NOVEL NEXT chapter 29
29 – Second Broadcast, Aftermath (4)
“Cha, are you talking about the final boss of the next game?”
At the general director’s declaration like a bomb, the man raised his voice without realizing it.
Currently, ‘Nightfall’ is a game that has sold record sales of 10 million copies in just over a month since its release.
It sounds very natural, but as usual with games that boasted such record sales, ‘Nightfall’ was also in a state where the release of a sequel was confirmed.
However, at the same time, only the release was confirmed, and the sequel was not yet ready for anything.
Let alone a plausible plan, it was at a level where even the concept or basic draft, starting with the title of the next work, was not grasped.
Even now, all the staff in the company are busy producing DLC for ‘Nightfall’.
But now, with nothing prepared yet, you’re going to make that sword master user appear as the final boss of the next game?
Is that general director really a sane person?
“That… what the hell is the reason? Didn’t you already suggest that you want to put that user’s battle data into the boss monster that is scheduled to be released as a DLC?
“Exactly.”
“… Yes?”
“We haven’t received any official reply from that user yet, but now, we can check that user’s appearance through a live broadcast on the Internet. What do you think that means?”
What is it? I guess he’s just doing his job.
Because that sword master’s job is not a streamer.
But the general director seemed to have a slightly different opinion on this.
“No, from what I saw, that swordsman user was doing that on purpose. Common sense suggests that if you don’t like our proposal, just send us a reply with something related to it. Yes?”
“… Yes, what.”
If you haven’t received any kind of New Year’s greetings, but if you’ve received an e-mail for business-related business, isn’t it polite and common sense to reply in some way?
“But now, that user turned on the broadcast as if we were watching without any reply. Moreover, that content is a duel with Ekklesia, a streamer who specializes in our company’s games.”
And at the end of a bloody battle, the Sword Master succeeded in defeating Ekklesia from the front and standing tall at the pinnacle of ‘Nightfall’.
“What did you think when you saw the duel from before?”
“Yes? Hmm… At first, I thought it was great. Even though it’s a game we made, it never occurred to me that a person could perform that kind of movement in that game.”
“And?”
“… And, to be honest, I felt like my blood was boiling for the first time in a long time. Looking at that user, the sword master, it seems that I am wrapped up in that feeling for some reason.”
Although they designed it themselves, at least in PVP, they never imagined that there would be a person in the world who could defeat the balance breaking weapon itself, the magic bullet gun, with just a single broken straight sword.
If you witnessed such an absurd scene right in front of your eyes, and you don’t feel anything at all when you see it, then you’re probably not qualified as a game maker.
Looking at the general director now, the man thought he was a crazy person.
However, on the other hand, I understood why he was making such a fuss about a user named Sword Master.
Even if I was myself right now, I was barely holding back the urge to immediately implement some of the ideas that sprang up when I saw a user named Sword Master.
“Shortly after receiving the offer from us, Geomju went on air and showed a new kind of physicality that he hadn’t shown before. A physical that was different from when he caught Ariandel or ‘The Ruler’, just like ours. As if to show off.”
From the perspective of the general director, the sword master’s actions meant only one thing.
“In other words, instead of making crappy negotiations with us to raise his ransom, he’s expressing his opinion indirectly. It’s a clever and graceful response indeed.”
It reminds me of the sophisticated language of aristocrats that only appears in storybooks- but the general director was admiring it inwardly.
Unsurprisingly, at that insane conclusion, the man left his mouth open in a daze.
“No… Why bother spinning things around like that? You just have to offer us the conditions you want and that’s enough-“
“That’s the mindset of a criminal. And he’s a person with a vessel that’s on a different level from those idiots.”
The general director continued his words with a wry smile.
“A normal streamer wouldn’t object to the producer’s proposal to create a boss monster using his battle data.”
Because it is quite an honor for the production company to make such a proposal, and it can also be an opportunity for the streamer to become famous.
“However, the sword lord rejected our offer and chose to film a joint broadcast with Ekklesia. In other words, he has a burning ambition that can never be satisfied with our proposal alone.”
That was because Eugene thought of Powell Software as an easy stick.
“Also, now that I think about it, the actions of the sword master also feel quite significant.”
“What else do you mean by that?”
The reasoning of the general director was very persuasive even for a man to listen to, so he started to listen to the bullsh*t in a daze, as if spilled on something.
“Don’t you think there’s something strange? The fact that a person of that size has been buried in obscurity until now, and only rose to prominence three days ago?”
“…Obviously, that’s kind of weird.”
“It’s very common in the world to become a star overnight. If you’re a person with that level of skill, it’s normal for your name to be known long ago. Even if it’s a non-virtual reality game. What that meant was-“
“It means that you were deliberately hiding your skills.”
That’s because it hasn’t been long since Eugene returned to Earth from another world.
“And the reason why the sword master was hiding his skills… It must be because he was looking for the right timing to sell his own value at the highest price.”
“That’s why I chose ‘Nightfall’ as the debut stage, where elements such as hidden routes and hidden bosses exist. If I succeed in pioneering a hidden route for the first time in the world, I can instantly become the center of attention.”
In fact, Eugene was forced to play because Winter declared that he would play Nightfall without consulting him.
Since the premise was wrong from the start, something crazy had to be drawn from the conclusion as well.
In fact, the truth is very simple once you know it, but there was no way the general director could figure out what the truth was at all.
The general director was a human with extremely normal common sense.
A person with common sense would not dare to imagine that Eugene had been kidnapped by another world for the past five years and returned to Earth only two months ago.
In this way, the general director of Nightfall has become a factory manager who produces all sorts of conspiracy theories over Eugene without even realizing it.
“Anyway, Sword Master is not a person who will ever settle for his current position. He is a man who has shown incredible patience, crouching down on himself for years to seize a single perfect opportunity.”
As expected by the general director, it is certain that sooner or later he will show off his greed without hesitation in order to go to a higher place.
And when the time comes, a company like Powell Software won’t even come into the swordsman’s mind.
Because he was an extremely arrogant human being who regarded the game Nightfall as a small stepping stone to achieve his ambitions.
“I don’t know what kind of ambition the Sword Master has in the end. But… If there is one thing that is certain, the moment we can make a ‘string’ with him is only now.”
It’s ridiculous that he has such ridiculous physique that he can’t succeed as a streamer.
In other words, the sword master’s ransom price at this moment is the lowest price in his entire life!
If you think that all of these things are the price to build a friendship with a future mogul and build a bond with him, they are not losing at all.
No, on the contrary, the possibility of making huge profits from this transaction in the distant future is also not zero!
“Second, General Director. How can you calculate that far in such a short moment…”
At the man’s admiration, the general director opened his mouth in a calm tone as if it was nothing.
“So contact Korea right now. Don’t forget to treat him as a partner on an equal footing with us, not just a streamer.”
***
“…Hey brother. Come over here and take a look at this. Quickly.”
“What is it? Just say it. It’s annoying to get up when you’re lying down.”
“That… Powell Software contacted me again. So, about ignoring Powell Software’s contact the other day and merging with Ecclesia.”
“Ah, by any chance, are they ignoring them and giving a damn about merging with Ekklesia? Seriously, I think someone would be scared if it came out like that-“
“…No, that’s not it.”
“That’s not what.”
“Hey, I’ll give you all the conditions you want, so you’re begging me to just sign a contract with us?”
“…?”