novelraw Chapter 141 : (Im)Possible Strategy (1)
Chapter 141 : (Im)Possible Strategy (1)
(Im)Possible Strategy (1)
The result of the meeting was to go with the Q-tube membership service. However, the meeting didn't end right there.
"Like Tri's tier system, the membership can be divided into ranks as well. The difference is, you get to set the price."
"Oh? Really?"
"But for now, it's better to run it as a single, unified tier rather than splitting it up."
Lee Gyeongbok nodded his head.
"If you separate them, you have to provide different perks for each level, just like Tri, right?"
"Exactly. But as of now, we basically have no real perks to offer. We should come up with perks first and then set the price accordingly."
After Park Juho's words, Choi Byeonghun chimed in.
"Even if we make videos for overseas fans, adding subtitles alone isn't enticing enough. There needs to be something that feels worth the money, right?"
"That's true."
Subtitles could easily be added even to current videos, and quite a few viewers often provided fan-subtitles for free.
If they tried to make people pay just for watching those subtitles, it was obvious it would backfire.
"After last night's stream, I checked out some of the reactions on the relay stream. Everyone complained about how your words were being translated with a delay."
"So, the two of us put our heads together. What if we tried dubbing?"
"Dubbing?"
At his two friends' suggestion, Lee Gyeongbok's eyes grew round.
"You're saying record me in English? But you said there are Japanese and European viewers too, right? Isn't dubbing all of them impossible?"
Foreign languages weren't Lee Gyeongbok's strong suit. Of course, if given a script, he could read it, but pronunciation was critical.
"Ah, man, it'd be great to catch your reaction and upload it as shorts."
Choi Byeonghun smirked at the response.
"What you actually need for dubbing isn't foreign language skills. As long as we have your voice, it'll be enough."
Park Juho shook his head as he answered. But Lee Gyeongbok still looked puzzled.
"My voice?"
"Come on, you've played the game yourself, right? Do you know how amazing voice synthesis technology is nowadays!"
"Voice synthesis? Ah..."
He let out a small sigh.
Overlaying the protagonist's dialogue with his own voice—that was a kind of dubbing, wasn't it?
"There's no need to dub each language one by one. As long as we have your voice and the script, the dubbing is done."
"The best part for us is that everything you say gets translated on the relay stream. We can just use those scripts."
"That's definitely an advantage. We won't have to pay extra for translation. And as for proportions, English and Japanese should be enough."
The staff at the relay channel was already translating his words, so those scripts could be used.
Upon hearing that, Lee Gyeongbok beamed with joy.
"But it's not entirely free. Turns out you can't use voice recorded with ordinary equipment."
"Really? Well, I guess that makes sense."
To perfectly extract voice data, you needed professional equipment. With regular gear, there'd be noise and the quality just wasn't good enough.
"So since we've decided, I'll look into related companies or studios."
"We need to check this out carefully. Otherwise, we might just waste time and money."
Choi Byeonghun gave this warning, then, feeling Park Juho's gaze, cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Ahem, it's not like I don't trust you. It's just—who doesn't know how picky you are!"
Lee Gyeongbok laughed at his friends, then suddenly widened his eyes.
'Wait... for recording?'
A thought flashed through his mind, and a faint smile appeared.
"Hey, I'll look into it as well."
"What?"
"You, seriously?"
The abrupt declaration made both friends whip their heads in surprise.
"No, this is my job. Just focus on the stream."
"Yeah, the manager should handle this. We'll take care of stuff outside the broadcast."
Despite his friends' protest, Lee Gyeongbok just waved his hand and grinned even more broadly.
"No, I don't mean digging deep into it. I just know someone I could ask about it."
Though he answered like that, the doubts in his friends' eyes did not fade.
'He knows someone?'
'Since when did this guy have connections in sound production?'
* * *
Late afternoon, at a cooking studio.
A kitchen with bright lights and multiple cameras.
In it were the Sweeties members.
With a ding from the notification, the youngest, sehee, opened the oven.
"Wow!"
"Whoa, it turned out so well!"
"Did we really make this?"
The other members smiled brightly. Soon, their leader, yoon Nara, appeared behind them, wearing gloves on both hands.
"Careful, everyone!"
"No, you should be careful, unni!"
"Isn't it hot? Are you okay?"
"Helping by stepping out of the way is best, you know."
Ignoring the chattering members, she pulled out the tray. Following what they learned, they waited for the cookie part—the coque—to cool before filling it and adding individual toppings.
