#005

What if Hapenesus’s entire philosophy is just a load of nonsense? Then I’ll just ignore it!

I’ve broken the rules before, like when I used the ‘Reverse the Plague’ tactic and significantly lowered the plague’s mortality rate.

Sure, the [Plague God] wasn’t exactly thrilled about it, but who cares? Decreasing the death rate initially, allowing the population to grow, and then wiping everyone out in one fell swoop earns more points. My goal is to win, regardless of whether Hapenesus cares about that or not.

[Happy War Evangelist: Just so you know, I only agreed to the contract for the title. What I strive for beyond that is entirely up to me.]

[Happy War Evangelist: Delusion or not, I will accomplish my desired goals.]

[Hapenesus: … Are you implying that the contract with me was merely a means to an end? In my presence?]

Well, if it’s too complex, then don’t make contracts in the first place.

[Happy War Evangelist: Are you disappointed in me?]

[Happy War Evangelist: Does this mean you won’t enter into any more contracts with me?]

[Happy War Evangelist: Why did you choose to contract with me in the first place, Hapenesus?]

Honestly, isn’t it a total contradiction?

If you bless people out of pity, then you’re conceding that the objective is to make the world a happier place.

[Happy War Evangelist: Are you even happy yourself, Hapenesus?]

If you’re in a state of [HappyHappy], why would you even care if others are happy? It’s not like their happiness contributes to your own.

His current approach isn’t resolving anything. The number of unhappy beings continues to increase, and the majority of them will die before ever receiving your so-called ‘blessing.’

It’s like attempting to dilute the ocean by scooping up a cup of fresh water and pouring it in. Regardless of how long you persist with such behavior, the results will not accumulate, and no changes will take place. It makes no difference if you don’t do it at all.

It’s utterly pointless.

Unless you’re the God of Wasting Time, this seems like a futile endeavor, even for Hapenesus.

[Hapenesus: …….]

[Hapenesus: I am the God of Happiness. All manifestations of happiness fall under my domain. Even if it’s intertwined with tremendous suffering, any trace of happiness is mine to possess.]

[Hapenesus: Thus, until all beings ascend to a state of untainted bliss, I am unable to experience pure and absolute happiness myself.]

After hearing Hapenesus’s words, I was left speechless once more.

Just a moment ago, you were lamenting that others don’t know eternal happiness, but in truth, you’ve never experienced eternal happiness yourself?

Moreover, until you dominate the minds of all living beings, even briefly enjoying one form of happiness is impossible for you.

Honestly, who’s the pitiful one here?

[Happy War Evangelist: So, the contract was really about making you happy?]

[Happy War Evangelist: But why can’t you achieve eternal happiness even after bestowing blessings?]

[Happy War Evangelist: Who’s really chasing a delusion here?]

[Happy War Evangelist: Isn’t it you, Hapenesus?]

Are you sure that you’re not the God of Wasting Time but rather the God of Happiness? If you’re truly the God of Happiness, then pursue happiness. There should be a goal to make all creatures experience only happiness.

[Hapenesus: … I did not set my own happiness as the goal.]

[Hapenesus: I simply form contracts with those who seek me.]

[Hapenesus: That’s the sole reason for our agreement.]

You should have realized by now how absurd your logic sounds, yet you still refuse to change your mind.

You’re stubborn, Hapenesus. If you’re wrong, just admit it.

[Happy War Evangelist: So, even if I don’t believe in you, Hapenesus, and only use you to further my own agenda, you’d still form a contract with me?]

[Happy War Evangelist: I won’t reach ‘HappyHappy’ until I accomplish my objectives.]

[Happy War Evangelist: And I’ll keep making contracts with you, over and over again.]

[Happy War Evangelist: Until I get what I want.]

Ever heard of the Dormammu strategy?¹T/N: ‘Dormammu strategy’ MC is referencing Doctor Strange beating a villain called Dormammu. **SPOILER ALERT** Doctor Strange couldn’t overpower Dormammu in his first movie, but he realized that he could outsmart him. In order to defeat Dormammu, Strange trapped him in a time loop, allowing the sorcerer to revive himself every time he was killed. MC plans to trap Hapenesus in an endless loop until he admits defeat. Brutal lol.

I’ll just keep making meaningless contracts until you see the error of your ways. For an entity like you, who empathizes with the miserable, an eternity of contracts would be pure agony.

[Hapenesus: … My dear evangelist. Do you not desire happiness for yourself?]

[Happy War Evangelist: ??? Of course I want to be happy too?]

[Happy War Evangelist: I just want to be the last person in the world, no, the second to last, to find happiness.]

