Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Yu-han had loved games since childhood.

Though few children disliked games, he loved them exceptionally so.

During his school days, the arcade was where children rushed to gather as soon as school was over.

In front of the most popular arcade machine, groans would invariably pour out.

—Ah, Yu-han got here first again!

—If he plays, we’ll have to watch the whole story!

The other kids liked the gameplay itself rather than the story.

However, Yu-han was the exact opposite.

To the point where he earned the resentment of the other children like this.

—Hey, didn’t I tell you to run as soon as it ended?

—Why are you blaming me? You were late too.

—Are you done talking?

Even when his friends fought around him like that, Yu-han remained silent.

“…….”

Tap…… tap…….

He slowly read the story, learning about the world within the game.

Then one day, after twenty years had passed and Yu-han had turned twenty-nine.

[Yu-han.]

A voice calling Yu-han came through his earphones.

However, there was no answer.

[Yu-han. Shin Yu-han?]

The voice sounded a bit more desperate.

“…….”

No response.

Eventually, the voice in the earphones grew harsh.

[Hey, Shin Yu-han!]

Only then did Yu-han reply, pretending to be surprised.

“Huh? Yeah, what.”

[Why don’t you press the skip button?]

“……Mmh.”

Yu-han slurred his words even after hearing the request.

Then.

Click—

He did press a button.

But it was the next button, not the skip button his friend wanted.

And Yu-han began to read the contents carefully once again, word by word.

Ultimately, Yu-han’s friend exploded.

[No, you…… you……! I knew it would be like this. Me asking you to do this with me was—!]

A few harsh curse words burst out after that.

“Yeah, I know you don’t have anyone else to play this kind of game with except me.”

But Yu-han replied nonchalantly.

The game displayed on their monitors was a two-player co-op game.

Although there were many friends around him who played games, it was hard to find a friend willing to buy a package game like this unless it was a popular online game.

[Yeah. I’m not playing anymore.]

In the end, his friend declared his exit.

Reading the lore in detail had its limits.

If he dragged out the time like this every time text appeared, they would have to hold onto a game with a short play time for days.

Even though a warning saying ‘Connection with partner has been lost!’ appeared in a corner of the monitor.

Yu-han eventually finished reading every single word of the text he was on.

“Tsk. The lore isn’t that solid.”

He then muttered a complaint.

His friend asked as if he found it absurd.

[Why are you reading something that isn’t even that solid so carefully?]

“That’s what makes it fun. If you just want to take the gameplay, you should go to a casino.”

[Sigh. What’s the point of talking to you? You lore nerd.]

“So, are you not going to play? Then I’ll log off too.”

When Yu-han asked this, his friend let out a deep sigh.

As if he had no regrets left regarding the game.

[Forget it. Even if I play later, I can’t do it with you. By the way, are you going to play that?]

“Huh? That?”

[What else would you do? That God… whatever, trash game.]

“God & Devil? Hey, a trash game! That masterpiece of a game!”

[You called it a trash game yourself.]

“Only I get to bash it!”

[……Anyway. Are you playing that?]

“Yeah. I’m going to play. If I finish today, it’s an all-clear.”

[Crazy bastard.]

His friend muttered quietly.

God & Devil.

It was an indie RPG game that Yu-han, who was already crazy about games, had been playing for twelve years.

His friend had also tried it once, thanks to Yu-han promoting it as a masterpiece, but what do you know.

[In my opinion, only someone like you could play that game, but the creator must have been even crazier than you.]

Compared to its classic concept set in the Holy Empire and involving black mages, the gameplay difficulty was absolutely insane.

It was a system where players couldn’t see the ending unless they played strictly according to each character’s settings.

Yet the freedom was so high that if they made a wrong turn at a branch point, it wouldn’t immediately show a game over, but rather drag the character along until they died one way or another.

……And he was doing an all-clear when there were over a hundred of those characters?

Ultimately, his friend quit without properly seeing the ending of even a single character.

There was a rumor that the community he visited later was full of posts bursting with anger, asking why the game was made like this.

