As the stone slab split in two, Ragna’s stone statue completely crumbled.
[No. This can’t be. This can’t be happening!]
The boss who moved the statue—the master of Valtor—wailed.
Because he could not believe that he had been defeated by humans once again.
[Kuaaaaaah!]
With a final scream, the master who had ruled this land long ago dissipated into smoke.
And so, the boss of Area 2 was cleared.
“Emily!”
Ignoring the notification of the boss clear, Ian ran toward Emily.
A gaping hole pierced through her body, and she lay collapsed on the ground, unable to move even slightly.
Only her faint breathing, like a candle burnt down to the wick, signaled that the end was near.
It was a wound she absolutely could not survive in reality.
But.
“Ngh… ugh…”
Light enveloped Emily’s entire body along with her groan.
Her twisted arms and legs returned to normal, and the hole inside her filled with new flesh.
In Arcadia Online, level-up rewards weren’t just stat points.
While there were few situations where one would receive it, another reward existed.
Complete Recovery.
Another level-up reward that healed all physical abnormalities.
“Kuhak! Kuhak!”
Emily’s level rose from the reward for clearing the boss, and she coughed up dead blood.
The stains on her body and her fatigue did not recover, but at least she had survived this battle.
Only then did Ian let out a sigh of relief.
Emily opened her eyes again and sent a weak smile toward Ian.
“It worked… Thank goodness…”
“Still, don’t take such a gamble next time. What if you had actually died?”
“You’re right. This isn’t something I could do twice.”
Naira and Mugi, who approached belatedly, burst into tears upon seeing Emily alive.
“U-Unnie! You’re not dead, right? You’re alive, right?”
“If you do this again next time, I’ll never forgive you! I’ll die right along with you!”
“Okay, okay. I won’t do anything dangerous anymore.”
Emily patted the backs of the two who were sobbing profusely.
It was only because she had cleared the boss before dying—if she had been even a moment later, she would have done something terrible to them.
Even afterward, many people came to see her.
Of course, there was bad news among them as well.
“How many died this time?”
“…Six died.”
“I don’t know if I should call that a good showing or a lot of deaths.”
“What meaning is there in death? They simply died. But had it not been for you, more would have died. I offer my thanks this time.”
It was because Emily’s heroic act in the final moment had evoked both admiration and sorrow in everyone.
Was that why?
“Can we really clear this?”
At someone’s mutter, no one could bring themselves to speak.
They had fought only two boss battles so far, yet each one had been so fierce that they had to stake their lives every time.
The silence continued.
It was then, as they stared at the broken statue and confronted the surging waves of emotion—despair, shame, relief, anger, and more—that:
-Clap! Clap! Clap!
Just as in Area 1, the sound of applause drew everyone’s gazes.
“Arca…”
The blue-haired girl.
The guide NPC of this death game.
In the face of the players’ hostility, Arca smiled calmly.
“It’s been a while, brothers and sisters. You missed me a lot, didn’t you?”
People felt unease at her somehow more emotionally expressive appearance.
But the players could only watch Arca, who was behaving as theatrically as if putting on a play.
“Sigh… It was truly amazing. Watching your desperate struggle, I nearly shed tears.”
Arca moved toward the players.
The girl stopped beside Emily.
Arca extended a hand toward the exhausted Emily.
“Especially this time, this sister’s sacrifice was truly moving. I’ll designate you as the protagonist of this battle.”
Of course, Emily did not take that hand.
She wanted to strangle her, but lacking even the strength to lift a finger, all she could do was glare at Arca.
Yet even at Emily’s gaze, the smile on Arca’s face did not vanish.
Instead, she cast her gaze to Ian standing nearby.
“So, sister, did you like my gift?”
Ian knew what Arca meant by “gift” without needing to be told.
She let out a sigh and looked at Arca with displeased eyes.
“So it was you after all?”
“Using that much power is nothing. I was disappointed because you didn’t seem to want it much. Yeah, I’ll hold back next time.”
“That’s quite a relief to hear.”
Quite apart from the fact that the outfit was extremely embarrassing, Ian didn’t really want this kind of special treatment.
For now, it was a low area and her achievements let it slide, but special treatment was bound to cause problems someday.
Ian wanted to remain just another player like everyone else.
“So why did you come this time?”
“Hey, don’t glare at me like that. This is my role. Besides, I have a gift for everyone.”
“A gift?”
Arca looked at everyone once more.
At that gaze, the girl smiled in satisfaction and said:
“Seeing you all struggle this time hurt my heart. So, as a shared reward for this raid, starting from Area 3, I’m opening inter-area teleportation! Everyone, applause!”
The only applause, naturally, came from Arca alone, but everyone looked at her with bewildered eyes.
Teleportation.
That was one of the things those who had traveled between Rundel and Staria had desperately wanted.
Even Emily, who always showed hostility, wore a greatly surprised expression.
And it didn’t end there.
Arca grasped something in the air.
“And this is a gift for today’s protagonist sister.”
Emily muttered as she looked at the object Arca handed her.
“A flag?”
“You can only get this in Area 5, but I specially brought it for you. Aren’t I amazing?”
