Chapter 102: Four-Way Face-Off (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 102: Four-Way Face-Off (3)
“Ah, why are you moving like that right there?”
“…….”
“Are you really someone who was transmigrated into a game?”
“…….”
“Wow. Your gameplay is truly breathtaking. Original, so original. You can’t dodge a single ground attack.”
“…….”
“Hey! You should’ve popped your ult there!”
My ears were ringing.
Clack.
I closed my smartphone. My reflection mirrored off the shiny back of the phone, wet with palm sweat. I looked utterly miserable.
“Could you lay off the backseat gaming?”
“Triggered?”
Yeah.
“Let me give you something to be triggered about.”
I pulled out Murasame.
“With this.”
One peaceful afternoon.
A chase scene unfolded inside a 1,400-square-foot apartment in Wonju, Gangwon Province. It wasn't long before Yoo Se-in's screams splattered like liquid.
Episode: Four-Way Face-Off
Blessing of the Apocalypse M 2nd.
I'll admit what needs admitting.
“...It's actually fun...”
Like ‘that game’ I used to enjoy back in the day, there wasn't much of a story to speak of.
No, wait. For someone like me who had played that game, the narrative was all too familiar.
The Hero and the Demon King.
The fierce confrontation between heroes and demons.
It was a cliché plot. On top of that, "Blessings" and "Magic" were commonplace in this world. At first glance, there didn't seem to be anything that would grab people's attention.
‘...To think they'd frame it in a reversed setting.’
Blessing of the Apocalypse M 2nd twisted that stale trope on its head.
Meaning the player was the one manipulating magic.
Yet that didn't mean the user belonged to the demon faction.
A Mage.
Users played a class that was extremely foreign to the natives of this world.
From my perspective, it was pretty familiar.
‘In Miracle Blessing M, villains fill the role of mages, but strictly speaking, it feels a bit different.’
Villains borrowed mana from the master they served.
Take me, for instance: I received lightning magic transferred from Lycan. It wasn't like I was casting lightning magic on my own authority.
To use an analogy, it was like using a skill item.
Click, click. BOOM—!!
Even if you didn't understand the underlying principles at all, using it posed no problem whatsoever. That's why villains were so desperate to find a good magical host.
‘The Villain Twelve tried to go a step further and collude with the Apocalypse, but that blew up before they could.’
Anyway.
In contrast, mages in this game took an academic approach. It was meticulously designed so that as a user's understanding of magic grew, they could reach higher realms and master its secrets.
Even after parting with Yoo Se-in, I couldn't bring myself to put down my phone.
Before going to sleep, right after meals...
Whenever I had a spare moment, I opened the game as if possessed.
“It really hits the sweet spot for people's desire to grow.”
It made sense why it was such a sensation.
To the people of this world, the system of a 'Mage' must have come across as revolutionary.
You could tell just by looking at the online community boards.
I had only played a few times, but related videos were already swarming my algorithm.
To top it off, the comment sections of those videos were constantly blazing with activity.
────────────────
– The story is just so-so, but time literally melts away (👍 73)
└ For real, I launched it because I had nothing to do over the substitute holiday weekend, and before I knew it, it was time to head to work lol
└ Heading to work? You mean heading to school. What working adult plays a mass-produced game like this? lol
└ Are you just mad because there's no auto-hunt?
– Setting public reviews aside, you gotta admit it eats up time. Actually requires some skill, too (👍 103)
└ TBH who plays mobile games for the story anyway hahaha. Just haters drunk on their own superiority complex
└ Woof! Oink! Give me more food, Gapcom!
─────────────
Gapcom was the developer of Blessing of the Apocalypse M.
Just in case, I had asked our elite AI, Vixbig, to run a search.
Sure enough, everything about the company was classified as unknown.
This lent weight to Yoo Se-in's theory that it was a 'harbinger of the Second Apocalypse.'
‘Everything is a complete mystery.’
That was why I combed through the comment section so thoroughly. You never knew when you might stumble upon an unexpected hint in a place like this.
Collective intelligence exists for a reason, after all.
─────────────
– First off, Mage seems like an insanely fresh class.
