Spoilers (2)
In truth, Ram's skills as a Story Fairy fell far short of Pam's.
Her passion from the early days of joining the company remained unchanged. Her skills, however, had not improved much since then.
"Ugh. That Ram is nothing but passion. Zero execution."
"How long is she going to cling to that hot-blooded protagonist nonsense... If she can't generate any lingering imagery, she should at least move some hearts."
"Tsk tsk. I heard she's using the same protagonist as Pam. She's right on the edge of going dark."
"She's walking the path of a dead-end career."
The evaluations around her were harsh. There were even whispers that she would end up as a fairy relegated to the basement of the World Tree.
But even someone like her received an opportunity.
"See! I told you! Kiriri! Pam's protagonist, Julian, is the exact same person!"
After exposing Pam's massive act of cheating, she was given charge of launching Storyboard 3.0.
"Good work, Ram. Handle this properly too."
"......Y-yes!"
This was truly VIP treatment. The decision had apparently come from someone of considerable rank at headquarters. For Ram, the pressure was immense.
'Honestly... I still don't understand why they gave this to me.'
She knew her own limits all too well. The results had never been good. She hadn't even fully understood how to handle a story.
It had definitely been that way, but...
Things were changing now.
"What? You're going separately from Kang Hae-il to avoid suspicion? Now that we've shaken off that leech of a baggage carrier, let's do what we can."
She was growing through her confrontations with Julian.
"We're jumping straight into the early World Boss summoning plan. Summon it in a weakened state so it's easy to kill. This is our chance to completely sideline Julian."
"Will the Pollak-ers accept that? They will definitely want to summon the complete version."
When intervening, it was better to use characters than to blindly spend coins. Ram was beginning to grasp that approach.
"There's one guy among them with a grudge."
The Pollak-ers had begun as a gathering of warlocks from a real estate collapse theory forum.
"You could call him a traitor."
"A traitor? Why would he betray them?"
"Their goal is destroying real estate. However..."
Their targets were high-end residential zones. A terrorist organization united by the single-minded goal of destroying every high-value property in the country, their convictions ran deep.
Yet among them was a dissenter.
"There's a guy who made gap investments in this stage's location, Mok-dong."
"!"
"He'll be unhappy about us causing chaos there. Or at least, we can make it look that way. We can spread a rumor that he's leaking information."
"Ooh...!"
"Amplify the fear that information is steadily leaking out. Make them believe that the highest-ranked Awakened could storm their headquarters. Then they'll want to summon it as quickly as possible."
"Yes!"
Sam was impressed by her plan. Creating suspicion and anxiety to manufacture a situation that demanded a hasty summoning.
"And make the World Boss cause maximum civilian casualties. Be utterly vicious! Smash everything to pieces! Ensure no one can claim the Awakened aren't high enough level!"
"Understood!"
She was even mindful of public opinion inside the story. If the World Boss appeared now, not only Junil but a significant number of Awakened would fail. If the World Boss failed to inflict proper damage, calls would arise to wait for the Awakened to level up. The solution was to inflict such catastrophic damage from the start that no such argument could be made. That would make the World Boss an enemy that had to be eliminated immediately.
"Especially Kang Hae-il. He'll want to kill it no matter what."
A sly grin spread across Ram's face as she completed her plan.
"But Lady Ram. What if too many Awakened fail? The Story Board could become unstable."
The plan's only real weakness was the possibility of too many Awakened being eliminated. Even that had a workaround.
"After we eliminate Julian, we simply hold a losers' revival round."
"What if Julian participates in the revival round?"
"What?"
Kiriri!
Ram laughed.
"That won't happen. The moment that bastard loses his Awakened status and all his Constellations! I'll spend every last coin I have to kill him then and there."
If Sagosul lost his Awakened status, every Constellation watching would leave.
"Constellations can never turn their attention to someone who isn't an Awakened. That is a fundamental premise of this system."
Non-Awakened didn't even receive the opportunity to stream. In the Story Board, a character who failed to capture the Constellations' interest had the lifespan of a mayfly. With a single snap of a Story Fairy's fingers, they could vanish from the world without a trace.
"We kill Julian, open a losers' revival chapter, and start fresh. Then it's smooth sailing! Kiriri!"
"Exactly!"
"And Kang Hae-il even gains the narrative of losing his friend!"
"Amazing!"
This cruel revenge that weaponized an enemy's life as narrative.
"Lady Ram! You're incredible! Your skills are improving every day!"
"Kiriririri!"
Whoosh...!
Junil stood in the shower.
The words kept echoing in his ears.
Today, huh...
Junil finished washing quickly, sat down at his computer, and opened the forum.
What are people's levels around these days?
This World Boss fight wasn't just about raw power. It had a strong chance of turning into a battle of public opinion. If many Awakened still hadn't reached level 30, the community's sentiment would be on his side. If most had already hit it, the opposite would be true.
Looking at the top post, it was clear that many E-Ranks still hadn't reached level 30. The comments largely reflected the same atmosphere.
