T/N: Apologies for the loooong wait. Gaaahh
20. The 1st World Championship (1)
I was having dinner with the married AD couple, Hong Minseok and Lee Youngae.
“PD-nim. Did you visit the Pangyo department store with your girlfriend not long ago?”
“…!”
At Lee Youngae AD’s unexpected ambush, Taeyeon was startled.
Seeing that expression, Hong Minseok said,
“See? I told you, didn’t I? She’s his girlfriend!”
“I thought she might’ve been his younger sister or some other acquaintance…….”
“I told you she had to be his girlfriend. You don’t cherish your younger sister or just some acquaintance like they’re a precious treasure chest. And his face was full of such a tender smile, too!”
“You sure know a lot about that for a man.”
“That’s why I’m not an art director for nothing.”
Taeyeon asked, stammering a little, as Hong Minseok puffed himself up in front of his wife.
“You were at the department store that day?”
“Yes! I even saw you going into the Blue Lime store!”
“…You’re speaking very confidently about having spied on someone.”
“I just happened to spot you right when you were about to go into the store. I was going to say hello, but the atmosphere felt like one I shouldn’t interrupt, so I quietly cheered you on and left. That’s how considerate I was, you know?”
AD Hong Minseok joked around with a trendy catchphrase.
But both he and Lee Youngae were still wearing meaningful expressions.
With a bad feeling, Taeyeon asked,
“You didn’t happen to… see?”
“See what?”
“Her face. My girlfriend’s.”
Even if they were a married couple, was it okay for them to resemble each other this much even in being sly?
At their act of pretending not to know, Taeyeon let out a sigh.
“So you did see.”
Hong Minseok looked around, then erased his smile, leaned in, and said in a whisper,
“When I confirmed who your girlfriend was, I was honestly shocked. The Queen of Gymnastics, Kim Yuna… my god!”
“How on earth did that happen?”
Well, now that he’d been caught.
Taeyeon quietly told them how they had met.
After he finished, he said sternly,
“You absolutely cannot go around telling anyone about this. If it gets out, I’ll hold the two of you responsible no matter what!”
Lee Youngae asked with eyes sparkling in a way that made him uneasy.
“You’re going to marry Ms. Kim Yuna, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you’ve already met her parents?”
“A little while ago…”
“Since I don’t see a couple ring or an engagement ring, I’m guessing you’re going straight to a proposal. When are you going to do it, and how? Don’t tell me you already did?”
She sure had a lot she was curious about.
Come to think of it, AD Lee Youngae used to serialize a slice-of-life webtoon, didn’t she?
Most of that webtoon had been about dating and love. It was only natural that she’d show interest in romance.
“I haven’t done it yet. I’m still thinking about the timing… but honestly, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. I tested the waters before, and she absolutely hates loud flashy events. She says she can’t stand cringey stuff…”
“Ms. Kim Yuna already has the kind of personality that doesn’t even like being hyped up as the Queen of Gymnastics or the CF Queen. I think the best approach would be to keep it as simple and understated as possible.”
They gave him all sorts of tips.
Since the two of them were Kim Yuna fans and also considered themselves masters of dating, there was a lot that even Taeyeon, a lifelong single, thought was worth noting.
“For reference, I proposed with a ring after we had an elegant dinner course at a skyline restaurant in Manhattan and spent some cozy time together until the mood was just right.”
“I like romance too, but I also hate things that are cringey or unnecessarily over-the-top. From that point of view, it felt nice because it was comfortable and solid without being burdensome.”
“I highly recommend it!”
A ring proposal at a restaurant.
Taeyeon nodded.
“I like the sound of that. What do you think would be best? Give me some more detailed tips.”
After beginning official service, Monster Eater was receiving a huge response from both the press and the users.
Nexple began in earnest to make a star developer out of him.
It was a build-up meant to connect Monster Eater’s success to the success of the company’s own in-house titles.
[Speaking of Yoo Taeyeon, the hidden powerhouse of the game industry.]
From joining Nexple, to preparing Pantheon and Project D, to bringing over the publishing rights for Monster Eater and launching it in Korea.
Every part of that process began to be revealed in detail.
As his previous works, Limit Breaker and Sword of the Empire, came back into the spotlight once more, expectations for the developer Yoo Taeyeon also rose sharply.
From Taeyeon’s perspective, all of this was nothing but burdensome.
I don’t welcome this kind of atmosphere…
The more expectations grew, the higher the standard for the follow-up title became as well.
No, it was already turning out that way.
At this rate, from the current atmosphere alone, it feels like Pantheon is expected to be some massive title that can succeed even in the global market…
The project had only just begun, but suddenly all eyes were on it, and expectations were skyrocketing.
At this rate I’m going to get indigestion.
Well, what could he do?
He just had to focus on development like crazy and make a game that could live up to the expectations.
To do that, I need to choose a good successor producer and successfully finish handing over Monster Eater.
Taeyeon gathered the Nexple Plus employees and made an announcement.
“I’m telling you in advance. Once the first update is finished, I plan to step down from my current position.”
“…!”
Everyone looked shocked.
“So that means I only have about three more months to work with all of you. Since a large-scale update goes in once every quarter.”
He had expected them to take it calmly, but instead, they all looked disappointed, or deeply shocked.
