novelraw Chapter 157 : Even Deceit Has Its Class (1)
Chapter 157 : Even Deceit Has Its Class (1)
Even Deceit Has Its Class (1)
The long-awaited broadcast time had finally arrived.
Lee Gyeongbok faced his viewers with his usual bright expression.
"Trha!"
The chat exploded in tandem with his greeting.
-(Perha-con)
― Perante! Perante! Perante!
-5252! Is the viewer count really 15,000!
― Was Demerc always this popular a game?
― The rise of Purple Coin is just science, isn't it?
― Hyung! Hurry and rescue the Saint nuna!
― Hey! Domain Lord of Deceit! Here comes Perfect Deceit Perdeceit!
With the increased number of viewers, the chat flooded like a tidal wave. Gyeongbok smiled and clapped his hands.
"All right, I know you all have been waiting a long time. But before we get started, there's a quick announcement I'd like to make."
― An announcement?
― HOXY?
― Was the Reddit tip-off true!?
― Is a big one coming? Is a big one coming? Is a big one coming?
― Trooper! Wakuwaku!
― What the heck is waku?
The announcement drew everyone's attention.
"Far more people joined the Purple channel membership than we had anticipated. I want to give a huge thanks to everyone who joined."
But the words from Gyeongbok's mouth were not what the viewers had expected. As the mood grew lax—
"But I've heard there are people extracting audio from the dubbed videos. I'm sorry, but that's a bit of a problem for us."
― Ah......
― So that's why some mods got deleted
― But honestly, that makes sense lol
-lol even Godple said he paid for sampling
― Even if it's not for commercial use, you need to restrict it lol
― Yeah, if you allow this, a real thief might show up
The viewers sighed, but they understood. They accepted that what they'd seen in the community was different from what they'd hoped for.
"I'm not blaming the mod creators. On the contrary, I appreciate their effort. They made it out of love for the fandom, right?"
But with Gyeongbok's next words, the atmosphere in chat grew subtly tense.
"Coincidentally, the timing wasn't right this time. We actually had something prepared on our end."
A burst of question marks appeared.
But shortly, the question marks turned to exclamation points.
"Thanks to CAP Company, we've got another collaboration. At Demerc's release, you'll be able to enjoy my voice in-game with the 'Perfect Voice' pack, which will launch as DLC!"
The emotions of the chat threaded a rollercoaster: it wasn't what they'd predicted, got disappointed, but then realized their hopes were actually right all along.
― LOOOOL this build-up tho
― Seriously, can you stop the teasing now!?
― Is this what they call the broadcast genius' progress?
― I can't live without you, I swear!
― Breaking news: Disease Control Agency says "Emergency prescription for Purple withdrawal symptom coming soon"
― I've waited so long for a voice like yours
― I BECOME PERANTE! I BECOME PERANTE! I BECOME PERANTE!
― Perfect-Voice ON!
― Authentic ON! Imitations OUT!
― VOTY, right? VOTY, right? VOTY, right?
― LOL when did Voice Of The Year become a thing?
― Even if I don't buy the game, I'm absolutely buying this
― What's the use if I don't have the game LOL
Gyeongbok grinned at the viewers' celebration.
"If you pre-order, you'll get a 100% discount code as a bonus. But it's not limited, it'll be a permanent item in the shop, so there's no rush."
― Wait, but I'm super rushed right now?
― Permanent, right? Permanent, right? Permanent, right? Permanent, right?
― If it's permanent, shouldn't you open it right now!?
-lol shouldn't they at least release the DLC first?
― The DLC's about to outsell the main game!?
― Ah, so this is what you call 'Perfect-DLC'
― If any other dev sold DLC first they'd get massacred, but for Godple, it's different, huh?
Watching the chat, Gyeongbok waved his hand.
"No, this isn't a must-have DLC. If you don't buy it, it won't affect your play at all. But if you do buy it, it helps me a lot."
― Oh? Is this a royalty deal? Is it?
-lol Black Company nature is coming out now?
― Permanent sale actually means constant capitalism vibes lol
― Fund Godple and you get a voice pack?! Who could pass this up LOL
― Insane! This opportunity comes every day?
― Permanent sale, so is this a daily opportunity LOL
Even before the game began, the viewers' excitement was hitting new highs.
Gyeongbok, pleased, clapped his hands several times.
"All right, for more details, please wait for the release date. Now, let's jump right into the demonstration!"
As the scene changed, the viewers' attention zeroed in.
On screen, durante—who had just crossed the gates of hell—frowned.
"Beatrice......"
As he muttered, the camera panned away.
A vast desert sprawled out ahead. But it was no ordinary desert.
