I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work-Chapter 149

ㄴ Parallel486: Their main focus is YouTube Live, and their highlight clips go on the main channel like how ours work. Maybe people subbed thinking it’s the same kind of thing?

ㄴ Parallel663: Huh? That actually makes sense coming from a terminal fail-bro...

ㄴ Parallel486: Screw you.

— Parallel851: Who knows, maybe Taro subbed to say thanks for looking after his kid.

ㄴ Parallel851: They do know each other, after all.

ㄴ Parallel682: That was years ago, though?

ㄴ Parallel682: They haven’t mentioned each other in ages.

ㄴ Parallel955: Taro’s got influence. If they were really close, he could’ve boosted her subs way more.

ㄴ Parallel955: If he wanted to, he’d go all in.

ㄴ Parallel046: We may be small, but we are still a competing agency, lol.

... ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ...

... ─ — Parallel (VTuber) Gallery ─ ─ — ...

[But Seriously, Momo's Got a God-Tier Business Brain]

There are already a bunch of Magia clip channels.

If she gathered them all up and ran one centralized channel—

Parallel wins,

Woldung wins,

Magia wins,

and Sludge wins too.

A total win-win-win-win situation, right?

[Comments]

— Parallel259: Momo’s business instincts are literally recorded in Goguryeo history...

— Parallel601: Lately, I’ve been thinking... this might not even be Momo’s fault.

ㄴ Parallel601: Magia might just be stubborn as hell and refusing to give Sludgies what they want.

ㄴ Parallel589: I’ll never give you what you ask for.

ㄴ Parallel482: Ugh, damn toxic gatekeeping.

ㄴ Parallel864: If that’s the case, why even make a behind-the-scenes channel??

ㄴ Parallel090: It wasn’t even made as Magia’s personal channel to begin with, lol.

... ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ...

Monday.

News of the first-generation members getting their own original songs hit the company like a storm,

turning what was supposed to be the most hated day of the week into a celebration at Parallel’s headquarters.

For today, everyone had become a lunatic who loved Mondays.

This Friday marked the final week of the second-generation intensive training curriculum,

followed by the MCN tournament on Saturday and Sunday.

After that, Fan_C’s recording sessions would begin in full swing.

Magia headed to the CEO’s office to deliver the update,

only to find the team leaders, who had been partying like they’d popped champagne,

immediately settle down the moment they saw her.

Once they returned to their desks, Cheon Do-hee spoke.

“You’re here? Our golden girl.”

“You called me precious before. Now I’m gold?”

“When did I say that? That was Woldung fans.

A staff member who gets us massage chairs for the office is golden, not precious.”

“Wow. You’re throwing the fans under the bus.”

“Anyway, I heard from Producer Na Hyun-gon.

You’ll be busy with Fan_C’s projects for the next three months?”

“Yeah. That’s actually why I came straight to you after clocking in.”

Magia nodded and stood in front of Do-hee’s desk.

The metal bookshelf was packed with documents,

meaning Do-hee had to stand up to even make eye contact with Magia.

As their eyes met, Do-hee spoke.

“I already talked to Team Leader Ra Seunghyun.

Just help out with whatever you can manage, but prioritize Fan_C’s work. Got it?”

“I can handle both just fine, so don’t worry.”

“Alright, alright. Now that the second-gen training is done, at least one big headache is gone.”

Do-hee gave Magia a long stare.

Magia, knowing exactly what it meant, muttered.

“I already placed an order for a massage chair, so stop looking at me like that.”

“Wow~ thanks to Jia, we’re getting a massage chair for the office~.”

In the end, the 10,000-subscriber bet ended in an easy victory for Do-hee.

The original goal of 10K had been obliterated.

Even the 20K goal, which Do-hee had jokingly raised as a challenge, was barely but surely surpassed.

Of course, only Magia and Natsuki Luna knew the insanely complicated series of events behind it.

But the result was simple.

Their conversations kept going, Magia and Mugeon’s hyper carry plays in the tournament were satisfying to watch, and Luna and Magia ended up having dinner together.

Then, that story made it onto Luna’s stream, where she turned it into a long storytelling segment...

Before they knew it, things escalated to the point that some fans—even from other companies—

had started shipping them as LunaJia or JiaLuna.

The subscriber surge had slowed down a bit, but it was still climbing at a steady rate.

And more importantly—

this 20,000 subscribers milestone had a huge significance.

A simple calculation said that, on average, you could multiply a ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ replay channel’s subs by 5 to estimate the actual YouTube channel’s potential reach.

In other words—

even though it didn’t officially exist yet, a Magia-edited video channel would likely be at around 100,000 subscribers already.

Of course, there was always room for fluctuation, but 100K was a clear milestone.

At this point on YouTube, they would send a Silver Play Button, and people would start calling the channel a mid-tier business.

Beyond simply hitting a number milestone, this meant Magia was now officially recognized as a creator on the path to real success.

The industry sentiment was similar.

