NOVEL NEXT Chapter 467
“Hahaha… Is this really a happy ending? What a twisted mindset.”
Aston Merlin muttered in a daze.
He had underestimated the game just because it was made by a 10-year-old girl.
He checked the genre tags of the game too late.
[#Open World #FPS #Action Adventure #Indie +See More]
[#Mystery #Apocalypse]
Kaizen World basically marketed itself as an apocalypse genre game.
Despite the man’s attempts to capture the witch who killed Hibris, she only spoke incomprehensible words and left.
[It’s meaningless. Anyway, I’ll be forgotten in your memory.]
A happy ending isn’t game over.
Thus, he could explore the entire map even after clearing it.
Outside the village, the corpses of large demon beasts were scattered everywhere.
Occasionally, lively small demon beasts would jump in, but Merlin shot their heads off one by one with his magic gun.
“You cannot pass from here.”
The Rapavnk soldiers blocked the way.
He had reached the end of the map where he could roam in the game.
And Aston Merlin was able to get a map from the soldiers.
His instincts as an old gamer strongly suggested he should go up the mountain, not the blocked area.
There, he could see Brooks guarding his daughter’s grave.
‘Are all the people I’ve met doppelgängers? No, this one did say he visited the village occasionally.’
Even though he cleared the game, the more he looked around the world, the more questions arose.
The identity of Hibris, the mass death of large demon beasts, the witch’s infamy, the twisted timeline.
Humans are creatures of curiosity.
He reloaded the save file to uncover the truth.
On round two, he decided to head up the mountain to meet Brooks with Hibris.
He encountered the witch along the way, but for some reason, she granted him a seven-day grace period.
The journey was immensely more treacherous than the first round.
Relentless sandstorms blew in, and the large demon beasts that had been dead in the first round charged at him.
And somehow, he ended up meeting his father, but the witch arrived and eliminated Hibris just the same.
Starting from round three, Aston Merlin switched the game difficulty from hard to easy and immersed himself in killing the witch.
He recorded the most efficient growth route and hunted demon beasts like crazy with Hibris for seven days.
It was around this time that he grasped the mechanism of the magic gun that hadn’t been explained in the tutorial.
He loaded an Arc Burst scroll stolen from a desert robber and fired it; a spear of lightning impaled the heart of the demon beast like a harpoon.
“Truly, a genius is a genius. This utility is endless…! Now it finally feels like I can fight!”
On the seventh day, the witch showcased a bizarre battle that was far beyond common sense.
She unleashed 5th circle magic almost indiscriminately, and with a single punch, the ground split apart.
The large demon beasts he had worked hard to tame turned to stone upon looking at the witch and shattered.
Merlin was mercilessly defeated by the witch’s octa-casting.
“Children’s imagination is truly beyond comprehension.”
He focused his mind again and attempted a rematch.
He no longer cared about the wasted sleep time.
Fully prepared, round four commenced,
BAM BAM BAM-!
[Casting: Plasma Cutter]
He successfully concluded his witch hunt.
[
Bad Ending 3: Skin Shedding and Erosion]
CRACK-!
In that moment, a sound like glass shattering echoed from the sky.
However, there was no visible phenomenon to be seen.
From the witch’s shadow, Black Dragon Luri burst forth.
The young girl cried out in despair before the cold corpse of the witch.
[If you want to live, take Hibris and go to the underground labyrinth of Mikasuela Desert right now. I have a strong desire to kill you, but it’s your mother’s last words.]
The girl, polymorphed into a dragon, retrieved the witch’s body and flew high into the sky.
The dragon’s command materialized in text.
[May the day come when you repent the deeds you have committed…]
That day, Merlin witnessed a true apocalypse.
Demon beasts began to melt away in unison, transforming into thick magic.
The magic began to coalesce like smoke into a single point high above.
It resembled the shape of a black hole.
“This is dangerous. That’s really dangerous…!”
Merlin sprinted towards the map with all his might.
Beneath the desert he had traversed lay a colossal underground labyrinth.
So deep that he couldn’t dare to estimate its depth, he descended the stairs for quite a while.
BOOM-!
Whether or not a massive explosion occurred on the surface, the entire labyrinth echoed loudly.
And the man discovered the witch’s hideout there.
“Could this be where the witch lived…”
Hibris flipped through the pages in an ant-like voice.
Aston Merlin also joined her in collecting the notes left by the witch.
[Is there a way to neutralize erosion by separating the dimension? … X. Do not act relying on probabilities.]
“Look at this, Merlin! It’s a photo. The witch must have been a noble in the past.”
“There are photos in this world?”
“Yes. Commoners like us could only dream of using them…”
As Merlin admired the witch’s childhood photos, he finally felt a sense of clarity.
“No wonder it felt off. This game was a sequel!”
Sequel, referring to a follow-up work that deals with the time frame after the original in creations like movies or novels.
The world of round one, where dangerous demon beasts were found as corpses, could no longer be called an apocalypse.
If that’s the case, Hibris is the fake protagonist.
He concluded that Kaizen World dealt with the life story of ‘Witch Estasha.’
“The fact that Hibris’s death counts as a happy ending was solely from the witch’s perspective. Now I understand.”
All the puzzle pieces fell into place.
He took Hibris with him and went back up to the surface.
“Whaaaat! What the hell happened! The desert… the village…!”
They found themselves in the middle of an immense crater.
“It feels like I’m on the moon. This is horrifying.”
There was nothing to be found above the crater.
No people, no creatures.
DING DING-
An alarm signaling 5 AM in the real world rang.
“Hibris, I will save you along with this world.”
