I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work

Compared to all the unpaid effort I put into the game—well, I do get a salary, so technically it’s not unpaid—this was a single-click marketing campaign that had an immediate and powerful effect.

From a corporate perspective, ten million won was barely a drop in the bucket.

Still, I didn’t feel threatened by it. It’s not like Lapits’ music was echoing across the entire town, and spending ten million won wouldn’t suddenly close the gap we’d created.

Momo, however, as the CEO, had a slightly different perspective.

“I should gather the head of marketing and the finance team tomorrow and discuss matching their donation.”

“You need ten million won? Should I break another savings account?”

“Hey. Keep your money out of this.”

“I was kidding. I already donated all my money to you, anyway.”

“...What? When?!”

“Without you knowing~.”

Crunch.

A drill-like fist came down on my head.

“Gyaaaah.”

When it comes to company finances, I always maintain an observer’s position.

Ultimately, business decisions are made by Momo and the CFO. I can drop the occasional comment, but direct involvement is out of the question.

Besides, Momo wasn’t planning to outspend Lapits—just match their donation.

Since we were both VTuber groups enjoying the same server, it was like we were carrying the same log together.

From a company-to-company perspective, this was a reasonable image to maintain... but the fans thought otherwise.

The moment I went live, the chat was flooded with Lapits-related talk.

— Wow, so this is how Parallel repays Lapits’ kindness.

— Tbh, Lapits didn’t do anything wrong here.

— They got outplayed in content, so they’re flexing money now.

— Parallel has been aggressively marketing too, though.

— Feels more like a back-and-forth exchange, no? lol

Before things got out of hand, I noticed someone trying to stir up drama with a “Gald Cup” and quickly shut it down.

“Please refrain from speculative discussions and comparisons with other VTuber groups. Everyone’s just putting in effort to promote their own team.”

— For real.

— No need to turn this into drama.

— Both sides are just doing their thing.

:: An anonymous donor has sent 10,000 Clouds! ::

:: Reminder: This person is the Mad Dog who purged all trolls from Momo’s stream. Mess with them at your own risk... ::

— They’re not a Mad Dog, lol.

— That’s a bit much, wording-wise.

— But "Mad Dog" sounds kinda cute, tho.

— Still, all the troublemakers did get banned back then.

— Wait, people still remember that?

— I started watching Parallel's first-gen after seeing Momo’s streams. Nostalgia hits hard.

Some people were genuinely upset, but most were just instigators trying to stir the pot.

In reality, the members of both groups got along just fine. I regularly interacted with Serena, after all.

Maru had recently chosen Chef as her second job, and since chef-made food often came with buffs that enhanced equipment quality, we had a naturally symbiotic relationship.

So when Momo donated ten million won to the Wicker server the next day and received some in-game benefits, I thought that would be the end of it.

“We converted the donation rewards into Parallel Coins, and they agreed to put up four big posters of our talents in the main plaza.”

We chose not to add our songs to the playlist because our recent aggressive marketing already included a mini-concert.

Wicker, being a veteran broadcaster, found a balanced compromise. Momo had no complaints.

But the Next Day, Things Took Another Turn.

Eight Lapits members had pooled their money to buy land and construct a massive tower.

Like a giant billboard in Gangnam, they had hung four posters of their second-generation members on each side.

Compared to our posters in the plaza, theirs were visible from a much greater distance.

“...They dropped another ten million won.”

“Damn.”

“Is this really the time to be impressed?”

“I mean... They are our seniors in the industry. Losing in financial power isn’t exactly embarrassing.”

“We’re not that far behind... Guess we have no choice. Let’s match it again.”

But practically speaking, everyone who entered the town had to pass through the plaza.

Whether it was their tower posters or our plaza posters, the exposure level was about the same.

“Wait, hold on.”

More importantly, I had a hunch about why Lapits was escalating things.

Last night, I checked Pazijik Gallery, and the sentiment there was something like this:

...─── Pazijik Gallery ───...

[???]: Ugh, why is it Lapits again?!

Damn, this gacha is so stingy.

Everything I roll turns out to be Lapits.

— Gasp.

— Gasp.

But honestly? That’s great!

I mean, come on. It completely fills your hunger and thirst.

Lapits Bread is the best, guys. Eat up.

— Lupko sense is tingling, lol.

— Lmao, for real.

But look, everyone. The real issue is that Parallel Coins are garbage.

The rates are way too low.

— Wait, what?

— Are you saying Parallel is trash?

Hey, you bastard!

When did I say that?!

I was talking about the coin itself, not the group!

The one true VTuber GOAT.

Shoutout to Parallel for always spreading that free stimulus money.

