Chapter 222
[No, I’m telling you. I really counted with my phone timer! I was just curious! To see how long they'd last underwater!]
[Honestly, did your heart flutter seeing them get in the water? Yes or no? If yes, get out. You think they were calmly diving in some serene pool? I’m saying they just went and lay down underwater in the middle of chaos! Without even saying how long they'd dive!]
[Creepy? Hmm. Not that bad. But holding their breath for 25 minutes is creepy for sure! What were you doing instead of waking them up all that time?]
-Murderer shiver shiver
-Rain is a total psychopath, huh
-Were you lowkey hoping they'd suffocate?
-Still, you should've told someone. Classic move watching alone.
[No, guys! Their eyes were open! That person! They made eye contact with me and smiled! So how could I go wake them up? With that kind of composure, like hell they'd drown!]
-hahahahahahahaha
-That's super creepy
-Why the hell did they get in the water anyway lololol
-I can picture it somehow.
[I thought I was just drunk and misread the timer. What? 25 minutes would make the Guinness records? The top is 24 minutes 33 seconds? Whoa, creepy. So you're saying I timed it wrong? That could be the case.]
-25 minutes is way too much lololol
-For real, you could hit #1 in humanity for breath-holding, why wouldn't they do it? 25 min seems way too much.
-But isn't Kael #1 in humanity right now? Could snag the breath-holding title too.
[Hey now, I didn't say who. Everyone, please refrain from speculating.]
Rain's story, once he was freed first from the after-party, became a hot topic.
This is practically a ghost story.
The fact that they're deliberately avoiding revealing who it was makes it even worse.
People grew more curious.
Why on earth did they go into the pool? It'd be one thing if everyone brought swimsuits and had a pool party.
But that wasn't it. Weren't they just gathered to eat good food and drink? The pool just happened to be there since they rented a nice large place.
Naturally, as other streamers turned on their broadcasts one by one, viewers started asking about it.
First, a prime suspect turned on their broadcast after Rain, so viewers flocked there.
That streamer was a corporate streamer.
Travel's representative heavyweight drinker.
Mister. No, more like an older bro.
It was Mentality.
Of course, Mentality usually isn't the type to cause trouble at after-parties due to the age gap; he's just a nice guy who loves drinking. But anyway, viewers asked to solve the mystery.
[Ho ho ho. Nah? I just went with two other people and we squared up 3-to-1 against someone in drinking. We used soju glasses, that person used a regular paper cup to match the amount. But we surrendered first!]
-That someone couldn't be...
-Is it you again?
-hahahahaha
-Must not say the name
[I won't say who either. Anyway, that person drinks well. Made me want to get closer! That's it! An old-timer like me, what more fun could I have had? Just ate some good food and left.]
-ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-Streamers are on the younger side, true
-Not many in their 30s
-Mentality is, among 30s, well ahem...
Later stories revealed who the remaining two were.
And the reason they all ended up playing in the pool together.
One of the two, a hat, had fallen in.
The one who rescued the hat, according to viewers who drank at least three times as much, was "that bastard."
-Aaaaargh! Just knowing is melting my brain!
-Wow! I really can't figure out who it is?
-Three heavyweight drinkers got wrecked? lololol Just what is that bastard?
-Explain how the four of them ended up sitting together too.
Now all the explaining fell to Taewoo. For some reason.
Still, Taewoo had to resolve the curiosity.
Anyway, that's how it was.
[Guys. One thing I can say for sure. I also want to really know about my friend... no, that person, okay? Living together... no, anyway, what I'm saying now isn't about my roommate. Anyway, if you live together, really unfathomable things happen. More than you can imagine. Who do you think is the most curious? You guys? Or me?]
-hahahahahahaha
-Fucking hilarious lololol
-They really are unique lololol
-They say he was a Sword God in a past life
-He's also the winner
-Gasp. Must not leak!
[What about what Lumi said, that neighbors bend at the waist when passing? That just happened because we coincidentally ran into some seniors from the same school. Obviously, they weren't bowing to me.]
-Oh I see lololol ???? wait, seniors?
-Why are seniors bending at the waist?
-???????????????
-Gasp
-No school violence controversy please, streamer ㅠㅠㅠ that's really not allowed!!
[Don't worry about school violence. I may not know who that person is, but I'm confident about that at least. I vouch for it.]
-Anyway lololol, a freaking fascinating bastard
-A guy who wouldn't be weird even as an immediate pro
-A guy who'd probably kill it even as an athlete lolololol
-Give up understanding, it's easier!
"How long are you going to keep playing that?"
Seo-jun asked Director Oh Ji-hye, who kept replaying a clip—not test data—while giggling.
"Hahahaha. No, this is just too fun. Just what did you do? Was Seo-jun always this kind of character?"
"I'm always the same, though?"
Seo-jun shrugged.
"Is that so? Well, seeing your usual broadcast self..."
"What?"
Should he ask for her nickname?
He'd found the biggest downside of being a streamer.
You start to suspect what kind of chats people around you are sending.
"Well, anyway, that's your charm, Seo-jun. So why did you drink with those people?"
"The three of them were having a subtle power struggle with alcohol, so I just butted in."
"Hahahaha. So you heard the three of them chatting, grabbed a paper cup, and joined the fray?"
"That's exactly it."
"Ah... I see."
"Anyway. How are today's test results?"
"The same. Very stable. There was a slight blip compared to before right before the pentakill, but still within stable range."
"That's a relief."
"By the way, any pro offers? After showing that much, there's no way they haven't come."
"Actually, they came even before."
"As expected."
"And after winning, I was shocked checking my email yesterday—there were so many. Even from China."
"The Chinese market is big. Must be huge, right?"
