“Wow… this is the trashiest game I’ve played recently.”
– Let’s run away.
– LOL, why are you even trying to beat this?
– Should we just go back to playing a game with cooldowns?
– Let’s ditch this crap game and go back to the god-tier game.
As someone who makes a living streaming games, playing trash games is pretty common, but having a highly anticipated game turn out to be garbage is painful in so many ways.
「ㅇㅇ has donated 5,000 gold.」
[Let’s play Reoa again ㄱㄱ, the DLC just came out.]
Reoa is short for Legend of Academy.
Reoa is one of the top 5 most popular games on my stream, loved by viewers and something I enjoy playing too. The only downside is that I’ve played it so much I know every route and strategy inside out.
Still, it’s a pretty niche game, so not many streamers play it often. People come to my stream specifically to watch me play it, so playing Reoa again is a good choice.
– Let’s go, Reoa ㄱㄱㄱㄱ.
– How about playing with mods this time?
– What about Tenshi instead of Reoa?
– Hey, Softy!! Serve us a bowl of Reoa porridge here!
The chat was lively, so I turned off the crappy fantasy civil servant game and launched Reoa.
─ ♬
“This is it… Reoa is just so good. The music when you start the game and the BGM during character creation is just amazing.”
– Hmm… is it the nostalgia?
– For real, the vibe is so good.
– Doesn’t it make your heart race? LOL.
“Let’s forget the trash game and play Reoa… Even with the new DLC, I don’t want to give up on the concept…”
Legend of Academy is a game where you raise a character you create in a school called Cosmos Academy in a fantasy world.
Depending on your choices, your character can become a hero, overthrow everything and become the Demon King, or just live a quiet, happy married life.
It’s kind of like the old Princess Maker games. It has elements of dating sims, but the combat is deck-building, so there’s a lot to enjoy.
– How about the Fist King?
– Let’s go with an archer this time.
– Last time you gave up on the mage and went with the Fist King, remember? -_-
– Obviously, the sword, right?
What the viewers are talking about now is the character’s combat “build.” Unfortunately, this isn’t something you can decide right away.
「SoftSoft has donated 10,000 gold.」
[Teacher… I really love Reoa… but getting the Hero ending as a Demon Race… is just too hard…]
– It’s supposed to be hard.
– It’s not for beginners.
– Only hardcore no-lifers like the streamer can do it.
“Ah… first of all, thank you, SoftSoft, for the 10,000 gold donation. Since it’s been a while, should we go with the Demon Race? To get a taste of the DLC, we should stick to what we know.”
In Reoa, the race you choose when creating a character is essentially a difficulty setting.
The “Royal Race” gets all sorts of bonuses for free, like character affection, group affection, and events.
On the other hand, the “Demon Race” starts with rock-bottom affection and has events that lead to bad endings, among other penalties. Of course, there are special events and rewards only available to the Demon Race, so it’s not all suffering. That’s part of Reoa’s charm.
“We’ll start as the Demon Race… and aim for the True Ending, the ‘Hero Ending.'”
– You’re really doing it again?
– Seriously, Demon Race Hero with Zero Points again?
– Are you going to retry like last time? LOL.
– How many new Academies are you going to try this time? Like 300?
– It’s doable without Zero Points, but the Zero Points achievement is just brutal.
The Hero Ending is really tough.
You have to pass all the trials prepared by the Academy and defeat your rival.
You even have to complete at least one romance route and diligently build affection with other characters to see the ‘Hero Ending.’
But I love the story of achieving perfect happiness after overcoming immense trials, so I’m not interested in other endings.
“Alright, since we’ve decided on the ending, let’s quickly set the starting traits and get going.”
「ㅇㅇ has donated 5,000 gold.」
[Streamer~ Streamer~ You’re obviously going with Zero Points, right? You cleared it last time?]
“Of course, we’re going with Zero Points. How could we not? I won’t pick any of the new DLC traits for now. Wow, some of these names are ridiculous. Who would pick ‘Blind’ or ‘Deaf’?”
[Trait Points: 5]
『Advantages』
[Pandemonium Exchange Student, Fast Feet]
『Disadvantages』
[None Selected]
In Reoa, when creating a character, you can use Trait Points to add advantages. Depending on the advantages you choose, the number of Trait Points increases, with a base limit of 5.
On the other hand, selecting disadvantages reduces your Trait Points.
[Trait Points: 0]
『Advantages』
[None Selected]
『Disadvantages』
[None Selected]
If you remove all advantages and disadvantages, your Trait Points become 0. What people call ‘Zero Points’ is when your Trait Points hit 0.
But it’s not that simple.
“If you want to see the Hero Ending as a Demon Race, you have to pick this. Let’s add it…”
[Trait Points: 4]
『Advantages』
[Saved Child]
The ‘Saved Child’ advantage is mandatory if you want to see the Hero Ending as a Demon Race. Even with the new DLC, the route won’t open without it, so it’s a must-pick.
