novelraw Chapter 149 : Exploding Overseas (Seriously)
Chapter 149 : Exploding Overseas (Seriously)
Exploding Overseas (Seriously)
After the stream ended, late at night.
Lee Gyeongbok's astounding gameplay had already begun to spread during the stream, but compared to the aftermath after the broadcast ended, that was just a gentle breeze.
Previously, this aftermath mainly swept across the Korean Peninsula, but this time, it was different.
The storm had crossed the sea.
[What is happening?]
This was a statement that captured the identity of 'Tweety', the number one short-form SNS used by Japanese people.
Tweety collected hashtags and keywords within its platform to show trending topics among users.
Tweety users referred to this as 'straming trends', shortened to 'strend'.
And on that strend—
[Japan's Trends]
[#Perfect_Play (5,147 tweets)]
[#Demon_Must_Cry (4,228 tweets)]
The keywords 'streamer Purple' and 'Demon Must Cry' had entered the rankings.
[Tonight's stream was perfect as alwayswwww]
[The time attack gap is way too big! Hey! No wonder people call us foolswwww]
[Perfect Durante's rope action, it was both cool and funnywww Wait, no! If I'm honest, it was definitely cool!]
[Eeh—! Beatrice-chan got used to Durante's touch so quickly! As expected of a real-world type? Does it mean otaku should keep away? At this rate, she's disqualified as a Saint!]
[Me, you know... at some point, I could 'feel' Purple's intent even without subtitles. Is this something like psychic ability?(laughter)]
During the stream, most posts were real-time reactions to what was happening.
However, right after the broadcast, the mood shifted.
[Come on, is this for real...? The Saint is the mastermind/true villain? Isn't this way too dangerous? (laughter)]
[What should I even call the ending of Purple's stream? It was like, 'Eh-? Eeh-? Eeeeh-!?' repeatedly. Even after the screen went dark, it just kept goingwww]
[Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Betrayal by the Saint? If anyone knows the details, tag me!]
[Aaah, is everyone on Tweety an idiot? I figured it out. The sheeple will never get it though.]
[Hey—! Don't you think this is too much? 24 hours until the next episode, that's super harsh!]
Regardless of their nationality, viewers were shocked by Beatrice's revelation at the end of the stream.
Their conjectures about the situation were similar, and posts analyzing what had happened greatly outnumbered simple impressions.
Due to the nature of SNS, users wanted attention, and analysis posts that could spark discussions were better suited for ongoing interactions than straightforward reactions.
Such attention-grabbing posts spread further through the platform's 'retweet' feature.
Among them, there was a user who drew the most attention.
[4Gameplay_SaitoSan]
[@4Gameplay_Saito]
He was a reporter from the Japanese gaming webzine '4Gameplay'.
[The cutscene revealed in this DMC trial stream gave us a lot of information. Let's discuss details in the thread below. (Spoilers for the console version.)
〈See this thread〉]
He used the 'Thread' feature, which allowed users to display their posts in a bundle, to share his thoughts.
[First, andromalius, 'Andro,' also appeared in the previous console version of DMC. Looking at the pictures, there's a big difference in technology (laughter)
〈Picture〉]
[Andro's origin comes from one of Solomon's 72 demons. Despite being a demon, he pursues justice, punishes the wicked, and is even known as the 'Count of Justice'.]
[This characterization was preserved. In the previous title, andro cooperated with the Divine Agency, the 'Order'.]
As an expert reporter began his analysis, people quickly gathered, and the retweet count soared even while the thread was being written.
[At the time, his name was not revealed. Maybe it just hadn't been decided yet. But Andro was the one who gave the Holy Knight's weapon, the 'Celestial Cube', to the Order, enabling them to fight demons.]
[I can't tell if the newly revealed DMC is a sequel to the previous work or a reboot yet. But many of the previous settings have been retained.]
[If that setting remains, there's a high chance that Beatrice and Andro already know each other.]
