episode_0001

– Ugh!

– Die…! You filthy demon─!

[ HP 12/3155 ]

.

.

-Why are you all here…!

-Do you wish to avoid being caught after causing such trouble?

[ HP 2/3155 ]

.

.

-Wait…!

-It’s over─!

[ HP 0…

[ HP has reached 0. ]

[ The player dies. ]

[ Bad End 34 – Died in the “Dungeon of Truth” ]

[ Settling data…..

“Ugh…“

Blinking.

Rubbing his head while looking at the game over text on the black screen. His neck involuntarily drew back and his vision blurred.

In the roguelike game called Savior, there was no function like ‘save’ or ‘load’.

Once the character dies, it’s over.

“My, my 100 hours end like this…?”

His eyes trembled in the merciless reality that was thrust upon him. Emotions from his heart spread throughout his body.

Unable to control his anger, he waved his hands helplessly and hit the desk hard.

“Ouch…”

The hazy mind was suddenly awakened by the physical pain.

The pain piercing his elbow made his waist twist involuntarily. After floundering meaninglessly for a while, he was hit with a sense of reality and slumped into his chair.

Even thinking about it himself, he felt embarrassed.

If anyone had seen, it would have been a spectacle worthy of mental damage for almost a month.

“Sigh…”

He stroked his sore elbow and looked at the monitor.

The monitor still displayed the bad end label coldly. The character was freezing cold.

12th character 〈Hybrid Summoner〉

A strategy that overwhelmed opponents with an overwhelming number of summons and command of dark magic under the combination of summoning and sorcery.

It was an effective strategy. It had easily defeated the main story compared to previous attempts. He thought that if he did well, he might see a happy ending this time.

This character was nurtured with great care, taking the 12 previous failures as a lesson.

He didn’t consider himself invincible, but he had grown enough to confidently pass through at least a few chapters.

It’s gone to the dogs. I went into a dungeon that was being given away and got caught in a trap event and died miserably.

I even died faster than the last time.

Was it a mistake to take the dark magic route?

The initial drop in favorability from those around me wasn’t a big problem, but from the middle of the game, I was soloing everything.

That boss just launched an attack.

The main characters joined hands and abandoned my character. They lured me into the dungeon carefully and then cut my throat with a single stroke while monsters swarmed all around me.

It’s so unfair. What did I do wrong?

I just wanted to learn some dark magic, so I preyed on an NPC from the lower class. I didn’t cause any harm to the main character…

Furthermore, as the route itself is a summoner, my own powerlessness made me too easily fall victim to a surprise attack. If I had raised my stats a little bit, it wouldn’t have ended so futilely.

“But to raise the stats…”

My own stats?

Even the 11th round character “Geumgang Warrior,” who had focused solely on the character’s stats, lasted a long time, but in the end, he was beaten and became monster food.

I stared at the bed ending window and fell into contemplation.

“…No. It’s all wrong.”

After a while, at the end of my contemplation, the answer flashed. I saw the answer waving its hand far away.

“A summoner? I’ve been thinking wrong from the start.”

Come to think of it, the idea of a summoner was wrong from the beginning.

A summoner? Summoning and just watching from behind?

It was a cowardly thought. That’s why I die miserably in trap events.

But was the previous 11th round “Geumgang Warrior” route successful? No. This guy also couldn’t respond and died when buried in a reverse event.

When the existing method is not feasible, you have to find other variables.

Thud-

I cleared the bad ending window and clicked on a new game.

There was still plenty to enjoy, but I wanted a more distinctive play.

[ Creating a character (13th round) ]

[ Please enter the player’s name… ]

Thud- Thud-

Scrolling down.

Name, characteristics, origin…

“It’s different.”

[ Constraint ]

Understand it as a system of equivalent exchange or give and take.

Instead of imposing one constraint on the character, they gain a special advantage that befits it.

This is a common setting often seen in games or comics.

In the past, the constraints were all strange things that I didn’t want to touch at first.

As a newbie who had just started, it was an element that hesitated to touch, but now I have gained enough experience. After about 12 rounds, wouldn’t I be considered somewhat of an expert beginner?

