novelraw Chapter 361: Episode 361_Epilogue (6)
Chapter 361: Episode 361_Epilogue (6)
—The first wave was just rich people with money to burn who were curious.
—Seriously, it’s a one-off cash grab.
—With Simin’s trash personality, he’s probably making at least double that in profit.
—Hope they all come back broke, that’ll teach ‘em, lol.
—I heard some people went with just the 30 Gold and are now stranded over there.
The laments of those who couldn’t go dragged on.
One day, then two.
Even before any news came back from the Demon World, they prejudged the situation, delighting in the thought of others’ losses.
However, their laughter didn’t last long.
—It’s insane. I skipped a trip to the U.S. to go sightseeing in the Demon World instead. I stayed three days and came back when the second wave arrived. Then, get this: I picked up a rock off the ground because it looked pretty, and the Mage Tower bought it for 300 Gold, hahahahahahaha. I don’t even remember what kind of rock it was. I just went for the experience and walked away 240 Gold richer. I signed up for the next trip on the spot, lol. The third recruitment is almost closed, but I just squeezed in and I’m going again the day after tomorrow. This time I’m going to spend a whole month wandering around and picking up anything that looks new to me, lol.
—I’m a miner. I got lucky and dug up a diamond three months ago, sold it, and went. Over there, ores that don’t even exist on the continent are just buried under your feet. I couldn’t get to the actual veins because of the monsters, but I still made over $50,000 on a three-day trip and finally escaped the rental life.
Every report that came back was good news.
People wanted to believe they were just isolated cases, but no one claimed to have taken a loss.
Even users who came back with no tangible profit said it had been worthwhile just to see a new world.
The most concrete proof was the Gate’s opening cycle.
—He’s opening the Gate once every three days.
—They’re already closing recruitment for the fifth wave, lol.
—At this rate, if you apply now, you won’t be able to go for a month.
—I need to sign up fast.
Users who had been cursing him out began to change their tune one by one and started scraping together Gold.
Any worries that the continent would change too drastically or that content would be consumed too quickly were proven to be nonsense. As Demon World goods and resources poured onto the continent, prices naturally dropped from their initial highs, but not enough to deter anyone.
It couldn’t be helped.
—Holy crap, Demon World monsters are insanely strong.
—I found something worth 500 Gold and died more than three times trying to get to it.
—Hey, is there seriously no guide or anything? I paid 30 Gold to come here.
—Where is all this stuff that’s supposedly lying around? I’ve been wandering for a week and haven’t seen anything valuable, or even a single monster.
The Demon World was larger than the continent.
It was vast, and users lacked the eye to recognize what was valuable.
Even those who just picked up whatever they could find said that landing even one good item was a jackpot.
Beginner’s luck was only ever granted to beginners.
The users who rushed in after hearing about that luck were now starting to take losses one by one.
Because of that, prices on the continent didn’t swing wildly.
The only one laughing through it all was a single man.
Han Simin.
“Wow, I really miscalculated. So this is why people say you need a college degree.”
“Why?” Yeseul asked.
“Well, I thought this business would net me $30 million every time I opened a Gate.”
“Yeah. That’s right, isn’t it?”
“It wasn’t.”
“What? Then what? Is it less?”
“No, it was $45 million per trip.”
She was speechless.
“Why did it never occur to me that I could charge the return fee when I opened the Gate?”
He shook his head.
“This is why real-world experience matters. I didn’t realize it when I was just doing the math, but once I actually saw the money come in, it clicked.”
Once he opened a Gate, travel was possible from both sides.
Therefore, people returning from the Demon World could set their own schedule and simply pay to come back whenever the Gate opened.
A true creative economy with zero investment cost.
Money kept piling up in Han Simin’s bank account.
*
The fatter the master’s wallet grew, the more complaints Sudal had.
GGUEEONG.
What was the point of churning out gold mines like crazy?
By the time the gold was ready, Squeaker would show up and take it all.
After months of this, he’d truly lost his will to live.
Work is only satisfying when you can see results, but this... every day he just felt like, ’What’s the point of living like this?’
He couldn’t go on.
The bribes he was given no longer brought him any joy.
Sudal decided to leave the mountain range.
He considered running away but gave up when he realized there was nowhere on the continent outside his master’s grasp.
So he decided on a direct approach: a labor strike.
Just as he made up his mind, Squeaker came flying in.
“Ggueeong! Ggueeong! Ggu-ggu-ggu-ggueeong!”
’You damn golden pig-dragon brat!’
“Bbaeeek!”
“Ggueeong!”
’You stuffed your face yesterday, and now there’s no gold left! Get lost!’
As Sudal raged, Squeaker flapped his wings, landed on Sudal’s shoulder, and tried to calm him down.
He had about as much conscience as Han Simin, but he acted as if he understood Sudal’s feelings, as if they were in the same boat, and that pretense soothed Sudal again.
’Yeah, what’s this little guy’s fault? I know the master works him to death every day, too.’
A small misunderstanding went a long way toward building a sense of camaraderie.
Once Sudal calmed down, Squeaker pulled out what he had brought.
“Ggueeong?”
Sudal’s eyes went wide.
His drooping shoulders, sagging from lost motivation, began to twitch.
From Squeaker’s belly, which stuck out more than a middle-aged man’s, poured an endless stream of jewels.
