I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work-Chapter 138

Since I often recommended games to the members, I could confidently say that I knew my way around games better than most in the company.

For someone like me, who had only a handful of strengths worth boasting about, this was one of the few things I could truly take pride in.

So, it naturally fell to me to explain Black Warning and the newly added mods to the members for this collab.

The only difference this time was that instead of discussing everything over TalkCord, we were now meeting in person.

Normally, I would have called everyone to the ninth floor of the office, but that space was now occupied by the second-generation members. So today, we all gathered at Dora’s place.

Since she lived alone, and if left to set everything up herself, she’d definitely fumble, it made sense to borrow her place to get everything ready—including preloading the mods on her computer.

...Ah, now that I think about it, there was one more difference.

Two hands were resting on my head, four on my shoulders, and two more on my waist as I sat in a chair talking about the game.

Lately, for some reason, everyone had started treating me like a pet—stroking me, fidgeting with my hair, and touching me at random.

Before, they’d at least been a little cautious about it, but ever since I was the one who suggested this collab, whatever wall had been there before had completely crumbled.

Regardless, I had to do my job, so I continued explaining the changes in the mod.

Damage doubled, meaning that the two of them—who were essentially the ultimate cowardly duo forced into a DPS role—were already whining.

“Can we... even do this?!”

“I’m already... scared... I watched so many videos....”

Rain and Komari called me a traitor.

They said they thought I would carry them, but instead, I was just going to be a pack mule.

“No, seriously, Gia, you should be carrying the logs, too. How can you just be a porter?”

“That’s right. Stop whining and just charge in mindlessly!.”

“This is a balance adjustment. Sure, it’s a game I’ve never played before, but if I had attack power on top of everything else, I’d just end up killing all the monsters. You saw how it was when Dora and I played Pandemic Village, right?”

“I mean, yeah, but that just means I’ll be the only one carrying logs. There’s no way Rain will help properly.”

“Me? Why? Me does it properly.”

“When the bribe money starts getting tight later, that’s when you’ll actually play seriously.... I’ve known you for almost two years now.”

“Oh. Goosebumps. Are you a genius?”

“Ugh. Guess I’m the only one carrying logs after all.”

Maru bristled.

“Hey, at least I’m not as bad as Dora, okay? I’ll still fight before I die.”

“Wow. So mean. Making it sound like I’m the only dead weight~.”

“To be fair, you kinda are... at least when it comes to combat games.”

“That’s so sad.”

“See? You say you’re sad because you have no comeback.”

“Don’t be too hard on Dora. When we get into an actual fight, Maru, you’ll be just as bad.”

“I will not!”

Another day, another chaotic mess in Parallel Another.

Though, the four who had been bickering nonstop immediately stopped when the boombox started playing one of their songs.

No one even suggested it, but they spontaneously started a live performance in surround sound.

Since the members loved to sing, this was pretty much routine.

But since the boombox was a monster that exploded after a set time, it wasn’t long before—boom!

Maru and Komari were dumbfounded.

“What the hell was that...?”

“Feels like we just got a vision of our new song flopping.”

“Hey. Komari. Could you not put it like that?”

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

Rain and Dora, on the other hand, were thrilled, already shaking their bodies excitedly at the thought of milking this for YouTube content.

“Everyone, no escaping, okay? If you get caught, you have to sing on the spot.”

“Yeah, yeah, gotta make it a flashy execution~.”

Honestly, when the company praised this idea as a great concept yesterday, I didn’t think much of it.

But seeing how much the members enjoyed it naturally brought a smile to my lips.

I really hadn’t expected this mod, which I threw in just for promotion, to be such a hit.

It felt like I might be getting a bonus soon.

Though, what I’d actually do with it was a problem for later.

Even in the middle of the members excitedly chattering about tomorrow, our ever-diligent fact-checker, Komari, never stopped scrutinizing the details.

“But Gia, be honest. This boombox thing only shows up on mid-tier planets, right? Are we even capable of getting there with this team?”

Dora and Maru, who had been grumbling about being underestimated, couldn’t immediately refute that.

To reach a mid-tier planet, we’d need to buy a license. And to do that, it would take anywhere from three in-game days (one day per planetary cycle) to six, depending on how fast we moved.

