Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: The Billion-Won Starcraft Tournament
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A game tournament with a billion-won prize pool?
This was unprecedented in the history of internet broadcasting.
The average prize money for what was usually the biggest pro league in the country hovered around 30 million won.
And even that came from stacking sponsorships from companies for a single event.
'With a billion won, how much does each streamer walk away with?'
Jin-seong, the president of internet broadcasting and leader of JNU, currently had 27 members.
Even a rough calculation showed each one pocketing about 37 million won. It was an insane tournament.
And that was just the start.
Even excluding the amount proposed by Jin Seol-hwa, I'd already promised Jin-seong 150 million won in sponsorships. In short, this was a textbook example of real money-burning spectacle.
'Win this, and you take home a regular office worker's annual salary.'
Now that the investment for the tournament was secured, what came next?
Obviously, drafting the proposal.
But I wasn't the one to write it.
Who in their right mind expects an investor to handle grunt work like that?
"Pardon? 1.15 billion won?"
In a quiet café.
I shrugged at Jin-seong's stunned outburst.
"The prize pool for the Starcraft tournament you were planning comes to exactly 1.15 billion won. Factor in wages for casters and commentators, a celebrity reporter, and even a famous idol to entertain the spectators, and you'll have about a billion won left in the budget."
"……"
His expression didn't look pleased.
"You don't seem thrilled."
"Oh, no. It's not that. It's just... too much."
The face of someone who'd seen a ghost in an abandoned haunted house.
For a former pro gamer like him, this scale was beyond imagination.
"I-Is it okay to offer that much in prizes? Maybe split it into four tournaments with 200 million each..."
"Life is about going all-in."
"!"
"And there's no runner-up prize."
"!"
In life, you always hear people complaining.
They treat first place like royalty but ignore second place, right?
I see it differently.
Historically, second place doesn't exist. In cutthroat competition, everyone except first is just another rival. Why run for second when you could sprint for first?
Selig, acquired for a mere 300 million dollars, was charging toward 70 billion dollars. The researchers burning the midnight oil right now were trading their own lifespans for it.
Why would they stake their lives like that?
Even a stray dog could answer that one.
To become America's top pharmaceutical company.
"Reviewing the materials you gave me, there are 18 universities in total now. Up from before, huh?"
"...Yes."
"378 participating streamers... more than expected."
"Um, excuse me..."
"Go ahead."
He mulled it over for a long time before finally speaking.
The face of a man who truly loved the game.
As a fellow man, anyone deserving of respect regardless of status would admire that passion.
I didn't look down on streamers just because I showered them with bubble gifts.
They had their own struggles, after all.
"If we make this tournament too big, it might hurt the followers. With a billion-won prize this time, viewers will expect the same for the next one."
Hmm, hadn't thought of that.
Definitely, if this event was on another level, everyone would think:
[Will the next one be a billion-won event too?]
"So if we can't split into four, at least two..."
"No. We proceed as planned."
"!"
Who am I?
Bukppudeupppu, the biggest of big spenders.
I'd overtaken second place on the big spender rankings through sheer cumulative spending power.
I'd been third before, but now I'd passed the guy ahead.
The undisputed number one, called one-of-a-kind, was rumored to be tied to a chaebol family. People went wild over him, saying he was the grandson of one of the top ten conglomerates.
'I'd love to meet him. Curious how chaebols make and spend their money.'
Back in the day, lunch with Warren Buffett, the greatest investor in America, fetched over 4 million dollars at auction. That was about 4.76 billion won at the time.
Are people crazy enough to pay that?
There's always a reason.
An hour with the world's top investor's advice isn't measured in mere cash. That's why it shattered records at 4 million dollars.
I was curious about what went through chaebols' minds daily.
A meeting with them would be worth its weight in gold.
"……"
Still in shock, huh.
Man...
This guy's hopeless.
I came up with an even more brilliant idea.
This way, both sides win.
The classic 'have your cake and eat it too' strategy!
"How about this."
"?"
"If the huge prize pool is too much pressure, we'll sponsor the next tournament too."
"...Pardon? What do you mean?"
Are his ears blocked?
I mean it literally.
I'll fund the next one too.
"Starcraft is one of my favorite games. If not for it, who knows where I'd be now. It was part of my youth, and that hasn't changed."
True story.
As a total loser, I feared meeting people outside.
I obsessed over what they thought of me, even in dreams.
Turns out, they couldn't care less.
"I'll support the next tournament too. Of course, there are conditions."
"Anything! I'll hear you out!"
He looked ready to lick my shoes.
Jin-seong was realizing times had changed. Old hits were fading one by one, replaced by new games.
Would Starcraft be any different?
"Three conditions, mainly."
Nothing major.
Easy enough for the current Jin-seong to handle.
"First, include 【Starlight】 in the tournament name. More precisely, 【Starlight Cup Starcraft Tournament】."
"No problem at all. Of course!"
As he answered, Jin-seong couldn't hide his curiosity.
He'd heard of Starlight before.
He just hadn't connected it to the man in front of him yet.
I figured it was fine to let that cat out of the bag.
