◈ Episode 415. So That You Can See Properly
After the full opening of the Magic Tower.
The path leading to the Arcana Continent had always been open.
“Is this the Arcana Continent?!”
Players who had entered the Arcana Continent through the portal.
The information shared by the vanguard became a beacon for the rear guard.
“So this is Claudi Territory……?”
“No way, is that the Lee Ho-yeol mansion we only heard rumors about?”
“Holy shit, why is it so dazzlingly magnificent?!”
They were rifts randomly generated in reality.
Thanks to that, the majority of players had traveled the world and experienced luxurious five-star hotels, yet the Claudi mansion exuded an antiquated elegance that surpassed them all.
Messages flickered.
Some players finally had their questions answered.
“There was a reason we didn’t notice such a territory back when Arcana was just a game. As expected, it was a hidden piece, wasn’t it? Neither players nor NPCs would have just passed by a mansion like this.”
An indescribable experience from the very start.
But this was not the time for that.
Was there any need to simply chatter about it?
“Hunting is all well and good, but how about we start by taking a slow tour of that mansion? Just how vast is it. And just how overflowing with leisure must he be. Is Lee Ho-yeol really not even charging accommodation fees?”
“Tsk. Calling him Lee Ho-yeol, look at your manners.”
“No, he’s the Commander-in-chief now!”
His favor was no ordinary favor. It was a favor so great that even players who had not joined the Holy War Allied Forces out of pride found themselves uttering the title of Commander-in-chief.
“H-hold on. Did that statue over there just move?!”
“The statue moved? That huge thing?”
“What nonsense. Did you watch some horror story or what?”
One by one, the rear guard arrived, brimming with excitement and anticipation.
It was right when they were arriving at Claudi Territory through the portal.
Thud, thud, thud—A pressure felt all of a sudden.
The land of Claudi Territory began to tremble.
“!”
To the point where vibrations could be felt through the soles of their feet.
Soon, the cause entered their field of vision.
They were players, just like themselves.
Eyes narrowed.
They identified the nature of the group without difficulty.
There were so many celebrities mixed in that it wasn’t hard to recall.
“Schreig? Aren’t they from Second Sun?”
However, Guild Master Schreig’s expression was unusual.
The players guessed the reason in their own way.
The most likely reason was probably…….
“As expected, are they heading to Antonium?”
The imperial capital, Antonium, was in a state of blockade.
That news had just been delivered through players who had returned to reality.
It seemed they had found the cause of the blockade. The members of the Great Alliance who had remained in Claudi Territory, led by Second Sun, appeared to be joining the force as well.
Clomp, clomp.
Players brushed past one another.
The rear guard, who had been reading the room, asked.
“Are you perhaps heading to Antonium?”
“Well, yes.”
“Then…… May we join as well?”
Events become opportunities, and missing opportunities means falling behind. A tour of Claudi Territory could always be done slowly later on. Furthermore, considering the buff currently active on the Arcana Continent…….
‘It’s obviously a large-scale event; we can’t miss it.’
Of course, the cause of the blockade was still unknown.
However, it was as plain as day that a siege war would break out in Antonium. Why, it was obvious enough that even quack experts flapping their jaws on TV could predict it.
In a fleeting moment, the rear guard schemed.
‘We have a justification, too.’
The justification of belonging to the Holy War Allied Forces.
Had he been listening to that conversation?
Kang Euntaek, an executive of the Great Alliance, approached.
“Reinforcements are always welcome.”
“Then we’ll join right awa—……”
“But shouldn’t you properly understand the situation first?”
Because you don’t want to share rewards with random stragglers?
Or is it the seniority complex of the Holy War Allied Forces veterans?
Such delusions didn’t matter at all. Kang Euntaek spoke without reservation to players who had just entered the Arcana Continent and couldn’t possibly know the situation in Antonium.
“Currently, the Great Alliance in Antonium, as well as the three Senior Mages, are in a cornered situation. They have gone out of contact, leaving behind only a whisper that Antonium has been occupied.”
“……!!!”
“Furthermore, the Commander-in-chief is also absent. According to word passed down, we can only hope for his support after four days. For the next four days, what remains is entirely up to us.”
At those words, their faces turned pale.
As expected, the reaction he had anticipated.
Kang Euntaek twisted the corner of his lips up.
‘If your resolve is half-hearted, get lost.’
Nam Taemin, Hisagi, and Leonie.
The three guild masters of the current Great Alliance were top-ranked players who occupied the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places in the official player rankings. As if they weren’t enough, three Senior Mages from the Magic Tower had joined as well.
And yet, everyone was in crisis.
Schreig added weight to Kang Euntaek’s words.
His expression was as grim as it had been during the London incident.
“If you’re joining, you’d better be prepared to die.”
“……Surely, not our lives.”
“Then I would appreciate it if you didn’t get in our way?”
“W-we’ll do that!”
The rear guard quickly stepped aside.
“……Holy shit, are they crazy?”
They watched the backs of Second Sun and the Great Alliance advancing without hesitation. Honestly, they couldn’t understand it. According to what they had said, Antonium was no different from a deathtrap.
