The Final Boss Has Returned
Chapter 2
In the predawn hours.
Beyond the horizon thick with fog, the screeching cries of seagulls could be heard.
The now-familiar briny scent of the sea brushed past the bridge of my nose.
"Hey, Park Junpal. You really getting off the boat for good?"
A rough voice reached my ears.
I turned my head.
Into my view came a middle-aged man wearing a fluorescent jumper.
"Yes, Captain. I've paid off all my debts and earned enough capital to start a business."
Hearing my answer, the middle-aged man—Captain Kim—patted my shoulder.
"Yeah. You've worked hard, Park Junpal. And once you're back on land, don't even look at games. I've been sailing for over thirty years, but you were the first guy I ever saw get sold off onto a boat because of debts from some electronic amusement called a game, you know?"
At Captain Kim's words, I let out a hollow laugh.
Games!
That's right. The reason I'd boarded a deep-sea fishing vessel was because of that damned game.
And not just any game—the culprit was none other than Arde Saga, the world's first and only virtual reality game.
'Back then, I felt like I owned the world.'
I gazed at the distant sight of Busan Port drawing ever closer, lost in thought.
Arde Saga. In that game, I hadn't been just a user.
A popular user. And not just any named player—I had been a top ranker who reached the pinnacle of that other world called the Arde World!
My position in Arde Saga had been Drakan, Guild Master of the number one guild, the Ironblood Alliance.
But even so, I hadn't been able to hold that position until the end.
'If only it hadn't been for that bastard.'
Only one user had handed me defeat.
The Hero Yujin. That was him.
The bastard who suddenly appeared, spewing preachy nonsense straight out of a morality textbook about how controlling hunting grounds was bad, and threw down a challenge against the Arde World ruled by me and the Guild Alliance through a Rebellion Quest!
I myself had never imagined that his Rebellion Quest would succeed, let alone that it would topple the Guild Alliance, the Ironblood Alliance standing at its apex, and me along with it.
At the time, I had only recently seized control of the entire continent leading the armies of the Ironblood Alliance and the Guild Alliance.
Continental Unification!
The effort I had poured into achieving that Continental Unification—the final objective of the Overlord Quest, the legendary-grade chain quest I had been undertaking—had been enormous.
I had subjugated other massive rival guilds through guild wars beneath the banner of the Guild Alliance, and of course, to carry out those guild wars and the impending Continental Unification War, I had squeezed the in-game resources to their limits.
Yujin. The objectives he had pointed out to me—control over fields and dungeons, heavy taxes, and the like—had existed precisely to secure resources for carrying out the Continental Unification War.
To complete the Overlord Quest, I had thought at the time that there was no other way.
But the funds required for the war were enormous beyond my expectations, and in the end, to cover the shortfall, I had no choice but to borrow astronomical sums of money in reality to invest into the game.
Back then, I had been foolishly obsessed with the great feat of the Overlord Quest and Continental Unification.
If only I unified the continent and completed the Overlord Quest.
I had believed that trivial debts in reality would be paid off immediately with the money that would come from it.
Back then, I had been so stupidly crazy about victory, so blinded by desire, that I had been a madman willing to do anything for it.
After scraping together every penny I had and didn't have to that extent, I had actually succeeded in the Continental Unification.
But that was as far as it went.
My hegemony hadn't lasted even a year.
Yujin!
Because that bastard who appeared suddenly received a Rebellion Quest, gathered the strength of ordinary users to form a revolutionary army, and eventually toppled me, the Ironblood Alliance, and the Guild Alliance.
And so everything ended. I was defeated, and all that remained for me was the massive debt I had taken on, even resorting to loan sharks in reality, to fund the war.
That had been six years ago.
Six years ago, to pay off my debts, I had liquidated all my real-world assets and even my items, quit the game I had loved so much, and spent a year doing every menial job I could find, but even that was nowhere near enough to repay the debt.
So, in the end, I had no choice but to board a deep-sea fishing vessel to pay off my debts.
Five years had passed since I had been drifting on the sea catching tuna like that, and my age, which had been in the early twenties, was now reaching the tail end of my twenties.
I had wasted my golden youth on a boat paying off debts.
"Yes, I don't plan to even look at games anymore."
It had been Arde Saga, which I had loved so much, and a precious job where even a mere high school graduate like me could earn decent money and let my poor parents live comfortably—but now, just the name Arde Saga was sickening, nauseating.
I intended to use the money earned from the deep-sea fishing boat to open a small restaurant somewhere, just enough to put food in my mouth, and live out the rest of my life in quiet simplicity.
