1. Reflection of a Rainbow
Inside the pitch-black solitary confinement cell of a prison,
A prisoner was tied up, both hands bound.
Cough, cough, cough…
A hacking cough continuously erupted from between the face hidden by the disheveled hair.
The floor was saturated with blood flowing from wounds.
The light in his eyes had long since vanished.
The guards’ gazes were cold, even as the prisoner looked as though he could die at any moment.
“That vicious bastard is finally at his end.”
“Don’t go near him. Remember what happened last time when someone did?”
“Oh, right.”
The prisoner was quite venomous despite his weakness.
To think he would bite off a guard’s nose, of all things.
But now, even that was over.
“Was the execution today?”
“That’s right. They said to prepare for the execution as soon as the night work is over.”
“The warden really has a nasty hobby. As if torture wasn’t enough, he wants to behead him in front of everyone.”
It was to show the other prisoners the end of someone who attacked a guard.
However, the guards knew the truth.
“It’s just a hobby. That bastard enjoys tormenting the prisoners.”
“But the fact that he doesn’t even show up for the executions makes me think he’s just a pervert who enjoys torturing.”
The guards snickered, then, as if they had just remembered something, they pushed a tray forward.
“Here. It’s your last meal.”
“Might as well let him eat until the end. It’ll be his last meal in this world.”
It was the hard, black bread that the prisoners in the labor camp ate.
And they didn’t even give him a proper portion.
“Even this is a waste on you.”
Thwack!
The bread was tainted by the guard’s spit.
As if that wasn’t enough, he trampled on it with his boot.
hahahaha!
The guards left, still laughing.
The prisoner finally hung his head.
Gulp!
It wasn’t just the relentless torture and pain.
It was the humiliation he received from the guards that he could no longer endure.
Just then.
Flash!
The eyes of the prisoner, who should have clearly been dead, were wide open.
No, it wasn’t just his eyes.
A voice filled with anger that had been impossible to hear until now burst out.
“Damn it! It took 18 years! I’ve been watching the opening for 18 years!”
* * *
The protagonist.
He was a gamer of ‘Valentino Saga.’
It was a game where you team up with a hero to defeat the Demon King and restore peace to the continent.
The protagonist was a top-tier gamer among them.
He had cleared achievements that everyone else gave up on at 10% to an incredible 99.99%.
Now, only one thing remained.
“All that’s left is an achievement where you have to save all the heroes while defeating the Demon King.”
He was definitely in the middle of the final battle.
At the last moment, the hero jumped forward towards the Demon King, who was about to self-destruct.
[This is my duty as a hero. I will defeat the Demon King, so you live, Protagonist.]
Bang!
And just like that, the hero who should never have died self-destructed.
The protagonist screamed in frustration.
[No way, you bastard! How did I come this far! If you die here…!]
And then he lost consciousness.
Flash.
When he opened his eyes, he was in someone else’s body.
He had been trapped in the consciousness of another being for 18 long years.
‘I thought I was going crazy from being so frustrated.’
He never would have guessed it would turn out like this.
The story of the hero’s soul awakening at the same time as the death of the body’s owner. It was exactly the same as the opening video of ‘Valentino Saga.’
Clank!
The cold sensation of the handcuffs and the chill of the solitary confinement cell seeped in.
The torture wounds carved into his body were also excruciatingly painful.
But the protagonist smiled.
‘I’ve finally regained control of my body! I can move! I’m free!’
Now that he had his body back, there was something he absolutely had to do.
He had waited 18 years to say these words.
“Damn it, goodbye! Log out!”
Whoosh…
A cold wind swirled through the solitary confinement cell.
“System window! Log out! End game!”
No matter how desperately he called out, the game system did not respond.
All he could hear were the voices of the guards.
“Has he finally gone mad?”
“He’s being cheeky today, isn’t he? Did he finally lose his mind?”
“Hey, eat up quickly! When a ghost eats well, it’ll be less likely to bother you!”
Yeah, I knew this would happen.
I hoped it wouldn’t, but of course it did.
‘I have a Plan B for times like this.’
I’d had a lot of thoughts while watching the protagonist’s life.
Of course, I’d thought about what to do if the system didn’t disappear.
It was to return under my own power.
The purpose of this game was to defeat the Demon King.
‘Surely, if I kill that guy, I’ll be able to leave this world.’
The game would end every time I killed the Demon King.
It would probably be the same this time.
There was also a hint in the 18-year-long tutorial video.
[All top achievements have been achieved.]
[Hardcore mode will begin.]
[Achieve the final achievement.]
The reason I came to this world.
It was definitely related to that achievement.
If that’s the case, then I can’t just kill the Demon King normally.
Why?
＜Defeat the Demon King without a single hero dying.＞
That was the final achievement.
An achievement that no one had ever achieved before.
And more importantly, there was this problem.
[You will die if you do not achieve the goal within 3 years.]
‘Yeah. It’s hardcore mode alright.’
Originally, it was something that should take over 10 years to complete.
Of course, my top priority right now was to get the hell out of this place.
This place was nothing more than a slave camp filled with criminals.
It was a terrible place where even ordinary people would get sick or die.
‘At this rate, I’ll get a game over here before I can even get to the Demon King.’
Originally, I would have had choices appear in front of me right now.
＜The warden has set an execution date. What will you do?＞
[1. Pretend to be dead.]
[2. Bribe the guards.]
[3. Be executed.]
The outcome would change depending on the choice.
