Chapter 130
Chapter 130
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 130
Chapter Title: Release - Demon's Relic (2)
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The live stream, which had straddled the line between amusing and bizarre, was over.
To summarize the main points, this was the gist of it.
1. The directing philosophy was forged through sparring.
2. A lot of new content is being released.
3. There's an event.
Of these, items 1 and 3 received the most attention.
Item 2 was an expected part of the official launch, so it was the unexpected news that really caught people's ears.
First, item 1: sparring.
With video evidence submitted, the users’ cheers for this radical development philosophy followed.
That’s just how this industry was.
For users curious about the behind-the-scenes development, "I thought of it while taking a dump and it worked out great" was more impactful than "We just worked hard on it."
It was a market where, as long as the final product was good, even a line like "I thought of it while taking a dump" would be seen as a fragment of genius.
All that mattered was the result.
And *Demon's Relic*, through three rounds of demos, had brilliantly proven that the game, and its IP, had commercial value.
The reaction was bound to be positive.
『LordOfBlood_Bangbae: So you're saying one of them is a furry femboy fanatic?
How horrifying lololol
HanSuTheKing: That's enough. Paimon's femboy status isn't official.
└ WaitingForHellic4: But there's a lot of circumstantial evidence.
└ IsThisTheBarExam: fr lol
45Uncle: Oh my,,, how lewd,,, what is this,,,!!!』
From simple amusement,
『YeonHoLoverDog: Ah, so that's what he meant by blood and sweat…』
to contemplation on the meaning of "blood and sweat," which Yeon-ho had so heavily emphasized during the initial reveal.
And one more thing.
The development story itself stimulated people's imaginations.
The discussions among users about how various in-game gimmicks and lore elements were developed soon turned into a meme, spreading as a source of laughter.
[Got a problem? Fight me.]
The phrase that dominated the community during this period was "Got a problem? Fight me," filled with reverence for the two directors.
It took a week for it to be exported to other communities and spread among social media stars.
Thus began the great age of sparring.
Amidst this trend, the announcement of item 3, the event, was welcome news for users who had decided to actually play the game.
『HanSuTheKing: An achievement hunting event, that's unusual.
But it's my turn, isn't it?』
The achievement hunting event.
Simply put, players had to clear all achievements in a specific in-game category within a set period, then post a review on the official website's event page with a verification screenshot.
The achievements in *Demon's Relic* were divided into three categories.
Main and sub-quest progress (Lucifer), affection (Andras), and special achievements (Agares).
Therefore, there were three figures, and if you wanted a specific one, you just had to clear the achievements in that category.
And if you wanted all the figures… you just had to clear all the achievements.
With twenty winners for each category, it wasn't an impossible feat.
As an extension of that, there was a reason why long-time Rewind fans were paying close attention to this event.
『GloomyFuture: Wonder if scalpers will pop up for these figures too?』
It was a tradition, of sorts.
Due to their policy of always releasing high-end quality figures in limited quantities, Rewind's official merchandise was highly valuable.
Some people who won the events would resell them for several times the price.
A prime example was Alice from *Hellic 2*.
Her initial resale price was 2 million, which has now soared to about 9 million, making a significant mark even within the subculture industry.
So, even people uninterested in *Demon's Relic* were looking forward to it.
They hoped to get one, hold onto it, and sell it later to make a profit.
Of course, the number of such people was small.
The structure itself, requiring players to clear all achievements within a certain period, was advantageous to demo players who already had a good understanding of the game.
Most customers who had already decided to buy *Demon's Relic* were unlikely to sell their figures.
In any case, with these various interests intertwined, today was the launch day.
『HanSuTheKing: Mom, watch over me!!!
I'm gonna go bring home a wife!!!』
Someone who had failed in love.
『FailedTheBar: Let's go, Demon's Relic!!!!
Who needs the bar exam, time to game lololol』
Someone who had failed to find a job.
『GloomyFuture: Time to try my hand at scalping~』
Someone who loved money, and countless other users, participated in the *Demon's Relic* launch rush.
Autumn 2017.
This season was undoubtedly the season of *Demon's Relic*.
***
September 13, 23:30.
Han-su Jeong, a fine young man of Korea, finished his shower, came out, and swept his hair back while looking in the mirror.
‘Face, perfect.’
The steamy mirror hid the blemishes that were usually his complex, making him look unusually handsome today.
