Chapter 120: Dance with the Moonlight (2)
The once pristine desk now had seven crushed Red Bull cans scattered across it.
If a normal person saw the scene, they might wonder if he didn't have blood, but caffeine flowing through his veins.
However, Michael had gained superpowers from the Red Bulls. He licked his dry lips.
"Finally, it's done."
It had taken him nine hours.
From the moment he received the email from Unknown, he had pushed aside all other work to focus on editing, and the reason was simple.
The only canvas where I can draw whatever picture I want is Unknown's video.
As an artist at heart, Michael couldn't resist the opportunity.
I poured all the skills I have into this video.
The knowledge he had learned through self-study since middle school, the wisdom he had absorbed from his university professors, and the know-how he had acquired from editing clients' videos—all of it had flowed into this single video.
Michael Reynold's essence of video editing was fully captured in this work. Thus, he was confident.
My reputation will rise once again.
The gap he had created between himself and others would widen further with this video as the standard.
However, Michael wasn't happy about that at all.
"...And it seems this will be the last collaboration with Unknown."
As a professional in this field, Michael had edited numerous videos. Of course, among them were those he had helped from their early days until they became rankers.
He’ll either join a guild and work with their video editor, or he’ll produce and broadcast videos at the level of a television station. It’ll be one of the two.
Unless he had a significant reason, there was no reason for such a skilled player to stick to solo play.
It was only two video edits, but Michael had found tremendous joy in working with Unknown.
"Now it’ll become boring again."
With a bitter smile, he wanted to rush to bed immediately but opened his email for his last task.
***
Ping!
"Hmm...?"
Awakened by the sound in his ears, Han Jung-Woo wiped the drool from his mouth and lifted his head. Forcing his still-tired head up, he checked the clock and frowned.
I only slept for seven hours.
Due to his recent accumulated fatigue, he had set his alarm to sleep at least ten hours.
"Then that sound just now was..."
Muttering in a hoarse voice, Han Jung-Woo lazily checked his smartphone.
"Oh, it's just an email."
He threw the phone beside his pillow with squinted eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but soon opened his eyes again.
"... An email?"
There weren't many people who would send him an email, and most spam messages were already blocked, so he didn’t receive notifications from them.
"Could it be..."
Though his tone was doubtful as he muttered those words, his body quickly snatched his phone again.
Unlocking the password and checking the email, he felt as if cold water had been poured over his head, waking him up completely.
"Michael? Already?!"
In an instant, he threw off his blanket and sat at his computer to check the email.
As expected, an access code is included too.
Most videos from MID Online were larger than typical movies in terms of file size.
Therefore, attaching them to a single email was impossible, so Michael always included an access code in the email. By entering this code on Michael’s personal website, the video could be downloaded from there.
[Download complete.]
After seeing the system message, Kai immediately played the video.
The intro began with a gentle piano piece and showed Blizzard appearing on the scene. He was portrayed like a hero guarding the city at night, calmly observing the cornered players before jumping from the rooftop. Then, he struck Aosa’s neck with his scimitars, and the battle began!
Watching it as a video is entirely different from experiencing it in the game.
Although the live-action could lack in some aspects, the speed and cinematic quality were outstanding.
Blizzard dodged Aosa’s tentacle attacks with agile movements. Meanwhile, his scimitars seemed sharp and dangerous.
However, a single mistake allowed Aosa’s attack to hit, quickly putting Blizzard on the defensive.
The music changed. The video slowed down a bit, and the screen is turning black and white.
It was as if predicting Blizzard’s death.
Then, Aosa’s final strike flew toward Blizzard.
Blizzard tried to dodge but ultimately failed.
However, at that moment, a single chain flew in.
Simultaneously, the music shifted. The gloomy atmosphere suddenly shifted with a grand song backed by drums. It was a beat that filled the viewer with anticipation, making their heart race.
Here’s my entrance.
His appearance was anything but plain. The different parts of his armor were revealed in sequence from bottom-up, and then his full body came into view. It showed his striking appearance covered in jade-colored dragon armor.
—You reek... of an unbearable stench.
Infuriated, Aosa swung its bundle of tentacles.
However, the player in dragon armor cut through them with a single strike. Simultaneously, his armor turned blue, and a new battle commenced.
