NOVEL WEB Chapter 67
The Record Eye’s virtual reality was a dream technology with astronomical value.
It was the only absolute superpower in the world.
This had been the corporate value of Record Eye evaluated by various experts.
One might think, “Isn’t that a bit over the top?”
But currently, Record Eye merely utilized virtual reality for gaming.
What if they started reaching into other fields?
They couldn’t possibly swallow every industry.
There were undoubtedly aspects that couldn’t be replaced by virtual reality.
But aside from those aspects, they would consume everything.
Because they had both the ability and the value of that technology.
Moreover, not once had any technology related to virtual reality ever been leaked.
Despite China and Russia employing various extreme measures,
it was ineffective against Record Eye.
[Akashic Record Gallery]
Amidst this, the game company of Akashic Record, Record Eye,
for the first time activated their official account, which had never been used before.
The monumental first activity was precisely…
―――
[Title] Record Eye Explicitly Declares “Get Lost” LOL
(Battle keyboard meme from a famous SNS site)
They’re having a keyboard battle with some extreme PC crowd, LOL.
One versus a hundred, it’s intense.
Recommended 2051, Disliked 0
―――
[Comment 1001]
Is it okay to behave like this while providing global services?
ㄴ What’s the problem?
ㄴ Even Westerners hate PC to death.
ㄴ They’re just cancerous kids ruining perfectly good games.
ㄴ Still, it’s funny to see such nonsense from the official account, LOL.
ㄴ Honestly, it’s kinda refreshing to see them go all in!
―――
…It was a keyboard battle with extreme political correctness supporters, but
it was still fine.
Political correctness (PC) wasn’t a respected ideology in Korea.
From the beginning, the ideology of PC didn’t possess value in others’ respect.
If you want respect, give respect.
They didn’t even grasp this simple logic.
There’s a saying that it’s scary when ignorant people hold beliefs, and it’s not without reason.
―――
[Title] *Warning: Anger* Collection of Insults PC People Threw at Aurora
(Memes with severe curses translated into Korean)x20
Filthy words, personal attacks, desecration, sexual harassment, racism…
(Shocked frog meme)
These PC folks don’t even know what ‘good’ is.
There’s a reason Record Eye went all out from their official account, yep.
If I were them, I’d dive into the keyboard battle instantly.
Recommended 3265, Disliked 6
―――
[Comment 1921]
These cultists look like angels compared to these folks.
ㄴ For real, LOL.
ㄴ Cultists manipulate their gods with deepfakes, LOL.
ㄴ They’re teaching all the cuteness through deepfakes, damn.
ㄴ They don’t even engage in intimacy to maintain purity.
ㄴ They’re crazy in a different way, that’s for sure.
ㄴ PC is fake madness, cultists are the real deal.
―――
While the raid on the Twisted World Tree was in full swing,
there was a feeling that the equipment farming had been temporarily halted,
and during this downtime, rumors related to the global service began circulating.
―――
Is it true that cultists maintain purity? [15]
Cultist) When’s the server merge? I wanna kill them all. [23]
But who’s battling on the official account of Record Eye? [6]
Don’t warriors normally have only passive skills? [3]
Isn’t Amazon also a place that heavily censors? [11]
I checked Reddit, and they’re pretty PC as well, LOL. [36]
I hope PC disappears with this opportunity. [44]
So, cultists, is Aurora a maiden or not? [107]
―――
The overall director of Akashic Record was Aurora.
Other than that, almost no information was known about Record Eye as a company.
Who their representative was, how their corporate structure worked,
and whether there was a specific reason for not going public, etc…
Record Eye was shrouded in mystery,
and the only publicly known face of Record Eye was Aurora.
Thus, the flow of rumors naturally led to the possibility that the person ‘battling on the official account’ could be Aurora.
No way.
No matter how one looks at it,
the face of a company and a game,
there’s no way such a person would ruin their own image.
…While it was a very sharp speculation,
from the perspective of an outsider who didn’t know the internal situation, it was merely one of many brainless guesses.
