Deep in the mountain range.
Beneath a peak not even named on human maps, a dragon sat in its nest, peering into a crystal orb.
The crystal orb resting on its claw was smaller than one of the dragon’s scales. Inside it, patch notes were scrolling by.
```
Ver. 4.1.8a — Flame Cannon Balance Adjustment
▶ Precious Metal Reinforced Barrel System Added
An upward attack power modifier will be applied
in proportion to the purity and weight of the precious metals
mounted on the barrel.
Compared to the baseline of an ordinary iron barrel, maximum —
```
The dragon read slowly.
Line by line.
After reading to the very end—
Hoo...
A deep, long breath leaked out.
From the neighboring nest, another dragon asked,
“What happened?”
“……Precious metals.”
“Precious metals?”
“The structure makes cannons stronger the more precious metals are used to decorate the barrel. The humans will begin gathering precious metals. Quite a grand work will be born.”
A brief silence passed.
Then from the neighboring nest, and the nest beside that one as well, similar breaths leaked out one after another.
The dragon set the crystal orb down with its claw and looked up at the ceiling.
To be honest, when it had posted asking for their appearance to be changed— even it had felt uneasy. It had not wanted to become cute. Truly. Really.
It simply could not sit by and watch the gazes of the Constellations shift toward wyverns. There was a dignity maintained by not revealing themselves for hundreds of years. But if the Constellations’ attention shifted because of one cute little lizard— it would be impossible for dragons to maintain their current stature, and they had to hold on somehow.
In the worst-case scenario, they might have to remain in human form to survive. Then they would not even notice if their treasure hoards were robbed right under their noses.
That was why it had made the post.
But what came back was this.
Precious metals.
The dragon closed its eyes.
Treasure. A reason for the Constellations to pay attention to dragons. If humans began scraping together precious metals, the dragons would have a pretext to move. Even if they revealed themselves, their dignity would not be diminished. Rather, it would grow.
They did not need to be changed into something cute.
That alone was enough.
The dragon in the neighboring nest muttered lowly,
“……The director understood.”
“It seems so.”
“It was good that we deleted the community post.”
“……Indeed.”
The dragon said no more.
The inside of the nest grew quiet.
Inside the crystal orb, the patch notes continued to scroll down.
---
```
======================================
■ Constellation-Only Community — Sponsor Lounge ■
[Viewing Restricted: Constellation Rank or Higher]
======================================
[Is the Precious Metal Cannon Patch for Real?]
— Flame of the Crimson Furnace
👍 214 👎 3 💬 178 comments
As someone sponsoring the dwarves, this patch is seriously exciting.
It gets stronger the more precious metals you stick on it? That old tinkering geezer
must be turning his workshop upside down right about now lol
ㄴ Frost of Dawn: I think the dragon side’s reaction will be even more worth seeing. If precious metals start circulating, do you think they’ll just sit still?
ㄴ Flame of the Crimson Furnace: That’s the point lol. If dragons come down, we get content where you hunt them with those insanely strong dwarf cannons.
ㄴ Jet-Black Curtain: If the patch director intended this, he’s pretty good. Is this really the same human who kept putting out bugs?
ㄴ Frost of Dawn: It’s the same human. He does provide dopamine, originally. The problem is that most of the time it’s because of bugs.
[Opposing This Patch — Position of a Top Dragon Sponsor]
— Lord of the Abyss
👍 9 👎 1,847 💬 603 comments
As someone who invested long-term in dragons, I officially state my opposition.
Everyone knows that if precious metals enter the market,
dragons will start moving. If dragons appear more frequently,
the probability of them getting caught also rises. There are
individuals I’ve painstakingly raised until now, so if they
disappear in vain, who takes responsibility?
This patch ignores high-tier sponsors.
ㄴ Pure White First Snow: But wasn’t this game originally that kind of genre?
Weren’t we supposed to play while taking losses into account?
ㄴ Lord of the Abyss: Taking something into account and neglecting it are different. Until now,
since dragons didn’t move, there was no chance to lose them.
ㄴ Jet-Black Curtain: Since there was no chance to lose them, it wasn’t fun either lol
ㄴ Wandering Starlight: Honestly, while sponsoring dragons,
since the dragons only stayed in the mountains and there was nothing to watch,
I was thinking about selling my account. I actually welcome this patch.
ㄴ Lord of the Abyss: That’s your choice. Isn’t protecting long-term investors
a basic part of operation?
ㄴ Frost of Dawn: If you invested long-term, then you enjoyed it for a long time.
Isn’t that protection?
ㄴ Lord of the Abyss: ……
ㄴ Flame of the Crimson Furnace: Did you not know when you started sponsoring
that Arcana Online is originally a genre where you’re supposed to accept it
when characters die?
ㄴ Lord of the Abyss: I knew. But dragons had no reason to die—
ㄴ Wandering Starlight: That was the problem. They’re supposed to be feared, but they just hole up, so there was no interaction lol
ㄴ Pure White First Snow: I only just started taking an interest,
but honestly, until now there was no dragon content,
so I hadn’t been able to sponsor them.
After this patch, I think I’ll consider it.
ㄴ Lord of the Abyss: ……
ㄴ Jet-Black Curtain: If you’re salty, quit lol. I was getting sick
of watching people do boring plays
with a boring meta anyway. Dragons need to move
for there to be something to watch.
