Phoenix of the Flame – Chapter 1

“I’M DONE!!”
The young man ripped off the VR headset and collapsed onto his bed.
“Haa, haa.”
He wondered why he was panting so hard from just playing a virtual reality game. But he was that excited.
“Finally beat it.”
The young man blankly stared at the video playing on the large TV linked to his VR headset.
[The end.]
The TV screen displayed the word “End” along with a CG montage of his gameplay highlights, accompanied by gentle music.
Watching it through the VR headset would have been nice too, but at least for this moment, he wanted to enjoy the ending with his own two eyes.
“Finally.”
The young man seemed moved, savoring the ending.
He’d seen this ending countless times over the past year. But at this moment, watching it felt incredibly new.
“…Hehehe.”
Past gameplay moments flashed by next to the ending credits.
In the flashback CGs, triggered by the player’s actions in the game, the young man’s avatar and a blue-haired girl shared affectionate moments in their daily lives.
“Right. There’s no way an uncapturable heroine would exist.”
The young man quenched his thirst with flat soda. A scene of the girl smiling at him with a straw in her mouth flashed on the screen.
“The heroine’s story was amazing… truly.”
Azure Phoenix.
A character from a VR dating sim RPG made by a certain company, and the ‘uncapturable heroine’ that no one had managed to romance in the year since the game’s release.
A mid-boss who was harder than the final boss.
A scenario where she awakened the protagonist and his party through self-sacrifice.
A flawless appearance compared to any other heroine in the game, and voice acting that was praised as soul-stirring.
Countless gamers who bought the game had tried their best to capture this character, but for the past year, no one had succeeded.
Achievement rate: 99.99%. No one could fill that remaining 0.01%… except for the young man.
The young man launched an app on his smartphone to check his game records.
[Blue Sky of Deathdinas]
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Achievement Updated… 100%! Platinum Trophy Acquired!]
“Hehehe, hehehe.”
The young man checked the notification that popped up in the upper right corner and couldn’t stop laughing, imagining the community about to explode.
Achieving the final 0.1% meant he had succeeded in capturing Azure Phoenix.
“I wonder if they took down the buying post yet?”
The young man checked a bookmarked site on his smartphone.
On a foreign gaming community site, he found a post that he had seen earlier: “Looking for a 100% clear save file for Blue Sky of Deathdinas.”
A game-crazy Middle Eastern prince had offered a fortune to fill that 0.1% gap. A crazy amount of money, close to 200 billion won in Korean currency.
“Hehehe. 200 billion. Hehehe.”
The world was buzzing about how someone could spend 200 billion on a game, but his obsession with completing the 100% clear rate seemed to defy common sense.
Especially for a 19+ VR open-world dating sim RPG that had unofficially reached GOTY (Game of the Year) status.
“Those cruel developers. Setting it up like that so no one could enter her route.”
The developers were truly twisted, designing the game so that the more you tried to find Phoenix’s route, the more the entry flags would break.
“Let’s see. The post I wrote on the community last time…”
The young man searched through a Korean community to find a post he had written before.

[Title: I think I might have entered the Phoenix route.]
[Picture]
[Can you guys see the screenshot? Have you ever seen this CG?]
[-Reply: Yeah, next fake.]
[-Reply: We all know you made it with Custom Girl.]
[-Reply: LOL, there’s still someone lying about entering the Phoenix route LOL. I’ll believe it if you send me the save file LOL.]
[-Reply: Wow, Phoenix is so pretty… Is this fanart? Please tell me it’s real.]

“Heh.”
It had been over a week since he posted it, and all the replies denied that he had entered the Phoenix route.
That was because there were tens of thousands of gamers, both domestically and internationally, who had lied about entering the Phoenix route.
‘If you don’t have proof, you’re treated as a troll.’
Even now, with the game’s first anniversary approaching, attention-seeking users were still actively trolling about the route.
‘But now I have proof?’
And now that his achievement had been updated, gamers around the world would know that one user had fully cleared the game.
The young man reopened the community. As expected of a community full of game addicts, the news spread quickly.

