Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Offer
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“……?”
Lee Shin tilted his head.
A call from a broadcasting station?
‘An impersonation?’
That was his first thought.
He'd never had any contact with a broadcasting station, nor any reason to.
So, it was more likely that someone who saw the video he uploaded to YouTube (Kim Ha-seong or one of his fans) was offended for some reason and was maliciously impersonating them.
But.
‘There's even a business card.’
The electronic business card enclosed with the message changed Lee Shin's mind.
It was too well-prepared to be a simple malicious prank.
Just in case, Lee Shin went to the OnGameNet website and searched for the name on the card.
[1 search result found.]
[OnGameNet Inc. PD Park Pyeong-sik]
“!”
A name popped up immediately!
It matched the description on the business card exactly.
Lee Shin nodded.
‘So it wasn't an impersonation.’
His suspicion was immediately resolved.
But the question remained.
‘Why?’
Judging by the email's content, they wanted to sign a broadcasting contract with him, but aside from the single video on his channel, Lee Shin hadn't shown anything yet.
So why would someone like this contact him?
What kind of potential did they see in a single video to bring up a contract?
Lee Shin was lost in thought.
‘…Or are they just testing the waters?’
It was a passing thought, but Lee Shin's speculation soon solidified in that direction.
Common sense dictated that it was hard to imagine a serious recruitment offer after uploading just one video.
“Hmm.”
Lee Shin's serious expression faded.
Lee Shin tapped his fingers on the desk, lost in thought for a moment, then shook his head and turned off the computer.
‘…This isn't it.’
After considering it from various angles, he felt it was best to just pass on the offer.
Not only was there no need to sign a contract right now, but Lee Shin himself wasn't ready.
‘It would also be troublesome if I ended up with a malicious contract.’
Of course, the chances of a place like OnGameNet proposing a malicious contract were low.
In fact, it was a broadcasting station that had been free of scandal for a long time.
However, Lee Shin knew all too well that the broadcasting industry wasn't clean enough to trust a station's name alone.
He had personally seen quite a few former and current celebrities visiting Jeong Hui-seon's office.
He didn't know the exact reasons they were visiting a psychiatric hospital…
But he could tell for sure that it was not an easy industry.
‘I have to be careful.’
Be careful not to get scammed.
Lee Shin made a firm resolve as he sent the rest of the footage to Arthur.
* * *
Of course, this was Lee Shin's misunderstanding.
After realizing through his call with Arin that the user named Arthur was the protagonist of the video he'd seen a few days ago, Park Pyeong-sik immediately sent an email to Lee Shin while also drafting a proposal.
And the proposal Park Pyeong-sik prepared was based on industry standards.
Objectively, they were not bad terms.
This was especially true considering Lee Shin's position.
For Lee Shin, who had just uploaded a single video, receiving a contract offer that was 'precisely aligned with industry standards' rather than a lowball one held a special significance.
It could be interpreted that the PD leading the recruitment strongly wanted a contract with Lee Shin, and that was indeed the case.
‘I must sign him!’
That was Park Pyeong-sik's thought the moment he realized the Arthur that Arin mentioned was *that* Arthur.
You could say he was completely hooked.
Park Pyeong-sik strongly wanted a contract with Lee Shin.
There were several reasons, the first being Lee Shin's skill.
Seeing him overwhelmingly crush ‘the’ Kim Ha-seong proved his control was solid, and the fact that he'd achieved enough to meet a Count meant his level wasn't that low either.
Of course, it was low compared to the top rankers, but Park Pyeong-sik considered this an advantage.
High skill but a low level?
The most likely explanation was that he hadn't been playing the game for long.
This meant he was a diamond in the rough with high potential for growth, which, translated into the language of a broadcasting station PD, meant ‘he's at his cheapest right now.’
Park Pyeong-sik, who had a knack for recruiting streamers, would not miss such an opportunity to buy low.
While the first reason was based on rational thinking, the second involved a bit of Park Pyeong-sik's personal opinion.
He believed Lee Shin's playstyle would be a great asset for success in this industry.
‘First of all, he's unique.’
Individuality.
It was a definite weapon.
This was especially true considering the current state of the game broadcasting industry.
The industry was currently a massive red ocean.
It seemed the pie was growing as the game industry developed, but the number of people wanting to become streamers had grown even faster.
Thanks to that, it had recently reached a point where 'blood ocean' was a more fitting term than 'red ocean'.
A world where one in a thousand survives, and the rest are buried without a trace!
To succeed and enter the top 0.1% in such a brutal environment, one had to satisfy at least one of the following two conditions.
Get into the rankings.
Or go viral.
With the increased player base in Avala Online 2, the competition for rankings had become even more fierce.
No, it was beyond fierce; one could even call it harsh.
It was common for players to hire assassin guilds to take out rivals to protect their rank, or for large guilds with multiple rankers to wage war to secure their interests.
In more extreme cases, people would find out their opponent's real-life location (physical address) and then cut their power or internet.
Of course, the latter was an extremely rare and extreme case, but it was an example that proved just how serious rankers were about their rankings.
Because it was so competitive, the rankings were always a topic of interest for users. In other words, just getting into the rankings was enough to make a name for oneself.
