In the Land of Leadale - Vol. 4 Ch. 17

[deathmailrock]

Again, the ONLY reason "the kid" is being spared, is "because he's a fellow (Japanese) player". In-groups are human, Out-groups are sub-human. That is what annoys me on a cultural level. Take away that one magic excuse, and the inevitable and oh-so-annoying 'redemption arc' becomes impossible.

1st, while it's true she was able to notice it, it also just shows how advanced their video game tech really was.

Sure, some people could notice faster than others.

But that should be a reason for her to be more merciful. She herself should realize that he might have had chances, but it's still possible to miss it.

Plus, with his power, he could be used to do a lot of good for the world, because there is a good chance he's not an actual bad person.

2nd, the main reason he's actually being spared is because he was defeated and her granddaughters wants to try her legally (cause her granny wants her to take credit for it).

So the real reason he's spared is because her granddaughter got there in time... and he was stronger than the mob bandits so he didn't die instantly...

The only reason story wise is cause he was Japanese, but that's just because being Japanese gave our MC more time to talk and question him, giving time for her granddaughter to save him for a court trial.

So he's not actually being spared.

 

[MontDilanus1343]

The only reason story wise is cause he was Japanese, but that's just because being Japanese gave our MC more time to talk and question him, giving time for her granddaughter to save him for a court trial.

I edited that sentence in my post a bit after, realizing I was vague about who "saved" the kid. I clarified it was [the author saving the kid in plot-correction] -- not [granddaughter saving the kid in-universe due to acting in-character].

• [In-universe] I actually agree with characterization of "lawful good" granddaughter to save villains for punishment. Although it's a bit silly, since MC literally just explained they have no way to contain him -- and he could easily kill them all. ("Euclid/Keter/XK Class" SCP. Destroy it as soon as possible.)
  
  
• [Plot-correction] "The Plot" -- author or manga editor -- dictating "a (Japanese) child player not be punished" is immersion breaking and doesn't fit the narrative and theme of the manga. I'm guessing JP readers would write complaints to the publisher if "the kid" was punished/killed. (This isn't "Criminal Psychological/Drama" tagged.)

However I argue it would have been more morally dramatic -- and more consistent with themes of this Manga -- if she had contemplated this and took decisive action. And not literal "Deus Ex Machina" with a "slavery collar". (Another pet peeve of mine.) As soon as I saw the visible "poof" drawing -- I audibly groaned.

Especially since MC has already killed bandits, knowing they were real people, at the fort. All that character development just went "poof" too.

 

[Ven20]

That doesnt make any sense with how they explained their existence
They are characters she made and then adopted through some braindead mangarpg system

Game system makes characters family members > Isekai stuff made the world real > Family members are real.

 

[Kampfarsch]

It's literally her biological granddaughter...

And you want to kill her just because she wants to follow the law to punish the kid???

Do you have brain worms whispering in your ear? When the fuck did I say anything about killing anybody?

 

[Ven20]

Again, the ONLY reason "the kid" is being spared, (by the author for cultural reasons-- not in-universe by granddaughter for lawful-good reasons) is "because he's a fellow (Japanese) player". In-groups are human, Out-groups are sub-human. That is what annoys me on a cultural level. Take away that one magic excuse, and the inevitable and oh-so-annoying 'redemption arc' becomes impossible.

Think ya might be overanalyzing thing just cause the story didn't go how you wanted, if you want isekai stories where the Japanese isekai protagonist kills fellow Japanese isekai characters, they are out there.

It's not by law fictional character didn't die, it's by choice.

 

[Kampfarsch]

I'll limit it to this context; as one can hypothesize anything one wants outside this framework. ("Allegory Of The Cave".) I'll only cite what Manga author themselves has provided as context:

1. The MC here -- within five minutes of awareness -- realized something was amiss. The logout button was missing, contact support was missing.
   https://mangadex.org/chapter/4b241767-d733-4b62-98de-88b69fb26136/16
   
   
2. Within thirty minutes of awareness -- she recognized the physical sensations in the world were "too real". This despite being bedridden and heavily sedated IRL.
   https://mangadex.org/chapter/4b241767-d733-4b62-98de-88b69fb26136/26
   
   
3. I'm willing to ignore extreme unfamiliarity with environment and abnormal population issues; but even a moderate gamer knows when NPCs are missing or overpopulated in MMORPGs.
   https://mangadex.org/chapter/4b241767-d733-4b62-98de-88b69fb26136/27
   
   
4. Not even his racial characteristic of "not interacting with people as demon race" applies, as "the kid" clearly was interacting with the bandits and had a high-level character familiar with PKing and the game system.
   https://mangadex.org/chapter/b61af4d0-cf6f-49c1-99af-0d725f7da715/20
   
   
5. Although the AI did come in and tell her straight to her face, and we don't know how the VR interface alters time perception, there is ZERO way someone would fail to recognize they were trapped in an OS without an escape for months. The bandits were stated to have been there for a while. More than a few days.
   https://mangadex.org/chapter/4b241767-d733-4b62-98de-88b69fb26136/39

All put together, it's absurd to feign ignorance, or consider the excuse presented here.

