Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: Live Streaming (1)
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Live-streamed Q&As with directors were a fairly common type of content in the future.
In Korea, popular online game directors held them to communicate and announce development roadmaps, and abroad, they were often used for urgent announcements regarding controversial updates.
To put it cynically, it was public relations management.
As the old saying goes, you can't spit on a smiling face. When a director showed their face and communicated directly, public opinion would often turn favorable.
It was enough to temporarily extinguish the spreading flames, so to speak.
Of course, it wasn't always a good thing.
Like any social interaction, you had to read the room.
Isn't there a saying that this mouth of ours is the root of all evil?
Given the nature of live streaming, where you can't take back a controversial statement, one wrong move could end up adding fuel to the fire.
Something like that had actually happened at my previous company.
It was during a balance patch. Due to the game's heavy focus on a pay-to-win model, users were extremely sensitive about the monetary value of their existing items.
But then, that balance patch caused the value of an item series, which had been worth hundreds of dollars, to plummet.
From the management's perspective, it was an attempt to diversify the stagnant character progression paths, but... for those who had spent the money, it was hard to see it in a positive light.
That guy, whom I'd rather not even think about now, had complained.
“Ah, I’m dying to quit. Bro, I want to quit. You wanna quit with me?”
He had tried to quell public opinion with a live stream, only to become the developer's official punching bag and get beaten to a pulp.
Thinking back, it seems like a rather pleasant experience.
Anyway, that was the gist of it.
“Gil-sang, do we have any issues right now that could blow up into a controversy?”
“Not really, right? The games we’ve released so far have performed pretty well. Or is ‘pretty well’ an understatement?”
“Externally...”
“None, aside from the rumors about you, President.”
I flinched. A few ominous words poked me in the back.
Cosplay, cross-dressing, BGM, and so on...
“...Should we just not do it?”
“Let’s look at the big picture here.”
Yang Gil-sang was persistent.
I feel this every time, but this man is dead serious when it comes to messing with me.
The painful part was that every reason he gave was plausible.
“President, that you have a bit of a clown image publicly? I know it, everyone at the company knows it. But has that ever had a negative impact on the company? No. Far from it. Have you forgotten what we achieved with that memetic success? Hellic 2’s entry into the Japanese market, and it was a massive, massive hit. In fact, it was a snowball that rolled all the way to Hellic 3. How many times have we generated buzz with you cross-dressing?”
He might as well have been firing a machine gun with his mouth.
...I started to find it tempting.
“If you say you hated it, then I have nothing more to say. I’m not planning on making you cross-dress this time, either. Come on, it’s a project announcement. Why would we go that far? A sharp suit is the right choice to keep the focus on the presentation.”
“...That’s true, isn’t it?”
“Let’s just do some light camera makeup. You know what? In this day and age, your face is part of the marketing. Online public opinion has a stronger tendency to idolize people than you might think.”
Yang Gil-sang’s smile widened.
“How about it? Doesn’t that sound pretty good? Let’s think about the company employees. When expectations are high, it boosts morale, doesn’t it?”
*Thwack!* Yang Gil-sang threw an arm around my shoulders.
He held out one fist.
“Deal?”
As I stared at his fist, I realized that, without even noticing, I was bumping my own fist against it.
My answer came a moment later, in a trembling voice.
“...Deal.”
...Yeah, he said no cross-dressing. What’s the harm?
***
We began preparing for the live stream in earnest.
One might ask why we needed such grand preparations for a single live broadcast, but... considering the purpose of this stream was to announce and promote our games, the need for preparation couldn't be overstated.
It was, in effect, a public presentation in front of our customers.
We had to explain what products we were making, what their strengths were, and when we were planning to release them.
There were minor details like preparing the set, writing the script, and coordinating the relevant personnel and schedule. But beyond that, there was another, more important task.
“Bring me the development progress report for Team 2.”
It was checking the development progress.
Since I was personally leading Identity, organizing the presentation content was easy. However, for Team 2’s Demon’s Relic, close cooperation with the two directors regarding the presentation was necessary.
Recently, due to the realignment of Identity's direction, I hadn't been able to pay much attention to Team 2.
I intended to review it this time, and when the report came in, I was quite surprised.
