The list of grey names in the Global Chat scrolled for a full minute.
[System]: Developer 'Cloud_Kingdom' Erased.
[System]: Developer 'Pixel_Dungeon' Erased.
[System]: Developer 'Romance_Saga' Erased.
Silence fell over the server. Not just Fang's server, but the entire Multiverse network of Developers. The chat, usually filled with bragging and panic, was dead silent.
They had just watched thousands of their peers die.
Then, the sky above Shadow's Rest tore open. It was a giant, unblinking red eye projecting a hologram across the heavens.
[Ding!]
[GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT]
[The First Culling is Complete.]
[Statistics Report:]
[Total Participants: 100,000]
[Survivors: 8,400]
[Survival Rate: 8.4%]
Fang stood on the balcony of his new Tavern, wat ching the red text burn into the air.
"8.4%," Fang whispered. "Lower than I thought."
Most people had treated this like a game. They made low-effort clones, hoping for easy money. The System had deleted them without mercy.
The giant eye blinked.
[Attention, Survivors.]
[Do not celebrate. You have merely passed the Tutorial.]
[The Real Game begins now.]
[New Directive: The Era of Entertainment.]
[Building a functional game is no longer enough. The System demands Spectacle. We demand Creativity. We demand Influence.]
[Objective: Enhance your World. Integrate Social Media. Create 'Viral' Moments.]
[Next Culling: 30 Days.]
[Requirement: Unknown. (Hint: It will be based on 'Viewer Engagement'.)]
The eye vanished, leaving behind a countdown timer in the top corner of Fang's vision.
[Time Remaining: 29 Days, 23 Hours, 59 Minutes.]
Fang's grip on the wooden railing tightened.
"Viewer Engagement.." he analyzed.
The System wanted a show. It wanted drama. It wanted clips that would trend across the Multiverse Hub.
Fang looked at his current funds.
[Creation Coins: 12,350]
While other survivors were scraping by with 500 coins, Fang had the war chest of a king.
"Creativity?" Fang smirked. "I'll show you creativity."
He opened his inventory. Inside sat the [Random Rare Asset: Tower of Infinity].
He didn't just want to place it. He wanted to make it a spectacle.
"System," Fang commanded. "Open [World Editor]. Target: The Weeping Graveyard."
He flew—using the [Developer Flight Mode] he had unlocked—over the gloomy, rain-soaked graveyard.
"Clear the center hill," Fang ordered.
[Terrain Modified.]
The ancient tombs crumbled, sinking into the mud. A flat, obsidian plateau formed in the center of the storm.
"Place Asset: [The Tower of Infinity]."
The sound was deafening. A massive, spiraling black tower erupted from the ground, piercing the clouds. It stretched up so high the top was invisible. Purple lightning arced around its spire.
[Ding!]
[Rare Asset Deployed.]
[Effect: Infinite Floors. Infinite Scaling. Legendary Loot.]
But Fang wasn't done. He had to "enhance the media."
He opened the [Shop].
"Purchase [Cinematic Camera Suite]." (Cost: 1,000 Coins)
"Purchase [Global Broadcast Station]." (Cost: 2,000 Coins)
"Purchase [Live Betting Module]." (Cost: 1,500 Coins)
He was spending money like water. But he knew the return on investment would be insane.
"Combine features," Fang muttered, his fingers flying across the holographic keyboard. "Link the Tower to the Broadcast Station."
[Ding!]
[Integration Complete.]
[New Feature: The Dungeon Run Live Stream.]
Fang descended back to Shadow's Rest. The players were staring at the massive black tower in the distance, their mouths open.
"What is that?" TankTop asked, shielding his eyes from the rain.
"It looks... evil," DarkElf_Waifu said, clutching her bow.
"It looks like loot," GlassCannon grinned, sparks flying from his staff.
Fang activated the [Global Notification].
[Ding!]
[Content Update: The Tower of Infinity.]
[Lore: The Void has pierced the world. Inside this tower lie the greatest treasures of the multiverse... and the deadliest nightmares.]
[Mechanic: Solo or Party Play.]
[New Feature: BROADCAST.]
Suddenly, a giant floating screen materialized above the Town Square. It was currently black, with the words "OFFLINE".
Fang's voice boomed over the town.
"Listen up, rats!"
The players froze. They loved it when the 'Dev' spoke. It meant trouble.
"The Tower is not for the weak. Only the best can climb. And when you climb... the world will be watching."
Fang snapped his fingers.
The giant screen flickered to life. It showed the Leaderboard.
[Rank 1: None]
[Rank 2: None]
[Rank 3: None]
"The player who reaches the highest floor by the end of the week," Fang announced, "gets a unique, one-of-a-kind reward."
[Reward: The Streamer's Halo.]