But better yet; you don't have to. Even if you run around thinking reality is a "game", if you commit a "fake" series of mass murders, get tried in "fake" court, then executed as "fake" punishment -- it doesn't change anything. The kid still should have been punished in-universe. "It's just a prank, bro" is not a mitigating factor for leniency in punishment. Especially of this severity.

Again, the ONLY reason "the kid" is being spared, (by the author for cultural reasons-- not in-universe by granddaughter for lawful-good reasons) is "because he's a fellow (Japanese) player". In-groups are human, Out-groups are sub-human. That is what annoys me on a cultural level. Take away that one magic excuse, and the inevitable and oh-so-annoying 'redemption arc' becomes impossible.

I mean you are right but whats with this racist angle at the end lol.
They are "real humans" trapped in a world they know to be fictional.
Real now or not these beings are certainly "lower life forms" one way or another.

 

[deathmailrock]

Do you have brain worms whispering in your ear? When the fuck did I say anything about killing anybody?

Sorry, mixed you up with another comment....

 

[deathmailrock]

Especially since MC has already killed bandits, knowing they were real people, at the fort. All that character development just went "poof" too.

The issue was that he was the bandit leader.... and his main purpose was to show that there are other people stuck in the world too.

Also, I think the kid got the death penalty anyways...

 

[Gudachiz]

Because it breaks immersion when I see it, and I'm pretty worn over the trope of "saving fellow countrymen" as special and unique, above and beyond the laws and norms of the culture they're integrating to. I read Korean, Japanese, Western European, Chinese, French, Thai, etc. fiction. And trends emerge.

The strict in-group/out-group (you can literally draw circles and identify characters) highlights this. Take for example the bandits she literally trampled and gored to death with spiked stegosaurus -- a reverse Iron Maiden. Now look at how she treated "a fellow player".

• Are the "fellow player's" crimes any less horrific than the "standard bandit"?
• Does the Japanese legal concept of "under-14 juveniles being unaccountable for crimes" apply in an Isekai world legal system?
• Why is the author going to such lengths to show how "the world is real, these are her struggles integrating and accepting it"... yet immediately backtracks as soon as a "fellow Japanese" is introduced?

Her "kind humble forgiveness" may be viewed as a JP (fiction writing kept in mind, "customer" is JP readers) character ideal. However it breaks the immersion of a person being transmigrated into a foreign culture and land. I haven't read the source novel, but wouldn't be surprised if someone told me the Manga editor made Author change the plot to be more palatable for mass-market.

Same reason I am annoyed at "banzai Japanese rice" in Isekai fantasy novels. Equally as immersion-breaking as "McDonalds hamburgers in elven forests" in JRR Tolkien novels. I think JP author of "Bard Loen" is the only one that intentionally avoided this food-related trope -- as in that novel/manga, all the food is strange and fantastic. Suitable for a fantasy work. (He even eats his own horse as a sign of respect.)

So I have some basis for my claims.

pretty sure this is still over analyzing especially considering this is a very casual shounen manga
bro if you don't like it don't read it, easy, there's really no need to over analyze it

the story is very simple even if you break it down
also i do see that you keep dissing the Japanese too much in the comments section,
bro if you hate the Japanese just say it out loud man no need to veil it in "i think the Japanese are xenophobic by not deleting a literal child in the story who thought it was okay to commit murder in a video game, which turned out to be the real world" or "Japanese are very xenophobic and will treat you like shit if you're black",
like we get it, some of you westerners like to ride on the asians are racist towards black people(look at the mirror stop propelling your real world problems in your own country to others who has them at a vast minority compared to your own as if they're being treated so bad that its the worst thing in the world, Japan isn't CN, like look at the states, black people have been there for a long time and there's still a vast majority that treats them like shit, like is this some kind of intercontinental power trip for the sake of shitting on one country and over a topic that doesn't call for it?) and then proceed to completely ignore the many brown and black people living in Japan who don't experience that same xenophobia that you say.
does it invalidate the experiences of those people who do? no, but things like xenophobia and all that jazz are hardly a fair thing to point out when talking about a "FANTASY STORY AIMED AT 13 YEAR OLDS", let me repeat, the DEMOGRAPHIC IS AIMED AT 13 YEAR OLDS.

