Ch.389389 – Atrocious Game

<389 – Cruel Game>

“This is strange. Why would humanity’s heroes sacrifice each other’s lives…!”

The moment Dobby raised his voice, everyone present turned their gaze toward him.

With just that pressure, Dobby felt the mana field surrounding him crumple pathetically.

The emotions etched on everyone’s faces were resentment and bitterness, along with even greater irritation and anger.

“So. What changes if we don’t self-destruct?”

“The preciousness of life, of course!”

“Those precious lives died like insects and became that absurdly large moon. The stars turned into lands of blood and death. What difference does it make if only we survive?”

“Ugh…”

“I don’t even know how someone as weak as you survived in the first place, or why we’re wasting precious mana on someone like you. Wouldn’t it be better for humanity if you became bait instead?”

The sharp criticism contained neither pride as humanity’s final suicide squad nor any heroism.

They were just ordinary people carrying out a final charge, filled with resentment.

Even if they had more talent and were more exceptional than others, it was useless after civilization collapsed, with no opportunity left to show off their extraordinary abilities.

An era where everyone had lost the meaning of life and sought a place to die.

Such an era had arrived.

“…”

Dobby couldn’t dare judge them as wrong.

He couldn’t criticize the methods of their leader, a giant standing 2m30cm tall.

Because there were no other alternatives.

That was the apocalypse.

That’s why this was strange.

The squad member’s point was correct.

His life was useless.

Why would a squad leader who disregarded human life and consumed it like a resource for the final charge share precious resources with a weak inferior like himself?

“Why me?”

After climbing to the mountain’s summit.

Only two people remained in the suicide squad.

The strongest leader.

The weakest Dobby.

Perhaps that’s inaccurate.

Someone who couldn’t even help defeat a single Bloodispawn couldn’t be recognized as a squad member, lacking both the specs and qualifications.

Though the giant could have scolded Dobby for his presumptuous question, he answered without even turning his gaze.

“New quest.”

“?”

“Because a new plot hook has appeared.”

The man said indifferently.

“First-year academy uniform. Poor abilities. Estimated time travel possible if the trigger is discovered. A player wouldn’t pass up such a strange character.”

“Player…?”

“It means someone who fully enjoys the game of this world.”

Dobby’s hair stood on end.

A game?

That’s something only dragons enjoy.

Does that mean this man isn’t human but a dragon?

‘That actually makes sense.’

Some things are finally becoming clear.

A physique too large for a human.

An unusual aura.

An attitude that treats human lives as consumables.

If he’s truly a dragon who treats humans as inferior beings, all the strangeness fits together like gears.

“Did it have to be this method?”

That made it even more frustrating.

If he’s a dragon, he’s the strongest living being on earth.

Wouldn’t his range of choices be much wider?

Why would such a powerful being…

It’s not like he lacks ability.

Why would he devise such a cruel strategy that presupposes the sacrifice of those who joined his game?

“I don’t lack ability. But I have no lingering attachments to a world where the happy ending is already over. So I’m maximizing the DPS coefficient.”

“DPS coefficient…?”

“It’s the power of a convenient function correction that increases damage through the power of friendship and anger each time a strong companion dies. Once you stack enough, it’s a very useful function that can push through boss patterns.”

“So it really wasn’t because you lacked ability?”

“I could do anything if I wanted to. But what’s the point of a character that can’t even maintain its concept if it’s not a one-hit character?”

[OneHitKill StrengthAllIn OneHitCharacterLover Marine]

When he revealed his own will, his identity was finally unveiled.

A name so carelessly given, impossible to consider a human name, like a dragon’s prank.

‘It’s a lie. Even if it’s not a lie, it should be.’

Such a careless being couldn’t have had any affection for this world from the beginning.

The world’s fate is doomed the moment it depends on such a being.

“I can’t acknowledge you.”

“If you can’t acknowledge me. What will you do?”

“I’ll repeat. And I’ll find something that will change your mind.”

Dobby willfully deactivated his mana field.

The man didn’t stop the miserable end as boiling blood vaporized and escaped from his body.

* * *

“You want me to tell you about the moment I regret most in my life before I die anyway?”

Northern Archduchess Irene shared freely, saying there were no secrets worth keeping when both the world and her life were ending.

