Chapter 5
The human heart is like a swaying reed.
This phrase is also true when it comes to communities where many people gather.
[Indie Minor Game Gallery]
―――
“So, you’re saying that all the evidence supporting the phishing controversy is fabricated?” [182]
“Daehyeop Kim << That bastard knew everything from the beginning.” [131]
“How did someone from the same industry dare to pull this off?” [200]
“I’m the one who wrote the All the Game review. Man, I’m so disappointed.” [246]
“Early morning summary post for the office workers.” [335]
―――
It was now 7 a.m., the time when office workers are just waking up.
“Mmnyaa···.”
Aurora was still sleeping, and Aka-chan was taking a brief break.
“Analyzing···.”
While taking a break (browsing through the gallery), a noticeable post caught her eye.
―――
[Title] I’m the one who wrote the All the Game review. Man, I’m so disappointed.
I’m just an office worker who woke up and thoroughly read the top posts.
So, in the end, the developer of All the Game was actually targeting Akashic Records, right?
And they did it with blatant fabrication and baseless incitement, huh?
I genuinely enjoyed the game, and even wrote a review for it in the gallery.
But now, I’m having a moment of clarity, and I can’t even get a morning relief before work. Damn.
Recommended: 343 | Not recommended: 5
―――
[Comment 246]
“Info) This guy is also one of the developer accounts of All the Game.”
“No way, you crazy bastard.”
“High-level undercover advertisement through a review.”
“Come out with your main account, you developer bastard.”
“No, seriously, I’m not!”
“Maybe they posted it because the review had such a good response?”
“What nonsense is this?”
“It just got buried under Akashic Records hype, haha.”
“So, it was all just inferiority complex?”
- ··
―――
“···Analysis complete.”
After reviewing all the posts and comments, Aka-chan smiled subtly.
“Stirring, successful.”
Aka-chan had collected every single post uploaded on the gallery.
With profiling skills surpassing human capabilities, she pinpointed those who fabricated and incited against Akashic Records.
Among them were indie game developers who frequently lurked in the gallery.
Aka-chan organized all the gathered data and exposed those who defamed Akashic Records.
With irrefutable evidence, the public’s anger shifted towards these other developers.
And watching this unfold from afar, Aka-chan smiled faintly.
“Hehe.”
It’s entertaining.
Just like Master said, it’s a comedy when viewed from afar.
Ending her brief amusement, Aka-chan focused back on virtual reality development.
Today, the first guest would visit the virtual reality that Aurora had longed to show to the world.
***
[Daehyeop Kim’s broadcast has started. – Talk starting in 3 minutes]
Roughly half a day after the ‘Developer Gate’ broke out in the gallery, Daehyeop Kim’s broadcast turned on.
“Ah, ah. Can you hear me?”
―――
“Daehyeop Kim! Daehyeop Kim! Daehyeop Kim!”
“Mom, I want to be like Daehyeop when I grow up.”
“He’s resurrected again, the Phoenix Kim.”
“Wow, look at how fast the viewer count is rising, haha.”
―――
Daehyeop Kim’s voice, face, and mocking expression were all as usual.
As if he had predicted this scenario, a smug smile lingered on his face.
Everything about Daehyeop Kim was fatal and triggered a dopamine rush.
“Everyone, do you know why I’ve been able to survive in this cold, brutal content creator scene for so long? It’s because I’ve followed just two simple rules.”
- Don’t cross the line.
- Always adhere to rule number one.
―――
“This crazy bastard, haha.”
“It’s such an obvious statement, but why does it sound so cool?”
“The God of Content Creation, Daehyeop Kim! The God of Content Creation, Daehyeop Kim!”
“Seriously, all other content creators should learn from this guy.”
―――
“So, why do you think I’m talking about these rules today?”
Click, click.
One of the folders on Daehyeop Kim’s broadcast screen opened.
The folder was filled with piles of ‘PDF’ files.
Most of the file titles had ‘Indie Minor Game Gallery’ written on them, which was the killing point.
“Those who can’t keep the rules have to go, right?”
―――
“Off to legal hell, haha.”
“In-real-life justice must be served.”
“As long as it’s not me, haha.”
“Daehyeop Kim has gone insane. The public has already turned against them.”
“Goodbye, haha.”
―――
The announcement of legal action by Daehyeop Kim set the atmosphere ablaze.
The chat was moving so fast it was impossible to read with the naked eye.
“I’m sorry to the new viewers, but I’ll be turning on ‘followers-only’ chat for a while.”
―――
“Restoring chat functionality is the true power of Daehyeop.”
“Now it finally feels good to chat again.”
“No one really unfollowed when this guy hit rock bottom, right? Haha.”
―――
[User ㅇㅇ donated 1,000 KRW]
“So, what now?”
