Chapter 351: Episode 351_The Final Battle (2)

3.

Fundamentally, Fantastic World’s quest system was dynamic. Beyond the pre-designed quests, many could be generated spontaneously based on the interaction between a player’s actions and an NPC’s behavior patterns.

In practice, however, these quests were usually classified as sub-quests or one-offs, which naturally meant they offered little in the way of experience or rewards. In a way, that was to be expected. Quests generated on the spot tended to lack depth in their setup and payoff; they were ultimately nothing more than a system BetaGo had created to maintain the pretense of Fantastic World being a "game."

Back in the early days of Fantastic World, a post by the first person to discover this feature had become a hot topic, but most players had ignored it. Such quests weren’t easy to trigger, and trying to engineer a specific situation with a picky NPC just to create one half-baked quest was a massive source of stress. It was also completely unnecessary—in other words, inefficient.

People played games to have fun, not to get stressed out.

So, the discovery was forgotten.

But about a year later, things changed. While no one played games for stress, there were always a few players who were wired differently, and they began to delve into this forgotten area. The ability to customize and create quests was a unique feature you couldn’t find in other games, and it was proof that BetaGo truly was the world’s most advanced AI.

It was more than worth studying.

As research progressed, they discovered that quest customization was not just some "oh, neat" feature you could be impressed by once and then ignore. When players opened with a proper beginning, built up the rising action, and completed a full narrative arc to scale up the quest, the initial results showed that they could earn far more experience than from existing quests, along with rewards beyond imagination. The credibility of the research soared.

Players—and the researchers—called these Epic Quests.

Of course, even after nurturing and expanding a quest into something enormous, there were times when the rewards didn’t live up to expectations. However, those cases were rare, and an increasing number of players who had started the game late were using this system to rapidly close the gap with the veterans.

Han Simin took advantage of that.

’I wonder if I can do it with the Main Quest, too.’

He didn’t know the detailed mechanics, but he had already seen with his own eyes how the previous Main Quest had been heavily influenced by his actions. He was confident. Other players said that to create an Epic Quest, you had to meticulously plan every situation from start to finish and force events to flow exactly as you wanted, but Han Simin didn’t do that.

“Money isn’t something you chase. You make it chase you.”

He applied that seemingly nonsensical logic to the situation, but it wasn’t entirely wrong. Unlike Epic Quests, the Main Quest already had a certain framework. While it could shift depending on player actions, it never truly broke away from the grand design that had been laid out.

However, thanks to Han Simin, the Main Quest had already changed so much that people could reasonably wonder if this was how it had been designed from the start. The most recent Main Quest had tilted so far in response to his actions that it was no exaggeration to say its content was now biased around him.

That was why this attempt was possible.

And that attempt succeeded perfectly.

[‘Scenario Quest: Act 4-1 (Truth of Darkness)’ has been cleared.]

[‘Scenario Quest: Act 5 (Fork in the Road)’ has been opened.]

[Fork in the Road]

Grade: Epic Main

Description: The world as it appears on the surface is always pure. Good and evil are divided, forming a clear symmetry. Yet when you look within, good and evil are one, and the line that separates them is always the prejudice of the beholder. A question has been raised about that prejudice, and the choice lies with those involved. What matters is the result. Protect the peace of the continent!

He had done it.

He had created the first Epic-grade Main Quest in the history of the continent.

*

The second part of the broadcast was grand, flashy, and dense.

“The Demon King is dead, right?”

“I finished her off for sure.”

“So that makes us the Demon King now?”

“Feels kind of lame, doesn’t it? Demon King? She barely looked strong enough to be an upper-rank demon, let alone the Demon King.”

“So which one of us is going to be the Demon King?”

“What does it matter who holds the title when we’re just going to hand it off anyway? You’re the strongest among us, so you keep it.”

“What if we run into an upper-rank demon or something?”

“Then we join them, quickly.”

“Let’s do that.”

This was the story after they had taken down Epia. The footage didn’t show whether she was alive or dead, but her fate could be inferred from their conversation.

And along with that came a series of shocking revelations.

“Anyway, you’re sure about this, right?”

“Sure about what?”

“That the Heavenly King has really fallen. That he’s corrupted.”

“Why else would the Heavenly King lose his mind and start a war with the Demon King, even at the risk of Heaven itself being destroyed?”

“Still, wouldn’t the Demon King’s side be better? I mean, she’s a succubus, but at least she’s a demon. Better than some Celestial scum, right?”

“The tide has already turned toward the Heavenly King. If the two sides were evenly matched, that would be one thing, but the Demon World has already been shattered and fallen into the Heavenly King’s hands. Now, even here on the continent, we’re being hunted by his dogs. There’s no reason to cling to a Demon King just because she’s a demon. Besides, the Heavenly King has already fallen and is just finishing things up in the Demon World before he conquers the continent.”

