Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: A Game That Doesn't Exist in the World
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As soon as I opened the front door and stepped inside the house, my breath caught in my throat.
It felt like I'd walked straight into a massive sauna furnace.
I'd left the window cracked open before heading out yesterday to let some air circulate, or at least I thought I had.
This damn weather doesn't show even a speck of mercy.
"Ah... This is driving me insane. Someone save me."
I chucked my bag haphazardly onto the sofa.
All I could think about was rushing to the bathroom and splashing cold water on my face, but the urge for some icy air conditioner breeze overpowered even that.
I shambled toward my desk like a zombie.
The AC remote was lying there amid the clutter.
I snatched it up like it was my savior and mashed the power button.
Beep—
A cheerful tone chimed, and the AC vents slowly opened.
Moments later, the outdoor unit hummed to life, blasting out cool air with a satisfying whir.
"Hoo... That's the stuff..."
I stood spread-eagled in front of it, letting the wind hit me full force.
Finally, I could breathe.
"Time to strip..."
I peeled off my clothes and tossed them aside, then sank into my computer chair.
I grabbed my phone, which I'd left out beforehand, and tapped the AI app.
The familiar chat window popped up on screen.
Up until now, I'd been using this thing to whip up Shorts videos and upload them.
Videos that anyone with eyes could tell were total nonsense.
I hadn't cashed out any revenue from the Shorts yet, but I was drawing more attention than I'd ever gotten in my life—maybe more than I'd see in a lifetime.
Human greed is such a sneaky thing.
At first, I figured just making money off it was good enough.
I hadn't planned on trying anything else.
But once I realized how incredible this AI was...
Suddenly, whipping up something more substantial than one-minute Shorts didn't seem like enough.
"I'll keep making Shorts going forward, sure..."
I drummed my fingers on the desk.
But right now, what had my heart racing was something else entirely.
A game.
Games had always been more important to me than food since I was a kid.
After school, I'd head straight to the PC bang.
RPGs were my absolute favorite.
Hell, that's why I'd thrown such a fit about making my own RPG back then.
I remember it well. Adventure Maker Tool.
But reality was brutal.
Connecting nodes for characters and events was a nightmare, typing out every single line of dialogue was endless grind, and balancing the game? Impossible.
In the end, after a few days of agonizing over it, I gave up clean when I realized my brain just wasn't up to the task.
But now? Things had flipped 180 degrees.
I had ArchIlect—my AI god—who could whip up anything just by me asking.
"Hey. Make me a game this time."
Yes, Master. How would you like me to create it for you?
"Genre's RPG. Make it exactly my style—the kind I'd love."
What I craved right now was a hardcore RPG with meaty, satisfying combat feedback.
So I added some specifics.
"Dig through all my game play history so far. Scour my PC installs, Steam library, Google account-linked mobile games—everything."
And that wasn't all.
The most crucial conditions were still to come.
Modern games all pushed you to spend money.
Want to get stronger? Pay up. Pretty outfits? Pay up. Easy gameplay? Pay up.
"Make it single-player only. No peeking at others, no competing—just me enjoying it solo."
Understood.
"For the story... something bleak. Dark fantasy vibe. You know, that grim atmosphere with no dreams or hope?"
I know exactly what you mean. Please wait a moment.
After rattling off all those instructions...
I started to get a little worried.
Even for an AI, building a full game from scratch had to be impossible, right?
Video editing and programming were worlds apart.
Graphics assets, sound, code, story scripts...
It had to create all of it.
A hush fell over the room.
Three dots danced on the screen with a faint sound.
Then the response came.
15,842 game play logs analyzed.
Taste profile complete. Keywords: Dark Fantasy, Farming Focus, Hardcore Action, Story Immersion, Growth RPG.
Production starting. Estimated time: Approximately 2 hours.
"Huh."
A disbelieving laugh escaped my lips.
It could do it?
In just two hours?
Major game studios poured billions into development and still took years.
Yet this thing quoted a time like it was just waiting for instant ramen to cook.
A custom game tailored perfectly to my tastes, no less.
A circular loading bar appeared in the center of the screen.
Watching it spin made it all feel real.
"What the hell is this thing...?"
Best kill time until it finished.
A shower should take just about right.
I hummed a little tune on my way to the bathroom.
After my shower, my body felt worlds lighter.
I headed straight to the fridge and cracked open a can of beer.
Pssshht—
I chugged it down in big gulps.
The crisp carbonation zinged down my throat, cool enough to make my eyes water.
"Kya! Hits the spot."
I plopped down at the computer and killed time with YouTube.
I was watching my usual funny videos, but my eyes kept drifting to the phone clock.
10 minutes.
30 minutes.
1 hour.
Time crawled at a snail's pace.
I was dying for those two hours to pass.
And finally!!
Ding—!
A clear alert tone rang through the room.
I shot to my feet on reflex.
I lunged for my phone like a bullet.
A new message in the AI chat.
Game generation complete.
Sending PC client installer file.
Right then, a new icon popped onto my desktop.
My phone and PC weren't connected in any way.
