I Became the Goddess of a New World

Unlike dungeons, hunting grounds typically remain on a single channel.

When a crowd gathers, channels are automatically added.

However, hunting grounds generally cover a substantial area, so the creation of additional channels was quite rare.

At least until recently…

The second gate, the Doppelganger Pattern, had just crushed even the top 0.1% talent-filled Major Corporation Party.

Most of the scouting party was wiped out at the first gate’s Forest Guardian pattern.

Due to the fundamental issues that the Major Corporation Party discovered,

the currently highest-level hunting ground, “Nature’s Habitat,” was bursting at the seams.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that every scouting party gathered just to obtain 80-level equipment.

Ultimately, two additional channels were created in Nature’s Habitat,

but even that was insufficient, leading to disputes over the respawn points where monsters would regenerate.

“It’s crowded.”

Observing the situation in Nature’s Habitat in spectator mode, it was indeed chaotic.

The sight of countless players rushing to catch newly spawned monsters resembled a scene straight out of a zombie movie.

All this frenzy was to secure 80-level equipment, after all.

There were surely players lurking for the opportunity to snag some 80-level gear and make a profit.

Huh? Aren’t only top-tier users gathered here? Is there really profit to be made?

You might think that way,

but the profit ratio was surprisingly high among the upper tier.

To put it bluntly, the “Nature’s Form,” which had been released the most recently,

was trading for a whopping 500,000 won in real-time transactions.

Assuming you purchased all four full parts, that’s 3 million won made.

Just by selling items obtained through hunting, 3 million won?

That amount would catch the eye of even ordinary users who normally wouldn’t be interested in profits.

“The best way is to increase the supply…”

In fact, a dungeon that drops 80-level equipment already existed.

The problem was that unlike Nature’s Habitat, which all users knew about,

the dungeon where the 75-level boss monster appeared, “Dimension Corridor,” had yet to be discovered.

The Dimension Corridor was the dimension where the next boss raid, the Corrupted Spirit King, was located.

By clearing this dungeon, one could gain ownership of the corridor and move into the Spirit Realm.

Of course, this required completing all the stories in Elderheim as a prerequisite and reporting this series of processes to the Emperor of the Empire before moving could take place.

Nevertheless, the only place where a 75-level boss monster could be found, aside from the Twisted World Tree raid, was the Dimension Corridor,

and it was simply a shame that such a honey pot of a dungeon remained undiscovered.

“Including drop rates in the mitigation list…”

Since it’s currently end content, drop rate mitigation was absolutely out of the question.

As new content was released and the end content shifted,

they planned to slowly reform and ease up on the existing content around that time.

This was the only way to maintain the gap between influx and light users and the scouting parties.

Of course, in that regard, the benefits that scouting parties enjoyed had to be guaranteed too.

“It’s uncomfortable to leave it as is.”

History repeats itself. This saying isn’t without merit.

It reminded me of the past obsidian staff incident.

A significant number of scouting party members who had already fallen for the high-paying temptation were engaging in real cash transactions.

If it was just simple pocket money, it would have been an issue that could be ignored.

However, if left unchecked, it could ruin the integrity of my game.

Intervene? I had no idea what would happen if I did.

Ignore it? It was certain that it would negatively impact the game.

It was a frustrating situation where neither option seemed feasible.

The best scenario would be for someone to discover the Dimension Corridor.

I hoped fervently that it would be found as soon as possible.

I left my seat and returned to the office.

***

Lee Hyunwoo. The first Bard.

Bards could choose one out of various musical instruments as their weapon.

Violin, harp, guitar, and even piano…

What kind of weapon is a piano? you might ask.

But bards possessed a skill to summon instruments.

It felt like a mix of a Mage and a Priest, in a way.

Naturally, Lee Hyunwoo, who dreamed of being a singer-songwriter, chose the guitar.

A bard’s performance is determined by the skill of the player.

This applied to all professions, but bards were exceptionally sensitive to that.

Due to their characteristics of providing buffs and healing through music or performances,

playing an unpleasant tune drastically reduces their effectiveness.

Their supporting ability was lower than a Cultist and yet higher than a Priest, making them extreme supporters.

That was the bard.

Naturally, the highly skilled Lee Hyunwoo was an elite asset.

There were countless individuals seeking to recruit such high-level talent,

but in the end, the place he chose was a party made up of streamers.

Of course, Lee Hyunwoo knew almost nothing about internet broadcasting,

but the professions of streaming and singing were closely related.

Wouldn’t there be some synergy? That’s how he decided on the party.

Thus, Lee Hyunwoo actively participated as a member of the streamer party for a time,

resulting in a rapid growth, enough to be considered a scouting party… if not entirely,

at least strong enough to be called a scouting party aspirant.

Well, it was almost expected considering the circumstances.

Lee Hyunwoo preferred Akare over the cold reality where nothing could be heard,

and there was nothing but Akare streaming to do since not streaming would seem foolish.

Eating and then Akare. Taking care of business and then Akare. Sleeping and waking up to Akare.

As these moments accumulated, the time spent in Akare became greater than in reality.

An explosive growth rate became entirely natural.

Anyways, the streamer party Lee Hyunwoo belonged to was currently adventuring in Elderheim.

The pristine landscapes of nature, untouched by human hands.

