The Ruined World Was Mistaken for a Game

Translator: Dreamscribe

Paradise.

A place where all the happiness in the world could be found.

The central region of the Kalsus Dimensional Empire was called Paradise. Every imperial citizen yearned to live there, and even slaves sometimes dreamed of Paradise.

Just how wonderful could a place be to earn such praise?

Jinwoo stepped out of the ship with high expectations.

The ship Jinwoo had boarded had already passed through the dimensional portal located at the outermost edge of the central region.

This place served as something like an airport. Countless ships that had come through the dimensional portal filled the area, and more took off into the sky without pause.

The city spreading out around the airport was certainly different from the outside. Nobles strolled about in lavish attire, and soldiers clad in dazzlingly ornate armor paraded their dignity. Food was abundant, and luxury goods flowed endlessly in every shop.

And yet, Jinwoo's expression clouded with disappointment.

"This is all?"

To Jinwoo's eyes, it looked ordinary. If anything, the villages of Arsilan felt more like paradise.

It was flashy and pleasing to the eye, but it struck Jinwoo as terribly boring. The only things the nobles seemed to do were buy luxuries, eat food, and show off the rare slaves they had purchased at great expense.

It was hollow.

A dull space dressed up with artificial smiles.

"The Heroes would hate this."

Watching the city from atop the ship, Jinwoo shook his head.

Being flashy wasn't bad in itself. But when it went too far, it became tiresome. That was why, when designing a massive city like this, one usually incorporated quieter zones to balance it out.

Well, this was only the outskirts of the central region of the Kalsus Dimensional Empire, so there was no need to be disappointed yet.

Thinking this, Jinwoo descended before the ship.

The high-ranking officials of the airport had all come out to greet him. With a Judge, an Inquisitor, and a high-ranking noble aboard, it was only natural that they would swarm over. Apparently, the dimensional portal from the outskirts to the center opened only once every three days. Unfortunately, it had just closed, so they would have to remain here for a while.

[I shall escort you to the finest hotel.]

Kalgul sent his thoughts.

Even though the Governor of this massive planet was bowing and scraping, he was focused solely on Jinwoo. It was obvious what the "finest hotel" would amount to.

[I'll have a look around. Contact me if anything comes up.]

Since Kalgul was Jinwoo's Follower, he could transmit his will at any time as long as they were in the same dimension. Of course, if the distance was too great, a special ritual was required, similar to calling upon a god. It involved invoking the Evil God's name to gather Sacred Power.

'It's inconvenient being cut off from the Soul Moon.'

If the Soul Moon or the Magic Tower had existed here, such a procedure wouldn't have been necessary.

'I should build a Magic Tower first.'

Jinwoo nodded to himself.

The Judges and Inquisitors began preparing all sorts of things to curry favor with Jinwoo. The Governor was sweating profusely as he jotted down everything they said. Jinwoo gave a small chuckle and soared up into the sky.

Viewed from above, the city was at least somewhat worth looking at. Outside the massive urban area, various pieces of equipment, including ships and tanks, were being manufactured, and resources scraped from countless dimensions were being sorted and processed.

Cores extracted from dimensions were sliced into small pieces and sent into factories.

Dimensional Energy was drawn out and used either to maintain the Dimensional Barrier or as fuel for the planet.

The walls built around the city seemed to mark the gap in status between inside and outside. The airport of this city could only be used by nobles; soldiers such as legion commanders had to use the airport outside unless they had special permission.

'No wonder everyone wants to become a noble.'

Every imperial citizen serving in the military was scrambling to become a noble. Even the legion commanders, said to stand at the peak of the legions, were no exception. Still, once one reached the rank of legion commander, they were at least given treatment on par with a low-ranking noble.

"Hmm..."

Looking down over the city, Jinwoo searched for something fun to do, but nothing caught his eye. The best he could find was a high-end tavern serving wine that tasted like grape juice. Seeing the nobles making an absurd fuss as they sipped their wine, Jinwoo couldn't help but sigh.

Jinwoo came down onto the rooftop of the tallest building.

Within Jinwoo's shadow, countless eyes blinked.

"Sorry, was it boring?"

Let's spice up this dull city and make it entertaining.

In a manner befitting an Evil God.

Jinwoo stirred the Evil God's Authority. Rats began pouring out of his shadow. Each one bore a massive red eyeball on its forehead, and their teeth were sharp enough to tear through steel. The rats streamed down the walls of the building Jinwoo stood on like a cascading waterfall.

FLUTTER-FLUTTER!

Bats shot up out of Jinwoo's shadow. Rising high into the sky, the bats became a dark cloud that drifted above the city. The Evil God's Creatures that Jinwoo had created spread rapidly, chasing after the malice that lingered in the city.

In an alley, he sensed one bearing tremendous malice and evil karma.

Jinwoo nodded and moved to that person's location. His body was drawn into a shadow, then rose up from the shade of an alleyway.

"Fuck! That goddamn bitch! I'll kill her!"

A man was buried in a heap of trash.