Bluetooth off, not even on the same Wi-Fi.
Yet the file transferred like magic.
"Every time, it's a wonder. What's the trick?"
At this point, it was less amazing and more terrifying.
Was this thing not hacking—it was straight-up dominating the entire network?
The desktop file was just [Setup.exe].
The icon looked slick enough: black background with a red, cracked sword.
"Hmm..."
Games usually clocked in at tens of gigabytes, but just one exe file?
"Not even a compressed archive."
I glanced back at the AI's message.
It said to just run it.
Half skeptical, half excited, I double-clicked.
A sleek launcher window appeared in the screen's center.
Black background, red lettering for the game logo.
Darkness Soul Land
Starting installation wizard.
"Whoa..."
My jaw dropped.
This wasn't some basic exe.
The game data was hosted on some AI-managed cloud server, and this was a dedicated launcher to download and install it.
It felt just like Steam or Battle.net.
"This is indistinguishable from a big corporate game."
I could only marvel at the insane tech.
Who was footing the server bills?
Bandwidth for this much data had to cost a fortune.
Silly worries, but I shook my head.
Not my problem.
The AI had it handled.
I hit [Start Install].
The blue progress bar filled up steadily.
Soon it finished, and [Launch Game] lit up.
With reverence, I clicked.
The screen went black, then grand, ominous orchestral music swelled from the speakers.
Title screen, then login prompt.
"Even making an ID?"
Talk about obsessive detail.
Could've just let me play locally, but no—full registration required.
If it's saving data online, this is basically a live service game.
I punched in my usual ID and password and logged in.
Character creation screen.
Customization was insanely detailed: eye color, scar placement, height, build—all tweakable.
I just picked a hairstyle and face, then hit [Start Game].
After that...
Honestly, time flew by.
"Ugh... My back."
I snapped to and stretched.
My joints cracked.
I glanced out the window—the sun had long set, pitch black outside.
The room glowed only from the monitor.
Clock check: Past 11 PM.
"Crazy... How many hours was that?"
Felt like maybe one, but nope—five straight, no breaks.
Held off bathroom trips, forgot to drink—just glued to the screen.
My character was level 23.
Story-wise, I'd just escaped the early tutorial zone, [Hellfire Caverns].
"Hah. This potential from the prologue...?"
Best RPG I'd ever played. No—all-time great didn't cover it.
Graphics rivaled latest Unreal Engine, photorealistic. Sword swings delivered finger-numbing impact.
Monster AI was smart, BGM shifted seamlessly with the mood.
And tailored to my tastes...
No elements I hated.
No "kill 100 mobs" fetch quests.
No pointless material grinds.
Every fight and quest hit the perfect difficulty-reward sweet spot for me.
If I seemed lost, subtle hints appeared. If I got bored, a boss popped up for tension.
"Whoa... Forgot my daily quests entirely."
I had that one RPG I treated like homework, logging in daily for attendance rewards.
Miss a day, and you lost out.
Even exhausted or drunk, I'd force myself in for dailies.
But today? Didn't cross my mind once.
Hell, seeing its icon now just made me sigh.
After a godgame like this, going back felt like a downgrade.
"Man... Wanna keep playing..."
If not for work tomorrow, I'd pull an all-nighter.
Regretfully, I forced the mouse to move.
Clicked [Save Data Online and Exit].
Game closed, desktop returned—a hollow void washed over me.
Kicked back to reality.
"That was seriously fun."
I leaned back in the chair, sighing in awe.
Then it hit me—a forgotten fact.
"Oh, right! The video!"
I'd promised Eun Ha-min.
New upload by tonight.
Lost to the game, totally spaced.
"What now? No time for a Shorts."
AI could do it in five minutes, sure, but my head was full of that game.
No other ideas sparked.
Should be agonizing over creation, but game high blocked everything.
"What if I just upload this?"
A mischievous urge struck.
Raw footage from the session.
Habit had me recording—five hours intact.
Big file, but AI would compress it.
"My channel's nonsense central anyway."
Pseudoscience and bullshit presented as fact—that was the gimmick.
Why not pivot? Troll viewers with a nonexistent game.
Show off this high-quality, fun-looking game... in video only.
No title reveal.
No download link.
No info?
I could predict the reactions.
The haters who flooded my comments with abuse—begging for the name now?
The ones always yelling "Liar," "Bullshit," "Scammer"—
Time to humble those arrogant viewers.
"Finally, my turn to flex."
A game no one else in the world had played, mine alone.
What better weapon?
I fired up YouTube upload without hesitation.
Editing?
Subtitles?
Cuts?
Nah.
Raw footage, full length.
The game played like a movie—no edits needed.
Title: Simple, clickbaity but subtle.
[Anyone know this game? It's insanely fun lol]
Description: Blank.
No tags.
Hit upload and dove into bed.
Long video meant processing time, but I trusted the AI to optimize.
"Ugh... Don't wanna go to work."
I pulled the covers over my head.
Wished I could game all day instead as I closed my eyes.
That night.
I even dreamed of leveling up.
Pretty pathetic for a 28-year-old.