The Power of the Audience

Mu-hyuk wondered what the hell had gone wrong.

In less than ten minutes, 150 guild members had bailed. Most of them had been poached by massive guilds.

More departure notifications kept popping up. He frantically summoned the vice guild master and executives.

"What the fuck is going on?!"

"We're still figuring it out..."

"You useless pieces of shit...!"

He had to at least hold onto the members who were left.

"Round everyone up for now!"

"Y-yes, sir!"

Gathering them in one place seemed like the only way to assess the situation and contain the damage, so he issued a muster order.

One executive was drafting a guild-wide message via the system when someone knocked on the door.

"What now?!"

Assuming it was another member quitting, the guild master barked.

The door creaked open.

But it wasn't a guild member. It was Red Witch, the action squad leader from their allied guild, RoboCop.

"Oh, Red Witch?"

"Something going on?"

"N-no, everything's fine."

"Hmm, really?"

"Yeah, have a seat for now."

Red Witch, boasting stunning looks and a killer figure, sat down among the men.

"So, what brings you here...?"

No time to swoon over her appearance amid the crisis, so he cut straight to it. She flashed a soft smile.

"I think we need to break off our alliance."

"Pardon...?"

"Thanks for everything up till now."

"W-wait, why all of a sudden?"

"That's just how it is."

Red Witch left the meeting room with a smile.

"Red Witch!"

He called after her, but she didn't look back.

His fist clenched involuntarily.

These bastards...!

Before he could cool his boiling rage—

"Door's open."

This time, an executive from another guild strolled in. He too dropped a breakup notice and left.

"Still no intel?"

The guild master glared daggers at his vice guild master, Amon.

"Well..."

Then a guild member burst in.

"We got it!"

All eyes turned to him.

"You figured it out?"

"Yes!"

"Spit it out!"

"It's just..."

The member glanced nervously at the vice guild master.

"What?!"

With the guild master's shout, he had no choice but to report.

"Looks like some viewers pissed off at Mu-hyuk's stream took action."

The guild master tilted his head, baffled.

"What bullshit is that?"

The reporter glanced at Amon, who scowled and gave a quick rundown of the incident with Mu-hyuk.

"Oh, right... So I forgot that asshole Mu-hyuk was streaming and came on strong, then he mentioned it on air, asking if it was okay. I said what do a bunch of viewers matter anyway, and apparently that's what set it off..."

The guild master eyed the informant.

"That true?"

"Yes. Viewers of Mu-hyuk's stream who saw Amon's behavior mobilized their connections. Some members quit, big guilds are poaching ours, allied guilds are breaking ties and swarming in. Bad news piling up has even unrelated members wobbling. Info spread fast, other allies are talking about it too..."

Having heard enough, the guild master stood and approached Amon.

"You fucking...!"

He kicked him hard.

"You dumb shit, you handle things like this?!"

The fallen vice master hardened his expression.

"Fuck, this sucks."

"What?"

"No, fuck. The guild's about to collapse ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠anyway, what right you got to bitch?!"

"This is all because of you..."

"Bullshit. You told me to go hard! You fucker!"

Once relations soured, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they didn't recover easily.

Especially not for alliances built on profit like these.

"I'm out too!"

"You...!"

"Dumbass. Ptooey!"

Some executives loyal to the vice master and a bunch of members quit en masse. Hearing this, remaining members fell into chaos.

"Hah, Apophis is done for too."

"Crashing like this?"

"Never thought it'd fold..."

In the end, they followed the tide.

A few allied guilds that had been watching bailed, deeming it hopeless. The rest couldn't stick with a sinking ship and cut ties too. Thus, Apophis Guild crumbled pathetically.

*

A bombshell hit the forums.

Word reached guilds eyeing Mu-hyuk for recruitment. Most guild masters shook their heads upon hearing.

"What kinda idiot is that?"

"Pissing off viewer connections? Unbelievable..."

"Drop it."

