A Third-Rate Villain’s Sweet Life Exploiting Academy Bugs

RPG Forum

– This Week’s New Arrivals

[The Lost Ark Season 14!]

For those of you feeling lackadaisical in cyber warfare,

we introduce new tension with the VR system.

Comments

ㄴ Why not just make a Marine camp?

ㄴ LOL

ㄴ Invite the admins to the camp too, dammit…

[New Area Appearance in Mushroom Village Story 25]

[Level Up 1+2 to 700 levels!]

Comments

ㄴ Do I really have to do 25 daily quests as a newbie?

ㄴ No, no, no. If we clear the path to the 23rd area, reduce it to 12 daily quests and 5 weekly quests!

ㄴ Then what about those who’ve been playing till now?

ㄴ Good job, clap clap!

ㄴ Thanks to you, Mushroom Village has been saved, LOL.

[Final Showdown with the Digger and the Warrior, the strongest Apostle, 1st Apostle appears…]

Comments

ㄴ For the 4th, 5th, 7th, and 8th Apostles, pay to get carried.

ㄴ After that, memorize the patterns of the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th Apostles and then get carried.

ㄴ Once the advance team starts getting carried by the 1st Apostle, that’s when you should start getting carried. That’s how the newbies save time, you know?

“I feel dizzy.”

I scratched my neck and yawned.

It seems these days, RPG games lack…

That thing… I mean…

‘Romance’

‘Fundamentals’

That’s right. I’m what you call a romance-fundamentalist.

RPGs are most exciting in their early stages when they stimulate the spirit of adventure.

Isn’t there a saying that you should leave when the applause is loudest?

This holds true even in movies.

Action, thriller, romance, regardless of genre.

It’s always the first part that’s enjoyable and a masterpiece; rarely do sequels surpass them.

Well, it’s true it’s easier to ride on existing popularity than to develop something new…

Most sequels just end up being copies…

‘The end of tuning is stock…’

Having seen the endings of countless games, I can’t help but revel in the nostalgia of the first installment.

“Ah… is there no game that smells like fundamentals?”

I moved my mouse among the so-so K-RPGs.

Really, nothing that comes out has any impact.

You know, the first released game is like a luxurious Korean feast.

Low-level content, lifestyle content, boss raids, instance dungeons, and numerous quests… all beautifully composed like a full Korean meal.

Sure, preferences on side dishes like stir-fried eggplants or rib patties may vary from person to person, but the game’s direction is also diverse.

In other words, it provides balanced nutrients and the joy of selection.

However, even a newly released game faces this issue over time with updates.

‘Power Inflation.’

It’s as natural as aging and death in humans.

As average user stats increase, the distribution of high-level players rises, and low-level content starts to fall out of use.

This is akin to market principles.

Game companies also have to develop content within a limited timeframe unlike at initial launch, hence, they become focused on serving only what the core user base desires.

In the end, only the main dish is changed.

If the side dishes remain traditional Korean but the main dish turns into pasta, can we say it’s harmonious?

No. The initial sensation of the game gradually fades away.

Therefore, one could argue that today’s games lack both romance and fundamentals…

As a couch game expert, I sighed softly at the disheartening reality and moved the cursor to my favorite fanfiction site.

Clink.

“I guess I should check what I’ve missed.”

[Rince Hero - Academy Edition]

In short,

[Hwanseangaka].

This fanfiction I’m reading is based on a game called [Reincarnated Hero].

Reincarnated Hero…

It’s about a wanderer and reincarnated hero Edwin, who adventures in an open world to defeat the Demon King, fighting demon creatures, completing quests, and gradually regaining memories of his past life…

It’s got a rather conventional premise.

But it was a game I enjoyed so much that I went through all the content multiple times.

Of course, the sequel [Reincarnated Hero 2] was an utter failure, and the series ended up going poof.

In a way, I find solace that [Reincarnated Hero 2] is such a lackluster disaster that it won’t tarnish the original.

Anyway, in that sense, [Reincarnated Hero 1] was a game that met my sensibilities quite well.

Though cool and aloof in demeanor, healer Aria was secretly struggling between her old lover and me.

Cold-blooded half-elf Selena, who was difficult for everyone due to her personality, eventually proved to be an indomitable ally as an archer.

And finally, the primary character, sorceress Yeriel, who devoted herself to me from start to finish.

These are the ‘fundamental’ starting members that quicken my heart just by looking at them.

Given there were quite a few three-dimensional characters, the emotional impact in the latter part reached me quite poignantly.

Ultimately, my reason for reading [Hwanseangaka], this fanfic,

was that it detailed the past lives of the characters from the original game [Reincarnated Hero 1] during their time at the academy.

Of course, it doesn’t just feature original characters, and the author’s tendencies diluted its fundamentals considerably…

But what can you do?

Considering this pitiful state of a failed game, this narrative is all that remains.

[Ep. 470 Update One Day Before]

[Continuing from Ep. 435]

Soon to conclude.

While I’m anxious about the ending, I’m eager to see how they link it to the next story about the reincarnated hero.

So, with a smile on my face, I clicked continue.

*

“Damn it, for real.”

But the content of the story strayed completely from my expectations.

-Quick, use vision magic!

-Okay!

Vision magic is the base magic, the origin of all magic.

But to think they would only use it for the first time in the latter part?

Also, where is healing magic specialist Aria?

-For now, I’ll have Lily heal!

Why is Lily, the dragon tamer, casting top-tier healing magic?

Using two different attributes is something that only appears in [Reincarnated Hero 2]…

-I’m going in!

-[Critical Hit!]

What the hell?

Assassin Caeran is wielding dual swords and landing assassination crits?

Traditionally, assassination concepts revolve around stealth, silence, speed, and ambush—

The best-suited weapons would naturally be…

‘Daggers or a stealth class!’

