Fired Characters from an Idle Game

3. Unleashing Calamity – (3)

The Scorched Saint Selene found the solace she had long yearned for.

Here, in Fallen Paradise, there was peace.

Within the rift, no one persecuted Selene. No one punished her for misusing her power and setting her surroundings ablaze. No one accused her of witchcraft and sentenced her to the pyre.

Above all, what Selene cherished most was the domain’s Lord.

Seemingly akin to a divinity, the Rift Lord, a being to be revered from afar, possessed a kindness and gentleness that exceeded Selene’s expectations.

“Lord, why did you take in the likes of me?”

The Lord never answered Selene’s questions with words.

But he showed her through his actions.

[The Rift Lord ‘Actor’ gifts the 5★ Scorched Saint Selene with 2★ Dwarven Mead.]

“Ah….”

A glimpse of gentle consideration.

That was all Selene needed to understand.

“I shall obey the Lord’s commands.”

Selene became his vanguard.

Only for him did she wield her blade, only for him did she scatter hellfire.

A zealot with a place to belong became a calamity none could stop.

[5★ Scorched Saint Selene has returned from the expedition.]

[Reward: 300 Exp / 5☆ Umbral Falling Spear]

Each time she returned from expeditions with prized armaments as spoils, the Dominator praised Selene.

[The Rift Dominator ‘Actor’ gifts 5★ Scorched Saint Selene with 4☆ Rosary of Corruption.]

Selene felt at peace within the Rift.

Everything she had ever desired resided here.

A liege who treated her kindly, and the ability to faithfully execute that liege’s commands.

Even as she burned other worlds, skewering their inhabitants’ hearts upon her sword, even as she became a demon enacting wanton destruction, there was one who affirmed her existence.

That alone filled Selene’s heart.

Everything was satisfactory.

[A potent force gathers within the Rift!]

[The Rift Dominator ‘Actor’ has successfully synthesized 5★ Storm of the North Sea, Mirien!]

[…]

[A potent force gathers within the Rift!]

[The Rift Dominator ‘Actor’ has successfully synthesized 5★ Star-Devouring Queen, Asteria!]

[The Rift Dominator ‘Actor’ has successfully synthesized 5★ Omen Mother, Karne!]

Although she could not monopolize the Dominator’s affections, and throngs of subordinates possessing power comparable to Selene’s emerged, she was not greatly concerned.

The Dominator was a figure of grandeur.

She wouldn’t dare wish to be the sole object of his attention, a being as insignificant as herself.

Selene desired only one thing from him.

Acknowledgement.

With that alone, she was willing to immolate herself anew and dedicate herself to her sovereign.

Thus, Scorched Saint Selene savored a brief respite within the Rift.

“Forever, for eternity, I shall serve you.”

However.

Her wish, Selene’s desire, became meaningless.

Happiness did not last.

[5★ Dismissing Selene, the Charred Saint]

As the Divine abandoned Selene, and she abandoned the world,

so too, in the end, did the Ruler abandon her.

“B-But, why?”

Selene stood at her last bastion.

As once she had stood before the pyre, she slumped down, utterly lost.

And she pleaded, as if to a god, towards the Ruler.

“I… I can do better. I won’t cause any more trouble. I will venture into the very inferno to retrieve treasures. So please, just one more chance. Please….”

Selene could be better.

Any shortcomings could be rectified; if punishment was needed, she would willingly sever her own limbs.

Selene continued to beg.

[A Calamity is Unleashed. Their power is immense, capable of obliterating entire worlds. This decision is irreversible!]

[Y / N]

But the Ruler remained impassive, offering no response to Selene’s words.

However, as had always been the case, the Ruler conveyed their intent through action.

[Y]

Selene was exiled back to the extra-dimensional plane of her origin.

To her, the time without the Ruler felt akin to eons.

Drifting, floating in that empty dimension, Selene pondered.

Why did the Ruler abandon her?

No resentment took root.

