Chapter 9

#9. SR Operation

As Taejun slowly adapted to the game 'The Age of Silver,' he mindlessly repeated quests and auto-hunting.

Then, it happened. The guy who had just killed Taejun came back.

But his character was completely different from before.

Just by looking, he seemed much stronger, with more aggressive movements.

'He, he's a hero?'

That's right. The opponent had apparently transformed into a hero class through a gacha draw.

Ah! The wall of classes couldn't be overcome. Taejun's royal knight lost his life to the opponent's hero class. Even though he had drawn all the starting items in a package, he couldn't overcome the hero class.

"Damn it!"

Kim Taejun paid again.

30,000 won for a 10-draw gacha.

He kept drawing without stopping.

How long did the laughter of that gacha witch, who had no sense of shame, last?

For the first time, the gacha witch showed a surprised expression instead of a sneer, and soon a purple light, not green or blue, burst from her orb.

'Finally!'

Taejun shouted in his heart.

A different result screen appeared.

-I am evil. The one who creates good.

-Black Mage Mephisto-

A hero-class job finally appeared.

"Ah...! It's not a knight."

But Taejun couldn't be happy.

He had spent about 1.8 million won on this gacha in less than 30 minutes.

Moreover, the hero transformation he obtained was not a knight but a mage, as if mocking him.

"Huh?!"

But he soon felt better.

"That's right! I can draw again from the hero class! That's how it should be, you little brat!"

Although it required diamonds, what was the problem?

He decided to overlook the petty fact that more diamonds were required each time he drew again.

"Please... come out! Come out!"

Taejun drew again about five times, and finally.

-A house or chivalry, that is the question. May my sword point towards justice.

-Crimson Lady Knight Cardina Shine-

A hero-class red-haired lady knight appeared.

"Done!"

He quickly applied the hero transformation and moved to the hunting ground.

The user who had killed him earlier was shamelessly hunting.

As soon as he saw him, Taejun immediately initiated a player kill (PK).

A dazzling attack, incomparable to when he had a rare transformation, was launched.

"Got you!"

Kim Taejun successfully took his revenge.

At the same time, he wondered how much more powerful a legendary class would be.

A week later, when he came to his senses, Kim Taejun had become the guild leader of the top guild on the server and had already put one of the guild's assets up for sale.

This was the moment when the neologism "Eunje" (a play on "Linje," meaning a person who is obsessed with gacha) was born.

* * *

As the information age progressed, the population increasingly concentrated in major cities.

In Korea, with its ultra-low birth rate, talents gathered in Seoul or the capital region, and in the United States, with its blessed population pyramid, talents flocked to Silicon Valley and New York.

Talents need to gather in a small space to create overwhelming synergy, and it is within this synergy that ideas to change the world are born.

When the driving industry shifted from manufacturing to IT, this trend became inevitable.

However, a company that directly opposes this trend has emerged.

Even though the company's main product is a game, the epitome of IT.

In Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.

SR Industry's First Campus.

Sera, who would make the "Eunje" people shiver with "Eunje! Tempting gacha witch!" shouts, is wearing a mage robe, just like in the game.

"I know."

I was also aware of the mountain of cash quickly accumulating in the company's account.

The game 'The Age of Silver' was always prominently featured in the real-time search rankings of portal sites, making it impossible not to feel its popularity.

Suddenly, Sera, who recognized my past, asked with curious eyes.

"Well... "

I smiled bitterly while setting up the server.

My past before the regression was truly a mess.

After graduating from college, my first job was at a well-known game company.

I was genuinely passionate about games and always had a simple (?) dream of presenting the game I had conceived to the world.

But does any developer start making their own game right after joining a company?

Moreover, my prickly personality was no help in my career.

My stubbornness and rigid philosophy made me despise mass-produced games.

I looked down on the users who enjoyed such games.

But the truly pitiful one was me.

In the end, I left the company and made a few indie games, which all failed spectacularly. That was my first job and my first dream.

'Who would have thought I would achieve that dream in this way.'

For reference, the settings and world of 'The Age of Silver' and other games planned for release were what I had conceived before the regression.

'Maybe this lingering attachment is why I pushed the game business as my first venture.'

I am only grateful to the AI Sera, who followed my stubbornness.

However, regardless of my gratitude, she is too chatty. I frowned, trying to focus on server management.

"Let me finish this first!"

I said with a slightly irritated tone.

Sera hesitated at my reaction and then sneered.

To be precise, now that I look back, I'm not really grateful.

She probably predicted that I would suffer in some way if I started a game company and cooperated accordingly.

But I didn't have the energy to get angry at Sera's provocation.

As Sera said, I was too busy inspecting the 'overhauled' server in front of me to spend money.

This really, really, really confirmed it.

