The completely collapsed hut.
Jaewon stood before it, the Patch Notes held to his chest.
Smoke rose over the forest. Firelight cast long shadows between the trees.
Jaewon shifted the Patch Notes to one hand and rubbed the crystal orb.
> JAEWON
> The hut burned down
```
The parchment glowed, then vanished. Sent.
A moment later.
Letters appeared on the parchment.
> LOG
> How did the hut happen to burn down?
```
Jaewon wiped the index finger of his left hand on his clothes and scratched out a reply with his right.
> JAEWON
> The crystal orb overloaded and malfunctioned. I think the Patch Notes spewed out fraud reports in its place. The paper swelled all the way to the fireplace and caught fire.
```
He could feel the silence beyond the parchment.
It was brief.
> LOG
> Did my walnuts burn as well, by any chance?
```
Jaewon looked at the hut.
The fire was still burning. Somewhere in there was the pouch of nuts Log had collected. A small leather pouch on the shelf beside the table. The one Jaewon had occasionally stolen from, one nut at a time.
Jaewon scratched onto the parchment.
> JAEWON
> Yes.
```
The silence grew longer.
No words came.
Five seconds. Ten seconds.
Jaewon looked down at the parchment.
And then.
> LOG
> ...
```
Three dots.
That was all.
The same three dots came three times.
Jaewon stared at the parchment for a moment.
‘He’s holding back curses.’
He didn’t know whether Log even knew any curses. But he did know he was holding them back right now. Those three dots were that.
Jaewon waited for a moment.
Then scratched.
> JAEWON
> Sorry.
```
The parchment flashed.
After a moment, Log’s reply came.
> LOG
> It is all right. It is not your fault, Director.
```
A beat.
> LOG
> No. It is not all right.
```
Jaewon pressed his lips together and waited, and at last, after another beat.
> LOG
> ……In any case, it is fine. Will you be looking for another hideout?
```
Jaewon looked at the burning hut and scratched.
> JAEWON
> I’m thinking about whether I should. What do I do?
```
This time, the reply came quickly.
> LOG
> Find the problem that has occurred in the game before you find a hideout.
```
> LOG
> With that volume, it is likely a proper malicious false-reporting attack or a DDoS-type attack. We will have to investigate which world it came from to know for certain, but it is unlikely to end after one or two instances.
```
> LOG
> If the crystal orb is down, game monitoring is impossible. We are also in the middle of a war right now, and if patch responses are delayed, the Constellations may leave.
```
> LOG
> The game must not fail.
```
Jaewon’s finger stopped as he looked at that last line.
‘I know that too.’
> JAEWON
> I know. I’ll look into it quickly. That woman, how is she treating Penguin? It’s not too hot?
```
> LOG
> It is not hot. I will join you soon as well.
```
Jaewon peered into the parchment.
Snow-White First Snow must still be stroking Log. It couldn’t be easy to say he would join soon in that situation.
He scratched.
> JAEWON
> You don’t have to hurry. If they detect you, things will get more complicated.
```
> LOG
> I know. I will slip away as naturally as possible.
```
Jaewon stopped his hand and looked toward the crystal orb.
He closed the chat window and tried to open the piled-up notification list again.
The screen came on.
Jaewon exhaled calmly and opened a tab.
The war situation tab. The community tab. The Constellation status tab.
They opened.
The war situation was still running. Divine power was still coming in. His ranking was still 16th.
Just as Jaewon was about to move his finger over the tab.
A notification window popped up.
```
⚠ Unprocessed Report List
Total: 4,891 cases
Please review and process.
```
‘Ah.’
Jaewon closed his eyes as if resigning himself.
The number 4,891.
There was no way 0.891 report mails had arrived, but he sincerely hoped he had misread it and it was 4.891.
He accepted reality and opened it.
Soon, the crystal orb began to stutter again. Notifications were piled up. The report list was awaiting processing. The screen slowed. He tried to change tabs. It wouldn’t turn.
The crystal orb froze again.
Jaewon shook the crystal orb. There was no response. The screen was stuck.
‘……Again.’
Jaewon slowly looked down at the crystal orb.
Then picked up the parchment again.
```
The crystal orb is down again.
There are over four thousand reports.
```
Words engraved themselves into the Patch Notes.
```
Check through the Patch Notes.
```
> LOG
> There is a direct Patch Notes tab that can be used in place of the crystal orb. It is for emergencies, so you may not remember it, but it is in the third fold of the appendix tab at the very back of the notes.
```
Jaewon opened the Patch Notes.
The very back. The appendix tab. The third fold.
He unfolded it.
A tab appeared, densely filled with tiny writing. It was a page Jaewon had never seen before.
