Chapter 43: Here for the Show?

Whether a demon resurrects and causes chaos.

Whether all the managers get anxiety over Lemegeton, or someone frequently visits Yor.

Time flows absolutely. Whether life is hard or not, tomorrow's sun will rise.

Thanks to that, over 2 months have passed again.

In terms of [Demons Saga]'s release date, it's been almost a year.

And just like how games have big patches on their 1-year anniversary, this game released something too.

A game that normally doesn't even do patches suddenly posted patch notes.

And quite lengthy patch notes containing new content at that.

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[Ver 02. Patch Notes]

Seere's resurrection and Otherworlders joining Lemegeton.

Because of this, conflict between Otherworlders and Gaians has been intensifying lately.

Not to mention the increasing damage from indiscriminate fighting everywhere. Property damage aside, Gaians' anxiety levels are through the roof.

We're implementing one countermeasure for this.

GM Gaia worked hard to partially implement Otherworlders' powers.

Introducing a new building, the 'Arena'.

From now on, please resolve any unavoidable conflicts here.

1. Arena entry tickets can be easily obtained from the 'Otherworld Shop'.

2. Gaians can enter the arena equally.

3. If a Gaian dies in the arena, they can revive with a small penalty just like Otherworlders.

4. The arena has various rules. First......

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It was PVP content.

PVP that even NPCs could participate in.

Or well, since they're not users, maybe it's mixed PVE.

Either way, it was quite good patch content.

Who would've thought they'd make a place to fight just because users were fighting.

Though admittedly the fighting had gotten pretty extreme.

Otherworlders fighting each other, and Otherworlders and NPCs at each other's throats.

The conflict had only intensified after Seere's descent.

Quite a few Otherworlders had defected to Lemegeton's side.

For NPCs, Lemegeton was an enemy of the continent that threatened their very lives.

But Otherworlders were joining the sect for trivial reasons like "Seere is hot" or "I'm curious about the choices"... From their perspective, there was no way to view this favorably.

Because of this, NPCs' hatred of Otherworlders was skyrocketing. Of course, innocent users who hadn't joined Lemegeton felt wronged.

So whenever they met, they'd fight.

Thanks to that, lately no tavern in [Demons Saga] was left standing.

I heard tavern owners were crying... Who would've thought they'd even make something like this.

And getting into the arena was surprisingly simple too.

Just tear the entry ticket and you can enter.

Given such revolutionary update content, naturally the forums were in chaos.

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[This game actually does patches...?]

I mean it's a game so that seems normal but

These game devs ignored users so hard I thought there'd never be patches

Ah so they were watching over the game after all...

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[Always be grateful]

[Why would they listen to users? There's no alternative to this game lololol]

[Yeah~ if you don't like it we should quit~]

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[Always wondered about this]

Why do these guys always set the mood so hard when posting announcements?

All this talk about powers and Gaians, they're such nerds taking the game too seriously;

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[It's just the concept]

[If even that bothers you how do you live in this world]

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[So when does the arena open?]

I love dueling so I've been picking fights at taverns but now I don't need to right? Now I can have life-or-death battles between men in the arena right? lololol

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[Why were you picking fights you crazy bitch]

[Life-or-death battles between men (15% sync rate)]

[ㄴ It's a female wwww]

[ㄴ Just grow a dick already lololol]

[When does the arena open? Starting today lol]

[ㄴ fr?]

[ㄴ I'm at Alhez Plateau rn and there's some new colosseum I've never seen before, probably the arena]

[ㄴ Oh it's there too? I'm at Tus Plains and there's something similar here]

[ㄴ Pre-patch post-report wowow]

[ㄴ Crazy these devs patch first then post announcements lololol]

The community was incredibly noisy.

With new content out, it was practically festival atmosphere.

A few quick people had already tried the arena and were posting their impressions. Things like there being lots of settings to configure, or the variety of duel types.

But most reactions were quite positive.

"Hmm hmm."

Chae-rin nodded as she saw this.

Honestly she wasn't very interested in the arena. She was too busy leveling up to need to fight people.

Of course, being a streamer, she did think it might make good content later. But that was a problem for later.

Right now there was something more important.

