Chapter 50 : Advertising (1)

“I-Is there… no one?”

[Don’t say such awful things!]

Could I believe that the voice, seemingly rising from the depths of her heart, was filled with falsehood?
She insisted she was truly wronged, that everything she did was deliberate.
No matter how much she tried to explain, her words wouldn’t reach me.

Let’s rewind time a bit.
To before I said those words.

*

All popular streamers inevitably attract certain byproducts.
Sasaeng fans, toxic fandoms, stalking, and other various crimes.

Aside from these downsides, there are positive aspects too, right?
Like advertisements. Advertisements. You know, ads.

Even if collaborations were a no-go due to potential problems on my end, ads are a different story, aren’t they?
Since the target audience for ads encounters them online anyway, there’s no need to worry about my safety, right?

It would even be fine to put up banner ads and continue streaming.
Honestly, even though I’m still a week-old streamer, if I’m getting ads, success is guaranteed!

It’s not like I’m short on money.
If I just tweak the donation settings a little, money would come pouring in, but I’m not particularly interested in money.

Yet, the reason I’m talking about ads now is…

‘Let’s just say I had an interesting thought.’

No, that’s not it.
Of course, it’s so unnecessarily addictive that I briefly considered making one myself, but that wasn’t the direct cause.

Now that I’m somewhat aware of my situation, I won’t be going anywhere to film anything or meet anyone.
It seems best to just lay low at home and stream.

Oh! I’m not saying I want to become like Minotargun.
As the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I thought I should stabilize my surroundings first before thinking about anything else.

There are a lot of things I can do outside, you know.
Like going to a valley, or going on a trip with everyone.
Personally, I’d also like to fly a drone.

I’m digressing, but anyway, the reason I was thinking about ads here is…

“Mmm~ This smells really good!”

Our friend, Yena, got an advertisement deal.
Though she hasn’t been very reliable for the past week, she was a streamer with enough regular viewers to be called a major player.
Considering that her broadcast was my first exposure to this world after arriving, which helped spread the word faster, she’s definitely someone with proven success.

Even if, until yesterday, she was doing apology broadcasts by herself, wearing a black suit against a green screen without any text.
Even if she spent almost a week watching, no, *interrupting* other people’s broadcasts instead of her own scheduled stream time.
Even if she hosted a long-awaited viewer participation event and, blinded by jealousy, shot the viewer who came to help her with her own hands.

Surprisingly, none of this made it to the “Controversies / Mistakes” section of her TreeWiki page…

Anyway, it was natural for her to get an ad, and now she’s doing what’s commonly called a ‘chore stream’ – something you do reluctantly for the money.

The funny thing is, even knowing it’s an ad stream, viewers weren’t leaving.
They simply liked the streamer.
I think this world is better than the previous one in that aspect.

Among the viewers in my original world, there were true ‘stans’.
Those who excessively shielded or obsessed over streamers to the point of hindering their broadcasts.

They probably thought they were helping the streamer.
In the end, they became the reason why other ordinary people left the streams they enjoyed.

However, this world is a little different.
There are no men online to act as stans.
And doing so directly in real life is grounds for immediate imprisonment, even for the slightest misstep.

They watch the streams because they genuinely like the streamer and want to enjoy the content.
That’s why her interacting directly with them like this is beautiful.
It makes me almost want to do the same.

– Shut up and drop the formalities.
– The Demon King mourns the long slumber of his Four Heavenly Kings. Return quickly!
– You know you’re still not continuing your story game stream, right? Please, let’s see the ending!
– I thought you were finally streaming alone, but it’s a damn ad.

“It’s such a beautiful day. The birds are singing, the flowers are blooming…”

– This is getting old.
– Look at her, lost all her touch from just lurking in other streams.
– Lady! Get out of the room already!

Yena once told me that a broadcaster shouldn’t be swayed by others and should stick to their work.
Her advice, stemming from her experience when I first entered the world of streaming, was quite helpful.

She said that no matter what I do, people who like me will continue to like me and follow me.
Those who dislike me for no reason will continue to do so, so I shouldn’t worry about them and just do what I want.

But those words, which sounded so dependable and cool when I just heard them…

“On days like these, little brats like you… should burn in hell.”

…Could change so trivially.
She does exactly what she’s told not to do.

The chat is already a mess.
Viewers are leaving in real-time.
It’s supposed to be a sponsored stream!

– The final descent into the abyss… is when I… become a hopeless mess.
– A streamer who can’t keep up with the times?!
– Why not just switch to a content where you watch WooSeok’s stream?

