Chapter 18
[Indie Minor Game Gallery]
The sudden stream shutdown by Daehyeop Kim, and his subsequent appearance on Sweet’s broadcast.
After a series of events, the reaction posts in InGame Gallery began to reach their peak.
―――
-“Daehyeop witnessing a Mage’s hunting prowess.jpg” [250]
-“Fact is, Martial Artists are better in boss fights” [456]
-“Mage << Definitely needs to be normalized, don’t you think?” [333]
-“Sweet getting torn apart by a dungeon boss clip” [289]
-“Low potential for Mages, high potential for Martial Artists. Just remember this” [571]
―――
Two key facts were revealed as the two continued running dungeons together.
The Mage class was overwhelmingly superior in hunting but struggled in boss fights.
The Martial Artist, on the other hand, excelled in boss battles but was weak in hunting.
When Sweet reached level 14 and Daehyeop Kim reached level 16, they finally succeeded in defeating the Minion of Darkness, and the contribution was 71% in favour of Daehyeop Kim.
―――
[Title] “Mage OP, but it turned out to be a bubble that burst quickly”
(Screenshot of the Minion of Darkness raid scorecard)
A bizarre skill set focused almost entirely on AoE skills.
Cooldown for the only mobility skill is a whopping 40 seconds.
Mana runs out after just a few skill rotations.
Plus, a stupid mechanic that forces you to spout incantations.
Ah… Thank you for your service.
Now rest in peace, JOAT (Jack of All Trades).
(Black-and-white image with a staff photoshopped into a memorial photo)
Like 550, Dislike 275
―――
[Comments 568]
“Unbelievably, just an hour ago, Martial Artists were treated like trash.”
ㄴ“Schrödinger’s Cup switcheroo is hilarious.”
ㄴ“Of course, it’s filled with people who don’t even know the game.”
ㄴ“Opinion manipulation is Mage’s balance LOL”
―――
[Title] “Why did you believe the Director’s words literally?”
(A photoshopped image of Aurora with closed eyes looking upwards)
“Do you really think a Director, who’s not an idiot, would officially declare a bias toward a single class?”
“Bet he’s watching InGame Gallery’s state right now, eating popcorn LOL”
Like 445, Dislike 99
―――
(Icon of a smiling anime girl)
ㄴ“What’s up with balance manipulation?”
ㄴ“F**ing btch.”
ㄴ“Doing it all by herself.”
“Every week the OP character changes, what a joke.”
ㄴ“Every week? It changes every hour here LOL”
ㄴ“This is always like WWE; why is it a problem?”
ㄴ“Looking at others’ OP characters bigger and better is just a Korean specialty.”
―――
[Title] “Revisiting the Summary of Korean RPG Balance.txt”
- My character must be strong.
- Must be stronger than that guy.
- But that guy also needs to be strong.
- Still, I need to be the strongest.
……
……
…… - Even with perfect balance, balance patches must be frequent.
- But I don’t trust the developers (My character is weak).
- Exclude public opinion as much as possible during balance patches.
- But they should still listen to me.
- My words are not public opinion.
(Frog meme image in shock)
“If this isn’t the essence of InGame Gallery right now, thumbs up.”
Like 800, Dislike 31
―――
[Comments 682]
“What’s with the gaps in the summary? Is this the Hundred Years of Void?”
ㄴ“It’s a censored segment where they beat the rice traders to a pulp per the original author’s request.”
ㄴ“Rice-coin scammers bomb the original author’s YouTube channel every time they see this.”
ㄴ“Wow, rice-coin scammers are true scum of society.”
“Can you exploit Akare too?”
ㄴ“We’ll have to wait for the official release to find out.”
ㄴ“Some rice-coin scammers are already preparing.”
ㄴ“Don’t use the hateful term ‘rice-coin scammers’; use ‘dark gamers’ instead.”
T/n: Rice-Coin Scammers (쌀먹충) is a derogatory Korean slang term used to describe players who engage in “RMT” (Real Money Trading) or exploit in-game mechanics to farm in-game currency or items, which they then sell for real-world money
―――
It was an impossible task to satisfy everyone.