“Yeah. Thanks for the high praise.”

[……!!!@@#@#!!!]

Astounded by Yu-han’s cheeky reply, his friend spat out a barrage of ‘praise’ before leaving the voice channel as well.

Yu-han booted up God & Devil as if a dog had merely barked somewhere.

Did Yu-han hold onto this difficult game for so long just because he had a perverted taste?

At first, Yu-han was simply deeply immersed in the story of a game he could play himself, just like reading a novel.

However, the overflowing mass-produced games could hardly satisfy Yu-han’s desire.

In the midst of that, God & Devil, which he discovered, was truly an oasis in the desert, a sweet rain during a drought.

Although his close friends unfortunately(?) did not share his taste, God & Devil was truly the game of Yu-han’s life.

It had a world-building so solid that it felt like history itself had been simulated, and lore that left almost no room for criticism.

It offered a degree of freedom that made it seem possible to raise a neighborhood kid into a hero, as long as they appeared as a character.

‘Please, if you are Korean, let’s play God & Devil.’

Moreover, the mysterious game developer ‘Dooo’, whose location was unknown, provided perfect Korean support at a level that would be impossible for anyone other than a native speaker.

They said the same applied to foreign translations, though.

When Yu-han searched foreign communities to gather information, the only praise was for the perfect translations.

Indeed, if the translation had not been done properly, even Yu-han, who was crazy about lore, would have reached his limit.

In any case, God & Devil was simply the best game to Yu-han.

—Yu-han, if you only play games like that, when are you going to college!

—Yeah. I’m planning to get a job at a game company.

So, even in high school, when he first encountered God & Devil.

—Sergeant Kim, can I install a game on the military internet room computer?

—……Do you think you can?

—I thought it was possible because it’s a computer! I’m sorry!

—Does your military service end just because you’re sorry? You punk!

Even when he was in the military.

—Oppa, is it me or that game? Choose.

—Why are you asking something like that over the phone?

—……What are you doing right now?

—……Playing a game.

—Let’s break up. Don’t ever contact me again. You bastard…….

Even at the moment he broke up with his girlfriend.

—Yu-han. If you only play this kind of game, you’ll lose your touch. I’m telling you, this outdated stuff isn’t the trend these days.

—Calling it outdated, you’re being too harsh…… It’s a masterpiece.

Even after he joined a game company as a developer, vowing to create a second God & Devil…….

Though people departed, God & Devil never left Yu-han’s side.

Listening to the majestic opening music, Yu-han trembled.

‘I cry only three times in my life.’

When I was born.

When my parents passed away.

When I first heard the opening of God & Devil.

Yu-han could declare that he had never skipped even the opening in God & Devil.

The main screen appeared after the opening ended.

Illustrations of numerous playable characters were lined up in a row.

They had in common a slightly translucent color and a star embedded at the top.

This meant that Yu-han had already cleared that character.

And only the last remaining character was still sitting there, boasting full, vibrant colors.

A girl with striking, wavy light-pink hair.

— Saintess Candidate ‘Zion Beatrice’ —

“Sigh…… This game is finally over too.”

Yu-han muttered as he caressed a notebook on his desk.

The word ‘Zion’ was written in the title space of the notebook.

And on the bookshelf next to the desk were hundreds of similar notebooks.

There were even up to dozens of notebooks with the same title.

That was how much information he had recorded while playing God & Devil, and Zion boasted an overwhelmingly larger volume than the rest.

Yu-han felt extremely proud every time he looked at those glorious records.

But looking at it another way, it could also mean that clearing Zion had taken that much time.

Zion’s story, which had tormented Yu-han for over a year, was now at its official ending.

When he clicked on Zion’s illustration, the save point was automatically loaded.

Starting as a Saintess Candidate, passing through Saintess, and finally.

— Final Chapter, ‘The Coronation’ —

The story leading to the final gate to becoming the Holy Emperor, the coronation.

“Kuuu……”

If an only daughter raised like a precious gem for decades met her true love and got married, would the father feel like this?

