International Game Exhibition: Gamestar (3)
Even though it was the middle of the college entrance exam, the Fantasy of Galicia booth was overflowing with people.
More than any other game booth there.
Of course it was. It was the one and only virtual reality game on exhibit.
Even people who normally stuck to PC, console, or mobile games couldn't help but wander over out of sheer curiosity.
The moment they first stepped into the booth, they might tilt their heads and think, Hmm, it's not actually that different from the other booths… is that all?
But the second they turned their heads toward the demo stations, the question marks floating above them flipped into exclamation points.
There were two kinds of demo booths in total.
The Vertical booth, where you could sample the combat content.
And the Horizontal booth, where you could experience lifestyle and adventure.
And it wasn't as though the VR demo units were scarce, either.
Dozens of capsule machines — easily worth hundreds of millions of won when converted to real currency — stood in neat rows at carefully measured intervals.
In front of them, the lines stretched so long that the phrase "packed like sardines" felt inadequate.
At this rate, I might not even get a taste…
That anxiety pulled more people in, which made the lines longer, which pulled in still more people…
And that chain reaction had led to this exact moment.
But of course, once you actually got your thirty minutes of playtime, it would feel far too short — while the wait for the person ahead of you to finish was pure, unadulterated boredom.
So people waiting in line kept glancing around for something else to look at.
The place that drew the most eyes was the temporary stage occupying an entire wall of the booth.
Granted, the stage screen was still just looping the same cinematic trailer as the circular display in the center. But a giant screen mounted at an angle you could see just by tilting your head while standing in line was, at the very least, the only thing keeping the boredom at bay.
That was all it was, though. Nothing more, nothing less.
Eh, probably just for the weekend events or something.
That was about as far as anyone's thoughts went as they stood there staring blankly — until time rolled on and the clock hit 1:50 p.m.
In a few moments, Fantasy of Galicia will present a special demonstration stage.
The sudden announcement crackling through the booth speakers sent a ripple of murmurs racing through the crowd.
Of course, some people had already heard through press coverage that a special event was planned. But roughly half of those waiting had shown up on a whim without looking anything up beforehand. And even the ones who knew something was coming had no idea what, specifically, was about to happen.
A normal game company would have leaked just enough through media play to build anticipation in advance. Strangely enough, though, articles about Team Galicia had been nothing more than the bare formalities — nothing of real substance had come out at all.
Thump-thump…
Crunch-crunch…
All anyone could do was chew their air-popped popcorn and hold their breath.
Then came 1:55.
"Ohhh…!"
"It's Byeon-cae!"
Byeon Casting — no, Caster Byeon Dong-jin — stepped out, and a roar of cheers erupted across the floor in an instant.
Who was Byeon Dong-jin, you ask?
The undisputed master of ceremony for any RPG game showcase worth its salt. A silver-tongued virtuoso who had conquered not only every kind of game broadcast but sports casting as well.
And that man had just strode confidently onto the stage.
The crowd's expectations didn't just hit 10x amplification — they shot past 11x and kept climbing.
As if answering that rising energy, Byeon Dong-jin took the mic on stage, flashed a broad grin, swept his gaze across the audience, and bellowed:
"Hello, everyone! A heartfelt welcome to the Fantasy of Galicia demonstration stage — our showcase! I'm your host for today, Caster Byeon Dong-jin! Great to meet you all!"
Even the people who'd been blankly waiting their turn at the capsules found themselves taking numbered tickets from staff who had quietly approached, then drifting toward the temporary stage as if hypnotized and taking their seats.
"We've got an incredible turnout today. Honestly, even for me, a guerrilla-style showcase like this — wait, can we even call it a showcase? A demo stage appearance like this is a first, so I'm a little nervous myself. And let me introduce him again! Joining me today for commentary is Sound Director Seo Han-ryang! Give him a round of applause!"
It was Seo Han-ryang's first time ever appearing at an official event. He shuffled forward awkwardly, glancing sideways for cues before stepping up.
His job was commentary, pure and simple. Having been deeply involved in development and thoroughly understanding the core of today's demo project, he'd been more or less drafted into this against his will…
Shit, shit…!
Was he afraid of the crowd's eyes on him?
No. He hadn't exactly lived a life in the shadows.
But.
Most of the men in this room were saying the same thing with their eyes:
— Where the hell did PuppaSerin go, and why is there a guy up there?
— Sound Director… does that even, like… count?
A tiny flicker of inferiority complex. Years of workplace survival instincts finely honed.
He prayed for this segment to end as fast as humanly possible — for the setup backstage to finish already.
While Byeon Dong-jin expertly seized control of the atmosphere, and Seo Han-ryang swallowed down the rising tide of misery to play along and push the energy even higher—
On the continent of Galicia.