ㄴ Lord of the Abyss: You don’t even sponsor dragons.
ㄴ Jet-Black Curtain: That’s why I can look at it objectively lol
ㄴ Flame of the Crimson Furnace: Lmaoooo
```
---
Jaewon closed the lounge tab and set down the crystal orb.
The reaction was... not bad.
“One top ranker’s sulking. If some of the other Constellations are dissatisfied too, they might not be able to say it because the mood makes them look like stagnant old-timers.”
“Is there a possibility of them leaving?”
“Hard to say.” Jaewon shrugged. “At that level, they won’t be able to leave because their investment would be a waste. The whole ‘if you’re salty, quit’ thing is right, because he knows too that the existing play was boring as hell. That’s what’ll hold him back even more.”
Log thought for a moment, then nodded.
“And.”
Jaewon tilted the crystal orb again and found the Pure White First Snow account.
Observing.
No sponsorship history yet.
But there was one more comment than before.
“The kid who was just watching has started moving.”
Log looked on quietly.
Jaewon covered the round orb he was holding with his palm and leaned back in his chair.
Not bad.
---
Break time was over.
The director of Arcana Online closed the Constellation Lounge tab and opened the status of the dwarf autonomous territory.
Market trends around the Boldur Workshop district flowed in.
Jaewon skimmed the screen, then let out a snicker.
“Log, look at this.”
“I am watching.”
The merchant district of the dwarf autonomous territory had split into two. One side was where the merchants dealing in weapons had gathered, and the other was where the merchants dealing in precious metals had gathered.
The weapon side was quiet.
Rather than quiet, it was despairing.
Merchants who had stocked up on iron cannons until now sat blankly in front of their warehouses,
and cannons without a single scrap of precious metal decoration had become unfinished mass-produced goods waiting for precious metals.
They could decorate them separately, but because they had scraped together every last coin to buy cannons, they had no money left for tuning.
The precious metal side was the opposite.
“They said cannons were more expensive than precious metals—!”
One dwarf merchant was shouting in joy while throwing around a contract transferring precious metal shares. Just a few days ago, because cannons were the trend, he had sold off his shares for cheap, saying precious metals were no longer needed. But as soon as the precious-metal-decorated cannon patch went up, the price of precious metals shot straight up.
The shares he had sold off were mooning right in front of his eyes.
Beside him, the precious metal merchant who had bought up those shares was quietly locking the warehouse door.
With a rotten smile, Jaewon tilted the crystal orb over his hand and muttered,
“Who threatened them into farming divine power for cash?”
“……Pardon?”
“No, I did open up cannon development. But what’s been my stance? I don’t do anything to the point of harming game balance. The market’s just doing that on its own. I’m not the one who made it happen.”
“In the end, it is because of your patch, Jaewon.”
“Making the structure and them misjudging things inside it are two different matters.”
Log said nothing more.
Jaewon rubbed the crystal orb and unfolded the full regional map of Arcana Online. The dwarf autonomous territory, the human lords’ residential zones, and the area around the dragon mountain range. His finger pointed to the three places in turn.
“Now...”
He scratched his head in thought and began organizing the situation.
‘Even just the first large-scale war to happen since cannon production began would be enough to open the Constellations’ wallets, but I’ll also be able to provide the oldbies with the dopamine of dragons, who always stay holed up, joining the war.’
Log was silent for a moment.
Then he slowly opened his mouth.
“……The situation is becoming interesting.”
Jaewon raised his head.
“What? Is that praise?”
“It is acknowledgment.”
Jaewon stroked Log and straightened his feathers.
“That’s basically the same thing. You’re seeing me in a new light, right? I’m the best Constellation game director, right?”
“That is not particularly...”
“Then get lost.”
Though his words were rough, he gently set Log onto the perch.
Jaewon looked at Log for a moment, then lowered his gaze back to the map. He suppressed the laughter that was trying to come out for no reason.
Inside the crystal orb, the price of precious metals in the dwarf autonomous territory continued to rise.
---
Jaewon took his hand off the map and stretched.
He could watch the dwarf prices tomorrow. This was enough for today. The precious metal cannon patch had settled in, the dragons had gained a pretext to move, and one Constellation who had been watching from the sidelines had slowly begun commenting.
Not a bad day.
It was just as Jaewon was about to set the crystal orb down on the table.
Ding—
It was a notification sound. Different from usual. Clearer, higher, and a sound Jaewon had never heard even once since taking this position.
The crystal orb’s screen turned white.
Jaewon narrowed his eyes.
Letters appeared.
```
⚡ A new Constellation has manifested. ⚡
```
And then—
Light burst forth.
Enough to fill the entire cabin. Enough to leak out through the hole in the ceiling. Enough to make him think it was a relief there were no windows.
Covering his eyes with one hand, Jaewon held onto the orb emitting the bright screen.
From the perch, Log covered his face with his wings and said,
“……Can you see the rank?”
“Seeing this light... they’re a killer whale.”
The light subsided a little.
Jaewon narrowed his eyes and peered into the screen.
There was a rank mark beside the account name.
It was not the diamond mark of someone who had been active for a long time, nor the star mark of someone who had spent a great deal of money.
There was a symbol he had never seen before.
“……Log.”
“I am watching.”
“What is this?”
Log slowly replied,
“It is my first time seeing it as well.”
The inside of the cabin fell silent.
Inside the crystal orb, the light was slowly subsiding.