― Look at the size of that desert, jeez
― What's up with the white cactus?
― Lol that's not just white, it's literally bones
― Why are there spiky things rolling around?
― It looks like a tumbleweed
― At that size, isn't that basically steel wool?
Tumbleweeds made of sharp bones and twisted metal spikes rolled by.
Soon, durante shifted his gaze.
"Is that the only place worth going?"
In the direction of his gaze was a location that contrasted the barren desert: an oasis.
It appeared to be the next residence following the Golden Castle and the arena—the lair of the Domain Lord of Deceit.
"She's a Saint, after all. She can't be that easy to kill."
Clicking his tongue lightly, he stepped out onto the sand. The cutscene ended, returning control to the player.
"This is much bigger in scale than I thought."
Gyeongbok remarked, looking around. The horizon between high sand dunes seemed endless.
― Seriously lol why is it so big!
― No wonder nuna couldn't make it back lol
― The devils probably aren't hunting her, they're just lost too lol
― Good thing the oasis stands out
― Hurry up and save her!
Viewers hurried him on, but Gyeongbok's direction wasn't what they expected.
'The direction's off.'
The divine energy pointed elsewhere, not toward the oasis. He could easily guess why.
'Domain of Deceit, that oasis is probably a mirage.'
The visible oasis was clearly bait meant to confuse.
Instead, he climbed the sand dune.
The chat filled with question marks, but soon the atmosphere shifted.
-????
― What's this?
― Why are there so many oases?
It was because of the scene below. There wasn't just one oasis.
But even more surprising—
― Eh? There are multiple gates of hell too?
― What's going on!?
-5252, is this the Tsukuyomi effect!?
― That trick doesn't work on a K-Hokage!
― Is this the mirror dimension or whatever?
― WA! Something's off, doc!
There were multiple hell gates where Durante entered. Most areas appeared to repeat like identical zones.
Most were bewildered, but a few viewers caught on.
― LOL this is so fitting for the Domain of Deceit
― You probably have to go the correct way to escape the stage
― Yeah, a lot of other games have paths like this
― If you take the wrong path, you go back to the start, right?
― So there must be a hint somewhere?
Gyeongbok looked around casually, reading the chat.
There—the divine energy was pointing.
"If it's a hint... That stands out."
He raised his hand, indicating a cactus made of human bones. Unlike the others, something was fluttering from its sharp spikes.
He approached the cactus at once.
"This is... a piece of cloth, right?"
The fluttering thing was a knotted piece of cloth. Soon, the viewers grasped its identity.
― That's something the Saint nuna left behind, isn't it?
-lol that's the fabric from the cult uniform
― Tying it to remember the way back?
― It's a Hansel and Gretel meta
― What kind of meta is that lol
As they watched, the knot couldn't withstand the spike and tore, flying off into the sky.
At the same time, his divine energy sensed threats approaching from all around.
'Devils.'
Now, he could see them with the naked eye as something stirred beneath the sand.
There was a popping sound as sand burst upward.
― Huh?
― Nuna?
― What's with the sand nuna?
Viewers reacted with question marks at the sight of the revealed demon.
It was a perfect duplicate of Beatrice, but made up of tiny grains of sand.
Gyeongbok dodged the flying sand spears, observing the demon.
"They seem to have the ability to duplicate both appearance and behavior."
The sand demon not only copied Beatrice's figure, it matched her movements flawlessly.
Gyeongbok readied his greatsword and sliced down the charging foe.
"Simple attacks don't work."
Being made of sand meant it split apart easily. But any gaps instantly refilled with sand.
― What the heck is this!?
― The whole area's sand, so it regenerates instantly
― It's like nanomachines lol
― Can't you just use the Midas Beam and turn it to gold?
― Midas beam, yeah right lol
Deciding to satisfy viewer curiosity, Gyeongbok fired the Hand of Midas beam at the sand demon.
The result: the sand demon turned to gold, but—
"Each grain of sand must be counted as a separate target. It's not very effective."
Only the sand hit by the beam changed; the rest did not.
The sand demon slipped away from the beam and reconstituted its body.
― Then how do you beat it?
― Bullets probably wouldn't work either, jeez
― Do you need to negate it with a cube?
― Would you just grab the part you can reach and pull it out?
― Chewing gum skipping rope ON!
Watching the confused chat, Gyeongbok decided to demonstrate the proper tactic.
He dodged another incoming attack and charged right into the demon's reach.
A moment later, ajax's shield formed in front of him, shapeshifting as it appeared.
"Here's how."
As his remark triggered the ability, a translucent barrier exploded outward, scattering the sand demon's body.
― Dang!
