Chapter 8 : The Saint plays games (3)

[Imp]

A cannibalistic demon with a face that embodies the most horrific image imaginable.

A common monster appearing in Act 3, less than 1m tall.

As such, they never appeared alone.

They always appeared in groups of four or more, and most of their attack patterns involved jumping and aiming for the neck.

In short, it was an instant-kill attack.

The only way to clear the imps was with magic.

More than half of the top 100 ranked players were Sorceresses.

Even those players had been brought to their knees by that demonic boss.

“Should we get something to eat?”
“How about pizza?”

United by the game, they were practically a community, comrades.

“Well, at least it’s good news.”
“True.”

Someone spoke up, and a knowing reply followed.

There had been an announcement from the Demon King developers that they would adjust the difficulty if it wasn’t cleared within the year.

Despite their complaints, Demon King was quite popular among them.

Unlike most games that shared a single world, Demon King allowed players to fully own a world within their created rooms.

And the item prices were quite good.

For example, if you got a legendary item, it would sell for at least 100,000 won, and sometimes even millions, depending on the options.

Even if the drop rate was less than 1%.

“Food’s ready~”

Hocheol, the Capsule Room part-timer, tilted his head as he brought out the food. The customers, who usually snatched it up immediately, were staring blankly at something.

‘What’s going on?’

The screen.

The large screen in the lounge.

It usually displayed mundane advertisements, but occasionally, it showed the latest news. But right now, it was past midnight, approaching morning. There wouldn’t be any news at this hour. So that meant…

“Ah.”

Hocheol had played that game too.

Demon King. He was a fan of the original, so he had tried the VR version as soon as it came out.

He had quickly quit due to the extreme difficulty.

The screen, which usually showed ads, only activated in one specific situation.

When a Capsule Room user broke a record in any game.

Specifically, a speedrun, or clearing a stage no one had cleared before. In such cases, the player’s perspective would be broadcast on the screen.

–Die, you bug!

Not the entire playthrough, of course. Just the highlights, like the boss fight, which was currently being broadcast.

“Ah…”

Hocheol groaned involuntarily.

–You shall not pass!

The first boss, the Spider Woman, used her grab attack. If you were caught, it was over. Whether you died from poison mist or being crushed, there were various ways to die. Judging by the distance, the player would definitely be caught.

However, Hocheol’s prediction was completely wrong.

The Spider Woman’s head flew off, like Medusa from Greek mythology.

What followed was a series of surprises.

Scorpio, with its massive body, charged fiercely. It seemed like the end.

But then the screen flipped, and the perspective shifted upwards.

–Kiiiiiieeeeek!

Scorpio’s scream, the sound of its carapace being torn and crushed, then its massive body collapsing.

The climax was Act 3, Mephistopheles, the boss rumored to be impossible to defeat.

The boss’s difficulty was compounded by the surrounding monsters.

Wraiths and demon shamans roamed around the boss, their magic faster and more powerful than even max-level players’.

But…

From the player’s perspective, the shamans were assassinated one by one, dying without even a scream.

But the boss seemed to be a different story.

–Are you hunting my brethren? Hahaha!

Mephistopheles, who had been in the boss room, appeared in front of the player as if out of nowhere.

Everyone in the lounge thought this was the end for the player.

It was a fierce battle.

From the player’s perspective, it was hard to tell what was happening. Whenever the boss swung its arm, the player’s body would shake slightly. Not from dodging or being hit.

“What is that…?”

With every swing of the boss’s arm, more wounds appeared on its body. The screen moved rapidly, sometimes shifting behind the boss.

–Groaaaaaaaaar!

The boss brought its hands together in a triangle, as if preparing to fire a beam attack. It was one of the boss’s infamous patterns. There was a three-second windup, but once completed, it was a large-scale annihilation magic that wiped out players in a wide area.

But the magic never completed.

Wounds appeared on the boss’s body at an alarming rate.

And then, it began to collapse.

–Shaaaaaaaaa!

Ding. Items rained down like an explosion, among them a knife emitting a bright light.

An effect that clearly indicated a legendary or higher-grade item.

