Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Ayado's Verdict
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Ayado's playthrough continued.
His character, now enhanced with the dancer's parts, had grown slightly more powerful (and bizarre), both in appearance and in combat.
The [Gun: Magic Bullet] build—a combination of Napoleon's head, Joan of Arc's torso, and Simo Häyhä's arms—turned each of Ayado's shots into a fatal blow.
He had farmed parts from various other corpses, but Ayado chose only these three.
The reason was the satisfying impact of each shot.
And so, he entered the boss room of Chapter 2.
"Fufufu..."
"Fufufufu...!"
A cinematic began to play.
Overlapping laughter echoed, stimulating Ayado's senses.
That wasn't all.
The background music, which had been playing continuously, shifted to a more viscous and urgent melody.
Electronic sounds were introduced, making his sense of hearing more acute than ever.
*Thump, thump—*
With the sound of footsteps, dancers began to appear one by one.
Without even their usual skeleton soldier escorts, they danced lightly across the vast floor.
Then, they joined hands.
Ayado recognized the origins of their dance moves.
'Couple dancing?'
It was a multi-person dance incorporating moves from the tango, swing, and waltz.
The dancers spun based on these movements, drawing closer to one another.
The fluttering fabric captivated his gaze.
Their alluring gestures and footwork stirred the heart.
They embraced each other.
Entwined as one, they gracefully collapsed to the floor.
*Swoosh—*
The sheer fabric became a veil, blurring the lines between the dancers.
Finally, what emerged was a sword that looked to be well over six meters long.
'Hah...'
The feeling was like watching a performance.
Then, with a great rumble, the tomb shook, and skeletons rose up, beginning to intertwine.
What they formed was the upper body of a giant woman.
It was a bizarre sight.
From a distance, it was the sensual silhouette of a woman, but up close, her entire body was made of skeletons, creating an unsettling atmosphere.
Her pose, with her hips pushed back and one hand on the ground, was alluring, yet the sword she held was a grotesque magic blade formed from the intertwined dancers.
Ayado was captivated by the form.
But he couldn't admire it for long.
"Aaaah...!"
With a cry, the cinematic ended, and the battle phase began.
*Bang—!*
Ayado's gun fired.
* * *
Excluding the cinematic, the battle lasted eight minutes. The boss's patterns were divided into Phase 1 and Phase 2.
Ayado figured this out after two tries and succeeded in defeating the boss on his third attempt.
The combat fatigue wasn't very high.
No, to be precise, there was none.
'This is fun.'
It was so thrillingly fun that he lost all track of time.
Above all, thanks to the slick design, simply looking at the boss was fascinating.
At the same time, he realized his own mistake.
He let out a dry laugh.
'I was supposed to be evaluating it...'
At some point, he had forgotten even that and became completely immersed in the game.
Ayado looked at the message displayed before him: [Would you like to start the next playthrough?]
His hand was already moving toward [Yes].
Fortunately, he had an excuse for himself.
'It took exactly four hours.'
There's still time left.
Also, there was something Ayado hadn't checked yet.
'He mentioned a sub-route.'
The first playthrough had assumed a normal run, following only the main path.
So, shouldn't he check the unconventional routes this time?
Ayado, having completed this series of self-justifications, operated the controller.
[Yes]
And so he continued, through his second and third playthroughs.
He spent seven hours a day just playing the game.
"How was it?"
Yeon-ho entered the moment he finished playing.
Only then did Ayado realize Yeon-ho hadn't been in the room.
Many emotions welled up inside him.
But his answer to that question was singular.
"...It was fun. I never thought I'd be able to play a game like this at my age."
"Unlike the rumors, you're quite generous with your evaluation."
"Not at all."
I simply encountered a game that deserved it.
It was the truth, with no exaggeration or understatement.
'Everything was calculated. Even my own intentions.'
Analysis gives reason to one's impressions.
It mercilessly reveals the calculations underlying the thought 'this is fun' when looking at certain elements in the game, providing detailed evidence.
In that sense, *Hellic 3* was a brutally calculated game.
Let's set aside the previously mentioned narrative integration and system intuitiveness.
Let's also set aside how it added a 'customization' desire to the reason for killing monsters.
