NOVEL NEXT Chapter 369
Side Story: The Last Story – 3
“With the Goddess?”
“Yes. Is that not okay with you?”
“It’s not that it’s not okay, but…”
No matter how much Eclipse is the developer of Brightest Darkness 4, doing it personally and making it are two different things. Just because she created Brightest Darkness 4 doesn’t mean she’s good at it.
I casually observed Eclipse moving the sticks with her thumbs as she picked up the controller. The awkwardness was dripping from her first moves, but in just a few seconds, it seemed she adapted and became quite natural.
‘Well, let’s not think too complicatedly.’
She might just genuinely want to enjoy gaming with me, not just dive in to win. Until a clear reason is revealed, I should avoid unnecessary assumptions.
And even if it doesn’t feel like it, Eclipse is undeniably a goddess. If she sets her mind to it, there’s nothing she can’t do. Becoming good at Brightest Darkness 4 wouldn’t be an exception.
“Does that mean you won’t accept it without a wager? I understand.”
I was slow to answer because my thoughts drifted for a moment, but she seemed to have thought differently.
“How about a bet then, you?”
“What kind of bet do you mean?”
“The winner gets to give any command to the loser. Really anything.”
The moment I heard “a command for anything,” I felt a wave of suspicion wash over me. It felt like she had ulterior motives. Plus, with the emphasis on “really anything,” it felt even more dubious.
At least the Eclipse I knew didn’t have the personality to say such things innocently.
“Of course, naughty commands are allowed too! Like, live naked for a day, or something…”
Eclipse’s face slightly reddened as she shyly curled up her body, subtly lifting the cloth around her chest. The golden cover was raised dangerously high.
One hand was playing with the genitalia cover. The tiny rag that barely covered two finger widths was moving precariously and seemed about to be pushed aside at any moment.
‘As I expected.’
Mentioning naughty commands outright showed that she was fully prepared to lose to me on purpose.
What if I let her win in return? Her controlled desires would burst forth, whether she won or lost, it would be a bet where she couldn’t possibly lose.
“Alright then. Let’s do it, let’s bet.”
“Hehe, yes.”
Eclipse beamed with a smile as she leaned back against the sofa.
I used a catalyst for PVP and drew a white summoning sign on the floor. On the TV beside us, the same shape and color of the summoning sign appeared precisely where I had used the catalyst.
As Eclipse’s character approached and hit the interaction key, my character was dyed in white and appeared in her world. A character remarkably similar to Eclipse performed a ‘jumping with joy’ gesture.
According to the laws of physics, the character’s chest, nearly the size of a head, swung confidently. It was a stark contrast to the grotesquely ugly appearance of my character.
‘When did she change her character again?’
That had to be Aurora’s account.
I used the ‘polite greeting’ gesture while replacing my broken sword with a regular weapon. Eclipse’s character also flaunted her voluptuous figure as she took out a Wingless Nightmare and a staff.
“Can we start now?”
“Yes. Feel free to come at me, Goddess.”
“Alright, here I go!”
The next moment, Eclipse’s character raised the staff in her hand. A blue light burst from the staff, creating 12 spheres around her body. It was the Magic Induction Crystal Spell.
Each hit might be weak, but once you start taking hits, you get stunned, and at least four or five would hit in succession. Rolling to dodge? The timing was so obvious that it would be easy to catch the roll.
This combination was born after Aurora and Kaiquilia put their heads together to find a way to beat me, and it had given me quite a headache before I found the solution.
The solution turned out to be surprisingly simple.
“Huh, wha…? What are you doing?!”
I could just walk to dodge instead of rolling.
After dodging all the induced crystals by walking, I immediately approached. Eclipse’s character, thinking I wouldn’t charge in, was fumbling to prepare magic, but her pattern was too obvious.
I deflected all her basic attacks and jabbed my sword back at her. Eclipse’s character, hit by my greatsword’s strong attack, floated up into the air before crashing down.
“Did you not see Aurora and Kaiquilia getting hit earlier?”
While one person was attacking, I managed to dodge the crystals flying from beyond, so dodging something coming from that distance was as easy as closing my eyes.
Pouting her lips, Eclipse began casting her next spell. While swirling her staff in a semicircle, her character completely vanished.