"Still, I ignored them all cleanly."
"Why? Because of what I said last time?"
Director Oh Ji-hye had told him not to pursue a pro gamer career.
That he shouldn't stay inside virtual reality for too long.
Well, seeing Lee Dong-soo, it seems a bit relaxed but...
'I know he's handling a pretty tough training schedule behind the scenes.'
Anyway.
"I just had no intention from the start."
No matter how much they offered.
"I see. That's good. By the way, even if you keep just half the current viewers, you won't have to worry about money. At this rate, you might earn more than me?"
How many viewers were there now?
Yesterday, even after the finale, it was over 100,000.
'I think the average was about 50,000.'
Of course, that's tournament hype.
So the key is how many viewers he can retain going forward.
"In that sense, what game will you play next? A lot of people watch only for The League, so if you don't do League often, you might lose a lot of viewers."
Director Oh Ji-hye, knowing this, gave advice.
The more you look, she knows Travel suspiciously well.
"But you're not going to keep playing League, are you."
"No. Probably not. Though I might join large-scale events and such."
"Hmm... Then may I ask what game you'll play next? A new packaged title?"
Why does it keep feeling...
like not someone trying to give advice, but a genuine viewer curious about the next broadcast?
Seo-jun debated rubbing his eyes.
Anyway.
"Well, the short-term goal is already set."
"Oh?"
"Last Chronicle. They asked for a Four Heavenly Kings first clear race. The director personally sponsored it."
"Wow. That's been hot lately too."
"Really?"
It's only been two days since Rios ended—could something else already be hot?
Sensing Seo-jun's doubt, Oh Ji-hye added.
"Among RPG fans, that is."
"Ah."
"So far, Korean MMORPGs have been maintained by two pillars barely holding on. One is the Last Chronicle you mentioned, but frankly its situation wasn't good, so it was basically a one-horse race by the other."
"Oh. What's that?"
"Blood Alliance. A game popular with quite... tremendous gentlemen. Have you heard of it?"
"No."
"Then have you heard about spending 2 billion won on a game item, things like that?"
"...I think I saw something like that in the news?"
"That's that game."
"Ah."
He got the picture.
"Of course, it wasn't only popular with tremendous gentlemen. It honestly felt like the only fun RPG left."
"That's past tense."
"Recently, an issue blew up. RPGs are on a downward trend, so revenue dropped. So they ramped up monetization. They tried to sell to Surface, but that fell through too. Then people started jumping ship one by one."
"And the cause of that exodus is Last Chronicle?"
"Yes. A substitute had emerged, so to speak."
"But that game's been around before, you said."
"It got good starting from this season's update. Enough to really dig into. So right now it's hot among RPG fans. And on top of that, Seo-jun goes there and draws more attention? That could actually be a good thing. As more people get interested..."
"Meaning viewer drop-off decreases?"
"Yes. The easiest way is just to keep playing League, but you won't do that."
"I just don't feel like it."
"Then the only way is for the game Seo-jun plays to draw viewers' interest directly!"
It's worth considering.
The problem is.
"Hmm... Would I really draw that much attention?"
How much attention could there be?
"I wonder?"
"Anyway, understood. Thank you. I'll be off."
Seo-jun stood.
"Have you figured out what you'll do?"
"Yes."
"Already?"
* * *
Seo-jun posted an announcement through iTube.
He believed direct and plain was best, so there was no need to overthink.
[If you want to meet in the game or appear on broadcast, level up your character in advance through the Last Chronicle event. Next broadcast is Last Chronicle.]
He thought this would do the trick reasonably.
Seedlings that need attention as much as the streamer. Mischievous trolls. Viewers who want to appear on broadcast.
He figured just gathering them and roaming the map together would be fun.
Isn't that the charm of RPGs?
But Seo-jun's prediction was off in one aspect.
Reasonably?
After winning Rios like that, there's no way it would stay reasonable.
[Huh? They're giving out free avatars continuously? Telling us not to buy?]
[Inventory slots are... free?]
[Blood Alliance sirs! Please don't charge and play the game! Only charge if you run short while playing!]
[First clear aside. To try the latest raid, would one big note be enough?]
==
I'd like to ask for the seniors' wisdom.
==
-Uncle... how much exactly is a big note?
└100 million won, ho ho ho. A bit embarrassing. Will this money truly not be enough? Since it's the latest raid after all (poster)
└You're putting on an act, right? Please lololol Please let it be an act
└Uncle... 30,000 won for a pretty avatar you like is plenty lolololol
-One note wasn't 10 million won, it was 100 million...
-The event lets you skip the lower brackets fast! Don't spend real money!
In the Last Chronicle community, a "Blood-sir" meme was circulating.
Those from Blood Alliance were suspiciously rich and their common sense was just different.
But from the moment Seo-jun posted his announcement.
['Sword God' is coming here!!!!! Crazy!!!!]
==
Ahh. Is our game seriously going to the moon?
And if it's Sword God, first clear seems totally possible lololol for real
==
-Yeah lololol
-Crazy! For real?
└Yeah look at the announcement
-Kyaa!!!! I'm diving right in, sleeves rolled up
└Prepare gold!
-I'm gonna fucking disrupt lolololololololol
└You malignant fuck lololol me too lolololol
-This is a chance to appear on broadcast!
-But who's Sword God to get this kind of reaction? Another Blood-sir?
└The nickname is kind of old-school. So I wonder how much this new person spent and what rank they are in Blood Alliance? Over 10 billion?
└That Sword God probably has only money and no mechanics. Even if they hit max level and raid, they'll never get first clear lololol
└Lmao lololol calling Sword God a Blood-sir lolololololololololololol
A new wind began to blow.