More fundamentally, the game was built from the very choice of genre to thoroughly 'deceive' the user.
In other words, it packaged the emotions the user would feel as freedom, while guiding them in one direction.
"There's a reason it's an action game, isn't there?"
Yeon-ho smiled faintly.
A silent affirmation.
Ayado took off his glasses and wiped them as he spoke.
"The narrative is dangerous. If misinterpreted, it could feel like a structure that condemns soldiers who participated in war."
Not a single element was free of this risk.
A twisted Valhalla where one must die and be reborn eternally, Chapters 1 and 2 where one must look back on those they have killed.
Depending on the interpretation, each element was a narrative that walked a very dangerous line.
There was an old axiom in the industry.
"It's a controversial element. Games are for fun, not for making appeals."
From that perspective, Yeon-ho's game contained a certain risk.
But at the same time, it packaged that risk brilliantly.
"It was only after playing it three times and approaching it analytically that I realized. Not a single in-game element was trying to push the narrative."
On the contrary, every element was obscuring the narrative to the point where it was impossible to judge without analysis.
The complete opposite of *Hellic 2*.
"You handle the narrative quite well. The setting is constructed with a thoroughly fantastical interpretation. The monsters are deliberately given aberrant forms to only metaphorically reveal their motifs, and the playable character's anguish is buried under their characterization."
Thus, this game became 'a game where not knowing the story poses no obstacle to progress.'
The epitome of this was the choice of genre.
"Users don't expect a story from an action game."
*Hellic 3* is an action-adventure game.
It's a game primarily about action rather than adventure—a game for fighting, above all else.
It faithfully followed the words of a legendary action game developer: 'The story in a game is like the story in a porn film.'
The effect gained from this was obvious.
"During gameplay, the user won't think about the narrative. They won't consider the circumstances of the enemy before them. They will only see them as an enemy to be killed, a reward to be obtained."
He didn't need to look far; Ayado himself was a case in point.
What had he been thinking while facing enemies throughout his gameplay?
The narrative structure? The enemy's identity?
No.
He only thought about killing the enemy before him and the reward he would get.
He only thought about his character's growth and the battles that would test it.
It was the same even after he had cooled his head.
"After finishing the playthrough, the user separates themselves from the character. At that moment, the revealed narrative devices are interpreted merely as 'things that happened to the protagonist.'"
The discomfort vanishes.
Because it's no longer a message of condemnation directed at the player.
The individual in war is dismissed as part of the protagonist's characterization.
The deliberate emphasis on characterization once again works as an advantage here.
Furthermore, the monsters aren't actual victims, but fictional enemies created to remind the protagonist of their sins.
The fantastical metaphors allow one to intuit this, once again erasing any potential discomfort.
All things considered, nothing in the game holds the player accountable.
The elements intertwined and complemented each other, erasing the narrative's shortcomings and turning them into strengths.
The integration and separation of the playable character and the user achieved a perfect balance.
"You're very sharp."
"...It's a sensitive subject."
Yeon-ho, in his reply, looked somewhat surprised.
Was he surprised that Ayado had figured out so much at once?
Ayado didn't feel particularly proud of it.
Because a question still remained for him.
"There's one more thing I'd like to ask."
"What is it?"
"What is the role of the 'Stigmata' that bosses drop?"
Ayado pointed to the monitor.
A tooltip was displayed there.
『You have acquired [Stigma: Footsteps of the Blind].』
It was the only item Ayado couldn't understand among the systems he had figured out.
It had no special tooltip.
It couldn't be destroyed, and there was no guide on where to use it.
Just an item dropped by a boss.
He tried to interpret it as a trophy, but there was an element that made even that questionable.
"The Stigma you get from defeating a chapter boss changes depending on your playstyle."
For example.
A normal playthrough following the main path yields 'Footsteps of the Blind'.
Taking only the shortcuts, the fastest route, yields 'Fleeing Breath'.
Taking the sub-route with only elite monsters yields 'Penitent's Grasp'.
In other words, the Stigmata appeared to be an element of combat evaluation that changed with playstyle.
Thus, Ayado thought.
"Does this game have multiple endings?"
It seemed like a device for the ending.
