Translator: Dreamscribe

FS Games was like a mourning house.

At one time, it had been successful enough to come close to the three major game companies in Korea, commonly referred to as the 3N, but due to consecutive failures, it was now on the verge of collapse.

The deficit was snowballing.

They had tried their hand at mobile games, but their excessive monetization policies only led to harsh criticism. More recently, they had recruited a famous developer to create a AAA game, but after receiving scathing reviews, the game did not even make it to live service and was now in the process of shutting down.

To make matters worse, a team leader who had formed a faction within FS Games had taken an in-house project and left to establish ShineSoft, which was doing quite well. As soon as their game went into beta testing on the Spin platform, it received continuous praise.

Even though the 3N companies had terrible reputations, they were at least making money. FS, on the other hand, was in a complete state of disaster with no hope in sight.

A final gamble to turn the tide!

Recently, they attempted to service a famous Japanese mobile game. As soon as the news broke, online communities erupted in outrage. Protest trucks were even parked outside, demonstrating just how bad FS Games' reputation was. Perhaps sensing the public sentiment, the Japanese game company also expressed its intention to put the deal on hold.

"Director, what’s going to happen to us?"

"Well... both the Management Support Division and the Publishing Division have been wiped out..."

Han Yong-seon, the director of the new development team, let out a sigh.

A storm of blood had swept through the company. The quietly approaching blade had severed the heads of division heads who once seemed untouchable. All of them had deep ties to Ohsung Group, yet their thick necks were lopped off in an instant.

The only one who survived was the overall head of development, the person above Han Yong-seon.

The Development Division was relatively intact, but many employees could not withstand the suffocating atmosphere and were proceeding with resignation or job transfers.

The newly appointed figures were all ruthless and cold. They mechanically carried out their tasks while preparing something in the background.

Escape was a matter of intelligence!

It was crucial to get out of FS Games as soon as possible.

‘Lee Jin-woo....’

A genius who had earned five PhDs in his early twenties.

At one point, he frequently appeared in patriotic Korean videos. There had been rumors about his health deteriorating, but out of nowhere, he was appointed as the CEO of FS Games.

At the same time, the development of the new game that was in progress was, of course, halted.

"Director, shouldn’t you consider switching jobs? The 3N companies would probably be eager to recruit you."

"After screwing up two projects? Where would I even go? If I leave now, I might as well try making an indie game."

"The game itself was good, but... ugh."

"Anyway, call all the team leaders together."

At Han Yong-seon’s command, the planning team leader, art team leader, and other team leaders gathered. None of them looked happy. In times like these, securing a position at a large game company was not easy. The longer their careers, the harder it was.

Most who left the company ended up starting their own businesses.

The art team leader, who had approached Han Yong-seon, suddenly gasped in surprise and stared into the distance.

"I’ve never seen that division head so desperate before."

"So he is human, after all."

"Right? Didn’t they say he had relatives in Ohsung?"

"Relatives?"

Han Yong-seon chuckled at the remark.

"The new CEO is the chairman’s grandson."

"Isn’t that just a rumor? I mean, why would he suddenly come here? Then again... I guess that explains why the division head is running around like that. Damn! Now that I look at him, he’s kind of cute. He looks like a fat retriever."

Watching the division head sweating profusely as he ran around, the art team leader laughed in satisfaction.

It was then that they heard it.

[The CEO-nim is coming up.]

A voice came through a radio somewhere, and men in black suits took over the hallway.

Ding!

The sound of the elevator arriving echoed.

All the employees turned their gaze toward it.

As the elevator doors opened, a handsome and well-built young man slowly stepped out.

"Uh..."

"Ah..."

There was an indescribable presence about him.

A weighty presence, yet one that carried a certain softness within, overwhelmed the employees in an instant, making them instinctively bow their heads.

It was not the kind of pressure someone in their early twenties should have been able to exude.

Even the head of the Development Division, who had been about to step forward to greet him, froze on the spot.

"Let’s begin the meeting."

At Lee Jin-woo’s words, as if time had resumed after being momentarily halted, everyone swiftly and efficiently moved into the conference room.

At that moment, everyone realized the difference in power.

‘T-That man is Lee Jin-woo....’

Han Yong-seon swallowed hard.

His very foundation was different.

The Lee Jin-woo he had just seen seemed like someone from an entirely different world.

And in truth, Han Yong-seon's thoughts were not wrong.

Jinwoo could indeed be considered someone from another world now. He had spent far more time in Arsilan than on Earth.