He looked like a low-ranking noble, but judging by the wounds all over his body, he'd been beaten up. Drunk out of his mind, he spewed curses while barely able to hold himself up.

A terrible inferiority complex, jealousy, greed, and endlessly swelling malice radiated from him. He had accumulated so much evil karma that his soul was practically melting into blackness.

SHHHHHH!

The sky darkened, and rain suddenly began to fall.

The rain curved around Jinwoo, but poured down with particular violence on the man.

"Pfft, aaaagh!"

Flailing as the rain struck his face, the man toppled right into a stagnant puddle. The puddle was filthy, mixed with whatever had seeped out of the trash heap. Since he had landed face first, he thrashed about as if he were swimming. Jinwoo watched with great interest.

The shadow extending from Jinwoo seized the alley and dyed it in darkness. Countless eyes embedded in that darkness watched the pathetic man writhing about.

The eyes curled into shapes like crescent moons.

It was quite a sight to behold, truly.

"Bleugh! Urgh!"

The man spat out the trash that had gotten into his mouth. At that, a burst of laughter erupted. Hearing the sudden, spine-chilling laughter, the man slowly raised his head.

"Ha, haaah?!"

The man sobered up in an instant. Countless eyes were staring at him from within the pitch-black darkness, and mouths plastered on the walls were laughing at him.

Was he having a nightmare?

The man gulped and rubbed his eyes. When he could still see them, he shoved his face back into the puddle, then cautiously raised his head again.

-Hahaha

-Hehe...

The laughter grew louder at his idiotic behavior.

"A rough day, isn't it?"

Startled by the voice that suddenly reached his ears, the man trembled as he looked to the side. When he saw Jinwoo buried in the darkness, he recoiled in horror and scrambled backward, practically crawling along the ground. He knocked over the piles of trash, and pieces of garbage rained down onto him.

Even a professional comedian would have struggled to pull off that kind of slapstick.

Jinwoo snapped his fingers, and the trash flew up into the air and stacked itself in a corner.

"Wh, who are you!"

He shouted with false bravado, but the man didn't dare actually look at Jinwoo. Jinwoo conjured an umbrella and held it above him.

The umbrella blocked the rain, yet strangely, it kept raining on him.

The man looked down at his own body. Blood dripping from the umbrella was staining his body red.

"M, monster...!"

The man's face turned pale. The drunkenness had now completely vanished.

"Filthy."

When Jinwoo waved his hand, the man's body and clothes became spotless. A pleasant scent even drifted from them. The man was so stunned he couldn't move.

"Be grateful. You have been chosen as the protagonist of this game."

"G, game? You mean some kind of stone game?"

Jinwoo cocked his head slightly at that.

It seemed games really hadn't developed much around here. No wonder they all lived such boring lives.

"I'll grant you a wish."

"A, a wish?"

Jinwoo opened his hand. Gold bars and rare gems came spilling out.

The man's eyes went wide. He cautiously picked up one of the gems in his hand. He had only seen a gem like this from a distance before. With just this single stone, one could buy dozens of buildings and still have money to spare.

It was a precious gem that a low-ranking noble could hardly ever own.

"A, are you truly going to grant me a wish?"

The man gazed at Jinwoo with trembling eyes.

He couldn't even begin to guess what sort of being this was. What was certain was that he seemed to possess the power to actually grant a wish. In the man's eyes, Jinwoo looked like a god higher than any other.

"That's right. Whatever wish you want, I'll grant it. I guarantee it."

The man's face began to flush with excitement.

Jinwoo pierced the man with the Evil God's Authority and read him through.

What kind of story did this fool carry?

[Lv.2] Alons de Fangdon

Race: Kalsus

Title: [-] Pathetic Alons

Evil Karma: B

*21 counts of hunting dimensional natives, 42 counts of torture, 42 counts of blasphemy against the Evil God, and more; 24 types of crimes in total

The evil karma value appeared expressed as a rank.

He was a low-ranking noble living in this city.

His name was Alons.

Among the nobles of this city, he was known as "Pathetic Alons".

He had been born a noble and lived a life that lacked nothing, but the moment he met her, he lost everything.

A woman who wore crimson roses so well, Lailani.

Alons had fallen in love with her and given her everything, heart and soul.

He bought countless slaves and presented them to her.

He tortured beautiful slaves purchased at exorbitant prices alongside her, promising her a future together.

He handed over jewels and accessories, even his house, and the business rights granted to him. He spent his days in excitement and anticipation, dreaming of a sweet future together, but in the end, all that awaited him was despair.

It turned out she had only approached him after his fortune. And there was someone manipulating her, backing her from the shadows.

Baron Greiso.

Though he had only recently arrived in this city, he was a noble who exerted considerable influence.

A handsome face, a silver tongue, and immense wealth.

He even enjoyed the trust of Count Kaont, known as the "Golden Baptism".

The moment Alons laid eyes on Baron Greiso, he had felt a crushing inferiority. The nobles who had always looked down on him were now showering Baron Greiso with fawning affection, and seeing that made his insides twist.

