Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: The First Clear
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27 hours after launch, players were gradually starting to clear the Normal and Short routes.
But so far, no one had cleared the Sub Route.
There was only one reason.
『(Chat) z존한수: This is way too spicy...』
The difficulty was high.
The Sub Route boasted a brutal difficulty, making it absolutely impossible for beginners to clear.
It wasn't just a matter of monsters having high attack power and a lot of health.
Like the endgame content of any game, combat required 'calculation.'
To barely clear it, you had to manage your resources by considering the monster's stats and your character's stats, then strictly adhere to that plan.
It was a repetition of that process.
Throughout the process, the combat methods varied drastically depending on the weapon build and parts, and you even had to consider changing your build for different chapters.
In short, it required a deep understanding of the game.
Furthermore, you had to have collected parts and weapons from at least two playthroughs.
Of course, an irregular like James Han could play the Sub Route on his first playthrough, but he was currently busy perfecting his build and wasn't participating in this launch-day race.
This meant that seeing all the endings and confirming the lore of the world was still a distant goal for the players.
It was then.
『(Promo) CrystalClear: Cleared the sub-route boss. Going live to take on War History.
(Link)
Starting at 6 PM.』
Suddenly, someone who had cleared that difficult route appeared.
* * *
6 PM, 42 hours after launch.
A not-insignificant number of people joined the chat.
On the stream, the stone gate leading to War History stood silently.
『Hellic3Enjoyer: Is this the right stream?
LordofBlood: Looks like it. But why aren't they talking?
z존한수: CrystalClear! Say something!』
The viewer count quickly hit 300.
An astonishing number for just a single short post on the community forums.
It meant that many people were interested in the Sub Route ending.
The character displayed on screen was a bit grotesque.
It was reminiscent of a dwarf from a fantasy novel.
Alice's legs, Guan Yu's arms and head, and a dancer's body.
It was the exact customization setup that had been posted on the forums.
Above it, the status window was open.
The character's nickname was 'Girlie Go Now'.
『Guksinanayo: The concept is certainly... distinct. lololol
Hellic3Enjoyer: Oh, a Ghost Horse build. With a gun? And you're already on your third playthrough? lololol』
Just as these reactions popped up.
*Click!*
With the sound, the character began to move.
'CrystalClear' had started the game without a word.
As they approached the boss room, a notification appeared.
['Stigma: Ascetic's Grasp' activates.]
And so, the cinematic began.
Mouths sprouted all over the protagonist's body as they sat around a campfire.
They began to speak.
-So we've finally made it this far.
-It was a path of untold horrors. But we overcame it in the end.
-It was nothing.
-It's easy to say that now that it's over.
In the middle of their quiet conversation, the Spartan suddenly spoke.
-...Do you really think what lies at the end is what we desire?
A small doubt.
It spread quickly, but was soon quelled by the Paladin.
-It must be there! We who have overcome the Lord's trials have nothing to fear! Are we not people who have seized what we desired with our own hands!
The other two agreed with his confident words.
The anxiety in the Spartan's voice faded.
-Seize it with our own hands... Yes. Those are not bad words.
The player character rose from their seat.
They slowly approached the stone gate and soon faced the scene within.
The chat erupted.
『LordofBlood: Oh, War History appeared. Looks different from the normal version?』
Just as he said, the War History that appeared was different from before.
In the Short Route, you meet a half-dead War History.
In the Normal Route, you meet War History sitting on a throne.
And, in the long-awaited Sub Route, you meet a War History who has destroyed his own throne and stands upon its wreckage.
-What is that...?
-Get back!
*BOOM!*
With the soldier's shrill cry, the character rolled to the side.
A moment later and their body would have been blown to smithereens.
A cannon was now in War History's hands.
『z존한수: Holy crap; I thought he only used player character weapons?』
That was only true up to the Normal Route.
But this was the boss of the highest difficulty.
Something far more shocking than they could have imagined had to appear.
It wasn't just a matter of being strong.
The Sub Route boss wasn't a time attack.
Meaning, you had to deplete the entire health bar to clear it.
『Guksinanayo: This is for real experts, holy cow.』
It was at that moment.
*Neigh!*
The Ghost Horse appeared and the character mounted it.
'CrystalClear' began to circle War History at high speed—*clippity-clop, clippity-clop*—and started firing a gun.
