NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1
These days, game companies have lost all sense of morality.
Take a look at this.
[Valdeon Saga – Expansion Pack: Dawn of the Continent] 23,000￦
[Valdeon Saga – Expansion Pack: Shadow Brigade] 23,000￦
[Valdeon Saga – Additional Content: 5 Avatars] 10,000￦
[Valdeon Saga – Expansion Pack: God Wars/Ragnarok] 30,000￦
“Damn it. Is it really reasonable that the main game costs 50,000 won while the DLC costs 90,000 won?”
They release the game half-finished and sell the rest for additional costs.
It’s like buying a hamburger and being told, “The lettuce, patty, tomato, sauce, and pickles are all sold separately, dear customer~” What’s the difference?
Clicking my tongue at the prices, I exited the shop site.
Valdeon Saga.
Honestly, it wasn’t that special of a game.
A linear classic RPG where you follow the story, level up characters, and defeat enemies.
The world? Just your average medieval fantasy you’ve seen plenty of times.
Characters? Not entirely devoid of charm, but they’re so cliché that there’s no thrill in pursuing them.
Story? About a B-grade quality at best.
Graphics? Not bad, but disappointing when compared to today’s games developed using Unreal Engine 5.
“What the hell? This game is trash, isn’t it?”
At least, that was my initial thought.
I actually felt that way until I played it myself.
– Wow, this is epic…
Apparently, Valdeon Saga has an AI technology developed independently by the game company.
Maybe that’s why.
Anything was “possible” here.
[Lucky Max-Level Gambler]
[Genius Magic (Physical) Master]
[Three-Sword Style Swordsman]
[Final Boss’s Childhood Friend]
[Dark Underworld Manipulator]
[Swordsmanship Family’s Magic Genius]
[Papal Necromancer]
Even the story I thought was mediocre was merely the main story created by the company.
Players could craft their own endings based on the AI technology.
For instance, the “Emperor Usurpation” ending I saw on my 32nd playthrough, or the “My Disciples are the Best in the World” ending on my 45th playthrough, were goat-tier stories that received 500 thumbs up in the Valdeon Saga gallery.
However, I was starting to get tired of it.
I had seen all the worthwhile original endings, and completed all the builds I could possibly try.
So while I was tempted to go for the DLC…
[Warning: Additional content does not contain original ending elements.]
This damn game company removed the original endings from the DLC.
They stripped away the only praised element in the game and forced players to endure their boring storylines.
To top it off, that director guy went on public forums saying:
“The original endings are the most foolish system we created.”
“Our story will touch the hearts of educated people.”
“The negative evaluations regarding the story are merely criticism from the unlearned.”
He talked like this.
Thanks to that, for a time, Valdeon Saga was dubbed “a cultured game for educated people.”
“I won’t buy it out of spite.”
It’s not because I’m a fresh graduate who still hasn’t paid off my student loans, mind you.
Well, even if it’s not through official DLC, there are plenty of ways to enjoy Valdeon Saga.
For instance…
[Valdeon Saga – Reverse World-] (★★★★☆)
*Everything turned upside down. Explore the newly revamped Valdeon continent and weave your own story.
*Creator: Loki
User-created mods, for example.
“Oh, this one’s rated well?”
With my translation program running on an English site, various mods were listed.
All made by players who enjoyed Valdeon Saga.
Of course, they were unofficial.
Not illegal per se, but the game company had shown displeasure towards the mods created by users before.
“Well then, how about making good official DLC?”
User-created mods are all free and high quality with plenty of content.
No need to fork out 90,000 won for the official version.
I licked my lips and downloaded the currently top-rated mod.
[Download Complete]
[Do you want to apply -Reverse World- to the current file?]
“Perfect.”
It took a surprisingly long time to download for such a substantial mod.
I applied the mod to the main game and booted it up right away.
[Valdeon Saga]
-Reverse World-
The mod’s title dramatically displayed under the title.
“So everything’s turned upside down… Is it a parallel world or something?”
With the excitement of a child opening a present, I pressed the ‘New Game’ button.
[Character Workshop]
Numerous “keywords” unfolded on the screen, welcoming me.
[Farmer]
[Firstborn]
[Genious]
[Mana Affinity]
[Luck]
[Childhood Friend]
[Witch]
…
[Remaining Points: 100]
In this world, you can create a character who becomes the protagonist by spending points.
Generally speaking, good keywords like [Genius] or [Talent] are expensive, while negative keywords like [Magic Disable] or [Slave] actually give you extra points when added.
“Alright, let’s charge up some points, shall we?”
Not gonna hide it, I’m a veteran in Valdeon Saga.
I know plenty of keywords that help with the story while still giving points.
