"Huh, this UI actually looks pretty nice!"
As soon as he entered the game, Jason was surprised by how good the user interface looked.
Even though Jason was a bit of an amateur when it came to "LSP" games, he'd played a few before.
He wasn't an expert, but he had some basic experience with this kind of game.
And while lots of adult games were made using official engines, most of the ones he'd played had terrible, messy UIs.
But this game Mirror—at least when it came to UI—was actually really well done.
"I can only pick one character?"
After clicking to start, Jason saw a diamond-shaped menu in the middle of the screen.
There were several characters inside it, but only one of them—a dark-skinned elf—was unlocked.
The rest were locked.
"So many characters to pick from? That's… actually kind of impressive!"
Jason looked surprised.
And honestly, he felt a little excited, too.
Instinctively, he glanced at the dorm door.
Still closed. His roommates were all out today.
He walked to the door, shut it properly, and locked it just to be safe.
Then he sat back down in front of the computer. Staring at the game screen, he took a deep breath, and his face took on a "serious" look.
But in his head, he was thinking something else entirely.
Starting off with a dark-skinned elf? That's… pretty intense!
Feeling a little thrill, Jason followed the tutorial and clicked on a battle-looking icon.
'On this quiet night, in a dark castle cut off from the world, an unexpected guest appeared.'
'A shadow, barely visible at first, slowly began to take shape.'
Looking at the game screen and the choices that followed,
Jason paused for a moment—wasn't this supposed to be a gentleman's game?
Why did it feel more like a visual novel?
There's a story, too?
Jason scratched his head but didn't think too much about it. He just clicked around a few times.
When the game suddenly entered a battle scene, Jason was surprised again.
Wait, is this actually a match-3 game?
He remembered seeing posts on a forum where people said this was the best match-3 game out there. Jason thought they were just joking.
But now, it turns out… this really is a match-3 game?
"Hmm, orange balls boost physical attacks. The sword icon means physical, the star is magic, and the potion heals you."
"Matching four creates a stronger ball, and five makes a magic diamond that does massive damage."
"There are also items and special skills, though right now I only have one that heals."
Thanks to the beginner guide, Jason quickly got the hang of the combat system.
And then he was a little shocked.
Wait… is he playing a gentleman's game, or a full-on match-3 game?
Why is there so much going on?
Jason looked amazed. The gentleman games he'd played before never had this much to them.
Most of them were just click-throughs with character art popping up.
And some were so low-effort it was just lazy.
But this one—Mirror—felt different.
This combat system was way too deep.
Well… for a gentleman's game, anyway.
And there's actually a story, too!
Plus, the LSP elements… were something. And there was a lot of them.
Jason pursed his lips, squinted a little, and leaned in toward the screen. He turned off the small speaker on the desk.
Then he pulled an earbud from his drawer, plugged it in, and put it in one ear.
After matching some tiles and launching an attack, even the dark-skinned elf had her own sound effects.
And once her HP dropped low enough—her outfit…
Ah! That's right!
Based on the story, this was set in medieval times, wasn't it?
No wonder the clothes were so worn out!
People back then had it rough. Just look at how torn her clothes are… and how tanned her skin is.
Matching five tiles even gives you a diamond—and it deals crazy damage!
You can also use special skills and buy items to help out in battle.
There's even a turn limit? Only 13 turns left, and this elf still has tons of health?
After just a short play session, Jason's focus shifted from the elf's outfit to the match-3 gameplay.
He had to admit—this match-3 system was actually really fun!
.........
"The quality here is off the charts!"
After two straight battles, the game entered PLAY mode.
Jason felt like all the adult games he'd played before were a waste of time.
What's a real adult game?
This—this is what an adult game should be!
Those old ones? What were they even?
Just the adult content, with no real gameplay.
Of course, even then, that was still acceptable—if the content was practical enough to make up for the lack of gameplay.
But some of them were just downright sloppy—like they thought a gentleman's money didn't matter?
Now look at this game, Mirror—not only is it super useful, but it also has rich and detailed gameplay. This is what a real adult game should be like!
And it even has galgame elements?
And two different endings?
Jason, who had just gotten the "pure love" ending on his first playthrough, was thinking back on the different choices he'd made.
Then he noticed the dark elf character only showed 50% completion—he was visibly thrilled.
He never expected that while looking for certain kinds of... materials, he'd end up stumbling across a god-tier game instead.
"Alright, I won't play the new character just yet. Let's check out the other ending first."
"If we're following normal game logic, this second ending should be where the dark elf turns evil, right?"
With curiosity—and a little excitement and nervousness—Jason clicked back in.
.........
Ten minutes later—
"Why did it turn out like this...?"
In front of his computer, Jason was feeling both hyped up and deeply moved.
She was born a noble, but cared about the poor. She even resorted to stealing just to help them.
But those same poor people she helped turned out to be disgusting, shameless, and completely ungrateful.
And when the dark elf was captured by demons, all the peasants could think about was their twisted desires.
Even though the art in the game was just as intense as before, and the voice acting was way better than other adult games—
Jason still felt a mess of emotions inside.
Especially when a young guard came in later—someone who still had a bit of kindness in his heart.
Yet in the end, even he gave in to temptation and did something terrible.
It felt like the final straw that broke the camel's back.
And then the demon's sinister grin from outside the wall just sealed the feeling—Jason was really shaken.
Maybe now he understood why those well-known "gentlemen" on the forums had such strange reactions to this game.
Because this wasn't just another adult game.
It was a deep dive into human nature, a serious look at good and evil.
Suddenly, Jason found himself having a bit of a philosophical moment.
Are people naturally good?
Or are they naturally bad?
Why did those people turn on the elf who helped them?
Why did someone who still had kindness in his heart end up giving in to evil in the end?
Jason, now in full-on philosophy mode, was deep in thought.
And this... was only the beginning.
(End of Chapter)