Became the Mother of Virtual YouTubers - Chapter 123

Spring hesitated for a long time, clutching her smartphone in her hand.

It had already crossed over from seconds to minutes as she debated whether or not to press the call button under the name ‘Jin Ha Mama’ visible on the screen.

Of course, just a moment ago, she had received a reply from Jin Ha, saying to call whenever convenient.

Still, the other person seemed too busy.

She worried whether it was really okay to call, fearing that she might be bothering Jin Ha, who had sent such a message out of consideration.

If it had been the other members, she would have called Jin Ha right away.

But the mature little leader, Spring, still felt awkward about being adorable with someone.

In the end, she mustered the courage and pressed the call button.

After a couple of short ringtone sounds, Jin Ha’s calm voice seeped into her ears.

[Yes, Spring.]

The languid tone was full of fatigue, and Spring felt a heavy weight in her chest.

“Ah! Am I… bothering you a lot, Mama? I’m sorry. I feel like I’m troubling you again…”

[No, it’s alright. I was just waiting for the results after running AI training, so I had a moment to spare.]

“Well, I’m relieved, but… I was thinking it might have been better to just text you…”

[If we talked via message, it would actually take longer. My fingers are stiff, and a call is just more comfortable.]

“Ahaha…”

[So, what’s the matter?]

The subtle warmth in Jin Ha’s voice eased Spring’s tension a little.

But that was only for a moment; she soon found herself lost in thought again.

Not knowing how to start, she silently moved her lips for a while.

Jin Ha seemed to notice that Spring was choosing her words and gently asked again.

[Whatever it is you’re contemplating, feel free to speak without any burden.]

Spring, as the youngest, thought it would be better to act a bit cuter, Jin Ha added lazily.

With that, Spring gathered a bit of courage, paused to take a small breath, and murmured in a soft voice.

“Um… I don’t know how to play the game well…”

At that moment, a faint breath could be heard over the smartphone.

A stifled sound, as if struggling to suppress a laugh.

Her face flushed red, and Spring unconsciously lowered her head.

Ugh… Why did I say that! This is too much!

After a brief silence, Jin Ha cautiously spoke up.

[…Do you really need to be good at the game? It doesn’t cause any major problems in life.]

There’s no need to be good, just try your best as you are now…

Her tone was careful, but the laughter hadn’t entirely left Jin Ha’s voice.

That was true.

Being terrible at games was almost a part of Spring’s identity.

Many teachers had tried to teach her games, but none had saved her.

By now, Spring had even given up on being good at games herself.

But this time, it was different.

“I really want to do well in Jinro World. No, at the very least, I want to hear that I’m average.”

She knew that Jin Ha and Roji had been working hard on it for many days and nights.

Moreover, the number of people who could play Jinro World was limited.

She understood that the recently released trailer had caused explosive reactions, with inquiries coming from not only Pasta but also other broadcasting platforms and even foreign streamers, all wanting to play.

One of the fortunate individuals who had secured such an invaluable opportunity was Spring herself.

Just because she was a member of CosmoLive and was connected to Jin Ha, it made her feel uneasy about taking a spot.

Other streamers could probably show more entertaining scenes…

As Spring voiced her complaints, a heavy sigh was mixed in from Jin Ha.

After listening quietly to Spring’s words, Jin Ha cautiously spoke up.

[Actually, being good at Jinro World isn’t strictly necessary. Just look at Summer during the beta test.]

She had simply wandered around the village all day and attracted thousands of viewers.

Of course, if someone were to argue that this was still a skill in visual novel games, there would be no rebuttal.

“But I want to adapt to the flying system, at least.”

[Hmm… Do you have a fear of heights, Spring?]

“Not really. It’s just that without a safety belt, it feels unsettling like I’m floating in the sky…”

Spring’s biggest problem was that she would unknowingly close her eyes whenever the flying system was activated.

As it turned out, the flying system developed by Jin Ha conflicted with visual information, so if she shut her eyes, she couldn’t maintain her balance.

This wasn’t an issue that could be solved by improving the controls.

Spring had to adapt.

[If you just get used to the sensation of floating in the air, I think it could work somehow…]

“Isn’t there any way to do that?”

After a brief silence, a sharp snap echoed, like a finger snapping.

It seemed like a good idea had come to mind.

[Just a moment. I’m going to quickly create a game and send it to you.]

