Chapter 8

No. Who the hell lurks in a chat gallery for over 7 years? What’s your nickname? Or at least tell me your IP.

“Seriously, there’s no one like that.”

Has this person been living a life of being fooled? Why don’t they believe me?

And why does my nickname even matter?

That’s not the important thing right now.

“Please answer. Why didn’t you play <Excel Busters>?”

[…What’s that?]

I almost cried.

I guarantee, aside from Mos, thousands of people probably forgot what <Excel Busters> even is.

I opened my sent mail folder and read one of them.

“[email protected], that’s you, right? Malangmabang?”

[It is my email, but…]

“It’s the game I gave out for free in the Game Gallery. You took it but didn’t write a review. I even offered a 10,000 won gift card, but no one wrote a review.”

[Ah.]

Mos let out a short sigh, maybe remembering.

Mos’s viewers also started resonating.

―――

I remember seeing that post lol. Didn’t over 10 people comment?

No one wrote a review? Is that for real?

How boring was the game?

―――

“Only one person downloaded it. Out of 14 people who took it.”

[That was me! I’m the one who downloaded it!]

“I had a feeling it was you, Malangmabang, since you were one of the two who read the email.”

―――

Savage lol

If you took it, at least read it lol

Out of 14 people, only 2 read the email, and only 1 downloaded it?

―――

Anyway, if Mos downloaded it, that’s fine. It made things easier to talk about.

“Give it a try. <Excel Busters> is fun.”

[Did you get paid or something? Why are you so desperate…]

Mos’s words trailed off. I glanced over at Mos’s broadcast screen.

Even though Mos didn’t have the camera on, I could feel his gaze fixed on one spot while checking <Excel Busters> during our call.

[Creator: Han Yoorim]

Mos spoke.

[You made this game yourself…?]

“It’s my own creation.”

Our kid is smart but doesn’t get good grades. Trust me and give it a shot.

As Mos read the game’s description, he slowly opened his mouth.

[This is for 2 players?]

“It can be played by 2, but it’s mainly for 1.”

[But it’s recommended for 2?]

“…It’s fun solo too.”

It was true. I made sure to design it so both solo and 2-player modes were enjoyable.

[I always follow the creator’s recommendations.]

“……It’s hard to find someone to play with. Only 12 people downloaded it. Excluding you, Malangmabang, that leaves 11 people worldwide.”

―――

Lol 12 people? What the hell?

Why does it feel like more people took it for free?

―――

If two people play, there are a few more systems that can be implemented. That’s why I recommended 2-player mode—it wasn’t because 2-player is more fun or solo play is lame.

In fact, <Excel Busters> could almost be considered two different games for solo and 2-player modes.

From the start, the stories for solo and 2-player were completely different.

[Why don’t you just play with Yoorim? Oh, wait, you’re the creator, so you already know everything, right? Doesn’t that make it less fun?]

I paused at Mos’s words.

That’s a good idea.

Normally, playing a self-made story game would be less fun, but my situation was different.

“Let’s do that.”

[Are you sure? The tags say the story is the core, and there’s a mystery element too?]

I confidently answered Mos’s concern.

“I tend to forget things quickly.”

*

The neon lights seeped through the curtains. A gloomy tone filled the air in the room.

Having dedicated half his life to games, Mos was familiar with this atmosphere. Cyberpunk was a genre he was particularly eager to explore in games.

Mos walked to the window, looked down at the street, and thought.

‘Are they rich?’

The quality was impressive. It was hard to believe that the creator was just someone named “Han Yoorim.”

This game must have had a decent amount of capital invested. It would’ve taken several programmers and graphic designers to create something like this.

But if they were that wealthy, why not do large-scale promotion? The thought crossed his mind, but he dismissed it.

Everyone’s circumstances are different. Maybe they only had enough money to make the game but not to promote it.

If that’s the case, Yoorim must be feeling pretty bitter. Only 12 people have played the game they poured so much money into.

Beep. The wearable device on his wrist buzzed.

A hologram rose from the device.

[Test Date: 7:00. Location: Abandoned Factory in District 8]

The description was sparse, but Mos quickly grasped the situation.

