Testing Is a Piece of Cake
"Ugh. I actually survived. Eww, slimes are way grosser than I thought."
I feel a wave of discomfort as the slime's viscous residue clings to my body. It’s not exactly painful or anything, but it’s that specific kind of annoyance—like having the tips of your socks get wet on a rainy day.
I brush the slime off my skin and scramble to my feet. I never expected to lose to a slime, no matter how much my physical stats have dropped… I really need to start working out.
"But Minji… you’re not actually going to use that for the promotional photos, are you?"
I look up at Minji with a nervous expression. She wouldn’t *really* use a photo of me losing to a slime, would she? The way she looks down at me with a playful, mocking smile only makes my anxiety spike. No matter how much she wants her broadcast to succeed, she wouldn’t sell out her own friend. She wouldn’t, right? Even if she wants to be successful, she wouldn’t!
A developer who creates such incredible things shouldn't be seen as a total scrub. Well, it’s not like showing that side of me is a huge deal, but… it’s embarrassing! That photo is strictly off-limits for public release!
"Pfft. Just kidding. I’d get fired if I posted something like that."
"Phew… wait, fired? What are you talking about?"
"Eh, it’s just a thing. Anyway, are you still testing?"
"Yeah. We’re in the final stretch, so I’m just doing one last check."
She said something I didn’t quite understand, but I let it slide. It didn’t seem particularly important.
After wiping off all the slime, I pick up my dagger again and head back into the dungeon, worrying if another slime might pop out.
"Oh, by the way, Minji."
"Yeah?"
"Can we get support staff for Another World? Like, people for testing and operations?"
"I’m sure you could ask around, but is it really that hard to do alone?"
I nod in agreement. It’s true that I can use dummy NPCs to test things to an extent, but the operations side is the real headache. Even if there aren't any bugs, people are going to keep sending in inquiries. They’ll call for an operator even for things that aren't bugs. There’s no way I can handle that many people by myself.
If I could just explain things without showing my face, that would be fine, but I can’t. Being an operator on a broadcast without showing my face? That’s impossible unless I hire hundreds of people.
"I’ll look into it, then. So, is the testing done here?"
"Hmm, I still need to try catching a monster once, but… honestly, I don’t have the confidence to do it myself. Could you help me out?"
"Well, after seeing you lose to a slime, I can see why. Sure, I’ll help."
"…Please forget that happened."
I offer a bitter smile at Minji’s comment. She’s definitely going to tease me about this for days… no, months. I wonder if I should have asked for her help, but when I think about it, there’s no one else I could ask.
Since she doesn’t seem like she’s going to tease me any further for now, I reactivate the developer window and set Minji’s stats to average.
"I’ve set your stats to average for now. Just remember that they might change once the content starts."
"Got it. Does my body feel a bit lighter, or is it just me?"
"A sword is fine for a weapon, right?"
"Yeah. So, are you just going to watch without fighting?"
"I’ll provide support with magic."
I can’t show her the high-level magic or anything like that since it’s a secret, but basic magic is fine since I’ll be using it in the promotional videos anyway.
I summon an iron sword and a magic staff, handing the sword to Minji.
"Is it okay to reveal this?"
"I’m going to put it in the promo video anyway. We still have plenty of time before the deadline, right?"
"……Uh, never mind. Sure."
I look up at Minji, expecting her to be excited, but I tilt my head when she accepts it with a somewhat bitter expression. What’s wrong? Was there something uncomfortable about it? It would definitely make the promotion more effective. I don’t understand her reaction.
Seeing as she has nothing else to say and is busy checking the iron sword, I pick up my staff to check it as well.
"But how do you use magic?"
"There are two ways. One is by following the staff, and the other is by casting magic directly."
"What’s the difference between the two?"
"Using the staff means you’re using the magic inherent to the staff, but casting directly feels like you’re really squeezing your brain for it."
I chuckle as she frowns, clearly not understanding what I mean. Honestly, it’s not easy to explain the magic system in words. It’s much clearer if you experience it yourself.
So, I look at Minji, wave my staff, and tell her:
"Just check for yourself when the content starts."
"Huh?"
"Hehehe. That’s what makes it exciting, right? Come on, let’s go inside. Let’s catch some monsters and see if the drops are working well."
"…Ha, fine. Let’s go catch some monsters, for the sake of our scrub developer."
"Hey… ugh."
Teased by Minji, I walk deeper into the dungeon. We’ve already passed the F-zone where the slime appeared, so we’re in the perfect spot for a new monster to show up.
Maybe it’s because I’m not alone and Minji is walking in front, but I feel surprisingly reassured. It really is better to do this with others rather than alone. The tension is lower, and it feels like I’m a real adventurer exploring a dungeon.
If you just look at our avatars, we look like we’re on a picnic, but I think it has a pretty good atmosphere.
"I think there’s something ahead."
"Hm? Did you hear something?"
"I saw something like a shadow."
I nod at Minji’s words, grip my staff, and feel the magic embedded within it. I visualize the image transmitted to my brain through the staff.
"Hmm. Maybe I’m not as good at magic as I thought."
It’s not that my imagination is bad, but I’m better at improvising things on the fly. It feels a bit awkward to visualize something that’s already set in stone like this. It’s more comfortable when it’s not embedded magic because I have more freedom, but I hold back, afraid it might get too flashy, and activate the spell.
