Chapter 1 : Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Finally.
I gazed at the protagonist on the screen, who was busy issuing commands, my eyes filled with emotion.
After five years and six months of playing every single day, I had finally cleared ‘Lost Chronicle,’ a game that had remained unbeaten since its release.
Though it was a position obtained by a stroke of luck after all the other monarchs and leaders had perished, I had managed to become the monarch with the most wretched character, ‘Ian de Moner.’
However.
“What, it just ends like this?”
The happy ending I had envisioned after thousands of playthroughs was nowhere to be seen; the conclusion I faced was utterly miserable.
The home of humanity, which I had fought so desperately to protect, was engulfed in flames, and not a single soul survived.
Only the timing was slightly different; it was no different from any other bad ending.
As I stared blankly at the result, the words [Bad Ending] filled the screen as if to mock me.
【Bad Ending 000. The End and the Beginning】
“Ha, this is just ridiculous.”
I had collected all 1,000 bad endings, from 0 to 999.
I had hoped to see a happy ending just once, but as expected, it was not to be.
- Really? A destruction ending? Wow, where’s the conscience of the developers?
- As expected from the bad ending collector hahaha
- Well, it’s not like becoming a monarch suddenly creates troops out of thin air, so isn’t this natural?
- The timing of him becoming monarch was too late. The condition for clearing was to become monarch before the war started, but he barely managed it at the very end of the war.
- Isn’t that impossible?
- Absolutely impossible.
- Still, isn’t collecting all the bad endings a world first?
- How many people are still playing Locke…. Isn’t whatever he does a world first?
That was correct.
In Lost Chronicle, there was only one character and one objective.
To make ‘Ian de Moner’ the monarch before the monster invasion war began.
One might think it was no different from other RPG games, but the problem was the debuff that the protagonist, ‘Ian de Moner,’ carried.
Ian, burdened with the irremovable debuff ‘The Worst Scoundrel in History,’ began with Charm, Likability, and Trustworthiness all at -200.
Furthermore, his initial class was fixed as a ‘Slave Swordsman,’ so no matter how many hidden secrets I knew, I couldn't utilize them in the early stages.
It was the trashiest of trash games, one that most game streamers had declared impossible to clear within a month of its release.
Now, only a handful of people, including myself, remained, still trying to conquer this game.
‘I must be the crazy one for staking my life on it.’
I let out a small sigh as I looked at the Ian who had met his demise on the screen.
I had desperately wanted to clear this game properly, but as I progressed through this playthrough, I realized that any further attempts were meaningless.
- So when does the next playthrough start?
- Won’t he end the stream today and start tomorrow?
- Nah, the King of Strategy is crazy about Locke. I bet he starts right away today.
- 60,000 people are watching, you think he’d just stop here? haha
A half-success.
No, a quarter-success.
The Ian in the game ascended to the throne of a monarch, but humanity could not prevent its doom.
Even at level 200, Ian was weaker than a guard captain, and the people in the game perished without even a chance to fight back.
At the same time, this was my best attempt at a clear.
I declared, my voice a mixture of regret and relief.
“I will be ending my playthrough of Lost Chronicle here.”
- ?
- Is the stream ending already?
- Ah, I just got here, play a little longer before you go.
- Isn’t he saying he’s quitting his Locke playthrough?
- It’s his lifelong content, no way he’d quit.
‘I thought it was my lifelong content, too.’
Every time I started a new game, I held a vague confidence that this time, I could succeed.
In ‘Lost Chronicle,’ where every object held meaning, from a memo on the floor to the trash clutched by a street vagrant, I believed a hidden piece to aid my victory was concealed somewhere.
I believed that if I searched a little harder, if I ventured to that region this time, if I found the dragon, countless possibilities would lead me to a clear.
And I was happy that I always found new possibilities even amidst endless defeats.
But every beginning has an end.
“While playing this round, I’ve realized for sure. The current version of Lost Chronicle cannot be cleared any further than this.”
