NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 19
The long-awaited release date of Girls’ Memorial was approaching.
The end of a year-long race and the start of a new one—it was a pivotal moment.
The office was naturally filled with tension, but surprisingly, the atmosphere was calm.
There was a simple reason for this—it not only received excellent feedback during the previous trial phases, the FGT and CBT, but also the number of registered users by the pre-registration deadline yesterday had surpassed 500,000, far exceeding the anticipated 250,000.
Isn’t a student who scored all first ranks in the practice exams unlikely to falter during the final exam?
There was, however, one exception: Yerin. Despite there being no such plan, she was diligently sketching a commemorative illustration for the 500,000 pre-registrants with a troubled look, furiously wielding her graphics tablet pen.
There wasn’t an ounce of bad mood in the air.
In fact, it was much better than the tension and sensitivity that usually accompany launch days.
With those thoughts in mind, I moved to the center of the office and gathered everyone’s attention with a clap.
“Alright, everyone, please pay attention!”
At the sound of the clap, the team turned their gazes toward me.
“I, Jihojin, am truly grateful that all of you have faithfully followed me during the two-year development of Project GM.”
After finishing my sentence, I bowed deeply, and the room erupted in applause.
“Today marks the end of Project GM, but the service of Girls’ Memorial is only just beginning. I hope for your continued support. Thank you!”
After concluding my speech, I turned and opened a large box I had brought. Inside were snacks like coffee, bread, and cake.
Although I felt a twinge of guilt seeing the fatigue on the faces of the part-time café workers from the bulk order…
“Please, take one of these small treats each.”
After I stepped aside, the team members began approaching one by one to take the coffee and snacks.
“Thanks, Director!”
“Thank you!”
After confirming that everyone had taken a snack, just as I was about to gather one for Yerin who was still working alone, my smartphone, which had been silent, suddenly rang.
“Did you call me?”
“Yeah, is there some urgent matter I don’t know about?”
“No, not really, but…”
“Then take a seat for a moment on the sofa.”
The person calling me, just 30 minutes before the launch, was President Su-yeon.
Following her instruction, I sat on the sofa, and shortly after, Su-yeon approached with two cans of coffee.
Unlike her formal business attire from the last meeting, she was dressed casually in a dress today.
“Americano? Or Cappuccino?”
“I’ll have an Americano, please.”
Acknowledging my response, Su-yeon handed me the can labeled Americano.
She then sat across from me, crossing her legs.
Curious, I asked, “Is there a reason you called me?”
“Do you think we’re the kind of people who only call each other when there’s an issue? Director Ji, you are the first person I personally recruited for this company.”
“But…”
Her sudden flirting left me speechless.
Realizing my baffled reaction, Su-yeon laughed heartily and waved her hand dismissively.
“It’s a joke, just a joke. Don’t look so surprised. You’re more innocent than I thought.”
“It was just so sudden…”
“But not everything I said earlier was a joke. Ho-jin, you’re the only person in this company I truly trust.”
“…”
Faced with Su-yeon’s expression of trust, I found myself at a loss for words.
It appeared Su-yean wasn’t expecting a response as she continued.
“I heard you’re opening at 10 a.m. today—are you confident?”
“Of course, I am confident.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The feedback from both FGT and CBT was more positive than expected, and the number of pre-registered users is record-breaking…”
“No, that’s not the kind of objective data I’m talking about.”
Su-yeon pointed at my chest with her finger.
“That gut feeling. The same one you showed during your interview. I’m asking—does it tell you that this will be a success?”
“Gut feeling…”
Since I have never once doubted the success of Girls’ Memorial, I could nod confidently.
“Well, then it’s settled. Ho-jin, the project began because I trusted your intuition, and I’ll keep trusting it until the end.”
“…Thank you.”
With those words, a brief silence fell over the President’s Room.
Su-yeon was staring off into space, seemingly lost in thought, and I, having nothing to add, stayed quiet as well.
As the silence dragged on and the atmosphere began to feel a bit uncomfortable, Su-yeon finally spoke.
“Look at me. I’ve kept you here too long, and you’re already very busy. You may head down now.”
“…Understood.”
There were things I wanted to ask, but Su-yeon today seemed fragile, so I decided not to push further.
“In that case, I’ll be heading downstairs.”
Before leaving, I bowed, and then turned back to head to the Team Office, waving behind me as Su-yean urged me to hurry.
Just then, one person ran towards me.
It was Yumi.
“Director-nim…!”