He must be an aspiring fixer. This test was probably to see if he was any good.

He’d find out when he got there.

Mos opened the map and headed to the marked location.

“You here?”

Waiting at the abandoned factory was a man with a long katana on his back.

The man, with a bored expression, asked.

“Speak.”

“I’ll keep it, but if it’s useless, I’ll throw it away right away.”

“Understood.”

“Follow me.”

Following the man, Mos got into the car.

The conversation continued. Mos roughly figured out the character’s background setting. As expected, this was a fixer test.

“What martial arts do you use?”

As soon as the question was asked, the game paused for a moment.

[Please choose your desired weapon.]

Swords, spears, fists, etc. Various weapon icons appeared before his eyes.

After a brief moment of thought, Mos chose the sword.

Whoosh—. The icons split and spread out. Uh… Mos hesitated for a moment. There were a whopping 108 options.

It seemed like the way to use martial arts was to choose a weapon and then derive techniques from it.

If it were his usual self, he would have compared each martial art one by one and chosen the most suitable one, but now he wasn’t alone. Mos picked something that looked decent from the five recommended options and resumed the game.

The test location was a logistics warehouse.

Mos drew his sword and charged forward.

The system guide taught Mos swordsmanship. As he precisely followed the movements, a guard fell instantly.

Mos continued the combat. The system guide then showed a slightly more difficult motion. The difficulty was quite high, but Mos handled it without much trouble.

Right after, the sword drew petals.

After defeating all the guards, Mos let out a quiet exclamation.

<Excel Busters> was a game that maximized the detailed motion control unique to VR games.

The techniques varied depending on the actions taken, giving the feeling of using real martial arts.

Not bad for a debut. As Mos nodded, a message appeared in front of him: “Tutorial Complete.”

Having passed as a fixer, Mos headed to the designated location to meet the broker.

The broker was a tax accountant.

Fixers, who often dealt with illegal activities, were deeply connected to tax evasion. So, having a tax accountant as a broker might have been quite appropriate.

Mos muttered softly.

“So, where did Han Yoorim go?”

—

Are you two really doing this together? Lol

Are you sure you didn’t just run off? You even turned off voice chat.

—

“Probably not.”

Casually answering, Mos approached the broker to progress the story.

“How is it? Do you like it?”

Then he stopped at the sound of a whisper in his ear.

When did they get so close? He really didn’t notice.

Mos stood still and moved his lips.

“The game? The quality is definitely good.”

“No, not that. The broker.”

Even though they just met today, this was already the second time he didn’t understand what this person was saying.

What on earth are you talking about?

“Didn’t you read the text?”

“What text?”

“That broker, he’s a tax accountant.”

“I know that.”

“So, he’s inspired by Malangmabang.”

Whispering as if revealing a big secret, it was hard to tell if this made any sense.

Because no matter how much he listened, he couldn’t understand what was being said.

Seeing Mos’s puzzled expression, Han Yoorim continued as if to explain further.

“Malangmabang is a tax accountant, right?”

“……”

Only after hearing that did Mos truly acknowledge it. Han Yoorim had indeed been lurking in the game gallery for over seven years.

In friendship galleries, things like a galler’s job were practically public knowledge.

“The only tax accountant I know is Malangmabang, so naturally, I used him as inspiration.”

Was Han Yoorim really someone he knew? It was a philosophical question.

Though this one-sided collaboration was slightly bewildering, Mos calmly asked what he was curious about.

“What part of me is the inspiration? I haven’t talked to that NPC yet, but he seems quite different from me in personality.”

“You shaved your forehead, right? It’s a design for Malangmabang.”

Let’s not talk about that.

Sighing inwardly, Mos then opened his mouth to resolve his initial doubt.

“But why are you whispering? Like you’re saying something important.”

“I tweaked the AI algorithm a bit. If you talk about something he doesn’t know in front of him, he might get angry.”

“You went that far?”

“Hey! How long are you going to keep talking in front of people? Aren’t you going to work?”

Just then, the broker shouted.

With a look that said “See?”, Han Yoorim walked forward.

Only then did Mos see Han Yoorim’s modeling and couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

Why is the design Thierry?

Isn’t that going to cause copyright issues?