◈ Episode 200. Whether It Is a Mountain Range or the Sky, I Simply Climb
Thursday.
AAU.
The moment the appointed time passed.
Seong Hyeonjun let out a long groan.
“Seriously, how long has it been, sunbae?”
Regular update details: none!
For a while, regular updates hadn’t been enough.
Arcana had been pouring out emergency updates on top of them.
He had no idea what had brought about this sudden change, but still.
“Thank you, Raymon Sean.”
Muttering, Seong Hyeonjun hurriedly packed his bag.
“I can’t even remember the last time. Getting off work on time on a Thursday.”
But for some reason.
Yun Sugyeom, who should have been playing along, gave no answer.
Why was it that ominous premonitions were never wrong?
Seong Hyeonjun looked at him and nearly jumped out of his skin.
“……
Sunbae, what are you doing right now!!”
“Hm? What do you think? Working.”
“No, is this the time to work? We should be celebrating first!”
His already diligent sunbae had become even more diligent lately. Thanks to that, the one getting tired along with him was the person sitting next to him—Seong Hyeonjun himself.
After all, even Branch Manager Park had been tossing comments his way whenever he passed by.
-“New recruits these days, I tell you. They’ve got no fighting spirit.”
What followed was a dreadful sermon.
Fine, since it was the words of his sunbae and his boss, he would try to listen.
Even when he tried to listen with the pride of a new recruit, he simply couldn’t.
Because the very premise was unfair.
Where in the world was there such a thing as a new recruit with n years of experience!
The hiring condition for AAU?
There was only one.
That you had worked at Cosmo back when Arcana was nothing more than a game.
But with Raymon Sean’s disappearance, Cosmo had gone under, and there was no way a defunct company would hire new employees.
“No, sunbae! Does it make sense for me to be the youngest forever?!”
Whether back then, now, or in the future.
It meant Seong Hyeonjun had no choice but to remain a new recruit for life.
His resentful gaze turned toward Yun Sugyeom.
“Are you going to be harsh on me too, sunbae?”
“What have you been going on about since earlier?”
“Why are you voluntarily working overtime, sunbae!”
Why else would he work overtime?
Screech—
Yun Sugyeom pulled his chair in close.
Sitting with his back straight, he said,
“The pride of an assistant manager.”
“Ah, seriously!!”
“Haha, I’m joking. We should at least do something.”
Yun Sugyeom gestured with his chin.
Hundreds of monitors.
On them were images of players.
“Don’t you feel like this is the first time you’ve seen them like that too?”
Even if the regular update hadn’t appeared, the players hadn’t stopped.
They were continuing their hunts throughout the Zero Mountains.
Yun Sugyeom continued.
“They’re all more serious than ever.”
It was different from before.
There was no trace of laughter on the players’ faces.
Whether it was because of the danger of the Zero Mountains.
Or because of their pride as players.
There was no way to know.
But watching them……
Yun Sugyeom looked down at his own chest.
“It pricks at my conscience.”
At those words, Seong Hyeonjun looked around.
Apparently, sunbae wasn’t the only one thinking that.
Work hours had already long since passed.
Yet not a single person had left their seat.
Constructive conversations could be heard from all over.
“What about the named mob patterns? Did anything come up?”
“Yes, we did find unique pattern values by race, but…… I can’t be certain whether they apply to the mobs in the Zero Mountains too.”
“That’s enough. We’re not the ones who make the judgment. The players are.”
Thud—
In the end, Seong Hyeonjun collapsed back into his seat.
“Yes. I guess I have to do it. As the youngest for life.”
His sunbaes had always seemed infinitely frivolous.
Apparently, that had all been a misunderstanding.
‘……No.’
Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that only now had they recovered the dignity of the sunbaes who had seemed as high as the heavens back in their Cosmo days.
“Why aren’t you leaving?”
“It’s fine. With how many years I’ve been here, I don’t want to act like a new recruit either.”
“Really? Then can I ask you to take care of this?”
“What is it?”
He had already been wondering what to tackle first anyway……
Seong Hyeonjun checked the link Yun Sugyeom had sent.
What popped up was an image file.
“A lizard……? No, this is a dragon, right? Wings!”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Hold on. You’re leaving a dragon to me?”
For some reason, the dragon’s size was rather modest, but still.
A dragon, out of nowhere.
The final boss, out of nowhere.
This really wasn’t content suited for a new recruit.
“Sunbae, this is a bit……”
Just as the burdened Seong Hyeonjun was about to object.
Yun Sugyeom sent additional materials.
What was written in the material was none other than a class list.
“What’s with this wall of text? There really are a lot, now that I look at it again.”
“Right? Even if you count only combat classes, there are thousands.”
“But why are you sending this to me too?”
And together with the dragon-related file, at that?
“Because the Zero Mountains appeared, obviously.”
“If it’s about dragons, that’s still a long way off.”
“That’s exactly why we need to gather information in advance starting now. Of course, there might also be players who need information related to dragons right away.”
“Huh? Who?”
“Who do you think? Pick just one from that class list.”
