Season 4: Chapter 46. Trap Card (1)
Meanwhile, the model designers logged into the company server. Since it was late, they continued their meeting through chat.
[Newtype: Alright, everyone. Don’t panic. Just check the polygon count, then report back here.]
Newtype, the nickname of the most senior member of the department, coordinated the team. It didn’t take long to check. All they had to do was right-click on the character, and basic specs like polygon count would pop up instantly.
‘It’s probably nothing again.’
Newtype knew how prone CEO Jung was to overreacting. This whole issue seemed ridiculous to him.
‘We definitely unified everything properly last time.’
They had rendered key characters that weren’t meant to stand out at the same quality level as all the background extras.
[Broe: Hmm... It really does look like there are more polygons.]
Someone spoke up.
[Newtype: What? That doesn’t make sense. We applied the same standards across the board.]
[Broe: Yeah, but remember that time we adjusted everything for optimization at the very end?]
Optimization was the eternal nemesis of every game developer. No matter how uniform the specs were, performance would vary depending on how well they optimized the game. Optimization issues often caused launch delays, and rushed patches only made things worse.
[Newtype: You made changes back then and didn’t double-check, huh?]
[Broe: Looks like it.]
In a crunch, the optimization team had the final say. Minor adjustments like these didn’t always go through a full review.
‘They must’ve done a full sweep from scratch for optimization.’
One person could have drawn a triangle with three lines, and another could’ve used six. Computationally, that would double the load.
For example, one version of a game trying to render the Egyptian pyramids could include every speck of debris. Another version could stay sleek and efficient. They’d look the same to the human eye, but one would lag and the other would run smoothly.
Optimization was about removing invisible details while maintaining visual fidelity. That tedious process had removed unnecessary details from most Modeling Club characters, except Oh Sang-Gi. One character hadn’t been touched, probably as a show of respect from the optimization team. Now, that had backfired.
‘If you’re going to adjust, adjust all of them.’
The results were clear.
[Broe: His polygon count is actually about 23% lower...]
The polygon count was genuinely lower. Polygons were the smallest unit used to render 3D surfaces. The more triangles used, the smoother the object appeared. This was called a high-poly model. Fewer triangles meant a low-poly model.
In other words, the other Modeling Club members’ faces were about 23% more angular than Oh Sang-Gi’s. Almondoyle’s deduction had been spot on.
‘No way... exactly 23%?’
Newtype’s eyes widened at the suspiciously exact number.
[Newtype: That’s really possible?]
[Broe: Apparently, yes...]
[Miki: Yeah, I’m seeing the same numbers on my end.]
***
"That was actually correct?"
It wasn’t just the model department server echoing the question. The Kim duo also watched their entire logic unravel due to Almond’s subset and superset theory.
"That was actually correct!?"
Manager Kim’s shout bordered on a wail.
"Just knocking everyone else out puts me in first place?! Then I’ll write a book called Top of the Class Was Easier Than You Think! What kind of busted mechanic is this!?"
From a gamer’s perspective, it had to be discovered. However, it was just a bug to the devs.
"Um... Manager?"
"Outta the way. They’re all online on the server, right? Let me log in and say something."
"Wait, what!?" Assistant Manager Kim frantically tried to stop him.
This couldn’t happen.
"No, seriously—!"
"Let me go!"
"If you say something, we’ll be next to get grouped!"
"Better that than getting singled out!"
Well, he wasn’t wrong. Assistant Manager Kim’s strength faltered for a moment.
‘Ah, crap.’
Manager Kim dashed toward the keyboard and began furiously typing.
Clack clack clack clack!
"Manager!"
It was as if something sealed within him had been unleashed.
***
Meanwhile, Almond and Bubblegum had also unlocked new powers.
[Quest Cleared!]
[Spirit Power Has Increased]
[New Spirit Ability Unlocked]
Clearing the quest had granted them a huge amount of spirit power.
[Dimensional Step]
[Instantly traverse through space.]
As a shaman, Almond acquired the Dimensional Step technique.
— Whoa.
— Wait, this is a thing?
— What even triggered this quest clear? lol
— Feels like we skipped a bunch of stuff lmao
Bubblegum unlocked a staff technique as a monk.
[Wind Bubble]
[Draw a circle with your staff to compress and launch a burst of air.]
"Ohhh?"
— Bubble, huh?
— Of all names, it had to be Bubble lol
— Bubble Bomb lmao
— Sounds like it’ll miss every time
The name sounded ominous, but it was the monk’s first offensive skill that actually dealt damage.
"Looks like I finally got a DPS move. Maybe I’ll be the one finishing things off this time."
He made it sound like this would be the first time the monk could deal damage. In truth, he had plenty of opportunities to do so before.
Ding.
[Angler has donated 3,000 won.]
[?]
Especially the Angler, only the monk could effectively deal with it.
— Literally just a question mark lol
— Pfft hahahaha
— Wait, yeah, wasn’t that meant for the monk?
— We gave you the platform~ Bottoms up~
This raised another question.
"Huh... but we haven’t actually seen an evil spirit enemy yet."
They had fought ghosts and yokai, but not the kind of demonic spirit only the Christian priest class could defeat. It had been skipped. Still, it was only a matter of time before evil spirits started appearing.
"Speaking of which, where’s Su-Yeon?"
Almond brought up Su-Yeon, and Bubblegum waved dismissively.
"Those types just show up when they’re ready, you know? Relax, Almond."