She thought with a grin.

'Got more to talk about.'

She had more gossip for Yor!

She'd been visiting frequently lately and was running out of things to talk about, but they'd thrown her perfect material.

Though it had nothing to do with him, he liked hearing about what was happening in the world.

'I'll visit first thing tomorrow.'

She decided with a bright smile.

Not knowing what she'd see tomorrow morning.

Before going to sleep she looked at the night sky briefly. There was no moon in the sky.

In other words, it was a new moon.

*

It had been 2 months since the holy water drought started.

And in those two months I had to face a shocking reality.

The fact that I was completely out of holy water.

And today happened to be when Rage Mode A triggered.

What does that mean?

Shhhk-! Shhhhk-! Splat-!

"Nngh...!"

It means I had to directly cut into my body for the first time in months.

I slice into my left shoulder with the dagger in my hand.

Blood sprays like a fountain from the cut. The searing pain comes with it. I grimace seeing this.

'Damn, the timing is absolute shit...'

Rage Mode A had been triggering repeatedly lately depleting my holy water supply, and of course it had to trigger again right when I ran out.

I haven't felt pain like this in a while so it seems harder to endure than usual.

Of course, just because it's hard to bear doesn't mean Rage Mode will kindly ease the pain.

The world flows regardless of my wishes after all.

So I only had one choice available.

Just endure tonight hoping this pain ends. No matter how overwhelming, I had no choice.

Of course there's the option of surrendering my body to a demon... but I forcefully erased that from my choices.

The fate of those who became Demonkin was obvious enough without explanation.

So I writhed on the cave floor deep inside.

"Ngh, ugh. Hng..."

Bones compress and skin swells. Each time brings indescribable pain chasing after me.

I hold the dagger and work hard to drain the rampaging blood.

At times like this, I always think it would be nice to have someone beside me.

Anyone would do. They don't even need to help. Just their presence would be enough.

It's too overwhelming to endure this sticky time alone.

Being alone in this endlessly dark cave, sometimes it feels like I'm alone in the world. Then unnecessary fears come flooding in.

Of course it was a groundless worry.

I couldn't really reveal Rage Mode anyway, and it wasn't exactly a sight worth showing others.

But still, time passed regardless.

"Huff... huff..."

After enduring for a long while, I finally felt the blood calming down.

The long night had ended and morning had finally come.

I looked around briefly. It was a scene of blood splatter I hadn't seen in a while.

Red blood pooled on the floor, and naturally my body was soaked red like I'd showered in blood. A sticky, wet sensation clung to my whole body.

They say blood smells like iron, but that's only up to a point.

Past a certain amount, only the pungent stench of blood remains.

I forcefully raised my heavy body and headed out of the cave.

I wanted to see sunlight first. Cleaning could wait as always.

Several negative thoughts came to mind as I headed out of the cave.

'How long do I have to keep doing this?'

That was the first thought that came to mind. Though I endured this month's pain, this wasn't my last Rage Mode.

Next month too, next year too, maybe even decades from now. I'll have to endure this pain every month.

It would be nice if there was a clear way to stop Rage Mode, but it's uncertain if such a thing even exists.

Thinking about that, I couldn't help but feel tired. Is there really value in living a life like this...

Usually I tried not to think about it, but being human, these thoughts naturally came at times like this.

A person's mental state tends to follow their physical condition after all.

"Hah..."

Well whatever, it's been a truly shitty morning in a long while.

Maybe because it's been months since experiencing Rage Mode A, but the shittiness feels doubled.

Irritation rises naturally, and pointless anger wells up.

In that state I went outside. And I met one person.

A regular visitor to my home lately. Yoo Chae-rin.

"Uh, uhhh...?"

Her face froze seriously when she saw me.

Thud.

Her main weapon drops from her hand. She was shocked enough to drop what she was holding.

Since my body was covered in blood.

"Uh, what is this......"

Usually I'd welcome her warmly, but right now I'm in an absolutely foul mood.

Thanks to that, the words from my mouth came out somewhat impulsive and sharp.

"The fuck are you looking at? Here for the show? Never seen someone covered in blood before?"

...I felt a bit sorry after saying it.