Chapter 92

The beta test for <Cosmic Osuary> wrapped up with great success.

Live viewers alone numbered in the hundreds of thousands, and when combined with MTube subscribers, nearly millions were watching.

Thanks to this event, V-TV saw a massive influx of new viewers, so you can imagine the impact.

Oh, and one more thing. About the hidden treasure—no one found it in the end.

I worked so hard to prepare gifts, but no one could take them. It was a bit disappointing.

So, where did I hide the treasure?

I didn’t hide it in a particularly difficult spot.

The first treasure~ is inside you~

I made it so that it would appear when players searched their first created spaceship. If the first spaceship got destroyed, it would switch to the next one. When I searched a spaceship to check the treasure, the owner screamed, “What the hell, it was here?!”

The second treasure~ is the companion you’ve been with all along~

I made it so that it would appear inside the first android the player purchased. Humanoid androids are expensive and not very practical, so I wasn’t sure if anyone would buy one, but thankfully, someone did.

Just like with the spaceship, when I opened the android’s belly to check, the owner screamed, “Give me back my daughter, you monster!”

The final treasure~ this is the classic rule of treasure hunts~

I hid it in the core of the starting planet.

Quite a few people searched the starting planet, but after the [Unified Alliance] was formed, they all disappeared.

When I revealed its location, a few who had been digging toward the core and joined the [Unified Alliance] screamed, “I told you it was there!”

Even now, I still don’t get it. Why couldn’t anyone find it when I hid it in such an easy spot?

Bunny Run responded to my confusion, “Who would think something as huge as the Freedom Game Creation License would be hidden in such an obvious place? You fell into your own trap.”

It’s not the Freedom Game Creation License, it’s just a treasure…

It’s not something huge, just a small gift I prepared with a light heart…

I even bought a nice wine and coffee machine after much thought…

Why does everyone only want the Freedom Game Creation License?

It’s so unfair.

I was watching a short titled <Han Yoorim, Who Dismantles Someone’s Daughter with a Smile> when I stretched and got up from my seat.

*Whoosh.* I opened the curtains, and the yard came into view. I nodded at the beautifully decorated yard.

Not as impressive as I thought.

Seoul was a typical overpopulated area.

Too many people lived on a small piece of land, causing property prices to skyrocket. So, living in a spacious single-family home in Seoul required an insane amount of money.

Right.

I spent a lot of money this time.

And I was slightly regretting it.

I thought staying in a mansion like in the movies would spark inspiration, but watching actual movies stimulated my creativity more.

If I knew this would happen, I should’ve just saved the money and bought an apartment.

I used the latest coffee machine that no one took to brew coffee.

The rich aroma of coffee filled the house.

It was wonderful.

I poured the coffee into a cup. And then.

I dumped it straight into the sink.

I never mentioned it, but I actually don’t like coffee.

Originally, it was because of caffeine’s side effects, and after becoming a Super Developer, I didn’t feel like drinking it much due to past memories.

Honestly. Now that I can eat sugar freely, drinking coffee feels a bit…

Hot chocolate is the best in summer.

I ate hot chocolate along with the many desserts I had delivered.

The taste of this blood sugar spike (Super Developers are exempt) never gets old.

Sweet stuff is the best.

After devouring the food, I stared at the coffee machine with a gloomy expression.

Coffee machine: “So, you’re just going to use me like this?”

Me: “Yep.”

At least I’m not throwing you away.

Do you want to end up like Pigeon Two?

Behave.

Luckily for the coffee machine, I’ve always been bad at throwing things away.

You can tell by the fact that I never threw away useless mechas.

“So, you didn’t end up using the mecha for anything?”

“Pape, how could you think of selling this poor thing to a scrap dealer? You really have no heart, huh?”

“You’re the one who wanted to sell it to the scrap dealer, you lunatic.”

On the day the server shut down, I went outside, reminiscing about what Pape had said.

As soon as I stepped out, Han Yooseong, my top-ranked cousin in my heart, came running.

“Noona, let’s go.”

“Yooseong, your talents are wasted working under me.”

“What are you talking about, noona? There’s no better place than under you.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

I got into Yooseong’s car and headed to the company.

Yooseong decided to work with me for a while. The timing was a bit awkward for him to return to school, so he’d earn some allowance in the meantime.

Though the money I gave him was quite substantial, he worked hard for it. Finding someone as talented as Yooseong isn’t easy.

Coming to the company building like this wasn’t part of my usual routine. Normally, I’d turn on V-TV and chat in Mos’s or Pape’s room.

So, the fact that I was coming in meant there was a special reason, and of course, it was related to the game.

I entered the building I had bought along with the mansion.

There, I soon met the man who had been waiting for me.

“…Are you Han Yoorim?”

“Hello.”

The man was startled when he saw my face but quickly composed himself.

“Hello. I’m Lim Jung-ran, the publishing director at Alphas.”

