Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Clumsy Game Dev Diary (5)
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To sum up the contract we signed with Kaedics in the briefest terms possible:
—Nebula would support the commercialization of their currently operating game, Beyond: The Lost Era, and the upcoming Beyond Elysion.
—They would protect our family and our creations from all sorts of threats, be it rival companies, the media, or criminals after our money.
—Ryu In-seo would serve as an external advisor to Kaedics's AI Technology Development Division and actively contribute to technological advancements.
—Profits from Beyond: The Lost Era would remain exclusively ours, as originally planned. However, profits from Beyond Elysion would be split 50-50.
In my opinion, it was a contract bordering on a jackpot, but my stepbrother didn't look entirely satisfied.
"...About the profit split. They said it was fine on their end, so why bother including it?"
"Let me flip the question on you. Say you're collaborating with someone. You work together, but only they profit—would that motivate you to do your best?"
"No, but I'm the one going over there to help with tech collaboration. How is that us profiting alone?"
"It's not intuitive enough."
People tend to obsess over what's right in front of their eyes.
The AI tech my stepbrother was providing was a treasure beyond measure to those who understood its value, but it wasn't easy to see the concrete gains from "implementing that tech."
It was a different story from a game where revenue was plainly visible.
"Sure, even if we'd taken 100% of our side's revenue, they wouldn't slack on game development. A deal's a deal. But they'd only do the bare minimum. Why would their employees bust their asses for extra rewards they can't even see?"
"So we have to share profits with them too?"
"That way, Kaedics will see this as their rice bowl, not the neighbor's."
And this was a form of insurance, too.
My stepbrother was showing off talents straight out of fiction right now, but who could guarantee he'd keep it up decades from now?
If we monopolized Beyond Elysion's profits, the moment his genius faded, they'd have no reason to keep protecting us and our game. But the contract requires it! Yeah, right. How could I trust that?
"More importantly, isn't your dream to make games? What, touching some money changed your goals? Wanna quit that unprofitable virtual reality crap right now?"
Honestly, even if he nodded here, I'd just shrug it off.
Sure, I'd given plenty of feedback along the way, so it'd sting a bit, but if he wanted out, what could I do?
We weren't volunteering for free; we'd been getting dividends steadily.
"As if. ...Yeah, right. As long as the environment's set up to make games, that's enough."
But he straightened up, eyes reigniting with that founder's fire, reaching for the computer again.
I stopped him.
"Later. Eat first."
"I've got energy bars and drinks. I can eat while working."
"No, Mom and Dad said we're eating dinner together starting today. Let's go."
His eyes shook violently, but that wasn't my problem.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I believe there are two things that determine a person's position in a group.
First, performance. What they've achieved.
For students, grades; for office workers, salary. Easy examples. Good performance earns respect.
Second, personality. Put bluntly, how strong their presence is.
Even top performers get ignored if they're spineless—if they can't assert themselves.
Like a breadwinner supporting the whole family on their income, yet ranking dead last at home.
Or the hardest worker in the office whose achievements get stolen, too timid to protest.
Ryu In-seo used to be pathetic at both.
He had talent, but poured it into some distant future, so no visible results now. And his communication? Couldn't convince anyone. Hell, he couldn't even make eye contact with strangers.
But not anymore.
Beyond: The Lost Era was just a stepping stone to our real goal, but even that bridge was overflowing achievement to outsiders. My growing bank balance proved it daily.
Mom and Dad, who never cared about games, barely acknowledged their son at first. But once Kaedics signed the real deal, those biases crumbled.
Top global execs hyping their son, detailing protections for him and his family? Only an idiot wouldn't change their tune.
Their once-dismissed son—family leech, troublemaker—suddenly had standing.
Treatment followed suit.
"Ye-rin, honey, tell In-seo to join us for dinner if he's free?"
That was Lady Kang—our mom—sending me to drag my stepbrother to the table.
So, adding a fourth to our usual trio...
"Ahem, I heard. Hired as Kaedics's external advisor?"
"Yes."
"Good. A man should shoulder a name like that. Watching you hole up in your room drove me nuts, but you've finally found your place."
"Yes."
"......"
What was there to do? This suffocating space was killing us.
Stepdad trying small talk, all old-man lectures. Stepbrother tense, giving one-word answers.
Mom sipping water, face screaming I'm dying here.
I just ate calmly, ignoring it all.