This was a magic that rendered her body transparent, and since there were no sound effects left, it seemed like an upgraded version of the simple invisibility spell, ‘Invisible Body,’ called ‘Perfect Stealth.’
‘…Was the body revealing only for monsters?’
From just the explanation, it felt like a must-have spell, but surprisingly, the applications weren’t that many. Once a player gets too close to a monster, they notice you whether you have Perfect Stealth or not.
Moreover, the detection range was quite broad. It was within reach of a basic attack from one of the greatswords.
I quickly surveyed my surroundings. The duration of Perfect Stealth, if no runes were equipped, was only 45 seconds. If I maintained a reasonable distance—
Puhak!
My character was knocked to the ground by an attack that came from nowhere. I turned the screen in the direction opposite where my character fell, but I saw nothing.
“Heh heh! How about that?”
Eclipse looked at me with a confident expression on her face, somehow radiating a sense of excitement.
It was such an unexpected strike, but I didn’t panic. I calmly surveyed the area. Before I could even pinpoint the location, I allowed another attack. Boldly, this one came straight on.
‘…I can’t see anything?’
I could neither deduce the traces of the attack nor the movement. Was this what invisibility magic felt like originally?
As Eclipse successfully landed two hits on me, Aurora was staring intently at the screen, her expression quite serious. It seemed she was also considering attempting Perfect Stealth.
“Two hits left, you. After two more hits, you, who are worse at the game than me, will be confirmed, right? Right?”
“…Sigh.”
I was at a loss for words. What was this goddess saying to me? I suddenly wanted to give Eclipse a good slap on the head for that cheeky face of hers, but I held back.
Getting revenge outside of the game would only give her a reason to attack more, so I had to win the game first. I had to crush that arrogant expression, that confident tone, and that haughty gesture in front of me.
Just like I did during the Chaos Dungeon.
“We have one hit left, you pathetic person. Should I think about what command to give you? How about that?”
As my character barely endured the third hit, Eclipse chuckled and poked my cheek. Suddenly, the Perfect Stealth wore off, and Eclipse’s character was revealed.
‘12 o’clock direction.’
As soon as Eclipse’s body was revealed, she immediately used Perfect Stealth again. The briefly visible form disappeared once again.
‘Then…’
As her body vanished with Perfect Stealth, she must have moved, so I figured she would be at weapon range now. From here on out, it was just a psychological battle.
Finding out the direction in which Eclipse, who had been joyfully teasing me up until now, would attack. That was all I needed. I looked around and suddenly swung my sword.
Puhak!
“Uh, huh?”
Along with Eclipse’s bewildered voice, a strong vibration surged through the controller. The character hit by my greatsword wobbled, caught in stun.
At first, I didn’t follow up deliberately to see what she would do, but now things were different. I immediately followed up with my next attack. Eclipse’s character died on the third hit.
“….”
As the game, which I thought was over, was overturned, the controller fell from Eclipse’s hands. Her pupils twitched, and her mouth, agape, didn’t seem to close.
‘From now on, I need to consider situations where PVP and PVE have different effects.’
Since I had only been doing PVE, I never expected what would happen if Perfect Stealth worked like that. Judging by her expression, it seemed Aurora had been in the same boat.
“This was a bit tough. You made me think a bit, Goddess.”
“Wh-what… what do you mean…?”
“It was simply a psychological battle choosing which direction to dodge from. And I succeeded.”
I too put down the controller and sighed with relief inwardly. It was fortunate that I guessed the direction correctly at the end; otherwise, I might have faced the embarrassment of being called pathetic by Eclipse.
“This can’t be happening….”
Eclipse mumbled to herself, looking quite shocked. But her desire to win seemed genuine. I had initially thought she was just looking to fulfill her own desires with the possibility of naughty actions, but I had misunderstood—
“I intentionally changed the magical effects— Huuh.”
“What did you just say?”
When she muttered something I couldn’t just overlook, I asked back. Whether it was something that had slipped out unknowingly, Eclipse covered her mouth with a gasp.
“What did you change?”
“…Hic.”
“Uh, why is the Goddess acting like that?”
“Because you cheated me.”
“…What kind of cheating did you pull that would result in you being tied up naked under the living room ceiling?”
“Some things happen. Oh, I’m going to return to your world soon, but can you prepare?”
“I can prepare, but prepare? For what?”
“Don’t I need to meet your parents?”
“…Huh?”