Chapter 51
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Game Ads as Nonsense Shorts
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Early morning.
In the heart of Gangnam, Seoul, stood the towering building of Seha Corporation.
The atmosphere in the development room of Eclipse Studio's Chrono Rea dev team was vastly different from the usual.
The team members were all slumped over their desks or leaning back in their chairs with mouths agape, passed out.
"I'm so tired..."
"I wanna shower..."
"R-ra-ramen... I want ramen..."
If someone glanced in passing, they might think it was a peaceful scene of early birds catching a quick nap after arriving at work.
But the hidden reality was entirely different.
The Chrono Rea team hadn't just arrived—they'd clocked in yesterday morning and hadn't left since.
In other words, they were 24 hours into their shift.
Such was the fate of game developers.
And today was the day of reckoning for the Chrono Rea team.
A fateful day, no less.
[Money-Losing Game]
[Flop Game]
[Zombie Game on Life Support]
[Pet Tumor]
Not to mention all the other unspeakable mockery they'd endured, Chrono Rea was finally rolling out a proper major patch after five long years.
"Director... we did good, right?"
"We ramped up the manpower and worked our asses off... so yeah, it should be good..."
Director Yumina could only give a wry smile in response to her team's feeble question.
This was her first time spearheading a patch like this, so she wasn't entirely confident either.
She was just a nominal director leading a tiny team of six, after all.
Commanding a 50-person crew for a massive patch was a first for her.
'All this support from HQ for normal operations...'
Even in this moment, Director Yumina silently thanked Seha Corporation's CEO Eun Ha-min for the backing.
Assigning 50 people to a classic, outdated game like this—dismissed as washed up—meant massive support from the top.
Yet not a single soul complained.
Chrono Rea was like the founding hero that built Eclipse Studio.
And more than that, a game that once peaked at 500 concurrent users...
Was now hitting 40,000 concurrents, riding an insane hot streak.
"Mm..."
Director Yumina approached her zombie-like team members.
She'd pulled all-nighters for days too—her glasses sat crooked on her nose, her messy hair even wilder than usual.
With her signature hesitant demeanor, she shuffled awkwardly between them.
"Um, everyone...?"
Her voice was barely a whisper, shrinking into itself. But oddly,
that faint sound made the team members twitch.
"The servers are live now, so we need to start monitoring..."
Yumina fidgeted with her fingers as she continued.
Her introverted, timid nature made even waking her team feel like a crime.
But as director, she forced out the words she had to say.
"You all worked so hard... really... but now's just the beginning..."
At her pitiful tone, the team members slowly dragged themselves upright, one by one.
Dark circles hung to their chins, but they clung to their sanity at the director's command.
She might be introverted and tongue-tied, but every team member vouched for Yumina's skills.
Yumina let out a relieved sigh as they rose.
"Check the community forums and streamers' broadcasts for bug reports. Stand by for hotfixes if any pop up."
"Got it."
The slumped team members sprang up, nodding in unison.
For game devs, patch day was war.
No sleep the day before, the day of, or the day after.
Games where staff patch and then crash? They're the ones hitting service end notices soon.
Right after the patch hit servers and they went live, the first stream the team monitored was from a major corporate streamer.
The Truth of the World channel.
Famous for uploading all sorts of bullshit videos, but to the Chrono Rea team, it was their savior.
The very person who'd resurrected their dying game from the grave.
"Whoa, Director! The Truth of the World is streaming!"
A monitoring team member shouted.
The others swarmed behind his monitor.
Yumina hurried over with quick steps, startled.
"What? Already streaming?"
"Says there's an event."
"An event? It's not even 10 yet."
On screen, The Truth of the World—no, Kim Min-jae—was prepping some event.
Yumina peered at the screen with curious eyes.
But as they saw the event details, the dev team's faces filled with shock.
"Isn't that... top-grade potion?"
"Looks like it."
"Inventory maxes at 99 per slot, and 200 slots are packed..."
The item The Truth of the World was giving away? None other than [Top-Grade Potion].
The most expensive consumable in Chrono Rea right now, no exaggeration.
Chrono Rea's potion system differed slightly from other RPGs.
Dot heal mechanic.
Lasts 60 minutes, restoring a set amount at intervals.
Top-Grade Potion especially? Every 5 seconds for 60 minutes, recovers 5% HP and MP. Cheat-tier performance.
Made solo self-sustain parties possible in high-difficulty dungeons or raid bosses—no healer needed.
These days, any veteran hoarded them as essentials.
"Crazy... how many is he giving away?"
"19,800."
One team member tapped his calculator.
Multiplying unit price by quantity, his jaw dropped.
"Dude, cash value? Roughly 45 million won."
45 million won.
Price of a mid-size car.
And one streamer was tossing it out as an event giveaway.
No sponsorship—straight from his pocket.
The team watched, heads tilted in confusion.
"But dude, major patch just dropped, servers fresh... is now really event time?"
"Yeah, shoulda waited, hit peak evening hours or something."
"Guy's got no talent for game streaming. Terrible timing."
"20,000 viewers already in—maybe that's why?"
"Still a shame."
The team clucked their tongues, pitying Kim Min-jae's streaming instincts.
But Yumina felt oddly irked overhearing the gossip.
Not even about her, yet.
Like that subtle disgust when someone badmouths your favorite game.