"Tada! The macarons for our dear BRICKs are finished! Now, shall we each explain our creations?"
"I like the crunchy bits. Gives it a better bite, you know?"
"I decorated mine to be really colorful! What's that called? Oh, sprinkles! Sprinkles!"
"Come on, nothing beats the original! I just wrote BRIX with the choco pen."
"I wrote something under my topping too!"
"Anyway, taste is what matters!"
Playfully, each member gave their explanations, then Yoon Nara wrapped up the stream.
"So, how was 'Dessert from Sweeties' today? I really hope our BRICKs will like it."
Today's filming was for a self-produced content for Sweeties' Q-tube channel.
"Make sure to come and try these at the next autograph session!"
"We really practiced hard for this, you know?"
From the side, the other members chimed in. Yoon Nara clapped with a bright smile.
"Well then, we'll say goodbye here. See you in the next video!"
"May your day be as sweet as ours!"
"We've been Sweeties!"
With their final greeting, the PD behind the camera gave the okay sign. At the same moment, the camera lights went out.
"Thank you for your hard work!"
"You did great!"
The staff in the studio greeted them in unison. The Sweeties members looked around the room and returned the greetings.
"Would you like to try one?"
"How does it taste?"
Soon the members handed out macarons to the staff and chatted. As the studio bustled, yoon Nara stealthily checked her Smart Link.
[P〉 Hey, do you know any sound studios you could recommend?]
A message from Purple, received a little while ago. She tilted her head.
'Audio? Why is he looking for a studio all of a sudden?'
Her curiosity quickly became a reply. The answer came back unexpectedly fast.
[P〉 Ah, there's a bit of a story behind that.]
He didn't hide anything.
Thanks to that, yoon Nara instantly understood the reason.
'If it's our agency's exclusive studio, that wouldn't be an issue...'
Since they did album recordings, the sound equipment there was top notch. If he could borrow the place, he should be able to record a sample with the desired quality.
'It's not a place just anyone can go.'
But since it was under an exclusive contract, outsiders couldn't enter without permission.
Still, yoon Nara only mulled it over for a moment.
'A debt needs to be repaid.'
She recalled the PerG-Day after-party. He had arranged a spot just for her.
'Compared to that secret venue, this is nothing.'
Booking a studio for him was an easy task compared to what he did.
So, she quickly typed back.
[NT〉 Just wait a moment.]
[NT〉 We'll get things ready on this side.]
* * *
Evening, time for the second day's Demerc gameplay stream neared.
"Trha! Nice to see you all!"
With his greeting, the chat fired up.
― Perha!
― Been waiting ages for you!
― Perante! Perante! Perante!
― The world-class star that awed America and amazed Japan is here!
― Lmao is the leaker himself here? hahaha
― But the truth is, he is right tho haha
― Is the smurf who made a meme overseas in just two months coming later?!
Gyeongbok let out a chuckle at his viewers' playful chat.
['ZeroToHeroToTheHell' has donated 100,000 won.]
[Spending this vacation with Godple and in hell, that's what I mean.]
['ICanHearIt' donated 50,000 won.]
[Presenting this show with Gekkomu, devil, and Songnyodan dekyo!]
['WorthTheBroadcastFee' has donated 150,000 won.]
[Honestly, godple's stream should be designated as national TV haha]
Donations poured in again. Even though he had announced on the first day that he couldn't read them all, the amount hadn't decreased at all.
Gyeongbok clapped his hands and thanked them once again.
"Thank you so much for all the support! I have a quick announcement for today."
― Announcement? It's not bad news, is it?
― You rascals, what did you do this time?
― No, judging by his face, it doesn't seem bad haha
― Yeah haha I'm suspicious by default anyway
Seeing the chat, Gyeongbok waved his hand.
"Ah, this isn't about the main stream. It's a notice for those watching the relay stream overseas."
Questions filled the chat.
"Soon Purple channel will open a membership. For those who find subtitles inconvenient, dubbed videos will be uploaded. However, since dubbing costs a bit, we inevitably decided it will be available to members only."
Gyeongbok calmly relayed what had been decided at the meeting.
― Whoa? Dubbing?
― Even taking care of the Western and Japanese fans, what a sweetheart!
― Seriously, how perfect do you plan to get!
― Now that I think about it, the overseas Troopers never sub or donate, huh?
― Haha, watching a great stream like this for free? How shameless!
