— ApolloWorshipper: Is there anyone who’s cleared Korea Hard Mode?
— ChoiJonghyun’sWig: That mode wasn’t made to be cleared.
— BringBackTheHotLawyer: If you pour too many resources into training manpower to cover for shortages, you always end up creating a troll who wrecks the game.
That bastard eventually colludes with another country and sells Korea out.
— ApolloWorshipper: True.
But if you expand territory early to secure resources, you make way too many hostile nations.
No matter what you do, they team up and nitpick everything.
No matter how much of a pathetic loser you are, once you’re born and start rubbing shoulders with the world, there’s bound to be at least one field where you can puff out your chest and let your ego swell.
For me, strategy simulation games have always been that stage.
If I had to explain how I first got seriously into strategy simulations, it wasn’t exactly a dramatic encounter.
I liked games, but my finger dexterity was so garbage that I started playing them as a form of escape.
Then I got completely hooked.
The overwhelming catharsis that comes when you fully engage your strategic brain in a genre that rewards it, the heavy sense of responsibility and romance that comes from leading a massive community and building a nation someone like me, who had never even been class president in thirty years of life, could experience all of that.
Of course, no matter how great the game content is, if the player lacks talent, all that’s left is stress.
But while I, Geum Taeyang, might be a washed-up loser in reality, in games I possessed outstanding political intuition and the temperament of a true gambler, so that never happened to me.
— ApolloWorshipper: NTLExpert cleared Hard Mode a few months ago, didn’t he?
— ChoiJonghyun’sWig: Really?
He didn’t just slap on some illegal cheat mod and call it a day?
— BringBackTheHotLawyer: Nope.
He even posted the clear screenshot here.
— ApolloWorshipper: Whoa!!
Outstanding talent shines even brighter when shown off to others.
For years, I had been active in the Strategy Simulation Gallery under the nickname NTLExpert, which fit my real name perfectly.
Before long, almost every mention of me was filled with embarrassing praise.
— ChoiJonghyun’sWig: Didn’t NTLExpert say he’d participate in the beta test for New Age’s new game too?
— ApolloWorshipper: Probably?
— BringBackTheHotLawyer: Is that guy really that good?
— ApolloWorshipper: Yeah.
His reviews get a ton of views, so he’s basically free advertising.
He’s cleared every single hard-mode strategy game that spineless users called impossible.
Of course, simply being good at clearing games wouldn’t have earned me this kind of name recognition.
After digging deep into one genre for so long, I naturally developed a genuine affection for it, so I poured my heart into writing strategy game reviews.
The high-quality content I created gradually set off a butterfly effect, and eventually I found myself participating as a main tester for new strategy simulation game betas, receiving decent pay while confidently showcasing my presence.
However, I had one ironclad rule: I would never beg anyone on the stage where I expressed my ego.
So whenever I wrote reviews, I never engaged in false hype.
As a result, I naturally ended up connected with new or mid-sized game companies rather than big corporations that threw money around.
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Subject: Regarding the Beta Test for Isekai Conquest Chronicle
From: Luciena Main Developer <[email protected]>
To: Geum Taeyang
Date: Just now
Dear Mr.
Geum Taeyang!
This is the main developer of Luciena’s Isekai Conquest Chronicle!
──────────────────────
Among them was Luciena, a game development company that had just emailed me about their new title, Isekai Conquest Chronicle.
Luciena was a truly unheard-of, third-rate developer.
Still, they said they’d definitely pay if I helped with the beta test.
In that case, why not?
But I had zero expectations for the game’s quality.
I simply trusted my own perversely omnivorous taste when it came to strategy simulation games.
‘Huh?
Is this really a third-rate company’s tech?’
It was an absolute masterpiece.
After playing Isekai Conquest Chronicle, I was so hooked it was driving me insane.
The overall premise was exactly what the title suggested: a protagonist transported into another world, racing toward becoming the ruler who unifies the land.
The central continent of this other world, Pieta, had multiple nations, each with its own stories and modes, allowing players to enjoy not only world conquest but also the thrill of detailed character growth.
‘Isn’t this level of graphics overkill for a third-rate company’s strategy sim?
