Chapter 43: Already Asking for a Merge?

Kyungbok casually stretched his limbs.

“Oh man, I finally beat this crappy game. Honestly, I thought this kind of thing was only possible during the PC gaming era, but it’s still alive and well even now!”

He massaged his stiff shoulders as he hopped off the barrel, tossing aside the metal rod.

-LMAO THIS IS GOLDEN

-LOL Can you visit Taecho Village one more time?

-ROFL So many streamers have broken down crying playing this game

-At least on PCs, we could use macros to make things easier, right?!

-What age group is the target audience here?

-LOL Is this some old geezer hangout spot?!

A game notorious for torturing players made great content for streamers.

Kyungbok shook his head, feigning disgust. “Seriously, there should be a law requiring developers to clear their own games before releasing them! Anyway, let’s take a break.”

He grumbled as he quit the game and returned to his studio. Even though it was technically break time, there really wasn’t much resting going on for him.

“I should grab some snacks. Oh man, I need to watch my diet, though.”

“Hmph! Who’re you trying to impress?”

“It’s not like you’re actually eating anything!”

“Ha-ha! It doesn’t matter what I eat here.”

In virtual reality, one could consume food. Technically, it only stimulated taste buds, so it had nothing to do with maintaining a healthy weight.

“You know, there still have to be limits, right? Yeah, even in VR, we gotta choose our meals wisely,” Kyungbok said while scanning the menu.

If people were allowed unlimited access to food in virtual reality, they might forget to eat actual meals. In fact, during the early days of Rift, when there were no restrictions, many patients ended up in emergency rooms due to neglecting their physical nutrition.

“I-I need to eat some ramen.” Kyungbok ordered a cup and settled down at his desk.

“Haaaah… Tough times these days?”

“Ever since Ahjin Guild disbanded, there’ve been fewer job openings, huh?”

“We should keep our mouths shut for now…”

“Feeling bad for them LOL”

“Gnomes LMAO! They worry about us but never sponsor us!”

Amidst all this chatter, someone sponsored the stream with video ads.

[Sponsor “WhyNotMerge?” has sponsored your stream with ₩5,000.]

Kyungbok looked up at the alert sound and blinked in confusion.

“Hmm? What’s this from Purple? Oh, guys, those of you who just joined might not know, but I kept my promise, right? I gave out one hundred free subscriptions.”

“Promise? You mean tribute from the losers?”

“LMAO, you’re just trying to sugarcoat it.”

“Yeah, they got what was coming to them for being so cocky.”

LIt should be called tribute since it was offered to God.

Kyungbok chuckled as he read the chat and started eating his instant ramen while replaying footage. Just as the hot broth reached his throat…

[Remember how I mentioned merging with Gunner’s Ground? But I didn’t want to do so without your knowledge, as that would feel rude, so today, I’m going to practice.]

“Urk!” Lee Kyungbok’s voice made Kyungbok choke on his food.

“Oh no! Kyungbok hyung!”

“I guess you start drooling more when you get older.”

“Our old and sickly Jinnomi”

“Don’t eat it! Give me some of that broth, please ^^”

“He gave out subs after this clip LMFAO”

“LOLLLLLLLLLLLmergeLOLLLLLLLLLL”

Viewers who had been watching from the beginning immediately knew why Kyungbok reacted like that.

“No, wait…! You merged right away?”

Kyungbok had gifted Purple his subscription and then left Purple’s stream. Kyungbok himself also had a schedule to keep, which was why he’d taken some time earlier to thank all his subscribers.

“Oh man… If I knew this would happen, I would’ve waited until later.”

His genuine disappointment made viewers laugh in the chat room.

—Couldn’t you just wait and join him later?

—LMAO You’re running around like a headless chicken again.

—Missed your bus, huh? ^^

—It’s because it’s a Zero Bus; they’re notoriously hard to catch

—I can’t stand waiting anymore 🙄

The playful teasing prompted Kyungbok to wave off their comments.

“Hey, hey, I can’t change my broadcast schedule on a whim. Then what’s the point of announcing ahead of time? Didn’t you guys come here today to watch me play the solo game anyway? Right?”

Viewers tuned in with certain expectations based on the announced schedule and content. Changing things abruptly could be considered quite rude.

“This was our promise, wasn’t it? And you know I’m all about keeping my promises. Besides, this impromptu collab could be disrespectful to Purple as well.”