also don't diss rice "tropes" its not a trope, don't talk shit out of your ass without knowing how valuable a staple is to a group of people not just the Japanese. I as an asian who lived in asia and ate rice my entire life would be very happy too if i was able to eat rice after a long time of not eating it because i found myself in a place where its hard to find, non-existent or expensive. come back when you've done it for at least 5-10 years tell me again if you won't miss eating it after going to a place that doesn't sell it

 

[vidopnir]

I thirst for more, the raws are at 29

 

[xSauriaNx]

This is not her granddaughter.
Its the daughter of an NPC she made.
She has absolutely no relation to this person not societal or biological.

It is actually her biological granddaughter of Cayna not Keina. Only Kartatz the one not biologically connected to Cayna.

 

[Pokari]

thanks for the chapter,
soo the child stated that for sometime he feels more pain then usual, wouldnt that imply that he was in regular pain before the game thing happend?
also why would gms have such an item? when you normaly act like an ass or cheat in a mmo, you simply get temp or perma banned. i dont see the reason for the collar to exist as an gm item

From the start, it's been clear that the game has, uh, very unusual game design choices.

Like, don't ever think about the game design implications of "sell your second account slot to another character as an NPC" too hard, for instance.

It's not as egregious as some other imagined 'games' in the genre—none of these things would necessarily wreck the game outright, they'd just have very peculiar effects—but most of these special mechanics clearly exist for the plot's sake. (Which is probably okay, honestly?—there's a power fantasy in here somewhere, and truly sane and balanced game design is sort of at cross-purposes to that. The occasional hand-waving of "yeah these game devs made weird choices" is, I think, probably sufficient for decency's sake.)

 

[Intrigbagarn]

So clinical sociopaths and psychopaths who commit mass murder like Bundy and Dahmer should be forgiven and let go because they mentally didn't process what they were doing was evil.

Got it.

Oh come on. You speak like having the game you are playing becoming your actual reality is something that should be easy for the human brain to process and understand. Let alone a child.

 

[MontDilanus1343]

is something that should be easy for the human brain to process and understand. Let alone a child.

You actually bring up a very good point. And I'll concede on that.

• "How does (in-this-fictional-work) extended VR use affect the neurochemistry of adults vs children?"

We already see how video gaming/social interaction can alter/warp(?) physical and mental social interactions.
COVID sort of lampshaded this. A lot of kids who grew up with "remote learning" (videoconferencing) have weird habits.

It's possible the kid was a ""video game addict"" or ""ESRB banned / Doom violent video game"" dysplasia.
(I use those terms loosely since time has proven it's not that, and it was political hysteria of the 1990s.)

But if VR use by children (*in this fictional universe) really warps their mental development...
...psychologically, or physical brain development...
you are absolutely right there may be factors here not considered. Or a coping mechanism to being "trapped".

I still think he should have realized when the "Log Out" button was missing.
Even the longest WoW raid of 10 hours, I still had pee breaks. Unless VR has a catheter.
(Going back to "time dialation" question. And I doubt VR engineers would code "necessary bodily functions" for a game.)

Unless author gives those answers, I'll concede this point -- but still argue more worldbuilding is needed by author.

 

[Intrigbagarn]

You actually bring up a very good point. And I'll concede on that.

• "How does (in-this-fictional-work) extended VR use affect the neurochemistry of adults vs children?"

We already see how video gaming/social interaction can alter/warp(?) physical and mental social interactions.
COVID sort of lampshaded this. A lot of kids who grew up with "remote learning" (videoconferencing) have weird habits.

It's possible the kid was a ""video game addict"" or ""ESRB banned / Doom violent video game"" dysplasia.
(I use those terms loosely since time has proven it's not that, and it was political hysteria of the 1990s.)

But if VR use by children (*in this fictional universe) really warps their mental development...
...psychologically, or physical brain development...
you are absolutely right there may be factors here not considered. Or a coping mechanism to being "trapped".

I still think he should have realized when the "Log Out" button was missing.
Even the longest WoW raid of 10 hours, I still had pee breaks. Unless VR has a catheter.
(Going back to "time dialation" question. And I doubt VR engineers would code "necessary bodily functions" for a game.)

Unless author gives those answers, I'll concede this point -- but still argue more worldbuilding is needed by author.

