StormCon was held at the Anaheim Convention Center near LA.
Thousands of people who had purchased tickets flocked to the massive convention hall. The event venue was a sea of people, a mix of fans, industry officials, and reporters.
Various events were broadcast online through their own website, and those who purchased a virtual ticket for $49 could watch the event without being there in person. Virtual ticket purchasers were given skins that could be used in various games as a gift, so hundreds of thousands of people bought them and watched on their computers or smartphones.
Limited edition goods that could only be purchased at StormCon were sold at the event venue, and there were also active exhibitions and sales of secondary creations such as drawings and videos created by professionals and amateurs, as well as doujinshi and indie games.
There was a cosplay contest where participants and winners were given various prizes, and the e-sports tournament held separate matches for amateur teams as well as professional teams.
It was not just a simple game show, but a festival with the theme of IceStorm games. This was possible because of the content capabilities that IceStorm has accumulated for nearly 20 years.
People from all over the world had gathered at the event venue. Nationality, race, and age did not matter when it came to loving games.
Oh Taekgyu, Jung Gi-hong, Anneke, and Yang Hana watched the event at a leisurely pace.
Team Leader Jung Gi-hong looked around with surprised eyes at the sight, which was different from the game shows he had seen in Korea and Japan.
Taekgyu asked.
"Team Leader, you've played a lot of IceStorm games, right?"
At that question, Team Leader Jung Gi-hong answered proudly.
"Of course. When I was a university student, Jin-hoo... no, I played a lot of StarCraft Battle.net at PC bangs with the CEO. We also had team battles with kids from other departments and other schools. I'm telling you this now, but I've been famous for my Zerg rush since I was in high school. My nickname was once Jung Ki-kong."
Unlike Anneke, who giggled, Yang Hana gave an awkward smile.
'What? Is this a funny story? Is the funny part that he changed Hong to Kong? Why?'
Taekgyu pretended to be impressed.
"Oh! You played as the Zerg? It must not have been easy."
"Heh, once a Zerg, always a Zerg."
"Shall we have a match later?"
"Sounds good. I should do a mutalisk harass for the first time in a while."
"Ah! Should we hold a company game tournament? It would be fun if not just us, but also the top 5 groups like Seoseong Group and CL Group joined. The winners from the company leagues could face off."
Yang Hana quickly nodded her head.
"That sounds like a good idea."
But her mind was complicated.
'What's StarCraft? Do I have to study this too?'
Taekgyu and Team Leader Jung Gi-hong had changed into T-shirts with the Mephisto logo on them. It was a perfect disguise that you would not expect from people from a competitor's parent company.
A few Mephisto fans greeted them warmly.
"Hello, guys. Where are you from?"
Team Leader Jung Gi-hong answered.
"We're from Korea."
"Wow! All the way from Korea? We're from Brooklyn."
Although not as far as Korea, Brooklyn is also quite far. It's like coming from the east coast to the west coast.
The man, who identified himself as Stormbringer (his in-game nickname), said that he and his friends who enjoy Mephisto had taken a vacation from work and flown over.
There was only one reason why they had spent so much money and time to attend StormCon.
"Because we love Mephisto. And we love IceStorm, which created Mephisto."
"There are many famous games like StarCraft, OverClock, and HearthMetal, but Mephisto is the best!"
"I've been playing Mephisto with these friends for a very long time."
Other people also gathered in small groups and talked about Mephisto.
The reason why so many Mephisto fans had gathered compared to last year's StormCon was because of the anticipation for the new game to be announced this time.
This was not just baseless excitement; IceStorm had been leaking information for several months before StormCon.
"They say it's a new game that will surprise everyone."
"I wonder how many years we've been waiting."
"I'd be happy if it's not a failure like 4, even if it doesn't surpass 2."
Everyone seemed to be at the peak of their anticipation for Mephisto 5.
The ability for strangers to become so close is one of the charms of gaming. Anyone could become friends just by playing the same game.
