Chapter 71: Starlight world (4)

Time flowed quickly after the alpha test concluded.

The development team, based on the flood of feedback from the members, was practically overhauling the server.

Code revisions, balance adjustments, and new content additions continued day and night… The reports Yoon Taesoo occasionally sent were filled only with the development team’s soulless emoticons and a dense list of tasks.

‘The money spent is worth it.’

I occasionally checked the development server’s progress on screen.

The skill effects the members had pointed out were now more spectacular, monster AI had become much craftier, and new dungeons and villages were appearing in previously empty areas.

In particular, the ‘NPCs with emotions’ had evolved further, now delivering different lines or reacting not just to player actions but also to weather or time.

According to Yoon Taesoo, the development team leader was half-mad, saying, “This isn’t Cube World server development; it feels like challenging the realm of a creator.”

Well, not a bad attitude.

How much more time passed like that?

Finally, the final report came from Yoon Taesoo.

[Yoon Taesoo]: President, server stabilization and major content finalization are complete. Based on the development team’s self-assessment and internal QA results, we’ve determined that an official launch is possible in the current state. If you confirm the launch schedule, we will begin final preparations.

‘Finally.’

I smiled with satisfaction and replied.

[Me]: Excellent. They worked hard. Please give the development team a hefty bonus. As for the launch… let’s do it exactly two weeks from now. We can do final checks and prepare for promotion during that time.

[Yoon Taesoo]: Understood. We will set D-Day for two weeks from now and begin preparations. Also, I believe we need to finalize the list of streamers to invite to the initial server soon.

‘Ah, right. Invitations.’

I almost forgot the most important thing.

The Starlight members alone weren’t enough to fill this vast world.

Above all, more people needed to see and enjoy this world.
That was my goal, after all.

[Me]: We should get the members’ opinions on that.

During dinner time, I headed to the members’ private lounge in the company with light steps.

As I opened the door, a delicious smell and boisterous laughter filled the air.

“Ah, President, you’re here?”

Ajung, who spotted me first, shot up from the sofa and bowed.

Jungyeon and Yoonsol followed suit.

The table was laden with a generous spread of delivery food.

“Yes. I heard you were having dinner, so I stopped by for a moment. I’m not interrupting, am I?”

“Hey, what interruption! We were just talking about you, President!”

Jungyeon said playfully and made room for me.

“About what?”

“We were wondering when Starlight World would open! We’re really dying of anticipation!”

Yoonsol clasped her hands together and looked at me with eyes full of expectation.

She was very cute.

“I came to talk about just that. The opening date has been set for two weeks from now.”

“OMG! Really?!”

“Awesome! Finally!”

“Two weeks! That’s not long at all!”

The members cheered simultaneously.

“So, about that, the world is too big for just us to play in, right? I’m thinking of inviting some other streamers to start with us when it opens. Do you have anyone to recommend?”

At my words, the members’ eyes sparkled.

“Oh! I do! That… ‘Kang Taepung’? How about him? He made us an offer before, and he’s a Cube World veteran.”

Ajung was the first to raise her hand.

“Oh, Kang Taepung-nim would be great! If he comes, the game will progress quickly, right? I recommend ‘Baek Eunho’-nim! He’s Ggizzik’s representative variety game streamer!”

Jungyeon chimed in excitedly.

“I… would ‘Nyangmaru’-nim be okay? I’ve personally liked her streams for a long time…”

Yoonsol cautiously offered her opinion.

‘Hmm, they’re all good.’

Kang Taepung wasn’t bad.

It felt like we were returning the favor since he had approached us first.

Baek Eunho was a given… Nyangmaru?

I’d never seen her stream, but I’d heard her name many times.

“Okay. Those are all good candidates. Then let’s put those three on the list for now… Ah, and.”

I brought it up as if I had just remembered.

“The winner of the last ‘Dream Stage’, Riley. I’ll invite her too. I made a separate promise.”

“Ah, Riley-nim!”

“Oh! Great!”

The members nodded as if it were a matter of course.

‘Phew, I kept my promise.’

A sense of pride washed over me for some reason.

A few more streamers were recommended, and I added my own criteria to finalize the invitation list.

Streamers who were good at games, streamers who were creatively bad at games, and talented musicians like Riley.

It was a well-rounded list.

“If all these people come, it’s going to be insane, right? I feel like it’s going to be noisy already.”

Jungyeon said, her voice brimming with anticipation.

“I should secretly steal things from other people’s houses.”

Ajung’s eyes gleamed, already immersed in her thief persona.

“It would be really nice if all the streamers gathered and sang songs like around a campfire…”

Yoonsol seemed lost in a romantic fantasy.

Now, all that remained was to draw people’s attention to this festival.

I left the lounge and immediately contacted Yoon Taesoo.

[Me]: Opening day confirmed for two weeks from now. Proceed with this invitation list. And tomorrow at 10 AM, we’ll release the ‘Starlight World’ intro video through ‘Xelnaga World’ and Starlight’s official channels. Prepare for it.

[Yoon Taesoo]: What? Tomorrow morning, you say? President, the video isn’t ready yet…

[Me]: Get this done even if you have to pull an all-nighter. Highest quality.

