Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Voice (1)
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Thud. The Paladin's body collapsed.
In that instant, the Soldier and the Spartan’s faces turned pale, as if doused with ice water.
The unexpected attack had bound their bodies, robbing them of control.
But not everyone was frozen.
-Uwoooooooh!!!
The Barbarian charged at the tree.
His massive body thundering forward, he raised his axe high and brought it down on the tree’s brow.
Craaaack!
-It huuuurts...
-Shut up!!!
Craaaack!
The Barbarian’s axe didn’t stop.
His face a mask of ferocious rage, he tore into the tree's face, and with each strike, one of the vines making up the floor convulsed violently.
The counterattack began.
A vine shot toward the Barbarian, only to be blocked by the Spartan’s shield.
-You block too!
The Soldier, who had been frozen until then, finally moved.
Noise shattered the silence.
A scream-like cry, the tree’s groan, the clash of metal and the crack of gunfire, followed by the rumbling crash of the tree falling.
Only then did silence return.
Huff, huff. All that remained were ragged breaths.
Stunned, all eyes turned to the Barbarian.
He gritted his teeth and slung the axe at his waist.
Then, he pulled the sword from the fallen Paladin’s corpse.
The sword was quiet.
-Naggy, not coming out. Scared.
Speaking to a sword might have seemed ridiculous to anyone who didn’t understand their nature, how their true selves resided within their weapons.
But no one here was ignorant of that fact.
The Soldier and the Spartan stared at the sword with somber expressions.
Their silence was heavy with many emotions.
Perhaps they understood how the Paladin felt.
Into their silence, the Barbarian suddenly spoke.
-You scared?
The two men flinched.
In that moment, the Barbarian’s eyes held not the ferocity they had shown before, but the wisdom of a resolute leader.
His next words were a lesson.
-Kill or be killed. My tribe, me, us.
-You...
-Life is a choice. Cannot avoid. Cannot take back.
He said.
-Killed, and protected. A choice. I am not evil.
It was a story about choice.
A story about a choice that countless people had faced, and some had already made.
Next, he reminded them of their original purpose.
-Must go forward.
I, too, was reminded.
What was war? If, fundamentally, the essence of war is the friction between groups, then for every person they had saddened, they must have also protected someone’s smile.
To them, war must have been just a choice.
The Barbarian was likely saying that good and evil had no place in it.
Was the slaughter they carried out a sin, or was it a choice made for survival?
The moment the question arose, the answer was already clear.
-Scared one, stays behind. I go get answer.
I am human.
I understand human emotions, their situations, and I sympathize with their nature.
And from my perspective, the laws of Hell were indeed the epitome of absurdity.
The individuals involved felt the same.
-...Let’s go.
-For a brute, you know how to say some smart things.
The Barbarian snorted, "Hmph!" and slung the Paladin’s sword over his back.
The three of them moved on.
They encountered more screaming trees,
-It huuuurts...
-Moooommy...
and they fought their way through.
Wounded and inflicting wounds, screaming and drawing screams—just as they had always lived.
By the time they realized they could no longer find the entrance to the swamp,
the three had discovered another corpse.
-A woman.
It was the corpse of a woman.
A corpse as tall as the Spartan with black hair, withered like a mummy.
Beside the body lay a banner larger than herself.
-...I know who this is.
the Soldier said.
-Jeanne d'Arc. A war hero of France. Though she looks different from what I’ve heard.
I, too, observed that the Soldier was right.
From my modern perspective, I could be even more certain.
But to the Barbarian, it didn't seem to matter whose corpse it was.
-Female. Suits Naggy.
With those words, the Barbarian drew the Paladin’s sword.
Shunk!
The Paladin’s sword plunged into the woman’s chest.
A moment of silence, then tentacles wriggled out from the sword and enveloped the woman’s body.
Soon, the Paladin opened her eyes.
I learned then that the demon sword’s transformation of the physical form did not affect gender.
-...
-Speak.
-You barbarian...
And also that they could perceive the outside world even while confined within their weapons.
The Paladin, now in a woman's body, scowled in displeasure and clenched and unclenched her fists.
-A woman as a war hero... the future is bleak indeed.
-She’s a great figure. Religiously, too.
-Hmph, great figure, my foot.
-Naggy, female suits you.
-Silence, you savage.
The Paladin, whom I would have to refer to as ‘she’ for the time being, rose to her feet and spoke.
-I have shown an unsightly side of myself.
-Naggy, going with us?
-Would I stop then? I was merely tempted by a demon for a moment; the faith in my heart remains strong. As it is written, ‘But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.’ Job overcame Satan’s temptations and proved his faithfulness, and so shall I.
The Paladin made the sign of the cross as she spoke.
The Soldier looked a little fed up.
-A severe case. You still believe in God?
-The end for an unbeliever is only death, be it of the body or the soul.
The Paladin’s eyes burned with a clear light.
That unquestioning faith was her way of life.
As if shaking off all hesitation, the Paladin drew her sword.
-Let us go.
Now a party of four once more, they pressed forward.
Their appearance as they traversed the swamp was more haggard than before.
But the hesitation from before was gone.
Should I call it observation, or transcription?
Watching them from a distance, I pondered the meaning of this journey.
After observing them in the landscape for a long while, I came to a conclusion.
‘...Yes.’
Walking in hope of salvation, it is an ordeal.
Considering the essence of the act, it is an escape from Hell.
Since what they ultimately seek is an answer, it is a pilgrimage.
I do not know if God or Satan awaits them at the end, but whatever it is, it will surely be the answer they desire.
Thus, the four soldiers walking through Hell were, to me, represented as pilgrims.
* * *
One can never worry enough about the narrative.
It was akin to the role of mise-en-scène in film, and Hellic was a game that actively incorporated such elements.