Alongside the people enjoying the demo in Pradera — now grown large enough to serve as the capital of an empire — twenty-three heroes had gathered at the far edge of that same empire, before the Shadow Cult's Forward Base.
It was a raid party thrown together on the spot, but every member had been selected through rigorous screening. Standouts from the closed beta test, streamers like Lee Han-byul, and even pros from other VR games were all present.
"Oh! You're Destiny, right? Crazy running into you here. Huge fan…!"
"Wait… Streamer MyriadStars? I'm the fan here, honestly. I watch your streams all the time."
"Shuk, shushuk, shukshuk, shushuk-KWAANG, shushuk…"
"From there, instead of shushuk-KWAANG after the shukshuk, try going shushuk-shushuk and then chaining into a sooshuk-KWAANG. How about that?"
"Ohh…!"
Some were networking and exchanging greetings. Others were sharing intel gathered during their short demo sessions. Solid conversation filled the wait for the final member.
And at last—
"Nice to meet you, heroes. I'm Director Kim Se-rin."
The goddess everyone outside had been so eagerly waiting for… their Director had descended right here.
Not in her goddess robes, of course.
She was wearing a playable avatar.
Today, Se-rin's role was goddess, director, and raid leader all in one.
"We'll make time later for individual conversations, so for now let's focus on the demonstration stage. Some of you may still be getting used to things, but I've adjusted the difficulty to be flexible, so please don't worry too much."
"Hit us hard!"
"We can get wrecked, it's fine!"
"I'm your faaan, Se-rin-niiim——!"
Everyone had been briefed in advance that the scene was being recorded, so rather than saying anything too unhinged, they stuck to safe, solid hype. Se-rin looked over them and smiled with quiet satisfaction.
"You've all been waiting a long time, and so has everyone outside… so let's get moving. The official broadcast feed will go live to the outside shortly. If any of you run personal streams, you're free to start them now. Just make sure broadcast mode is fully enabled so your stream commentary doesn't leak into the main feed if you can help it."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Heh. Chat's gonna roast me for this."
After a few more exchanges and reminders…
Fantasy of Galicia's first raid party — Team Se-rin — finally sortied.
.
.
.
As was only natural, there was no so-called "pathfinding" phase of the kind every raid always seemed to have. Given that this was being broadcast externally, there was no reason to burn the first clear and tank the audience's expectations.
So—
"Whoa…"
"What is this atmosphere? This is insane."
"If a forward base already looks this good, how much effort did they pour into the main base and places like that?"
"Don't forget to subscribe and like!"
As a landscape never once revealed to the public unfolded before them, the players delivered reactions satisfying enough to make Se-rin proud.
The Shadow Cult.
The enemy players would face more than any other going forward — and the core of Main Story Chapter One.
Isn't it a problem to push this far into Chapter One already?
If the players couldn't clear Chapter One in the first place, the game's service would end.
Literally end, that is…
It was obvious. If the heroes' login rates — or the conversion rates on those generously designed cash packages — came in low…
The continent of Galicia would fall!
Kim Se-rin and what's-her-name Elisha's bank accounts would fall!
Every last member of Team Galicia would be unemployed!
Well… those kids would probably still get good offers just for having been on the project, right?
Se-rin held onto that marginally optimistic thought, swallowed a bitter smile, and carefully monitored the heroes' reactions.
Any graphical issues?
Was the steadily rising soundtrack interfering with concentration?
Were the occasional story-hinting objects successfully catching the players' eyes?
"A c-corrupted goddess statue…!"
"…I've got a lot to say about that, but I won't. Hey! The person in question is right here. Watch your mouth."
…She couldn't see the chat windows, but even listening to the streamers' reactions — which reeked of sexual harassment material no matter how you sliced it — Se-rin maintained her composure.
Either way, the groundwork had been laid well.
Everything was for the sake of farming faith.
You lot better be ready if you don't stack up Devoutness after launch…!
I'll scatter every last scrap of my little Kim Ji-hyun's grudges no matter what it takes…! I'll fire a wide-area TS Beam across the entire server…!
Carrying that petty little grudge in her heart—
"Everyone, do you know the golden rule of entering a dungeon?"
Question marks from two-thirds of them. The remaining third went "Ahh!" and nodded. Watching that, Se-rin couldn't help but think, deep down, Haa… this is why dealing with babies is…
What was the rule for entering a dungeon?
"You jump."
Boing!
Between the swaying folds of her knight costume, a particularly white light scattered through the air—
"Whoa. White."
—and with that strangely specific remark from an unidentifiable speaker ringing in her ears,
Se-rin entered the dungeon.