NoveLight ™
"[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer asserts that the Abyssal Sludge could not possibly have originated in this world.]"
“…Is that so?”
The results of the analysis on the Abyssal Sludge—trapped as a weekly boss—had arrived.
The Magitech Engineer was certain that the entity was something from another dimension, not of this world.
Given the Magitech Engineer’s level of authority as a Constellation, this likely meant the creature didn’t originate from the continent of Reiphania.
“Do you have any idea where it might have come from?”
"[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer says they're analyzing it but notes that it's composed of unfamiliar substances and forces they've never encountered before, so it will take time.]"
“Well, it can’t be helped. At least our players are grinding the weekly boss for us, so we can gather more data for analysis.”
The Sludge had referred to itself as “we.”
This likely implied that it originated from a group—a collective—of peers or subordinates.
It wasn’t a god or a Constellation, yet it wielded power comparable to divine entities, capable of neutralizing the abilities of Constellations.
Even the power of my Constellation patron was nullified instantly. The Demon God’s strength, though ultimately enough to bring it down, had been almost entirely depleted.
If the creature had been any stronger, or if the Demon God had been just a bit weaker, it would’ve been catastrophic.
Then there was what it had mentioned: the “seed.”
While the exact meaning was unclear, it seemed highly likely that the seed referred to the sin of [Pride], which had been implanted in the Demon God.
The Magitech Engineer suggested that the beings responsible for planting sins in Ren, the Engineer, and the Demon God were this group.
It was a plausible theory for now. But if these beings didn’t just neutralize divine powers but could twist the very nature of divinity itself…
Were these three only the beginning? Could there be more victims?
Wait a minute.
Wasn’t this supposed to be a fun, laid-back isekai life?
Why had the tone suddenly shifted to cosmic horror?
As someone who could only manipulate illusions using the power of dreams, I’d just been trying to make a living creating games. Getting tangled up in this mess was the last thing I wanted.
...Not that I wasn’t already thoroughly entangled.
“Can’t we notify other gods and ask for help?”
"[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer hums, considering the idea.]"
"[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer concludes it would likely be futile.]"
“Even when entities from another dimension are invading, corrupting gods, and manipulating them to their will?”
"[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer laments that gods are too self-absorbed to cooperate.]"
"[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer sighs, noting that gods like the Demon God, the ‘stupid knight,’ and even themselves are all loners with no divine network to leverage.]"
…Fair enough.
Ren had been holed up due to her sloth. Sure, she had the Hans to rely on now, but they couldn’t openly reveal their existence or freely move outside, so their help was limited.
The Magitech Engineer? They’d spent their life obsessively researching ways to save their beloved, occasionally stepping out to vent their frustration. Most other gods probably saw them as a “rageaholic Constellation”—not entirely inaccurate.
And the Demon God? She was the most hopeless case. This was the same deity who had threatened and bullied Ren and the Engineer into making episodic content for her game. There was no way someone like her had friends.
“So… what do we do now? We don’t even have enough information about these entities. If another one shows up, it could be disastrous.”
The Abyssal Sludge had attacked me, perceiving me as a disruptor meddling in its plans to cleanse [Pride.]
It must’ve been their Achilles’ heel—part of a grand operation or master plan.
At this point, after unintentionally erasing three sins, there was no way to talk things out.
Not that peaceful coexistence with beings that corrupted gods was ever an option.
"[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer suggests we could awaken the sins in other entities, just like we did for them.]"
“How would I even know how to do that?”
Ren and the Magitech Engineer’s cases were accidents.
While the Demon God had deliberately taken decisive actions to cleanse her sin, it was still largely a fluke.
I didn’t even know who was infected with a sin, let alone how to create a tailored story for them.
And there was no guarantee it would work.
"[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer suggests we search through Constellation names for likely candidates.]"
“Even if we find them, there’s no guarantee we can cure them. I’m just a lucky game director at best.”
If it worked, like with the Demon God, we could gain powerful allies.
But if it failed, it would spell disaster.
Just thinking about the rampage the Demon God had gone on was enough to make my knees tremble.
"[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer asks, 'Do you truly think it’s possible for a mere game to alter the core concepts of divine beings?']"
