[Meanwhile, in the office of a foreign game company.]
"...in accordance with our findings, we hereby announce that the account of the player 'Alcaire,' who previously held the number one rank, has been permanently removed from our company's servers."
A middle-aged man spoke calmly to the others gathered in the conference room, as if reading from a script for a public announcement.
"We will release the notice like this. Is that acceptable?"
"Producer, I have a question."
"What is it?"
"Since we're making an announcement anyway, why not do it as a live broadcast?"
"A live broadcast...?"
At the employee's suggestion, the producer and the other staff members tilted their heads in confusion.
"It's not exactly good news. You want to broadcast that live? Look, Patrick. This is us announcing our mistake."
"That's exactly why we should do it live. When else will we get this much attention?"
"Hey, you...."
"We need to promote the new game, don't we?"
Patrick's words made the staff pause and think.
"Look, Patrick. So you're saying we should turn our apology for failing to catch a manipulated speedrun record—a mistake on our part—into a live broadcast instead of just a written notice, and then use it as a platform to promote our new title?"
"Yes. The discussion boards on Reddit are already on fire. Some users have already figured it out."
"That's because the person involved was... ahem, kicking up a fuss about being wronged and got caught by the users."
Producer Huggie Ward pointed to the screen projected in the conference room.
"The information came to light thanks to the people who went to challenge this... Rasian? The new second-place player, after seeing their tactics."
"Rather than just challenging, there were also those with good intentions who thought the first-place player could shave off a few more minutes by adopting the second-place player's tactics."
Rasian's gameplay video was starkly different from the tactics shown in the existing videos of the first and second-place holders.
She played by the book without using the shortcut that only the number one player had used, and at times, she even broke through shortcuts they hadn't discovered with sheer skill.
In any case, a new build had emerged in the speedrunning scene.
But a problem had arisen.
"Right. The truth is, the second-place player's tactics were the most optimized route. But the first-place player... here."
The producer played a video.
"Everyone watching Rasian's playthrough had the same question. Why didn't she jump down from the duct here? Following the standard path wastes time due to an event, so why not take the shortcut?"
In the video, which had not been released to the public, there was a fleeting moment where the screen flipped upside down.
"This shortcut was impossible to perform through normal means. It wasn't even in the realm of a bug. This wasn't a bug, but...."
"A hack of the game files themselves. The traces were so cleverly hidden that we couldn't detect them."
Who would have ever guessed?
That someone capable of hacking so skillfully that even the game company couldn't notice would use that talent for something as trivial as getting the number one spot on a speedrun ranking.
"For years, none of us ever tried to verify that this shortcut was impossible. To make an excuse, it was an old game."
"The new installment is already number nine. Who has the time to meticulously verify every new record for the very first game?"
They had a point.
Not only was the game ancient, but as developers, it was far more important to debug the latest release than to fix bugs in a game that had been thoroughly picked apart by its community.
But now the community was in an uproar over it?
"Most of them are just getting a dopamine rush from the fact that the original number one was a cheat, which is why it's become such a hot issue...."
"Which is why now is our chance. Now that we've removed the number one player from the rankings, people will start emailing us soon. Customer support might already be flooded with inquiries."
"Amy, could you check?"
"Yes, Producer."
A brief silence fell.
But that silence was quickly broken by a sigh.
"...We've received 23 inquiries. And 10 of those came in succession within the last 30 minutes."
"Were they sent repeatedly by the same person?"
"No, different people. Two more just came in about the speedrun issue."
"Hah. We have no choice."
The blazing issue had finally reached the company's internal network.
Now that it had come to this, they had to devise a solution.
"Producer. So, since it's come to this, let's promote Number 9. If you leave it to me, I'll pretend to make a mistake and 'leak' some information about the ninth installment."
"No, Patrick. Since it's come to this, we'll face it head-on. You, get ready to do a live broadcast with me."
"Excuse me?"
"You were the one who discovered the manipulation, weren't you? Let's use this opportunity to set the record straight once and for all. Yes, this is when you do marketing... phew."
Producer Huggie Ward scanned the people in the office before pointing at one person.
"Hey, Maggie. You speak some Korean, right?"
"Yes? Uh, I mean...."
"I need you to go to that Korean streamer's channel and make a donation. A $100 donation in my name, in English, saying the developer came to apologize in person."
"Ah, I understand. But they're still in second place...."
"What can we do if the number one player doesn't stream? Damn it, why isn't someone with this much skill streaming live?"
"If it's a recording and not a live broadcast, could they be grinding for the next speedrun? Like for the second game."
