Chapter 85: The Perils of Cosmic Adventure

It was possible, but I wasn’t sure if it would work.

“Why? Because it wouldn’t look good if a server administrator went around plundering other players?”

“No? That’s not really the issue, but this game doesn’t seem like an ordinary space adventure game.”

The game skipped over explanations, but even at a glance, the starting planet was already half-destroyed.

“Either the developers were lazy, or they had a world-class syndrome, but they completely omitted the explanations. Just from what we’ve seen so far, we can’t even be sure if humanity still exists in this world. Don’t you think there’s a reason for that?”

“…I’m really sorry, but isn’t this the game Yurim made? Am I mistaken?”

“Turtle, you always say Yurim is your role model, but you don’t even know much about her? I win.”

And here we go.

This crazy woman is putting on a show in front of 300,000 people. LOL. I have to admit, she’s something else.

She’s completely losing it.

I focused on the game’s title.

<Cosmic Ossuary>. If translated literally, it meant “the ossuary of the cosmos.”

It was an oddly grim name for a simple space adventure game.

“All of the games made by this developer have had some hardcore elements, right? This one’s probably no different. The title itself literally means ‘ossuary of the cosmos.’”

“…I’m really sorry, but are you absolutely sure Yurim made this game? Are you sure?”

“Get used to it.”

Paepae crossed their arms, lost in thought, then slowly spoke.

“So there’s bound to be something hardcore in the game mechanics?”

“If that’s the case, it probably means there’s a combat element. Maybe the place is crawling with space monsters.”

“That sounds plausible.”

Based on these assumptions, the most fitting concept would be a mercenary unit that fought space monsters…

“Do we really need to go that far? Let’s also consider Malangmabbak’s opinion.”

“A space pirate crew?”

“For now, we should max out our spaceship’s combat power. Then, depending on the situation, we can decide whether to be mercenaries or space pirates.”

Taking my suggestion, we optimized our spaceship for maximum combat power.

The design was ugly, but the hull was reinforced. The weapons were powerful. And then…

“Wait, is this a mecha game?”

“You need robots to fight in space.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just enhance the spaceship’s performance? Like improving its mobility.”

“Robots are all about romance. No compromises.”

We even added mass-produced models that looked old and ready to break down.

We spent half of our starting points just to obtain these mechas. They were expensive, which meant they would definitely play a crucial role later on.

“Wow.”

Bunnyrun admired the completed interior of the spaceship.

It probably felt like stepping into a secret base for the first time. It was clear the developers had designed it to evoke that sense of wonder.

“I thought it would be too bulky and unappealing, but now that I’m inside, it actually looks pretty cool.”

“That’s because of the sunk-cost fallacy. Since you built it yourself, you feel an attachment to it. Basically, if <Fantasy Life> is a game that blackmails people with their beloved home base, then <Cosmic Ossuary> is a game that blackmails people with their beloved spaceship.”

“This time, even if my spaceship gets wrecked, I won’t cry.”

“We’ll see about that.”

I checked the captain’s seat in the center of the bridge and asked everyone,

“So, what professions did you all choose?”

“You know, I was worried about that while picking mine. Was it really okay for us to choose without coordinating first? You all realize we’d be screwed if everyone picked combat roles, right?”

“That won’t happen because we made selfless choices.”

“Let’s go ahead and list them. What did everyone pick?”

At Paepae’s suggestion, we each named our professions.

As expected, thanks to my efforts, our profession balance wasn’t completely ruined.

Me: Combat class (Awakened)
Paepae: Combat class (Awakened)
Bunnyrun: Combat class (Awakened)
Moss: Combat class (Awakened)
Chae Narin: Combat class (Awakened)
Choco Fullbread: Support class (Mechanic)

“You lunatic. In what way was your choice selfless?”

“It was selfless because I took on the burden of combat. Paepae, you lost to me too.”

If they denied it, I was ready to play a recorded clip of that memory, but Paepae admitted it without resistance.

What a shame.

“…Fine, I’ll give you that. But what about the others? Do we need to remake our characters?”

“No need. This is balanced enough.”

“Everyone’s just obsessed with fighting. How is this balanced?”

“Bbangbbang is joining us soon, and he’ll take a support role. This should be fine.”

“He’s going to be a support? I don’t think so.”

“Once a supporter, always a supporter.”

After wrapping up my explanation, I assigned roles to everyone.

I was the captain.
Moss was the first officer.
Paepae was the security chief.
Bunnyrun was the medical officer.
Chae Narin was the beast handler.
Fullbread was the systems operator.
Bbangbbang was the science officer.

With that, we had a nearly perfect role distribution.

“Alright, everyone. Take your seats. We’re about to launch.”

[Captain, it is an honor to meet you. I am the standard AI control model 082, Stella. Please give the command.]

“Launch.”

As soon as I spoke, a tremendous force pressed me into my seat.

A deafening roar filled the air as the spaceship slowly, yet powerfully, ascended.

Then, the moment we broke free from gravity’s pull, we all let out exclamations of awe.

Outside the window, Earth was shrinking.

Once it became small enough, we realized—gravity no longer had a hold on us.

“This really feels like we’re in space, sis.”

“There are other people out there too!”

At Fullbread’s words, I shifted my gaze slightly.

Numerous spaceships were launching into space.

Overcome with excitement, we waved at each other. We were just specks in the vastness of space, but we did it anyway.

“This really feels like an adventure.”

“Where should we go first? We should probably find a planet where humans have gathered, right?”

“I’ll pull up the map! Maybe there’s something—”

BOOOOM!

Sound shouldn’t travel in space. But in our space, it did.

A thunderous explosion echoed across the cosmos.

Together, we turned toward the source of the blast.

And then I shouted,

“Stella! Full speed ahead! Get us out of here!”

“I told you we should’ve boosted our mobility instead of buying mechas.”

Paepae groaned.

But there was nothing we could do now.

How could I have predicted that something like that would show up?

[Uwooooohh.]

A colossal tentacle monster roared as it crushed spaceships left and right.

Leaving it behind, we fled at maximum speed, escaping the galaxy.

All of this… within the first hour of gameplay.