The story started three days ago.
Chris had finally obtained his long-awaited Magic Tablet. To see that red-haired girl again—the one who looked like a moonlit sprite—he had stayed up all night, pushing the story forward until he finally reached Spring City.
As he wished, he reunited with Red, and she kept her promise to become his companion. Chris immediately kicked "Dawnsword" Lucian—the guy who'd been with him since the starting village—out of the party to make room for her. Red did not disappoint, quickly becoming the team's primary damage dealer.
Through their travels, Chris also learned why "he" was a "she" in this version.
"There are other worlds beyond ours, Chris," Red said one night during a camp conversation—in-game, of course.
"We call them parallel worlds; each one is subtly different. In some, Red Light is a two-meter-tall brute. Perhaps in others, Chris is a beautiful maiden," Red smiled. "Some say a new universe is born every time you make a choice. I don't know if that's true, but the Chronos Turbulence has caused these worlds to intersect. That's why I met you. I suppose it's one of the few things in my life worth being happy about."
In the game, the little blonde Chris sat coolly beside Red, gazing at the moon in deep, silent thought. Outside the game, the real Chris was clutching the tablet under his covers, squirming and giggling like a manic grub.
Me too, Red! Chronos Turbulence, I want to say thank you!
Two options appeared on the screen:
[A. Red, fight by my side.]
[B. The moon is beautiful tonight.]
The game frequently presented choices. Picking the right one increased a teammate's "Favorability." If it reached a certain level, you could trigger a romance subplot.
Previously, Chris had accidentally raised Dawnsword Lucian's favorability too high, resulting in the guy chasing him around wanting to "clash swords." It had terrified Chris so much that he now analyzed every choice with the same intensity his father used to analyze stock market fluctuations.
He pondered. "Fight by my side"—if you rounded that up, it basically meant "never part from me," right? It had to be a confession! Though he had zero romantic experience, he believed chasing a girl required brave honesty.
As for Option B... Red had been so straightforward; if he just talked about the scenery, it would be pathetic!
Confident in his logic, he picked A.
He expected the romance to bloom, but even as he led the party to the final boss, his relationship with Red didn't move an inch. Before the final battle, the Evil Demon King cast a horrific curse. To break it, one party member had to be sacrificed.
Chris looked at his teammates and decisively eyed Lucian. Hey, buddy... fancy being a martyr?
But the game gave him no choice. At the Dark Altar, Red Light stepped forward and plunged the sacrificial dagger into her own chest. Blood stained the altar, as vibrant as the girl's hair.
Chris stared at the screen, his expression going blank. It took ten full minutes before he let out a heart-wrenching roar.
"NO! RED! MY RED! MY WIFE! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME! LORNE DUNGEON, I'LL HAVE YOUR HEAD!!!"
Before he had even started his romance, he was already tasting the bitterness of being a widower.
"A liar! Lorne Dungeon is a filthy liar!"
Chris sat on the library steps, weeping snot and tears. "The advertisement said 'embark on a grand adventure or a soul-stirring romance'! Lies! There was no romance! I'm suing him for false advertising!"
If ellipses could be sold, Yvette would be the second richest person in the city. She sat there in total silence for a long time.
Eventually, she asked tentatively, "Usually, the member with the lowest favorability gets sacrificed. Did you... not build up Red's favor?"
"I did! I confessed to her! We were lovers, yet she left me alone! Waaaah, my Red..."
"That shouldn't happen..." Yvette scratched her head, puzzled. "What did you choose during her dialogue events?"
"The things she liked, obviously! Like that moonlit talk—I chose 'fight by my side'!"
Yvette smacked her forehead. "Good heavens, Chris. That's a rejection! You were supposed to pick 'The moon is beautiful'!"
"...Wasn't that just talking about the weather?"
"There's a cat in Red's house in Spring City," Yvette explained. "If you talk to it, it tells you it was brought here by the turbulence from a world where its owner was a writer. In its country, 'The moon is beautiful' means 'I love you.' And 'Fight by my side' means 'I only want to be comrades.' If you pick that, Red's favorability tanks, and it's almost impossible to bring it back!"