I think most humans brains including mine would take it as a dream. A very Lucid dream but a dream none the less. Purley as a defence mechanism against psychosis and ego death.

When I was younger and played way to much i dreamt of playing the game. And this phenomenon is really common with all activities a human does alot. Now instead of dreaming about games i dream about my work after a laborious work week.

Now I dont really think this manga will take this subject on a deep level we are doing now. But if this was a real child, after his brain actually accepted this as reality it would most definitly go into psychosis and the childs brain would shut down and escape into itself. This is seen with most children that goes through something traumatic their brain cant accept.

Because no matter what this genre makes it seem like. If this actually for really realsies happend. It would be traumatic af.

Now I am not defending the manga characters action in the context of its story mind you. But if you want to apply real world logic and psychology, this would be the actuall result.

 

[tigerstar186]

So she meets another player for the first time and rather than attempting to ask him literally anything about the world or his understanding of why they are there or where he was before she was here, she just kinda... fucks off?

Remember when she was heartbroken in bed that all her friends were either gone or dead? This is a sign that isn't true. Why the hell does she just ignore it?

 

[DanYHKim]

It's basically a "Of Mice and Men" Lennie situation. He's extremely powerful and a huge risk to society, but he is just a kid. Personally I think not killing him was the right decision, because he didn't realize it was reality and not a game. Also with his stats reduced by 1/10th he should be able to be handled by the authorities.

I would be more pragmatic about it. Once the decision is made, if he is not restrained then further crimes of his are on her. The world doesn't need such challenges.

Edit: aah. Ok. She put on a collar to reduce his strength. I can work with that as 'due diligence '. The locals might lock him in a gibbet at a crossroads for a while.

 

[DanYHKim]

She's telling him why his anti magic defense isn't working! Why?

She should lie and say that she has a workaround, so he can't come up with an effective counter. Maybe even say that she made a one-time in game purchase to have a special skill.

 

[bearybrown]

So with that choker, the demonkin's overall stats should be around level 40s. Man, that is harsh.

 

[zerio]

Gonna drop major spoilers for current problems and way later explanations for anyone who cares. I'll be dividing them up though.

---

Spoiler: Players

From the novel explanations, Cayna is the only one who died outside of Leadale to get isekai'd. All the other players who are in Leadale where actually grabbed while they were playing the game. And either immediately dropped into the World or sent farther in time. There's actually a lot of players in the game. Some already having died of old age. But most seem to have adapted to this World. There already appeared 2 in ch 15. This kid is actually a freah appearance, hence his reaction.

---

Spoiler: Demon Kid

He isn't executed. But he actually does feel extreme guilt after Cayna's monologue and realizing it's not a game anymore. He ends up reforming pretty quickly but stays in the collar till way later.

---

These are extreme spoilers

Spoiler: About Leadale

The Leadale game was actually funded by Cayna's Grandpa/Uncle and worked on by one other, to be a place where she could have fun after the accident. They presented it to her 1st one day when they wanted her to "test" how it was going. In reality, Leadale was actually a real World, it got within spacial distance of Earth and they found a way to connect to it.
The reason why they had top players acting as admins was because most Dev time was actually spent on padding out the server to accommodate for skills and stuff to impose on the other World to make it easier to live. Also, the Devs where fixing spacial distortions that would appear every so often.

---

Spoiler: Opus and Cayna

Opus is actually a female who helped develop the game. She does have a Male Avatar though. Later, when he finally appears, Cayna's Kids think he's their father (she explained their father's personality similar to his). She quickly says it's actually his "brother" who is the father.
Cayna was actually already in this World for 200 years. But she wasn't conscious. What happened was, the Leadale Server was placed inside her because she was an immortal species. So any player who gets dumped into the World would still have their skills after Earth disconnets from Leadale spatially. Opus creates a new skill for Cayna to break the level limit in general. Cayna can also influence the server to implement anything she wants, but she's lacking in this department.

I have a question about Cayna

Spoiler

you said she was in that world for 200 years but wasn't conscious. Did you mean Cayna the avatar was sleeping the whole time? Or did you mean Keina the person wasn't in control of Cayna?
Because I have been wondering about how did she end up in that inn in ch1. She wasn't sleeping in that inn for 200 years, was she? And it doesn't seem like she was transported suddenly to that inn room because the owner acted like she was an actual guest who came the night before.
So, I thought Cayna the avatar (probably AI controlled) has been wandering for 200 years, then eventually she stayed at that inn the night before. And then Keina finally took over the avatar when she woke up.