The Ruined World Was Mistaken for a Game

Translator: Dreamscribe

Having experienced the first day, the evildoers came to understand exactly what kind of place the Island of Evil was. Exhausted as they were, they had to keep moving without rest. If they stayed in one spot for too long, their location data was transmitted to the monsters, who would swarm toward them.

Ten minutes.

They could only remain in the same place for ten minutes.

A situation where they could barely manage to catch scraps of sleep.

Only a single day had passed, yet their bodies and minds were already wrecked.

The moment the sun rose, the monsters stopped moving. Touched by the sunlight, they vanished as if dissolving.

[Morning has arrived. The night of nightmares recedes and peace returns.]

[One day has passed!]

*Congratulations! A total of 3,876 people have survived!

*Stronger weapons will now be generated.

*Keep moving during the day as well! If you remain in one spot for 10 minutes, your location data will be transmitted to nearby survivors.

*The Black Sea's cycle will grow faster.

An Information Window appeared on the evildoers' Bracelets.

The relief on their faces at the monsters' disappearance quickly hardened.

They had hoped to hole up somewhere safe and rest, but now even the daytime offered no such refuge. The ones as wicked as any monster were none other than their fellow evildoers.

And so the grueling days dragged on, one after another.

Through real-time patches, Jinwoo pushed them to the very edge of the abyss. There were hypocrites among them who put on a show of virtue and tried to honor their bonds.

It was behavior born of the baseless notion that doing good deeds, contrary to the Evil God's nature, might earn them salvation.

[Kill survivors to earn murder points, which can be used to purchase items useful for survival!]

*List: bottled water, canned food, snacks, meat dishes, alcohol, sleeping bags, concealment tents....

The evildoers, who had been surviving on muddy water and chewed grass, lost their minds. One evildoer who had preached about good deeds and sought to defy the Evil God failed to resist the temptation and slaughtered every survivor who had gathered around him.

"Heh, hehehe!"

He purchased a concealment tent that would let him rest for a few hours, along with a variety of food. Now the evildoers could no longer trust one another.

-These guys are legit awful lol

-well yeah that's why they're there

The viewers clicked their tongues at the evildoers who would stop at nothing to survive.

That was what an evildoer was.

If they could be redeemed, they couldn't be called evildoers in the first place. For an evildoer, even repentance was an act performed for their own gain.

As time passed, the number of survivors steadily dwindled, and the Island of Evil shrank. Fierce battles raged on with no method too dirty, no means off-limits. The sight of insects flailing desperately to survive was a fine thing to watch.

Jinwoo drove them relentlessly, leaving no room for boredom.

A gigantic boss monster appeared and razed everything around it, devouring evildoers alive. Day or night, the screams never ceased.

'Time to wrap this up.'

By the final day, only a handful of survivors remained.

The survivors, who had numbered over eight thousand on the first day, were now down to barely ten.

Ten days.

A long time, if one chose to call it long.

To the survivors who had fought so desperately to stay alive, it must have felt like an eternity.

[The final Black Sea is closing in. Become the last one standing before the Black Sea swallows the entire Island of Evil! Good luck!]

The Black Sea began surging in, devouring the Island of Evil as it came. Now all the survivors were funneled into a single small zone. As befitted those who had endured hell on the Island of Evil and lived, every one of them was heavily armed with top-grade weapons and armor.

The evildoers watched one another with eyes full of tension.

There was no time to scout.

There was nowhere to hide.

With the Black Sea pressing in right behind them, they had to kill, and kill, and kill again to survive. Only then could they escape this horrific hell and live.

"Die!"

"Aaaargh!"

They poured gunfire at one another.

When the bullets ran out, they charged with blades and clubs. They grappled and rolled across the ground, stabbing wildly at the gaps in each other's armor.

Nine were left in gruesome ruin, and the last remaining evildoer gasped for breath. He was the one who had been with the minister Jinwoo dealt with on the first day.

He too was badly wounded.

One arm hung in tatters, and a massive gash ran across his abdomen.

But he had survived.

He had survived this hellish place!

"Aaaaah! I won! I won!"

He was the final victor!

He lifted his head to the sky and let out a roar of triumph. But the Black Sea did not stop; it kept closing in. It was just then that he sensed something was off.

An Information Window had appeared above his Bracelet.

Barely holding on to his composure, he looked at the Information Window.

[Survivors: 2]

"Two...?"

Was there a survivor left?

Impossible. He was certain he had killed them all.

He gulped and scanned his surroundings. All he could see were corpses.

"There's no one...."

Rustle!

He sensed a presence behind him. He grabbed a dagger lying on the ground. He let out a long breath, then spun around.

"Y-you're Dvelos!"

Jinwoo still wore the form of Dvelos.

His appearance, looking as though he hadn't suffered in the slightest, was jarringly out of place.

The Black Sea had surged right up behind him. Countless hands were reaching out to drag him in. He lunged straight at Jinwoo.

BANG!

Jinwoo drew a pistol and shot him in the knee.

"Gyaaah!"

He crumpled where he stood and collapsed to the ground.

