Wait, My Eye!
No, My Eyes!
- Kwaaaagh!
- Die, you...! You filthy specter—!
[ HP 12/3155 ]
.
.
- How dare you show your face here...!
- Did you honestly think you wouldn't get caught pulling that kind of stunt?
[ HP 2/3155 ]
.
.
- Wait...!
- This ends now—!
[ HP 0...
[ HP has reached 0. ]
[ The player dies. ]
[ Bad End 34 - Death in the Dungeon of Truth. ]
[ Calculating data... ]
"Gyaaagh..."
Blink, blink.
I grabbed my head, staring at the game-over text on the black screen. A spasm pulled at the back of my neck, and my vision went distant.
The roguelike-adjacent game called Savior didn't have features like 'save' or 'load.'
Once your character died, that was it.
'M-my hundred hours, just... over?'
My eyes twitched at the merciless reality shoved in my face. The emotion surging in my chest spread through my whole body.
Unable to contain my anger, I flailed my hand—and slammed it right into the desk.
"Kgh—"
The dizzying pain brought my blurry vision snapping back.
Ah, that hurt...
Instant physical therapy for a dazed mind.
The sharp pain shooting up from my elbow made my back twist involuntarily. I floundered pointlessly for a moment, then a wave of self-awareness hit me mid-thrash, and I slumped limply in my chair.
Even I thought it was embarrassing.
If anyone had seen it, that was the kind of display that inflicted about a month's worth of psychic damage.
"Haa..."
I rubbed my throbbing elbow and looked at the monitor.
On the screen, beneath the smugly displayed Bad End notice, my character's body was rapidly growing cold.
12th Iteration character: Hybrid Summoner.
It was a strategy that overwhelmed enemies through sheer numbers, combining creature summoning with necromancy from the black-magic tree.
It was a viable strategy. Compared to previous playthroughs, I'd carved through the main story much more easily. I'd even thought that if things went well, I might see the happy ending this time.
A character I'd painstakingly raised, using the eleven previous failures as lessons.
I didn't assume it was invincible, but it had grown enough that I was confident it would breeze through at least a few chapters, and yet...
It crashed and burned spectacularly. I walked into what looked like a freebie dungeon, got caught in a trap event, and died like a dog.
I died even faster than in the last playthrough.
Was taking the black magic route a mistake?
Sure, the affection ratings of the surrounding characters had tanked early, but that hadn't been a major problem. Every run from the later iterations onward had been pure solo play.
The price for that just came due.
The main-cast characters joined hands and ganked my character. They meticulously lured me into a dungeon, and then, amid a monster flood, sliced through my neck in a single stroke.
It was utterly unfair. What did I even do wrong?
All I did, in order to pick up some black magic, was devour an NPC from one of the impoverished nations. I didn't inflict any damage on the main-cast characters...
On top of that, because the build was a summoner, my character's personal combat ability was weak, so I went down far too easily to a surprise attack. If I'd raised my personal stats a bit, it wouldn't have ended this pointlessly.
'But raising personal stats, though...'
Personal stats?
The 11th Iteration's Diamond Warrior build, into which I'd poured every point, had certainly lasted a long time. But in the end, they got ganged up on, beaten down, and turned into monster chow.
I glared holes through the bad-ending window, lost in thought.
'...No. They were all wrong.'
After mulling it over for a while, the answer flashed into my mind. I could see it waving its hand at me from far off.
"A summoner? My thinking was flawed from the start."
Come to think of it, the summoner tree itself had been the mistake.
A summoner? Just summon a bunch of grunts and watch from the back?
That was a coward's mindset. That rotten mentality was exactly why I'd gotten caught in a trap event and died like an idiot.
Then again, had the previous 11th Iteration Diamond Warrior route been a success? No. That one had also died, unable to respond when buried in a reverse-flow event.
When the conventional path proves impossible to break through, you have to look for other variables. That's the rule.
Click—
I dismissed the bad-ending window and clicked New Game.
There was still plenty to enjoy, but I wanted a more distinctive playthrough.
[ Creating character (13th Iteration) ]
[ Please enter the player's name... ]
Click— Click—
I scrolled down.
Name, traits, origin...
'There it is.'
[ Constraint ]
It was essentially equivalent exchange—a give-and-take system.
In exchange for imposing one constraint on the character, you gained a special advantage to match.
A setting you'd commonly see in other games or manga.
