2025-04-10 04:20:01Although Liam Watson knew his plan had a decent chance of success, the final result was far better than he had expected.
In-game items seemed to carry amplified effects—those barrels of high-concentration alcohol burned way more fiercely than anything Liam had seen in the real world. That blinding tactical flashlight? So bright it could've seared retinas.
As the sun finally rose over the ocean horizon, flooding the world with daylight, the light-sensitive, nocturnal merfolk slowly retreated beneath the waves and disappeared.
Only once he was sure that no merfolk were nearby did Liam finally take a breath and open up his game panel.
He hadn't had a chance to check it earlier, being a bit preoccupied with... well, grilling. Or rather, fighting off sea monsters. But now, staring at the data on his screen, Liam squinted thoughtfully.
[Side Quest: Gerald's Bloody Conspiracy — Completion: 90%]
Andrew was dead. The driver had been torched by Liam. And yet there was still 10% left in this "bloody conspiracy."
What was left to uncover?
[Current Points: 684. Would you like to purchase an item?]
Liam eyed the suddenly boosted number. Curious, he pulled up the points breakdown and realized that over 500 points came from "charging"—viewer donations.
So most of the points he earned weren't from completing in-game tasks but from his audience tipping him.
Liam pondered this. In other words, viewer points were much easier to earn than system points—and much more abundant.
That... felt off.
If the system rewarded out-of-game engagement more than in-game effort, it would demotivate players. Why bother solving puzzles or facing danger when you could charm your audience and get paid?
Especially when those points could directly buy powerful tools. With enough donations, Liam could brute-force his way through any level. That would strip the game of any meaningful experience.
He wouldn't design a game like that. And he didn't think this system would either.
A reward structure had to be in place to balance in-game and out-of-game effort, something to motivate players to stay invested in the game world itself.
His fingers idly spun a coin. All in-game rewards were instant—you completed a task and got points. But there was one exception:
The Monster Compendium.
After collecting all the pages and clearing the dungeon, a reward is only granted. Delayed gratification usually meant serious value.
Judging by these donation numbers, Liam had probably underestimated just how valuable that final compendium reward could be.
He flipped through the Monster Book, scanning each page carefully, until he paused on one:
[Eclipse Port Monster Compendium — Eclipse King (2/4)]
Monster Name: Eclipse King
Weaknesses: Unknown (Players are not required to discover this)
Attack Methods: ??? (Unknown. Needs exploration)
Note: Wandering god-tier NPC. Extremely dangerous. Proceed with caution.
Explore its attacks? Most previous monsters revealed their patterns as soon as they struck.
But for something like the Eclipse King? Letting it attack might mean instant death.
Still, Liam never ignored potential treasure, especially when it smelled this rich.
He might've backed off if he had known how terrifying this NPC was and had heard all the stories about its near-broken mechanics.
In game design, the scariest thing is a bug. Not in code, but in balance—something so wildly out of bounds that players can't reasonably counter it.
But Liam didn't know.
Worse—he thought this god-tier NPC was just a powerful gatekeeper boss. Beat it, and you score a massive reward. And he believed there had to be a way to win. Every boss had a weakness. Every game had a path to victory.
He stared at the page for a few more seconds, then clicked his tongue softly and closed the book.
"Open store," he said. "I want to purchase an item."
[Welcome! What are you looking for? Our current promotion, Underwater Bubble, is now 40 points! Interested?]
Liam's eyes flicked to the price tag. Sure enough, "Underwater Bubble" had dropped from 70 to 40 points. Meanwhile, the "High-Concentration Alcohol" he'd previously used had jumped from 9 to nearly 13 points.
He smiled.
Bingo.
He had guessed correctly—his gameplay affected the audience's preferences, influencing market prices like a live streamer driving product sales.
If he could achieve the same results with cheaper items, other players would follow his example, triggering price fluctuations.
And because Eclipse Port was probably a smaller server or limited-instance dungeon, the market reacted quickly.
Like how Liam used a 3D projector and flashlight to beat the Wax Museum, where most players used burning torches.
His combo was more efficient, so torch prices fell while projectors spiked.
Now, he'd pulled the same trick. All to push down the Bubble's price—and now was the moment to buy.
"One Underwater Bubble, please."
[Purchased: 40 points. Thank you for your business!]
As Liam bought the item, Shawn, who had rushed over from the Death Comedy zone, leaned toward the screen in confusion.
He watched Liam confirm the purchase and scratched his head.
"...Why is he buying an Underwater Bubble now?"
"Eclipse Port doesn't even have any more underwater segments," another player said. "Maybe he's just being cautious. He's got over 600 points—spending 40 is like buying insurance."
"Especially after last night," they added. "He went through hell. Probably just wants a backup plan. Alcohol's a risky play."
But Shawn knew Liam. And this? This wasn't how Liam spent his points.
Earlier, Liam had chosen a riskier, lower-cost route, using alcohol rather than spending more for safer items like the Bubble.
So why the sudden shift?
Unless...
Shawn had an almost ridiculous thought:
Liam had engineered the entire situation to drop the Bubble's price.
And only now, after the price crashed, did he swoop in.
Shawn muttered this out loud, half-dazed.
His voice wasn't low enough. A nearby spectator overheard and scoffed.
"You're not turning into one of those Liam fanboys, right? Controlling prices? Come on—he's a newbie who hasn't even cleared his first game."
"He's clever, sure, but manipulating the market? That's a stretch."
The spectator waved it off with a shrug. "I think the guy was just scared stiff after that insane night. Now he's playing it safe."
"He bet on the alcohol trick, and it worked. But it was a gamble, not genius."
Under his breath, the player muttered, "And now he's somehow in the Solo Zone. Unbelievable."
Jealousy tinged his voice. And across the forums, chatter about Liam's alcohol-fueled mermaid massacre had shifted from praise to sarcasm.
Players echoed the same bitter tune:
"It wasn't even a smart play. I thought of that, too—but I chose the safer method. Why risk it?"
"Showboaters like him are a dime a dozen. Death Comedy's full of them."
"Ha! He used nine barrels of alcohol; four actually worked—so five just sat there. Do the math: that's 81 points. More than just buying Bubbles outright!"
"His only talent is making things look flashy."
"He bought a Bubble right after clearing the mission. That's proof he chickened out. If alcohol was so great, why didn't he keep using it? Let's see him burn wax statues with it next!"
The backlash had begun.
But Liam?
Liam didn't care.
Because while they were arguing on forums, he was already preparing his next move.
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