Chapter 381: Chaotic Stream [3] - Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary!

"Haa."

Leaning against the back of my chair, I felt mentally drained. It wasn’t easy to act like that in front of a lot of people.

’At least, I’ve managed to achieve my goal.’

From the start, I had planned on using this opportunity to fan the flames for my upcoming game.

This felt like the perfect opportunity, and I didn’t waste it.

I even acted all over the top on purpose in order to get better engagement. I understood that the crazier one was, the more attention they’d receive.

But seriously...

’It’s really too mentally draining.’

This was the first time I had acted like this. It was a little weird for me. Still, thinking about all the insults that I was probably receiving, I decided not to hop on the internet for a bit.

’Right, let me just focus on my games. I’ll occasionally fan the flames and leave.’

—That was...

Breaking the silence and pulling me out of my thoughts, Jamie’s voice echoed through the room.

—...That was crazy.

He still looked to be in shock from the entire experience.

—I’ve never seen so many people live at once. It was complete pandemonium. I can still see the chat spamming at the moment. I... didn’t think you had that in you, Seth.

"Mhm."

I looked at the phone and smiled bitterly.

"...What’s done is done. Do you think I got the message across?"

—Do you think you got your message across? Ha... Are you kidding me?

Jamie’s voice rose a little.

—Of course you did! Even now that the stream has ended, people are still talking about you! Clips of the stream are spreading all over the internet! Your name’s starting to trend, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you hit number one on the island soon. You really went crazy!!

"Oh."

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

At the end of the day, this was something I had done on my own. There was no taking it back. So, with a quiet breath, I pulled the phone closer to me.

"What’s done is done. Thank you for helping me. Let me know later when you want to do a stream with me. I’ll see if I can come. For now, I’ll start focusing my attention on my new game."

—You should. Although I have faith in you, this time you really went too far. If your new game ends up failing, then...

Jamie didn’t continue further, but the meaning behind his words was clear. I could only press my lips together.

He was right.

My actions were indeed a little reckless, and maybe even childish. In trying to build up hype, I had also put myself in a corner.

On the off-chance that my game turned out to be terrible, it was highly likely that my career as a game developer would be over. That’d be the same as ending my life.

But it had to be done.

I couldn’t waste this opportunity.

Especially with the upcoming ’Fourth Order’ mission. I needed as much money as possible, which was why I went with this route.

I wanted to benefit the most from this entire fiasco.

A heavy weight pressed on my shoulders when thinking about it.

I had always worked under a certain amount of pressure when creating my games, but never before had the weight of their outcome felt so crushing. This was really both my career and my life on the line.

"Hoo."

Taking another deep breath, I looked at my phone for the last time before standing up.

"I’ll contact you later. For now, I’ll start working on my new project."

—...Alright, best of luck. I’ll be cheering for you. Let me know if you need anything.

"I will."

I hung up shortly after, letting the silence take over.

Placing both of my hands on the table, I stood there in silence for a few seconds before turning my gaze toward the studio. In the end, I stopped hesitating and began working on my new project.

Now that things had turned out this way, there was no time to waste.

***

The stream ended up making waves across the entire island.

While no major news outlet picked up on it, many smaller online websites and magazines picked up on the conflict between Seth and Nightmare Forge Studios.

<Thief? I stole a pen! Seth Thorne denies claims, and even starts an insult war with one of the most popular streamers online>

The more time passed, the more the news seemed to gain traction.

By now, the drama had spread across the entire island, with clips circulating on the internet, some of which had even reached over a million views.

In particular, a certain clip was making the rounds on the internet.

—Is this really the guy who’s saying all of this nonsense? You look like you were drawn with my left hand.

The clip started to go viral, with many sharing and reposting the video.

His previous clips started to resurface. From the ’Lunatic with the Sunglasses’ to the ’Maniac with the Sunglasses’... The more his videos started to surface, the more his outbursts started to make sense.

He really was a lunatic.

Memes began to form around that specific video, and the man in question, ’Samurai71’, soon responded.

[Samurai71]

— What do I care about the video? I was polite with him the entire time. Evident from his nickname, he’s just a lunatic who thinks he can create games. I was just sharing my objective view about his game. None of the statements that I’ve made is wrong. His games are objectively horrible, and if you don’t believe me, you can watch my stream as I play his games. Regarding the game, he promised in three months...? I’ve got no hopes on it. It’s very likely going to be trash and full of bugs.

He didn’t hold back at all, completely trashing Seth’s games and character.

At the same time, he used the opportunity to promote his streams, where he played Seth’s games and spent the entire time criticizing them.

He didn’t hold back at all, trashing the entire system from start to finish.

His stream had a significant impact, and Seth’s game ratings started to plummet, dropping from ’mostly positive’ to ’mostly negative’.

"Hehe, fucking bastard. I’ll make sure your newest game will be even worse. Shouldn’t have messed with me. Had you been more humble, none of this would’ve happened."

Samurai71 spent the entire time gloating, fanning the flames, and driving the games to be review-bombed.

He tried to provoke Seth a couple of more times, but he received no word from him.

"I guess he ran away."

Everyone shared the same sentiment. In the end, after all his grandiose talk, he ended up running away with his tail tucked between his legs.

At the same time, Severed Stars Guild.

"Pftttt—!"

Coffee flew all over.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Why are you suddenly spitting up your coffee?"

"The hell...!"

Despite the protests from those around him, Kyle’s face remained blank as he stared at the phone before him, his mouth hanging open in shock.

"What’s up with you? You’re acting weird."

"Is everything alright?"

Eventually, Zoey stepped closer to Kyle, trying to get a better look at what had him reacting this way. The moment she did, her expression froze. Rowan experienced the same; both of them were locked in shock as they stared at the clip playing on Kyle’s phone.

Seeing Seth and his sudden outburst, neither of the three was able to react.

Eventually—

"He’s lost it."

"...He’s completely lost it."

"He’s basically copying the Section Chief. Oh god."

All three turned heads to face Seth’s office. They all rushed to it not long after, extremely worried.