― That impact was sick lol
― Dang, this wasn't just a survival item
― So it wasn't a throwaway, lol
As always, showing was more effective than explaining.
Within the scattered sand, Gyeongbok spotted the demon's real body—a floating black core. He aimed his pistol at it.
The demon couldn't withstand the close-range shot.
"I'll move on quickly now."
Having shared the boss strategy, there was no reason to waste time. But contrary to his words, Gyeongbok stowed the shield and pulled out pistols in each hand.
The speed with which he pulled the triggers matched the question marks popping up in chat.
-?
― Seriously;;;
― He's doing shot-shot-kill here too?
-(Kemalcon)(Kemalcon)(Kemalcon)
― What's he even aiming at?
― Through the eyes of God, everything is visible
-lol anyway, everything is visible!
The number of gunshots matched exactly the number of demons. As the shooting faded, only the sound of sand falling remained.
"The core is moving inside the sand, right? If you just pay attention to the movement of the grains, you can see where they are."
Having finished, Gyeongbok explained as if it was simple. For him, it really was.
― Eh?
― But those things were always moving?
― Was there really a weird movement among the grains?
― Yeah, godple sees sand grains differently
― How are Devil fandom supposed to spot that?
-lol just use Ajax's shield, seriously
― How do you distinguish a core the size of a baseball?
― Fact: To Godple it's too big unless it's at least the size of a ping-pong ball
― Yeah, make it smaller for the sake of fun
If anything, the problem was that only he found it simple.
"Oh, that's a good idea. For the release version, maybe make the core a bit smaller. Even a ping-pong ball is pretty big, so how about a marble?"
He picked out a suggestion from the chat.
― Eh? The ping-pong ball is big?
― Hey! All Perantes are going to die!
-lol this guy's tongue is at it again
― Of course, domain of Deceit! Here comes Perfect Deceit!
― Three marbles do make a thread, but do you even know that old saying?
― What's with that proverb variant lol
-lol make a Perante difficulty level please
Gyeongbok smiled at their playful uproar.
"Understood. All right, let's keep following the hints."
After wrapping things up, Gyeongbok followed the direction indicated by the cloth pieces. Staying on the correct path, the scenery remained unchanged.
"There's another one over there."
He found another cactus. If he just kept going like this, he'd reach his destination.
* * *
Gyeongbok calmly pulled the trigger.
The sand demon—now copying Durante's form—returned to being just part of the desert.
"Wouldn't it be more thrilling if they could duplicate player specs, like Andro? Maybe, say, at about 50%?"
He floated another piece of feedback. But most viewers were opposed.
― Abs.ol.ute.ly.do.not.listen
― Seriously;;; How do you deal with 30 of them at 50% strength!?
-??? : Why are you freaking out? They all die in one shot anyway.
-??? : If there's 30, you just need 30 bullets, what's the problem?
― Lol, I get so frustrated, 'cause he actually thinks this way
― You can't even complain because he actually does it!
"Hey, don't give me such a hard time. I'm just being frank about my impressions—the advertiser will make the right decision."
Gyeongbok smiled faintly and looked away. After following the knotted cloth pieces several times, he finally arrived at the oasis.
As he approached, control slipped away and a cutscene began.
― Huh?
― What's up? Why'd the water color suddenly change?
― Guess the illusion broke lol
― As expected, k-Hokage can't be fooled!
― The oasis turned into a bottle of green juice lol
From a distance, the oasis had looked like a pristine tropical sea. Now, in the cutscene, its waters were thick green.
Durante narrowed his eyes, puzzled.
"...... What is this?"
As he watched, bubbles started foaming on the surface. Suddenly, their number increased rapidly.
With a wet splat, someone burst from the water.
"Beatrice!"
It was her—the Saint, beatrice.
― Nuna?! Nuna!
― She's alive, the Saint is alive!
― Seriously;;; isn't she about to die right now?!
Durante hurriedly pulled her ashore. Once she was out of the sand, green water poured from her mouth as she coughed and gasped.
As she caught her breath, durante said,
"I told you not to come in here."
Beatrice took another deep breath and brushed her wet hair back.
"Thank you for worrying."
"I wasn't—"
"I couldn't leave everything up to you."
She steadied herself and looked him straight in the eye.
"I told you, didn't I? That I would 'cooperate' with you."
― Dang lol, ultimate top-tier woman vibes
― My heart swells at this perfect combination
― Hold tight! Saint Coin is spiking!
While the viewers reacted in delight, durante's face grew stern.
"Mutual support is what makes cooperation."
"Then, I'm glad."
"What?"
Instead of answering, beatrice gestured with her eyes. At the same moment, a strange rumble rippled through the air.
