Chapter 116: The world oppresses me

“No one’s found the hidden route yet, right?”

“No, sir.”

“And no one’s discovered the Easter egg either?”

“That’s the way it should be. We went through hell putting that in.”

It wouldn’t make sense for it to be found in just three days.

The team leader nodded, muttering to himself.

The challenge was proceeding successfully, and streamers were popping up left and right to play World.

-This is it!

-Scream it out!

The company employees, recognizing the game’s success just by looking at it, gathered in the monitor room every day to observe the challenge’s progress.

It was like watching a World Cup match, but with the comfortable feeling of watching their nation already having advanced.

The generous boss had also promised bonuses, so the employees were practically floating to work these days.

The staff watched the screens with faces devoid of any tension.

All that was left to do was watch.

Whether the hidden route was discovered or not didn’t matter.

They had already achieved their initial goals anyway. They could just relax and watch the broadcasts, fixing any bugs or issues that arose in real-time.

Even that was unlikely, as they had run countless simulations and dealt with numerous bugs, leaving them with little to worry about.

The screens, packed closely together, showed the live broadcasts of streamers from major channels with relatively high viewership.

“People are trying all sorts of crazy things.”

“At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before it’s discovered, wouldn’t you say?”

The condition set by ATX was to find a very special route or Easter egg.

Realizing that ordinary methods wouldn’t work, people were playing the game in the most unconventional ways imaginable.

Amidst the frenzy of the challenge, there was one person who remained leisurely.

“Is the broadcast on monitor number 1 the one with the most viewers?”

“Yes, it’s Mollru’s broadcast.”

“Mollru…”

She, too, had started playing World 23, keeping up with the trend.

The team leader had been overjoyed when he heard the news. She was the number one person he had desperately wanted to recruit.

However, her gameplay was completely different from that of other streamers.

-The scenery is beautiful. They even implemented the sunset. Look how realistic it is. I might just come in here sometimes to enjoy the scenery.

Mollru seemed uninterested in the challenge, instead climbing the village hill and watching the sunset in real-time.

The team leader chuckled at her leisurely demeanor, like something out of a rural drama.

“She’s not interested in the challenge at all, huh.”

She was someone who deserved to be called an oddball. At the same time, it made sense, as material things didn’t seem to affect her much.

Rather, this was a way to truly enjoy the game.

Mollru’s broadcast was proving that World 23 wasn’t just a hardcore game, but could also serve its role sufficiently as a healing game.

It was as the team leader was watching the screen with a content expression that a deputy manager, who had been watching the live broadcast with him in the monitor room, approached him.

“Team leader, that…”

“It’s Mollru. She must be planning to watch the scenery. Our game does have good graphics.”

“No, it’s not that.”

The deputy manager pointed to Mollru’s screen.

“That spot over there. There’s an Easter egg there.”

“Huh? Was there?”

“You told us to put one in the starting village, so we put in a relatively simple one.”

Now that he mentioned it, that might have been the case…

The team leader’s eyes widened slightly as he dredged up his memory.

“What level is Mollru now?”

“She’s level 3. The conditions are met too.”

This, perhaps…

“Mollru might be the first to discover it.”

The discovery conditions for the first Easter egg weren’t that difficult.

Mollru was close to fulfilling them. It was a case of being blind to what was right under your nose.

The team leader watched Mollru’s screen with fascinated eyes.

“Because the weather was good, because the weather was bad, because the weather was just right… all days were good.”

[Kya]

[Wise words;;]

[Profound quotes Mollru lol]

[That’s a line from a drama lol]

[Suddenly?]

[It’s hard to not say something while looking at this scenery]

[My emotions are swelling]

People agreed with the words that spilled out of my mouth without me realizing it.

I was taking a break on the village hill.

Though it had been quite a long break.

<Frozen Tangerine donated 10000 won!>

-Aren’t you looking for the Easter egg or hidden route?

“Let’s stop here for today. I don’t think I’ll find it even if I try more.”

I had spent the whole afternoon looking for the hidden route. It wasn’t a bad time, though.

The game was so well-made that it was fun in its own way.