"Detect. Recon."
A white magic circle appears above the staff before sinking into the ground and sticking to it. From the attached magic circle, a white wave ripples outward.
As the wave passes through, the state of the area ahead appears in my mind, confirming that Minji wasn’t wrong.
"There’s a monster ahead. Looks like a goblin."
"Is that magic? It’s a bit underwhelming."
"It’s a basic spell, that’s why. All basic spells are underwhelming."
If I showed something flashy from the start, everyone would only ever use magic, so I had no choice. Magic is hard to use, but it has a high ceiling. That said, you can’t exactly call it overpowered because the higher the level, the longer the casting time and the more resources it consumes.
"I get that. So, is there anything special besides magic?"
"Of course there is! Instead of choosing magic, you can infuse mana directly into your weapon to create things like sword energy."
I cross my arms and proudly puff out my chest at her question. Who do you think I am? There’s no way I’d only make magic fun. Since I used Western fantasy as a motif, there obviously had to be an ability that counters magic.
"Oh, like this?"
"…Uh, yeah, that’s right."
I’m flustered to see her manifest blue sword energy on her blade when I haven’t even explained it properly yet. That’s not something you can just do on the first try—I had to repeat the process so many times just to make the system and get it to work! I kept failing and thought it was a bug, so I spent forever fixing it!
I feel a little dejected. Maybe I’m just bad at it?
"Streamers are going to be pretty good at this, aren't they?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Because there’s a virtual reality game that’s similar to this."
My eyes widen at that. There’s something similar? I wasn’t the first? I’m a little disappointed. I wanted to show something that hadn’t been seen anywhere else. To think it’s already been done elsewhere… Ugh! I want to change it right now.
"Still, the one you made is more comfortable."
"…Really?"
"Yeah. In that other game, it feels stiff, but this one moves smoothly."
Watching her repeatedly turn the sword energy on and off, it really does look like she’s used to it. If I hadn’t just focused on development and had actually played games, would I have been that natural at it too? Honestly, even if I have a knack for creation, I don’t think I have any talent for gaming. So, probably not.
"But that’s not all there is to it."
"What else is there?"
"Obviously! But check it out in later content, not now. That’s all the preview you get."
"Tsk, fine. So, I just have to take care of that thing, right?"
I nod as the goblin approaches right in front of us. Wow, I was so busy talking that if we’d chatted a little longer, we would’ve been hit by that club.
"Alright, Minji. I’ll cast a support spell, so go get him."
"Hmm. How should I do it?"
"…Huh?"
I feel a sense of unease as she looks down at me with a playful smile. Wait, you said you’d help, so what does that mean? Are you tricking me, Minji? Tell me you’re not going to drag that goblin right in front of me, right?
"Now that I think about it, just catching it is a bit boring, isn’t it?"
"Uh… u-uh."
"So, how about you call me 'Unnie'? My birthday is earlier than yours anyway, so I’m your Unnie, right?"
I look up at her, dumbfounded, but seeing her playful smile as she keeps looking down at me, I realize she’s serious. She really wants to hear me call her 'Unnie'. What kind of things are you making me do between friends? And it’s not even 'Noona', it’s 'Unnie'!
She hasn’t forgotten that I used to be a guy, has she?! This is such a ridiculous situation.
"Uh, you’re not doing it? I’m logging out. You can catch the goblin by yourself."
"Ugh…"
I could catch the goblin if I used magic, but I wanted to watch Minji’s movements to adjust the difficulty. She truly is an unpredictable friend. At this point, she’s more of a nemesis.
"No… hah."
"Come on, hurry up. Why don’t you ask this Unnie for a favor?"
"…Un… n…"
"What was that? I can’t hear you~"
"…Unnie, please catch the goblin for me."
"There we go. I’ll catch as many as you want."
My head starts to ache as she pats my head and walks off with a light step to take care of the goblin. Ah, at least I’m not broadcasting or recording right now. If I were, I’d have two black-history moments in a single day, and that would be really tough. There’s no way such a terrible thing as my teasing being doubled could happen.
"Hup!"
I find myself clapping in admiration as she lightly swings her sword and knocks the goblin’s club away. I set it so the weapons wouldn’t drop easily, but she managed to disarm the goblin in one go. I always thought Minji was good with her body since we were kids, and it seems nothing has changed.
The way she plunges her sword into the goblin’s vital point, exposing its weakness after the weapon was knocked away, looks very natural. It looks way too practiced… that can’t be real life, right? It must be because of that game she mentioned earlier, right?
"That was easier than I thought! And the drops seem pretty good, too."
The goblin, struck by the sword, turns into polygons and scatters, leaving a white cube in its place.
"Yeah. The drop is confirmed, and… hmm… is it too easy?"
"There will be some streamers who are beginners, so I think this is good for now."
At Minji’s words, I think of the VTubers who aren't great at games. Since most of the broadcasts I watch are VTubers, I think this level is sufficient.
"So, is the testing over?"
"Yeah! Thanks for the help."
"Don’t mention it, I’m doing this so I can succeed too."
"Hehehe. I’m so excited. Everyone’s going to have fun, right?"
"At the very least, I’m going to have fun."
Since Minji agrees, I have a feeling this content will be a success, too. I hope the opening day comes soon. I hope everyone plays it and has a great time. It’s going to be so much fun!