The Final Boss Has Returned – Episode 3
My entire body trembled like an aspen, and with bloodshot eyes, I fixed my gaze on the TV in the waiting room.
[Of course. He was the first formidable opponent I ever faced, so the impression still remains. But why do you ask about him so suddenly?]
[Over the past two years, countless celebrity users and illustrious rankers have returned to Arde Saga Second. Yet there is one exception. Steel Monarch Drakan is known to be the only one who has not returned. There are even internet rumors that he was sold off to a deep-sea fishing vessel.]
Thud.
The fish cake bar in my right hand fell to the floor.
Deep-sea fishing vessel!
That word kept circling in my head, dredging up horrific memories.
[If Drakan were to return and show the same ambition to dominate the World of Arde as before, what would you do, Mr. Yujin?]
[If Drakan ever came back and displayed such ambition, I would never forgive him. No, from now on, those like Drakan who torment innocent users will never be able to set foot in the World of Arde! If anyone is plotting such a scheme, they must heed my warning and clearly remember the precedent set by Drakan and the Ironblood Alliance.]
Grind!
My teeth gnashed together as if they would shatter.
My heart beat like mad, my blood rushed backward, and I began gasping for air.
Dizziness surged, and my head throbbed as if it would split apart.
A tidal wave of rage, vast as a tsunami, shattered the breakwater of calm and detachment I had forged through tuna fishing, crashing over my heart.
“Mr. Yujin is right. Thanks to that bastard Drakan getting taken down, we can still play the game comfortably.”
“But what’s Drakan up to these days?”
“Did he really get sold off to a deep-sea fishing boat?”
With my composure shattered, the voices of the waiting room passengers watching that bastard’s interview were enough to ignite a blaze in my heart.
‘He’ll never set foot in the World of Arde?’
My competitive spirit, which I had thought had disappeared. My soul as a gamer. My desire for revenge against Yujin, which I had believed I had forgotten and transcended amidst the grueling labor of endlessly catching tuna on a boat adrift over the vast ocean—all blazed up like wildfire in my heart.
Not play the game?
That promise was one that could never be kept as long as that bastard Yujin was alive!
I finally realized.
Detachment? Forgetting everything? Being faithful to reality?
Yes, those thoughts were nothing more than my mental victories!
They were a loser’s excuses, an ugly act of self-gratification to justify my defeat, and the failure of Drakan and the Ironblood Alliance.
If I did not step forward now, Drakan and the Ironblood Alliance would forever remain laughingstocks, mocked by people just like this.
And that bastard Yujin would reign forever at the pinnacle of the World of Arde.
The past years flashed by.
The memories of suffering while catching tuna, the salty scent of the seawater, and the cold sea breeze were still vivid.
I was no saint or Buddha who could sit back and watch the sight of that bastard Yujin—the root cause of my accursed hardship—living happily and comfortably in splendor.
If I saw that, I would grind my teeth even in my sleep, my rage exploding every single day until I died of illness.
‘This time, things will never go your way, you bastard!’
Until I pay that bastard Yujin back for every shred of pain I have suffered, with interest on top of the principal, I will never stop!
Steel Monarch Drakan, and the Ironblood Alliance.
I will carve those names into the World of Arde once more!
I made that vow and rose from my seat.
The game was truly beginning now.
* * *
On the KTX bound for Seoul, I searched for information about Arde Saga on a lagging old smartphone.
The last time I had played the game was six years ago.
I needed to know how the game had changed during that time.
[Over the years, our passionate developers at Miracle Entertainment have delivered creative and unique experiences through Arde Saga.]
[Within the ever-changing and evolving history of gaming, the footprints you left behind—whether you wanted to or not—have truly become living, breathing history, returning to you once more.]
[Arde Saga Second is set in the World of Arde one thousand years after the ending of Arde Saga. What events await you? You may look forward to it.]
[Arde Saga Second, soon to launch, aims for a world more real than reality itself, surpassing the previous installment’s concept of the fantasy everyone had imagined.]
[To this end, we have further developed the previous game’s systems and freedom, and introduced a great deal of groundbreaking systems and amazing new content.]
[An even more expansive world and quests! A hardcore system that doubles the tension! And even a Succession System that utilizes the heroic footprints you left in the world’s history in the previous installment!]
[All users starting Arde Saga Second will create new characters and begin their adventures anew from Level 1. This was an unavoidable choice to mitigate the gap between new and existing users and provide a high-quality experience.]