Games can transcend the constraints of time and space, and can realize anything that is impossible in reality. Therefore, their future growth potential is also limitless.
In the case of OTK Games, it started with a capital of only 1 billion yen, and is now valued at over 1 trillion yen.
This is possible because the gaming industry is an industry that literally creates something out of nothing.
In-game characters or items can be traded for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Once, a game company offered a choice between a mid-size car and a dragon-slaying sword (an in-game item) as a prize, and the winner chose the dragon-slaying sword.
People who don't know much about games might have thought it was a crazy thing to do, but it was a very wise choice. Because the price of the car depreciated, but the price of the dragon-slaying sword kept rising.
Team Leader Jung Gi-hong looked at Taekgyu with a look of respect.
'Games have the power to unite people from all over the world! To think that the Vice President recognized this potential and invested in OTK Games in advance, what on earth are you...'
It was a misunderstanding.
He had just invested in it because he liked Lost Fantasy. Who would have known that the gaming market would grow so much after that?
***
At StormCon, you could try out various games. Unlike Anneke and Jung Gi-hong, who were having fun on their own, Yang Hana was a bit awkward since it was her first time.
Taekgyu explained the game's worldview and controls to her in detail.
Seeing him, Yang Hana smiled without realizing it.
She was born with outstanding beauty and wealth. She was used to being the center of attention wherever she went, and she could get whatever she wanted with just a reach of her hand, without any particular effort.
Therefore, she even felt a sense of envy towards Taekgyu for his passion for something.
'They say a man who is focused on one thing is cool.'
Among the people she met, Taekgyu was a bit different. His greatest strength was not his money or his ability. It was his warm heart.
'If not, he wouldn't have caught the operator of Helltokkaeng for Hayoung unnie.'
Yang Hana was surprised to hear that. Taekgyu had done it out of kindness, but the person who received it would not have felt that way. She could feel that Min Hayoung's attitude towards Taekgyu had subtly changed since that incident. Before, she had been content with being friends, but now she seemed to be more actively appealing to his favor. Of course, the person in question seemed to be completely unaware of it.
'This time, Hayoung unnie isn't here, so it's a good opportunity.'
The problem is the Norwegian princess.
'Why did a student come here instead of studying?'
When Taekgyu said he was going to StormCon, Anneke ditched her classes and joined them. Taekgyu knew about it but didn't make a big deal out of it.
'You can't miss a deadline for your series, but you can skip class? What kind of logic is that?'
When asked about it, Taekgyu replied, "A series is a promise to the readers, but class is a promise to yourself. You must keep your promise to the readers, but you can break your promise to yourself as much as you want."
She still couldn't understand the logic.
In any case, Anneke was as vibrant and cheerful as a tomboyish younger sister, and she was well-versed in games, to the point of being a promotional ambassador for games in Norway.
In a way, she is a more noteworthy person than Min Hayoung.
Moreover, she had come here with thorough preparation. That was cosplay.
Many people were already cosplaying inside and outside the event venue. Even though today was not an official event day, they had brought their own costumes, gathered together, posed, and took pictures, having fun.
One of the other charms of StormCon was that people enjoyed what they wanted to do without caring about what others thought.
Just then, some Westerners in cosplay were gathered nearby.
'Hmm, is it fun to do something like that?'
As she was thinking that, Anneke gently grabbed her wrist and said.
"Let's do it together, unnie."
"Do what?"
"Cosplay."
At that, Yang Hana was flustered.
"What? I don't even have a costume..."
Then Anneke smiled and said.
"I made one for you too, unnie!"
"..."
Could it be that she had been planning this from the beginning?
"W-wait a minute."
She couldn't bring herself to forcefully shake off Anneke's hand, who was encouraging her with a smiling face, but fortunately, Taekgyu stepped in and stopped her.
"You shouldn't force someone who doesn't want to do it. Cosplay has to come from the heart."
At that, Anneke's expression turned sullen.