Only a profound self-loathing remained.

Reproach for failing to satisfy her lord, the sense of loss stemming from the cessation of blissful times.

All of it became the pyre’s kindling, consuming Selene’s very being.

[A Calamity of the Disaster Order is coming for you.]

When she opened her eyes, it was to a new world.

A different world than before. A world on a higher plane.

Here, Selene could become something akin to a god, a new order for this world.

But Selene possessed no will to do so. The flame had long since been spent; she was a piece of kindling without fuel.

A prison in the guise of paradise, yet still without the Ruler.

This must be Hell.

Céline understood it with a stark clarity.

“…Punishment, punishment is required.”

Céline believed this was a trial inflicted upon her by the Dominator.

Her Lord would not abandon her.

This was merely a prison of penance, carefully arranged by the Dominator to make her lament her own inadequacies.

Céline sought to regain her Lord’s favor through arduous atonement.

[The Scorched Saint Céline scatters hellfire. The Abyss opens.]

And so, Céline concealed herself within the Abyss.

Wielding a whip of living flame, she ceaselessly burned her own flesh.

With each surge of agony, she dreamt of returning to Paradise.

That was not so long ago.

After a time of self-immolation, Céline sensed a familiar presence.

“…Ah…”

The largest fragment of Céline’s existence belonged solely to the Dominator.

Therefore, she knew.

Felt it instinctively.

“…The Dominator… is in this world. They still… desire me.”

From within the bottomless pit of the Abyss, Céline raised her head.

The most ferocious flame amidst all calamities began to stir.

*

Humans, they say, are creatures of adaptation.

Terror-stricken on the first day, bewildered on the second, and embroiled in conflict by the third, humanity’s society had, by the fifth day, progressed to deciphering the mechanics of this newly transformed world.

=

– You guys check out that eruption thing? Think they’re gathering minions there?

ㄴ If you’re curious, go ask God Tae-chang yourself.

ㄴ You think he’d answer?

ㄴ Yeah.

– This feels kinda like a tycoon game, right? Reinforce your base, farm experience and items, equip your underlings.

ㄴ So we don’t have to fight ourselves? This isn’t some kind of RPG?

ㄴ Seems like we gotta swallow a disaster right from the first eruption. Guess we’ll find out when it happens.

– It’s a conspiracy by Bill Gates and Melon Musk! The message is only visible to those who got the vaccine!

ㄴ Dumbass.

– Looking for party members to hunt together in two days.

ㄴ Location?

=

“Well, damn…”

I gave a wry smile, watching the community’s sentiment shift by the minute.

Opinions of every stripe were pouring in. Some users offered insightful analyses, pinpointing *Disaster Order’s* genre with surprising accuracy. Others shamelessly posted party recruitment threads, like something straight out of a game forum.

But that user’s post had garnered quite a few comments. Already, they were studying the game’s systems among themselves, even forming something resembling guilds.

Then again, reality wasn’t reality anymore.

Who would’ve imagined it, even last week?

That the world would become a game.

[Time Remaining Until Next Rift Eruption: 39h]

“Two days…”

Time was slipping away in the blink of an eye.

News outlets, which had been sensationalizing the earthquake damage and the unidentified structures, had already shifted their focus to the new world order, abandoning the victims.

What was *Disaster Order*, who were the Dominators, and what did these disasters signify?

The status window, at least, was quite forthcoming.

[In the world of *Disaster Order*, rifts erupt at regular intervals.]

[Disasters will be unleashed. The Dominator must subjugate these disasters and ascend to a higher plane of existence.]

[Establish a stronghold. Gather disasters, and leap forward by using them as fertilizer.]

Dominators – generally referred to as Awakened – had appeared.

A kind of social phenomenon.

From the government’s perspective, they likely wanted to suppress this situation as much as possible through the power of the state. However, a video that had rapidly spread on social media just recently, had become quite the topic.