The tempo of the video picked up.
Thanks to this, the fight was depicted with incredible intensity.
Jumping between rooftops under the moonlight, the two exchanged blows, and the victor was undoubtedly Unknown.
Rumble!
Unknown brought down an entire building, delivering a critical blow to Aosa mid-fall.
Next, Aosa transforms.
That was when the second phase started.
Along with this, the background music was well-known not only to Han Jung-Woo but also to the general public. It was the kind of song that would make listeners exclaim, "Oh! This piece!"
The music playing was none other than Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."
Boom, boom!
Due to its massive size, Aosa bulldozed through buildings as it chased after Unknown.
And Unknown narrowly dodged by swinging between buildings using Holy Chains.
The part where I take the Higher Way potion was edited out.
The editing was clearly designed to portray Unknown as a hero! The effect was so overwhelming that even the person who knew about the doping was in awe watching the video.
“... That’s me? I did that?”
Debris from the falling building scattered through the air. He performed impossible feats—finding a path among the rubble or using chains to pull stones and creating one if necessary—repeatedly and naturally that he had to rewind the video multiple times.
Engrossed in the video, the ending credits with a surprising message rolled by quicker than he thought.
After watching the entire video, he rubbed his chin in contemplation.
No matter how I look at it, this quality isn’t something to release for free...
It could easily rival the raid videos of most guilds. And even if it were sold for money, it would undoubtedly sell like crazy.
But thinking it over...
Han Jung-Woo's mind raced. The massive benefits of releasing the video for free started to become clear.
This is a weapon that could make even the top-ranking players nervous.
No ranker could confidently claim they could defeat Aosa alone, nor could they replicate the extraordinary movements shown by Unknown.
In such a situation, if he released this video for free?
If I charge for it, fewer people will watch.
But if he released it for free, things would be different.
Maybe it could even hit one hundred million views.
The MID Online community prevented duplicate views from the same IP address to avoid manipulation. Because of this, no video had reached one hundred million views in the seven months since the game launched.
Any video capable of hitting one hundred million views has been charged for profit.
However, Han Jung-Woo wasn’t desperate for money yet as several million won still lay untouched in his bank account.
So, what I should aim for now is fame.
Fame wasn’t immediately profitable, but it increased one’s influence.
There’s a saying that if you become famous, even your mistakes are praised.
Similarly, if Unknown’s name became famous, his every word would carry weight.
If I get into a dispute with Black Bee or Titan now, I’d be overwhelmingly disadvantaged.
Sure, there were issues of level, equipment, and numbers, but the most crucial factor was influence.
Everyone knew those famous guilds, and people believed whatever they said without question.
On the other hand, an unknown person's words were often disregarded.
But if my name becomes more valuable... the situation changes.
Realizing this, Han Jung-Woo nodded.
“Alright. Let’s release it for free.”
Even releasing it for free wouldn’t mean no income.
Judging by the previous two videos, the donations will pour in like crazy.
His contemplation was brief, and his actions were swift.
Then, Han Jung-Woo’s mouse began to move busily.
***
Some called the MID Online community a land of opportunity where all game information was exchanged, while others simply called it a place where idiots engaged in pointless keyboard battles.
If anyone had browsed the community boards in recent days, their opinion would lean towards the latter because people were truly fighting like crazy.
-You Unknown fanboys and fangirls. I’m telling you, Aosa was taken down by a dragon-armored player. My brother saw it himself.
└ You just want to believe that.
└ And you just want to believe Unknown did it.
└ Ugh, hopeless.
└ Ugh, utterly hopeless.
It was a “harmonious” place where they exchanged keyboard blows, tearing each other down, then mutually exchanged phone numbers to continue their conversation.
Then, one player, watching the pathetic act, spoke up.
-Ugh, you pathetic idiots. I’m here to end this war.
└ What’s this moron on about?
└ What’s this fool saying now?
└ Why don’t you guys shut up and go to the video section instead of fighting here
└ Why?
└ Unknown just posted a new video.
After that, no more replies followed.
Moreover, everyone who had been fervently arguing on the board vanished without a trace. Of course, it was obvious where they had gone, as the views on the newly uploaded Unknown video started skyrocketing.