[Some claim she's the mastermind/true villain, but that's still just a theory. I'm just as curious, so I hope the next stream starts soon (laughter)]
[#Perfect_Play #streamer #Demon_Must_Cry #DMC #4Gameplay #Saitosan]
[5,100 retweets / 6,300 likes.]
As soon as the thread ended, comments poured in as if they'd been waiting.
[As expected from a reporter! But Saito-san is just like uswww]
[Saito-san, aren't you going to comment on his skills? I feel like a machine stuck on repeat going 'Eh-?!' over and overwwwww]
[Of course, it's ultra-perfectwww It's in his name, after all! But it was surprising to see him defeat the invincible Andro!]
[Aah, is this what you call a post-human realm?]
[Eeh, in the end, the company staff had to prostrate themselves. Could it really be a Black Company?]
These swiftly spreading posts reached a turning point.
A new keyword appeared in the strend to divert the concentrated attention.
[#Perfect_Voice (1,782 tweets)]
The topic: Purple's voice.
The membership for Purple's channel on Q-tube had finally opened.
* * *
A new playlist appeared on the PerfectPlay channel.
Its name was 'Perfect Voice', and unlike the other playlists, its title was written in English.
This channel, viewable only by members, had just three videos: one each for the first three days of the trial stream.
There was only one thing that set these videos apart from the previous ones — they included dubbed voice recordings by Lee Gyeongbok.
[-Finally!]
[-I like Purple, but if the quality isn't satisfactory, I'm going to demand a refund right away.]
[-lol, I'm not the only one to comment first.]
Yet, as soon as the videos were uploaded, their view counts skyrocketed. Likewise, the comment numbers shot up.
Most of these came from Anglosphere subscribers, since while it was dawn in Korea, it was mid-day in the Anglosphere.
[-WTF? The dubbing quality isn't amateur level at all?]
[-lmao, he did the recording perfectly, too]
[-The voice synthesis tech isn't perfect, but it's so much more convenient. I used to miss moments fiddling with subtitles!]
[-My god, when I thought Perfect Durante was the peak, now he's speaking in English? That's More Than Perfect!]
They posted their reactions in real time, most of them surprised by the unexpectedly high audio quality.
[-What is he thinking? Offering this service for only $10 a month?]
[-How clear is the original if the dubbing is this clean? I wonder how much effort Purple put into preparing this?]
Even individual ASMR Q-tubers, who broadcast from home equipment, charge $5 for membership.
Yet Lee Gyeongbok's voice was produced with top notch studio equipment and skilled engineers even by Korean standards.
And rather than just providing audio, these videos included his flashy gameplay and the story of Demon Must Cry.
The difference was so stark, yet the price gap was barely $5. It was simply incomparable.
[-I don't know about the total cost, but it must have been a massive loss for him.]
[-I've decided. Even if there's no new video next month, I'll keep my membership at least until the month after. It's only proper!]
[-CAP Company should pay royalties to Purple. Because he is Durante!]
[-I swear, you'll never find such good audio quality from any ASMR Q-tuber.]
Both in terms of quantity and quality, the $10 monthly fee felt absolutely worth it.
With the situation like that, the comment section filled with nothing but praise — not a single negative comment. In fact, paid members felt so strongly they started worrying for Lee Gyeongbok themselves.
Of course, they had no way of knowing that, for Lee Gyeongbok, the cost was equivalent to a cup of coffee.
In the midst of this cheerful mood, something bizarre happened.
[-This might sound weird, but watching these videos wakes me up.]
[ㄴYou too? I'm always sleepy after lunch even with coffee but not now!]
[ㄴWTF? Isn't it just because the video is so fun?]
[ㄴNo, it's not as interesting anymore since I've seen it already. But my body feels like it's on fire.]
[-Sounds insane, but listen: I was working out watching the vid, and my dumbbells felt lighter than usual. I just thought, 'WTF? Is it my time to reach the next level?' And the result? I lifted 20kg more than before!]