Even after obtaining the license, if we ended up in a full game-over scenario, the whole thing would reset, meaning we’d have to start over from the lower-tier planets and earn the license again.

But, well, who was I?

I had already considered everything and reported it to Cheon Do-hee.

“That’s why I added this. Donguri, Hatchling, Leaf, and Puddle. The chances of them appearing are low, but if we find even two of these four fan characters, we’ll have enough money to buy the license right away.

Honestly, isn’t it more fun to be grinding in mid- and high-tier planets than wasting time baking bread on the low-tier ones?”

The members, who had been dancing excitedly earlier, now crowded around the monitor, giggling and making a commotion.

“Honestly, finding our fan characters in that dark environment would be so comforting....”

“The Hatchlings are so cute~!”

“Damn! The Puddles modeling looks like total goblin energy! Makes me wanna soccer kick them!”

With that, the explanation was done.

As I was getting ready to leave, though, I noticed Komari watching me with a suspicious look amidst all the excited members.

Then she leaned in and whispered into my ear.

“Be honest. You’ve got something else planned, don’t you?”

“What would I be planning?”

“This is exactly the kind of game where you’d pull something. There’s no way you’re just letting this go. You’ve got something, right?”

Given my track record, I couldn’t blame her for doubting me.

And, well, she wasn’t wrong. I did have something planned. But ideally, I wouldn’t need to use it.

“I specifically tweaked the mods to make things easier so you four wouldn’t burn to a crisp. If I mess with it more, all the balance adjustments will be pointless.”

“...Really?”

I nodded a couple of times, keeping my face completely neutral.

Komari seemed unconvinced but had no further way to press the issue, so she just pouted and backed off.

As soon as the members got caught up in their own conversations, I tried to slip out, but it seemed my overtime wasn’t done just yet.

Maru’s hand shot out and grabbed my arm.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“Wait. Where do you think you’re going? You have to eat dinner before you leave. Aren’t you hungry?”

I shook my head firmly to indicate I wasn’t.

But then, the remaining three teamed up and restrained my arms and legs.

“Eat before you go, Gia. We’ll treat you.”

“Yeah. Tomorrow, we’ll all be playing from home anyway, so this is our only chance to have dinner together~.”

Since I desperately wanted to go home, I was about to bring up that menu, but Rain’s fingers shot out and pinched my lips like a clamp.

“No pineapple pizza. You understand, Gia?”

“Mmhhmmhmhhh.”

“What’d she say?”

“She said she’s hungry and wants to eat quickly.”

“Mhhhmhhm!”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it. Let’s go eat something good.”

“Let’s go~!”

“Pbb—!”

***

Black Warning

The objective of the game is really simple.

Go into the lairs of dangerous monsters scattered across different planets.

Pick up scrap metal ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ lying around.

Transport it back to the spaceship and deliver it to headquarters as tribute. That’s it.

However, these monster lairs are filled with all kinds of traps.

And the monsters themselves are bizarre and unpredictable.

The black company that sends players in for exploration must be curious about their ecology too, since they also pay for any photos or videos you bring back.

Since most of the members had—whether they wanted to or not—already watched plenty of videos about the game on YouTube, I skipped explaining the monsters yesterday, aside from the boombox.

People were looking forward to seeing their reactions when they actually encountered the creatures in person for the first time.

That’s why, for the first game, we treated it like a tutorial.

Each of us would split up to get a feel for the game.

Since I had already declared that I would be hanging back as a porter, the broadcast was entirely in the hands of the members.

“Alright. For the first planet, let’s split up and look around. It’s scary, but we need to get used to the game first.”

“Yeah. Gotta smash our heads into it and try different things before we can really get the hang of it.”

“Ugh... I’m scared.... Can I... take Gia with me...?”

“Dora is a super coward, so yeah, let her tow Gia along. Makes sense.”

Of course, even though I had made it clear that I’d just be playing the role of a porter, the viewers were already expecting me to stir up some chaos.

— Today, Magia is looking like some prime Jangsanbeom bait.

— Honestly, she’s gonna be even worse than the doppelgänger. LOL

— First-gens getting scared out of their minds incoming.

— She’s definitely prepared something wild again. LOL

:: An anonymous donor has gifted 10,000 Clouds! ::

:: Why is Magia playing the porter? Because that way, she can pull a Jangsanbeom prank. ::

— LMAO

— They’re right. LOL

— She’s seriously evil.