"Ah! That Starlight is the company I just acquired."
"What? So... Kim Do-jun, the super rich guy, is Bukppudeupppu?!"
"That's right."
"Whoa! I tried that 'Raising a Witch in Another World' game you gave me last time, and it was frustrating as hell. Those damn Chinese devs... Ah, sorry. I got carried away swearing out of turn."
"It's fine. Go on."
"Anyway, when the Korean guy took over from that trash Chinese CEO, I snuck into the forums to check it out. It was a totally different game!"
Jin-seong was getting as excited as if it were his own project.
It had changed, for sure.
Not only had the pay-to-win broken stats vanished, but server lag during peak hours with tons of users was fixed too.
I'd solved those issues by throwing money at them.
'Thanks to that, I won back the players' trust.'
No regrets about the investment.
It was the dev team's job to patch those issues.
That bastard Ma Chun-dong had ignored them all to squeeze out profits.
Today, I'd completed my daily quest: devour Ma Chun-dong.
"Plus, I heard Litepia is making a game based on Moonlight Girl's novel. It's hyped as a major new release..."
"That's my third condition."
"?"
I couldn't help but chuckle at his wide-eyed confusion.
What a cute guy.
"Take charge of that game, Jin-seong."
"Pardon?"
"Plenty of time before launch, but we need a model to promote it."
"!"
Great gameplay alone doesn't guarantee success.
You need ways to promote it to everyday players.
Ads on portal sites.
Billboards on buses, a major public transport.
Posters in crowded subways.
Lots of options.
I planned to borrow the hands of Jin-seong, the internet broadcasting president boasting 60,000 average viewers.
"What do you say? Want to collaborate with Starlight?"
"Absolutely... I'll do it, no question!"
The golden age of Starcraft's revival.
For that, Jin-seong was ready to stake his life.
"Entrust Starlight's next game to me. I'll guard it with my life!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The communities were on fire again.
New updates every day had the forum addicts screaming in joy.
This latest news was the kind no one could have imagined.
💬 Comments — Anonymous Whoa! Is this legit? — Anonymous Yeah ;;;; Jin-seong and Starlight teamed up. — Anonymous Lmao x10000 — Anonymous But the prize is really 1 billion won? — Anonymous Yup. Biggest ever. — Anonymous Hilarious part: no runner-up prize lol — Anonymous Wait, really? — Anonymous Yeah; the theme is treating only first place right. — Anonymous Damn, won't that piss people off? — Anonymous Piss off how? Society never rewards second place anyway. — Anonymous Agreed, love the concept personally. — Anonymous Sponsor is Starlight? Isn't that a game company? — Anonymous Famous for 'Raising a Witch in Another World.' Yeah, them. — Anonymous Why would a game company drop a billion on Starcraft? — Anonymous CEO must love Starcraft. Posts popping up every second.
The hype was real—one read, and 100 more appeared.
📰 Breaking News From today, I bow once a day to Starlight's headquarters. Views: 418,552
Likes: 71,939
Comments: 7,116
One post caught the eye, evoking a cult religion.
It was fanatical enough to make others cringe.
📰 Breaking News Today, I start having sex with Starlight! Know why? I'm a fan who enjoys both 'Raising a Witch in Another World' and 'Starcraft'. Honestly, both games were total flops at some point, right? But get this: The company that saved both is Starlight. While those Chinese jerks screwed over Korean players, the guy who delivered justice is now Starlight's CEO. And for some reason, that CEO teamed up with internet broadcasting's president Jin-seong to sponsor this tournament. Starcraft's been around how long? Over 20 years. It could've vanished into history's dustbin any day! So, gratitude to Starlight's CEO for giving it a lifeline. Who was that CEO again? Oh yeah, Kim Do-jun. Today, I'm dumping my girlfriend to find a new one. My girlfriend from now on is Kim Do-jun. Take my soft, squishy ass ♡ — Anonymous Fuck, that's filthy. Straight-up gay bait? — Anonymous Dirty post, but I get it. Watching your fave game decline hurts. — Anonymous Agreed. Loved Pongpong Land but it shut down ㅠㅠ — Anonymous Thinking again, god-tier move. Total win-win. — Anonymous Yep. Starlight gets promo and image boost; Jin-seong gets the sponsor he desperately needed. — Anonymous Dunno who thought of it, but STCH. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Fuck, you scared me!"
I'd popped into the communities to check the public sentiment.
And there it was—a pinned post featuring my name boldly.
Not like I was hiding behind a paper company. Nor was it plastered on a massive American pharma giant.
Just the name on a small company.
[I love you, Kim Do-jun.]
[Want to fuck Kim Do-jun to death.]
All sorts of praise.
Maybe I should change my name.
"Sir, writer Kang So-yeon called. She's free the day after tomorrow."
"So-yeon?"
My first love, now a comrade in the same boat.
A key player tied to Starlight's future revenue.
'Business is business, personal is personal.'
No idea why she wanted to meet, but I couldn't brush off a popular author.
"Tell her anytime works."
"Got it."
But why did she want to see me?
I racked my brain, but nothing.
She was a beloved author, swamped right now.
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