Chapter 84
Chapter 84
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: The Player's Journey
-----------------------------------------------------------------
*Thud-thud-thud!*
—Waaaaaah!!!
The monitor displayed a scene from a battlefield.
It illuminated the madness staining the ground with blood and the collapsing forms of body and soul, all in a low saturation.
After a bird's-eye view, the camera zoomed in, beginning to focus on individuals within the battlefield.
There were four people.
They each spoke.
—Hey, you there.
—You.
—Oh, heavens.
—You terrible being.
Then, their voices overlapped.
—Why must I fall into hell?
In that moment, Seok-hoon's heart began to pound.
***
A good deal of information about Hellic 3 had already been released through various media outlets and online communities.
Above all, Rewind, which valued communication with its users, had released a great deal of information on its own.
So much so that even Seok-hoon, who hadn't started the game yet, would have no trouble deciding on a build path.
'An axe berserker.'
Among all the revealed information, this was what had captured Seok-hoon's heart the most.
It wasn't that someone had already tried that combination.
It was simply that the build existed within the realm of possibilities he could envision, having delved quite deep into Hellic so far.
'I think I can lay the foundation within the first chapter...'
For the parts, I'll use the heart of the Ottoman sultan, Murad I. For the weapon, I'll upgrade the Barbarian's Axe with the 'Onslaught' build.
According to the information from 'S2PoppyS2', the Murad I part was available in the mid-to-late part of Chapter 1.
His decision solidified even more during the tutorial.
Having experienced the basic mechanics of each weapon in the four-phase tutorial, he found that nothing could beat the axe for the satisfying, impactful feel he wanted.
And so, his first part collected: Napoleon.
Seok-hoon felt a sense of déjà vu.
'Oh, this is that thing.'
It was the cosplay (the head part) Yeon-ho wore in one of the E3 photos he'd seen.
A laugh escaped him, pleased by the familiar sight.
Of course, that didn't mean he actually used it.
Its stats were far from what his desired build required, and besides, he already had a specific appearance in mind.
'Alice...!'
Seok-hoon's character was Alice.
The very one released as a pre-order bonus.
Her model had become even more adorable and cute in the transition to Hellic 3.
This wasn't just fan service; the crude polygons of Hellic 2 had undergone a definite quality upgrade for the third installment.
Seok-hoon planned to maintain Alice's appearance until the very end.
'Alice is just a baby. I have to protect her...!'
Even setting aside reasons like that, it was an unavoidable choice, as the Alice parts didn't mesh well with any other cosmetic appearances.
This was because the most prominent feature of the Alice parts was being 'overwhelmingly the smallest of all existing parts'.
After all, wasn't it the appearance of a young girl, Alice?
Trying to partially combine them with the parts of other adult war heroes would only result in a bizarre figure.
In any case, having set his direction, he began the first chapter: the Swamp of Grief.
Seok-hoon's satisfaction grew.
'The visuals are just insane.'
The bluish swamp and the quiet melody of a violin.
It created a grim atmosphere and a sense of danger.
Seok-hoon's Alice began to explore the treacherous terrain, her guard up.
Before Seok-hoon lay a three-way fork in the road.
According to the pre-released information, the choice made at this fork would change the ending.
Of course, since the information came with spoilers, he didn't know the specifics.
However, there was one thing you could figure out with even a slight understanding of the game and the company's tendencies.
'If I take the normal route, it's obviously going to be a bittersweet ending.'
The Hellic series primarily focused on showcasing the grimness of hell.
This was most blatantly revealed in Hellic 2's normal ending, the death of the butterfly.
Seok-hoon was a man with fairly conventional tastes.
Meaning, when he experienced a story, he was the type to hope for a happy ending.
'I'll avoid the main path, so that leaves two...'
The concepts of the paths were starkly different right from their entrances.
The winding path on the left looked unusually treacherous compared to the others.
It was probably the expert course.
Seok-hoon made his decision.
'It's best to take it easy on the first playthrough. I need to get a feel for the systems, too.'
