Chapter 71: Evaluation (2)

Chapter 71: Evaluation (2)

Ayado’s play continued.

His character became more powerful, and yet just as helpless, by attaching bride’s parts.

The [Firearm: Matan] build, a combination of Napoleon’s head, Joan of Arc’s chest, and Simo Häyhä’s arm, turned every step Aya took into a deadly blow.

Apart from these, he farmed several other parts, but these three were Ayado’s favorites.

The reason was the satisfying impact of their strikes.

So, it was the moment when he entered the boss room of Chapter 2.

“Hoo hoo hoo...”

“Hoo hoo hoot...!”

A cinematic unfolded.

Overlapping laughter, stimulating Ayado’s hearing.

That wasn’t all.

The background music that had been playing throughout became even more eerie and tense, altering its melody.

Electronic sounds entered, and Ayado’s hearing became more sensitive than ever.

Step by step, brides started to appear as footsteps echoed.

They gracefully danced across the wide terrain without even needing the skeleton soldiers who had been guarding them.

Then, they joined hands.

Ayado understood where these dance moves had originated.

“A couples’ dance?”

Tango, swing, waltz, and other multi-person dance moves.

Brides spun around based on those moves, drawing closer to each other.

The fluttering robes stole the attention.

Their seductive gestures and movements swayed the heart.

They embraced each other, entwining and falling gracefully to the floor as one.

Ssssh...

The thin fabric almost became a barrier, obscuring the sight of the brides.

At the end, an enormous sword that was at least six meters long was lifted.

“Whoa...”

It was like watching a performance.

Following the sound of Kugugung!, the tomb stirred, and skeletons rose, intertwining.

What was created was the upper half of a colossal woman.

Her appearance was otherworldly.

From a distance, she appeared as a strange silhouette of a woman, but upon closer inspection, her entire body was composed of skeletal elements, emitting a eerie and sinister atmosphere.

Her posture, with her pelvis pushed back and one hand gripping the ground, was seductive, but the sword she held in her hand was a sinister black blade entwined with brides.

Ayado was captivated by its form.

However, he couldn’t continue her contemplation for long.

―Aaaah...!

With the sound, the cinematic ended, and they entered the combat phase.N0v3lTr0ve served as the original host for this chapter's release on N0v3l--B1n.

Bang!

Ayado’s gun spewed fire.

***

Excluding cinematic sequences, the combat lasted for 8 minutes, and the boss pattern was divided into two phases, with Ayado succeeding in defeating the boss on the third try, having realized the truth after two previous attempts.

The battle fatigue wasn’t significant. In fact, it was non-existent. “Fun,” Ayado thought to himself.

It was so thrilling that time seemed to fly by. The well-executed design, from the moment of facing the boss, was the most captivating part. Simultaneously, he realized his own mistakes, and a bitter laugh escaped him.

“I should have assessed it,” he mused. But at some point, he forgot about evaluating and got completely immersed in the game.

Ayado saw the message “Start the next round?” in front of him. His hand was automatically moving towards “Yes.”

Thankfully, he had an excuse ready. “I got four hours.”

There was still time. Also, there was something Ayado hadn’t checked yet. “He mentioned a sub-route.”

His first playthrough had followed the most common path. So, this time, shouldn’t he explore an unconventional route?

Ayado went through a series of self-justifications and then manipulated the controller. “Yes,” he selected.

And so, he continued through the second and third rounds.

He had spent seven hours on the game that day.

“How was it?” Yeonho entered just as he had finished his main playthrough.

Ayado only now realized Yeonho hadn’t been in the room. There were many emotions surfacing, but there was only one answer to that question.

“It was fun. I didn’t know I could still play games at this age.”

“Contrary to the rumours, you’re quite generous with your evaluation.”

“Is that so?”

The game deserved that praise, no exaggeration or understatement. It was the unaltered truth.

“Everything was planned, way beyond is expectaions.” Ayado thought. Analysis gives reasons for enjoyment. It exposes all the calculations that lead to the thought of “it’s fun” while looking at elements in the game, with no exceptions.

In that regard, Hellic 3 was an incredibly calculated game. It move past the melting of the previously mentioned narrative or the intuitiveness of the system with a ‘customization’ aspect for hunting monsters. Instead, fundamentally, the game was constructed to thoroughly deceive the player, right from its choice of genre.