Thanks to the viewers’ enthusiastic response, Yena, seemingly in high spirits, hummed and quietly went about her business.
Soon, the game’s logo appeared, filling the entire screen, and the actual advertisement began.

[Rise of Castle]

Huh? I saw that game yesterday.
Familiar heroes quickly flashed across the trailer.
Of course, only the names were familiar; their appearances were completely different.

“You know this is a popular game, right? The one advertised by that famous actor. Who am I again?”

– Jung WooSeok’s underwear thief.
– A four-time offender caught running away without paying at grandma’s diner.
– You give us the comfort of knowing we’re not living like that.

“I assume your low opinions of me stem from mere jealousy… but I’ll forgive you with my vast generosity! Anyway, the client gave me enough for a 10-pull. Mobile games are all about gacha, right? Let’s go!”

Countless claw marks filled the chat at her words, but since it was a sponsored stream, they seemed to let it slide, hoping for a quick end.
Usually, ads are done by maintaining a certain number of viewers for a certain amount of time, or by uploading to MeTube.

I don’t know how she got this ad deal, but it seems there was no requirement to maintain viewers.
Even now, viewers who came in expecting her long-awaited return are leaving in droves.

The tutorial was no different from any other mobile game.
Build your base, summon heroes, enhance them, defend your base.

You can also attack or plunder other players’ bases if needed.
Perhaps the only merit is the lack of VIP features.

Anyway, it’s a game that looks boring just watching it.

A game that seems to completely deny the essence of gaming itself.

The viewers’ reactions were no different.
They’re watching out of affection for Yena; few would genuinely want to play this.

– Was the Chinese butt that warm?!
– Mom, I think I’m going crazy. I think I’m going to eat lunch outside. I think I’m going crazy.
– Bring WooSeok!

Perhaps anticipating this reaction, Yena, who had turned off the chat in preparation for uploading to MeTube, remained unaffected.
The viewers could do nothing but pour out their frustrations to her, knowing she wouldn’t hear them.

Before starting the game, Yena went to the gacha screen. Among the various buttons surrounding the basic main character, the gacha button shone particularly bright, making it easy to access.

– The cash-grab is obvious.
– Damn, I checked and the game company is Korean.
– Money-grubbing Choi Yena…
– Seriously, the client gave her only 10 pulls for a game with 100 character slots?
– Is it even possible for there to be more 6-stars than 1, 2, and 3-stars combined? This game just launched today, lol.
– 3-stars are only 10%? Not 10% *less* than 90%, but only 10%?!

The graphics were excellent.
Judging by the tutorial Yena just played, I think the gameplay honestly captured the fun of classic games, with attention to detail.

Still, the gap between characters was too wide.
So-called ‘balance disaster game’.
Pay-to-win game.

As if anticipating the criticism, the probability of getting the highest-tier 6-star characters wasn’t bad at 5%.
If only there weren’t hundreds of them, and you didn’t need 100 slots for your team.

It’s understandable why they’re upset, considering the client only gave her enough for a 10-pull. The capsule toy market might be thriving, but the mobile game market isn’t dead yet.

As I said, the graphics were excellent, so the viewers who were complaining momentarily stopped to watch the gacha pull.

The gacha screen, like a sacred sanctuary prepared for a summoning ritual, gave a magnificent feeling to the viewer.
They should have put that much effort into balancing the game.

In line with the concept of borrowing the power of ancient heroes for their summoning, the currency used was gems themselves.
As Yena gathered the gems and offered them to the altar, a bright light began to pour out.

“Ooh! Where’d the girl who called this a trash gacha go? Isn’t this the guaranteed 6-star effect?”

– Crossing the line.
– Even if it’s a 6-star, it’s not a brag if she has tons of characters already.
– Still, it’s disgusting to see her so happy.

The light rising into the sky began to gather, transforming into a human figure and slowly descending.
The surprisingly long gacha effect made the result even more anticipated.

I know for sure that essential reroll characters or so-called ‘must-have’ characters won’t appear right away.
Still, isn’t it a gamer’s fate to believe in that slim chance and keep pushing, testing their patience?

Finally, when the white light descended onto the altar, it expanded, covering the entire screen.
Such unnecessarily flashy direction.
They must be determined to torture waiting gamers to death.

Soon, a faint voice began to echo from the blank screen.
Along with a description of the character.

[The greatest new streamer to ever blaspheme even the gods, Minotargun!]

“Hmm… I shall ask. Are you my s*ave?”

What are *you* doing here…?