Playing as a Tank

“Does this mean all those faded hours of time ultimately meant nothing…?”

The hopeless soliloquy of the “Nameless One” – the beginning and end of all tragedies, the “Final Boss” – was weakly released into the void.

Not long after, a slashing sound.

The massive form, already cracked in several places, was finally split into two pieces by a single swing of the holy sword.

Simultaneously, the thick darkness that had covered the entire world began to dissipate.

Pure white feathers, proof of the final boss’s defeat, slowly started falling from the high heavens…

“Skip.”

The tower that had been summoning all manner of disasters and calamities was gradually collapsing…

“Skip.”

The other party members who had ultimately fallen during the unpredictable fierce battle…

“Skip.”

Only then did the system window appear and begin calculating the play data.

However, for some reason, the achievements completed amounted to less than a quarter of the total.

Even considering this was the first playthrough, the completion rate was ridiculously low compared to expectations.

“Damn it. I grinded so hard, and there’s still this much left?”

A dejected sigh escaped at the sight of the seemingly endless list of achievements.

But only a complete novice would give up and close the game here.

Only by persevering through every obstacle and reaching the very end can you leave behind a “record.”

At least now that I’ve cleared it once… things should get easier from the second playthrough.

“But I can’t accept it just getting easier. What was all my suffering for?”

I scrolled the mouse wheel, looking for what could be called “clear bonuses” – the reason I had been grinding so hard since the first playthrough.

Then, after what felt like about five minutes…

“…Found it.”

I immediately clicked on the special option that was hidden in the game settings for some reason.

-Ding.

[The Guide of Causality awaits your choice!]

◈ The Punisher’s Descent
[The power of all hostility you enact increases dramatically.]
[No being except you can block your path.]
[You can temporarily summon characters from previous playthroughs.]
[*Caution: The concept of goodwill becomes neutralized.]

◈ The Guardian’s Ascent
[The power of all goodwill you enact increases dramatically.]
[No being except you can break your will.]
[You can temporarily synchronize with characters from previous playthroughs.]
[*Caution: The concept of hostility becomes neutralized.]

“…What is this saying?”

I momentarily lost my composure seeing even the bonus selection screen consumed by the concept.

Seriously, would it kill them to plainly tell me which stats would increase?

After contemplating briefly, I pressed [The Guardian’s Ascent], which seemed like it would let me complete more achievements.

The Guardian options seemed more useful than the Punisher ones, and achievements requiring goodwill would probably be more difficult than those requiring hostility.

It’s the same principle as how it doesn’t take long to kill low-level monsters like goblins, but rescuing villagers kidnapped by goblins without them getting hurt takes considerably longer.

From my experience, it’s more efficient to complete the difficult achievements first.

“Come on, let’s just start already. How many times is this yes/no window going to pop up?”

I ended up mashing the enter key through the system messages that kept asking if I was sure about my selection, even though I’d already made up my mind.

When I faced the character appearance settings screen again, I just set everything to random.

Since I was going for an all-achievement time attack, I couldn’t waste time on relatively minor things like character appearance.

Based on my first playthrough experience, there weren’t any quests or events that depended on character appearance anyway.

So, at the moment I finally clicked the now-glowing Start button…

[Having agreed to the selection terms and all other terms, the player will now be transferred to .]

“What?”

The system window, which had somehow emerged from the monitor, flashed repeatedly, demonstrating what a proper visual assault looks like.

On top of that, my sense of reality began dulling by the second for some reason.

My head finally drooped forward as I could no longer endure, and I was engulfed in a sensation of endlessly falling into a deep abyss.

After falling continuously for quite a long time…

-Rustle.

“Eek!?”

I came to my senses with a start at the ticklish sensation of something soft brushing against my back.

I still couldn’t even guess what had happened.

But one thing was clear – the voice that had escaped my lips seconds ago was unfamiliar in many ways.

I shifted my gaze toward the small lake located right next to the undergrowth where I was sitting.

More precisely, toward my own reflection on the water’s surface.

However, what was reflected on the clear water surface was only a strangely unfamiliar yet youthful appearance.

“No way… It can’t be, right?”

I leaned my head closer toward the two blue pupils wavering on the water’s surface.

And simultaneously, the terrible truth I didn’t want to face was revealed all too clearly.

I shook my head, trying to deny the obvious truth reflected on the water’s surface, but the reflection that mimicked my movements denied my denial.

It was as if the reflection on the lake was telling me that no matter how much I tried to deny or look away from my current appearance, it was a reality I couldn’t escape.

But even so.

Even if the “no way” I had unconsciously uttered moments ago had turned out to be true.

“This is too much! Aaahhh!!”