“From the class list…… Ah!”
At those words, Seong Hyeonjun remembered.
Among Arcana’s countless classes.
One of the barely hundred or so hidden classes.
[Dragon Knight]
Its existence.
“Skal!!”
Click.
With the click, information on Dragon Knight appeared.
From the class-change conditions to the outline of the class quest.
He felt it all over again.
The world was wide, and there truly were all sorts of people.
“How did Skal break through these conditions and change classes?”
“Are players ordinary people? In the early days after launch, there were even people who swung wooden swords for days just for a single Strength stat. Well, it’s not strange that at least one person existed.”
“I suppose……”
Seong Hyeonjun nodded.
Good. Since some of his questions had been answered.
Should he slowly get started?
Then he immediately placed his hands on the keyboard.
“So…… what you want, sunbae, is an option where humanity and dragons don’t clash, right?”
“Our little schoolhouse dog really does understand with just one hint, huh? Well, maybe in the truly distant future it would be different. But as things stand right now, there’s no chance of winning. Even if Mr. Hoyeol steps in……”
“Right. If one were to wake up and even just flap its wings, the damage that followed would be enormous. In the end, Skal is the only one for that sort of option.”
Because Dragon Knight was the only existence capable of handling dragons.
The only one capable of [Taming] them.
‘In that case……’
He needed to gather information that could help Dragon Knight Skal’s class quest.
Let’s see……
After searching through the materials for a long while, Seong Hyeonjun finally found the starting point.
“Would it be from the [Evil Dragon (惡龍) Hunter] quest?”
*
Zero Mountains.
In that rooftop room lived a dragon.
That was why there was one quest I must not forget.
[World Quest: Evil Dragon (惡龍) Hunter]
You who hunted a clan of wicked dragons.
The legend of the mountain range is calling you.
—Reach the summit of the Zero Mountains. (In Progress)
[Tefferun Labyrinth] Rift.
A world quest that appeared after I defeated an evil dragon, a being that must not be awakened.
Perhaps because I had contributed the most to defeating the evil dragon.
I alone had received a quest different from the other players.
“The Zero Mountains were not so high.”
Don’t act smug after teleporting there with a portal, Granfell.
Do you even know how high the Zero Mountains are when you say that?!
Why, even in satellite photos, that thing comes out looking insanely huge!
As Granfell said.
I could manifest a portal.
And reach the very summit of the Zero Mountains right away.
But the real problem wasn’t reaching it, but dealing with the aftermath.
What are you going to do if it really wakes up?!
Vivace……
In other words, thanks to the commotion I had caused with Shegwin directly beneath the dragon’s nest.
I had felt it, however faintly.
A dragon’s overwhelming aura!
An elf, one of the only two existences comparable to a dragon.
It was a pressure I had not felt from Elsidore.
Of course, the reason I could look down on Elsidore was because of the [First World Tree’s Blessing] buff.
In any case……
‘Right now, it’s not an existence I can stand against.’
The [First World Tree’s Blessing] I just mentioned, [Natural Enemy Relationship], and finally Gwicheol as well.
In the process of struggling, I had unintentionally become thoroughly overinflated.
But I never forgot.
Knowing my place.
[Name: Granfell Claudi Arpeus Romeo]
[Title: Last Adventurer, Noble, Transcendent]
[Class: Demon Hunter]
[Level: 595]
[Stats]
Strength: 130 / Agility: 131 / Magic: 514 / Luck: 12 / Aesthetic: Middle / Tenacity: 1
[Available Points: 0]
To begin with, even the Magic Tower had failed to defeat the dragons.
And now that the Tower Master was incapacitated?
There was no need to say more.
The moment a dragon awoke and revealed hostility toward humanity……
It wouldn’t end with just you and me sinking beneath our pride, Granfell.
“However, a mountain is a mountain only when it is climbed. We must follow the proper procedure.”
Yes, you said one right thing.
There was a reason the Zero Mountains were so vast.
And a reason a dragon was at its peak.
The structure was surely such that, by steadily climbing the range from below and reaching its lofty summit, one would naturally attain a level capable of facing a dragon.
Isn’t that right, dear AAU staff?
‘That must be why they set it up.’
The Hundred Thousand Caves.
The one hundred thousand caves that existed in the Zero Mountains.
According to AAU’s settings, they contained [Dungeons], [Labyrinths], [Ruins], [Battlefields], and so on.
‘They said there was all sorts of content.’
Now that the Zero Mountains had appeared in reality.
It would be safe to view the Hundred Thousand Caves as one hundred thousand [Rifts].
If I thought of it that way……
‘……It might be possible.’
To become strong enough to stand against a dragon.
As expected, they weren’t the creators of Arcana for nothing.
They had a plan for everything. A plan.
‘Unlike someone who shoved in everything good, cool, and impressive-looking without any plan at all.’
Still, what could I do?
There was no one else to blame.
Besides, let’s think about it from another perspective.
‘Actually, this isn’t something to be happy about.’
Dragons.
