Chapter 25
Even I thought I looked like a crazy woman.
To call Daehyeop Kim after watching that cutscene,
What? Did you enjoy the beta test?
Sometimes, when Aka-chan called me a troublemaker, I dismissed it as exaggeration.
But at this moment, I couldn’t deny those words.
‘Ah. I shouldn’t laugh.’
The corners of my mouth kept curling up.
It felt like the function to control my emotions was broken.
“Was it fun… Was it fun?”
Daehyeop Kim’s state was clearly abnormal.
Trembling hands. Shaking pupils. An agitated voice.
Daehyeop Kim, gritting his teeth, burst out the frustration he had been holding back.
“Why, why on earth! Why does Raven have to suffer like that?”
After venting his emotions, Daehyeop Kim took a deep breath.
“Why are you getting angry at me?”
“…What?”
When I asked as if I truly didn’t understand,
Daehyeop Kim glared at me as if he wanted to kill me.
Oh dear, how scary.
“The one you should be angry at isn’t me, Daehyeop Kim.”
Snap.
With a snap of my fingers, I brought up a scene from the cutscene Daehyeop Kim had just seen.
I zoomed in on the image of Elder Lich from that scene and showed it to Daehyeop Kim.
“I didn’t do anything to Raven.”
I spun a lie disguised as the truth.
Reciting lines from an obvious act that no one would be fooled by.
“The one who destroyed Raven’s kingdom? It’s Elder Lich.”
“The one who tried to do the same in the Empire? Elder Lich.”
“The reason Raven had to sacrifice himself to stop it? Elder Lich.”
The source of all this was Elder Lich.
The root of all evil was Elder Lich.
“I am not the enemy of the players.”
Elder Lich is the enemy of all players.
“I truly hope you defeat Elder Lich and save Raven.”
It was genuine. I preferred healing over devastation, happy endings over bad ones.
“So, there’s no reason to be angry at me.”
Taking out your emotions on an innocent person does no good.
“Hah, haha…”
At my absurd words, Daehyeop Kim let out a hollow laugh.
It felt like the overflowing emotions within Daehyeop Kim had cooled down somewhat.
“I will fulfil what the Director desires.”
But it didn’t seem like the fire in his heart had completely burned out.
His provocative gaze said as much, as did the firm determination in his voice.
“I look forward to it.”
Excess in anything is never good.
Why, as the saying goes, “Too much is as bad as too little.”
I wanted Daehyeop Kim to continue enjoying Akare for a long time.
So, I pulled this stunt and spouted those absurd words.
…Though, to be honest, I did have a bit of a selfish desire to mess with Daehyeop Kim.
“Ah, I’ll save my answer to the Director’s question for later.”
“Huh?”
The corners of Daehyeop Kim’s mouth slightly lifted.
“I’m not sure yet if Akare is a fun game.”
What.
Before I could even ask if he truly thought that,
Daehyeop Kim logged out right then and there.
“I’ve been had.”
To turn things around like this, as if to calm down and get back at me.
But I didn’t feel bad about it; it made me laugh.
“I think making Akare was worth it.”
I started to look forward to whatever fun things might happen next.
―――
[Indie Minor Game Gallery]
The last day of the Beta Test.
The surge of users in the game gallery was unprecedented.
And just as many posts flooded into the top lists.
―――
Aurora Director << Record-breaking crazy woman [519]
“Why are you getting angry at me?” LOL [601]
Compilation of Daehyeop’s facial expressions during the interview with the Director.jpg [498]
“Did you enjoy the Beta Test?” LOL [515]
I drew fan art of Raven after watching Daehyeop’s stream today [584]
―――
[Title] Aurora Director << Record-breaking crazy woman
(Meme of “Did you enjoy the Beta Test?”)
(Meme of “Why are you getting angry at me?”)
Wearing a mask during the first live stream? Crazy LOL
Seeing her try not to laugh, she’s practically a devil.
Likes 1010, Dislikes 1
―――
[Comment 519]
I’m taking her as my bride and locking her away from society.
ㄴI can keep her locked up for 10 months too.
ㄴWhat, are you guys insane? LOL
ㄴEveryone’s so brave behind their screens, huh? Yeah, sure.
Is it normal to find her craziness cute?
ㄴIt’s normal.
ㄴWould it be normal?
ㄴDamn, what do you want us to say?
―――
[Title] I drew fan art of Raven after watching Daehyeop’s stream today
(Meme of Raven being brainwashed by Elder Lich)
Actually, it’s not fan art.
I used AI to generate it.
Turned out pretty decent, right?
Likes 100, Dislikes 1950
―――
[Comment 584]
These AI maniacs deserve to be wiped out.
ㄴHonestly, I got excited just looking at the meme.
ㄴRaven NTR is so damn hot.
ㄴ*(Unicorn bleeding meme)*
Let’s use ‘shall’ here.
ㄴOh, sure.
ㄴWhy are you taking it out on the gallery, damn it.
ㄴThis is the mod’s fault for not managing the trending posts.
―――
The game gallery was filled with stories about me.
Along the way, people called me a crazy woman, a lewd woman, a turn-on, and so on…
I saw plenty of people who didn’t fear lawsuits, but I didn’t care.
After all, I used to be a man.
…Though, I’m a woman now.
Anyway, the fact that stories about me continued to circulate as hot topics was a good thing.