└ FR. Honestly, learning magic gives me that vicarious satisfaction like I could easily beat up most heroes haha
└ This guy is creepy as hell
└ More like honest. Also, I actually looked up the admissions guidelines for Joaquin Graduate School because of this game
└ A positive byproduct of Blessing of the Apocalypse
─────────────
There really are crazy bastards everywhere.
“Haa... I can't tell if this game is actually beneficial for me or Joaquin...”
Even while grumbling, I checked the comments on another video. There were long comments requiring me to click 'Read More.'
─────────────
– I'm an armchair expert. If you disagree, you're right.
– Anyway, IMO the selling point of this game is heavily influenced by the Heavenly Sword. He's the only one among heroes who uses magic. It tricks players into identifying themselves with the greatest figure of all time. Let's be real, is there anyone commenting here who talks shit about Sir Heavenly Sword without actually envying him? (👍 961)
└ Ah shit, that hit way too close to home
└ Take it easy bro, you're gonna kill us all
– lol But if Sir Heavenly Sword played this game, I wonder if he'd even feel as hyped as us. Doesn't he already have zero restrictions on using magic even though he's a hero?
└ Living like that, real life must feel like a game for him
└ ???: I've actually played this game!! (👍 3403)
└ Hahaha
└ Hahaha get this comment to the top
─────────────
...My head.
My brain cells are throbbing.
“Haa.”
I turned off my smartphone, rested it on my forehead, and stared up at the ceiling.
‘Just a little more.’
I need to play just a little bit more.
I sat up from my lying position.
This isn't just a game.
I have a duty to uncover the true nature of this game.
Of course I do.
Besides, it's a magic-themed game. The provider is most likely Kali Yuga, the Second Apocalypse that the Counterforce plans to send.
The virtually only way to suppress the Awakening of Blessing that Chloe is suffering from is the 'Awakening of Magic.'
‘The clue might be in here.’
I tapped the screen and launched the game. In the dim room, a faint bluish glow lit up my face.
* * *
This is Abel.
This monologue might not reach anyone, but I feel like venting is the only way to soothe the knot in my heart.
Neither Ryozo nor I show it, but our worries have been deepening.
I'll skip the pleasantries and get right to the point.
Our family has recently been put to the test.
You might first think of the conflict between me and Ryozo.
There was trouble, of course.
If two women sharing the same husband under one roof felt nothing toward each other, I think that would be an even bigger red flag for a household.
I was on edge the whole time. It piled up until it finally exploded a few days ago.
...After that incident on Avallon Island, I intended to apologize to Ryozo separately.
But God of Sword above!
Ryozo actually beat me to it!
—I'm sorry, Abel. I spoke too sharply back then. I won't repeat a mistake like that.
It might sound strange coming from me, a daughter of the competitive Nibelung family.
Ryozo's pride is just as strong as mine. She's stubborn, too.
However, because her stubbornness is always rooted in logic, everyone respects Ryozo and complies with her opinions.
For such a Ryozo to apologize to me? It was truly astonishing.
Naturally, I apologized to Ryozo from the bottom of my heart as well. I said I was sorry for cowardly touching a sensitive spot...
—It's fine.
Even that, Ryozo brushed off with a smile.
Just what on earth did she go through on that mysterious island?!
I worried she might have hit her head, but after observing her for a few days, her work efficiency actually got even faster.
In any case, the rift between us seems to have been smoothly mended.
While I can't guarantee something like this won't happen again, next time we will talk it out openly.
Since Ryozo respects me, I intend to respect her even more.
Two women.
We can progress toward a better relationship.
We'll be able to resolve things through dialogue.
...However, a problem that doesn't seem solvable by dialogue has descended upon our household.
It wasn't entirely unexpected.
Deep down, I was aware of it.
An ambush would be the apt expression.
“Lady Abel.”
Rachel.
“I'm your precious friend, right?”
“Yes...”
“Then wouldn't it be even better if we became part of the same family? Right?”
Like today,
She comes over day in and day out to provoke me!
I've known Rachel for ten years, but she remains an absolute enigma.
One moment she's endlessly lighthearted, and the next she becomes serious enough to shift atmospheric pressure.
