Players with mediocre skills only felt that the game was difficult. But for highly skilled players, they felt Raize's malice directly. What Hamster Umaru experienced earlier was merely a microcosm.
In fact, all players who had seen the promotional materials and bought Sekiro and Devil May Cry—Devil May Cry was still fine, as its difficulty wasn't as insane as Sekiro's. Its flashy combat style and smooth actions earned widespread praise.
But for those playing Sekiro, regardless of whether they were pros or clumsy players, they all fell into self-doubt at this moment.
Who am I?
Where am I?
Why did I have such itchy hands and choose to play this game?
Player complaints were naturally within Raize's expectations, but cries of "damn it, refund me" hadn't appeared. Up until now, not a single person had refunded the game.
That was because, under Raize's operation, the official website featured a large number of his own Sekiro combat clips, along with battle videos from other top players.
Those who wanted to complain about the game being too hard, upon seeing how others played, looked down at their own hands and fell into self-doubt.
Brain: "Hmm, seems like this game isn't that hard. I get it now!"
Hands: "Aaaah! Dodge! Evade! Damn it, I died again! What kind of game is this?!"
Players with poor reflexes genuinely felt like they weren't even playing the same game as others.
Even players who considered themselves skilled looked grim, swallowing their bitterness in silence.
Because once you joined in complaining that the game was too hard, your title as a "top-tier gamer" would have to be stripped away.
What kind of top-tier gamer are you? Can you even show off in Devil May Cry? Have you cleared Sekiro?
Some players who didn't care whether they were considered high-level gamers couldn't help posting on various social platforms.
(Raiden Game Company's games are indeed good, but aren't these bosses way too strong?!)
(The 'hot-blooded and exhilarating' tag—I can only feel that at the beginning. In the later stages, I just die really fast. I don't feel any exhilaration at all!)
(Constantly stuck parrying, often getting ganged up on or ambushed by mobs, or shot with cold arrows. I can feel Raiden Company's malice.)
(It's a good game, but it's someone else's good game. As a clumsy player, I can deeply feel the malice within.)
(Compared to Sekiro, I prefer Raiden's Devil May Cry more. The music is top-notch, and the protagonist is insanely cool. Now I want to go dye my hair white and get a red coat too.)
(Hey, the difficulty you played must be low. Try Son of Sparda difficulty—you'll definitely start questioning life!)
For a time, forums and microblogs were filled with wails of suffering. Even Raiden Company's official page was flooded with messages from players all over the world.
Of course, while there were many complaints, there were also plenty of praises.
---
Meanwhile, in Kouh Town, inside an apartment filled with game and anime merchandise, a bespectacled otaku youth wore an awkward expression as he took out a flyer engraved with a magic circle.
Written on it were words about granting wishes and such.
This flyer wasn't just for show—it was a genuine devil-summoning flyer. When twilight enveloped the sky, devils would truly begin their work.
Their job was to respond to magic circle summons, form contracts with those who summoned them, help fulfill wishes, and collect a price in return.
The price depended on the intensity of the wish—sometimes money, sometimes items, sometimes even life or soul.
After all, in modern times, only chuunibyou types or people with nothing better to do would draw magic circles to summon devils. As summoners became fewer, modern devils could only rely on distributing flyers embedded with magic circles to those who seemed to harbor strong desires, just to maintain their summoning work.
Devils, it seemed, also had to keep up with the times.
This otaku youth, named Morizawa, was a regular devil summoner. Right now, his heart was filled with pent-up frustration, and that intense emotion activated the magic circle engraved on the flyer.
Buzz!
The intricate magic circle on the flyer suddenly lit up, flashing with a blinding red glow. Morizawa, already expecting this, closed his eyes.
The flyer detached from his hand, floated into the air, transformed into a magic circle two meters in diameter, and slowly descended to the floor.
In the next moment, red energy light rose from the center of the magic circle, gathering together to form a petite figure.
After waiting a short while, as the light gradually faded, the magic circle also slowly disappeared.
All that remained was the petite figure standing in place. She slowly opened her eyes, meeting Morizawa's gaze as he opened his own.
She was a white-haired girl with an extremely petite figure, appearing only thirteen or fourteen years old.
Compared to Morizawa, she wasn't tall at all, with a very slender build. Her smooth, shoulder-length silver hair was adorned with a small black cat-shaped ornament clipped near her temple—very cute.
Of course, the cutest part was her doll-like face.
Her small face was smooth and delicate. Though her features looked somewhat immature, taken as a whole she resembled an exquisitely crafted doll. Paired with her large golden-orange eyes and her expressionless, emotionless face, she was irresistibly adorable.
"Kitten-chan, you finally made it!"
Morizawa looked happily at the expressionless Koneko. They were old clients by now, so he was very familiar with her.
Facing Morizawa's enthusiasm, Koneko showed no expression. Her gaze remained calm as she asked her old client:
"Morizawa, what do you want this time? Don't tell me it's another cosplay princess carry after dressing up?"
As she spoke, Koneko glanced around inquisitively, as if searching for prepared outfits.
She was already used to Morizawa's requests. Though strange, they were still acceptable.
If possible, Koneko even hoped all future clients would only make such requests—it would make her job easier and boost a devil's performance.
"Not this time. I summoned you to help me clear a new game. The difficulty is driving me insane!"