― Zero-to-hero bus driver at it again, instantly blocking the freeloaders!
-???: You SHOULD pay to watch stuff like this!
― Just how far ahead are you planning, master Chu...
The viewers were thoroughly pleased with the notice. Announcement finished, Gyeongbok clapped lightly.
"That's it! Now, let's jump straight back into the Demerc gameplay!"
He launched the game.
A newly progressing cutscene began.
― Oh? Something feels off about the mood
― Where is this?
― Is this some kind of military area?
There were multiple buildings spread out over a large area. In the middle, durante and Beatrice walked together.
Viewers soon speculated about the location's identity.
― It's Divine Agency lol
― Yeah lol people are walking around in uniforms
― Those Holy Knights aren't making nice faces?
― Dude;;; they call you out and give you attitude?
All around, people wore white uniforms, and the armed Holy Knights glared warily at Durante.
Beatrice looked visibly uncomfortable, but Durante walked on in silence.
Eventually, a Holy Knight ran up to them.
"Welcome, saint. The branch manager awaits you."
Apparently, this was a greeting party.
But neither Gyeongbok nor his viewers welcomed it.
"They're completely ignoring Durante, huh?"
― Seriously, haha, only call the Saint
― Can we please get a massacre route?
― If it's the branch manager, this probably isn't the main base, right?
― Isn't the branch manager supposed to greet you himself?
― Yeah, this just makes it even more annoying
Durante didn't care at all. He merely followed behind the Holy Knight.
On the other hand, beatrice kept glancing nervously at Durante.
― Our Saint is so nervous, so cute haha
― Thanks to those cocky Holy Knights, the poor Saint is suffering T_T
― Is Durante even fazed?
― Real men don't sweat the small stuff
Suddenly, durante paused mid-stride. His gaze landed on a massive metal container being transported.
Holy Knights surrounded it as if guarding it.
'... What is that?'
Gyeongbok felt a sense of discomfort.
It was expected, surrounded by hostile Holy Knights, but the feeling coming from the container was of a different kind.
"Durante?"
Meanwhile, beatrice turned her head and asked. Durante didn't answer and simply kept walking.
After showing the front of the building, the scene shifted.
― Is this a lab?
― What's with all these graphs
― They call it a cult but it's high-tech!
― Is that the branch manager?
Holographic graphs were projected into the air, and the room was full of all sorts of electronic devices.
In the middle of it, a man was absorbed in his work, not noticing Durante and Beatrice entering.
"Ahem, branch manager Caron?"
When she called, the man looked up in surprise and turned around.
"Oh! Saint! You've arrived? So this is Mr. Durante!"
The man, caron, strode over to them with a bright smile.
― Oh...!
― Bald head and big glasses haha
― If he welcomed them right away, he probably wasn't ignoring them on purpose
― That's totally a scientist type, isn't it?
― You can tell from his tension, he's a mad scientist for sure haha
― Yeah, it's like he's been locked up researching
― So he's a grad student, right?
― Lmao, grad student haha
The viewers laughed. Unlike other Holy Knights, caron wasn't so off-putting.
Gyeongbok felt the same.
'So he's an ally-type character.'
There was no hostility from Caron. He quickly scanned Durante up and down.
"What are you doing?"
"Excuse me? Ah, terribly sorry. Half-demons are so rare, I couldn't help but get the urge to study."
Caron stroked his bald head with a low chuckle. Durante scoffed.
"Research, huh? Is that why you keep the demons alive?"
"Oh! What made you think that?!"
"How did you—?!"
Both were taken aback by the question. Caron's look was all curiosity; Beatrice seemed flustered.
"There's a stench of death everywhere—no way I'd miss it."
"Amazing! Do demons truly sense each other? Is it literally a smell? If we could use that, we might develop a demon detector—"
"Branch Manager Caron!"
Beatrice finally cut off Caron's rapid-fire ramble.
"Oops, I was rude again. Sorry. But I really can't stop thinking about it! If we could harness demon power, just think how much civilization would progress, beyond mere survival!"
― But why is he still bald?
― Can't even develop hair tonic with demon power...
― Comes to think of it, aren't most demons bald too?
― Yeah, aside from their horns and all, they're bald
― LOL isn't that a bit much haha
― So that's why Durante has so much hair
― What are you saying?
― If you reverse 'hair loss' in Korean...
― LMAO Immortal, demon Hunter
― Immortal hair roots, so jealous!