[Is he pulling out the Gadfly card?]

[Ah ha! He’s trying to sound all cool.]

[Of course, bro knows how to work his audience.]

[I came here for some Chinese noodles, not pasta!]

[But collaborating with Gadfly is like getting wagyu beef ravioli with truffle sauce, no?]

[True! Don’t. You.Dare.Cancel!]

[Ha-ha, teaming up with Gadfly beats solo play any day.]

Kyungbok chuckled at the viewers’ reactions.

“You guys can be so ungrateful even when I try to consider your feelings. Anyway, I’ll figure something out soon, so please wait patiently. Manager, got that?”

[In the end, the manager does all the work.]

[Ha-ha-ha, talk is cheap, dude.]

[Another toxic workplace?]

Ignoring the viewers’ responses, Kyungbok started the second half of his broadcast with a smile.

On his first day, Lee Kyungbok finished all five games in first place. As soon as the broadcast ended, clips were uploaded to YouTube. The first one featured highlights from Choi Byunghoon’s game.

“—Oh man, haha. Can’t believe there’re still trolls out there.”

“Gadfly’s schooling was insane, LOL!”

“—Wow… I’ve seen him move like this before during Anatomy of a Craftsman, but it never gets old.”

“He’s the Korean Hokage”

“What nonsense is this? LOL”

“—At (1:21), what’s that enemy shield?”

“He immediately snatches the gun and counters like a boss!”

“His reflexes are superhuman!”

“—At (1:43), WTF? Two guys with guns went down, yet he charges at them with just an ax? What kind of logic is that?”

[LMAO, got headshot with a fist]

[I thought he was a boxer…]

[Wow! Full parts from his first farm run?]

[Gadfly is favored by God…]

[Does that mean he has high self-esteem?]

[Haha, yeah right! LMAO]

[God is Purple!]

In solo games, everyone despised teaming up or abusing teammates. Hence, most viewers felt satisfied when Lee Kyungbok eliminated three players early on at the military base.

[Ah, I wish I had watched this live.]

[LOL, you can just use King’s View.]

[Can’t chat properly though!]

[The truth of ‘one shot one kill’ has been established since Bark’s time.]

[Not fair;;; Bark and Gadfly operate on different levels]

[LMAO, if Gadfly plays like this, you might not even know how you died…]

[(3:01) Bang! (3:03) Bang! (3:23) Bang!]

[LOL, it’s crazier when you look at the timing]

[LOL, at least he was somewhat wiser towards the end.]

[Yup, just hiding would’ve made him last longer.]

[For a long time (20 seconds)!]

[Is such gameplay possible? Seriously insane!]

[LMAO, welcome to the club, newbie!]

[It’s possible, LOL.]

[Purple-only mode.]

There were also new viewers who arrived via algorithms or search engines. They couldn’t believe Lee Kyungbok’s gameplay was real. The comments continued pouring in, and one particular section garnered the most responses.

[L-Like seriously insane…]

[Speechless…]

[Everything I knew just flew out of my mind…]

[I-I can’t believe it…]

[Hitting the pin on a grenade from that distance with a bullet?]

[Sounds crazy, tbh LOLLLL]

[Even without reading the comments, it still sounds insane LOLLLL]

[Without the video footage, I would’ve blocked this thread LOLLLL]

[Wooow… It seemed impossible, but the bullet cam shows how precise it was.]

[The editing is spot-on LOLLLL]

[LOL The slow-motion effect when switching to the bullet cam is awesome]

[LOL Seriously, the sound editing during the collision between the bullet and the pin gave me chills]

[LOL Whew, I’m not the only one who noticed!]

[The streamer is pretty good, but the editor knows their stuff.]

It was the final scene where Lee Kyungbok aimed at his opponent hiding behind a tree and shot the grenade pin.

[Looks like it’s possible, huh?]

[Yup, gotta try this at the shooting range.]

[You think it’d be easy even if you’re standing still?]

[Not when they’re moving quickly, lol.]

[Oh yeah, #BulletPinChallenge incoming…]

[No way… Haven’t finished the Yami Challenge yet…]

[Crazyyyyy! Are we just making challenges now?!]

[???: Why can’t I do this?]

[???: Isn’t a challenge supposed to push your limits? Is this challenging?]

