Chapter 61

“Yoorim-san. Akane’s internet is super fast, so it’s fine for her, but if you suddenly give a game to others, it might cause trouble? Like, are you saying there will be situations where we have to cheer them on for 12 hours?”

“I’ll be more careful next time.”

“I wonder what kind of game she made.”

“If you run it, you’ll connect automatically.”

Akane started the game without much expectation.

Ding dong. Yoorim Company!

The game title appeared along with the signature sound.

<Akane's Tower Climbing>

From the title alone, it was clear this was an unreleased game.

An RPG Maker game? But the file size was way too big for that.

What on earth is this?

Curious, Akane pressed the start button.

“The girls wish to stand at the top of the tower.”

“And they hope.”

“To shine brilliantly at the summit.”

With a short phrase, the game began.

Inside the dark tower. Akane, born there, was amazed.

At a glance, the quality was surprisingly high.

Is this really an unreleased, self-made game? By one person?

“Yoorim-san. I’m curious about the development period of this game.”

“……”

“Yoorim-san?”

Han Yoorim, who said she’d connect automatically, was nowhere to be seen. Akane turned her head.

Immediately after.

A giant club came crashing down.

Boom!

Dodging the attack in a hurry, Akane steadied herself.

A familiar silhouette appeared.

‘Ormal?’

A character from <Eternal World> showed up, leaving Akane flustered.

But the opponent didn’t hold back and swung the club.

The tower floor was mercilessly shattered. Fragments grazed her cheek. Suddenly, Akane noticed a sword hanging at her waist.

She drew the sword. Arming Sword. Pointing it at the enemy, she assessed the situation.

And then.

Crunch.

She was crushed just like that.

[You have died.]

[Conditions have been met.]

[Acquired Ability: Spiral Cycle (EX).]

Inside the dark tower. Akane, born there, opened her mouth in shock.

What just happened?

It was so sudden, she was left dumbfounded.

“Yoorim-san?”

Boom!

The price of her carelessness was the club.

Ormal, appearing just like before, swung the club in the same trajectory.

Akane is good at games.

Not exactly a gaming genius, but definitely better than the average person.

She was good at FPS games and excelled at PVE games with AI like this.

Memorization is her specialty.

Having already seen the trajectory, she dodged easily and swung her sword at the enemy.

[Acquired Evasion LV1.]

[Acquired Swordsmanship LV1.]

Swoosh. The sword pierced Ormal’s hide. Landing a clean hit, Akane swung her sword again, but…

Ormal’s right arm swelled faster.

The club struck the ground at near-supersonic speed.

Boom.

A heavy vibration echoed—.

Akane was born again inside the dark tower.

No. Not born.

Time had rewound to that moment.

So this is that kind of game.

Akane’s eyes calmed down.

Thud. Ormal approached slowly, club in hand.

Akane raised the corner of her mouth and drew her sword.

———

Akane’s switch flipped www

———

Why is Akane’s concept like a shonen manga protagonist?

It’s deeply tied to her personality.

Akane never gave up.

No matter how difficult the game, she faced it with a smile, as if enjoying the challenge.

The same goes for real life.

Even when she had only 10 viewers, or none at all, and when Novella coldly decided to shut down the business after judging it a failure, Akane kept streaming with a smile.

As if she didn’t know despair.

Actually, Akane wasn’t acting like a shonen manga character.

Rather, it’s more accurate to say that the author who met Akane wrote a debut novel in the style of a shonen manga protagonist.

3rd try.

Achievement: Cut Ormal’s ankle.

Result: Died from a club swung from the side.

4th try.

Achievement: Learned Ormal has multiple patterns.

Result: Died frozen in place from Ormal’s roar.

5th try.

Achievement: Awakened magic power.

Result: Crushed by Ormal’s club and died.

6th try. 7th try. 8th try.

….

33rd try.

Akane cheered atop Ormal’s decapitated body.

“Akane has won!”

“As expected of Akane. I believed in you.”

“Yoorim-san!”

Akane turned excitedly, then blinked.

Where the voice came from, a tiny Han Yoorim stood, specifically the ‘Han Yoorim’ from <Resurrected Students Also Need Love> that she played the other day.

“Yoorim-san?”

“Speak.”

“Akane is curious about what that form is.”

“It’s a game mechanic.”

She didn’t understand but let it go.

Akane had already learned how to use Han Yoorim.

“It was fun, Yoorim-san.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Since it’s an unreleased game, I didn’t have to worry about copyright and brought in all sorts of things.”