Jinwoo looked down at him, then planted a bullet in each of his limbs, one by one.

"Gagh!"

Jinwoo kicked his body over so that he was facing upward.

His eyes met Jinwoo's gaze from above. The corners of Jinwoo's mouth stretched into a long grin as his form began to change. He shifted from Dvelos into Reist.

Only then did the man realize he had been deceived.

All of this suffering was nothing more than a game to that Evil God.

"Th-the promise..., this isn't what you promised!"

"I never said the winner would be chosen only from among you. So it's entirely possible that I could be the winner."

"Wh-what are you...! Th-this can't be! I won, I told you I won!"

Jinwoo shook his head.

At that moment, the Black Sea that had reached Jinwoo's back rippled and surged upward. It became a colossal wall, blotting out the sky. From the wall of the Black Sea, the bodies of countless Vengeful Spirits burst forth.

Jinwoo shrugged.

"We won."

Hands seized the man's body.

His body was torn apart, and his soul sank down. From this moment on, he would wail for mercy that would never be granted, trapped in endless torment.

[Congratulations on your victory!]

A huge Information Window appeared amid fireworks.

-YESSS now THAT'S gaming!

-that was so fun!

-perfect ending too, 10/10

The game came to an end in a cheerful atmosphere.

At that moment, light began pouring out of the Black Sea that towered all around. A considerable number of Vengeful Spirits had their grudges dissolved and ascended to Arsilan.

Eyes that had seemed to weep tears of blood curved into gentle crescents, and the hands that had torn evildoers apart now clapped in applause. From mouths that had spat resentment and curses came only the sound of joyful laughter.

The sight of the Black Sea transformed into light was beautiful.

It was a scene so magnificent and beautiful that even Jinwoo, who had created this space, could not have dared to replicate it.

For a long while, Jinwoo stood there in a daze, watching the spectacle.

As the pain that had weighed on him eased, a powerful force welled up inside him. It was a reward beyond compare.

"So in the end, I really am...."

Handling dark emotions like rage, hatred, and resentment as the Evil God wasn't bad, but it could never replace a joy like this.

Making games.

Bringing people joy.

That, it seemed, was his true essence.

Jinwoo gave a closing bow, the way a noble would.

At the same moment, the broadcast came to an end.

As if the curtain had fallen on a performance, everything around him was dyed black.

The Black Sea and the Island of Evil vanished, revealing the devastated conference hall.

'Time's up.'

The pressure formed by the Dimensional Energy bearing down on the Sanctuary dissolved the Evil God Disease and the creatures of evil.

In the span of a single day, countless ships had crashed and the planet's population had been cut to less than half. And the core personnel who ran the Kalsus Dimensional Empire had all died.

It was a truly outstanding result!

Now then, it was time to plant one last proper seed of discord.

Jinwoo surveyed the conference hall for a moment, then laid Reist's body on the podium and arranged the corpses of knights around it.

Reist's body was so mangled it was hard to look at, but Jinwoo staged it so that even in the moment he lost consciousness, he had never let go of the sword in his hand.

He also arranged things to make it look as though Reist's loyal followers had fought the monsters at his side.

Beep!

Finally, he implanted footage crafted through illusion magic into the Bracelets of Reist and the corpses.

In it, the bureaucrats loyal to the Crown Prince praised the Evil God and brought the Evil God Disease into the Sanctuary. And to eliminate Reist, the greatest obstacle in their way, they transformed their own bodies into monsters and attacked.

"Not bad at all, huh?"

Reist swung a shining sword and valiantly stood against the monsters. He resisted without rest until the Dimensional Energy enveloping the Sanctuary made the monsters vanish.

Only after every monster was gone did he fall to his knees on the floor.

[...For the Kalsus... Dimensional Empire....]

Leaving those words behind, he closed his eyes.

Reist was left barely clinging to life.

There had been no need to go this far, but perhaps Jinwoo had grown attached to his alt character Reist, because this was the result.

Jinwoo concealed himself and lifted the building's lockdown. As the iron walls slowly rose and the conference hall opened, knights immediately rushed in.

"Urgh!"

The moment Nasko entered the conference hall, she covered her mouth at the horrific sight. Then she spotted Reist, kneeling on the podium with a sword in his grip.

"P-Prince Reist!"

Nasko and the knights hurried over.

At the sight of his devastating condition, no one could say a word. Nasko detected a faint heartbeat in Reist's body.

"He, he's alive! A doctor! Bring a doctor at once!"

The finest doctors of the Kalsus Dimensional Empire came and placed Reist into a Life Support Device.

They carried Reist, the sole survivor, out of the building. Outside, the scene was catastrophic. Countless buildings had simply evaporated, and deep scars were carved into the earth.

Fleets that had converged from every region of the Sanctuary filled the sky.

The moment they heard the news, Scharnhilde and Kaljest had personally led their fleets here.

Despite the objections of their guard knights, Scharnhilde and Kaljest boarded a small vessel and came down themselves. The two of them were struck with shock at the sight of Reist inside the Life Support Device.

"Kgh!"

"How could this...!"

