◈ Episode 98. Top Secret (1)AAU North America Branch.
The lights in the building did not go out even at night.
Rifts were a predetermined yet unpreventable threat.
They always had to respond quickly.
“Uggghhh─!”
The sound of someone stretching echoed through the control room.
Fatigue washed over them, but this week, they were lucky.
“Still, Wednesday isn’t bad. Right?”
“Don’t know. I’m busy.”
“With what? What are you pounding away at on such a good day?”
Tomorrow was Thursday.
The day a new update would appear.
Even an AAU employee brimming with a sense of duty couldn’t possibly welcome a Thursday shift.
Figuring out the situation, briefing the higher-ups, and everything else. On Thursdays, there truly wasn’t even time to catch your breath.
“My, aren’t you diligent. Are you already writing a report?”
“I’m not planning to waste precious time like some people.”
“Whatever it is, you should take it easy. You’re just too passionate.”
So what was she writing?
When he glanced—at her laptop screen, he understood at once.
“The World Tree? You’re digging into that bait?”
The Predator’s Swamp.
The World Tree said to have sprouted in that rift.
It was one of the hottest research subjects even within the AAU.
Of course, despite their efforts, they hadn’t uncovered any information.
“It’s good to make an effort and all. But do you think pounding that out will change anything? I mean, anything about the World Tree is information only Raymond Sean would really know.”
“I know that, too. I’m just organizing it.”
Tadadadak—even as she spoke.
Katrina’s fingers did not stop.
“Well, even if it’s useless now, it might come in handy later.”
It might come in handy later?
At those words, the man who had been peeking at the contents said,
“But that just looks like praise for Lee Hoyeol to me?”
From start to finish.
There wasn’t a single sentence without the name Lee Hoyeol in it, was there?
Still, he had nothing to say.
Because in reality, the one who had discovered the World Tree’s seed.
And the one who had made that seed sprout.
All of it had been done by Hoyeol.
“By ‘coming in handy later,’ do you mean… you’re going to write and sell a biography of the great Lee Hoyeol or something?”
“What are you talking about? If anything, I’d upload a video to NetTube. Who reads stuff like that these days?”
“……
So you’ve already thought about uploading a video.”
Shake, shake—so there was a believer of the Church of Hoyeol here, too.
As the man clicked his tongue, Katrina replied,
“And it’s a kind of occupational disease.”
Occupational disease?
At those words, the man realized.
“Ah! You said you were in the quest department when you worked at Cosmo, right?”
“Okay.”
“Then I’ll admit it. No, rather than doing this, I should stop bothering you.”
The quest department.
Back when Arcana was a game.
It was the department that built Arcana’s quest lines, both big and small.
The man closed his mouth and thought.
If this had been back when Arcana was a game.
By now, on the Arcana Continent, the name of the player who had achieved an incredible feat.
Lee Hoyeol’s name would be resounding everywhere.
“The birth of a new hero. Even with a single incident, there are endless quests that could be connected to it. And this one even involves the World Tree. Don’t tell me, is that what you meant by it might come in handy later?”
In the end, every quest had a story.
She must be organizing the inspirations that came to mind while arranging Hoyeol’s story.
And by putting her occupational disease to work……
“As expected, you’re trying to predict the next quests that might appear, right?”
Tadadadak—Katrina shrugged as she struck the keyboard.
“Well, the chance that my prediction will be right is less than one percent.”
If it could help even a speck, she had to try.
Unlike the players who entered rifts risking their lives at every moment.
There wasn’t all that much the AAU could do.‘Time is still flowing even now.’The Arcana Continent was another reality, another world.
It couldn’t be exactly the same as back when it was a game. But considering the level of what Lee Hoyeol had accomplished, his achievement was surely enough to shake the entire continent.‘Besides, time on the Arcana Continent passes faster than in reality. By now, Lee Hoyeol’s achievement must have spread across the entire continent and then some.’Just what kind of changes had Lee Hoyeol’s actions brought to the Arcana Continent?
Yes, the reason she kept striking the keyboard without rest was to gauge that possibility.
“Whew. I’m craving sugar.”
Of course, it wasn’t easy enough to make her head split.
The current Arcana Continent must be no different from a wasteland.
It would be completely different from what she knew.
To take all those variables into account and predict the flow of the continent?
It was absurd.
Still, there was one thing she could guarantee.‘That “race” connected to the World Tree will move, one way or another.’Elves.
Of course, she didn’t know when that would be.
But she was certain.
That their appearance alone would inevitably turn the world upside down.
“Huh?”
“?”
“Ah, damn it. What is it this time, seriously……!!”
But before that.
The world was turned upside down.
Beep beep beep—the warning alarm rang throughout the control room, no, throughout the entire AAU branch.
The man tore at his hair.
“No, an emergency update on Wednesday is seriously crossing the line!!”
Even as he vented his fury, their response was swift.