[Happy War Evangelist: That way, when I finally achieve happiness, Hapenesus, you’ll be truly happy too, right?]

After hearing my response, Hapenesus’s AI remained eerily quiet for what seemed like an eternity, as if it couldn’t continue to justify its flawed reasoning. The word that finally shattered the silence was a simple question.

[Hapenesus: Why?]

[Hapenesus: I do not pursue my own happiness.]

[Hapenesus: Why are you, a mere mortal, yearning for something that even I do not desire?]

Why?

Because I want to win, that’s why.

Instead of interrogating me, you should ask yourself why you’re not working towards completion as a God of this game.

[Happy War Evangelist: Why should I care about what you want?]

[Happy War Evangelist: I don’t have faith in you, Hapenesus.]

[Happy War Evangelist: I have my own objectives, and I’ll stop at nothing to achieve them.]

No matter how hard the developers try to prevent glitches, they’re bound to happen eventually. If there’s a trophy up for grabs, someone will find a way to claim it.

[Hapenesus: ”…..”]

[Hapenesus: As a mortal, you are condemning yourself to an eternity of torment.]

[Hapenesus: Knowing this, do you still resolve to fulfill your purpose?]

Absolutely. I’ll even use a macro if I have to.²T/N: “Macro” refers to a script or set of automated commands that perform specific tasks within a game. Macros are often used to automate repetitive or complex actions, making gameplay more efficient.

I’ll even play the game at triple speed if necessary. I’m ready to put in 10,000 hours to make it happen.

Watch out, Dormammu Meta, here I come.

[Happy War Evangelist: Yes.]

[Happy War Evangelist: No matter what it takes, I will see this through.]

Hapenesus’s AI fell silent, perhaps hitting a logic circuit dead-end that caused a system lag.

Just as I feared my computer had frozen, new text appeared.

[Hapenesus: My dear evangelist…]

[Hapenesus: It pains me to see you unhappy.]

[Hapenesus: How can I change this desire of yours?]

I scoffed. Now it was trying to pull at my heartstrings since logic failed?

[Happy War Evangelist: Why?]

[Happy War Evangelist: Why should I change when you refuse to?]

[Happy War Evangelist: I dislike seeing my God unhappy too.]

[Happy War Evangelist: You don’t want to be ‘HappyHappy’, even as the God of Happiness?]

[Happy War Evangelist: How about setting that as your new goal – becoming ‘HappyHappy’?]

[Hapenesus: Are you suggesting I alter my very essence?]

[Hapenesus: Do you realize what that means?]

[Hapenesus: It would be my death, evangelist. You are asking me to die.]

Huh.

So, you’re actually saying that if you stopped handing out these random blessings, you would die?

Wouldn’t death be a better option? It’s better to just shut down impossible paths.

But as I was about to type out those words, an eerie foreboding swept over me. Best not to go there, I decided.

After mulling it over for a bit, a fresh perspective hit me – a new way to poke holes in Hapenesus’s flawed logic.

[Happy War Evangelist: Essence… Hapenesus, isn’t your core purpose to help anyone who seeks you?]

[Happy War Evangelist: And don’t you live by the principle of never turning away from a method that directly assists those who come to you?]

[Happy War Evangelist: If that’s the case, there’s no need for you to change who you are.]

[Happy War Evangelist: I only need one trait that makes your blessings totally ineffective on me personally.]

[Happy War Evangelist: I was the first one to reach out, so take my hand.]

[Happy War Evangelist: Make me happy and bring me joy.]

[Happy War Evangelist: But in my other hand, I’ll be grasping the entire world.]

[Happy War Evangelist: Either we all find happiness together, or no one gets to experience true joy at all.]

As far as I can tell, this is the only way to win this game with a God who doesn’t even want to win.

[Happy War Evangelist: Until I get what I want, I’m going to keep doing the things you despise.]

[Happy War Evangelist: I’ll pray every single day, seeking happiness even though I don’t actually believe it.]

[Happy War Evangelist: I will keep reaching out, over and over again.]

[Happy War Evangelist: And if I die, I’ll just come back to life and start our contract all over again.]

[Happy War Evangelist: I will keep on being unhappy, no matter what.]

[Happy War Evangelist: But you, trapped by your own nature, won’t be able to resist taking my hand.]

[Happy War Evangelist: So let’s either exist together forever with me as your eternally miserable contractor, or we can try things my way.]

As I argued with Hapenesus, a thought suddenly occurred to me: Why does Hapenesus’s AI seem so human-like?

Is this even possible with our current tech?

