Chapter 95 - #95: This Gift Costs a Lot of Money

As soon as the global leaderboard event dropped, live viewership across the platform took a massive nosedive.

The announcement was perfectly timed. Almost immediately after the players finished watching the opening cinematic, the notification popped up on everyone’s screens.

Silver: “???”

The Chat: “???”

“Ahhhhh! Boot the game up! Let’s go!” Silver screamed, scrambling for his controller.

[ ragequit_andy: Sorry streamer, I’m logging off. Gotta go get my trophy! Vantas: Nova is a mad genius. I literally just jumped out of bed and booted up my PC. Oscar: I suck at aiming, but so does everyone else right now. I actually have a chance to win something. See ya later, chat! ktvslape: This crystal trophy is a literal trap! Knowing Nova, there is absolutely zero peace of mind to be found here. knapp: I know you’re supposed to be patient in a hunting sim, but my adrenaline is pumping way too hard right now! ]

Seeing the massive hype generated by Sprout Studio’s latest event, Ivan, the head of the Xbox division, smiled to himself and quickly drafted a promotional tweet of his own.

[Since Nova is handing out physical trophies, Xbox is going to match the energy. The first 100 players to successfully hunt a Diamond-tier exotic animal will receive an exclusive, custom Dark Souls limited-edition Xbox console.]

Even though a custom console was expensive, the hardware itself wasn’t what drove the gamers crazy. It was the fact that it was an ultra-rare Dark Souls limited edition. It instantly became the ultimate flex.

“I’m hunting! I need that custom console!” Silver completely lost his mind. Hearing a distant warning call echo through the trees, he abandoned all stealth and sprinted wildly through the brush, desperately chasing the sound. Naturally, he couldn’t find a single target.

Watching his erratic, impatient gameplay, the stream chat practically cried in frustration.

[ cubicle_wage_slave: Silver, slow the fuck down! If I wasn’t stuck at work right now I’d be playing myself. senpai_for_hire: Why are you sprinting?! Go prone by the lake! They come to drink water in the morning and evening! Talsen: Rare animals have insane senses. PapaHunt has been playing for weeks and hasn’t even seen a Diamond yet. Runarsson: HAVE SOME PATIENCE BRO ]

Meanwhile, the players who couldn’t log into the game right away were frantically bouncing between all the major streaming channels.

When they saw that the heavily-armed, highly-anxious streamers couldn’t even track down a basic rabbit, the viewers couldn’t help but laugh.

[ xQc: LMAO I could literally start playing ten hours from now and you’d still be at the exact same starting line. einz: Everyone is sprinting around like headless chickens. haru: Xbox is giving away custom consoles, why is Steam quiet? Aren’t they best friends with Nova? ]

The global player base quickly turned their attention toward John Carter.

At that exact moment, Carter was happily crawling through the underbrush in his own private lobby. He wanted to secure a crystal trophy for his desk.

He could easily just ask Ethan to mail him one, but where was the sense of accomplishment in a handout compared to actually earning it in the dirt?

But while he was hyper-focused on the game, his smartphone sitting on his desk began buzzing incessantly.

Hmm? What’s going on?

He picked up his phone, confused, only to see a tidal wave of notifications flooding his social media accounts. He tapped his screen, pulling up the endless barrage of mentions.

[Everyone else is dropping events, where’s yours?]

[We’re out here begging for crumbs. Feed us, Steam!]

[Hurry up! Everyone is waiting on you guys!]

[Your corporate buddies are giving out custom consoles! What are you bringing to the table?!]

Holding his Xbox controller in one hand, Carter was totally stunned. When he scrolled down and saw Ivan’s official Xbox announcement, he was instantly pissed off.

He knew about Ethan’s crystal trophy idea beforehand, but why the hell hadn’t Ivan warned him about the console giveaway?!

He wasn’t prepared for a marketing war at all.

While he was sitting there in a daze, a series of global server notifications suddenly popped up on his monitor.

[Red Fox 2/100]

[Mallard 3/100]

[Roe Deer 5/100]

Almost simultaneously, the low-tier animal quotas were being rapidly filled by the first wave of competent hunters.

Carter tightened his grip on his controller. He desperately wanted to get back to the game, but his phone was buzzing aggressively against the wood of his desk.

The absolute most critical element of hunting was a calm, quiet mind. Right now, his mind was an absolute mess.