A 10,000-subscriber YouTube channel had little trouble joining an MCN,

but a 100,000-subscriber channel was almost never rejected unless it clashed with the MCN or had serious social issues.

MCNs would even actively scout such channels, seeing their long-term potential.

And it seemed that even editors—people whose job was to cut and refine content—understood this.

A lot of people who had the potential to become part of ○dongbu (VTuber editors, usually named after the streamer—Magia’s would be Madongbu)

had started expressing their interest in joining.

A similar sense of expectation was directed at Magia.

It was obvious just from looking at Cheon Do-hee’s inbox.

Messages flooded in all week after Mugeon’s talk show, all asking:

"Will Magia open a personal channel?"

"I’d love to apply as an editor!"

Most even sent portfolios,

many from well-known clipping channels.

Since Magia didn’t have a personal channel

and had never restricted clip compilations,

some of these channels had grown quite large.

The biggest one had high-quality editing,

making it feel like a waste to just leave it as an independent project.

After all, if they formalized contracts and built a working relationship,

it would be a win-win.

The editors could go from being simple fans to getting paid for their work,

and if the company developed the channel well, it could become a major asset.

And Magia herself?

She wouldn’t even have to directly manage much of it.

Of course, every streamer handled things differently,

but for someone as busy as Magia,

she only needed to do a final review and cut anything that needed to be cut before uploads.

"Just asking—do you dislike the idea of a personal channel just for your edited videos?"

"Why?"

"Because you’ve got dedicated clip editors, and it feels like a waste to leave them floating around.

Especially since you’re expanding your streaming activities—you even made a promise with Team Leader Ra Seunghyun."

"I did, yeah."

"If you’re streaming more, there’ll be more footage,

and if we edit it well and put it somewhere,

there’s a chance people will discover the members’ channels through those videos."

Magia tilted her head,

which was so cute that Do-hee reflexively reached out and patted her.

"You know how you’ve ended up collaborating with a lot of other streamers more than expected?

It’s not just Parallel fans—a lot of the wider Pazijik community already knows about you."

Follow current novℯls on ƒгeewёbnovel.com.

"That makes sense."

"I took a look around and compared the views on videos where you appeared.

They were way higher than others.

Basically, some people are specifically hunting for Magia clips."

"So what you’re saying is—

instead of just benefiting random channels,

you want to set up an official Parallel editing team that focuses on me?"

"...Usually, you pretend not to understand things, but today, you’re catching on fast."

"Well... Before the bet over the Behind channel’s subscribers,

I thought nobody would open YouTube just to watch me.

But now that it’s been proven, I have to acknowledge reality."

Honestly, Magia was intrigued.

The idea that not just Parallel fans, but the entire Pazijik community was discovering her?

That was tempting.

After all, YouTube—separate from live streams—was a consistent source of new viewers.

Magia had always messed around to help draw people into first-generation members’ content.

And as Do-hee pointed out,

this wouldn’t even increase Magia’s workload.

She just had to keep doing what she was already doing

and say “yes” to the proposal.

... But still, having a personal channel while working as Parallel’s employee felt a bit off.

Wouldn’t that make her seem like...

a Parallel-affiliated VTuber?

"Still, a personal channel feels... kind of awkward."

Do-hee, already anticipating Magia’s reluctance,

had prepared an alternative in advance.

"Then what about running it purely as Jadongbu?"

"Where would the edited videos go?"

"Obviously, on the official channel. We’d make a separate playlist for them."

Magia frowned.

She had specifically separated Behind from the main channel

to remove herself from official Parallel replays.

And now they wanted to put her in a new official playlist?

It felt contradictory.

But Do-hee had a reason for this setup.

"Just hear me out first."

"Alright. Go ahead."

"You were with the others during Wicker Town, right?"

"Yeah, I was."

"And you’ve done a lot of content with the other members, haven’t you?"

"More than a few times, yeah."

"And with Ra’s team, you’ll keep working with them, right?"

"Yeah, I will."

"Exactly. That’s why it should be official.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

It’ll be your perspective, sure, but the other members and I will be in those videos.

It’ll give fans a unique view of the entire team dynamic.

The playlist will feel like “Deputy Magia’s Perspective.”"

Magia was a good employee who listened to her boss.

If the CEO ordered something, she would say “Got it.”

But she wasn’t someone who ignored concerns.

"...Didn’t you earlier say you wanted to edit external content too?"

Luckily, Do-hee knew Magia too well

and had already prepared an answer for this question.

"That would be a separate playlist—

something like ‘Deputy Magia Goes Exploring.’

Either way, it’s you, the company’s face,

going out and promoting Parallel."

The Combative tournament,

the Crkemang collab,

the Bazubi collab,

even the recent Mugeon talk show—

Strictly speaking, all of them were promotional activities.

And this way, they could still bring in new viewers through well-edited clips,

while keeping everything under the company umbrella.

This wasn’t a personal channel,

so if anyone tried to call her a VTuber,

they could just push back and deny it.

