This sparring match let me gauge Perry's level.
Now we can head to the rest area without any issues.
With that, we left the boss room and moved to the rest area.
"Is this where I'll be stationed? And the building... it's amazing. These grasses and the blue sky too..."
"The sky uses the illusion device from Lord Balak's boss room, and the floor is completely covered in real grass."
"Skeleton Merchant, are there any bugs in the grass or anything...?"
"Insect-repelling magic is constantly active in this space, so no need to worry about that."
"Using a professional service really pays off."
"Right?"
Hmm... I think this every time. These dungeon merchants are way too competent.
The custom orders come back better quality than I imagined, perfectly implemented!
This must be the true merchant spirit.
"Huh...? But something feels off here? My body..."
"It's natural to feel strange in this place. At Lord Balak's request, mana drain and various curse magics are applied in real-time."
"What?! Is that okay?"
"It's an unavoidable choice for your safety. Those who receive your buffs won't get the effects until they leave this place, so take this."
"It's a bracelet?"
"Wearing it will shield you from those curse magics."
If we're doing this, we do it thoroughly.
Any crazy players who come to the rest area will be stacked with debuffs.
It'll be even harder to mess with Perry when she's always at full condition.
And this curse-proof bracelet has more to it!
"It's engraved with a teleport magic linked to my boss room."
"Ah~ Then I can move around easily later."
"And you can transport anyone you want!"
"Pardon?"
"If some asshole acts up in this rest area, use it right away! Or if there's someone you like, send them through."
"Is that allowed?"
"Of course!"
"So that's why Lord Balak asked to add that function to the bracelet? But doesn't that make the rooms we built earlier pointless?"
"No, it doesn't. If they skip rooms via Perry, they're unworthy! And I absolutely! Will not! Show them mercy!"
In hardcore RPGs, boss war shortcuts are a big deal.
Is there anything more annoying than replaying cleared sections?
So there has to be a direct path to the boss room in my dungeon.
But I will never allow freebies.
So if they skip ahead through Perry...
They'll see my opening pattern right away, along with the empowered patterns.
Huh? What's an opening pattern?
It's the technique bosses use at the start of a fight.
Usually just to make a cool entrance.
But some games twisted it.
Like in that popular game, the skull with glowing blue eyes—what does it do the moment you enter the boss fight?
It unleashes all its strongest moves!
Turns the player into a ragdoll and starts the real fight!
So I benchmarked that!
'Whoa~ Skipping everything! This is a total cheese strat!'
'You really think that?'
'B-Balak?!'
'Isn't it a beautiful day? Birds chirping, flowers blooming. On such a fine day, unworthy newbies like you... need to leave this dungeon.'
｢You have a bad feeling that skipping the trials will lead to a horrific time.｣
Yes! That's it!
This overwhelming pressure!!
And the opening pattern that insta-kills the player!
"Serious Continuous Punches!!!!"
Kwaaaaaang!!!
Daring to skip the content I carefully! Meticulously! Brainstormed?!
Then I'll show you what it means for the boss fight to start at phase 3!
And absolutely! Absolutely!
It's not like I gave Perry this teleporter because I was bored with no one reaching my boss room!
This is pure sincerity, without a shred of selfishness!
The true warrior's mindset!!!
"...Every time I see big bro's power, I think it's just insane."
"Tell me about it. And it feels like he's getting even stronger—is that just my imagination?"
"Hahaha!! Skeleton Merchant! Train with me!"
"I'll pass. And that shop sells early skip tickets. Even if they use those to reach this rest area, you'll still use that opening pattern, right?"
"That's paying fair price for it, so no issue."
Like paying bus fare to ride the bus.
Skip tickets cost resources, so they're fine.
Plus, I priced them high.
Out of 10 visits here, they'll only afford it once or twice.
Only honest players will make it!!!
************
After giving Perry the bracelet and various magic tools disguised as simple accessories.
I shared the work know-how I learned from part-time jobs and company life in my past life.
"..."
"Perry?"
"Ah, sorry, Lord Balak. It's just... hitting me fresh."
Kid's trying to play it cool.