[Haha, seems legit…]

When fans see something cool, they often want to emulate it. Following the Yami Challenge trend, Purple’s followers wanted to attempt this as well. Consequently, despite Lee Kyungbok’s intentions, more challengers began emerging with their own renditions of his original feat.

The video’s view count rapidly climbed and surpassed two hundred thousand. Perhaps due to this momentum…

[#4 Most Popular Video Today]

Youtube added a tag at the bottom of the video, indicating it had been selected by their algorithm. This further accelerated its popularity, prompting numerous comments.

Among them, one comment quickly gained traction with many upvotes:

[(4:31) Wow… His shooting stance is absolutely perfect. Not only is his muscle balance impeccable, but his breathing control is spot-on as well. He could easily take down three against five hundred.]

Contrary to expectations, the most popular comment wasn’t about the grenade safety pin scene but rather Lee Kyungbok’s initial shot.

The tone of the comment was very calm, and its content wasn’t controversial enough to provoke any backlash. There was only one reason why people were upvoting it:

[Muscle Gallery]

It was due to the commenter’s username.

[L???]

[LOL, it’s him!]

[LGooo, gooo!]

[LHaha, what are you doing here?!]

[LOh wow, friends! It’s Baldie!]

[LLMAO, the king of kings has arrived]

[LIs that Mindungsan?]

Muscle Gallery was the name of a channel run by “Mindungsan,” a former commando turned health-focused Youtuber. He gained popularity for delivering accurate and useful information with humor while collaborating on various contents with other streamers and broadcasters.

With over three million subscribers, Mindungsan was considered one of the biggest names among Youtubers.

[LMAO If Mindungsan is praising him, he must be legit.]

[LMAOOOO That guy’s also insane, tho.]

[Monsters recognize other monsters!]

[WTF does that mean?!]

[Is this like baiting for collaboration or something?]

[Haha maybe…]

Some viewers suspected that Mindungsan might want to collaborate with Purple on content. In fact, before teaming up with another YouTuber, Mindungsan had often left supportive comments on their videos. However, since there were no further comments from Muscle Gallery afterward, it remained unclear whether that was his intention.

The following day, Team Perfect held their meeting as usual, but instead of gathering at a café, they met at Choi Byunghoon’s office building.

“Oh man… I’m sorry! I definitely set my alarm, but…”

Choi Byunghoon had been engrossed in editing videos late into the night and overslept.

“We’ve wasted fifteen minutes because of you. Punctuality is fundamental to adult life.” Park Juhho glanced disapprovingly at his sleepy friend, though it wasn’t just about reprimanding him. “If you can’t follow basic rules like this, your lifestyle must be in shambles. You need to take better care of yourself.”

“Yes, we appreciate all your hard work, but aren’t you pushing yourself too much?” Lee Kyungbok chimed in with concern before trying to lighten the mood with a smile.

“You know I’m not saying this just to guilt you into taking better care of yourself.”

“I truly feel bad about it. But…the timeliness of uploads is crucial.” Choi Byunghoon scratched his head apologetically.

“I’ll give you that. The latest video has been performing quite well. It even ranked third on the trending videos list.”

“Yes, exactly! And honestly, it’s not entirely my fault. You share some responsibility here too.”

“Me?” Lee Kyungbok’s eyes widened at being suddenly called out.

“Yes, you little punk. Seriously, editing your footage was the toughest job I’ve ever had. There were way too many clips, but every single one was so good that cutting any felt like a waste. I spent more time agonizing over what to include than actually editing.”

He took pride in his experience and expertise as an editor. For him, the most important part of the process was selecting which footage to use.

Just as even the most skilled chef can’t make a good meal with subpar ingredients, selecting footage is crucial for editors. The problem with Lee Kyungbok’s gameplay clips wasn’t that there was too little material but rather far too much.

“You’re right about that, but it’s true you have a lot on your plate currently.”

“No way! You’ve got plenty to do yourself.”

“I’m not just saying this out of politeness. I was already considering it, but how would you feel about hiring another assistant editor?”

Park Juhho’s suggestion made Choi Byunghoon uncomfortable, and he frowned.

“What? Why would we need one? Do you think I can’t handle everything myself?”

“That’s not what I meant. Your skills have been proven time and again. The issue is your stamina.”

“Hey, today was just an anomaly. Once I get used to this, it’ll be fine.”

“I can’t deny there’s a chance things might go south if you do it alone. This isn’t just about you but all of us.”

