Master Swordsman’s Stream - Chapter 108

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 108

Stream, a game distribution platform and subsidiary of Surface, was a massive corporation controlling 30% of the global game distribution market.
Yet despite their scale, they were far from well-regarded.
They were perpetually second-rate.
First place belonged to Crown, the traditional powerhouse that claimed 55% of the distribution market.
Since the PC era, Crown had wielded discounts from 50% to as high as 90%, a sinister strategy that opened the wallets of players who didn’t even game, and they had completely dominated the PC game distribution market.
That once-great company had since adapted most successfully to the era of virtual reality among existing corporations, and they were recognized for it.
While other companies lost market share to Surface’s subsidiaries, Crown boldly held onto its number-one position—a deserved evaluation.
“Now I’d like to hear the detailed reasons. Why would both fail?”
But Crown had lost Seo Jun.
Through numerous game developers they supported, they’d sent advertising offers to Seo Jun, but he hadn’t chosen them.
Instead, he’d chosen Two Heads are Better, an indie game that had been rejected by Crown from its early development stages and went to Stream instead.
Manager Kim had spoken about this situation like this:
That it would fail. That it was fine.
“Since it’s already happened and I was too busy to get the detailed reasons then, I figure I should hear them now.”
Perhaps it was because the broadcast had started smoothly.
Or perhaps he sensed some synergy intuitively.
With an inexplicable unease he couldn’t quite pin down, he pressed for the reasons.
Surface was the absolute monopoly of the virtual reality market.
With overwhelming technology, capital, and the advantage of being first to market, they had effortlessly pushed aside the traditional strongholds.
Fortunately, though.
‘If Surface had forbidden Stream from distributing virtual reality games, we would’ve simply collapsed outright.’
Interfering with fair competition would draw antimonopoly enforcement from courts worldwide, tearing the company to shreds and severely diminishing its influence.
For Surface, it would be like bending down to pick up loose change on the street, only to be hit by a speeding truck.
So Surface had left Stream alone, and Crown was able to survive.
But.
“Director, is there something that concerns you? Our performance during this Super Week was better anyway. Several games took off.”
“Contract positions are always unsettling.”
Game distribution platforms compete solely through exclusive titles that can only be purchased through their platform.
‘Whoever makes, supports, releases, and pushes the better, more fun games.’
In this respect, Stream was not at a disadvantage.
Even if they’re a discarded child, a parent is still a parent—and Stream’s parent is a conglomerate.
And so globally, Stream was fighting to seize Crown’s market share, at least without any shortage of funding.
Korea was their strongest-performing region.
Crown’s market share in Korea was 45%.
Stream’s was 40%.
Only a 5% gap.
From Crown’s perspective, this was a region where the water had risen to the brim.
Dangerous.
“Then let me explain the reasons the game will fail.”
Right after losing Seo Jun, Manager Kim had contacted Monster and obtained the final version of the game.
From Monster’s standpoint, you couldn’t completely sever ties with one side or the other—Crown or Surface—and this degree of thing happened regularly anyway.
“First, the reason the game will fail is simple. They never provided a solution in the final game to the problems we rejected early on.”
There were fundamental issues. The two-player game barrier. The fact that it was a co-op game, not a competitive one. The disjointed themes across each section, and so on.
“There’s careful thought behind every moment, and no matter how high we polish the completion, the fundamental characteristics of this game remaining niche is unavoidable. Cultivating mass appeal on niche ground is nearly impossible, and from what I can see, there’s no special breakthrough.”
The Director nodded.
They also supported niche games.
And among those games, only a tiny fraction had achieved mainstream popularity enough to influence market share.
The vast majority of niche works met a fate where, from the platform’s perspective, it was nice to have them but fine without them.
“So this game isn’t any different? A competently made but not mainstream indie game?”
“Yes, that’s right, Director. I ultimately requested the file and played it myself. It probably won’t fail. But this game’s performance won’t influence market share.”
“Then why did you say the broadcast would fail?”
That was the truly important question.
They don’t compete on gameability alone.
‘Streamers have power.’
The kind of influence that surpasses word-of-mouth and countless banner ads, creating an impact in a single brief clip.
This was the reason he was now wary of the current situation.
“Well… the first reason is a bit half-joking, to be honest.”
“Yes.”
“The character is ugly.”
“Excuse me?”

* * *

Two Heads are Better’s story can be summed up in one word.
Game Possession Story.
In genre fiction, a Game Possession Story typically refers to a long-time player of a game entering the game world due to some incident, and this game is similar.
The players are two indie developers who were making a game.
And it was the game’s fairy who sent those two developers into the game.
The reason the fairy put the developers into the game was?
“They fought while making the game and abandoned it. I remember the design document, so I know. But what does that have to do with them being ugly? And how does it relate to the broadcast?”
“Haha. Director, look. The players enter a game within the game. Story-wise, with toy bodies. So for realism, Monster used some unusual graphics technology. It’s a technique that subtly reflects actual appearances to create toy-like faces.”
To make it feel real.
Hoping it might become a hot topic through a somewhat unique experience.
There could be many reasons.
“The point is, that avatar will be ridiculous, and that will definitely work against the broadcast.”
The Director’s eyebrows rose.
“That streamer is handsome. Really handsome. Maybe that’s why—looking at his previous broadcasts, I can see he tries to play cool roles. He’s not used to being disfigured.”
“So throughout the broadcast, he’ll be unable to stop worrying about his deformed appearance?”
“Yes.”
Joking and trivial, perhaps.
“But everything falls apart from the start.”
It wasn’t without merit.

