To anyone who's curious about the expired soybean paste, it was talked about on ch17. And yosh! Bada's college major adds support to my theories (๑•ㅂ•)و✧
https://www.mangago.zone/home/mangatopic/18390003/
Hey everyone! It's me again (●'◡'●)ﾉ As promised, I've updated the google docs https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fyfND0KcEKCLjX-4X9l66b9U6diWfaakpy1NOWcA8mY/edit?usp=sharing all new information from Season 2 are now added. I hope this helps in piecing the clues together. Have fun theorizing!
You can follow this thread to get notified whenever I update the docs
Omg u r amazing! Thank u!
uwu you're welcome!
Revision:
1. Clarified in Events--Season1--#13 that Doha has turned into an NPC to explain the unusual behavior:
Bada sees Doha kill the villager NPC from the attic window—something that shouldn't happen in the usual gameplay so he tags it as an anomaly (ch1). WHAT HE DOESN’T KNOW IS THAT DOHA HAS TURNED INTO AN ACTUAL NPC AND IS MERELY FOLLOWING THE REAL NPC SCRIPT
2. Added Doha1.0 and Doha 2.0 in Nam Doha's character description:
(DOHA 1.0 - FROM THE EARLY GAMEPLAY UNTIL BEFORE SEONGCHAN REMOVED His TAPE)
- Authority figure who strives to solve every situation
- Type of character that usually dies on his way to get help for someone else
(DOHA 2.0 - FROM SEASON 1 ONWARDS)
- Has a broken moral compass
Holy genius brain reading this make me understand more thanks bb(づ￣ ³￣)づ
Once again, thank you! Reading the updates to this will make the wait for S3 shorterT^T
I need to read at least 2-3 more chapters when season 3 drops to come up with a solid theory, but for now, here’s my rough idea. Even though it was revealed that Bada is an NPC, I think he might actually be a real person outside the game. There are a few things that make me think this:
- Bada is "a horror fanatic" (author's note)
- "He knows a lot about horror games" (Doha, ch53)
- "Bada playing the game was better than they imagined. In fact, it was like Bada was born to be a gamer" (Seongchan, ch53)
THEORY#4: BADA AS THE GAME DEVELOPER
Since this is just a theory, I’m going to be liberal with my imagination lol. I think Bada is actually the developer of Dreadful Night or at least someone with higher access to the game than the other players. If Bada, or the real person behind him, is the creator, then maybe he designed the game and got his friends (Doha, Seongchan, Yeongtaek, Hyungshin, and Jaeseob) to playtest it. And since he’s a huge horror fan, he probably thought it would be fun to put himself into the game. But here’s the thing. Why can’t Bada kill the killer when actual players can? To maintain a challenge and prevent any unfair advantages, he deliberately set himself as an NPC instead of a normal player. If you think about it, if he played as a regular player, he would already know the lore, hidden items, and strategies to beat the game, which would defeat the purpose.
There’s also a small detail that might be a hint. In Chapter 1, Bada’s shirt has Bloodbath written on it. Since Pi Bada's name literally translates to bloodbath, this could be a subtle Easter egg left by the game developer himself.
Then there’s the memory loss thing. In Chapter 53, it’s mentioned that Bada didn’t have any memories at first, but then he started making his own. That could mean he’s more than just a game character. Something must have gone wrong at some point. Maybe when someone enters the game, they lose all their memories of the outside world. If the first person who entered never came back, maybe someone else was sent in, and then another, until eventually, the developer himself ended up inside the game as Pi Bada and lost his memories too. This could explain why no one remembers how they got into the game in the first place. I reread the series, and none of the characters talk about their lives outside the game (it's not confirmed that everyone lost their memories tho). The only one confirmed to have no memories is Bada, who talked about it in Chapter 11.
One more thing I noticed. On the game’s case cover, there’s a small text in the top right corner that says HISTORIOGRAPHY. I don’t know much about gaming, so I have no idea if this is something that usually appears on game covers or if it's actually significant. If anyone knows, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
THEORY#5: BADA AS THE BETA TESTER
Rather than being the developer of Dreadful Night, Bada might have been the first beta tester, the original player who got trapped in the game before anyone else. Over time, he could have lost his real identity, become rewritten as an NPC without his full awareness
Unlike the other players, Bada doesn’t seem to have full player freedom. While actual players can fight back and make choices, his actions might be restricted by the game’s programming rules, preventing him from interfering in certain mechanics. This could explain why he can’t kill the killer even though others can.
His true memories might still exist, but the game could be suppressing them, keeping him locked into his NPC role. If he really was the first tester, then the game might have rewritten him as part of its system, trapping him in an endless loop where he no longer knows he was ever a player in the first place.
_ _ _ _ _
Theory 1: https://www.mangago.zone/home/mangatopic/17123887/
Theory 2-3: https://www.mangago.zone/home/mangatopic/17824636/
Google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fyfND0KcEKCLjX-4X9l66b9U6diWfaakpy1NOWcA8mY/edit?usp=sharing
omg i love both of your theories sm !!!
