Season 4: Chapter 48. Trap Card (3)

Sometimes, the minions beside the boss were more annoying or stronger than the boss. This pattern had existed since the days of pixel retro games. Almond was well aware of it.

For that reason, Almond took his chance when Oh Sang-Gi went to the restroom. He had briefly witnessed Oh Sang-Gi’s combat capabilities, whereas Shin Ki-Hye’s remained unknown. Even if he left that variable unaccounted for, he couldn’t overlook Oh Sang-Gi’s power.

Naturally, fighting without Oh Sang-Gi present was the better move. That judgment turned out to be absolutely correct.

"Bang!"

[Exorcist Sword]

Almond summoned his sword and unsheathed it. From the cafe sofa, the arc of his sword passed through the air and instantly slashed her neck. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

Swoosh!

The air split, sending Shin Ki-Hye’s hair fluttering.

"If you come to our agency, we offer a number of programs for you..."

She continued looking at Almond and Bubblegum as she spoke, yet she couldn’t even react.

"Huh?"

Not even as her head flew off.

"

Hmm?

"

The same went for Bubblegum. He had no idea why she suddenly stopped talking. He only briefly thought,

‘Why the suspense?’

It didn’t take him long to realize what had happened.

Thunk.

Shin Ki-Hye’s head fell to the floor, and Bubblegum’s eyes widened.

"W-What the?!"

Then, as if on cue, every NPC around them screamed at the same time.

"

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!

"

People scattered in every direction. Bubblegum’s red wig disappeared, revealing his bald head. A traditional hat appeared on top of Almond’s head. As he stood up, the sleeves of his shaman robe fluttered. Bubblegum’s outfit had also turned into the monk’s robes.

‘Battle stance?’

It meant a battle had now begun, but Bubblegum didn’t understand.

"Why?"

He still had no idea that Almond had just slashed Shin Ki-Hye’s neck beside him.

"Hey, Almond, that lady’s head just came off. What’s going on? Some kind of skill?"

— LOL

— Did he just say "Is that a skill"?

— Bruh

— Where in the world is there a skill that pops off heads like that?

Only when he turned toward Almond did he see the drawn blade and the red blood at its tip.

"Y-You did that?!"

Bubblegum recoiled in shock.

"W-When did you even—!?"

Almond didn’t respond. He couldn’t hear Bubblegum.

‘What the hell?’

He was doing his best to wrap his head around the situation.

"Why isn’t she getting back up?"

Wasn’t she the final boss? Sure, in some cases, the sidekicks were stronger than the boss, but to go down in one strike? Something felt very off. To Bubblegum, Almond’s comment was what felt off.

"Are you a psychopath?! You slashed off her head, and now you’re wondering why she’s not getting up!?"

— LOL

— He’s insane

— Dude what

— He’s lost it

Viewers watching from Bubblegum’s POV reacted the same way.

Almond tried to clarify. "She’s the boss. There’s no way she’d die from just one hit."

"Huh?"

Only then did Bubblegum understand what Almond meant.

‘Now that I think about it... he’s right.’

Oh Sang-Gi had guided them to the mastermind. That would make Shin Ki-Hye the boss villain, but she collapsed even more pathetically than Oh Sang-Gi would have.

‘Wait... was she even the final boss?’

Chills followed as the doubt passed over Bubblegum’s mind. The way she lay crumpled on the floor looked exactly like a regular NPC. Then, it happened.

Ssshhhhh...

Shin Ki-Hye’s spirit floated up above her body.

She smiled gently and asked, "Why did you kill me?"

"

W-Waaaaah!

"

Bubblegum stumbled back instinctively.

"W-What the hell is going on?!"

"Why did you..."

The spirit floated closer, reaching out toward him.

"It wasn’t me!" Bubblegum nearly toppled over.

Thunk!

A familiar strip of paper stuck to the spirit’s forehead.

Crackle-crackle-crackle—!

Almond had already placed a talisman on her.

"W-Why, why, why, did you, do, this, to, me—!?"

— LOL

— No mercy

— That talisman is OP lol

— He’s so damn fast

Her spirit kept muttering nonsense and convulsed from being electrocuted. However, her spirit didn’t dissipate. That talisman only temporarily stunned her.

Almond pulled off the talisman and asked, "You. What are you? You’re not the final boss?"

Shin Ki-Hye turned to him with a puzzled expression. Then, she faintly smiled.

"Of course not."

***

Assistant Kim sat frozen with beer soaking his shirt after Manager Kim spat at him. He stared blankly at the monitor and slowly brought his hands together in front of him.

‘Heaven...’

Perhaps the heavens weren’t so heartless after all.

‘We haven’t been abandoned!’

He turned to look at his manager.

"

Uwoooooooooh!

"

Manager Kim, who had lost his rationality when Shin Ki-Hye’s head flew off, still hadn’t come to his senses.

"Sir."

"

Uuugh...

H-How could this happen!"

"Sir?"

"How could the final boss die in a single strike? What the hell!?"

"Because she wasn’t the final boss."

"What?"

Only then did the manager look at his assistant.

"She was a decoy. The real final boss never shows themselves directly."

"!"

"She’s lower-ranked than Oh Sang-Gi."

Only then did Manager Kim snap back to reality.

"Holy crap. Then..."