Yeah... When I first met Perry, her body was skin and bones, wearing rags.
No self-esteem, confidence, or hope in sight.
But after a few months with me, she has a warrior's spirit, solid body. Cool clothes.
Her own space to chase dreams.
No wonder her eyes are welling up.
"...Can I ever repay what you've given me, Lord Balak, before I die?"
"Don't sweat the small stuff. We're brothers even without blood ties. Big bro helping little sis is natural."
"Pfft... Can't argue when you put it like that. Just tell me if you need anything. I'll make it happen."
"Full of spirit—always a good sign! But Perry! Stick to what I just said."
"You mean I'm not ready for real combat yet?"
"Yeah, your breath is still shallow."
I acknowledge Perry's talent.
But it's only been a few months since we started training and sparring.
We must always beware the peak of ignorance.
"Remember, you haven't reached the valley of despair yet."
"Got it, Lord Balak!"
"The peak of ignorance... Such a relatable metaphor. But how does Lord Balak know all this?"
"Skeleton Merchant, isn't it something you can confirm by reflecting on your own life?"
"When I first learned magic, I did overestimate myself, so yeah."
Those lacking ability overestimate themselves.
The gifted underestimate.
Everyone experiences it.
So always guard against gaslighting from snake-hearted folks.
Keep self-objectifying to find your true self.
Otherwise...!
You'll end up like those players who reached the second room!
"Uwaaaak!! What the hell is that!!!"
"Wh-what's that noise?"
"Ahh... Death approaches..."
Players now clearing the first room at high rates were struggling hard in the nearby Iron Labyrinth.
Why so tough?
I changed one thing there.
Tweaked the patrolling watchers a bit.
"Beep! Time's up. Massacre program initiated."
"""Ah..."""
That's right!! Time limit!!!
If you don't take down the armor golem in time, it goes full annihilation mode!!
Reasons for this renewal are many.
But the biggest issue!
Too many stalling bastards there!!!
*******
What is stalling?!
Like in instanced dungeons.
Deliberately leaving one mob alive to drag out time.
Why drag it out?
Gamers cheese to recover or rest before the next fight!
This lets them enter fights fully healed.
Repeat it, and they skip proper gameplay.
Just endless recovery, boring devs to tears!
Most games have anti-stall measures.
And in that second room, stalling was rampant.
Because the armor golem's attack tells are obvious and it's super slow.
Plus, other watchers avoid the area when one engages players!
Savvy past players figured it: one tanks aggro.
Rest heal or remap during that time.
Turned my second room into a dull, pretentious slog against my intent!
Many cleared it, but via cheese, not growth.
That's why they all wipe in the third room!
So now, no more: if you don't kill a watcher in time during encounter...
Ultra-strong laser beams fire from the ceiling at untouched spots.
Those beams cost half a room's budget.
Performance? Overkill.
And precision sniping means fewer golem breaks!
This is normalization!!
A fair patch to make players healthy!
If that room pisses you off, grow properly, players!
*****************
While Balak watched players die to the second room's annihilation and clapped.
Outside, various races who felt the aftermath of Balak's unrestrained power in his spar with Ferguson gathered for an emergency meeting.
"So that insane aura was the power of this Balak?!"
"Yes."
"This is ridiculous..."
"Does that mean the heroes blessed by the Heavenly God of the High Skies lied?!"
"No, that's not—!"
"Enough! We're not gaining anything by fighting here!"
"Tch, you pointy-ears..."
"What?! You shortass dwarves!"
"Everyone, calm down. We gathered to help you all, right? So heroes, can you tell us about the dungeon changes before we go in?"
The humans calmed the death-stressed, edgy elves and dwarves.
Then spilled all the info.
"...?"
"What's wrong?"
"He swung a 3m+ massive glaive 170-190 times nonstop?"
"Cheonmu's hero got wrecked like that at first."
"And those huge glaive-like weapons flew like birds, attacking with minds of their own—"
"I experienced that. No answer."
"""......"""
Elves and dwarves now had to talk to Balak for their descendants' sake.
Or subdue him for their goals.
But endless tales of his strength left them hopeless, heads spinning.