— Wait, is that why she naturally stuck to Dora?!

— Oh no. LOL

— Dora’s screwed!

The Jangsanbeom people were referring to was actually a doppelgänger monster.

It wore the same protective suit and gas mask as the players.

It recorded snippets of their voices in-game and later played them back while sneaking up on them.

If you failed to recognize it as a monster and turned your back, you’d get your throat bitten and die instantly.

In a way, it was similar to me—since I could mimic the members’ voices too.

People thought I’d imitate it and scare the hell out of them.

But that would make me stand out among the members.

I had no intention of doing that, obviously.

Just because I wasn’t interested in it, though, didn’t mean people saw it that way.

Just like Komari yesterday, Dora immediately turned to me as soon as she saw the chat.

“What? Were you planning on pulling a Jangsanbeom prank? Gia, you’re awful.”

“I told you, I’m not.”

— LOL

— Even Dora doesn’t believe her. LOL

— Who would?! LOL

— Have you guys forgotten Magia from Maou Castle?!

— Not just anyone can create a cursed maze, you know. LOL

The situation kept repeating itself.

[Dora, where are you? I’m right here! Can you hear my voice?]

That line, completely unprompted, sounded exactly like a doppelgänger trying to lure someone in.

Dora immediately turned around and stared at me.

Pitch black.

The dimly lit interior.

A flashlight beam struck my face directly.

“That was you just now, right, Gia?”

“No. Now put the flashlight away, I can’t see. If you get your throat bitten because of this, that’s not my problem.”

— It wasn’t her?!

— That wasn’t Magia?!

— ??

— You’re telling me that wasn’t Magia?!

— Liar.

:: An anonymous donor has gifted 10,000 Clouds! ::

:: But there’s no point doubting, because we have no way of knowing what’s Magia’s voice imitation and what’s the real doppelgänger. LOL ::

— Holy shit

— This is terrifying. ㅠㅠ

— I’m sleeping with my mom tonight.

People kept suspecting me multiple times after that.

But all I did was quietly follow Dora around, picking up whatever scraps she found and adding them to my inventory.

But since the inventory space wasn’t infinite, we eventually had to turn back.

Thud. Right on cue, a monster locked eyes with Dora.

Startled, she tried to run but slipped on a narrow bridge and tumbled down into the pitch-black abyss below.

“Aaaaahhhhhhh————.......”

— The way her scream faded. LOL

— Holy shit, this is too funny. LOL

— Did she actually fall?! LOL

Now alone, I turned and ran toward the entrance.

But then I heard a sound from somewhere behind me, turned my head, and—crack—snapped my neck.

It was the Stalker.

It followed you around making a quiet “huhuhu” sound.

If you got startled and turned to look at it, you’d lock eyes—and the moment that happened, you were dead.

Ironically, Dora and I, who had both died in the most pathetic ways, were actually the last two survivors.

The moment we died, everyone’s mics came back on, and we respawned in the spaceship. The others immediately started ranting through their tears.

“No. No. No. I hate this game.”

“Ugh. I swear I almost lost my mind. Why are there so many jump scares?!”

“This game is absolute trash. It’s fucking garbage. Who put a landmine there?!”

— LOL

— These cowards. LOL

— At this death rate, aren’t they basically leaderboard material? LOL

— This is stupidly hilarious. LOL

Still, the audience loved it.

It was a horror game, but not really a horror game.

Normally, when people play horror games, the viewers get scared along with them.

But in this one, the deaths were so funny that everyone was too busy laughing to be afraid.

We continued playing separately, getting used to the mechanics.

We played a total of three rounds before the first tribute deadline.

Not once did we make any money.

Instead, we were fired like space trash, ejected into the void.

As we drifted in the blackness of space, the four of them were too busy blaming each other to even process what had happened.

— I’m losing it. LOL

— Wow, a full 0 credits. That’s legendary.

— How the hell did you make no money at all?

— Yeah, I think splitting up is absolutely not the move. LOL

— You guys already set a speedrun record for failure, so maybe now it’s time to focus?

— My stomach hurts from laughing.

— This is Black Warning. LOL

— Seriously, couldn’t you at least take some monster photos?! LOL

— Too scared to pull out the camera. LOL

And yet, even after all that, they were still suspicious of me.