The right path—relatively narrow, but with no added threats.
*Click, clack.* As he tapped the controller, his character entered the path on the right.
The first battle began soon after.
—Mo-mo-mommyyyy...
A child, withered like a mummy, staggered forward.
Seok-hoon's Alice drew her axe.
The moment Seok-hoon charged,
—Uwooooargh!
Alice let out a guttural roar.
"Bwahaha!"
Seok-hoon burst out laughing.
*Crack!*
Even so, the battle continued.
Seok-hoon killed the enemy while choking with laughter.
He only regained his composure after the enemy was defeated.
Seok-hoon calmed his breathing.
'Damn, that really came out of nowhere.'
Considering the original concept, it made sense, but the sudden, deep man's voice caught him completely off guard.
It was a rather amusing experience.
Seok-hoon then checked the item he had looted.
'It's the early game, so there's nothing special... Just like the previous game, killing monsters gives you resources for weapon growth.'
He immediately invested points into 'Axe—Onslaught'.
[Battle Axe ? Gain 20% Rupture attack power.]
Rupture was a stat that caused both bleeding and part destruction simultaneously.
A fitting setup for a berserker.
Seok-hoon felt a great sense of satisfaction at having achieved his primary goal and pressed on.
And so, he faced the next fork in the road.
It seemed Hellic 3's maps were designed with forks that led to intersections at certain points, allowing players to switch routes.
For now, it didn't really matter.
'I'll just keep going right.'
Seok-hoon stuck to the right path, which hadn't been very tiring.
He continued this way for about an hour.
'Found him!'
He spotted a man leaning against a giant tree, his eyes closed.
It was the man Seok-hoon had been looking for: Murad I.
He immediately farmed the part and checked its effect.
『Body of Murad I
The emperor's heart beats with ambition.
At a glance, it might resemble madness.
Trait: Gain Frenzy.
Frenzy: Stats increase as health decreases. Reaches maximum efficiency at 20% health.』
He equipped it right away.
The other Murad I parts were all related to increasing attack power.
So, Seok-hoon didn't equip them.
'With this setup, I should go for lifesteal.'
The core of a berserker was to disregard defense and charge in head-on.
As such, rather than blindly stacking attack power, it was better to gain the sustainability that would enable such an aggressive playstyle.
'The Rupture on the axe will shred their defense. The sultan's heart will raise my attack power, and the lifesteal I get from other parts will provide sustainability.'
He had the core of the build, so now he just needed to acquire the lifesteal parts.
He wouldn't have to look far.
'James definitely said he saw it at E3.'
As far as Seok-hoon knew, the lifesteal part appeared somewhere in Chapter 2.
'Alright, let's go.'
Seok-hoon's character entered the Chapter 1 boss room.
A giant, tree-shaped boss.
He carefully managed his health while splitting it apart with his axe, and just like that, Chapter 1 was cleared.
[Stigma: You have acquired Fleeing Breath.]
He got something he didn't recognize, but he wasn't too concerned about it.
—Pathetic! I'll smash through everything!
—Hold your position!
—You nag, be quiet!
Alice (gruffly) and the Paladin exchanged lines.
Seok-hoon chuckled and moved on to the next chapter.
By this point, Seok-hoon was feeling quite excited.
Having diligently watched James's streams and gathered a lot of information on Hellic 3, he knew exactly who the enemy here would be.
'The Dancer...!'
The very same all-powerful foe that had even killed James!
Just how incredible was she to have completely rattled James?
His curiosity soared.
Seok-hoon smoothed down the corners of his rising mouth and set off.
A jet-black ceiling, and beneath it, a field of skulls and tombstones.
And there, he met her.
—Fufufu...
In that instant, Seok-hoon's gaze was fixed on the Dancer's legs.
Tiptoeing lightly, then spinning with a graceful curve.
The Dancer's movements held...
'...Oh.'
...a certain poignancy.
—Wench! I'll kill you!
A poignancy that could shake his very resolve to protect Alice (the gruff one).