Now that I have 4 points, I need to pick more disadvantages to reach Zero Points.
“Sigh… should I go with the porridge option?”
– Honestly, filling 4 points is tough.
– LOL, I couldn’t do it.
– It’s probably easier to make a One Piece pirate crew with $100.
[Trait Points: 0]
『Advantages』
[Saved Child]
『Disadvantages』
[Overly Affectionate, Genetic Defect, Always Hungry, Torn Pockets]
“We’ll proceed with Zero Points like this. That’s enough, right?”
– Genetic Defect is brutal, isn’t it?
– You picked Overly Affectionate? Do you remember all the affection choices???
– LOL, this is going to be ridiculously hard.
I could see the viewers panicking, but these disadvantages weren’t a problem.
Some disadvantages that give more points include being unable to use magic or having your deck reset every battle, which are just insane.
Compared to those, the disadvantages I picked just look tricky because there are so many, but only two are really critical. However, I know how to remove them through events and remember all the affection choices, so it’s no problem for me.
“Next is the background… since we picked Saved Child, we’re automatically an orphan…”
Depending on the background, you can get free advantages, but ‘Orphan’ gives you nothing.
“Starting knowledge… yeah, since it’s Zero Points, we obviously have none.”
Reoa is a game where you raise a character from elementary school 5th grade to high school 3rd grade, so you can start with some ‘knowledge.’
But since I didn’t pick any advantages that grant knowledge, I get nothing.
“Lastly, we can choose possessions, but since we didn’t pick any advantages, we only get what Saved Child gives us.”
[Possessions]
『Old Sword』
『Worn Bracelet』
– LOL, this is suffocating.
– Why is there no gold in the possessions???
– Can you really do this? Is this even possible?
– With this build, you won’t even make it to 6th grade before dying.
“I did get the Hero Ending with this setup last time, didn’t I? If things don’t go well this time, I’ll just quit.”
To summarize the character I’ll be raising in Legend of Academy this time:
[Race: Demon]
[Trait Points: 0]
『Advantages』
[Saved Child]
『Disadvantages』
[Overly Affectionate, Genetic Defect, Always Hungry, Torn Pockets]
[Possessions]
『Old Sword』
『Worn Bracelet』
[Knowledge]
『Common Language』
『Demon Language』
Anyone who knows even a little about Reoa would ask if I’m a masochist with this hardcore setup, but it’s fine.
If I just breezed through the story, no one would watch, and I’d find it boring too.
“I’ve turned on the Return to Pandemonium DLC… and activated Ironman Mode…”
I already know everything that’s added in this DLC.
There are no new endings, but they’ve made the Demon King route more logical and added more epilogue content for the Hero Ending.
A ton of new cards have been added, and characters who didn’t have routes before now have detailed romance routes and exclusive ending cutscenes.
“Alright! To celebrate the new DLC, let’s play Legend of Academy again! Race: Demon! Ending: Hero! Zero Points!”
– Let’s go!
– The DLC made it even harder, LOL. You’ll probably have to try 100 new Academies.
– Order some chicken, yeah.
As I pressed enter to start the game amidst the noisy chat, a dizzying darkness swept over me.
* * *
“My, my head hurts so much…”
It was a relief when light returned to my darkened vision, but my head was a mess. It felt so heavy it was painful.
“Wait…”
As soon as I was free from the headache, I realized something was off.
Why am I lying in bed? And whose bed is this?
“Computer… huh?”
The room I could see from the unfamiliar bed was definitely not mine.
I don’t need to explain in detail. A room without a fluorescent light on the ceiling or a computer can’t be mine.
“What, what’s going on…? This is… huh?”
I jumped up in shock, but my body felt unusually light. At the same time, I noticed I was wearing pink pajamas I’d never worn before.
Pink pajamas? What is this? If anyone saw me, they’d think I’m a pedophile with these kiddie pajamas! Why are there animals on them?
I don’t even wear pajamas when I sleep!
“Pink…? My, my hands… why are they so small?”
And what’s with my voice? It’s totally a kid’s voice. A little girl’s voice?
“This… this can’t be what I’m thinking, right? It can’t be! I didn’t even curse!”
I ran to the bathroom in the room. The bathroom was tiny, or more accurately, short. It felt like someone had deliberately made it kid-friendly.
“This can’t be…”
The ‘me’ reflected in the mirror above the sink looked utterly ridiculous.
“This… this is completely…”
The long, untamed blue hair and the dark red horns on both sides of my head were proof that I was a Demon.
The soft, squishy cheeks, the sparkling emerald eyes, and the clear voice of a little girl could only mean one thing.
“I… I’ve become Softy…?”
I had become the protagonist of Legend of Academy, the one with a setup so masochistic even the game’s hardcore fans would run away.