So that’s why Ormal was there.

Thanks to that, one mystery was solved, but another curiosity arose.

“Yoorim-san.”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been curious since I saw it, that avatar. Is it Thierry?”

“No.”

“No?”

“If you look closely, you’ll notice the differences.”

Looking closely, indeed…

Even though it wasn’t Thierry, it was like saying that even identical twins have noticeable differences if you look closely.

But if it’s not, then it’s not.

Akane clapped her hands and set the editing point.

“Now that we’ve cleared the game, let’s get back to the main content. A question for Yoorim. The first one!”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Huh?”

“It’s not over yet.”

Akane tilted her head.

The game isn’t over?

“Are there more bosses?”

“Where have you seen a Souls-like game with only one boss monster?”

That’s true, but since it’s an unreleased self-made game, I thought this was the end.

“You can go in there.”

A blue portal appeared in the direction Han Yoorim pointed.

Akane asked.

“Is Yoorim going to fight with us now?”

“No? I’m kind of like an NPC. A fairy in a mission-based game.”

What’s a fairy in a mission-based game?

A helper character that follows the player? If that’s the case, I understand.

“I’ll give it a try!”

If it’s not cleared yet, I won’t stop.

That was Yukimura Akane.

Akane went through the portal to the next stage.

[2nd Floor]

[Red-haired Gunner]

Bang!

A fiery bullet pierced through the air. Kaboom—. With a light explosion, the spot where Akane had been standing burst into flames.

Dodging the attack by rolling, Akane picked up her sword and searched for the opponent’s position.

The attacker was the red-haired gunner, ‘Isahyang.’

Isahyang’s skills flashed through Akane’s mind.

She shouldn’t have attacked recklessly.

Akane first activated the magic power within her body.

Her body strengthened. With this, Akane could move stronger and faster.

Splat! An ice bullet hit Akane, slowing her movements.

This wasn’t a technique to dodge by sight. It was a technique to memorize the timing and trajectory to avoid.

Barely managing to close the distance, Akane swung her sword. A blue afterimage remained. The sword was imbued with magic power.

But.

Kiiing—.

Isahyang’s [Gun Guard], used by crossing her pistols, blocked the attack.

Instantly, a red aura swirled around Isahyang’s body.

It was clearly an ultimate move.

Kaboom!

With a massive explosion, Akane died and respawned in the empty 1st floor.

“You don’t need to kill the boss you’ve already defeated once. The setting is that you’re expelled from the timeline.”

“That might be a relief for Akane.”

Akane headed back to the portal.

In terms of damage and patterns, Isahyang was a more troublesome enemy than Ormal.

But.

This much, it was doable.

2nd try, 3rd try, 4th try, 5th try….

46th try.

Finally predicting the [Gun Guard] timing, dodging the skill, and countering numerous patterns, Akane cheered.

“Akane’s great victory!”

“As expected of Akane. I believed in you.”

“Yoorim!”

Han Yoorim, who had returned at some point, greeted Akane with applause.

Akane smiled and spoke.

“That was fun, Yoorim.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Since it’s an unreleased game, we didn’t have to worry about copyright and could bring in all sorts of things.”

“Is the dialogue looped too?”

“That’s part of the presentation.”

So, what’s next?

Ziiing—. Sure enough, a portal appeared.

Han Yoorim slightly lifted the sides of her gothloli dress and bowed her head.

“Please enjoy.”

“Okay!”

Akane went through the portal.

[3rd Floor]

[Wandering Knight]

This time, the stage changed.

From inside a cave to a colosseum.

Across the way, a knight in full plate armor walked step by step.

‘Marvin Flail.’ This time, it was a character from <Eternal World>.

If it’s a close-range sword fight, it should be manageable—.

Kaboom!

The colosseum floor shattered as Marvin Flail closed the distance in an instant.

In a panic, Akane drew her sword, but Marvin Flail swung his sword with the same speed he had flown in.

Swoosh.

Akane’s head flew off, and she was reborn lying on the empty 2nd floor.

Step step. Han Yoorim approached. She stared down at Akane, then smiled brightly.

“A question for Akane. The first one! How many boss monsters are in this game?”

“…3?”

“Wrong! The correct answer is—.”

Han Yoorim raised both index fingers.

And she said.

“191!”

191. That was.

The same number as the characters currently in <Eternal World>.

———

Akane, you’re in for it www

———

Akane muttered to herself.

Is it possible to clear this today?

What kind of game did you even make?