Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: I Don't Like Homework.
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The Demon King Who Does Gacha
Chapter 1
I don't like homework.
No, to be precise, it's closer to hating it.
How many people in the world actually like homework, anyway...
I hated it in my childhood, and I hated it during my school days.
Now that I'm an adult?
Still hate it.
But by some cruel twist of fate, I've become the kind of adult who hands out that hated homework to others.
"Alright, that's it for today. I'll upload the assignment details to the cyber classroom by this evening, so make sure to check."
The word "assignment" echoes through the space, followed immediately by faces crumpling up.
Pretending not to notice those faces is one of the things I've learned to do best in this job.
Yes, yes.
I hate homework too, everyone.
But we're adults, so we grit our teeth and bear it.
"Any questions?"
Swish...
A short-haired guy in the front row with sharp, refreshing features glances around awkwardly before replying.
"...Doesn't seem like it, Professor."
Did he think I was waiting for a response?
"I see. See you next time."
Clack...
Clack...
Before my loafers even fully exit the lecture hall, the room fills with the students' chatter.
But my unusually sharp ears catch some gossip flying toward me, even though I haven't stepped outside yet.
"Kim Seojin's lectures are unbearable. So stiff. It's like walking on thin ice."
"Why?"
"He's like a cyborg, seriously. A lecturing robot."
"Hey, don't say that anywhere else. You don't know?"
"Huh?"
"Professor Kim used to be cheerful and gentle. I heard a few years ago, his wife had an accident..."
* * *
Talk of my wife's accident always stings.
Still, I think I've grown numb to it.
Or rather, I don't think I grieved as much as I expected.
It was truly bearable.
Mid-thirties.
At this age, standing at the podium, and everyone around me is nagging me to remarry.
Lately, I haven't been able to smile at all.
Slide...
I pick up my smartphone, and without fail, a woman's face appears on the lock screen.
Like a full moon.
'You're beautiful, Seunga.'
To my eyes, at least, the woman in the photo has the face of the world's greatest beauty.
Seunga.
Hyun Seunga.
Come on, Seunga, stop messing around and jump up to make me laugh.
"Haa..."
Slide...
Irritably unlocking the phone, I select and tap one of the few icons.
Beeping...
- Remegatoooon~
A slightly clumsy Japanese-style English pronunciation for the title.
I jolt and quickly lower the volume.
Good thing I'm in my office.
Slide...
Slide...
I turn the sound down to barely audible and fiddle with the smartphone.
'...Homework. I didn't do today's homework, did I?'
These days, this game is my only remaining pleasure.
I've been playing Remegaton for a few years now, haven't I?
...Right, it must have been shortly after Seunga left me due to the accident.
My wife was a project lead at a small game development company. Remegaton was the last project she worked on before she passed.
It feels like just yesterday she was grumbling about work stress.
- Seojin, listen to this. Those pigs! They're pushing the monetization way too aggressively! I've told them how it'll scare off users and tank everything...
- How many times do they want me to change the concept? My ears are calloused. So what are you gonna do? ...What can I do? Change it, I guess.
I think the pain from Seunga's death has dulled...
I have to believe that.
After my wife died in the accident, I became a rotting tree still standing.
This game is what kept me from collapsing completely.
A mobile game packed with the homework I hate.
Remegaton, with its 72 demons.
Just your standard collectible mobile game that floods the market every year.
Demons summoning demons to hunt humans and manage dungeons—basic stuff.
Players would never guess.
That this game is filled with my late wife's tears and laughter.
That's why it's been abandoned.
Everyone left.
'...It's pretty fun, though.'
Yeah. As much as I hate to admit it, Remegaton is a flop.
Anyone who's even touched the game stuffs their reviews full of harsh criticism. Probably to warn off any newbies.
It's kind user-friendly for newbies, but to me, it just seems annoying.
Sure, Remegaton is trash, but seeing it publicly branded as such breaks my heart.
Watching the game's reception fade in real-time always brings her to mind.
Her worried face when she got assigned a new project, mixed with excitement about giving it a shot anyway.
Seunga comes to mind.
- I'll definitely make Faust happy. You join in too!
Something Seunga often said.
Faust.
The game's protagonist, the character the player controls.
With all his backstory... but who cares about that now?
In the end, Faust didn't get his happy ending, Seunga.
Click...
I do homework on my smartphone and check announcements on the official homepage via PC.