They checked the update details.
And immediately……
Immediately……
They should have moved on to the next action immediately.
“Fuck.”
With no one to blame, the two of them froze at the same time.
“This is that rift from back then.”
That rift from back then.
That was right.[Rift in the Shattered Dimension].
The rift that had formed along with an emergency update, just like now.
In the emergency update details that had appeared.
Just like back then, it said [Rift in the Shattered Dimension].
But the length of those update details was anything but ordinary.──────A new rift, ‘Rift in the Shattered Dimension: ה,’ will be added.
A new rift, ‘Rift in the Shattered Dimension: מ,’ will be added.
A new rift, ‘Rift in the Shattered Dimension: ל,’ will be added.
A new rift, ‘Rift in the Shattered Dimension: ש,’ will be added…….──────The hands that had been striking the keyboard.
And the mouth that had been chattering away stopped.
Because they had realized the gravity of the situation.
The recommended level was not written, but it was only natural that they could guess it.[Rift in the Shattered Dimension] was not a first-time rift.
In other words, they could estimate its recommended level.[Recommended Level: Lv.900]
They had knowledge gained through experience.
But they could not shake off their bewilderment.
Even if the recommended level did not reach the level 900 range.
There were simply far too many rifts being generated.
And on top of that, they knew from experience that a rift’s recommended level could increase.
The man muttered,
“……
This isn’t a problem we can handle at our level.”
The branch……
No, this was not an issue on the AAU level.
This was a catastrophe that required worldwide consensus.
The news spread quickly.
There were even some who proposed extreme solutions early on.
“Then are you saying we should simply leave the rifts to collapse?”
“Do we have another way? This is a disaster to the point that wiping it out with missiles would be preferable. For the sake of the world, we have no choice but to accept a small sacrifice.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to refrain from saying such things when the locations of the rifts have not even been identified yet?”
“No. Location is not the issue. Even if a rift appeared in my homeland, in the very center of the capital, my decision would not change. There is no other choice. You all know that, don’t you?”
Under normal circumstances.
An ultra-hardline measure that would not even have been mentioned was being discussed seriously.
Yes, because everyone knew.
“This isn’t something players can step in for, is it?”
The emergency update that appeared on Arcana’s homepage.
Not only players, but ordinary people could obtain the details.
So no matter which community one looked through, the mood was not all that different.
-Didn’t you see the rankers in [Predator’s Swamp]??
-They were bleeding their guts out even in a rift with a recommended level of 500, all of them
-This update seriously crossed the line……
-And there isn’t even just one rift this timeㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠHowever, the ones who understood the gravity of the situation better than anyone were the players.
World Domination.
The guild master, Ryu Ojunchun, had long since lost interest in this rift.
“This is not something we should get involved in.”
The circumstances of the common people didn’t matter to him in the slightest.
Because he had no intention of foolishly throwing away his life.
Whether they bombed the collapsed rifts with missiles or dropped nuclear bombs on them.
It was not something they had to concern themselves with.
“This is seriously vicious.”
“Is this Raymond Sean’s doing too?”
“It’s an emergency update that suddenly appeared. So it must mean this wasn’t scheduled.”
The Yusra Kingdom.
And Frost.
The players staying there also received the update details.
No matter how starved they were for levels and fame.
Entering this rift looked no different from suicide.
But as stated before.
Everyone knew through experience.
The one player who had cleared.
Such an absurd rift.
“In the end, is Lee Hoyeol the only one again this time?”
Yes.
Recommended level 900 to 1,000.[Rift in the Shattered Dimension].
Lee Hoyeol, who had cleared it.
Because there were players who knew that fact.
There were also players who had no choice but to move.
The place where such people ran into each other was, naturally, the Magic Tower.
“……
What are you guys? Again.”
“You too, you too. Seriously, don’t talk to me. I don’t want to be misunderstood.”
“You say such unpleasant things so well.”
Leonie.
Nam Taemin.
And Hisagi.
The three glared at one another with displeased eyes.[Predator’s Swamp], the uncomfortable alliance that had begun there.
Because of it, just how many questions, interviews, and media outlets had they been harassed by?
“If it weren’t for Mr. Hoyeol, seriously. Huh?”
Nam Taemin still shuddered when he thought about it.
Especially with Hisagi, it was to the point that the old days, when they snarled at each other whenever they met, had been better.
Back then, at least they could vent their stress by tearing each other down.
But the one who had made them form an alliance was Hoyeol.
They couldn’t know what Hoyeol had been thinking when he made them ally. But they also couldn’t immediately deny a decision made by Hoyeol.
In the end, they gave no comment regarding the alliance.
In this day and age, silence was no different from affirmation.
The result was the present.
Leonie looked up at the two men with a crooked gaze.
“Do you even understand how serious this situation is?”
“That’s why I came. We have to help, don’t we?”
“If you’ve received something, it’s only right to repay it.”