This playthrough was literally a series of heaven-sent luck.
A chain of miracles that would never repeat, where I escaped death several times with a 1% chance and survived by defeating enemies with a 0.001% chance.
“No matter what hidden pieces exist, it’s impossible to become the monarch before the War of Conquest in the current state.”
It took a year just to escape slavery, at least two years to resolve the trustworthiness debuff, and another two years to raise likability from -200 to 0.
In the end, the monster invasion began with nothing accomplished.
Even with the Holy Sword, even with the Emperor’s Imperial Seal, the overlooked protagonist ‘Ian’ could never ascend to the monarch's throne in time.
- So the King of Strategy is giving up too ㅠㅠㅠ
- Doesn’t that mean there’s no one clearing Locke now?
- In the first place, barely anyone even escapes slavery. We should probably consider it truly impossible now.
- I’ve seen all the bad endings now ㅠㅠ
- It’s too much of a waste to give up like this. One last go?
As I read the chat with a sense of regret, one message caught my attention.
- Then what’s the minimum condition required to clear it?
A viewer with a 5-year subscription badge.
‘Was this person watching since the early days of my stream?’
The ID looked familiar, so they were surely a viewer who had been with me since I first started streaming.
Thinking that their regret must be greater for having been with me for so long, I pondered for a moment before answering.
“…Time, I need more time.”
- Hmm… wasn’t the setting that he was a scoundrel poisoned by a toxin?
The protagonist, ‘Ian de Moner,’ was a fallen noble who had lost everything after being unknowingly poisoned.
“I’d rather be able to play from the point he was poisoned. Being an addict or a slave swordsman are both equally difficult to play.”
As every character in the game lamented the fall of the Moner family, saying things would have been different if the family had been there right after the war broke out, it wouldn't be impossible to become a monarch in time with the family's power.
As if in response to the words I spat out in frustration, a chat message appeared.
- Then you should give it a try.
“What?”
Before I could even reply, a new message appeared on the screen.
【Would you like to start a new game?】
【YES / NO】
[Special Perk - You will return to 10 years before the game’s start.]
[※Warning - Synchronization is required.]
[※Warning - Cannot be undone after synchronization.]
What was this?
Was that subscriber a developer?
Synchronization?
Did that mean they would delete the save file and change the settings?
My mind, weary from the long broadcast, suddenly sparked, and I pressed the confirm button with a trembling heart.
‘Is he really a developer? They haven't had a single patch in three years, and now they're giving a perk like this? Really?’
[Synchronization in progress… 1%]
As soon as the message indicating synchronization appeared, a wave of drowsiness washed over me.
‘I did overdo it.’
I had streamed for 14 hours every day without a single day off, and during the last playthrough, I even slept with the stream running.
‘Still, this is the last time! Let’s try just one more time!’
[Synchronization in progress… 50%]
I forced my eyes open, intending to at least confirm the added time and save before sleeping, but my eyelids drooped shut within seconds.
‘Ah, I need to turn off the stream before sleeping…….’
Well, it wasn't the first or second time I had fallen asleep while streaming.
Everyone would probably just assume as much.
I should just close my eyes for a moment while it loads and then wake up.
[Synchronization complete. Commencing transfer.]
* * *
“Uwaaaaaaah!”
What woke me from my nap was a pain as if my entire body was being seared.
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
A pain like being stabbed with an awl coursed through my whole body.
An unbearable agony made screams pour out of me, and tears and snot streamed down my face.
‘It hurts, it hurts!’
As I moved my hands convulsively, unable to even open my eyes from the pain, I felt the unfamiliar texture of a rope, and a clear bell sound echoed.
Clang!
“Aaaaaaaargh!”
It hurt so much.
It was hard to even breathe through the pouring tears and snot.
All I could do was scream and frantically move my hands to ring the bell.
“Young Master! Young Master!”
I heard an unfamiliar voice, but the relief of being alive came before any sense of curiosity.
