Magic.
In Wagal, it had a slightly different meaning than in my past life.
Here, magic was the driving force behind the demon beasts and demons.
It wasn’t entirely wrong to say that demon beasts were born from magic, but it felt funny to think about how vulnerable the demons really were to it.
In the prologue, depending on whether the quest to defeat the Hydra was achieved, the game’s ‘magic difficulty’ would be set.
The higher the magic, the more ferocious the demon beasts became, and dark magic turned even more brutal.
However, clearing the game at a high magic difficulty later granted bonuses to attack or spell power.
Next up was exploration.
The Incomprehensible Maze was so short that when I ran it with Laura, it only took an hour to break through to the end.
I thought the overall difficulty of the game was easy, but it actually wasn’t even official content to begin with.
Just like magic, the higher the exploration difficulty, the lower the drop rate for field items and weapons.
It grants health bonuses to the final character.
Lastly, infamy.
Laura completely overwhelmed the knight captain in a duel we encountered in the capital.
The higher the infamy, the more limited the NPCs that could form alliances, and opponents showed stronger appearances in PvP.
The infamy sub-option later granted growth bonuses to the character’s spirit or mana.
Each of these options strengthened the character, but the cost wasn’t trivial.
And most importantly,
[‘Jumping6cameraPress’ donated 10,000 won!]
-Nightmare sub-option 10/10/10 LOL!!!
It was the fact that I had entered the Nightmare branch.
[I’m going to enroll formally. / We don’t have much time.]
[▶We don’t have much time.]
‘Was the choice from the past truly a turning point?’
At a pub belonging to District 15 Abyss Branch.
After closing all the curtains and thoroughly setting up the mana barrier, the branch leader explained the Academy Invasion Operation to us.
I paused the story momentarily to check the chat.
“What’s different about Nightmare difficulty?”
This was evidently information I needed to know while playing the game.
-Never die when playing Nightmare!
-Just clearing it with no deaths is essential.
“If you die… does that mean game over?”
-Nope.
-Not game over, but you go back to the early point of each main story. Part 1 is exactly now as the checkpoint,
-and then all the enemies become ridiculously strong.
-The difficulty becomes nearly impossible to clear.
-It seems like the patterns of both mobs and bosses keep subtly changing?
-Yeah, outside of pattern clears, nothing else works, so you truly feel the difficulty increase.
-So if you die, just delete the account and go back to the saved point during the prologue branch leader quest.
-I really don’t get why they made it so troublesome when resetting is the same anyway.
-For real, it’s driving me crazy doing the three sub-quests for the sub-options again, LOL! I’ve probably killed the Hydra a hundred times, right?
-Wasn’t it intended to make sure you wouldn’t memorize the patterns?
-Not a chance, “Again!” LOL!!!
[‘FistKingPriest’ donated 1,000 won!]
-In Wagal, you must continuously raise combat power based on initial stats through gear, accessory equip, circle liberation, skill unlocking, etc., but in Nightmare, each time you die, you start with a penalty reducing your stats. So, by the final boss fight, your combat power needs to be at least 10,000, but if your stats get cut from the start, it’s impossible to reach that. Most growths are multiplied, and Nightmare is even stricter.
And I chose Nightmare in order to gain superior combat power, but if my stats get halved, It defeats the purpose, he added.
It definitely made sense.
In Wagal, growth isn’t about adding 1,000 to 2,000 to make 3,000; it’s multiplying 1,000 by 3 to get 3,000.
Then, starting at 500 and multiplying by three gives you 1,500.
If I went to areas where the minimum combat power requirement was 2,000, the chances of dying would be high.
“I understand.”
The ‘Nightmare’ difficulty was also the company’s consideration for arena users.
It was a measure to drastically shorten the story, extracting only the most vital parts and minimizing leveling time.
Every time characters are re-leveled, it relieves the burden of seeing the same story.
But it also imposes a precondition on users to have the corresponding qualifications. It shouldn’t be possible to clear purely with willpower and pattern learning.
The number of deaths allowed was at most one or two.
[Resuming the game.]
“Alperion and Ciciela are waiting at the Academy’s back gate with six members.”
The old knight and the young bear beast nodded solemnly.
“And you, NoName, I won’t assign you a difficult operation. After all, you’re a novice and haven’t been in our Abyss for long. You understand, right?”
Even without knowing the situation in detail, the branch leader’s plan seemed flawless to me.
“What do I need to do?”
“Go to the Academy’s back gate, draw the soldiers’ attention, and then escape.”
