Chapter 98: Chapter 98: Play Games With a Smile

First, never act on a whim.

Second, never let a single misdeed go unjudged.

Third, always deliver a judgment that is fair and flawless.

Priest Andrei, the Arbiter of Toto, is now in attendance.

The live stream had been going for over two hours, and it was now past nine in the evening.

There wasn’t any nightlife in San Andino City; normally, it would already be time for bed.

But today was different. Everyone was gathered in the church, their eyes glued to the Magic Vision Device.

On screen, Toto had a dazed expression and a blank stare, playing the game entirely on instinct.

This was a stark contrast to Priest Andrei on the other side, who was patiently explaining the scriptural meaning behind each line of the game’s narration.

Toto’s heart rate hovered consistently around 100. As expected of the greatest gaming master on the Feilin Continent, she had quickly found a loophole in the rules.

As long as her heart rate stayed above the threshold, she wouldn’t be repeatedly penalized for crossing it over and over.

’A win!’

However, the number next to the Gold Coins icon was a shocking -189, a testament to the tragic outcome of her night’s battle.

’Wouldn’t it have been better to just spend these two hours power-leveling for someone else? I could have at least earned a few Silver Coins. It wouldn’t be much, but it would have been stable income.’

’Working overtime this late, not earning a single coin, and ending up almost two hundred Gold Coins in debt? Is this something a human would even do?’

’Wait, Zog isn’t human to begin with.’

’How is it that his long neck looks so perfect for tying a rope around and hanging from a gas lamp on the side of the road?’

’A pity I can’t actually hang him.’

’Even if I did, the lamp post would probably break before his neck did.’

She had originally thought that when Zog arranged this job—clearing the game for Gold Coins—it would be easy money.

While *Holy Mountain Journey* had been a painful experience during beta testing, once she mastered it, she could even beat the game by herself, controlling both characters on two separate machines.

Playing a two-player game solo was an essential Skill for any gamer who lacked both friends and a significant other.

As for how she’d learned this Skill... let’s not get into it. It was just the result of a few lonely winters, that’s all.

But who could have predicted that Zog would make her play with randomly matched teammates?

Toto gritted her teeth so hard they audibly ground together. Luckily, her temper was fiery enough to keep her heart rate consistently high.

However, she had already adapted to the rhythm of it all.

No matter how badly her teammate messed up, she wouldn’t curse. She guided them the same way a preschool teacher would guide a toddler.

When she really couldn’t take it anymore, she couldn’t smash the machine, so she just pinched her own thigh.

She hadn’t been penalized for twenty minutes now. If she could just carry one person to the end, she’d get a reward of one Hundred Gold Coins.

’A measly debt of less than two hundred? I’ll earn that back in minutes.’

Right now, she had a reasonably competent teammate, and they had already struggled their way to the tenth stage.

Beat this stage, and it would count as a full clear.

One hundred Gold Coins were within her grasp.

This time, she was controlling the character that only had legs, capable only of moving and jumping.

The height and distance of the jump were determined entirely by how long the jump button was held down.

Through much trial and error, Toto had discovered that while the jumping character had fewer difficult sections to navigate, its torturous controls led to a higher rate of failure.

So, she had taken over the jumping role, leaving her matched teammate in charge of grabbing.

Only one final obstacle remained.

Ahead of them was a cliff, with a wooden bucket hanging from a rope.

In theory, the jumping character was supposed to carry the grabbing character, then launch their teammate with a jump so they could grab onto the bucket. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

From there, they would swing to the other side.

They only had one shot. If they failed, they would fall, and where they landed would be up to fate.

"Ready? I’ll count down."

"3, 2, 1..."

Everyone in the church held their breath, their eyes fixed on the Magic Vision Device’s screen.

The two disabled characters, chained together, leaped heroically from the edge of the cliff.

They reached the apex of their jump. The grabbing character raised its arms high, its fingers looking as if they were about to graze the edge of the bucket.

The audience clenched their fists and curled their toes, offering their most sincere prayers.

"Don’t grab it, please don’t grab it..."

What else did you expect? Does anyone really watch this kind of game to see the player succeed?

On the screen, a pair of tiny hands latched onto the bucket.

