The Hero Becomes a Toy

The Gacha King had become the talk of the town.

Ryu Hwi's long-hidden abilities had finally been exposed, which alone would have been enough to set tongues wagging — but the fact that those abilities turned out to be, hilariously, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Random Box, drew even more eyes.

His broadcast let viewers watch him pull from random boxes in real time, then watch him ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fight using whatever came out of them.

The clip of him hurling the Magidrive Toothbrush to take down Soldier Rabbit was edited, clipped, and spread far and wide across the communities.

As far as he was concerned, any buzz was good buzz.

Reaching 500 million cumulative views and clearing Legend of Lambda. The Gacha King broadcast had been created to knock out both goals in a single stroke.

A week into the stream, he was still grinding through the nightmarish difficulty of Legend of Lambda — despairing, but somehow adapting all the same.

Before long, people had even taken to calling Ryu Hwi a "hero."

To anyone watching, the sight of him throwing himself again and again against that brutal difficulty was heroism incarnate.

Cumulative views had already passed ten million. A staggering pace — and still nowhere near the target.

That was when Noir arrived with a new proposal.

"Sponsorship offers?"

Noir had run herself ragged all over the city and was now draped bonelessly across the sofa, while Ragna fanned her with diligent devotion.

She turned her head slightly without getting up and spoke.

"Offers have been pouring in from everywhere. One place even tried to strong-arm us — 'we're Platinum, so just take the offer and shut up.' Did they really think I wouldn't see they were just angling to swallow Jucheongwang whole? Ugh. I called in some connections and shut them down."

What kind of connections can block a Platinum's coercion?

"Which company was it?"

It was Wolya's personality, surfacing for the first time in a while — these days she was mostly operating as 5555, so her face had become a rare sight.

"Ouroboros."

A mega-corporation even Ryu Hwi had heard of. It wasn't the Latia of the old days, but it was known to wield considerable influence.

"Ah, yes…"

Wolya nodded as if something had just clicked.

"If it's those people, that's entirely in character. It's a place that commits every crime imaginable using Platinum power as a shield."

"Ouroboros? Do you know something about them?"

Bisque asked, sounding intrigued. She had also come out of the dev room for a rare break.

"Know them? Ouroboros has its fingers in the Entertainment District too. Plenty of the big players there do business with them. And then there's this — though it's just a rumor. No, wait. It's nothing but a rumor, so there's really no need to go on about it."

Wolya cut herself off mid-sentence.

"What? If you stop halfway through, that's just going to bug me. Tell us. Tell us!"

Bisque hounded her relentlessly. Wolya opened her mouth, inwardly regretting ever saying anything.

"It's not exactly a credible story, but there's a saying that Ouroboros's real power at the top isn't the Platinum — it's a man from the Entertainment District."

"A Platinum bowing to some Entertainment District thug? No way. That doesn't make any sense."

Bisque wore a look of pure disbelief.

"That's why I said it wasn't credible. Anyway — what connections did you actually use to fend off Ouroboros? They're not the type to back down that easily."

Ryu Hwi had prepared contingencies in case a Platinum ever moved to swallow Jucheongwang. But before he'd needed to play a single card, Noir had handled it on her own.

"I used Million Soft."

"Why does the mega-corporation that created the 'SEED' enter this conversation? Even the old Latia treads carefully around them."

The SEED — the internal chip implanted in the head of every modern human. The company that built its foundation was Million Soft itself.

"Gold-tier connections?"

When Noir answered with perfect composure, Wolya let out a flabbergasted sigh.

"That didn't exceed what a Gold can do, did it. Well, fine. I can hardly force open a mouth that doesn't want to talk."

How on earth does Noir have connections like that?

It gnawed at him, but she clearly didn't feel like answering. If she had connections like that, why had she ever been a gamer in Linzea?

"So what kind of sponsorship offer did we end up getting? Don't tell me it's MS."

Ragna asked between fanning strokes.

"No, no — them too, actually. But I could tell they were thinking they could devour Jucheongwang if things went well, so I let them and Ouroboros fight each other."

She was saying terrifying things with a perfectly serene face.

"We've had plenty of sponsorship offers, but the most eye-catching one is… this place, as it happens."

Still sprawled on the sofa, Noir transmitted the data to everyone in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the room.

"Not a Platinum — a company run by a Gold. Along with the sponsorship, they seem to want a technical agreement as well. They've shown a lot of interest in JYS. And apparently they want to sponsor Ryu Hwi's broadcast too?"

Bandam.

A fairly well-known company.