“The Planning Team Lead will be taking over my duties. Unlike the other positions, the person chosen to become Planning Team Lead was selected with that in mind as well.”
Everyone’s gaze turned toward a man in his thirties wearing glasses.
At a glance, he really had the most ordinary Pangyo developer look imaginable.
“As a gamer, he’s the best Monster Eater player in Nexple Plus, and as a developer, he’s a highly capable person who has successfully handled and serviced more than five games up to now. And as for his personality… you all know how good that is, right?”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
“Starting today, I’ll gradually be handing my work over to him. If the Planning Team Lead starts attending meetings in my place and leading them, just accept it naturally.”
The room was full of anxiety.
With the top leader being replaced, that was only natural.
Time is what’ll solve this.
There was no need to say anything more.
“And one more thing. This may be a bit sudden… but we’ve decided to hold a tournament in Korea to commemorate the Korean server opening.”
“…!”
It was such a huge issue that all of the confusion and gloom from before vanished in an instant.
Since all the developers and operations staff were passionate players themselves, they asked in astonishment, stumbling over their words.
“M-Monster Eater is holding a tournament?”
“It was an idea Takizawa Satoshi proposed, and when I ran it up the chain, they gave the okay and told me to go ahead and do it however I wanted.”
The smile that followed sent a chill through everyone.
“So that means Korea will be the very first host country of the Monster Eater World Championship. We can pull this off, right?”
“…”
The meeting room froze.
The first official international tournament.
And on top of that, it was a tournament big enough to carry the title of World Championship.
“S-Sponsor……?”
“Nexple and Crying Soft jointly. It’s not like we’re a company short enough on funds that we need to go out and find separate sponsors.”
“T, then what about the tournament format……?”
The people who had been watching his reaction started firing off questions one by one.
“Will it be a tournament that anyone can participate in?”
“Yes. But they’ll need to be in a max-level guild, and they’ll have to be at least Hunter Rank 20.”
“Has the prize also been decided…?”
The room was slowly beginning to heat up.
Monster Eater’s first official international tournament!
As users, and as the Korean development team, it was something incredibly exciting.
From the way he described it, it sounded like discussions had already advanced to some degree.
“Oh, and for event resources, we’re going to make and provide those ourselves. As you know, the Crying Soft team is extremely busy making the resources for the next update right now…”
“……!”
Once again, silence fell over the room.
One employee stammered,
“Uh… since this is our first time operating a tournament, we don’t really know what we’re supposed to do…”
Everyone’s gaze turned toward the Planning Team Lead.
He too looked flustered as he stammered,
“I, I specialize in MMORPGs, so I’ve never done anything like a tournament…”
“Didn’t your games have PK content?”
“They did, but we never had the breathing room to do something like that.”
Taeyeon let out a small laugh.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got a lot of operations experience.”
“…?”
“Sword of the Empire was a game that was especially famous for its PVP, you know. And besides that, in Limit Breaker, I’ve also had experience holding all kinds of competitions, like a housing festival and a cooking festival.”
“Ah!”
“So I’ll be leading it, which means you don’t have to worry.”
At Taeyeon’s confidence, everyone looked relieved.
“All right, then let’s move straight into task allocation. First, the level design team…”
After returning from the meeting, Taeyeon let out a deep sigh.
A tournament all of a sudden…
To be honest, it had not been part of the plan.
But Producer Takizawa Satoshi had pushed for it aggressively.
“I’ve dreamed of turning this game into an e-sport ever since the days when I was planning it alone from the very beginning. And the final piece of that puzzle was Korea.”
Because Korea, of all places, was a powerhouse in gaming, and its standing and importance in international e-sports tournaments were on a different level.
A tournament without Korea somehow just wouldn’t feel major, he had said.
I have no way of knowing whether he really meant it or whether it was just lip service, but when he puts it that way…
And so, in the end, he had accepted.
As a result, he had effectively been handed a huge emergency mission.
This is my first time running a tournament on this kind of scale too.
Even so, he wasn’t worried.
The scale might be smaller, but he had experience running a wide variety of events, and above all…
If there’s something I don’t know, I can just find someone who does know and ask them.
He hadn’t made friends because he’d been tied down by games and work alone, but he had many former colleagues with whom he had poured his life into making games.
This network was the only asset I had built up while working myself to death.
Without hesitation, Taeyeon called his old colleagues.
“It’s me. PD Yoo. If you have time tomorrow morning…”
[Monster Eater: A Tournament to Determine the Strongest Hunter Is Being Held!]
The gaming community exploded at the jointly announced news from Nexple Plus and Crying Soft, the companies servicing Monster Eater.
“Holy crap, the first official international tournament…!”
“The participation requirement is Hunter Rank 20 or above? Isn’t that way too low a barrier to entry? Anyway, I’m entering!”
The game had already been popular worldwide for some time, and its Korean open performance and reputation were also extremely good.
To hold a World Championship to commemorate the opening of the Korean server… the Monster Eater fans erupted in cheers.
[Live broadcast on the world’s largest internet streaming platform!]
[The tournament venue is Busan BEXCO, the sacred ground of e-sports!]
[There is only one event: 2-person team raid]
Countless Monster Eater users around the world waited for the application page to open.
At last.
[Monster Eater 1st World Championship Event Page Open!]
The moment they had been waiting for had arrived.
Countless hunters from all over the world flooded the official homepage to apply for participation.
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