NOVEL NEXT Chapter 20
Here’s a brief summary of the plot of I Got Trapped in a Game:
“Can’t say I don’t know a guy named Kang Si Woo who crossed over from another place. Gabriel.”
The protagonist, a salaryman named Kang Si Woo, found solace after work in a game he played on his smartphone. The game’s title was Making the Saint Happy, where players take on the role of a Hero and battle monsters to increase the Saint’s affection.
Here, the Saint is Azazel, who was known as the Saint of Mercy before facing external pressures. Like a game in reality, she listened to players’ dilemmas through choices that tested their psyche. Kang Si Woo was so obsessed with her that he decorated his entire room with merchandise and figures of her.
Just like there are plenty of die-hard subculture fans in this world, I believed I could make this web novel commercially viable.
“Hmmm… I’m really curious about the source of that information. Could it be based on the future that kid saw?”
Gabriel raised her hand, startled, as she listened to my story. In my original work, Kang Si Woo gets hit by a truck, gets trapped in the game world, and as he opens his eyes, he meets a woman with pink hair.
‘The problem wasn’t that she was the Azazel who was waiting for Kang Si Woo, but that she looked just like his sister….’
I took a deep breath while looking at Azazel’s face. I never thought I’d end up revisiting my inability to escape my brother’s shadow through this novel.
“No, I came to make a proper lover for that kid. How can we call him a man if he can’t even recognize the one he likes?”
Kang Si Woo thinks the woman he first met is Azazel and travels together with Gabriel. They hold hands, hug, and share passionate kisses, deepening their feelings.
Ultimately, their relationship evolves to the point of being intimate like beasts, leading to Azazel falling into despair upon witnessing it. This is how the early chapters of I Got Trapped in a Game kick off.
Back then, I aimed for a spicy start to capture some viral resurgence.
“Oh my… What a surprising story. Most guys act like their brains are stuck in their d*s.”
Gabriel narrowed her eyes, glancing at my groin. I hadn’t described such a perverted gaze.
Demons are a race specialized in probing a person’s heart, uncovering weaknesses, and showing desired dreams.
“Are you really not going to touch your students? Even if they become of age?”
Using her unique mind-reading abilities, Gabriel continued, mocking me. I knew that Bi Won had special feelings for me. I also knew that Verdandi felt more than just platonic affection.
“How can a man who touches children he raised like his own be called human? Even beasts wouldn’t do such a thing.”
I would never lay a hand on my students. After all, I was the one who led them into the abyss of misfortune, seeking self-satisfaction.
This cannot be called love.
“I happen to like men who are like sad dogs, you know. Unlike your students, they’re adults.”
“Shut up.”
I grabbed Gabriel’s wrist, intending to tickle her as she tried to tease me, expressing my displeasure. She looked like an angel on the outside but was a devilish woman who would steal someone’s partner for her amusement.
“Well, that’s fine. So, why did you call me?”
“I wanted to check if there are parts about Azazel Blackheart that differ from the information I know. Also…”
I slowly got to the main point with Gabriel in mind. I thought her guidance would be essential in meeting Azazel.
“…so you’ll guide me to Azazel.”
“Oh my, you’re saying that knowing she has a crush on someone?”
“Yeah.”
As I nodded at Gabriel’s words, it was something we needed to let Azazel know.
The Saint, longing for the original protagonist, Kang Si Woo, in the smartphone game, was spending her days dreaming of meeting him one day.
But,
‘In the end, Azazel doesn’t really know what kind of person Kang Si Woo is. She probably only saw his good side and thought there couldn’t be any drawbacks.’
Truthfully, Kang Si Woo was not a very good protagonist in reality. Just like in typical harem stories, he was a guy who didn’t turn away the women coming to him and held onto those leaving.
In the end, I thought it would be exciting if this setting had a twist, where the heroines would get the “I liked him first” vibe, and it was partly my mistake that I poured too much effort into depicting the Saint’s unrequited feelings for the male protagonist.
Eventually, I received a ton of criticism in community comments for the early episodes, leaving only a single reader by the end.
“Well, isn’t this an opportunity for you? It’s like you’re trying to prevent your sister from getting involved with a trashy man.”
As I said this, Gabriel immediately squinted her eyes and began to bite her lip.
Even if they were twins, one could never be identical in atmosphere, speech, behavior, or habits.
As Kang Si Woo got to know Gabriel, he couldn’t shake off the feeling of inconsistency. Just like how she couldn’t read everything I was hiding, even a demon has its limitations.