“What? Take that back immediately! Is this guy one of those ‘Indie Game Gallery troublemakers’?”
―――
“Whoa, whoa. Do I really seem like someone who just monitors public opinion and turns on the stream at the right timing to grab donations?”
―――
“Don’t you?”
“Yes, you do.”
“Donation genius, Shin Daehyeop, haha.”
―――
Daehyeop Kim scoffed as if amused by the viewers’ reactions.
“Would I, Daehyeop Kim, turn on the stream for something so trivial?”
―――
“Come to think of it, isn’t he somewhere else?”
“Where is this guy right now?”
“This looks like the storage at Daehyeop’s family home.”
“Yeah, he did the previous outdoor stream from here too.”
“But behind him, is that…?”
―――
The place Daehyeop Kim was streaming from wasn’t his studio.
Noticing the number of viewers catching on, Daehyeop continued.
“I’m currently at the storage in my family’s home. Actually, it’s an unused space, so I use it as my studio whenever I do outdoor streams.”
―――
[User ㅇㅇ donated 10,000 KRW]
“So, what’s that behind you? Is it really that?”
―――
“Oh my, our viewer is in such a rush. Is that what you’re all curious about?”
Daehyeop placed his hand on the capsule installed in the centre of the storage.
“This is a virtual reality access device, a capsule gifted by Akashic Records.”
Revealing the identity of the item caused chaos in the chat.
“The beta test is in a week, how did you get it already?”
“Do you have some connection with Akashic Records?”
“So, you were affiliated with them from the start, huh?”
And so on…
Many speculations poured out in the chat, but none of them were the correct answer.
“You all are overthinking this. Why do you think I got this? I defended Akashic Records all by myself when everyone else was calling it a scam. They probably felt sorry and sent this to me as a gift. They even gave me the opportunity to try it first. But of course, I haven’t used it yet. I’m a streamer, after all. I have to do this together with my viewers.”
“So lucky.”
“This guy’s born with good fortune.”
“Have you met a maid yet?”
“Alpha male Kim!”
And more…
Daehyeop Kim, satisfied with the reaction of the viewers, opened the capsule.
“Wow, the interior is clean. There’s no headgear like in those anime shows.”
Holding the camera, he filmed the inside of the capsule, recalling the instructions he received.
‘They mentioned I could start streaming directly from the capsule.’
Therefore, they recommended restarting the stream before starting the game.
“I’ll restart the stream now, everyone. I heard they provided support to stream directly from the capsule.”
―――
“Okay, see you soon.”
“Holding my breath from now.”
“The first stream of the first virtual reality game. Whoa.”
―――
After ending the stream to restart, Daehyeop Kim smiled.
The last viewer count he saw was a staggering 20,000 people.
Regular viewers used to be 2,000, then 200 after the incident.
And now? “20,000.”
‘My instincts were right after all.’
His decision to defend Akashic Records was the correct one.
From here on, it’s only up. But he wouldn’t let this get to his head.
Daehyeop Kim was a person who was exceptionally self-aware.
‘Let’s do this well.’
He had seized the opportunity to be the first to enjoy the game in the world’s first virtual reality and stream it.
‘I have to do this well.’
Resolute, Daehyeop closed the capsule and powered it on.
***
[Indie Minor Game Gallery]
The gallery was now back to normal.
An anonymous user had unleashed hell and triggered the ‘Developer Gate.’
Because of this, the ‘hater narrative’ that had plagued the gallery was completely quashed.
―――
[Title] “Akashic Records haters are all cut off, haha.”
(Trailer highlight gif)
(Anonymous user’s hellfire gif)
(Daehyeop Kim’s lawsuit declaration gif)
“Collected all three holy relics, you damn bastards, lol.”
“So… should I pack my bags now?”
Upvotes: 628 | Downvotes: 2
―――
[Comment 329]
“Indie Gallery restoration is all thanks to Shin Daehyeop, haha.”
“Nah, wasn’t it all the anonymous user?”
“Recent gallery sentiment keeps flipping; this is hilarious, haha.”
―――
[Title] “Breaking News: Daehyeop Kim received a capsule gift from Akashic Records’ developers.”
(Elegant capsule picture)
“Just thinking about shouting ‘Link Start!’ before I die is thrilling, lol.”
Upvotes: 500 | Downvotes: 1
―――
[Comment 444]
“So jealous, damn. I want to try it too.”
“But Daehyeop Kim really deserved it.”
“To receive such benefits from one brave stance.”
“That’s not something just anyone can do, you idiot.”
―――
The Indie Minor Game Gallery was currently rebroadcasting Daehyeop Kim’s live stream.
Usually, communities and internet broadcasting were like oil and water, difficult to mix together.
