156. SKY Cooperative Test (1)
Personal streaming culture had already been massively influential, and even after the concept of players came into being, its ripple effect remained just as strong.
From uploading one's own battle scenes, to introducing cute summons, to reviewing recorded dungeon explorations.
There was an endless amount of content that could capture viewers' interest.
Various players gained popularity through these personal broadcasts, secured fandoms, and successfully built their own personal brands....
Among them was one player called tier 1 in skill, and that was BJ Luna.
Real name, Han Yuna.
Age, 24.
At first, she earned fame for skillfully handling the B-grade Elf Archer Luna and the B-grade Elf Assassin Spark, but....
After later revealing her appearance, her popularity literally exploded.
Outstanding beauty.
A healthy, attractive figure, and a slightly teasing way of speaking.
ㄴ Cute unni, I miss you.
ㄴ Once you see her, you can't escape, lol.
ㄴ Her face is pretty, she's got great stamina, and she's even good at summoning! Isn't she seriously multitalented?
Because of that, she had many male fans, but also countless female fans.
ㄴ But when is she coming?
ㄴ Right, her uploads have been kind of sparse lately....
ㄴ ...You still don't know? She posted a notice last time. She said she was going to take the SKY recruitment test. That was already a week ago lol.
ㄴ Ah. I didn't see the notice.... But even if it's Luna, isn't SKY a bit too much?
ㄴ Just getting picked among the 100 applicants from the recruitment notice is already insane.
ㄴ Right, I heard their interviews are ridiculously strict too.
Even without streaming or uploading edited videos. So many fans were waiting for news about her.
There was one main debate.
Could Luna really join SKY?
There were many opinions.
ㄴ Why wouldn't she? Luna's stamina is insane, for one. She's always out there running dungeons herself. Isn't she exactly the kind of talent SKY likes?
ㄴ Her stamina is good, but.... It's a little lacking if that's all she has. It's still the national team.
ㄴ Only monsters with pure talent can get in there.
ㄴ Lol. And more than half of them are world rankers. But what? Luna isn't even a domestic ranker.
ㄴ Does SKY pick people based on ranking? Then what about Hwang Jiwoo and Song Yeonhee?
ㄴ Well, that's true too.
The majority opinion was that she would probably fail.
No matter how much they were fans, and no matter how much they liked Luna....
A lot of people said that of all places, why was she trying to force her way into SKY?
There were many candidates.
From domestic rankers to executives of major guilds.
And Luna was going to get picked over those formidable players?
ㄴ Come on!
ㄴ Don't talk nonsense!
It was Sunday morning, and while people were arguing back and forth like that.
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ Wait!
ㄴ It says Live on right now?
ㄴ…..?
ㄴ Suddenly?
BJ Luna started a live broadcast.
Tap, tap!
With the sound of the camera being handled, the screen shook for a moment, and then Han Yuna's face, switched into selfie mode, zoomed in and filled the screen.
ㄴWoww….
ㄴ Look at her face lol.
ㄴ Han Yuna has appeared.
ㄴ Even her entrance is so Han Yuna.
ㄴ Full-face close-up~
ㄴ A face this pretty can't be hidden, even in a full close-up shot~
"Oh gosh, sorry! Sorry! Isn't this way too close-up? Oh dear. You can probably even see my nostrils flaring. Everyone, did you miss me?"
Han Yuna opened her eyes playfully and smiled a little.
"Damn, this is too close, right? Ha, am I getting old? Do I seriously need to wear glasses or something? Guys, cut me some slack. My hands are trembling right now."
ㄴ Lol. She said she did the recruitment test, so I guess it was rough.
ㄴ What kind of test did they do to make your hands shake that much?
ㄴ Did you fail? Did you come back after failing?
ㄴ I bet 100,000 won that she failed.
ㄴ She must have failed, that's why she's streaming at this hour lol. Still, she did well. Just participating makes her top 0.1% among players lol.
"First of all."
Phew.
Han Yuna let out a short sigh.
"I'm inside Yoobaek City right now, okay? I got permission from the CEO to film this, so don't start picking fights for no reason."
There were 50 interns.
After spending a week in hellish training, they had all become close with pretty much all the guild members.
Maybe because Yoo Jia had selected them by checking their character with the Mind-Reading Eagle, none of them stood out in a bad way, and they were all sincere.
Actually, the one who stood out the most among them was Han Yuna.
"Guys, seriously, this is amazing. I actually saw unni Yoo Jia right in front of me in real life. She's just insanely gorgeous, insanely gorgeous. She's on a whole different level. She's not the kind meant for a screen, she's the real-life type."
As expected of a veteran broadcaster, she didn't leave a second of dead air, speaking with that delightfully provoking tone.
ㄴ No, but seriously, lol.
ㄴ So did you pass or fail?!
ㄴ No need to ask lol. She obviously failed.
ㄴ But why is she inside Yoobaek City?
ㄴ …??
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ Hm? Right, that's true?
"No, everyone. What do you take me for!"
Han Yuna made an indignant expression.
"Of course I haven't failed yet! I told you in the notice, didn't I? That I'd definitely get in and become SKY's ambassador."
ㄴWhat?
ㄴ Really?
ㄴ Wow!
ㄴ You passed?
ㄴ I already heard rumors that the stamina training was insane?
ㄴ Crazy
ㄴ This is actually shocking?
The 50 people who were eliminated in the first stamina training were discharged on Saturday.
As a result, rumors naturally spread through a few loudmouths.
