Chapter 571

〈Chapter 571〉 Part 2, Chapter 1, Scene 01

“I’m craving DLC.”

“What’s that supposed to mean out of the blue?”

“Just something I thought you’d consider trying?”

“…Why would I play DLC?”

“What’s that term? Your response is a little slower than usual.”

“For a moment, I pondered what you might be thinking.”

Though we believe we understand each other’s feelings well, we’re both rather thoughtful individuals. This often leads our conversations to twist around unnecessarily. So, I decided to cut straight to the heart of the matter—there should be no secrets between us as partners.

“You’ll have less time to spend with me if you start playing DLC.”

“…Would one hour a day really be unacceptable?”

“Nope, not allowed.”

Even spending all 24 hours of the day together isn’t enough. Except when going to the bathroom—though even then, during baths, we’re together—we share every single second of our lives.

“Why do you want to play DLC anyway?”

“Hmm…maybe because I’m curious?”

“What if you log in and end up like me?”

“Pfft, that’s unlikely! If it happens, I’ll just escape again. And besides, I wasn’t planning to go in alone.”

She waved her hand in the shape of a phone.

“Phone chance?”

“Always together. Let’s game together. How does that sound?”

“…I’ve already played through the main story so much that I’m kind of tired. Even DLC can get old.”

“In that case, let me handle it. Like how you became me, now it’s my turn to become you. Or, strictly speaking, the protagonist. Heheh.”

Truly a genius. She read my memories but never experienced them firsthand. To put it simply, she’s like someone who read a well-organized wiki instead of actually playing the game herself.

“Ah, is this what they call an ‘experienced newbie’?”

“Correct, Commander.”

“You’re already calling me ‘Commander.’ Does that mean you’re allowing it?”

“If you want to do it, you should. But let’s set it up this way.”

I proposed something to her. Just in case she ends up trapped in the game world forever like me, this time we’ll arrange for external interference.

“Let’s stream it.”

At the mention of streaming, she froze, her expression darkening. We deliberately chose a secluded place far from people to hide her identity, but if we stream, her existence will inevitably become public knowledge.

“Wait, doesn’t that expose everything? People would lose their minds seeing me like this.”

“I’ll announce to the world that you’re my girl and start a couple stream. Haha.”

“…But what about you? People are already searching high and low for you.”

As she said, I’ve become a man with a 2 trillion won bounty on my head. When people realized the <Phoenix Route> was deleted due to my 100% completion, they plastered posters with my avatar, IP address, and all sorts of information about me everywhere.

The only person in the world who has fully experienced the Phoenix Route.

By now, the DLC has spread globally, and all data related to entering the Phoenix Route has been overwritten with dummy data. Even those who try to avoid updates and attempt to enter the route fail—no one except me could access it.

‘If anyone else somehow manages to enter, they’ll still be blocked.’

Thus, the Blazing Phoenix belongs solely to me now. Of course, if I stream, the world will likely think it’s just someone cosplaying or trying to troll by pretending to be me—but as long as I know the truth, that’s fine.

“…I can manage things from the side as your manager. Ban any annoying chatters and silence all critics.”

“Together, right? Hmm…what about this? You appearing like this.”

Blazing Phoenix opened the DLC update list.

Despite being labeled DLC, this was more like a 2.0 version—a massive patch filled with tons of data.

“I’ll appear as myself, and you can appear like this. We’re familiar with these forms, aren’t we?”

“Such poor taste.”

Among the new characters introduced in the update were some I recognized and others completely new to me. For instance—

“Ew.”

“Hehe, that one wouldn’t suit you, would it?”

<Fire Fist> Seong Hyung. At first, I thought he might be the protagonist of the DLC, but turns out he’s just another Hero A with good growth potential.

– However, since the Phoenix Route was deleted, it’s essentially useless DLC.

Of course, to me, it’s just another tactically useful ally, but for others, it’s different. Specifically—

“Shouldn’t this be considered a male romance option for female commanders?”

“Let me make one thing clear—I won’t fall for these kinds of characters, so don’t worry. Besides, I have no intention of playing as a female commander.”

One of the 2.0 updates:

[Female Protagonist.]

They merely added a gender option and included a few romance options for heroines, yet sales reportedly increased by 1.5 times. Perhaps it attracted female players who hadn’t bought the game before.

– However, since the Phoenix Route was deleted, it’s essentially useless DLC.

“And furthermore, I simply want to enjoy it with you, not to pursue anyone. If anything, I’d say…myself?”

Blazing Phoenix scrolled down the official site’s update log and entered a community forum where I used to be very active. Since the DLC update, the community had been ablaze with activity.

I’m still praying over the rooftop scene photo posted by ‘BB’.

– How did you even get that? Everything’s been deleted!

– If you send me your account info, I’ll buy you the original archive for 100,000 won.

<The Phoenix Shall Rise Again!>

PJ is a phoenix. Therefore, PJ shall rise again. I’ll lie down until PJ returns.

●▅█▆▅▄▇

– Our PJ has gone to America! They’ll be back soon!

– No way, it’s not America; it’s data deletion!

– PJ has been replaced by PH. Are you dissatisfied, global commanders?

– Next successor to the City Lord. PJ isn’t a phoenix, haha!

Screw you bastards, refund me or I’ll sue!

– Next playtime: 992 hours.

– What right does someone who’s played this year-old game for only an hour have to complain? Haha, same here, BB kid.

– I bought the game to see the goddess, but now she’s turned into some guy…

“Goddess. Your personal goddess.”

