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― [GM Ari] : Now our team is monitoring Shari in real-time and
preparing countermeasures, so you don’t have to enter chat messages
one by one anymore!
― [GM Ari] : What do you think? Can you feel our efforts for Shari?
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“Efforts…?”
As the hardships I had endured flashed before my eyes like a panorama, my teeth clenched involuntarily.
If they wanted to put effort into something, they should have quickly found a solution to the bugs instead of wasting time with chats or integrations.
But judging from their talk of coming up with countermeasures, it seemed like they hadn’t found a solution yet.
“Cut the crap and let me out of here.”
I said harshly, staring at the chat window hanging in the air.
Then, with the word “(typing…)” appearing, the newcomers began spouting even more bullshit than Ari.
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― [GM Sera] : Oh my. We are your esteemed seniors, so how can you
talk to us so crudely…!
― [GM Jinu] : She has a personality problem. (Agreed? Yeah, agreed.)
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“Seniors, my ass. Since I resigned as a part-timer last week, you can expect a complete drop in my personality when I leave!”
As I shouted in anger, another developer stepped forward.”
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― [GM Ari] : Jinu, stop it! Shari, please calm down, too. ㅠ_ㅠ
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The situation became tangled, and even adding the vowel (1)“ㅠ” at the end of every sentence since last time felt like they were mocking me.
“If you were in my shoes, would you calm down now…? Ha, forget it.”
I stopped fuming, shook my head, and closed the chat window.
“I’m going to find the next mountain or sea on the map and die, so you can watch if you like.”
It wasn’t worth wasting my mental strength on those incompetent fools anymore.
At this moment, my real body in reality was probably starving to death or dying of thirst.
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― [GM Ari] : Shari, I completely understand that you’re very confused and
angry about the current situation!
― [GM Ari] : Unfortunately, as Jinu mentioned, Shari is an NPC character, so
there’s no way for you to die. ㅠ_ㅠ
― [GM Ari] : However, after an intense meeting, we have found a way for
Shari to log out within 48 hours!
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That’s when it happened. As if it were a living organism, the chat window filled with scrolling text appeared in front of me again.
I paused, abandoning the action of pulling out the scroll and widened my eyes.
“T-That… Is it true?”
An immediate positive response came back.
As if forgetting that I had been swearing at the incompetent guys just a moment ago, I desperately pleaded in the chat window.
“How do I do it then? Please log me out right away! Please!”
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― [GM Ari] : I’m sorry to say this, but the method is…
― [GM Ari] : (typing…)
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The word “typing” appeared multiple times, disappearing and reappearing as if it were trying to drive people to the brink of madness.
‘Just log me out immediately if you’ve found a solution. Why are you typing away like that?’
It felt like it took at least a minute for the chat “typing” alone.
With my patience running out, I exclaimed with frustration, pounding my chest.
“Oh, what’s the deal? Why aren’t you saying anything and dragging it out? Are you going to reveal it in 60 seconds?”
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― [GM Ari] : (typing…)
― [GM Jinu] : Ugh, at this rate, she’ll be typing all day.
Just let me say it.
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Finally, someone who understood my frustration.
‘Yes, go ahead and blabber already!’
Feeling unusually forgiving, I stared intently at the chat window.
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― [GM Jinu] : You just need to complete the ending within 48 hours.
That’s it. OK?
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“…What?”
My thoughts came to a screeching halt upon hearing that ‘method.’
‘Do what? I’m supposed to do what?’
But no matter how many times I reread it, the chat displayed the same message.
It suddenly dawned on me that these game masters weren’t ordinary lunatics.
“Are you kidding me?”
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― [GM Jinu] : Kidding (2).
― [GM Sera] : I’m kidding (3)… not, junior.
― [GM Sera] : As you know, the game’s system automatically logs you
out when you reach the ending.
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“Are you asking me because you think I didn’t know that?!”
Upon hearing their playful words, I couldn’t hold back my frustration any longer.
“How could I possibly beat a game that even those obsessed gamers couldn’t?!”
