I Became a Malicious Streamer

“You’re right, Kim Dae-ri.”

As I was getting ready to start work after coming in, the team leader threw that remark in.

What does that mean? Kim Dae-ri paused his typing and asked back.

“What do you mean?”

“Our advertisement. We offered it to Mollru but got rejected.”

“Rejected?”

“It’s been a while since we sent it, and whether she read it or not, we haven’t heard anything back.”

The team leader clicked his tongue while stirring his mix coffee.

“I told you it wouldn’t work. She’s someone who doesn’t take on ads anyway, and I figured she’d be even busier these days.”

“I thought if Mollru were a real gamer, she’d want to play our game… It’s a shame.”

“Was the offer made via email?”

“Yeah. Since I don’t have her personal contact, that’s the only way I could reach her.”

“With all the emails piling up, she probably hasn’t even seen our game.”

“Really that much?”

As a former die-hard fan of Mollru who opened about being a Molbu, Dae-ri informed about the current situation of her streams.

If I had to guess, countless emails must have piled up, including ads from other industries.

The team leader sighed.

“No matter how I think about it, Mollru is perfect… There’s no one like her…”

“I know, right.”

Dae-ri agreed wholeheartedly.

Even if the game was terrible, just having Mollru play it would lead to significant ripple effects.

But Dae-ri thought the game currently being released wasn’t bad at all.

Not because it was from his company, but objectively speaking, it was at a decent level.

Such a thing naturally led to greed.

‘They said they broke up with their girlfriend to make this…!’

He worked hard through late nights and even weekends.

He asked his girlfriend for understanding, and she seemed okay with it, but it turned out she was just saying that.

As days passed, their once steady communication dwindled.

A ghosting breakup. His love ended in the worst way.

Given all the effort he put into creating the masterpiece, half-hearted promotions just wouldn’t cut it.

Mollru, sitting at the top of the current streamers and someone who was uproarious in the industry due to being unable to take on ads, had to do it.

‘The first problem is just reaching her.’

The email was botched. No way to properly check it now.

The switch whisper was also closed off since she had been harassed by trolls recently.

No matter how he tried to contact her, it remained a problem.

Could he attract Mollru’s interest enough to prove their game was different from others?

That was the key to whether she could voluntarily promote it.

Was there a good idea out there?

“How much do you think the advertisement budget is?”

“The CEO seemed to like my explanation, so they allocated more than expected for the budget.”

“This much? Did they start talking about MZ or something on top of that?”

“How did you know? They were absolutely losing it.”

In this respect, he was a senior worthy of respect. He had a knack for sensing the CEO’s weaknesses and sucking up like that.

It was a substantial amount to be considered an advertising budget, to the point of being wasted on a one-time ad.

‘Must it really be one-time?’

A sudden question arose. Usually, game advertisements set conditions for at most one day’s broadcast.

But with this kind of budget? There might be room for other ways.

A good thought popped into Dae-ri’s mind.

“How about a challenge?”

“A challenge?”

“It’s gonna be like everyone’s festival.”

A challenge, a marketing strategy that hard soul-like games attempt at launch, where clearing it is difficult and a huge reward is given to the first person to complete it, creating excitement both for streamers and viewers alike.

Dae-ri was suggesting they try such a challenge.

“I understand. But we’ll need to tweak the conditions slightly.”

“In what way?”

“Our game does have a difficulty, but it’s not as hard as those infamous titles. So instead, we could reward those who find hidden routes or easter eggs and endings. The world is vast, and we’ve hidden plenty intentionally.”

Just from that one inspiration, ideas started to flow out. Every one of his words was astute, as expected of a professional.

If you asked where their game focused the most effort, it could be said it was in open world and hidden features.

They had tucked away pointless MacGuffins and elements that wouldn’t be discovered unless by chance.

“That way, not just skilled streamers, but a variety of people will challenge it. It focuses on surprise rather than just physical skill.”