‘This is quite extensive.’
I knew they were only about six months into development, but a lot of progress had been made.
What was even more surprising was that the game's framework was already complete, and they were now focusing on modeling and direction.
The Team 2 employee who brought the report gave me an explanation that made it all click into place.
“Well, whenever they disagree, they just fight it out, so there haven’t been any delays.”
“...That’s a solution?”
The Team 2 employee sighed.
“...The two of them don’t get along, you know. They’re so hell-bent on tearing each other down that the feedback is never slow.”
“Ah.”
So, that damned sparring was proving to be far more effective than I had imagined.
I felt a moment of confusion.
Perhaps our society should be promoting conflict resolution through fisticuffs instead of dialogue.
Wasn’t Development Team 2’s survival-of-the-fittest policy ahead of its time?
Suppressing my burgeoning thoughts, I continued to look through the report.
“...Wait.”
My voice trembled.
My fingertips trembled too.
No, it wasn't just my body; every one of my mental senses began to shake.
Because something so incomprehensibly horrifying was embedded in this report.
“...You saw it, didn’t you?”
the Team 2 employee said with a hollow laugh.
I asked.
“Wh-what in the world is...?”
I looked again.
It was one of the heroine illustrations.
However, it was an illustration that stretched the definition of ‘heroine.’
I rubbed my eyes, took a deep breath, and looked again, but the contents of the report didn't change.
It was certain.
“...Why is there a four-legged beast on the heroine list?”
Not a metaphor. An actual four-legged beast.
It was the kind of character a certain industry with a suspicious amount of money would love.
I mean, there was a furry.
My fists clenched.
The light had gone out of the Team 2 employee’s eyes.
He spoke with the hollow, yet faithful, tone of someone who had faced an absolute truth.
“Trial by Combat, Article 1.”
“?”
“The winner’s word is justice.”
...What the hell is this bullshit?
***
The incident had occurred two months prior.
It was a time when Yeon-ho was still contemplating how to enhance Identity's life-skill content, and Team 2 was deliberating on the grand narrative and skill design for Demon’s Relic.
“Alright! Paimon-chan should definitely be a little girl!”
Nishimura personally participated in the art team meeting and decided on a young girl design for Paimon.
“Crimson hair, languid eyes with cat-like pupils! Hey, hey! Isn’t your heart already pounding? The skill will be ‘Blazing Flame of the Vengeful Spirit—Harbinger of Ruin—’! Bam, bam, bam!”
Every time Nishimura slammed the desk, his prominent pectorals, biceps, and triceps pulsed fiercely beneath his functional attire.
Current weight: 81 kg. He was a cruiserweight in-fighter boxer.
“Hey! Copson! Any objections?”
To that, Copson (78 kg, light heavyweight out-boxer), who was resting his chin on his clasped hands, replied with cold, sunken eyes.
“...None.”
Copson looked away, and Nishimura smirked.
It was inevitable.
With a recent record of 8 wins and 0 losses, Nishimura’s peak performance was so overwhelming that it rendered Copson's objections useless.
It was truly the Reign of the Dark Path.
The heroines and skill designs for Demon's Relic were being created wantonly, all according to Nishimura's will.
Copson trembled with a sense of defeat, clenching his fists.
‘Why?’
Why have my skills started to decline like this?
I was the one who started boxing first, so why am I falling behind?
Copson was furious.
Because he knew the reason.
His eyes, filled with murky jealousy, turned to Nishimura.
‘Innate talent...!’
Nishimura was a natural-born martial genius.
His combat sense for reading an opponent’s moves was exceptional, and his aggressive stance and durability, which compensated for his shorter reach, were a fearsome weapon that nullified all the advantages of an out-boxer.
Copson fell into self-loathing.
‘Why am I the only one who is ordinary!’
He hated Nishimura for his innate talent!
But he hated himself even more for being so mediocre!
In terrible despair, Copson spent days and nights lost in thought.
As he grew more haggard by the day, Paimon was gradually being finalized as a young Japanese girl in a kimono.
Copson wanted to scream.
‘Paimon is not a little girl!!!’
According to lore, Paimon is a man of exquisite beauty!
Even if the lore of Demon’s Relic were to depict him in a female form, it should be that of a seductive, alluring adult woman!
