NOVEL NEXT Chapter 40
Rest is indeed a precious thing.
A week’s grace period before the finals of the tournament.
On the first day, I went out with Ji-yeon.
The second day was a rest due to unsatisfactory condition from going out.
On the third day, I rolled around in my blanket and before I knew it, a whole day had passed.
And so, today is the day we face.
The sweetness of laziness is truly sweet and more sweet.
Ah, how I want to be a wealthy unemployed person.
As I rolled around in my blanket, clutching my phone, messages began to fly in at the top of my screen.
Not messages directed at me, but notifications from the team Discord.
When team members practice for the tournament and share information, they flood the chat with notifications whenever they need to discuss something.
In truth, I didn’t need to practice.
After all, I had been grinding this game for years.
If I were to exaggerate a little, even just running simulations in my brain would keep my skills sharp.
Taking a few days off wouldn’t make me worse.
I had no physical issues, so I just needed to warm up my hands before the tournament, right?
So, with time on my hands, I forced my heavy body to rise and sit in front of the computer.
Everyone else was practicing, and I felt guilty just taking a break.
After all, I’m the team leader; shouldn’t I set an example?
[Mollru: If you need help, just let me know. I’ll be waiting.]
Leaving a message, I turned on the stream.
The chat was filled with “turn on the stream” comments since I hadn’t streamed for two days.
It was ridiculous like some Indian rain dance.
[You finally turned it on, huh?]
[Seriously, it took you long enough to start!]
[Thank you, thank you, thank you, teacher!]
[Why are you logging off right after the tournament? I was prepped to donate generously.]
[A streamer who unusually repels viewers like an ant.]
“That day, I wasn’t feeling well, so I logged off early.”
[Oh, I see.]
[Your team members were swarmed by locusts during the game, I sent them nicknames in whispers so check!]
[For real, those are some serious pest-control players.]
“Was that what happened? But what’s a pest-control player?”
[A group that likes people with disproportionate skills, good gameplay, and pretty hands.]
[That’s your fanbase.]
[Mollru’s stream pest-control players, yeah.]
“Fanbase, huh…”
I was seriously worried about how my stream’s image would be perceived by others, but it seemed like that name had already been established, so changing it was out of the question.
I just hoped there wouldn’t be any major controversies.
<Mama Mollru donated 1000 won!>
– What are you up to today?
[Isn’t the team practicing?]
[This guy is a lazy genius, so probably not.]
[But the other team members are practicing.]
[They might turn off the stream to practice due to strategic leaks.]
[The leader is surprisingly the brain behind things.]
[Ordering is sexy.]
[Shall we analyze the semifinals?]
“Analyze? The commentators probably already covered everything. And you’ve seen a lot from other team members’ streams.”
Now, finding out why we made certain plays or what direction the team was moving in at the time, along with the players’ feelings, could be purely enjoyable.
It was closer to a grind concept.
Not that appealing as an option.
It felt wrong to just run EOW again.
Should I order a drink like last time? That would be more fun at night.
“Let’s find a new game.”
Immediately, I set out on a quest for a new game.
As a multipurpose game broadcaster, I needed to try various games.
In this world where new games are popping up like daisies, there were indeed numerous entertaining titles available.
Many games looked fun, but I decided to choose carefully.
After all, as a streamer and YouTuber now, it was better to find games with a “honey-fun” point that could give rise to videos.
This is… troublesome.
Not being able to choose an interesting game was distressing me.
After all, you can’t recognize a game’s true value just by reading the description.
As if understanding my torment, a compromise was proposed.
[Let’s just try it, and if it’s lame, we’ll switch games.]
[Shall we try it?]
[People usually discover games while playing.]
Right, no one’s perfect from the start.
Everyone grows through trial and error.
I scrolled back up to find a game that looked interesting from before.
Shall we start with this?
I picked a game featuring a cute girl character holding a microphone with a bright smile.
[Oh, teacher, that one—]
[Were you a weeb?]
[This is seriously embarrassing.]
[I feel painfully relatable right now, LOL.]
[With all this, where are you heading, teacher?]
“What’s wrong with Rhythm Master Idol?”
Rhythm Master Idol.
A game where you help an unknown idol with dreams grow into a seasoned musician was the storyline.
But it wouldn’t have caught my eye if it was just that.
Uniquely, it was a rhythm game.
When players do well in the rhythm game, the story unfolds, progressing through stages.
I gave it high marks for both targeting a specific audience and letting me warm up my hands.
Of course, I was included in that specific audience.
– Hello, Producer-san!
The game started with a girl welcoming me with a bright smile.
Such a polite child.
[Ugh… ugh…]
[You really watch this stuff? You really watch this stuff?]
