hokuto nearly burst out laughing.

Well taken care of?

Did he mean the same kind of "care" that had employees sitting on ice-cold benches, with their tasks dictated entirely by an automated AI?!

Yeah, no thanks.

Hokuto made up his mind right then and there—if a better job opportunity ever came up, he'd jump ship in a heartbeat.

Without missing a beat, he firmly rejected Otto's offer.

"I'm quite happy with my current lifestyle, so I'll have to decline."

[Due to your words, "Your Great Inventor" is surprised! You have gained 560 Crystals!]

WHAT?!

Hokuto stared at the system notification in shock.

Did he seriously just earn 560 Crystals from verbally rejecting Otto Apocalypse?!

Hahaha! If I keep racking up Crystals like this, I'll definitely have enough to guarantee the next limited character!

Feeling immensely satisfied, Hokuto stopped entertaining Otto and focused back on the game.

At this point, the story had progressed to the prelude of Bronya's Herrscher awakening arc.

Then, a comment appeared—

"This game seems… too easy."

Hokuto glanced at the sender.

It was "Hard Work Will Be Rewarded."

He immediately narrowed his eyes.

That was definitely Durandal.

"Oh, that? Well, this is just the early-game storyline. The difficulty has been adjusted multiple times to make it more accessible."

"Adjusted? Why lower the difficulty? Isn't overcoming challenges the best way to train oneself?"

Hokuto nearly facepalmed.

Yep. That's her. That's absolutely Durandal.

There was no way a normal player would ask that question.

"How should I put this… This is a game, not a training simulator. No one plays a game just to suffer through extreme difficulty, right?"

Outside of the stream, Durandal subconsciously clenched her fists.

Unfortunately for Hokuto—

She was exactly the type of person who enjoyed suffering through brutal challenges for the sake of self-improvement.

She loved pushing herself past her limits.

She believed that true growth came from overcoming insurmountable odds.

Was that… wrong?

Durandal quickly fired off another comment—

"I am exactly the kind of person you just described. What's wrong with that?"

"…Uh. Well."

Hokuto hesitated.

You're seriously asking me if it's bad?

Fine. Here's my honest opinion.

"Protecting others is admirable. But if you don't even care for yourself, who else will?"

"So… be a little kinder to yourself. If that's hard, just think of this place as home. The stream is always open for you."

Of course, deep down, Hokuto was also thinking:

"And while you're at it, send more comments and donations, please."

For a long moment, there was no response.

Then—

[Due to your words, "Hard Work Will Be Rewarded" is flustered! You have gained 740 Crystals!]

…WHAT?!

Durandal… got embarrassed?!

This was a miracle.

Hokuto stared at the notification, completely baffled.

Was his advice really that heartwarming?!

…Whatever. As long as it printed free Crystals, he wasn't complaining.

Shrugging off his confusion, Hokuto clicked on the next chapter.

Since he had Herrscher Bronya as his main DPS, he was steamrolling through the game.

Seele, watching the stream, couldn't hold back her excitement.

"Bronya-nee is so strong!"

"Yeah, well—this was the version she was first introduced in. The devs had to make her overpowered to sell banners."

Of course, in future patches, she'd be outclassed by…

Herrscher of Flamescion, Herrscher of Truth, and Herrscher of Sentience.

Then—

"So… will Bronya-nee always be this strong?"

"Uh… no."

Hokuto sighed.

As a veteran captain, he knew the cold, hard reality of Honkai Impact 3.

DPS units had expiration dates.

No matter how strong they were at release, they'd eventually be powercrept.

Even with signature weapons and upgraded gear, they'd only be decent at best in the long run.

"EHH?! WHY?!"

Seele was so shocked that she dropped her cookie.

She absolutely adored in-game Bronya—

Her stunning outfit, her graceful yet powerful combat style—

And the way she dominated battles made Seele feel like…

Maybe real Bronya could become just as strong.

But now—

Hearing that her Bronya-nee would eventually be outclassed—

"So Bronya-nee is going to be nerfed?!"

"No. It's just that stronger characters will come out later."

"Stronger? Who?"

As she sent the message—

The color of her text suddenly shifted from light blue… to deep, blood-red.

Hokuto froze.

Oh crap.

Was that… Dark Seele awakening?!

…Well.

Too late to back down now.

"It's still Bronya. But… we call her Big Duck."

"Eh? (⊙o⊙)… (O_o)?? Who's Big Duck?"

Clearly, Seele had no idea that Bronya was also called "Duck."

Because she was genuinely confused.

"Big Brother Streamer… are you hiding something from me? Who exactly is this Big Duck?"

End of Chapter 8