A device that shows different endings based on the type of Stigma.
Yeon-ho didn't answer right away.
Ayado quietly studied his expression.
The answer that finally came was this.
"...I'm still thinking about it."
"About what?"
"How to conclude this story."
It was both an affirmation and a denial.
It meant it did have multiple endings, but he hadn't yet figured out how they would all come together.
Ayado stood up from his seat.
"...It's not an urgent matter, I suppose."
"Are you leaving? Perhaps we could have a meal..."
"No, thank you. I ended up playing for longer than I expected."
Yeon-ho didn't press further and simply nodded.
Such a clean-cut personality, just as he liked.
Ayado looked at him for a moment, then took a breath.
What came from his lips was the final evaluation.
"I think the booth will need to be a bit bigger."
Of course, it couldn't be called a perfect game.
It was unfinished, to begin with, and even setting that aside, it had its flaws.
However, *Hellic 3* concealed those flaws so brilliantly it was admirable.
In short, it had clear selling points.
Yeon-ho's eyes widened.
Ayado smiled and continued.
"The voice acting is still only in Korean, I see."
"Yes, we couldn't find the talent."
"Let's add Japanese and English voiceovers. We'll find the people on our end."
A list of potential candidates flashed through Ayado's mind.
For Japan, in particular, he could think of quite a few available A-list voice actors.
In the Japanese market, voice actor selection is especially important.
This is because the fandoms built around the voice actors themselves are comparable to those of other celebrities.
They would surely provide a significant boost to the game's success.
Of course, that was something to think about after he returned.
Ayado offered Yeon-ho a handshake.
"We have about three months left. I suppose we'll see each other again then."
Yeon-ho stared at the hand for a moment before taking it.
"...Yes, I'll see you then."
And so, Ayado left.
Leaving behind a single comment.
"Oh, and the sound effects in the Chapter 2 BGM were quite impressive. They gave me goosebumps. Your sound team must be very skilled."
He didn't see Yeon-ho stiffen behind him.
Just as he stepped out onto the road where the sun was setting.
*Triring!*
How did he know? Rousseau called him right away.
Ayado answered the phone.
"Yes, this is Ayado."
"How was the game!"
The blunt question perfectly reflected his willful personality.
But for today, at least, it wasn't so unpleasant.
It was only natural, as his curiosity, sparked by this man, had made the day quite enjoyable.
Ayado adjusted his glasses and smiled.
"It was good."
How should he put it...
Ayado looked up at the sky.
The memories of playing the game today flashed by.
The character with whom he had adventured in another world.
His smile deepened slightly.
'Yes.'
That seems like the right word.
"I saw potential."
His steps were quite light.
* * *
Back at the Rewind office after Ayado had left, A-yun, who was on booth cleanup duty, discovered something while tidying up the game console.
It was the character Ayado had been playing, still visible on the monitor that had been left on.
A-yun stroked her chin.
"Hmm..."
No matter how she looked at it.
"...It's... perverted."
Napoleon's head (with a double chin), Joan of Arc's chest (large), a dancer's pelvis, and the hairy limbs of a barbarian.
A-yun simply could not understand the mind of the old man who had created this character.
Nor did she want to.
She just pressed and held the power button, destroying the unsaved data!
With that, she left the booth.
"Good work, A-yun. Let's go now."
"Okay...!"
Yeon-ho was waiting.
A-yun grinned brightly, grabbed the hem of Yeon-ho's clothes, and scurried out of the office.
Today was Rewind's company dinner.
The menu was beef.
That wasn't all.
A-yun asked Yeon-ho again.
"C-Can I really drink...?"
She had heard that since the sound had received high praise, she was being given special permission.
The expression on Yeon-ho's face as he said it was reluctant, but A-yun didn't notice.
The reply came immediately.
"But you have to drink slowly, and only as much as I give you."
"Okay...!"
"And you have to sit next to me. Don't go to other tables trying to get drinks."
"Okaay...!"
A-yun was happy.
* * *
In April, as the cherry blossoms fell, a rumor began to circulate on the community forums.
『(Chat) S2PoppyS2: There's a rumor that Hellic 3 will be revealed at this year's E3!』
The news spread quietly, and quickly.
Preparations