prologue

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How quickly did you feast on their souls, luring them into the pit of insatiety with the promise of gold?

Overture

Let's start at the beginning.

I died and came back to life.

Actually, it would be better to start with the background. So, let's talk about my school days first.

I enjoyed playing games, as did other boys my age. They were a great conversation starter and sparked a subtle sense of competition, it drew those with the same interests naturally and I made many friends.

Most of the joys of my school life came from games.

As more games were released, we followed them like trends, letting them come and go like seasons. We played many games together, all but one.

There was one game that even we, confident in our gaming skills, could not defeat. And it just so happened to be the game adaptation of my favourite novel.

[The 8 Circles of Astarte]

It was a fantasy novel in which the romance between the male and female leads blossomed amid a political conflict. When I learned that my favorite novel had been adapted into a game, I looked into it. I had low expectations for it because I did not enjoy games back then; I felt they were monotonous and repetitive.

But.

I fell in love with it at first sight.

It was a simple, fully voiced, 3D action role-playing game with excellent storytelling and graphics!

The genre was an otherworldly fantasy set in the mediaeval era featuring nobles, demons, knights and magic. It was all a nerd like me could ask for. The game itself gave the player the option to assume the role of either the female or the male lead. After that, you could go about doing quests to find allies and put together a party in order to finish the main scenario.

It was beautiful, rightfully so. Under the spotlight, the game occupied the center of the world's grand stage. However, there was just one problem with it.

It was too fucking hard.

The most notorious, most infamous element of the game was that if you died; your save data would disappear. It was so ruthless that it even erased the attachment you built with other characters!

As a result, in the hopes of finding a way to clear the game, we tried both the main characters and recruited nearly every single companion, but the outcome was always the same.

[GAME OVER] before we could even find a clue about the final boss. Even the most legendary of stagnant water couldn't clear it.

Because of this, my friends and I started to compete with one another to see who could clear the game. Even placing bets on one another.

Recalling all the bets I accepted with pride, I felt a wave of embarrassment roll over me.

So, did I — nerd gamer extraordinaire, manage to clear the notoriously hell-like game?

The Price of FleshWhere stories live. Discover now