“That’s right. At some point, he must have realized I wasn’t my sister, but he was ignoring that and lusting after my body.”
Gabriel gathered her hands over her chest as if to emphasize, and when I turned my gaze away, she smirked.
In this way, Gabriel was a contradictory figure, both an angel and a devil.
At first, she was curious about how it would feel to steal her sister’s love, but…
“Sometimes when he gets angry, he chokes me, hits me, and even orders me to self-harm just because he wants to see me suffering.”
Later on, I thought that such a man should never get close to her sister, so I intentionally showed her an NTR scene.
“Wasn’t it painful?”
“…I guess not. There are much worse guys out there, so I think that’s normal?”
Gabriel sipped her tea nonchalantly, as if it was nothing. To her, that was what love was—a twisted outlet for sadistic and masochistic emotions.
“That’s not love at all. How can violence be love?”
I shook my head, reflecting on her. This was the same logic I thought as a child.
After my brother’s death, I thought that the domestic violence from my father was better than indifference.
“Who knows? Love takes many forms, and I just think about it more broadly.”
“That’s nonsense. You’re going to engage in such theft to keep someone away from a bad man?”
“…You’re quite peculiar yourself. I’m curious to see how you feel after spending a night together.”
In an instant, she tried to yank me by the cr*ch, testing my response. I quickly channeled the chill inside me to block any other energy from entering.
“Is Azazel supposed to be here at the Monastery? Because the old fools at the Vatican don’t recognize her as a Saint, given she’s a demon.”
“Yes, but it’s in quite a remote location. It’s all a setup to prevent my sister from falling in love with the wrong guy.”
I once wrote that love was like extreme poison to demons.
For a demon who thrives on experiencing new things by having a physical connection with many men, being devoted to just one man could be life-threatening, which I thought would be an interesting concept.
It was a twist on a cliché.
That’s why I added a premise where someone could explore new experiences and dreams without love.
“Do you know that she’s contracted with an external agency?”
“Yes, because once we fall in love, we do anything.”
Gabriel’s fingertips trembled slightly as she said this, forcing a smile.
“Can you guide me? I’d like to meet Azazel with my students.”
“Why would I have to do that?”
“I want that kid to meet a proper man and learn about love. You feel the same way, right?”
“…Oh my.”
Gabriel covered her mouth in surprise at my unexpected words, her shoulders trembling.
“What’s your name?”
“Bing Yeon. I run a small sect in the East. To put it simply, it’s a place where I take in homeless kids and teach them martial arts.”
When Gabriel heard my name, she muttered, “Bing Yeon… Bing Yeon…” a few times, then her expression turned satisfied.
“…It looks like my students are completely smitten with you! Almost to the point where our Azazel could grow up under your care.”
“I think it’s just a momentary infatuation. Once they become adults and meet more people, their perspective will broaden.”
While I said that, Gabriel shook her head and chuckled in disbelief.
“You, of all people, should know that the weight of love doesn’t depend on age.”
“I know that much, but still, I raised them like daughters. If I don’t nurture any ulterior motives, they’ll probably let go of their feelings.”
For this reason, I also tried to serve the succubus food to give them a chance to experience new love.
No matter how much they were saved by me, what would my shabby self offer to keep their affection burning?
If a mentor touches his student, he would not just be criticized as a thief but be seen as a scumbag in ordinary society.
“Really? I’d love to observe and see for myself.”
“Pass.”
“Then, will you guide me?”
“Yes! Of course….”
Just as Gabriel nodded in agreement, the back door, which had been firmly shut, suddenly opened, and a group of men walked in.
“It’s urgent! Gabriel! Our guests are causing a ruckus in their dreams!”
The men in question were incubuses. Their faces were bruised as if they had been hit.
“Ugh… I never thought I’d be kicked in the groin in a dream….”
“I was just reciting a cheesy romantic line, and I almost had my tongue ripped out….”
Their faces were smeared with fear and cold sweat. I had an ominous feeling as I guessed where this incident originated.
“Who the hell…? No, there’s no way they could resist a demon’s dream, right?!”
Yeah, a common person or adventurer wouldn’t face this kind of occurrence. They wouldn’t resist after eating demon food.
However,
“…It’s probably my students. I apologize, everyone.”
The final bosses, set up as the strongest and most evil in the story, didn’t seem to easily fall for such pranks.