CH 232

Data.Final – Old Bowman, His Name Is Kyuji

About one month later, the prize money was sent to my bank account.

While I had worked quite a lot, the salary at a small company that made retro games was not going to compare to having 25 million suddenly appear in your account.

In this day and age, you were guaranteed to have the minimum necessities of food, clothing and shelter, even if you didn’t have an income. But if you wanted to live more comfortably, you did need money.

And so this 25 million was a big deal for me.

I would use it wisely.

That being said, even 25 million wasn’t enough to live off of for the rest of my life.

I still had to earn more for when I was old.

As for how I would do that…I had already decided.

“Video editing sure is hard…”

I would become a pro gamer.

Well, I was already a pro gamer now that I had won a prize in a game tournament…

But in terms of direction from now on, I was going to focus on video content.

And would occasionally enter prize contests.

The old pro gamers would play the latest game as soon as they were released, and polish their skills, earn prizes at tournaments, get sponsors, and then move on to the next tournament.

But I wasn’t flexible enough to keep adapting to the latest game.

It would take me a long time to get used to it, and so I would want to focus on a single game and post videos for it. And I would just rely on ad revenue from views.

You could get sponsors from doing that as well, but I thought it would also be quite intimidating to be suddenly backed by a major corporation.

In fact, I had a few offers already, but I was courageous enough to reject them.

To be honest, as I had just come off a win, things were going very well.

But I didn’t want to get carried away and bite off more than I could chew… That’s what I told myself.

It was from here that my ability as a pro would really be put to the test.

If I was able to maintain this popularity, and they asked me again…

Then I would follow my heart.

After all, there was a part of me that screamed, ‘Why are you throwing away this chance?’ ‘Aren’t you underestimating this job?’ ‘Do you really think you can make money like that!?’

And maybe that was true.

Regardless of what the future holds, it is true that you should take what chances you are given.

The old me would have jumped on the idea of having a stable income.

So, why had I chosen the less stable…or should I say, adventurous route?

It was because of my comrades.

They were all wondering about the same thing.

Necoco was still in junior highschool, so she wasn’t sure that her parents would allow her to be more active as a pro gamer.

Such things happened, even in this age where being a pro gamer was quite normal. But I suppose they were worried about their daughter’s future… Apparently, they were an old-fashioned family, and didn’t have much trust in these newer occupations.

Which made me wonder.

After all, Macoco was from the same family, and yet she was a pro gamer.

Perhaps there was some complicated relationship there…but that had nothing to do with me.

But if there was one thing that I could say, it was that Macoco had clearly been a strong influence on Necoco within the family.

Perhaps kids always looked up to the outlaw…!

Ah, I did ask Macoco about sponsor contracts. But she said that she didn’t have any.

‘My feelings of motivation come in waves, so sometimes I don’t want to work at all. Someone like that should not be representing a brand.’ That was her answer.

And I agreed with her.

Her influence was a big reason that I decided to turn down the offers this time.

I still didn’t know how much I could do.

And so my anxiety was bigger than any relief I might feel over having a stable income.

I needed to probe a little further.

Satomi wasn’t as young as Necoco, but he was still at an age to be thinking about his future.

Well, at least he had an older brother to give him advice, whether he wanted it or not.

As long as he listened to some of it, he should be fine.

Too much advice might lead to another fight between them, but that’s what brothers did.

At least with those two, any clashes would lead to them bettering themselves.

Ah, yes. Since I had asked Macoco, I was going to ask Core as well…but I changed my mind.

He had a way of talking that really made you feel pressured, and I might get pushed into doing something.

In fact, it had been his words that made me consider being an archer, even though it wasn’t a popular class.

So I was grateful, but wanted to find answers for myself.

Anne had never been one to post videos, but she created a channel, and was already uploading content.

About the occult…!

Even now, she continued to play the game, but all of her videos were not gameplay, but explanations on the virtual occult and new theories she had.

And they were rising in popularity!

I suppose there was demand for that kind of thing.

Even at my age, there were many worlds I didn’t know about.

While I had only met all of these people through the game, if I were to meet any in real life, I would probably want to meet Anne.

Was she a red-blooded human, or a tentacled alien…

Hmm, occultic!

But maybe it was best to leave that as a mystery.

In any case, this meant that except for one person, we were all undecided about what to do. And since I was the oldest, I wanted to set a good example. And that led to the current decision.

Well, I had just decided to go at my own pace and not be influenced by others. In a way, it was what I had been doing up until now. But avoiding any change could also be difficult.

Besides, my combat style had changed greatly.

To live was to fight, and the longer it went, change was demanded.

Just like how Range wasn’t enough, and I had to increase my firepower, I would likely have to adjust a few times as I continue to work.

That’s why I needed this ‘axis’ that was moving at my own pace.

