ITITPS 5

Chapter : 5

In theory, if you pick that option while Serena’s affection is below 80, you’re headed straight for a pointless death.

Of course, it’s impossible to get Serena’s affection up to 80 during Chapter 2.

It’s a kind of trap choice. Pick it and you die, guaranteed.

So aside from that useless option, you’re down to three choices.

And this time—

“Ha! Look at you trembling in fear, how pathetic, human!”

I select the second option.

My body slowly steps back. My hand, shaking with fear, braces against the wall.

For an avatar, that movement is just instinct for survival—but my avatar is the protagonist of the game.

“Urk.”

Crisis for an NPC means death, but crisis for a main character means growth!

My hand, accidentally pressed against the wall, touched the glass casing around the holy sword.

At that moment, the holy sword began to tremble.

[The Holy Sword responds to you.]
[Please select the form of sword you desire.]
[Loading…]
[Implementing whipblade according to user intent.]

Wuuuung! With a sharp vibration, the glass shattered. Falling shards nicked my skin, but it didn’t matter.

The dark, lump-like hilt settled into my hand—meeting its rightful owner, the holy sword finally revealed its true form.

“W-What…!”

A surge of radiant light and sacred energy flowed out. Only then did the low-ranking demon realize what I was holding.

He leapt forward to stop me—but too late.

[User verified.]
[You have obtained the title: Hero of Prophecy.]

The moment I raised the sword, power incomparable to anything before flooded my body.

After 99 playthroughs, I knew perfectly how to move—how to eliminate mobs with maximum efficiency.

My body felt light. A sensation I could never feel in reality.

A dizzying exhilaration washed over me—like the whole world lay under my feet.

[Some of your sealed stats have been released.]

Shaaak!

The whip-like blade slithered like a serpent toward the demon.

Holy power burst outward and smothered his demonic aura.

“Graaagh!”

I silenced him mid-scream.

With a single strike, the demon’s head flew. Blood spurted like a fountain from the cleanly sliced neck.

My body was splattered, but the remains soon shattered into polygons and drifted away.

Funny—on my first playthrough, this was where I died.

Being the 100th run now, the moment felt strangely fresh. Finishing my brief reflection, I flicked the demon’s blood off the blade.

“H-How did you…?”

Adele, who had witnessed the whole event, stammered. Before he could add more, the ground beneath us shuddered and crumbled.

The dimensional pocket covering reality shattered. Shards of space glimmered as they scattered away.

[Serena has destroyed the Crack’s core.]
[Returning to reality.]

‘…Faster than planned.’

Originally, helping Serena destroy the core after the hero awakening event was Chapter 2’s storyline. Maybe because of Ilya’s interference, things were accelerating.

In fact—this entire 100th loop was moving at high speed.

Serena’s affection rising, Ilya’s appearance, escaping the crack—all of it.

‘I’m almost grasping it.’

A celebratory patch for clearing all endings. At first it was disappointing, but this was satisfying enough.

More importantly, my veteran gamer senses were screaming: This patch isn’t the end.

Closing the status window, I turned to Adele, who still seemed stunned.

I was wondering what to do next when suddenly my body lurched.

It wouldn’t move.

[Combat buffs have ended.]
[Warning! HP has fallen into the yellow zone.]
[Warning! Player heart rate unstable.]

“…Huh?”

What?

Before I could question it, my vision faded.

In the flickering dark, I saw a blue system window.

[Accessing character Serena’s memory playback…]
[Error detected]
[Playback cannot continue.]
[Forced logout initiated.]

“Ghh—urk!”

Back in reality, pain slammed into my chest—right over my heart. I clutched the area, gasping, and Flang hurried over.

—Master, please take your medicine.

My hands trembled so hard I couldn’t even pick up the pills.

After several failed tries, I finally swallowed one and gulped down water. The bitter taste clung to my tongue.

Even after taking it, the chest pain lasted nearly three minutes. My capsule sheet was soaked with sweat again.

The sudden recurring pain and periodic attacks that started months ago were driving me insane.

“Haa… I almost died.”

—Your heart condition has gotten worse. You really should go back to the hospital.

“I know. Flang, make an appointment. As soon as you can.”

—The usual clinic can see you in two days, is that okay?

I hesitated. Getting forcibly logged out mid-game definitely wasn’t a good sign but—

“Just go with that. My test results should be out by then anyway.”

I sighed weakly. Never imagined I’d be the type to need medical checkups.

Factory workers like me usually live and die without ever setting foot in a hospital—so this was extremely unusual.

It’s probably nothing serious.

I’d been fine until a few months back. I was struggling now, but someone like me should bounce back quickly.

Maybe I just don’t exercise enough. I should go jogging this weekend.

