Chapter 38: Dr. Strategy Gate (2)

As predicted, Nell was indeed the mastermind in the early stages. The process was complicated, but in the grand scheme of things, there were no further twists.

“These developers are truly evil! The first NPC we met was the main villain.”

As Nell’s true identity was revealed, viewers erupted in chat.

At the same time, the scene continued to unfold.

Nergal looked at Phantom with a surprised expression and said:

[It’s amusing. To think the first human to set foot in this place would be a mere brat who chose a dagger.]

Nergal’s lines felt like he was reading from a pre-written script. Soon, seeing Phantom’s equipment, he glared and exclaimed:

[Those things you’re holding… Surely you haven’t discovered the power of Enchantment!!]

His tone was urgent, as if he felt cornered.

[That power is too dangerous for us Demon Lords. It cannot be brought into the Mortal Realm.]

“The Mortal Realm? You mean there’s another world besides this one, Nell!!”

[You don’t need to know, human. You will now die here, along with the secret of ‘Enchantment’!!!]

With Nergal’s cry, his appearance instantly transformed. His face became grotesque, and his body grew more than three times its original size. Furthermore, six long tentacles squirmed and emerged from his back. He was, in every sense, a true boss monster.

From Nergal’s dialogue so far, it was clear:

This initial scenario seemed to reflect a setting where humans acquire the power of ‘Enchantment’ and cross over into the Mortal Realm. The objective was to stop this by utilizing ‘Enchantment’ to advance to another world. Once Nergal’s transformation was complete, movement finally became possible.

[Ding! Quest updated.]

◎ Main Quest – Defeat Nergal

Nergal, a Demon Lord tasked with a mission, has descended into the Underworld. The Demon Lords fear the ancient power spreading into the Mortal Realm once more. Defeat him and advance to a new world.

“This is the simplest and best quest I’ve gotten so far.”

Defeating enemies was what Dojun did best.

Undoubtedly, the difficulty of reaching this point from the start of the game was quite high. However, if one grasped the main questline properly, it felt like something an ordinary person could overcome.

This battle won’t be that hard either.

Since it was a game and still the early stages, there was no way it would be implemented to be overly difficult. As his body loosened up, Dojun gripped his dagger in a reverse grip and slowly walked forward.

“Then, let’s go see the end of this story.”

Go, Phantom!!

Do it for us~~

Six tentacles? His attack patterns might be tough!

Get hit by 6 tentacles!!

So Phantom advances to a new world…?

This was the real ending, lololol

Nergal’s six tentacles. As the viewers said, they were undoubtedly the biggest hindrance in this battle. Of course, that didn’t apply to Dojun.

“I’ll go with my usual approach.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Dojun sprinted forward. He boldly closed the distance, yet without any panic, the tentacles from behind began to lash out.

One tentacle aiming for the torso.

Just before the tentacle could pierce his body, he dodged diagonally and moved forward. However, the remaining five tentacles immediately followed up with attacks. Of course, he avoided all of them with ease.

A smile crept onto Dojun’s lips after dodging all the tentacle attacks.

“When the tentacle attack finishes, it takes time for them to retract. This is the moment to close the distance even further.”

With a relaxed demeanor, he even shared strategy tips for Nergal. Once the tentacles retracted, Nergal unleashed another barrage of attacks on Dojun. Seeing the assault, Dojun frowned slightly.

It’s a different pattern from the first one.

Initially, the tentacles had all aimed to pierce his body with straight, frontal attacks. But now, the attacks were a mix of straight and lateral movements. However, Dojun was able to anticipate every attack by observing the direction the tentacles emerged from.

Currently, Dojun’s speed was slightly slower than usual. This time, it wasn’t about competition but about providing a proper boss strategy for the viewers.

“The first and second attacks are coming straight. The rest are coming from the sides. Watch closely how I dodge them.”

Thump. Thump.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

He dodged the two frontal attacks and, for the side attacks, he increased his speed to move forward instead of dodging sideways or backward.

“For side attacks, it seems better to increase your speed and close the distance rather than dodging to the side or backward.”

At this point, with two rounds of tentacle attacks completed, Dojun had already sufficiently narrowed the distance with Nergal. Nergal was now completely vulnerable.

Will the boss die in one hit too?

At that moment, Nergal’s lips curled into a sinister grin, and something red began to materialize in his hand.

Magic!!

Whoa!! Dangerous!!

A magic pattern at the very end of melee range… These developers are insane.

Just dodge it. It’s not impossible to dodge.

Yeah, you can’t dodge it^^

Neither can you^^

Seeing that, Dojun considered slowing down his approach but then shook his head and pushed forward even faster. The instant magic began to generate and manifest in Nergal’s hand, Dojun pulled a dagger from his inventory and threw it towards where the magic was forming.

Before the magic could be unleashed, the dagger precisely intercepted the red orb, and something unexpected happened.

BOOM!!!!!!

The magic exploded in his hand, backfiring and damaging Nergal instead.

Wow…

What the f*** was that?

Insane lolol

I think it was an Explosion spell?

Yeah, looks like he used its property of exploding on contact with an object.

His split-second judgment is crazy.

OMG OMG!!

The explosion momentarily left Nergal even more vulnerable. It was a perfect opportunity for anyone, not just Dojun, to land a hit. Dojun closed in further. He immediately brought the dagger, held in a reverse grip, down towards Nergal’s neck. But…

“What is this…?”

Instead of piercing his neck, the dagger didn’t even penetrate 1mm; it just bounced off. Then came the alert sound.

[Cannot inflict damage.]

[Superior demons or higher do not take damage from lower-tier attacks without holy power.]

Huh?

No, they’re telling us this now?

This game is totally broken lolololol

Honestly, this crosses the line, damn it!!!