Next, Han-su slathered his face with a moisturizing cream he got from a junior.
‘Moisture, perfect.’
This would reduce the dark spots from staying up all night.
‘Next…!’
*Whap!*
A towel struck Han-su's body.
Water droplets flew everywhere, creating a rainbow.
“Mmm~!”
Han-su spread his arms, savoring the moment.
His body felt fresh and dry.
His mind was clearer than ever, his heart fluttering with excitement.
All preparations were complete.
“Han-su! Aren't you going to bed?”
“I have the day off tomorrow!”
Han-su dispelled his mother's worries and put on his pajamas.
Then, controller in hand, he sat down in his chair.
[Demon’s Relic]
The game title displayed on the monitor gave him a sense of satisfaction.
From the first demo at G-STAR until today.
The young man, facing the end of a long, long wait, had eyes that couldn't help but shine brightly.
‘Five minutes left!’
The current time was 23:55.
In five minutes, he could start playing the game.
Han-su was, of course, aiming for the Andras figure, a reward for clearing all the affection achievements.
She was his personal favorite character, but beyond that, the goal of clearing all affection achievements was a motivation in itself.
‘It’ll be tough.’
There were a whopping 72 demons.
The task of maxing out all of their affection levels was an achievement that could never be completed in a single playthrough.
It was unavoidable.
There were relationships between the demons.
‘I’ll go with the Baal faction in the first playthrough.’
The demons each belonged to a faction, and forming a deep relationship with one faction would place restrictions on affection levels with other factions.
Furthermore, among the 72 characters, some were disconnected from the main narrative, hidden heroines that had to be found by exploring the map.
In other words, clearing all affection achievements was a multi-playthrough endeavor that required playing through all factions and winning over all of their respective heroines.
But Han-su wasn't worried.
He had already sucked the marrow out of all three demos.
With his fundamental understanding of the game, there was no reason for him to be slow.
Quickly and surely, Han-su intended to be the first to clear the affection achievements and claim his figure.
‘Well, if I have time, I’ll clear the other achievements too.’
As he chuckled, the clock struck midnight.
*Click!*
The moment he pressed ‘Start Game.’
[Woooooah!!!]
[Aaaaaargh!!!]
With the thunderous roars of two men, the words [studio rewind] appeared.
‘Ah, since the development team is different, are the screams different too?’
As a user, he had no way of knowing it was a signature sound mixed by A-yun using the screams of Nishimura and Copson.
Han-su chuckled at the rather unique intro for a Rewind game and moved to the next screen.
The screen that appeared.
[Press to start]
The game had begun.
***
*Demon's Relic* is fundamentally about wandering a continent formed by dozens of small, interconnected open fields.
What did that mean?
‘It means I can fine-tune my build before starting the story.’
Of course, this was an advanced route.
But who was Han-su?
He was a man who could be classified as a veteran of *Demon's Relic*, having licked clean all three demos.
Since it had been announced that there were no major changes to the early-game maps, he just had to proceed as planned.
‘The build is….’
He decided on the [Elemental Contract - Artillery] build.
It was a build that utilized four elemental heroines and one projectile heroine in the five heroine slots confirmed for the official release, operating on an attribute enchantment-projectile system.
Besides the advantage of being capable of mid-to-long-range attacks, this build had one more benefit.
‘It's a build I can create from the very beginning.’
Heroines on maps that only unlocked by progressing the main story were currently unavailable.
However, the heroines needed for this build could be obtained without clearing the main story.
[Then, do your best.]
The prologue cinematic ended.
‘Lucifer!’
On the screen, her smiling face was receding into the distance.
Her appearance was something he could never get tired of, no matter how many times he saw it.
As the central heroine of the main story, Lucifer's model possessed a level of mystique that was incomparable to other heroines.
Her goat-like horizontal pupils, which amplified her dangerous and mysterious aura to the extreme, her queenly gaze looking down, and the choices that appeared.
After checking them all.
‘See you later, then?’
Han-su chose the [I want power] option and bid a brief farewell to Lucifer.
If he cleared the story to the end, he was sure he could recruit her as a heroine.
The motivation was more than enough.
And so, he was dropped into the ruins.
Han-su came face to face with the first heroine(?), Paimon.
Han-su was lost in thought.
‘Hmm…’
Schrödinger's femboy, Paimon, whose official gender was still unconfirmed, came into his arms.
Han-su disliked uncertainty.