Chris froze. Was it all his fault...?
He, the idiot, had personally sent his beloved Red to the altar? He'd been so focused on the plot that he ignored the flavor text. Besides, who talks to a cat? Do you people play games with a magnifying glass?
"If your favorability is high enough," Yvette continued, "she won't sacrifice herself. In the end, she stays in this world with you. Provided you trigger the 'Hero Ending'."
"There are other endings?" Chris asked, horrified.
"Of course! There's the 'World Ender' ending, where you betray the Light and join the Demon King. The final battle isn't against the boss; you have to fight all your former teammates one by one. If you win, you become the new Demon King. If you lose, Red and Lucian hang your body on the city gates.
"Then there's the 'Card King' ending. If you play 'Anti-Feudalism' with everyone in the starting village ten times, you unlock the hidden 'Card Power.' All future battles are replaced by card games, and your character's hair becomes incredibly spiky. I haven't finished that one yet; I heard about it from other players..."
Chris looked blankly at his tablet, then at Yvette's. They started at the same time, yet she was miles ahead of him. She found hidden plots while he felt like a clueless toddler.
Were they even playing the same game? Why was the gap between humans so vast?!
"Miss Yvette, can you write down what you just said?" Chris's tone was humble to the point of subservience. "I'm afraid I'll forget the moment I get home..."
"No need for that. Just send me a Private Message (PM) if you have questions," Yvette said.
"What's that?"
"The 'Friend System' in Five-Color Stone Match-3. They launched a messaging feature a few days ago, though you can only send 140 characters at a time."
Chris quickly checked his tablet. Sure enough, there was an update log. He sent Yvette a "Hi" and immediately received a "Bye."
"If my relatives in the capital have a tablet, can I message them?" he asked.
Yvette shook her head. "It only seems to work near Norelia. If you're too far from the city, it says 'No Signal'."
Still, that was incredible! Magic was amazing! Why didn't mages release this to the public sooner?
"Great! Now I can ask for your advice anytime!" Chris rubbed his hands. He was going to restart Hero's Legend today and get that Red ending!
Gloom Catacombs.
Wolf hadn't been home in a long time. Since the shop opened, he'd lived in the three-story building Lorne rented—shop on the first floor, offices on the second, dorms on the third.
He had stayed there for over a month until today. Today was "Payday." Except for those on shift, everyone was called back to the dungeon to receive their wages.
To monsters, "wages" was a foreign concept. For thousands of years, loot from heroes was handed to the Demon King and redistributed. Anything extra went into the treasury as bait for more heroes or was traded for food. After the previous King left, the monsters had survived by pawning everything—even the King's bed.
Lorne had declared that "ancestral laws have changed." Resources would now be allocated based on labor. He even established a "Human Resources Department" and published an "Employee Performance Appraisal System."
What is that guy up to now? Wolf wondered. He doubted any Demon King possessed the virtue of "fairness."
Outside the Audience Hall, monsters gathered, excitedly discussing the new system. Wolf sighed. He was sure Lorne would find a reason to dock his pay.
"Uncle Wolf!"
A group of human children in coarse linen clothes burst through the crowd and hugged his legs. Wolf recoiled in shock.
Humans in the Gloom Catacombs? Children! Was Lorne planning a human extinction plan starting with the young? Wait... why were they calling him "Uncle"?
Wolf looked closer. "Luna? Knight? Decker...?"
There was no mistake. These were his nephews and nieces! A month ago, they were just little wolf pups. Now, they had learned to shapeshift into human forms!
Wolf had shifted shortly after birth, but the younger generation wasn't so lucky. They were born in an era of waning mana. Their parents had been sick with worry that the pups couldn't even manage a basic shift.
Seeing them now, a wave of pride washed over him. But how? Little pups lacking mana don't just suddenly master shapeshifting.
Could it be... the Demon King who bragged about supplying enough mana to the core? Did he actually do it?