Clearing the Game at the End of the World

Light’s Order.

Any player who has played Gedroits’ Game has interacted with this organization at least once.

Their first appearance was in the middle of World 1’s storyline, and they were the religious group that provided a large amount of help in World 2 when fending against the undead.

Their long history added to their power. In World 3, their authority hit the top, and their influence is more powerful than that of your average kingdom.

Any normal player would typically strive to maintain close relations with the Light’s Order, not because they were terrified of the power they had, but because there are several benefits in the game when they do.

When you play on World 3, you’re bound to fight mutes or dark mages in some way or form, and when you gain a distinct achievement in a battle with the mutes or kill a dark mage, then the Light’s Order records that achievement accordingly. When you build up a decent amount of contribution to the church, you can invite priest NPCs into your team, buy gear with holy attributes applied to it, or buy convenient consumables like holy water or holy attribute potions.

From a player’s point of view, they were just killing dark mages because they needed to, but the church people just came to them to tell them good job and give them items and teammates.

But what if you did something a little bit bad and became a criminal?

Then you need to hang on even more desperately to the Light’s Order than the average player.

That’s because when a person who has sinned comes to the Light’s Order of their own will, confesses their sins, and completes a couple of the ‘Sacred Duties’ that they give, then they have the right to forgive the sins of the ‘Repented Soul’. This isn’t just some random, cool skill. It was the right to forgive any sin the person has made regardless of the kingdom or the kind of sin they had made. It was a clear example of just how much authority the Light’s Order had in this period.

Gnaw gnaw—

As Professor walked down to the inn’s first floor, he was biting his nails and speaking to Rakshasha.

“The Repented Soul….. I shouldn’t go do that, right?”

“I don’t know. That….. really depends on ‘who’ the church is looking for.”

That was the problem. Was the church looking for the ‘Escapee Professor’ or the ‘Crimson Mute,’ that killed a Class 6 mage, destroyed a mage tower, and caused a massive flood throughout the entire city? He was hesitating because they didn’t know which one the church was looking for. If it was the former, he could casually walk up to them and go ‘hehe, sorry’ and help out with a couple of chores.

But if it was the latter…

‘You evil being! Prepare to be judged by the light of the heavens!’

‘You will burn in the eternal flames for your actions! Oh! The Great Ro-Haram! We servants will behead the evil being in your existence!’

‘It’s as clear as day. Those Light’s Order people are scary. Even the nuns who were just peacefully trimming flowers in the garden could start swinging their garden scissors if they ever faced a pagan. All that light stuff must have gotten to their heads or something.’

The Light’s Order’s long history also signified their long battle against cults, and their hatred against those people only deepened over that long time. So they were more than eager to forgive the sins of just ordinary humans. Still, those who sinned against their god, or someone associated with dark mages, like dark mages, or even just bumped into a dark mage without knowing, were mercilessly dealt with the mace of fury.

Professor looked at Rakshasha, enjoying a bowl of soup while watching him suffer, and asked her.

“Rakshasha, what do you think? As the leader of a thief guild, you ought to know a little more about this than the others.”

“Mmm, sorry, but I don’t do any work related to the church. I don’t know anything other than that you were suddenly listed on the church’s wanted list. I do have a personal opinion if you want that.”

When Professor raised his head from the table and silently asked, Rakshasha entered an even happier mood.

“There’s no reason to take a risk when you have this little information. If they somehow find out that the ‘Escapee Professor’ and ‘Crimson Mute’ are the same person, then it’s a death wish to go to the church. Why don’t you just pass through the Great Desert with me and go to Takclan?”

“Takclan? Do you mean the Desert Kingdom Takclan?”

“Oh my, are you pretending you don’t know? Or do you really not know me? I don’t think a sharp person like you wouldn’t be able to figure things out from the conversation Isaac and I had.”

Professor shook his head as she released a little string from her fingertip to make a tiny spider.

He knew from the conversation with Isaac that she wasn’t just the head of a thief guild, but he never thought she would be from the Takclan, which has the most significant share of land in the Eastern Kingdoms.

‘No wonder why she’s so pretty.’

You needed to be suspicious of characters that were way too pretty or handsome in this game because Heroic Points didn’t just apply to players in this game.

‘People always think of a handsome and pretty person when they imagine a hero.’

For example, it was like this. Let’s say a burly and scary-looking character like me did something heroic enough to spread the word about it. Considering how much people here like to gossip, the rumors about what I did would spread like wildfire.

[ A warrior that’s as tall as a troll, with strength and looks as monstrous as one too, saved our village with his bare hands! ]

When this rumor passes through a bard’s mouth, then it changes about this much in the next village.