[But don’t be too sad! Existing users who enjoyed Arde Saga will receive very, very special Succession benefits upon character creation! Explore the newly born World of Arde with the nostalgia of the previous game!]
[Please leave your opinions on Arde Saga Second in the comments on the official homepage, and don’t forget to subscribe to the official Arde Saga channel on Arde Live!]
After looking through various pieces of information on the official homepage, including developer posts full of useless rhetoric, I was able to cram several changed concepts into my head, including the level reset the caster had mentioned on TV.
It had already been over two years since Arde Saga Second, the sequel to Arde Saga, was released.
With two years having passed in real time and six years in game time, it was safe to say that the entrenched veterans had long finished claiming all the ranker spots.
Since I myself had been a top ranker—a veteran among veterans in the previous game—I knew very well how difficult it was for a latecomer to reach the ranker’s position.
Even if I started the game right now, rising to a ranker’s position was practically impossible.
But it was close to impossible, not impossible.
Just look at that bastard Yujin—a latecomer who started two years late, yet he beat down all the existing veteran rankers, including me, and rose to the top, didn’t he?
In the world of Arde Saga, which holds infinite freedom, nothing is impossible.
More than anything, if Yujin could do it, so could I.
My lips trembling, this time I searched for information on Yujin.
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle!
To crush him, I had to know him first.
True to his status as a top ranker of Arde Saga, there was a wealth of public information about him, and I devoured it.
[Hero Yujin, Witnessing the Ending of Arde Saga!]
[(KingGodTV) Shock and Horror! A Game That Awards 100 Billion Won Just for Seeing the Ending?!]
The most eye-catching information was that he had seen the ending of Arde Saga four years ago, when I was aboard a deep-sea fishing vessel, and that the game company had paid that bastard Yujin a whopping 100 billion won as a prize for clearing the ending.
100 billion won!
While I was suffering hell from dawn till midnight catching tuna on the ocean, that bastard who had sent my life into ruin was awarded a fortune large enough to eat and play for a lifetime.
Suppressing my nausea, I quickly absorbed game-related information with trembling hands.
* * *
Having come up to Seoul, I headed to my parents’ house to greet them.
“You’re done with that game or whatever, right?”
Because my parents knew I had ruined my life with games, they spoke to me in worried voices.
“Yes. I won’t play anymore. I plan to rest for a bit and then look for a job.”
Feeling my conscience prick me, I had no choice but to lie.
At my answer, my mother and father wiped away tears.
“Yes, you must have suffered so much on the boat. Rest well, find a good job, and get married, okay, my son?”
Mother said, taking my hand—roughened by maritime labor—with her wrinkled one.
I held her hand in return, nodded, and swallowed my tears inwardly.
Our family had been dirt poor, and I couldn’t even dare to ask to be sent to college.
The first place I ever earned real money was the World of Arde, and that was how I became a dark gamer.
I became a guild leader, and further, through a treason quest, I devoured a kingdom, waged guild wars, and finally even briefly unified a continent.
In that process, I earned a lot of money, and except for what I reinvested into the game, I gave it all to my parents who had suffered to raise me.
With the money earned from the game, Mother was able to have surgery and recover her health.
Memories surfaced vividly of Father opening a decent franchise restaurant in a good location, and of both of them crying tears of joy, saying they were living the good life thanks to their son.
When I had incurred astronomical debt, the reason I readily left for the deep-sea fishing vessel was because this debt was mine, and I wanted to earn money with my own hands to pay it off and protect my parents.
My parents had tried to pay off my debt, but I had refused.
Because I could not bring myself to ask them for help due to debt incurred by my own mistake.
Thinking of that, I choked up.
But I could not go back on a decision already made.
And since I had failed once already, there would be no second failure!
Making that vow, I apologized to my parents inwardly.
I’m sorry, Mother! Father!
I’ll take down that bastard Yujin, and then I’ll be the son you deserve!
Having eaten home-cooked food for the first time in ages while swallowing my tears, I packed my things the next day and headed to the studio apartment I had contracted in advance.
Having arrived at the studio apartment, I did not start the game right away.
I needed to prepare first.
I paid to register at a nearby kendo dojo and gym. During the day, I loosened up my body through kendo and exercise, regaining my old senses. At night, I studied the changed game systems and various game information of Arde Saga Second with my nose to the grindstone, meticulously preparing for the game.
Thirty days passed thus, and the morning of the thirty-first day dawned.