“These guys are holding funerals for someone who’s still alive.”

For example, even 30 days after the deletion of the Phoenix Route, there are still those fervently shouting for PJ’s revival.

<Public Opinion Test>

Recommendation for PJ vs Disrecommendation for PH

– Wow, the recommendations and disrecommendations are neck-and-neck. Did someone open coordinates on a women’s forum? Haha!

– Male here, but I fell for PH…

– Female here, but I want PJ and Snail to fight scissors…

– Mama or Papa?

– Both are great, why must we choose?

– Problem is, Mama passed away…

<Be Honest, You Guys Like PH Too>

Screw you, raise your hand if there’s anyone here who hasn’t used PH at least once!

– In a world fueled by magic power, permanently burning magic power, haha!

– How convincing is it to persuade me with just some random male character! Yet his performance is absurdly good.

– Did you guys see that video? Everyone ditched their companions except PH and Yuinah, and they took down the City Lord and the Otherworld God together.

– Oh no…

– Legendary NTR ending…

– ??? : I like monsters too (laughs)

<Honestly, Isn't This Update King Level?>

To reach King Emperor Paladin level next, they should allow choosing between PJ and PH like picking male or female protagonists.

– 22222

– 33333333

– ‘None’Date? More like ‘Born’Date, huh?

– – – – –

“Why do people dislike the monster form of Phoenix so much? I think it’s pretty great—it’s you, after all.”

“…I’m right here. That’s not me.”

For example, discussions on why the companion <Blazing Phoenix> couldn’t maintain human form and instead became <Monster Phoenix>.

<Ready to Suck Blood and Go to Hell>

Without rescuing spirits, they brought only the emperor and traveled ten thousand miles from Mo Taegyeong to the Korean Peninsula ^o^

– If you’re talking about male characters, go to the women’s forum.

– Why should I go to the women’s forum just because I’m male?

– Ang?

– Did they bring the dragon spirit?

– No such thing exists.

<Recognize Gender Equality>

They inserted family, friends, and former comrades like ghosts… Haha, is it true that friendless characters don’t have opposite-sex heroines?

– That’s a spoiler, shut up.

– There aren’t just one or two friendless characters…

– Sob…

– Sob sob sob…

<Tips for Mastering Harang Route>

Listen up, sisters aiming for Harang. Went to a pork rice soup shop since she’s supposedly from Busan, but got slapped. Her affection rises a bit if you force-feed her, but she barely eats half before getting upset…

– It’s your fault. Why feed Harang rice soup?

– Special note: Harang hates Korean food more than anyone.

– <Comment deleted>

– Someone’s leaking family spoilers here. Hey, Mom’s side is DLC spoiler territory.

– With so many updates, I don’t know how much to tell newbies. Sob… Living Goddess uses Light Blade!

For example, the community floods with information on how to master newly added characters.

“Why do people call it garbage when it takes ten minutes just to read the update notes?”

“It’s because you managed to escape from here.”

“Since the moment you entered, I’ve considered it the best update.”

“Hearing you say that makes me grateful.”

Blazing Phoenix paused while scrolling through the community. It was still causing a stir due to a mistake made by the developers who, despite having extra funds, handled things poorly.

<Why Did This DLC Update Vanish?>

Top: DLC bonus content

Bottom: Bonus content after updating without installing DLC

Why did the parts corresponding to the Phoenix Route disappear?

– I checked, this is fake news.

– No, it was patched within an hour of releasing the DLC. This is real. There’s proof in videos.

“Sharp eyes. Someone figured it out.”

“There are plenty of people obsessed with the 2 trillion won bounty, not just you. Someone like that is bound to exist.”

“Oh my, does that mean you could have ended up with someone else instead of me?”

“Hmm. If I had claimed the 2 trillion won, I probably wouldn’t have met you. Anyway, the developers pulled a stupid move.”

With extra funds, the developers released the 2.0 update as DLC, drawing criticism. While the price was appropriate for an expansion pack, excluding those who didn’t buy the DLC was problematic.

When data is erased from the bonus room, naturally those entries vanish.

Although those without the DLC had 99% cleared data, their CG collection hit 100%. Initially, it seemed like an update error, but since the missing event scenes specifically corresponded to the Phoenix scenes, it drew attention.

“Money blinded them, but it worked out. They’re just dumbasses.”

“They’ve become more human. Their funding has increased.”

As soon as the post went up, it was hot-patched, but the archives had already spread across the information sea worldwide.

– Your Blazing Phoenix has been replaced by Phoenix.

While it’s a bit pitiful that I ended up with Blazing Phoenix, it’s not bad since it created demand for Phoenix. Chuckling, Blazing Phoenix booted up the system.

“So, let’s install the DLC…you already installed it?”

“I just did, in case. I wanted to check if the bonus file was there.”

“Mother of mercy, you’re not trying to relive the experience with the other 16 people, are you? Heheh.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Really?”

“In case you wanted to indirectly experience it through the bonus content.”

Blazing Phoenix stared at me for a while with a mix of gratitude, embarrassment, and disdain, making it hard for me to meet her gaze.

“Though I do want to indirectly experience it…”

Smiling mischievously, Blazing Phoenix grabbed the controller.

“The heroine must always be directly pursued for the full flavor, don’t you agree?”

“…Who are you trying to pursue?”

“Why? Are you jealous? Then…”

Pointing to the small webcam attached to the PC with a teasing grin.

“Shall we leave it to them?”

And so, Blazing Phoenix and my DLC—<Blazing Death Dinass>—began.