“That’s what I’m asking—can we really trust him? He’s still a filthy Celestial.”

“That’s something we’ll have to prepare for on our own. The important thing is that, from what I can see, the Heavenly King doesn’t care about demons or Celestials anymore.”

“How do you know?”

“Because the Heavenly King said it himself. He said there is no god. And then he said he would become god. He would create a world where everyone was equal under him—Heaven, the Demon World, and even the human realm.”

The demon fell silent.

“He’s a lunatic, but he’s also the last hope for the Demon World right now. One way or another, as long as we demons have a way to survive, we can always start over.”

That was all there was to it. That was the entirety of Part 2.

—What the hell, man.

—Is this legit?

The shockwave from the broadcast, which wasn’t even five minutes long, was indescribable.

4.

“Life is all about propaganda and manipulation,” Simin declared.

The listener was speechless.

“It’s a famous quote.”

“Who said that?”

“A certain Mr. Han.”

“Sounds like some average joe.”

“Anyway, you know I played a ton of games before Fantastic World, right? This game might be different since BetaGo runs it, but in other PC games, I saw it all the time. I never cared if the devs completely screwed up the class balance, because all I had to do was enhance whatever weapon was meta for my class and sit back eating popcorn.”

“Yeah.”

“You want your class to be the strongest in the game. Do you know what you need for that?”

“What?”

“Spending real money? Not a chance. Whether you spend $100,000 or $200,000, any game made by humans is bound to have balance issues. The gap between classes is something money can never truly bridge.”

“And what does that have to do with this?”

“What do you mean? It’s simple. Instead of quietly dropping $100,000 or $200,000 on your favorite class, you can go on the forums and stir up a storm about how your class is trash. Once you shape public opinion, you can invest just $20,000 and end up stronger than characters people poured hundreds of thousands into. That’s how powerful propaganda and manipulation are.”

The listener was speechless.

“Look. I uploaded one video and people are already losing their minds.”

“That’s true. It’s amazing how one video fooled everyone into arguing over who’s right, the Heavenly King or the Demon King.”

“That’s just how it is. Most players don’t really understand the Main Quest, and this version sounds plausible enough. Besides, most of them are probably on Epia’s side anyway.”

“Incredible.”

“So what are you going to do now?”

Han Simin had fulfilled his promise to the Emperor. Of course, the Demon King was still the Demon King; that fact hadn’t changed.

But while the fact remained, the situation had been transformed.

“To the public, Epia is now a pitiful heroine fighting her treacherous brethren to reclaim the Demon World. The Heavenly King, on the other hand, is an unparalleled tyrant who wants to devour both the Demon World and the continent to become a god himself.”

“That’s right.”

In the public eye, the difference between those two images was enormous. The Heavenly King had once been a proxy for the gods, practically a god himself to the people. Now, he was no different from a fallen angel who, after trying to imitate god, had declared he would become god outright.

Naturally, not everyone would believe it. Those who still believed in the gods would continue to trust the Heavenly King, and players would be split over whether this was all a lie.

That ambiguity was exactly what Han Simin was aiming for.

“Now we have to get ready.”

“Get ready for what?”

“The war. The final war.”

All of this was just a prelude, the setup for what might be the final Main Quest of Fantastic World.

*

Kenji watched the video and the community’s reaction, then laughed.

“Guild Master, what should we do? Should we do some damage control and try to cool things down?” his guild members asked anxiously.

He shook his head. “Players only see what they want to see, and they always crave something sensational. Even if we try to explain, those who have already made up their minds won’t listen. And they’ll want this. A thrilling, sensational war.”

“Then...”

“This was a war we were going to fight sooner or later. We have prepared thoroughly, and we will not lose.”

Unlike his flustered guild members, Kenji was overflowing with composure, a calm born from absolute confidence. In every respect, he no longer fell behind Han Simin—or Specialists as a whole.

“Understood.”

“We proceed exactly as planned. Once we clear the five raids we targeted and max out our remaining specs, we launch a preemptive strike.”

“Yes.”

“Though I will admit, he’s proving to be a tougher opponent than I expected. As I thought, he is not someone to be taken lightly. Let’s make this an entertaining show right to the end. I should make some preparations worthy of that as well.”

Above all, Kenji had an immense amount of money. For someone who treated gaming as a hobby, this kind of scenario was a fantastic piece of content, more than worth spending as much as he wanted.

“Gold prices have risen significantly this time. They say the brokers swept up the market, but it looks like Specialists was the one who bought it all.”

“Oh? Then shall we drive the gold prices in Fantastic World even higher?”

“Then...”

“We have to show them that when it comes to money, we never lose.”

The subordinate gasped.

“Effective immediately, contact every gold broker. Tell them we’re buying at $10 above the market price.”

“...Yes, sir.”

“And I’ll be stepping out for a bit. I need to make a quick trip to Korea.”

He took off in his second private jet.