[Effect: +20% All Stats. +50% Gold Gain. Passive Aura: 'Center of Attention' (NPCs bow to you).]
The crowd roared.
"Unique item?!"
"Center of Attention?! I need that!"
"Let me in! LET ME IN!"
The stampede toward the Weeping Graveyard began.
Fang sat back in his Tavern VIP room and opened the [Broadcast Dashboard].
This was the "Media Enhancing" part.
As the first party—The Void Wizards—entered the Tower, the giant screen in the town square switched to their POV.
[Live Feed: Floor 1]
The camera wasn't a fixed angle. It was cinematic. It zoomed in on GlassCannon's face as he chanted a spell. It did a slow-motion pan as a goblin jumped at him.
[System: Cinematic AI active.]
In the Global Chat, Fang saw the "Viewer Count" ticking up.
[Viewers: 200 (Internal)]
[Viewers: 5,000 (External - Hub Traffic)]
Wait. External?
Fang clicked the details.
[System Note: Because you have purchased the 'Global Broadcast Station', your game's highlights are being promoted on the Main Menu of the Multiverse Hub.]
"Free marketing," Fang grinned.
On the screen, GlassCannon blasted a group of skeletons with [Void Nova]. The purple gravity well crushed them into dust.
The visual effects were upgraded thanks to Fang's earlier spending on the graphics engine. It looked triple-A quality.
[Chat (Spectators)]:
[User_772]: "Woah, look at those particle effects!"
[User_881]: "Is this a movie? The camera angles are insane."
[User_Dev_Zero]: "Flashy garbage. No substance."
Fang ignored the hater. He looked at the [Betting Module].
Players in the town who were too low level to enter the tower were gathering around the screen.
[NPC Bookie Spawning...]
A goblin in a tuxedo appeared under the screen.
"Place your bets!" the goblin screeched. "Will they wipe on Floor 5? Will TankTop fall off the ledge again? 2:1 odds!"
"I bet 50 gold they die on Floor 3!" a player shouted.
"I bet 100 gold GlassCannon carries them!"
The coins flowed.
[Commission: 5% of Pot.]
[+200 Coins.]
[+350 Coins.]
It was a self-sustaining economy of greed and voyeurism.
But Fang knew he needed to ramp up the difficulty. If they cleared it too easily, the viewers would get bored.
He opened the [Tower Manager].
[Current Floor: 3]
[Difficulty: Normal]
"Boring," Fang whispered.
He spent 500 Coins on a [Mutator Card].
[Mutator: The Floor is Lava.]
"Apply to Floor 5."
On the screen, the Void Wizards reached Floor 5. They opened the door, expecting monsters.
Instead, the ground began to glow red.
"HOT! HOT!" GlassCannon screamed, jumping onto a floating platform. "THE FLOOR IS LAVA!"
"My boots are melting!" his healer yelled.
The viewers in the chat went wild.
[LUL]
[RIP BOZO]
[THIS GAME IS SICK]
[Engagement Rating: S-Rank.]
Fang watched the viewer count skyrocket past 10,000. The System's giant eye in the sky seemed to pulse with approval.
But Fang wasn't just reacting. He was planning the next step.
"They like the Tower," Fang mused. "But a Tower is PvE (Player vs Environment). The real drama is PvP."
He looked at the empty space behind the Tower.
"System," Fang said. "How much for a [Battle Royale Island] extension?"
[Cost: 20,000 Coins.]
"Too expensive," Fang clicked his tongue. He had 5,000 left.
He needed to make more money. Fast.
He looked at the [Donation] feature on the Broadcast Station.
"Enable [Viewer Gifts]," Fang commanded.
[System: Viewers from the Hub can now send 'Blessings' or 'Curses' to the players for Creation Coins.]
[Price List:]
[Send Health Potion: 10 Coins]
[Spawn Explosive Barrel: 50 Coins]
[Spawn Elite Monster: 100 Coins]
Fang grinned. "Let the audience play God."
Immediately, a notification popped up on the live stream.
[User 'RichViewer_99' has donated 100 Coins!]
[Message: "Make them suffer."]
[System Event: Elite Minotaur spawning on Floor 5.]
On the screen, right as GlassCannon was balancing on a rock over the lava, a massive Minotaur materialized out of thin air, roaring.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" GlassCannon screamed at the camera. "WHO DID THAT?!"
The chat exploded with laughter.
Fang leaned back, watching the coins roll in.
[Current Funds: 5,100... 5,200... 5,300...]
"One month," Fang whispered. "In one month, I won't just have a game. I'll have the biggest reality show in the universe."
He tapped the screen.
"Now... let's design a floor made entirely of mimics."
The dopamine hit of control was the sweetest drug of all.