Chapter 7: Bronya Must Take Responsibility for Su Mu!
Pole vaulting, levering, static 360-degree rotations, dynamic swings, hooking objects...
Although Bronya fell back a few times due to mistakes, this time it took her less than twenty minutes to return to Orange Mountain.
As she delved deeper into the game, Bronya finally realized the truth.
Orange Mountain, the anvil, the bucket, the snowy peaks... these levels were actually designed to correspond to specific skills. As long as you mastered the corresponding technique, you could pass the stages with ease.
In the beginning, Bronya only knew the simplest operation—hooking the hammer onto something and pulling herself up. She had bumped her way through the tunnel, suffering through a bout of torture. But once she became proficient in the pole vault technique, the tunnel became child's play.
Finally.
The moment Bronya scaled the high tower and flew into outer space, she sat before her computer, unable to snap out of it for a long time.
"If one day you take an hour-long subway to a distant place only to find you forgot your wallet; if one day you dry-clean a suit for a friend's wedding only to spill spaghetti on your shirt; if one day you argue with a friend until you are red in the face and finally get them to accept your view, only for them to suddenly change their mind... In life, moving upward is always easy, but starting over from scratch is always hard. If you are ready, I will always be waiting for you in this cauldron—Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy."
Bronya recalled the narrations that had observed her coldly during her climb. When those "famous quotes" first popped out of his mouth, she found them incredibly infuriating. But now, Bronya felt as if she had experienced a sudden enlightenment.
"Su Mu... that guy..."
Looking at the pale "fish-belly white" light of dawn breaking outside the window, Bronya remained silent for a long time.
"He is a true genius."
Having experienced the entire game, Bronya finally understood just how ridiculously wrong her previous assessment had been. This was by no means a crudely made game. The journey of the little man in the cauldron climbing upward, the core hidden behind those dead-fish eyes, was never as simple as just "torturing players."
And in fact, that was the truth.
Su Mu knew that in his world, Bennett Foddy was originally a philosopher—more accurately, an ethicist. He hadn't created this game just to make players break down. Although watching others play certainly made for great streaming content, at this very moment, the prejudice Bronya held against Su Mu vanished into thin air.
At the same time, she couldn't help but feel curious. How could Su Mu, who could create a work with such a profound core—a work that could be called art—be so unknown?
"Right, I remember Su Mu called me last night..."
Bronya took out her phone. Staying up all night had made her brain feel a bit like mush. "Something about Kiana? Kiana wanted to find streamers for promotion?"
She instantly snapped awake. A game that could be called a work of art deserved to be seen by everyone! Even if it meant going bankrupt, she had to ensure this game entered the public eye!
Investment—she had to increase the investment! She had to invest heavily!
Bronya dialed Kiana's number. Kiana's lazy voice came through from the other end.
"Hello? Bronya? It's only six o'clock, it's not time for work yet—"
"Kiana! Add more money! We must add more money!"
"Huh?"
Kiana was clearly dazed on the other end, unable to respond for a good while.
Bronya explained, "I mean Su Mu's game! We need to add more money for promotion! Weren't you going to find people for paid promotions?!"
Kiana scrambled out of bed. What was the situation? Was Bronya coming to scold her?
"...? I only found a few streamers for promotion, it really didn't cost much! The contracts are already signed! It's too late to regret it! If you want to yell at me, just do it!" She simply adopted a "dead pig unafraid of boiling water" attitude. Since the contracts were signed, the money couldn't be taken back anyway!
Bronya was getting anxious. "No, I mean, find even more people for paid promotions! If there isn't enough money for publicity, I'll front the cost myself!"
"??"
Kiana was dumbfounded. What was going on? How did Bronya change so much in a single night? She had a completely different attitude yesterday; what on earth happened? Had Bronya discovered she had a system? That shouldn't be possible.
The next words from Bronya caught Kiana even more off guard.
"Kiana, I'm sorry. I was wrong."
"*Getting Over It* is a good game... no, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a work of art. I misjudged it."
"At first, I was somewhat dissatisfied with you serving as the President of miHoYo, but I was wrong. Your vision is much stronger than mine. I apologize to you here."
?
Kiana Kaslana slowly typed out a mental question mark. What was the situation? Did Bronya have a fever today? Why was she talking nonsense? For a while, Kiana simply couldn't comprehend what Bronya was saying.
"In short, although it's a bit rushed, I will try to use some of my own channels to help with the promotion."
Kiana finally reacted. Though she didn't know why, Bronya seemingly wanted to take over the promotion of Su Mu's game... That wouldn't do! If the game was associated with Bronya's name, the difficulty of it failing would increase by several levels!
No, no! Absolutely not! You have to understand, Kiana had spent yesterday carefully selecting streamers who were notoriously bad at games for the paid promotions, all to ensure the audience saw exactly how torturous this game was!
"Er... that, Bronya, didn't we agree before? Let's not use the miHoYo name or your name for now. After all, if it fails, it won't be good for your reputation."
"Uh..." Bronya froze. She felt a bit of a headache; her own words had turned into a boomerang and hit her back.
Kiana continued to persuade her, "I've already set up the promotion on my end. Leave it to me this time. After all, I am the President of miHoYo, right? I have to contribute some effort."
Bronya nodded. After all, she had been the only one rejecting the game from the start. To suddenly interfere now would make her seem a bit out of line.
However...
Bronya looked at *Getting Over It* on her computer screen, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly. She believed that this game was definitely not Su Mu's final masterpiece. He would surely create many more wonderful games in the future!
She would go apologize to Su Mu later. And next time... next time, she would take responsibility for Su Mu.
...Responsibility for his game projects, of course.
END OF CHAPTER