The Final Boss Has Returned – Episode 153
[You have completed the quest ‘Finale’.]
[All stats have increased by 344.]
[Your level has increased.]
[You have completed the quest ‘Ard World’s Counterattack’.]
[Your quest contribution rank is 3rd place.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
[All stats have increased by 533.]
[The reward ‘Heart Fragment of the Hive Mind (Legendary)’ has been granted to your inventory.]
Drakan dismissed the quest completion notifications popping up before his eyes one by one.
Having effectively reached the level cap, leveling up wasn't all that important, but regardless, having his stats increase was still a pleasant feeling.
Moreover, it was encouraging that he had ranked 3rd in contribution despite having joined mid-quest.
Considering that Yujin had taken 1st place and Ignis 2nd, it could be said to be an even better achievement.
[Phase 2, Broken World, has ended.]
With the final notification, the system fell silent.
‘Phase 3 hasn’t been unlocked yet?’
Drakan’s eyes gleamed.
Judging by the fact that there was no mention of Phase 3 opening, it was clear that, just as he and Yujin had accidentally stumbled into Broken World while raiding a dungeon, the next phase would only open once someone triggered the unlock condition for Phase 3.
“Lord Drakan.”
A voice reached Drakan’s ears.
It was Yujin.
Drakan stopped brooding.
There was no way he could find the trigger right this moment anyway.
‘I’ll have to tell Sin Ha-yeon to search for the trigger.’
Thinking so, Drakan fixed his gaze on Yujin.
“You’ve truly worked hard for this raid. If it hadn’t been for you, Lord Drakan, I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish it alone.”
Whether Yujin knew Drakan was thinking such thoughts or not, he spoke thus and extended his hand with a smile.
It was a gesture suggesting a handshake.
Drakan took Yujin’s hand and shook it.
“It was an achievement that would have been impossible for me as well had you not been there.”
Drakan spoke thus and smiled.
His words were not wrong.
From the beginning, the Hive Mind raid had been so horrifically difficult that it would have required the combined forces of all of Ard World, including Drakan and Yujin, to attempt it.
Of course, Drakan’s insides twisted just from offering such lip service, but for the grand scheme of rebellion, he still had to bend the knee to Yujin for now, and Drakan was not so foolish as to be unable to distinguish between public and private affairs, nor to ruin his plans with his own emotions.
“Then our alliance ends here.”
“Indeed.”
Drakan replied indifferently to Yujin’s words.
Drakan and Yujin.
Their unprecedented alliance ended here as well.
Yujin felt a slight regret at Drakan’s firm answer.
Drakan. He had certainly been his enemy in the past, but no longer.
The returned he was completely different from the past, and in this war, he had also been a reliable helper and companion with whom he had bled together.
Had it not been for Drakan, he would not have been able to secure the support of other forces in this war.
“It’s time to part ways.”
Yujin smiled faintly at Drakan’s words.
If possible, Yujin would have liked to continue with him, but he already knew that would not be possible.
So, regrettably, he had to let Drakan go now.
“Understood. Thank you for all your hard work. If the opportunity arises next time, let us meet again.”
“Indeed.”
Though he didn’t know if that opportunity would come again.
Drakan swallowed those words inwardly and turned around.
And so, the temporary alliance between Drakan and Yujin—the first of its kind—ended, and Drakan, who had withdrawn from Broken World, headed straight for the Floating City Voltaha.
* * *
Sky Harbor.
Unlike an ordinary harbor, I disembarked from an airship moored at a massive harbor set against a sea of clouds and an expanse of clear blue sky, together with Sin Ha-yeon.
Countless users were bustling back and forth at Sky Harbor, and at the Sky Dockyard beside it, a massive airship was under construction.
I muttered as I watched the sight.
“It’s really changed beyond recognition.”
Indeed.
As those words suggested, the Floating City Voltaha had truly changed beyond recognition.
The Floating City Voltaha, which had been a ruin in a desolate wasteland back when I came to do the quest, had transformed into a proper city in the time I had gone to and returned from Broken World.
“Indeed.”
Beside me, Sin Ha-yeon whispered in a sweet, sing-song voice.
I smiled at her agreement and spoke.
“Well, with the astronomical amount of money poured into it, it would be stranger if it hadn’t changed.”
The money invested in restoring the Floating City Voltaha to normalcy was astronomical!
So it would be stranger if it hadn’t changed.
Thinking thus, I slowly strolled through the floating city with Sin Ha-yeon.
It wasn’t just the harbor that had changed in Voltaha.
The collapsed Castle Voltaha had been rebuilt in a form nearly identical to its former self and stood majestically, and the Steel Palace, which had borne the clear marks of time, also welcomed me in a renovated state.
Receiving greetings from users and sometimes taking selfies with them, I leisurely entered the Steel Palace.
“It’s returned to its old appearance.”
I smiled as I gazed at the Steel Throne, glittering under the lights.
The Steel Throne.
The throne of the Hegemon King, from which I had commanded the entirety of Ard World in the past.
That seat had finally regained its original form.
I slowly climbed the stairs, seated myself upon the glittering throne, and called up the management mode.
[Aerial Mobile Fortress Upgrade]
Aerial Mobile Fortress Upgrade!
Without hesitation, I pressed the button beneath it, which displayed astronomical amounts of gold and consumed materials.
[Will you execute the Aerial Mobile Fortress Upgrade?]
Perhaps because it was an upgrade requiring outrageously expensive materials, a confirmation window appeared once more.
“Execute.”
Without delay, I dismissed the confirmation window.
All the materials, including the Essence of the Hive Mind, had already been secured with Sin Ha-yeon’s assistance.