... (puffing a cigarette) Damn, when am I gonna pay Gia back?

(Source: Lupko’s stream last night)

[Comments]

— Pazijik002: Gacha rolls turning into a defensive maneuver, lmao.

— Pazijik485: So basically, Parallel flops = Lapits Bread?

ㄴ Pazijik020: Hey, hey.

— Pazijik852: Tbh, Lapits started this fight first.

ㄴ Pazijik990: No, Gia started it with aggressive marketing.

ㄴ Pazijik025: Are you blaming Gia for handing out money to the entire server?

ㄴ 🟦Pazijik04: Hey, hey, hey. That’s enough.

Lupko might be a clown, but he had over a million subscribers.

Lapits probably didn’t appreciate this joke.

Our CEO hadn’t intended for things to escalate like this.

“We didn’t mean for this...”

“If we drop another ten million now, it’ll look like we’re picking a fight. It’s still WWE for now, but instigators are waiting for a real war. Best to de-escalate.”

“...Got it. Thanks for the heads-up.”

"Why not focus on preparing for the concert instead? I mean, I'm the one making most of the money anyway."

“...That’s an undeniable fact.”

Fortunately, with Momo deciding against further investments, the donation war came to an end.

Still, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to show at least a little good faith. We had no ill intentions, after all, and if we could dismantle the whole "Parallel flop = Lapits Bread" narrative that Lupko had unintentionally created, the issue would resolve itself.

If I ignored it and let the fanbase drama escalate, well... It wouldn’t be my first time dealing with this kind of thing. I could always just ban, ban, ban people without a second thought.

But I felt bad for Seung-yeon, our monitoring staff member, who was handling chat moderation in my place.

She was doing a good job, but she was still new. If both sides suddenly turned serious and went all out in this feud, she’d definitely get overwhelmed.

So, what was the best course of action?

The solution was simple.

I'd just use the gacha coins I had accumulated from a week's worth of donations.

[Parallel Coins x 2,435]

Lapits Bread, which was originally just a basic item used to recover hunger and thirst, had become incredibly common with the increase in player population and donation income.

If I spun the gacha with 2,400 coins, I’d end up with about 12,000 pieces of bread.

Of course, if the bread remained too abundant, its value—and by extension, its branding—would diminish. That’s why Wicker had introduced an update when switching from Wicker Bread to Lapits Bread.

Now, players could combine nine pieces of bread into a special potion named after one of Lapits' members.

For example, Serena, known for her healing abilities, had a potion that instantly restored all HP upon consumption.

This potion became the most sought-after recovery item for dungeon runs.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

To craft it, players had to go through an Alchemist, which ensured that the Alchemist job class still had a purpose.

So imagine this—

Players are getting beaten down in battle, their HP dropping rapidly.

Then, they chug a Serena Potion.

Over and over again.

At some point, they’ll start to realize:

"Wait... This Lapits Bread Potion is actually amazing. Isn't Serena’s potion the ultimate mindless grinding tool?"

"Why did Lupko even complain about this in the first place?"

***

Day 8: Dungeon Master Mode

I started my stream in the plaza, with the members' posters as my backdrop.

The moment I showed my mailbox filled with coins, the chat exploded in shock.

— What the hell is that coin count? LOL

— Did we really donate that much?

— Nah, most of it is Pino’s.

— Oh, it’s Pino’s money?

— If Pino had spent that much, he’d be a dried-up corpse by now.

— Pino didn’t donate that much, lol.

— Wait, when did Wicker Coins turn into Parallel Coins? LOL

I pinned the official gacha rates on the left side of the screen.

Opening just ten at a time was boring.

I went all in, opening packs of a hundred.

Parallel Coin Gacha Rates

50% – 10 Lapits Bread

25% – 1 Town Return Scroll

10% – 1 Title Change Ticket

7% – 1 Skin Exchange Ticket

5% – 1 Enhancement Protection Ticket

2% – /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ 1 Inventory Save Ticket

0.55% – [Guaranteed 3★] Random Mount Ticket

0.33% – Special Skin Set Selection Ticket

0.1% – Special Invitation

0.02% – ???

While I was preparing, the chat buzzed with speculation.

— By the way, when does that question mark item even show up?

— No one's gotten it yet, right?

— Leaked info says it’s a deed to that castle up north. Is that true?

— A castle?

— What?

There it was—the item with a 0.02% drop rate. A total mystery.

A castle? I had never really paid attention to the terrain when walking through town.

I tilted my head and glanced north. Something was indeed buried under the snow—it could be a castle.

— At this rate, no one's ever gonna get it, LOL.

— Dude, the odds are garbage.