“Ggueeong?”
“Bbaeeek!”
’Dad told me to bring these for you!’
At that one proud declaration, Sudal’s eyes grew misty.
“Ggueeong.”
’As expected of Master. He hasn’t forgotten me.’
’He hasn’t forgotten all my hard work.’
Faced with the mountain of glittering jewels, Sudal steeled his resolve.
“Ggueeooong!”
’Let’s work hard again!’
Yeah, what was life, really?
If you worked like a bear and had even one day like this as a reward, that was enough.
There wasn’t a single useless gem in the pile.
Sudal was moved by his master’s thoughtfulness in not just grabbing random stones but selecting each one.
How he had gathered them didn’t matter.
Since the master had sent them, he must have worked hard to collect them.
Or so Sudal believed.
*
He remained silent.
Grokile’s face was twisted into a deep scowl.
“Why? Do you have a problem?” Epia asked.
“...No, Demon King.”
“You’re not a succubus, so why are you so obsessed with jewels? You’re a man. My consort needed them, so I sent them. Do you have a problem with that?”
“No. I would never dare.”
“Right?”
“...Yes.”
“You worked hard. It must have been difficult to get them.”
He didn’t dare respond.
“Now go back to work.”
“...Yes.”
*
14.
Han Yeori stepped out from under Han Simin’s shadow and started her own stream.
At first, it was hard.
Thanks to the boost from being associated with Han Simin, she had a base of regular viewers, but that number was at most two hundred.
For someone like her, who, like her brother, had set her subscription fee at $50, it was a lot, but it was a far cry from her goal of becoming as rich as him.
Even so, she didn’t get discouraged and kept working.
The content she chose was the Demon World.
“I’m going to show you my growth in the Demon World!”
She was a Buffer.
It wasn’t strange for someone like her, who could both fight directly and support a party, to hunt solo.
But the Demon World was a different story.
The content was good, but there were already plenty of streamers with a “hunting in the Demon World” concept.
She needed to differentiate herself.
She decided to team up with Specialists to stand out.
It hadn’t been her idea.
“Yeori, I heard you’re going to the Demon World. Want to hunt together?”
“Sure!”
It was a win-win situation.
Regardless of level, Yeori was a support who could provide Specialists with enormous buffs, while Specialists was a reliable partner who could serve as a springboard for Yeori’s growth.
So they started hunting together in the Demon World.
Even so, their viewer count barely increased.
Including viewers who came just to see Specialists and her own regulars, hitting a thousand was something to be grateful for.
That was how dismal the paid streaming market was for everyone except Han Simin.
Still, she kept grinding, believing that good days would come eventually.
Specialists, for his part, hadn’t streamed at all after the very beginning, so watching Yeori, he felt sorry for her. One day, Jeong Hyeonsu spoke up.
“She looks like she really wants to succeed. Want some advice from a viewer’s perspective on how to blow up?”
“Yes!”
Jeong Hyeonsu glanced at Jeong Seolah.
Fortunately, Seolah was a short distance away, busy dismantling monster corpses.
Kang Yeseul was also back in town for a bit.
After a moment’s hesitation, Hyeonsu lowered his voice.
“Change your outfit.”
“Sorry?”
“Your outfit. I’ve been watching streams lately. Someone like you—Yeori—you’re pretty, you have a Legendary class, every condition is perfect. The only reason you’re not blowing up is one thing. Your viewer count is stable, which means you’re constantly getting new people, right?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
“But if your numbers aren’t growing, it means the new viewers are leaving just as fast as they arrive. Think about it. I’m giving you this advice as a viewer.”
“Mm. Okay.”
Han Yeori understood what Jeong Hyeonsu meant.
Even so, she tilted her head, not entirely convinced.
’Would wearing lighter clothes—not stripping, just showing a bit more—really increase her viewers?’
Using a method she didn’t understand felt uncomfortable.
So she asked her master.
“Simin. My viewer count is stuck, so I was thinking of showing a little more skin. Do you think that would actually help?”
“What? Skin?”
“...Yeah.”
Han Yeori flinched at Han Simin’s explosive reaction as he sprawled on the sofa.
’Did I make a mistake, asking my own brother something like this?’
’He really is my brother, after all. Is he worried about me?’
“You mean you haven’t been showing any skin this whole time?” he asked.
“It’s a privilege unique to women. You don’t have to strip, just show a little skin. That’s how you grow your viewer base. In a world as open-minded as this, plenty of girls walk around half-naked even when they’re not streaming. If you keep it moderate, it can only have a positive effect.”
“...Okay.”
“And put on some makeup.”
Even hearing it directly from her mentor, Han Yeori couldn’t quite wrap her head around it.
So, she decided to stop trying to understand and just give it a shot.
In the game, she applied heavy makeup and changed into a themed outfit with high slits that bared her thighs. She put her hair up to reveal her slender neck and highlighted her bright red lips.
The buffs she cast felt completely different as she charged into battle.
After streaming like that for exactly three days, her viewer count had already surpassed ten thousand.
From then on, it was smooth sailing.
As a blood relative of Han Simin, she lacked for nothing.
“Oh, you’re in the Demon World and want my buffs? You can see the price list right here, can’t you? Once I gain twenty more levels, I’ll be adding an EXP buff as well, so please look forward to it!”
It was the birth of a second Han Simin.