The moment Seth began to work on his game, he dedicated his entire attention to it.
From morning until night, he would work on it endlessly. The only times he would stop would be when it was just near the time to reach the gate’s closing time.
Of course, in such times, he also attended his duties as Squad Leader.
However, because of how busy he was, he delegated most of his tasks to Joanna, who took over without any qualms. Thankfully, Ariel remained the same the entire time. While Seth kept a close watch on her, she didn’t act out of order and simply followed orders without any issue.
The squad managed to get used to her rather quickly, but despite this, nobody was ever able to get close to her.
This was mainly due to her inability to show much emotion or reaction.
She was more like a... robot.
Still, her performance was quite noteworthy. With her on the team, the squad was able to clear several higher-ranked gates, even going as far as clearing a <C> ranked gate, despite the clearance rate.
Things improved even further the moment Sarah returned.
It took her a moment to get adjusted to things, but the moment she returned, the team performed even better, bringing consistent results every week.
The team was thriving, and Seth was able to focus on his games without any qualms.
Even the Guild Master didn’t bother him. He just let him do his thing.
This made things a lot easier for Seth.
Of course, his online outburst didn’t go unnoticed by the people within the Guild. The videos were shared everywhere, and as such, it was hard for anyone not to see them.
Seth gained a certain infamy within the Guild.
"...I always thought he was quiet, but I didn’t think he was like this."
"I guess he really is a lunatic."
"Does Kyle really hang out with someone like this? It seems a little crazy to me."
"He’s a maniac."
His infamy didn’t just stop at the Guild.
Certain individuals were making sure that nobody forgot about his videos and words.
[Samurai71]: Check out my latest video. In here, I will be breaking down all the flaws with the games developed by the indie developer. I’ll show you how to beat it and how unoriginal his games are.
[Nightmare Forge Official]: Regarding the allegations, we have decided not to pursue legal action, not due to any lack of ability to do so, but rather as a conscious choice to take the higher ground. It is truly disappointing and unexpected that he would conduct himself in such a manner.
As the saying goes, ’give someone an inch, and they’ll take a mile’.
Seth’s lack of response in regard to the streamer and studio became almost a talking point amongst the community, many claiming that he had run away, while others were simply saying that he didn’t reply because he couldn’t reply.
He started to lose a lot of followers as a result.
From nearly reaching 100,000 to dropping all the way to 50,000 followers.
His downfall was quite evident.
—It makes sense. You can almost see the similarities in certain aspects. It’s quite disappointing considering how I used to be a fan.
—...I was a really big fan of him. Who would’ve thought he was like this?
—He’s all talk. His new game will end up flopping in the end.
—How long until the new game releases? He’s been rather quiet. Do you think he’s given up on it?
The talk never truly stopped.
This was one of the rare few dramas that occurred within the island, involving a large studio, a large streamer, and an indie developer.
A lot of people were naturally attracted to such drama.
And just when everyone thought that things were starting to cool down...
[Seth Thorne] — 07/04
The all quiet Seth had finally made a statement.
However, unlike how everyone expected, the statement only stated one thing.
A date.
Nobody knew what it meant, but certain ideas started to fill the minds of many of the people on the internet.
—Is this the announcement of his new game? He didn’t just run away?
—He’s really releasing a new game?
—This isn’t a joke, right? Is this what he’s been doing the entire time? He can’t be serious...
—I bet it’s going to be another one of his little computer games. I can bet my entire net worth it’s going to be a flop.
The comments were ruthless.
None of them believed in Seth.
But as if that wasn’t enough...
[Samurai71]: I will be the first one to try the game when it comes out. None of you needs to buy the game. Let me play it for you. This way, you will be able to save a lot of money.
[Nightmare Forge Official]: We sincerely hope that the individual in question refrains from using our proprietary developer software, as has occurred in the past. Several of these programs are already protected under our copyrights, following prior instances of unauthorized use. Should the individual choose to use our software without permission again, we will have no choice but to pursue legal action.
One more ruthless than the other.
Nobody was giving Seth any chance to breathe. They were all hounding him while he was down.
And yet—
"What do you say? Have you finally accepted the fact that you’re scared of failure?"
The man in question appeared to be completely indifferent to all the noise that was happening outside. Staring at the woman who sat before him, he looked at the small notepad in front of him.
"Given how you’ve been showing up consistently every week, I can see that you’ve seen the problems that lie within you. The issue stems from the fact that you’ve experienced your first failure during the <A> ranked gate a while back. I can see that you’re still struggling to get over it, but you have to. You of all people should understand how important the mind is in our field."
"....."
Clara listened to Seth’s words in silence, her brows furrowing and her head lowering.
It was as Seth said.
After months of battling with her mental demons, she came to realize that the main reason why she was acting like this was due to her sudden experience with failure.
In the past, she had been deemed the main star of the Guild.
An unshakable soldier who cut through all gates without any issues. She had never once experienced true failure like ’that’ gate. That was the first time she had ever felt such a profound sense of helplessness, and every time she thought about that moment, her mind would go blank.
"There’s nothing wrong with experiencing failure. Failing means that you’re not perfect. You can’t go lower than failure. You can only go up unless you choose to remain down there. The choice is all up to you."
There was something magnetic about Seth’s words that made her come back to him each time. It was only when she experienced his sessions that she’d feel more at peace with the past.
But...
’It’s still not enough.’
She was improving, but not fast enough.
Clara wanted to get back on the field, but her recovery was too slow.
Far too slow.
If only—
"Let’s try something new today."
"Huh?"
Clara raised her head and looked at Seth in surprise.
Not minding her gaze, Seth took out his phone and placed it on the table in front of him.
"From what I’m understanding, failure isn’t the only thing that is holding you back. Anything that reminds you of ’that’ incident is also a great cause. In that case, let’s try listening to something of a similar wavelength. Let’s see how you react."
Seth pressed play right after.
Ziiiiiiiiiiiing—!
A long, dragging violin sound echoed right after, stretching through the air and filling the entire room.
The moment Clara heard the tune, she started to shudder, her expression paling.
There was something about the tune that was making her shudder, and as the tune carried on, the haunting sensation that she had previously felt became more and more prominent, the hair at the back of her neck standing, and her eyes widening.
Unknowingly, her palms started to sweat. Such sensation only grew as more instruments began to join in.
But what truly set her off was the soft voice that echoed shortly after.
"Haa..."
It was soft, almost childlike, but the moment it appeared, Clara felt her heart coming to a stop.
This...
She looked at Seth.
What sort of music was this?
Wham!
Hands slammed against the piano, causing her to flinch.
J-just... what is this?