Chapter: 375
About a year had passed since Soul Academy came out, right? Until then, people hadn’t dared to create mods for a game like Soul Academy.
I was too busy giving up after repeating the first day of learning programming a hundred times, so I didn’t fully understand what people were saying, but the chatter on the forum was roughly like this:
“Cos too terrible, I can’t even touch it.”
“With arms for heads, legs for bodies, and trunks moving strangely, I have no idea where to start modifying it.”
“What the heck is the company that made this game doing? How on earth does this mess of programming even work? Did the God of Coding perform a miracle or something?”
Amidst all the nonsense, one user in the community posted that they had figured out how to create mods for Soul Academy.
I was so clueless back then that I didn’t understand a word of that user’s post, but from that point on, things began to change. People started shouting, “Revolution!” and each of them began creating the mods they wanted.
From mods addressing humanity’s primal instincts to ones fixing countless inconveniences in the game. Mods adding new characters, weapons, traits, and skills. Plus, dungeons that didn’t even exist in the game, crafted with personal creativity.
The ideas presented by one user brought about a second golden age for the game Soul Academy, and within that time, I was happily gobbling up all sorts of mods without knowing that this golden age would soon end.
No, I can’t see the future, so how would I know? How could I foresee that years of drought without proper mods or even DLC would last!?
If I had the power of foresight, I would have savored them one by one!
Anyway, the mod I was most interested in back then was the new dungeon.
After spending a year on one game and consuming most of its content, a new dungeon was something I absolutely had to conquer.
Being a mod created by an individual user rather than the official developer, the quality of the dungeon varied wildly.
As I’ve mentioned before, most of it was trash, and a lot of it was just trolling.
Still, I never stopped trying to conquer new dungeons. I had nothing else to do, and sometimes, amidst all the trash, a gem would pop out.
And the dungeon I was currently exploring was definitely one of those gems.
How grotesque. This dungeon is filled with evil intent to kill those who enter.
As I elegantly dodged a spear that shot out unexpectedly, Grandpa gasped. The spear shot out with magic power, meant not to pierce flesh but to explode upon contact—one could only marvel at the wickedness of the dungeon’s creator.
Of course, since that force pierced the void, no cruel trap was left intact.
‘Right? The one who made this dungeon is totally sinister.’
If I hadn’t intended to dismantle this dungeon from the ground up to get back at the Dungeon Creator, wouldn’t I have been in quite a dangerous situation too?
For others, it’s needless to say. If anyone had walked four steps from the entrance, they would’ve been caught in a combination of three traps and would have verified the existence of the afterlife.
Ahem.
Recalling all the tough times I had, I uttered a harsh remark, making Grandpa cough. Usually, he would agree with me and chatter away, but now he kept his mouth shut, which was odd, yet it wasn’t hard to understand.
‘Ah. Could it be that he’s holding back because he suspects this dungeon was made by Lord Jushin?’
Ahem ahem.
Convincing him was pretty easy too.
‘Come on, Grandpa. The great Lord Jushin couldn’t possibly create such a hellish dungeon, could he? No way!’
Is that so?
‘Absolutely! The benevolent Lord Jushin wouldn’t design such an evil dungeon! By the way, your actions right now are questioning his goodness!’
<…You have a strangely convincing argument. Yeah. You're right. I have doubted my Lord. He wouldn’t create this wicked dungeon.>
Grandpa, whose faith wasn’t fanatical but was nonetheless firm, seemed to convince himself that such an absurd dungeon couldn’t possibly be the work of Lord Jushin.
He continued to rant about the dungeon’s creator enjoying seeing blood—how much despair one must have to make traps this twisted. Even the Evil God’s dungeon would be less merciless than this one.
None of his words were wrong, but there was one big problem. That dungeon was definitely made by Lord Jushin.
Since most of the dungeons made as mods were trash, the shining treasures in them are all the more memorable.
The reason I vividly remembered this dungeon was precisely because of that. This place was indeed filled to the brim with terrible evil, yet it was a well-crafted dungeon at the same time.
It was of a different caliber than the other shoddy mod dungeons, a place that wouldn’t feel out of place even if incorporated into the main story.
These kinds of shining mods occasionally popped up, which is why, despite my endless swearing, I kept searching for mods.
At the same time, I came to one conclusion. I didn’t know how many creators were responsible for high-quality mods, but they must be the very same people who made this game.
The various quirks from the original dungeons remained intact in the modded dungeons, and the rotten waters of Soul Academy wouldn’t let me miss that!
Back then, I thought, “Something must have happened to the company. Damn, it looks like no DLC will come out this year either,” but now it was different.