“Naturally, more people would gather. If word of mouth spreads properly, that is.”

“Well… that makes sense.”

Depending on the prize amount, the rumors would spread more exaggeratedly and swiftly.

This was an obvious statement.

“Promoting through an unspecified group rather than a set number of people… not bad.”

“If it goes well, Mollru will likely participate. To me, it seems that she’s more interested in these events than money.”

“Then that can’t be any better.”

Gently poking the sleeping lion’s nose. Just enough to maintain curiosity without disturbing the lion’s mood.

“What if Mollru participates in the challenge but doesn’t win a prize?”

“Still, we wouldn’t be losing anything.”

“True. Even just her participation would provide sufficient promotion.”

‘But I don’t think that’ll happen.’

Dae-ri swallowed his next words. As a long-time viewer of Mollru’s streams, he had a gut feeling.

If Mollru participated in the challenge, she wouldn’t come back empty-handed.

*

[World.23 is coming to you streamers with a very special event!]

This announcement spread swiftly across the switch doorway and various communities.

A unique promotional method for what was claimed to be a new game, and the fact that the game company was a new player even to die-hard gamers, drew significant attention due to the substantial prize money offered in the event.

“Ten hundred… How much is this? They’re throwing this kind of money at a challenge?”

The hypothesis arose that an enigmatic wealthy individual had utilized their fortune to start a game company and develop their desired games as the challenge commenced.

-But why is the game’s name World.23?

-The notice emphasized that the world is vast, suggesting that might be its feature?

-Why add the 23?

-Released in 2023?

-Seems the company lacks naming sense for sure.

From small streamers to big corporations.

Due to the company’s stipulation that streaming was required upon discovering hidden routes or easter eggs, many new streamers also debuted.

All who learned through their own efforts or from viewers had participated for their own reasons.

Most of those reasons were money-related.

And among those not fitting into those categories, there was one person just beginning to download the game.

“This looks fun, just when I had nothing to do, perfect timing.”

Just as she completed the number of commentary rounds agreed with League.

Having entered a sort of break, Mollru also decided to join the challenge.

Today marked the third day of the World.23 challenge.

Though it was clear she was a latecomer, it didn’t matter.

She was participating out of pure curiosity anyway.

If she took on the challenge, it was likely she would spend quite some time streaming it.

The suddenly increased streaming hours made the viewers cheer wildly.

[The best game of this era, World.23]

[This year’s GOAT confirmed, no rebuttals accepted]

[Just the best game company A.T.X]

[Look at how the name doesn’t stick, lol]

[It will stick to the tongue soon]

[It was a long time of humiliation and torment… now it’s time to return to the glorious Molbu]

[It was so cold during the days without streams]

After completing the download, Mollru executed the game.

“Oh, this background music is nice!”

[A travel-themed BGM, right?]

[Is it medieval-themed?]

[The art style looks fantasy-like]

[It’s totally giving off traveler vibes]

She started the game while enjoying the music.

“First up is character creation; I can choose between male and female. They said there are many easter eggs, so might the conditions differ by gender?”

[Sounds plausible?]

[Looking at other streams played before, it seems so]

[Skipping details for spoilers]

[If you’ve seen it before on other channels, get out!]

[True Molbusy should be first-time viewers of Mollru’s stream, right?]

[For real, we need to exchange first experiences with Mollru]

[Whoa]

[Exchanging first experiences in World.23… that’s rare]

“Oh, there is customization too.”

Character customization allowed for detailed adjustments down to minor features.

“Ah… well, this kind of game makes customizing enjoyable.”

[What customization?;; Let’s speedrun already]

[That’s unexpected, I thought the leader wouldn’t care about customization]

[Yes, indeed. Customization is enjoyable]

[Let him enjoy himself~]

[This person truly came to enjoy, lol]

While other streamers darted around in a frenzy to find easter eggs and hidden routes,

Mollru’s stream continued peacefully and calmly.

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