I read the long announcement over and over.
Dozens of times, maybe.
Already twice today—once before class, once after.
Remegaton's life ends here.
Sadly, all servers shut down today.
As the game's last holdout, I could easily imagine this ending.
'Am I finally free from homework?'
If even this game fades away quietly, maybe I'll start forgetting Seunga bit by bit.
Peel her away, little by little.
The service shutdown is inevitable. So, like planting an apple tree even if the world's end is nigh, players have our duty.
The answer is obvious.
Burn through the stockpiled resources.
Gacha—pulls.
Dump all those magic stones in one go.
Into the permanent banner, no less!
It's my wife's game, so I've whale'd out to a decent degree, but Remegaton's monetization efficiency is abysmal. Pouring stones into the worst-of-the-worst regular banner triggers an instinctive recoil.
'Feels like a thorn under my tongue.'
I've gotten used to it, but spending money on games still gives me a slight aversion.
If it weren't a game tied to memories with my wife, charging would never have been an option.
'No, I probably never would've touched mobile games at all.'
For me, dumping my hard-earned stones into a non-pickup regular banner is self-destructive. ...But today, I can do it!
Remegaton's 6-star demon pull rates are so low you can't tell if you're in hell or reality. Plus, excluding familiars, there are all sorts of extra gachas that make even veteran spenders shake their heads.
...No wonder it flopped.
Remegaton pulled stunts that would horrify typical mobile gamers, and the hellish rates were just one part.
Sometimes it feels like a blessing it's ending normally without any incidents.
Anyway...
Service end imminent: infinite bleed pulls.
These stones are headed straight into the gates of hell, only to return as disappointment.
Whoooosh...
A hell gate bound tight with chains.
Atop it, a rattling skull head performs the summoning ritual.
- No monster shall escape! I'll scrape the bottom of hell to find it for you!
'Stop bragging every time and actually deliver.'
Whirrr...
Blue.
- Grrr... meat... delicious meat...
[Summoning ★★★ Goblin Brawler.]
......
Whirrr...
Green.
[Successfully scavenged ★★ Crude Club.]
......
Whirrr...
Purple.
- Tonight... a full moon rises.
[Summoning ★★★★ Werewolf.]
......
Just did a 30-pull. What the hell?
Spicy.
Super spicy.
'Whoa... harsh.'
Not even a glimpse of a 5-star, let alone 6.
As always, it didn't take long for my naturally accumulated stones to turn to ash.
I've been slacking on homework lately, so I get it. Still, the amount I burned wasn't small.
Even after stopping charges recently, I could stockpile this much—ironically, thanks to Remegaton's design.
It squeezes whales dry while being sneakily generous to free-to-play users, who serve as ego boosts for the whales.
Solid strategy, but it sank anyway. Too little, too late.
Who cares what's in a shipwreck—dreams, hopes, silk, or pepper.
Whirr...
'...What?'
I just did an 80-pull.
Unless it was a lucid dream, I definitely just finished an 80-pull.
...What?
Before I knew it, my stone balance was down to about one last 10-pull.
"Whew..."
I catch my breath for a moment, then tap.
Whoooosh...
- Raaaaaaaagh!
The hell gate's skull screams in what—pain? Ecstasy? Something.
This cutscene sometimes plays when you pull a 6-star demon.
'...Here it comes.'
- Bow before it... a being born before hell itself was forged...
'...What? What're you saying?'
Usually it's some cool animation, but this phrasing is rare...
The dialogue that follows barely registers as I stare blankly at the screen.
- Mother of all demons, holy adversary of the heavens!
'No way...'
Rumble rumble crash!
Right after, the hell gate's doors shatter completely in a cutscene I've never seen.
- Beyond fate, I've come to meet you.
[Summoning ★★★★★★ Lucifer.]
[Achievement Quest 'The Woman at the End' completed.]
My pupils dilate naturally.
'...What? What just happened?'
Lucifer?
...Lucifer?
No way?
'Lucifer just pulled?'
A regular 6-star wouldn't shock me this much.
Because Lucifer... hasn't been heard from since that incident where players data-mined the client and stole her model.
'Stealth patch? In a game on the brink of shutdown?'
Lucifer wasn't even one of the 72 demons, so there were only guesses she'd appear in some event someday.
By then, even the diehards had bailed, so Lucifer herself had faded from players' interests.