That much was clear just by lurking on InGame Gallery for an hour.
***
The balance of Akare was not perfect.
It was even more so, considering it was based on an actual otherworldly reality.
In the first place, perfect balance didn’t directly equate to a fun game.
That didn’t mean, however, that the balance was made half-heartedly or without thought.
“An interview, huh…”
A flood of emails had come in through the official MoTube contact address.
Among them, there were quite a few requests for interviews.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to give an interview at some point.
But during the beta test period, it would be too hectic, and it would be better to conduct one after the beta testing was over.
“I also need to plan out the BM…”
- Simply put, it referred to microtransactions.
Currently, Akare didn’t have any sort of BM structure.
Back when Akare was being developed, the concept of BM hadn’t even crossed his mind.
But recently, a small desire had surfaced — the wish to lead a more prosperous life.
And for that, money was needed. In the cold, capitalistic world, money was essential.
So, he had to find a way to earn money through Akare. Was there any good method?
“I don’t want to copy the BM structure of domestic RPGs.”
The typical structure where, ‘Wow! You can beat a 3-year veteran non-paying user with just a purchase!’ didn’t sit well with him.
At the very least, that kind of satisfaction was not something he wanted to provide in the game he was making.
“Selling avatars seems like a safe bet.”
Using the Creator’s Authority, selling clothing items that were popular in various eras could generate good sales.
People unfamiliar with this might ask, “Who would spend money on a piece of data clothing?”
But in reality, most people were more willing to buy data fragments that were even more expensive than the real clothes they owned.
“I also need to develop the affinity system quickly.”
The first NPC to be released with the affinity system would, of course, be Raven.
“When the affinity is raised, you could even dress that NPC in different avatars.”
Selling items like swimsuits, maid outfits, and uniforms for real money.
Will it sell? It might sound doubtful, but if his predictions were correct, it would fly off the shelves.
Princess Raven flaunting a swimsuit? Princess Raven serving in a maid outfit?
How could any male player possibly resist that?
The same went for the other way around.
Prince Raven in a swimsuit, or Prince Raven in a formal uniform.
Female players, especially those sensitive to fashion, would surely find it irresistible.
“Uhuhu… It’s like raking in money.”
He could already imagine himself buried in piles of cash, basking in the capitalist-style happiness.
“We can just add these alongside the official release after the beta test ends.”
He started organizing what to release with the official launch in his notebook.
―――
Adding BM (avatars). Adding affinity (Raven).
Teasing the Elder Lich raid of the King of the Undead (trailer).
Announcing the new normal class, Spirit Summoner, and releasing a teaser.
Planning and hosting a commemorative event for the official launch.
―――
“Advertising is… still out of reach.”
With almost zero revenue coming in from Akare at this point.
Spending tens of millions of won on basic advertising was just a pipe dream.
“Taking out a loan for advertising feels a bit too much.”
Hmm. No matter how dedicated he was to Akare.
Becoming a credit defaulter just didn’t seem like a good outcome, no matter how he thought about it.
“Master, then… what about releasing Uhuhu Mode?”
“Huh?”
Aka-chan, who had been quietly listening to his plans, asked a rather puzzling question.
“Uhuhu Mode.”
Swiish— Swiish—
With Aka-chan making some rather vulgar gestures, he instinctively covered his face with both hands.
“Mating mode. Revolutionary content…”
“No lewd stuff!”
Whack!
He rolled up the bundle of documents into a makeshift paper bat and smacked Aka-chan on the head.
***
Sweet was able to level up effortlessly by hunting in a party with Daehyeop Kim.
Above all, he was in a great mood after receiving the “Obsidian Staff” dropped by the boss monster, Minion of Darkness, at the Cradle of Dark Magic, which Daehyeop Kim had generously handed over.
[Level Up!]
“Now it’s starting to get harder to gain experience.”
Sweet, who had just reached level 19, looked at the Obsidian Staff with longing eyes.
