Chapter 61: Endless Trials in an Unfinished Game

Hearing a voice, Akane turned toward it.

Standing there was a small version of Han Yurim—or rather, the character “Han Yurim” from A Retaker’s Need for Love, the game she had played just a few days ago.

“Yurim-san?”

“Yes. Speak your mind.”

“Akane’s curious about what this form is supposed to represent.”

“It’s a gameplay mechanism.”

Though Akane didn’t quite understand what that meant, she let it slide.

By now, she had already grasped how to deal with Han Yurim.

“That was fun, Yurim-san.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Since it’s an unreleased game, I didn’t have to worry about copyright, so I borrowed bits and pieces from everywhere.”

Ah, so that’s why Ormal was in the game. One mystery resolved, but another arose.

“Yurim-san.”

“Yes?”

“I was curious when I saw it earlier—this avatar… is it Thierry?”

“No.”

“No?”

“If you look closely, you’ll notice the differences.”

Upon closer inspection, it certainly wasn’t Thierry.

But it felt like comparing identical twins; you could only notice the differences if you looked hard enough.

Still, if Yurim said it wasn’t, then it wasn’t.

Akane clapped her hands and adjusted her focus for her stream.

“Now that I’ve cleared the game, let’s get back to the main content. A question for Yurim-san, first of all!”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Huh?”

“It’s not over yet.”

Akane tilted her head in confusion.

The game isn’t over?

“Is there another boss?”

“There’s no such thing as a Souls-like game with only one boss monster.”

That made sense, but since it was an unreleased, self-made game, she’d assumed it ended there.

“Go in that direction,” Han Yurim instructed, pointing toward a newly-appeared blue portal.

“Does that mean you’ll be fighting alongside me now, Yurim-san?”

“Nope. I’m more like an NPC, akin to the guiding fairy in mission-based games.”

A guiding fairy?

What’s that supposed to mean?

Oh well, it seemed like she was just a helper character who followed the player around.

That much Akane could understand.

“Alright! Let’s give it a shot!”

If the game wasn’t cleared yet, she wouldn’t stop. That was Yukimura Akane’s way.

She stepped through the portal and moved on to the next stage.

[2nd Floor]

[The Red-Haired Gunner]

Bang!

A fiery bullet ripped through the air, followed by a loud explosion as the spot where Akane had just been erupted into flames.

She rolled to dodge the attack, clutching her sword while searching for the attacker’s location.

The assailant was a red-haired gunslinger—Lee Sahyang.

Akane quickly recalled Lee Sahyang’s skillset. This was no opponent to attack recklessly.

First, she activated the magic within her body.

Her physical capabilities were enhanced, allowing her to move faster and hit harder.

Crack!

An ice bullet struck Akane, slowing her movements.

This wasn’t the kind of attack one could dodge just by reacting.

It required memorizing the timing and trajectory to evade it.

After barely managing to get close, Akane swung her sword, leaving a trail of blue light.

Magic had imbued the blade.

However—

Clang!

Lee Sahyang crossed her guns to block Akane’s attack using [Gun Guard].

At that moment, a red aura enveloped Lee Sahyang’s body.

It was obvious—this was the animation for an ultimate skill.

Boom!

With a massive explosion, Akane died and respawned on the empty first-floor stage.

“You don’t need to re-kill bosses you’ve already defeated. The game’s story explains it as them being banished from the timeline.”

“Well, that’s a relief for Akane, at least.”

She headed back through the portal.

Lee Sahyang was a tougher opponent than Ormal, with more damage and complex patterns, but…

This was manageable.

Attempt 2, Attempt 3, Attempt 4, Attempt 5… Attempt 46.

Finally, Akane managed to predict the timing of [Gun Guard], evade Lee Sahyang’s ultimate skill, and unravel her countless patterns.

Akane threw her arms up in victory.

“Akane has triumphed!”

“As expected of Akane-san. I always believed in you.”

“Yurim-san!”

Han Yurim, who had returned at some point, clapped her hands and greeted Akane with a smile.

Akane grinned and spoke up.

“That was fun, Yurim-san.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Since it’s an unreleased game, I didn’t have to worry about copyright, so I borrowed bits and pieces from everywhere.”

“Wait, does the dialogue loop, too?”

“That’s part of the design.”

If that was the case, then next…

Zzzing.

As expected, another portal appeared.

Han Yurim curtsied, lifting the sides of her gothic lolita dress slightly.

“Please, enjoy yourself.”

“Of course!”

Akane stepped through the portal.

[3rd Floor]

[The Wandering Knight]

The stage had changed.

The dim cave-like setting transformed into a colosseum.

From across the colosseum, a fully armored knight approached with heavy footsteps.

It was Marvin Flail, another character from Eternal World.

“Close-quarters combat with swords? This should be doable—”

Boom!

The colosseum floor shattered as Marvin Flail suddenly closed the distance at lightning speed.

Akane hurriedly drew her sword, but Marvin swung his blade with the same momentum as his approach.

Slash!

Akane’s head flew off, and she respawned on the empty second-floor stage.

Han Yurim approached with a relaxed stride. She stood over Akane, staring down at her for a moment before flashing a bright smile.

“A question for Akane-san. First one! How many boss monsters do you think this game has?”

“…37?”

“Wrong! The correct answer is…”

Han Yurim raised both index fingers.

“…191!”

That was the exact number of characters currently featured in Eternal World.

Akane chuckled nervously to herself.

“What the heck kind of game is this? Will I even be able to clear it today?”