*Bang! Bang!*
War History dodged it.
And this time, it created a javelin and attacked.
*Neigh!*
The Ghost Horse narrowly avoided it.
The battle continued like this.
A battle where you couldn't let your guard down for a single moment.
What's the point of detailing the arduous path to its conclusion?
To put it simply, 'CrystalClear' cleared the boss in just six attempts.
It took six tries to learn the patterns, test them, and finally create a strategy.
Even that was only possible because of their innate talent.
『Hellic3Enjoyer: Wow, damn lololol. This is gonna be a pain to beat.』
The so-called 'spicy' hard difficulty.
Voices of concern and anticipation filled the chat, but that wasn't what was important right now.
『LordofBlood: Let's see the ending!!!』
The cinematic began.
* * *
They looked at the fallen War History, seized by a sense of futility.
-Is this the end? Nothing's changed.
-This is...
-...We're trapped. The stone gate, it's already closed.
The door they came through was shut.
The only things in the room were War History's corpse and the ruined throne.
Confusion and anger erupted.
-Why!
Their questions remained unanswered.
...No, in truth, they knew but were choosing to ignore it.
This whole process was a trap.
A trap to lure them, an uncontrollable factor from the outside, into this place.
It was then.
-...Look over there.
The Paladin said.
He pointed to War History's half-melted corpse.
In the center of its chest, a bead-like object was shimmering, without a single scratch.
They knew immediately what it was.
-That must be its true body. Just like us.
-Didn't we kill it? How can it be so unscathed...?
-Should we check it out?
-...Shouldn't we?
Their voices were weary.
Their doubts had reached a peak.
And so, the moment they finally held the bead in their hand.
*Thud*, their entire body froze, starting from the hand holding the bead.
A resonating voice echoed in their minds as if being carved there.
-I ask this of you.
In that instant, the player character's eyes flew wide open.
Soon, the sprouted mouths began to speak, each with its own words.
-...So it didn't die, it let itself be killed.
-It seems those persistent attacks were a test from our predecessors.
-We were used beautifully.
-This feels awful.
*Grip!*
Clenching the bead in their hands, they grit their teeth and spoke.
-What do you think it's asking of us?
-Well, it's probably not asking us to watch over this stone chamber.
-It was angry.
-It also sounded a bit relieved.
The voice conveyed emotions, not words.
The four tried to analyze it and soon spoke as if they had reached a conclusion.
-...It must mean that nothing is over yet.
-It seems our predecessors are not the ones we must fight.
-Then who?
-Who else.
Their gazes turned toward the outside of the chamber.
What they had fought until now, and what they must fight from now on.
This land that toyed with humans like playthings was out there.
-...It's good that it's clear.
They tossed the bead in their hand and swallowed it.
*Rumble!*
Their body transformed.
-Aaaargh!
That was right.
They had decided to become the new War History.
Not a historian who records the wars of humanity, but a War History who will record the history of the struggle against Hell.
*Crack!*
Their entire body turned pitch black.
Blades protruded from their hands, and even the swords turned black before red veins sprouted on them.
It was a form that was very familiar to the players.
They had become the monster from the post-credits scene.
『Hellic3Enjoyer: Huh?
z존한수: Whoa.
LordofBlood: Ah, so this route leads to the post-credits scene, holy crap lololol.』
*Whoooosh—*
A wind blew through the stone chamber.
As the new War History slashed the air, space was cut open, revealing the landscape beyond.
And control was returned to the player.
Their body had also returned to its customized form.
The meaning was clear.
『Hellic3Enjoyer: Entering the Sea of Grudges!!!!
z존한수: Ah, so there was a hidden boss? lololol.
Guksinanayo: Yeah, it would be disappointing if the Warden didn't show up!!! Alice was in it too!!!
asdfg: Alice is in Hellic 3?
Guksinanayo: Oops...』
Hidden boss.
Hellic 3 didn't leave the conflict with the Warden as a mere MacGuffin but implemented it within the game.
'CrystalClear' prepared for battle, organizing their stats, build, and the rewards from War History.
In Hellic 3, the rewards for clearing the final boss differed for each route.
In the Short Route, you received the blade that pierced War History's stomach, which could be used to expand your weapon builds by one.
In the Normal Route, you could farm War History's parts.
