Act 3. Arkteera, the Northern Continent (5)
Crunch-crunch-crunch!!! The avalanche hit us in an instant, barreling down to swallow us whole. I quickly scanned the terrain around us.
Behind those trees won't work. No good shelter nearby...
"Saintess! Hide behind us! We'll protect you!"
I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh at the holy knight's words. Block an avalanche with shields? Even Captain America from the Avengers couldn't pull that off.
"Cut the bullshit and find some cover—!!!"
The area was blanketed in blinding white snow, making it tough to make out the terrain. I poured mana into my head and eyes to enhance them, desperately searching for shelter.
A cave—any cave around here?!
In that split second, spotting a cave was impossible. We got swept up in the avalanche and slid all the way back down to the base of the mountain.
Fuck it, I've got a save point saved, so no big deal.
I slapped my palm to my forehead and fired a Magic Missile straight into my skull for suicide.
Player death confirmed.
Returning to selected save point.
'Second save point.'
Returning to second save point: Avalanche.
...
Kim Sang-yeop, the story production team lead for Lost World, was currently jiggling his leg nervously while watching a female streamer's broadcast.
"...What the hell do I do?"
The woman had gone through a ton of trial and error to tackle the main quest he'd designed.
"No, ah... you idiot, seriously..."
Those words weren't for the streamer Noel—they were self-directed.
"I should've double-checked more times..."
He was beating himself up because he'd overlooked something crucial in the quest.
"Didn't activate the solo play difficulty adjustment code... fuck, fuck... ah, damn it..."
The main quest Noel was on was designed for party play by default, but they'd made solo play possible for those who preferred it. The problem? He hadn't enabled the code that lowered the difficulty for solo runs.
So Noel had soloed a quest meant for a four-man party all the way to this point!
For solo play, the rate at which the "[Deaths of Arkteera Residents]" condition filled should drop sharply, and the holy knights' trust should rise quickly if the player showed prowess. But without that adjustment, Noel was forced to handle four people's worth of work alone.
"Ah... thinking about writing that incident report again gives me a headache."
But it was undeniably his fault, so he had no excuses.
At first, he hadn't noticed anything off. Noel was handling it so well, and the progress matched expectations. The weirdness hit him around the mountainside.
"...? Why are there so many suicide bombers?"
For solo play, there should only be three at that spot. But there looked like eight.
"...Ah, wait a sec."
Sang-yeop realized then—one code hadn't applied.
He tried to rush an emergency patch, but there was a snag. Patching now would disrupt the stream, and worse, it'd wipe her save points.
For security, quest edits deleted existing data—a setting that was biting him now. Backing up would take time, by which point the flow would be ruined.
"Sorry, Noel... I'll give you plenty of extra rewards..."
He clasped his hands in prayer, begging not to get fired.
...
Meanwhile, the Lost World gallery was buzzing over the main quest's insane difficulty.
(Noel group CC gif)
(Phantom Magic Missile intercept gif)
...
After two more attempts and suicides, I finally spotted a cave. But it was too far for a regular run, so I had to use Blink to teleport. In the save point selection screen, I hesitated.
Blink could only take one other person. The choice was obvious, though.
"Second save point."
Returning to second save point: Avalanche.
Fourteenth? Fifteenth? Who knows anymore.
Crunch-crunch—
"Let's see who wins—you or me."
I gently grabbed Marian's shoulder as she stared up at the sky.
"Saintess, pardon the intrusion."
"What are you—?!"
"Blink."
Marian and I teleported alone to the cave.
Kaboom-boom-boom!!!
After the avalanche passed, Marian stood dazed at the cave mouth buried in snow.
"Saintess..."
Saintess Marian's affinity has decreased.
"What the hell are you doing?! You abandoned the holy knights, just us like this...!"
"Saintess. They won't die from the avalanche."
Saintess Marian's affinity has decreased.
"Of course they won't die! But they'll be badly hurt..."
"Get your head straight!!!"
"...Pardon?"
"Do you even realize how many thousands of lives are on the line right now?!"
Marian stammered, speechless at the witch's words. The witch pressed on undeterred.
"Every time you hesitate over the holy knights, three or four villagers die."
"Being a goody-two-shoes isn't noble—it's stupid."
"I don't know what you've been through, so I can't understand. But."
"You're the hero."
"You have to protect people."
"How long are you gonna stay this frustrating?"
"Worry about a few dozen holy knights who won't even die, and regret it after all the villagers are gone?"
Marian stared blankly into the witch's venom-filled eyes. Soon, her own eyes glowed gold, and she glimpsed the witch's efforts to reach this point.
[Whew, will you listen now?]
[Let's rest here.]
[Ha, haha...]
[Please, just listen!!]
"Ah..."
Tears welled in both the saintess's and the witch's eyes. Her soft voice grew misty.
"We've come this far. Right?"
"Just once, please, do me this favor."
The witch's gaze was utterly earnest. Marian nodded, entranced.
"Sorry... sob..."
The witch gently embraced the saintess. Marian hugged back silently, accepting the warmth.
"...Sorry for the informal speech."
"It's... okay. I was the frustrating one."
"I'll change now."
Saintess Marian's affinity has greatly increased.
Saintess Marian's affinity has greatly increased.
Obtained Marian's 'Trust'.
Saintess Marian's affinity has greatly increased.
Save point saved.
First save point, village entrance, deleted.
...
We exited the cave and resumed climbing. The holy knights were probably swept back to the mountain base. Marian and I walked together, gazing at the summit.
"Not much farther."
"Yeah."
Marian hesitated a bit before speaking.
"...After everything's over, could we talk again?"
"Heh, that's such a cliché line."
"Ah, uh... is it?"
I chuckled at her slightly downcast look and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Sure. I'd like that."
"...Thank you."
Honestly, I'd worried my harsh words would tank her affinity. But it worked the opposite— it skyrocketed, hitting trust level instantly. Marian now watched me less nervously, and the mood felt more relaxed.
Thanks to the avalanche, fewer mobs on the way up. Instead, elite named mobs started appearing.
Marian supported me more actively in fights.
"4th-tier holy ritual: Holy Chain."
"Nice! I'll finish it off!"
Felt twice as easy compared to with the holy knights. Her buffs were great before, but focused on me, they were several times stronger.
Those assholes were the problem after all.
Ditching the uncooperative party members made combat this smooth. Marian fought with a smile now, her heart lighter.
Before we knew it, we reached the summit.
Save point saved.
To save a save point, an existing one must be deleted.
'Delete second save point.'
Second save point, avalanche, deleted.
Save point saved.
At the summit stood a demon in the form of a black slime.
"That's it."
"I'll handle it with holy power."
But the true culprit behind all this, Gluttony the Gluttony Legion Commander, was nowhere in sight. A sense of unease hit me as I reached for Marian.
"Wait, something's off..."
"Noel, above—!"
"Huh?"
Stab!
"Noel!!!"
Gluttony's arm pierced my heart. Enduring the searing pain in my chest, I looked up at it. Its abnormally huge mouth, multiple arms—creepy as hell. Eyes without irises were hard to look at.
But I spat blood and grinned.
"You bastard... I'll kill you for sure."
Player death confirmed.
Returning to selected save point.
"Second save point."
Returning to second save point: Snowy Mountain Summit.
The boss fight signaling the journey's end had begun.