It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

J. Dox was a common gamer-turned-developer.

As a child, he had enjoyed the then-popular soul-like games and eventually expanded to roguelites. By the time he went to university, he was immersed in various AOS games with friends, kindling a desire to create even more impressive games himself and let others enjoy them.

What wasn’t common was his talent and passion.

He had the talent to realize his desires and the passion to find comrades to join him. Although his colleagues often vehemently argued with each other, they all agreed on the objective of investing their lives for success, so there were no problems there.

While someone like Dox only cared about the success of the game, there were others who thought about the success of the company and their personal careers… However, initially, their paths inevitably overlapped.

Their mobile roguelite game, which they initially conceived as a light cash cow and their first project, became a massive hit, attracting the eyes of investors. It had to be said that they indeed possessed extraordinary luck.

However, the investor’s eyes also fell upon their project, then simply known as Project K—Knight of Knights—which was an unfortunate development from Dox’s perspective.

Investment funds endlessly poured in as they recognized the potential inherent in the game, and his comrades did not refuse the money. This led to decisions like forcing the keyboard-mouse-optimized game into VR, ostensibly to enhance game quality.

The true intent was to attract more funds, and the investors eagerly opened their wallets. The founding members, now CEOs, COOs, CFOs, CHOs, CVOs… branded various ‘C’ titles before their names and set themselves extravagant salaries, feeling content.

The ones suffering from anxiety due to the game’s release being delayed by five years beyond the initial target were few, mainly those still burning with the desire to showcase a fantastic game. Folks like Dox, who had no interest in his CTO title, and the lead graphic designer who outright rejected a CCO title.

But in the end, the gods favored the investors and the C-suite executives.

The VR-released KoK swept the world. Critics hailed it as a groundbreaking VR game.

However, someone’s victory did not have to mean someone else’s defeat. Though it took a while, Dox finally got to witness people enjoying the game he created.

For a brief moment, when they were forming a league and investing early on, Dox felt genuine gratitude towards the investors.

But—

Eventually, capital began to follow its own logic.

The game’s management started drifting in a strange direction, seemingly focused solely on profit. Systems favored characters or playstyles popular in high-viewership, high-payment regions like Europe and North America, while characters popular in low-payment regions were left to wither.

Despite feeling deeply that the path they were on was wrong, Dox found there was virtually nothing he could change alone in the now bloated organization.

He contemplated retirement, wondering if he should quit after completing his round of branch visits. Leaving KoK was something he had never imagined in the past few years, not even for a moment.

Perhaps it was simply that he was tired now—maybe he had merely lost his passion.

“…… This is really a gift, so please don’t misunderstand. It’s a dagger made to fit the rogue settings. Don’t you think it’s well-crafted? The person who gave me a pair as a gift asked me to give one to Faraday. If you plan to throw it away, please give it back to me.”

Honestly, it was quite strange… However, until he met the person who displayed the play he had imagined as an ideal like a picture, he didn’t know how to react.

* * * *

…… Starting with the line as I placed the dagger on the desk, the expression “I will kill you with my own hands” felt a bit too dramatic. It was almost as if either you or I would die here.

But thinking about it in that way… It might have made a pretty substantial impact.

On the flip side, it wasn’t intentional, but it might have been rather okay. My suspicion tilted towards the former, but… yeah, I explained further, so it should be fine.

To appeal to safety, I grabbed the blade’s edge and handed it to the CEO –

…… Just now, didn’t he flinch? No, he definitely flinched.

I’m feeling a bit wronged here. This was a big decision for me to bring this gift. It was sent by our assault leader, ReformedGwangjil.

If it hadn’t been for this old man insisting on being known as the father of rogues, I might have just played dumb and quietly taken it back home. That’s how much I liked it… it was a beautiful dagger that struck a chord with my dreams.

From the moment I took it out to gift it, I started feeling slightly irked without realizing it.

But eventually… I couldn’t openly ignore the original request of the person who sent them – to sign one and give it to Faraday, just in case it ends up in the hall of fame or something.

Honestly, it was a request so embarrassing it made me cringe. I almost blurted out, ‘Why would Faraday keep my signature?’ But I barely held it in, thinking it’s typical of fans to overestimate their idols.

Because they are precious fans.

Even if each one’s degree of affection varied, the gratitude was the same… there were not just one or two of such precious fans. Collectively, those who went to lengths to get my autograph would number in the hundreds.

What’s that KoK anyway.

What… is a rogue anyway.

What am I, anyway.

……Feeling emotions well up inside me was definitely due to hormones, not me. I needed a drink, seriously. There’s nothing like a whiskey on the rocks to calm these hormones.

But no. Now wasn’t the time to be complaining about drinking. When it’s not a threat, you have to be clear that it’s not; that’s the only way real threats work later.

“I’m not joking. About either. This is a real gift and… the game will truly be killed. If left alone, after the Assassin, they’ll just introduce Samurai to conquer the Japanese market. I heard seppuku is quite painful; wouldn’t you need someone to cut off your head?”

“… Samurai… No comment. But we’ll have to pay more attention to company security.”

… No way, were they really planning to go through with this. It felt like it was time to go back to the basics. No one had ever told me to find my original intention, so I had to encourage myself.

And the original intention of the CEO of the Rogue Revival Movement—GetDevoured—was to do whatever it took. Well then… let’s see what I can do.

* * * *

GetDevoured was an incredibly fascinating person.

Of course, it would be a lie to say Dox had no fan spirit from the moment they met. However, the fan spirit Dox had cultivated for her online always seemed to evaporate like a mirage upon meeting her.

GetDevoured was different.

It wasn’t simply because of her beautiful appearance. Sure, her fair skin and delicate features moved softly and were enough to leave you staring blankly for minutes on end if you let your guard down—

But, it wasn’t because of her appearance. In fact, her looks were a hindrance.

Despite being ranked number one, she was someone Dox had met unexpectedly in the outskirts. She didn’t seem to have any connections with game development or even coding.

Yet, she would murmur to herself aimlessly and perfectly predict future patches—and somehow her reactions were exactly the same as Dox’s own thoughts.

Listening to her speak made all the frustrations Dox had forcibly endured in his life as an executive for Faraday, while suppressing his gamer instincts, dissipate pinpointedly—leaving him defenseless.

“When they release the Samurai, they’ll say it looks cooler if they just extend the length of the katana and nerf the Holy Knight’s two-handed sword trait again. And after that? Are they going to release a martial artist to target the Chinese market? While everyone fights with weapons, a lone character swinging fists like a chimpanzee. So, similarly, they’ll nerf another brute like the Warrior… hmm.”

Lee Yena, who had been muttering endlessly, suddenly stopped talking and fell into deep thought.

Eventually, a hearty laugh filled the branch manager’s office. If it had been an apartment, they would’ve received complaints about the noise level.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to say it so bluntly like this… Yes, well… due to the nature of the VR genre, there are bound to be overlapping areas between characters. There are limitations in movement and skills, you see. And most importantly, the recent nerf on rogues was intended to improve accessibility for ordinary users and… and… Oh, I can’t stand this. Right.”

The CEO, who laughed for a long time again, raised his hands slightly and continued speaking.

“Well, yes. I have plenty to say too. If they’re so good at balancing, why don’t they just reduce the damage, instead of stripping away the charm of a character that has just started to gain traction? Talking about assassins in a fantasy medieval game that already has rogues—what’s the point of introducing assassins, then? Are rogues just mere rogues now? As a CEO, I shouldn’t be saying things like this, but… Yes. The reason why I was suddenly made CEO right before the launch of the paid character sales model is also obvious. So, I guess I can speak freely about this much. Among fellow rogue comrades, that is.”

– Heh.

In response, a clear laughter from Yena flowed out.

“Ah… I’m sorry. It’s just that what you said brought back some memories. Anyhow—so, I guess I can speak freely among fellow rogue comrades too?”

That’s how their covert plot began in earnest.

* * * *

“Users who opposed the rogue nerf have gathered in real life to protest? Oh my God. Our customers held a protest in reality? This is the kind of social risk that investors absolutely hate, isn’t it? How did such an important fact not get reported?”

“… I agree. Isn’t there some kind of anti-rogue sentiment out there? It just so happens that rogues have slightly darker skin tones. Perhaps…”

“Ah, that’s right! They are of mixed race according to the setting. … But, can we not go in that direction? Our headquarters is in the U. S., and if you’re not trying to kill our game…”

“… Wasn’t it?”

“Really. But, what does this phrase on their banner mean?”

“… Ah. It means, ‘When there’s not enough firewood and the embers are dying, one should create a bigger flame’, it’s a Korean proverb…”

“Oh, it’s translated into an image. Uh… doesn’t this basically mean they’re going to drop a bomb and kill the game? From what I understand, they’ve been researching the game’s bugs for about 10 years, even after extracting the core code of KoK…”

“It’s a proverb. Are you dismissing the profundity of Eastern sayings?… By the way, you should be cautious. We have a very capable attorney here.”

“… Attorney, is there such a proverb? It didn’t come up in the translator.”

“There…is. A very old one, so it doesn’t show up because it’s almost a dead phrase… Yes.”

Hmm.

Indeed, that’s an attorney.

Avoiding my sight, I mouthed ‘thank you’ to her. Her expression was slightly subtle. She looked less like a professional attorney and more like an annoyed older sister looking at her irresponsible younger sister.

For the first time in a while, I couldn’t help but smile a little.