Direct Monitoring Tab. Emergency War Situation Check. A function that directly read the world’s status from the Patch Notes without the crystal orb.
The letters were small and densely packed.
Jaewon stood beside the burning hut and opened the Patch Notes.
Smoke rose above his head.
Firelight flickered over the notes.
Jaewon began to read the first line.
---
The sun set.
The charcoal glow of the burned hut flickered.
The hut was still burning. Jaewon crouched beneath a tree beside it and opened the direct Patch Notes tab. It smelled of smoke. Leaves rustled overhead.
Report list.
Total: 4,891 cases.
Jaewon opened the 120th.
```
[Report #0120]
Sender: Constellation account unverified
Details: A malicious user group is systematically slaughtering
heroes sponsored by new Constellations. Request immediate sanction.
Screenshot attached.
```
Jaewon opened the attached screen.
A village was burning. Residents were fleeing. Two beginner heroes who had been defending it had collapsed. Several black silhouettes surrounded them.
Jaewon checked the coordinates.
Northern Plains outskirts. Border area of the Demon Race territory.
‘…….’
Jaewon thought for a moment.
‘Isn’t this griefing?’
Heroes supported by new Constellations were being systematically slaughtered. A report had been submitted. There was even a screenshot. The material wasn’t fabricated.
Jaewon lifted his pen.
He was about to process the sanction.
Then he looked once more at the situation coordinates in the corner.
Northern Plains outskirts.
Demon Race territory border.
Jaewon slowly turned the Patch Notes appendix to the next page. World terrain tab. Racial activity radius tab.
Demon Race confirmed.
```
Demon Race (魔族)
— Activity area: Northern Plains outskirts, Dark Forest region, border areas in general
— Traits: Plunders nearby villages when there is a power vacuum. Especially when war breaks out,
opportunistic plundering behavior increases in areas outside the main front.
— Caution: When deploying heroes to villages bordering Demon Race territory,
there is a high probability of Demon Race targeting. See Chapter 4 of the early Constellation guide.
```
Jaewon read that line.
Then looked at the reported screenshot again.
The black silhouettes.
They were demons.
Jaewon closed his eyes, then opened them.
‘So it wasn’t griefing.’
The Demon Race had acted like the Demon Race. Originally, when war broke out, they were a race that looked for opportunities outside the main front. Right now, the dragon-dwarf war was in full swing. The eyes of the world were focused on the north. In that gap, the Demon Race had struck a border village.
It was completely normal behavior.
The problem was that the Constellation who had submitted the report had put heroes there.
Jaewon checked that Constellation’s account. He looked at the registration date.
Two days ago.
Jaewon paused for a moment.
They were new.
There was a Constellation guide. A basic manual for Constellations participating in Arcana Online for the first time. A twelve-chapter prologue. In the fourth chapter, they could naturally learn about regional risk levels and returns.
```
[Early Constellation Guide — Chapter 4]
■ Dangerous Region Notice
Demon Race border villages are high-risk zones.
When beginner heroes are deployed there, they may be exposed to Demon Race attacks.
If you wish to support that region,
we recommend trying again after sufficient development.
```
It was there.
It had been notified from the beginning.
Jaewon flipped the report over.
He searched the Patch Notes to see whether the relevant user had checked the guide.
```
Guide viewing status: Skipped
```
Jaewon’s eyes stopped for a moment.
Jaewon opened the response field in the Patch Notes. He considered writing with blood from the wound on his finger instead of ink, then remembered there was a half-full small ink container in his pocket. He took it out.
He dipped the quill pen and began to write the response.
```
[Response #0120]
Hello, this is the Arcana Online operations team.
We have reviewed the report you submitted.
The attack in question has been determined not to be caused by malicious users,
but to be normal in-world behavior by Demon Race NPCs.
The Demon Race is designed as a race that attempts
opportunistic plundering in border regions when war occurs,
and this is stated in Chapter 4 of the Arcana Online early Constellation guide.
The guide is official informational material provided upon participation,
and the matter was notified in advance.
For safer hero operation,
we recommend sufficient development before supporting high-risk zones.
Thank you for using our service.
```
After writing it, Jaewon read it once.
‘Feels like I wrote it too politely, but.’
He sent it.
He opened the next report.
```
[Report #0121]
Details: The item drop rate is too low.
Isn’t this an operational scam?
```
Jaewon read it.
“I can’t tell whether this is a rude new user or a DDoS attack.”
Then he opened the next report.
```
[Report #0122]
Details: The hero I raised with love was beaten to death because Split Arrow didn’t work.
```
“Ah, sorry. I gave compensation for Split Arrow not working.”