Season 2: Chapter 215: Ninja Mode (1)
Fantasia's Battle Large booth featured a new mode.
[New mode in Battle Large! Ninja Mode! Flip the script of the conventional battle royale with stylish ninja action~]
A voice actor’s recorded voice boomed through the large screens, constantly displaying ninjas battling it out.
— Can we really become ninjas?
— I'm going to become a Hokage!
— Wow
Even a cursory look was enough to understand what ninja mode entailed. It was truly about becoming ninjas and engaging in a battle royale.
[Combat solely with weapons and ninja skills! An action packed spectacle!]
Essentially, it was a different game. It only shared the basic gameplay and engine with Battle Large.
Upon entering the booth, ninjas were standing against a dark backdrop. Some were cosplayers ranging from realistic ninjas covered in black to those dressed in more fantastical ninja attire.
"Hello...? Oh, oppa!"
One of the pink-haired ninjas looked familiar. It was Miho.
"Oh, you were here."
The usually sociable Miho turned red and suddenly became mute.
Instead, the other ninjas spoke up.
"It's Almond. Wow..."
"Oh. He registered for the challenge and really came."
"Amazing... so handsome."
The other cosplayers whispered and their glances alternated between Almond and Miho.
"Miho must be close to him."
"But why is she acting like that?"
Miho seemed like she wanted to hide and rolled her eyes around.
"I, I'm going to the bathroom for a sec. Hehe... Oppa, sweep the challenge!"
She disappeared like a real ninja.
"Why is she like that?"
Ju-Hyeok scratched his head and responded, "Hmm... because of the outfit?"
Sang-Hyeon blankly looked around at the other ninjas. Well, cosplaying could be embarrassing, but everyone was doing it and Miho was originally a model.
"Surely not. We even shot a pool party photo shoot together."
"That was in This World though."
"Ah... right."
That made sense. It was their first time seeing each other in such peculiar outfits offline.
"Anyway, why is it so empty here? Did it just start?" Ju-Hyeok murmured and looked around the Battle Large booth.
Despite Battle Large being one of the most popular games, there were hardly any people other than the cosplaying models.
"You're here for the challenge, right? You're the first to arrive!"
After Miho left, the other ninjas gathered around.
"Right this way! You can use one of these capsules here..."
They smiled and pointed to capsule number one.
"That's probably the best one! The performance is the same, but..."
"The additional features are a bit different. The air conditioning works the best."
"Oh, that's perfect. Lucky you came first! You sweat a lot, right?"
It was unclear how they knew that Sang-Hyeon sweated a lot, but they even offered him a white towel.
"Ah... yes, thank you."
Sang-Hyeon subtly changed direction toward capsule number one.
"Let me escort you."
"Be careful not to trip while entering."
The ninjas, as if Sang-Hyeon was some frail person, insisted on supporting him unnecessarily.
Behind them, the cameraman BornToB muttered enviously, "Wow... see... super jealous..."
— Lol!
— Whose voice was that in the background?
— Crazy lol, that voice lol
It was soon time for Sang-Hyeon to enter the capsule. The stream switched from Sang-Hyeon's GoPro to BornToB's camera, so BornToB’s voice could clearly be heard on the stream. Was it because he sounded so pitiful?
Bam!
[RubySword has donated 100,000 won!]
[Cheer up.]
— Lol!
— This makes it worse lol
— Ruby princess, you're killing him twice with kindness.
— If Ruby says to cheer up, you cheer up, guys. Tsk tsk.
The mission from ShyNapoleon and RubySword's donation sparked a surge in donations for the day's stream.
[Battle31Fan has donated 10,000 won
[Finally Battle Large?! Honestly, we deserve it more than Kingdom. No?]
— True lol
— Kingdom is a failed game, don't even compare, not covering Battle Large is the real loss ??
— Agreed
— That ID lol
— Refreshing!
[PastMan has donated 10,000 won]
[I remember when a single knife ruled the armory.]
— When was that…?
— A fitting username
Donations related to Battle Large dominated with a few familiar names among them.
[Jensen has donated 3,000 won]
[Upvote me. I’m the real deal]
— Upvote the real deal, yeah right lol
— Why are you the one saying that? lol
— Battle Large’s pride!
— Jensen, wow
— Didn't Jensen go to G-Star today? Slacking on the job.
[HolyShit has donated 1,000 won]
[Ah... The legendary Battle Large player who once evenly matched Almond, Jeeenssen?]
— Ban
— Using donations for nickname mentions is over the line lol
— Wow! Jensen knows?!
As the chat heated up, Ju-Hyeok stepped in front of the camera.
"Everyone, please refrain from mentioning nicknames."
— Woah
— It's Hodu
— He looks like a bodyguard, crazy
— Why is he so big??
— Wow...
— I'm actually a fan of Hodu!
"As the game starts, the screen will switch back to Almond. He'll be able to see your donations then."
— Got it
— Yup
— That voice earlier was Hodu then?
— Hodu, do you have a girlfriend? Lol
The viewers mistook BornToB's voice for Ju-Hyeok's.
"Ah, no. That wasn't me. Ah... this worked out well," Ju-Hyeok muttered and took the camera to film BornToB.
— ???
— What's this?
— Who's that?
— Oh?!
Some recognized him while others did not.
"Ah... Hello, I'm BornToB. I was the one who was... enviously speaking without realizing it was being broadcasted... I apologize."
He bowed his head as if receiving a punishment.
— Jealousy King lol
— That immediate head bow is kinda cute
— Lol, so he's the one who said it
— Honestly, I understand how he feels...
