Chapter 60: The Genius Developer’s Secret Gift

It was so obvious that I hadn’t bothered mentioning it before, but my games were available in numerous languages.

I didn’t need to know every language to make translations possible.

Dictionaries existed, and even idioms and slang could be figured out with some effort.

However, to efficiently translate, having a strong grasp of the language was necessary—it was a matter of speed.

Looking up each word, slowly piecing sentences together, and painstakingly reviewing for awkwardness was a process far too slow for anyone with limited time.

Unless you had endless hours, this was not a task worth undertaking.

But for someone with a cheat ability, that rule didn’t apply.

I incorporated every language in existence into my games: English, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, Thai, Malay, Filipino, and more.

This ensured that no one on Earth was unable to enjoy my games due to language barriers.

That’s why, when “The Emperor of Virtual Broadcasting” (aka “Burwang”) streamed my game, sales skyrocketed at an insane pace.

Even a story-heavy game like Retaking Love: A High Schooler’s Tale saw a significant boost in sales, further proving the prowess of my cheat ability.

And now, a collaboration, huh?

I opened MeTube and checked Yukimura Akane’s recent streams.

She had played Fantasy Life, Excel Busters, and, just yesterday, Retaking Love: A High Schooler’s Tale.

She was thoroughly enjoying the “Han Yurim full course.”

Curious, I glanced at her viewer count during those streams.

It was a number far beyond what I’d ever seen on V-TV Korea.

As expected of Burwang.

But why is Yukimura Akane nicknamed Burwang?

To explain that, you need to understand what “Nobel Live” is. And to understand Nobel Live, you first need to know about its parent company, “Nobela.”

Nobela is the developer of Eternal World, currently the top VR game globally.

While most people see Nobela as a game company, that’s a misconception.

Technically speaking, Nobela is closer to a publishing house.

Though they’ve expanded into broadcasting, gaming, film, and manga, their roots—and their foundation—are in publishing.

Eternal World? It’s a game that brings together all the characters for which Nobela owns the copyrights.

Nobel Live operates in a similar way. It’s a VTuber company that maximized the use of its publishing resources.

Breaking into an established industry is hard.

The first-mover advantage is incredibly powerful, and persuading satisfied consumers to switch requires significant incentives.

Nobela, being a publishing giant, was well aware of this.

So, when launching Nobel Live, they devised a unique strategy.

They commissioned their in-house writers to create novels and had their VTubers stream as characters from those novels.

This was a method only a publishing giant like Nobela could pull off.

Initially, the idea didn’t gain traction. Innovation alone doesn’t guarantee success—otherwise, the term “red ocean” wouldn’t exist.

It wasn’t until a year after its launch, when Yukimura Akane’s broadcasts hit their stride, that Nobel Live started gaining momentum.

Her talent and “awakening” as a broadcaster were key to their success.

Within a year, the company grew exponentially, and that growth has continued, making them the industry leader today.

As both a trailblazer and the company’s ace, Yukimura Akane earned her nickname, Burwang—short for “The Emperor of Virtual Broadcasting.”

I’d already read Yukimura Akane’s debut novel (a short story released alongside her VTuber debut) and her follow-up novel.

It would be absurd not to study Burwang if I was going to collaborate with her.

Yukimura Akane was, in simple terms, a shonen manga protagonist.

Streaming is, at its core, a live performance. In VTuber terms, it falls under the “live commentary” category.

While pre-recorded, heavily edited content dominated the past, live commentary demands extended, unscripted performances, making it much harder to maintain character consistency.

A shonen manga protagonist is a vague concept to pull off in live streams.

Think about it—how would such a character talk about their daily life?

It’s unexpectedly tricky to maintain.

Yet Yukimura Akane managed to excel, making her an undeniable talent.

The collaboration was set for tomorrow. I had been flexible with my schedule, so it had been scheduled in a rush.

Normally, a big company like Nobel Live wouldn’t operate like this, but Yukimura Akane’s exceptional position likely played a role.

After all, she single-handedly elevated her company’s value to 5 trillion won.

If she wanted a collaboration scheduled immediately, who could say no?

I paused to consider.

Reflecting on Yukimura Akane’s role-playing style, her short story’s lore, and her broadcasting tone, I began to get a sense of what gift I should prepare for her.

Hopefully, she’d like it.

[External Collaboration]

The Genius Game Developer (and Cute Girl) Makes Her Talk Show Debut!! [Yukimura Akane/Nobel Live]

143,291 viewers waiting • Scheduled Time: 18:00

Yukimura Akane sipped her coffee while watching the chat scroll rapidly.

Among the joys of a streamer’s life, she most loved moments like this—seeing viewers clamoring in the chat while they waited for her show.

Sometimes, she scheduled streams a day in advance just to witness this.

Taking another sip of coffee, she thought about her collaboration partner.

Han Yurim. A Korean VTuber with the unique background of being a game developer.

