Chapter 85
MONSTER.
The indie game developer that had pegged streamer Seojun as an advertising model was in a meeting again today.
Just the two of them.
The agenda of this meeting was the streamer Seojun, whose market value had kept soaring until he hit 18,000 viewers.
"Listen carefully."
"Yes."
"Do you know what a bull market is?"
"A bull market?"
"Yes."
Why is he bringing up a bull market all of a sudden?
Employee Park Hyuksu!
They say small businesses run on the boss's grandstanding, but in his opinion, his CEO just felt like a friendly neighborhood unemployed guy. The kind of older brother who knows a lot but has no real expertise in any field.
In reality, that wasn't the case. When it came to games, his ability was top-notch. That's why he must have saved up a lot of money at his previous company and started his own.
But still, the emotion he felt right now was:
'What kind of bullshit will our great CEO spout this time?'
The reason he kept him trapped in a meeting was nothing else. It was just that the other employees found him a bit intimidating. The CEO, that is.
'Sigh.'
Even though they operated in such a haphazard, slapdash manner, their attitude toward this project was, in any case, sincere.
"So what's a bull market?"
"Have you never dabbled in stocks?"
"No."
"Hmm. You need to invest in stocks to make money these days, you know."
"That kind of gaslighting doesn't work on me. Assets naturally repeat rises and falls, and what you just said, CEO, is classic gaslighting that comes out during a typical upward period."
"What, you know your stuff."
"No. I don't know anything."
"..."
"..."
"Anyway, listen carefully. A bull market is this."
"Yes."
"Wherever I buy, that becomes the peak. That's a bull market."
"Oh."
That sounded like something someone who had lost a lot of money would say.
Had he been caught at the peak a lot?
"As you said, the asset market repeats rises and falls."
"So?"
"So right now, is this streamer at his peak or not?"
So that's what he was trying to say.
"18,000 viewers. That's mid-tier. Among them, a fairly high one."
"Right."
"His streaming period hasn't been long."
"Correct."
"The current viewers also flocked in thanks to the special content of the battlefield. Before that, it was 3 to 4 thousand."
"Right. Then what is this?"
A bubble.
Yes, it's a bubble.
Once the battlefield event ends, it will definitely deflate again. Everyone knows that.
"Well, all that was just fooling around. Anyway, seriously speaking, wouldn't it be better to contact him when his viewer numbers are a bit lower?"
"If we contact him now, he'll definitely be a bit expensive."
Even the streamer wouldn't demand a price based on the assumption that the 18,000 viewers were his regulars. But it's obvious that he'd still quote a higher price than when he had 10,000. Placing a high estimate on his own value like that isn't wrong. So they, too, are trying to pick the best timing.
If the live viewer count drops below 10,000, the costs they could save would be considerable.
"If we save money well, we could even aim for one more team."
"If only we had signed a contract from the beginning..."
This was a thought that crossed his mind watching the streamer who only seemed to hit consecutive upper limits. We should have just grabbed him at the start.
"That... I have no excuses. I was trying to find a better method..."
I had no choice but to be cautious. If this game fails, it's a straight shot to bankruptcy.
"Ah. There's one problem."
"What?"
"The game launch is a little after the battlefield ends. What if the bubble hasn't burst by then?"
The battlefield. And then Rio's a few weeks later. Given the schedule, releasing the game after the battlefield ended was an unavoidable choice to avoid attention being diverted elsewhere. Otherwise, they'd have to wait about a month more, and it was tight just paying salaries. And, of course, there would be many competitors targeting that time as well. So advertising was all the more crucial.
"Hey, no way."
"Is there any other attention-grabbing event in the battlefield?"
"Honestly, I don't know how issues will be created. But it's certain that things like yesterday's 12-match winning streak won't happen again."
"You're right, that was too legendary."
"Seeing that made me want to hold onto him even more."
"He really does have something amazing. Creating a buzz wherever he goes."
"Please, let our game too..."
"Anyway, there won't be anything more, right?"
"Probably. Even today, just for today, his viewers should drop a lot, don't you think?"
"Yeah."
"Oh. He's starting his stream now. Let's see how many he pulls in."
Suddenly, Park Hyuksu had this thought. The CEO said that wherever he buys, that's the peak. Then, since the CEO decided not to buy now, doesn't that mean it isn't the peak?
In a bull market, don't you usually regret not buying, then jump in only to experience the true peak?
'Hey. There's no way. That's clearly a peak.'
Park Hyuksu shook his head vigorously and brushed off the unlucky thought.
For reference, he too had a little experience losing money in stocks.
* * *
"Hello, everyone."
In the lobby, Seojun switched the camera perspective so that people could see him, then greeted them.
"Yes. What did I do today? I just went to school and attended lectures. Is streaming just a hobby?"
To be honest, he was enjoying it like a hobby. Because it suited his aptitude so well and was so fun. But he was aware that this was a job.
Of course, the streamer himself must be comfortable first. If not, the viewers notice and feel uncomfortable before they eventually leave.
In that sense, teasing the viewers or being teased was a professional act.
'So that means... streaming was my true calling?'
It gave him goosebumps.
He'd always watched Taewoo and thought, what's up with that idiot? But it turned out the idiot's job was his true calling.
"Ah. If it's not a hobby, you say I should please stream for over 10 hours? What professional attitude is that? 10 hours a day is overwork."
-You're not wrong, but we don't care about that
-Do you know why viewers are viewers? Because we don't have jobs
-Over?work? Don't know her
-Just get to work, host
-Health is always secondary to streaming. Please keep that in mind.
Hmm.
Was a heartwarming scene of people telling him to take care of his health truly nowhere to be seen?