Among all the conspiracy theories circulating in the gallery, it was absurd enough to be filtered out.
―――
[Title] Breaking News) What’s with Melon Musk’s tweet, LOL
@melon_musk
– Yesterday was definitely the best day ever.
@melon_musk
– I witnessed a new world more amazing than Mars!
@melon_musk
– But those damn bugs…
@melon_musk
– Ruined my refreshing morning.
@melon_musk
– @Records_eye, if you need help, just reach out, my closest friend.
Have they met to be besties? LOL.
This is so funny, LOL.
Recommended 2331, Disliked 56
―――
[Comment 1335]
Musk-ham has definitely set his course.
ㄴ Virtual reality coins you can’t buy even with money, LOL.
ㄴ This guy just knows how to line up.
ㄴ Wow, he’s openly bashing PC.
ㄴ Has he given up on going to Mars?
ㄴ Why not just create one in virtual reality, right?
ㄴ For real, LOL.
ㄴ Ah, he can’t resist virtual reality, LOL.
―――
Recently, Melon Musk has been soaring in popularity
following the US presidential election.
Did he send a love call to Record Eye first?
This astonishing news rapidly spread across various communities.
***
Akare’s global service achieved immense success as expected.
It was thoroughly anticipated.
Even so, it felt good.
It was a moment where my efforts were yet again proven not to be in vain.
“Ugh… This is unexpected though.”
Melon Musk. The small snowball that started from his tweet
had gradually grown larger over time,
and I, as the director of Akashic Record, became an object of national pride.
‘You might think, “What nonsense is that?”‘
A famous American CEO’s love call.
And that love call was directed at a domestic company?
This was more than enough material for national pride.
Especially if that company happened to be the current hottest ‘Record Eye’.
I watched the top videos suggested by the algorithm one by one.
– A foreign YouTuber moved to tears by Korea’s virtual reality.
– Japan is jealous, China is cautious, America is in love with K-Virtual Reality? What even is that?
– 12 Reasons Why the Trending Figure Melon Musk Became Enchanted with K-Virtual Reality.
– US President: “The Korea-US alliance must last forever.” Could it be that Korean gaming companies are the reason behind this sudden change from the US President who sought to withdraw US troops?
…
…
…
Gwaah.
Oh, algorithm, please enough with the national pride videos.
“Is this because it’s an official account…?”
It was evident that the algorithm was saying, ‘Oh? This is the Akare official account!’
I had never once watched a national pride video about Akare.
Yet, the official account’s YouTube algorithm had gone haywire.
I had no choice but to create a sub-account.
“Ah, relief.”
Once I dug out a new account, I sighed in relief at the normalized recommended video list.
“Ugh…”
After a brief rest scrolling through various Akare videos,
I moved to the server room to check the global server’s status.
All the secret classes revealed in Korea, such as ‘cultists’ and ‘warriors’, had been unlocked.
“The cultist’s idol is a bald eagle?”
Isn’t this a bit dangerous?
Though it wasn’t officially, the bald eagle was practically America’s national bird.
Becoming the idol of the cultists in-game?
I had a gut feeling something was bound to happen.
But what could I do?
The ‘patriotism’ of the initial discoverer was so severe that it could be seen as fanaticism.
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There was no way to change what had already been decided.
“A former soldier turned priest, huh…”
The unusually strong patriotism, and
understanding why someone with patriotism would choose to become a priest.
It all made sense given the reality of the initial discoverer.
‘Well, since the idol is set as a bald eagle…’
The effect of the cultist’s skills should evoke the image of a bald eagle too.
Utilizing the creator’s rights, I modified the cultist’s skill effects on the American server.
The distinctive features of the bald eagle, such as its raptor beak and talons,
the wings of a bird, and raptors’ unique golden eyes.
I focused on these four to rebuild the effect, and when I summoned the whip for a test, its appearance had indeed changed as I imagined.
The tip of the whip had claws, the handle was adorned with the pattern of a bald eagle,
and the overall design was made up of bald eagle feathers.
“This is awesome.”
