Chapter 19 - The Problem of First-Mover Advantage
Day 6 (Friday)
Is this the third day I'm commuting to school with Mion? Or was it the fourth?
"Haa…"
"Shou-kun… you look sleepy…"
"Ah, yeah. After that, my sister found out about the video, and I spent time explaining—or rather, getting her to keep quiet."
"Huh?"
"Ah, well, I have an older sister and a younger sister, and both of them take after my mom and are incredibly selfish… or rather, they have very strong personalities."
My older sister—Mashiro—is the bossy type, and my younger sister—Miki—is a chuunibyou type. I've lived a life of being constantly pushed around, you could say.
"Ever since my older sister went to college and started living in the dorms, I finally feel like I have some time to myself."
We arrived at the classroom while talking about such things. No, Mion hardly speaks in real life, so it felt like I was doing all the talking.
…Usually, the gender roles are reversed when someone's complaining and being listened to, I think.
"Alright, see you later."
"Mm…"
I watched her trot off to the frontmost seat, but no one would think that she's Mion from the video, would they?
"Morning."
"Morning. Shou, I saw the video."
Nat also seemed to have watched the uninhabited island start video. If you're following IRO news, you'd definitely see it, wouldn't you?
"Please, I'm counting on you to keep it a secret, okay?"
"Of course. So, was that Izumo-san?"
When I nodded at Nat, who asked in a low voice, his expression turned incredibly puzzled.
I secretly told him that the video itself was a club activity—keeping Bell-buchou's involvement a secret—and he seemed to accept it surprisingly easily.
"…Girls really can transform, can't they? More importantly, I have a favor to ask: if possible, tell me any information you acquire first."
"Huh? Is there any information I'd get from just playing normally that would be useful to you?"
"Of course there is."
According to Nat, it's about players being able to do things themselves that they currently do by shopping in stores or through NPCs.
"Production classes, in particular, lack information. Player-made potions and knives have only just started to be sold."
"Hoh, are they high-performance then?"
"Apparently so. It's frustrating because the people who've been playing since Closed Beta are holding onto information, so the full details aren't clear…"
Hmm, first-mover advantage, I see. Bell-buchou was also part of the Closed Beta group, right?
It's probably better to confirm first…
"Understood. But it's not something I can decide alone, so let me talk to everyone in the club."
"Alright."
"Alright, everyone, morning homeroom is starting!"
Just as we finished talking about that, our homeroom teacher, Yata… Kumano-sensei, arrived, and the conversation ended.
…
…
…
"Shou-kun, let's go…"
Mion apparently received the club room key from Kumano-sensei and showed it to me with a slight gesture.
"See ya, Nat. See you tomorrow."
"Oh, see ya."
Mion bowed politely then followed me, but she doesn't need to be so formal with Nat, you know?
"Huh?"
"No, it's nothing. Anyway, let's head to the club room… We have quite a lot to do, don't we?"
Mion nodded vigorously in response.
What worries me most is the wolf pup I rescued in IRO. I left it in the tent when I logged out yesterday, but I'll be really depressed if it's gone when I log in…
I'm also curious about how much the video's view count and subscriber numbers have grown.
Speaking of which, Mion was editing the next video yesterday, but when will she upload it?
Then there's the information I found that Nat asked about. For me, it would be more helpful if it spread quickly. I don't want to be resented for something like that either.
Well, I'll have to discuss it with everyone in the club first…
"We're here."
Oops, I arrived at the club room while I was deep in thought. Mion, who had unlocked the door and entered, quickly went to her seat and put on her VR HMD.
For now, until Bell-buchou arrives, I guess I'll check the first video in real view?
"Whoa, it's over 150,000 views!"
Subscriber count is also over 3,500.
"The number of comments is insane…"
There were an incredible number of comments, but most of them were 'Mion-chan is cute!', so I felt a little relieved.
The rest were mostly 'How?' or 'Tell me how.' It's fine if I tell them how to do the Uninhabited Island Start, but I don't want them coming to my island…
"Phew, I'm glad I wasn't exposed in the first stream."
I knew it was you, though?
"Ah, yes, you did…"
Scanning through, it didn't seem like there were any intensely negative comments. It really is because Mion acts as a buffer, I guess…
Shou-kun, this is the next video. Could you take a look at it?
"Got it."
The two of us watched the video scheduled for the next upload.
The content mainly featured the southeastern, tropical-style dense forest area, around the 4 to 5 o'clock position on a clock face. The highlight was finding goblins, following them, and discovering their settlement.
"Nice. I think ending it with that rather questionable tent is also amusing and good."
Yes.
As we were talking, the door opened, and Bell-buchou entered.
"You two are early."
She said, then hurriedly sat down and put on her VR HMD.
"Is this the next video?"
Yes. Buchou, please check it too.
"Alright, I'll take a look. You two can go play IRO. If anyone comes hoping to join, I'll handle it."
"Ah, before that, I have a question, or rather, something to discuss…"
When I mentioned the matter Nat had asked me about,
"Ah, that. Regarding the information Shou-kun obtained on the uninhabited island, you're free to do as you like with it."
she said casually.
"Won't I be resented by the Closed Beta players?"
"In Shou-kun's case, even if you're resented, it's fine as long as they can't come to the uninhabited island, right? Both I and the production players I'm close with keep our first-mover advantages open to a reasonable extent, without taking too much."
According to Bell-buchou, if you get a return commensurate with the invested cost, providing that information to viewers will attract regular customers.
"Ah, so it's about increasing subscribers who want to know strategy information?"
"That's right. It's fine for Shou-kun to tell his friend Nat-kun before that, but I'd like him to understand that point too."
"Got it!"
Well, even if exclusive information leaks from my gameplay video, no one can come to my island, so I guess it's fine.
Conversely, if Nat spreads it first, troublesome people might flock to him.
Shou-kun, are you ready?
"Oh, sorry. Alright, I'm heading directly into IRO."
Okay.
I hope that wolf pup hasn't disappeared…