While the chat was busy with jokes, caron produced something from his pocket.
"Behold! What an incredible invention!"
In Caron's hand was a silver cube, looking like a Rubik's Cube for puzzles.
The difference was that each tile on the cube expanded and contracted as if it were breathing.
"So this is the 'Celestial Cube' your order is so proud of."
Unlike the excited Caron, durante spoke calmly.
― You can tell it's special
― Is this the Holy Knights' weapon?
― They fight with cubes?
― No, doesn't it change if you have demon blood?
― They brought in elements from the console version lol
― If it's a reboot, they had to inherit the system lol
The viewers' guess was proven right.
"Oh, so you've heard of it? Thanks to this cube, so many Holy Knights have been empowered to fight demons..."
"We're not here to listen to your boasts."
Durante's calm voice cut him off.
"How do I get to hell?"
"All right, all right! Knowledge belongs to those who seek it, after all. Here, take a look at this data first..."
Caron stepped back and began his explanation—when suddenly, a loud whuuung sounded and all the electronic devices shut down. Red emergency lights flickered on and the security camera feed popped up on the displays.
A blaring siren rang out.
"What is this?!"
"What's going on?!"
Caron and Beatrice shouted in shock at the video feed, and soon Gyeongbok and his viewers understood the situation.
― Whoa?
― What's happening? Why the chaos all of a sudden?
― The captured demons escaped?
― Tsk tsk, told you those Holy Knights would mess up.
The building collapsed as demons poured out. Holy Knights fought back.
"This is—I can't believe this! All the demons were weakened, there's no way they could break out of containment!"
Caron's words rose in disbelief. He was right—the Holy Knights quickly overpowered the demons.
But the situation rapidly worsened.
"Branch Manager Caron! The demon corpses...!"
Black, vine-like things sprouted from the fallen demons' bodies, piercing and then taking over the unsuspecting Holy Knights.
"Is it a parasite?! Were they hiding in the corpses?!"
Caron shrieked.
It was then Gyeongbok realized the nature of that different kind of discomfort.
"Looks like that container Durante noticed earlier was hiding these things."
― Oh! That's right lol
― That's why Durante stopped, haha
― There's always a reason for a cutscene shot
― Tried to drain demon blood and got bitten themselves
The viewers agreed.
"Everyone's in danger...!"
A shocked Beatrice rushed ahead. Durante, in contrast, didn't move an inch.
His face showed not the slightest trace of sympathy.
"Mr. Durante! Please help, please!"
"Me? Why?"
Caron pleaded for help. But he wasn't trying to save the Holy Knights.
"There's a data center next to the containment facility! The method you're seeking is in there!"
At those words, durante's gaze sharpened.
"Either way, I'll expect proper compensation for handling this."
"Of course! Here, take this! It'll help!"
Caron tossed the Celestial Cube to Durante as he turned away. Durante caught it without even glancing.
The scene shifted.
Durante exited the building.
Screams, flames, collapsed structures everywhere.
The outside was utter pandemonium.
"Everyone...!"
Beatrice despaired at the sight of a Holy Knight corrupted by the vines.
― Our Saint's heart is breaking T_T
― So kind
-???: Enjoy your massacre route^^
― LOL, didn't expect a massacre route like this
― Hyung, hurry, rescue her!
Viewers thought the cutscene would end—but still didn't regain control.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
Beatrice bit her lip. As the corrupted Holy Knights charged her, durante darted in front in an instant.
"Durante?"
"Move. You're in the way."
With his words, the corrupted Holy Knight was cut to pieces.
― Damn! That's a real man for you!
― Real men express themselves through actions, not words
― That's just like Godple–haha
― Isn't that obvious?
― Yeah, perfect-Durante style
― The parallel theory of Godple and Durante
Viewers cheered at Durante's strength, but the crisis continued.
"What...?"
Beatrice's eyes wavered. With a sickening squelch, the scattered pieces of Holy Knight writhed again.
Vines grew from the dismembered lumps and reassembled a body.
"P-please save me! Please, save me!"
"Aaagh!"
The screams of survivors rang out. Beatrice went even paler.
"Do what you need to do."
Turning away from her, durante spoke. At his voice, beatrice pulled herself together.
She took a slow, deep breath.
"I'll guide people to the exit. The rest... please, take care of it."
Durante didn't reply.
But it was enough for her.