About three seconds of internal conflict.
At the end of it, Seok-hoon made his decision.
'...It's about time for Alice to grow up, too. Her voice has already broken, hasn't it?'
Community username: WaitingforHellic3. Real name: Kang Seok-hoon. Assistant manager at a small company.
Today marked his first anniversary with his girlfriend.
He was a man in his prime.
***
The human heart was a softer thing than one might think.
That is to say, if a hundred people made a resolution, not even five would actually keep it; there's a weak side to us.
A prime example would be the resolutions to quit smoking made every New Year's Day.
In the same vein, once Seok-hoon's resolve crumbled, it was difficult to hold back.
The moment he first obtained the Dancer's parts, Seok-hoon attached her legs to Alice.
And then, didn't the ratio of her head and torso to her legs become a grotesque 1:2?
To fix the proportions somehow, he equipped the Joan of Arc chest piece he had farmed earlier.
But then her arms were too short.
That was when he made the fateful decision.
'Well, I've already come this far.'
If you had to pick the strangest thing about Hellic 3's customization, it's that even when you stick completely mismatched parts together, they somehow still look human.
Meaning, even if you attach a child's head, an aggressive chest, and elegant legs, it still looks plausible.
You can't help but think,
'I could probably get away with attaching a man's forearms, right?'
Just this much...
It was like the mistake a person makes on the fourth day of their resolution to quit smoking, having a drink and giving in to a whim.
*Click!*
Alice's forearms grew thicker.
Seok-hoon trembled with an inexplicable sense of depravity.
Just staring at the back of his character filled him with glee.
Feeling this way, he continued to play the game.
To put it simply, Seok-hoon was still playing even after the sun had risen and noon had passed.
The room, with its blackout curtains drawn, had made him lose track of time.
In other words, without any external factors, Seok-hoon was so focused he wouldn't even have noticed time passing.
'This is fun.'
The chapters after the pre-released Chapter 2 were far more entertaining than the ones before.
They were excellent both visually and in terms of action, and one chapter in particular captivated Seok-hoon.
'Chapter 5, the Citadel of Ambition. The boss fight was great.'
A citadel built from someone's blood and screams; the boss sitting on a throne in the great hall, flanked by ministers crucified and hanging their heads—the visuals alone were overwhelming.
The actual gameplay was just as impressive.
The first phase of the fight against the ministers before reaching the citadel's master, the 'Blind Tyrant', was an exhilarating battle with the satisfying impact of a hack-and-slash game.
This was because the ministers had short health bars.
After the ministers finally fell, the battle with the Tyrant could only be described as tense.
The Tyrant used off-beat attacks reminiscent of the hidden boss from Hellic 2, the Jailer.
It was a pattern that fit both its name, the Blind Tyrant, and its identity as one who toyed with the lives of others at will.
The battle with the Tyrant, who commanded blood, bone, and corpses, was satisfying from beginning to end.
He hadn't met the final boss yet, but as far as Seok-hoon was concerned, no other boss up to that point could match the Blind Tyrant in terms of pure visuals and combat fun.
Anyway, now for the final chapter.
Seok-hoon calmed his nerves and made a final check.
'The build is complete. I have enough items, too.'
He had diligently collected health items and consumables up to this point.
Traditionally, the final bosses in the Hellic series were notoriously difficult, so he had prepared for the worst.
'Well then...'
Shall we?
Seok-hoon looked at his character.
As previously noted, the story wasn't particularly straightforward.
However, it wasn't completely incomprehensible either; he could grasp the flow of the narrative through the occasional dialogue, cinematics, and visual direction.
'The temple must be some kind of trial. Like in Hellic 2, the sins defined by hell are probably incomprehensible by human standards, so the story is about them struggling against it.'
If so, the ending would be about them finding an answer at the end of their ordeal.
Perhaps they'd find salvation, like Alice did?
With that thought, Seok-hoon opened the door.
*R-r-rumble!*
It was in that moment.
[Stigma: Fleeing Step activates.]
The screen switched to a cinematic.