Late at night, lying in his lonely studio apartment in a foreign land, he stared at the glowing monitor with vacant eyes and let out a metallic groan.
Dark circles had deepened under his eyes.
“I am...”
Why am I...!
*Drip.* A tear rolled down his cheek.
The jealousy that had tormented Copson, wondering what he lacked that made him unable to defeat Nishimura, had now become an inner demon, plaguing him.
He wanted to make a good game.
He wanted to hit the mainstream appeal, and he wanted players to feel the joy of deep-diving by adhering strictly to the lore.
But that was impossible.
It was a moment of deepening despair.
[Roar—!]
The NewTube video he had on switched to the next one.
A savanna documentary. A male lion was roaring majestically.
*Gasp!*
Copson’s body jolted.
His eyes widened as if they would tear.
The wild pounding of his heart awakened him.
“Aah...!”
Was it the depth of his inner demon, or had his profound despair corrupted his inner strength?
In that moment, he attained enlightenment.
‘I see now.’
It was what he had been lacking.
‘Conviction...!’
Copson clenched his fists.
For he had finally understood why Nishimura possessed such great martial talent, while he himself was merely ordinary.
He staggered to his feet.
‘I wasn’t desperate enough...!’
Not as desperate for the character as Nishimura was.
‘I wasn’t honest enough...!’
Not as honest about my desires as Nishimura was.
That was it.
He had set his own limits with things like shame, embarrassment, and saving face...!
Nishimura Keisuke was a boxer who stuck to his own will, no matter what others said!
He was a pugilist who threw punches fueled by desire!
And yet!
‘What was I holding back for!’
With this profound realization, a sharp glint entered his eyes.
...No.
‘I have things I like, too. I...! I...!’
*Thump!*
‘I like animals...!’
A demonic aura settled upon him.
Jelen Copson, Leader of the Righteous Alliance.
Only then did he realize he was a demon wearing the mask of a righteous martial artist.
The moment he accepted this part of himself and surrendered his body to desire, that extreme explosive power dyed his inner strength with demonic energy, reaching the state of the Ultimate Demon.
He pictured the most ideal form for Paimon in his mind's eye.
‘Paimon is a lion.’
The true master before whom even the legions of Hell kneel.
An overwhelming wildness that cannot be hidden even by a seductive appearance.
That is the spirit of a male lion.
‘A mane of fire!’
The king’s mane, which a female body cannot possess, made of flames!
‘A majestic physique!’
The spirit to make all kneel as it roams the earth on four legs!
“...I won’t lose anymore.”
The next day, Copson threw down the gauntlet.
“Nishimuraaa!!! Trial by combat!!!”
“Good grief. Must I show you the difference in our levels again?”
The result of the ensuing sparring match was astounding.
Copson drained Nishimura's stamina with vicious checking moves as he rushed in.
As the rounds passed, Nishimura grew noticeably tired, and at that moment, he fell to his knees under a fierce onslaught from Copson, who had conserved his energy.
Copson had inherited the legacy of the Star-Absorbing Arts, a demonic technique that drained an opponent's strength and made it his own.
“No way!!!”
He smiled viciously and whispered to the kneeling Nishimura.
“Paimon is a lioness with a mane.”
“Dammiiiit!!!”
And so, the Reign of the Demonic Path had begun.
***
When I asked the employees about Team 2’s recent activities, the stories were a sight to behold.
“I-it was amazing...! Copson was all, *pow, pow*...!”
“Are you interested in sparring too, President? Copson’s been on a roll lately.”
“Oh, but Nishimura’s no joke either. He started training seriously after losing that one time. You can look forward to the next trial by combat... Hey, why the long face, President?”
I couldn’t tell if this was a game development company or the WBA.
The back of my neck was so tight I felt like I needed to get a prescription for blood pressure medication.
The only one who seemed to understand my feelings and ask was Han Seo-rim.
Like me, she wasn't particularly fond of sparring.
“What are you going to do now?”
I answered her question.
“What do you think?”
I have to stop it.
If I let this continue, we might end up with a dating sim about animals.
‘This was the one thing I didn't want to do...!’
...It was time to use my imperial authority.
Live Streaming (1)