A colossal black tower had risen in Yeouido. The video showed soldiers entering the dungeon where the North Sea’s storm, Mirienne, was said to reside, filmed from afar.

The moment the soldier at the front placed a foot inside the tower, a massive black whirlwind enveloped him. The storm moved as if it were alive, swallowing the soldiers around the tower like a ravenous maw.

And hours had passed, but none of the consumed soldiers had emerged from the tower.

The video spread like wildfire, and everyone who saw it was forced to confront a single thought.

‘This is a problem that can’t be solved with common sense anymore.’

Since then, stories related to Awakened ones began to erupt in the community.

Voices expressing concern over the eruption of rifts also became more frequent.

And what of the religious circles?

Groups worshipping the world’s new system as if it were divine punishment, groups insisting it should be approached with cold reason, and then just anarchists, doomsday prophets, and conspiracy theorists, all entangled in a chaotic free-for-all.

Simply put, it was a mess.

There was no need to look further; nutritious content on the community forums was as rare as beans in drought.

“…Might as well just do my own thing.”

I turned off the internet and looked at another window.

*Ding.*

[Base not established. Status cannot be checked.]

[Dominator ‘Actor,’ please establish a base.]

[Failure to establish a base may result in penalties.]

The semi-transparent message window continued to demand that I set up a base.

The base was the alpha and omega of Disaster Order.

Only with a base could you collect and synthesize Calamities, and enhance equipment. Sending out expeditions was also a function managed through the base’s formation window, so establishing a base was essential for anyone starting the game for the first time.

“Essential, yes, but no need to do it now.”

But I didn’t create a base.

Unlike the others, I’d already thoroughly tasted this garbage game. I was a connoisseur of crap.

As such, I knew the side effects of creating a base thoughtlessly early on all too well.

Especially now, when I couldn’t use tricks like rerolling.

‘It’s not too late to create a base after preparing properly.’

Of course, that didn’t mean I’d been idly playing around during that time.

In my own way, I’d diligently prepared to face this upcoming eruption.

“…A baseball bat should do, right?”

If this world diligently followed the game’s rules, the first eruption wouldn’t unleash particularly strong Calamities.

Mostly 1-star Calamities, so-called goblins and such.

2-star Calamities would appear rarely, but I could just run away if things got too dicey.

A baseball bat with nails hammered into it should be sufficient firepower.

“I think I’m ready enough.”

I wrapped the baseball bat with electrical tape a few times and leaned it against the wall next to the front door.

Indeed, there was something weighing on my mind even more than the impending eruption of the rifts.

I manipulated the status window, calling up the achievements management screen.

[Achievement Unlocked: Beloved by Calamity]

[Reward: 1,000 Exp]

“…”

An achievement I’d never seen before.

The experience points were at an absurd level.

If I established a foothold now, it was enough experience to upgrade the initial facilities by three whole tiers.

“…This feels dangerous.”

That’s why I’m even more uneasy.

Beloved by calamity, eh?

It doesn’t seem like my progress from within the game is carrying over, at least.

Perhaps it’s a stroke of luck nothing has happened yet.

“Bah, best to just get on with what needs doing.”

No point in getting bogged down with complicated thoughts.

I hardened my resolve, and fixed my gaze on the timer at the top of the status window.

*

[Time Remaining Until Next Rift Eruption: 0h]

[Rift Eruption Commencing.]

And so, on the day that marked exactly one week since the appearance of the rifts, the rifts erupted.

[Calamity Comes Seeking You.]

As anticipated, the first eruption of the rifts brought forth mostly weaker calamities.

[1★ Horde of Forest Goblins Emerging!]

[1★ Swarm of Leaf Sprites Emerging!]

[ … ]

[2★ Moss Hunter Emerging!]

[2★ Ember Fox Emerging!]

However, there was one aspect that strayed from my expectations.

[Dungeon «The Abyss» Erupting!]

[5★ The Scorched Saint, Celine, Wanders the Land!]

It wasn’t just the rifts that were erupting.