The possibility of having a man in his party was not a welcome one.
But even so, he couldn't just abandon Paimon.
‘…He's a top-tier pick performance-wise, for now.’
Paimon was one of the most versatile fire-attribute elemental characters.
He was too good a character to discard for purely emotional reasons.
After some deliberation, Han-su made his decision.
‘…I’ll just take him.’
Paimon was also neutral in terms of faction.
Technically, as a 'King' class demon directly under Lucifer, he was a pick that could be used regardless of which faction was chosen.
The gender issue also depended on one's mindset.
‘If I just think of him as a girl, it'll be fine, right?’
It seemed Rewind had no intention of ever revealing Paimon's gender-related lore.
That meant it was up to the viewer's interpretation.
Having acquired his first heroine, Paimon, Han-su pressed on.
The most important thing in his playthrough was completing his build.
And for the [Elemental Contract - Artillery] build, the key was acquiring Andras, who had the projectile skill.
He had already memorized the early-game maps.
Han-su immediately entered the ruins of his favorite character, Andras, defeated the monsters and the boss, and met her.
[The scent of Lady Lucifer….]
Lucifer's scent drew her to Han-su.
Han-su felt a sense of peace, as if he had come home.
‘I’m back.’
For some reason, it felt as if Andras was saying, "Welcome home."
There was no longer any room for Ye-ji in Han-su's mind.
There were only 72 demon girl heroines.
It was at that moment.
[Synergy 'Foe? Or Ally?' has been fulfilled!]
Han-su's eyes widened.
‘Oh, this is it!’
The relationship system!
He remembered hearing about it during the live stream.
—For this official release, we plan to add a system related to the relationships between each heroine. To add more depth.
—Ah, you're saying you put a lot of thought into it, so please enjoy it?
—If you complete a relationship-specific special achievement by a certain point, a hidden event will occur. The details and rewards are spoilers, so we'll keep them a secret for now.
So they really didn't miss even these details!
This officially confirmed that the developers would never reveal Paimon's gender!
He immediately understood what the synergy's name meant.
Andras was a yandere heroine with the character trait of "If I can't have you, I'll kill you!"
Paimon was a character of unknown gender.
‘So this is from Andras's perspective of Paimon!’
Since she didn't know if Paimon was a boy or a girl, she was being cautious.
It seemed that since no special event triggered, there was nothing more than lore between the two.
Han-su's heart began to pound.
‘How many synergies and achievements does Andras have?’
And what could the hidden event be?
His imagination ran wild.
There was no time to stop.
Having obtained one projectile skill and one attribute skill, Han-su decided to venture into a new map.
He was more curious about learning the conditions for triggering events.
‘I can push the story a little later.’
There was no rush.
And so, after clearing a ruin in the middle of a gloomy cemetery with his fire-attribute projectile skill, Han-su was able to meet her.
[Cough! Ugh… who’s there…?]
Murmur.
A new heroine revealed during the latest live stream.
Han-su's eyes lit up.
‘She had a support-type Necromancy skill, right?’
Her class was Necromancy, her attribute was Enchantment.
Murmur was a character whose key points were a flushed face as if she had a cold, dark circles under her eyes, and her particularly prominent ankles and bare feet, thanks to a robe that only reached her shins.
The moment Han-su first saw this character, he knew.
‘This one!’
She was a bride candidate.
He would have to find out the details as he got to know her, but for now, he liked her.
Soon, the moment of contract arrived.
He succeeded in the contract, and the frail (literally sick) beauty, Murmur, blushed on her pale skin.
[Cough! Cough! Ughn….]
Around that time, Han-su took action.
He canceled the contract.
[Uh, huh? Huh?! No!!!]
Startled, Murmur grabbed onto Han-su.
The light in her eyes died.
Her body trembled, and her hoarse voice, tinged with a cold, grew more desperate.
[I'll… I'll die…! If you go, I'll die… Cough!]
Ah, it was that.
‘A sickly menhera, huh…’
A tried and true flavor.
Han-su nodded in satisfaction and equipped Murmur in a slot.
It was then.
[Synergy 'One of the Two Will Die' has been activated.]
“Eh?”
He was in the middle of swallowing his surprise.
[Huhu, Master, is there any reason to take trash like that with you?]
[C-Contractor! She gives off a foul stench!]
A hidden event had triggered.
A yandere and a menhera. Definitely a difficult combination to mix.