An existence that one could only approach after clearing one hundred thousand Rifts.
When I converted it like that, I realized just how absurd an opponent they were.
In that sense, well done, Hoyeol.
“One hundred thousand caves, is it. I have no need for arrangements.”
Right. Overflowing with pride is better than being cowed.
Of course, there was the enormous side effect that I might sink beneath that heavy pride of yours.
But it was just as much my specialty as knowing my place.
Struggling.
‘In that sense.’
I needed to have a conversation with Skal.
Skal’s class was the hidden class, Dragon Knight, no less.
Above all, Skal had called me the Evil Dragon Hunter.
He must know something about the Evil Dragon Hunter quest.
Since great expectations led to great disappointment, I wouldn’t expect too much.
‘But perhaps we can avoid clashing with the dragon.’
I had to dig into even the smallest possibility.
In truth, clearing all one hundred thousand caves wasn’t much of a possibility either.
Let’s think of it as the desperate one struggling all the harder.
Of course.
“Skal, you must first become qualified.”
Skal was in Granfell’s bad books.
As far as I was concerned, that worried me.
If Skal got sulky because of Granfell’s harsh words.
That would be tiring in its own way.
“Formality and pride.”
In that sense, let’s calm down a little, Granfell.
I took out my smartphone.
You, who are detached from wealth and glory, and also utterly incorruptible, could never know this.
But when it came to mental stability, buying something was the best remedy.
‘Shopping is the best.’
By the way.
“It steeps even in cold water. Intriguing.”
To become so lenient over nothing more than a new green tea product.
You really are an easy man, Granfell.
...
Swish, swish—
Arcana’s official rank 1, Skal.
Skal did not stop brushing.
His beloved steed, Alexander, swished its tail as if in a good mood.
He murmured to it.
“What did I do wrong, Alexander?”
What had gone wrong?
Lee Hoyeol.
Humanity’s hero.
A being infinitely merciful even to players.
And yet.
Why.
Why did he refuse to even exchange words with me!
Skal felt wronged in many ways.
“To think failure was not enough, and I had to suffer humiliation too. It hurts, Alexander.”
Skal was different from most players.
To be precise, from the very starting point.
The reason Skal had hidden his identity so thoroughly until now?
It was because of his family.
Real name: Scara Rothschild.
Skal had been born into one of the few prestigious families on Earth.
Immense wealth and power that had continued since the Middle Ages.
For him, born with everything in his grasp, life had been far too easy.
To such a Skal, Arcana was irresistibly appealing.
Another world.
Unlike reality.
It meant there was a whole lot to seize.
Skal’s purpose in playing Arcana was simple.
I will place the Arcana Continent beneath my feet.
For Skal, who had such a goal, Dragon Knight was the perfect class.
After all, there could be no clearer symbol of conquest
than putting a leash on the strongest creatures of the Arcana Continent, dragons.
Even after the Cataclysm, that thought did not change.
Just as he had when Arcana was nothing more than a game,
Skal cleared rifts and continued to grow.
Following the class quests that served as his guide.
But then.
“……
What the hell is this, seriously?”
Skal’s hollow eyes turned toward the quest window.[Class Quest: Evil Dragon Hunter]
Legendary beings.
You who would face dragons.
Attain the standing worthy of facing them.
When the class quest first appeared,
he thought his goal had finally come within reach.
However.─Slay the evil dragon sleeping in the Forbidden Zone. (Failed)
Out of nowhere, it said he had failed.
The moment Skal saw that word, failed,
he nearly fainted.
The first failure he had ever tasted in his life.
So this was the bitterness of failure?
How could people in this world repeatedly endure such a horrific thing as failure? It was enough to make him stop eating and drinking. And so, Skal had no choice but to move.
The newly updated quest objective.─Encounter the Evil Dragon Hunter. (In Progress)
There had been a reason for the failure.
He had learned that someone had snatched away
his own quest objective.
The evil dragon.
Finding that someone was not difficult.
The whole world had been in such an uproar, after all.
Lee Hoyeol.
The Forbidden Zone, Tepfern.
The evil dragon, the being that must not be awakened.
The puzzle came together in his head.
At that point, Skal made his move.
-“I don’t need any small fry.”
-“Lee Hoyeol, I want to speak with you.”
-“The great Mr. Evil Dragon Hunter.”
But what on earth had been the problem?
“……
I even complimented him, called him great.”
The Evil Dragon Hunter, Hoyeol, would not even give him the time of day.
And while he was lamenting to his beloved steed as always,
“?!”
Skal came across it.
The fact that Hoyeol had reached the area near the summit
of the Zero Mountains, where dragons slept.
Tap─the comb fell from his grasp.
“N-no way.”……
Had Lee Hoyeol also received a quest related to dragons?
Now that he had slain the evil dragon,
he should have attained the standing to face dragons.
What if the quest I failed was transferred to Lee Hoyeol……?
“!”
In that instant,
an image surfaced in his mind.
Hoyeol riding a dragon and soaring through the sky.
Skal’s face filled with horror.
“N-no! My dragon!!”