It felt a little like hiding behind the company’s shield,

but Magia had always leaned on Parallel and first-gen members.

Her entire promotion strategy had been about creating chaos,

then shifting the spotlight onto others.

"But you know, right?

At the end of the day, your opinion comes first.

Once Fan_C’s activities pick up,

you’ll get new fans drifting in.

And as the other members release their songs,

we’ll see even more audience growth.

Even if we don’t do this, the company won’t collapse or anything."

The moment Magia heard that, she shook her head.

"No, let’s do it."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. But put together the editing team yourself. Editing isn’t my field of expertise, and I honestly don’t think I’ll have time to handle that too."

"I already told you—you just need to review the finished videos and cut out anything necessary. We’ve already received a ton of applications, so I’ll take care of it."

Magia half-closed her eyes, staring at Cheon Do-hee.

It was a subtle pressure—‘You sure seem to have a lot of free time these days, despite keeping the same streaming schedule...’

"Boss, have you finished preparing for the MCN Tournament?"

"I’ve done a ton of backdoor calls, so don’t worry. At the very least, we need to place high enough to make it worth the exposure."

"I’ll trust you on that."

The squads were divided into:

Magia/Maru/Dora and Momo/Rain/Komari.

Magia was in the mix, but balance-wise, Momo’s team was stronger.

"Honestly, shouldn’t you be the one worrying right now?

I couldn’t carry a match if I were stuck with Maru and Dora.

And this tournament’s competitors aren’t exactly pushovers—

There are plenty of Platinum and Diamond-tier players,

and even ex-pros among the Diamonds."

"It’s fine. If things get rough, I’ll just use them as one-time shields."

"...Sometimes, I really question whether you actually like VTubers."

"I’m not killing them. I’ll just revive them after they get knocked out."

"Isn’t that just malicious bullying at that point...?"

Magia stared at Do-hee.

The look in her eyes clearly said—

‘You, of all people, should know, given how often you’ve been on the receiving end.’

"It’s just love."

***

MCN Tournament - Battle Colosseum Division

With all the major MCNs in Korea participating,

the tournament had sky-high interest even before it began.

Both Pazijik and the Battle Colosseum development team joined as official sponsors,

starting the prize pool at 20 million won.

For a streamer tournament, this was already a massive amount.

But the day before the tournament—

unexpected sponsors joined in.

Multiple sponsors.

And just like that, the event’s prestige skyrocketed.

Nutube - Community Post

Movgun | Subscribers: 2.04 million

📢 Final Decision: MCN Tournament Prize Pool Increase!

🗓 June 16 (Sat) - 17 (Sun)

💰 Prize Pool Update

Original: 20 million wonUpdated: 50 million won🏆 Final MVP Award

Newly added: BCK AwardPersonal Prize: 10 million wonExclusive Experience: One-day training session with a professional player from any BCK team of choiceSelection Process: Voted on by six professional gamers during live analysis streamsA huge thank you to Battle Colosseum Champions Korea (BCK) and all the professional teams for sponsoring this tournament!

A Perfect Timing Play

This happened right at the end of the pro league’s summer international season.

With autumn-winter leagues yet to begin,

the timing couldn’t have been better for a collaboration between BCK and MCNs.

A regular MCN tournament would have only drawn attention from streaming audiences.

Pro league fans—who only watched official matches—would have simply ignored it.

But with top-tier pro players providing live commentary?

That changed everything.

Even people who had no interest in the tournament would want to see what their favorite pro gamers thought about the matches.

And just as expected—

Battle Colosseum forums, which had been completely dominated by pro league discussions,

suddenly started buzzing with streamer names for the first time in ages.

Among the many names being thrown around,

one particular "VTuber"—

or rather, one particular office worker—

stood out.

Battle Colosseum Gallery

[Magia vs. Second-Tier Pro Gamer]

Who wins?

[Comments]

— Bacol904: The balance is total garbage. The pro wins easily.

ㄴ Bacol068: You sure? Even Movgun acknowledged that Magia’s smokescreen shotgun play is on par with pro players.

ㄴ Bacol865: Ah, ffs, are we really gonna analyze this down to the last detail?

ㄴ Bacol090: If it’s just a second-tier pro, Magia could totally beat them.

ㄴ Bacol211: ↑ Total delusion.

Battle Colosseum Gallery

[Ugh, Not This "Signal Shot Era" Again...]

The fact that the next tournament is in July makes me wanna cry.

[Comments]

— Bacol893: This time, it won’t end at just a "Signal Shot Era."

ㄴ Bacol005 (OP): Why?

ㄴ Bacol893: Because of Movgun—

too many people got obsessed with "Bu-" plays.

If a corporate-backed team wins, this forum is gonna turn into that company’s personal second HQ.

ㄴ Bacol005 (OP): ...The way you know all this...

You’re a Bussem, aren’t you?

ㄴ Bacol893: Hehe, you got me.