Han Yurim’s games were incredibly fun, at least to Akane.

Fantasy Life was particularly suited to her preferences.

While some might find its difficulty frustrating, Akane loved it.

One person’s “impossibly hard game” could be another’s “game of a lifetime.”

Han Yurim’s Retaking Love: A High Schooler’s Tale was equally impressive.

Though she hadn’t played much yet, the NPCs, who moved like real people, were remarkable.

She especially loved the character “Han Yurim.”

Whenever “Han Yurim” chattered, the chat was flooded with messages like “So cute!!!” Akane couldn’t agree more.

She found it intriguing that the character shared the same name as the developer.

Was it a sign of strong self-love? Or was there a deeper intent behind it?

She’d already added that question to her list of things to ask during the show. It was definitely something she wanted to know.

In truth, Akane rarely collaborated with other VTubers from Nobelive outside of official events.

She did partner occasionally with her fellow first-generation peers (initially four members, now reduced to just two, including Akane), but even those collaborations had dwindled to once or twice a year.

She was undoubtedly walking her own path.

So why did Akane specifically request a collab with Han Yurim?

The answer was simple: she genuinely enjoyed Han Yurim’s games.

That was it.

Her thought process was straightforward:

“This game is fantastic! Oh, and the developer is a VTuber too? Then why not collaborate?”

Because of this, typical procedures like rehearsals, coordinating the broadcast plan, or even arranging for an interpreter due to the language barrier were all skipped.

Akane pushed forward with the collaboration purely because she wanted to talk to Han Yurim directly.

Why?

Because Akane was deeply curious.

What kind of person could create a game so dark and sinister that it felt like it exuded malice?

Ding!

The grandfather clock chimed.

It was 6:00 PM sharp. The broadcast was starting.

While an animation promoting her latest original song played on the screen, Akane kept track of the time.

One minute later, the screen transitioned, and Akane appeared.

“Good evening.”

Akane looks radiant today!

Good evening!

After a brief exchange of greetings with her viewers and some lighthearted chatter, Akane got straight to the point.

“So, you see, I have a guest today.”

The developer of Fantasy Life!

A genius game developer (and a bishoujo)??

Her games are so much fun!

“Well then, let’s bring her in!”

Akane invited Han Yurim into her VR room.

Moments later, Han Yurim appeared.

Upon being summoned, Han Yurim glanced around briefly before greeting,

“Hello.”

Her fluent Japanese momentarily surprised Akane, but she quickly regained her composure.

After all, learning basic greetings in multiple languages was a fundamental skill for any VTuber.

“Good evening, Yurim-san.”

“Good evening.”

“Ladies and gentlemen! Here she is, the trending genius bishoujo game developer, Han Yurim-san!” Akane declared dramatically.

“It’s nice to meet you all. But I must correct you—I’m not a genius game developer.”

“Huh? Then what should I call you?” Akane tilted her head, confused.

Han Yurim corrected her firmly, “Please refer to me as a super game developer.”

“…Is there a difference?”

“There’s a huge difference.”

“What kind of difference?”

Han Yurim smiled slightly.

“A genius is a celebration of humanity, while a super developer is someone who cheats with their abilities.”

After exchanging just a few words, Akane felt it in her bones—this person wasn’t normal.

There was something… off about her.

“By the way, Yurim-san, your Japanese is impressive!” Akane noted.

Initially, she thought Han Yurim had merely practiced greetings, but her conversational Japanese was nearly flawless.

Although her foreignness was noticeable, her pronunciation was clear and precise—an impressive feat.

“Of course, I’m good at it.”

“Did you major in something related to Japan, perhaps?”

“No, but for an otaku, Japanese is like Latin. Similarly, for a game developer, English is the Latin equivalent, so I made sure to master both.”

Akane shifted gears.

“Well then, Yurim-san, I’ve prepared some questions for you. Ready to dive in?”

“Wow, let’s hear them!”

Sensing the conversation veering into unpredictable territory, Akane decided to steer it back on track. Fortunately, her guest seemed willing to follow along.

“First question—wait a second.”

Han Yurim raised her hand to stop Akane.

“Hm? What is it?” Akane asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

Han Yurim explained, “We need to handle the gift-giving ceremony first. I almost forgot.”

“Gift? What gift?”

Confused, Akane furrowed her brow. Han Yurim elaborated,
“Check your email.”

“My email? What did you send me—”

Akane blinked in surprise. A massive file had appeared in her inbox, taking up a staggering amount of space.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a game,” Han Yurim replied matter-of-factly.

“A game?”

“Yes, it’s an unreleased game I created just for you.”

“An unreleased… what?”

Although the words were Japanese, Akane couldn’t quite process their meaning.

Wait… didn’t we only finalize this collab two days ago?

As Akane’s brain threatened to short-circuit, Han Yurim grinned.

“It’s fun. Give it a try.”