It was true.
Though I didn’t know the details, I had heard that the initial beta version was distributed to famous pro-gamers and game streamers worldwide.
All of them were enthusiastic and willing to play with the implementation of 4D, which was nothing short of a compilation of new technologies. Yet…
Not a single person managed to clear the ending.
There were bugs, of course, but the quests, which changed rapidly without any predetermined patterns due to the AI, were insanely difficult.
As even those who had played the game countless times gave scathing reviews and left one by one, the developers continued to distribute the game to more people.
And they repeated that cycle over and over again…
So far, no one has managed to beat the ending.
It’s a shitty game that just keeps getting version upgrades.
Having heard its notorious reputation, I didn’t dare to take it seriously and only skimmed through the beginning to grasp my role.
“And how am I supposed to play the game as an NPC character? Just delete my character instead of spouting nonsense!”
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― [GM Ari] : We can’t delete a character that is currently
logged in, Shari. ㅠ.ㅠ
― [GM Ari] : But don’t worry too much about reaching the ending!
Shari, unlike other players, has us!
― [GM Sera] : That’s right. We, your seniors, will assist you.
Moreover, you are a ★Immortal NPC☆.
― [GM Jinu] : Since you’re also fluent in English, you have a rough
idea about the scenario and quest walkthrough, right?
It might be pretty easy.
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The chat window was flooded with irresponsible remarks.
I suddenly doubted whether these lunatics had actually beaten the ending and were saying those things.
I calmly asked.
“…Have any of you actually seen the ending?”
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― [GM Ari] : (typing…)
― [GM Sera] : (typing…)
― [GM Jinu] : (typing…)
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Indeed, they were a group of lunatics who had gone through 308 version upgrades due to bugs.
“That’s it. I was foolish to have high expectations…”
As expected, the only way was to find an area where death was possible.
While I didn’t know the entire world map, there were still a few areas that came to mind.
The problem was the time it would take to travel to those areas and the means of transportation.
Fortunately, I had a considerable amount of in-game money.
‘And no matter how far the distance is, it’ll be faster than four years.’
I quickly pulled out a teleportation scroll from my pocket, intending to go back to the apothecary and plan my route while looking at the map.
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― [GM Jinu] : Are you really thinking of dying? As an NPC,
you can’t die anyway.
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As if reading my thoughts, the newcomer’s chat message appeared.
That statement suddenly made me anxious, thinking about what would happen if I couldn’t die even after making all that effort to find the place.
However, filled with suspicion towards the developers who hadn’t even seen the ending, I ignored their words.
‘I won’t know unless I try it for myself.’
In the moment when I was about to tear the teleportation scroll…
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― [GM Jinu] : And now, you have no other choice.
Either live and die in the game for four years or break the ending as
quickly as possible within it.
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“What a rude joke.”
‘What do you mean there’s no other choice?’
With an irritated expression, I stared at the chat window as if I would rip it apart.
I shouldn’t have done that.
As if my gaze triggered a signal, the next chat message appeared promptly.
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― [GM Jinu] : It’s true. You started the tutorial, didn’t you?
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The curse of living trapped in the game for four years and then dying was even more chilling than before.
“What are you talking about? I never did.”
Having already given up my attitude of ignoring it, I straightened up and denied it.
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― [GM Jinu] : ?
― [GM Jinu] : Looking at the progress log, you completed the first
quest not long ago, right? You defeated 100 intermediate monsters?
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It was true that I had killed 100 (2)intermediate monsters.
However, that event was clearly unrelated to the game.
“That’s a quest that starts in Count Hailey’s territory. There’s no such quest in Dover Village…”
About to confidently deny their statement, I abruptly stopped.
Eerily, a memory brushed past my brain and firmly lodged itself in the front of my mind.
Coincidentally, the chat window blinked as if it had the same thought as me.
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― [GM Sera] : Let’s see… my junior. Didn’t you submit a proposal
for an additional hidden quest during the tutorial about ten months ago?
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There was a time when I still had that kind of passion.