[Mom thinks our son is the best…]
[Hang in there! It’s the leader’s trick!]
[If you can’t endure this, you’re not a pest-control player, LOL. I’m going to take a nap.]
“Guys, just give it a chance before judging! Don’t you want to see Kazuha-chan become an idol?”
[Yes!]
[Kazuha-chan, I agree!]
[Why do I care about some random girl I just met becoming an idol?]
[She’s pretty though;]
I calmed the viewers and started the game.
Kazuha, who had spent years as an unknown idol, was in a situation where all her helpers, including her manager, had already left; only I could turn her into a professional idol.
“Shall we play a round?”
The plot begins to unfold.
To build up her recognition, Kazuha starts street busking.
Busking begins with basic sound equipment.
As she starts to sing, musical notes dance across the screen.
Just press according to the beat, right?
It’s probably easy since it’s a tutorial.
<Songpa Police Station donated 1000 won!>
– There’s a difficulty setting in the options; let’s raise it a bit; it looks too easy.
“Oh, really?”
Following the viewer’s advice, I pressed the options menu and adjusted the difficulty.
Easy, Normal, Hard, and Hell.
They even have a Hell difficulty prepared.
This game doesn’t seem half-baked.
[Can’t resist Hell mode LOL.]
“I can’t resist, right?”
Immediately I choose Hell mode.
A real woman doesn’t hesitate.
I move to the next stage.
After successfully finishing the busking, Kazuha decides to enter an idol survival program.
Thus begins the audition.
The first stage commences.
“Wow, this is no joke!”
[Legendary!]
[Is this a god game?]
[Can I even hit this? Just watching makes me dizzy.]
A flurry of musical notes showers down.
Even though the song Kazuha is singing is a ballad, the notes evoke a funky hard rock feel.
I loosen my fingers and faced the incoming notes, cracking my knuckles.
With the sound of tapping keys, I clear the stage flawlessly.
[What the heck, LOL.]
[Good physical moves make it entertaining.]
[Is this… the true taste of rhythm games?]
The reactions are pretty good.
Riding the momentum, I move on to the next stage.
Having received good reviews, Kazuha is now ready to face the final stage that determines her debut.
To solidify her successful debut, she attempts an image transformation.
Kazuha takes on a girl crush hip-hop style.
With music that wildly varies in timing, she takes the stage.
“You cut your hair; I don’t like short hair.”
[Seriously, why the short cut?]
[It’s a character, so it grows back fast!]
[The singing’s nice though;]
After clearing about five more stages, the story reached its ending.
Now Kazuha was so used to the stage that she could be recognized as an artist.
As she sang for the filled audience, tears streamed down her face.
After coming off stage, she gazes up at me, glistening with tears, and expresses her gratitude.
– Thank you, Producer-san…!
Kazuha’s brightly smiling face captured in a snap became a photo added to the album, marking the ending.
“I finished it quicker than expected; it took just over an hour. Reviews said each character’s episode takes about 2 hours.”
[You were just too good, LOL.]
[I’m going to miss Kazuha-chan…]
[The top idol of our time, Ka. Zu. Ha.]
[Honestly, I thought it’d be bad, but the singing is good.]
[Just listen to it for a bit, LOL.]
[This makes people feel all sorts of weird.]
[Is this what a parent’s heart feels like…? Mom…]
[Parents who failed in raising their kids won’t feel this way, LOL.]
Looking at the audience’s reaction, it felt like I could play a bit more.
As I viewed the newly unlocked characters, I pondered.
“Three new characters have been unlocked—blonde, silver-haired, and redhead. There’s a variety of hair colors. I like the redhead.”
A girl with a somewhat prickly expression.
She looks like she could say, “Huh? I don’t need your help,” at any moment.
Her name is… Karen.
Thus, after designating Karen as the next idol to nurture, as I read her background description, I heard a voice in my ear.
<KazuhaLostNever님이 10000원을 후원!>
– You’re abandoning Kazuha? Didn’t you pledge to be together for life?
“Huh? Kazuha’s training is done. Now I need to grow another friend.”
[Look at how heartless you are.]
[Kazuha is probably still waiting for her new song’s production…]
[Are you heartless? Just switching to another girl?]
[These guys are way too invested, LOL.]
With the donation kicking off, suddenly a wave of criticism formed.
This was some serious unjustified backlash.
“Well, if you think about it, Kazuha abandoned me. She became successful.”
[Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
[Don’t slander our Kazuha.]
[Kazuha is a precious girl; you need to protect her!]
“How could you say that about your idol?”
“The ones who were going crazy before I started the game…”
Seeing how these people, more than anyone, are enjoying the game made me chuckle incredulously.