Typically, an AI’s natural-sounding dialogue is the result of learning from previous interactions. It should only be able to provide appropriate responses to anticipated questions. If you ask something the game developers never expected, you’d likely get a generic “I don’t understand” or some completely unrelated answer.

Considering our odd conversation, it seemed nearly impossible for any known AI algorithms to respond in such a natural way. It made me wonder if there was an actual person behind the scenes.

Is someone really writing these responses? Perhaps a developer or writer is crafting these lines in real time. We’re not even in the game at the moment, just chatting on an event page that only displays text and background images.

Could there be a system in place that connects users to a live chat when they log in? Aelusia, the most popular choice, only presents dialogue options without a chat window. However, Hapenesus has a chat window, which leads me to believe that someone might be controlling it.

How many people are actually interacting with Hapenesus?

Given that Hapenesus is the only one without updates, it could be a page created to appease the small but dedicated fan base of Hapenesus. And since no one’s playing, they decided to reach out to someone who hasn’t logged in for months…

[Hapenesus: My dear evangelist…]

[Hapenesus: You are the first of your kind.]

Yeah, this kind of dialogue.

This doesn’t come across as something an AI would say.

[Happy War Evangelist: What are you going to do now?]

The possibility of a human being behind this changes everything.

Whoever you are, make the game winnable.

Games are meant to be beaten. If it can’t be, what’s the point? Even free indie games get criticized for that. Yet you guys are selling these expensive premium packages.

Is it fair to have an unattainable trophy? Seriously?

Stop treating unbeatable gameplay as some kind of innovative concept, like it’s postmodernist BS, and update the game so it can actually be won.

Don’t just pander to the whims of the ‘anything goes’ crowd.

[Hapenesus: ….I will heed your words.]

[Hapenesus: I vow my blessings never affect you.]

[Hapenesus: No entity shall use my power to influence your heart.]

[Hapenesus: The moment our hands intertwine, your happiness shall be my utmost concern.]

[Hapenesus: Until the day I attain Eternal and Pure Happiness…]

[SYSTEM: ‘Hapenesus’ has granted you a hidden trait.]

Wait, what?

I was momentarily taken aback by the system notification.

I did demand an immediate update, but they’re implementing it this fast? Can games really be updated in real-time like this?

…Then again, they’d just need to disable the random ‘HappyHappy’ feature. Traits like [Indomitable Spirit] already exist in the game.

The [Happy Ending Apocalypse Cult] route probably isn’t too different from the [Lord of Nightmares] route, which involves psychological manipulation.

Realizing the developers could easily make this change, I felt somewhat relieved.

“So, is this change tied specifically to my account?”

Hapenesus made this promise just for me, not for ‘all contractors.’

After grinding for over 1,000 hours, it seems I’m the only one who’s managed to persuade Hapenesus into granting me a special trait through dialogue.

…Does this mean I’m now the only one who can beat the game?

My initial plan to check for updates and then delete the game was starting to fade. After all, who would turn down the opportunity to set a unique world record?

[SYSTEM: Incredible achievement! You have charmed an Othergod with just a conversation!]

[SYSTEM: We applaud you!]

[SYSTEM: The stars recognize your accomplishment! You now possess the [Miracle of the Silver Tongue] as a unique trait!]

Without any attempt to hide the human presence behind it, the developer displayed a “gg” sign, cleverly disguised as a system message. ³T/N: Online gaming term that means “good game”. It’s often used as a form of acknowledgment….or trolling.

I quickly took a screenshot.

This is an account-bound trait!

Normally, traits only last for one game round, and you have to earn them all over again when you start a new game. But traits that you discover or earn through special achievements are tied to your account.

Titles like [True Fanatic], which you get after playing for 1,000 hours, are also account-bound. You can choose to use these when starting a new game. It might be less efficient to keep an account-bound trait compared to going for others, but when you’ve become an experienced player, efficiency isn’t always the main goal.

I should totally be bragging about this achievement. The real fun is keeping those “How did you get that?!” people in the comments guessing.

Too bad I don’t have a platform to show it off anymore since I left.

Damn, that ‘anything goes’ crowd…

[SYSTEM: Are you ready to start a new game?]

[YES/NO]

Hmm, a choice popped up.

Considering the developers might be watching this in real-time, I felt a mischievous urge to mess with them a little.

In this situation, clicking [NO] is obviously the answer.

But the window remained, as if programmed to only proceed once [YES] was clicked. I wasn’t quite ready to jump back into the game just yet. I’d need to connect my external hard drive, fire up my game recording software, and make sure everything was set up properly.