Assistant Kim’s eyes gleamed as he grinned. He hadn’t wickedly grinned like this since the start of the game.

"Those bastards. They finally took the bait."

If they killed Shin Ki-Hye, they would lose all trust with Oh Sang-Gi and lose access to the true antagonist. The game would now stretch on much longer than before. The developers had laid this trap for players who tried to speedrun through the story.

"A... A trap?"

"Exactly."

A well-known phrase from gaming lore flashed through Manager Kim’s mind.

‘YOU JUST ACTIVATED MY TRAP CARD.’

"

Hah... Ahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHA!

"

He burst out laughing, exhilarated.

"Finally! Those lunatic devs hit back for real, huh?! Huh?!"

He stretched out a hand and shouted joyfully.

"Right?!"

Clap!

Their hands met in a satisfying high five.

"You goddamn game busters! How’s it feel, huh!?"

"How’s it feeeel!?"

The two raised their beer cans and howled with laughter loud enough to shake the office. This was the Kim duo’s first and last counterattack.

***

Killing Shin Ki-Hye wasn’t just a minor mishap. It was a critical hit to the game’s progression. An event that would forever poison their path forward.

"Dammit. Almond, we got baited. We weren’t supposed to kill her. If we want to figure out where the real final boss is—!"

Bubblegum wasn’t frustrated over the extended playtime, but he dreaded the situation itself.

"

Graaaaaagh!

"

All across MetaBucks, people began turning into thought-forms.

[Grade 1 Thought-Form]

And not just any kind. They were the same powerful Grade 1 that the players first encountered in the subway tutorial. It didn’t stop there. Most of the staff also began radiating dark auras from their hands.

Bzzzt!

[Grade 2 Cleric]

Clerics of who-knows-what sinister religion began shooting those black auras like bullets. Bubblegum and Almond immediately hurled themselves behind the sofa.

BOOM!

The inner cushions burst into the air, releasing acrid smoke. Meanwhile, the Grade 1 Thought-Forms unleashed long tendrils and tore through everything in sight.

Clang Clang Clang Clang!

At least Almond recognized the pattern. He tilted the table and blocked, though that was a one-time trick.

CRACK!

The table splintered into shards.

— What the hell?

— Whoa, LOL

— This is chaos LOL

— This place is messed up fr

— Can they even survive?

— Classic "you hit the wrong target" plotline LOL

This kind of chaos often occurred in a branching solo RPG when the player provoked the wrong enemy. No solution existed for this.

"Almond, maybe we should just die and go back to a save point..."

That seemed to be their only viable solution. Of course, it would be a different story if they were on a second or third run with endgame stats. However, this was only their first run.

Almond nodded. He couldn’t find a good reason to keep pushing either.

"So where’s the save point?"

Bubblegum didn’t know. They had blasted through the game so recklessly that no one knew when the last autosave had triggered.

Almond nodded and accepted Bubblegum’s silence as an answer.

"We still have Oh Sang-Gi. Let’s see what we can do."

"W-What?"

‘We’re still going to try?’

From Bubblegum’s perspective, it seemed like a waste of time unless they backtracked.

‘But... I mean... this is kinda how I always do it anyway.’

Bubblegum usually showed his viewers the game’s natural progression first. Suggesting that they revert to a save point wasn’t for him.

‘Is Almond okay?’

He was worried about Almond’s total playtime.

"So what’s the plan now?"

"We might have to torture Oh Sang-Gi."

The idea sounded tempting.

"As if this game would let you do that?! Huh?"

That just wasn’t going to happen.

"Even if it did, would it even work? These guys are straight-up cult psychos! Didn’t you see how they laughed when Shin Ki-Hye’s head went flying? You think torture would get them to talk?"

"Let’s clear them out first and figure it out later."

"C-Clear? All this!?"

Even at a glance, too many strong enemies had surrounded them.

"Don’t you remember that Grade 1 spirit?"

Bubblegum didn’t get to finish.

POP!

[Dimensional Step]

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Almond vanished. Moments later, he cleaved a Grade 1 Thought-Form in half.

SHRRRRK!

— Holy...

— Whoa LOL

— What just happened?

— LOL what!?

— Who gave Almond a teleporting sword!?

‘That... worked?’

Bubblegum felt shocked.

Almond responded calmly, "That was a tutorial mob."

It had only been scary the first time.

"R-Really? Are we... stronger now?"

"Of course. Our spiritual power is way higher. Be confident."

Right, he wasn’t the same monk he used to be. Bubblegum suddenly felt pumped and rose from behind the sofa.

"Alright, let’s fight!"

"

Hmm...

"

Almond actually looked a bit more worried seeing that.

"Gum Commandment No. 13: Never entrust your back to an overconfident Bubblegum."

"What’s that supposed to mean, you jerk!?"

— LOL

— LMAO

— Hahahaha

— Guaranteed disaster combo LOL

— WTF LOL

"Thanks for the donation, bro. I totally read it just now."

"No, you didn’t! Someone check his stream!"

— LMAOOOO

— Let it slide this once

— LOL I can’t

— He’s too cute omg

— Only time Walnut goes hyperspeed is for donations LOL

The

Ghostwo Busters

, Bubblegum and Almond, stood back-to-back in the heart of MetaBucks as they faced the incoming enemies together.