SWNOVELXO Ch. 10
The Great Mage Who Games (1)
==
【Post (General): I heard Shin Ah-yeon appeared on GGN?】
My cousin works at the GGN broadcast station, and he says if Shin Ah-yeon streamed, they must have filmed up to the final boss.
It really is that Great Mage Shin Ah-yeon who disappeared three years ago.
From what I heard, her mission was to get five consecutive wins with SwordRiver in the Challenger section of LON, but she did so well that she finished it in two hours, raised the goal to ten wins, and pulled that off easily too.
But apparently, she barely talked during the whole game, so the PD was near tears, but Shin Ah-yeon was so much like a local it was kind of funny.
If Shin Ah-yeon really appeared on 'To the King Once You Log In', it's a must-watch.
==
【Replies】
ㅇㅇ: Do S-rank hunters look like nothing to you?
⌎ㅇㅇ: If she lost all her magic power three years ago and became washed-up, then yeah.
⌎ㅇㅇ: Lost (o), not read (x). Is elementary school your highest education?
HoldingMyBreathUntilAh-yeonReturns: Is this for real? Ha... Please. Let her come back.
ㅇㅇ: LOL, Shin Ah-yeon got five wins in challenger? You think that makes sense?
ScrubGatekeeper: But a while ago I saw Ddeodungi's stream and SwordRiver was duoing with some challenger. Could it be them?
⌎ㅇㅇ: Nope, not them~~~
ㅇㅇ: Why would Shin Ah-yeon go on a game stream;;; It's her first comeback in three years. If she had any sense, she'd go on national TV, idiot.
==
On several online gaming community sites, strange rumors were quietly spreading.
Stories that Shin Ah-yeon, the S-rank hunter and former Great Mage, had appeared on a mere gaming broadcast.
Since viewership of the show had been steadily declining recently, most people dismissed it as nonsense, but as bits of evidence surfaced, it became a trending topic across various communities.
In particular, several BJs (Broadcast Jockeys) who had faced off against SwordRiver and a mysterious challenger duo made content about it, making it spread even further as the prevailing rumor.
"It's spreading faster than I thought."
Ah-yeon, scrolling through posts one by one, spoke with fascination.
"Of course it is—there are shills mixed in, so it's bound to spread fast."
"Ah."
"Though, it's not just shills. It really has started to gain traction."
A mild, gossip-like viral marketing.
Even though it was just a few commenters at work, it was proving quite effective.
'Looks like they're doing a good job.'
The GGN side must be working behind the scenes, subtly.
Of course, all of this was included in the 'talks' we'd had before.
"To be honest, I'm a bit skeptical."
While checking the online reaction, Shin Ah-yeon spoke cautiously.
"My recognition doesn't really need raising, and the profits from a gaming stream are negligible, right? It might be a hot topic in internet communities, but..."
She trailed off at that point, but it was perfectly clear what she was trying to say.
"You mean, this isn't going to promote you as a hunter, so it'd be better to announce you've recovered your magic power?"
"S-something like that."
Every time, I thought, Ah-yeon's tone in the game and in reality was astonishingly different.
Of course, it was just a matter of tone. If you listened carefully, she was always direct and never hid her feelings.
Even now, despite sounding timid, what she really meant was, 'This doesn't make money and isn't to my advantage, so why do it?'
"You never seemed to care until now."
"Of course, I trust you, Jung-woo oppa. I just wanted to know what you were aiming for, I guess..."
Seeing Ah-yeon glancing over at me, I couldn't help but smirk.
To be honest, it was only natural for her to have these doubts.
Even back at Unique, didn't Sung-hwan and Director Song think I was crazy for this?
"Well, you'll see soon enough."
I kept scanning the internet, but nowhere did I see any official statement about 'Shin Ah-yeon appearing on To the King Once You Log In'. All that floated around were unsubstantiated rumors.
'Well handled.'
During the negotiation for this broadcast with PD Oh, the very first condition I set was to keep 'Shin Ah-yeon's' appearance confidential.
Of course, that didn't mean complete secrecy.
Seeding some rumors and stoking anticipation was good.
Just so long as there was no official announcement.
'That way, people's expectations for Shin Ah-yeon's actual appearance would rise.'
In reality, at that moment, Shin Ah-yeon was the hot topic online.
Even after three years in seclusion, her public recognition hadn't faded.