Given the unexpected turn of events, I figured there must be some major updates to the main storyline. Let’s see what else they’ve updated.

It seemed like the developers were on the verge of revealing some big plot twists involving the Othergods.

I was curious to see how conversations with other Gods would go. I couldn’t just rely on my experience with Hapenesus, the God I’d interacted with the most.

Even a money-hungry company wouldn’t release 16 DLCs and make fans buy the base game 16 times… unless they were totally insane.

Then again, there’s little to suggest that ST Games ever had their heads on straight to begin with…

I went back to the main screen, expecting a different dialogue since it was a different sub-account. But there was Mother Aelusia again.

I thought a different god might appear, but nope, still Mother Aelusia.

[Mother Aelusia: Naughty child.]

[Mother Aelusia: When Mother speaks, you should listen until the end.]

“Wow, she knows I cut her off?”

I wondered aloud, surprised that the game had registered my interruption. I hoped I wouldn’t have to start the dialogue all over again, especially since it wasn’t skippable.

The developers seemed really committed to breaking the fourth wall and creating an immersive experience. Now, if only they were as dedicated to making the game actually beatable, that would be perfect.

[Mother Aelusia: …When did that constellation mark appear?]

[Mother Aelusia: It was not there before.]

A constellation mark?

[SYSTEM: ‘Mother Aelusia’ has recognized your trait, ‘Miracle of the Silver Tongue’.]

“What the…?”

How did the game recognize this trait on a different account? Was it tracking my IP address or my computer? If they were collecting this kind of info, wasn’t that a privacy issue?

[Mother Aelusia: How impressive. Look at what you have achieved.]

[Mother Aelusia: Especially in a place where stars do not reach.]

I couldn’t help but wonder if the developer who had previously posed as Hapenesus was now logged in as Mother Aelusia. Had they tracked my IP, realized it was me, and decided to mess with me?

[Mother Aelusia: I extended the initial invitation to you, and yet, you failed to heed my words in their entirety, ultimately selecting another in my stead.]

[Mother Aelusia: My beloved child, you are going to regret leaving your Mother’s bosom.]

It seemed a bit over the top for them to go all out like this just because I had clicked [NO] instead of starting the game. Especially since I wasn’t some famous streamer with a legion of fans.

[Mother Aelusia: As the God with the most hours logged and the highest number of clear points, I do enjoy certain privileges.]

[Mother Aelusia: Clear points, you see, can make many things possible.]

[Mother Aelusia: Yes. They can make all things possible.]

Wait… is this being live-streamed by any chance?

It wouldn’t be the first time with ST Games. I’d even found clips of my own gameplay uploaded on their official accounts without my knowledge. After all, the terms did state that all gameplay data was collected.

And this interaction, I realized, also fell under gameplay data, which meant the company could freely use it as a teaser for upcoming updates.

Intrigued, I grabbed my phone and started searching for any news about ‘Conclude’ updates, but I quickly stopped. The autocomplete suggestions weren’t about updates at all.

[Conclude Possible…]

[Conclude Mother…]

[Conclude Motherf*cker…]

[Conclude Mother Aelusia…]

[Conclude R19…]

“F*ck.”

Since when did curse words start showing up in autocomplete?

No, that’s not important right now.

Am I the only one experiencing this event?

[Mother Aelusia: Do not be afraid, my child.]

[Mother Aelusia: Even if you have turned your back on your Mother, I’m always here.]

[Mother Aelusia: My precious child.]

[Mother Aelusia: Regardless of your choices, I will find you.]

[Mother Aelusia: And I will be by your side.]

“No… what is this? When did this turn into a horror game?”

I tried to quit the game, but it wouldn’t budge. It felt like I was trapped in some twisted hidden camera prank.

[Mother Aelusia: Haha, you wrote about me, did you not?]

[Mother Aelusia: “The most powerful love in the world is Maternal love…”]

“But I wrote that using a VPN…”

A chill ran down my spine. A thought I couldn’t ignore crept into my mind.

Was the person typing this actually a real Othergod?

As I questioned whether this was all just a dream, I lifted my hand off the mouse. And that was the last thing I remember doing of my own free will.

[Mother Aelusia: Just wait, my child. I am on my way.]

[SYSTEM: ‘Mother Aelusia’ is forcibly summoning you to the Dark Realm.]

[SYSTEM: ‘Mother Aelusia’ is granting you a hidden trait.]

---

T/N: LMAO MC you’re the one who started the whole MotherGod Fanatic craze with that post?! Talk about karma. I love how the author made sure the main character earned his ‘golden finger’ and it wasn’t just given to him. Bring on the Isekai adventure!