That’s the world of Wicker Town.
And now, Maru who’s a total 64 Cubics fanatic can’t even enjoy the server properly because she has to focus all her energy on pulling special invitations.
For her, this was nothing short of a cruel punishment.
Maru is usually good at maintaining her streamer persona, but when it comes to her favorite game, she can’t help but show her true emotions.
I was worried that her frustration might start leaking into her stream.
So I grabbed my coat and went down to the first floor with her.
I wanted to buy her some fish cakes from one of the street vendors still open for business.
In the past, I might have ignored it.
But managing an oshi’s (favorite streamer’s) mental state is part of the job.
When I motioned for her to follow, Maru, despite her gloomy mood, let out a small chuckle and walked alongside me.
“Ugh… my damn mouth…”
“It’s okay. We’ll figure something out.”
“I hope so. But… thinking back to Season 1, getting two special invites is basically impossible. Even back then, we barely managed to get one, and I had to use a regular invitation later…”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
Being down was one thing, but hunger was another.
After getting scolded, Maru must have realized how hungry she was, because she gulped down fish cakes and soup without hesitation.
Still, after filling her stomach, she seemed to feel a little better. She smiled as she got on the bus home.
“Thanks for coming all the way out here in the cold. Hurry up and go inside! Like you said, Jia, it’ll work out somehow.”
If she doesn’t want me to worry, she should at least smile properly.
She acts all fearless behind the screen, but in real life, she can’t hide her emotions at all.
Vroooom.
As soon as the bus carrying Maru disappeared, I opened my banking app.
“Hmm.”
Zero, one, two, three… four, five, six, seven…
An eight-digit number, starting with a one, just past its maturity date.
Originally, this was a savings fund I had planned to donate to the boss.
But money can always be saved up again.
Half of any donation, after transaction fees, goes to the company anyway…
So I’ll just consider this as giving the boss their cut in advance.
* * *
From that day on, I played 64Cubix for four hours every day, keeping the kids’ broadcasts on in the background.
Of course, money was a concern when it came to pulling for special perks, but more importantly, if I wanted to support the members on the server, I needed to have the skills to back it up.
So, a day passed, then two, and by the third day, the first time I played with Maru, I had barely made it to the Iron Age before getting stuck. But now, starting from scratch, I managed to reach the Diamond tier in just four hours.
And it wasn’t just about obtaining diamonds and calling it a day.
I gathered four full sets of diamonds deep underground in Green World, the starting area, and even explored Red World, which was filled with lava and even more dangerous monsters, to advance to the next tech tree.
Along the way, I asked Maru some questions and learned about enchantments.
By using various enchantments like increased mining yield and mining speed I was able to speed up my progress significantly.
Going back to the surface every time I needed food or water was a hassle, so I even figured out how to survive using monster drops like skeleton water and zombie meat.
Since both were rotten, they constantly drained my health, but they never actually killed me just left me at critical HP.
With that, I learned how to dodge arrows, block attacks, kill enemies, and eat whatever dropped, all while living underground.
It was nerve-wracking, never knowing when I’d die, but thanks to that, my mining yield skyrocketed.
At the very least, no one could call me a 64Cubix noob anymore.
Anyway, after all that preparation, he day had finally come.
The Wicker Server was opening.
As usual, I left the monitoring duties to Seungyeon and settled into my personal streaming room on the 9th floor.
[Nezumi Maru / NEZUMI MARU]
Parallel 1st Gen, 🎙️Singing Hedgehog Nezumi Maru!
[(🔴Live) Feels Like Coming Home (Wicker Town Season 2)] *Viewers: 37,548*
#64Cubix #Maru #Parallel
Maybe it was because Wicker Town had a very limited starting roster of only twenty members.
Or maybe it was the usual wave of transient viewers that flocked in whenever a server like this launched.
Either way, both the CEO and Maru had way more viewers than usual today.
– When’s API integration? When’s API integration? When’s API integration? When’s API integration?
– I need to donate! Ahh! I need to donate! Ahh! I need to donate! Ahh!
– This chat is absolutely flooded with my clouds.
– Integration! Integration! Integration! Integration! Integration! Integration!
– Wicker! Please, integrate it already!
Moreover, everyone was eagerly waiting for the donations to be converted into in-game coins, making the chat lively and buzzing.
It was a necessary process at the start of the server, but…
Everyone was just as excited as Maru, and even though Maru tried to calm them down by reading the tutorial, there was only so much he could do.
Fortunately, it seemed that Wicker had worked hard to reduce the initial waiting time, which had been a major issue in Season 1. The preparations were completed in just 10 minutes.
– [Whisper] Wicker: Maru, the integration is complete.
– [Whisper] Wicker: Enjoy Season 2 as well! ^^b
– [Whisper] Me: Thank you!!!
– It’s done!
– Let’s gooooooo!!!
– Time to shove coins straight into Maru’s donation bowl!!
And so, the donations began.
I entered 50,000 won into the donation screen that I’d had open for a while.
If I recklessly dropped 10 million won all at once, the boss might notice and give me a scolding.
It was better to split it into smaller 50,000-won donations and package the messages in a variety of ways.
For the first message, something like *”Let’s aim for Rank 1 again in Season 2 with a hidden class!”* seemed fitting.
That way, I’d look like a good, long-time viewer of Maru’s stream…
However, while I was still contemplating my donation method and message—
Bababam!
– [Server] Maru has received 1,000,000 Clouds and has ascended to the heavens!
With a sudden 1 million won donation, Maru’s character was launched high into the sky.
Since the system capped individual transactions at 1 million won, he was immediately sent flying, only to experience a spectacular fall.
Maru, who had soared beyond the clouds, soon let out a scream as he plummeted back to the ground.
[Kyaaaaaah—!!]
– [Server] Maru, who was falling, had no wings…
– [Global] Movgun: Wow, gg
– [Global] Ronze: 大大大大 大大 大
– [Global] Serena: Wow, Maru! gg 大 大 大 大 大 大 大 大 大
At that point, it was just a typical early-server 1 million won donation.
People assumed a wealthy benefactor had arrived and brushed it off naturally.
But then, everyone checked the donor’s name—and gasped in shock.
:: :: Pino has donated 1,000,000 Clouds! :: ::
:: :: 1 :: ::
The infamous name carried a certain reputation.
The one known as “Lolicon.”
Pino had arrived.
– ???
– Wait, is that the real Pino?
– ?
– Why is Pino in the Bread Gang’s territory?
If it had ended there, it might have just been a funny little incident.
But after reviving from his fatal fall, Maru spent more time in the air than on the ground.
:: :: Pino has donated 1,000,000 Clouds! :: ::
:: :: 2 :: ::
:: :: Pino has donated 1,000,000 Clouds! :: ::
:: :: Pino has donated 1,000,000 Clouds! :: ::
:: :: 4 :: ::
Maru kept soaring higher and higher, his screams growing more desperate.
[No, Pino! Stop, where am I even going?! Kyaaaaaaa!!]