[ㄴlol! If that's true, that's like a perfect-doping, right?]
[ㄴI'm serious! Even after just finishing a set, I'm still full of energy!]
[ㄴI'm going to try it too]
[ㄴOMG]
[ㄴWhat the? Why does this work?]
[ㄴSo perfect-doping is real?]
[ㄴMan, this isn't illegal right? So it's 'Perfect-Pumping'!]
Testimonies began appearing in the comments that watching the videos relieved fatigue and filled viewers with energy.
At first, others thought it was a joke, but when they had similar experiences, they shared their surprise in reply comments.
These 'testimonies(?)' quickly climbed to the top of the comment section with rapidly rising upvotes.
These widely viewed comments prompted even more people to try, sparking a cascade of agreement and further anecdotes.
Someone finally summed it up with a comment.
[-Wow, this is a 'Perfect Wave' in more ways than one. Like, I mean, a literally perfect audio wave.]
This comment received a tidal wave of likes and shot to the very top.
* * *
The next morning.
Lee Gyeongbok stepped out of the showers, neat and tidy after a morning workout.
"Hm?"
Just as he finished drying his hair, the Smart Link had buzzed and gone silent.
Seemed like a call had come in at an inopportune moment.
Just as he went to check who it was, he received a new message.
[〉Purple channel membership surpasses ten thousand]
A simple report.
It was a text from Park Juho. He must have been the one who'd just called.
But to Lee Gyeongbok, it didn't matter if the call was from Park Juho or Choi Byeonghun.
"Over 10,000? Overnight?"
His eyes widened in disbelief.
He was struck by a sense of déjà vu.
He'd gone through something similar before.
"Back then, it was 100,000..."
Hadn't he gathered 100,000 subscribers just one day after launching his channel? Compared to that, this was only about 10%.
But the joy Lee Gyeongbok felt now was greater than before.
"Ten thousand people, even though they had to pay?"
It costs nothing to hit a regular subscribe button; there's no resistance, no barrier. You can just click it below the video without even visiting the channel.
But membership is different.
The process is only slightly more complex, but even that gives people plenty of chances to second-guess.
And yet, 10,000 people put up with that and committed to a $10 monthly fee.
Not only that, but these people weren't even Korean speakers – most were foreigners he'd never properly communicated with.
"No way, that many...?"
Of course, his elation was enormous.
And on top of that, he had another reason to be happy.
"Ten dollars times ten thousand..."
It was simple arithmetic.
Anyone who knows their times tables could do it in their head instantly.
But the weight of that number was anything but light.
"$100,000...?"
Lee Gyeongbok's mouth slowly fell open.
He didn't even need to check the exact exchange rate.
"That's over a hundred million won?!"
He remembered talking about this with his friends. What did he say back then?
"This isn't just side income!"
He had only ever thought of it as a new revenue stream. He never dreamed it would surpass most major ad contracts.
Actually, it shouldn't even be compared to ads.
"Wait, this is monthly income, isn't it?"
An ad runs once then it's over, but membership renews every month. If the headcount remains, it's a new steady income.
"Wow..."
Lee Gyeongbok had no worries in that respect. Unlike other Q-tubers, all he had to do was—
"I just dubbed my own voice, and I made this much?"
It was just his voice.
Of course, after this trial stream ended, he'd have to hire someone to translate scripts for the next video and Q-tube would take its platform fee.
But even after those costs it was still a huge profit.
Lee Gyeongbok rubbed his face with both hands, as if massaging his cheeks, which showed no sign of dropping back down.
Soon, he had to stop even that.
"Huh?"
With a low buzz, a new text arrived.
[〉Call me when you see this.]
There's an old saying: 'A pumpkin has rolled right up to the vine.'
[〉We got a new proposal for an extra promotion contract.]
Lee Gyeongbok realized just how true that saying could be.
---
**New Names, locations, skills and Techniques**