Chapter 179 : Recruitment for PerG-Day Interns (2)
Recruitment for PerG-Day Interns (2)
MetaGamer, the undisputed largest game webzine in Korea.
The platform earned recognition because it never missed even the smallest gaming events, let alone major ones.
As such, its reporters were passionate about their coverage, and it wasn't strange at all to see reporters stationed on site at MCK, given that Mystic League was the most popular game.
'I have to deliver this as quickly as possible!'
The reporter, who transcribed TierOne's opening victory interview as fast as a stenographer, immediately sent the article to headquarters.
However, the department he sent it to covered not only online games, but also the Influencer team.
'Elephant and Purple, these are the core keywords!'
In media, speed is important, but if an article goes up and nobody looks at it, it means nothing.
That was true not only for traditional media, but also for game webzines. Regular users would naturally see the articles anyway—what really mattered was drawing in new people from external searches.
"Reporter Shin? Still not done!?"
"Almost finished!"
Receiving the article, the Influencer team's journalist, specifically in charge of Purple-related coverage, Shin Hyerim, quickly added more details.
'How is the timing so perfect?'
She'd already been prepping a story about the PerG-Day crew's formation and the Mystic League tournament auditions.
But there wasn't enough volume to run that as a standalone piece, so she'd only kept notes—now, she finally had a perfect opportunity to use them.
"Done!"
"Okay."
The team leader couldn't even wait in his own office. He scanned Shin Hyerim's article on the spot and grinned.
"Great, let's send it up right away."
"Yes!"
The swiftly assembled article was immediately published to MetaGamer's front page.
[The Elephant Who Ravaged the Jungle—That 'Perfect' Comeback!]
Right as the article with the full interview and TierOne's victorious match summary from the MCK opener went live, the view count began to skyrocket.
[-ElTaeshik is back at last!]
[This is Elephant! This is the strongest jungle!]
[From the opening game, legendary full-control renewed, lmao]
[5252! Juenjang! I always believed!]
[I knew he'd eventually overcome his slumpㅠ]
[-Purple? Who's that? And what's PerG-Day?]
[You don't know Godple?]
[Haven't you heard of Perfect Yami? What about Perfazan?]
[Are you, like, living too earnestly in real life?]
[That's a real-life addiction, lol]
[I feel bad when I see people like this. You should do some online communities...]
[What are you even saying, you crazy people lol]
[-Godple vs. Elephant was truly legendary]
[Yeah, he got his full control back then, but has he kept it up till now?]
[Hasn't it been, like, a week since then?]
[Real relapse periods aren't that long, though;;]
[Did you play together privately yesterday?]
[-How did our Elephant cure his chronic condition?]
[Nah, godple can do it!]
[Breaking News) National Veterinarian Association awards honorary "Elephant Specialist" to Purple for curing Elephant's chronically incurable condition.]
[Since when is there a Vet Association, lol]
[An Elephant specialist, are you kidding, lol]
Fans of TierOne and Lee Gyeongbok all crowded in, filling up the comments.
[-Wait, since when does a streamer teach pros?]
[If you want to prove yourself, go teach Dandy too]
[You a Dandy fan?]
[Was gonna flame at first, but this thread made me laugh so hard, lol]
[Can you please help our Giwon Diamond too!]
[Isn't this just a perfect-doping, though!]
[This is what a real helper looks like, lol]
[Ah man, this is so old school......]
[When was Legend League even a thing, lol]
[-Other articles only copied the interview, but this one has audition announcements, too, lol]
[Knew it! MetaGamers class hits different]
[But MetaGamer is basically a Black Company affiliate~]
[CrazySmurf is a must-watch this time, lol]
[Anyway, if you watch Godple's stream, you'll see this sooner or later?]
The recent actions of Purple at the end of the article quickly drew people's attention.
* * *
Evening fell, and the time for PerG-Day's audition broadcast approached.
Genome and Ecl were unable to hide their astonishment at the viewer count.
"Thirty thousand......"
"This is nuts, for real."
Their usual 20,000 viewers had surpassed 30,000. In just a single day, 10,000 new viewers had joined.
