Bonus for 2000 PS.
I warned you all to bring your tissues yesterday, you ignored heh.
....
Those who parade their virtues often do the most evil.
~Arlechinno
...
"Before I answer that question, aren't you curious about where Sophia has been all these years, and what she has been doing?" Carl asked in return.
That made Crimson Night's gaze turn toward Sophia, who was catching up with the mbers of her guild.
As it turned out, Sophia had actually been eavesdropping on Carl and Crimson Night's conversation. She hurriedly spoke up and explained.
"We... are actually more like retirees! We've been living a retired life this whole ti!"
Using retirent as a way to gloss over the fact that they had been abandoned by the ga company was probably Sophia's way of not wanting the players to worry too much about their current situation.
"Retired..."
Crimson Night murmured the word. Although the other players in her guild all believed Sophia's explanation.
Crimson Night still firmly believed that Sophia and the others had been abandoned by the ga company because they were infected with the Calamity Virus.
"So you're also about to be forcibly retired by the official team of Oath, and that's why you want to borrow player popularity to save yourself?" Crimson Night very quickly inferred the true purpose behind Carl creating this side quest.
According to the Version 1.1 final decisive battle plot, Carl was truly dead beyond dead.
This also allowed the later versions of Oath to justifiably stop having Carl appear.
Looking at it this way, Carl's fate was no different from the first-generation Sophia's. He would be thrown into so lightless corner and forcibly retired.
"That... really isn't my goal." Carl wanted to tell Crimson Night that she had guessed wrong, but Crimson Night only thought this was Carl's polite way of putting it.
"You made such a nostalgia-focused side quest because you want us players to support you, right? Don't worry! Setting aside the fact that you made so many fun gas, just the fact that you let reunite with Sophia again is enough for to help you to the end unconditionally."
While Crimson Night spoke, she was already organizing the script for this side quest involving Carl.
As for the main quest of Oath Version 1.1, Crimson Night did not want to say a single word about it. Even if she did, she would probably roast it from beginning to end.
But that would make the official community managers of Oath take action, and the video would be taken down on the very day it was posted.
It just so happened that Carl had made this side quest that could detonate the nostalgia of countless veteran players.
Crimson Night would make the full cause and effect of this side quest into a video filled with nostalgia and post it.
Not only would she feel great herself, she would also help Carl gain another wave of player popularity. Then, whether new viewers or old viewers watched Crimson Night's explanation, they could also get a deeply moving experience. It was simply a triple win!
This was also the reason Carl had invited Crimson Night first. This side quest was a nostalgia side quest that only a small portion of previous-ga players could understand.
But after Crimson Night explained the full cause and effect of the story, even passersby who had never played the ga could be touched by the story within it.
Unfortunately.
"The reason I want to borrow player popularity really isn't to save myself. Besides, even if I survive in this version with the players' support, what about the next version? What about the version after that?"
Carl told Crimson Night about the predicant he was currently in. As long as Carl was still bound by the rules of the ga Oath, as long as Carl was still a character in the ga Oath.
Then the official team of Oath had ten thousand ways to kill Carl off.
"Under soone else's ga rules, no matter how I beg for rcy or compromise, it will only make the way I die even more miserable."
So what Carl needed to do now was completely cut himself off from the official team of Oath.
"Then what do you want to do? Whether it's Elysium Academy right now or the Holy Nation and Empire regions in the future, they're all under the control of the official team of Oath, right?" Crimson Night also quickly followed Carl's train of thought and asked.
"But there is one known region that isn't. It isn't part of the official team of Oath's plans, and it is only under the jurisdiction of Elysium."
When Carl said this, the NPCs there, including Sophia, all raised their heads in surprise.
It seed like they had already guessed what Carl was trying to pull!
"That region is precisely the area used to house... NPCs like us who were abandoned by the ga's official team. It was originally a place that players would never touch or travel to during their adventures."
"And now... my goal is to make Oath open that region in the next version! The region called Netherworld Village!"
Carl directly stated his current true goal.
That was, the official team of Oath had always wanted to forcibly retire Carl, right?
Forcible retirent was fine! Then Carl would just move the retirent ho directly to Oath's front door, wouldn't he?
"This... Lord Carl! Netherworld Village... might... not be a place players would like," Sophia hurriedly told Carl.
Compared to the maps in Oath, whether shocking, beautiful, or "stunning view ahead" kinds of academy grounds, forests, and towns, all of which were carefully crafted by ga planners and artists, the environnt of Netherworld Village was far too crude and terrifying.
"Don't worry, that's exactly what I want! And no matter how crude the map is, no matter how eerie and terrifying the place is, as long as it's paired with fun gaplay, players will definitely like it!"
Carl had actually already thought of several types of gaplay suitable for building in Netherworld Village, and those terrifying residents of Netherworld Village could happen to be put to use as well.
"But how exactly do we get to that place? Do we players need to submit a joint petition to the official team of Oath?" Crimson Night still was not very clear about the specific standard of judgnt.
For them, as players, to forcibly demand the ga's official team open a map region that was not in the plan.
From the ga's official team's perspective, this kind of request was so completely unreasonable that there was no need to even pay attention to it, no matter how many players petitioned.
"No... the one making the judgnt this ti isn't the official team of Oath."
When Carl ntioned Netherworld Village, he even deliberately glanced around a few tis. Although he did not find the other party's figure.
Carl could very clearly feel that the death god Artemis was nearby, watching him. When Carl revealed information related to Netherworld Village, she did not stop him either.
In other words, Elysium had tacitly approved all of this! As long as Carl's popularity among the players t the standard, or rather, as long as the number of players who wanted to go to Netherworld Village was large enough.
Then Elysium really would agree to Carl's request!
"The standard of judgnt this ti is truly limited only to you players yourselves. This is a choice made by you players yourselves!" Carl conveyed Elysium's attitude to Crimson Night.
"We... make the choice? What exactly is the thod of choosing? It's not like we have to shout at the air, 'I want to go to Netherworld Village,' right?" Crimson Night continued questioning Carl.
["It will be determined by the number of players who choose either side in the final, decisive battle. The condition is still... as long as a portion of the players stand on your side, that will be enough."]
A line of text appeared in front of Carl. This should have been Artemis relaying Elysium's reminder to Carl.
"The answer is, Miss Crimson Night... in the upcoming final decisive battle, will you choose to stand on the side that has always supported you, the absolute protagonists of the ga Oath, those gacha pool characters? Or will you choose to stand on my side, the final boss?" Carl asked.
"I'm definitely choosing you, but for those normal players, they definitely won't abandon their waifus." Crimson Night also stated a very cruel truth.
For those normal players, who would be willing to betray those sweet waifus they had finally pulled from the gacha pool and painstakingly raised, then run off with the final boss?
"Exactly. That's why I need to borrow your popularity here, Miss Crimson Night. I'm not asking all players to stand on my side, I just... want them to understand."
"This ti, they have the right to choose. That's all."
After Carl finished saying this, all that was left was to wait... for Crimson Night to turn the full cause and effect of this side quest into a video and post it online, and then... wait for a certain player to start the key engagent.
Maybe there was no need to wait for Crimson Night's video to upload. A certain player who had just finished the main story out of boredom, only to discover that Carl was the final boss, might directly start the fight.
(To be continued.)
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)
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