“Is that the reason it’s an action game?”

Yeonho smiled subtly, a silent affirmation.

Ayado, taking off his glasses to clean them, he said, “The narrative is precarious. Misinterpreted, it could be seen as a condemnation of soldiers involved in war.”

There was not one element that wasn’t like this. The perpetually resurrecting warriors, Chapter 1 and 2 where you must confront what you’ve killed. Each element had a narrative that teetered on a quite dangerous line, depending on interpretation.

The industry had an old adage: “It’s a controversial element. Games are for fun, not for appeals.”

From this perspective, Yeoho’s game carried inherent risks. Yet, it simultaneously packaged these risks splendidly.

“After playing it three times and approaching it analytically, I realized that the narrative is not as appealing because of all those in game elements.”

In fact, every element was so overshadowing the narrative that you could not judge them without analysis. This was the complete opposite of Hellic 2.

In other words, there’s a definite selling point.

Yeonho’s eyes widened.

Ayado continued to speak with a smug smile.

“The dubbing is still in Korean only.”

“Yes, we couldn’t find the right people.”

“Let’s add English dubbing. We’ll find people on our side.”

Various thoughts ran through Ayado’s mind.

Especially in Japan, he could think of quite a few A-list voice actors who were available.

Voice actor selection in the Japanese market is particularly important because the fan base formed around the voice actors is as significant as, if not more significant than, other celebrities. They would undoubtedly contribute significantly to the success of this game.

However, it was something to think about later.

Ayado extended his hand for a handshake with Yeonho.

“We have about three months left. I’ll see you next time.”

Yeonho stared at Ayado’s hand for a moment and then shook it.

“Yes, I’ll see you then.”

And with that, Ayado left, leaving behind just one comment.

“Oh, by the way, the BGM and sound effects in Chapter 2 were quite impressive. They were quite stimulating. Looks like the sound team is doing a great job.”

He didn’t see the tension in Yeonho’s back as he left.

The moment he stepped out onto the road as the sun was setting.

Ring!

Without hesitation, he made a phone call to Aldred.

The phone call was received.

“Yes, this is Ayado.”

“How was the game?” He asked, out of the blue, showing his typical personality.

But today, Ayado didn’t feel too bad about it.

Thanks to this person’s curiosity, the day had been quite enjoyable, so it was only natural.

Ayado adjusted his glasses and smiled.

“It was good.”

What should I say...

Ayado looked up at the sky.

Passing by were memories of the game he had played today, the characters he had adventured with in another world.

His smile had deepened a little.

“Yeah, that seems about right.”

“I saw the potential.”

His footsteps were quite light.

***

At the Rewind headquarters Ayado left, while Booth Supervisor Ayoon was tidying up, she found it.

On the monitor still turned on, it was the character Ayado had played.

Ayoon scratched her head.

“Hmm...”

No matter how you looked at it, that’s right.

“...Well, it’s kind of perverted.”

Napoleon’s head (double chin), Joan of Arc’s chest (large), bride’s pelvis, and the hairy barbarian’s arms and legs.

Ayoon couldn’t understand the man who had created that character.

She didn’t want to understand.

She just wanted to press the power button and destroy the unsaved data!

That’s how she left the booth.

“Thanks for your hard work, Ayoon. Let’s go now.”

“Yes!”

Yeonho was waiting.

Ayoon grabbed Yeonho’s collar with a big smile and walked out of the headquarters at a brisk pace.

Today was Rewind’s company dinner.

The menu was beef.

But that wasn’t all.

Ayoon asked Yeonho again.

“Can I really drink alcohol...?”

She heard that she had received special permission for it.

Yeonho’s expression when he said that was somewhat gloomy, but Ayoon didn’t know about it.

She got an immediate reply.

“You can drink slowly as long as I give it to you.”

“Yes!”

“Just sit next to me. Don’t go to other tables to get more drinks.”

“Yes!”

Ayoon was happy.

***

In April, as the cherry blossoms fell, rumours began to circulate on the community.

“(Chat) S2PoppyS2: There’s a rumour that Hellic 3 will be unveiled at E3 this year!”

The news spread quietly and quickly.

/RomanceMTL