A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 228

[Rene]

[I’m going to try out the newly released game]

[Akashic Project | 9,144 viewers online | 00:29:15]

Why is it that in a game set in such a world, we wear swimsuits and go to the beach when summer comes?

I finally started the game after having a deep discussion with the believers about this very question.

Well, the conclusion was simply that the players of the game wanted it… but still.

Still, from an otaku’s standpoint, swimsuits are definitely a major issue.

=‘RightNowReneBroadcast’ donated 50,000 won.

So does that mean the conclusion is that Rene will bring a summer swimsuit costume?

─Yep, that’s right! Right now, 8 billion believers around the world support it!

─Honestly, if we’re talking about swimsuits this much, the broadcast manager must have caught on, lol.

─I prefer school swimsuits over bikinis…

─What even is a school swimsuit, you nerd, lol.

─How do you know that school swimsuits are school swimsuits…?

Huh?

Why is the conclusion like that?

“Thank you for the 50,000 won donation, ‘RightNowReneBroadcast’… You might think it’s disappointing, but I don’t have any such plans, so please don’t get your hopes up…”

Sure, I could just gloss over this, but I don’t want to give false hope.

─Liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar, liar.

─If you don’t bring that swimsuit costume, I’m gonna cry… even though I’m an adult male, I’m seriously gonna cry…

The chat window exploded with reactions to my response, but I casually brushed through the chats while continuing with the game.

[Iris: Teacher? Are you okay? Are you pushing yourself too hard…?]

The story of Akashic Project was a bit different from what I had in mind.

At first, I thought the prologue would set up a tremendously dark world, but it turned out to be much… no, just bright in general.

“At this point, wearing a swimsuit in summer doesn’t feel weird at all…”

─That damn swimsuit, lol.

─Swimsuits are a serious matter, yes, yes;

─How does it make sense that there’s no swimsuit costume while we’re talking about it, damn it?

─I bet they’re planning to make it a surprise…

But one uncomfortable thing is that the titles for player characters are all over the place.

Some call me Master, some call me Teacher, some call me Commander, some call me Captain, some call me Producer…

Can’t they just unify it into one title?

Of course, it probably has to do with the dimensional travel aspect of the game, but still, I wish they’d settled on one.

[Luka: Master! Enemies are coming from the front! Command us!]

The gameplay is basically about defeating enemies using the commands each character possesses in this RPG.

There are also Easter eggs by combining character commands, allowing for various strategies.

Right now, the starting characters, Iris and Luka, have a special move when combining their commands; although it would incur quite a disadvantage to use immediately, through careful command combinations, it is possible to use it without significant drawbacks.

The story is decent, and the illustrations are at least tolerable based on personal taste.

I could definitely see why Owen praised this game.

As I continued playing, I soon reached Chapter 4-1 of the main story.

─From here, it’s getting tough, yes, yes.

─Around Stage 4, you really should level up to make it easier.

─Looking at the broadcast manager’s state, even leveling up seems like it’s going to be a challenge…

─Are you saying our Rene is just smashing commands without thinking, that dense beast?

─Sounds like you’re wanting to say that about yourself, lol.

The game was only released two days ago, but it feels like a lot of the believers here are seriously into it.

In the gacha from earlier at Stage 1-2, there were quite a few believers saying the characters I pulled were underwhelming and that I should reroll.

Well, I stayed with the characters I initially pulled because I liked their illustrations.

In the end, in subculture games like this, affection is the most important thing.

Simple performance won’t save the world…

Anyway, following the believers’ advice that leveling up from here is important, I leveled up the character I drew with the highest rank and the one I liked the illustration of—‘Beatrice.’

─It seems like people who think they’re doomed should just give up, lol.

─Of all the characters, why are you leveling her now, you clueless one?

But for some reason, the reactions in the chat window weren’t good.

And quite severe…

Apparently, the performance of the Beatrice I was leveling up was supposedly at a level that’s completely unusable.

It’s even said that the enemies in 4-1 can’t be taken down due to Beatrice’s reverse compatibility.

…But I thought differently.

Those judgments are merely from novices.

A seasoned player like me has an entirely different perspective.

Is Beatrice’s performance poor, and do the enemies have reverse compatibility so I can’t defeat them?

That’s only true if you’re looking at Beatrice in isolation.

This game offers various strategies based on the combinations of character commands in the party.

