NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 22
“No way! Why isn’t it working?”
After spending several hours repeatedly performing the same actions to try his luck in soft-resetting his game, Jae-hyun slammed his smartphone face down on the desk.
“If only I had known this would happen, I should have just skipped the resetting and started the game already.”
It had been exactly a day since Jae-hyun, after reading advice posts on a community forum, decided to start soft-resetting to get better initial characters.
Though Jae-hyun stopped counting after 200 attempts, he estimated that he had probably performed around 500 to 600 resets.
By this point, an average person would have likely given up, compromised, or sought another method, but Jae-hyun was different.
“…It’s hard to quit after investing so much time in this. Let’s take a break.”
Seeking to relieve his stress, Jae-hyun began casually scrolling through the community forum he’d seen earlier on his phone when a particular post caught his eye.
“Pick-Up Character Preview PV…?”
Though Jae-hyun tried to recall any announcements from the Tokyo Game Show, nothing came to mind regarding the new pick-up characters.
“So this means new character information…”
Curiosity piqued, Jae-hyun clicked on the post title.
[Nickname: Anonymous]
[Title: A New PV Just Dropped on Girls’ Memorial’s Official YouTube]
{Video site link with a red icon}
I didn’t watch it but decided to share it anyway.
Let’s check it out~
[Comment section][Registered order]
-user: Damn, that was fast lol
-user: Uploaded 5 seconds ago? What the hell
-user: Probably a bot
-user: I’ll check it out too, gotta go
Seeing the interest from other community users, Jae-hyun also clicked the link and entered the preview video.
The video started familiarly with the logos of SFLAG and Enson GT.
The screen transitioned to what looked like a desolate street in the city’s outskirts, with neither signs of life nor even streetlights.
A chilling wind blew as the footage captured a team of five students wandering through the ruins.
Each armed with their own weapons, the group moved forward with evident uneasiness in their faces and gestures.
The somber and dark background music began to play, merging with the sound of the wind, amplifying the ominous atmosphere.
As the dark music reached its climax, the tension reached its peak when a large explosion erupted, followed by the sudden emergence of monstrous-looking zombies from all sides.
Seeing the zombies lunge, the reconnaissance team, already in panic, tried to counterattack after a delayed response, led by their leader, Mob, but they were overwhelmed.
Endless waves of zombies continued to surge forward, leaving the students with no way out.
One by one, they were injured as the grim shadow of death descended over their faces.
At this critical moment, the sound of a propeller slicing through the air resounded from a distance.
The scene then shifted to inside a combat helicopter.
The somber OST transitioned into a tense, urgent rhythm as a woman appeared.
Her long black hair, tied above her waist, featured a striking red inner dye, presenting a chic two-toned style.
Her red eyes and elongated slit pupils complemented her hair’s design.
Her petite stature, barely reaching 160cm, contrasted sharply with her distinct figure.
Her outfit, reminiscent of those commonly seen in Akihabara, consisted of a short black frilly maid dress paired with thigh-high stockings.
Adding to her unique look, a thick snake tail protruded from behind her frilly dress.
While observing the ground from inside the helicopter, she lazily opened her mouth, as if noticing something.
“Call sign Aurora, target sighted during search.”
With her words, the helicopter hovered in place.
“You can trust me, Administrator.”
In contrast to her initially lethargic tone, a fierce smile appeared on her face as she leaped from the helicopter. The video concluded with her character information displayed.
After watching the entire preview, Jae-hyun was left speechless for a moment.
“So, this is what a pick-up character PV is supposed to be?”
Honestly, Jae-hyun had gone into it with zero expectations.
He only hoped the new character would look good.
Typically, pick-up character previews were often skipped or only briefly summarized without much effort.
As an example, the competitor game ‘In-Mil-A’ had not given much weight to their pick-up character PVs.
However, this ‘Girls’ Memorial’ pick-up character PV felt more like a well-made short anime rather than a typical promo.
“And the real shock here was the design of this new character, Konomi Roa…”
While all previous characters in ‘Girls’ Memorial’ were already considered more stunning than those of ‘In-Mil-A’, Roa seemed to surpass even those.