'It's not bad timing... he just wants to give to the players...'
Yumina pouted inwardly.
To her, The Truth of the World wasn't calculating.
Just a pure gamer who loved the game too much, wanting to share with users.
Then, her pocket buzzed wildly with a ringtone.
Startled, Yumina fumbled out her phone.
Her eyes widened at the caller ID.
[CEO Eun Ha-min]
She panicked at the name on screen.
CEO calling this early?
Fatal patch issue?
Her heart pounded.
"Q-quiet, everyone...!"
She waved frantically with a trembling voice.
The mildly noisy office fell deathly silent.
Team holding their breath, staring—she finally answered cautiously.
"Y-yes...! CEO. This is Yumina."
The day after wrapping the major patch celebration event successfully.
I headed to Seha Corporation's Gangnam HQ at Eun Ha-min's summons.
Now routine: elevator to the top floor, push open the president's office door.
Spacious office.
At the head seat, Eun Ha-min sat with legs crossed, waiting.
"You're here?"
Her usual overconfident vibe made me chuckle.
On the sofa below her, Yumina sat hunched, looking tense.
Opposite vibes—kinda funny.
And...
'Huh?'
I spotted an unexpected face and blinked wide.
Yoo Yi-seol.
'Why's she here?'
Confused, I approached slowly.
Yoo Yi-seol saw me enter, smiled delightedly, then naturally looked away.
Yumina, sitting right in front of her, looked shocked at the reaction.
Where the shock came from? No clue.
'Different from the Yoo Yi-seol she imagined?'
Maybe a fan.
Yumina's eyes darted busily between me and Yoo Yi-seol.
I gave a little wave; she blushed, eyes dropping.
Eun Ha-min at the head smirked at the pair.
"What's my puppy bro pondering at the door? Sit already."
"Ah, yeah."
Scratching my head, clueless about this setup, I sank into the sofa.
Eun Ha-min glanced at demure Yoo Yi-seol on her left below, then opened her mouth to explain.
"First, why Yoo Yi-seol the lawyer's here."
"Yeah, curious. Scared me seeing her suddenly."
"We signed with Yoo Yi-seol Law Firm. She's Seha Corp's external counsel now."
Eun Ha-min's explanation was straightforward.
Yoo Yi-seol would handle Seha's legal matters as priority external advisor.
Plain speak: she's in the boat now.
I nodded, glancing at Yoo Yi-seol.
Meant to congratulate her, but she subtly avoided my gaze.
'Why's that?'
I tilted my head.
Sudden shyness? No idea.
Unless...
Recalling Han River Park days ago?
That night, deep kiss on the secluded bench.
The sensation still vivid in my mind.
Probably why she was embarrassed too.
'Keep work and personal separate, Counselor.'
Eun Ha-min watched us amusedly, chuckling.
Wonder what she meant.
She couldn't know about the kiss... right?
Or maybe, since she tracked me down before...
"And why I called Director Yumina here..."
Eun Ha-min's voice turned serious.
Playfulness gone, CEO mode activated—eyes sharp.
"Darkness Soul Land's launch date is set."
Darkness Soul Land.
The game the AI app cranked out in 3 hours, stuffed with my twisted hobbies—a dark fantasy mess.
Finally ready for the world.
"Launch date?"
I asked; Eun Ha-min held up one finger.
One month...?
"One week from now."
"Huh?"
Ears deceived me.
One week?
New games usually lock launch a month out, right? Marketing, hype-building—one week was insanely tight.
"Too soon, no? Not enough promo time."
"Promo’s done. Views on that teaser we moved to the brand account? Yumina?"
"120 million as of today."
"Mm... still, press releases, more hype..."
Not Eun Ha-min, but timid Yumina beside me answered hesitantly.
"Couldn't be helped..."
"How not?"
"The server providers we requested... they said only that date has massive traffic slots open."
Yumina explained apologetically.
Near-term dates all booked for other games.
"Everything else full... only slot open is next Wednesday, exactly one week out."
"What if not that day? Delay more?"
"Yeah... miss it, minimum three months for traffic allocation."
I shut my mouth at Yumina's words.
Three months.
Delay that long from now, hype could fizzle completely.
'Already cooling off, isn't it?'
Plus, that week's traffic guaranteed safe—no server crashes.
No choice for us.
Essentially ordered: sell in one week, sink or swim.
Eun Ha-min recrossed her legs, staring me down.
Her eyes held strange expectation.
"What d'ya think, puppy bro?"
She asked my take.
At this point, answer was obvious.
I closed my eyes, pondering.
Brain calculator whirred.
One week.
Short if short, long if long.
Standard marketing? Impossible.
No TV spots, no billboards—too late.
But...
'Not without ways.'
I opened my eyes slowly.
Answered with conviction.
"No choice. If that's the situation, we match it."
"Oho, puppy bro sounds confident?"
My lips curved up.
"Go nuts on promo for the week. I got this."
AI app for promo vids.
That should cover ads.
Eun Ha-min's face lit up with a bright smile.
The answer she'd hoped for.
"Knew it—my bro's reliable."
She clapped satisfied.
Yumina sighed in relief, patting her chest.
Launch in a week.
Time to crank out promo-not-promo vids starting today.
My channel's signature bullshit style, too.
Promote Darkness Soul Land with nonsense—that's the channel's direction for the next week.