---

The next day, at 10 AM sharp.

As promised, the intro video for ‘Starlight World’ was released.

The video began by showing the sparkling ‘Starlight’ logo in a quiet cosmic space.

Soon, the screen transitioned rapidly, unveiling a panoramic view of a Cube World landscape with unprecedented quality.

Accompanied by grand orchestral BGM, scenes of players running across green meadows, an archer drawing a bowstring atop a massive castle wall, a mage unleashing spectacular magic effects, and a warrior and thief fiercely battling monsters in a dark dungeon followed in breathless succession.

In the middle of the video, a short but impactful scene was inserted where a player spoke to a village NPC, and the NPC changed expressions and responded like a living person, reacting differently based on the player’s actions.

[Thanks to your courage, the village has regained peace. I will not forget this kindness.]

[Hmph! You didn’t even help me last time, what do you expect now?]

Following that, an overwhelmingly scaled battle scene where dozens of players raided a boss that looked like a giant lava golem, and scenes showcasing diverse life content such as fishing by a beautiful riverside, harvesting crops in a field, and hammering in a blacksmith’s shop were also shown.

The video concluded with the ‘Starlight World’ logo and a message announcing the D-Day for opening: ‘2 Weeks Later’.

“…This is insane.”

That was the first thing I said after watching the video.

It was worth pushing the development and video teams all night.

They had delivered beyond what I had demanded.

Immediately after the video’s release, the community practically exploded.

‘Xelnaga World’ was on the verge of crashing, and Starlight’s official channel video comments and related communities were burning up in real-time.

---

[Ggizzik VTuber Gallery]

Title: Yo, what the f*ck was that intro video that just dropped??????

• What the f*ck is that lololololol

• Is this Cube World? Don’t lie lololol

• No, Zelnaga has been quiet lately, but he was making something f*cking awesome lololol

• Wow, what are those graphics? It’s just a different game.

• That last raid scene was insane, for real. Thought it was a movie trailer.

• Is this Starlight’s level? They just poured money into it, damn.

• Naga-bro really went all out. I’m definitely watching when the server opens.

• So, can only the Starlight kids play that??
  ㄴ Isn’t it a streamer server??
  ㄴ It must be a streamer server. How can three members play on that scale lolololol

---

[Star Cluster Galaxy – Free Board]

Title: I just watched the Starlight World video, is this real??

• For real, I’m speechless.

• Our kids were playing in a place like that? ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ So touching ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

• It’s so pretty… Like a fairy tale world…

• Talking to NPCs is so cool! Empathy MAX Solar will probably make friends with the NPCs lololol

• Rinne said something big was coming soon a while ago, and it was true…

• No, but this company, every time they do something, the scale is too big lololol

• How can I wait 2 weeks ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

• But I’m so jealous of the streamers who get invited there…

---

I scanned the community reactions with satisfaction.

And simultaneously with the video release, specially designed digital invitation cards were sent to the pre-selected streamers.

---

“Alright, alright, everyone! Let’s have fun today… Huh? Just a moment? An alarm just went off. Who could it be at this hour… Xelnaga Entertainment?”

Riley, who was in the middle of a live broadcast, looked puzzled by the sudden email notification.

She asked her viewers for a moment’s patience and checked the email.

On the screen, a stylishly designed invitation card appeared with a black background sprinkled with stars like the Milky Way, and the ‘StarLight World’ logo shining like a hologram in the center.

[ The gates to a new world are opening.
May your ever-shining song
Become a small star in this world.

Will you be the first adventurer of Starlight World?

• Xelnaga Entertainment, with deepest regards – ]

The invitation card included the opening schedule, a private access code, and simple instructions.

Riley scrolled down and read the invitation several times.

Her trademark cynical expression was nowhere to be seen.

It seemed like you could hear her gulping audibly over the microphone.

A moment later, she spoke in a trembling voice, as if she couldn’t believe it.

“I… everyone. I… Starlight World… I got… invited…. Is this, for real……?”

The chat window exploded at that moment.

― ????

― Yes???

― No, they actually made invitation cards to invite people to a server lolololol

― Kyaaaah, Naga-bro kept his promise, yes yes yes yes yes

― ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Riley made it ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

― Wow, I was blown away by the intro video, and Riley is going there ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

― From today, Zelnaga and I are one.

― Thank you Naga-bro ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

Riley finally beamed as she saw the outpouring of cheers and congratulatory messages.

It was a smile unlike her usual cool demeanor, a genuine, joyful, girlish smile.

Around the same time, other invited streamers also expressed their joy and excitement in their own ways.

A streamer who screamed and jumped out of his chair during a broadcast, a streamer who started re-analyzing the intro after finding out about the invitation, a streamer who couldn’t hide his excitement as he rattled off future server plans, and so on.

Their reactions were clipped and spread again, and the envy and jealousy of countless uninvited streamers and their viewers, along with the longing for ‘Starlight World’, only grew stronger.

Xelnaga Entertainment’s email inbox was flooded with inquiries about server participation.

“Good. Preparations are complete.”

I muttered softly, looking down at the city’s nightscape spread outside the penthouse window.

“All preparations are complete, President.”

Now, in two weeks, the gates to a new world would open.