＜The ending of the game Balentino Saga changes depending on the player’s choices. It’s an open-ended style game.＞
When I was a player, it didn’t matter what I chose.
But the current protagonist couldn’t do that.
“How did I survive 18 years? I can’t die in one go because I made the wrong choice.”
There were traps hidden in the choices.
Especially when pretending to be dead.
‘Do you think you won’t be executed if you pretend to be dead?’
This much was obvious to the protagonist who had achieved all the achievements.
Once you go with that choice, the guards come in.
[What do we do with this body?]
[Burn it in the crematorium, or if it’s too much trouble, put it in a barrel and roll it into the river.]
Usually, you could escape the labor camp by following the river and start the game. Of course, with basic equipment.
The problem was when you were really unlucky.
＜You were burned alive in the crematorium＞
＜Escape failed!＞
＜Your character has died＞
Then it was game over.
‘That doesn’t mean bribing the guards is a good choice either.’
Why?
[When are you giving me this month’s stuff?]
Once you start bribing them, you have to give them stuff regularly.
What’s more, there’s an event where you have to fight other prisoners who don’t want to lose the guards’ favor(?).
If you survive that, you can get a rare ability or job, but…
‘Even if it’s a rare ability, it’s not the best.’
It wasn’t worth risking his life for the protagonist. So, the only choice left was ‘execution.’
If you just listen to it, it’s an option where you definitely die.
‘Well, not necessarily. At least for beginners.’
It was a beginner’s trap question.
A choice where you get a game over if you choose it without thinking.
However, it didn’t matter to the protagonist.
‘I know how to survive.’
It was one of the secrets that only the deceased knew.
It’s a riskier option than other choices, but it’s a very easy way for a deceased person.
Moreover, if you do it right, it’s a special option that guarantees your future.
‘Only here can you get good traits above the hero level.’
Of course, if you make a mistake, you can die before you even get the hero level.
That was when.
Thud, thud.
“……!”
He could hear the footsteps of the guards in the distance.
They were coming to take the protagonist to the execution ground.
“Come out.”
Clang!
The guards dragged Joo-in toward the fearsome execution platform.
Even if he were dragged away like this, he’d end up getting his neck cut off, but he didn’t care.
‘Since everything’s been the same, this will be the same too. I believe in the Balentino Saga system.’
There was only one way to obtain a trait from this execution platform choice.
＜A player’s character unlocks [Unique Trait] upon their 18th birthday.＞
＜The trait that is unlocked is random.＞
The moon rose through the hole in the mine’s ceiling.
The moment that moon reached its peak was when his current body would turn 18.
That’s when his ＜Unique Trait＞ would definitely be unlocked.
‘Of course, I could just get unlucky and get a weird trait.’
Useless traits like ＜Theft＞ or ＜Cleanliness＞.
However, there were some unexpectedly useful traits that could pop up.
＜Beastification＞, which allowed one to use the powers of various beasts.
＜Sword God＞, which provided a swordsmanship buff just by holding a sword.
These were traits that would allow him to escape this place right away, just as their names suggested.
In fact, even if he got something worse than that, it didn’t matter.
‘In Balentino Saga, the higher the probability of a high-grade unique trait appearing, the more dire the crisis.’
This was a golden tip that only Joo-in, who had played tens of thousands of rounds, knew.
It was also the only piece of information he trusted.
He couldn’t even start if he couldn’t get out of here in the first place.
He might as well push himself to the extreme to get the best trait.
‘At the very least, if I can just start with a trait that’s Hero-grade or higher, then half of it is already a success.’
If he played his cards right, he could even use the Hero and his former comrades, the comrades of the previous Hero.
‘The Hero should have just been born by now, eating well and living well.’
His other comrades would also be holding their own positions.
They would be a great strength to him, now that he could move his body.
While he was thinking like that,
Joo-in arrived at the execution platform.
“Tie him down.”
Thud!
The guards roughly secured Joo-in’s head onto the wooden board.
They tied him up tightly with rope so that he couldn’t move.
The noseless guard sneered at Joo-in.
“Heh, the day has finally come when I can kill you with my own two hands.”
He was the guard in charge of this execution.
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The guard raised his axe above his head.
The prisoners watching from all sides began to shout.
“That son of a b*tch is finally gonna die!”
“Hurry up and chop his head off!”
They were all hoping that Joo-in would die quickly.
The warden laughed wickedly at the screams of the other prisoners.
“Last words?”
“F*ck you.”
“In my ten years of guarding scumbags like you, this is a first. Off you go. hahahahaha.”
My gaming experience is 18 years, you punk.
Without hesitation, the warden swung down the axe.
The axe headed straight for the protagonist’s neck.
A single swing.
An axe swing precise enough to cleanly sever the neck in one go.
It was a swing so powerful that it even cut through the rope that was binding his neck.
The moon reached the peak of the mine’s ceiling.
Swish!
At this moment.
The protagonist wished for one thing.
‘Please, anything that can get me out of this situation. Even ＜Reinforced Body＞. Even ＜Blink＞!’
Rumble! Bang!
A beam of light fell from the moon towards the protagonist.
Simultaneously, the speed of everything slowed down as if time had stopped.
The axe that was at the protagonist’s neck was no exception.
However, it wasn’t the axe that caught his eye.
＜[Unique Trait of the Demon King: Reflection] has been acquired.＞
A line of text that appeared before his eyes.
There was no need to check the skill separately.
He knew what it was the moment he read the words.
And at that moment.
“Rainbow Reflection! F*cker!”
Thud!
A human head flew up into the air.