Back when it was just us girls, protein meant braised tofu or fried tofu. Now? Braised short ribs. Meals were a joy.
And honestly, after ignoring their son for years, they could endure this pain.
If they'd handled it, I wouldn't have slaved daily on his mental health.
Nosy meddling? A stepsister genetically wired to hate him did this much—pretty damn good, right?
Steps, so genes don't matter? Whatever.
Finally, after polishing off my bowl, I spoke.
"Kaedics said if we need TVs or appliances, just say the word. New models."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. And Dad's car too. Anything from their lineup you want."
"Hmm. I've been thinking of upgrading."
"Like when kids buy parents gifts with their first paycheck. Same thing. Enjoy the perks. Right, bro?"
He'd been eyeing me weirdly—me bantering casually with him, polite to parents. Caught off-guard by the spotlight, he swallowed and nodded.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. ...But by that logic, what about you? You've been on my payroll."
"Payroll? More like nursing fees. What do you think, Dad? Mom?"
"True. Bill for checkups too while you're at it."
"Our girl's been moonlighting as a healer."
A small laugh rippled around the table.
A bit awkward, a tad forced, but laughter all the same. That mattered.
Once he tasted a "harmonious family" that never existed, he'd ditch that insane plan to trap minds in VR for forced game participation.
(I'd layered safety nets anyway, but prevention beats cleanup.)
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After that, the siblings' game dev proceeded smoothly.
Beyond: The Lost Era—hailed as gacha fast food—sailed on with relentless updates. Ryu In-seo's VR-specialized AI tech brought Kaedics massive gains.
Testing real-world trial-and-error in VR with near-perfect precision? Huge.
Execs said it more than covered the siblings' dev costs (Ryu Ye-rin now, post-remarriage).
But executives are greedier than beasts, never satisfied.
"If we're entering VR games anyway, why wait blindly for Beyond Elysion? Market research and prep now."
"Plenty of stalled games due to budgets. Acquire some, test our tech. Prove value as pioneers."
Tech hawks like Bae Byung-jin silenced pure AI grabs, but compromises like this? Hard to refuse outright.
The siblings—well, negotiator Ryu Ye-rin—nodded easily.
"Fine. Borrowing Nebula itself would've been iffy, but using derivative AIs? Not our call."
"Risk losing 'world's first online VR game' title?"
"Trailblazers take the wind. Paving the way ahead? Why refuse?"
(Her real calc: more games spread risk if shit hits the fan.) Bae Byung-jin just admired her poise.
Chosen: zombie shooter Starving Shadow (apocalypse) and wuxia Dance of the Dragon Sword.
Reason: Avoid pie-stealing with Beyond Elysion's fantasy/arcane punk vibe.
Both games stumbled through scandals, gathering data that fed straight into Beyond Elysion.
And one day...
🟢 LIVE: Lunara's Fun Black Curtain Play "Alright, everyone! Welcome to 'Lunara's Fun Black Curtain Play' as always!" 💬 Live Chat — Viewer Wooo! — Fan (Applause) — Superfan Lunara best girl! "This time, I'll nudge a black curtain candidate from another world and broadcast the chaos they unleash. Nail this content, and I'll climb to big-corp streamer status!" — Skeptic Black curtain candidate? How do you even "candidate" a black curtain? "Prophecy magic, duh! I checked ahead." — Cynic That prophecy with coin-flip accuracy? — Realist Dowsing for magic stone mines would work better. "Hey now, prophecy sucks only in advanced magic civs like ours. In magic-less backwaters with no interference, it's 99% accurate!" — Troll No magic = civilization? Cave people much? — Entertained Arm primitives and watch 'em go wild? Sounds fun. — Curious So, who's this prophecy pick? "Hang on. Got it summarized. Name: Ryu In-seo. Mom dies in childbirth, despised by bio-dad, abandoned post-remarriage, achievements stolen at work, dumped by lover, despairs at world. Traps minds in his game for mass suicide. Ends with ~1,300 dead." — Laughing LOL at the raw deal life. — Empath I'd burn the world too. — Critic Bit small-scale for a black curtain tho. "Goal: approach this proto-black curtain, amp up the carnage for spectacle, broadcast the raw life-or-death drama. Minimum 10x victims! Sound fun?" — BigGoal Modest target. Streamers sell arms to savages for millions dead. — Defender Can't match the OGs. This is indie tier. — Fanboy Still rooting for Lunara! "Ahem, anyway—operation start!" The seed of evil had arrived.