TFWSDW 22

Chapter 22

‘What the heck just happened?’

The fanatic, Andras, was nowhere to be heard.

‘Stay calm.’

Looking closely… this is just like when the “Judge” goes berserk.

That happens when the player, as the defendant, tells three lies in a row. Then the Judge goes out of control.

Judgment Overload.

And honestly, there’s no real solution to this.

Game Category [Post][Chatter]
Title: Hey Newbies, Listen Up

People keep asking me “how do you survive when the Judge goes berserk?”
I already wrote a bunch of posts telling you how not to get to that point, and you ignored them ಠ_ಠ
Just die. ಠ_ಠ Just die lol
Don’t ask me for aftercare, you damn noobs!
❤️ Likes: 2
Comments:
👤 Savior 1: And yet you still post guides for us, right?

└ OP: ಠ_ಠ (Damn it!!)

Normally, you just die.

But this is real life—we can’t die here.

‘Ugh… can’t believe I have to use that joke post as a guide.’

I pushed down the tension and fear and calmly raised my head.

“Respected Judge.”

My voice came out smooth and steady.

“Please deliver your judgment.”

In this world, evil gods are bound to logic—they can’t break the rules that define them.

And since they prioritize “the Source,” monsters born of their system must obey those same rules.

The black Judge, “Big Pongy,” moved its featureless eyes back and forth.

‘Ugh, so gross…!’

“Now’s not the time to be sensibile, right?”

“…But you distorted the truth.”

“Your role is to determine the truth, isn’t it, Your Honor?”

“…”

“If it was a lie, then give your verdict.”

Of course, I wasn’t lying. I really did see the Evil God in the game.

“Liberamente.”

I said it confidently, and the Judge backed away a bit, shrinking down.

Its stitched mouth stretched into a smile right in front of me.

“Indeed… No need to be sensibile. My role! It’s important, con allegrezza!”

But the Judge still didn’t announce the result. I was getting nervous.

“You say you’ve seen the Father? How intriguing. Why don’t we continue this connection soave-ly?”

According to the lore, all of the Evil God’s creations refer to him as “Father.”

“Let’s get along well! I feel like we’ll meet again~”

Wait, what are you saying?

“Oh, such sonando-ness! Joy to us! Let music’s blessing carry on forever~!”

“Wait a minute—”

“I declare all statements to be the truth!”

Clink!

The final chain around me snapped off.

And then the world began to shatter apart, starting from the ground.

A thin, bony finger waved at me—

“Marziale!”

Wait! You damned monster—what do you mean by that?!

Why would you drop a teaser like that?!

But before I could say anything, my vision snapped back to reality.

“Haah…”

Unlike with the bug monster earlier, time doesn’t move in the real world while you’re trapped in an extradimensional entity’s trial.

Which meant Dad hadn’t had to worry or panic while I was gone.

I staggered—

And slumped.

Someone was kneeling and bowing in front of me.

‘…Is this guy insane?’

Good thing he put up a barrier beforehand.

I clicked my tongue.

The fanatic, Andras, was trembling as he bowed.

“P-please forgive me!”

“Look up, will you?”

Andras immediately looked up, like he’d been waiting for permission.

I kind of wish he hadn’t.

“A-a-amazing! I didn’t recognize your greatness! To be acknowledged by the Judge himself…!”

He was panting and had a nosebleed.

His eyes were practically glazed over with worship.

Clearly, he’d misunderstood what happened with the berserk Judge.

Game Category [Post][Chatter]
Title: I’m New Here… (Long Post Warning)

Uh, I’m new…
I kept getting caught by fanatics and killed by the Judge…
So I tried this method someone posted about calming the Judge by using music terms…
(Link: How to Memorize Music Terminology)
But there’s too much to memorize…ㅠ
Is there really no other way?ㅠ
Why do I have to memorize music vocab to play this game ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

(Also, side note… why does everyone call each other “Gwonja” here? Isn’t it supposed to be “Savior”??)

❤️ Likes: 322
Comments:
👤 Savior 1: Wow you’re a real “new Gwonja”… try saying “Guwonja” really fast.

└ OP: Guwonjaguwonjaguwonjagwonja…oh…?
👤 Savior 3: Why memorize? If you say 3 music terms, the Judge chills out and leaves. Easy, right?

└ Gwonja4: 222 It’s cheaper than a full party wipe.
👤 Savior 4: What, you think this is a joke? I gave up my social life to memorize them all. Now I’m friends with the Judge!!
👤 Savior 3: Yeah! Don’t run from it—memorize it! We need you for this game to survive!

└ Gwonja3: Ugh… we’re so embarrassing as a fandom…

I used to wonder why the Judge’s lore said it liked music.

Then I found out—if you pick the music term dialogue options during a berserk event, it calms down and leaves.

Problem is… it only works with actual music terms.

‘Damn devs…’

I remembered cramming music vocab until my head hurt.

As a result, I now had a whole music glossary in my head.

Of course, this fanatic didn’t know that.

To him, it looked like the scary Judge monster just accepted me all on its own.

“A lowly one such as I dared to test a noble being! Forgive me! I’ll repay this with death!”

“No need to die.”

He wasn’t trembling from fear—it was excitement.

‘This is… disturbing.’

“Then how will you repay me?”

“…Excuse me?”

“My effort. My time.”

“……”

I held out my hand.

“Compensate me.”

Give me the loot.

In the game, saying that usually made the NPC hand something over. So I was confident.

But then…

The fanatic grabbed my hand and his eyes glowed oddly.

“Of course!”

A red light flashed in his eyes. I flinched.

I instinctively reached forward—

‘No!’

Dad suddenly appeared behind the fanatic with sword drawn—our eyes met.

I desperately signaled.

‘No no no—it’s fine! Calm down, Dad!’

Thankfully, he vanished quietly. The fanatic hadn’t noticed a thing.

‘This mental tug-of-war… not easy.’

Then I noticed something on the back of my hand.

‘Wait… is this…’

A mark of submission?

It looked like a red flame and disappeared quickly.

But the same mark appeared on the fanatic’s forehead.

“I pledge my obedience.”

“……”

“My life and death now belong to you, noble one.”

His attitude said he was fine with being forgiven—or being punished.

His ecstatic eyes stared straight at me.

“If you include me in your grand design, I—Andras—will dedicate myself fully to your path toward the Source!”

…Okay, this wasn’t supposed to be a route to the happy ending.

I nodded.

“Fine, now go.”

“Yes.”

As he got up, the mark on his forehead disappeared.

But if I wished it, he’d appear wherever I needed him—and die if I said so.

‘I didn’t plan on getting a fanatic follower…’

Still, considering how suspicious and paranoid Connectors are, this was an unexpected success.

“To think our church has influenced even a Pope candidate…! The Evil God’s Left Brain watches over us!”

“Right.”

The fanatic Andras left without another word.

Only once he fully disappeared did someone appear next to me—silently.

It was Dad.

I turned toward him, a little nervous.

‘So… he saw everything.’

How was he going to react?

[Achievement Unlocked! Idol of the Fanatics (???)]

‘…What the heck is this one now?’