<< Hey, System, what are other games like? Since you've followed so many Players, you must know a thing or two about them. >>

I sat inside the carriage, waiting for Jasper, with Leona fast asleep beside me on her golded cushion.

Perhaps I could have stayed in the palace, but I understood that I wasn't an entirely welcome guest after my interaction with Princess Naomi. The palace was swarming with her supporters.

Besides, I felt like I hadn't spoken with the System in some time.

[ There are thousands of games in existence. A number have occurred in your realm. As for how they are, the games and their objectives are as diverse as the people in your realm. Perhaps more so. What are you looking to understand with that question? ]

<< You said that Adovoria's Fall is the most challenging Game currently. I was just wondering how games typically are. >>

I pulled out a regular pebble and played with it. However, it wasn't quite as satisfying as the Wobbly Pebble, which I had given to Sarka Jarbez's son to reverse-engineer. Given its random attribute, I figured there might be a use for it. If Leo could identify it, I could find a way to utilize its unusual properties in other objects.

[ Normally, a game is beaten within 4-7 Rounds, typically with only twenty or so Players having a go at it. Depending on their experience level, Players might complete a game much faster. ]

Huh. That's a far cry from how many Players and Rounds Adovoria's Fall had seen.

<< Were the Players that came to play Adorovia's Fall weak? >>

[ Negative. Some of the best-ranking Players have come to try their hand at Adovoria's Fall. ]

Damn it, and yet they all failed?

<< But there have been harder games than Adovoria's Fall? It's not like it's actually impossible to win. >>

[ Nothing is impossible. That said, there hasn't been a game harder than Adovoria's Fall. It currently ranks with the highest failure rate of all time. ]

Ah, damn it. Well, at least with the extra couple of years, I have an edge that those Players didn't have.

I gazed out the window and saw Jasper waltzing toward the carriage with a shit-eating grin on his face.

I frowned.

Just how much did he scam that diplomat out of?

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

[ Game: Finding Love in Ethereal Academy ]

[ Summary: Navigate as Alice Crest, a newly transferred student in the magical academy, exploring friendship, rivalry, and romance. ]

[ Objective: Survive and have one of the identified characters fall in love with you. ]

[ Difficulty: Medium ]

[ Players: 1 ]

The Game's description and objective painted a picture far more enchanting than the perilous reality of the playing character. The landscape of fluffy cotton candy pink trees, unicorns grazing the grassy fields, and perfect-looking students walking the academy halls further provided a misconception of the grim reality of this realm. Only the keyword "survive" hinted at the lurking danger beneath the surface.

BlueLizard, or currently, Alice Crest, swiped through the red screen of faces with descriptions for each of the individual characters, otherwise known as potential love interests, or crushes the girl she was currently possessing held.

Tch. What horrible taste she has.

There were a dozen profiles, each worse than the one prior. The first was Andrew Ford, a handsome teenager who excelled in magic, was captain of the broomstick racing team, and came from a wealthy family. He was also charismatic and extremely popular.

He is also a bully.

Alice read through the original Alice's life summary notes, noting how this Andrew showcased a classic inferiority complex toward her character, feeling displaced by the new transfer student's raw talent that exceeded his own proficiency in summoning magic. It didn't help that he had the best tutors that money could buy, and Alice hailed from a little-known village and had been scouted by the headmaster himself.

Andrew didn't do it overtly, either. Outwardly, he was kind to her. But he manipulated those around Alice to do the dirty work for him.

Why is he one of the potential love interests?

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

The original Alice had clearly realized his true character toward the end of her life, but her request still had him as one of the individuals she wished to win over.

Alice rubbed her chin in thought. The skin was rough and peppered with acne.

Perhaps it's a revenge love interest? As in, get him to fall in love with her, so she can later break his heart?

Next up was Lloyd Jean, a popular young professor at the academy that was ten years senior to Alice's sixteen years. This one made BlueLizard grimace.

There was a reason such games weren't popular among Players. The majority of Players, BlueLizard included, had lived for the equivalent of several thousands of years. Playing a game that required gaining social approval and engaging in romantic relations with teenagers was hardly of interest to most.

Thus, such games typically sat in the Game Library, untouched. Not that there were many like them. In the majority of cases, a different type of summon was enacted for such games where a Player was selected from among the recently deceased, identifying a soul that was similar in age to the character and stood the best chance at clearing the Game.

However, Alice had done a much more advanced and far more costly Player summon. Why?

A Player summon was often referred to as a demonic summon in a lot of the realm texts, seen as evil magic, and explicitly prohibited. In a way, the idea was correct. A Player typically had thousands of years of experience and had access to the Game Store and other Player-exclusives. It was an excessive summon to win over some boy's heart when summoning a teenager that's been hit and killed by a truck could have sufficed.

