Chapter 19
[Indie Minor Game Gallery]
Sudden debauchery of Master Kim, and thereafter, the appearance of Master Kim on Sweet’s stream.
After a series of events, the hype in the in-game gallery began to peak.
―――
Seeing the hunting ability of the mage.jpg [250]
Fact: Warriors are better in boss battles [456]
Mage << It’s clear we need normalization [333] Clip of Sweet being torn apart by the dungeon boss [289] At the lowest, the mage; at the highest, the warrior. Just memorize it [571] ――― Two facts revealed as the two continued to grind through dungeons. The mage had overwhelmingly good hunting skills but couldn't shine in boss battles. The warrior showed tremendous performance in boss fights but wasn't good at hunting. When Sweet reached level 14 and Master Kim reached level 16, They finally succeeded in taking down the Dark Minion, with Master Kim contributing 71%, leading to his victory. ――― [Title] They said the mage was overpowered, but that bubble burst quickly. (Raid report card for Dark Minion) A skill set suspiciously focused on area attacks. The cooldown on the only mobility skill is a whopping 40 seconds. Mana depletes quickly without even cycling through skills a few times. And there's a stupid mechanism that forces you to keep your mouth shut. Ah... thank you for your hard work until now. Now, rest easy, JOAT. (Black and white pic with a staff photoshopped into the memorial shot) Upvotes 550 Downvotes 275 ――― [Comment 568] Surprisingly, just an hour ago, the warrior was treated like this. ㄴSkipping the Gold Cup and shifting tactics is hilarious. ㄴIt’s obvious because only game haters gather here. ㄴPublic opinion manipulation is legal, lol. ――― [Title] So, why do you trust the Director's words so blindly? (A composite pic of Aurora with her eyes closed, looking up) Do you really think it's reasonable for the Director, who isn’t an idiot, to openly favor one class? I bet they’re munching popcorn while watching the state of the in-game gallery, lol. Upvotes 445 Downvotes 99 ――― (Emblem manipulation cute girl con) ㄴWhat's balance manipulation? ㄴF***ing b*tch. ㄴDoing everything alone. These idiots who change their overpowered characters every week. ㄴA week? Here it changes every hour, lol. ㄴIt's always WWE here, what’s the problem? ㄴIt’s a Korean trait to see others’ rice cakes as bigger. ――― [Title] A summary of the domestic RPG balance.txt 1. My character must be strong. 2. Must be stronger than theirs. 3. But they must also be strong. 4. Still, I must be stronger. ······ ······ ······ 16. Even with perfect balance, patches should happen often. 17. But I don’t trust developers (my character is weak). 18. Public opinion must be excluded as much as possible while patching. 19. But you must listen to me. 20. What I say isn’t public opinion. (Surprised frog image) Being purely in the in-game gallery gets a massive upvote. Upvotes 800 Downvotes 31 ――― [Comment 682] What was summarized in the middle? What was the blank century? ㄴThe content beating rice gulls is getting censored at the author's request. ㄴEvery time those rice-eaters see that, they terrorize the author’s YouTube. ㄴWow, truly, rice-eaters are a social evil. But can Akare also feed on rice? ㄴWe'll only know once it’s officially released. ㄴThey were already preparing for rice-eating. ㄴLet’s use the term dark gamer instead of the derogatory name rice-eater. ――― It was impossible to satisfy everyone. Just spending an hour lurking in the in-game gallery reveals that truth. *** Akare's balance is not perfect. Since it’s based on an actually existing another world, even more so. After all, perfect balance doesn’t necessarily equate to fun in gameplay. That doesn’t mean I’ll just toss balance together carelessly. "Interviews..." Many emails had come to the official author info I had left. Among them, there were particularly many requests for interviews. It wasn't that I didn't want to try having an interview at all. During the beta test period, I was too busy, and if I were to do an interview, it would be better to wait until after the beta testing ended. "I also need to think about BM-related plans..." BM. Simply put, it's about real money transactions. Currently, Akare didn’t have any BM structure at all. At the time of Akare's development, I hadn’t even thought of BM. Recently, a small desire for a more prosperous life has emerged. Thus, what is needed is money. In the cold, capitalistic modern life, money is essential. In order to earn money through Akare, I wondered what good methods there could be. 'I don't want to replicate the BM structures of domestic RPGs.' I didn’t want a structure where just spending money gives you "Wow! It’s fun to stomp on a 3-year free user." At least, I didn’t want to offer that kind of fun in the game I create. "Surely, selling avatars would be the standard." As a creator, selling the most trendy outfits from each era for money would sell well. To a stranger, it might seem ridiculous to spend money on clothes that are just data fragments. But in reality, most cases involved purchasing data fragments that are more expensive than the clothes someone actually owns. "I need to quickly develop the affection system." First up, the NPC to launch the affection system would likely be Raven. "If raising affection would allow you to dress the NPC in avatars too..." I’d sell items like swimsuits, maid outfits, uniforms for cash. Will this sell? It seems so, but according to my expectations, it would probably sell like hotcakes. Princess Raven flaunting a swimsuit? Princess Raven serving in a maid outfit? How could male players possibly endure this? The reverse is just the same. Prince Raven in a swimsuit, Prince Raven in an impeccably dressed uniform. Especially, female players sensitive to such fashion won't be able to hold back. "Uhehe... I’m going to rake in the dough." Just imagining being buried in stacks of cash and bathing in the happiness of capitalism was thrilling. "I'll just add it when the beta test ends and it officially launches." I jotted down what I wanted to release during the official launch in my notebook. ――― BM addition (avatar). Affection addition (Raven). The King of the Dead, Elder Lich Raid preview (trailer). New normal job, Spirit Summoner addition and preview release. Planning and conducting an event for the official launch. ――― "Advertising... is still a bit much." Having nearly zero income from Akare now, advertising starting from several million won was just a dream. "Taking a loan for advertising would be a bit uncomfortable too." No matter how earnest I am about Akare. Becoming a credit defaulter? No matter how much I think about it, that's a no-go. "Master, will the uhehe mode not launch then?" "What?" Akachan, who had quietly been listening to my plans, threw out a question I couldn't comprehend. "Uhehe mode." Swoosh- swoosh- With Akachan's extremely vulgar hand gestures, I inadvertently covered my face with both hands. "Sexual content mode. Groundbreaking content..." "Absolutely not!" Whack! I struck Akachan’s head with a paper stick rolled from a stack of documents. *** Sweet leveled up smoothly through her party hunt with Master Kim. Most importantly, she was feeling quite good receiving the 'Obsidian Staff' dropped by the boss monster of Cradle of Dark Magic, the Dark Minion, from Master Kim. [Level Up!] "It's getting a bit hard to gain experience now." With Sweet just having reached level 19, she gazed at the Obsidian Staff with longing eyes. The level restriction for the Obsidian Staff is level 20. Just one more level to wear it, but. "I think I'll call it a day and take a break." "Are you leaving already, Master?" Master Kim, showing signs of fatigue, announced his rest. Feeling unable to hold him back, Sweet sent him off. "Oh, if you go to the plaza now, something good will happen." "The plaza? Why there? What good thing is it?" Master Kim just smiled, gave no answer, and logged out of the game. "Well then... I guess I'll slowly…?" ――― Oh oh. You stay behind. You’ve only streamed for 15 hours. You have to fill 24 hours ㄱㄱ. Time passes by quickly. ――― The usual stream shutdown build-up prompted immediate reactions from the viewers. As Sweet observed the public's mood, a playful smile spread across her face. "Just kidding, just kidding." There was still a lot of work to be done in Akare. First, I had to complete the regular inspection mission in the Underground Waterway. Secondly, I was curious about what the good thing Master Kim mentioned in the plaza was. I also wanted to explore new dungeons or hunting grounds, level up, and finally use the Obsidian Staff. ――― ㅇㅇ donated 10,000 won. - What do you think of the mage balance? ――― "I don’t think it’s bad? The hunting feels somewhat similar to... those hack-and-slash games. Definitely fun." After communicating with the viewers, Sweet dropped by the mercenary guild and completed some quests. Due to her high level, the experience gained as a reward felt quite little. Leaving her disappointment behind as she exited the guild, Sweet moved to the plaza. "I wonder what good thing it could be." How long did she wait in front of the massive fountain in the plaza? Step-step— "Hmm?" A woman who looked like a knight approached Sweet. As the beautiful woman she had never seen before stood before her, Sweet's gaze lost its direction. "Did you need something from me...?" "Hehe, have you already forgotten me?" The knight spoke as if they had met before, narrowing Sweet's eyes. Now that she thought about it, she had seen someone dressed similarly somewhere before. As Sweet slowly retraced her memories, she soon realized. "What? Raven?" Only then did she smile brightly. "You’ve become much stronger while I haven’t been watching." Sweet was taken aback by the fact that the person who was clearly a guy had shown up as a girl. But more surprising than the gender twist was her arm. "They said there would be a way to solve it, and wow, you really grew a new arm?" After arriving in the capital of the Empire, Sweet had intended to accompany Raven. She was worried about Raven's arm that had been severed by that Black Phantom Rabbit. But Raven politely declined, saying there were ways to resolve it, reassuring Sweet. Though she didn't show it outwardly, Sweet had worried about Raven a lot internally. Seeing her looking so healthy made all her worries disappear, replaced with relief. ――― What the...? Raven is a girl? ?? The developer knows the stuff, lol. Is this for real? ――― Whether or not Sweet was aware of this, a flurry of question marks filled the chat. It was understandable why the viewers reacted like this, because no one could have imagined Raven being a girl. The odd rumors floating in a certain gallery had just become reality, and who could have predicted that? "I'm truly relieved." After that, Sweet enjoyed her reunion with Raven. She also listened to why Raven had hidden her gender. They reminisced about their encounter with the Black Phantom Rabbit. Their conversation flowed warmly and comfortably, like that of long-lost friends. Then an unexpected turn of events occurred. Thump-! For the first time while playing Akare, a heartbeat that had never felt before resonated within her. Thump-! Each time she spoke while looking at Raven, it felt rough and intense. "Uh..." Her face felt hot, and she had a strange sense of warmth creeping in. This was definitely a signal that something felt wrong. "I guess I better go." Sensing something unusual, Sweet quickly left her spot. "Alright, guys, I'll end it here for today." I apologize. Quickly brushing off her remarks, she logged out of the game. After emerging from the capsule, Sweet immediately placed her hand over her heart. Thump-! The beating of her heart resonated even in reality.