“What is that?”
“I’ve never seen it before.”

The veteran players deduced the item’s grade and type from its ornate design.

It was an unreleased item, never before seen.

Probably an item that only dropped in Act 3 or later.

“Oh, the part-timer hyung is here.”
“Uh… yeah.”
“Are there any pro gaming teams or raid teams here right now?”
“Um, no?”

As far as Hocheol knew, there weren’t any groups in the rooms right now.

Most of the rooms in the Capsule Room were for single occupancy.

“Whoa… crazy.”

At someone’s exclamation, Hocheol’s gaze returned to the screen.

“What is that…?”

He couldn’t help but stare.

The boss, called the Lord of Terror. Although no player had ever reached it, its infamy was well known. It was a famous boss, known to everyone.

The bright red dragon-like boss breathed fire and rampaged across the field.

But the moment the player approached, it was over. The boss collapsed amidst a flurry of knife attacks.

This was clearly an anomaly. It had been strange until now, but it seemed the game’s balance was broken.

And the veteran players quickly realized it.

“That knife. What is that?”

It seemed the already incredibly skilled player had obtained an overpowered weapon.

“Phew… how many hours has it been…?”

Hayun, after clearing a wave of monsters, sighed.

‘I think I saw a message about playtime warning…’

Unfortunately, Seoyeon hadn’t mentioned anything about that.

She couldn’t have predicted that Hayun would play for so long.

–Follow me if you can—!

The demon-named boss shouted provocatively and escaped through a gate behind his throne.

Was this the end?

‘The last wave of dinosaur-like monsters was quite strong.’

It was the first time, excluding bosses, that she hadn’t been able to kill a monster in one hit.

[Required Agility: 147]
[Required Strength: 50]

[Target’s Defense -50%]
[Critical Hit Damage 297%]
[Critical Hit Damage 350% on Weak Point Hit]
[Additional Damage 397% to Boss-Type Enemies]
[Bleeding Damage 249%]
Prevents target’s healing.
Increases wearer’s damage taken by 300%.
Cannot equip heavy or light armor.

It was a legendary item Hayun obtained after defeating the third boss.

It was also the reason she was able to one-shot the fourth boss, the one featured on the game’s cover.

‘Is the 397% additional damage to boss-type enemies a bit too overpowered?’

It was more fun than she expected, so she ended up playing through the night.

Even though no one was watching.

She should finish quickly and get some sleep.

[World Chamber]

It resembled a crimson temple.

I stealthily approached and stabbed the boss in the back of the neck.

–You insect—!

Despite the attack, the boss quickly swung its legs. I dodged and moved to the front, and…

Flames erupted, as if waiting for me.

“Holy sh*t…”

I cursed involuntarily.

Intense heat grazed my cheek. I barely dodged. If I had been hit, considering the knife’s effect, it would have been an instant kill.

The moment I rolled on the ground…

Swish, swish, swish!

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

The boss’s numerous legs rained down relentlessly, like a sewing machine.

I rolled away, quickly got up, and adjusted my stance.

A boss fight was finally a challenge.

As I moved behind the boss to finish it…

‘Danger.’

Perhaps due to my heightened focus, it was a primal instinct.

The moment I pulled back…

A wave of blue and red, countless projectiles, erupted.

Whirrrrrrrr!

Blocking was impossible, and even dodging seemed difficult.

Despite the distance, the threatening energy felt like it would pierce my skin.

“Wow. Is this… really a pattern designed to be dodged?”

Fortunately, the farther away I got, the wider the gaps between the projectiles became, creating openings. It was like flower petals blooming.

It seemed every boss pattern had a solution. It was nice that, being a game, there wasn’t the same kind of unfairness as in reality.

If I observed carefully and dodged well, I could manage.

But I didn’t want to keep dodging. I immediately ducked, approached the boss, and swung my knife.

Swish, swish, crack!

After a few hits, light erupted from various parts of the boss’s body, and cracks began to appear. And then…

Shatter.

With a sound like shattering glass, it dispersed into fragments of light.

[Congratulations.]

[Game Clear!]

“Ah.”

It was finally over.