She genuinely enjoys seeing me suffer.

'Sigh... This is my karma.'

Let's briefly recall the time when I was serving my mandatory military service in a room.

* * *

At that time, Sera and I were developing various things in a room.

Among them was the development of the 'server' for the game, which would be SR Industry's first major business.

"Come to think of it, cloud servers haven't been popularized yet, right?"

[Even if they exist, they're not reliable.]

"Then we should build our own server room, right?"

[That's right, right?]

"First, the server I'm envisioning should have no lag. Large-scale sieges and server wars should run smoothly. It should be easy to access from overseas, and the ping should be stable. It should also block VPN bypasses and macro access effectively. It should consume as little power as possible and not overheat. Most importantly, the security should be robust."

[...?]

At the time, Sera stared at me with a blank expression for a while.

At that time, Sera glared at me with a cold, hard look.

I shrugged in response to her glare.

What could she do? After all, I'm the 'owner'!

When I shrugged with a sardonic smile, Sera finally sighed and had to follow the owner's command.

Before entering the simulation, she pouted and spoke to me, but I didn't realize that her words were a 'warning' at the time.

* * *

And back to the present.

I was desperately overhauling and maintaining the server according to the method Sera had taught me through simulation.

"Rather, rather, I should have opened the first campus in Pangyo."

[Now? You deliberately built the first campus in such a remote place for security reasons, didn't you?]

Some of the 100 billion won from SR Investment was invested in real estate.

This means that we could have started a small game company in Pangyo or Seoul.

However, the current SR Industry is located in a remote area, practically a rural area, despite being in the capital region. Another SR asset, the mining facility, is still in a warehouse in Ilsan.

Having many people means having many talents, but it also means having many accidents, which is why we chose this location.

Think about it, if this game came out in an empty building where I was the only one, who wouldn't be suspicious?

Most importantly, SR doesn't need that many IT talents.

The talents SR needs are...

My thoughts were interrupted by Sera's continuing words.

Yes, I had said that before the release of the game 'The Age of Silver.'

Because of that confidence, I didn't use external personnel or outsourcing except for advertising agencies, dubbing, and OST, and this karma is why I'm suffering so much now.

If I hadn't completed the game development and 10-year roadmap during my military service, the game might have closed immediately after opening.

Therefore, I decided to hire people only now. However, I didn't announce a large-scale recruitment.

"... Just a tantrum."

I muttered with a hint of regret.

Anyway, one person who passed Sera's interview is scheduled to come for an interview today. I need to finish this before he arrives.

Sera looks at me and cheers me on with a relaxed attitude. It's truly annoying.

She is a strong AI.

While relaxing, she is performing real-time network battles within the server. She is also an expert in cyber warfare.

In other words, the 2012 game server is a piece of cake for Sera, a military-specialized AI.

Right now, the subordinate AIs that Sera has deployed in the network are protecting the game 'The Age of Silver.'

They are blocking all kinds of macro attempts, Chinese VPN bypasses, DDoS, and hacking attacks that keep coming.

How much time has passed?

"Done!"

Despite my groans, I managed to complete the final task on time.

After finishing the work, I lay down on the server room floor, and Sera, as if waiting, looked around the server room.

Sera, who looked around the server room, genuinely admired it.

"Prepare to hire server engineers."

Since the game's launch, I've been building the server room, getting only two hours of sleep a day.

The completed server room is now in a state where anyone with basic server knowledge can operate it.

"Ah, let's also hire game operation managers."

[What? I'm already handling the operations, aren't I?]

Customer service and game operations were handled by Sera. Since the game has no bugs, most inquiries are about refunds or account hacking.

The subordinate AIs that Sera has deployed are currently working hard in the virtual customer service center.

"Now, we need to communicate face-to-face as well."

[Well, as a military AI, I can manage the organization, but I'm not specialized in face-to-face business management.]

She decided to be humble. Even with future AI and future humans, there are clear limits.

"Let's also look for a business department. We need to expand overseas, and I can't always be the one to handle outsourcing contracts."

[I understand. I'll look for suitable positions.]

"Also, look for development positions. There are too few, and it's inconvenient."

[Of course. It should be easy to find people with basic knowledge who can maintain the system. We can handle the deeper aspects.]

"Focus on desperation rather than skill. People who will starve to death if they don't work here. Anyway, there's probably no one in Korea who can fully understand this game and server room."

[That's true!]

"Ah, make a manual for the server room and game operations. We need to create cloud servers later."

[What?! The owner should do that!]

"Make it."

[Oh, oh, oh~ Low-quality, evil employer, black company!]

"Thanks for the compliment."

After a light argument with Sera, I looked in the mirror and roughly fixed my messy hair and clothes. Then I headed to the room where the interviewee was waiting.