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Abbreviated as DemRock.

Upon its release, DemRock instantly drew the attention of gamers, earning praise as the most perfect and intricate VR game to date.

But it wasn’t just casual interest.

Despite being a VR game, its exceptional realism and AI surpassed expectations, and within three days of its release, it shot to the top of the game rankings.

[Ragnarok]

[Deus Ex Machina]

[Recommended DemRock Skills]

[What is a Gacha?]

The real-time search rankings were always filled with DemRock.

And naturally, the game became profitable.

To be precise, it had immense potential to become profitable.

No other game released so far had garnered as much attention as this one.

That’s why the dark gamers appeared.

People who made a living off of games, known as so-called “rice-eaters,” the term for users who earned their income through gaming.

‘This is going to make money.’

Do-hyeon was one of those people.

He hadn’t started off that way.

It was merely by chance that he passed by a large screen showing a DemRock ad and, out of curiosity, decided to give it a try.

That’s when he discovered his hidden talent for gaming, and he naturally began aiming to become a dark gamer.

Yet, despite that, he could confidently say he was making money through gaming.

[Kaiser – Rank 1]

[Myeolsal – Rank 2]

[Kkukkudakkkukku – Rank 3]

[Sword Emperor – Rank 4]

[Purple Taste – Rank 5]

[The Judge – Rank 6]

…….

Even though he started later than the other rankers, he managed to claim the top spot.

Moreover, it wasn’t just his high ranking that stood out.

His physical prowess was overwhelming, his combat sense was genius-level, and his ability to adapt to the situation, as well as his skill in PvP, surpassed expectations.

There was nothing he lacked.

Because of this, the public even called him an unprecedented genius in history.

Many people asked him:

How could you be so good? How could they become like him?

Do-hyeon always gave the same answer to such questions.

“Combat tips? Hmm… Can’t you just see it?”

“…Excuse me?”

“When your opponent attacks, a gap appears if you dodge. If you hit them then, you can strike without getting hit.”

“…..”

A video of an interview, uploaded under the title The Deception of a God, where Kaiser was asked for combat tips, became a famous anecdote among all those familiar with DemRock.

Despite it being a ridiculous response that would typically provoke anger, Kaiser’s sincerity, as if he genuinely didn’t understand why someone would ask, left people unable to even be upset.

-Well, it’s Kaiser, so that makes sense…

-LOL, right, if you dodge and then hit, you won’t get hit. Who doesn’t know that?

-If it were anyone else, people would’ve cursed them out, but since Kaiser says it, no one can refute it.

-Kaiser is a god. Kaiser is a god. Kaiser is a god. Kaiser is a god…

-A god is Kaiser. A god is Kaiser. A god is Kaiser. A god is Kaiser…

-Ugh, these Kaiser stans are at it again.

Rather than getting angry, people were even more enthusiastic about Kaiser.

The reason why people cheered for him, the reigning god of DemRock, wasn’t simply because of his overwhelming genius.

Although that was his main trademark, there was another decisive reason why many users looked up to Kaiser.

[Kaiser Creates a New Skill Tree]

[Kaiser! Creates Yet Another New Meta!]

[Even Trash Skills Can Be Useful! Kaiser’s Unique Methods for Turning Overlooked Skills into OP Abilities…]

[Kaiser’s Leveling Guide]

[Legendary Boss Kabournel! Kaiser’s Strategy…]

It was because of the countless guides he had uploaded.

Although the majority of them were filled with cryptic advice like “Dodge here, hit around here,” at least his skill trees were real.

And for the users, these skill trees were like rain in a drought.

-Kaiser just uploaded a new skill tree.

-Oh, amazing. He made it with unpopular skills again. I was clueless on how to use the Bite skill, but now he’s applying it to this? Truly a god…

-Honestly, if it weren’t for Kaiser, this game would’ve died a long time ago.

-But seriously, what kind of game requires you to build a skill tree based on random draws?

