The Villainous Me Turned the Losers into Blackened Bosses-Chapter 116 - Why Did This Thing Get Implemented?!

—

“This…”

Even though it was just a small fragment, the unnaturally green color of the stone was glaringly obvious. It didn’t look anything like a naturally mined mineral…

Instead, it resembled…

The kind of cheap material you’d find in a low-budget online game.

“…Why is this thing here?!”

Holding up the fragment, Will noticed something even more despair-inducing within it…

Perhaps because the fragment had broken perfectly in half, he could clearly see a large Chinese character etched in the center—

“下” (“Lower”).

“Uh… I can’t believe I still… remember the language I used in my past life…”

Sitting in his chair, wearing only shorts and holding the pants he had just changed out of, Will stared at the stone fragment, lost in thought.

He recognized this thing.

Not just its finished form—he remembered its uncolored version, its draft version, and even its database placeholder version!

“No way…”

That’s right!

This fragment…

Was…

A piece of the enhancement stone he had designed as a cash-grab item for a pay-to-win game!

“…There’s no mistake… It’s definitely this!”

If his memory served him correctly…

At least before his death, this thing was still in the testing phase and hadn’t been implemented in the game.

It was strange.

While Will’s memories of how he died were frustratingly hazy, his recollection of this little stone was crystal clear—even after living in this world for over a decade. Perhaps it was because he had argued about it so many times.

The biggest debate surrounding it was whether it should even be implemented and, if so, how much revenue it would generate.

“…Why did you get implemented?!”

This item had originally been something Will created to appease his boss’s “I need to hit my monthly revenue target” demands.

But…

Will himself had been against its implementation.

As a purist and advocate for meaningful character development, Will believed that players should experience growth through their own time and effort, rather than simply paying money to become stronger outside the game.

It was about…

When players invested time, the characters they nurtured grew alongside them. The process might be long, but overcoming a previously insurmountable challenge after carefully strategizing and equipping your team brought genuine joy.

Not only would the players feel a sense of accomplishment…

But seeing their characters on the results screen would make it feel like the characters were responding to them, improving together.

That was the true charm of a “development game”!

What’s more…

While the novel Kicked Out of the Party and Adopted by a Dungeon Queen wasn’t exactly well-written and was riddled with plot holes…

Its main storyline was a classic tale of “redemption” and “growth.”

The protagonist, Hugh, who was emotionally scarred after being kicked out of his team, gradually healed his heart by transforming quirky dungeon monster girls into powerful bosses and bidding farewell to those who had hurt him in the past.

The “losers” in the story were essential—not just as sources of catharsis but as symbols of moving on.

Fans of the original story weren’t looking to scan a QR code, pay for an enhancement stone, and suddenly become overpowered and unbeatable.

—At least, that’s what Will had believed at the time.

—And yet, he had consistently lost every argument about it in the planning meetings.

The final compromise was to divide the enhancement stones into three tiers—low, medium, and high. By embedding these stones, players could strengthen their characters and unlock greater abilities.

The only concession Will had managed to secure was the acquisition method—players had to purchase a monthly pass and grind to max level to earn just one stone.

This way, even paying players wouldn’t significantly accelerate their progress.

“…30%. Fine, you got implemented, but why is it 30%?!”

Before his death, the exact stats for the enhancement stones hadn’t been finalized.

Will had feared that inflating the numbers too much would disrupt the game’s balance, overshadowing the satisfaction of character development with the thrill of spending money, ultimately creating dependency.

At the time, he had argued, “Classic 10% is enough! No need for more!”

And yet…

Now, staring at the letter from S, which estimated the stat increase at “30%”—the highest value proposed during development—Will felt a wave of despair.

“Sigh.”

“In the end, I couldn’t stop it.”

“The game must’ve been heavily criticized after launch.”

“But the boss probably made a fortune…”

Will slumped in his chair, staring at the pants he had just changed out of.

Hmm…

These pants really did resemble the ones commonly worn by adventurers.

Wait…

Wait, wait, wait…

No, something’s wrong.

His occupational habits were kicking in!

Or rather, his habits from his past life were resurfacing!

Thud. The pants slipped from his hands and fell to the floor.

Seeing the enhancement stone fragment had triggered a reflexive thought about how it had been implemented in the game.

But…

The bigger question remained—

“Why is this thing here?!”

He wasn’t an idiot.

Seeing this stone, the simplest conclusion came to mind—

This world wasn’t the “sacred, pure, perfect original” world he had thought it was. Instead, it was the “cheap, dirty, broken adaptation” game world…

Hmm, it sounded like a straightforward and logical answer.

But…

So far, the plot and world-building had deviated significantly from the game’s design—aligning much more closely with the original story.

Most importantly!

The biggest deviation lay in himself, “Young Master Will”!

In the original story, Hugh was kicked out of the team almost immediately. Starting the game with such a frustrating experience would’ve been a terrible way to hook players. But creating an original player character and assigning the story’s roles to them would’ve caused even more confusion.

So…

In the game…

At least in the early drafts by the junior scriptwriter…

“Young Master Will” didn’t form “Morning Star.” Instead, he was turned into a comic relief character who might die during an event after being crushed by a slime.

Players would then take on the role of an amnesiac character who resembled the original protagonist, with the default name “Hugh.” They’d progress through levels, collect cards, and piece together their memories through interactions with characters drawn from the gacha pool, completely skipping the original story’s frustrating team-kicking arc.

Other differences included the three “losers” in the story. To avoid unnecessary complications, the game’s default setting was that they didn’t know Will at all.

R𝑒ad lat𝒆st chapt𝒆rs at free𝑤ebnovel.com Only.

“At least I’ve formed a team, and my relationships with the three of them are good—that proves this isn’t the game.”

There were other clues too—

The map didn’t feature any of the fictional locations added for the game, sticking to the original story’s geography.

The dungeons didn’t include any of the game-exclusive designs meant to enhance gameplay.

And the enhancement stones, originally intended for allies, were now being found on enemies.

“This is definitely… the original world…”

But as Will stared at the enhancement stone with the character “下” etched on it…

“Alright, it’s closer to the original world.”

However…

The stone S had sent him sparked a new train of thought.