And in the Sub Route, you could obtain a new equipment slot.
It wasn't an item with special effects.
*Clang!*
It was a type of skin that added a black and red effect when using a weapon.
『S2뽀삐S2: The effect looks cool ^^』
'CrystalClear' expressed their feelings by jumping on the spot.
Then, they stepped through the spatial tear.
*Swaaaaaaah—*
The waves crashed.
The Sea of Grudges was rendered once again in Hellic 3's graphics.
*Splash, splash.*
The new War History walked out of the sea.
At that, the head of the Warden, who had been standing motionlessly, turned.
*Creeak*, he raised the Cancer Bat from the very start.
And so the battle began.
The difficulty was, as expected, on a level that demonstrated the Warden's full might.
[GAME OVER]
First attempt, dead in under a minute.
It was at that moment.
"...Ah, fuck."
A voice echoed through the stream.
It was a clear female voice, just like the nickname.
『z존한수: CrystalClear...?
Hellic3Enjoyer: ???
LordofBlood: ?????』
The chat was thrown into chaos.
* * *
A week passed since the release.
Analysis posts began to appear.
『(Analysis) S2뽀삐S2: A Deep Dive into the Lore of Hell, as Revealed in Hellic 3
With Hellic 3, a total of three stories have been released.
As a fan, I found this installment very satisfying because it generously revealed the lore of the Hellic series!
Now, let's get into the detailed explanation!
First...
·
·
·
...So, in the end, the Golden Gate is a means of saving others by sacrificing oneself!
It gave me a lot to think about.
Because you can connect it to the reason why Hell is Hell in Hellic's world.
Isn't that right? The sinners who remain there suffering to the end are people who neither saved anyone nor were saved by anyone!
Even if you look at the Short Route or the Sub Route, that underlying theme doesn't change.
The Short Route shows Alice and the protagonists being saved through someone else's sacrifice.
In the Sub Route, the protagonist themselves tries to resist the world by gaining strength from the foundation of someone's sacrifice.
To add a more personal thought, I believe the Hellic series suggests that our reality, rife with selfishness, can become Hell itself by portraying everyday actions as sins and highlighting the people who suffer there.
There's only one way to escape: to look out for the person next to you.
Furthermore....』
*Click!*
My face flushed, and I closed the analysis post.
That's how things are in the world.
When you do something without much thought and people overanalyze it and praise it to the heavens, you can't help but feel embarrassed.
But, on the other hand.
'It does sound plausible.'
Is it true that you can only see certain things from a distance?
This interpretation, a form I hadn't considered at the time, is quite novel.
Seeing as over 90% of the comments agree with that analysis, I should probably incorporate it as a factor to consider when making the next game.
Just as I was thinking that.
"P-President...! It's time for the meeting...!"
"Okay, I'm coming."
I stood up at Jo A-yun's call.
When I arrived at the meeting room, everyone was already gathered.
One week after release, today was the day we tallied the initial sales figures.
"Hooo..."
Han Seo-rim had her eyes squeezed shut and was letting out a sigh.
She's been like this ever since the launch.
Seeing as she's even avoiding the community forums she loves so much, she must be terrified of seeing the reviews.
She needed to be managed.
"Seo-rim, are you okay?"
"No, I'm not okay. My stomach hurts."
"Calm down. It's going well."
"If that was enough to calm me down, I wouldn't be like this. Try a little harder."
"You're the best."
"More."
"You're one of a kind."
"More."
"Without you, Hellic would never have seen the light of day. There's no one else but you."
"Okay. That's enough."
Han Seo-rim lifted her head.
Her expression was resolute, as if she had finished preparing herself.
"P-President...! Me too...!"
"You're amazing too, A-yun. Want some chocolate?"
"Yes...!"
I gave Jo A-yun the chocolate I had in my pocket.
The sight of her munching on it seemed quite blissful.
Only then did Yang Gil-sang speak.
"Can I start now?"
*Tap, tap*, he tapped the remote.
I nodded, and Yang Gil-sang spoke.
"Here are the sales figures."
*Beep!*
An excited voice.
And the number displayed on the screen.
I could hear someone next to me gasp.
My reaction wasn't much different.
"From pre-orders to the first week, we've sold a total of 2.03 million copies!"
My fists clenched tightly.
The price of Hellic 3 was $49.90.
The result