"What is this?"
"Wouldn't you say this is helpful?"
The water filling the oasis rapidly drained away, revealing a shadowy cave below.
― Oh? Is this where the Domain Lord of Deceit is hiding?
― No wonder nuna came from under the water lol
― Durante suddenly lost all words!
Beatrice tied back her wet hair and picked up her spear.
"Thanks aren't necessary. Let's go."
"Wait."
Durante stopped her again.
"We don't know what's inside. This is enough cooperation."
"So, you're telling me to go back?"
"Yes."
"...... But I don't know the way back."
At her reply, durante clicked his tongue briefly. Seeing the torn sleeve, he realized it.
The cloth markers she'd used as signposts had blown away.
"...... There's no helping it. Just stay behind me. If we take down the Domain Lord of Deceit, everything should go back to normal."
― That's it lol
― Better than getting lost in the desert, staying with Durante is safer
― Plus, that's Perante, right lol
-lol zero danger here
― The devils are the only real threat lmao
― Durante acts annoyed but takes care of everything
― Isn't this the classic manly style of worrying?
The viewers were relieved.
Beatrice was safe, and the story was progressing smoothly.
But Gyeongbok couldn't just leave it at that.
'...... Why does Beatrice suddenly feel like the villain?'
That was why he'd observed in silence since her appearance.
Unlike their first meeting, something about her now felt off.
There was a cloying discomfort about her, like being stuck in sticky goo.
'If I think about who the next boss is supposed to be...'
Beatrice had come from the place where the Domain Lord of Deceit should be. A more plausible theory than her suddenly changing character.
'This is a fake.'
Gyeongbok decided.
But one problem remained.
'Should I reveal this now?'
The viewers seemed to suspect nothing. The developer had clearly done a good job at hiding the fake.
'But maybe not perfectly.'
As he hesitated, the cutscene ended and control returned.
Gyeongbok made his decision.
"Mr. Durante?"
As Beatrice reacted to his call, the chat filled with question marks.
Gyeongbok suddenly drew his greatsword and turned on her, slashing.
'Gotta put on a show.'
Her uniform grew red from a deep slash, but she didn't die. He'd held back to show the viewers what was up.
-????????
― Hyung!?
― What's going on? What's happening?!
The chat was immediately thrown into chaos.
"Mr. Durante...? Why are you...?"
As Beatrice collapsed, blood gushing from her mouth, her sorrowful voice amplified the confusion.
― What the heck just happened!?
-〈Message deleted by mod (Warning 1)〉
― Seriously;;; are you out of your mind?
― Hands off your keyboards, everyone!
― Our hyung wouldn't do that without a reason!
― Something's up! There's definitely a reason!
Despite the uproar, Gyeongbok didn't panic. He explained in his calmest voice.
"She's a fake."
He pointed at her torn uniform with his greatsword.
"The pieces of cloth and the torn bits we found earlier— they don't match the pattern."
That was his reason.
If the developers had wanted to hide it completely, they wouldn't have left this clue.
― The pattern's different?
― He really remembered all that?
― Lol, truly physical prowess!
― Should have saved the screenshot, no?
― Exactly! What if it was just a modeling bug?
― No, no way it's a bug lol
― When you copy-paste, why would a bug show up lol
― Yeah, if it's deliberately wrong, there's a reason
At Gyeongbok's reasoning, most viewers immediately backed him up. Of course, they hadn't noticed the pattern.
They just knew one thing.
― Trust in Godple!
-lol if Godple says it, it's true
― He's never been wrong, right?
― Truly unshakable faith!
-[PerMan][Purplelelujah]
-let's all trust in Godple as Koreans!
That was the fact: Gyeongbok had never once been wrong.
"Why......"
Finishing his explanation, Gyeongbok finished her off by thrusting his greatsword into her pulsating heart. Her arm, reaching up in a futile attempt to resist, fell limply on the sand.
For a moment, even the chat froze as if glitched.
And then—
"If you're going to imitate, do it properly. Looks like you didn't pay attention to the outfit."
The cutscene resumed, and Durante's words revealed the truth.
-lol this really was it?
― When clothes get mentioned, godple is always right
― Insane, the detail on that chewing gum
― In future, just believe without question lmao
― There's nothing that isn't foreshadowing
― Is this test broadcast filled with clues too?
-lol what if the broadcast is one big clue
― There's a chance, I'm telling you!
The viewers who'd trusted Gyeongbok expressed admiration and satisfaction.
Then, the fake's body shriveled up, and countless tiny baby spiders poured from its mouth.
Durante stomped them flat without hesitation. Suddenly, the cutscene stopped.