"...Alright. Let's get ready. I need to adjust the script. We'll say that the new installment won't be so easily conquered, not even by the most skilled speedrunner. Everyone, get moving. We're promoting Part 9 with this."
The studio began to buzz with activity.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A day passed.
The company behind Fapple 1 officially announced that they had found evidence of the previous number one player hacking the game and manipulating their record, and they issued a formal apology.
At the same time, they promised a full investigation into the records of other speedrunners and dropped hints about the long-awaited ninth installment—the game that was effectively the series' finale.
"Miss Rasian, the comments section is exploding right now."
"Have I done something wrong?"
"No. It's a pilgrimage."
"...A pilgrimage?"
"Fans of the series who've played up to Part 8 are leaving thank-you notes, saying you're the reason they're getting tidbits of information about Part 9."
While it might be slightly uncomfortable that they weren't just there to see Rasian's amazing gameplay, the fact that they were leaving comments at all changed the perspective.
Leaving a comment on a YouTube video or anywhere else?
In today's busy society, taking the time to write even a few dozen characters required significant time and effort.
Whether it was a simple impression or a malicious comment, the very act of opening the comment section and writing something indicated a high level of engagement with the content.
Of course, on YouTube itself, metrics like 'Subscribe, Like, and Notifications' were more directly meaningful to creators, as many YouTubers often remind their viewers.
Having a lot of comments didn't directly contribute to those three factors, but the act of entering the video to write a comment boosted view counts and helped the video and the channel itself go viral.
For instance....
"You've also been indirectly mentioned on the wiki."
"The wiki? You mean the one written by collective intelligence?"
"That's right. Regardless of its authenticity, the fact that our story is mentioned in a single line on a page with high search rankings is an encouraging development."
Fapple 9.
Pre-release Information.
Although the information was spread across several pages, it was clear that Rasian was the starting point for the release of information about the new Fapple 9.
"This has definitely built name recognition among those in the know. Now, to solidify your image as a pro gamer, we just need to spread Rasian's name elsewhere."
"There is a problem, Producer."
"What kind of problem?"
"Won't impersonators appear?"
Impersonators.
Rasian's concern was precise and justified.
"Indeed, when I was active as the Archmage, there were many who impersonated me."
"You?"
"My public activities were the least frequent, so all it took was someone beautiful with a white robe, blonde hair, and blue eyes, who could act the part convincingly."
"I'm sure there weren't many people as beautiful as you."
"People didn't know how beautiful I was. They said anyone as pretty as the people on television would be mistaken for me. The impersonations only decreased after I made a formal appearance at the Mage Tower and revealed my face."
Her self-confidence was overflowing.
Rasian fundamentally possessed immense self-esteem, and her abilities, proven by her grand magic and gaming skills, were more than enough to justify it.
"That's right. Once you start gaining fame, impersonators are bound to appear in one form or another. Sometimes, they do it just for fun, or even to perform character assassination on the person."
"Character assassination...?"
"They pretend to be that person to ruin their reputation. The motive is either for amusement or pure malice."
It's not uncommon for people to use a VTuber's profile picture, pretend to be them, and stir up all sorts of trouble to make others resent the actual VTuber.
"The reverse-viral marketing tactics from the idol industry have trickled down to this scene."
"Reverse-viral...?"
"Slandering other groups, envy, and jealousy. The factionalism among idol fandoms has crossed over into the VTuber industry. Since the VTuber world has essentially become an electronic entertainment industry, it's an unavoidable darkness that comes with the territory."
The internet is often a much deeper abyss than a world where everyone can just focus on the good aspects of their favorite VTubers and live happily.
"It wasn't one of the talents I used to manage, but there was a VTuber from a neighboring team who had her contract terminated."
"To have a contract terminated, there must have been a serious legal violation, no? Like Kim Mijung being a former bully."
"I would have been relieved if it were something like that. She was secretly selling other VTubers' 'red pills.'"
"...."
"Specifically, the real-life information of VTubers whose viewership overlapped with hers."
Impersonators would inevitably appear someday.
But it wasn't a major problem.
He already had countermeasures prepared in his mind, and some were already in motion.
"Let's get ready to record the full video after we eat. This time, plan on uploading a video that's about ten hours long."
"Ten hours...? Is that really alright?"
"Yes. Because... the concept for this video is incredibly simple."
It was nothing special.
"King of Fighters 2035, a ten-hour marathon to World Rank 1."
She could do it.
Rasian could.
"Using the Korean team."