[ A muscular and manly-looking warrior with the strength to root out mountains apparently saved Darun Village without any assistance! ]

And by the time the rumor reaches the capital, it will have been modified to [A powerful and tall knight was enraged by the wrongdoers and swung his sword to right the wrong with a single strike that divided the rivers and mountains. They say that the image of that muscular man bringing all of the enemies back to Hamlet made all women fall in love with him.]

Since every single NPC in this game had its share of control over the system, when a particular impression was made of a person, that character was bound to mold to those impressions. It’s not even a joke when I say that if I gain a bunch of Heroic Points later in the game, my ugly character might have changed into one with a more manly, chiseled face. And that’s why characters that maxed out just their social stats could easily handle a regular knight.

Anyway, this is the basic gist.

When a player earns Heroic Points, they gain an appearance enhancement that transforms them into the traditional ‘heroic’ image that most people envision.

Rakshasha is more than pretty enough to be the main character of a storyline.

Therefore, Rakshasha is a Hero Unit with many Heroic Points.

It’s a simple but pretty credible hypothesis.

‘The reason why the system isn’t telling me is probably that her real name is not Rakshasha.’

Hero Units were only notified by the system when they revealed their name to the player and became their ally.

But even though Rakshasha had done a decent number of things with me and even shared very intimate moments like in the bed just earlier, there was not a single message that told me she was now my ally, much less a Hero Unit.

‘A spy sent by another kingdom. It is definitely hard for her to become my ally. Even the friendly side she has been showing me might be all an act.’

It was a bit sad, but given her overall abilities, including stealth, battle, and assassination, it was clear why she was difficult to turn into an ally. She was at least an A-Class. That meant that even a month-long adventure entirely devoted to her might not be enough to entice her.

Rakshasha must have mistaken Professor’s thinking for hesitation, as she whispered to him in a serious tone.

“As you probably assumed, I’m an agent from Takclan that came here to collect information. I told them information about the mute attack just last night while you were asleep, and I received a message back this morning. The kingdom seems to have taken this situation into serious consideration and is calling back the agents to create countermeasures.”

Rakshasha gently took hold of Professor’s hand and stared intently into his eyes.

“Professor? Do you… want to come to Takclan with me? I’ll guarantee the safety of your identity.”

With her serious request, he put aside the thought that this all might be an act for now. She even revealed classified information to assure me that she was a spy. It might not all be the truth, but it meant that at least her affection for me wasn’t entirely false.

So that’s why it was sadder that he needed to turn down her offer.

When I let go of her hand with a bitter expression, you could see her small face fill up with sadness.

“Why…? If it is because you don’t like Takclan, please think over it one more time. The Eastern Desert Kingdoms aren’t underdeveloped like the people….”

“Of course, I know. How prosperous Takclan is. How powerful they are.”

Takclan was famous for its powerful warriors and magic that utilized the ‘Desert’s Blood.’ They literally used oil to use magic. The oil magic in GG is one strong force, I tell you.

“Then why—”

“Someone has to stop it. You saw it as well, Rakshasha. A monster invaded and controlled the body of a man with authority. Even with the power to destroy three cities in just a few days, they’re still using sneaky tactics like that.”

It would be easier to follow Rakshasha to Takclan right now. His identity would be safe, and unlike the kingdoms in the center, the Desert Kingdoms are much more focused on power, so he could use this body and ability as much as he wanted.

But what about Rodrick, who still hasn’t gotten to their senses even with three of their cities in ashes? If Rodrick falls, who will stop the mutes that will attack the central nations? The Eastern Desert Kingdoms? The Southern Forest Nations? If the central kingdoms fell, the entire place would be gone in less than half a year. Knowing that this world was sprinting towards destruction, he couldn’t just escape from this reality and hope that everything would work out.

“To block them….is that…. Out of revenge? Against the ones that made you this way?”

“Revenge is a bit too serious, don’t you think? The mages were the ones that made me like this, not the mutes.”

“Then why are you going out of your way to stop these things? I know that you are powerful… But you’re still a single person. And no matter how much you try, those people aren’t going to give you any praise or credit.”

At Rakshasha’s question, he could not give her a proper, solid answer.

“I don’t know. I honestly don’t have a reason. Just… I know that everything’s going to be destroyed if I leave it be, so I want to stop it.”

It wasn’t any sort of determination as a Player, either. He had a lot of money now and didn’t really have a reason to play this game once he dealt with Hyde. But the NPCs in this game are not just pieces of data. They all have their own thoughts and emotions; they know how to feel pain and live a life with their family. They are copies of real people with all of these real human feelings. He couldn’t just leave all of these people to die. This place was not much different from actual reality.

