Chapter 2
The Magic Power Terminal, obtained as a sacrifice through her Apostle's command.
The terminal, lifted by the intangible force of divine power, came into Goddess Ren's grasp.
"How does one use this device?"
Normally, she wouldn't even glance at such a lowly mortal contraption from the Ground, but both indignation and curiosity drove her to action after learning of the game that dared use her name.
*Bang- Bang-*
The terminal remained unresponsive despite her pounding fists.
"...Perhaps it's defective."
The terminal's screen shattered into pieces, its impressive durability - designed to withstand magical forces - no match for divine strength.
Several hours later...
After destroying five terminals and finally receiving proper usage instructions from an exasperated Apostle, Goddess Ren at last managed to operate the device properly.
"...Perhaps I shall try this game."
The black screen lit up as she pressed the indicated button after downloading the game program.
[DreamStory presents]
As the white text and logo passed across the dark screen
*Whoosh-*
The power of dreams enveloped her.
"This is..."
Goddess Ren looked around, slightly startled by the suddenly transformed view.
360 degrees.
The entire field of vision, in all directions, was dyed in pitch darkness.
"Virtual Reality..."
A mystery that could perfectly deceive even divine senses, achieved by merely running a program on a Magic Power Terminal.
This was beyond what illusion magic or phantasms could accomplish.
Divine Power.
The touch of a Constellation or Apostle was certainly involved.
"To dare use my name while being a fellow Constellation..."
It was outrageous.
She would need to give them a good knock on the head...
Beyond the darkened view.
Countless points of light began appearing one by one.
The vast universe.
The astronomical number of stars that would exist beyond appeared.
A breathtaking cosmic vista that even she as a Constellation had never witnessed.
Goddess Ren was captivated by the mesmerizing scenery that surpassed the night sky.
"Perhaps I shall watch a bit longer."
Though she could instantly shatter this Dream Power by unleashing her Divinity, she decided to observe quietly.
[Please tell us your name]
A sudden question appeared.
A name, is it?
The goddess opened her mouth to answer but closed it again.
I cannot use my True Name in a game.
Even though she was a famous Constellation whose True Name was widely known, as a divine name containing power in the very word itself, it was not something that could be used carelessly.
"Wendy."
When the goddess spoke a name that came to mind, the screen shifted.
[Welcome Wendy]
[This is the Akashic Archive]
[Where all heroic narratives of the world are recorded]
"The Akashic Archive?"
The goddess unconsciously echoed the narration voice that flowed with the white text.
[Here lie the spirits and souls of countless heroes who saved the world]
[You are a candidate to succeed the previous Archive Supervisor]
*Whoosh-*
Suddenly the view around the goddess rotated once.
When her blurred vision returned, there floated a pair of blurry nude figures, male and female, with closed eyes.
[Are you male or female?]
[Choose]
[-Male -Female]
A hologram selection screen appeared in the air along with the question.
It seemed to be for selecting the avatar of the playable protagonist character.
Ren naturally moved her hand toward the female character button.
Just as she was about to press it
The thought suddenly struck her - since this was virtual anyway, did she really need to maintain the same female form as reality?
Her hand shifted sideways.
Ding
[You will experience the many narratives recorded in the Akashic Archive]
[May the light of the Constellations shine upon you]
[May your narrative reach the ideal]
The moment she pressed the button marked male, the goddess's consciousness was pulled into the character.
The screen went black
"Wendy."
Someone called her name.
"Wendy. Wake up."
"...Mmm."
The goddess's avatar moved of its own accord as her eyes opened.
"Ah, you're awake Wendy."
In her white-filled vision appeared a handsome young man with black hair who looked to be in his late teens.
The goddess turned her head to look around.
A massive library composed of thousands of bookshelves filled with countless books.
In this vast space that could fit dozens of imperial capitals, there were only two people - herself and the man before her.
"Did you perhaps stay up all night due to nerves about your first day of testing?"
The man reached his hand into the air.
*Whoosh-*
A single book flew out from the shelves and landed in his hand.
"However, I won't go easy on you because of that. This test is to determine whether you have the ability to succeed me as supervisor of the Akashic Archive."
The man opened the book.
"Now for your first test. This book contains the story of a hero who protected the nation from monsters of the Abyss. This hero's great narrative has endured, becoming a symbol of the virtue of sacrifice deep in the hearts of many."
As the man opened and released the book into the air, its pages began rapidly turning.
"However, the power of the Abyss that recently infiltrated the Archive has corrupted parts of the story. Your test is to drive out this Abyssal force and normalize the narrative."
The man's gaze fell upon the goddess.
"Well then, let us begin the test."
*Thump-*
The man closed the book.
[Beginning browsing]
And simultaneously, light burst forth and dyed the goddess's vision.
*BOOM! BOOM!*
Fierce explosions and shockwaves sent the goddess's body flying backward.
"What is this?"
When her vision returned from the white light, she found herself on a dark battlefield filled with the scent of iron and blood.
