Chapter 63: The 90:10 Contract

It was just as it sounded.

The four PDs were completely frozen.

‘What did I just hear?’

‘A magician?’

‘Not a blunt weapon warrior?’

‘Then what was that in the video?’

Everyone here had seen the video Seongwoo uploaded.

Which made it even harder to believe.

He fought so fiercely—how could he not be a warrior, but a magician?

Seongwoo continued speaking.

“You’re surprised, right? If even you PDs are this shocked, imagine how surprised everyone else will be. So, this is just my guess, but the third part of the video that’ll go up soon is going to get a reaction on a whole different level from the ones I’ve posted so far.”

Anyone with half a brain could see that coming.

But it was the fact that everyone could predict it that made the future feel all the more chilling.

“So I’ve been thinking it over. Since I’m the kind of streamer who can stir up as much buzz as that third video, which company should I sign with?”

It was at that moment.

Just as Seongwoo finished speaking, PD Jeong—the last to arrive—pulled out his phone and stood up.

“Levan, sorry, but may I step out to make a quick call?”

“Of course, go ahead.”

“Ah, I’ll go too!”

“Me too, just a moment!”

The moment Jeong PD stood up, the other quick-witted PDs also rose swiftly, asking Seongwoo for his understanding.

Anyone with sense knew exactly who Jeong PD was calling right now.

Led by Jeong PD, all the PDs soon stepped out of the café, leaving Seongwoo alone. He sat back, sipping his coffee with a smile.

‘How high will they go?’

Most likely, the people they were calling right now were the heads of their respective companies.

After all, they’d need higher-up approval to offer better terms.

Chuckling, Seongwoo recalled the standard contract terms for each agency that he’d looked up that morning.

Honestly, the so-called contract standards in this field all followed the same unwritten rule—70:30.

That is, after the streamer settles the first round of earnings with Wartube, the agency takes a second cut from the amount the streamer received.

So, if the four PDs wanted to sign Seongwoo, they’d need to offer at least an 80:20 split as a basic condition.

That made him look forward to their offers even more.

Thirty minutes later, Bae Hyunwoo walked into the café.

Seongwoo asked, “Where are the others?”

“They gave up.”

“What?”

“This is actually the first time there’s been this kind of open competition. And we all know each other, too. So, rather than fight over it and get awkward, we decided to compare offers and let whoever had the best terms sign with you, Levan.”

“Oh... is that not how it’s usually done?”

“It’s not really the best method.”

“Ah, sorry. I’m not too familiar with this...”

“No need to apologize. It happens. Anyway, I’m the one left. In a game of chicken, Open World is the biggest, so I was bound to win.”

“Ah, I see.”

So, in the end, size really does matter. Now that the agency was decided, all that was left were the terms.

Seongwoo asked, “So, what are the conditions Open World is offering?”

“We’ll start you with an 80:20 split. And your salary will start at 5 million won a month.”

“At the start?”

“Yes. That’s about the same as the other companies. In terms of salary, ours might actually be a bit lower.”

“Lower?”

“Yes, but it’s in the special provisions where our offer is overwhelming, which is why we’re the ones left.”

“What kind of special provisions?”

“Well, to put it simply, your channel ‘Physics 101’ is currently at the Mega tier. If you reach Giga tier, we’ll bump your split up to 85:15 and raise your salary by 2 million won.”

“That’s all?”

“No, there’s more, of course. Actually, I expect you’ll reach Giga tier soon, so it’s almost a given... But if your channel reaches Tera tier, we’ll raise your split to 90:10 and increase your salary to 10 million won. At that level, you’d be considered top-tier in the industry.”

At least within Korea.

Seongwoo had some idea about that part.

Because things like this always pop up if you dig around online.

‘Not bad.’

Honestly, even just the Mega tier terms were incredible.

Not only the revenue split, but the salary—five million won!

But if he passed Giga and reached Tera...

‘That’s basically becoming chaebol level.’

Of course, to real-world chaebols, ten million won a month is pocket change, but for a twenty-year-old like Seongwoo, that kind of money felt huge.

Especially since, even at his peak as a pro gamer scraping by, he’d never managed a million won a month.

‘Or maybe not? If I just cashed out all my Symbiosis Stones, that’s 700 million won, so suddenly this seems kind of small...’

The numbers were huge, but he couldn’t quite feel it yet, since he hadn’t actually seen it in his account.

So, Seongwoo reacted with surprising composure.

Afterward, Seongwoo listened to Bae Hyunwoo explain the contract details and requirements, then filled out the paperwork right away.

As soon as Seongwoo signed, Bae Hyunwoo smiled and bowed his head.

“Well then, please take care of me from now on, Levan. Honestly, it’s been a while since I’ve signed a contract this big, so I’m a bit nervous.”

“The pleasure’s mine. This is my first contract like this, after all... Now that we’ve signed, shall we talk business?”