This was precisely why so-called 'skill-based streamers' gritted their teeth and strived to get into the rankings.
While being ranked didn't guarantee a successful stream, it certainly meant starting from a different point than everyone else.
However, this was not an easy method.
To be precise, it was impossible for the vast majority.
Get into the rankings, and you'll have a high chance of succeeding as a streamer?
Easier said than done. Breaking into the rankings, teeming with physical monsters, was impossible with effort alone.
Thus, the majority of users 'aiming for success through streaming' focused on the second method.
Creating a buzz by showcasing their own uniqueness.
Of course, this wasn't easy either, but it was easier than getting into the rankings among hundreds of millions of users.
Park Pyeong-sik believed Lee Shin had a strong advantage in this area.
‘A psychopath concept, of all things.’
It was a market flooded with all sorts of concepts for gaining popularity, but this was the first time Park Pyeong-sik had seen one like this.
No, to be precise, he had never seen a user who 'perfectly' gave off a psychopath vibe.
Usually, the concept was so over-the-top it became cringey, or the concept was perfect but their skills didn't back it up, making it look awkward. Lee Shin was neither.
In a good way, he seemed perfectly consumed by his concept!
…In fact, it was only natural. Lee Shin wasn't acting; he was an actual psychopath. Of course he would seem like one.
However, Park Pyeong-sik, who hadn't the faintest idea of this fact, was simply in awe of Lee Shin's broadcasting sense.
‘This is perfect timing.’
Regardless of this unfortunate misunderstanding, he felt like he had found a breakthrough.
It just so happened that they were discussing the need for new content to compete with other major broadcasting companies that were steadily gaining market share.
Arthur was skilled, had a solid concept, and hadn't yet formed a fixed fanbase, making him perfect for showcasing other experimental projects.
With a user like him, they could try something different.
The only issue was the friction with Arin, one of their business partners, but Park Pyeong-sik didn't think it would be a major problem.
Being deceived was one thing, business was another.
‘Arin isn't one to hold a grudge.’
She'll accept an apology.
Park Pyeong-sik smiled, thinking lightly of it, but soon an unexpected problem arose.
“…But why isn't he responding?”
The other party wasn't getting back to him.
* * *
While PD Park Pyeong-sik was tearing his hair out over the lack of a reply, Lee Shin had completely forgotten about the contract offer and was fully immersed in the arena.
The result.
[Victory!]
[Victory!]
[…You have achieved a 99-win streak.]
[A marvelous winning streak!]
[A great achievement. The title <One Accustomed to Victory> has been replaced with <One for Whom Victory is a Given>!]
[You have completed the promotion matches with 5 wins and 0 losses.]
[Your tier is…]
With a final 99-win streak and 770 Diamond points, Lee Shin's arena excursion came to an end.
An incredible record!
In less than a week since setting foot in the arena, he had reached the tier just below Master, which was considered the celestial realm.
‘My level is holding me back from going higher.’
Considering Lee Shin's low level (for his tier), it could be said that he had reached the highest point possible with his current stats.
For reference, his consecutive perfect game streak had ended early at 19 wins.
He had won the match itself, but the streak ended rather anticlimactically when he was hit by an opponent's area-of-effect attack.
Lee Shin smacked his lips in disappointment.
‘…Well, it wasn't a particularly important record anyway.’
Organizing his thoughts, Lee Shin stepped out of the arena.
Outside, Jeong Yu-ra and Arthur, who had returned after his death penalty ended a few days ago, were practicing hard, assisted by Haipen Gillaim and Cedric respectively.
‘They're doing well.’
Arthur aside, Jeong Yu-ra in particular had grown significantly.
With Cedric's full support, she had unlocked several more skills, and her overall skill proficiency had also increased.
‘She's worth the money.’
Nodding in satisfaction, Lee Shin approached Arthur.
“Hm? Ah, you're here.”
Arthur sensed his approach and turned his head.
Then, as if he'd been waiting, he spoke before Lee Shin could even ask.
“The footage you sent me last time, I edited it and uploaded it this morning.”
“All of it?”
“No. The whole thing was too long, so I cut it down to the promotion matches and a few matches after that.”
And he said he plans to combine the remaining footage with the footage he's sending this time to make another video.
“Is that okay?”
“You handle the editing.”
Lee Shin didn't care either way.
“Anyway, you uploaded it this morning?”
“It's been about eight hours. Want to see it now?”
“Show me.”
“Okay.”
A moment later, Arthur shared his screen.
A short video, about 15 minutes long, was displayed on the screen.
[How a First-Time Arena User Dominates Promotion Matches. (FEAT. Kim Ha-seong)]
“……?”
Lee Shin paused for a moment after seeing the title, but then nodded as if to say, 'I guess that works.'
Titles usually need to be a bit provocative and straightforward to get people to click on them out of curiosity.
‘Good job.’
It seemed he had deliberately included Kim Ha-seong's name, which had nothing to do with the video's content, to drive related searches.
Thanks to that, it had already surpassed 100,000 views in less than half a day, with hundreds of comments.
“…Huh?”
But among the many comments, one stood out.
[Zia has donated 1,000,000 Won to this video.]
[I'm cheering for you.]
“……!”