Yu-han could not take his eyes off Zion, who wore a pure white dress and held the ‘Holy Scepter of Saint Hadenika,’ the symbol of the Holy Emperor, for a long time.

‘Yes, Zion. At least you should be happy.’

Coming to the Empire from the status of a noble of a minor kingdom, and going through all kinds of hardships starting from the Holy Academy to becoming the Holy Emperor.

Its end would surely be sweeter than any artificial sweetener in the world.

On the other hand, watching Zion slowly walk down the red carpet of the cathedral, Yu-han somehow felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

Zion was the last character of God & Devil.

In other words, once this moment passed, Yu-han would have achieved an all-clear.

There would be nothing left to play in God & Devil.

Of course, it would be possible to do various concept playthroughs with the characters he had already cleared, but it would be impossible to get the initial thrill.

—Do you, Zion Beatrice, as the Holy Emperor, swear under the protection of the Lord God Hiloa to dedicate your life to the Empire and its subjects?

—I do.

“Hueuuu……!”

Ultimately, Yu-han shed tears as he watched the scene.

I cry four times in my life!

Even when I achieve an all-clear in God & Devil!

—……Zion Beatrice completed the coronation and received the title ‘Caelynia,’ which means ‘overcoming.’ She will be remembered forever as ‘Caelynia XVII’ even after her life ends.

— Saintess Candidate ‘Zion Beatrice’ Cleared.

Thus, Yu-han’s guide-writing journey for God & Devil, which spanned a whopping eight years, came to an end.

— Do you wish to view the credits? —

— Y/N —

“I’ll watch…… I’ll watch……”

Yu-han wanted to savor this lingering feeling as long as possible, so he willingly chose to view the credits as well.

Although he had always watched them after clearing a character anyway.

Countless white words scrolled up the black screen.

And finally.

— Developer Dooo —

— Executive Director ABLE —

“Dooo is heaven and ABLE is a god……!”

The journey of the all-clear concluded with Yu-han painting his ideal as a game developer.

No, it should have concluded.

“Huh?”

However, Yu-han tilted his head at a sudden pop-up window.

— God & Devil All-Clear Confirmed. —

— Initiating special bonus update. —

— 0/100 —

— Please wait a moment. —

Special bonus update?

Yu-han rubbed his eyes, thinking he had seen wrong.

However.

— 53/100 —

The update progress was steadily rising.

“No way……”

— 100/100 —

— Special bonus update completed. Please check the character list on the main screen! —

In a rush.

Yu-han frantically clicked his keyboard and mouse, following the instructions in the prompt.

A sudden update, and a character list?

“Could it be…… Could it be……”

Although it was impossible, Yu-han’s head began to fill with hope.

And when he finally reached the character list.

“Heh……”

Yu-han let out a complex sigh.

Zion Beatrice, who had just been cleared, now had a translucent color and a star attached.

Surely, the character list should have ended there.

— Roan Darc —

Yet, another new illustration had appeared.

Pale skin, with dusty, dark-ash hair and eyes.

A beautiful boy who looked dreadfully gloomy and dangerous despite his flawless appearance.

Roan Darc.

Although it was his first time hearing the name Roan, the family name Darc was deeply engraved in Yu-han’s mind.

In the lore of God & Devil, where nothing but the word perfect could describe it.

Darc was the only family about which no further information could be found, leaving only hints.

Usually, one could ‘find’ all the information depending on the player’s efforts, but no matter what Yu-han did regarding the Darc family.

—Darc was originally one of the four major families of the Empire, but fifteen years ago, it was destroyed after being attacked by mysterious black mages.—

He had been unable to find any meaningful information beyond that.

Although a few very old records remained, even those seemed as if someone had deliberately erased them.

“It was strange for a family that was one of the four major families to be suddenly destroyed, and it was also strange that they couldn’t leave behind any heir……”

Who would have thought it was because they had made it the all-clear reward, a hidden character.

And on top of Roan Darc’s illustration, in the spot where the clearance star should be, there was an ‘i’ button.