“Would anything change even if we joined?”
There was no chance of turning the tide, and on top of that, they said we had to stake our lives. No matter how much players had to risk their lives for rewards and achievements, they didn’t want to resign themselves to dying in a foreign land that wasn’t even reality.
Perhaps that was why?
“They’re really going?”
The backs of those leaving Claudi Territory now looked nothing short of amazing.
Of course, no one could criticize the rear guard.
It was a life-or-death situation.
Because no one could force a choice upon anyone.
Thus, it was not a strange thing at all.
At that moment.
A bow.
A ponytail suddenly dipped.
“Um, I’m sorry, but I’ll accompany you this far!”
The mage holding a staff, Seo Jeongyeon, opened her mouth.
“Phew. I knew you’d do that.”
“Sorry. We’ll step out here as well.”
Greatsword.
Shield and warhammer.
Choi Jeonghun and Han Seonguk also followed behind Seo Jeongyeon, breaking away from the crowd of players. When they subtly turned their heads back, gazes that looked as if they were watching madmen were pouring down on them.
Well, they had a right to.
Choi Jeonghun spoke frankly.
“They might not know, but we’re basically going to get totally wiped out, aren’t we?”
Barely scraping level 300 if you rounded up.
After the Great Upheaval, these three were far, far behind the starting line. However, their resolve alone was sincere. Yes, because they had experience.
Han Seonguk let out a scoffing laugh.
“You think our lives are precious now? If you think about it, we were already dead at that subway station from the start. You should’ve seen Choi Jeonghun’s face back then.”
That was true.
It was no exaggeration to say they had already lost their lives in [Noll’s Underground Warehouse]. In the distant past, if they hadn’t been saved by Ho-yeol, they would have become fodder for demons.
The corner of Choi Jeonghun’s lips rose.
“What are you saying? You’re talking about something the Commander-in-chief wouldn’t even remember.”
How many players, and how many Arcana natives, had he encountered?
They didn’t even hope he would remember them, whom he had simply passed by.
Because it was simply to repay a debt.
Because they merely wanted to be of even a little help.
Seo Jeongyeon gripped her staff tightly.
“So let’s just do our part!”
It was the moment the three followed Second Sun and the Great Alliance into the vanished portal.
Before their eyes, it appeared.
Perhaps.
What could be called the result of faith.
An unbelievable message.
[The Great Adventurer is on the verge of ascending to the Imperial Throne.]
……The Great Adventurer?
In the minds of the three.
No, in the minds of all players.
A player worthy of being called great.
There was only one, without a doubt.
“C-Commander-in-chief……!!”
Lee Ho-yeol.
*AAU.
Seong Hyeonjun and Yun Sugyeom were startled.
“W-what did you say?”
The blockade of Antonium.
That news had dropped like a bomb on AAU. The situation was different from when they had been helpless. After all, Antonium had been the imperial capital since the days when Arcana was just a game.
Seong Hyeonjun spoke while checking his messenger.
“Everyone’s anticipating the Chronicles of War, senior. It certainly seems highly possible. Though it’s not specific, even in the initial settings, the Chronicles of War had fraudulent effects.”
“Because it’s similar to what’s commonly called the Akashic Records.”
“Back then, it was a device for balance…….”
Back when Arcana was merely a game.
The Empire needed to be absolute.
Meaning, the Empire was the entity that would instill manners into rampaging players.
The Chronicles of War was the greatest weapon given to the Empire.
Predicting the future while even accounting for the variable known as players.
A device to solidify the Empire’s position.
Of course, truly predicting the future.
Was impossible even if Cosmo mobilized all its technological prowess.
Seong Hyeonjun nodded at the memory surfacing in his mind.
“It was a plausible justification to attach to a balance patch.”
In other words, it was merely a setting to justify balance adjustments. However, after the Great Upheaval, the Chronicles of War must have gained flesh and blood in ways even they didn’t know.
Yun Sugyeom bit his lip tightly.
“I can’t even guess what kind of monster it’s awakened as.”
But the worry didn’t last long.
Because news soon arrived from the Arcana Continent.
Breaking news brought directly by the players.
“S-senior! Antonium is covered in roses and thorny vines……!”
That wasn’t all.
Nam Taemin, Hisagi, and Leonie of the Great Alliance, who had been about to enter the blockaded Antonium, and even the Senior Mages of the Magic Tower were said to have lost contact.
It was as if cold water had been poured over AAU, literally.
“What the hell.”
Player ranks 1, 2, and 3, excluding Lee Ho-yeol.
And to think a monster had appeared that even the Senior Mages of the Magic Tower—who wouldn’t be out of place in the rankings based on martial prowess across the entire Arcana Continent—couldn’t handle.
“It’s clear. The Chronicles of War has gone on a rampage.”
“Because they attached such a fraudulent setting…….”
“Raymon Sean, did that bastard know this would happen?”
That we had attached something called the Chronicles of War.
Could this be the backlash of adding an uncontrollable setting to the Empire?
For several hours, AAU remained steeped in guilt.
“……Huh?”
