Chapter: 375
About a year after Soul Academy came out, right? Until then, people had never dared to create mods for Soul Academy.
Trying to learn programming, I gave up after repeating the first day about a hundred times, so I can’t say I understood exactly what people were saying. But the chatter on the forums went something like this:
“Coding is way too frustrating to even touch.”
“I’ve got arms on my head and a head on my legs, and somehow, this bizarre thing is walking around. Where do I even start modifying that?”
“What on earth is the developer of this game doing? How can it even run with such terrible programming? Did the god of coding do a miracle or something?”
As people persisted in saying that if they succeeded in analyzing the game’s coding, the god of coding would deliver a message, a user in the community posted something.
They had figured out how to create mods for Soul Academy.
Even then, I was too clueless to understand what that user wrote. But from that moment on, the situation changed. A revolution occurred as one by one, everyone who wanted to make a mod began to create them.
Starting with mods aimed at satisfying humanity’s primal instincts. Things that resolved various annoyances in the game. Mods that added new characters, weapons, traits, and skills. Plus, dungeons created with their own creativity that were nowhere to be found in the game.
The idea proposed by one user led Soul Academy into a second golden age, and I was blissfully devouring all those mods like a hungry goblin. Little did I know that this golden age wouldn’t last long.
No, it’s not like I can predict the future or anything. How could I know that there would be a drought of solid DLCs and mods for the next few years!
If I had that foresight, I would’ve savored them more slowly!
Anyway, at that time, I was most interested in the new dungeon mods.
Having consumed most of the content from a single game for a year, new dungeons became a must-explore item for me.
Being user-created, the quality of these dungeons varied wildly.
As I’d mentioned somewhere before, most of them were trash, and the majority were just trolling mods.
Still, I didn’t stop tackling the new dungeons. There was nothing else to do, and occasionally, pearls among the trash would pop up.
And right now, the dungeon I was tackling was definitely one of those pearls.
[It’s grotesque. The dungeon is filled with malice aimed at killing those who enter.]
As I effortlessly dodged the spear that shot out without warning, the old man gasped. The spear that had just emerged contained magic, meaning it had the power to burst rather than just pierce human flesh, leaving one in awe of the maliciousness of the dungeon creator.
Of course, with that power piercing the air, no vicious trap could remain.
‘Right? The person who made this dungeon is downright evil.’
Had I not intended to mess with the dungeon creator by dismantling it from the bottom up, might I have been at risk myself?
For anyone else, probably. If they had taken four steps from the entrance, they would have been caught in a combination of three traps and verified the reality of the afterlife.
[Cough.]
As I recalled the various misfortunes I’d encountered, the old man cleared his throat.
Usually, he would sympathize with me and say all kinds of things, but seeing him hold back his words was unusual, though understandable.
‘Oh, could it be that you’re hesitating because you think the deity made this dungeon?’
[Cough cough.]
And persuading him on that was easy.
‘Come on, grandpa. There’s no way the great deity would create such a hellish dungeon! That’s just not possible.’
[Is that so?]
‘Of course! The merciful deity wouldn’t design such a malicious dungeon! To be honest, what you’re doing right now is casting doubt on the deity!’
[…That’s oddly persuasive. Alright. You’re right. I doubted my deity. There’s no way they’d create a dungeon filled with such malice.]
Though his faith in the deity wasn’t fanatical, it was firm enough that he seemed convinced this garbage dungeon couldn’t be the work of the deity.
The one who created the dungeon was someone who enjoyed seeing blood, who must love human despair to make such traps. The dungeon of the evil god would be less cruel than this.
Every word made sense, but there was one big problem. That this dungeon was definitely made by the deity.
Since most dungeon mods were trash, the shining treasure within would be all the more memorable.
That’s why I vividly remembered this dungeon. It was undoubtedly a place brimming with heinous malice, but at the same time, it was a well-crafted dungeon.
A place unlike the trashy mod dungeons—it wouldn’t be odd even if it were incorporated into the main game.
Since such mods occasionally popped up, I still cursed my way through them in search of more mods.
Through it all, one certainty emerged: I didn’t know how many genius mod creators there were, but they were likely the very same creators of this game.
The quirks left behind from the main game were still present in the mod dungeons; it was clear that the rotten waters of Soul Academy couldn’t miss that.
Back then, I’d think something must’ve happened to the company, like “Damn, no DLC this year either,” but now it was different.
The fact that the mod I had played was replicated here meant the creator of that mod existed in this world.