“…Really? Right now?”

Mama, weren’t you busy?

Caught off guard by the sudden development, Spring felt flustered.

But Jin Ha casually replied, as if it were no big deal.

[It won’t take long. At most, it might take an hour or two? I have a light version I made for testing, so I’ll just refine that and send it over.]

A game created by Jin Ha.

That phrase triggered Spring’s PTSD.

It had only been a few months since she fainted from the VR horror game Jin Ha made.

…Could it be that this time would be the same?

“Um… It won’t be anything strange, right? Not scary or anything…?”

[Don’t worry. The purpose is purely to help you adapt to the sensation of floating.]

“That’s a relief, but…”

[Ah, but since it’s still a game, I plan to add some fun elements. I’m also thinking of using it as a broadcasting content, so I’ll include elements that viewers will enjoy.]

“Really?”

[I’ll send it to you soon, so please check it out.]

Spring let out a little hiccup without realizing it.

Now she was starting to fear what kind of game it would be.

*

As soon as the call with Spring ended, Jin Ha immediately launched the game engine program.

“Ah… Why did I take on unnecessary work again?”

She grumbled, but it was actually quite enjoyable work.

Just to catch her breath for a moment and relieve the stress that had piled up from busy work.

More than anything else, just thinking about Spring’s whiny voice was enough to stir up her playful side.

Jin Ha casually cracked her knuckles and modified the project file name saved as ‘Test Version 47’.

[Jump Up]

The intent was simple. It was all about stepping on floating objects in the air to climb higher and higher.

“If falling is scary, you just need to fall a lot to get used to it.”

The objects were all 3D models extracted through an AI used in the VR TRPG.

This entire project had been initially made to test the AI’s performance.

“Since this game is specifically for adapting Spring to the floating sensation… there’s really no need for intense level design.”

Still, both the players and viewers should have fun.

So, she began to mix in traps and gimmicks with a few objects.

First was a slippery ice platform.

It provided just enough friction, but if you didn’t keep your balance, you’d slowly slide off.

Next was a bouncy trampoline.

Stepping on it sent you high up, making it look like a shortcut.

But if you misstep, it was set with enough tension to send you flying somewhere entirely unexpected.

Additionally, a few trap platforms would collapse if you put just a little weight on them.

Out of courtesy, Jin Ha set it to emit a warning sound just before the platform fell.

It would be a disaster if Spring were to be so startled that she fainted again.

She also placed some newly drawn 3D objects purely for fun.

For instance, a rubber hammer that would suddenly pop out and bounce players away.

Or a giant windmill blade set to fling players away unless they jumped at the right time.

Jin Ha envisioned how Spring would scream from the viewpoint of a mischievous viewer as she developed the game.

In less than an hour, a decent game was completed.

After donning a VR headset and casually testing it for about five minutes.

“…This might be pretty challenging for Spring, huh?”

It was suddenly evident that Jin Ha was quite good at games.

Even for her, it seemed pretty challenging.

Of course, accounting for her fatigue, it still didn’t change the fact that it was no easy feat.

“Still, it’s definitely fun enough that I don’t want to change the map…”

It wasn’t that she was being lazy.

She honestly thought it was highly polished as it stood.

After a moment of contemplation, Jin Ha took her smartphone and sent a message to Spring.

[Spring, could you find someone to play this game with?]

[It would be great if they could quickly adapt to new VR games.]

[For example, like Fall.]

[Spring: I’ll ask.]

[Spring: Fall should probably be fine.]

[Spring: …But it’s not something really scary, right?]

[Spring: (A shivering rabbit emoticon)]

Soon, a message arrived from Spring, saying she had found someone to listen to her.

“With this, I can raise the difficulty a little more, right?”

Now that it was a two-player game, she installed a new gimmick that could only be passed if the two worked together.

She placed the next platform where it was unreachable by jumping alone and added a few movable objects around it.

As a final touch in the game development process, she slightly lowered the gravity acceleration value in the physics engine.

By making it slow to rise and fall, she aimed to artificially extend the time in the air.

At the same time, she tried to minimize the fear of floating.

In the end, she didn’t forget that the game’s purpose was for Spring to get accustomed to the feeling of floating.

“Tomorrow, I’ll just watch Spring suffer while doing mindless tasks that I can do without thinking.”

…Probably.