As their voices escalated, Lee Kyungbok intervened.

“How about this?”

“…Hmm?”

“What is it?”

“It seems hiring an assistant editor would be prudent.”

Lee Kyungbok’s words made Choi Byunghoon’s eyes twitch, yet he refrained from immediately countering as he had with Park Juhho. Despite being friends, Lee Kyungbok held the final say.

“But let’s hire them on a freelance contract basis per episode, and you make the decision, Choi Byunghoon.”

“Huh? Me?” Choi Byunghoon’s eyes widened at Kyungbok’s subsequent statement.

“Yes. Honestly, how much do we really know about editing? I entrusted everything to you because I believe you’re capable. So, whether or not to hire an assistant editor should also be your call.”

“Hrmm… If you think so. At least we won’t make the worst choice if we recognize that there are more options.”

Park Juhho also agreed with this decision. As a result, Choi Byunghoon’s attitude softened slightly as he nodded.

“Then let’s move on to the next item. What happened?”

“I’ll speak first. Yesterday, I received an email from Muscle Gallery,” Park Juhho said, causing both friends’ mouths to drop open.

“Muscle Gallery?!”

“You mean Mindungsan?”

Muscle Gallery was a well-known channel even to Lee Kyungbok. Having been consistently involved in sports since childhood, Mindungsan had been a Youtuber who greatly helped him learn proper exercise techniques.

“No, why me?”

“Well, it is just asking for your opinion. After all, Muscle Gallery isn’t virtual reality broadcasting but real-life broadcasting.”

“Ah…”

Lee Kyungbok let out a short sigh. “So I have to stream without privacy mode enabled?”

The capsule, a virtual reality device, typically came equipped with a privacy feature that distorted the user’s face so it wouldn’t resemble their actual appearance. While revealing one’s body type wasn’t much of an issue, exposing one’s face online carried its own risks. Both casual users and professional streamers often utilized this privacy function.

I guess someday I’ll have to reveal my identity, but…

Successful streamers occasionally appeared on cable or network TV shows beyond their regular streams. Lee Kyungbok had vaguely assumed he would do the same once he achieved success.

But does it have to be now?

But revealing his identity wasn’t just about showing his face; he’d also have to deal with stalkers and trolls making personal attacks on him online.

“Well, honestly, you could get away with it.” Choi Byunghoon’s friends turned toward him at this remark.

“What? Don’t you remember? Although people thought he was weird back when we were in school, he still got tons of chocolate from girls on Valentine’s Day.”

“…Well, take your time thinking about it since there’s no rush. It sounds like they’re used to dealing with this kind of thing anyway.”

“You ignoring me?!”

“The next item is a merger request from Kyungbok’s side,” Park Juhho continued, disregarding Choi Byunghoon’s outburst.

“A merger? Already?”

“…They probably think that based on yesterday’s performance, it’s good enough for now?”

“Seriously, who says they’re not good enough after seeing that performance?”

The other two turned to Lee Kyungbok incredulously.

“Well, if we merge with him, wouldn’t it be for ranked games? I haven’t played any yet ’cause I’m still unranked!”

Lee Kyungbok hadn’t started playing ranked matches yet so he could get more comfortable with the game first. As such, his rank was currently undefined and listed as “unranked.”

“Oh, no worries there. Solo, duo, and squad ranks are separate.”

“He’s right. Kyungbok investigated all this before sending us the email.”

“I see. Then that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“There is one thing you should consider, though.” Park Juhho adjusted his glasses as he spoke to the relieved Lee Kyungbok.

“As you know, Kyungbok has been streaming for quite some time now. He has a solid fan base but also plenty of haters.”

“Oh…right. Last time you got sniped while fighting that giant.”

“I imagine they’ll try to take us out during the merge as well. Is that okay with you?”

Lee Kyungbok looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “What do you mean, ‘Is that okay’?”

“The antis aren’t just after Kyungbok but also you.”

“Yeah, I know all that, but what’s the problem?” Lee Kyungbok shrugged and chuckled. “It’s battle royale anyway, so we have to kill everyone else, right?”

Park Juhho pursed his lips, while Choi Byunghoon laughed quietly.

“That’s the thinking of a genius. Only us kings-for-a-day worry about such things.”

In other words, Lee Kyungbok couldn’t even fathom losing.