"Sigh. Oh. Wow, a lot of people are coming in today."
Viewer count: 7,000.
It was gradually rising, but he didn't know how high it would go. Even 7-year veteran Taewoo said it was unpredictable because the things he'd done were such outliers.
Still, it was bound to be lower than yesterday.
-Ah lol, if you don't watch this, what do you even watch?
-The host is a hidden master for real lol
-Because he's ridiculously good
-The Demonic Cult is really going to win!
-And yet there are still some with delusional dreams
-Anyway, with this, watching the battlefield from now on will be hella fun
As the viewer count steadily increased, it finally surpassed 10,000. He wasn't hung up on it, but it felt pretty good.
"Now."
Time to start.
"Everyone, thanks to my winning streak yesterday, my reputation score has gone up a bit."
Only the first four matches yesterday contributed to the game's contribution score, so there was little difference there. But reputation score was different.
-A bit? lol
-It really was legendary
-I was watching from the host's room, it was chilling
-The true Heavenly Demon
Starting today, the reputation score he had accumulated would be applied.
"Now, for anyone else to take 1st place, they'd have to win over 10 times for every single one of my wins from here on."
Even though few people were likely unaware, Seojun kindly explained. The reason... wasn't to show off.
"In any case, it means my 1st place is practically secured. Don't you agree?"
-E
-It's frustrating but can't be helped
-I admit defeat
-He's already the number one under heaven
-Sign it, you old fogies! The host is the number one under heaven!
If he were to lose every remaining match, that would be another story. The world is full of so many unimaginable, absurd things.
Nevertheless, Seojun could bet everything on the fact that him not winning a single match was absolutely impossible.
"That's why. The magical girl thing is off the table, right? Heh heh."
Seojun laughed with genuine delight.
No matter how much he trusted himself, the world was full of variables, and if luck wasn't on his side, he could have slipped. But now, even if he slipped, he was practically assured of not falling into the water.
'I underestimated the viewers.'
He never expected such penalties to appear, let alone get chosen.
-Cancel lol
-Ah lol, this isn't working
-It's truly a shame, but with a 12-win streak, we gotta let it slide
-Your sincerity shows, so we'll let you off~
-How hard must he have worked
Thankfully, they were being understanding.
Of course, even if they weren't, nothing would change.
And there were quite a few viewers who had no idea what he was talking about.
-But what is he talking about?
-Magical girl?
-Newcomers are so cute lol
-Aren't you gonna binge-watch the VODs?
['MagicalGirl' has donated 20,000 won!]
[travel–clip]
-So there was this hidden story
-No wonder he was grinding with his teeth clenched
-LOL
-It was a life-or-death struggle lol
The clip was snipped at just the right moment so everyone understood at once.
And once one donation popped off, others followed at the perfect timing.
['LastBroadcast' has donated 100,000 won!]
[This is for the watch fee!]
['Just' has donated 30,000 won!]
[Not for Mu or Hyeop, but scared of the penalty, the host went that crazy LOL]
['Yesterday' has donated 40,000 won!]
[You ended the stream too quickly, yeah]
.
.
.
Since he hadn't done a review or after-party stream the previous day, the donations weren't that high compared to the aftermath. But as if they'd been waiting, they thankfully sent him support.
"Everyone, thank you for the donations. Anyway, the penalty's settled. Then, let's head in now."
As he started 'For the Alliance', the background collapsed and unfurled in an instant. Countless users came into view.
Seojun switched to his personal channel and opened the battlefield interface to check his reputation score.
[Reputation Score: 72,637]
-So reliable!
-The hope of the Demonic Cult
-He alone is worth 14 people, insane lol
-While watching faction balance yesterday, the fact that the Demonic Cult actually has a chance to win is hilarious lol
-The Demonic Cult this year is different!
-Loser Cult lol
-Call them Top Cult, not Loser Cult
-He struggles to avoid the magical girl and now the Demonic Cult might actually win lol
-The orthodox faction will still win, you know that right?
Seojun, who had been reading the chat, glanced at the time.
6:57 PM.
The battlefield would open in 3 minutes.
Today's game was a standard 4 vs. 4 point capture match. However, since it showed which regions the rankers were playing in, it wasn't entirely ordinary.
"The orthodox faction will win? Is that so?"
He counted the time.
2 minutes left.
-Then who's going to win?
-No matter how much you carry, your teammates are kind of...;;;
-Don't underestimate the unorthodox faction
1 minute.
-From now on, any place the host defends will be tough to break
-You can just detour
-Why even attack the Demonic Cult in the first place? It's obvious they'll be last, just leave them be~
-So where are you going today?
"Today? I'm going to the orthodox faction's side."
Seojun pointed to the area on the map where the Demonic Cult and the orthodox faction were engaged.
30 seconds.
-So will you defend? Or attack?
-Wonder if they've even thought of a strategy
-Those guys are probably all excited about possibly winning for the first time, so they might have planned something lol
-But the host will just do whatever he wants lol, the sole hope crushed to bits
-Hahahahahaha
-Seeing how he absolutely doesn't listen to viewers, the possibility is full, isn't it? lol
-Whose side is everyone on?!
"Cooperate? I might, I might not. I'll do as I please."
It was a bluff.
10 seconds.
"The Demonic Cult leadership sobbing? What are you talking about."
Even though Seojun had matched the number of rankers, people were busy making fun. That was because the Demonic Cult had never won even once.
"Alright then."
Finally, 7 o'clock arrived.
"Let's go hunt the orthodox faction today."
The orthodox faction's engagement point.
For the first time, Seojun chose to attack.