The viewers started to rage. Even Dojun, the mighty, couldn’t help but frown this time.

They tell me such an important fact during a boss fight?

His head briefly heated up, but Dojun shook his head. No matter how messed up the game company was, that couldn’t be it. This game was difficult, but it wasn’t outright garbage. This meant Dojun had failed in his prior information gathering.

Could it be that progressing too fast was a mistake?

As he got closer to the end, he had been obsessed with the time limit, so he played at high speed, avoiding contact with superior demons as much as possible. On top of that, the psychological pressure of not being able to play for a while due to broadcast recordings starting next week had subtly affected him.

If my attacks don’t work, then beating the boss is practically impossible.

Dojun racked his brain, trying to remember if he had missed anything. Suddenly, one thing immediately came to mind.

Not all the puzzles are solved yet.

Dojun still had one more unresolved gimmick: [Raphael’s Breath], [Michael’s Tears], and [Gabriel’s Will].

And the [Unknown Pouch].

He had tried various things with them intermittently. He had secretly concluded that they were for use after the early game because they seemed to have no immediate purpose, but that wasn’t it.

The acquisition of holy power must be related to these.

The names of the three beings appearing in the item names: Raphael, Michael, Gabriel. These were the names of the three archangels in the Celestial Realm. The problem was how to utilize them.

I think I dimly understand.

Dojun immediately created distance from Nergal. He pulled out [Raphael’s Breath], [Michael’s Tears], and [Gabriel’s Will] from his inventory. Then, Dojun recalled something that had happened recently.

A while ago, when he was moving to Gandalf’s location, Dojun was diligently making his way, hunting monsters. He chatted with the viewers, maintaining an unconcerned expression outwardly, but inwardly, he kept pondering something.

What do these items do?

[Raphael’s Breath]

[Michael’s Tears]

[Gabriel’s Will]

These three items were definitely interconnected. He wasn’t sure if anything else would appear, but he had been consistently trying various combinations. In that process, he had discovered one thing: the use of the [Unknown Pouch] acquired in the Secret Passage of Behera Castle. When he put [Raphael’s Breath], [Michael’s Tears], and [Gabriel’s Will] into it, a new message appeared.

– Beep. Incorrect combination.

It must be something related to the angels’ power…

He had vaguely guessed based on the item names. The game’s lore was about humans protecting the human world by borrowing the power of angels in a world where demons’ power was absolute. He was convinced it was related to the bestowal of new power or the appearance of a new item.

Should I try putting in the dagger I got from the palace?

– Beep. Incorrect combination.

He had expected it, but it still failed. He tried with other weapons too, but they were useless as well.

It definitely seems related to weaponry…

Dojun, thinking there was still a missing ingredient, later refocused on the broadcast.

Suddenly, a thought struck him.

What if there was no problem with the ingredients at all?

[Raphael’s Breath]

[Michael’s Tears]

[Gabriel’s Will]

If there were no additional ingredients beyond these, and they weren’t combining, then the only remaining cause was the ‘weaponry’ itself.

Dojun recalled the game’s storyline. The ancient power of [Enchantment] that allowed them to withstand demons. But the limit of this power was merely enduring; it couldn’t defeat the demons.

But what if it’s about giving humans a new power, [Holy Power], that goes beyond enduring and can defeat demons?

If such power were to be granted, it would be logical to apply it to better equipment, not just any ordinary gear. That would be the ancient power, [Enchantment].

I haven’t tried it on an [Enchanted] item yet.

As if possessed, Dojun put the currently held [Enchantment – Piercing] along with the three items into the [Unknown Pouch].

Suddenly, a golden light erupted from the [Unknown Pouch], and a new alert sound was heard.

– Ding!

[Enchantment – Piercing] has been combined into [Enchantment – Holy Piercing].

Naturally, the watching viewers, upon seeing the alert, collectively displayed question marks.

???

What?? What just happened??

I think he just got holy power?

Lololol, suddenly the tables have turned, right?

Breaking news)) Nergal about to get stomped.

Nergal, who was watching: Huh?

You’re dead, repeat after me, Phantom, let’s go~~!!

The dagger he picked up again glowed with a faint, holy white light. Dojun grinned, then extended the dagger and said, “Alright, since that guy’s invincibility is gone, let’s start Round 2.”

How dare he use an invincibility hack in front of Phantom-nim?

Hackers deserve to be taught a lesson, that’s for sure.

Looking at Phantom’s skill, he’ll probably win easily.

For real lol

I’m also sure he’ll win.

Right. What we’re really waiting for is the next development.

Having witnessed Phantom’s skill in the previous battle, no one doubted the game’s clear anymore. Of course, that included Dojun himself.

100 million won is mine now.

Once again, he charged at Nergal. Nergal’s attack pattern was the same as before. And Dojun’s evasion was identical. Finally, after dodging the magic attack, the dagger darted like lightning towards Nergal’s neck.

It’s over.

The moment Dojun confidently reached out his hand, a strange warning sound suddenly blared rapidly, and everything on the screen froze.

Beep!! Beep!! Beep!!

Beep!! Beep!! Beep!!

[Suspicious program detected in streamer ‘Phantom’s’ broadcast.]

[SwitchTV has detected abnormalities in ‘Phantom’s’ broadcast.]

[SwitchTV’s security program is blocking all of ‘Phantom’s’ broadcasts.]

[SwitchTV will temporarily prevent ‘Phantom’ from streaming until the abnormal activity review is complete.]

[Warning!! All games currently being played will be stopped due to the forced termination of programs linked to the capsule.]

The alerts were long, but to Dojun, they seemed to read only one line:

[100 million won has flown away.]

Including his previous life, it was the first time Dojun’s sanity had shattered.