-Yeah, it’s messed up, but it’s strangely addicting.

-Yup, that’s gambling addiction. Go see a doctor.

In this luck-based, gacha-driven game, his skill trees were a revolution.

People trusted and followed his Kaiser Skill Trees religiously.

A god-given talent.

The incarnation of VR gaming.

The one who creates the meta.

A genius.

Numerous titles were attached to his name.

It was truly a golden era for him.

But everything has an end.

No matter how high DemRock soared, the game was bound to crumble one day.

And Do-hyeon knew that too.

‘No, this is too much.’

But he hadn’t expected that day to come so soon.

The first issue arose eight months after the game’s release.

A fatal flaw appeared in DemRock.

-What the hell? Is everything gacha? Even the items are random draws? That’s too much, isn’t it?

-Agreed. The probabilities are trash too.

Everything in the game was based on gacha.

Everyone knew that the moment the game launched.

However, it was so popular, and everything else was so well-made that people tolerated it.

The problem was the raids.

-Isn’t the whole point of the game to do raids?

-Raids are the crown jewel of RPGs!

Like most VR games, raids weren’t easy.

You needed to have the right equipment, level up, and have good control over your character.

On top of that, you also needed a good network of connections to successfully complete raids.

Raids were essentially the pinnacle of RPG gameplay.

-But the raid rewards are a joke.

-Have you ever spent millions on equipment only to get five bricks in a row as your raid reward?

But this damn game decided to mess with the raid system too.

You needed to do raids to get stronger, but in order to raid, you had to have top-tier gear.

And after all that effort, the reward for completing a raid was… bricks?

As a gamer, nothing was more disheartening.

-I really enjoyed this game, but I didn’t expect even the high-level content to be like this.

-Raids are one thing, but I maxed out my NPC affinity through endless grinding, and the reward was a gacha draw. Seriously…

-This is why gold diggers are scary.

-Anyone still grinding for bricks in this dead game?

To make matters worse, subsequent content also fell short of expectations, and many felt betrayed by the game.

Once you experienced it firsthand, it ripped away any attachment you had to the game.

“Damn, this is a piece of trash!”

Eventually, countless users left the game.

From those who played for money to the regular players.

A year after release, the game’s ranking plummeted, and by the second year, it became a wasteland where seeing a new player was rarer than catching a falling star.

By the third year, even the few remaining veterans had mostly disappeared.

A game that no longer made money.

A game that people would mock you for playing.

A game whose memes featured hands being washed after failed handshakes.

A game so stagnant it had become diluted.

‘Why am I still playing this damn game?’

But even as he thought that, Do-hyeon hadn’t quit.

He didn’t understand it himself.

Maybe it was because he had grown attached over the three years, or maybe it was like how people still seek out cigarettes despite knowing they’re harmful.

He had started for the money, but somehow, he had stayed longer than anyone else.

But now, even that had come to an end.

[Hello. This is Deus Ex Machina – Ragnarok.]

[The service will be terminated in 30 minutes.]

“……”

Like the ending of every failed game, DemRock was about to face its shutdown.

Do-hyeon stared blankly at the announcement and let out a faint chuckle.

“I cursed this shitty game dozens of times, hoping it would die… but now that it’s actually ending, it feels strange.”

He glanced to his side and saw a hulking man with purple skin sitting nearby.

He was Purple Taste, one of the most hardcore veteran users.

A man who hadn’t missed a single day of the game since its release.

The veterans, half-jokingly, had even crafted a perfect attendance award for him around a campfire, commending his passion.

He was terrible at playing the game, but he made up for it with absurd amounts of money and relentless grinding.

‘There were always rumors that he was a landlord. He kept denying it, though…’

The sight of him sitting quietly by the campfire seemed especially melancholic.

Hearing his muttering, a middle-aged man with the image of a seasoned swordsman, Sword Emperor, who was warming his hands by the fire, nodded his head.