It was during the period when I created my NPC character and was immersed in dubious accumulation.
[Dover Village] was a small, insignificant area that was only shown in glimpses during the tutorial.
However, it was the starting point for the players who logged in and began the game for the first time.
The very first starting point.
In other words, it was the perfect place for scamming people.
The tutorial began with the player waking up in a dark alley and witnessing a prisoner being led through town.
That prisoner was none other than the ultimate boss, the greatest villain in the game, who would continuously trigger quests until reaching the quest to subdue the [Ancient Demonic Dragon].
[The Lord of Nightmares]
As the title suggests, whenever he fell asleep, he would have all sorts of nightmares. The problem was that those nightmares were reproduced exactly as they were in reality.
「 Hero, please stop [The Lord of Nightmares] from falling asleep. 」
As such, players must disguise themselves as soldiers escorting the prisoner and prevent the Lord of Nightmares from falling asleep until they reach [Count Hailey’s Territory] by using weapons such as spears or swords.
If they fail to do so, hordes of monsters will swarm in, resulting in a game over.
Considering it was a mandatory part of the tutorial, it was an easy task that could hardly be called a quest.
However, I felt it would be such a waste to let [Dover Village] rot completely.
‘It’s the starting point where all players wake up!’
Furthermore, some players who knew that AI characters wouldn’t die during the tutorial would mercilessly attack [The Lord of Nightmares].
They would even take a picture of the bleeding character and proudly display them in the community.
‘Ugh, that’s too cruel!’
With the excellent 4D implementation, there were quite some horrific and gruesome wounds that made me frown.
As much as he was a villain, I felt some empathy for the AI character who received such treatment.
Coincidentally, it was the perfect time to gather opinions from the operation helpers before the new version upgrade, so I quickly submitted a quest proposal.
The so-called:
「 Hidden Quest: [Rise of Humanity] 」
「 Find the local apothecary and obtain a special healing potion!
Throw the bottle containing the potion to wake up the prisoner in a more
humane way and transport them. 」
The potion was called ‘[Dover Village Apothecary Shari’s Special Healing Potion★!]’.
It wasn’t particularly special in terms of its effects; it was just like any regular potion.
It was simply given out for free in a quantity of about 15, enough to barely pass the escort mission…
But its ripple effects among the players starting the new upgraded version were tremendous.
‘Where can I get the potion given as a hidden quest during the tutorial?’
‘If I buy a potion from Shari, is there something better?’
‘Where can I find Shari in Dover Village???’
The community exploded after the version upgrade.
Although there was an apothecary NPC in [Count Hailey’s Territory], the starting area where the game truly began, many players still visited the [Dover Village Apothecary] in case there was something better.
Of course, I sold the potions to them at a higher price than in other areas.
And I became rich in coins.
‘I didn’t propose this hidden quest just to accumulate wealth.’
Really.
I proposed the idea of a hidden quest with humanitarian considerations, aiming to adhere to game ethics and mitigate the shock that players would experience in the future.
The higher-ups also approved it, so it meant that they agreed to my proposal.
Moreover, after adding the hidden quest, the number of users doing cruel things to [The Lord of Nightmares] decreased significantly.
That was quite fortunate.
Because, no matter how much of a villain [The Lord of Nightmares] was…
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― [GM Jinu] : Is throwing a glass bottle to wake someone up considered
humane? It’s barbaric.
― [GM Sera] : Is this the point where humans who indulge in greed end up
facing the consequences?
⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋⚋
[The Lord of Nightmares] was the protagonist of this game.
[Collection of Footnotes]
1) “ㅠ”
– ㅠ is an emoticon that looks like a crying face or tears streaming down. It’s typed using the YU vowel in the korean alphabet. ㅠ.ㅠ / ㅠ_ㅠ are some of the variations of the ㅠㅠ emoticon, similar to how our XD 😛 emoticons work.
2) “Intermediate”
– Intermediate-level monsters are the same as mid-level monsters. Advanced monsters are the same as high-level monsters.
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