She's utterly unpredictable.
That's precisely why I feel even more on guard against her.
“I should ask my uncle soon when the additional selection for the Seven Star Heroes is taking place.”
As an aside, word has it that hero society—including the Association—plans to select the New Seven Star Heroes within this year.
Supposedly, public opinion has recently been dominated by claims that while the existing Seven Stars system provided stability, it has become too rigid.
Rachel caught wind of that news like a ghost and delivered her declaration of war to us.
“If I become one of the Seven Stars, no complaints, got it?”
“…….”
For now, I held my peace.
If one throws a fit over every little thing, can they really be called an adult?
I am a mature adult.
However, you see...
It seems being old—or rather, just reaching a certain age—doesn't automatically make someone an adult.
“I'm already one of the Seven Stars, so do I qualify?”
“…….”
“...Or so I say?”
“What a joke—”
“Hmm, is it a joke, or am I being serious~?”
“Medea...! You shameless bitch!”
“Hey, you old hag! You wanna get fitted for dentures, huh?!”
The Sage, Medea Poison, also drops by at every opportunity to rub me the wrong way before leaving.
If I hadn't known her secret, I would have thought she'd gone senile.
‘An Ancient.’
I don't remember when, but the Sage suddenly came out with the truth.
A race straight out of mythology continuing down into reality. At the time, I felt quite awestruck.
And now?
Not in the least.
“I'm long overdue for marriage!”
She is merely a rival equal to, if not greater than, Rachel.
You can't ignore the vibe that comes with age.
She constantly mixes truth with jokes, which makes it confusing, but seeing my grandfather gasp in horror, it can't be entirely made up.
To protect our family, we needed a plan.
We had to deliberate.
The best option was to call him over for a four-way face-off.
I know, of course.
Ryozo and I just don't want to do that.
He is currently pushed to the brink.
The burden on his shoulders is heavy.
Even when we want to scold him at times, we must be understanding.
Geomma is the Heavenly Sword.
Humanity's last stronghold.
We must bear this.
Lately he's been completely absorbed in that game, which plunges me into distress, but...
Endure, endure, endure.
First.
If we just sit idly by, before we know it, the month won't just be split into even and odd days—it'll be torn into four separate weeks!
‘A plan.’
We need a plan.
We needed a secret scheme to crush those scheming bit-ches.
Seriously.
And how fortuitous that I made up with an expert in that field right on time. Hoho.
“All right.”
Ryozo says she'll cooperate.
“Proceed.”
I set the schedule with a smile.
* * *
Yoo Se-in's Guesthouse.
“Phew, time just melts away.”
I didn't know how many hours I had been playing lying down. Looking at the setting sun in the west, I could only guess I'd been at it for half a day straight.
“What's today's haul?”
Yoo Se-in asked, sprawled below the sofa. Rolling around on the floor despite having a sofa must be a uniquely Korean trait.
“I figured out that to learn about the Awakening of Magic, I need to reach the ending.”
“Heeh.”
Yoo Se-in gave a purely businesslike reaction while keeping her fingers moving. She was worse than me. Being unemployed and single, she did nothing but breathe and game.
“I'm off.”
“Sure, sure. Go work on your controls.”
Just as I was about to walk out with a wave of my hand,
a phone rang. Yoo Se-in frowned.
“Ah, damn it. I was right in the middle of a streak.”
She answered the call with a sullen face. The next moment, her upper body popped straight up like a roly-poly toy.
“Ah, yeah. Uh-huh. Got it.”
After repeating similar responses in quick succession, she hung up. Yoo Se-in stared blankly at the dark screen before turning her gaze to me.
“Geomma, she said as soon as you get back, pack your bags.”
“...What?”
The back of my neck went cold.
It felt like the inevitable had arrived.
“They said we're all going to Hawaii tomorrow with our classmates.”
Hawaii?
My confusion lasted only a split second.
My eyes hardened.
“Did something blow up at the Gehenna Gate?”
“No.”
Yoo Se-in shook her head.
“They said let's go to the beach. Hawaii beach.”
“…….”
Beach... as in bitch?