Chapter 22
Chapter 22
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 022
Chapter Title: Pickup Character PV
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"What the hell? Why won't it pull?!"
After repeating the same action for hours in a Reroll Marathon, Jaehyun slammed his smartphone down on the desk.
'Should've just started without bothering with rerolling if I knew it'd be like this.'
It had been exactly a full day since he started rerolling based on a guide post in the community.
He'd stopped counting after 200, but he figured he'd done at least 500-600 pulls by now.
Most people would've given up, compromised, or looked for another way by this point, but he was different.
'...I've put in the time, so quitting now feels off. Might as well take a break.'
While browsing the community on his stress-flipped smartphone, one post caught his eye.
'Pickup character preview PV...?'
He racked his brain for memories from Tokyo Game Show, but there was nothing about pickups.
'That means it's info on a new character coming out...'
Curiosity piqued, Jaehyun clicked the post.
📰 Breaking News Nickname: Anonymous Title: New PV dropped on Girls Memorial's official YouTube? {Link to video site with red icon} I reposted without watching it myself lol Let's go check it out~ 💬 Comments [Newest First] — User Insanely fast lololololol — User Upload time 5 seconds ago? What even lololol — User Macro bot? — User Gonna go watch it now. Don't spoil. Like countless other community users who saw the post, Jaehyun followed the link to the PV video.
The video opened with the now-familiar SFLAG Corporation and Enson GT logos.
A desolate street outside Academy City—no signs of life, not even a single streetlamp.
As an eerie wind howled, the camera panned to five students scouting the ruins.
Armed with their respective weapons, their tense steps and expressions radiated thick unease.
Adding to the mood, a low, gloomy OST began to blend with the wind.
As the somber rhythm built to a crescendo and tension peaked,
a massive explosion rocked the screen, and zombies—twisted, staggering humanoid forms—burst out from all directions.
The scouting team fell into panic at the sudden horde.
The mob leader-type snapped out of it late, tried to reposition and counterattack, but it was hopeless—outnumbered.
Zombies kept swarming endlessly, no matter how many they cut down.
As wounds accumulated one by one and death's shadow loomed on their faces,
a propeller's roar sliced through the air from afar.
The view shifted inside a combat helicopter.
The OST switched to urgent intensity as a woman appeared.
Long black hair down past her waist, inner layers dyed vivid red—a striking secret two-tone.
Red eyes matching her hair, slit pupils stretched long.
Petite frame barely scraping 160cm, contrasted by generous curves.
A short, revealing black frilly maid outfit and pantyhose, like something from Akihabara.
And finally, a thick snake tail asserting its presence from behind the skirt hem.
Surveying the ground from the chopper, she spoke in a languid drawl, as if spotting something.
"Callsign Aurora. Search target... acquired."
The helicopter halted, hovering in place at her words.
"Just leave it to me, Administrator."
Her previously lax demeanor vanished like a lie as she flashed a feral grin and leaped from the chopper. The character intro screen appeared, and the video ended.
Jaehyun sat speechless long after it finished.
'Wait, this is the pickup character PV?'
Honestly, he'd had zero expectations hitting play.
Just hoping the new character looked pretty, maybe?
Most pickup PVs got skipped or were just basic intros.
Even Inmila, Girls Memorial's rival, skipped them entirely.
But this Girls Memorial PV? No exaggeration—it felt like a polished short anime.
'And the biggest shock was the new character Konomi Roa's design...'
Girls Memorial's existing cast was already leagues prettier than Inmila's.
To the point where every artist had drawn at least one GM character recently.
But Roa? She was forged purely to raid players' wallets.
'Especially that gap between her casual vibe and mission mode... perfect.'
Mulling over Roa's design in his chair, Jaehyun realized he faced a dilemma.
His artist soul and gamer soul were pulling in opposite directions.
'What to do...'
After agonizing, he pocketed his phone and picked up his tablet pen.
This phenomenon hit artists in both Korea and Japan alike, most choosing like Jaehyun did.
As a result, Girls Memorial shattered secondary creation submission records once more.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Enson GT 5th-floor hallway, where PC game dev teams gathered.
"What the hell's all this commotion?"
One team leader glanced toward the stairs to the 6th floor.
Cheers, chatter, and applause echoed from the inter-floor staircase.
Another leader, sporting a stylish beard, sighed.
"Heard the mobile team's Girls Memorial launch is a smash hit. Their game's blowing up."
"Come on, it's only been a week since launch. Why the hype already?"
"It's warranted. They cracked the Japanese market. Enson hyped Japan entry forever, but no one expected the mobile team to do it—and hold weekly sales #1 for two weeks."
"Pfft, plenty of games flash for two weeks then flop. Overhyping it."
"Their rival Inmila's tanking hard, so they're confident it'll run long-term."
Another team leader chimed in.
"Keep your team in check."
"What now?"
"Word is, a bunch from art and planning teams are eyeing mobile transfers."
"...For real?"
"Yeah. Buddy in HR says inquiries are spiking. Watch out."
The sighing leader whispered to the others.
"We screw up, mobile team poaches us too."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Exhausted after fielding congratulations into his private office, his energy was drained.
Rumors had spread company-wide—greetings from the 1st floor made it brutal.
'Congrats aside, check the schedule first...'
He excluded Myunghoon-bro and the dev team from the priority checklist.
Android version dev was their top urgency over everything.
Left were art, planning, and sound teams.
'Start with the easiest: art team.'
He messaged Yerin via company chat.
Soon, a knock—then Yerin entered, holding a cup from the famous 71-flavors ice cream shop.
Looked like she'd come straight from the ongoing party...
"Sorry to pull you during crunch."
"No worries. Everyone was wrapping the party to get back to work anyway."
He nodded at her bright tone and spoke.
"You monitoring Bixiv?"
She nodded.
"Yeah... You told me to start last week, and reactions to our game are better than expected."
"All thanks to you. Character designs are getting the most praise right now."
"What's with the sudden flattery? Can't paint gold on your face or anything."
He just shrugged at her suspicious tone.
"Not that. Art team's short-staffed. If you spot promising newbies on Bixiv or know anyone, let me know if you wanna bring 'em on. No connections on my end for art."
"No one specific yet... but got it."
"Oh, right—talked to Seol about the first event lead?"
"...We still differ on that."
"If undecided, time's tight. You good?"
She sighed in response.
"We know, but both our views make sense—no compromise."
"Hmm? Seol's still off?"
"No. She headed back to planning for urgent review—probably there now."
"Alright... It's 11:30, so lunch then meet in conference at 1:30 with Seol? Or chat over lunch?"
Yerin recoiled.
"Not over lunch— we'll be in conference by 1:30."