Scharnhilde clenched her fists tight, barely holding back tears, while Kaljest gritted his teeth. Scharnhilde looked at the doctor stationed beside the Life Support Device.

"His condition?"

"Well...."

"Report it without deception."

The doctor hesitated, gauging her mood, before finally opening his mouth.

"It is grave. Thanks to the Life Support Device he is barely holding on, but... as for what will happen from here...."

The doctor squeezed his eyes shut.

Scharnhilde let out a deep breath and stepped aside, and the Life Support Device was loaded onto a Medical Ship.

When Reist had been placed into the Life Support Device, Nasko had retrieved his Bracelet. It could have interfered with the device.

Beep! Beep!

A signal chimed from the Bracelet, and an Information Window appeared.

"What is this...?"

Nasko's eyes wavered as she checked the Information Window. She quickly handed the Bracelet to Scharnhilde. Kaljest, standing beside her, examined the Information Window together with Scharnhilde.

The Bracelet contained a recording of what had happened in the conference hall.

Watching the footage, the two of them could not hold back their burning tears. He was their proud younger brother who had fought for the Empire to the very end.

When the footage ended, a will appeared.

The will stated that if he were to die, the management of Reist World and RL would be entrusted to Scharnhilde and Kaljest. RL ran itself through the Authority system and required only oversight, but Reist World demanded considerable attention.

"I will carry on your will."

"...Don't you worry."

Scharnhilde and Kaljest vowed to carry on Reist's great legacy until the day he rose again.

It was a tender familial love that transcended the imperial succession!

Scharnhilde and Kaljest looked at each other.

They knew immediately who the culprit behind this atrocity was.

The Crown Prince!

The Evil God Worshippers in the footage were all close associates of the Crown Prince or deeply connected to him. The testimony of Nasko and several knights supported it as well.

Grrind!

Scharnhilde ground her teeth.

The Empire had suffered such immense losses that no one even knew where to begin picking up the pieces.

"The Crown Prince..., that bastard is...."

"He is currently logged into RL."

Nasko investigated the Crown Prince's whereabouts and reported at once.

After causing this outrageous catastrophe, he was playing RL as if to mock them.

Kaljest nodded, suppressing his fury.

"The Crown Prince... is most likely an Evil God Worshipper."

"Yes. He's probably seized control of the entire imperial household by now."

Scharnhilde agreed with Kaljest's assessment.

Kaljest extended his hand toward Scharnhilde. He said nothing about what it meant, but she understood immediately. Scharnhilde nodded and shook his hand.

Kaljest closed his eyes, exhaled, then opened them again.

"For the Kalsus Dimensional Empire. And...."

"For our brother, Reist."

It was the moment the Scharnhilde-Kaljest alliance against the Crown Prince was born.

Scharnhilde and Kaljest looked up at the sky.

Against the blue sky, a vision seemed to shimmer of Reist looking down at them, giving a thumbs-up.

In fact, Reist, no, Jinwoo, who was actually floating in the air while concealed, watching the scene unfold, smiled and waved his hand at them.

'The chaos operation was a complete success.'

The Empire was as good as fractured.

There was a high probability that civil war would break out. The chaos operation was wrapped up, but Reist's body wasn't dead yet, so it could be put to use again at any time.

Jinwoo looked over the list of assets Scharnhilde and Kaljest had entrusted to him in his Information Window. Since the two had given their consent, he could invoke his Authority and claim it all immediately. The enormous fortunes of both were transferred entirely to Jinwoo.

Before returning to Arsilan, Jinwoo went back to Reist's grand mansion. Jun, Berto, and the servants were gathered there.

"Berto, you will report on the Empire's situation."

"Understood."

Berto would serve as an informant, continually sending intelligence to Arsilan.

Jinwoo looked at Jun.

There was nothing left for Jun to do here now.

"Let's head back to Arsilan."

"U-um...."

"Hm?"

Jun smiled awkwardly and avoided his gaze.

"I-I'd like to stay behind too."

"Why bother? There's nothing for you to do here."

"Well...."

Berto explained the reason.

Apparently, Jun had a date scheduled with Scharnhilde. Though it had been canceled because of everything Jinwoo had set in motion.

"Oho?"

If things worked out between Scharnhilde and Jun, it would be nothing but a win for Arsilan. As long as he didn't venture into the depths of the Sanctuary, there was no real danger.

If he died, it would take quite a while, but he could travel to Arsilan aboard the ships that regularly passed in and out of the Sanctuary and be revived there.

"Give it your best shot."

"Sorry?"

"You have my support."

Jinwoo placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a nod. After briefing Jun and Berto on what they needed to do, Jinwoo returned to Arsilan at once.

The advance of the Erosion!

The fracturing of the Kalsus Dimensional Empire!

A rather convincing backdrop for the Arsilan Saga had been set!

*****

For 15 or more extra chapters, you can check out my Patreon here --> patreon.com/dreamscribe

If you enjoy this novel, please review and rate it at Novelupdates. Thanks! 😊

To receive the latest update notifications or report mistakes, join our Discord server linked below.