They caught it?

The crowd was so tense their hearts were in their throats.

And yet—

The tiny hands slipped, and the two of them fell.

The audience let out a long sigh of relief. Ah, satisfying.

This was what they’d been waiting all this time to see.

Unfortunately, they only fell onto a platform from two stages prior. There was no "Welcome Home."

Toto stopped playing. She needed to calm herself down.

She muttered to herself, "You know what it means to please yourself? To be happy, you have to smile when you play games. Don’t look so sad. Heh heh heh..."

The laughter sounded anything but normal.

Her muttering trailed off.

’There’s still hope. One more climb, and those hundred Gold Coins will still be mine.’

Toto pressed the jump button, ready to resume the climb.

It was a very simple jump. But life is often like that. You might overcome countless hardships, but there’s always some unexpected, simple ditch waiting for you to stumble into.

Whether from nervousness or a complete mental breakdown, it was hard to say.

In any case—

Toto came up short.

Before this utterly ordinary platform, Toto’s eyes widened as she watched her character plummet.

There were no other platforms to save her.

The two little figures ricocheted off various obstacles all the way to the bottom.

The game considerately displayed another prompt.

"Welcome Home."

A dead silence fell.

Toto’s fair, elven face changed colors like a disco ball.

It went from white to ashen, from ashen to red, and from red to a deep shade of purple.

Wisps of steam seemed to rise from her little flushed face, just like an enraged Tom from the cartoons.

She raised her fist to smash the game machine, but what little sanity she had left stopped her hand in mid-air.

She wanted to curse the game designer’s entire family, but the sight of that glaring -189 on the screen stopped the profanity from leaving her lips.

A sense of grievance washed over her. She hadn’t even felt this helpless when Zor had her cornered in her own home.

Even heroes can be broken.

Miserable tears welled in her eyes as her cry echoed throughout the entire church.

Her voice, choked with despair and trembling sobs, was the only way she could think to scream her frustration without getting penalized.

"GAI—AAAA—!"

The audience erupted in laughter and cheers. The joys and sorrows of living beings are not always shared.

They hadn’t experienced such pure joy in a long time.

"Hahaha! Gaia? What’s a Gaia?"

"How many times has she ’gone home’ now?"

"Priest Andrei is doing a great job!"

"Oh no, why do I suddenly want to buy this and play it?"

"I already bought it. I’m not just going to play it myself; I’m going to make everyone I know play it too."

Intelligent creatures are like that. If they eat something disgusting, they’ll spit it out.

But if a good friend is present, they’ll force a smile, say, "This is delicious," and offer it to them.

Then the two of them will laugh while they retch, before going off to find their next victim.

Zog dubbed this phenomenon "The Propagation of Shit-Eating."

「Meanwhile, in Twin Tower City.」

Zog watched the live broadcast with satisfaction.

’ELO. I used an ELO system. The excellent matchmaking mechanism ensures that even a pro like Toto will suffer setbacks, creating great entertainment.’

He had also put a lot of effort into getting the game and both players to appear on a single screen.

The entire broadcast was a recursive loop. Three cameras separately captured the Priest, Toto, and the game. These feeds were projected onto a single wall, and a fourth camera filmed that wall for the actual live stream.

But the convoluted setup was worth it.

In the two-plus hours of the stream, over ten thousand copies of *Holy Mountain Journey* had been sold on the Divine Remains Network, and the sales rate was still accelerating.

The three merchant guilds in the city were asking to purchase more game machines.

At the Red Middle Game Store, long lines formed in front of the *Holy Mountain Journey* machines, which had long been gathering dust. They even had to temporarily set up dozens of additional machines outside the shop.

’The advertisement is working so well. Of course I’m not going to penalize Toto. In fact, I should give her a bonus.’

’Telling her about the penalties beforehand was just to make the Half-Elf Lady’s inevitable emotional breakdown feel more authentic.’

’After all, when it came to their love of money, Zog and I are kindred spirits.’

The live streaming system had also proven to be very stable throughout the test run.

Just then, Elsa suddenly ran up, panting as she spoke. "A video just came in from the Northern Domain! It’s a distress call!"