After dismissing the summoned whip, I fell into deep thought.
Come to think of it, had I modified the cultist’s skill effects on the Korean server before?
“….I forgot.”
Currently, the skill effects of the Korean cultists centering around Aurora remained as the original version.
What to do?
Should I belatedly add modifications,
or just leave it as is?
While I was troubled, I eventually made a decision.
“Let’s just treat it as if it didn’t happen.”
Thinking about it, was there really a need to change the effects?
The cultists were the root cause of me being treated like a goddess.
Why should I go out of my way to change the skill effects?
“…”
I tried to put it out of my mind and focus on other tasks,
but it just wouldn’t go away.
I kept getting distracted, and there was no way I could work normally like this.
‘This isn’t for the cultist users.’
If I fall behind on work, my future self would suffer.
“The point could be magic and sky blue… and maybe a laurel crown.”
Thus, Aurora, grumbling yet putting in maximum effort, modified the cultist’s skill effects.
Little did Aurora know at that time.
The laurel crown of creation.
A divine artifact that bestows a constant blessing upon its wearer.
The equipment used by the hero, Aurora, was recorded in the Akare royal library,
and most adventurers who loved adventure already knew about the ‘Laurel Crown of Creation.’
It was already flashing before her eyes.
– “Aurora the Goddess’s Unbroken Streak of Victories”
Such titled posts were being registered in various forums.
The sight of Aurora tormented by seeing such posts was
***
Dimension Corridor spinning around.
Before starting the raid on the Twisted World Tree this time,
utilizing the Dimension Corridor spinning was a must-do task.
To acquire the level 80 gear dropped by the dungeon boss.
Why do we need level 80 gear?
The reason was simple.
With just three pieces of level 80 parts, the difficulty of the Twisted World Tree raid dropped dramatically.
Of course, it wouldn’t drop to a level of playing just for fun,
but in comparison to the level where merely grazing would lead to near death, it was significantly easier.
The one who felt this change the most was undoubtedly the Major Corporation Party.
“Focus on the raid.”
Finally overcoming the doppelganger pattern,
there was a risk of being caught off guard due to the joy and sense of achievement it brought.
In such a situation, Master Kim’s order had its intended effect.
[Something’s off.]
[Twisting causes more Twisting.]
[It’s no longer just one Twisting.]
Right after the doppelganger pattern ended,
with Celestia’s narration, the Twisting pattern intensified.
The roots of the World Tree moved around like tentacles from all directions.
The overpowered version of the fairy army that had appeared at the first gate.
Guardian fairies were summoned,
and an intense battle requiring extreme mental power unfolded.
Anyone who lets their guard down for even a second risks destruction.
[Buy us some time.]
[I have a way.]
[…I didn’t want to use this.]
Amidst the chaos, I heard Celestia’s voice.
And a timer of one minute appeared at the top of my view.
The remaining health of the Twisted World Tree was at 15%.
Having exhausted all the consumables allowed per raid,
could we withstand the onslaught of the Twisted World Tree now?
No.
We have to withstand, without fail.
As Master Kim was about to step forward, resolved,
“I’ll go first.”
Pagu zipped past Master Kim.
Pagu let go of the sword and shield held in both hands.
At that moment, a red haze began to rise around Pagu’s body,
and the red haze took shape in his hands, forming a halberd.
Berserker.
His maximum health was fixed at 50%,
damage taken significantly increased, but
on the upside, all stats were boosted.
Also, he would gain access to the new weapon, the ‘halberd.’
With the effect of ‘Weapon Mastery,’ one of the warrior’s second awakening passive skills,
Pagu wielded the halberd as if he were handling his usual sword and shield.
“Hyung. If you use that…”
Using berserker almost guaranteed death.
The increase in damage taken was too high,
and the penalty of having maximum health fixed at half was significant.
“I’m not going to die.”
With a grin,
Pagu’s lips curled upwards.
A red aura swirled behind him.
“I’m going to kill.”
At that declaration, Pagu, gripping the halberd, charged toward the Twisted World Tree.