But once again, a choice was presented.
[That sounds reasonable, I’ll accept. / Is that all there is to the Baldy’s plan?]
“…?”
What’s this now?
I was drawn to the option that would make me sound like a personality-deficient weirdo.
Before I could choose, all NPCs oddly stopped moving and waited for my response.
-Whatever you pick has no influence, LOL! Just choose anything.
-I’m suddenly super pissed; I’m going to refund this game.
-Yeah, but it’s free anyway.
-What is Wagal’s revenue structure?
So, there are choices that don’t affect the story, huh.
This is going to complicate things.
I hesitated and, regrettably, spoke the left option.
“That sounds reasonable, I’ll accept.”
“Quick decision, good. Then tonight you’ll go with Adella. It’s a simple diversion operation, isn’t it?”
The branch leader pointed at the small cat-eared girl standing alone by another pillar.
She glanced at me, and we exchanged faces.
“The detailed plan will be communicated as each team, including Daniel, goes around the area. For now, at least get to know each other.”
*
The 1st floor is a pub, while the 2nd and 3rd floors are an inn, and our meeting place was each other’s rooms.
Since we had decided to execute the operation from the start, everyone here could not leave the building until nightfall.
But before the branch leader finished speaking, Adella dashed up the stairs, missing my chance to accompany her.
Thus came the quest, Find Adella’s Room.
I thought it typical for a game to throw out the most trivial quests.
First, let’s grab someone and see if I can get some information.
“Alperion?”
“Oh, aren’t you the Forest Keeper of Arseria I’ve heard about? Do you have business with me?”
“I’m looking for Adella’s room.”
“Oh, that girl? You took on a tough mission right off the bat. Unfortunately, I don’t know her room.”
The old knight responded dryly.
I then turned to the bear beast beside him and asked.
“Ciciela, do you know what room Adella is in?”
“Why would I know her room? She likes to hide in some corner, so her room is probably in the farthest corner.”
No one knew exactly what room she was in.
Moreover, Adella wasn’t well treated even within the Abyss.
However, various clues popped up from different people.
3rd Floor, corner, next to the stairs.
Without hesitation, I knocked on Room 302.
“Come in.”
A sharp voice came from beyond the door.
The room looked just like mine.
However, the hall was cluttered with underwear and trash scattered about, making it a bother to step on.
“Adella.”
I called out to her, but she remained silent.
I had no choice but to step forward.
Where she had acquired it from, I didn’t know, but Adella was lying down drinking beer since morning.
Her gray hair was dusty and gave off a gloomy vibe.
She looked at me with a bored expression, her face upside down from the bed.
“Ugh, I’m drunk.”
And her eyes flickered annoyingly, cut diagonally.
Were facades all lies?
No, hair analysis was science.
Not pseudo-science but real science.
Otherwise, it shouldn’t already feel overwhelming with the upcoming missions ahead.
Indeed, you must be the nightmare.
*
“Adella.”
“…”
“Adella.”
“…”
This game is surprisingly unhelpful when it comes to interactions.
-LOL!!!
-Adella’s personality is already showing, LOL!!!
-Really Wagal has great characters and story, but the early obstacles are way too much.
-That’s just gross.
I don’t know if NPCs normally don’t respond to me or if it’s just Adella being this stubborn, but she seemed to have no intention of responding.
Ugh, I’m already losing interest in the game.
I missed the fox beast girl ‘Liri,’ who always sold me worn-out boots and potions in Legacy of Legends.
Petting her fuzzy fur as she squeaked and twitched was genuinely cute.
Comparing her to Adella, I couldn’t find a single redeeming quality.
Her hair was dirty and rough, her face was sort of cute, but being deep in booze turned it red, leaving no room for any forced goodwill.
The viewers also seemed to think this was just Adella’s character.
“What’s your name, Forest Keeper?”
For the first time, Adella opened her mouth.
“NoName.”
“Whoever named you, that’s a really crummy name.”
Adella casually picked her nose.
“What did you say, repeat that?”
“…”
“Repeat what I said?”
Before I knew it, magic energy was radiating from me.
I clenched my fist to control my emotions, but the anger within showed through the shaking of my lips and heavy breaths.
‘Do I have to view her as a game character?’
The trash in the room began swirling around as if caught in a whirlwind.
Before I knew it, I almost punched her in the face, but somehow managed to stop just shy of it.
She remained unfazed, sipping the rest of her beer without blinking.
[‘Randoseru’ donated 5,000 won!]
-This girl has some good reactions!
