I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work - Chapter 77
A few moments later, an announcement echoed across the entire server.
– [Server] The Demon King’s castle, buried in snow to the north of Wicker Town, reveals itself with the resurrection of the Demon King!
– [Server] The owner of the Demon Castle is the Skeleton Knight, Majia!
– [All] Wicker: Oops, just a typo in the announcement;; my bad!
– [Server] The owner of the Demon Castle is the Skeleton Knight Majia!
– [All] [Evil Businessman] Movgun: LOL!
– [All] [Evil Businessman] Movgun: Everyone loves my nickname, huh?
– [All] [Outsider] Rain: Did that guy not know the meaning of fun?
– [All] [Sashimi] Momo: Rain, be polite with your words!
– [All] [Landlord] Ronze: Brother, why not just prepare for the trial?
– [All] [Evil Businessman] Movgun: I was just running a legitimate business; it’s unfair!
– [Server] Due to a powerful barrier, the Demon Castle cannot be attacked at this time.
– [Server] The barrier will disappear tomorrow, the 16th (Saturday), and entrance will be possible from 10 PM.
– [All] [Credit Defaulter] Rubko: Tomorrow, the first raid is Rubko’s!
– [All] [Credit Defaulter] Rubko: No cutting in line!
– [All] [Credit Defaulter] Rubko: I’m going to catch that Demon King and head to heaven!
– [All] [Demon King] Majia: How about paying your debts first?
– [All] [KangKang] Serena: LOL!
– [All] [Credit Defaulter] Rubko: If I take down that Demon King, I could earn 1 million!
Just like when the hidden job Skeleton Knight was revealed.
Not long after the announcement, the Parallel official channel began another dramatic influx of viewers.
[ (🔴Live) Wicker Town Season 2 – Parallel Command Room Day 8 ] 👪33,328
After hunting for 12 hours straight and wiping everything out, the streamers started pouring in as soon as they heard the news, inducing a chat flood.
There were so many people that they had to turn on follower-only chat mode, usually kept off.
— We meet the Demon King!
— Is this guy a hidden pro hunter?
— That armor looks sleek LOL!
— It’s got a swagger!
— With that full set, he seems double the size of regular folks, right?
— He looks ready to smash everything ㄷㄷ
— 0.02% luck is LOL!
— This server is really just smiling at the Parallels’ odds!
:: Anonymously funded 10,000 clouds! ::
:: But isn’t that image kinda funny? The one giving out housing support funds turned out to be a Demon King? LOL ::
— This is just a cliché that the Demon King was actually a nice guy LOL
— <Quitting the hero party to become the Demon King>
— Yup, the hero gets butthurt and becomes the Demon King LOL
— Oh, so that’s what it was!
— When do we get to see the Demon King?
There were ten thousand more viewers compared to when the hidden job Skeleton Knight was revealed, probably due to the increased number of players in the server.
Starting with 20 players, and an additional 80 newcomers.
In total, they distributed support funds amounting to 1.6 million WK, so it’s possible the ones who remembered my name came back.
So if this had come out for the members, it would have skyrocketed.
Darn, what a missed opportunity.
But remember this:
Rapitsu Potion, truly the best.
Rapitsu Potion, truly the best.
No matter how many people there are, if you just improve the image of the controversial Rapitsu bread, my job is done.
With about half a day left until I take on my Demon King duties, I took off the armor and headed straight to find the alchemist Dora.
[Wow. Did you turn all this into Serena Potion?]
“Yes. All of it.”
[But this is insane. Where did you get 12,000 of this bread from? That’s kinda scary…?]
Since they were able to synthesize Rapitsu bread into potions, it started to create its own value in the server.
Making potions allowed them to sell at a decent price, enabling newbies to join the server, get some support, and quickly establish a base capital to blend in with the originals.
— Wow LOL
— Serena 1,500! LOL
— Should be enough to eat until the server ends LOL
— Selling this should yield a few hundred, right? LOL
However, I will not sell.
The Rapitsu Potion is a cherished companion for the Demon King.
I have to drink all of it in front of everyone.
Just as I was packing the completed 1,500 potions to head back.
Dora stopped me and handed me a dimensional box filled with gifts.
[This is a 2-second invincibility potion. This is a 2-second invisibility potion. This is a 10-second berserk potion. I thought you might need them as a Demon King, so I threw in a few.]
Normally, as a Demon King, I shouldn’t be helped.
Since each time a potion is made, the alchemist gains experience, unlocking higher-level potions.
But dang, instead of a few, she gave me 100 of each.
Each potion costs thousands of WK, amounting to nearly a million WK.
“That’s too much! Am I going to get chased out of town for helping the Demon King?”
[Hehe. So what? If I get chased out, I’ll just join under you, Demon King.]
Despite my insistence that I didn’t need them all, I ultimately caved to Dora’s persuasion and took everything.
Surely, VTubers like her have a different level of persuasive power.
Her dulcet voice gently leads people, and the moment fans switch off their idiot mode, they’re all doubled over in laughter.
Anyway, after receiving an armful of potions, I returned to the Demon Castle and began serious dungeon renovation.
Upon receiving system authority, I could edit the internal space just like an operator.
I could design mazes, configure the outer walls however I wanted, and even insert short videos.
Once completed, the staff had planned a testing session to review the dungeon.
I had to finish it before the server shut down at 6 PM today.
But with about four hours of breathing space, it shouldn’t be too hard.
I had some ideas lined up.
However, one thing was nagging at me…
[ (🔴Live) Wicker Town Season 2 – Parallel Command Room Day 8 ] 👪31,044
I wanted to pull off a surprise.
But with this many people watching, they’d catch me red-handed making the dungeon.
And if I minimize my screen and enlarge another, I’d get flamed for being a ‘camper.’
Remembering how I almost lost the public’s favor in my desperate promotions, it was impossible to hide my screen entirely.
Can’t I shake off some of these viewers somehow?
Fortunately, my pondering didn’t last long.
– [Server] A trial will soon commence in the courthouse regarding economic offender ‘Movgun’s’ violation of the ‘Antitrust Law’.
– [Server] Residents of Wicker Town, please spare some time to participate as jurors.
I had been engrossed in watching Parallel streams, completely oblivious to the ongoing drama surrounding Movgun.
After checking, it seemed Movgun had been accused of a lot of ‘likeable works’ (which often means ‘unlikeable works’ in internet broadcasting) garnering public outrage.
By the rules, a dungeon owner cannot avoid duels requested by those wanting to take their dungeon ownership; and of all things, Movgun had the 3-star mount Phoenix!
To initiate a duel, one needed to right-click and request a duel, but since Movgun kept flying away, people enraged enough requested his trial.
It seemed like a true rage-induced confrontation, but at the end of the day, it’s all WWE and one of the server’s grand events.
After all, the reason they even have a courthouse is to settle such ambiguous charges and generate streaming content, right?
— Oh, right! That’s today!
— Oh yeah, LOL!
— I need to watch this!
— What? It’s already the 15th?
— Let’s go to the economic offender trial!!!
Naturally, all eyes turned to the viewers, and seizing the opportunity, I suggested.
“I’m curious about the trial too. How about we watch it together first and then work on the dungeon?”
— Oh, sounds good!
— Nice stream, LOL!
— Demon King ㅠㅠㅠ
— See you later, see you later!
— Trial first, LOL!
— How can we skip the server’s big event?
It seemed our members, including the president, were all heading towards the courthouse, so I brought up the judge’s perspective, while the others split into a four-way view for the jurors.
And in the meantime, I discreetly turned off my screen.
Why?
Because I planned to create the dungeon while watching the stream without physically participating.
During the trial, I would quickly make the surprise room while pretending to work on the other rooms afterward.
* * *
[I will now give the verdict. The defendant, Movgun, as a dungeon owner, should not have avoided duels from those wishing to acquire the dungeon rights, yet has continuously evaded duels using his mount ‘Phoenix.’ The number of instances reported has reached a whopping 10 times.
Thus, I sentence the defendant, Movgun, to a fine of 2.5 million WK, equivalent to entrance fees for 100 visits, and simultaneously order the return of the mount ‘Phoenix’ which was abused in attempts to escape for two days.
The four dungeons owned by the defendant Movgun shall also have their ownership completely revoked from this time.
This concludes the trial.]
Bam, bam, bam!
As soon as the gavel of the judge, Kkaemang, a starting member, rang out, Movgun shouted as if wronged.
[This is unacceptable!! I won’t stand for this! This is a conspiracy by those out to frame me! A conspiracy! Are you jealous of my profits? Release me!!]
[Alright, Movgun, please come over here. You will have to stay in the detention center until you pay your fine.]
[Graaaah!]
— LOLOLOL!
— Movgun’s been going wild on stream all year, huh? LOL!
— Wasn’t impressed when he quit pro gaming, but he seems to be flying lately! LOL!
The trial ended in about an hour.
In the meantime, I successfully prepared my surprise.
I was anxiously shuttling about, adding videos and setting triggers, but fortunately, just before the trial ended, I finished my setup by a narrow margin.
— Well, let’s get back to constructing the dungeon!
— But which monsters can we summon?
— Let’s see!
Having watched the trial, the audience started raising their voices that it was time to begin construction.
Of course, we had to.
The essential parts have long been completed.
“I was just about to restart. Let me adjust the screen a bit.”
Users breaching the Demon Castle must pass through four layers.
First, they must face the monster defense line in the entrance and adjacent 1st floor (basic mob area, no need to hire monsters here).
After navigating through complex mazes and numerous traps on the 2nd floor, they finally arrive at the 3rd and 4th floors.
These are spaces where I can directly place monsters.
The 4th floor is the surprise spot I’ve been diligently building just below the audience room, so I’ll leave it alone for now.
Right now, I needed to work on the 3rd floor.
A continuous combat zone consisting of four spacious rooms connected in sequence.
“There’s an option to sort monsters based on price! Let’s see…”
I could hire a maximum of 10 cost monsters per room.
Expensive monsters may be strong, but they chew up a lot of costs.
Only one can be placed in a single room.
It’s easy to think if you imagine the well-known card game, Stone Duel.
— No way, we can even summon a Void Dragon! LOL!
— What? LOL!
— Wow, but it’s super expensive.
— It’s 500,000, but let’s set it up anyway?
— If I put four at 10 cost, I’ll be fine, right?
— The problem is, I’m broke! LOL!
However, even though I wanted to place a powerful monster, like the viewers said, I was out of money.
After hunting for five days and selling enhancement stones yesterday minus the fees, I only made a total of 3 million WK.
Of that, I gave out 1.6 million WK.
I gave the newbies 1 million WK.
I haven’t received back the 300,000 WK I lent to Rubko.
So, I ended up with only 100,000 WK left.
10 cost monsters start at 300,000 WK, making summoning a no-go.
“I guess I’ll have to hunt a bit more today…”
— NOOOOOOOOO!
— Graaah!
— No, not hunting again!
— Please, not again!
— Are you really gonna do it again? After all this?!!
Actually, I was thinking of borrowing money.
But everybody seems to have a real grudge against hunting.
“Considering the voices of frustration, I’ll go ahead and borrow money first. Let me contact the president.”
— Phew…
— Phew…
— Thank goodness!
As I worked as a Demon King, I could step out of the dungeon the moment I took off my armor.
As I de-equipped my gear, an unexpected figure awaited at the dungeon entrance.
It was someone I saw every day, but we merely exchanged money and went about our own ways.
To be precise, it was Movgun, whom I had been avoiding!
He had just been sentenced to prison and somehow had paid his fine and come out of detention.
Everyone was busy preparing for the dungeon raid tomorrow, but Movgun, now a publicly recognized ex-con, seemed to have no immediate plans.
[So, Jia. Are you graduating from the dungeon?]
“It seems so. I’ve become the Demon King.”
[Surpassing Skeleton King to become Demon King? I envy you this day.]
It was both sad and yet strangely gratifying.
Not having much else to say, I decided to head to town, but once again, Movgun perfectly blocked my path.
[Wait a moment. I came to offer a new suggestion.]
Then out popped a surprisingly bold proposal from Movgun.
[Please make me a high-ranking officer of the Demon King’s army. I’ll sweep away anyone trying to harm you with this crimson blade!]
“… Did I hear something wrong?”
[Please, my Demon King! I pledge my loyalty!]
You can always sense when someone is genuinely desperate, no matter how hard they try to hide it, and I immediately caught on.
Movgun, who had always sought favor with our president, was in a thoroughly submissive stance.
Not like I didn’t want to give him one good smack.
I couldn’t let this opportunity slip by.
“Is it even possible to become an officer? I think you’ll need Wicker’s permission for that.”
[I’ve already been granted permission. See the economic offender title? As an ex-con, I can join the Demon King’s army. If I register, I could get placed in that room on the 3rd floor, right?]
With the loss of missing dungeons and his mount confiscated, Movgun might have been left with nothing to do.
However, he was not one to simply go from a former pro-gamer to a YouTuber with 1.8 million subscribers for no reason.
It seemed he had in mind to come under me and play the role of the server’s great evil.
Checking if it was indeed possible, I found that with 0 cost, he could register without a fee to be placed in a room along with other monsters.
It was possible to place people with prison records in that 3rd-floor room from the trials in the server.
How far does the freedom go in the Wicker server?
But it felt too easy to just take him in.
Since I needed money as it was, why not charge a registration fee?