"Whew, I figured there would be some new influx, but I didn't expect this much."
Genome rubbed his eyes several times, checking the numbers.
It made sense that a streamer-centered audition would draw more viewers than usual.
The size would depend on the case, but it was clear that the fans of the applicant streamers would show up.
But both of them knew that wasn't the whole reason, and in fact, that was just a minor factor.
"When did you meet with Elephant again?"
Genome turned to Lee Gyeongbok, the real reason for the influx, and asked.
"It wasn't much, really—he just ended up mentioning it."
Lee Gyeongbok shrugged casually, as if it wasn't a big deal. In fact, he'd only spent about ten minutes helping Elephant.
"Seriously, geniuses..."
"I thought I'd already seen everything, but he sure never gives you a chance to relax."
The two laughed as they answered. Lee Gyeongbok also smiled and patted their shoulders.
"You're not intimidated just because the viewers went up, are you?"
"If you lose your nerve because of this, you can't be a streamer."
"You guys lead the conversation. I don't feel much pressure."
At that answer, Lee Gyeongbok grinned and clapped his hands lightly.
"Good, then let's get started."
When the scheduled broadcast time arrived, the three of them headed for the studio.
― PerG-Day! PerG-Day! PerG-Day!
― Calling itself a Black Company on the outside, but it's really a White Company on the inside!
― Different inside and outside, but in another way?
― Absolutely. Must. Explain!
― Official start of the First Black Company Shareholders' Meeting!
― Three segments today, just because I'm mad!
-lol Today, you HAVE to go three segments as apology
― What did you even do wrong, lolol
― Whatever, something! So you have to stream a long time!
-lol Spill the story! I'm getting dizzy over here!
The already lively chat window erupted like a volcano as they appeared.
Genome smoothly stepped forward, clapping his hands for attention.
"Ahem, first, I'd like to apologize to the shareholders. It seems we haven't lived up to your trust."
The chat was suddenly filled with question marks. An actual apology?
But his next words quickly shifted the mood again.
"Apparently, there's a rumor that our PerG-Day is a Black Company. But now, with our CEO's recent good deed revealed, we've proven those were misunderstandings."
Genome smiled slyly and gestured to Lee Gyeongbok.
"This might not be a big issue for the shareholders who expected us to grow through wicked means. Once again, we apologize for causing owner-risk problems due to our CEO's upstanding character."
― So you're shifting the blame onto us?
-lol This guy just can't stop from the start
― God, that mouth!
― That's owner-risk? What even is risk in my world anymore?
― Am I in an upside-down world now?
-lol If a Black Company's president is nice, that's owner-risk?
The chat filled with laughter. Lee Gyeongbok then came forward and opened his mouth.
"I'm sure many of you are curious about what happened. So before we start the audition properly, allow me to explain briefly."
He explained the situation simply. There was no need to hide it, and since Elephant's side had mentioned it first, there was no issue.
He just left out the length of coaching time, since that didn't need to be disclosed.
― He really did know the head coach?
― So they really knew each other back in the trainee days, lol
― Even visited the TierOne team house?
― The facilities looked incredible in the official video, haha
― Wow...so jealousㅠ
― So Elephant has seen Godple's face, then?
― Show it to us, too!
When there was a flurry in chat about a face reveal, Genome was about to intervene.
But before he could, Lee Gyeongbok spoke up.
"Oh, and at the end, head Coach Baek asked me if I would consider going pro even now."
― What!?
― Godple pro scene debut angle?
― With that skill, he'd be a first-string starter for sure, lol
― No! Don't go! Please keep streaming!
― You can't! There are so many games you still have to play!
― I'll hold my breath until you decide not to go pro!
-lol So you're not even going to try?
Genome glanced at Lee Gyeongbok, noticing his skill in handling the troopers.
'He's already gotten good at handling the chat crowd.'
Rather than touching on uncomfortable topics, he redirected with an even juicier subject.
He was so smooth that unless you intentionally tried to block him, you'd just go along.
'Hard to believe he's only been streaming three months.'
While Genome was once again impressed, Lee Gyeongbok continued the conversation.
