This Game is Mine Now (1)

"I'm bored to death."

I had to admit it. I was a severe attention seeker. Where had the old me gone—the one who was so terrified of meeting people that he did nothing but shut himself up in his room?

Su-hyun's move-in date was still far off, and I didn't really have anyone else to meet. Right now, the time I spent cooped up alone in my corner of the house felt incredibly lonely.

"Should I start a social media account?"

Maybe I could flex my wealth while posting cheesy captions like, 'At a beautiful place with beautiful people...'

...Rejected. That's too cringe.

What about traveling? I thought about it, but it was just too much hassle. Haha, as expected, there was only one real option.

Tap.

Leaning back on the sofa as always, I pulled out my phone and opened the Epic of Seven community forum. I wondered what kind of event they had rolled out today. No doubt it was another insane, RNG-heavy, cash-grab event.

Not like it matters to me, though.

For someone with money to burn like me, spending cash on a game wasn't even a drop in the bucket.

However, Epic of Seven was a multiplayer mobile RPG. In other words, it was fundamentally different from a single-player game. Most of its content was riddled with competitive and cooperative elements, making communication and community the core of the game. Simply put, the more players there were, the more the content could shine.

But what was the state of the game right now?

A dead game. That was the current reality of Epic of Seven. The tragedy had all started with the release of a single cash shop item.

Blessing of Reinforcement. It was a cash item that preserved a weapon's current state even if a reinforcement attempt failed. Why did this become the root of all evil? Like most RPGs, players in Epic of Seven could reinforce their character's weapons by consuming certain resources. Since the difference in power between a reinforced and non-reinforced weapon was massive, reinforcement was a core mechanic of the game.

The catch was that reinforcement in Epic of Seven was entirely RNG-based. Past a certain threshold, a failed attempt carried a risk of either destroying the weapon entirely or resetting its reinforcement level back to zero. But with the Blessing of Reinforcement, not only was the weapon saved from destruction, but its reinforcement level was preserved even on failure. The game's economy and balance shattered instantly. High-level reinforced weapons that defied common sense flooded the servers, and game balance was utterly ruined.

The player base was cut in half back then.

But the aftermath was even more spectacular. Instead of immediately prostrating themselves and offering a proper solution, the unhinged management team uttered a legendary blunder that would go down in South Korean gaming history. As a form of "consolation," they casually remarked that since the level cap would be raised soon anyway, all those highly reinforced weapons would eventually become useless trash. They were absolutely crucified for it. It was a miraculous disaster of public relations that managed to alienate both the free-to-play players and the whales who had actually bought the cash item.

The exodus of players grew uncontrollable, and revenue plummeted. Since the game was already ruined, the devs gave up on long-term health and began rolling out desperate, predatory pay-to-win events just to squeeze out whatever cash they could. Yet, despite all this, the game's core mechanics were so exceptionally well-designed that it somehow managed to survive. A loyal core of heavy spenders continued to prop up the servers.

Haha, that concurrent player count really was tragic. A dwindling player base, stagnant content, mounting complaints, and the departure of heavy spenders. It was a total disaster. At this rate, they were going to announce the end of service any day now. Feeling a sudden wave of anxiety, I posted a serious thread for the first time in a long while.

Sigh... One anxious thought led to another, and before I knew it, I had reached the absolute worst-case conclusion. The end of service for this game was closer than I thought. The realization that the game I had dedicated half my life to was about to shut down made it hard to breathe. As I scrolled down to check the comments, one reply caught my eye.

Wait. What was Leonplay's market cap again?

Leonplay. It was a mid-sized game developer with a market capitalization of 70 billion won. They had released quite a few games over the years, but the only one that was still keeping them afloat was Epic of Seven. And with even Epic of Seven on the brink of collapse, what kind of crazy bastard would ever be interested in acquiring Leonplay?

That crazy bastard is me.

The math was done. If I could just acquire the 61% controlling stake held by Choi Jae-young, the CEO of Leonplay, the company would fall right into my hands. Since his company was already sinking fast, he would find it hard to refuse an offer to sell it off at a decent price.

Of course, actually managing Leonplay myself was out of the question. I would just set the general direction and hire a professional executive to handle the rest. Just thinking about it made my heart race. Now that the rough blueprint was drawn, I immediately picked up my phone and made a call.

The Taewoong Group Strategic Planning Office. We had been in touch during the previous Unilabs short selling incident. Since I was a direct descendant of the Taewoong Group family, they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tended to handle almost any request I threw their way.

Ahhh! This cola is refreshing.

With nothing else to do, I passed the time browsing online communities and chat apps. Ringgg! My phone rang loudly.

As expected, this guy Choi Jae-young was desperate to sell Leonplay by any means necessary. Otherwise, there was no way he would have taken the bait so instantly without even weighing the pros and cons.

The day of the meeting with Leonplay's CEO, Choi Jae-young. Guided by his secretary, I made my way to his executive office.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Kim Sung-woo. I am Choi Jae-young, the CEO of Leonplay."

"It's quite a feeling to meet the head of a game I enjoy playing. I'm Kim Sung-woo."

After exchanging formal greetings and a handshake, we took our respective seats.

"Haha, hearing you say that makes me feel truly honored. You have no idea how surprised I was when you first reached out about acquiring Leonplay."

I bet you were. Surprised that there was actually a sucker willing to buy this dying game company.

"First, there is one thing I would like to point out."

"Go ahead."

"Although Leonplay is currently experiencing a bit of a slump, I am confident that our potential and vision are virtually limitless, as you well know."

Oh, really? What a load of absolute bullshit. The plummeting revenue, operating profits, and net income were clear evidence of this company's impending doom. And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he was talking about what? Potential? Vision?

"It is self-evident that our current stock price is heavily undervalued—"

"That's enough."

I shut down his rambling nonsense. I hadn't personally come all this way today just to share friendly laughs and make small talk. You've got the wrong guy, pal.

"It seems you don't quite grasp the situation."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I came here today to deliver an ultimatum to you, Mr. Choi Jae-young. I didn't come to negotiate a deal."

"..."

Looking at him glaring at me with fire in his eyes, I couldn't help but let out a chuckle. This old man still didn't get it.

Thud.

I tossed the documents I had prepared onto the desk, scattering them haphazardly.

"You've pocketed quite a lot, haven't you? You and your family."

"What do you think you're doing right now?!"

"Embezzlement, accounting fraud, insider trading, and even manipulating the drop rates of in-game items. Shall I keep going?"

His face flushed a deep crimson, and his eyes shook uncontrollably.

"...What is it that you want?"

I smirked. Checkmate. Pausing for dramatic effect, I delivered my judgment.

"You can either crash and burn spectacularly alongside the company you built, or you can take whatever money you can get and quietly crawl away."

"..."

"This meeting is simply a courtesy to let you know your only two options."

You thought you could completely ruin the game I dedicated my life to and walk away scot-free? Unfortunately for you, I'm not that merciful.

"Which one will you choose?"

Of course, the choice is entirely yours.