Being the first to collect her—should I be thrilled? Even if it's a glitch?
No, today is Remegaton's shutdown day. In a few minutes, even.
"Weird..."
Ding...
[Remegaton service shutdown imminent.]
[Service will permanently end in 5 minutes.]
[We sincerely thank all the Demon Kings who loved and cherished Remegaton until now.]
......
Blah blah...
I rub my eyes.
Why am I suddenly so sleepy?
No lectures later, but still...
Ah, I... haven't been sleeping well lately...
Thud!
* * *
Shhhh...
...Rain sounds from somewhere.
"...Do it!"
Quiet down, let me sleep.
"Get on with it!"
"Execute them!"
...What is this?
Who’s barging into my office without knocking...
Hm?
Clank...
Hm?
Clank clank...
Hm?
'What? My body...'
My body's restrained.
'Kidnapped! No, kidnapped?'
And I'm getting soaked in the rain nonstop.
Boom!
Shhhh...
No clue why I'm out in the street getting drenched.
"Today, here, we confront the fallen minions threatening humanity! The demon resistance..."
What the hell is this guy saying?
'...Demons?'
Demons... demons?
Demons? Who?
Who's a demon? Why demons all of a sudden...
Point!
The agitator's finger points at me.
"Among them, we shall judge the wicked offspring who may one day become the Demon King's army. Thus proclaiming humanity's victory—now and forever!"
"Woooaaah!"
"Woooaaaah!"
"Kill them! Kiiiill!"
Even an idiot could figure it out by now...
The place I'm restrained in is a guillotine.
A razor-sharp blade hangs above.
Can't see it directly since it's tied, but I feel it.
Weirdly enough.
My senses are strangely sharpened.
Offspring, though?
I roll my eyes to check left and right—others restrained like me. Position only lets me see one each side, but feels like at least five.
But that's not the point right now.
'Help, someone... from this ridiculous situation...'
No voice comes out.
Not imagination—truly, like I ate something bad, no voice.
If it's a dream, I should wake up now. Nightmares have mercy too.
'Please... please...'
I roll my eyes frantically.
In this helplessness, all I can move is my pupils.
"Kill!"
"Off with their heads!"
Everyone screams to kill the guillotine's stars.
Can't resist.
In that moment, inexplicable hatred surges for these finger-pointing, condemning humans.
'How dare they...'
As if that's my essence, like rage flows through my veins instead of blood.
Grind...
I grit my teeth and glare ahead.
Eyes bloodshot, glaring at the crowd, one woman catches my eye especially.
Thought nothing could surprise me anymore, but even in the chaos, the hooded robed woman's striking features were shocking.
Silver hair shimmering like woven silver thread, snow-white skin, subtly Eastern features.
Eyes gleaming yellow like a cat's.
But I wasn't shocked by her beauty.
She resembled the last person I saw before falling asleep.
'...Lucifer?'
She pulls back the hood, revealing horns.
"Just a bit longer..."
What'd she say?
"Endure it."
Whoooosh...
Immense darkness swirls in the woman's hand.
"Wh-what!"
"Kyaaaah!"
"Demons!"
"A demon's here!"
The crowd scatters in panic as light flashes.
Boom!
The guillotine explodes.
In that instant, I regain freedom.
And meet another helplessness.
Falling off the cliff, I realize this is a solitary island's spire, and the guillotine was positioned high up.
Meaning I'm plummeting into the sea, and the woman's strike just collapsed the entire spire.
Splash...
I plunge into the raging sea amid storm winds.
That's my last memory.
No, there's a bit more.
The other guillotine demons scattering and fleeing into the sea, as if waiting for this.
And...
Glug...
Lucifer swimming toward me.
Glug...
Glug glug...
Gurgle...
"Cough... cough..."
I vomit water.
What?
'Ah...'
I woke from the dream.
...No?
Vomiting water means it's not a dream.
"Cough... haa... haa..."
"You've awakened."
Just noticed—I'm pillowed on someone's lap.
Softer than any pillow.
My gaze meets the owner of the lap I'm on—the demon Lucifer's gaze.
"Lord Faust."
"...Ah."
In a flash, words from two women before I crossed over come to mind.
- I'll definitely make Faust happy. You join in too!
Hyun Seunga.
- Beyond fate, I've come to meet you.
And Lucifer.
"...Damn."
Maybe today, I've been handed the worst homework ever.