The goddess had somehow become a common soldier standing in the middle of the battlefield.
-KIEEEK!
"Die! Die!"
"ARGH my arm!"
*Crunch- Crunch-*
A battlefield filled with screams and monstrous howls.
All around, grotesque aberrations were engaged in fierce combat with soldiers.
"Those monsters..."
The goddess's eyes widened.
The monsters everywhere.
They were familiar.
No, they had to be familiar.
These monsters were all otherworldly beings she had fought in her time as a mortal.
-KIEEEK!
!!!
Just then, a monster leaped out from behind and pounced on her.
'Oh no! I was too distracted to notice the monster's approach!'
Currently she was in the body of an ordinary soldier, not a deity armed with mighty divine powers.
She had no strength to throw off the huge monster pinning her down.
Just as the monster's sharp claws and fangs were about to tear apart the goddess's avatar
*SLASH!*
A blade of light flew in from somewhere and cleaved the monster in two.
*CRUNCH-*
"Are you alright!"
Beyond the goddess's vision, covered in the green blood of the bisected monster.
The goddess could see.
A woman in brilliant armor that shone even in the dark battlefield.
The figure of Knight Ren, the hero who saved the kingdom through sacrifice.
Her past life's form.
Who ascended to become a Constellation after death through acclamation.
* * *
Day 2 After Launch.
The concurrent player count tallied through the system had already surpassed 100,000.
Word seemed to be spreading as the number of players began increasing explosively.
Moreover, the settlement balance was shooting through the roof.
"I'm still hungry."
Even in a fantasy world, thanks to the advanced state of Magi-engineering, every commoner carried at least one Magic Power Terminal.
With most of the Continent's population as potential customers, there was still much room to grow.
I checked public sentiment by browsing various communities through my terminal.
[-How is this even possible? It's not illusion magic?]
[-Our Tower Master said so! This is beyond human levels of mystery!]
[-ㄴThen what, did a Dragon make it?]
[-ㄴㄴMaybe a Constellation did]
[-Why doesn't our Constellation make stuff like this]
Being a virtual reality game, most reactions expressed amazement at the experience.
What was notable was that beyond just the game itself, there was also significant admiration for Knight Ren, the protagonist of the first episode - that is, Act 0.
[-;-; Lady Ren]
[-Why did Lady Ren have to die at the end! Bring back Lady Ren you demon!]
[-It's regular Ren Ren appreciation hours]
[-How do I marry Lady Ren?]
Despite being just an NPC in the game, the experience was so real that players seemed deeply moved by Knight Ren thanks to the immersion.
As a result, many players were spending heavily on [Knight Ren], the first limited pick-up character.
"This is good."
The driving forces that make people spend on characters in gacha games are the character's performance and charm.
While performance couldn't be touched carelessly due to inflation and value preservation issues, charm was different, making it very important to get people emotionally invested in characters through appeal.
Moreover, using the alternate system, we could sell versions beyond [Knight Ren] like [Swimsuit Ren], [Christmas Ren], [Fallen Ren], and [Constellation Ren].
It seems choosing the story of [Hero Ren], famous everywhere on the Continent, as the first story was a good decision.
It's a heroic tale that appeals to this world's people while also being widely known through biographical accounts.
...But why is there no talk about the Akashic Archive Supervisor?
The guide character who teaches the Player character, and the previous supervisor of the Akashic Archive.
He's a character I created by taking my past life's appearance and making it a bit more handsome.
I made the character hoping my past life's appearance would look at least somewhat cool... but there seemed to be no mention of him at all.
Everyone seemed focused on Knight Ren with no interest in the Supervisor.
This is somewhat annoying.
Should I increase the Supervisor character's screentime?
I shook my head as I fiddled with the Act 1 story draft.
No way.
A developer's Mary Sue, a self-insert character.
It's one of the biggest factors that can ruin a game.
I couldn't do such a thing in a situation where my life depended on this game.
Even more so when not just my life but Lady Constellation's life - no, divine life - was at stake.
*Ding-*
Just then, a message arrived from Lady Constellation.
[Big trouble! Big trouble! says the Dream Storyteller in alarm.]
Big trouble?
[Constellation Ren has come, the Dream Storyteller urgently exclaims.]
!!!!
The real version of Knight Ren, Constellation Ren.
They say she has appeared before Lady Constellation.
That can't be.
That famous Constellation of Sloth?
Constellation [The Sacrifice That Fell To Sloth]
True Name [Ren]
One of the continent's representative Seven Virtues heroes, she became a Constellation after death through acclamation as the hero of sacrifice, and is known as the most inactive deity among the Constellations.
Yet while representing the word sacrifice, she is also a major deity that continental people have known since childhood through biographical accounts.
That's why her story was perfect to use, and I thought she wouldn't take action even if we used her story... but to think she would seek out Lady Constellation already.
A crisis that could lead to the game's termination just two days after launch had arrived.