I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work-Chapter 177

... ─ — The Aizela Gallery ─ ─ — ...

[Man, today was such a missed chance.]

The Kain–Aizela couple cosplayers

The quality was f***ing amazing, I really wanted to take a picture, ugh.

I followed them when I thought they were heading to the lobby,

but then some crazy chick started screaming that her merch went missing and I lost them. lol

Seriously, that was such a waste, f**k.

It’s not easy to find cosplay of that quality again.

[Comments]

— TheAi251: Oh that person, lol

ㄴ TheAi251: I saw them too, they were amazing

ㄴ TheAi251: But I heard they kept refusing photo requests?

ㄴ TheAi069 (OP): For real?

ㄴ TheAi069 (OP): It wasn’t just me who couldn’t get a shot, right?

ㄴ TheAi862: Pretty sure a few people took pics in secret, lol

ㄴ TheAi069 (OP): If I catch anyone uploading them, I’m reporting them all for stealth pics

ㄴ TheAi069 (OP): I refuse to be the only one who missed out, f**k

ㄴ TheAi991: Hey hey hey

— TheAi335: But what character was that chick who caused the scene cosplaying?

ㄴ TheAi335: She was cute too

ㄴ TheAi069 (OP): VTuber

ㄴ TheAi069 (OP): Think her name was Magia or something

ㄴ TheAi335: Ohh, thanks

... ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ...

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

[Isn't Parallel just some rando nobody VTuber agency?]

[Posted by: Parallel335]

Title’s just bait, ignore it

Magia <<

Where can I watch her streams?

No matter how hard I search, I can’t find a personal channel.

[Comments]

— Parallel912: Oh no...

ㄴ Parallel335 (OP): What?

ㄴ Parallel912: Never mind

ㄴ Parallel335 (OP): What the hell?

— Parallel202: Yeah... no, good luck out there

ㄴ Parallel335 (OP): ??

ㄴ Parallel335 (OP): Seriously, where do I watch her?

— Parallel009: Another one who got baited by the cosplayer

ㄴ Parallel335 (OP): Stop with the cryptic s**t and just tell me where to watch

ㄴ Parallel009: Follow all streams by Parallel’s 1st gen, 2nd gen, and the CEO Shirahoshi Momo, and keep an eye on the official channel

ㄴ Parallel335 (OP): ????

ㄴ Parallel856: It sounds fake but it’s actually all true, just follow that

ㄴ Parallel335 (OP): Are you mocking me because I don’t know much about VTubers?

ㄴ 🟧Parallel1: It’s not a joke. Seriously, just do what they said

ㄴ Parallel335 (OP): I asked for her channel

ㄴ 🟧Parallel1: She doesn’t have her own stream, that’s why lol

ㄴ 🟧Parallel1: Best odds are on the official channel

ㄴ 🟧Parallel1: I gotta go delete some cursed memes, later

ㄴ Parallel335 (OP): ???

... ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ...

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

[The way new fans are getting into this lately is just hilarious lol]

“Is Magia really that infamous loli harem queen?” ← This is normal

“I saw a Magia cosplayer causing a scene at Mafe, her foam cutout was cute tho” ← This is not

[Comments]

— Parallel018: Of all the cosplayers, he just had to fall for Magia’s

ㄴ Parallel181: Poor dude, lol

ㄴ Parallel393: All we can say is good luck to him

— Parallel478: One thing’s for sure—Magia’s already popular enough to stand next to most VTubers

ㄴ Parallel478: Look at the numbers—booth count, merch, cosplayers. It’s all proof

ㄴ Parallel886: Who cares? She doesn’t even have regular streams lol

ㄴ Parallel043: Are you trying to start a fight?

ㄴ Parallel886: You mad?

ㄴ Parallel043: It’s my fault for falling for Magia

ㄴ Parallel886: My bad

ㄴ Parallel043: Don’t apologize... that just makes it sadder

... ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ...

She was just doing her job, nothing more.

But thanks to Pino’s chaotic antics, Magia’s name recognition skyrocketed.

Not only did her popularity grow, people even started posting charts showing how much merch she had.

Suddenly, the whole fandom was saying things like,

“Parallel’s missing all the business opportunities,”

“Momo needs to wake up and release some merch ASAP,”

and so on.

Even a ten-page wall-of-text breakdown—something that would’ve been ignored any other time for not having a TL;DR—got pinned as a ‘Quality Post.’

So, with the pressure mounting, Parallel couldn’t just stand by.

