Hyperion Evergrowing - Chapter 19: Strategic Cheating

Author : Kinugasa ShougoIllustrator : TomoseshunsakuAs Ayanokouji and his classmates begin their second year at the Advanced Nurturing High School, they're greeted by a fresh gauntlet of exams and a fresh batch of rather unique first-year students. They'll have to get to know each other quickly, because the first special exam pairs the first-years with the second-years on a written test--with only the second-years facing expulsion if their team performs poorly! Worse yet? It seems one of the new first-years is also from the White Room. Can Ayanokouji avoid expulsion while sussing out the identity of this hidden foe?

This book is also known as: “How Programmers Turn a Crappy Game into a Timeless Classic with a Single BUG”Recently, the president of Nitiandang, Gu Fan, once again fell from grace due to a minor bug in his new game.As a top-notch designer in the industry, all of the games designed by Gu Fan have very distinct characteristics:At first, players felt that these games were monotonous, dull, and purely revolting garbage.However, once players discovered a major bug, the gameplay underwent a drastic transformation, rendering them sleep-deprived and unable to quit!So, players once again launched a major debate over “whether this is actually a bug or a game mechanic.”In response to this, Gu Fan clarified in an interview with all seriousness:“Hello everyone, I'm the game designer Gu Fan, but you can also call me by my English name: fan·gu (means rebel).”“I want to reiterate firmly that these so-called 'core gameplays' were not part of our company's original design—they are bugs! It's just that we didn't fix them because the players liked them!”

During one of our arguments, my younger brother taunted me, claiming that I only knew how to depend on guys to get me through MMOs. In a fit of anger, I was spurred on by his words and decided to defeat my brother without depending on anyone else. By some coincidence, a new game called “Second Life” was about to go on the market and thus I started from scratch as a player. What’s more, I was the first person ever to log onto the game. The beautiful GM told me that I could have one wish granted… Humph! I. Want. To. Become. A. Guy!Shit, I accidentally became too super-ultra-incredibly handsome, now there’s a beautiful GM with designs on my virtue, waaaaah…!… OH MY GOD! A girl wants to make me her trophy husband!Heavens, what a hottie… Wait, what? He’s actually GAY and he’s hitting on me?! Go to hell! When I’m a girl you’re not interested, so why the hell do you want me now? With an incredibly hilarious main character, incredibly bizarre companions, and an incredible journey of growing up and self-discovery, how will things pan out? Even God is playing a guessing game…

...[Inside an underground basement]“You are going to die for nothing, hahahaha,” the old man's voice thundered through the room, sending chills down my spine.Step.With a swift and ruthless motion, he lunged forward, his sword slicing through the air and slashing my throat, crimson droplets staining the darkness.“We'll see,” I whispered defiantly, my final words escaping as a mere breath against the impending darkness.Slowly, inexorably, my consciousness slipped away, and I descended into a deep, unfathomable slumber.“Huh!?” My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself seated in a bustling tavern, the air thick with laughter and the clinking of glasses.In front of me stood a captivating lady, her beauty juxtaposed with an angry furrow upon her brow, threatening to shatter the harmony of the jovial scene.“Don't follow me around!” Her words pierced the air like shards of ice, the intensity of her emotions palpable as she cast a resentful glare in my direction, before swiftly departing from the tavern....Am I trapped within the confines of a game? The fragments of my shattered common sense scattered before me, leaving me to question the very fabric of my reality.