He had fought against Erosion, experienced countless deaths, and ultimately became the greatest Archmage of Arsilan. Even the slight glimpse of his true presence was enough to shift the entire atmosphere.

The conference room was filled with nothing but silence.

The Development Division Head stiffened, his body trembling under the oppressive atmosphere, and the other team leaders were the same. The fact that Kim Han-soo stood behind Jinwoo only intensified their unease. It felt as if uttering a single word in this room might get their necks snapped.

"My name is Lee Jin-woo. I don’t think I need to introduce myself further."

Jinwoo immediately began reviewing the documents prepared by the employees.

Just a quick scan was enough for him to grasp the situation entirely.

"Rains Saga was shut down last month, and a 30-billion-won game failed before it even launched. Overseas developers, was it?"

"Ah... Y-Yes. They... uh, they took responsibility and resigned..."

"I heard they all moved to NF Soft. The entire team."

The Development Division Head could only freeze, unable to find his voice. The game itself had been decent, but there had been too much internal conflict. In the end, the entire new development team had taken their game and fled.

If they had at least handled things properly, it might have been salvageable. But with a massive number of current developers leaving, they had rushed an unfinished game to release, which had been disastrous.

"I-I'm sorry. It’s all my fault."

It wasn’t solely his fault.

The former CEO had brought in those developers through personal connections.

Lee Woon-sung had deliberately left the Development Division Head in place because he had at least some level of competence. The fact that the development team had been held together amidst the chaos was thanks to him.

"So, the Garden Tale service can be considered canceled as well."

Garden Tale was a mobile game that consistently ranked within the top five in Japan, so FS Games had high hopes for it.

On top of that, they had suffered from internal project theft.

The fact that the company was still standing at all was a miracle.

What kind of action would the new CEO, Lee Jin-woo, take?

Would everyone be fired? Or would FS Games be completely dismantled and rebuilt into something new?

As everyone trembled in anxiety, Jinwoo spoke.

"Good. This is perfect."

"Huh?"

The Development Division Head blinked at Jinwoo’s upbeat remark.

Jinwoo set down the report in his hand and smiled slightly. The fact that there were no ongoing game services was what he liked most. It meant he could focus entirely on Arsilan.

"We can clean up everything and start fresh. Everything's already ruined anyway."

Silence fell over the room.

Kim Han-soo furrowed his brows and cleared his throat, prompting the Development Division Head to hurriedly nod.

"Y-Yes! That’s right!"

"W-We just have to start over!"

"O-Oh, wow...."

Awkward words filled the air.

"Then...."

As Jinwoo looked at Kim Han-soo, the latter bowed his head and pulled a document from his bag. The cover read "Project Arsilan".

"This is the project proposal. It includes the world setting, main scenario, and some concept art. Please take a look."

Everyone received a copy and began reading.

Not only the head of the Development Division but also Han Yong-seon, the director in charge of the new development team, was greatly shocked.

Dark fantasy-themed games were common, but the setting in this one was incredibly solid. Not only did it include the main chapter scenarios written by Tia, but it also had related short stories and concept art that looked as if they had been drawn by a famous artist.

Everyone seemed eager to speak, their lips twitching as if they had something to say.

"Feel free to share your thoughts."

The planning team leader cautiously opened his mouth.

"I think it’s excellent. The overall foundation is strong, and the unique elements are quite interesting."

"It has a medieval style, yet there's a strangely modern touch to it, that’s unique. It also differentiates itself from the worldbuilding of AlomSoft, the leading company in dark fantasy games."

The art team leader followed up.

As people started exchanging various opinions, the tense atmosphere eased up a little.

Han Yong-seon, the director of the new development team, tilted his head while reviewing the project proposal. Then, he carefully raised his hand.

"Yes, Director Han Yong-seon? Please speak."

"I think... there might be a mistake in the genre classification. It seems to be for VR devices... but VR games are not yet mainstream, so it might be a bit difficult."

At the top of the project proposal, it was labeled as a fully immersive virtual reality game. Others had assumed this was meant figuratively, as in, "Let's develop a game so immersive it feels like virtual reality!"

"This is not the kind of VR game you’re thinking of, Director Han Yong-seon."

"H-Haha! Right? You just wrote it as a metaphor, didn’t you?"

Jinwoo smiled slightly and looked at him.

The once noisy conference room fell silent again.

An unsettling quietness, as if something was about to explode at any moment, settled over the room.

Jinwoo chuckled softly and spoke.

"I’m going to create a virtual reality game."

"...What?"

"Huh?"