They officially decided to release Magia merch alongside the 1st and 2nd-gen VTubers.

A tweet was posted announcing the plans and asking for a little patience.

They were clearly trying to ride the wave of hype while calming the public.

————— Seen on Z —————

Parallel official KR☑ @Parallel_official_kr · 15m

Thanks to your overwhelming support,

official Magia merch is now in the works!

Please hang tight just a little longer!

👀 293K views

💬102 🔄155 ❤1044

—————————————————

ㄴ magiaismagia @magiaismagia · 8m

Finally

ㄴ akwldkznak @akwldkznak · 5m

Knew I could count on you!!

—————————————————

Of course, fans might not be thrilled about it...

Since production starts in August, the earliest it’ll hit the market is September or October.

But if they delay it just one more month, it’ll land in November.

That’s when the 1st-gen’s offline concert is scheduled.

So instead of releasing it early, they planned to wait until hype hit its peak, then launch it through the official shop.

At the same time, they’d include a Magia bonus item as part of the concert’s limited-edition perks,

hoping to turn all that hype into actual ticket sales for the 6,000-seat venue.

Whether or not that’ll actually sell a few extra rows... well, they’d just have to wait and see. freewebnσvel.cøm

Either way, Magia’s accidental rise was now paying off in very real ways.

And this sudden popularity ended up bringing her an unexpected gift, exactly one week later.

... ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ...

Subject: Momo, here’s the 3D sample for Magia

From | PIN0 [email protected]

To | Cheon Do-hee [email protected]

📎Attachment: Magia3d_kongblank.zip

Hello, Momo.

I asked a friend of mine if they’d be interested in doing some work for their portfolio,

and they ended up sending over this pre-final version as a trial piece.

Please take a look.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

If you’re happy with it, I’ll move forward with the rigging.

You can expect the modeling and rigging costs to be about half of what we paid for Komari’s 3D model.

Thanks again,

PIN0

Live2D Rigger

... ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ...

That’s kongblank.

The same kongblank who had been nearly impossible to contact when they commissioned Komari’s 3D model—one of the top-tier modelers in the entire industry.

Sure, Pino had done some persuading.

But what really made it possible... was Magia’s popularity.

Maybe Pino was willing to do his part at half price because he reached nirvana after seeing Magia in person.

But the fact that even kongblank was willing to work for half price?

That said more than anything about just how big Magia’s name had gotten in subculture circles—especially in the VTuber scene.

For reference: when Do-hee called Magia over to look at the model, the very first thing she did was flip it 180 degrees and check the underwear color.

It was a bit of a weird move—but then Magia made a strange face, prompting Do-hee to ask,

“What? Is it the same color as yours?”

“No. But I don’t think it needs changing.”

Magia did like her character because it was cute.

But if there was someone who liked it even more—borderline obsessively—it was Pino.

It was like... just as Magia could pick /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ up on little details Momo hadn’t noticed,

Pino was the one who truly understood all the “this is what fans wish Magia was like” points—things even Magia herself didn’t realize.

Call it lolicon, call it perverted, whatever.

But no one approached their work for Magia with as much sincerity as Pino did.

So, was it awkward facing him in person?

Of course. Saying otherwise would be a lie.

But the stuff he produced was undeniably helping the company.

Thanks to the people who were crazy about Magia, all that energy was now flowing toward the 1st and 2nd-gen talents—bringing massive benefits to Parallel.

And if we had to name the leader of that craze, it’d be Pino.

And surprisingly, he wasn’t even that much of a liability.

As long as he was managed well, Pino was a net positive for Parallel.

So from Magia’s perspective—why push him away?

Her attention was currently on something else anyway: how to use this new 3D model and where it could be applied.

Pino wanted the 3D model made.

Magia wanted to use it to support the rest of the team.

“Do you think Team Lead Ra Seunghyun is planning any group content with my 3D model in mind?”

“I haven’t talked to him yet, but once he hears about this, he’ll probably start planning something that includes you.”

“And the return on investment?”

“If you use it consistently, the value will speak for itself.

For now, just join the group content with 1st-gen regularly.

Eventually, 2nd-gen will get 3D models too.

And since you’re staying with the company, it’s less of a risk and more of a long-term investment.

Plus, it’s half-price. You don’t get offers like this often.”

Magia pouted slightly, doing the math in her head.

How many streams would it take to recoup the cost of the 3D model?

What kind of content could she launch with to break even quickly?