Range had been my ‘axis,’ and I had acquired skills and charge attacks around it, as well as making Garbow a balanced, all-rounder. If I didn’t change with this thick ‘axis’ in the center, then I would go off course.

And I would lose sight of what I was supposed to do.

Be yourself…as I made a video with that in mind, it came out very amateurish.

Yes, doing only what you want to do is not the best way to entertain people!

However, it was also the best I could do at this time…!

Besides, now that I was well known, I could get more views than the average newcomer.

And people would probably laugh at this video.

Well, it was normal to be laughed at at first.

I had been insulted a lot when I first started NSO.

But had I followed the voice in my heart that said, ‘Online games are scary…’ and quit then, I would have gained nothing.

And so I didn’t mind being laughed at, if I was doing my best.

I would level up eventually…I think.

Besides, it was important for professionals to be able to make compromises. You could try to make something that is a 10/10, but have to be able to forgive a 6/10 as well. That’s what I read on a site for beginners.

And I think my video is a 6/10!

…Really? Maybe it was 4//10?

No, it wasn’t bad for a beginner!

And so, I had to stop myself from opening the editing software again…!

As I wanted to do things properly, I had bought some expensive software, but I was currently only able to use the features that were in freeware. I had finished the video, but I still wanted to change it…!

Compromise, compromise…compromise!

Too much tinkering could ruin the data!

Ah, that happened once. And I was saved by an automatic backup that I don’t remember enabling. I was thankful then, that I had bought the expensive video editor.

“That’s right. I should do some other work! There were still things I hadn’t done yet…”

I haven’t decided on a name for the channel…

And since I just completed the video, it means I barely made any progress in the last month…!

Right after winning, a lot of people asked, ‘aren’t you going to post videos?’ and I had declared, ‘I will!’…

Now, I don’t even want to look at the message boards…

Yes, to commemorate our win, I had checked the NSO General Thread just one.

I had always been scared of it, but it was blowing up right after the tournament, and most of the comments about us were positive.

◆　◆　◆

80: Anonymous Runner

The old bow is strong!!!

81: Anonymous Runner

My hands have never been so sweaty while watching someone else play.

82: Anonymous Runner

I thought he was going to lose for a minute, but he turned it around!

83: Anonymous Runner

I always knew he could do it. I’ve been saying it ever since the battle royale…

84: Anonymous Runner

It was a fitting fight to end the tournament.

Good game, VRHAR.

85: Anonymous Runner

Both weren’t even human near the end.

86: Anonymous Runner

The strongest vs the strongest.

87: Anonymous Runner

The battles were great. It was definitely worth paying to see.

88: Anonymous Runner

Yeah, a lot of the battles were great.

A round of applause for the participants.

89: Anonymous Runner

Both parties did well.

It was so exciting to see the players drop like flies.

90: Anonymous Runner

Crush each other before they show their true strength…

That’s a battle between masters.

91: Anonymous Runner

It’s a success, considering this is the 1st one.

I kind of thought it would be a failure.

92: Anonymous Runner

I’m glad Kyuji was there.

◆　◆　◆

Hmm, great!

But I also feel restless!

Obviously, I didn’t want to be bashed, but it was awkward to hear so much praise as well.

And so after that, I would continue to ignore the message boards.

Besides, they were probably hating on me again, if they haven’t forgotten about me entirely…

All right. In order to turn things around again, I will decide on a channel name today!

First, most pro gamers will use their own name.

—Kyuji.

That was kind of boring.

Now that I think about it, most people use English so it will be easier for international audiences to search for their name.

—KYUJI.

Maybe that was too cool.

It looked more like a lifestyle channel.

It lacked that gamer feel.

Besides, I wasn’t sure if NSO was even sold abroad?

I could change it if I ever play games that are also popular outside the country…

Hmm…I know!

People online called me ‘Old Bowman,’ so I should just use that.

—Old Bowman Kyuji.

It wasn’t bad…it sounded fun.

I wanted to make a channel that made people smile…

But I also wanted a little coolness as well.

—Shatei Kyokufuri Old Bowman Kyuji.

Yes, it looked a little cooler with some kanji.

Maybe this was it?

…But it was too straightforward.

It was a logical name that did describe me, but…I wanted a twist.

Having your design and name be just a little on the lame side, like having a flaw, would result in leaving a bigger impression.

The ‘old man’ part is supposed to do that, but these days, it wasn’t really unusual to have that in your name.

It was the same with Kyokufuri. It was common.

I wanted a twist that said ‘me’… Something cool and lame at the same time…

“…Ah.”

Or maybe this was trying too hard?

If anything, it sounded like someone was introducing you.

It would be lame if I said it myself…but that’s why it was good!

I’ll go with this. I can change it later if people hate it.

And so I put in the information required to create an account, and then typed in the channel name at the end.

Hmm. Yes, it was lame and a little long.

But it was fine.

You should start by being true to yourself…

—Shatei Kyokufuri Old Bowman, His Name is Kyuji