[???? WTF, who is this guy with 100% achievement??]
[Someone appeared who cleared Deathdinas]
[Wow, 200 billion won. Jackpot!]
[Which country is that guy from?]
[There was a guy who was trolling about entering the Phoenix route a while ago]

“I should verify it.”
They had dismissed the CG he posted as fake. As a petty revenge, the young man hadn’t shared any information about the strategy until he cleared it.
Click.
He erased his account nickname to avoid trouble and took pictures of the trophy information and the collection data rate in the in-game memory room.
“Ah… right. I should upload this too.”
The young man selected a memory scene from the memory room that he had truly admired and took a picture.
A blue-haired girl standing on a rooftop with her arms outstretched, looking back and smiling softly. The blue light contrasting with the sunset was like a fairy, even after seeing it again.
In-game screenshots were blocked, so he was just taking pictures of the screen with his phone, but the content of the memory scene was enough to prove that the young man had entered the Phoenix route.

[Title: Just finished the Phoenix route]
[Picture] [Picture] [Picture] [Picture]
[Is this enough to be recognized?]

“What are you going to do if you don’t recognize it? Hehehe.”
The developers who made Blue Sky of Deathdinas had created a Hall of Fame for “all-clear gamers” on the official website.
For over a year, no user had been listed in the hall, earning them a lot of criticism for essentially mocking the users, but now there was one nickname listed.
[BlueBird.]
The young man was moved that the only nickname in the Hall of Fame, his avatar’s nickname, was there.
“Keeeeeeeuuuuuuuuu.”
Some of the nickname was appropriately censored, so the full name wasn’t visible, but the fact that his name was in the previously empty hall was proof that the young man had seen the ending.
Almost as soon as he refreshed the page, replies started pouring in on the post he wrote.

[Reply: Give me the save file, you bastard]
[Reply: I’m sorry I didn’t believe you a week ago, please give me some hints…]
[Reply: It’s the first time I’ve seen Phoenix smile]
[Reply: Developer: There is no uncapturable heroine (actually said that)]
[Reply: Do you have sex with Phoenix?!?!?!?!?!?]

“What a load of crap.”
The young man frowned at the last comment.
‘I’m curious about that too!’
Of course, it was a 19+ game, and it was true that there were many steamy and ah-ha moments with the heroines in the game, but the story with Azure Phoenix was too sublime and beautiful to think about such carnal desires.
“…Oh, wait a minute.”
The young man quickly checked the announcements on the official website.
News that an ‘H-scene’ of one of the heroines would be distributed as DLC for the 1st anniversary.
Gamers had assumed that the H-scene of the character who had won first place in the recent popularity poll would be added, as Azure Phoenix was virtually branded as uncapturable.
“Could it be.”
However, the hints for the H-scene target were not significant enough to identify anyone. The three keywords given did not refer to any heroine.
“Wow, amazing.”
But the young man, who had immersed himself in the Azure Phoenix route and finished it thoroughly, sensed that the H-scene DLC was for Phoenix.
Gulp.
The young man swallowed involuntarily.
There were definitely moments where such a scene could have happened. However, there was no separate ‘scene’ that transitioned into such a situation. It was just a passage of time and then waking up together the next day.
If he received that DLC, loaded his clear data, and re-entered the route, he could enter that moment again-
“…Hehehehehehehehehe.”
He couldn’t stop laughing.
As a VR-linked virtual reality game and RPG, the game’s quality alone was enough to crush all other current-generation games, but if you had to pick the best part of this game, it was definitely the ‘H-scenes’.
To see the ‘scenes’ with the heroines, you had to take each heroine’s route.
Thanks to the existence of these scenes, which boasted a 99% sense of immersion, this game’s nickname wasn’t ‘a game you play with alimony money’.
The young man chuckled as he watched the comments explode with each refresh, but his eyes stopped on one comment.

[Reply: Finally, someone who has fully cleared it has appeared! Congratulations! I sent you a 1:1 message on your device, could you please check it?]