The thread leading to the true ending is visible.
Under the harsh conditions of a time attack for work, Merlin began round five with a racing heart.
He kept yawning, yet oddly enough, his mind was sharp.
*
Aston Merlin’s post on Box Media quickly spread within the American community.
[Kaizen World Review: If a highly developed humanity can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs, are they truly advanced?]
[Rating: ★★★★★]
He twisted the American proverb ‘You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.’
This proverb shares the meaning of ‘a sacrifice of the few for the sake of the many’ in the Eastern context.
[Will you willingly accept it when the sacrificed minority includes you or your acquaintances? The game’s theme is quite profound and philosophical.]
It had been almost a year since Aston Merlin, known for his strict evaluations, had given a perfect score of 10 to an indie game.
Looking into the detailed evaluation metrics, everything except for story and completeness scored 10 points.
He utilized all his rhetorical knowledge to explain the excellence of the work, along with various in-game screenshots.
[Lastly, I demand NoName to urgently add the tag #SF to Kaizen World. Isn’t what the SF enthusiasts wanted a masterpiece like Kaizen World rather than a cliché shooting game with a space backdrop?]
Aston Merlin was also captivated by the anti-material cannon showcased by Na-me in the true ending.
Gamers who had been skeptical began to give it a try upon seeing the stamp of approval.
Three days later,
Kaizen World’s popularity had reached a point where a dedicated forum was established within a major American community.
[Kaizen World Forum]
[Today’s KW Evaluation.jpg]
-Kaizen World-
[Recent Review – Overwhelmingly Positive (98%)]
[Total Reviews – Overwhelmingly Positive (97%)]
[Release Date – April 13, 2053]
[Developer – NoName]
-Reviews-
-Hibris is alive. (
208)
-I got depressed after one game. I got scared after two games. I gained hope after three games. And now I can say it. NoName is a god! (174)
-I don’t recommend it to aspiring game developers. It’s a masterpiece crafted solely from personal talent without adhering to conventional game development processes. (140)
-Honestly, the witch is super cute, isn’t she? (108)
-This project is excellent, but I’m more looking forward to the sequel. The vast lore beyond the wall is maddeningly intriguing. (85)
-Did you know when you see the true ending, the demon beasts become cute? (61)
The popularity in Korea was, needless to say, undeniable.
The unique game structure that almost forces a ‘happy ending → bad ending → true ending’ sequence.
Above all, many streamers participated, perhaps out of curiosity that Na-me created a game for a school project that gained worldwide popularity.
[Han Yong-cheol]
[Kaizen World – I must save it;;]
[Broadcasting Time – 3:43:28]
[Number of Viewers – 28,409]
“No, it’s not my turn! Why do they just keep attacking while I have to escape? Aaaaagh!”
-LOL
-Their demon beasts are tough, hahaha!
-You could just take down multiple medium ones, but you’re challenging a large one, huh?
-Trying to save time only to waste more time, eh?
-Where did Hibris go? I can’t see her.
-She’s staying far away because she doesn’t trust her ally, huh?
-Yong-cheol, hardcore my ass, this is hard mode. Let’s lower it to normal.
-A 20m one just reappeared and I absolutely can’t give up!
Building the foundation to face the witch, Han Yong-cheol.
The stronger the demon beasts, the more rewards and experience they provide.
Plus, since the size of the defeated demon beast determines its ranking in the Hall of Fame, hunting large demon beasts was a must for users.
[Shinsim Man]
[Kaizen World – Saving Private Hibris]
[Broadcasting Time – 6:35:20]
[Number of Viewers – 6,018]
“Wait, what? Why is it so empty? Did we teleport or something?”
-????
-Holy cow
-Where did all the desert we were in go?
-Deleted Open World, hahaha!
-You did it; you did it!
The streamers experiencing erosion denied the reality in front of them.
A region spanning dozens of kilometers had vanished entirely, leaving nothing behind.
[Dal-tori]
[Kaizen World – Hibris! I’ll cherish you!!]
[Broadcasting Time – 8:13:32]
[Number of Viewers – 9,324]
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for forgetting our daughter. From start to finish, it’s all dad’s fault. Leaving you alone in the village… it’s all my fault.”
[Sniff… I’m sorry too. I should have hidden well as you told me…]
“Whew… Phew… Thank goodness we did it!”
-Dal-tori! Dal-tori! Dal-tori! Dal-tori!
-I believed in the witch-nuna!
-Is that really anti-material cannon at a state level? Dal-tori is a legend…
-I was blown away when she did the octa-casting!
-Goodness, I’m tearing up tooㅠㅠ
-What a heartwarming moment!
-ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Dadㅠㅠ
-Happiness after despair… this really hits the spot…
-Now we need to go with Hibris and Market Monsters~~
For the streamers who witnessed the true ending, the demon pocket monster content was unlocked.
Small demon beasts had not been affected by the death of the erosion, so it became their obligation to tame them.
A Kaizen World frenzy blew through Twish.
Na-me’s first collaboration was with the co-composer U-Dex.
[NoName / Judex Ch.]
[Just Chatting – Kaizen World BGM Medley]
[Broadcasting Time – 0:28:23]
[Number of Viewers – 59,103]
[‘Prophetic Girl’ donated 10,000 won!]
-Is it right to play the flute alone when everyone is busy saving the world? (No clue)
PIP-PIP!
Receiving the donation, Na-me paused playing the flute and tilted her head.
“I’ll be cheering hard from behind with sister U-Dex. Aja Aja Fighting!”
Na-me’s voice, which shouted fighting, trailed off weakly.