“I agree. Despite the gacha hell, it was still fun. I don’t understand why it had to fail.”

“That’s probably the problem, isn’t it? Even a tiger leaves behind its skin when it dies, but a dragon leaves behind bricks. That’s too much.”

“…Do you always have to ruin the mood like that?”

“What? Am I wrong? Can’t I at least complain about this doomed game before it’s gone?”

The one wearing a masquerade mask and dressed in a gentleman’s suit, bickering with Sword Emperor, was Kkukkudakkkukku.

Famous for his no-nonsense attitude, he was known for dominating the battlefield with his absurdly good physical skills.

“Are you really not going to take off that mask until the end?”

“…Shut up. How about you stop speaking like that? You’re in your twenties, and it’s so cringeworthy.”

“You still lack grace in your speech.”

“What? Want to fight one last time?”

“Tsk. You never change…”

Although Do-hyeon maintained his top rank, they were all top-tier rankers when he first started playing, people so skilled they had become practically rotten from their expertise.

Their real combat prowess wasn’t much different from his.

He had received a lot of help from them…

As he watched them banter with a sense of nostalgia, Do-hyeon quietly spoke.

“It’s a shame, really.”

“……”

A brief silence fell over the group.

They merely sat around the campfire, lost in thought, as if reminiscing about something.

Purple Taste was the first to break the silence.

“I suppose you’re the one who’d feel it the most. You researched this game more than anyone.”

“Watching you in combat was always fascinating. I could understand the theory behind it, but it was still hard to believe. That’s probably why they called it The Deception of a God.”

“Well, we did benefit from your skill trees too. Normally, you either have brains or brawn, but you seem to have both.”

As more people chimed in, Kkukkudakkkukku seemed to recall something and burst into laughter.

“Still, the gods are fair. Out of all of us, your luck was the worst. Haha.”

“Yeah, you never got any high-grade skills… maybe that’s why you had to research so much to survive?”

“Can you believe that the guy ranked first doesn’t have a single legendary skill? If his luck had been a bit better, we wouldn’t have been able to compete with him at all.”

“I wish people could’ve seen you wailing after failing ten consecutive upgrades, shouting, ‘The world’s out to get me!’ It would’ve gone viral as The Cry of a God.”

“Hahaha! Seriously, this guy’s the worst of us all.”

“Ahem… It’s true, your luck was the worst I’ve ever seen.”

Even Sword Emperor nodded in agreement, listening to Purple Taste’s hearty laughter.

Though it was hard to tell if they were praising or teasing him, Do-hyeon remained calm.

He’d heard all of this before.

Since DemRock was a gacha game, discussions about his notorious bad luck were constant.

It had initially made him angry, but at some point, he found himself chuckling at it.

Now, however, for some reason, it felt more bittersweet.

Perhaps it was because this was the first game he had ever played.

He had never been so invested in something before…

Was it the thought that the game was truly coming to an end?

‘I don’t know either.’

After about ten minutes of idle conversation, the final message appeared.

[Hello. This is Deus Ex Machina – Ragnarok.]

[As scheduled, the service will now be terminated. Thank you for staying with us until the end.]

Seeing the additional message, the veteran players slowly began to stand.

“…This is really the end.”

“You did well. Playing in a gacha hell with double-digit concurrent users.”

“If we meet again, let’s make sure it’s in a good game.”

Starting with Sword Emperor, Purple Taste and Kkukkudakkkukku logged out one by one.

In an instant, Do-hyeon was left alone.

Sitting alone in front of the campfire, his mood became even more melancholic.

Swoosh.

As he gazed at the night sky, his vision gradually darkened.

Instead of the sound of birds chirping, the whirring sound of the VR device filled his ears.

Do-hyeon gently touched the switch of the VR gear he had been wearing.

Click.

[This game service has ended.]

However, instead of the night sky, only a brief message appeared.

“……”

After reading the message, Do-hyeon finally removed his helmet and let out a short sigh.