Therefore, from overt narratives like tooltips to storytelling through design, and even expressing a hero’s life story through the placement of their corpse in a specific part of Hell—all these level design elements needed to be considered concurrently during this intense modeling phase.
I had come to the art team to discuss this very matter with Han Seo-rim.
“This isn't it...!”
Jeon Yu-mi despaired.
I pointed at Jeon Yu-mi, who was clutching her head, and asked Han Seo-rim.
“What's wrong with her?”
“She doesn't like the Jeanne d'Arc design.”
“?”
“Says it doesn't look enough like a female knight.”
“What does that even mean?”
“How should I know?”
Han Seo-rim shrugged, and Kim Hye-ji, who had approached, explained.
“You two are both clueless.”
“?”
“Don't you realize how important this is right now?”
Whipping her head around, Kim Hye-ji wore a rare, stern expression.
Her words were a wake-up call for me.
“Aish! Jeanne d'Arc is the only female character customization in the game!”
“...!”
“Even when you break her down into parts, she has to look female! But since she's a knight, she can't be too delicate! Don't you understand this struggle?!”
My body froze.
Indeed,
‘She has a point...’
...a very good point!
“Is that important?”
I answered Han Seo-rim’s question.
“...It is important.”
I had almost made a mistake.
I was so focused on the big picture that I missed a crucial detail.
My mind started racing.
‘Freedom in customization includes changing one's gender.’
Every single player has a different preference.
And customization must provide a level of freedom that can satisfy all of them.
You know how it is.
One of the prominent features in games with gender-locked classes is that some people will avoid a high-performance class simply because of the character's gender.
A game is a medium that should satisfy all players, not discriminate against them.
My thoughts deepened.
‘Should I add more female character customization options?’
Of course, changing the gender of the existing corpses was out of the question.
Modifying characters whose concepts were already set would only create more work without any real benefit.
On the contrary, it could even become a barrier to entry for people who would find such changes uncomfortable.
That left one option.
‘...Add new customization elements.’
Fundamentally, Hellic 3's customization system involves attaching different body parts to a single frame.
Furthermore, each acquired part has its own unique traits.
Ultimately, farming 'corpses' and collecting parts are means to improve one's stats. From that perspective, adding new elements could mean cluttering the system or creating parts that deviate from the core concept.
However, it wasn't an impossible problem.
‘Cosmetic items.’
In other words, adding items solely for customization.
And where would the source for these come from?
‘...Monsters.’
What if killing monsters made them drop cosmetic items?
‘That ties it up nicely.’
To summarize.
The corpses of war heroes are parts with special traits.
The corpses of monsters are parts for cosmetic purposes.
Players would naturally learn this mechanic through the farming process.
So, which monsters should be used as customization elements?
I thought about it, and an answer came to me.
‘They don't necessarily have to be human.’
Since we're doing this, wouldn't it be fun to include non-human customization options?
It would lean more into the aspect of assembly.
There are quite a few female-shaped monsters, but there are even more in the form of grotesque beasts.
The thought of attaching such things to a playable character is quite interesting.
A human body with a wooden arm, a mechanical torso with only a spine attached, or even parts that are nothing but bone would be cool.
As I imagined it, I suddenly realized something.
‘...This is fun.’
Assuming I could customize my character in all sorts of ways, I naturally found myself imagining, ‘If I were playing, I'd want to try this.’
Imagination. In other words, interest.
It’s one of the factors that determine a game’s fun, and one of the elements that helps a player identify with their character.
That's not all.
Thinking deeper, there was another benefit beyond simply increasing interest.
‘It gives players another reason to fight monsters.’
In other words, it's possible to instill in players the anticipation of, ‘If I kill that thing, I can probably use its parts, right?’
This means combat could become more engaging.
It was an idea that my gut confirmed before my brain did, and after digging into it, it proved to be an excellent idea logically as well.
My surprise at the possibilities of customization was brief. I spoke.
“Seo-rim.”
“Yes?”
“Let's add more customization models. Including monsters.”
The response came from Kim Hye-ji.
“...Huh?”
Did she not understand?
I explained it in more detail.
“Thanks. You gave me a great idea. I think it'd be more fun if we used monsters as customization elements too. Please look into that. Draft some modeling concepts and send them to me.”
I offered her praise.
I even patted her on the shoulder in appreciation before speaking to Han Seo-rim.
“Oh, right, Seo-rim. About the map models...”
“Let's talk outside. Oh, it's time for our workout, so get ready. We can talk while we do that.”
Han Seo-rim suddenly pulled me away.
Her expression was cold for some reason.
As I was being dragged out, I felt eyes on me and turned to see the entire art team staring our way.
‘Why are they all looking at me like that?’
The question remained unanswered.
But as we passed the partition and left the office, I faintly heard a sound from beyond the door.
-You crazy bitch!!!
-Aaaargh!!!
Screams could be heard.
* * *
Winter was just around the corner.
The framework for Chapter 1 was slowly coming together.
With things at this stage, there was something we needed to start.
“Let's hire voice actors.”
AAA game Hellic 3. It was time to give it a voice.
Yang Gil-sang replied.
“We should. The timing is quite early, though.”
“That's because we're making a demo.”
Originally, since scripts often change during development, we had planned to hire voice actors around the time the overall story was finalized.
But with things as they were, we needed to secure the talent in advance.
“Do you have anyone in mind?”
“One person for sure.”
From the moment I thought of hiring voice actors, there was one thing I had decided on.
“Who would that be?”
“Voice actor Lee Su-chang.”
“Huh?”
His face was full of confusion, which made me sigh.
‘Ah...’
Does he not know?
This uncultured swine.
“He's the voice of Black War Tyrannomon.”
Yang Gil-sang had no romance in his soul.