"I had a female Mephisto costume prepared for Hana unnie as a gift, which I had asked a company that supplies traditional clothing to European royalty to make for months."
Yang Hana became even more flustered.
'Why would you ask a place that makes clothes for European royalty to make something like that?'
Taekgyu shook his head.
"Of course, female Mephisto is my favorite character in Mephisto, and I think Hana would look very good in it, but what's not right is not right."
At that, Yang Hana flinched.
'What? Your favorite character?'
Anneke nodded her head.
"Then since I've already prepared it, it's a waste, so I'll try on this costume too. The size is a little off, but I think it will be fine if I add some more padding."
At that moment, Yang Hana shouted without realizing it.
"I'll do it!"
Taekgyu asked with a surprised expression.
"Suddenly?"
"For some reason, I want to do it after hearing you talk about it. I've always been interested in cosplay too."
"Really?"
"O-of course."
At that, Anneke's expression brightened in an instant.
"Then let's go change quickly, unnie!"
***
Yang Hana, who was dragged into cosplaying by Anneke's hand, was at a loss for words.
First of all, she didn't even know in what order to put on the clothes. Then Anneke, who had quickly changed into her costume, helped her from the side.
No, it was more like she was dressing her up like a doll than helping her.
"W-wait."
Before she could hesitate, she had finished putting on the clothes, and then the makeup began.
"Stay still, unnie. Don't move."
Anneke applied makeup to her face and did her hair with familiar hands. It wasn't the work of a novice.
Anneke's costume was that of an angel, a combination of light-colored light armor and white cloth, to be precise, Latiel, one of the four archangels in Mephisto.
And...
Yang Hana was horrified when she saw her own reflection in the mirror.
Black glossy leggings that clung to her body, a corset that cinched her waist, and a gorgeous costume with black feathers, a circlet with horns, and heavy makeup.
Despite the lack of exposure, it was a captivating and powerful image.
'Why am I wearing something like this instead of good luxury clothes?'
"Let's go out quickly!"
"Huh?"
Before she could prepare herself, she was dragged out to the event venue by Anneke's hand. Taekgyu and Jung Gi-hong were waiting outside.
"How do I look, oppa? I look good, right?"
Yang Hana wanted to run back to the dressing room right away, but the reason she couldn't was because Taekgyu was staring at her with a dazed expression.
This was the first time she had received such an intense gaze from him in their many meetings!
'Right. If you think about it, this is like a fashion show too.'
In fact, some of the clothes that appear in fashion shows are more bizarre than cosplay costumes. The models wear those clothes just fine and stand on the stage.
So if you think of cosplay as a part of a fashion show, wouldn't it be okay?
...she briefly turned on her happy circuit, but it was no use.
She was embarrassed. She was so embarrassed that she felt like she was going to die. The only saving grace was that her makeup was so heavy that no one would recognize her.
She was usually interested in fashion and was used to receiving people's attention, but that was at meetings or parties, and she didn't want to be the center of attention in a place like this.
Unlike Anneke, who was enjoying herself and showing off her costume, Yang Hana hung her head low. But at some point, people gathered around them like a cloud.
"Oh! Look over there!"
"Wow! It's the four archangels Latiel and female Mephisto!"
Anneke, who was like a vibrant young girl, and Yang Hana, who exuded a slender and mature charm.
The harmony of an angel and a demon, of the West and the East, was enough to attract people's attention. The Westerners let out exclamations of amazement.
"Oh! My! God!"
"Such quality!"
"How on earth did they make that costume?"
"Ugh! I thought Americans wouldn't lose when it came to IceStorm cosplay!"
"They always say not to forget that there are Asians who are better than us! It was true!"
A Western woman who was also cosplaying as a female Mephisto gave a bitter smile and shook her head.
"Heh, it's frustrating, but I have to admit it."
Hearing that, Yang Hana screamed inwardly.
'Oh, no! Don't admit something like that!'