Yoo Jia did not go out of her way to stop the rumors.
Rather, she encouraged people to talk.
She judged that, that way, when the third recruitment round came, applicants would apply with that level of resolve.
"But everyone, listen. Seriously, wow. This place is full of lunatics, totally. You should definitely apply at least once later. It seriously feels like I survived hell and came back out, you know? Can you see my hand shaking here?"
Han Yuna held her hand up to the screen, then even showed her legs.
"I'm not putting any strength into them at all right now, okay? But they're still trembling like this."
Han Yuna showed off her incredible gift of gab, vividly recounting anecdotes from the stamina training.
And that wasn't all.
She wandered around here and there, introducing the meals.
And giving a tour of the inside of Yoobaek City.
Sunday.
Even though it was break time, she still used that time to squeeze content out of it.... She was a born broadcaster.
* * *
CEO Yoo's office.
"Is it really okay to let this happen?"
Hong Ari asked Yoo Jia carefully.
"Of course."
Yoo Jia smiled brightly and nodded.
"This is also part of promotion. And didn't you also say, personally, that you liked her?"
"Yes."
Hong Ari nodded.
She had selected two players and reported them to Yoo Jia.
The player who overwhelmingly dominated in stamina was Seo Yiyoon.
And Han Yuna, whose stamina was lacking, but who showed tremendous will by never giving up until the very end.
In the first round, bonus points were given to them.
"That's why I gave permission."
Swoosh.
As she flipped through the documents, she continued speaking.
At the corner of the desk, a phone had been propped up diagonally....
And on it, Han Yuna's lively broadcast was playing in real time.
"A player with that kind of gift for talking openly shares all her honest feelings with the public? That lets us show just how strict and transparent we are."
The talk died down completely after this victory, but in truth, the idea that only SKY members could enter the national team could, in a way, also be seen as a monopoly.
Even now, though faintly, there was still controversy here and there.
Yoo Jia understood it.
Water stagnates and rots, and it is only natural for the people around it to worry that it might go bad.
That was why she intended to create a channel for communication.
A little more honest.
A little more direct.
Also.
If the tremendous welfare and benefits she had received, along with the greatness of the guild members, were conveyed as well?
Yoo Jia judged that the positive effect for SKY would be far greater than any negative attention.
"Hehe, I'm sure you'll handle it well yourselves. Then I'll stop worrying and prepare for the next test."
"All right. What's the next test?"
"Cooperation."
The corners of Hong Ari's lips lifted.
"It's a team battle."
From rank 1 to rank 10.
Should we list the domestic rankings in order?
No.
There's no need.
Because all of them are SKY members anyway.
Even Hwang Jiwoo, who had once been unranked, had now firmly secured a place at domestic rank 10.
Domestic rank 9 was Song Yeonhee, and domestic rank 8 was Kang Geonho.
Though they had not made it into the world top 100, they had completely established themselves in the domestic rankings.
Then what does that mean?
It made domestic rank 11 feel especially bitter.
And that aggrieved person himself, Jeong Siu, was also participating in this test.
A nerdy guy.
With the image of an engineering student, he was known as a smart man, even called a Data Machine.
Now that he had just turned thirty this year, he was enjoying quite a bit of popularity among women.
"Hoo."
Jeong Siu wiped his glasses, which had fogged up white with heat.
Even on a rest day, he had come out and trained steadily.
He had realized a lot this time around. That his stamina was seriously lacking.
And also that, if he truly wanted to rise to the national team....
At the very least, he had to be better than Hwang Jiwoo, who was domestic rank 10.
But.
"Can I beat Hwang Jiwoo?"
Now that he had met her in person, he knew for sure.
She was no ordinary opponent.
How could that tiny little girl have such unbelievable stamina...?
She kept running around without a single complaint....
For the first time, he had to taste frustration.
They had not even competed with summons yet, but he could simply feel it instinctively.
'The gap is enormous.'
What was the cause of that gap?
Environment.
The presence of a master.
'Then I just need to get in too.'
It was true that he had tasted frustration, but he could not stop here.
'I rely on logic and analysis, not emotion.'
"Hoo."
As he exhaled, he thought:
'After analyzing various survival programs, the next test will definitely involve strategy or teamwork.'
They would surely have to narrow the candidates down to a small number.
And the best way to reduce people was team-based matches.
'From here on, stamina may no longer matter as much. Cooperation could become more important.'
Jeong Siu pressed his index finger to his temple and began planning.
In that case?
Why had the judges deliberately given them rest time on Sunday?
Why were the judges, who could have maintained a frightening and overbearing attitude, instead approaching the interns so closely?
No matter how much he thought about it, there was only one answer.
'Teams.'
He started to think that the future team selection might not be random after all.
During this rest period, they might need to build friendships and form groups based on them.
Once he thought that far, he began to feel pressed for time.
Whip, whip!
As he looked around, one person caught his eye.
".....When I made my leap, seriously everyone, 6 hi?, what kind of... go... resinju... when it happens... can you see it, this is what I'm like together... highest viewer count or what? It's insane! Up until now—"
A slightly airheaded-looking woman wandering around with a phone in her hand.
'But.'
Jeong Siu remembered.
How, even among the bottom ranks, she had gritted her teeth and refused to give up until the very end.
In thirty years of life, he had accumulated data on all kinds of people....
Usually.
'That type of person succeeds no matter what they do.'
Then?
Approach her and get close.
Step.
Having set his target, Jeong Siu boldly started walking forward.