* * *

Seo Jun opened his closed eyes.
His vision was blurry.
After blinking a few times, his vision gradually came into focus.
“My body won’t move, everyone.”
Every part was bound. He felt trapped in a perfectly fitted mold.
He couldn’t even move his neck a little.
Fortunately, his mouth wasn’t blocked.
“Did I just enter the game?”
A moment ago, they had watched the intro.
It was an intro where a fairy appeared and spoke with the protagonist of the game inside the monitor.
The protagonist of the Game Within a Game had expressed dissatisfaction with the incomplete game and asked the developers to personally finish this world, and the fairy had agreed.
The likelihood was high that this current situation was the result.

-Oh
-We gotta catch those runaway developers hahahaha

“For some reason this feels like a toy packaging box.”
He was fixed in place inside some kind of container.
That was Seo Jun’s current position.
“Hmm.”

-Just wait for now
-Yeah lol
-But how’s the graphics gonna work? Since we’re entering a Game Within a Game??? What about the Bangjang’s body?
-There’s no preview video and nothing visible yet haha

Either way, waiting was all there was to do for now.
He tried flexing his arm, but the restraints didn’t give.
“Where did Tae-woo go?”
That’s when it happened.
“What is this! Hey! Come over here.”
“Why?”
“There seems to be a Defective Product among the newly born toys.”
“Really? Let me take a look.”
From outside the dark container holding him, came the sound of clattering along with voices.
“This toy is one I’ve never seen before! Wait, is it even a toy?”
Could they see inside from outside?
“This is… a Defective Product!”
“A Defective Product? Our factory hasn’t had a single defect since the Queen took control of the kingdom!”
“Really?”
“What do we do? If word of a Defective Product reaches the Queen’s ears, we’re done for!”
“Then there’s no choice!”
“What is it?”
“We have to throw it away right now!”
“Yeah! Let’s throw it away!”
Seo Jun tried to echo their words.
“Yeah! Let’s throw it away!”
The toys didn’t listen.
There was no interaction.
Whoosh.
A floating sensation came over him, and Seo Jun began moving somewhere.
“It feels like riding in a palanquin.”
Seo Jun relaxed into the motion.

-You’re being disposed of, it seems?
-The Game Within a Game’s world is a toy world haha
-Wait, does that mean Bangjang becomes a toy version?
-Some games like this do give you separate avatars, so it’s possible
-Hahaha normally things get hilariously deformed, I wonder what happens to Bangjang hahaha

“Hmm, like this. Does the avatar change?”
It wasn’t uncommon for avatars to change, not just costumes.
But Seo Jun was still a newbie who had played only two games.
The audience’s anticipation about this was visible in the chat.

-I guess? And if it does change, it usually gets funny hahahaha
-Really, please change
-Then I’d buy that game right away hahahaha
-Oh Heavenly Demon, please…
-The Demonic Cult guys are probably devastated thinking the Heavenly Demon might become a toy hahahaha

They were dying to tease Seo Jun.
But his actual reaction was quite subdued.
‘What, they want to tease me that much? Honestly, I don’t care.’
For the sake of the broadcast’s entertainment and the game’s success, Seo Jun played along and showed reluctance.
“Ugh…”
If Tae-woo had been next to him, he would’ve called him out for being bland, saying it was obviously acting, but he wasn’t there now.

-Hahaha Bangjang was shocked
-Since it’s a forced broadcast, you can’t even close it, right?
-Please Monster, you can do it!!!!!

The broadcast’s entertainment value increased further.
“Well. Now let’s throw this in the Waste Disposal Plant!”
“Unfortunate. To be born defective of all things.”
Just then, with a grinding sound, Seo Jun felt the sensation of a ride dropping right before the fall.

* * *

A cutscene began playing.
The Waste Disposal Plant, piled high with garbage.
A hole in its surface opened, and weak light filtered through.
And from that hole, a box fell.
‘That’s probably me.’
Thud.
As it collided with the ground, the contents of the box spilled out from the impact.
Then after a moment, the hole on the opposite side opened as well.
Another box fell.
This time the contents didn’t spill out, and Seo Jun regained his body.
“Oh.”

[Damn, it hurts. Where am I. A junkyard? Why am I here? I was definitely planning a new game yesterday.]

A narration flowed out.
It was what Seo Jun’s character was saying.
The narration continued, and Seo Jun moved toward the second box as the dialogue guided him.
“Open it! Please open it!”
“It’s Tae-woo.”

-It’s Tae-woo
-Tae-woo haha
-I’m sure he’s supposed to be stuck as intended by the developers, so why does he give off an air of causing trouble hahahaha

“The narration says to tear open the top of this box and open it. Hmm. But…”
“Open it quickly!”
“Got it.”
Seo Jun grabbed the top of the box as instructed and opened it.
The moment Tae-woo burst out, light came into the space where they had fallen, brightening it.
As it brightened, they could tell.
“Ah, so that’s why.”
His senses had felt a bit off earlier.

-Hahahahahahahahahaha
-Tae-woo became a toy?
-Yeah lol so ridiculous-looking hahahahaha

The avatar had changed.
The surface had a plastic-like texture, and the graphics were different from typical games.
Most notably, the face.
“Why! Why!!”
It had subtly reflected his real appearance, transforming into a toy doll-like form.
The avatar change.
Was he experiencing it for the first time?
As the audience had hoped, Tae-woo’s face had indeed become ridiculous-looking.
But why was Tae-woo shrieking?
Despite having experienced this kind of thing many times before.
And the reason was.
“Why is that bastard… Did you bribe Monster?”
The viewers watching Tae-woo’s stream simultaneously provided the answer through their donation.

[‘ThisCompletes’님이 30,000원 후원!]
[Intact vs Shattered?]

It was a fresh start.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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