I interacted with various NPCs, tried combining items, and caught monsters in unusual ways, exploring unknown areas I hadn’t been to before.

I also searched for the developer’s name in the in-game chat and randomly used skills in the air.

All of this happened in the beginner area called the starting village.

Whether it was because the map was too big, it took quite a while to explore just one village as I pleased.

Thanks to that, I still hadn’t reached level 5. It’s been a while since I’ve played a game so leisurely.

In the past, whether it was a new game or a game I’d played before, I was always busy leveling up quickly, pushing through the story, and trying to get ranked.

The beauty of slowness, playing the game slowly, was enough to enjoy the game.

“The sun is setting. Let’s watch the sunset and chat, everyone.”

It was a good condition for casual talk. The current time was 5:50 PM. They had even implemented the sunset according to the sunset time.

I wondered if the moonlight would shine if I stayed here until dawn. Ryu-A was doing a radio content in the early morning these days, and I thought it wouldn’t be bad to do it here.

[What’s with this chill vibe]

[The streamer communicates a lot these days]

[Fr so good]

[It feels like it’s dawn just by looking at the atmosphere]

[I just got here, what’s going on?]

[Actually, when I first watched and only heard your voice, I thought this kind of broadcast would suit you]

[It’s a waste of your voice]

[Does the streamer do radio broadcasts?]

[Radio is popular these days]

“Radio… I don’t really have any thoughts on it yet. But I do want to try it once.”

Not as a formal content, though. Just a little taste.

I wondered if the topic should be common topics like worry counseling. But not too serious topics.

I can’t solve topics that are too serious. I can’t give proper advice either.

I said that with that in mind, but a different answer came back than I thought.

[It’s just for listening, how can you solve it]

[Radio content is originally like that]

[It’s a bit of a counseling feeling, talking to each other and feeling comfortable]

“Is that so.”

I guess I thought too difficultly.

Well, if worries could be solved with just this radio, why would people rack their brains and struggle.

Rather than solving worries, I think it’s meaningful to listen to them even for a moment and give them a moment to breathe.

“Have you all had dinner?”

We also asked each other how we were doing. We also talked about the direction of future broadcasts. We also talked briefly about recent issues.

The main topic was, after all, about me, who is the subject of the broadcast.

Even so, there was nothing special to tell. These days, my viewers know my life better than I do. Even when I’m taking a break from broadcasting, I’m living according to a set routine without anything else to do.

Unlike the viewers who imagine that there is something unofficial, there is really nothing.

I was talking casually like that.

*Condition met.

-I watched the sunset to the end on the mountain behind the village.

-A special event will occur.

A system message appeared in large letters.

The viewers’ attention was instantly focused on that.

[?? What is this?]

[Did an Easter egg pop up?]

[What Easter egg]

[Is it real?]

[No, I just watched the sunset and chatted, and they give me an Easter egg?]

[I’ve never seen this message in other rooms]

[Did the streamer see through all of this? lol]

<It’s just Moll Emperor donated 10000 won!>

-Moll Emperor’s insight lol

What insight, there’s no such thing.

Rather, I was the one who was embarrassed. It turns out like this?

After waiting for a while, letters began to be engraved on the setting sun.

“I guess it’s the names of the developers. Sang-soo, Jung-yoon, Hani…”

Putting in the names of the developers and staff is a common Easter egg. World seemed to have adopted one of those common methods.

[Kya, they even read the names]

[Developer extreme reward;]

[Isn’t this Mollru the first on the server?]

[In the end, Mollru wins the challenge…]

[Mollru is smiling… because she knows she will win anyway… No matter how much the racing dogs who started on the first day go, the moment Mollru, who started on the third day, runs, the win belongs to Mollru]

[Oh Moll lol]

-Easter Egg Setting Sun, Developer’s Blessing.

*Experience gain increased by 400%.

*Damage taken decreased, damage dealt increased.

*NPC affinity gain increased.

…

I got so many other buffs. Is this the developer’s blessing?

The viewers who had been talking quietly with me until just now began to jump and cheer.

It was a bonus to praise and suck up to me with mindless praise, saying that I had seen everything. It was so burdensome.

…It seems the world is forcefully supporting me.