The fact that the mod I had conquered was perfectly recreated here meant that the mod creator was indeed in this world.
And that mod creator was probably the same one who created the Mesugaki mod and pulled me into this world or someone closely related to them.
But you know, our Shoddy God showed immense interest in me the moment he spotted me, right? He even half-threatened that alchemist bastard for me and made him sign a contract!
At this point, even the dumbest me could not help but pinpoint who the real culprit was!
Shoddy God you bastard! If you were gonna make a mod to possess me, at least do it properly!
Why make something like the Mesugaki mod and turn a person into this!?
Is that your preference?! Did you throw in your personal tastes while possessing someone!?
Damn pervert! I’ll insult you all day long since you want it so badly! I’ll cram it in your ears until you go crazy with joy!
But then, it seems like you’d only be happy, so I’ll also mix in Grandpa’s insults! Take both Grandpa’s hatred for the dungeon creator and my direct resentment!
As I poured all these internal grievances, I sped through the dungeon.
This was the dungeon I had endlessly conquered out of spite for that Dungeon Creator, and even after that, it was a place I kept coming back to whenever I missed a dungeon of this quality.
Even after quite some time, the scenery of this place felt more vivid than the dungeon I’d conquered earlier today, so there was no way I would pause my steps.
Thinking about it, wasn’t the person I had argued with back then the Shoddy God?
Oh damn.
So, you can be assaulted like this in your own dungeon? How’s that for awesome?
Why are you all quaky with anger? I know it was hard squeezing out that limited creativity of yours, but that doesn’t mean you’ll suddenly find more creativity, right?
This is your limit; what can you do? Hang in there. Fighting. Anyway, thanks for letting me have some fun.
The one I bullied was the Shoddy God!?
After ruminating on all the things I told the Dungeon Creator, I began to understand how the Shoddy God who teased me felt. Having suffered that much, he might want to give some back.
But can a benevolent and merciful God take revenge? Doesn’t a righteous deity have to embrace even their arrogance with their warmth?
But wait, isn’t it the Shoddy God who first made a trashy dungeon to provoke people? I was merely returning the favor for what I had suffered! Back then, the Shoddy God was such a petty bastard!
I could feel my faith, which was already lacking, diminishing even more. Right now, I think I could confine the Shoddy God in a room and threaten him to make dungeons while I feed him nothing but dumplings without any guilt!
While I was lost in such thoughts, the door leading to the Boss Room came into view.
I already knew what awaited on the other side. I even had a method to toy with the boss like a puppy and then take it down.
The scenery of the dungeon I had just passed through matched my memories perfectly, so the other side should be the same.
Let’s finish this quickly and go back. Even though I’m the kind of person who can go a week without sleeping, it’s still better to get some shut-eye.
Young lady, just wait a moment.
The moment I placed my hand on the door, Grandpa’s voice reached me. It was different from the heated voice he had, unwittingly cursing the God before—it was a worried tone.
‘What’s wrong?’
Something feels off. I’m not sensing any threats from beyond that door.
‘…Uh. That can’t be right.’
If what awaited me on the other side was indeed the boss from my memory, there would be no way I wouldn’t sense a threat.
Grandpa must be mistaken… right? I mean, he’s the one I use as a biological radar.
His senses had never been wrong, not even once. There were times when the radar reacted slowly and got me into trouble, but…
Are you having some impious thoughts?
‘No thought reading allowed! Respect my privacy!’
So, you were thinking it, huh?
‘…Ah. Um. Cough. I’m not sure? I know nothing about it!’
As I’ve said several times…
Icons of sudden lecturing from Grandpa made me try to ignore him as I scanned the door.
If Grandpa’s words were true, then what lay beyond was an unknown enemy. I had no idea what kind of danger could be lurking there. Despite that reality, a smirk formed on my lips.
This actually works out well. I’d gotten bored from constantly retracing the same old dungeons, and now finally fresh content had appeared!
And since this was definitely a place created by the Shoddy God, there was no need to fear challenges. Even if something went wrong, it wouldn’t be fatal.
Besides, that Shoddy God’s creativity had its limits. Anything waiting on the other side was probably a rehash of his previous creations.
Since I’ve already conquered the dungeons he made countless times, how could I possibly fall for his childish tricks?
Whatever it is, I’ll blow right through it and give the Shoddy God a piece of my mind.
What was it that used to annoy him the most? The moment I opened the door to the Boss Room, I froze in place.
There was something unexpected on the other side.
Was it a threat?
No, that would be a relief.
If it were a boss from Soul Academy, I would somehow be able to conquer it.
But that wasn’t an enemy.
How could young Lucy from my childhood ever be an enemy?
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