"Yeah, I do have a few friends from my trainee days who made it, so I did think about it for a moment."
― Oh?
― More pro connections among current gamers!?
― But still, please don't leave!
― The worldline...is changing!?
― Worldline, what even, lol
Lee Gyeongbok checked the time discreetly and waved his hands. The applicants must be waiting, so it was time to wrap up.
"Don't worry. I declined right away. This is where I belong."
― You really said no right away?
― Idiot! You're only thinking of us Purple viewers, you fool!
― Just perfect! Just unique! Just radiant!
― A man with skill, personality, and a killer voice...but as Kang Yunjin, the 41st descendant of the Shincheon Kang clan, I can never have him.
― Insane trooper, jeez
― Why would he want you, lol
Having cleared things up (?), Lee Gyeongbok smiled brightly.
"Anyway, let's move on to the main topic. Genome?"
"Yes!"
Genome flicked his finger lightly. With that, the recruitment board from the fan café appeared on screen.
"There were a total of 247 applicants for this internship."
Before the viewers could even react, the posts started disappearing one after another.
"So, we had to raise the document screen-out rate higher than we expected. But there were valid reasons."
Genome cleared his throat and put up one censored post.
"We already stated the minimum tier for applying is Platinum. We didn't specify this season only, but some people attached their tier from not last season, but even the season before last."
-lol Seriously, season before last
― Yeah, that's a bit much
― They clearly rushed just to get it in, lol
― Mystic meta changes all the dang time, man
― Definitely gotta cut those
Clearly, these were people who hadn't played Mystic League recently or their skills had dropped.
They probably just dug up old records out of desperation to make the cut.
"We also asked for another condition, remember? Broadcast sense. So, we had everyone record a 30-second to 1-minute clip of their stream to see their style..."
Genome then played the next set of videos, voices altered to prevent identification.
-?
― What's this?
― For a second, thought the audio broke
-lol How much of a newbie streamer are they!
The first clip only had game sounds, not a word spoken. A typical situation for a brand-new streamer with no viewers.
But in the next batch, nobody could laugh.
〈Ah! You don't even react? You damn son of a—!〉
〈Hey! Got him, right? You f—! Didn't I say cover me?!〉
〈Blaming me now? Wow, for real, you little—!〉
There was audio, but it was laced with curses. The last syllables were beeped, but the intention was all too clear.
― Dropping f-bombs right there;;
― Don't most people send their best clip? This is their "best"?
-lol Must curse all the time, geez
― They must actually think that's funny, lol
― Cursing is one thing, but that's a bad match for PerG-Day
With personal streaming, some cursing could be excused. But neither Lee Gyeongbok, Genome, nor Ecl swore on stream.
"Those kinds of applicants were, unfortunately, rejected at the document screening. And aside from those, after going through the other reasons for screening!"
Genome cleared the documents and pulled up a hologram.
[Total Applicants : 247]
[Document Screened Pass]
[AD Carry: 50 people] [Support: 50 people]
[(Duo applicants: 27 teams)]
The logos of the 100 successful applicants quickly rolled onto the screen.
"The 27 duo applicants—54 people total—certainly have a teamwork advantage. But there's a catch: if either one fails, both drop out!"
Genome then flicked his finger, sweeping away all the files and turning to the camera.
"Congratulations to those who made it, and now we'll start the practical exam!"
― Wait, why is this so serious!
-lol Genome is oddly really good at this stuff!
― Of course, nothing beats streaming experience!
― Really feels like a real company exam, lol
― Document screen-out? Ugh...my head...!
― Stop comparing to real life already!
The screen switched to a Mystic League battlefield.
― Wait, that's Ecl?
― When did he log in?
― Looks like they're using Practice mode for the exam
― Is Ecl judging them?
― Huh? Isn't Ecl a top laner?
Ecl, standing at bottom lane in armor, was not using his usual champion, guyen.
Soon, the first pair of applicants appeared opposite him.
"From now on, the knight order entry test will begin!"
Ecl raised his voice.
He then chose the champion Guyen and gripped his sword.
"The two applicants must cooperate to defeat me! Your ranking will be based on how much damage you inflict!"
Chat immediately filled with question marks.
― He's not an AD Carry, he's Guyen?
― Doesn't this make it way too easy?
― What are they hinting at here?
― Will this even test anything?
But those doubts quickly vanished.
"Begin!"
At Ecl's command, the skirmish began. But contrary to viewers' expectations, the bottom duo found themselves at a loss.
"What the...!"
"What is this!?"
Their projectiles flew straight at Ecl but had no effect on his stamina.
With a sharp metallic clang, the projectiles bounced away in every direction—Ecl had deflected them all with his sword.
-lololol Actually blocked everything like that?
― Hey, didn't Ecl deflect bullets in GunG too?
― Oh, that's right, lol
― I forgot because he's always playing top lane
Even for AD Carries, damaging Ecl wasn't easy. In top lane, he always fought in close quarters, so it was easy to forget.
― So the real test is their skill combo
― Yeah, the key is nailing the CC
-lol There's no way he'll let them win easily
― This is a true duo synergy test, lol
― So it's actually a normal test?
Watching the chat, Genome checked the time and addressed the viewers.
"Hey, you think that's the whole test? Even for interns, not just anyone can get in here!"
Before there were even any reactions in chat, viewers saw exactly why.
"They should try flanking him or—"
"Huh? Wait, what!?"
The two applicants were strategizing about how to catch Ecl when—
The Support suddenly raised his voice as, above his own head, a flag dropped down.
"Huh?"
What was this about?
Before either could figure it out, a spear followed right after.
"Hmm, that's unfortunate."
From behind, none other than Barzan—Lee Gyeongbok—appeared.
Before the bottom duo could even panic, an afterimage collided with them.
― Why are you there, hyung?
― When did you get there, lol
-lol Genome suddenly stopped being so polite
― As soon as boss leaves, everyone's got attitude!
-lol You can see they had no clue
― But seriously, how did he get in?
Viewers laughed and wondered. Even in Practice mode, any player who entered would appear in the player list—it shouldn't be possible for Lee Gyeongbok to sneak in.
"The applicants didn't realize about ganking at all. The boss entered as an observer."
Genome, catching on to their questions, explained with a chuckle.
"He waits for a gank chance while preparing in advance, then changes settings and—slip! Game over."
-lol So it's not damage but situation handling they're testing
― Stealth boss is scary
― Ah! Too scary!
― This company hides test items! Seriously!?
― Black Company is still Black Company, even like this, lol
― I did think 100 seemed like too many to pass, lol
― If one team takes a minute, you can finish in like 50 minutes, lol
― Can anyone actually survive Godple's gank?
― Survival audition (for real)
― This is literally survival, lol
As chat exploded, Genome laughed.
"Nobody's expected to survive. It's just about reaction speed and how they handle it. With the boss's eye, it won't be hard to separate the gems from the stones."
This was Lee Gyeongbok's suggestion. Ecl would draw their attention, and the surprise attack would test improvisation skills.
PerG-Day wasn't looking for people who could "deal with" enemies, but those who were good at "not dying."
― So are you a gem or a stone?
-lol What "stone"? Just a pass, lol
― What's "just a pass," lol
― Ah, so that's a chuno, right (nod)
-lol If Genome did that, he'd be eliminated instantly
― Probably cling to Ecl right away, lol
When viewers started teasing him, Genome grinned confidently.
"If you're jealous, try getting in through special recruitment."
-lol "Special recruitment," are you serious?
-5252! How much further will you fall!
― Someone's gotta show this to the boss!
― Employee talks back to CEO and deputy! In this company!?
― A real lost cause, lol
Viewers returned to enjoying the ongoing test.
The duo died instantly, and the next applicant entered. As they walked to bottom lane, Lee Gyeongbok once again hid in the brush.
The viewers buzzed with anticipation.
If you pass this test—
― Wow, even just passing is a huge win
-lol If Godple recognizes you, that's major approval
― That alone will guarantee tons of viewers
― Will a true super rookie emerge?
A universally acknowledged genius.
If Lee Gyeongbok saw your potential, that's what it meant.