If anything, her design felt like a deliberate attempt to sharpen a blade right at users’ wallets.
“Especially the gap between her daily look and her combat attire was… perfect.”
Lost in thought about Roa’s design while sitting in his chair, Jae-hyun soon realized he faced a significant dilemma.
The artist in him and the gamer in him were now in conflict, each pulling him toward opposing decisions.
“How should I handle this…?”
After a long internal debate, Jae-hyun eventually placed his phone back in his pocket, picking up his drawing tablet instead.
This reaction was common among both Korean and Japanese artists. Most, like Jae-hyun, chose to draw inspiration from Roa, leading to a fresh spike in user-generated content for ‘Girls’ Memorial’.
*
On the fifth floor corridor of Enson GT, where the PC game development teams were based.
“What on earth is going on up there?”
One of the team leaders glanced up at the staircase leading to the sixth floor.
From the connecting stairwell, the sound of cheerful chatter and clapping echoed throughout.
Another leader, with a well-maintained beard, sighed dramatically.
“Their mobile team’s new game, ‘Girls’ Memorial’, is doing very well it seems.”
“But hasn’t the game launched only recently? It’s barely been a week.”
“It’s still impressive. They’ve successfully entered the Japanese market. The company had been trying to break into Japan for ages. Now, unexpectedly, the mobile team has not only managed to enter Japan but has held the top spot in weekly sales for two weeks already.”
“What? There are plenty of games that go on flashy runs for two weeks and then never last. Isn’t this a bit premature?”
“True, but with the current market, and considering that the competitor ‘In-Mil-A’ seems to be faltering, I think we’re good for now.”
Interrupting their conversation, another team leader chimed in.
“Look after your team members.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve heard a number of our artists and planning staff are considering transferring to the mobile side.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, a few contacts in HR told me they’ve noticed quite a few inquiries. So they’re advising caution.”
The leader, after sighing briefly, whispered to his colleagues.
“We also might end up being absorbed by the mobile team if we’re not careful.”
*
Walking into his personal office amidst well-wishes from employees, he felt utterly drained.
Word had apparently spread through the building, and from the first floor upwards, there was no end to congratulatory greetings, making the journey quite exhausting.
“First, I’ll deal with the celebration, then I should check the future schedule.”
Among the team to-do list, Myunghoon and the development team were prioritized for exclusion since the Android version development was more urgent.
This left the art team, planning team, and sound team.
“I’ll start with the art team, which would be the easiest.”
With that decision, he summoned Yerin via the company messenger.
Before long, Yerin entered the office after a knock. In her hand was a cup from a famous seventy-one flavors ice cream shop, evidence of the ongoing party atmosphere.
“Sorry, I dragged you away in the middle of a busy moment.”
“No, no, everyone was pretty much winding down to go back to work anyway.”
With Yerin’s casual tone, he nodded before asking.
“Have you been monitoring Bixiv lately?”
Yerin nodded her head.
“Yes, since last week, as per your request. Surprisingly, our game’s getting a lot of positive responses.”
“All thanks to you. Your character designs are the most praised part of our game.”
“What’s this about? Even if you butter me up, there’s nothing I can offer in return.”
Faced with Yerin’s suspicious tone, he simply shrugged.
“Anyway, our art team is short on manpower right now. If you happen to see promising individuals, like new talents on Bixiv or someone you know, let me know. I don’t have any contacts on the art front.”
“I don’t have anyone in mind at the moment, but I’ll keep an eye out.”
“By the way, have you and Seol-i discussed who will be the protagonist of our first event?”
“…Well, we haven’t agreed yet due to differing opinions.”
“Is it still unresolved? We don’t have much time.”
Yerin sighed deeply in response.
“We understand that, but both my opinion and Seol-i’s have their merits, so we’re unable to come to a consensus.”
“I see… Hmm, is Seol-i still resting?”
“No, earlier she had some urgent work to review and went back to the planning team. I think she’s there now.”
“In that case, let’s see… It’s 11:30, so meet with Seol-i, and come to the conference room by 1:30, or how about discussing it over lunch?”
At this, Yerin immediately frowned and replied.
“Please, not during lunch. Seol and I will be at the conference room by 1:30.”