I took the business card he handed me.

It’s really unnecessary to mention, but in this world, VR games didn’t completely dominate the gaming market.

VR games only took over the PC and console game markets, while the mobile game market was still alive and well.

It was only natural unless AR technology advanced enough to produce AR lenses.

—

No matter how mind-blowing the performance of a VR device is, you can’t exactly wear it on the subway, can you?

And AlphaS Games was the undisputed king of the mobile gaming market.

Just like how the description “30s jobless person” conjures up a specific image, hearing “undisputed king of the mobile gaming market” probably made you form some preconceptions about AlphaS Games.

Let me just clarify right now—those preconceptions aren’t wrong.

“What brings you here today?”

At my words, Im Jeong-ran maintained a smile and began her explanation.

“At AlphaS, we see infinite potential in Han Yoorim’s game.”

“Oh, really?”

“Scalability, development capabilities, and so on. I could go on forever, but the core of it is this: Han Yoorim’s game is fun.”

Fun. That abstract concept was incredibly important to a popular culture creator.

What makes a work fun? No one knew. You could vaguely guess and get close, but no one in the world could perfectly define it.

That’s why, if you manage to create something fun, you instantly become the overwhelming favorite. It’s like being chosen—multiple elements have to align perfectly to create a masterpiece.

“In the current content industry, securing IP is the alpha and omega. In that situation, we at AlphaS realized that partnering with Han Yoorim could open countless doors.”

“Oh-ho.”

My eyes lit up.

They’ve noticed the potential of *Cosmic Osuary*. As expected of AlphaS. Truly a giant in the gaming industry.

“So, specifically, how do you propose we collaborate?”

I asked with anticipation.

Since collaborating with others made more sense for what I wanted to do, I wasn’t entirely opposed to partnering with AlphaS if the conditions were right.

“We’re aware of the public’s perception of AlphaS Games.”

Money-crazed demons. Not a game company, but a BM (business model) factory. The creators of the mega-hit *Flame Series*, a one-trick pony, and so on.

No matter how you spin it, their glory days were behind them, and they had no positive image left.

In an era where soft power is crucial, having such a negative reputation plastered all over them wasn’t good.

Frankly, even if AlphaS created a perfect full-dive VR game, the current generation in their 20s wouldn’t touch it unless the world was screaming “god-tier game” for a whole year.

They had lost their footing for new growth. That was AlphaS’s current state.

In that situation, my game must have looked like a breakthrough.

“Movie, drama, and anime adaptations are a must.”

“Wow!”

“Webtoons, even manga releases in Japan. We’re a global game company. We’ve got connections everywhere. We’ll even publish novels.”

“Wow!”

“All sorts of figurines and doll merchandise, theme parks and pop-up stores, eSports tournaments, board games and card games, fashion brand collaborations, food and beverage product development, various emoticons and stickers, and of course, advertising and marketing are the basics, but I’ll mention them anyway.”

“Wow!”

“And most importantly.”

“Most importantly?”

I waited for Im Jeong-ran’s next words.

She slowly opened her mouth.

“We swear not to interfere with Han Yoorim’s game in any way. Exactly as it is now. We won’t add any BM, we won’t change any gameplay. We’ll only handle the publishing.”

“Wow.”

“We’ll offer a 1:9 profit split. Of course, the 9 is yours. What do you think?”

“Hmm.”

I made a subtle expression.

Why did it end there?

I thought they recognized the potential of *Cosmic Osuary*, but apparently not?

I asked to confirm.

“Im Jeong-ran.”

“Yes?”

“Is that it?”

“…If there’s anything else you want, we’re open to considering it.”

Im Jeong-ran hurriedly added, but the moment no further offer came, my decision was already made.

Unfortunately, AlphaS, you’re out.

“Which part of our offer didn’t sit well with you?”

It was a question from the rejected, but as a judge, it’s only fair to explain the reason for rejection.

I kindly began my explanation.

“What is AlphaS’s strength?”

“…Our extensive network in the gaming industry?”

“You didn’t say development capabilities. I personally think your development skills aren’t bad. But anyway, besides that. What is the one area where AlphaS can confidently say they’re the best on Earth?”

At my words, Im Jeong-ran answered with a look of disbelief.

“BM?”

“If you had offered to add the strongest BM in human history to my game, I might have been tempted. Too bad.”

I value intent, you see.

Unfortunately, AlphaS, you’re out.

Im Jeong-ran looked stunned.

She muttered softly.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Seriously, you’re going to make a gacha game?”

“To be precise, it’s an additional gacha game based on *Cosmic Osuary*. That’s why we developed cross-platform optimization technology.”

There was a reason we dramatically improved the cloud gaming service, even unlocking the seal on cheat abilities.

It was all for this cross-platform optimization technology.

“Why?”

At Im Jeong-ran’s question, I recalled the short video I had seen earlier.

And then I said:

“There’s a scene I want to see.”