Once Morizawa mentioned the game, he recalled Sekiro, which he had been playing earlier. Grinding his teeth, he stepped aside and showed Koenko the PS5 game screen.
Koneko raised an eyebrow at his request and walked over to the console with interest. This kind of request suited her well. Besides liking snacks, she also liked watching TV, loved anime, manga, and movies, and was highly skilled at all kinds of games.
"A newly released game?"
Koneko looked at the refined game interface and asked Morizawa.
Morizawa nodded, staring at the Sekiro screen. He had already died nearly a hundred times playing it. The bosses and even the mobs were brutally difficult. Though his skills were decent, he still couldn't smoothly clear Raize's meticulously crafted Sekiro.
"This is Sekiro from Raiden Game Company. They also released an action game called Devil May Cry at the same time—I've already finished that one. If you can help me clear Sekiro, then these copies of Devil May Cry and Sekiro that I bought for collection can be your summoning reward. How about it?"
Morizawa took out the games he'd prepared from a drawer and placed them in front of Koneko.
Koneko glanced at the two games and nodded expressionlessly, agreeing to the deal. A trace of joy flashed in her eyes.
Just playing through a game, and she'd get two brand-new games afterward—it was an absolute bargain.
For a game-loving devil like Koneko, she hadn't had time to follow new releases due to work. Now her old acquaintance Morizawa had delivered them right to her.
She was extremely satisfied with this reward.
However, once Koneko started playing Sekiro, her previously calm expression gradually began to crack.
She admitted it was a very fun game—better than any action game she'd played before—but the difficulty was no joke.
Though she was good at games, she wasn't a top-tier gamer.
Now she understood why Morizawa had summoned her to help clear it.
Under Morizawa's watchful gaze, Koneko's initial joy and excitement gradually turned into irritability. Occasionally defeating a boss gave her a strong sense of accomplishment, keeping her inner frustration in a delicate balance.
For players with average skills, Sekiro was truly a newcomer deterrent. In Koneko's eyes, the various bosses were simply insane.
The wolf she controlled slowly knelt to the ground as the screen turned gray.
A blood-red "Death" character slowly appeared, dripping as if soaked in blood.
Koneko still had no expression, but her eyes were wide as she stared at the screen in disbelief.
Morizawa said nothing. The game was fun and high-quality, no doubt—but this difficulty and design were infuriating.
It could be said that Raize had also hidden a little "easter egg" for players in this game. Compared to the original Sekiro, where only "Death" appears after dying, once you die enough times…
The wolf controlled by Koneko was attacked from behind by a white ape, which yanked out a basketball-sized pile of shit from its rear and smashed her to death.
The shinobi died. As the screen slowly darkened, a large character appeared:
"Trash".
Yes, you didn't see wrong. Not "Death", but "Trash".
Only players who had died hundreds of times could see this "Trash" character. It was Raize's carefully prepared easter egg, a single character filled with his heartfelt intentions.
"Death" is a word you've basically engraved into your DNA by now—so Raize-sensei is here to teach you a brand-new word~
"..."
Koneko and Morizawa stared silently at the "Trash" character on the screen, as if they could see some malicious bastard laughing hysterically and mocking them.
They had both played games for a long time and naturally understood what this word meant.
Koneko's lips twitched slightly. A vein popped on her forehead as the fair hands gripping the controller bulged with veins.
Crack—
The controller shattered in Koneko's hands. Her once-calm eyes burned with unwilling rage.
She was mocked—and by a game, no less!!
This was truly intolerable!
"...Raiden Company's game designer is really something." Morizawa didn't feel any better being mocked by a game either. He glanced subtly at the broken controller in Koneko's hands and tried to persuade her. "How about we forget it? Don't let this hellish game make you angry. You can just keep both games."
It was his first time seeing a game company dare to put the word "Trash" directly into a game.
As a gamer, you can say someone plays badly—but calling them "trash"? No gamer likes that word.
Koneko looked down at the ruined controller, took a deep breath, and apologized to Morizawa, saying she would compensate him.
"I didn't complete your commission, so I can't accept the reward. I can't take your games right now."
Koneko rejected his goodwill. Though he tried to use the games to soothe her frustration, she was already locked in a battle with Sekiro.
She would not stop until she cleared it.
How dare it mock her for being bad at games—utterly unforgivable!
"Sorry for disturbing you tonight, Morizawa. I will definitely help you clear this game!"
Faced with Koneko's words, Morizawa only heard the first half.
Which meant Koneko was staying over tonight to pull an all-nighter playing games.
This was… this was… absolutely amazing!!!!
All the bad mood Morizawa had accumulated from Sekiro instantly vanished.
On the contrary, he was now feeling grateful to Sekiro.
This was truly a blessing in disguise!
Having Koneko stay over and play games with him all night was simply incredible—he was making a huge profit here.
At this point, Sekiro and Devil May Cry had already spread widely. Players of Devil May Cry were doing relatively fine, but those playing Sekiro, upon seeing the huge "Trash" character appear on the screen, turned green on the spot.
Even players with strong mental fortitude—those who died countless times—began to realize the malicious prank coming from Raize.
"Damn it! I'm being mocked by a game?!"
"Raiden Company, are you really okay with being this cheeky?!"
"Protest! Raiden Company is insulting ordinary players—this is too much!"
"A damn game completely wrecked my mentality. Raiden Company, your games are great, but you don't get to mock us!!"
"The razor blades are ready. I've already mailed them over!"