When I first played the game, I enjoyed the additional settings like DLC after tasting the vanilla, so the constraints were put on the back burner.

In fact, I had thought about the element of constraints from the moment I saw it.

I rolled the mouse wheel and found the predetermined constraints.

There are up to three selectable constraints.

▶Constraint (Ⅰ): “Curse of Sensory Seal”

– Permanently seals the chosen sense.

– Choices: Vision, Taste, Smell

Blindness, inability to taste, and inability to smell.

▶Constraint (Ⅱ): “Curse of Ephemeral Life”

– Born with a short-lived body.

You die before enjoying your prime. In other words, you live a short life.

▶Constraint (Ⅲ): “Curse of Silence”

– Suffering accompanies speaking.

Even basic communication becomes difficult.

“Hmm.”

It’s a suffocating lineup. If I think of it as reality, I don’t think I could survive under those conditions.

If I were to speak of my share of happiness, it would be the tripartite system of YouTube (sight), food (taste), and the scent of grass (smell). If all of those were taken away, it would be easier to just die.

Not being able to talk much, just enduring life, I probably won’t last long naturally.

Of course, in the game, all sensory stats plummet, interaction between characters decreases, and vitality decreases, but that’s all.

Up until now, it has been a constraint, and from now on, it will be a special advantage.

▷Ability (Ⅰ): “Spatial Perception”

– Possesses overwhelming spatial awareness.

Instead of eyes, directly feels and acts in space.

▷Ability (Ⅱ): “Magic Affinity”

– Possesses an affinity beyond the standard for magic.

Whether wielding a sword, using magic, or creating something, gains a remarkable affinity for magic in a world where everything requires magic.

▷Ability (Ⅲ): “Allure of the Eight Directions”

– Possesses above-average qualities in various aspects.

Aspiring for soloing, he secures the versatile ability where the lowest point of all sectors rises even if the high points fall. If he accumulates skill alone, there will be nothing he can’t do.

“This should be fine.”

After briefly considering constraints and abilities, he nodded.

You can’t be full on your first try. The thought of achieving a happy ending at once was abandoned. It will probably take a few attempts and redesigns.

Still, it was inevitable to feel excited about what performance he would show.

The abilities obtained from this point are all included in the ‘unique ability’ category.

In game settings, it’s a universal rule that one is born with innate unique abilities.

However, if constraints are added during creation, the player character is born with three innate unique abilities, unlike others who have only one.

Even characters from the previous round, who started with only one unique ability, had made considerable progress.

Even the 〈Geumgang Jeonsa〉 had reached a level of specs that could compete with the world’s top-tier skilled individuals, even when facing them 3 to 1.

Then how far could a character starting with three go?

Feeling the heartbeat fluttering with anticipation, he moved the mouse cursor… …

…

“Hmm…”

What is this feeling? It feels like cold sweat running down his neck.

No, it’s not because of the feeling.

When he rubbed his neck, damp sweat appeared.

Real cold sweat flowed as if it were raining. As he became aware of it, his body shivered with an approaching chill.

Something ominous. Something strange.

With trembling hands, he barely moved the cursor. Then the strange sensation faded away.

“…What’s this?”

When he moved the cursor to start the game, he felt the trembling and the chill again… then back to normal.

His body? No, it seemed like an instinctive something was foaming at the mouth and warning him not to start the game.

“…Should I do it tomorrow?”

It’s not urgent anyway.

Actually, there’s no rush to make a decision.

Muttering excuses to no one in particular, he got up from his chair.

Tomorrow is Monday, but he doesn’t have to go to work anyway.

He tidied up the desk and quickly showered before coming out of the bathroom.

It still seems good to go to bed early today, feeling physically exhausted.

After drawing the curtains and placing a vanilla-scented diffuser by the bedside, I buried myself in the bed.

To escape from anxiety, I tightly closed my eyes.

As my eyes closed and the scent of vanilla tickled my nose, drowsiness gently washed over me.

Soon, consciousness locked away.

The next day, I woke up in the world of the game.

But damn, I can’t see anything in front of me.