Naturally, other networks would also be watching this reaction closely.
Though, they wouldn't understand why it had become such a sensation on the forums.
Not just because PD Oh or GGN's shills were spreading rumors.
"I'm looking forward to this."
Preparations for Shin Ah-yeon's 'hunter comeback' were steadily underway.
***
"Jung-woo, are you sure about this? Are you?"
"Yes."
"Is the broadcast really today?"
"I told you, yes."
"But still, wouldn't national television have been better than a game channel? What if we get buried today...?"
"President Choi Sung-hwan."
As I called out in a low voice, the endlessly fussing Sung-hwan finally shut up.
"How many years have you been president—aren't you a little old to be so up and down about this stuff?"
"Does it matter how many years? If today's broadcast flops, Unique is finished too."
"Then you should have trained your rookies better."
"They all got poached, so only those not worth raising are left."
He had a point.
After all, even Lee Sung-yun had left for JM, so I could understand his uneasiness.
With all B-rank hunters gone, Unique's only hope of survival now was to rely on Shin Ah-yeon.
Since I'd played a part in Sung-yun's departure, I could only sympathize with Sung-hwan's anxiety.
"But will a cable broadcast even get decent ratings?"
"Hey, director Song, can you stop with the negativity?"
"You were complaining until a second ago yourself, sir."
"Ah, that was just talk. Anyway, here comes the broadcast."
With an oddly tense atmosphere hanging over us, the broadcast began.
These days, TV broadcasts and internet streams always went hand in hand.
Meaning, we could check real-time reactions.
The funny thing was, it was the boom in hunter broadcasts that had brought about this change.
For most dungeon-related shows, live streaming was more popular than pre-recorded ones.
Of course, since dangerous content was often shown, there was always an age restriction.
"So, uh, how is it? The reactions?"
"I haven't even appeared yet."
Unable to contain himself, Sung-hwan kept blowing up my ear until Ah-yeon answered, rather flatly.
It seemed to work—the president, who was more afraid of Ah-yeon than me, finally stayed quiet.
"She's going to come out soon..."
The MCs for To the King Once You Log In hyped up the crowd, saying today's guest was truly a big surprise.
Then, as the doors opened, SwordRiver appeared first.
Since he was at the center of the rumors swirling online, live comments on Dwitch were popping up fast.
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sdfar: SwordRiver's here.
Ah-yeonLove: Something big's gonna happen, something big, something big
WlsEk123: Shin Ah-yeon's not coming out~~~~~~~~~~
==
The chat was split about 50/50 between those saying she would appear and others convinced she wouldn't.
They did a brief intro for SwordRiver on the show, then the lights suddenly dropped.
A clear hint that something else was about to happen.
==
huntjo: ?
mikamika123: Is there really another guest?
==
Since I hadn't seen this scene during the previous shoot, I asked Ah-yeon,
"You didn't film anything like that before, right?"
"Later on, the PD said it'd be better to have a more dramatic opening, so we filmed a new intro."
"Ah, I see."
It looked like it was the first time, but in reality, they'd shot it much later and edited it in.
The MCs handled it smoothly, like they'd done this a hundred times, but SwordRiver was clearly different from before.
'When he first saw Ah-yeon, his face was so full of worry...'
I guess after the shoot with Ah-yeon and witnessing her skills, he was much more cheerful.
Anyway, PD Oh had definitely made a good call by reshooting the opening.
The abrupt blackout threw chat into chaos, everyone spamming question marks.
Then, the MC motioned toward the entrance and shouted,
「Now, our special guest for today's broadcast~~. You all know her, right? The S-rank hunter and once-called the Great Mage, the idol of all, Shin Ah-yeon!!」
With a little pop! from a firework, Shin Ah-yeon walked in, looking awkward.
She tried to smile, but the corners of her mouth twitched so visibly it was obvious it was forced.
"How's the reaction?!"
As if he'd been waiting, Sung-hwan called out to Director Song at the computer.
"Chat is moving really fast. There are already over thirty thousand viewers on Dwitch."
"Director Song, what's the average live viewership for To the King Once You Log In?"
"As I recall, it's about five thousand."
That meant thirty thousand was six times the average.
It was a huge hit already, but this was just the beginning.
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Post: You can tell she's just trying to stir up controversy by appearing on a game stream, it's gross.
She can't get on network TV so she's just going after attention on some gaming channel, so lame.