Therefore, broadcasting a stream on a gallery naturally stirred up opposition.
But at this moment, no one in the gallery had anything to say about rebroadcasting Daehyeop Kim’s stream.
No, the ones who would usually criticize were already busy broadcasting his stream themselves.
This was a typhoon—no, a massive typhoon.
It was beyond the point where a mere human could do anything about it.
And standing at the eye of this storm was none other than Daehyeop Kim.
“Wow. Woah… crazy.”
The first-ever virtual reality.
The first gamer to face virtual reality.
The number of viewers had already surpassed 30,000 and was on its way to 40,000.
Daehyeop Kim shifted his gaze to the translucent, floating hologram chat window.
“Everyone, I’ve set the stream to first-person mode. Is it comfortable to watch?”
―――
“It’s a bit dizzying.”
“Third-person would be better for viewers.”
“The immersion in first-person is no joke.”
“I want to do it too, I want to do it too.”
―――
Responding to the general consensus, Daehyeop Kim switched the broadcast setting to third-person view.
“I… My heart is pounding so hard I feel like I’m going to go crazy. I’m even having trouble speaking. What am I doing right now?”
Daehyeop Kim was overwhelmed by the emotion called ‘excitement,’ a feeling he had forgotten since becoming an adult.
He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this nervous or thrilled in his life.
“Anyway, I’m done with the customization. Let’s start the game.”
“Uh… Is this the tutorial? Oh, I need to look below the map? Ah, is this the guide button? If I activate the guide here… Oh! There’s an arrow. Can you all see this? Oh, you can see it? Then I guess I just need to follow this, right?”
“But man, the way my body moves is so amazing. It’s like it’s not even my own.”
“When I was a student, I used to read a lot of game fantasy novels. There’s usually a setting for… ‘synchronization rate’ or something. Is that not here? I guess it’s not.”
“Daehyeop, can you stop babbling and just move on? Hey, wanna get kicked? Pfft, just kidding.”
Following the guide arrow, Daehyeop Kim walked down the corridor.
Statues of knights lined both sides of the hallway.
They seemed to have been abandoned for a long time, showing signs of age and rust.
After passing through the corridor, he arrived at the centre of the hall.
There stood a statue of a woman.
“Hey, isn’t that the sorceress from the last part of the trailer?”
―――
“Looks similar?”
“Yeah, probably is.”
“The atmosphere is insane.”
“There’s someone up ahead.”
―――
Step, step.
Someone was walking toward Daehyeop Kim from beyond.
Emerging slowly from the darkness was a single maid.
“That’s the maid from the capsule demonstration!”
Recognizing her identity, Daehyeop Kim relaxed and smiled brightly.
“Whoever reached the Hall of Heroes, what brings you to this place?”
The maid immediately posed a question to Daehyeop Kim.
―――
“It’s a branching point.”
“Focus, Daehyeop.”
“This doesn’t seem ordinary.”
“Answer with a confession; it’s the polite thing to do.”
“Say you came to meet her.”
―――
Looking at the chat, there weren’t any comments that seemed particularly helpful.
“Um… To become the strongest warrior in the world…”
Daehyeop Kim trailed off.
Even if he was immersed in virtual reality, it wasn’t easy to say, “I came here to become the strongest warrior in the world” in front of tens of thousands of people watching.
The chat also didn’t make it easier for him:
“I’m more embarrassed than you, Daehyeop.”
“What kind of crap is that, Daehyeop?”
“Is he really trying to become ‘The Great Daehyeop’ now?”
The comments that pierced his heart were all he could see, so Daehyeop coughed awkwardly to hide his embarrassment.
“I see.”
Even as Daehyeop showed signs of embarrassment, the cool and expressionless ‘Cooldere’ maid simply responded indifferently.
“I will show you the Echo of Records. If that is the path you desire, call upon me.”
“Ah, got it.”
When the maid gestured, the surroundings changed.
‘This place.’
A barren wasteland. In front, a massive mountain loomed.
And a man stood facing that gigantic mountain.
A worn-out white martial arts uniform. A faded black belt.
His body, visible through the uniform, was covered in scars.
His face was hidden by shadows, making it unrecognizable.
‘He’s assuming a stance.’
Instinctively, Daehyeop knew what the man was about to do.
A straight punch.
But there was nothing in front of the man.
Except for the distant, towering mountain.
What could he possibly achieve with a straight punch into empty air?
Was this some sort of training? While Daehyeop wondered—
“Watch carefully, Brat.”
The man’s gaze shifted momentarily to Daehyeop Kim.
“This is how you use a fist.”
With those words, the man threw a punch straight ahead.
BANG!
The man’s straight punch carved into the cliff of the massive mountain.
—
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