And that mod creator was probably the same person who pulled me into this world with the Mesugaki mod or is closely related.
But you know, the pathetic deity was incredibly interested in me as soon as they started observing me! They even half-threatened that bastard alchemist when I was close to dying to him, just to make me sign a deal with the apostle!
At this point, even a dullard like me could tell who the culprit was!
You pathetic deity! If you were gonna make a mod and possess me, you should’ve done it properly!
Why create something like the Mesugaki mod to get me into this mess!?
Is this your taste?! When you possess someone, are you gonna shove your personal preferences in it!?
Damn perverted bastard! I’ll curse you all day long until I drive you crazy! I’ll shove insults into your ear until you can’t take it anymore!
But then you’d probably be just too pleased with that, so I’ll mix in grandpa’s curses too! Take the hatred from grandpa about the dungeon creator and my straightforward hatred together!
Even as I cursed internally, I swiftly progressed through the dungeon.
This was a dungeon I had tackled countless times to get back at the creator who taunted me and had not had anything of this quality ever since.
Even if a while had passed, this place looked more vivid than the dungeon I had tackled earlier that day, so I wasn’t going to stop my steps.
Thinking back, the guy I had a debate with before must have been the pathetic deity, right?
Oh. Damn.
I can rape your dungeon like this? How badass is that?
What’s with you shaking in anger? I get that squeezing every bit of creativity out of you is a struggle, but that doesn’t mean something out of nothing will just pop up.
Your limits are your limits, so what can you do? Keep it up. Fight on. Either way, I’m grateful for the fun.
So the one I had been mocking was the pathetic deity!?
Reflecting on the various things I had said to the dungeon creator allowed me to understand the behavior of the mocking deity. If they suffered that much, it’s natural to want to give back a little.
But can the righteous and compassionate deity exact revenge? Isn’t a righteous god supposed to embrace that arrogance with their warmth?
No, it was the pathetic deity who crafted this terrible dungeon first, making everyone annoyed. I just returned the favor. Do I deserve karma for that? Was that pathetic deity being quite spiteful back then?
I felt my already lacking faith was diminishing even further. If it was now, I’d be able to trap the pathetic deity in a room and force-feed them dumplings while threatening them to create dungeons!
Lost in various thoughts, I soon found myself at the door leading to the boss room.
I already knew what was waiting beyond this door. I also knew how to play the boss like a puppy before taking it down.
Looking at the scenery of the dungeon I’d passed, which matched perfectly with my memories, I figured the other side would likely be the same.
Let’s finish this quickly and head back. I’m someone who can survive without sleep for about a week, but still, I prefer getting my sleep.
[Hey, girl. Wait a minute.]
As soon as I reached for the door, the old man spoke with a concerned voice distinctly different from his heated cursing earlier.
‘What is it?’
[Something feels off. I don’t sense any danger from beyond.]
‘…Uh, that can’t be right?’
If what’s on the other side is indeed the boss from my memory, there should be a sense of danger.
There’s no way the old man was mistaken…given I was using him as a biological radar.
His sense had never been wrong once before. Sure, there were a few times where the radar’s reaction was slow and caused some trouble.
[Are you possibly having unholy thoughts right now?]
‘Mind-reading is a no-go! Respect my privacy!’
[That means you were thinking it.]
‘…Um, uhh. Well, let’s just say I don’t know anything?’
[As I always say…]
Ignoring the old man’s sudden barrage of nagging, I examined the door.
If what he just said was true, then what lies beyond is an unknown enemy. We have no idea what kind of danger could be lurking. Even acknowledging that, I felt my lips curve into a smile.
This is even better. I was getting tired of rehashing dungeons repeatedly, and finally, something new has arrived.
Since this is undoubtedly a place made by the pathetic deity, there’s no need to fear the challenge. No matter what goes wrong, my head won’t roll.
Besides, that pathetic deity’s creativity has its limitations. What waits on the other side will likely just be a retread of what they’ve previously made.
I’ve tackled the dungeons they created so many times that there’s no way I would fall for their tricks.
Whatever happens, I’ll smoothly clear this dungeon and give the pathetic deity a piece of my mind.
What was it that annoyed them the most back in the day?
Just as I approached the door to the boss room, carefree and ready to open it, I froze.
What awaited beyond was something completely unexpected.
Was it a threatening foe?
No, if that were the case, that would be a relief!
If it was a boss existing within Soul Academy, I’m sure I would be able to deal with it somehow.
But that wasn’t an enemy.
How could Lucy from my childhood be a foe?
You may also like Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy
