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– Puu-eeng!

– Save our big brother Orpheus!

– O… O-brother!!

– Wuu, I’m so sad, Ah-boong…

I watched the reactions coming from the community after players cleared the story.

Was my intention effective? Despite being a villain character, players empathized with Orpheus.

Star Lord [Angry Mage Engineer], real name Ian Kalyuga.

In reality, he had been a childhood friend of Saint Cartecia during her days as Kate.

However, their relationship grew distant due to conflicts between their families, and Kate lost her life due to the Mage Engineer’s fault.

The Mage Engineer immersed himself in magic engineering with the sole determination to bring Kate back to life, ultimately transcending and ascending to divinity.

The execution-type incident and the rampaging Mage Engineer father, along with Orpheus’s evil deeds, were fictitious elements added by me to make the story more dramatic.

Unlike [Sacrifice Who Overcame Sloth], I didn’t find it necessary to replicate real history, so I gave it a twist.

Thanks to this, players were able to immerse themselves in Orpheus’s tragic narrative.

Of course, there were a few who felt otherwise.

Some were harshly criticizing, possibly because they didn’t like the story.

– But isn’t he just an evil guy who killed so many people? He died well, didn’t he?

– This can instill the wrong notion that anything is okay for the sake of a loved one.

– Isn’t it glorifying his evil deeds, just to save Kate regardless of the process?

I did set Orpheus as a villain to shock with the character, thus many disliked him due to his evil actions.

I couldn’t deny it.

In fact, Orpheus was truly the kind of villain who didn’t care how many others he sacrificed for Kate.

Yet there was a reason I established Star Lord [Angry Mage Engineer] as the villain in this narrative.

Evil is often more effective than good at delivering twists and emotional impact.

Just like how a bad guy’s eventual sacrifice resonates more than a good guy’s endless sacrifices throughout the story. It’s better for a villain character to

complete a sacrifice during the final showdown after being opposed throughout the story.

Indeed, players had built up aversion towards Orpheus throughout Act 1 as he tormented them, making his narrative more effective now that they entered his imaginary world.

“Glorifying villains and their evil deeds…”

I hadn’t considered that aspect.

Due to the story’s nature of wickedness, it was a bit tricky to address this part.

It’s impossible to satisfy every player.

Some might feel discomfort over a villain occupying the main narrative.

That’s only natural.

As the one who portrayed Orpheus as a villain, I must endure and accept that criticism.

But perhaps through this criticism, my next story will be better.

– It’s not that sad, it’s just ruckus.

– I found it boring. Why do I have to see the backstory of a bad guy?

– Am I playing a game or watching a video?

– Is it the [Akashic Archive] or the [Orpheus Archive]?

There were others who found a villain-centered narrative tedious.

I could somewhat empathize with their feelings.

Players were expected to bond with the protagonist, the Potential Guardian.

However, in this Act 1, Orpheus had a larger presence than the Potential Guardian.

Especially during the entry into the imaginary world or the forced loss event during the boss fight, it seems some players felt confused about whether they were playing a game or watching a video.

“I overlooked this part.”

I noted down about the protagonist’s significance.

Players should be able to use the characters they pick and collect the Essence of the Abyss to feel a proper sense of satisfaction, but I had dropped the ball in that aspect.

This issue arose from focusing too much on the Mage Engineer’s side.

There was also the chaotic background explanation and story in the early parts, along with the emergence of unique nouns that complicated player understanding. I documented these unpleasant experiences that players shared.

“The next story will be different.”

Today’s problems will not repeat tomorrow.

The story of my game will evolve with each moment.

The very next day, I launched a new pickup character.

The concurrent player count surpassed 300,000, and the revenue graph shot up.

I couldn’t stop the laughter bubbling up.

[The Storyteller in the Dream is happily waving their short arms.]

“If there’s any food you would like, just say so. I’ll bring it right away.”

I built a temple for the Star Lord near the Academy.

Due to the Star Lord’s command to keep it simple, it wasn’t grand, but delivering a lavish feast for the Star Lord with the game’s revenue was definitely possible.

[Saint Kate]

Even though the pickup of [Knight Ren] hadn’t ended, I created a new pickup character to strongly engrain the Mage Engineer’s promise of her in the players’ minds.

I wanted to bring out Orpheus, who was the narrative’s protagonist, but it felt a bit strange to showcase a character who was already dead and gone, plus it felt wasteful to show a villain so soon.

“I should save that for later as a cheat key.”

I thought I’d use it for suppression if I caused any management issues that ignited public dissent.

– This is a character I’m going to use until the end…

– I’m sorry, but I pulled on the first gacha…

– I rolled because I wanted Ren, but I got this strange one—Saint? Is this good?

Players were in a festive mood over the newly introduced character [Saint Kate].

I guess that’s keeping my promise.

The Mage Engineer wanted the people of the continent to recognize Saint Kate, his beloved in reality.

I didn’t know whether he intended to resurrect her through the recognition imprinted in the continent’s people, but the purpose of that recognition was undoubtedly achieved.

– Is this enough to take off?

– I’ll keep the Ostinato rolling for a chance to pull the Saint!

– I’ve only done it 10 times, and it’s too hard… How did Orpheus manage it?

Reset marathon, shortened to “Reset-mara.”

It refers to the act of repeatedly rolling the gacha until getting the desired character.

In this world, not only character gacha games but primitive versions of early games barely existed, so such a concept didn’t exist yet.

Yet, at some point, the practice of deleting accounts and restarting until the desired character appeared became widespread.

Moreover, that term originated from Orpheus’s narrative and was called [Ostinato].

Players’ Ostinato, repeatedly resetting until they got their beloved character.

I wanted to block that completely since it was all money, but blocking players’ Ostinato could imply the game company was directly denying Orpheus’s narrative.

That would ruin the carefully crafted narrative and excitement.

There was no way I could do that.

[The Storyteller in the Dream tilts their head, musing if this much should really be allowed.]

After pondering for a long while, the Star Lord whispered to me.

I decided to defer their actions for now.

For now, I’d allow those who were resetting under their names.

– So, is it a blonde tanning dark elf who touches the remaining Saint’s butt?

Get out of Aperaio!

– I heard that Orpheus was quite the gentleman, so is there some spring story?

Orpheus is a guy!

I know that!

No, no, no?

– Is the chemistry between Orpheus and the Guardian for real? T_T

– Did you see the affection in the Guardian’s eyes when looking at Orpheus? T_T So sad…

“……”

The community turned out to have far more perverts than I imagined, with many taking things differently than intended, but a considerable number still shed tears over the narrative of the Saint and Orpheus.

It seems even among young men and women, and older couples, playing Ian and Kate has become a trend, implying the game’s narrative resonated well on this continent.

“I hope the Mage Engineer does well too.”

The reason the Mage Engineer cooperated with my game development was to bring Kate back to life.

Now that the entire continent was weeping over their love story, it would be more tragic than anything if reality failed.

I hoped this story wouldn’t just end as a dream.

That the tragic love, unable to be fulfilled in the game, would conclude with a happy ending in reality.

*

In a secluded corner of the Divine Realm

[Hello? What’s your name?]

[Let’s play again like today.]

[You’re cute like a frog.]

[I am a Saint, guiding people and leading them on the right path.]

[I’m sorry, Ian.]

[Goodbye… my frog prince.]

From the collected divine faith of many people, a divinity was born.

A dead soul, which could never return to life unless time is turned back, had amalgamated faith.

When the faith uniting those who formed that soul came together, veneration became reality.

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Puu-wang!

There, the female deity opened her eyes.