The Final Boss Has Returned
Chapter 5
A smile crept to my lips as I vowed to turn Ard World into his grave.
The revenge I had so desperately longed for!
It was a smile of pure joy, born from the delightful fact that this revenge could be realized even more perfectly through the Hardcore System.
Yujin. Every foundation that bastard had built up in reality until now had originated from 'Yujin' in Ard Saga.
But if that Yujin disappeared from the game, everything he had built up through it would vanish like a bubble.
Just like me from five years ago, who had briefly unified the continent only to be defeated by Yujin, buried under a mountain of debt, and forced to board a deep-sea fishing vessel.
That was why, unlike the other users who were still complaining about the Hardcore System, I sincerely loved it from the bottom of my heart.
One shot for you, one shot for me!
What a system—one that reflected the very spirit of the times, realistic and incomparably equal!
'This is exactly what they call a god-tier game!'
Giving thanks to the developers of Ard Saga, I raised my Iron-Blooded Executor and hurled myself at the Dire Wolves chasing the users.
Monsters are EXP!
Monsters are items!
Monsters are gold!
Because I had not forgotten the Three Principles that governed Ard Saga.
Of course, the Dire Wolves in the combat tutorial didn't drop items or gold, but they gave EXP just fine.
So from now on, it was party time.
"Yipe!"
"Yelp!"
Every time the Iron-Blooded Executor sliced through the air, the piteous screams of the Dire Wolves rang out.
The sounds of dogs being butchered filled the tutorial area.
[Level up.]
Along with it, a pleasant notification window filled my vision.
Startled by my sudden rampage, a few returning users who caught on to what I was doing tried to follow my hunt. However, I caught glimpses of them falling behind in shock at my speed.
'This is the last of them!'
Having nearly slaughtered all the remaining Dire Wolves, the last one came into view.
"D-don't c-come near me! N-nice wolfie? G-good boy?"
"Grrrrrr!"
I mercilessly brought my sword down on the back of the wolf threatening the novice user.
"Yipe!"
The Dire Wolf let out a sudden shriek, but I mechanically brought my sword down until the monster died, and finally the wolf's body scattered into gray dust.
[Level up.]
Level up!
No matter when I heard it, this sound was always sweet.
So sweet that pleasure flooded in just from hearing it.
I closed my eyes, savoring the afterglow of the level-up notification, and grinned.
* * *
As soon as all the Dire Wolves disappeared, the second tutorial immediately followed.
[The interface tutorial will begin shortly.]
[Please listen carefully to the explanations that follow.]
[The status window is a window that displays your current state…….]
The second tutorial was really nothing special.
The interface tutorial was, quite literally, a segment for learning Ard Saga Second's interface. It explained functions like the status window, skill window, and party window, and all you did was open and close them on command.
Having already memorized the information beforehand, and with the interface not having changed much from the previous game, I waited for the final tutorial while listening to the tedious explanation.
[A dungeon gate will be summoned shortly for the final tutorial.]
[You may now use the party function.]
[TIP. Dungeon raiding is arduous alone. Form a party with fellow users and work together to clear the tutorial dungeon!]
How long had I waited like that?
At last, a welcome notification appeared before my eyes.
The final tutorial guidance window had popped up.
Dungeon raid.
A smile spread across my lips upon seeing that goal.
Since the notification window appeared to everyone, not just me, the users who checked the final tutorial's contents immediately snapped to attention and began forming parties.
"Looking for a party!"
That would have been fine.
Whether they formed parties among themselves or not was none of my business.
But the problem was that, thanks to the skills I had shown while beating up the Dire Wolves earlier, there were now more people bothering me.
"Hey, want to party with me?"
"No."
"Party with me. My brother is the Muwol Guild Master, so once the tutorial ends, I'll put in a good word for you……."
"I said no."
Truly, countless party requests were pouring down on me.
There were even users who brought up guild names I'd never heard of, but I put up a solid iron wall and refused to join anyone's party.
No, I didn't need to join.
Not only was there no user worth partying with, but I was confident that I could easily and quickly clear a mere tutorial dungeon alone.
I could take everything by myself, so there was no need to drag around the dead weight called party members.
It was at that moment—after my continuous cold and merciless rejections—that the users shook their heads and stopped approaching me further.
The space at the center of the plain where the users and I stood rippled, and soon a gate of blue light revealed itself.
[Dungeon gate summoning complete.]