“This is all because Gia was messing around.”

“No, but seriously, I heard a voice exactly like hers earlier.”

“That was totally Gia!”

I did nothing wrong, and yet, I was being framed.

...Well, I wasn’t actually upset about it.

I just brushed it off and decided to steer the conversation toward actually playing the game properly.

“How about we all stick together from now on? If we keep splitting up like this, we’ll just keep dropping like flies and making zero money anyway.”

But what I got in return was...

“Gia. You’re trying to prank us while sneaking along with the group, right? I know. We’re just mice in the palm of your hand.”

“Gasp. Really~? Gia, that’s so mean....”

The suspicion never ended.

...No, seriously, I didn’t mess around today.

I wasn’t even planning to.

There were plenty of monsters waiting on the mid- and high-tier planets that would scare the members for me anyway.

Why would I bother?

“I’m telling you, I’m not planning anything. So, are we sticking together or not?”

***

It was clear now—sticking together was the right choice for these cowards.

Whenever a monster suddenly appeared, Komari, who was leading, was the first to notice and alert the others. That gave the two players with double damage the courage to step up and swing their weapons.

At the very least, it meant we could actually take down the weaker mobs.

Like the ones that charged at us in a straight line through narrow hallways, shoving us aside.

Or the centipede-like bugs that suddenly dropped from the ceiling and latched onto people’s faces.

Of course, the giant spiders were a physiological nightmare for the members, and the stalker-type monsters that crept up from behind, outside our field of vision, led to sudden deaths no matter what.

But even so, by sticking together, the members were starting to collect items at a decent pace.

Though, there were still moments where Rain would mindlessly run ahead, step on a landmine, and blow up the whole team—leaving nothing behind but silence and corpses while I was on the spaceship dropping off items.

Surprisingly, though, moving as a group seemed to ease their fears.

And since I was diligently hauling the items back to the spaceship, we actually managed to stack up enough performance to pass the deadline.

We successfully entered the second week.

We still hadn’t earned enough money to buy a mid-tier planet license.

But at the rate we were getting used to the game, it felt like we were picking things up pretty fast.

However, just when we reached that vague point of adaptation, Peak Foolishness started to rear its head.

We were still on the low-tier planets.

We hadn’t even encountered the real monsters yet.

Someone was constantly getting lost.

People kept falling to their deaths or stepping on landmines every single round.

One person spent the entire time squinting and only killing the monsters we needed to hunt.

And yet, somehow, the members were now brimming with confidence.

“You know, if Gia had actually tried pulling a Jangsanbeom prank today, we probably could’ve handled it.”

“Right? It wasn’t as bad as I thought~.”

At this point, I didn’t even have the energy to respond.

But, for some reason, the people watching through the official channel got mad on my behalf.

— Isn’t this straight-up provocation?

— Should we put them in their place?

— She’s clearly been going easy on them with baby difficulty, but maybe it’s time to go all in.

— Jangsanbeom Magia, deploying now.

— When is Magia becoming Jangsanbeom? When is Magia becoming Jangsanbeom? When is Magia becoming Jangsanbeom? When is Magia becoming Jangsanbeom? When is Magia becoming Jangsanbeom?

— Is it time?

— LET’S GOOOOO

— Gia, if you hold back any longer, it’ll make you sick. Just go all out and wipe them.

Honestly, I wanted to keep messing with them.

If I wanted to, I could create an opportunity any time.

Because when I explained the mod settings to the boss, I deliberately left one thing out.

I had a hidden trick prepared—something meant for when the game’s balance started feeling too easy.

If I used it, I could easily throw the members into sheer panic.

But activating it meant I’d have to briefly leave the game.

And today’s collab was about playing together with the members.

So I was trying my best not to use it.

But the members kept taunting me, asking when I was going to prank them.

The viewers were frustrated, saying this wasn’t like me at all.

The gameplay wasn’t even getting stale or repetitive.

If anything, the game had been going too smoothly since the tutorial ended.

...Then that means it’s fine, right?

I can actually do it, right?

“Everyone, I just got called by the boss, so I’ll be stepping away for a bit. You four keep playing.”

— Huh?

— You’re leaving now?

— Wait, why are you quitting in the middle of the game? LOL

[Magia has left the game.]

— ?

— What? She actually left?!