— Wow, is that really BornToB?
Ju-Hyeok was holding the camera and explained why BornToB was there, "Mr. BornToBe also streams on Treevy. Those interested might find it enjoyable to watch. And once again, thank you for taking the time to help us out today."
"Ah, no problem at all. Wow, haha!"
Afterward, BornToBe received the camera back and energetically roamed around filming the G-Star convention. Although he didn't show it, his face brightened significantly. He seemed to work with much more enthusiasm after Ju-Hyeok promoted his stream.
Ju-Hyeok watched BornToB bustling around and thought, ‘He really does work hard.’
Like in Civil Empire, BornToB was someone who worked incredibly hard on whatever task was given to him. It was hard to say he did his job well, but he was the kind of person who was good to have around in any company.
"What am I thinking?"
Ju-Hyeok unwittingly found himself fantasizing about starting a company.
To start an entertainment company, he still lacked the managerial experience required by the entertainment industry's standards.
"Let's focus on this. My part is crucial from now on."
With that thought, Ju-Hyeok started looking for a marketing-related table in a booth corner. Despite the dim lighting, it didn't take him long to find it.
"Kim Ju-Hyeok?"
Someone on the side called out to him. They specifically knew his name and seemed to have been waiting for him.
"?"
As Ju-Hyeok turned around, the man's face brightened and he presented his business card to Ju-Hyeok.
"Hello! I'm Park Jung-Won, the marketing department manager of Fantasia's Battle Large."
'Fantasia... a manager?'
Apparently, the attention he felt when they arrived wasn't a mistake. A manager from Fantasia had been actively searching for him.
Ju-Hyeok knew exactly why this was happening.
'Was the impact of the comments on The Avatar of LIL this significant?'
It was due to the incident when Police’s official account mentioned Almond, highlighting the sales impact of his stream.
[Police Korea Official: Both handsome and talented @Almond! Thanks to you, the sales for Sori are record-breaking! Kyaa! Let's do it again next time!]
They didn’t just mention Almond, but also hinted at record-breaking sales. The effect was tremendous. That comment was now a golden army, a nuclear weapon for Ju-Hyeok.
"Are you... Kim Ju-Hyeok? You look like the person in the photo, but..." the manager asked again as Ju-Hyeok hesitated to answer.
"Cough, cough."
Ju-Hyeok stiffened his shoulders.
"Yes, I am Kim Ju-Hyeok. But?"
The manager seemed relieved to have finally found him and smiled broadly.
"Oh, yes! Great to meet you! Again, I'm Manager Park Jung-Won."
"How did you find me?"
"We knew Almond accepted the challenge, so I thought you might be here. Do you have a moment to talk?"
Of course, it was fine. He had been looking for Ju-Hyeok, after all.
Ju-Hyeok's pride soared.
"Hm. I'm currently filming, so it's a bit difficult."
Ju-Hyeok pointed to BornToB, who was capturing background shots behind him.
"Ah... that..."
The manager appeared flustered.
'What's this? Did they have no intention of dealing with us after participating in the challenge?'
Manager Park was already aware that Almond took on major advertisements and tried to appeal more to them.
"Perhaps... if you could just delegate that to your staff for a moment. That would be much appreciated. This is a big deal."
A big deal indeed. Ju-Hyeok's lips twitched.
"Ahem!"
Ju-Hyeok suppressed his smile with a cough and further inquired, "I've already got a meeting lined up. What exactly do you want to talk about?"
"Ah... that... I'm well aware that Almond hasn't been playing Battle Large much."
The manager began laying the groundwork before revealing the big deal.
"Given that it’s a shooting game, it doesn't really suit Almond. I understand that. However..."
Was that what he thought? That Almond shied away from shooting games because it made the bow seem weaker? That was a new perspective.
'It's just that he doesn’t play them.'
It was an interesting viewpoint, but incorrect. In reality, Sang-Hyeon just didn't play those games. His nature was to not touch games he already moved past. Nonetheless, Ju-Hyeok nodded along.
"Ah, well. Almond does find shooting games a bit awkward."
Since the other party had given him a reason, Ju-Hyeok used it to his advantage.
"Ahaha. Yes, that's what I wanted to mention. This new ninja mode doesn't have such drawbacks. It's focused on melee combat and physical actions are greatly emphasized. And the proposal is... could we possibly talk over there? It's a bit difficult to discuss here."
The manager once again gestured toward a table tucked away in a corner of the booth and requested politely. It was clearly their marketing table behind a partition. Ju-Hyeok checked his watch.
"Hmm. Yes, I suppose I have a moment."
"Yes! Please, come in!"
The excited manager turned around and gestured to the employees.
Ju-Hyeok followed with a firm smile.
Meanwhile, in Fantasia's competition arena with sixty capsules, other streamers began to gather after hearing about the challenge.
"Is this where the streamer challenge is happening?"
"First place gets one hundred chickens? Wow."
"Chicken... challenge? Battle Large ninja mode. Oh... this sounds good."
Almond had received the challenge first and already entered the capsule while others were just finding out.
[Please enter a capsule and wait.]
The streamers entered the capsules one by one, all puffed up with the thought of handing out one hundred chickens to their viewers. They were unaware of who was in capsule number one.
"Ah. I'll treat you all to a big chicken feast, guys. You trust my skills, right? I’m the boy god, am I not?"
"Even if Battle Large introduced a patient mode, I'd still win. Just you watch."
"What? What? You prepared all this just to give our subscribers chicken, right?"