‘This was why I didn’t want to play this game.’

GG changes a person the more they play it. The more you learn about the game, you either become more humane or completely let go of it. It wasn’t a forced decision, just a natural one that continued to repeat throughout the game.

[There you go again, adding a bunch of useless reasons to justify your actions. You left out the most important reason again.]

He was lost in thought when Hyde burst out of nowhere and started to irritate him.

’……Do you really have to go and mention that?’

[ I’m just trying to help. So that when you’re really down bad, you don’t start questioning why you’re doing all of this bulls*. So that you don’t give up and regret it.]**

With his sneering whisper, Hyde brought up an image in his mind: a small, ordinary wooden cabin. A nice garden was in front of a house, and a little stream trickled beyond the fences. It was a house where a wandering traveler could rest for a day, with a warm couple ready to provide food and comfort.

[If you just leave this world… You know, right?]

’……You annoying son of a b***.’*

Being forced into honesty was a very… uncomfortable and embarrassing feeling.

Yeah, I can’t let them die. Eddy and Martha. Even if they are just copies, I can’t let their lives fall into despair ever again.

“I want to protect this world.”

Thanks to the guy in his head throwing out all of the formalities, the words that rolled out of his mouth were the embarrassing, raw truth.

Seeing Professor redden from embarrassment at what he just said, Rakshasha’s face, which was filled with disappointment and sadness, turned into shock and surprise, then a mixed expression that was hard to describe.

“I…. found you.”

Rakshasha had tears welling up in her eyes as she muttered something under her breath, and then, as if accepting Professor’s intentions, she pulled back her hand and spoke up.

“You are… A much more… Special person than I thought.”

As if she were holding something back, Rakshasha tightly gripped her clothes, let out a deep breath, and then stood up from her seat.

“Professor. I understand your intentions now. It was my first time being this firmly rejected by a man, and for the first time, it didn’t feel that bad. You’re different from other men, talking about my first experiences like that.”

“W—wait, what’s that supposed—”

Professor could not finish his sentence. Rakshasha had gently approached him, then grabbed his face and passionately placed her lips on his.

After what felt like a fierce exchange of affection, Rakshasha pulled back with not her usual calm and soft expression but a disheveled and elevated one. She tucked back her hair and placed her other hand on Professor’s chest.

“W—wait! This place is—gagh!”

The place where Rakshasha had placed her hands tingled as if it were on fire, then a red marking appeared near the collarbone and then disappeared into his skin. In the place where the marking was made, there was now a small knot made of string.

“Oh my, what did you think I was going to do?”

“No—I—Uh, just…”

“Ahh, my goodness. It’s unfair. You were so passionate just a moment ago, and now you’re cute again.”

After lightly flicking the tip of Professor’s nose with her finger, Anaya leaned down to Professor and whispered in his ear.

“Let’s say that I held back this time. The women of Takclan have a lot of patience. But I’ll get mad if you make me wait too long.”

“Making you wait? What—”

“Go visit the Light’s Order. If they really were suspicious of you, then they would have surrounded Tobrune and burned it down, not put you on a poster. They’re probably looking for the ‘Escapee Professor’. Go, and do what you want to do. Then before your bright light dims, and the end of that objective comes near…”

Her sentence fading off, Rakshasha’s slender fingers grazed against Professor’s face once again. As if she were handling a precious, delicate treasure.

“Go to the east, and walk between the stairs of Xian and Dophlon, and when you arrive at the third well, show them my marking.”

When she said that, the mark on my collarbone glowed a faint red.

“When you do, a man who wandered the deserts to find their lover and the woman who counted all the stars in the sky will meet again. And the woman of the desert, Anaya, will find her long-awaited partner.”

Anaya’s black, purplish eyes now stared at the man who would become her biggest treasure with pure affection.

“I will wait. So until the day you long for me, stay safe. My love.”

Rustle.

With the sound of a soft breeze, Rakshasha, gently stroking his face, disappeared without a trace.

Ding—

[Information Update: Hero Unit – Anaya Tam Shandea (Rakshasha) is now an acquaintance. / ‘Ahh, that prophecy was true. Within the people, the number of sand granules.. after a long, long wait.. he has finally come.’ / Current Relation: Lover ]

“Rakshasha? Anaya? L—Lover?”

All that was left in front of Gyosu was a blinking system message, a chatroom going crazy in the corner of his vision, and a marking that left a faint lingering heat.