That’s why in [Reincarnated Hero 1], only daggers and stealth weapons had exceptionally high critical rates, and they only got slightly balanced in [Reincarnated Hero 2].

While I can overlook a mediocre sneaky archer, but dual swords for an assassination?

That’s beyond lacking fundamentals…

-Whoosh!!!

But that wasn’t the end of it.

The greater problem was the story.

As we progressed to the latter parts, the focus on the fundamental characters dwindled while the narrative shifted solely to the author’s original characters…

And ultimately, headed towards the final confrontation against the Demon King, the party was packed with the author’s original characters, leaving only Edwin behind.

.

.

.

In the highest difficulty raid -The Fallen Seven Virtue’s Sanctum- before the final battle, amidst a situation where someone had to stay behind, the author’s self-insert Caeran spoke up.

-Only those wanting to protect this bridge with Edwin stay. I’m off to deal with that guy. The choice is yours.

-That…!

-Who wants to come with me?

.

.

.

As Caeran raised his hand, the surroundings fell silent, and a vibe of hesitation brewed among the heroines.

The reason they were hesitant was simple.

Melissa, Aveline, and Lily.

All three were willing harem members who wanted to be with Caeran.

Eventually, Caeran smiled and chose Lily, the one who could heal, and took her by the wrist.

-Perfect. We need a healer, so Lily, you’re with me. The rest will defend the bridge. Got it?

-Um, I have no choice, do I?

Lily swallowed her exuberant laughter, moving to Caeran’s side, while Melissa and Aveline clung to him too.

-I-I don’t want to! I want to go with Caeran too!

-I-I’m sorry, Edwin.

.

.

.

In this ridiculous scenario, the one to break the silence with a solemn tone was none other than Edwin.

“Everyone…”

“?”

“Thank you for coming this far with me.”

“Edwin…?”

“The Great Demon will be strong; you all know that, right? It’ll be harder to seal away the demon if even one person is missing. I learned that at the academy… So… I’ll handle this part alone.”

.

.

.

The next part? No need to explain further.

[Cleaning Up Ending]

Edwin, the hero, properly set off the death flag.

In a way, perhaps dying here and reincarnating aligns beautifully with [Reincarnated Hero]‘s storyline.

But Caeran is merely an avatar made by the author to indulge himself.

Does he really think of the heroines as ‘whores,’ ‘rags,’ ‘tools,’ or ‘consumables?’

It’s clear… Edwin, not Caeran, should be the protagonist deserving of the vessel for the ultimate evil!

And yet the one reveling in clobbering the Great Demon and enjoying a happy ending is only Caeran?

‘Holy shit.’

This won’t do.

There are just too many things to nitpick.

Power inflation feels forced too, and the chaos of the story is unbelievable.

Why was Caeran suddenly pushed forward to usurp the original members while the story goes off on a tangent?

I can’t hold it back anymore.

I opened my wrathful notepad and began typing.

[Me: Excuse me, author. This seems to be set in a world before [Reincarnated Hero], right? You’ve done well to maintain the original game lore until now, so why have you introduced such absurdity? And what’s with this ending? Isn’t it too much of a push for Caeran? What has Edwin done until now? Where have Yeriel, Aria, and Selena gone? I can’t accept that the hero hasn’t even flagged any of the heroines.]

Fortunately, my urgent feedback received a very quick response.

Reincarnation: [It’s my story, isn’t it?]

U-uh?

Reincarnation: [Lately, the view counts haven’t been great, and with the feedback from readers, this is what happened.]

At that moment, I hesitated on how to respond.

So it’s your fault that you keep screwing your self-insert character instead of focusing on the fundamental characters!

It’s crystal clear that this story is dying.

Moreover, the author is in a frail state due to conflicting feedback from various readers.

While he speaks as if blaming me for following it to the end, if I add one more unpleasant word here, he might just abandon the story without any revisions.

Then my memories of [Reincarnated Hero] would remain tarnished.

As I pondered how to gaslight this person, wiping and rewriting in the empty space,

[Reincarnation: Huh, I guess I got a bit worked up. I hope you understand.]

The author, contrary to expectation, sent me a candid note.

Yeah, we both got a bit too heated…

[Reincarnation: But… All the builds were introduced in [Reincarnated Hero 2], and this should be acceptable, right?]

[Me: Sir… [Reincarnated Hero 2] is a failed game!]

[Reincarnation: Ah… Did you say you’re a classic user?]

[Me: Yes. I’ve tried every build, but the sequel is missing too much of its fundamentals.]

[Reincarnation: Then do you really think the balancing in the first installment is perfect?]

Hmm… I can’t say there were no discomforts…

Yet, I could answer with full confidence.

[Me: Absolutely. It had unique characters! Fundamentals! And a system that embraced romance! No character was left behind!]

[Reincarnation: Is that so… ]

The reason why the first installment received favorable reviews is that even the minor supporting characters had distinct traits, narratives, and utility.

Honestly, one could deem it appropriate that no character was an absolute underdog.

[Me: So, could you pay more attention to those original characters and wrap up their stories nicely…?]

[Reincarnation: Then…!]

‘?’

[Reincarnation: Why don’t you try it yourself? Let’s see if you can say those words.]

ㄴ

…

Eh?

I couldn’t respond.

With that one sentence, the light flickered.

.

.

.

[Based on the reader’s feedback, we have selected a character closest to the classic status.]

.

.

.

-Chang!

—————————————————

[Mission Objectives]

1 – Don’t fail or get expelled from Claris Academy; graduate instead.

2 – Stop the Caeran ending.

—————————————————

Failure: The timeline might collapse, and you may find yourself trapped in the eternal flow of time.

—————————————————

‘Damn it?’

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