The moment I confirmed the dungeon gate, I ran faster than anyone else and threw myself inside.
[Entering the tutorial dungeon.]
* * *
"It's a forest."
Having crossed through the gate, I looked around the surrounding scenery and offered a brief remark.
That's right.
I had dropped into a forest.
And not just any forest, but a dense forest where towering giant trees blotted out the sky and cast shadows across the ground.
It was a sight clearly different from the previous game.
In the previous game, dungeon interiors were labyrinths, decrepit ruins, or damp caves.
It was rare to see anything else.
And I, too, had grown accustomed to such environments.
But the dungeons in Ard Saga Second were a concept different from the previous game.
In the background lore of Ard Saga Second, dungeons were not transformed ruins, caves, or labyrinths imbued with mana, but rather a type of dimensional rift created when dimensions different from Ard World—the very world that served as the game's setting—overlapped with it.
The dungeon gate was the entrance into that dimensional rift.
This setting was reflected directly in the dungeon design, and thanks to that, the dungeons of Ard Saga Second were practically no different from small-scale special fields separated from the outside world, despite merely being called dungeons.
So, to sum it up in one sentence: the developers created forests and snowy fields, insisted on calling them dungeons, and were getting paid to do nothing.
'I had only heard of it, but this dungeon design isn't bad.'
Recalling the differences between the dungeons of the original and the sequel, I whistled, hefted my Iron-Blooded Executor, and trudged forward.
Right then.
Rustle.
The bushes stirred, and soon five Goblins leaped out, shrieking at me.
"Kiek! Kieeek!"
"Goblins! Jackpot."
A smile spread across my lips upon confirming the monsters' identity.
The place I was in was the tutorial dungeon.
It was a dungeon created with the intention of letting newbies experience dungeon functionality before the main game, Ard Saga Second.
Therefore, only one type of monster appeared in the tutorial dungeon, and I knew this very well, having studied such facts thoroughly in advance.
And the monster I encountered in this dungeon was none other than the Goblin!
Goblins were low-level monsters treated as fodder in various fantasy novels and games. While that was true here as well, that didn't mean they were monsters easy enough for beginners to handle.
Unlike beast-type monsters like wolves or foxes, whose AI was on the level of real animals, Goblin AI was designed to be fairly threatening and cunning, capable of employing rudimentary tactics.
Therefore, beginners usually formed parties to deal with Goblins, meaning the tutorial tip window's recommendation to form a party wasn't a lie.
Of course, that was a story for beginners. To an ultra-veteran like me, Goblins were so weak they weren't even worth a post-meal snack.
I looked at the Goblins and raised my Iron-Blooded Executor.
"Kiyaaaaak!"
The Goblins, seeing me, drew daggers from their waists and charged bravely, but I leisurely evaded their attacks and immediately swung my sword in retaliation.
"Kkeuk!"
"Kieeek!!"
The five Goblins collapsed instantly, then immediately turned to gray ash and vanished.
[Level up.]
Savoring the rapid growth notification—that perk of the early game—I checked the items left behind where the Goblin corpses had vanished.
Unlike the Dire Wolves in the combat tutorial, the monsters in the tutorial dungeon properly left behind items and money.
[Acquired 6 Cuper.]
[Acquired Goblin Dagger.]
While collecting such miscellaneous items, my eyes caught an item that would allow me to finish this dungeon quickly.
I picked up a crude whistle that appeared to be carved from animal bone and grinned.
[Signal Whistle]
[Grade: Common]
[Category: Miscellany]
[A whistle carried by Goblin scouts to call for reinforcements.]
[Durability 10/10]
That's right.
The item that would finish this dungeon was the Signal Whistle.
If I had this whistle, there was no need to tediously comb the entire forest beating Goblins one by one.
A new-concept dungeon hunt where instead of me going to the monsters, the monsters came to me!
To put this new-concept hunting into practice, I put the whistle to my lips and blew hard.
[Piiiiiiiiiiiik!!]
The sharp whistle echoed through the forest.
And before long, the sound of rustling bushes reached my ears.
The guests had arrived.
"Kiyaaaaak!"
"Time to collect the EXP!"
With a joyful heart, I raised my Iron-Blooded Executor and lavishly entertained the guests, then meticulously gathered the items and money they left behind before putting the whistle to my lips once more.
[Piiiiiiiiiiiik!!]
The sharp yet sweet sound of the Signal Whistle tickled my ears once again.