['CAP Company_kor' has donated 10,000 won.]
[Um... this cutscene was actually prepared as a shortcut for multi-run content. But seriously, how did you notice? None of the other test groups noticed the pattern!]
A startled donation from the developers.
-????
― So this was for multi-run content?
― Wait, yeah! On your first run you'd get tricked, but after, you'd know
― Wow... that's insane
― First-ever multi-run content on a broadcast
― The multi-run specialist streamer doesn't disappoint!
-5252, should have known once Godple was assigned homework!
That donation was like a stamp of approval for Gyeongbok's deduction.
"Oh, I just saw the hint and thought this was the regular route."
Gyeongbok scratched his head sheepishly, then grinned.
"Since it's come to this, how about shifting perspectives? What if this isn't multi-run— what if this was meant to be the first run?"
As the chat was bubbling with awe, question marks started to spread.
― Eh?
― No way, what a twist in perspective!
― So we should treat falling for the fake as a multi-run feature?
― This is the real reversal world
― This is the 'Perfect-Paradigm Shift', huh?
-???: That's a crazy idea, let's do it!
Viewers burst out laughing at his humor.
['CAP Company_kor' has donated 10,000 won.]
[Undisclosed content becoming multi-run content is exactly it haha. Anyway, it's a first-clear, and a world premiere!]
The developers welcomed the situation as a joke.
-lol with Durante, not getting fooled is canon
― On reruns, you have the leisure to play along
― Even the Domain Lord of Deceit can't beat Perfect Deceit!
― What if perfection is even applied to deceit?
― More like the Lord of Lies than Domain Lord of Deceit at this rate^^
― Lord of Lies lmao what a demotion
The viewers were even more delighted by the reaction. With everything wrapped up, Gyeongbok resumed the cutscene.
Durante entered the cave hidden beneath the oasis.
"It's pretty damp in here."
Since water had just drained away, the air was clammy and oppressive.
Before long—
"It splits off?"
The passage soon diverged into three tunnels. It seemed he'd have to choose one; once the cutscene ended, control returned.
― Oh? If Fake Saint was here, she'd probably have led him down the worst path?
― What the heck is a Fake Saint anyway lol
― So the worst path would be revealed on your first run, so you could pick a different one next time lol
― But right now, we don't know at all, right?
-lol what does it matter which way?
― Yeah, for Perante, any path is fine
― Go with the mood
Gyeongbok stifled a laugh as he read the chat. It was true—he was confident he wouldn't fail, no matter which path.
'But this time, none of them really stand out.'
Perhaps because the outcome would be the same whichever way.
His divine energy didn't force a choice among the three tunnels.
'If possible, I'd prefer to make things more interesting, visually.'
After a pause, Gyeongbok smiled and grabbed his greatsword.
The viewers wondered what he was up to as he cleaved off nearby rocks, then swung his blade again.
― Whoa;;; what's this?
― Is that a dice? A dice?
-lol making dice out of rocks?
― Did he just make the pips with his sword tip?
― That's a skill beyond human, jeez
He carved a cube, pricking pips into it from 1 to 6 with his sword.
He repeated the process, creating three dice in total.
"I'll let the dice decide which path I take."
But in truth, Gyeongbok intended to divine the answer.
'Grandma always said the three powers of Heaven, earth, and Man rule all things, and that Yin and Yang shape them.'
The three powers: Heaven, earth, and Man.
'Assign the highest number each to Heaven, man, and Earth. Odd and even for Yin and Yang, then combine...'
A high roll wasn't always the best. Omens depended on time, place, and people.
'I know there's no actual danger. What I want is the greatest fun.'
Recalling his own style of prayer, he threw the dice.
― So, is he going with the highest number?
-lol will Gyeongbok's luck strike again?
― Godple's luck is nuts
-555555!
― The center is a 2 lol
― Left 5, center 2, right 4
-4 is unlucky so skip that one
― Left path?
The viewers were eager to see which he'd choose.
But Gyeongbok saw something different.
"From the left: Grand luck, minor luck, regular luck, huh."
That was the fortune the rolls told him. Smiling, he answered,
"You said 4 is unlucky? That could mean it's also the hardest."
And with that, he stepped down the right-hand path, making viewers laugh.
― Harder is actually better!
-lol easy paths are boring!
― I bet this is the path Fake Saint would recommend lol
Whichever he chose, failure seemed impossible. Expectation, not worry, was swelling in their hearts.
― If it's hard but the shortest route, that'd be perfect!
-lol we need to rescue Saint nuna!
― Nuna, wait for us! Here comes Perante!
Now, it was truly time to save the real Beatrice.