Commenting to stay in this thread
Thank you!! I've also updated the google docs now, so the info is up to date with the latest chapter of season 2 ( • ω • )✧
you can also hit the [Like] button and then you will be able to save and access it from your profile in the Favorite tab :>
https://www.mangago.zone/home/people/1537855/favorite/
Ooh makes sense, but what if he's really an NPC, but a self insert of some sort. Like as you said the developer might've self insert himself as an NPC, so technically not playing but it's a self insert of himself not as a player but NPC.... Just spouting nonsense here cuz I too really wants for Bada to be a real person just like them, but at the same time the it's sad to think of the NPC Bada gaining consciousness and getting stuck in the game cuz he's an npc ╥﹏╥
Commenting for updates.
Also I've saying from the start bada is probably someone imp. Gotta reread the whole story or smth
Hey yall I put together these notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fyfND0KcEKCLjX-4X9l66b9U6diWfaakpy1NOWcA8mY/edit?usp=sharing
I fully understand the story so if you have questions or if you need clarifications, just drop your questions below. Also if you have suggestions and theories you want to add in the doc, feel free to send them!
Thank you for making a doc, I also had plans but didn't have time for a reread The story is just so good and intriguing XD to think we still don't know everything! I kinda want another plot twist of Bada being a previous player trapped by a glitch in the game just so we can have a possible happy end #－.－)
Im now in ch127 and I still can't read the emperor's true personality. I mean I get that he's greedy and he's after what will give him more power and benefit. It's just that he's presented as someone with malicious intent but always decides to do things that are somehow for the best interests of Perez and the Lombardis. It throws me off everytime. Is it like a "your enemy's(empress) enemy(perez/the Lombardis) is your friend" situation? Why is he doing things as if to spite the empress though? I mightve missed that part
From my understanding, he’s trying to make sure the two powerful families stay under his control. His main focus is power and to keep it, he needs all the noble families to bow down to him. By creating conflicts between the two families, he makes sure that they both still have to ask HIM for favours so HE gets the final say. Obviously he’s pretty stupid so things don’t end up going his way and he gets pushed around a lot, but his intentions are still just to control everything around him.
Following the revelation in the latest chapter (as of ch53), my questions still remain, and I've added a few more:
What is the game's true purpose?
How are Doha and the others connected to the game's creator?
[ANSWERED] Are Bada and the others real people outside the game? Or are they simply just players/characters in the game that became sentient?
Bada is the only NPC in the game, while the others (Doha, YongTaek, Seongchan, Bae Hyungshin) are actual players.
Why and how did they become trapped in the game?
Since this follows typical game technicalities, does this mean there’s a way to hack the game so that NPCs can escape as well? (an NPC was able to become a player, so maybe it's possible??)
What's the direction of the plot? Is it sci-fi (virtual reality world), fantasy (they were transported into the game), or something more spiritual (like purgatory, where the game acts as a dream-like state, and each character/player represents a deeper meaning or unresolved issue in the main character's life)?
Previous Theories
- Theory 1: https://www.mangago.zone/home/mangatopic/17123887/
YUP CALLED IT (๑•ㅂ•)و✧
- Theory 2-3: https://www.mangago.zone/home/mangatopic/17824636/
In hindsight, it was too obvious that the author wanted us to 'deduce' that Doha is the one who's an NPC. It was a red herring to throw us off from the fact that Bada is the actual NPC.
First time reading this and so far Im loving it! Just curious though because I dont want to spoil myself by reading the comments.. Does anyone else find Jeanette annoying?
this is my second time reading it, and yes i really do find her annoying, but i just keep reminding myself she’s a kid, and FL is more mature bc technically she’s an adult, and she just wants to be loved and be with who she thinks is her family. the whole story she’s literally being manipulated left and right, but ur not alone thinking that tho lol
I bet your already completed with the reading but ye evn during when it was ongoing, the HATE on Jeanette was just wow. Everyone tried to understand that she's still a kid but her behaviour all round was just arghh annoying af.
And I bet my username sound familiar bcoz ya ╮(￣▽￣)╭ I just replied to your comment under my comment a few mins ago ლ(´ڡ`ლ)bcoz I'm back here after completing "blood link" for the 6th time and back to re-read this for the 5th time.ヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉ~
You’re a genius.
Can anyone help me find where the soybean paste’s expiration date is mentioned, other than in Chapter 17 (where it was expired for two years)?
If the expiration date changes over time, that would mean not everything resets completely. Even though the players think the game is stuck in an endless loop, time might actually be moving forward in some way. But it could also mean that only certain objects don’t fully reset.
On the other hand, if the expiration date is always the same, then the game might be fully rewinding reality every time. Or maybe some objects just stay frozen while everything else resets.