MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

As Jack listened to him, he couldn't help but nod appreciatively. The guy was actually making good content, even when no one was watching! 

He was currently analyzing Infinite's marketing strategy— or lack of. 

"All the other VR games will flood the market with ads a few months before their release. What about Infinite? It did a few press releases, and that's about it. What could this mean? Listen well…" He raised invisible glasses. 

"At first glance, they are either too broke or too stupid to do marketing, right? Hell no! I actually have a theory. They are simply so confident in their game that they don't need marketing!" 

"But there is more. Infinite has custom helmets that can be bought pretty much at any VR shop, with entire rooms dedicated to their calibration! How did they convince the owners?! So mysterious." 

"I'll be uploading all this content to MeTube soon, too, so you guys can follow the enormous Infinite Conspiracy!" He grinned at the camera as his stream bot automatically sent the link to his channel. 

Jack tapped on it, but he was overwhelmed by so many flashing colors as soon as he did. The thumbnails were just way too eye-catching. Then there was that guy's goofy face plastered everywhere as a recurring theme. 

The titles were pretty much all clickbait too: 

< Why 99.42% Pro-Players await Infinite! > 

< Infinite Day 1: THE Gaming Revolution! > 

< Infinite Day 1, over 9000 events?! How?! >

< Infinite Day 2, a Demon King appeared?! 0_0 >

< Infinite Day 2: Brace Yourselves, Highlights are Coming! > 

Jack lazily clicked on one random one, and then it happened: There were sounds, colors, visual effects, and even comical narration at times.

The intro was super short, to the point, and after 4 seconds the video was already covering the main topic. Then there was the way the editing was done. Every other second, there would be something happening to keep one's attention on the content.

— Beep! — 

— Beep! — 

— Beep! — 

— Beep! — 

— Beep! — 

— Beep! — 

It was endless…and just short of overwhelming. Then there were the memes. They would flash on the screen to support the narrative. It was akin to watching a phenomenal shit-show, and yet he didn't feel like taking his gaze away. 

Who the heck was this Newbie?! Why wasn't he trending at all? Why hadn't this guy ever been popular in his previous life? 

He seemed to have all the basics done. He knew how to create incredible videos to capture an audience and create a rapport with them via streaming. 

His account had been created precisely— Ah, there lay the issue. Three days ago. This guy had been hard at work, it seemed.  It was already phenomenal to output one quality video a day, but he was doing two? 

He had actually gotten a few views, but the comments were nasty. People criticized him over a few things: 

1. Overpraising Infinite: It was a case of the blinds ridiculing a man for "inventing" colors. 

2. Believing False Rumors: This apparently included Jack's achievements…what?! His  1 v 50 fight wasn't a rumor but a fact. There was even a whole village to corroborate. 

3. Not having any actual gaming content: How could he be blamed for that when it had only been available today? 

Jack pondered for a few seconds before returning to the stream chat to send his very first message. 

- Jack'O: Hey there. 

"Hey, brother! Haha, that's a great name you have there. I see that you're a fan of the Demon King too! Welcome to the stream. I hope you'll like it here. Feel free to ask anything. We're all family!" 

Since he had so nicely welcomed questions, he wouldn't hesitate to ask. 

- Jack'O: If you have so much interest in Infinite, then why aren't you playing it? 

"Hehe, It's a bit embarrassing, but I'm broke right now. There is no way that I can afford the VR helmet." He scratched his head awkwardly. 

- Jack'O: How long will you be streaming? 

"Hehe, at least a few hours. Feel free to grab a snack, some water and follow along as we delve into the amazing world of Infinite by scouring the Internet!" 

- Jack'O: No, how long do you plan to be creating videos and streaming? 

"Oh! As long as I can. Yes, I'll do it for as long as possible!" There were sad after tones in his voice. 

- Jack'O: Is there any reason you'd have to suddenly stop? 

He wanted to get to the bottom of this. Why had this guy remained unknown before? He seemed very motivated, had the basics down, and was bound to pierce at some point, right? 

The man seemed to hesitate a few seconds before he sighed heavily: 

"Thing is, my mother considers this whole video creation nothing but a waste of time. I've made a bet with her. Either I manage to get 10 000 subscribers before the end of this month, or I will give it up and take on the family business!" 