“Save me, please save me! It hurts so much!”
The air touching my skin was chillingly cold.
The blanket brushing against my skin felt as if it were sharply cutting me.
“Please, please!”
As I writhed in pain, an unfamiliar woman held my hands and whispered.
“Young Master, Young Master, you must endure it.”
‘I can’t endure it! How am I supposed to endure the pain!’
“Hospital, doctor, emergency room!”
Words, unable to form coherent sentences due to the overwhelming pain, poured out, but the woman with the unfamiliar voice just kept repeating that I had to endure.
“Young Master, Young Master, you must endure it. Please, please. You have to endure it. It’s really just a few more days…….”
The woman holding my hands tightly whispered, her voice on the verge of tears as if she were begging.
‘No, I don’t want to die.’
How on earth was I supposed to endure this pain?
I pushed her hands away and flailed my arms amidst the burning pain that felt like my whole body was on fire.
‘That bell from before. I have to ring the bell.’
With the sole thought of wanting to end the pain somehow, I moved convulsively, and my fingertips felt a coarse rope.
‘This is it!’
Fearing that the woman who had held my hand might interfere, I quickly pulled the rope and shouted.
“Save me!”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
“Young Master……”
As I frantically pulled the rope and screamed until my throat was hoarse, I heard an unfamiliar man's voice over the woman’s bitter, resigned tone.
“My, my, is the Young Master in pain again?”
“Yes.”
A sycophantic man's voice and a woman's reply that was somehow sharp.
“Medicine! It hurts!”
Unfortunately, the pain I felt all over my body was too severe to grasp the situation.
A searing pain spread throughout my body, and along with a faint breeze in the room, an unbearable chill repeatedly washed over me.
“You should have taken your medicine on time… tsk.”
“I’m sorry. I should have checked properly……”
Medicine?
There was medicine?
The word ‘medicine’ echoed in my ringing ears.
I shouted with all my might to end the pain somehow.
“Medicine!”
“Yes, yes, Young Master. I’ll give you the medicine.”
Along with the unfamiliar man’s voice, I felt a cold liquid pass down my throat, and like magic, all the pain slowly subsided.
“Hah, hah, hah……”
There were strangers in my room, but what did it matter?
I was the Young Master.
‘Huh? Young Master? Me? Wait, where am I?’
Through my forced-open eyes, I saw a reddish room.
A red blanket, a yellow light, a man looking down at me, and a woman sitting by the bed, holding my hand.
“What is this……”
What was most unbelievable was the familiar system window shining before my eyes.
[You have been poisoned.]
[The pain will gradually worsen if you do not consume the poison.]
[You will die if you continue to consume the poison.]
[Current Addiction Dependency: 57%]
The system window from the game, Lost Chronicle, was shining before my eyes.
‘Poisoned? Don’t tell me I’ve entered Ian’s body?’
Bad feelings are never wrong.
With a clear ‘Tiring ’ notification sound, the quest window appeared before my eyes.
【 Main Quest 1: Survive! 】
Overcome the addiction. If the addiction dependency reaches 100, the quest will fail.
You will overcome the addiction if you do not consume the poison for 7 days or if the dependency reaches 0.
Quest Reward: ??
Failure Penalty: Acquire Title - Slave Swordsman
‘What in the world is this…….’
If this was really inside the game, there was something I had to check.
‘Status Window.’
As if responding to the command, a translucent status window appeared before my eyes.
Name: Ian de Moner
Title: The Scoundrel of the Moner Family
Class: Young Duke
『Traits』
The Capable Incompetent
Immovable Mind
Steel Heart
<Status: Poisoned. Addiction Dependency: 57%>
<Trustworthiness, Charm, and Likability are greatly decreased by the title.>
The familiar status window, which I had seen to the point of being sick of it for the past six years, was telling me that this was the world of Lost Chronicle.
To think I was transmigrated into the scoundrel of a world destined for ruin.
The new game had begun in the worst way imaginable.