They primarily made things like toys, so they shouldn't have had much to do with game labyrinths.

"So the ones who kept their heads down during the Latia regime are showing their faces one by one, are they? Well, if they'll make toys of our Jucheongwang games, I'd gladly accept."

Wolya seemed genuinely taken with Bandam's offer.

"Oh! They did propose toys."

"Oh? What did they want to make? Super Gemini? Lambda? Fire Climber? Under Champion?"

She was clearly hoping for game merchandising.

And then, looking deeply apologetic, Noir pointed at Ryu Hwi.

"Hm?"

Ryu Hwi wondered why she was pointing at him.

"They want to turn you into a toy, Ryu Hwi."

A peculiar air settled over Jucheongwang.

"Wow, to think Bandam offered an action figure — that's amazing!"

Ragna's eyes simply sparkled with admiration.

"An action figure. An action figure of Ryu Hwi… Man, he's really taking off. I'm jealous."

Bisque seemed to be straining to hold back laughter at something unbearably funny.

"No, hold on. I'm overflowing with painstakingly crafted designs — why start with Ryu Hwi of all people? Does Bandam not understand product value? Honestly, at that rate they should have toyified ME!"

For some reason, Wolya glared at Ryu Hwi with what looked like envy.

Given the current need to raise his public profile, it wasn't a bad offer — but Ryu Hwi was flustered.

A toy? Why? Was that even a marketable product?

He tried picturing people playing with a doll modeled on his own likeness.

He couldn't wrap his head around it at all.

Like Wolya said, if it were the game characters of Jucheongwang being merchandised, he could at least understand.

"Oh my, you didn't know?"

Noir blinked in surprise.

"Ryu Hwi, you're hugely popular with kids. They treat you like the hero who saved the game labyrinths."

YggON burst out laughing. The "lololol" indicator above its lens-eye simply refused to disappear.

"Well, I suppose the popularity makes sense. Once he cleans himself up, the looks pass inspection — and above all, he's got a track record."

Bisque, who had been suppressing laughter only moments ago, nodded as if it all made sense now.

"Exactly! Ryu Hwi is a hero for the modern age!"

Ragna nodded along in vigorous agreement.

The only ones in the room who couldn't share that sentiment were Ryu Hwi and Wolya.

No — strictly judging by his achievements, he could understand the kids calling him a "hero."

But Ryu Hwi had done everything he'd done for one goal alone: crush Linzea. His conscience pricked him hard.

Wolya, who had watched that whole campaign from closer than anyone, was probably feeling much the same.

Just as YggON advised, taking Bandam's sponsorship deal was the smart play. Merchandising meant visibility, and visibility meant the broadcast's view count would climb all the faster.

"So you're the children's hero, hmm? I shudder to imagine where the next generation is headed."

Wolya clicked her tongue.

Ryu Hwi felt exactly the same. Kids growing up with him as their role model — all he could picture was a truly horrifying future.

Above all, his conscience itched.

"No, let's put this one on hold…"

Unable to bring himself to accept, Ryu Hwi tried to shelve Bandam's offer.

"Well, thinking of it from the company's perspective, we should take it. It feels like cheating somehow, which troubles me, but what can you do."

Wolya accepted it before he could argue, and Ryu Hwi was struck speechless.

He wanted to veto it, even if it meant pulling rank as CEO.

"Mmgh…"

In the end, Ryu Hwi reluctantly accepted Bandam's sponsorship offer.

A few days later, Ryu Hwi visited Bandam headquarters together with Wolya and Noir.

Bandam HQ, located in District 5 where Gold citizens resided, boasted a scale that wouldn't lose to any Platinum corporation.

There they met the project's assigned manager and began negotiations.

The plan was to build the media mix around The Gacha King as the flagship — toys first, then comics, anime, and various other merchandise.

"The Gacha King is wildly popular with kids. The courage of never giving up even as he gets beaten ragged, time and time again — and the simple, easy-to-understand mechanic of pulling random boxes to power himself up."

Listening to the supervising PD, Ryu Hwi felt a headache coming on.

Wolya, wearing a perfectly ordinary prosthetic body for once, pressed her fingers ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to her brow — evidently sharing much the same feeling.

That's not the point.

Leaving Ryu Hwi and Wolya to their misery, the PD and Noir chatted through one topic after another.

The conversation was drifting steadily off the rails.

What on earth was a "media mix" even supposed to mean?

Why was a project started just to build 500 million cumulative views snowballing like this?

At last, the adjustments were concluded and a final agreement was drawn up.

The Gacha King project was officially launched.