Before, the options available through constraints had all been so bizarre that I'd never felt inclined to touch them.
It was an element a beginner would hesitate to mess with, but I'd built up enough experience now. By the 12th Iteration, I'd probably reached the threshold of veteran territory, right?
There was also my personal preference for playing a game vanilla before trying add-ons like DLC, so constraints had always been pushed to the back burner.
The moment I'd seen the constraint system, a few ideas had already popped into my head.
I scrolled the mouse wheel and found the constraints I'd previously decided on.
The maximum you could select was three.
▶Constraint (I): Curse of Sensory Sealing
—Semi-permanently seals the chosen senses.
—Selection: sight, taste, smell
Blind, can't taste, can't smell.
▶Constraint (II): Curse of Short Life
—Born with a body fated for a short life.
You die before reaching your natural lifespan. In other words, you are short-lived.
▶Constraint (III): Curse of Silence
—Speaking causes pain.
Even conversation, the foundation of communication, becomes difficult.
"Hm."
A suffocating lineup. If I thought of it as reality, I don't think I could live with those conditions.
My happiness in life rested on three pillars: Mitube for sight, food for taste, and the scent of grass for smell. If you took all that away, I'd probably be better off just kicking the bucket.
On top of all that, I'd barely be able to talk, forced to endure that life only to kick the bucket early anyway.
In the game, though, it only meant reduced sensory stats, fewer character interactions, and lower maximum HP.
That was the constraints part. Now, the special advantages.
▷Ability (I): Spatial Perception
—Possesses overwhelming spatial cognition ability.
Trades the eyes and acts by directly sensing space instead.
▷Ability (II): Mana Affinity
—Possesses off-the-charts affinity for mana.
Whether swinging a sword, thrusting a spear, using magic, or crafting something—in a world where mana is required in all affairs, you obtain one of the finest mana affinity qualities in existence.
▷Ability (III): All-Rounder
—Possesses above-average aptitude in multiple fields.
Since I was aiming for soloing, I grabbed an all-purpose ability that raised the floor in every area, even if it lowered the ceiling. As long as I piled up proficiency, there'd be nothing I couldn't handle while roaming alone.
'This seems decent enough.'
I reviewed the constraints and abilities for a moment, then nodded.
You couldn't expect to hit the jackpot on your first try. I'd given up on the idea of getting the happy ending in one go. I'd have to make a few attempts and go through redesigns.
Still, I couldn't stop my heart from pounding as I imagined how this combination would perform.
The abilities gained as advantages all went into the 'Unique Ability' slots.
In the game's setting, awakening one innate Unique Ability at birth was the norm.
But if you created a character with constraints, the player character would be born innately carrying three unique abilities, while others had just one.
In previous playthroughs, even characters who started with just one unique ability had made decent progress.
The Diamond Warrior alone had reached the point where it could seize the upper hand even in a 3-on-1 fight against top-tier powerhouses of the world.
If that was the case, how far could I go with a character who started with three?
Feeling my heartbeat flutter with anticipation, I moved the mouse cur... sor......
...
"Uh..."
What was this feeling? A cold sweat seemed to run down the back of my neck.
Wait, it wasn't just a feeling.
When I wiped the back of my neck, my hand came away damp with sweat.
A genuine cold sweat was pouring down like rain. The moment I became aware of it, a chill crept over me, and my body quivered.
Something was ominous. Something was off.
With a trembling hand, I just barely managed to move the cursor away. The strange sensation receded.
"...What the hell?"
When I moved the cursor to Start Game, my body started trembling and shuddering again. When I pulled it away, I went back to normal.
My body? No, something instinctual seemed to be foaming at the mouth, warning me not to start the game.
"...Should I just do it tomorrow?"
It wasn't like it was urgent.
Truthfully, I had rushed through the choices a little.
Muttering an excuse—I didn't even know who I was making it to—I got up from the chair.
Tomorrow was Monday, but I was a total jobless bum, so I didn't have a shift anyway.
I tidied up my desk, quickly washed up in the shower, and came out.
My body still felt hollow. It seemed like a good idea to fall asleep early tonight.
I drew the curtains, placed a vanilla-scented diffuser by the bedside, and buried myself in bed.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to escape the unease.
As my eyes closed and the hint of vanilla drifted to my nose, drowsiness crept in.
Soon, my consciousness sank away.
.
.
.
.
The next day, I opened my eyes in the world inside the game.
But shit, I can't see a damn thing.