Ra Seunghyun would probably put together a solid plan.

But he was swamped with concert prep at the moment, and

Magia wasn’t the type to just sit around and wait.

“If I keep using it regularly, sure, the cost will pay itself off.

But it’d be better to hit hard right at the start, right?

It’s not like I’m guaranteed to be in every 3D project.”

“True. Suiting up with motion capture gear takes time too.

Your schedule might not always allow for that.”

“That’s why I wanted to suggest something, boss.”

“Go ahead.”

Do-hee knew from experience: whenever Magia started a conversation like this, it usually led to an interesting idea.

So she immediately shifted into let’s-hear-it mode.

“If Pino rigs it at full speed, we’ll probably have a final version sometime next week.”

“Right.”

“And that week also happens to be the last week of summer break and vacation season.”

“Monday, August 27 to Sunday, September 2. Got it.”

“By then, 1st-gen should have some breathing room.

So how about we do a summer-ending special before the season wraps up?”

The 1st-gen members were slammed with concert prep in August and again in late October.

But in September, they were scheduled to appear more often on streams with 2nd-gen.

So Magia proposed they kick it off with a “1st-gen 3D: Goodbye Summer Special.”

“What kind of thing are you thinking?

If it’s a mini concert or fireworks show, I’m vetoing it.”

Back in July—shortly after Magia’s hand-cam reveal and right before the 2nd-gen debut—

1st-gen had already held an online valley-themed concert with fans.

So doing another concert now wouldn’t really fit.

Plus, with just two months left until the offline concert in late October, it might dilute the hype.

And if Magia was included in a concert, people might pressure her to sing.

Knowing that Magia wasn’t exactly thrilled about singing, Do-hee wanted to avoid that scenario altogether.

And sure enough, Magia proposed something entirely different.

“Let’s do physical challenge-style variety segments.

Then we wrap up around a campfire, just chatting and winding down.

Feels atmospheric for the end of summer, right?”

“You’ll host?”

“Yes.”

The motion capture studio on Parallel’s 9th floor wasn’t really suited for concerts.

Which was why they’d always rented outside studios for previous online concerts.

While facial capture worked great, there just weren’t enough motion capture cameras to deliver smooth full-body movement—one of the most critical elements in a concert.

That situation would remain until construction was finished on their new medium-sized studio in the adjacent building.

But for casual variety content?

The slightly rigid vibe of the 9th-floor studio could actually work in their favor.

Take, for example, the 1st-gen’s regular 3D series, Parallel Karaoke.

Even when it was just two or three members instead of all four, it gave the vibe of friends hanging out at a real karaoke joint.

And when they started getting wild, the janky body tracking actually made it funnier.

Plus, with a decent background created by a skilled artist and immersive sound design,

they could capture the right atmosphere without spending big on studio rentals.

After all, what fans wanted wasn’t a real beach trip.

They wanted the feeling of going to the beach with 1st-gen.

If the girls were fully immersed and the background felt real,

then that was the beach.

Do-hee totally agreed.

Every time they planned something, the conversation eventually circled back to:

“What’s the cost-to-impact ratio?”

Parallel HQ’s 9th-floor studio.

A half-price 3D model for Magia.

Just those two things were already enough to balance cost savings with content quality.

“If you’re the one running it, I probably don’t have to worry much.

But what’s the plan? When it comes to the campfire bit, I’m guessing things like heartfelt talks or exchanging letters.

But what kind of beach-themed physical content are you thinking?”

Magia held up her phone and played a video.

It was a recreation game known in Korea as “zombie tag,”

but also popular overseas as a YouTube Shorts or group content format.

Super simple rules:

One player—blindfolded—becomes the zombie.

They have to rely only on their hands to track and bite the others.

(The “bite” is just tagging, of course.)

The other four each hold a noisy toy in their mouths and try to escape.

(The classic squeaky chicken toy that honks when you blow into it.)

Simple—but the key was that it let members freely touch each other.

And biting?

That’s not exactly something you see in every stream.

Seeing how eager she was, Do-hee asked,

“Are you doing this because you want to see it?”

Magia answered boldly, without hesitation.

“Yes. Absolutely.”

And honestly, if Magia wanted it that much—

there was a good chance viewers would love it too.

With that answer, Do-hee didn’t need to think twice.

There were only about ten days left until August 31 or September 1—when the special stream would happen.

“Call in Team Lead Ra. We’re having a meeting. Now.”