The Evil God Beyond the Smartphone - Chapter 2

—The next day.

When I fully woke up from my drunkenness, I faced the screen of the game, which was now at level 2.

One level up.

In a normal game, it would have been nothing.

It’s just something that happens when you’re a beginner, because you’ve gone from level 1 to level 2.

But in this game, level had a different meaning.

This happened in a game where levels meant nothing, where they were not an experience from the start.

How could there be a hidden means of leveling up in a game where there is not even a good tutorial or guide?

It was only natural that I would be interested in the outcome of the level-up process.

>>> <Eye of the Spectator (Lv.1)> grows.

It has become <Eye of the Observer (Lv.2)>. You will be able to observe the continent with a clearer gaze than before.

The first change was the <Eye of the Spectator> skill.

Just because it is a skill does not mean that it can be used unnecessarily.

It seemed to be a skill in the category of automatically applied skills, like a passive skill.

Then, after I learned this skill, the graphics of the game that I had been seeing changed.

Not an extreme difference, but the shape of the character as I saw it changed.

Eye of the spectator. Before the evolution of the Eye of the Observer skill, the level was such that only the shape of the person could be seen.

Since the evolution of the Eye of the Observer skill, a bit more detail has arisen in the appearance of the characters.

It was at least possible to tell the gender of the characters and the color of their hair.

“And this is… the start of a dialogue?”

Another change that occurred along with the graphical changes.

It was the ability to recognize dialog between characters.

A speech bubble appeared above the character’s head and the content of the conversation began to be output to an icon.

Of course, the dialog was only at a level where the purpose of the interaction could barely be understood.

But just creating an AI that acts like a person is amazing, and it is difficult to hope for any more detail than that.

I decided to compromise on what I could see.

“Indeed. What else do you want for free?”

Having finished asking myself this question, I checked my new skills.

There were several skills present on the account that had finished leveling up, not counting <Eye of the Observer>.

The name of the skill located immediately after <Eye of the Observer> is <Karmic Balance. >

It seemed to be related to the fact that I had previously wiped out a whole village and gained experience.

>>> You have acquired <Karma’s Balance (Lv. MAX)>.

>>> All actions that affect life and death, giving and taking generate karma.

>>> Karma that is excessively deflected in one direction is likely to generate <Causality Rate Correction>.

The content was that my actions affecting the characters in the game would come back to me as an experience.

It seemed that treating a character as I did yesterday would increase the level.

Below that, there is also a warning about <causality correction>, but it did not explain in detail what it was.

Of course, ignorantly attacking a character like yesterday would only make my fingers hurt.

If possible, I thought it would be good to find an efficient way for a fast hunt.

“The next skill is… what the hell is this?”

I scrolled down and checked the skill located next to <Karmic Balance>.

Then I saw something incredible.

There was clearly something strange present in the list of skills.

It was not a skill with a name as good as the one in the skills window.

>>> You have acquired <Paid Goods Shop (Lv. MAX)>.

>>> <You can now purchase the contents of the shop using paid goods.

Skill name, <Paid Goods Shop>.

It was a skill that allowed you to use the cash shop.

No, it was embarrassing to call it a skill.

With paid goods, you have to top-up cash to buy them.

By the way, do you have to learn that as a skill to live?

It was a ridiculous skill.

“No, why did they put this in the skill?”

Paid goods shop. I immediately held my hands behind my back when I saw it.

I had heard a lot of scam stories recently about the games, but this was a situation that crossed the line a lot.

Level up and you get the real thing! is a ridiculous voice for anyone to hear.

I’m going to cancel the story that the developer said it was great because it’s a free game.

This developer turned out to be a money-crazy guy.

“…….”

I looked carefully at the shop button in the corner of the screen.

Hmmm. I don’t feel like paying for this game.

I had just spent a large amount of money on alcohol.

And you want me to spend money on this rubbish game?

I would never do it in my right mind. Well, yes and no.

“Let’s just see what’s inside, shall we?”

— I thought for a moment.

My gaze had not left the button on the shop.

This is because I was still a little curious about what they were selling at the <Paid Goods Store>.

The game is structured enough that you can proceed without spending money.

So what does this crude game sell for money?

I reached out my hand, which had been stopped, and quietly pressed the shop button.

Click.

The shop page unfolded in front of me with a familiar touch feel.

>>> Welcome to the <Paid Goods Store>>.

>>> <Paid Goods Store> sells a variety of items to ensure smooth play.

It was listed as a variety of items, but I could only see one item for sale.

The revenue structure is its famous 10 draws.

Furthermore, it does not present the first free draw.

The shop page did not even tell what content would come out of the gacha.

It was a product that only ordinary Black customers would buy.

Moreover, the price was 49900 won for 10 draws.

The price was at a level that could be called quite abusive for a 10-time draw for a non-mainstream mobile game.

“50,000 won for 10 draws? Who would take this?”

This money would have been enough for at least 10 pulls on a major mobile game, and in the case of user-friendly games, the amount could be pulled out dozens of times.

