Chapter 109

CHAPTER 109

Beside the place where Seojun had let Taewoo out stood a giant mirror.

• The relative deprivation is insane lol
• Wait, what if it's because the streamer picked the handsome character and Taewoo picked the ugly one?????

The developers' intention was obvious.

They wanted players to take a look at their avatars.

Taewoo had probably already seen the mirror and screamed the moment he did.

Seojun turned his gaze toward it.

And immediately understood everything.

Their transformed avatars were a rigid toy soldier and a roughly stitched yarn doll.

And somehow, Seojun's avatar looked cool.

Tall.

Good proportions.

Sharp eyes.

Meanwhile, Taewoo's avatar...

"Did an AI just slap this together?"

There was no effort put into it at all.

• Maybe our streamer just doesn't have any ugly features lol

"Hah. Why is it that even your toy version gets special treatment? This isn't right. And to the guy who donated that 'slightly carved vs completely shattered' comment earlier—hey. Come out. If you don't, I'll ban you myself."

Apparently the viewer had donated to both streams at the same time.

Laughing, Seojun skimmed through the chat.

• This AI discrimination is insane lol
• Forget the toy difference. It feels like Taewoo only got his bad features copied while the streamer only got his good ones
• The donor is a madman lol. I saw it. He sent it to both streams simultaneously like he'd been waiting for this moment
• Isn't watching two streams at once the bare minimum qualification for being a viewer?
• Still impressive though

Seojun silently agreed.

It really was impressive.

The viewer had to think of the joke, open two donation windows, type the same message into both, and send them.

And it had all happened in less than twenty seconds.

Remarkable.

Internally impressed, Seojun continued examining his avatar in the mirror.

This world inside the game seemed to be a world where toys lived and toys were the protagonists.

There had even been drawings on a whiteboard during the intro hinting at that.

"I guess the developers wanted to show that the game developers who entered the game-within-a-game had been transformed into toys."

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about? More importantly, Seojun. Let's leave and come back."

"Hm?"

"The more I think about it, the more it feels like I'm playing the support character..."

"Feels like you're supporting the comedy too?"

"Yeah, supporting the comedy too—wait, you little... Do you think I'm funny?"

Honestly, seeing him march over like that with a crudely made doll face was...

"Kind of funny."

"Aaargh! Leave right now! This is role discrimination! We're changing characters and coming back!"

"Hmm..."

"Don't tell me you're too lazy! Hurry up!"

"No, it's not because I'm lazy..."

"Then what is it?!"

"Even if we switch, I don't think anything will change."

• Ah! He's basically saying it's a base model issue! lol
• BASE MODEL DIFFERENCE LOL
• The gap is pretty huge
• Completely shattered indeed lol

Seojun adjusted his settings so he could see Taewoo's chat as well.

It was a feature available during collaboration streams.

His own viewers' chat appeared on the right as usual.

Taewoo's chat began appearing on the left.

• Hey, hey. Stand in front of the mirror again
• Honestly, I envy my friend. Yes or yes?
• How can a doll's face be that badly squashed?

"Hahaha."

To be completely honest, Taewoo wasn't ugly.

Far from it.

He was actually pretty decent-looking.

There was a term called camera grooming.

When someone's face appears regularly on camera, they naturally discover which angles suit them best and start taking better care of their appearance, gradually improving how they look.

Taewoo had been showing his face on stream for seven years.

If he had completely abandoned his appearance and leaned into comedy, that would have been one thing.

But he was just an ordinary guy in his twenties.

An age where people naturally cared about their appearance.

Of course camera grooming had taken effect.

So he was definitely above average.

But still—

"No, everyone, I'll prove it! We'll switch player roles!"

"It won't change. Let's just continue."

"No! Everyone, hurry up and install the game and verify it! Prove that only the avatars are different!"

"Oh. If it turns out only my player character is handsome, then I'll switch with Taewoo. Hurry up and test it and let us know."

• ????
• Did he just naturally turn that into an advertisement?
• Capitalism incarnate. Terrifying.

Taewoo seemed completely sincere, regardless of the sponsorship.

Seojun, however, was not.

It'd definitely be funny if only one of us looked handsome. But it'd be even more entertaining if both characters were simply designed to fit their respective traits. If a game like this created too much disparity between the two players...

That wouldn't work.

Even if one role was technically a support role, players wouldn't be able to fully enjoy the game if that role required sacrifices or was inherently less fun.

The developers themselves had said that both players would ultimately end up supporting each other anyway.