Just taking in the sight of such landscapes felt like a cleansing of the heart.

Even without the RPG goal of growth,

there were countless ways to enjoy Akare like this.

“Hey, look! There’s a squirrel over there?”

At Lee Hyunwoo’s words, two female streamers turned their heads.

“Oh my, oh my.”

“How could it be so cute and adorable?”

A bit excessive, right? Their reactions felt overly enthusiastic.

Lee Hyunwoo’s streamer party consisted of two girls and two boys, and as the two female streamers gushed,

the male streamer quickly imitated Lee Hyunwoo.

“Wow. There’s a flying squirrel over there.”

“Uh… yep.”

“Wow, really?”

In contrast to the enthusiastic reaction, the male streamer withered a little.

The streamer party moved forward as if nothing had happened, but then—

“Wait a minute.”

At Lee Hyunwoo’s voice, they promptly stopped in their tracks.

“Did you hear any sound?”

“Sound?”

The streamers closed their eyes and strained to listen, but they couldn’t hear anything.

“Something… like the sound of the wind guiding us.”

“Oh my. How romantic!”

If the male streamer had said something like that, he would have immediately been told, ‘Oh, so now the middle school syndrome is hitting you in adulthood?’

Well, what can you do?

He was an alpha male after all.

Ignoring the two female streamers cooing beside him,

Lee Hyunwoo walked toward the direction of the sound.

“Let’s follow it.”

The streamers exchanged glances before following in Lee Hyunwoo’s footsteps.

Whoosh—!

Lee Hyunwoo halted in front of a lake.

A massive waterfall was present near the lake.

“Was there this kind of terrain?”

“Wow. It would be great to camp here.”

“If only there was some alcohol in Akare, it would be perfect.”

While the streamers shared their impressions,

Lee Hyunwoo, the one who had led them here, kept his gaze fixed in one spot.

“What are you staring at so intently…?”

“That waterfall is fake.”

“Huh?”

How do you know that?

Before she could ask, Lee Hyunwoo moved.

He approached the waterfall, slowly reached out his hand,

and after placing it in the waterfall for a while, he slowly withdrew it, but

not a single drop of water clung to Lee Hyunwoo’s hand.

“What the…?”

The male streamer couldn’t believe it and copied Lee Hyunwoo’s actions.

The result was, of course, the same, and the other two female streamers did likewise.

“How on earth did you know that waterfall was fake?”

Unable to contain her curiosity, one of the female streamers asked Lee Hyunwoo,

who took a moment to organize his thoughts before responding softly.

“The sound of the waterfall can only be heard from above.”

So right now…

Did he figure out that the waterfall’s sound wasn’t consistent from a distance?

“You heard that from far away?”

The streamers looked at Lee Hyunwoo with the same puzzled expressions.

Receiving everyone’s attention, Lee Hyunwoo scratched the back of his head.

“What I heard was the sound of the wind…”

“Oh, that’s right. It wasn’t the sound of the waterfall, was it?”

“…But that wind sound is indeed leading beyond the waterfall.”

“Isn’t that something even bigger?”

The streamer party exchanged glances and simultaneously nodded.

When they leapt beyond the fake waterfall, a massive cave was revealed.

And traces of what appeared to be humans—collapsed gang remnants and faint embers of torches.

Amidst the dim brightness that lay beyond, a deep darkness unfolded.

Ding-!

A system message appeared.

[Would you like to enter the dungeon ‘Dimension Corridor’?]

At that moment, the shroud of the Dimension Corridor was unveiled to the world.

***

This incident was swiftly normalized before the flames could grow larger.

Fortunately, a streamer party discovered the Dimension Corridor during a broadcast,

and once news spread that the boss monster appearing in the Dimension Corridor, the “Dimension Sentinel,” was level 75,

many of those gathered at Nature’s Habitat headed towards the Dimension Corridor.

Because it wasn’t a raid boss like the Ancient Necromancer or the Twisted World Tree,

the users could quickly tackle the Dimension Sentinel,

and thanks to that, the supply of 80-level equipment was smoothly ensured.

Moreover, global services officially began,

successfully generating positive responses overall.

Daily peak concurrent users surpassed 30 million,

and the viewership of Akare streaming by a large American streamer exceeded 500,000.

A blockbuster hit.

There was a structure that couldn’t help but be profitable.

While everyone was in a festive atmosphere,

naturally, there were those who didn’t like “everyone” being fond of something.

There were complaints to the immersive system of PC-centricity.

An inevitable dark cloud to any game that started global services.

“Ugh…”

Why is Raven either a beautiful white woman or man?

It was the game epitome of racial discrimination.

The absurdity of not guaranteeing gender freedom.

These sentiments permeated the discourse,

and there was one person who became the target of their focused attacks.

“I’m tired.”

That person was none other than me.

Still, my actual appearance hadn’t spread widely overseas yet.

Thus, my appearance in virtual reality became a sufficient target for them.

Should I endure this?

Is it better to endure?

While I pondered internally, I raised the corners of my mouth.

After all, anything you hold back can turn into disease.

I revealed my position to the most conspicuous culprit through the official account of Record Eye.

@Records_eye

– You seem to have a lot of complaints.

@Records_eye

– If you don’t like the temple, the monk should leave.

@Records_eye

– If you’re unhappy then just stop and get lost.