"They said entertainment would be my life, and now my life is literally an entertainment franchise."

Noir hurried off on some other business, and Ryu Hwi stopped by a restaurant with Wolya for a leisurely meal.

Despite being a full-body cyborg, she apparently had a fully functional sense of taste and could eat just fine.

Wolya picked up a piece of meat and burst out laughing before she could stop herself.

"You said it. No one can ever tell what tomorrow holds, it seems. Well, beyond the Gacha King project, they say Bandam is pushing hard to merchandise our Jucheongwang games too, so I'm satisfied."

"Sure — as long as they skip the second-half monster designs from Super Gemini, there's marketability there."

"Oh, come now… I got a little too absorbed in my work, is all."

Apparently Wolya was the one who handled most of the "design" work.

"Countless souls are fused within me, so I can do just about anything. But every so often, the personalities cross wires with each other."

Wolya swallowed a bite of salad and went on.

"I adore cute things, but among the personalities that make up Zero, there are ones with a taste for the grotesque. It seems they influenced me without my realizing… Well, I didn't notice until someone pointed it out, so I suppose the fault is mine too."

Wolya said it lightly, but a "personality misalignment" was not a problem to be brushed aside.

"Speaking of which — we really do need to expand the headcount. Asking for talent on Bisque's level would be greedy, but I'd like to recruit some experienced hands."

"Is Bisque really that good?"

"Absolutely. Those years she wasted as a gamer were a genuine loss to the industry. She compresses code in ways I'd never even conceive of, cutting the source's sheer file size down. On the development side, she's an exceptional talent — nearly a genius."

Bisque, of all people, was that good? He'd never have guessed.

"Ragna's analysis skills are solid, and you said his planning ability is considerable too, no? He's studying programming now as well. Bisque's development skills are outstanding. And Noir…"

"…Is the biggest mystery of the lot. I truly cannot fathom what her sales ability even is. She insists it's merely the fruits of her 'connections,' but at that scale, it has to be a talent of her own."

The finesse to pit Platinum against Platinum and block them both — that wasn't something just anyone could manage.

He was almost curious how such a mind even worked.

JYS's rapid proliferation had owed much to Noir's efforts as well.

"Ishur Nimur… Nimur… Nimur… On paper, her career history shows no issues, but something about it nags at me."

Wolya had thoroughly vetted the backgrounds of Ragna, Noir, and Bisque before bringing them on board.

Their records were clean and their abilities outstanding, so she'd allowed them to join — yet she couldn't shake the feeling that something had slipped past her.

"The 'Nimur' family became Gold roughly forty years ago. A household with some history, but beyond that, nothing particularly notable."

"Then what's bothering you so much?"

"That's precisely the frustration — I don't know. It feels like something caught in my throat."

In the end, Wolya gave up on the matter of Noir and circled back to the topic of expanding the team.

She'd already been thinking they needed more people, so the decision was made to post a job listing.

The most urgent need was developers with real game development experience.

The moment Jucheongwang posted a listing, applicants would flood in without fail — careful vetting would be essential.

Ryu Hwi lingered over the leisurely meal with Wolya, talking on and on about Jucheongwang's operations.

Ishur Nimur.

Noir walked home alone through the night streets.

A woman walking alone at night was dangerous, but Noir was so strikingly tall that no one approached her carelessly.

Each and every day lately had been satisfying.

She'd never tasted fulfillment like this back in the Linzea Guild. Spending busy days at Jucheongwang made her feel genuinely alive.

Tomorrow, I'll work hard again!

Just as she clenched her fist in resolve, someone's voice reached her.

"Looks like you've been enjoying yourself lately?"

A languid drawl, as though the speaker might drift off to sleep at any moment.

The instant that decadent, sensual voice touched her ears, Noir's body shuddered involuntarily.

She spun around in a panic, but no one was anywhere in sight.

"I was finally getting some proper rest, and you just had to wake me up, you wretch. So? How's Bisque doing? Ah — she's doing well, I see."

"Wh-who are you?!"

Noir raised her voice.

"Oh my, you don't know me? How sad. Because I know you very well."

At last, the owner of the voice appeared before her eyes.

She'd dressed as though even putting on clothes were a chore — a careless, haphazard ensemble, her violet hair loose and tousled.

And yet even that state felt impossibly, uncannily seductive.

I have to run.

Contrary to Noir's thoughts, her body showed no intention of moving at all.

Closer and closer, "she" came.

"It's my time now."

Golden rings glittered in the woman's eyes. That was the last thing Noir saw before her consciousness faded.