Strategy Guide for a Merry Bad Ending

**Precaution Note:**

Before reading the following content, please note the following:

1. **Content Sensitivity:** This narrative includes explicit descriptions of sexual themes and may not be suitable for all audiences.

2. **Emotional Impact:** Expect intense scenarios and complex emotional dynamics throughout the story.

3. **Mature Themes:** Themes of attachment and seduction are explored within a simulated gaming context.

4. **Psychological Considerations:** Remember that the characters and events are fictional and may not reflect reality accurately.

5. **Self-Care:** Prioritize your well-being while reading. Take breaks if needed and seek support if discomfort arises.

6. **Informed Consent:** By reading further, you acknowledge these precautions and consent to continue at your discretion.

Thank you for your understanding and take care while engaging with the content.

Sincerely,

            Tl Bree

It’s not ordinary at all.

 

Jia leaned on the table.

 

“Please, elaborate.”

 

“Yes. It’s targeting women players with hardcore preferences…”

 

Tae-eul glanced at Jia, who was focused, before continuing.

 

“Obsession, possessiveness, madness… it’s a second world.”

 

The words the man uttered seemed to hover above them. If he wasn’t joking with her right now, Tempt, the game company, was definitely gambling on its own feet.

 

Targeting minor users is risky. This man must know how the market works.

 

Perhaps sensing Jia’s thoughts, Tae-eul raised his glasses and said casually, “There are many players with such preferences than you think, Ms. Jia. It’s a prejudice to assume that female players only enjoy pastoral plays.”

 

“… Is that so?”

 

“Yes. Of course, Ms. Jia, you’re one of those players too.”

 

Jia’s eyes widened. This man had also noticed that she was feeling bored with the gentle and naive dating games.

 

“Let’s move on to the next topic.”

 

Jia coughed awkwardly and waved her hand dismissively. She wanted to hear more about the game.

 

With a grin, Tae-eul continued his explanation.

 

“Usually, in dating games, only affection affects the content. Depending on whether the affection level is high or low, it determines whether it’s a happy ending, a bad ending, or a normal ending.”

 

“Right.”

 

“But our game is different. More important than affection level is obsession.”

 

“Obsession?”

 

As Jia tilted her head, Tae-eul pulled his chair closer to her and leaned in.

 

“If the player stimulates the target character in a specific way, their existing madness can be amplified. Characters may obsessively pursue, possess, and confine the player in the worst possible ways.”

 

Jia gasped. There might be an obsession ending in other dating simulation games, but typically, the problem lies in it being a bad ending, not happy. But from Tae-eul’s explanation, it felt like the purpose of this game was different from others, as if there were no happy endings in this game.

 

“Yes, there are no happy endings in this game.”

 

As if directly hitting Jia’s inner thoughts, Tae-eul quickly explained.

 

“If you’re lucky, there’s only a Merry Bad Ending or just a Bad Ending.”

 

“So, the players’ goal is…”

 

“Merry Bad Ending.”

 

The ringing of the bell in the meeting room felt deafening.

 

What could Mary Bad Ending be? Wasn’t it a wretched ending where only the target characters are happy while the player suffers mentally?

 

“Just a moment. Could you explain what Merry Bad Ending means?”

 

“That’s exactly what you think of as the ending. Being obsessed and confined by the target characters, being imprisoned, watched over, with no hope, no future, no happiness for ordinary players. Of course, it would be a very happy ending for the players we’re targeting.”

 

Jia couldn’t say anything. It felt like someone had given her the game she had been dreaming of.

 

With a smile, Tae-eul added, “And in the Bad Ending, players may also be confined and murdered by mobs. Of course, imprisonment includes sexual relations.”

 

This time, her eyes widened. If it’s a mob, isn’t he referring to other men besides the target characters?

 

Tae-eul leaned towards Jia and reassured her in a comforting tone.

 

“It’s okay. All the mobs involved with the player are set to have top-notch looks and bodies. So, all the men you’ll be with, Jia, will be handsome.”

 

Jia’s eyebrows twitched. It was nice that they were all handsome, but there was still a lingering discomfort.

 

According to the man, this was quite a niche product. It was a scenario that would be ignored by ordinary consumers who dreamt of romantic endings until the end.

 

Of course, for some players—especially launchers like her—it was a fantasy game that could only be tasted in heaven.

 

The problem was the rating for the public.

 

Despite Jia’s worries, Tae-eul proudly reassured her.

 

“It passed the rating. Oh, one thing. There’s no incest setting. That didn’t pass.”

 

…Did they consider putting it in at first?

 

“Distributors say incest makes it difficult to release.”

 

The man expressed genuine regret. Then, he quickly returned to a professional attitude and continued explaining the game.

 

“The ending composition is as follows: there are six Mary Bad Endings, four of which are exclusive Bad Endings. There are also about ten other Bad Endings. Finally, there’s one True Ending that appears after all characters are captured. But…”

 

“But?”

 

“Because it’s artificial intelligence, we can’t predict the content of the endings. We’ve left open the possibility of how far characters can go depending on the player’s tendencies. The more attractive the player, the more devastating the ending will be.”

 

It was one hurdle after another. In other words, they had set the number of endings, but they didn’t even know the endings themselves.

 

If the player pushes the target characters to their limits, a terrible story will be completed. It could be death or eternal imprisonment.