Gaming supremacy, rankers, hidden classes, guilds—whatever. I no longer had any lingering attachment to such things in my heart.
Because through the grueling tuna fishing, I had forgotten everything and found detachment.
Gaming supremacy? At the end of the day, you're only supreme inside a game.
Wasn't a life devoted to reality the true life?
"Yeah. Forget everything now and make a fresh start on land. You're still young and full of life, after all."
At my answer, Captain Kim grinned broadly.
"Captain is right. Mr. Park will do well wherever he goes."
Beside the captain, Hatsan, an Indonesian crewman I'd grown close to while working on the boat, appeared before I knew it, baring his white teeth in a smile and chiming in with awkwardly pronounced Korean.
I looked at them, let out a short chuckle, and turned my gaze back to the sea.
Busan Port, seen after so long—the Republic of Korea was welcoming me back.
* * *
Rattle.
Pulling my luggage-laden carrier, I arrived at Busan Station.
Since there was still time before the KTX bound for Seoul departed, I sat on a waiting room chair and ate a Busan specialty fishcake bar I'd bought from a shop inside the station.
Busan Station, visited after a long time, was still overflowing with passengers.
I sat in my seat and stared blankly into space.
Now I'd go to Seoul, greet my parents after a long time, show my face to acquaintances, and look for a place for a shop.
Just as I was continuing those thoughts about my future plans.
[It has already been the second anniversary since the release of Arde Saga Second.]
Such a voice flowed from the wall-mounted TV in the waiting room.
"Yeah, I don't play games anymore."
I muttered under my breath and deliberately ignored the story coming from the TV.
Games were what ruined my life.
Six years ago, after losing to that bastard Yujin, I incurred massive debt because of that damned game and had to work menial jobs for a year and spend five years on a deep-sea fishing vessel.
I had clenched my teeth and vowed countless times on that boat that I would never cast my eyes on anything like games again, that I would devote myself to life in reality.
So whether Arde Saga Second or Third came out, it was none of my business.
I steeled my wavering heart like that.
At that very moment as I was making that resolution in my heart.
[And so! For our 2nd anniversary special, SBC Games has gone to great lengths to bring a truly special guest here for our users. It is none other than the Hero, Yujin! Hello, Yujin!]
That bastard's name reached my ears.
My gaze had automatically turned toward the wall-mounted TV before I knew it.
My heart pounded as if it would burst.
I took a deep breath.
It's none of my business now.
Let bygones be bygones. I have to forget.
But I wanted to hear what that bastard had to say.
With that mindset, I fixed my eyes on the TV.
[Hello. I'm Yujin.]
[I've been a fan! I'm really happy to meet you! Could I ask for your autograph later?]
[Hahaha. Of course.]
As his unfairly handsome face—rivaling any A-list celebrity—appeared on the screen, cheers erupted from the speakers, and naturally, the people in the waiting room began to stir as well.
"It's Yujin!"
"God Yujin!"
"Our Yujin is so freaking handsome, isn't he? He's not even a celebrity, how can a pro gamer be that good-looking?"
"I'll admit that. And his personality is perfect too, so he's totally a cheat character, a cheat character. A human can't be like that. He's too perfect, it makes him less human."
"Wow! An autograph from God Yujin, I'm so damn jealous."
These trivial voices reached my ears.
My insides began to boil.
That bastard I would have loved to chew up and swallow whole had become everyone's hero, an apostle of justice.
I barely held back the dizziness rising from this damned reality.
It wasn't as if I hadn't anticipated this situation.
But the feeling of seeing the people's reactions and that bastard's appearance in real-time now was completely different from back then on the fishing boat, cut off from society and only catching tuna.
I chewed the fishcake as if gnawing on the flesh of a sworn enemy and swallowed.
It was to control the emotions that felt like they would drive me insane.
Whether that bastard knew my situation or not, his disgusting interview continued.
[When Arde Saga Second launched, all users' levels were reset, and there were predictions that control of hunting grounds and dungeons would revive, that the Guild Alliance would dominate Arde Saga again, but thanks to Yujin's efforts over the past two years, such predictions ended as mere unfounded worries. As a user myself, I really want to thank you.]
Beyond the TV screen, a beautiful caster pushed a microphone toward him, and that bastard opened his mouth with a serious expression.
[I simply did what was right. As long as I am here, the Arde continent will never again be ruled by an injustice like the Guild Alliance.]
Hearing his incomparably disgusting voice, my stomach began to churn.
[Yes, thank you for your answer. Ah, and Yujin. The Steel Tyrant Drakan—do you happen to remember him?]
And then.
At the sudden mention of my name, my heart began to pound as if it would burst.