“The developer?”
The speed at which replies were being posted started to pick up as the developer made a direct appearance in the already noisy atmosphere.
The young man put the VR headset back on and manipulated the motion controller to check the message.
“They actually sent it.”
The message was sent around the time he received the trophy. He must have missed the message because he was watching the ending on the monitor.
[Congratulations! We are truly grateful that you have become the first all-clear gamer of our ‘Blue Sky of Deathdinas’!]
“…What should I reply?”
While the young man hesitated to answer, another message arrived.
[Really congratulations!! But excuse me for asking, are you planning to release or sell the all-clear save file…?]
“Ah. So that’s why they contacted me so quickly?”
The driving force behind Blue Sky of Deathdinas’s reign at the top for a year was, of course, the hidden piece about Azure Phoenix.
If that was revealed by the young man, it would definitely have some impact on the developer.
[If you want money, we’ll try to accommodate you, but honestly, we can’t afford to give you more than 200 billion won ㅠㅠ]
“That’s true.”
It was a case where a company on the verge of bankruptcy poured its last bit of soul into making a game that became a huge hit.
The total revenue from game and content sales would exceed hundreds of billions of won, but they wouldn’t have that much money on hand right away, and what would make them trust the young man enough to give him more than 200 billion won and sign a non-disclosure agreement?
If it hadn’t been for the developer’s message, the young man would have definitely enjoyed the afterglow and sold the information for 200 billion won.
[So, what our team would like to ask BlueBird is]
[Could you please not release any information about how to enter the route?]
As soon as the young man sent his thoughts in a message, a sharp reply came back.
[Yes!!!!]
“……Haa.”
The young man was in a dilemma.
If he sold the all-clear save file, he would have 200 billion won in cash.
If the young man revealed the conditions for entering the Phoenix route, the developer might suffer a major blow.
The aftermath could affect additional DLCs – and even the production of the next game.
Could another company create a game like Deathdinas even if they poured all 200 billion won of development funds into it?
No, do I even need to worry about that? What if the game company sues me?
As the young man’s worries deepened, another message arrived.

[Ah, we can’t force BlueBird to choose… but instead of selling the all-clear file or keeping the route entry information a secret, would you be interested in receiving a special ‘DLC’ right now?]
“DLC?”
Suddenly, the young man’s ears perked up.
[If it’s a DLC, are you talking about the 1st anniversary H-Scene?]
[Yes! As you may have guessed, the DLC scheduled for distribution includes an H-Scene with Phoenix!]
“…Includes?”
The young man tilted his head at the subtle difference in nuance. The young man’s mouth went dry at the producer’s next message.
[We were planning to distribute not only the DLC we announced for the 1st anniversary, but also an ‘expansion pack’~ A very spe!!cial!! expansion pack that only those who have cleared the game can use!]
[Could that be?]
[Yes! If you only look at the playtime, it’s bigger than the main game! I’m just telling you this, but it was supposed to be in the main game, but we cut it out because we didn’t have enough budget…ㅠㅠ But the original work was a hit and the budget problem was solved, so we were able to put everything in as we wanted! It’s practically the complete edition!]
“Awesome.”
The young man clicked his tongue.
A company that stakes its life on quality, so much so that it’s called a master of game development, is putting back in the content it had to give up due to budget issues. The already perfect game is about to become even more perfect.
‘This is enough, but a complete edition?’
Even if you take out the 50 hours I spent clearing the Phoenix route, the playtime is over 1900 hours, and it’s even bigger than that.
[Actually, we were slowly planting the seeds for the Phoenix route entry at the 1st anniversary event and were going to distribute this complete edition, but it just so happened that you cleared the game now… Ah! I’m sorry! I’m not blaming you at all. We just didn’t expect anyone to actually do that and enter the route.]
[It’s okay. I understand.]
Well, they must have planted some pretty crazy flags. The young man couldn’t help but laugh at the producer’s long-winded explanation.
[Ah, haha, thank you for understanding. Otherwise, I would have had to write a letter of apology ㅠㅠ My salary would have been cut, I would have been kicked out of the company, and I would have had an indefinite period of unemployment…]
Listening to the producer’s somewhat self-deprecating message, the young man stretched for a moment.
Ding-
[ has sent you a file. Would you like to receive it?]
“Yes.”
The young man downloaded the file from the production company and straightened his posture.
As if to prove that the volume issue was not a lie, the amount of data being downloaded was almost as large as the main game.
[Please enjoy it~ A new world will unfold when the download is complete! Thank you for playing the game of ‘(Ltd.) Cthulhu’! Please continue to ‘enjoy’ it hahaha]
“He’s a lively person.””
The young man closed the other person’s excited message and quietly closed his eyes, confirming that the download was complete.
Whoosh-
Along with the blue light emanating from the VR device, the young man’s consciousness was sucked into the device.
.
The young man smiled as he saw another phrase added to the title he had played dozens of times.
‘Wow. It looks like you can choose other characters besides the main character.’
I don’t know the details, but I’ll be able to find out more when I get into the game. With an excited heart, the young man clicked the ‘Start’ button, and his consciousness sank into the game.
And when he opened his eyes, he was in magma.
“……?”