As someone who values visuals, I’m grateful, though.’
Moreover, it offered an incredibly diverse range of modes.
For example, there was a mode filled with queens and female warriors.
Judging by the graphic quality, the main developer must have been genuinely passionate about that one.
──────────────────────
Subject: Feedback Appreciation
From: Luciena Main Developer <[email protected]>
To: Geum Taeyang
Date: Just now
Mr.
Geum Taeyang’s feedback has been a tremendous help in the development of Isekai Conquest Chronicle.
──────────────────────
Because there were so many aspects I loved, I put every other game on hold and poured 200% of my focus, enthusiastic play, and feedback into Isekai Conquest Chronicle.
Staying up for days on end was standard, and over more than two months of living like a shut-in, I thoroughly explored both the parts the developers intended and the parts they hadn’t even considered.
When something didn’t satisfy me, I delivered stern scoldings that bordered on abuse.
What surprised me during that time was that instead of showing discomfort at my abusive feedback, the main developer personally reached out to form an active partnership and accommodated almost all of my demands.
‘This company is going to make it big.
Usually, after the beta test ends, they act like they’ve had enough of me and never contact me again.’
I take pride in my feedback.
Quite a few released games have received great responses after incorporating Geum Taeyang-style feedback.
Yet every development company that commissioned me for main beta testing had gone completely silent after the work was done.
I understand why.
Good medicine tastes bitter, after all.
How many big shots can smile through that?
But roughly a month later, the main developer of Isekai Conquest Chronicle sent an email that began with pleasant words, making me feel that the future of the third-rate company Luciena was truly bright.
──────────────────────
Subject: New Mode Addition Notice
From: Luciena Main Developer <[email protected]>
To: Geum Taeyang
Date: Just now
After internal discussions, we have added the Barbarian Mohican Tribe World Conquest Mode that you suggested.
──────────────────────
The tone was warm, but I assumed the actual substance would be lacking, so I casually kept reading.
What followed nearly made me slam my face into the monitor.
‘Oh…
the Mohican Tribe World Conquest Mode?’
The main developer, who had accepted almost everything else, had shown only a lukewarm reaction to one particular piece of content: my request to allow world conquest as the Mohican Tribe, a barbarian race living in the southern region of the continent.
Among the many barbarian tribes in the game, the Mohican Tribe was destined to be eliminated early in almost every conquest mode.
Every time I saw that, I thought they deserved a chance too.
I felt the tribe had plenty of charm in many ways, so I figured the main developer would agree without issue.
Instead, I got a difficult response.
‘What changed his mind?
He was so firm before.’
When I asked for the reason, the main developer said the idea was so absurd that it could cause the game world to collapse.
But come on, they’d already made an absurd beautiful-girl mode, so what the hell?
What could possibly be an impossible scenario in a fantasy game to begin with?
Still, the main developer was stubborn, and since this was someone who had usually accommodated my requests, I brought it up a few times before quietly dropping it.
Then, a month later, I received the sudden news that they had accepted it.
──────────────────────
Subject: New Mode Addition Notice
From: Luciena Main Developer <[email protected]>
To: Geum Taeyang
Date: Just now
“A nation’s fate lies not in the will of the gods, but in the actions of its people.” Your words have been echoing in my mind, Mr.
Geum Taeyang.
As a developer who loves this game, I felt deeply ashamed.
──────────────────────
With strong doubts, I carefully read the rest of the email and realized that the main developer of Isekai Conquest Chronicle was truly a promising talent.
‘Yeah.
This person wasn’t just making games for money.
He had tremendous pride in Isekai Conquest Chronicle.
That’s why I didn’t push any further, but in the end, people with sincere convictions find each other.’
Isn’t the difficulty the players’ problem?
If the content looks fun, shouldn’t you just go for it?
I had wanted to say exactly that, but worried the mood would turn sour, so I dressed it up in scholarly language and sent a long email.
Unexpectedly, that emotional, roundabout criticism seemed to have worked.
‘Huh?
What’s this about now?’
Feeling quite moved, I read on, expecting the main developer to ask me to join the beta test for the newly added mode.
If so, shouldn’t I get additional pay?