People said they earned countless riches just from dungeon entrance fees, so maybe he still had some funds left even after paying his fine.
“Then please pay a registration fee. We’re a membership system.”
— LOLOLOLOLOLOL!
— What the heck! LOLOLOL!
— You’re asking for a registration fee to be an officer of the Demon King’s army? LOLOLOL!
— That’s just absurd! LOL!
— Oh, you need money, huh? LOL!
While it was a ridiculous suggestion, Movgun surprisingly accepted rather readily.
[I’ll pay however much! How much is it? 1 million? 2 million?]
“No, did you really earn that much?”
[I received close to 150,000 from Jia per day, so that adds up to 750,000. The dungeon entrance fee averages 25,000, and I’ve used it nearly 300 times.]
Just like his title of economic offender gained from the trial, he indeed had been hoarding wealth selfishly.
I earned 3.75 million before fees after hunting for 12 hours daily.
That’s 8.25 million just from owning the dungeon?
What a bloody robber!
“You really deserved being dragged to trial. You should have shared the wealth like Ronze.”
[But hey, money is great! What’s wrong with loving money? Oh!]
“Yeah, yeah, you’re something else.”
With a shake of my head, I registered Movgun as an officer, and his title as an economic offender changed once again.
– [Demon King’s Army Officer] Movgun
“I’ll just take a registration fee of 2 million WK.”
[Here you go.]
“This is a welcome gift.”
I received the 2 million WK check and gave Movgun two items I’d drawn from gacha earlier.
Having him under my thumb temporarily felt fine.
But I didn’t want to end up in the situation of owing favors to someone I disliked.
[ Special Skin Set Selection x1 ]
[ [3-star Guaranteed] Random Mount Exchange Ticket x1 ]
“With that, deck out like a Demon King’s army, and roll out a new mount.”
Movgun, as soon as he received them, prostrated himself flat down and raised his voice.
[Your greatness!!!!]
“Keep it down.”
[Sorry! Demon King!!]
— Wow, DaeJia!
— Oh, right, that was available! LOL!
— Ah man, if I sold that, it would go for almost 200,000 WK! LOL!
— In the end, you exchanged it for the same amount, LOL!
Now, since we’re fighting together, I had to share the rewards.
No matter how much I disliked Movgun, I couldn’t let myself be perceived the same as this guy who violated antitrust laws.
“I take the entrance fee of 100,000 WK for each party member I take down. If you bring one, I’ll hand you that entrance fee straight away.”
[No way, if you keep giving it away, what’s left for you? You just kept spreading money around earlier…]
“I’d pay it back as fortune comes. Look where it got me to the Demon King position.”
[… Was that the case? I should have shared some too.]
“Regretting this rather early, aren’t you?”
[Sniff sniff.]
Users could enter the Demon Castle with a maximum of 16 in a party.
Then I’d get paid based on a formula of party members multiplied by the entrance fee of 100,000 WK.
Each party gets a 30-minute assault time, with the Demon Castle also having a 30-minute preparation time afterward.
If I battled against an average of 8-person teams throughout the server operating 12 hours, if I defeated all 12 parties, I could earn up to 9.6 million WK.
So, giving Movgun a share of the people he dealt with wouldn’t be an issue.
In a way, I’d consider it salary based on performance so his achievement level would rise.
[Your loyalty! Starting today, any attack against you will be considered an attack against me!]
“Uh, you don’t have to go that far—”
[Hahahaha!]
Whether he liked the suggestion or just wanted to create streaming content, Movgun began wreaking havoc from that point onward.
He not only began performing that hilariously awkward act of being the Demon King’s army officer.
But even started messing around in the chat.
– [All] [Demon King’s Army Officer] Movgun: I will punish all who imprisoned me!
– [All] [Demon King’s Army Officer] Movgun: In place of the Demon King, I shall sweep you away!
– [All] [Credit Defaulter] Rubko: Why’s he like this?
– [All] [Credit Defaulter] Rubko: Is he losing it?
Whether it was the remaining hours during that day that Movgun roamed the server and stirred up trouble, I have no idea.
Next day…
[ (🔴Live) Wicker Town Season 2 – Parallel Command Room Day 9 ] 👪51,435
The broadcast title was Command Room Day 9, and my screen was divided into six, but the viewer count was odd.
It seemed like all the influx of Wicker Town had come in.
Fifteen minutes after starting the broadcast, I was dumbfounded by the number reaching 50,000.
Suddenly my phone rang.
It was the president.
[President: Jia!!]
[President: Adjust the split screen immediately!]
[President: It’s urgent!]