Chapter 157
ㄴㅇㅇ(33R.3R3): What exactly can it do?
ㄴFridge: First of all, it almost doesn’t resist water at all. Your movement speed underwater is about the same as on land.
ㄴFridge: You can breathe too. Though 30 minutes was the limit.
ㄴㅇㅇ(33R.3R3): Is there any market for it?
ㄴFridge: It’s a bit iffy since there’s no reason to go into the sea....
ㄴPkkatju: You could sell it to the haenyeo in Jeju.
ㄴMagic Is Firepower: Why wouldn’t there be a reason to go to the sea? You have to go hunt monsters.
“Marine monsters....”
When a Tower collapses, a Gate appears there.
So far, many Towers had collapsed, and some of them were near the ocean or on islands.
Sea monsters sometimes emerged from those Gates.
Of all monsters, the most troublesome are airborne monsters and sea monsters.
Airborne monsters can at least be hunted by Hunters, but sea monsters were a torment even to find, since they usually stayed deep underwater.
After even the American fleet was devoured, the world gave up on clearing them out.
Right now, sea transport moves through waters with fewer monsters, and Hunters have to be on board the ships at all times.
Even that was closer to driving them off than actually hunting them.
“If we wipe them all out, wouldn’t prices normalize?”
At the very least, chicken wouldn’t still cost 50,000 won.
I offered an optimistic prediction.
But Fridge still refused to withdraw his negative outlook.
ㄴFridge: Well. I wonder if there’s even a madman who’d trust this one piece of gear and try to clean up that vast ocean.
ㄴFridge: At best, it would only defend areas near the coast.
ㄴFridge: Actually, even that these days is mostly just evacuating residents near the shore and giving up on defense. Our country is almost like that too, isn’t it?
ㄴPkkatju: Here comes Fridge’s fact barrage, for real.
“Hmm.... It looks like it could be used in the Tower too.”
I already had an item that let me breathe underwater.
I’m a mage with top-tier physical stats too, so I don’t really need it, but others would be different.
But even that was rebutted in no time.
ㄴBeetle: Actually, I’ve never once been underwater throughout the entire 40th floor.
ㄴMagic Is Firepower: I’ve only fought from the ship so far too. You’re the only one who’s gone into the sea.
“To think you’d run away to the refuge of cowards called Hard mode....”
You all grew up like hothouse flowers in Hard mode, so no wonder you’re weak as can be.
Why didn’t you choose Extreme?
Shouldn’t you have worked hard before entering the Tower to unlock Hidden difficulty?
I trained by eating dirt for 30 days.
“Still, there’s nothing to be done. I can’t let all that leather rot away....”
If I could make a new item, I would have done it ages ago.
It was obvious this was the dwarf’s best effort.
I had no choice but to call the broker.
“The company we made last time is running well, right?”
[Of course. I’ve been sending the settlement statements by email regularly, too. Haven’t you read them?]
“Settlement statements? Was there such a thing...?”
[It’s your money, so at least read it....]
I could hear a sigh over the phone.
There was nothing I could do. I’d been busy lately.
Besides, email is just too low-access.
My inbox only filled up with ads from sites I barely remembered signing up for. Or suspension notices for game accounts.
That was why the only notifications I checked every day were gallery comment alerts.
It was also true that I’d put company operations on the back burner for a while.
The first edition, Dragonbone Shield, was a huge success.
But all the dragon bones needed as materials had already been used up.
So I used only materials that could be bought with money and made a lower-tier line to sell.
Even then, I’d only made about 300 of them before stopping in the name of preserving brand value.
By now, the company had been stuck in a so-called off-season for quite a while.
But I couldn’t just leave it alone. To keep the company going, I had to keep making and releasing things.
“I’m thinking of trying to sell something new.”
I explained the whole situation to the broker.
That I planned to sell equipment made from the boss monster I’d defeated on the 45th floor, and its by-products.