[Rascal] +20p! Your reputation will drop.
[Tyrant] +30p! You have a violent temperament.
[b][Delicate Appearance] +10p! You could easily be ignored.
[b>[Abandonment] +50p! You start abandoned. You cannot receive basic rewards.
[b>[Diminutive Size] +20p! Your basic physical stats are lowered.
With that, I already started with 130 points.
Those keywords might seem like debuffs, but they’re much better than hopeless ones like [Broken Dantian].
There’s a way to utilize them all.
“Alright then… let’s do some shopping!”
I lavishly brushed off my 230 points and filled in more keywords.
[Swordsmanship Genius] -100p! You have a talent for swordsmanship.
[Noble Family] -30p! You become a child of a distinguished family within the continent.
[Eagle-Like Learning Speed] -20p! You learn anything quickly.
[Growth Blessing] -50p! Growth acceleration.
[Childhood Friend] -30p! You have a childhood friend with whom you shared bonds as a child.
“Perfect.”
I’ve distributed my 230 points quite wisely.
By adding [Noble Family] to [Abandonment], I can skip all those annoying early noble quests and just collect the rewards later.
[Rascal] and [Tyrant] will be useful when I reunite with my [Childhood Friend] and trigger affection events.
And [Diminutive Size], when paired with [Growth Blessing], will surprisingly serve as fertilizer for rapid growth.
[Delicate Appearance] could actually increase events with thieves or rascals, adding to the farming elements, and [Swordsmanship Genius] and [Eagle-Like Learning Speed] are upper-tier keywords that hardly need extra praises.
[Based on the above keywords, character creation is in progress…]
[Complete.]
After a brief loading, a delicate-looking boy with ash-colored hair appeared on the screen.
[Alben Oldeir]
*Age: 17
*Traits: [Rascal], [Tyrant], [Swordsmanship Genius], [Eagle-Like Learning Speed]…
“Hmm… not bad.”
For a first playthrough character in Reverse World, this is quite decent.
I need to figure out what the mod feels like anyway.
[Game Start]
With a fluttering heart, I began the game.
*
In the southern Valdeon continent, at the Oldeir family mansion.
A woman sitting in the Head of Family’s office slowly lifted her eyelids.
The swords hanging on the wall reflected sunlight and glimmered brightly.
This grand office was the symbol of the Oldeir family, known for their swordsmanship.
Noble families that foolishly challenged them had their prized swords displayed here.
Knock knock knock!
A boisterous knocking sound echoed, totally unfit for such an elegant place.
“…Come in.”
The owner of the office, the head of the Oldeir family.
As ‘Carbon Oldeir’ granted permission, the door of the office swung open with force.
In came ‘Elma Oldeir’, her daughter and the next head of the family.
Overwhelmed with her emotions, she stood before Carbon.
“What the hell is going on right now?”
“Watch your words, Elma. The person before you is the head of a family, not your mother.”
“Is that nonsense what’s important right now?!”
BAM!
Elma slammed her fist against the wall.
Though her beautiful face contorted with rage, Carbon seemed unfazed.
“Alben…”
However.
Once that name was mentioned, a shadow flickered across Carbon’s expression.
“You had the gall to expel Alben… while I was out on a mission…!”
“…….”
“How could you do such a thing?!”
Beyond her anger lay an indescribable sorrow and despair.
“That child is still young and a boy! Do you understand what happens to a boy with nothing in this world?!”
There weren’t many endings in Valdeon where a boy with nothing turned out okay.
They either ended up captured by vicious women and are violated to death or were caught by slave traders and used as playthings.
If lucky, they might earn a pittance working in a tavern, but… Alben doesn’t have that kind of personality.
At least if he were a girl, he might find a place in a knight’s order or mercenary band.
Boys are easy targets and vulnerable.
-Sister… save me….
-Ugh… it hurts….
Chills ran down Elma’s spine.
Images of boys she had seen throughout her travels flashed in her mind, overlapped with Alben’s face.
“So, what do you want me to do? This is my decision. Oldeir has nothing left to offer the boy. He’s useless, that’s all there is to it. Hence, I kicked him out.”
“…Before I am a head of the Oldeir family, I am Alben’s sister.”
Elma glared at Carbon for a long moment before she turned and said, “I will bring Alben back.”
“Do as you wish. Just ensure you don’t miss the date of the ‘Succession Ceremony.’”
“……”
Elma dashed out of the Head of Family’s office and sprinted down the corridor.
“Alben…! Alben…!”
In her mind, she envisioned the image of a young boy.
How cold and scared must he be right now?
A child who grew up sheltered, never having faced any hardship.
“I’ll be there soon!”
She had to protect him.
That boy was the one who added color to her black-and-white world.