Of course, no answer came, and Arca smiled until the end as if she hadn’t expected one.
“Well then, my business is done! See you next time, brothers and sisters.”
Arca waved at the players and stepped backward.
“Ah, right. I didn’t say this before.”
And just as she was about to disappear in a flash, Arca mumbled those words, grabbed the hem of her skirt with both hands, and slightly bent at the waist.
“Welcome to Area 3, dear players.”
And at that moment:
“Huh, huh?”
“Th-the ground feels weird?”
“Wait, why is water coming from here?!”
“L-let’s get out of here!”
A stream of water burst through the ground and swept everyone away.
***
“Cough! Cough! Blergh! Ugh… What the hell is this?”
Ian, who had barely escaped the water.
Having realized once more the preciousness of solid ground, she coughed repeatedly.
She wasn’t the only one.
The players swept away by the current were all wringing water from their bodies in a daze.
“By the way… where is this?”
Stars were twinkling in the sky.
The raging stream flowing right beside them reminded them of a valley in the real world, and the surrounding scenery was quite familiar.
‘Wait, a valley?’
Only then did Ian realize where they were.
Rundel’s only water source.
The dried-up valley.
“I-It’s unbelievable…”
The players regaining their senses one by one couldn’t take their eyes off the scene before them, just like Ian.
Because until today, it was a place that wouldn’t have been strange even if it had completely dried up.
But now, water was gushing out as if a blocked dam had burst.
They were dumbfounded by the thought that they themselves had created this scenery.
Then, a group of people appeared behind the players.
The villagers of Rundel, including the village chief Halbar and the great warrior Hakon.
They were breathing roughly and rushed toward the players.
“Aah…!”
Upon seeing the water pouring down with the force of a flood, they all knelt and began to shed tears without anyone saying a word.
The players’ eyes also turned red.
Their hearts warmed, and waves of emotion called hope gently caressed them.
“Thank you… truly, thank you.”
The people smiled as they watched the villagers bowing to them over and over.
That sight was truly:
[Rundel’s Crisis]
[Quest Completed.]
-Long ago, the Fallen Lord sealed by the great warrior had lurked in the shadows for ages, gnawing at the ley lines and usurping the seat of divinity. But thanks to your efforts, the Fallen Lord has been completely obliterated from this world. Therefore, the warriors who lost their honor and the people of this land convey their gratitude to you.
[You have acquired a reward.]
It was a reward more gratifying than any other.
***
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
On the day they cleared the boss, they went to Staria for the first time in a while and held a banquet to celebrate their success and console the dead. The next day, they couldn’t do anything because of their hangovers.
I really couldn’t understand why they’d put hangovers even in a game.
The person who made this game is probably no ordinary psychopath.
But the banquet itself wasn’t as bad as I thought.
Maybe because we were comrades who had fought desperately together, the banquet that had been nothing but annoying during Area 1 was quite enjoyable this time.
We drank the same amount of alcohol then and now, though.
Perhaps that was how accustomed I had become to life here.
Nowadays, hunting dangerous beasts day after day came to mind before going to school or playing games.
Maybe that was why?
I could have rested a bit longer, but my steps were naturally heading outside.
Rundel, which I returned to in this way, had changed a lot.
The gloomy scenery remained, but the village felt alive.
Each and every person held hope for tomorrow.
That sight was incredibly enviable, and also made me proud.
That I—no, we—had created this sight.
Even though two days had passed, I still couldn’t quite believe it.
Harboring such sentiments and walking around Rundel, my steps naturally headed there.
“Oh? Savior. Have you returned?”
During the two weeks I stayed in Rundel, a comrade who had always been by my side.
The warrior’s house where Hakon stayed.
I smiled at the welcome face I was seeing for the first time in two days.
“Just how long are you going to call me that?”
“You are the one who saved Rundel. How could I dare call you by name?”
“My. You’re stubborn.”
It had been a while since I returned that embarrassing Savior’s outfit.
The moment I cleared the quest, I changed back into the clothes I originally wore.
But the people of Rundel still called me Savior.
And this probably wouldn’t change until I cleared the game.
Because it was true that I had brought great change to Rundel.
Sigh… that damn Arca.
Someday, I’m definitely going to hit her.
It was while I was clenching my fist inwardly like that.
“Are you leaving now?”
“I have to. I’ve been here quite a while.”
“I see.”
His tone was as calm as usual, but having been with him for two weeks, I could sense regret lingering in his voice.
I smiled at him.
“Don’t be too disappointed. We’ll be able to meet again someday.”
“Yes. Then I shall once again become the Savior’s spear. It was an honor to be with you.”
Hakon extended his hand before me.
It was a rugged hand filled with the man’s sincerity.
And I—
“Uh… Savior?”
“I can’t just part like this.”
—did not take it.
Why?
“Hakon, do you know? I can’t stand losing.”
Long ago, there was a line like that in a game.
You have to win if you’re going to play.
And before being a Savior, I am a gamer.
Someone who hates losing to others more than anything.
“So.”
Instead of taking his hand, I pointed my sword at Hakon.
“Hey, roll again.”