[Swimsuit...?]
“A swimsuit sounds a little tacky, so let’s call it armor.”
[So you’re not making shields anymore?]
“I already made and sold a lower-tier line.... And if I made the same thing again, people would just compare it to the previous work, which wouldn’t be good. And it’s not like I can upgrade the performance, either.”
[Hmm, I understand.]
“Is it still kind of meh?”
[No. It’s more that I’m a little disappointed. I wanted to get Master Jang In-hyeok’s appraisal again this time too.]
“Why is that?”
[Actually, he didn’t believe our item was crafted, you know? He even signed an affidavit saying he’d become my disciple if we proved it was a crafted item. I really wanted to see that.]
“That sounds interesting. I’ll definitely make one next time.”
We were already short-handed at the company.
It would be something to be grateful for if that kind of top-tier talent came in of its own accord.
I hung up with the broker and got to work in earnest, waiting for that day.
***
Even though I called it serious work, there was nothing for me to do.
Crafting? Outsource it to the dwarf.
Sales and marketing? The broker and the company staff would handle it just fine.
If a layman like me got in the middle, I’d only mess things up.
For now, I used only about 30% of the leather for the first batch.
I planned to make more depending on the reaction.
The first sale would begin soon.
With just one hour left until the announcement went up.
There was nothing to do in the meantime, so I just kept rolling around on my bed.
“Ah, right. I should check YouTube.”
I remembered the song video I’d uploaded a long time ago.
[America stunned, China in a frenzy....]
A thumbnail too embarrassing to look at twice.
But the moment I checked the view count, my eyes widened.
[Views: 1.24M]
[Likes: 4.6K]
[Comments: 214]
“Huh?”
Even if I added up every post I’d ever put on the gallery, I didn’t think they’d match this many views and likes.
A first video from a throwaway account with zero subscribers getting this kind of response?
With trembling hands, I opened the comments.
Why is the reaction so good?
Was I chosen by the algorithm?
With trembling hands, I opened the comments.
ㄴ Who sang this?
ㄴ That voice is criminal;;
ㄴ At this point it’s not a thug, it’s a whole gang.
ㄴ Isn’t this like an AI cover or something?
ㄴ AI can’t put breathing sounds in like this.
ㄴ Weirdly addictive. I keep thinking about it.
ㄴ I’ve got it in my playlist and I’m listening to it on repeat.
ㄴ Seriously, this is at ‘banned from the college entrance exam’ level, isn’t it?
My video only had a provocative thumbnail; it didn’t even show me singing.
That kind of video got this kind of reaction?
No matter how I thought about it, it wasn’t normal.
I dug a little deeper.
“It’s here too?”
When I went into YouTube Music, my song was even on a trending Shorts video.
Once I switched to Shorts, the situation was even more astonishing.
Videos that clipped the highlights of my song and turned them into background music were popping up like mushrooms after rain.
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed like the siren’s vocal cords were causing some kind of mind-control effect....
There were a lot of people saying they kept listening for no particular reason.
A siren. A monster that lures people with its song and makes them fall into the sea and die.
Now that I’d obtained those vocal cords, was a reaction like this only natural?
“I’ll have to use them carefully.”
If I hummed the wrong tune, it looked like I’d end up charming everyone.
But the corners of my mouth were already lifting.
Just as I was thinking maybe I should upload a video too next time.
There were a few comments that stood out.
ㄴ I know this voice.
ㄴ Heard it a few weeks ago at xx Kono near Daejeon Station. Back then, everyone came out to watch.
ㄴ How can you be so sure?
ㄴ No, seriously, it’s exactly the same. You can’t mistake this voice. I heard it ages ago, but I still remember it.
ㄴ For real, the song choice is the same too. This is definitely her. Shit, I should’ve recorded it.
ㄴ The one who sang this is an elementary school kid.
ㄴ Bullshit lol. How could an elementary school kid sing this?