“…Excuse me?”
"[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer asserts that you are far from ordinary.]"
"[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer claims that if you were as ‘ordinary’ as you say, they would still be consumed by wrath.]"
“I appreciate the compliment, but…”
Beep.
An alarm sounded from another terminal.
It was the Demon God.
“Sorry about this.”
"[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer chuckles and says it’s fine—we can discuss it later.]"
"[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer remarks that stabilizing the mind of the Demon God, currently our greatest asset, is the top priority.]"
“Thank you for understanding.”
The fate of the continent, interrupted by a conversation about game character stats.
“Well, we’ll pick this up later…”
"[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer warns not to dismiss the impact of in-game character performance on reality.]"
"[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer muses that perhaps player perception of character performance could influence reality itself.]"
"[The Wrathless Magitech Engineer assures you’re doing well and advises you not to stress too much before ending the conversation.]"
Could player perception of the game really influence reality?
I had considered the possibility.
After all, the players’ beliefs had played a role in Hans’ and Kate’s revival. It wasn’t impossible that their perceptions could affect reality.
This was precisely why I’d deliberately balanced [Demon King Perlerina] to avoid being overpowered, even designing her attack mechanics as bounces to cap her peak performance.
…Surely the Demon God wouldn’t demand I buff the Demon King into a reality-breaking powerhouse, right?
***
The Private Server for the Demon God
“You’re here, Apostle of Dreams!”
As soon as I entered, the Demon God, who had been pacing nervously, jumped to her feet to greet me.
“Well met!”
She grabbed both of my hands, shaking them enthusiastically.
This was supposed to be the fearsome ruler who had slain an otherworldly abomination, yet here she was, acting like an excited puppy needing to pee.
I glanced over at Demon King Lina, who stood nearby.
Lina, catching my eye, gave me an apologetic smile and a small bow.
She’d been quick to reveal her identity to me, but why hadn’t she told the Demon God yet?
…Should I just spill the beans?
“Apostle of Dreams, those irreverent wretches dare to belittle our Perlerina’s abilities!”
The Demon God thrust a screen showing the community forum in front of me, her tone full of righteous fury.
“I don’t mind, really, Demon God,” Lina interjected, waving her hands dismissively.
“Unacceptable! Even if she’s merely an avatar within the game, any insult toward our Lina is unforgivable! Such blasphemy cannot stand!”
Unaware that the current Lina had merged with her resurrected master, the Demon God was immovable in her stance.
“...Oh my.”
Lina, face flushed red, looked down in embarrassment at the Demon God’s fervent defense.
…I kind of wanted to flip the table and walk out.
How did someone who didn’t even know how to make in-app purchases end up scrolling through community forums?
Did her quest to enjoy her newly acquired Lina lead her to this?
…Wait a second.
This might actually be a blessing in disguise.
If she had stumbled upon the more, ahem, suggestive posts about Lina scattered across the forums, she might’ve declared she’d destroy the entire continent.
“Well, I’ll handle this one,” I said.
“Will you enhance Lina’s abilities?”
“No. That would be the easiest solution, but it would create new problems. If I buff her to a degree that disrupts balance, people will accuse us of excessive favoritism and label us with terms like ‘cash grab’ or ‘game killer.’”
“That must not happen! Then what should we do?!”
I scrolled through the forum, scanning the responses.
The original plan had been to introduce content requiring area-of-effect damage to incentivize players to pull for the Demon King.
The idea was to either release this content or tease it right before the Demon King’s pickup banner ended.
While I couldn’t completely scrap the original plan, adding new content to immediately shift the perception of the Demon King wasn’t feasible right now.
“I’ll implement a hospitality buff.”
“…Hospitality buff?”
The idea was simple: temporarily tweak [Abyssal Assassin], the current hottest boss, so that it periodically spawned mobs.
Defeating these mobs would grant an attack power buff, encouraging players to use AoE characters like the Demon King.
This should be enough to change the community’s perception.
Or so I thought.
What I hadn’t accounted for was this:
The very bounce damage mechanic I had hastily designed to cap the Demon King’s power clashed directly with the hospitality buff, undermining its intended effect.