She doesn't even care about games but is acting like a familiar gamer for the image, tsk tsk.
Reply
ㅇㅇ: LOL, don't even need to see.
==
Upon Shin Ah-yeon's appearance, some forums started posting criticism of her appearance.
Most claimed she was just faking her interest in gaming for image purposes, not genuine passion.
But those internet reactions didn't last long.
Just 15 minutes later, the game began, and Ah-yeon's rampage was broadcast live for everyone to see.
"Wow. Director Song, I don't know that game very well, but is she really that good?"
"Yes. Especially since what Ah-yeon and SwordRiver are playing is a ranked game, and at their level, the opponents are basically pro-level. If you're in Challenger, you might as well be a professional."
"And she's doing that, now?"
"SwordRiver is on her team, so it's possible... but even so, her performance is extraordinary."
Different from Sung-hwan, director Song seemed to know his way around LON and added detailed explanations.
But, spectacular skill aside, Ah-yeon wasn't exactly talkative.
Most of what she said was:
"Yeah, top gap."
"With the difference in top, we'll win this."
"This is what you call a top gap."
It was an odd level of obsession with the phrase top gap for every comment.
Other than that, the only things Ah-yeon said were accidentally mentioning 'jungle diff' once, and a curse word that was beeped out.
"... Isn't this a disaster?"
Naturally, Sung-hwan turned to me with a look of panic.
For the record, Ah-yeon had already excused herself to the bathroom and hadn't come back.
"No, this is not a disaster."
"This isn't?"
"Just look."
I spun the monitor so that Sung-hwan could see for himself.
In reality, online responses were explosive.
'If Ah-yeon were a normal broadcaster, people would complain, for sure.'
But that's not what viewers expected from her.
Especially for To the King Once You Log In, viewers care about how genuine the guest is about gaming.
Usually, the fun comes from guests failing and despairing in-game, but with Ah-yeon, it was the opposite.
She was simply too good.
"If Ah-yeon were an ordinary broadcaster, yes, there'd be complaints. But she's a hunter—that difference made everything work."
"Oh, everyone thought she'd be bad and she crushed it?"
"That's part of it, but it's mainly the persona she brought in."
'Totally serious about gaming.'
That sincerity came through powerfully in the broadcast.
And, for anyone who'd played that game, everything she said was relatable.
What came out of Ah-yeon's mouth were things you couldn't fake unless you were the real deal.
==
Post: Where did all those folks go who said Shin Ah-yeon would just pretend to play games earlier?
You still alive?
That wasn't a persona, that was 'for real'.
Reply
ㅇㅇ: Most of them deleted their posts and ran away a while ago.
WorshiperOfTopLane: As a five-year top laner, I'm telling you, that's a real 'top'.
NowBreathingThanksToAyeon: Now I can breathe.
⌎ㅇㅇ: I'll buy this for real.
ㅇㅅ: She's crazy good, definitely not a boosted Challenger account.
==
Online reactions were overwhelmingly positive.
All those who had accused Shin Ah-yeon of only appearing for the image were deleting their posts and disappearing.
Some gaming forums were already abuzz, and even highlight clips of her play were being uploaded.
And this was before her final interview had even aired.
Brrrmmm!
That was when my smartphone vibrated violently.
The caller ID said 'PD Oh Jung-jin'.
"PD Oh is so honest, I swear."
Normally, the relationship between a PD and a manager is absolute: the PD is the boss, no matter if it's on a cable channel.
But, that power balance could flip like nothing else.
【The subscriber you have dialed cannot answer. You are being connected to voicemail.】
So I just ignored PD Oh's call.
Judging by how he kept calling, he must have been desperate, but I had no intention of making things easy for him.
"Damn, what now?"
At the same time, Sung-hwan grumbled irritably, looking at his phone.
It seemed, thanks to this broadcast, he'd been getting calls as well.
"Why, someone you don't want to hear from?"
"It's not that... but they are tricky people."
He sighed and showed me the screen.
'Well, I'll be...'
Just seeing the name made me let out a helpless laugh.
Chief Manager Yu Dong-suk of JM Management.
He was the very man who had poached Lee Sung-yun from Unique not long ago.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
One thing I have a hard time translating in Korean is manager, there are a lot of managers and it gets confusing most of the time.
Also, streaming hunter is not really new, but the execution here is good, great even.
【(⩌‸⩌ )】