“Flang, come here.”

The household assistant AI circled me playfully as I reached a hand out.

I’d built Flang when I was fifteen—ten years ago. At this point, she was practically my kid.

She was the only thing in reality that worried about me.

“That really suits you.”

—I like it too. The old butterfly form was kind of creepy.

“Right? Up close the eyes were weird.”

I laughed, complimenting the black cat skin I’d made for her, and Flang booped my finger with her nose.

I reached toward the hologram—she burst into giggles. Adorable.

“Go rest. I need to work.”

—Okay. Call me anytime you need me.

Flang faded away.

She’d sleep somewhere in the home circuit until I summoned her again.

I swapped out the sweat-soaked sheet Flang had washed, showered, and sat back down in front of the hologram for the first time in a while.

First things first—bug report.

Unlike the capsule with iris scan security, the hologram’s protection was weak.

Easy to hack—so I rarely used it unless my health or mental state forced me to.

Leaning back in my chair, I blinked at the interface, opening my mail.

After filling out the simple form about the stuck nickname bug, I checked the Rés des Désertes homepage.

[Why isn’t the game working;;]
[Progress stuck on a bug]
[Do the devs even do their job??]
[I was just about to hit Ilya’s route and my character froze]
[I can’t log in at all FIX PLEASE]

“…Huh?”

The user board, normally filled with guides, tips, and ending reviews, was a mess. The first two pages were nothing but complaints.

Checking the time, it looked like other players hit bugs right when I started my 100th run.

Some couldn’t log in, some had broken models, some said characters acted cold despite affection.

So Serena’s affection spike and Ilya’s appearance were bugs too?

I thought it was part of the special patch. I scrolled blankly and accidentally clicked a thread.

Just scanning it, a photo made me choke.

That’s… Ilya.

Screenshots showed a cold-faced Ilya.

That part was normal—but if this user hit 100 affection, something was wrong.

Ilya should be cold at first, but the more his affection rises, the warmer he becomes—loving, even. Yet he looked like his affection was zero.

As the OP complained, others chimed in—lots of replies.

└What is that? Looks like affection 0 not 100
└Fake AF lol clout-chasing trash
└Dude above, RDD devs suck at working but they code too well for UI spoofing
└Photoshop lol??
└RDD screenshots are impossible to edit, man. Even a top-tier B-zone hacker failed lmao you think a normie did it?

I—the “hacker”—flinched at that one.

More replies scrolled in.

└Weird. He should be gooey-eyed over you at 80 affection already
└Cocky polygons lol
└RDD mains aren’t just polygons. They give me chills sometimes
└Bro they’re game characters don’t overthink
└Gotta agree though. Why put AI that advanced into a dating sim?? Androids still make uncanny faces lol
└They’re like a bit better than home helpers
└Yeah the dev’s a famous lunatic lol who the hell ARE they

Scratch that—nobody was “agreeing.” It was pure stream-of-consciousness madness.

“…Mm.”

I hit back.

Feeling oddly restless, I glanced at my capsule—but I still had at least an hour before I could log in.

Guess I’ll nap while I wait…

When a player completes the 99th run, the world of Rés des Désertes rewinds according to a set algorithm.

Each loop, the only thing that changes is the player’s appearance and behavior.

The romanceable AI characters have no idea they are repeating the same events.

Normally.

“Serena, look! I made this!”
“Serena, are you okay?”
“When you’re hurting, you can lean on me. We’re the only ones left of our tribe.”
“…I’ll be back soon, Serena.”

Warm, cozy memories.

Every dream ended the same way—with a sudden demon attack and the sight of the small back of a beautiful hero.

This dream again.

She always woke to find tears on her cheeks.

After the massacre of her people, her life was held together by hatred toward demons and fury toward herself.

She believed there was no room for tears—yet the woman in her dreams easily slipped into Serena’s heart.

What were those memories? Vivid scenes she had never lived through, fading to haze when she woke.

A fog-shrouded mystery. Her mind warned it could be illusion magic from a psychic demon—yet her pounding heart denied doubt.

“Good morning, Lady Serena.”

“…Yes.”

“Today is your scheduled visit to Chante Street, by Imperial request.”

“For the investigation on missing commoners and demi-humans.”

Descending to the 197th floor private dining hall, Adele greeted her with breakfast and the day’s agenda.

‘Already that time.’

She’d been skipping subjugations and council meetings for days, shaken by the recurring dream.

She’d scoured every book on memory and dreaming—still no answers.

In this era, magicians only used guns and talismans as conduits for combat magic; research materials were scarce.

Her last resort was divine cleansing magic at the temple.

If the dreams vanished under holy power, they were foul illusions.
If not…