[Executing Aerial Mobile Fortress Upgrade.]
[Time remaining: 30 days]
A notification appeared stating that the Aerial Mobile Fortress Upgrade was being executed, along with a brief message.
I smiled in satisfaction as I read the message, then swiped my hand to dismiss the notification.
All that remained now was to wait 10 days in real time, or 30 days in game time.
And I had no intention of wasting that time.
“Is the fortress upgrade finished?”
“Yes.”
I nodded at Sin Ha-yeon’s question.
“Then you must go to your next appointment now. I’ve already booked the plane ticket.”
“Let’s do that.”
Listening to Sin Ha-yeon’s words, I logged out right then and there.
Now, it was time to head to the next appointment.
* * *
Shanghai, China.
A major metropolis considered one of China’s finest and the center of the Chinese economy, situated on the eastern coast with the Oriental Pearl Tower rising tall in the heart of downtown.
The Shanghai Tower, the tallest skyscraper here, was home to the headquarters of Xiongmao Group, a colossal Chinese conglomerate that dominated the entire Chinese IT market, from portal sites to mobile messengers to internet shopping malls.
The Sky Lounge of Shanghai Tower.
At this place overlooking the entirety of Shanghai, a secret meeting was currently taking place.
“To what do we owe this meeting?”
Wang Liwei, chairman of Xiongmao Group, sat facing the two visitors who had come to Xiongmao Group and spoke thus.
Wang Liwei.
Having just entered his fifties this year, he was the very man who had built Xiongmao Group, a colossal Chinese conglomerate, from scratch.
And the one receiving Wang Liwei’s gaze was none other than Sin Ha-yeon.
Sin Ha-yeon.
There was no one in the business world who didn’t know that she had driven out her father and brothers who refused to acknowledge her, and seated herself as the de facto chairman of Jeil Group.
Especially since Jeil Group was a massive corporation that practically dominated Korean media and entertainment, leading the Korean Wave including K-pop, Wang Liwei—a Chinese tycoon closely connected to the Korean Wave—could not possibly fail to know of her.
“It’s regarding Ard Saga: Second.”
Ard Saga: Second.
At the mention of that name, Wang Liwei’s eyes sharpened.
People who still considered Ard Saga: Second ‘just a game’ were nothing but relics of a bygone era.
Ard World.
People had already realized the infinite possibilities of that world, which was no different from another reality.
The fact that Wang Liwei had created Xiongmao Esports and provided full-scale group-level support was proof that it was no mere hobby of the chairman.
And Sin Ha-yeon had long been well aware that Wang Liwei harbored an interest in Ard Saga: Second far beyond a mere hobby.
For the sake of her goal to conquer Ard World, it was only natural for her to have identified other potential competitors besides Yujin beforehand.
“Do you intend to maintain your alliance with Simseong Group?”
Sin Ha-yeon smiled and spoke to Wang Liwei.
Simseong Group.
More precisely, Sin Ha-yeon’s question was whether they intended to maintain the alliance currently formed between Simseong Iron Stars and Xiongmao Esports.
“That is a difficult question to answer at present.”
Wang Liwei spoke thus and smiled, sipping the tea placed on the table.
The aroma of Pu’er tea, a specialty of Yunnan Province, filled the Sky Lounge.
Sin Ha-yeon smiled as she observed Wang Liwei’s composed demeanor.
“Let me cut to the chase. I have come here to obtain the assistance of Xiongmao Esports.”
“Do you think we would accept such a proposal?”
Wang Liwei clicked his tongue at Sin Ha-yeon’s words.
Drakan.
He, JDG, and by extension Jeil E&M and the Dark Alliance, were not in a mutually beneficial relationship with Xiongmao Esports.
Had that been the case, they would never have formed an alliance with Simseong Iron Stars from the start.
But suddenly, assistance?
Rather than finding it absurd, Wang Liwei was bewildered as to what Sin Ha-yeon was thinking, saying such a thing.
The Sin Ha-yeon he knew was not someone who would make such an irrational move.
Had she been otherwise, she would have been unable to cut down her brothers and even her father, the group head, while laboring under a handicap in the internal family power struggle.
It was proof that Sin Ha-yeon, despite being younger than him, was not an opponent to be underestimated.
‘She has an angle.’
Wang Liwei’s eyes gleamed.
Observing such a Wang Liwei, Sin Ha-yeon smiled and spoke.
“As expected, it seems words alone won’t suffice. Lord Drakan will have to speak on my behalf.”
He flinched.
At Sin Ha-yeon’s words, Wang Liwei’s eyebrows twitched.
Words alone won’t suffice?
Passing the conversation to Drakan out of nowhere?
What in the world was going on all of a sudden?
The gazes of Wang Liwei, seated in his place, and Wu Jing, sitting beside him, simultaneously shifted to Drakan, who was seated next to Sin Ha-yeon.
Receiving the gazes of Wu Jing, Wang Liwei, and Sin Ha-yeon seated beside him, Drakan quietly pushed a document across the table toward them.
And the faces of Wu Jing and Wang Liwei, who examined the document, stiffened rigidly.
“Airship carrier function? Top-grade mana barrier?”
“Enemy detection within a 5,000 km radius?”
There was a single screenshot in the document.
The problem was that the status window in that screenshot contained specs that were nothing short of astounding.
They were the specs of the Aerial Mobile Fortress Voltaha.
Drakan’s cold voice reached the ears of the astonished Wang Liwei and Wu Jing.
“We haven’t come to ask for help.”
Gazing at their astonished expressions, Drakan continued.
“We’ve come to give you the opportunity to help us.”