- Jack'O: Can't you do both? 

"The family business is a remote retreat without access to the Internet. It's not really possible. As a host for such a place, one needs to show the example. It's supposed to be a detox or something."

No fucking wonder! Was he bound to pierce at some point? Not if he went fucking MIA after a month! How long would it take to get 10k followers? It wouldn't take that long with viral content, but the issue was getting seen first. 

Plus, he didn't even have the VR helmet and was broke. All he could rely on was the info on social media. But Infinite didn't have a global recording function just yet; hence no videos were available. 

What about the few that would get published? Even then, there was a problem. People would just see it as another copying dude if he didn't have anything original. He could succeed as an analyst or just a funny guy, but that took time. 

- Jack'O: You're currently 100% going to become a hippie at this rate… 

"Brother, you have to believe! As long as there is the Internet, there is hope!" He valiantly shouted in front of his camera. 

Jack quickly checked the streamers he had sent messages to in another tab. They had been supposed to contact him after their stream. But they were now offline, and there were no whispers… It seemed like they had only said that to get rid of him. 

That's when he turned toward the enthusiastic Newbie. He had already decided earlier not to go for a diamond in the rough, but he had been swayed. 

This guy had the motivation, the skills, and a backstory with a bet that he needed to win. He gave a wry smile to himself. When the hell had he become such a good guy that he would consider angel investing? 

While Jack didn't have money, he knew how valuable his footage currently was. This was also why he had to get it out as soon as possible. Right now, it was the only one in existence, thus adding to its value. 

Still, would he hand it over for free? Hell the fuck no! Jack quickly browsed the contract files the old man had just sent over. 

Advantageous contract to the streamer? Nope. 

Equal contract? Nope.

Bad contract? Nope. 

Slave contract? Yep, this was the one! 

This was the perfect contract for a streamer who had no money, no following, and a time limit to achieve his dream. 

Jack grinned as he typed. 

- Jack'O: Do you wish to make it as a streamer? If yes, sign this…. Slave_Contract.pdf

"What's this, brother? Hehe, what's with the name of that file? Will I get a virus if I open this? Meh, whatever, let me try it in a secured, isolated system." The streamer got busy for a few seconds. 

"Now, let's see what we have her— What the fuck is that?!" He cried out as he saw the details. "No one sane would sign such a thing! Tell me you're joking! This is literally a deal with the Devil!"

- Jack'O: ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)  Devil? Naw, they call me the Demon King. 

On that note, Jack sent a GIF of his run that lasted merely three seconds. Hell, this could be used as the perfect bait for an article or video. Then the rest was pure advertisement profit. ($$$)

But he had a good feeling about that guy and had to throw one fat bait for what he wanted. 

As the "Mighty Infinite Pancakes" saw the GIF, his face instantly changed. He had researched the game enough to know what this all meant. 

Did he want to accept this shady contract? He would be doing all the heavy editing work, and Jack would rake in pretty much all the money while only bringing raw footage. 

At least there was one guarantee in there: the contract would be void if Jack provided fake footage. 

Was trading fame for wealth worth it? 

At that moment, it seemed as if gears were turning inside his head, very visibly on his face.

But then he remembered the alternative. Did he genuinely want to live a life without the Internet? Hell no! How would his mother react had she known she had helped a man utterly scam her son? 

There was only one way that one could react to such a bomb.

"Holy fuck! Holy fucking shit!" He gasped in shock. 

He then stared directly at the camera as if trying to make eye contact with Jack. 

"You son of a bitch, I'm in!" 

Jack couldn't help but chuckle seeing his enthusiasm, before sighing proud of himself. Ah, doing good deeds sure felt nice. He was providing an opportunity to a youngling. 

They would have lots of fun together! Also, who knows, maybe he'd get Bubblegum to join the party and start his own broadcasting studio. This would be a matter for the future...

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[A/N] It seems many want to see Bubblegum's return as a streamer. She just retired and is hiding her identity at the moment. What do you guys think of the newcomer? Stay tuned for more ^_^v

Creator's Thought

Was it fate that we met? I honestly do not believe in fate. Life is so erratic and nonsensical and we are the ones trying to find a pattern. After all, evolution has taught us that it's the way to survive in this world. Find the pattern and adapt to it. since it worked before we keep doing it, ceaselessly...