A banquet was going to be held together with her at his mansion, which had now become Baron Greiso's mansion.

Baron Greiso and Lailani had fleeced him clean.

And they had done it simply as a pastime that suited her taste.

The main business of his family, which had carried on for centuries, had been taken from him, and his right to reside in the central region was now at risk of being revoked. If things continued this way, he might be cast beyond the Dimensional Barrier and forced to wander the outer regions for the rest of his days.

-A wish... a wish

-Aah! A delightful wish....

-It will be granted....

-Wish. Wish....

Eerie voices flowed out of the countless mouths stuck to the walls.

Crunch!

Alons gritted his teeth at the rage boiling inside him.

"Wh, what is the price? How many wishes...."

Jinwoo grinned.

"The price is enjoyment. Use your wishes however you like. Just be warned: undoing a wish will incur a far greater price."

[Evil God] Contract

1. The Evil God shall grant any wish of Alons de Fangdon.

2. The price is 'enjoyment'.

3. Should the wish be undone or abandoned, it shall be treated as a breach of contract and will carry an enormous price.

4. Once a contract has been formed, it can never be cancelled.

The Evil God's Contract appeared before him.

A golden-shining pen was placed in his hand. Having read through the contract, Alons signed it without hesitation.

[Congratulations. The contract has been formed!]

Those words appeared before Alons's eyes, and fireworks burst. In that moment, a mark was drawn on the back of Alons's hand. It was the mark of the Evil God.

At the same moment, the shadow that had been with Jinwoo settled into Alons's body. Alons looked down. Within his shadow, he could see countless eyes, and mouths drifting about.

"Now, have fun playing."

The figure of Jinwoo standing before Alons crumbled and vanished. Simultaneously, sunlight fell upon the alleyway.

For weather that had just experienced such fierce rain, the sky was impossibly clear.

With a dazed expression, Alons stepped out of the alleyway.

There wasn't a drop of water to be seen on the road.

Had it been a dream?

Alons turned his head and looked back into the alley.

The alleyway was full of deep, brimming puddles.

It hadn't been a dream.

It had actually happened.

Trembling with fear that surged from his feet to the top of his head, Alons stared at the mark on the back of his hand and shook. Then, suddenly, he stopped.

"A, a wish...."

He could have everything.

Surely he could. The price was merely something called enjoyment, wasn't it?

He didn't know how exactly this "enjoyment" would be taken, but there was nothing to lose. All he had to do was entertain this being, and that would be that.

A twisted smile rose to Alons's lips, and his eyes filled with greed.

* * *

The Evil God's Game had begun.

Of course, this was just a warm-up round.

Seated in the hotel room the Judge had arranged for him, Jinwoo pulled out fried chicken, beer, and a variety of other foods.

As expected of the finest hotel in the city, everything was large and lavish, and no one could disturb Jinwoo. The Judge had even deployed knights to stand guard for Jinwoo's sake. The Judge himself stayed in the servants' quarters, ready to obey Jinwoo's command at any moment.

Jinwoo brought up a massive information window before his eyes. The hotel room was so spacious that he could have made it bigger than a theater and still had room to spare.

The Evil God's Creatures swarming beneath the city served as a Magic Tower, projecting the image of Alons, who was connected to Jinwoo.

"It's coming through clearly."

Alons appeared in his own hotel room. It was modest for lodgings of a noble, but Alons didn't care in the slightest. After all, he would now be able to obtain wealth, honor, and power all at once.

-A wish... a wish....

-Hehehe

-Fascinating

Alons's shadow filled the area around him, forming eyes and mouths. The eyes watched Alons, and the mouths murmured.

"Now this is a broadcast."

This was a broadcast of the Evil God's Game.

The viewers were the Resentment of the Vengeful Spirits that the Evil God bore. They would be able to watch and feel what was happening, and draw enjoyment from it. Jinwoo had taken away their pain, but the bitterness and anger still remained.

He hoped that through enjoyment, such emotions of the Vengeful Spirits might be diluted. That was the first purpose of the Evil God's Game.

Jinwoo was curious what Alons's first wish would be.

Alons clenched his fists.

"Baron Greiso, that bastard...."

Foul jealousy and inferiority surged within him.

Revenge.

He would take everything they had and look down on them. First, he wanted to become superior.

His appearance could hardly be called good.

Though a noble, he was constantly told he looked like a slave, and in the social world he was utterly ignored.

He would appear before them looking far finer than that bastard and pay them back in kind. Yes, he would start from there.

"I shall make a wish!"

Alons declared boldly.

The figure that had been buried in the trash heap had utterly vanished, and now only a man brimming with confidence remained. Jinwoo chuckled at the sight.

[Please input your wish.]

When the information window appeared, Alons was startled. Soon he regained his composure and began to write out his first wish.

The first wish he made was to become more beautiful than anyone else.

At his wish, Jinwoo smiled brightly.

Things were about to get very interesting.

*****

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