Teenagers that enacted a Player summon typically either didn't comprehend the true price of such a summon or didn't care. But Alice Crest was a peculiar case.

BlueLizard pulled up her profile.

[ Strength : 7

Dexterity : 10

Perception : 67

Intelligence : 125

Charisma : -5

Mana : 689 ]

If I had her as a mage in Adovoria's Fall….

BlueLizard shook the thought away.

I came here to have a break from all that.

Alice wasn't stupid. She was also a force to be reckoned with. Typically, with a Player summon, the summoner paid with their soul—hence why many texts referred to it as making a deal with the devil. However, Alice found a loophole, where after the Player completed the Game, she would regain possession of her body for the remainder of the round. Of course, her soul would disintegrate after her life ended, but at least Alice could have a second chance at this life.

BlueLizard's role was effectively to clean up house and make it comfortable for Alice to return to. She was perfectly fine with this. Aside from a much-needed break from failing at Adovoria's Fall so many times, BlueLizard chose to play Finding Love in Ethereal Academy because she liked Alice's character.

Alice Crest was a kind and talented individual that should have flourished in her world. Had life been fair and kind, she ought to have lived a long and fulfilling life. However, life had dealt her a bad hand. Sure, she was a bit socially awkward and far from a beauty, but this was no reason for the cruelty that her classmates forced her to experience. She was manipulated, ostracized, bullied, taken advantage of, and finally killed by those around her at the academy.

BlueLizard had a soft spot for characters like Alice and thus was willing to play this otome Game, even though it wasn't her usual genre.

She swiped through the remainder of the red screens until she was fully familiarized with her character, the world, and the issues she was experiencing.

Alice took a deep breath and let it out slowly, completing her immersion as Alice Crest.

"I am ready," she said, glancing at the hoovering bucket over her head. "Start the Game."

WOOOSH!

"Serves you right!"

"How dare you look at our Academy's Prince."

Alice opened her eyes through the freezing cold water that had just been dumped over her head and smiled.

I'm going to speed-run this Game, so the original Alice gets to live out as much of it herself. These idiots messed with the wrong person.

***

I've still got it.

Alice gazed down at the so-called love interests groveling at her feet.

BlueLizard completed the Game in less than a month of in-game playtime. It was perhaps not quite the outcome the original Alice had envisioned. Still, BlueLizard technically met the objective and was confident that it wasn't one that she'd find displeasing. If anything, it was a better outcome.

The Game was technically done, but she wanted to leave something to help Alice once she regained control of her body. Just because all of the issues had been resolved didn't mean the ugliness of this realm wouldn't rear its head again in her life.

And it would be such a shame for life to revert back for Alice after I've cleaned things up for her.

Thus BlueLizard planned to spend the remaining day organizing a journal filled with advice for Alice in navigating her new life.

[ 72 Unread Messages ]

BlueLizard turned back on her inbox setting, and a slew of notifications appeared.

Tch. So many. This is why I turn off messages while I'm in-game.

Being bombarded by messages from other Players during a gaming session killed the immersion for BlueLizard.

It required a lot of concentration to play a character without sparking needless questions about an apparent overnight transformation. While some Players could pull off a sudden shift in their character's persona without raising eyebrows, it was a risky gambit. It was especially risky in realms where magic was as common as air. It invited unforeseen complications. These issues typically manifested as exorcists or other summoner-battling adversaries, threatening a Player's ability to complete the Game's objective.

This is why, for BlueLizard, seamlessly merging into her designated character was more than just strategy—it was the essence of her triumphs. This heavy focus on immersion was why the username BlueLizard carried a weight to it, having successfully cleared every Game she had ever attempted.

Except for Adovoria's Fall.

That impossible Game was the lone stain on her otherwise perfect record.

BlueLizard scrolled through the messages, many mentioning that difficult Game.

[ DisguisedPigeon: Where are you? ]

A brand new red message screen appeared.

[ I'm wrapping up Finding Love in Ethereal Academy. Why? ]

BlueLizard replied and immediately received back a reply.

[ DisguisedPigeon: No one has been able to enter Adovoria's Fall. Everyone keeps getting errors when they try; Shadow_King suggested that your matrix might be the only one accessible since you were the last Player to leave the Game. ]

Oh? Is it because the Game has been sitting too long without any Players?

Adovoria's Fall was unlike any other game that BlueLizard had ever played. The difficulty level was near-impossible, and the longer she had played it, the more difficult it seemingly became. It was as if her every move was anticipated. Not to mention, with each round, other bizarre changes occurred within the realm. In one round, she was attacked and killed by a random group of bandits; the round after was killed practically right after starting the Game, and then in the subsequent round, the mighty Kobar Mountain Range exploded into bits.

[ DisguisedPigeon: Do you plan on trying to beat it again? ]

BlueLizard rolled Alice's neck, stretching it out.

[ Of course. I always planned to. Who do you think I am? ]