Chapter 471 - IRO Operations (5): The Goddess Descends on the Southern Island
"I'm going to throw up sugar…"
Misha P collapsed face down on her desk. GM Choco glanced at her with a lukewarm eye, then returned her gaze to the air display. It showed Mion descending onto the southern island and Shou and his companions happily greeting her.
The series of events from the Uninhabited Island Start was being recorded for future adjustments, and Mion's, of course, was also recorded. What was displayed now was a playback for verification.
"Isn't it heartwarming, like 'The Best of Youth'?"
"Oh, Choco-chan, were you one of the normies in high school?" Misha P lifted her head and asked, trying to be annoying, but GM Choco gracefully ignored her.
"If Mion-san had started normally on the mainland, it would definitely have been exposed and caused a huge commotion, so I think the operations team is grateful, aren't they?"
"That's true, but still. I mean, aren't the island kids too strong? It seems even the [Stone Golem Commander], with its self-destruct mechanism, wasn't enough."
The combat log showed Shou and the island's elites completely dominating. Even the last resort—self-destruct—was exposed and dealt with properly.
"The island kids are supposed to be balanced according to the main story, though. Well, Pan-kun, the [Urisk (Piarrei)], is a chieftain, and he's equipped with a [Mithril Hoe] now, after all."
"T-too sh-strong…"
Originally, they should have encountered Urisk much later, specifically around next spring, and only gradually grown stronger after befriending them. But they were already at that level.
"Shal-kun is also one of the candidates for the Cait Sith King, and there's an internal flag for a rapier to be granted to an apostle. Oh, and though he wasn't here, True-kun is also getting very close to being the Selkie King…"
"Stop! The producer's HP is already zero!"
Ignoring Misha P, who had collapsed onto her desk again, GM Choco walked towards the coffee machine. She apparently still had enough kindness left to brew two cups.
"By the way, aren't you going to make Mion-san's character a special character?"
"Hmm, I considered it, but she seems to want to play normally, so I thought it might be unnecessary meddling."
"She is a singularity, after all."
If they tried to force or guide her in any way, the backlash would likely come back to the entire world many tens, or hundreds, of times stronger.
"Also, if we don't keep her official character and her player character separate, people will start complaining about favoritism or whatever."
"It would be fine if only we were the bad guys, but…"
"Exactly. Besides, it seems like her skill set is naturally gravitating towards the Jade Goddess anyway. If she keeps playing… maybe there's a chance?"
She checked Mion's character and skill configuration on her device. It seemed Mion was heading in a pure healer direction with [Holy Magic] and [Spirit Magic], and her [Farming] and [Gardening] skills were also consistent with the Jade Goddess image.
"By the way, I think Mion-san can play instruments even without acquiring the skill."
"Ah, she can apparently play the piano."
"Right."
GM Choco nodded at that and slowly sipped the coffee on her desk. If the mansion's piano were repaired and Mion played it, it would make for the most visually compelling footage. Unfortunately, it seemed unlikely she would permit PV adoption at this point.
"And then there's this…"
Shou's inquiry, regarding being able to go pick up someone immediately after an Uninhabited Island Start, appeared on the display.
"How are we going to respond to this?"
"There's really only one answer: 'We will consider it, but we will not reclaim any SP that has already been distributed.'"
"That's true, isn't it? Well, large magic ships capable of ocean voyages will probably be built soon, so maybe we can just close the Uninhabited Island Start option?"
"I think that's a good idea."
GM Choco nodded in agreement with the proposal. The timing would be at the end of August, after summer vacation, with a minor update that didn't require maintenance.
"Mmm~~~! Is that all for work today?"
"Ah, just one more thing. It doesn't have to be today, but could you take a look at this, just in case?"
"Okay~"
Misha P read through the document transferred by GM Choco and made a subtly troubled face.
"Is it that troublesome?"
"Mion-chan's song, she wants Shou-kun to perform it. Is it okay to use game mode for that? I can't exactly tell him to learn an instrument."
"I think game mode is fine."
"But would that count as him 'performing'?"
"People who love air guitar would get angry at you."
That remark somehow convinced Misha P. It wasn't difficult to extract the auto-play mode from within the game. After all, it was originally incorporated into the game as a practice function for playing instruments in virtual space.
"Alright, if that's settled, then what about 'chorus of phantom beasts and fairies, like the in-game chorus up till now'? I think that's a pretty unreasonable request too."
"Essentially, they want the in-game AI to sing with a live feel, right? Should we just propose in-game recording?"
"Ugh, no, I don't want that."
Misha P had a feeling that she wanted the in-game experience to be purely for enjoyment, and making it into work felt wrong.
"Then, should we reply that the 'in-game feel' is impossible?"
"Yes. If they absolutely need a chorus, we'll have to pray that an in-game chorus happens organically by the time of recording."
[Update History]
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