00001 [Part 1] [The Player in Memories] ------------------------------------------------------------------------=
There was a player named Karon. He was the first to reach the max level of 100, a player known to make mountains vanish with a swing of his sword and slay dragons with his fists.
Around him, companions who never knew a quiet day always gathered. These companions, each renowned in their own field, used him as a focal point to embark on unknown adventures or obtain items said to be one of a kind in this world.
Karon gathered his companions and formed a guild. Wishing their bond to never change for life, he built a guild hall that would never disappear. Before long, their guild made a name for itself in the world and became the envy of players.
An object of envy, an object of admiration, an object of longing. Karon's guild was a kind of symbol to the players, and as he had wished, they had believed their guild would remain unbroken for all eternity.
But the one who first fractured the guild was Karon himself. When Karon, who had been the focal point, disappeared without a word of explanation, the companions left behind could not help but be disappointed.
"It's just a game, after all."
The remaining companions could not help but feel scorn toward themselves for being unable to deny those words, harboring regret and resentment.
The remaining companions lived on, pretending not to know each other with unresolved knots in their hearts. As their reputations began to surpass Karon's standing, Karon gradually faded from the world. As the max level rose to 150, new players rose to fame and prominence. As new players emerged one after another to resolve quests and obtain items, the protagonists of the era changed time and again.
No longer was there anyone who held Karon as an object of longing, no longer anyone who anticipated his appearance, no longer anyone who remembered even a single character of his name.
Karon seemed to have settled permanently as just another person in memories.
And two years passed,
A single person stood before the guild hall, covered in ivy vines that had crept up the wall where all the paint had peeled away.