At the very least, it was proof that what I did yesterday was entertaining to them.
―――
[Title] So when’s the official release?
No official announcements yet?
They’ll release it soon, right?
Likes 0, Dislikes 0
―――
[Comment 4]
They said it’ll be out soon after the Beta ends.
ㄴIs that official?
ㄴIt’s official because I think so.
ㄴDamn, it’s just your headcanon.
―――
Questions about the official release date also popped up from time to time.
Indeed, there hadn’t been an official release date set yet.
Since none had been set, there was naturally no discussion about it either.
“Communication… is needed.”
I wanted to start an official broadcast to communicate directly.
But it didn’t seem wise for the game’s Director to frequently show their face.
“Recently, we held a live draw.”
And while it wasn’t official, I did make an appearance on Daehyeop Kim’s stream.
Since my goal was ultimately the game’s success, I had to be cautious about official broadcasts.
‘Should I just compile everything into an announcement?’
I reviewed the collected data, focusing on the adjustments made to certain standout classes.
And the content updates developed during the Beta Test.
The upload of the first raid boss trailer, featuring Elder Lich.
Putting all of this together in an announcement would certainly be convenient.
“Hmm…”
But I kept thinking about how I was too stiff and nervous during the first live broadcast.
I could have done better. I’m confident I can do it better now.
That thought kept nagging at me, clouding my judgment.
“Ah, should I just do both?”
As I pondered, a brilliant idea popped into my head.
Post the announcement, then review its content in an official broadcast.
After all, there are plenty of people who can’t read past three lines of an announcement.
A “preview” stream for those people would be lighthearted and wouldn’t hurt.
“Let’s proceed with that…”
But there was still one issue left to tackle.
Balance patch.
Which classes needed adjustment?
The data from the past week had already revealed the truth.
Two classes showed particularly outstanding performance.
“Martial Artist. Mage.”
In the case of Martial Artist, there was a problem with Forward Leap.
Daehyeop Kim discovered the stack system of Forward Leap.
This stack system was actually a mechanism I had intended.
Naturally, considering balance, it was designed to allow only up to 3 stacks.
However, Daehyeop Kim raised the correction level and used Forward Leap up to 6 stacks.
This was not my intention at all.
It was strange in the first place for a single punch to change the terrain.
This part was clearly ‘abnormal,’ so I boldly applied a nerf.
The number of direction changes for Forward Leap, limited to a maximum of 3 times.
“The mage is also a serious problem.”
If I were to give an example of a proper mage, Sweet would be a prime example.
Using the cooldowns of the first awakening skill.
And dealing consistent damage with the basic attack, Energy Bolt.
This was the early-game mage play I had envisioned.
But another mage beta tester played differently from Sweet.
There are many ways to cast magic.
Chanting, breathing, movement, imagination.
Four methods refined through countless ages of history.
These methods were information that mage players could learn by talking to Raven in the Forest That Devours Darkness.
Among the beta testers who chose the mage, there was someone who used this information to use ‘Energy Bolt’ in a new way.
Usually, Energy Bolt is cast with the movement of swinging a staff.
But that mage also used chanting to cast Energy Bolt.
As a result, two Energy Bolts were fired.
It consumed twice the mana as well.
The problem was that this wasn’t limited to Energy Bolt.
Fireball, Frostbite, even Blink.
All magic skills could be used this way.
“Double casting.”
A mage technique that allows using the same spell twice simultaneously.
Of course, this was another intended mechanism of mine.
But for the metrics to stand out this much just from double casting?
In the future, they’ll be able to use triple casting, quadruple casting, or even multi-casting to use different spells simultaneously.
With that future in mind, I had no choice but to normalize the mage.
Weak in the early game, but a powerhouse in the late game.
“It pains me.”
To have to cut down a mage that feels like a second life to me.
The cruel reality made my heart ache, but it was a job that someone had to do.
I summarized the update content and posted it on the official site.
***
After the Beta Test ended, Sweet did not start his broadcast at the usual time the next day.
Sweet’s viewers took it as another one of WWE’s usual occurrences.
But in reality, Sweet didn’t skip the broadcast because he didn’t want to stream.
“Raven said he would wait.”
It was still vivid in his mind.
The image of Raven standing on the magic circle, saying his final farewell.
The sight of Raven smiling sadly, asking to be saved.
It remained vividly in his mind, refusing to be forgotten.
Whenever Raven came to mind, memories of that cutscene would surface as well.
Grit
Helplessness. Anger. Regret. Various negative emotions.
At the end of it all, he was left blaming his own incompetence.
Sweet looked at his reflection in the mirror.
For several days, he hadn’t gotten proper sleep, and his dark circles were deep.
His complexion didn’t look good, and his skin was pale.
Pfft—!
Laughter burst out naturally.
“…What the hell am I doing.”
Pathetic. Truly.
A glint of determination returned to Sweet’s eyes.
“The preview official broadcast… It’s happening later, right?”
The Beta Test was already over.
Once the official release happens, he would start over again from the beginning.
It was time to put behind the precious memories and prepare to move forward.
Sweet, who was usually playful and friendly.
But now, the face reflected in the mirror was filled with resolute determination.
“I will definitely kill him.”
Elder Lich.
Swallowing the unfinished epilogue.
Sweet sat down in front of the now unfamiliar computer.
[Sweet’s broadcast has started. – Talk 1 second ago]
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