‘It’s all Ivan’s fault. That bastard should have warned me.’

While he was cursing the head of Xbox, he spotted a Roe Deer standing still in a clearing a few hundred yards away. Carter took a deep breath and quickly set his phone aside. He held his breath, terrified of disturbing the animal.

His phone notifications continued to vibrate loudly. In his panic, he had completely forgotten to flip the silence switch.

He pulled out a deer bleat caller and gave it a squeeze. The Roe Deer instantly perked up, turning its head toward his hiding spot.

Ring ring!

His phone vibrated loudly against the desk. The controller in his hands suddenly felt incredibly heavy. The Roe Deer in the distance twitched, glancing nervously toward the source of the mechanical buzzing. It took a few hesitant steps backward.

Ring ring!

[Roe Deer 58/100]

[Roe Deer 78/100]

At the same time, the global broadcast numbers were surging across the top of his screen. The total count of harvested Roe Deer around the world was climbing at an insane rate.

His palms were completely slick with sweat. He raised his rifle and looked down the scope, but his crosshairs were swaying wildly up and down.

Ring ring!

His phone just wouldn’t stop vibrating.

[Roe Deer 89/100]

Bang! The deafening crack of the rifle shattered the silent wilderness. The forest, which had been alive with the ambient sounds of birds and insects, instantly went dead quiet.

The Roe Deer spooked and bolted into the thick tree line, vanishing in the blink of an eye. Carter quickly scrambled out of the brush and sprinted after it. He wasn’t sure if he had actually landed a vital hit. The distance was far, and his muzzle had been swaying terribly right as he pulled the trigger.

When he finally reached the clearing where the deer had been standing, there was only a bright red splatter of blood on the grass. Leading away from the impact site was a chaotic, messy trail of hoofprints.

He inspected the bloodstain. The UI prompt was devastating: Flesh Wound.

The injury wasn’t fatal. The deer was gone.

At that exact moment, the global server notification flashed across his screen. The quota for the Roe Deer had officially reached 100/100.

Carter stared at his monitor with a dark, furious expression. He snatched his vibrating phone off the desk and glanced at the caller ID. It was his regional marketing director.

“What is it?” Carter answered, his voice dripping with venom.

“Boss, do we want to give away something too? Our official social accounts are getting ratioed by players begging for a Steam event to match Xbox.”

Carter took a deep breath, trying to compartmentalize his gamer rage. “Yes. We can’t stay quiet. Let me run something up the ladder right now.”

He put the marketing director on hold and quickly tabbed over to Steam’s internal corporate messaging app.

He couldn’t just authorize a global giveaway on a whim; he had to get clearance. He shot a rapid-fire message directly to the VP of Global Marketing, outlining the viral situation and proposing a counter-event.

The VP replied a minute later, CC’ing Gabe Newell into the chat. ‘Custom consoles are a heavy marketing expense for a weekend stunt. What’s your pitch, John?’

Carter immediately typed back: ‘We don’t need expensive hardware. Let’s lean into Sprout Studio’s culture. I want to gift a free digital copy of Getting Over It to every player who secures a crystal trophy.’

There was a brief pause in the chat. Then, an approval message popped up directly from Gaben himself: ‘Approved. Steam will cover the cost of the keys.’

With the green light secured, Carter clicked back over to his active call.

“Alright, HQ cleared it,” Carter said, a wicked grin replacing his previous frustration. “Take every single player who manages to secure a crystal trophy… and drop a free copy of Getting Over It straight into their Steam libraries.”

“Huh?” His marketing director paused, totally stunned. “Did you mean Hollow Knight?”

He thought he had misheard. Why would his boss authorize a giveaway for a game entirely designed around frustrating the player?

“No. I mean Getting Over It,” Carter snapped, looking back at his empty forest. After that loud, sloppy gunshot, every single animal in a massive radius had scattered. He was going to make sure the players felt his pain.

“Uh, yes sir. Right away.”

Ten minutes later, the official Steam platform account posted their brand-new promotional event.

The players who had been harassing Carter’s mentions immediately flocked to the tweet.

[Steam Official: Any player who successfully earns a Crystal Trophy will automatically receive a free copy of Getting Over It directly in their game library!]

???

The chat completely froze.

[ snoop dog: Bro, are you actually just trying to torture us? NoRest: If you can’t afford a real gift, just say so! ]

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