New news was delivered from the Arcana Continent—where the flow of time was a whopping four times faster than reality—to reality. It was news that went beyond shock, enough to make everyone appalled.
Seong Hyeonjun opened his mouth in disbelief.
“Th-the Great Adventurer is on the verge of ascending to the throne……?”
“The Great Adventurer? No doubt they’re talking about our Yusra Chief Director. But what did they say after that? I couldn’t hear properly because I was thinking about the Chronicles of War.”
“Ch-Chief Director is about to ascend to the Imperial Throne!!”
“W-what?!”
Rattle!
A shock so great that he dropped the mug he was holding.
It couldn’t be helped.
A player becoming the Emperor of the Empire.
It was something never assumed even when Arcana was merely a game.
Yun Sugyeom suppressed his excitement.
“Couldn’t the players have misunderstood something? No matter how fiercely Chief Director has been active behind the scenes, acquiring such influence in a short period is…….”
“They say Chief Director is the one who reconstructed the walls of Antonium, and the cities and villages throughout the Empire? In the first place, there’s supposedly no place on the Arcana Continent where the three characters of Lee Ho-yeol’s name aren’t known!”
“Hah.”
If those words were true.
Perhaps.
The Chief Director could have become water thicker than blood.
He might truly have claimed first in the line of imperial succession…….
“I thought my heart wouldn’t race at just any matter anymore.”
Isn’t that obvious?
Having seen the Demon Lord, dragons, and having witnessed the feats of players who slew such absolute monsters, I thought there would be no greater spectacle.
Has the time finally come for him to receive the treatment befitting his station?
Branch Manager Bak Minjae looked at the monitors in the control room.
Monitors that were being unified into a single screen in real time. Breaking news that Ho-yeol was about to ascend to the Imperial Throne of the Empire on the Arcana Continent was rising up one after another.
Of course, it was not yet at the stage to be confirmed.
Hyeon Yongseok, the flagship producer of VBC.
Hyeon Yongseok pressed Yun Jongjin over the phone.
“Have our hasty assumptions ever panned out all this time?”
Hyeon Yongseok believed in Ho-yeol.
In other words, he had faith in Ho-yeol’s unpredictable actions.
A situation in which everyone in the world believed beyond doubt that Hoyeol would ascend the throne as emperor.
Hyeon Yongseok felt the same about that.
The Great Adventurer.
That title was, without question, one that only Hoyeol could claim.
However.
“Do you really think he’ll just blandly place a crown on his head?”
Something unexpected would surely happen. Hyeon Yongseok intended to capture that moment on camera. While other broadcasting stations were inviting so-called experts to chatter on about the value of the imperial throne—
“We’re going to catch it. That moment.”
Hyeon Yongseok even pushed back Today Arcana’s programming and took a gamble.
Of course, Yun Jongjin, who was being dragged around by him, felt like he was dying.
After ending the call, Yun Jongjin lamented.
“No, so where am I supposed to film?”
He was nothing more than a cameraman for a broadcasting station.
How was he supposed to chase after Hoyeol, who flashed into reality and then onto the Arcana Continent with magic? Yun Jongjin swallowed a sigh and framed the best angle he could.
And then he captured a moment no one had expected.
“Huh?”
The Yusra Kingdom.
The Golden Palace.
Suddenly, a flag rose.
Yun Jongjin’s eyes twitched.
“……
A rose? That’s the imperial flag, isn’t it?”
The Yusra Kingdom.
It was an ancient kingdom that did not belong to the Empire.
So why was it flying the imperial flag, bearing the rose that symbolized the Empire?
It did not take long for him to understand.
“Hm?”
Messages from his juniors came in one after another.
In Frost, in Muon, the holy land of the Goddess Church, and even at the Magic Tower, imperial flags were being raised. However, the imperial flags did not flutter from high above.
As if expressing condolences.
The imperial flags hung low, fluttering solemnly.
Looking into the camera, Yun Jongjin muttered.
“Just like you said, sunbae, he really is someone you can’t predict in the slightest.”
Thanks to that, he realized a fact he had overlooked.
Right. The fact that a new emperor was about to ascend the throne meant—
That the previous emperor had died....
The flashing [Last Adventurer].
Twenty-four hours had passed in reality.
As promised in advance, I headed to the Magic Tower.
The gathered press.
Countless cameras.
Reporters carefully posing questions.
The next emperor?
The Great Adventurer?
There was only one thing I could say in response to the flood of questions.
“At this moment, the one you should be looking at is not me.”
And then I faced them.
The Lionheart Knights.
The emperor’s right arm, Harkon.
I could not dare presume to guess the depth of the sorrow Harkon was feeling. So all I could do was look upon Harkon and the Lionheart Knights with forbearance.
Our eyes met.
There was grief in his eyes.
At last, as if having made his decision, Harkon opened his mouth.
“Empire, Lionheart Knights. Knight Commander, Harkon Kingsguard.”
The Knights of the Lionheart saluted me in unison.
“We express our boundless gratitude to the Commander-in-Chief and to this world for your condolences.”
Was it only then that they realized?
“……!!!”
The crowd sank into silence.
So much so that not a single flash dared go off.
A quiet mourning continued.