The level requirement for the Obsidian Staff was 20.
Just one more level to equip it, but…
“I think I’m going to call it a day and take a rest.”
“You’re already leaving, Daehyeop-nim?”
Daehyeop Kim, who had been showing signs of fatigue, finally declared he was taking a break.
Unable to stop the tired Daehyeop Kim, Sweet reluctantly let him go.
“Oh, if you go to the plaza right now, something good will happen.”
“The plaza? Why? What’s this good thing?”
Daehyeop Kim only smiled without answering and logged out of the game.
“Hmm… should I also…?”
―――
-No, stay.
-The stream’s only been 15 hours.
-Get to 24 hours, let’s go.
-Time flies by so quickly.
―――
The viewers immediately responded to the usual hints of ending the stream.
Sweet, after glancing at the reactions, flashed a playful smile.
“Just kidding, just kidding.”
There was still a lot left to do in Akare.
First, he needed to complete the regular sewer inspection request.
He was also curious about what the good thing at the plaza Daehyeop Kim mentioned was.
He wanted to find a new dungeon or hunting ground, level up, and then finally be able to use the Obsidian Staff.
―――
[Username] has donated 10,000 won.
- What do you think of the mage balance?
―――
“I think it’s not bad? It feels like the hack-and-slash genre, where mob hunting is the core of the gameplay. It’s definitely fun.”
After chatting with his viewers, Sweet headed to the Mercenary Guild and completed the request.
Maybe because his level had gone up too much, the experience gained as a reward felt disappointingly small.
Leaving the Mercenary Guild behind, Sweet moved to the plaza.
“What could this good thing be?”
How long had he been waiting in front of the huge fountain in the plaza?
Tap— Tap—
“Hm?”
A woman, dressed like a knight, approached Sweet.
Seeing the beautiful woman, whom he had never seen before, stand before him, Sweet’s eyes wandered.
“Do you have some business with me…?”
“Pfft, have you already forgotten?”
At the knight’s words, which sounded as if they had met before, Sweet narrowed his eyes.
Now that he thought about it, he remembered seeing someone wearing a similar outfit somewhere.
Retracing his memory, Sweet soon realized.
“What the… Raven?”
Only then did she smile brightly.
“You’ve grown much stronger since we last met.”
Sweet was startled to see the male Raven now appear as a woman.
But what surprised him more wasn’t the gender swap—it was her arm.
“You really did get a new arm, just like you said there was a way to fix it!”
After arriving at the Capital of the Empire, Sweet wanted to accompany Raven.
He was concerned about the arm that was severed by the Black Phantasmal Rabbit.
But Raven politely declined and reassured Sweet that there was a way.
Even though he didn’t show it outwardly, Sweet was deeply worried about Raven.
Seeing Raven in good health now made Sweet’s worries disappear, replaced by a sense of relief.
―――
-What?
-Raven was a woman?
-??
-Developer’s foreshadowing, lol.
-Is this real?
―――
Whether they knew Sweet’s inner feelings or not, question marks filled the chat window.
It made sense for viewers to react this way since no one ever imagined that Raven would turn out to be a woman.
Theories that only circulated in certain galleries had become reality. Who could have predicted this?
“I’m really glad.”
Afterward, Sweet enjoyed his reunion with Raven.
They talked about why Raven had been hiding her gender.
They reminisced about the time they fought the Black Phantasmal Rabbit.
It was a warm and friendly conversation, like reuniting with an old friend.
Then, something unexpected happened.
Thump—!
A heartbeat that he had never felt before while playing Akare.
Thump—!
Every time he spoke while looking at Raven, it felt intense.
“Uh…”
His face felt hot, and he started feeling a strange warmth.
Something was definitely wrong.
“I think I’ll get going.”
Sensing that something was off, Sweet quickly left the scene.
“Guys, I’m wrapping it up for today.”
Sorry.
After saying his goodbyes hastily, he logged out of the game.
Sweet, having exited the capsule, placed his hand over his heart.
Thump—!
He could still feel his heart pounding even in reality.
—
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