After signing the contract multiple times, Seongwoo immediately took out a USB and handed it to Bae Hyunwoo.

“What’s this?”

“The rest of the ‘Strategy Guide’ series, and the ID and password for my Wartube account. I looked it up—apparently Wartube accounts are usually managed by the company?”

“If a streamer wants, they can manage it themselves, but most prefer the agency to handle it.”

“I feel the same. Now I really just want to focus on playing games. So, I’ll leave the rest of the first-floor videos to you.”

“Haha, no worries there. Even though I’m in planning now, I started out as a video editor. I’ll probably be in charge of your content, so I’ll review your videos first and then hold a meeting to plan our editing strategy. And you can contact me anytime using the number on my card. I’m still single, so I’m almost always at the office.”

“Oh...”

Such a lonely sort of work ethic.

Noticing Seongwoo’s sympathetic look, Bae Hyunwoo laughed heartily.

“Haha! What else is an unmarried guy going to do besides work? I really love what I do, so no need to pity me! By the way, I heard your class is a magician... Is that true?”

“Yes. I’m a magician. A Legendary class, at that.”

“What? Legendary class?”

“Yes. The name’s War Mage. Have you heard of it?”

“Uh, no! I’ve never heard of War Mage... But still, a Legendary class. Ha, haha...”

Just being a magician was surprising enough—but a Legendary class on top of that.

It would’ve been weirder if Bae Hyunwoo didn’t laugh in disbelief.

Seeing Bae Hyunwoo’s flustered expression, Seongwoo smiled.

“You know how rare Legendary classes are, right?”

“Of course! I’ve heard there aren’t even a hundred unreleased Legendary items, let alone a Legendary class...”

“I agonized over when to reveal this. But now I have a guild, a channel, and a company, so I thought it was time. Oh, and other than you and the department head, no one else knows about my Legendary class. So please keep it under wraps.”

Bae Hyunwoo was surprised at Seongwoo’s answer.

And with good reason—when you dig up wild ginseng, your first instinct is to shout to the world.

But this kid in front of him, who had just turned twenty, handled it with real maturity.

‘He’s just on a different level.’

Maybe debuting as a streamer via the Infinite Tower was all part of the plan.

So Bae Hyunwoo was pleased.

He was proud that the streamer he’d signed wasn’t just a gamer, but a thoughtful and smart person.

Bae Hyunwoo asked, “Do you have any other videos prepared besides the Strategy Guide series?”

“Of course! But I didn’t bring those, so I’ll send them to you from home.”

“Hm, sending them by email would take a while, so just upload them as private videos on your Wartube account. We’ll download and use them from there. That’ll be much easier for you.”

“Oh, should I?”

“Yes. And if extracting videos is too much hassle, just enter our company email in the capsule. Then all your saved gameplay footage gets sent to us automatically.”

“Oh, I didn’t know about that feature. Is the footage sent in real time?”

“No, I believe it’s sent daily. If you’re concerned about privacy, you can password-protect the transmission link. For now, just send the files, and if you need to trim any footage after you log out, you can delete sections before sending them to us.”

“That’s pretty convenient.”

“Mega Company designed the Warlord capsule with Wartube in mind from the start.”

“Ah, I see.”

After that, the two wrapped up their meeting in a friendly atmosphere.

After Seongwoo left the café, Bae Hyunwoo made a call.

He said, “Hey, it’s me. Get everyone from the editing and planning departments together, right now. I’m about to drop a nuke, so have them all in the conference room. I’ll be there in thirty.”

A nuclear bomb was about to hit Open World.

---

“Hyagyagya, now that the contract’s done, time to get back to the game.”

It had been worth all the preparation for this meeting.

And Seongwoo realized something for sure this time—if you have ability, you don’t get intimidated, no matter who you’re dealing with.

Thanks to that, he hadn’t been nervous at all and said everything he wanted to at the meeting.

‘Hope they didn’t think I was arrogant.’

It was his first time at a meeting like this, so he’d been a little flustered, but he didn’t really regret anything.

Anyway, it seemed like Bae Hyunwoo had gotten even more than he hoped for.

Following Bae Hyunwoo’s advice, Seongwoo sent an apology message to the other PDs who had left, for calling them together only to walk away without a contract.

They might never see each other again, but he wanted to do the right thing.

After a glass of water, Seongwoo lay down in the capsule to log into Warlord.

A smile spread across his lips as he reclined.

Now, with everything resolved, he could finally focus on the game.

‘How long has it been since I could log in this relaxed... Now I can really enjoy playing.’

He’d been playing Warlord as if clinging to it for financial reasons for a long time.

So he’d always been tense and anxious, but now, with the contract signed, he finally felt free.

Seongwoo attempted to log in.

[Connecting to Warlord.]

[May you shine as a hero in the midst of the great war.]

Paat!

Brilliant sunlight spread before Seongwoo’s eyes, and the world of Warlord unfolded once more.

But somehow, the Warlord world felt different from usual.