Everyone was left dumbfounded by the absurd statement.

"Uh, um, sir, I think I might have misheard..."

Han Yong-seon trailed off, but Jinwoo shook his head and spoke again.

"FS Games will develop a fully immersive virtual reality game."

Some swallowed hard, while others let out sighs of disbelief, shaking their heads.

A fully immersive virtual reality game?

That was something straight out of a movie! He was talking nonsense, he had to be crazy.

Even Kim Han-soo, standing behind Jinwoo, had a strange expression on his face. Jinwoo knew exactly what kind of reaction to expect.

"A significant portion of the development is already complete."

Jinwoo was serious.

This was not a joke.

It was complete nonsense.

Han Yong-seon knew better than anyone how unrealistic a fully immersive virtual reality game was. Even the latest VR devices only allowed for convenient UI interaction through eye tracking and natural hand movement with glove-like controllers.

Han Yong-seon and the other team leaders exchanged looks, unsure of what to say.

"I’ll show you a video."

"Y-You mean... a video of the virtual reality game? But a video alone..."

Han Yong-seon’s words trailed off, but the others nodded in agreement.

A video wouldn't be enough to convince them.

That was what everyone thought.

After all, even game trailers on YouTube often misrepresented scripted sequences as in-game footage. Proving that a game was truly a virtual reality experience through a video alone would be difficult.

Jinwoo liked people who voiced their thoughts.

For someone to hear such an outlandish claim and simply nod along without question, they were worse than a sycophant.

"Good point. Is there a large empty room in this building?"

"Yes, there’s a motion capture studio. It’s currently empty since we removed all the equipment."

"Let’s go there. Have everyone from the development team gather. We’ll meet in ten minutes."

Jinwoo stood up and walked out, with Kim Han-soo following behind.

The Development Division Head looked dazed. Without even thinking, he hurriedly scrambled after Jinwoo.

"Whew..."

As soon as Jinwoo left, Han Yong-seon let out a deep sigh and slumped back into his chair. The other team leaders and employees did the same. Some shook their heads in disbelief, while others frowned, their faces showing clear exhaustion.

"Virtual reality? Ha... I heard he was a genius, but he seems a little... unusual."

The art team leader glanced at Han Yong-seon as he spoke.

"Could he be trying to pull some kind of scam?"

"Ohsung? What would they gain from that?"

"It just doesn’t make sense for the new CEO to come in and say something like that."

Similar murmurs spread through the room.

Some were already questioning whether they should quit while they still had the chance. Developing a hopeless game wasn’t the worst thing in the world, they at least had their qualifications, and they could stick around just to collect their salaries. But if this was some kind of scam, that was a different story. No one wanted to be involved in something like that.

Han Yong-seon sighed and spoke.

"Let’s just go to the studio first. We’ll see what this is about. Kim, call the entire development team."

"Understood. Ugh, seriously, what the hell is going on...?"

Han Yong-seon and the development team members all gathered at the studio.

The studio was desolate.

The expensive motion capture equipment that had been installed was now removed and stored away in a warehouse. Originally, there had been plans to upgrade the studio, but due to a series of setbacks, the project had been abandoned.

"CEO-nim, everyone is here."

At Kim Han-soo’s words, Jinwoo nodded and looked around at the employees. The number of people gathered in the studio was not large. Originally, the development team had over two hundred members, but due to mass layoffs and the sudden departure of the project team, only about forty remained.

The rumors of FS Games effectively disbanding had not been wrong.

If other departments were included, the numbers would be higher, but for now, only the development team had assembled.

Everyone’s faces were filled with doubt.

There was nothing here. The walls were peeling from lack of maintenance, dust had piled up, and one side of the room still had leftover construction debris that hadn’t been cleared away. Even after looking around for some kind of display or equipment installation, they found nothing.

"CEO-nim... there’s nothing here... Ah! Haha! Y-You mean that new, state-of-the-art equipment will be installed here, right?"

Han Yong-seon asked cautiously, his face full of uncertainty. As the new CEO, Jinwoo needed to be treated with respect, but it was clear Han Yong-seon had no idea how to respond to this situation.

Jinwoo simply smiled and pulled out a black box he had brought with him.

It was a video playback device he had put together on the spot today.

The sleek black box had a luxurious finish. The engraved Ohsung Group logo stood out prominently, making it look like a case for some valuable artifact.

"Step back a little."

The employees hesitated before slowly stepping away.

Jinwoo nodded in satisfaction and placed the black box in the center of the studio.

*****

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