—Congratulations on the all-clear. If you are a player who has reached this point, you must have been quite curious about the ‘Darc’ family. Please enjoy the playthrough of the survivor of the Darc family, the strongest noble family that was thought to have been destroyed.—

There, along with a brief greeting.

—Roan is a character whose difficulty refuses comparison with other characters. However, he also possesses a correspondingly attractive advantage. As a descendant of the destroyed four major families, Roan enters the Holy Academy ‘Acherandir.’ With a transcendent talent for black magic, that is.—

The introduction to the character Roan was written.

“What?”

Yu-han let out an absurd mutter to himself.

Even if the Holy Empire was not currently in an all-out war with the black mages, the relationship between the two factions was naturally extremely bad.

In fact, the black mages, who had no proper power, were in a position where they were overwhelmingly beaten by the Holy Empire.

How much had he suffered from such constraints when playing as a black mage character before?

But what?

A black mage in the Holy Academy?

—Can you survive as Roan, as a black mage, and find the secrets of the world?—

—Sincerely, Executive Director ABLE.—

“This is really……”

Yu-han muttered.

Even if it was God & Devil, this was……

“I can’t resist!”

Naturally, he had to play it, didn’t he?

Moreover, below ABLE’s message, Roan’s brief talent stats were displayed.

Most of them were decent, but there was one that stood out by far.

There was an unrivaled stat.

—Black Magic: 100—

“Heup!”

Talent stats were different from ability stats.

In the first place, God & Devil was a game where victory or defeat was decided by situational utilization or judgment rather than mediocre talent stats, but even that had its limits.

A talent stat of 100?

It was truly a talent sculpted by God and Devil at the same time.

‘Zion’s holy magic talent stat was around thirty…….’

Zion, whom he had played last, was called an unprecedented genius of holy magic with a mere thirty.

Therefore, he had thought that was the system’s limit, but if it was one hundred……

To make an analogy, it meant that while others summoned a skeleton, he could summon a demon king!

Although most of the other talent stats were extremely ordinary at the early tens level, the Black Magic stat of 100 alone was more than enough to make up for everything.

Because as the talent stat became higher, a difference of one grew exponentially.

The only problem was.

“Starting at the Holy Academy of all places with this kind of talent……”

It was a bleak setting just to hear of.

Yet Yu-han grinned even while thinking of the rough future.

At the thought that with this, he could comfortably enjoy God & Devil for another year.

Thump, thump—

Yu-han’s heart, which he had thought would stop after clearing Zion, beat fiercely.

Thump, thump——!

And when Yu-han clicked on Roan’s illustration with a fluttering heart.

Thud—.

His fiercely beating heart stopped just like that.

Thud—

Yu-han collapsed onto his desk, still wearing his smile.

***

‘……What?’

Yu-han opened his eyes in a dark room.

It was not his room, which was finished with wallpaper and flooring that bore a few traces of time.

Instead, it was some creepy space with a cold, mossy stone floor and a gloomy bronze mirror on the wall.

‘……?’

Yu-han tilted his head, looking at his image reflected in that bronze mirror.

Surely, that figure must be him, but.

It was completely different from Yu-han’s ordinary appearance.

Dark-ash hair and ash-colored eyes, to the point where the word dusty suited them.

A beautiful boyish face with delicate yet well-defined lines.

Yet an atmosphere that felt gloomy and hard to approach.

Although there was a difference between the illustration and the real thing, that appearance was definitely……

‘Roan?’

Wasn’t it exactly like the illustration of the hidden character, Roan Darc?

But for some reason, that thing drawn in a messy heap on the floor was……

‘A tr-transmutation circle?!’

It was a transmutation circle used for magical rituals.

Furthermore, the black color and the distinct details visible here and there.

Although it was his first time seeing it in reality, it strongly gave off the feeling of a black magic transmutation circle without a doubt.

……Perhaps Yu-han would cry not three, nor four, but five times in his life.

Even when he possessed a hidden character inside a game of absurd difficulty, which was never in his destiny.

‘Crazy.’

Yu-han—no, Roan—felt his eyes grow moist without realizing it.