But what caught my eye was an even more audacious and provocative statement.
──────────────────────
Subject: New Mode Addition Notice
From: Luciena Main Developer <[email protected]>
To: Geum Taeyang
Date: Just now
We have also implemented the R-19 mode, another suggestion of yours.
──────────────────────
The R-19 mode—meaning a mode where men and women strip naked and pleasure each other using their genitals—was being added!
As proof, the email included illustrations of characters from Isekai Conquest Chronicle showing considerable exposure, though not full nudity.
‘Honestly, I only demanded that to mess with them.
They’re actually giving it to me?’
I was flustered.
The joy of having my request fulfilled was overshadowed by embarrassment.
Why?
Because I hadn’t actually asked for the R-19 mode with any serious intent.
It was more like marking territory, leaving a footprint.
After diligently participating in beta tests for countless third-rate game companies, I had thrown tantrums demanding they add R-19 modes, venting all the pent-up frustration that had built up in my mind and body over two months.
That was probably the main reason the other game companies never replied again.
Yet the main developer and Luciena had fully accepted my wild demands.
‘Oh…
If that’s the case, I get it.
He really is going to be a big-shot developer.’
I had been suspicious of their motives.
It was a scary world, after all.
Were they dangling this provocative bait to trap me in something shady?
But I soon found myself regretting that I had ever doubted the main developer.
──────────────────────
Subject: New Mode Addition Notice
From: Luciena Main Developer <[email protected]>
To: Geum Taeyang
Date: Just now
The Mohican Tribe World Conquest Mode is a hidden mode.
As befits a hidden mode, we worked hard to preserve the Mohican Tribe’s unique characteristics and special traits.
After careful consideration, we concluded that applying the R-19 mode would best serve that goal.
──────────────────────
The Mohican Tribe were barbarians—literally savages.
Their population wasn’t large to begin with, and their level of civilization was significantly lower than that of the other kingdoms and empires.
So the main developer’s claim that a Mohican-centered conquest story lacked realism had some merit.
However, history has shown countless times how the appearance of an overwhelming, absolute being can dramatically shift the balance of power in the world.
The Mohican Tribe’s growth needed to capture that concept, and if so, shouldn’t there be an extremely barbaric hero?
The R-19 mode was content that perfectly suited that purpose.
──────────────────────
Subject: New Mode Addition Notice
From: Luciena Main Developer <[email protected]>
To: Geum Taeyang
Date: Just now
Additional modes:
Cheat Mode: Built around an overpowered-hero narrative, this mode applies various buffs to the protagonist of the Mohican Tribe’s main story.
Composite Mode: Existing modes that create excellent synergy with the Mohican Tribe World Conquest Mode will be applied in combination.
These modes can be checked immediately upon starting play.
Expansion Mode: Since the protagonist has a high degree of freedom to grow within the story, random events and world expansions will occur based on achievements.
──────────────────────
‘Whoa…
They made all these additional modes in just a month?
Did they rush it?’
The main developer had poured out so much creative passion that it made me wonder how he had ever refused the Mohican Tribe World Conquest Mode in the first place.
Making the R-19 mode alone must have been tough enough, yet he’d also created an expansion mode within a month?
Either they had worked their staff to the bone without mercy, or they had rushed it out.
──────────────────────
Subject: Beta Test Invitation
From: Luciena Main Developer <[email protected]>
To: Geum Taeyang
Date: Just now
If you would like to participate in the beta test for the hidden story, Mohican Tribe World Conquest Mode, please click the download button.
──────────────────────
‘Of course I’ll participate!’
And so, the final line of the email contained the main developer’s practical request: that I beta test their game once again.
I didn’t hesitate and clicked the download button.
To properly enjoy the R-19 mode, I replaced the nearly empty tissue box on my desk with a fresh one.
“95 percent!
96 percent!
97 percent!”
After that, my heart pounding with anticipation, I muttered the climbing download percentage like a madman, cheering it on.
‘100 percent!’
And the moment the download hit 100 percent—
—Flaaaaaash!!!
“Ugh!!!”
Struck by the burst of light from the monitor, I spectacularly passed out.