The Bumbling Heroes (1)

In the city of adventure, Pradera, there stood three landmarks that could truly be called the city's defining architecture—and the game was designed so that every player would inevitably visit all three at least once.

First was the lord's keep, where players initially respawned.

There they received basic settlement gifts—weapons and gear—along with a guide quest that oriented them to the town, and it was also where the main quest began. Its grand, majestic scenery was the perfect place to make players feel that they had truly fallen into a fantasy world.

Next—whether following the guide or striking out of their own free will—what greeted them upon leaving the keep was a wide-open main avenue.

A player's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gaze would inevitably lock onto the cool jets of water spraying from the fountain at the avenue's end, and the lively energy of the crowds gathered around it. Drawn in by the natural pull of the object, they would arrive, soak in the plaza's bustle—and then, among the four branching roads leading out of the square, one stretch with conspicuously fewer people was bound to catch the eye.

Follow that road, and what came into view was a place where pure-white elegance and sheer grandeur coexisted: the temple.

Save for those already blinded by the hunger for levels, that carefully engineered design left players with no choice but to set foot toward the temple…

And inevitably—

—they found themselves face-to-face with the goddess's sacred presence.

Up to that point, there was no real problem.

A goddess statue inside a temple was the most natural thing in the world, after all.

The trouble began with just how accessible that statue turned out to be.

The romance and the hell of every stock trader; the heart of the global financial markets.

On Wall Street stood a statue known as the Charging Bull.

In the stock market, a bull signified a rising market—so it was no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exaggeration to say the statue symbolized a massive surge. And ever since the ancient days of totem worship, people had delighted in making wishes upon such totems. A certain superstition had long circulated about the bull statue as well.

Touch the bull's horns—or its testicles—and great wealth would come your way.

And so, though the statue gleamed with a full bronze sheen, the horns and the testicles alone had been polished white and glossy from the sheer number of hands that had touched them.

But what could you do?

It felt like money would literally multiply the moment you touched them!

If a bull statue could have that kind of superstitious effect…

…then what about a goddess statue?

The result of that idea taking root in a handful of deranged stock traders, combined with the kind of lunatics who simply went hehe, boobies, ooh without the slightest regard for anyone watching—

"I… I'm gonna touch the chest too…!"

"Aaaagh! You absolute pervert!"

"Guards…! This Hero's acting really weird…!"

Those who tried to touch.

Those who tried to stop them.

A scene of pure pandemonium that Se-rin had never even imagined was unfolding before her eyes.

"……"

Of course, punishing them with nothing more than a flick of her finger would have been trivial.

But…

Do I… count that as freedom of play…?

As a gamer before she was a goddess, Se-rin chewed over the conflict.

Petting a dog wandering the street.

Leaning against a temple pillar and feeling the texture of the marble with your hand.

…Touching a goddess statue.

At their core, all of these were acts that shared the same concept of "touching." At least within the framework of a "game."

Of course, it was also the kind of behavior that could offend public decency—so stopping it was an obvious necessity.

However.

By invoking a goddess's authority, one could observe not only the Heroes but every inhabitant of the Galicia continent, their conditions converted into status-window form.

And in Se-rin and Elisha's eyes—

—they could see someone's Devotion… that is, their faith in the goddess… climbing in real time as they desperately struggled to touch a certain part of the statue.

Considering that the original purpose of developing the game was to harvest faith from higher-dimensional beings who had arrived on the Galicia continent—

Should they stop it?

Stop it, and dignity was preserved—but the farming slowed down.

Should they leave it alone?

Leave it alone, and the farming sped up—but dignity was desecrated.

Talk about a no-win scenario!

Which was precisely why Elisha, unable to decide for herself, had been stomping her feet and calling for Se-rin.

Se-rin, who had been staring blankly at the disgraceful spectacle, let out a long sigh and gave a flick of her finger.

Predatory monetization was fantastic for a short-term cash grab, but in the long run it destroyed a game's image.

Even if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠free-spirited types loved it right now—what if potential customers took one look at that free-spiritedness and recoiled in disgust?

So…

"Ooooh…!"

"It's a miracle from the Goddess!"

"Sacred flames have blossomed!"

Around Se-rin's statue, flames roared to life—mysterious fire that conjured an atmosphere of such solemn grandeur that no one dared approach lightly.

Even the toxic player who had been causing the uproar just moments before—'OohBoobies'—froze for an instant, letting out a gasp of awe at the miracle.

And then, the very next moment—

"Ooh…!"

'OohBoobies' dove straight into the fire.

Fwoooosh!

And ceased to exist.

A system message appeared—visible, in all likelihood, only to the just-vanished 'OohBoobies' and to Se-rin and Elisha.

"……"

……

Se-rin and Elisha's eyes wavered, locking across empty air.

The next instant—

The goddesses, without so much as deciding who would go first, began abusing teleportation, racing from temple to temple across every region and reinforcing their "security measures."

Running a closed beta had been the right call.

That was Se-rin's honest feeling.

It was only Day One… and not even six hours had passed.

Bizarre plays she had never imagined—plays that were only possible because this was virtual reality—were erupting left and right.

The Shawshank Man, who created his character and immediately refused all communication, bolting full-tilt in an attempt to escape the keep.

The Pervert Artist, who used the in-VR broadcasting system to try filming the undergarments of every female NPC he passed—and even other players.

A certain streamer who, while progressing through a sub-quest Se-rin had poured her heart into designing, had maxed out her chest without considering real-world body proportions, gotten wedged in a wall, and flailed helplessly, unable to escape.

And countless other players, everywhere, dancing the line between freedom and license with plays no one had seen coming.

Fortunately, Se-rin didn't have to chase down and observe every single one of these acts herself.

In addition to certain NPCs blessed by the goddess offering real-time prayers and reports…

…those who had ascended to Valhalla were also looking down upon the mortal world, reporting every correction they witnessed in real time.

A few days of trial and error, grinding their lives away in live patches, and things would improve enough.

So—enough observing the eccentricities for now.

After casting a sidelong glance at Elisha, the core NPC who, unlike her, could manifest and wander about freely, basking smugly in praise—

Se-rin turned her attention to the players operating within a relatively predictable range.

The leading players had already reached level 10.

If the game were progressing normally, this was the stage where one could either activate two classes simultaneously or deepen the class they had first chosen—and it was also the moment that granted eligibility to enter the first instance dungeon.

The flower of any RPG.

"Ugh, that lunatic."

Averting her eyes from the sight of Yoo Seol already running grinding loops with her hardcore RMT-farming gamer buddies, Se-rin focused on a group of players who, having yet to challenge an instance dungeon even once, were practically sparkling with excitement.

All right. Show me.

Show me your blind charges…!

.

.

.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Ah, that's… not how you do it…"

Watching a party descend into total chaos a mere ten minutes after entering the dungeon, Se-rin—as a developer, as a director, and as a gamer—let out a deep, weary sigh.