The riffraff naturally faded away. Only guilds truly wanting Mu-hyuk made polite offers—which he promptly rejected.

Meanwhile, he focused on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enhancements and village growth. Time flew, and the weekend arrived. Time for the promised Illusion trip with the family.

"Hey, do I really have to go?"

"Of course. Family trip."

"I got plans!"

"Dinner plans. We go before that."

Kang Ji-yeon sighed.

"Sigh, fine. Been a while..."

Mu-hyuk led her mumbling self to the living room, then to the capsule room next door with their waiting parents.

"Log in and..."

After a quick tutorial, they met in Illusion.

"Oh my, this is amazing."

"Whoa..."

More natural sensations than expected left them stunned. Kang Ji-yeon took charge, surprisingly proactive once logged in.

"This place is great—let's go, everyone!"

Her first pick: Havardin Lake.

Emerald waves in reality? Nothing compared to the dazzling, rippling hues here. Marine life danced atop it, piecing together a perfect picture.

"Ah..."

Perfection incarnate.

An ecstatic beauty that drew only gasps of awe.

That was just the start.

They toured Illusion nonstop after.

"Isn't it awesome, Mom?"

"Yes, wonderful."

"Dad?"

"Not bad."

"Tch, 'not bad.' You love it."

"Ahem."

Her words rang true—smiles lingered on their parents' faces, refusing to fade. That joyful. Alone with Mu-hyuk, it might've been dull, but chatterbox Ji-yeon banished those worries.

"Man, I'm starving."

"I see."

Tourist spots meant food, of course.

Illusion cuisine was delicious and cheap—peak satisfaction again.

"Oh my, this meat is so tender!"

"Delicious."

Ji-yeon chimed in with her parents.

"Illusion food's cheap and tasty."

"So we don't need to eat in reality?"

"Nah, gotta eat IRL too. In-game it's for the satiety system."

Parents nodded.

They resumed sightseeing, eating when satiety dropped. Time vanished in a blink.

"Dinner already? Mom, Dad—I gotta go."

"Already...?"

Regretful faces.

"We can come back. Time to log out—dinner and all."

They exited Illusion and headed home.

"I'm off!"

"Drive safe."

"No worries."

"Ahem, don't drink too much."

Ji-yeon left for her dinner plans. The three ate the meal Lee Hye-yeon prepared.

"Thanks for the food."

After dinner, Mu-hyuk logged back in.

Kang Seon-woo and Lee Hye-yeon, watching TV together, exchanged looks. Nodding as if reading minds, they headed to the study. Seon-woo booted the PC, Hye-yeon peering at the screen.

"That's an old capsule."

"Is it?"

"Get this one."

"Got it."

No hesitation—they bought two capsules.

"Let's come more often."

Just like that, two more capsules joined the household.

*

Crowds flocked to the auction house.

"Yo, how much time left?"

"Uh, five minutes."

"Damn, what's your bid at?"

"800 gold."

"Lucky."

"Why?"

"You came prepared. I only got 1,300 and it's already at 700."

"Tch. Told ya to prep early."

"Sigh, that's my emergency fund gone."

"What can ya do. Give it a shot."

"Hope I snag it."

"Me too."

"You got 1,700."

"Still tight."

"Yeah..."

Time ticked by in chatter.

"One minute! Focus!"

"Roger!"

Target: enhancement items.

"Please, Blood Sword—come to papa...!"

"Longbow for me, please!"

They hammered bids for their weapons.

"30 seconds."

"Fuck, price is skyrocketing!"

"Same..."

At 10 seconds: Blood Sword+5 at 1,100 gold, Slaughter Longbow+5 at 1,400.

At 5: 1,200 and 1,500.

"4, 3, 2...!"

One second left—they entered max bids.

All or nothing!

1,300 gold.

1,700 gold.

Everything they had.

"Please, please...!"

Results dropped.

They failed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to snag the items.

"Argh, bullshit! Damn it!"

"Those guys again?"

"Probably."

The work of Black Guild, hoarding enhancement items.