— LOL he panics every time Su-Yeon is mentioned
— Bet she still thinks Bubblegum is the Angler lmao
Bubblegum insisted that Su-Yeon would appear when needed due to his gaming experience and told Almond not to worry.
Ding.
[IRespectThat has donated 5,000 won.]
[Her doing a soccer kick from seeing something super ugly is understandable.]
"Super ugly? It’s just ugly. And that wasn’t a soccer kick. It was just a normal kick, okay? Can we not exaggerate?"
— LMAOOOO
— Same thing bruh
— Ugly as hell hahahahaha
— Dying rn LOL
Bubblegum tried to set the record straight, but the world had a way of doing the exact opposite of what he wanted.
Ding.
[Today has donated 10,000 won.]
[Her kick screamed super duper ugly.]
Bubblegum’s face turned red, then pale.
— LMAO
— They even added duper now, lol
The meme spiraled out of control almost instantly.
Ding.
[Sadness has donated 5,000 won.]
[I heard if you’re ugly in this game, NPCs hit you with a 360 degree kick. Is that true?]
— LMAOOOOO
— Su-Yeon has Olympic-level reflexes
— Her core strength must be nuts
— Pretty sure you’d be split in half if that landed
— Dead lmfao
"Okay, okay~ That’s enough with the memes~"
Bubblegum tried to calm down the chat.
A few moments later, Almond came over and asked, "Bro. Is your new skill called 360 kick or something?"
Almond’s chat had clearly misled him.
"Mine seems like a flash or teleport."
— How far has this gotten twisted? omg
— LMAOOOOO
— I'm crying
— I can’t breathe lol
Almond had only asked to sync up their combos, but Bubblegum didn’t answer for a while.
"Gum?"
"..."
"Huh? Are you saying that being ugly is his skill? No way. Come on, guys. Even I’m not falling for that."
Almond looked like he was getting dragged into another debate with his viewers.
— LOLLLLL
— Dude, is he doing this on purpose
— Help I can’t
— Chat MVPs strike again
— These are for sure the same guys who caused the G-Star 10 million won incident, I swear
***
In the end, Almond still had no idea what Bubblegum’s skill actually was as the next day arrived in the game. Today, they would follow Oh Sang-Gi and get introduced to the real villain. It seemed like this villain was the game’s final boss.
Almond clicked his tongue.
‘It’s about time I wrapped this up.’
The playtime had dragged on past seven hours and was inching toward eight.
‘Is there any way?’
If he could take down the villain in a single blow, the game could end right then and there. Of course, the game hadn’t originally been designed like that. Almond knew that, but still believed a way existed. He had found other ways like that until now.
‘Should I just go for the kill the moment we meet?’
It could turn out to be impossible, like with Oh Sang-Gi, but his spiritual energy had been too low then. Now, his spirit power had risen after clearing the last quest. Maybe he could slice up Sang-Gi in two now.
‘Hmm...’
While Almond busily calculated the angles, his viewers still argued over Bubblegum’s skill.
— Bubblegum’s skill is a 360 kick, I swear
— Nah, it’s the Angler Rocket. Heard it myself.
— He used Chidori. I saw it.
— It’s called "Gum Commandments."
— You people are insane.
— His late-night snack is a 360 burger. Saw it with my own eyes.
— Gum Commandments isn’t a skill, it’s a divine authority. Tsk tsk.
‘Good grief.’
Almond stopped paying attention. Just like with the G-Star disaster and the Zombie School bathroom incident, it was always better not to know with this lot. Besides, Bubblegum’s skill probably wouldn’t matter much anyway because... well, he was Bubblegum.
"Here we are."
Bubblegum pointed toward a building.
[MetaBucks]
It looked like a typical campus cafe where they were supposed to meet Oh Sang-Gi and that person.
— Metabucks? Really? Lmao
— What even is this?
— Ah, this is the legendary meeting spot
— Looks like the kind of place nerdy devs would hang out at
‘The cafe itself should be harmless.’
Almond walked in without much thought. Inside featured a dark wood interior, warm ambient lighting, and staff wearing clean uniforms and tidy caps.
Tap.
One of the staff bumped into Almond.
"Oh! I’m so sorry."
She was holding a mop, probably on her way back from cleaning the restroom.
"Huh?"
"Oh!?"
They pointed at each other, startled.
"Almond oppa!"
"Su-Yeon."
Su-Yeon had suddenly appeared in the cafe. That meant something would definitely happen.
— Bubblegum’s face lol
— Why is he standing there like he’s socially distancing?
— He flinched like he thought she was gonna kick him lmao, I’m dead
— Why is he so far back? This guy kills me
The moment he saw Su-Yeon, Bubblegum reflexively moved three meters away. He looked embarrassed while muttering under his breath.
"Ahem. What did I tell you, Almond? People like her always show up on cue."
"Wow. You were actually right."
"What are you all doing at the entrance?" Oh Sang-Gi also arrived.
"Ah, senior Oh."
A tall, elegant woman trailed behind Sang-Gi.
Su-Yeon, Sang-Gi, Almond, and Bubblegum all exchanged glances. For a moment, silence hung in the air.
"Guess I’ll do the introductions early."
Sang-Gi scratched his head and gestured behind him.
"This is Director Shin from ChammBit Entertainment."
"Nice to meet you all."
She possessed the aura of a full-blown celebrity and walked past them with a smile.
"Shall we grab a seat?"
"Ah, yes. Of course..."
Almond’s group stepped further inside.
Gulp.
Su-Yeon pulled her cap low and glared at their backs.