This toy soldier avatar might fit my image a little better, but the difference probably isn't that big.

Seojun headed toward a green circular marker.

When he arrived, the marker disappeared and narration began.

[Damn it, is this real? We're toys?]

[No way.]

[What did you do?! What the hell did you do, you idiot?!]

[I don't know either!]

While Seojun listened to the dialogue and searched for the next marker—

The Crown executive observing the broadcast turned toward Assistant Manager Kim.

"You said he'd make a fool of himself?"

"Uh... that's strange. Why? That's weird. I replayed it several times. The avatars were definitely ridiculous. According to the design documents, the AI was supposed to evaluate specific facial features and exaggerate them to make them more comical..."

Assistant Manager Kim suddenly found himself at a loss.

"Haa..."

A sigh spread through the office.

Still, it was fine.

"Well, it wasn't an important reason anyway..."

Hadn't he said from the start that it was half a joke?

The viewer counts had already climbed.

[Jin Seojun – 21,000 viewers]

[Kim Taewoo – 16,000 viewers]

"Right. It wasn't important! Hahaha."

Meanwhile, the narration continued.

The stream was getting a positive response from viewers even though only the avatars had been revealed so far.

If the game itself started picking up momentum, things could become troublesome.

Creating momentum was difficult and unlikely.

Still—

Even if he couldn't stop it, he wanted some reassurance.

[Wait! Doesn't this place look familiar?]

That line came from Seojun's character.

[What?]

[This junkyard feels familiar. All the trash is toy-related, and there's a disposal chute up there.]

[What nonsense are you— Huh? This place...?]

[This is where the protagonist in our game got labeled defective after revealing what they wanted to become and was thrown away. Damn it. This feels like some absurd dream.]

"The tutorial's starting now! Once you see this tutorial, Director, you'll feel much better."

"Why?"

"This is a cooperative puzzle game. It doesn't require exceptional mechanics."

Of course, there was a certain level of difficulty.

But that wasn't the point.

You couldn't overcome obstacles purely through skill.

You couldn't stand above others through superior execution.

You couldn't create unpredictable solutions.

Because there simply weren't any variables.

"Streamer Jin Seojun's greatest strength is his overwhelming mechanical skill. But this game doesn't provide situations where he can show that off."

Many popular online games constantly introduced variables.

They gave players limitless possibilities.

That was why Seojun's streams were entertaining—he could produce incredible plays and overcome disadvantages through pure skill.

"This game doesn't have alternate routes. The fun comes from following a predetermined path together and overcoming challenges. If your partner can't do it, you can't progress. There are no solutions outside what the developers intended."

In a game like that, Seojun's stream would only become frustrating.

"Maybe. But are you certain there aren't alternate routes?"

"...What?"

"What if it only looks that way because your mechanics aren't good enough?"

"Director... just watch the tutorial. You'll understand what I mean."

The junkyard contained dozens of towering mountains of trash.

Following the narration and the green markers directing their actions, Seojun and Taewoo began climbing the tallest one.

Or rather—

Taewoo began first.

The mountain was made up of large chunks of garbage like the boxes they had arrived in, mixed with countless smaller scraps.

Taewoo pulled one foot free from the trash.

Then stepped upward.

Shhhrrr—

The smaller pieces slid like sand.

As they shifted, Taewoo was pushed backward.

[I'm back down again! Aaargh!]

• LOL back to the start
• Just crawl already
• How many times is that now, Taewoo?

[Hello?]

"There are only two ways up that mountain," Assistant Manager Kim explained.

"Either crawl on all fours, or have the two players support each other and cooperate. I tested it over and over. You know how good I am."

Kim's job involved testing countless games.

Not only was he excellent at identifying core mechanics, but his own skills were also impressive.

"The developers are sending a message. If two players cooperate, they can climb the mountain without even touching it with their hands. The entire game is about overcoming obstacles this way. Following the intended route. In a game like this, how exactly is mechanical skill supposed to matter—"

At that moment—

[Go ahead! Try it! Everyone, let's just wait here and watch him. You keep telling me to swallow my pride and crawl? Never! ]

Taewoo was lecturing his viewers when he suddenly looked upward in confusion.

[Huh?]

[I'll just go up first then.]

There was only one reason for his reaction.

Seojun was casually walking up the trash mountain.

Step after step.

[Is this supposed to be hard?]

[Wait, what? How?]

"Wait, what? What kind of physics engine are they using? How is this possible? Like this?"

Meanwhile, Seojun had already reached the top.

He tilted his head.

And smiled mockingly.