“I regret killing someone with ice magic. The root cause was gathering more mana than my master’s set limit, determined to defeat powerful demons with strong magic. Unconsciously overflowing mana manifested as cold magic and froze to death a soldier approaching me.”

Imperial Emperor Yayoi recalled painful memories of the past with a somber face.

“Though I can’t call them close family, the deaths of competitors vying for succession rights left me with great sorrow. I didn’t hate them but rather respected them. The moment I turned away from deaths I could have prevented is what I regret most.”

Swiftspeed Rockpell looked down at the headband tied to his scabbard with cold, sunken eyes.

“Who are you to ask about others’ pasts?”

“No, since we’re about to die anyway, I could be generous and tell you…”

The world splits.

By the time he realized his neck had been cut by a drawing of the sword that made no sound, his body had already collapsed.

* * *

He finally found a way to persuade Rockpell.

It was asking about the owner of the headband.

“Dorothy. It must be that I couldn’t protect her. I honed my martial arts to protect her, but she died somewhere beyond my sight.”

Thousand-Sound Mandela Castella answered with a noble, bold laugh.

“Ooh~~hohohoho! Regret is an emotion felt by failing students who didn’t live yesterday to the fullest. It’s an emotion that cannot exist for a true noble!”

After hearing the regrets of other squad members, Dobby realized his preparations were complete.

“Why are you digging up old pasts?”

“Just trying to imitate a time traveler.”

“What? Time traveler, what nonsense…!?”

Dobby willfully deactivated his mana barrier.

This time too, his body quickly mummified and crumbled.

* * *

“I am a time traveler sent by your past selves. As proof, I know the moments you regret most. First, Irene, you regret the death of a soldier due to forced magic manifestation from excessively accumulated mana.”

“!?”

“Imperial Emperor Yayoi, you mourned the deaths of the crown prince and second princess.”

“How do you know my true feelings that I’ve never told anyone… Did my past self really send you…?”

“Then tell me about my past too.”

“Rockpell. Uh, what was it again?”

Dobby hesitated, momentarily confused after hearing too many pasts.

Rockpell swung his sword without hesitation.

“I cannot let a suspicious person live.”

“I really just forgot…”

His eyes closed with one resentful utterance.

* * *

“Rockpell, you regret not being able to protect your lover Dorothy, whom you left in your hometown forest, during her crisis.”

“It’s true. I’ll believe you.”

After repeating time over and over, enduring mistakes and forgetfulness, Dobby gained persuasive power over everyone.

The first thing he did was convince everyone to refuse the captain’s orders.

“Marine Captain’s plan is wrong. No matter how bleak the world is, throwing away your lives like straw isn’t the only solution.”

“So what do you suggest? To destroy the Bloody Super Moon, we need to climb Mount Shinjeong, and to climb the mountain, we need to eliminate the super-sized Bloodispawn with self-destruction.”

“It’s possible if everyone works together. We don’t have to defeat it in one decisive blow; we can share and distribute the risk among ourselves.”

The dragon’s play-thing, abbreviated as <Strength Marine>, strangely emphasized one-hit kills in all battles.

The suicide squad members he brought also had builds specialized for single strikes.

It took several observations to realize that what seemed efficient at first glance was actually inefficient.

‘If we don’t force a one-hit kill but push two or three times together, if we perform combined attacks that fill each other’s gaps in breathing and openings, we can advance much more smoothly.’

It was a basic realization befitting a lower-class student who needed cunning because he lacked strength.

Those overflowing with talent didn’t need such cunning and hadn’t consciously realized this.

“That’s problematic.”

Strength Marine glared at Dobby with fierce eyes.

“The concept must be maintained. No exceptions.”

“Is your game that important!”

“I see. You might be a time traveler from DLC content sent at everyone else’s request, but apparently not at mine. Well, as an NPC, you couldn’t be.”

He probably had some trivial reason like setting certain restrictions while enjoying his game.

Dobby’s guess was half right.

“Everyone here has set restrictions. They pledged to defeat every enemy in one strike to gain power. The moment they fail to keep that pledge, they permanently lose half their abilities.”

“!?”

There were restrictions.

But not for trivial games.

“Therefore, when a single strike isn’t allowed, they must self-destruct against strong enemies. Power that would be reduced by half anyway, might as well display maximum firepower for maximum value.”

It was because of a cruel game that forced them to place inescapable restrictions from the beginning.