― Wow, I thought she might get clingy and become annoying
― Yeah, lots of cases where the female lead wants to fight by your side and just gets in the way
― Heroine points stacking~
― Yeah, godple's heroines have already proven their worth in Honeydra
The viewers accepted this without complaint.
Durante glanced at the revived corrupted Holy Knight and clicked his tongue.
"Let's see how useful this is."
He grabbed Caron's cube. Squeezing hard, the cube twisted and crunched.
The chat filled with question marks, but the cube kept crumbling.
Scarlet blood soaked into the torn cube shards from his sundered palm.
― Oh?
― He's activating it like *this*? lol
― Haha, men from Henan always activate things with blood
― Henan men, haha
The crushed cube fragments vibrated and wrapped around his left hand. The shards intertwined like organic matter and soon formed into a gauntlet.
"My turn now."
The cutscene ended there.
Gyeongbok regained control.
['Celestial Cube' temporarily neutralizes demonic traits and can transform differently depending on the demon.]
[Tip〉 Neutralization only lasts while in contact!]
[Tip〉 After contact, think the keyword 'cube' to transform. Transformation time depends on contact time.]
Instruction messages appeared.
― Neutralizing traits? Isn't this a major difficulty drop?
― It says only while in contact, haha
― Yeah, you have to keep touching them to neutralize
― Plus you can't use your left hand, which is a penalty
― Not a difficulty drop but an increase, actually
― What's this about transformation?
― We'll see soon enough, I guess
― Hyung, hurry and show us!
At the viewers' fervent requests, Gyeongbok chuckled.
"I'm curious, too. Let's test it right away."
He closed the message and entered combat. More corrupted Holy Knights and other enemies burst onto the scene.
"Let's clear the area first."
Enemies attacked from all directions, even from collapsed rubble above.
Normally, players would panic and activate demonization, but not Gyeongbok. He calmed his breath and gripped the greatsword.
― Seriously, this is all the opposition the Only Sword faces?
― Durante wipes them with ease—Perfect-Durante makes this too easy
― Real men don't get flustered
― A man's gotta have substance
― Substance where exactly? (LOL)
― Stop it already!
Gyeongbok lived up to expectations—corrupted Holy Knights were sliced up in the order they came.
As the fallen Holy Knights revived, Gyeongbok grabbed the last attacker.
"So with traits neutralized like this... let's try cutting him."
― Cut it up cutely~
― Whoa, the lecture's back
― Senior, watch this, juniors!
― Oh? There's a new line on the gauntlet!
― Is it absorbing demon blood?
― Cube says: I'll take some^^
― Take what, lol
Just as the viewers noted, a deep red line appeared on the gauntlet. Gyeongbok butchered the Holy Knight he'd seized.
Soon, vines that should have sprouted from the severed wound, withered away instead.
"See that? It's different from the cutscene. And also different from the other fallen Holy Knights."
― Is he checking if the class understood? So intimidating
― Don't make eye contact, guys
― Classic school habits, haha
― Sensei! Time to show us the transformation!
― That's what I'm looking forward to!
― Yeah, we could already guess about neutralization
Now it was time to show the transformation feature. Gyeongbok chanted the keyword in his mind.
A tingle ran through his palm, and with a sweeping whoosh, a grappling hook launched.
"Oh, since it's vines, it seems it transforms like this."
Gyeongbok let out a small sigh of admiration and twisted his hand.
The grappling hook, now fully formed, pierced the torso of a revived corrupted Holy Knight.
With a metallic click, the hooked line snapped tight and, with a rattling sound, rapidly reeled the enemy in.
Gyeongbok used that force—at the moment of contact, he split the Holy Knight's head with his greatsword.
-??
― He landed that shot instantly?
― What kind of control is this?
― Insane adaptability
― Haha, perfect-Durante never needs practice
― Just does it (for real)
Even though it was his first time using the ability, the viewers were awed. Separately, Gyeongbok also muttered a small sigh of admiration.
"This is a fun feature. If it transforms differently for each demon, there must be a whole variety of actions you can do."
The message did say each demon would result in a different transformation. That meant lots of new stylish actions to try out.
And the one to show them off—
― Dang! This is the essence!
― The light of stylish action
― Yeah, honestly, I couldn't use this even if I had it, but with Godple, I expect a lot
― Right, most people would get killed fiddling with transformation
― The combination of perfection and the classic? Simply irresistible, haha
—would be none other than Purple.
***
**New Names, locations, skills, and Techniques**