 

Jia bit her lip. It was unbelievable. This was beyond imagination.

 

“I hope you’ll write a walkthrough for all these endings, Jia.”

 

“Six Mary Bad Endings and fourteen Bad Endings, plus the True Ending. It’s hard to estimate the playtime.”

 

“Of course, but game time and real-time will flow differently. Our research team will support you sufficiently while you play.”

 

“Just a moment. While playing?”

 

“Yes. It will take quite some time to capture all the endings.”

 

It was a strange thing to say. Usually, launchers logged out after seeing one ending for a rest. Sometimes they took a break for 10 minutes, sometimes half a day. That’s why she preferred remote work.

 

This was the first time she had been offered to play in the lab like this.

 

“It doesn’t matter if you log out in between, right? I’ll just play from home…”

 

“The contract stipulates logging out after capturing all routes.”

 

The man’s gaze turned chilly as if it were a clear reason for offering a hefty advance payment.

 

“From the start of the play, every word and action of the player is reflected in the algorithm and system. But if you log out, the game flow is interrupted. We want even more meticulous manipulation, Jia.”

 

“…You want a perfect walkthrough.”

 

“Yes. Detailed for each character route, as well as exactly what words Jia used to stimulate the AI.”

 

Jia was lost in thought. It was a risky way to play. In a gaming climate where even all-ages healing games recommended logging out for mental health, being unable to log out in such a high-level game was unheard of.

 

Even if she had the misfortune of seeing countless bad endings, she would have to proceed with the play. Just to see all the devastating endings.

 

A smile spread across Jia’s face. Again, this was truly genius.

 

“Alright. Instead of 1% of the revenue, let’s agree on 2%.”

 

“No objections.”

 

As if anticipating negotiations from the beginning, Tae-eul’s response was straightforward. In fact, it didn’t matter what it was about.

 

What pulled her strings now wasn’t the money, but this ingenious game. She also wanted to test if this thing called artificial intelligence was true.

 

Moreover, it was a rare 19+ adult game even in virtual reality games.

 

And it targeted hardcore female consumers with a moral-less game.

 

After all, a game was just a game. It didn’t involve physical damage like real life. It was just about experiencing it mentally and sensually through contact sensors.

 

So, there was no play she couldn’t enjoy.

 

“But how do I write the walkthrough if I can’t log out?”

 

“Oh, about that.”

 

Tae-eul flipped through the contract pages and pointed to Article 11, Clause 2.

 

“When you enter the common character route, an item called a diary will appear. If you write it down manually, it will be automatically saved in memory.”

 

“It’s more old-fashioned than I thought.”

 

“Yes. It’s not awkward to do it this way given the game’s background.”

 

Come to think of it, she hadn’t heard about the era background. She vaguely thought it might be fantasy, but what would it really be like?

 

While examining the contract, Jia asked Tae-eul.

 

“Um, is it set in the Western medieval period?”

 

“No. It’s set in the Hittite Empire.”

 

“Hittite?”

 

It seemed familiar, but she couldn’t quite recall where she had heard it before.

 

Tae-eul handed her other documents she had prepared.

 

“It’s an ancient empire that existed on the land of today. Due to its sudden collapse, there are hardly any records left. The game is set against the backdrop of the Hittites just before their collapse in the 12th century BC.”

 

“That era… I know about the Egyptian Ramses at least.”

 

“It’s the era of Ramses III. Specifically, it’s a virtual era based on the assumption that a new aristocracy called Meskenet was born after Hattusili III of the Hittites.”

 

“So it’ll be different from actual history.”

 

“Yes. Exactly.”

 

Tae-eul added with a meaningful smile, “You’ll find it interesting. If you don’t skip the tutorial, you can immerse yourself enough to learn about Hittite culture and institutions.”

 

He turned the contract to the last page and placed it on the table. The signature of the CEO of Temt was already on the left.

 

Hepat.

 

Jia nodded as she saw the foreign name. It was the moment when she understood the confidence of the company that claimed to have developed artificial intelligence.

 

Of course. It would have been difficult to get support for research in Korea.

 

“…Will you play?”

 

Jia took the pen Tae-eul offered. The name of the game was written at the top of the contract.

 

‘For Your Misfortune.’

 

It was an overt and somewhat chilling title. Because of that, the wording at the bottom of the contract seemed quite eerie.

 

[“Would you like to agree to the initial demo play of ‘For Your Misfortune’?”]

 

Jia checked the box in the box and also read through the lines underneath. As it was a hardcore game, there were more warning messages than an all-ages game.

 

[“Do you agree to the collection of sensitivity information for ‘For Your Misfortune’?”]

 

[“Do you agree to hardcore sex in ‘For Your Misfortune’?”]

 

[“Do you agree to sex with multiple men in ‘For Your Misfortune’?”]

 

[“Do you agree to sex under coercive circumstances in ‘For Your Misfortune’?”]

 

[“Do you agree to sex that occurs unconsciously (during sleep) in ‘For Your Misfortune’?”]

 

She laughed boldly and signed right below her name. Making money and enjoying a high-level game. This was killing two birds with one stone.

 

Despite the slightly unsettling wording due to the title “For Your Misfortune,” it wasn’t particularly important. What mattered to her was the quality of the game and the money.

 

“Please take care of me from now on, Developer Moon Tae-eul.”