ㄴ It’s true. A broadcaster came while we were there and even handed out business cards.
ㄴ Hello. This is Producer Park from ABC Broadcasting Station. Please get in touch. We’re also accepting tips.
“That’s that guy, huh?”
I never imagined the people who were at the karaoke room that day would find this video.
I was shocked at how small the world was.
Of course, I had no intention of contacting them.
After all, my real job was Hunter, not singer.
“Still, it feels good.”
I smiled in satisfaction and closed the YouTube window.
Looking at the clock, it was already time for the announcement.
I accessed Aeternus’s official website.
As soon as I went in, a sleek golden hourglass logo greeted me.
I scrolled down, and an advertisement for this new product appeared.
[NEW ARRIVAL: FROM THE ABYSS]
[Deeper, to conquer the sea.]
The product photo was perfect too.
Mysteriously glowing white whale hide.
It was a material that looked luxurious at a glance.
“I hope it sells well....”
It would take time before I could check the sales results.
I wouldn’t be able to see the outcome until the next day.
But I fell into a state of extreme anxiety, because I couldn’t even begin to predict the result.
When you take a test, naturally you want to do a quick self-check.
Just in case, I checked the Hunter Gallery for any mention of it.
Sure enough, there was a post at the very top.
[Title: Is this Arari’s new product?]
“...hic!”
For a moment, it felt like my heart had stopped.
I had to take a deep breath and calm myself down.
“It’s okay. I’m not hurt. Even if they insult me, I’m okay....”
After fully hypnotizing myself, I carefully clicked the post.
[You were making shields, and now suddenly this so-called new product is a swimsuit—is that right?]
ㄴ For real, you’ve lost your touch.
ㄴ Shit, I’m going to short it right now.
ㄴ It’s Hunter gear anyway, so the type doesn’t matter much. They say the performance is good too.
ㄴ I think it’s better than a shield? Shields are awkward to use, but this one you just wear.
The reactions were split right down the middle.
But to me, it felt as if the company had gone under.
Feeling gloomy, I called the broker. He was the only one I could talk to about company matters.
“Sir.... I guess it really wasn’t it after all. I think it’s a flop.”
[No, sales have only just started. What on earth are you talking about...? Did you check the gallery or something?]
“Yeah....”
[Most of those people probably haven’t even visited the website. Don’t worry about it and just wait a bit.]
“What if it fails?”
[It won’t fail. If I were sure it would, I would’ve talked you out of it. It’s definitely marketable.]
“Still.”
Even with the broker’s confident assurances, my anxiety didn’t ease.
Then the broker said something I hadn’t expected at all.
[...What if it flops a little?]
“Huh?”
[You can’t succeed every time. What matters more is getting back up. Failing this time doesn’t mean we’re in a situation where we can never try again, does it?]
The broker was smiling as he said it.
Hearing someone who normally had a low, quiet voice say that made the whole thing really feel like no big deal.
So I didn’t say things like we needed to preserve brand value to gather faith, or that if we failed the little bit of faith we were only just beginning to collect would all fly away.
At times like this, one line was enough.
“Thanks. For listening to me whine.”
[Keeping your mental state in check is part of my job too. If you have a hard time in the future, feel free to call and vent. When people get anxious, they want to grab anyone and complain. Since you don’t have any friends to talk about this with, don’t write it in the gallery and....]
“What are you talking about? I’m hanging up now.”
I had a feeling it was about to turn into a lecture, so I hung up.
My anxiety was completely gone.
Yeah, it’ll go well. The performance is good too.
Reasonable confidence welled back up inside me.
The calm before the storm.
I didn’t bother fighting the people in Hunter Gallery who were cursing that my company would fail.
Whether they were the pathetic ones or I was would be decided by the results.
The next morning.
I woke up from sleep to the broker’s call.
“An exclusive order came in? From the Japanese government?”
Looks like I was worrying for nothing after all.