— Basically, you’d need to spend 5,000 coins for a chance.

— It’s never gonna happen.

The chat was right—there was no way I’d be the first to pull something no one else had.

Anyway, the main goal today was to get 12,000 Lapits Bread.

With that in mind, I started rolling gacha in batches of 100.

[Lapits Bread x10]

[Town Return Scroll x1]

[Skin Exchange Ticket x1]

[Lapits Bread x10]

[Special Skin Set Selection Ticket x1]

— Whoa, a Special Skin?! LOL

— Damn, that’s rare.

— 0.33%? That’s actually not bad. GG.

— Why does Gia’s luck feel way better than the CEO’s?

I had barely started, and I had already pulled the 0.33% Special Skin.

The goal was bread, but something felt off.

[Enhancement Protection Ticket x1]

[Lapits Bread x10]

[[Guaranteed 3★] Random Mount Ticket x1]

[Title Change Ticket x1]

— ??

— Wait, what’s going on?

— Rigged gacha confirmed!!!

— At this rate, what’s Momo supposed to say? LOL

— ???: Just pull the Special Ticket. It’s that easy.

And then, it actually happened.

Around 1,500 rolls in.

[Demon King's Privilege]

— ??

— Huh??

— Wait, what?

— What is that?

— A king???

— WHAT IS THAT?

As the chat freaked out, I got a sudden whisper.

— LMAO

— That’s the Special Item?!

— Demon King’s Privilege?

— What even is that?

Before I could fully process what happened, Wicker teleported in front of me.

[Do you see that castle up north?]

It was the same massive, snow-covered structure the chat had pointed out earlier.

I had assumed it was inaccessible, completely buried under the snow.

Could I... actually enter it now?

[If you use that item, the castle becomes your personal space. You should check it out—you’ll be surprised.]

The moment Wicker finished speaking, the server lagged slightly.

Then—a brilliant light exploded from the castle.

The snow covering it melted away, revealing a pitch-black fortress.

Its outer walls were lined with glowing lights, and a mysterious fog swirled around the area.

It looked exactly like a Demon King’s Castle straight out of a fantasy game.

— KYAAAAAAA

— HOLY SHIT LOL

— THAT’S INSANE

— Wait, is that our new home?!

— This is unreal, LMAO.

— The luck is off the charts.

[Cool, right? If no one had pulled the item by tomorrow, we were planning to open the castle and run it as a public dungeon until the owner appeared.]

“Aha...”

[Oh, and as the Demon King, you get the ability to place monsters and turn the castle into a proper dungeon.]

[Stronger monsters cost more money to place, but once set, they automatically respawn with every visitor—so there’s no additional cost.]

“A dungeon?”

[Yep. Gia, you’re now the Demon King and the final boss of the hardest dungeon in the server. The rewards are massive, but so is the challenge.]

“If I defeat the players, do I get rewards too?”

[Exactly. If the challengers win, they get ten times their entrance fee. But if you win, you keep all the entry fees. Each player pays 100,000 WK to enter, so the payout isn’t bad at all.]

...I was the final boss now.

This was straight out of an RP server—a system designed to create an entirely new character role.

“But isn’t the power gap too small? Won’t I get taken down easily?”

[That’s why you get exclusive Demon King gear.]

Wicker started placing down equipment.

A black full-plate armor set with deep crimson engravings.

The Demon King’s Armor reduced incoming damage by 95%.

The Demon Sword fired blade waves with every swing.

Even players in -80% damage reduction gear would be guaranteed to die in three hits.

It was way too strong.

[Of course, this gear only works while you’re the boss.]

“...Yeah, that better be the case.”

I had no idea why this kind of situation kept happening to me.

It wasn’t enough that I was already the Skeleton Knight—now I was the Demon King too?

Why did all these ridiculous things keep falling into my lap?

Why couldn’t Momo or the other members get them instead?!

— Demon King Magia, holy shit.

— The Bone Hero ascends...

— She went from Skeleton Knight to full-fledged Demon Lord.

— Demon (King)gia LOL

— Heaven-Destroying Magia, damn.

Even my nickname was evolving.

Hearing a title from my childhood resurface here of all places was surreal.

But this was an opportunity.

“By the way, can I still use Serena’s potion while in Demon King mode?”

Wicker hesitated, then nodded.

[Yes. That’s an item you earned from donations, so there are no restrictions.]

Forget grinding with Serena Potions.

Instead, I’d become an undying Demon King and show Lapits Bread’s true power.

The challengers would fight me, struggle, and then inevitably ask:

"Why won’t you die?"

And in that moment, I’d tell them, over and over again:

Lapits Potion is truly the best.

Lapits Potion is truly the best.