It is so much money that a normal person would not press the button.

Really.

As an normal person, I didn’t think enough of it to challenge it.

It was a price that people who had an abundance of money could challenge.

Perhaps, reading my feelings or something, the game floated a new guidance message on the screen.

>>> You can obtain various items that will help you in your gameplay if you use 10 draws.

“Are you crazy?”

Although I was not one of the lowest average spenders on mobile games, I was still not the black bull I would pay for such a game.

I’d rather spend 100,000 won on other games.

The moment I was about to close the shopping window with this thought in mind.

I sensed something was wrong.

The cause was my finger that was operating the screen.

“…Oh no, I pressed the wrong button.”

I made a mistake and pressed the draw button for 10 consecutive pulls as I was trying to go outside.

Of course, in a normal game this would not have been so much of a problem.

The payment confirmation window would have appeared in the middle of the game because I didn’t have enough goods, and if I had pressed cancel there, I wouldn’t have been able to close the account.

However, this game was not so normal.

As soon as I pressed the button, I was immediately taken to the 10 consecutive gacha screen.

“What… why don’t you ask me if I want to pay?”

No matter how crappy the game is, it at least confirms the payment transaction.

Yet this game showed me the 10 consecutive gacha screens, admirably ignoring even that minimal rule.

Jara jara.

Ten items float before my eyes in sequence.

Not even the effects indicating the grade are visible.

I don’t know whether all the items were only the lowest grade items, or whether the items originally had no grade classification.

A quick moving gaze scanned the list of items that floated by.

>>> You have acquired the [Rusty Iron Sword].

>>> You have acquired the [Rusty Iron Sword].

>>> You have acquired the [Crude dagger].

>>> You have acquired the [Hard black bread].

>>> You have acquired the [Magic Book:Lightning].

>>> You have acquired the [Hard black bread].

>>> You have acquired the [Hard black bread].

>>> You have acquired the [Hard black bread].

>>> You have acquired the [Torn Cloak].

>>> You have acquired the [Rusty Iron Sword].

The objects looked equally like rubbish, even if you could only read them with your eyes.

Hell, even most of them appeared as duplicates.

The moment I saw the items, I realized the fact that these were things I should never buy.

No, I already knew this to some extent, so I began to feel it directly in my body.

When I saw the list of items, I immediately denied reality.

“I didn’t choose a payment method for this, haven’t I?”

(Ring)

As soon as I finished my story, I received a message.

It was a message from the credit card company informing me of a transaction of 49900 won.

It was an amount drawn from a cash transaction, not a credit card payment.

It’s a crappy game and I thought I couldn’t even get the payment right, but this part of the game is slipping out like a sword again.

It was a game that went on to candy ball users with impunity.

“No, what is this… what am I really getting out of this?”

The more you play, the more maze-like it gets.

I folded my arms and had to worry about the amount of money that had already been deducted out of my card.

Should I delete the game and get a refund?

Or continue playing the game with the thought that I had been bitten by the dog?

So distressed, I quickly made a decision.

“Yeah …… I guess so.”

Still, I thought I had enjoyed playing the game so far.

I decided to think of the 50,000 won or so as a purchase cost for the game.

It is only with consumers like myself that there will be more diverse games.

Of course, such a billing model should inevitably be stopped.

Having finished my decision as quickly as possible, I closed the shop and returned to the main screen.

Then I looked at the items I had won in this 10 draw.

>>> [Rusty Iron Sword].

This was rubbish.

It was impossible to use, except to dump it on the floor.

Only characters seemed to be able to move it from the start.

I identified the following items.

>>> [Hard black bread]

>>> [Crude dagger]

>>> [Torn cloak]

These were still the same as the [Rusty Iron Sword].

There was no option but to throw them away.

In other words, scattering them among the characters.

I can’t believe that what I bought for 50,000 won would be like this.

It is a disappointment.

>>> [Magic book: Lightning].

However, the last item [Magic Book: Lightning] was different from the others.

It was the only one that brought to mind a direct interaction button with me.

When I pressed [Magic Book: Lightning] in my inventory, a single option floated above the inventory screen.

The newly emerged message was about learning magic.

>>> <Lightning> Do you want to learn a skill?

>>> You will no longer have the [Magic book].

>> Yes/No.

There was only one choice, of course.

I pressed ‘yes’ without hesitation.

Ring.

The magic book disappeared from my inventory with a light notification sound.

>>> You have acquired [Lightning (lv. max.)]>.

>>> You can now use Lightning Magic by consuming magic power.

At the same time, Lightning magic was created in the skill window.

The button for Lightning Magic was different from other skills in that I could press the button.

I immediately pressed Lightning Magic .

Then, along with the small target mark, the magical power it had was reduced by almost 10 per cent.

Rumble!Rumble!Clap!

I pressed a point on the screen and a terrifying bolt of lightning fell from the sky.

Lightning, a low-grade magic that ejects lightning.

It was the first moment I gained an active skill in this game.