So, the issues of performance or reverse compatibility can be sufficiently resolved by other characters included in the party.

In fact, I currently have ‘Erika’, who has an Easter egg, along with Beatrice.

And Erika is compatible with the enemies that appear in Chapter 4-1.

In other words, if I combine the Easter eggs of Beatrice and Erika, I can definitely clear it.

“My strategy is perfect, right…?”

As I mentioned my flawless strategy, the chat window naturally started to praise me…

─Are you actually a complete fool?

…Huh?

─If that’s the case, shouldn’t you level Erika up as a dealer?

─Info: Erika and Beatrice use the same materials, so you can’t level up anymore.

─In the first place, since I leveled them up using all the common materials, I can’t level up anyone else either…

─Go back to the previous stage and gather materials or characters, teacher, lol.

─Your concept of being a fool is way too far-fetched…

─If you still see this as a concept, you need to go to the hospital first, damn it, lol.

In an instant, the chat was filled with defamation.

Is it that a novice can’t grasp the thoughts of a seasoned player?

While feeling a mix of sympathy and motivation to prove myself to them directly surged up.

Of course, I generally tend to be a bit bad at computer games, but this is fundamentally a mobile game.

And there’s nothing particularly requiring precise controls; you just click the prepared commands using action points.

And it’s only Stage 4-1, isn’t it?

Akashic Project has stages up to 12.

It’s only about a third in, and getting stuck here is nonsensical.

No matter how weak Beatrice is, she’s a top-tier character who’s already levelled up.

“Everyone, are you watching closely… I’m going to completely shatter your biases, preconceptions, and common sense…”

★

“Oh, such a pity…”

This time, I truly failed miserably.

The enemy’s HP was only 300 left.

If I had just dealt one more hit, I could have taken it down.

─Damn stupid idiot, damn stupid idiot, damn stupid idiot, damn stupid idiot, damn stupid idiot, damn stupid idiot, damn stupid idiot, damn stupid… [Message deleted.]

─This power struggle is turning into a mess, damn it, lol.

─If this power struggle doesn’t stop, I’ll scream…

─Kek… Keek…

─The advertiser is weeping, lol.

─Just admit it and end it, Tenren…

“It’s okay… I’m sure I can do it…”

─I shouldn’t say she’s completely oblivious, right…?

─I’d rather you show us the gacha…

─If you flop the gacha, at least that would be funny, damn it.

─Aren’t you tired of struggling with this for 20 minutes in Stage 4-1, seriously???

“Everyone, it’s only 300 HP left… At this point, it’s really just a little more and I can clear it…”

At this point, if I dealt just one more regular attack with Erika, I could clear it.

In other words, if I had split my turns just a little better, I would have already cleared it.

The believers surely knew that as well, but it seemed like the accusations were just too much.

─Well, if that’s the case, can’t you just run the previous stage three times and level up Erika a little to clear it?

─Stop the red pills, damn it.

─Who the heck does homework like this, you insane girl?

─Seriously, someone looking from the outside would call it a dumb game and definitely wouldn’t play it, lol.

“Everyone… what’s truly important in games like this is perseverance… Even if my favorite character is difficult to use in a stage, I’ll find a way to use them…! That’s the mindset we should have…”

Why don’t they know such an important fact?

If my favorite character’s performance is poor, I shouldn’t use them?

Then what’s the point of playing this subculture… otaku game?

Of course, there might be people with different opinions, but at least that’s what I think.

Therefore, I will clear Stage 4-1 with Beatrice as she is now.

=‘I’mSorryPleaseForgiveMeJustOnce’ donated 30,000 won.

Iya, the goddess, is telling me that Beatrice is too weak right now, so I should use a different character…

“Thank you for the donation… But if it’s the Goddess Iya, she would surely say to go according to your pride… And my pride right now is… telling me to use Beatrice…”

Please watch over me, Iya…

I will definitely succeed…!

─Interpretation) Bring more money.

─Still don’t know the broadcast manager? Even if you bring 100,000 won more, she’ll still do that, lol.

─The one who walks steadily on the path of the king… is a cool person… but he’s also kind of a jerk…

★

“Though I’m really disappointed I couldn’t clear it, I think the game was fun… I think I’ll play it often in the future…”

It felt like a truly satisfying mobile game after a long time.

─Ke, kek…

─Someone died because of the teacher…

─Yeah, I’ve already deleted the game, damn it, lol.