It seemed there weren't many at level 30 yet. After getting a rough read on the community's mood, Junil moved on to the next thread.
I'm level 25. My life feels too precious to risk pushing for higher levels now.
The situation looked even worse for D-Ranks. Things only became somewhat comfortable at B-Rank or higher.
Most of the B-Ranks and above seem to have already hit 30...
So that's how it is.
Junil stroked his chin.
They must be trying to raise levels quickly.
It seemed Ram was making an effort to get people to level 30 before the World Boss fight. Still, many hadn't reached it yet. The lower ranks especially.
Perfect. Time to stir up some public opinion.
Junil's fingers flew across the keyboard.
Nah. Even if the World Boss dies tomorrow I don't care. Downvote.
After waiting a moment, recommendations began pouring in. There were downvotes too, but the overall sentiment was clear.
The community was in an uproar. It was inevitable. If the World Boss appeared and died today, every single one of them would instantly become ordinary humans again.
What the hell is Ram thinking?
At this point, Junil couldn't figure out her intentions. Suddenly forcing a summoning today to eliminate everyone? What about Chapter 3 then?
Is there some follow-up measure?
Junil arrived at a fairly accurate guess.
Maybe they'll bring in additional Awakened from another world later.
Looking at how she operated, there were probably several ways to fix things afterward. Rather than worrying about what came after, he focused on the present.
One thing is certain. Ram's first priority is killing me.
What had driven Ram mad was killing Julian. His actual level was 28. With only two levels left until 30, she was forcing the summoning today.
I get that she wants me dead.
In fact, he could understand it. After the way he had toyed with Kang Hae-il, wanting him dead was only natural.
Still pisses me off though...
Understanding and being angry were two different things.
Time to teach her a lesson.
His fingers hammered the keyboard furiously.
Meanwhile, Ram was busy preparing for the big event.
She was so focused on coordinating the World Boss that she hadn't paid any attention to Julian's screen.
"Lady Ram!"
Sam rushed in with a report.
"The Pollak-ers have begun. They'll carry out the plan in the promised area today. The World Boss will be summoned in an incomplete state...! Since the information leak happened exactly as you described, things are proceeding with urgency!"
Changing plans on the fly was never easy. Some justification was needed, and the anxiety Ram had manufactured had hit the mark perfectly.
"Good. Well done, Sam."
Ram nodded with a grave expression. This was truly the final battle.
"On our side, Kang Hae-il, Yu Jihun, and Lee Suyeon have all been grouped into one party."
"Ooooh!"
Sam's eyes glistened with tears.
"F-finally! Yu Jihun and Kang Hae-il are together!?"
The core of the protagonist's party. Yu Jihun had joined. Lee Suyeon being connected to Julian was a slight concern, but she was still excellent talent.
"Additionally, we've leaked information to the national agencies. They'll be coming after hearing it too."
Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, the location coordinates of the group began changing. They were all moving toward the western part of Seoul.
Sam continued the report.
"All confirmed to be heading toward Yangcheon District. But... huh?"
Strangely, only Julian was moving in a completely different direction.
What is this?
Where was he going? He should know there was a sacrificial ritual happening here today.
This is suspicious.
If it were anyone else, she would have dismissed it as a stupid move. But not him. He definitely had something up his sleeve.
What is it...?
Sam gathered various pieces of information. Then she let out a horrified scream.
"U-uwaaaaah!? Lady Ram!"
"What?"
"O-on the HeroSlayer forum... fuck!"
Sam, who almost never used crude language, jumped as if she had seen a cockroach, her arms trembling.
"Th-that bastard spoiled it!!"
Under normal circumstances it would have been dismissed as an attention-seeking troll post. But it was sitting at rank 7. At this rate it would hit number one soon.
Why?
"...He even uploaded photos of the book!? This crazy bastard!?"
Ram's eyes widened. After all the effort she had put into hiding the clues, he had posted everything? He had even labeled the book hint as a World Boss summoning ritual instead of just a sacrificial one.
What was his intention? Had he misunderstood? But then why was he heading somewhere other than Gangseo?
She couldn't understand it. Ram felt a headache coming on.
The comments kept pouring in.
"Why... why would he do this?"
Sam asked, completely lost. Ram realized the truth.
"This... he's calling for reinforcements?"
"!"
He was calling for backup. He was asking them to stop the World Boss together. If this many Awakened moved to stop it, it would actually give Kang Hae-il's side justification to fight back.
But there was still something she couldn't understand.
"Then where is this guy going?"
The one who had stirred everyone up was heading somewhere else entirely.
"Is he leaving the rest to them and going off to do something else?"
"No way. Not with something this important."
If the World Boss died, he would die too. And he was leaving that to others? Sagosul? Impossible.
Ram tried to determine his destination.
"This place is definitely important. Where is it... Pocheon?"
The direction was toward Pocheon.
"Why is he going to that cemetery?"
It was the area where Kang Hae-il's father's grave was located.