Glance—Leonie looked behind the two of them.
Just like with her, their guild members were nowhere to be seen.
Well, at least they understood the gravity of it.‘Because this really is no different from suicide.’A reckless decision.
She had no intention of dragging her guild members into this stubbornness.
Yes, that was how it should have been.
But they were not the only ones being stubborn.
“Found you. Idiots just like me!”
A sly voice.
It was Camilla, an executive of Shining and a top-ranking ranker.
Behind her, who had appeared out of nowhere, were familiar faces.
“……
Are you guys insane?”
They were members of the Gaon, Inazuma, and Berserker guilds.
Not all of the guild members were there, but even at a glance, there were dozens.
A considerable number of players had followed their guild masters.
“Nam Taemin. I knew you’d be here.”
“Unni, did you think you were the only stubborn one?”
“As expected of a snake. Slipping away without a sound. We barely managed to find you.”
Camilla shuddered.
“Is this the kind of bond that not even death can part? Must be nice.”
Of course, there was no need for her to envy that touching reunion.‘Because my situation is no different.’Camilla remembered that day.
Jesse’s eyes.
So now that the [Rift in the Shattered Dimension] rift had reappeared.
“I can tell without asking.”
She knew what decision Jesse would make without even having to ask.
Of course, she didn’t know how much help they would be even if they joined such an absurd rift.
“But she really does as she pleases~”
Would she be called a princess for no reason?
She was a princess because she took so much looking after.
Camilla looked around, but Jesse was nowhere to be seen.
“……
She hasn’t already gone, has she? I hurried quite a bit, in my own way.”
Camilla quickly entered the Magic Tower.
And she witnessed it.
Jesse Heinness standing motionless.
“Jesse?”
Camilla’s senses could detect even the faintest breath.
Jesse’s breathing was clearly different from usual.
“Jesse. What’s wrong? What happened?”
Camilla embraced Jesse from behind.
Those who had followed her in also witnessed the scene.
To be exact, the altered sight of the Magic Tower lobby.
“……
The portal is gone?”
There wasn’t even a trace of it.
The portal that had always stood in the Magic Tower’s lobby was nowhere to be seen.
What that meant was simple.
For the players gathered here in the Magic Tower…….
“How many rifts have spawned? Without a portal, how are we supposed to get to all of them……?”
There was no way to reach the rifts in a short time.
Only then did Camilla realize why Jesse had frozen.
Camilla bit down on her lip.
The reason the portal had disappeared?
She couldn’t know for certain.
There must be circumstances.
But she could guess who possessed enough authority to make the portal disappear.
I don’t know for sure, but even a senior mage couldn’t do something like this. Yes, at the very least, you’d have to be at the chief level to make a decision like this.
“……
Looks like I’ll have to give him a sharp piece of my mind.”
Only then did everyone realize.
That Hoyeol had halted the portal’s operation.
“……
Why?”
Unlike themselves.
They knew well enough that Hoyeol was looking somewhere far beyond.
There had to be a purpose behind this action, too.
Yes, to the players, themselves included.
He might have thought these rifts were too much for them to handle.
Even so.
Even so…….
This was too cruel.
“Damn it. Are you saying there’s nothing we can do?”
To them.
“How many rifts are there? What do you think you can do about all of them alone……!”
And to Hoyeol himself.
Because he had always been so confident.
Because he had always been so unwavering.
They had never thought about it.
What state of mind had Hoyeol been in when he halted the portal?
And on top of that, what was he feeling as he headed to the rifts alone?
And why were they.
Only now thinking such things?
This wasn’t the first time Hoyeol had shouldered a burden like this.
An indescribable feeling swept over them.
Amid the silence.
There came the sound of teeth grinding.
“No matter what, this is too much. Alone, he’s trying to do everything alone……!”*You can’t drag outsiders into internal affairs.‘And even more so when it comes to group action like this.’The senior mages of the Magic Tower were mobilizing in full force.
Even if I didn’t explain the specific circumstances.
Anyone with eyes would be able to tell that something had happened in the Magic Tower.‘I’d like to avoid things like censure.’I wanted to get through this as quietly as possible.
Because I knew from seeing it often in society.
That when something happened, the one who took responsibility and stepped down was the parachute hire.
So.
As swiftly as possible.
As covertly as possible.
Settling internal affairs was the best course of action.
There were a total of eleven rifts that had formed.
Pinpointing their locations wasn’t difficult.‘Even if I hadn’t known at first.’[Cracked Dimensional Rift].
I had already grasped the characteristics of that unstable rift through experience.
All I had to do was track Karimjeva’s mana trace, the one who had planned this whole situation.
Naturally, I didn’t have the mana for that.
But the reliable mages of the Magic Tower did.
As expected, Marcelo did not hesitate.
Search, interference, manifestation.
Soon, Marcelo’s eyes narrowed.
“I have detected the coordinates.”