“What’s the matter?”
“The rankings are up on the app store!”
“Already? What time is it?”
Hearing Yumi’s excited shout, I took out my smartphone to check the time.
11:02 am.
It was definitely well past the time for live rankings to update.
“What’s the ranking? Everything alright?”
“Of course! In Japan’s App Store real-time download and sales rankings—both number one!”
*
[Nickname: Anonymous]
[Title: Breaking: Girls’ Memorial Hits Number One in All App Rankings! Haha]
[Image: Screenshot of Japan App Store Rankings]
Wow, the ENSON guys really did it! Haha
Who’d have thought that until now they were making garbage games?
Seeing a Korean game take over Japanese app store rankings fills me with pride.
[Comments Section] [Sorted by Views]
-LOL yeah, good job man.
-Flags unfurl~
-OMG this is real right? Haha
-YESSSSSS
[Nickname: GirlMemSwitcher]
[Title: Until yesterday, I was playing INMILA, but now I’ve fully switched to Girl’s Memorial.]
[Image: Screenshot showing INMILA account deletion]
Not kidding—I’m one of those INMILA users who asked for changes, and Girls’ Memorial is what they got back with all the feedback implemented.
While the gameplay isn’t comparable due to genre differences, everything else is.
The ceiling system, which INMILA users begged for forever—was outright rejected—but Girls’ Memorial introduced it.
You can buy characters you didn’t get in 200 pulls via guaranteed pricing.
Even better, if you hit the ceiling and get the desired SSR character, you can roll over and keep playing—truly revolutionary.
Additionally, no distinction between paid and free resources when it comes to gacha pulls, and lots of free resources given at the start allowing you to pull your desired SSR characters easily if you play carefully.
This is known as resema (reset mara) in Japan—if you’re playing Girls’ Memorial, take note.
[Comments Section] [Sorted by Views]
-LOL yeah, the blackened fans of INMILA are scarier. Are they this pinpointed because of it?
-The microtransactions in INMILA were really that bad as described? Unreal.
-What’s this ‘Resema’ thing in the main post?
-It’s resetting your account and re-playing until you get the character you want.
[Nickname: Vanguard]
[Title: Guide: For anyone planning to play Girl’s Memorial in Japan, a translation of the Japanese reset marathon guide.]
[Image: 4CH Girls’ Memorial Thread Screenshot]
I’ve just translated the Japanese player’s reset guide.
Feel free to spread it around, but please credit the source.
1. Upon starting the game, click guest log-in.
2. Wait for client updates and data downloads.
…
7. Use free resources by pressing the 10-roll pull button.
8. If desired character appears, link account via email. If not, click the reset button in the menu and repeat from Step 1.
Although it may seem tedious, if you practice, you’ll quickly get the hang of it. Definitely try to pull your desired or necessary characters before proceeding.
It appears that the developers are recommending a reset strategy by putting plenty of resources in the tutorial.
*Make sure to link your account via email after pulling your desired character. Otherwise, your data will be erased!
[Comments Section] [Sorted by Views]
-This needs to go viral.
-Finally, a proper guide.
-I’ve bookmarked it.
-Amazing.
-Wow, 20 rolls for free? Insane.
As Kim Jae-hyun was lurking on gaming community sites, he was enjoying himself immensely.
There were many reasons for this, but the primary cause was INMILA.
More precisely, the INMILA users.
All those people who had loudly declared that a Korean game like Girls’ Memorial could never succeed in Japan had, as soon as the game launched, switched to it in droves.
Seeing this ugly turnabout from INMILA users gave Jae-hyun a sense of relief after all the hard work he’d done on Girls’ Memorial.
‘So they should have waited for this, with faith.’
After mocking the INMILA users who changed games like fickle birds, Jae-hyun installed Girls’ Memorial and soon found himself deep in thought.
‘Should I start a reset marathon? Or not?’
This was the same predicament that many new players of Girls’ Memorial were facing.
The method of resetting seemed not too complicated.
However, the main issue was its tedious process.
For Jae-hyun, eager to start playing Girls’ Memorial right away, the reset marathon posed a significant hurdle.
He briefly contemplated the situation and then, overcome by sudden doubt, checked his bank balance. His suspicions were confirmed.
‘I’ve been reducing my freelance work lately, so my savings are dangerously low…’
Faced with his financial reality, Jae-hyun had no choice but to grit his teeth and start a reset marathon.
By the time he had cried with joy after pulling all the characters he wanted, two days and four hours had already passed.