Arcadia Online.
A death game unfolding on Arcadia, a vast continent made up of one hundred zones.
There is no salvation from the outside.
Nor does any loophole exist within the game to return to reality.
The only way for players to log out of this world is to defeat every boss located in each zone.
From Zone 1 to Zone 100.
They had to clear one hundred bosses whose identities they did not even know.
But now, a month after the death game began, the players still had not managed to leave Zone 1.
Because no one had discovered the boss’s identity.
Fear of death was certainly part of it, but the biggest reason was that information about the game was overwhelmingly scarce.
Unlike ordinary games that had testers, such as beta testers, Arcadia Online had not undergone any testing whatsoever.
Everyone was a beginner.
In that situation, only a tiny handful of players were willing to brave the danger and explore.
Even if someone had discovered the boss, they likely died before reaching a safe zone.
However, allowing this situation to continue was not good.
Amid the sluggish exploration, the players’ hopes were being worn away by the minute.
We are destined to die here.
From those who never left Staria to those devoted to leveling up on the front lines, everyone must have been thinking the same thing.
And yet the Zone 1 boss had appeared.
“Is that really true?”
“Come on! Have you been fooled your whole life or what? I said it’s true!”
“I-I can’t believe it. Who, who on earth found it?”
“It’s a lie! B-bring us proof!”
“Ahh… Are we finally going to be able to get out of here?”
The street fell into chaos in an instant.
People grabbed hold of the man who had delivered the news and bombarded him with questions.
People sank to the ground and shed tears.
There were even people shouting that he was deceiving and inciting us.
Once the atmosphere had heated up, it did not cool down easily.
“S-Sis? Why are these people acting like that?”
Amid the pandemonium, Rian trembled in fear.
He did not understand the situation, and to a young boy, it must have been frightening enough.
To soothe him, I took his trembling hand.
“It’s nothing. It’s just… right, there’s a festival.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry too much. We’ll be leaving soon.”
But with this many people gathered, it was impossible for the carriage to move.
The coachman, looking troubled as well, gestured this way and that and even shouted for them to move, but no one heard him.
‘What should I do?’
It was not that I could not understand how they felt.
I, too, felt like ending the quest right here and listening to what the man had to say.
It was the Zone 1 boss, which had not been discovered for a whole month.
Even someone like me, who had no interest in clearing the game… no, anyone trapped in this death game could not help but be interested in that topic.
That was when it happened.
“I said, be quiet for a second!”
At the irritated shout of the man who had brought the news, the street became quiet as if by magic.
“I don’t know the details either. But the party that found the boss is going to make an announcement in the plaza later. They said they’ll tell everyone everything you’re curious about there!”
Silence fell.
“You should’ve said that first!”
But starting with someone’s shout, as though the earlier silence had been a lie, people began moving busily.
“Then we should go right now. You there, don’t just stand there, move!”
“Stop pushing! It’s wide over there anyway!”
“Still, you’ll hear better if you’re up front!”
“Fine, I’ll go check whether this is a lie myself.”
People rushed toward the plaza in a swarm.
As if by magic, the street emptied in an instant.
The only ones left were a few bewildered players and NPCs wondering what all the commotion had been about.
Now was the perfect time to leave Staria.
“Let’s get going. Before the crowds come back.”
“R-right, then. Hyah!”
But inside the departing carriage, thoughts about the boss would not leave my head.
What it looked like, whether it was possible to clear.
If I had my way, I would have gone to the plaza like everyone else.
But on the bumpy dirt road I had once again found myself on, Rian was staring intently at me.
“Sis, are you all right?”
“Hm? I’m fine.”
Did my expression look that serious?
It seemed I had worried him without meaning to.
What disgraceful behavior in front of an NPC… no, in front of a child.
I took off my hood and shook my head hard, then turned my gaze outside the carriage.
Just then, wolves appeared, targeting the carriage.
“I’ll go take care of those for a moment.”
My head was already a mess, so perhaps focusing on combat would make it a little better.
I immediately kicked off the carriage and jumped down.
But no matter how much I ran and swung my sword,
thoughts of the boss did not leave me easily.
***
By the time I returned to the village and finished the quest, it was around 4:30 p.m.
As expected, I received a large amount of experience as a reward, but it was not enough to level up, so despite the late hour, I headed for the forest.
Leveling up was one reason, but more than that, if I stayed still, I kept thinking about what had happened in Staria.
In that case, it was better to move my body.
I wandered around the entrance of the forest, hunting every beast I came across.
But before I knew it, the sky had grown dark.
“I guess it won’t happen today after all.”
I thought I had hunted quite a lot of beasts, but I was still just short of the experience needed to reach Level 8.
In truth, this was because of Arcadia’s system.
In this game, the experience gained from hunting changed depending on the level difference between the player and the enemy.
If the player’s level was low, they could obtain more experience, but if their level was high, the amount decreased in proportion to the difference between them and the enemy.
And the beasts encountered at the entrance of the forest were usually Level 4 Direwolves and Level 5 Black Pumas.
Even if I, at Level 7, hunted them, I could only gain a small amount of experience.
Despite that, the reason I remained at the entrance was because it became more dangerous the deeper one went.
Yesterday had been abnormal; normally, the habitats of beasts above Level 6 were deep within the forest.
For experience efficiency, it would be right to go farther in, but I was alone, after all.
I was not stupid enough to act recklessly by myself.
“Sigh… Well, it can’t be helped.”
Since it was late, I would have to put off reaching Level 8 until tomorrow.
Feeling disappointed, I decided to return to the village.
—Kuwaaaa!
At that moment, an unwelcome roar came from behind me.
My instincts rang the alarm.
At the sound, which I had never heard even once until now, goosebumps rose all over my body.
I quickly drew my sword and turned around.
“That is…”
The forest draped in darkness.
From between the trees, a massive black bear with black fur emerged.
[Level 8 Forest Bear]
Its blood-red eyes stared straight at me.
Even the air trembled at its low growl.
‘Why is something like that showing up here?’
Cold sweat ran down my back.
The opponent was Level 8.
An enemy with a higher number than me, a Level 7.
The fact that it had appeared here was not all that important.
What mattered was whether I had a chance of winning or not.
Whether I should run or stand and fight.
My hesitation was brief.
‘Run.’
My health and mana were in far better shape than yesterday, but there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
Besides, if I moved just a little, I could leave the forest.
If worse came to worst, I might even be able to get help from the guards.
Watching it carefully, I took one step back, then turned and ran.
—Kugugugu!
The black bear immediately chased after me.
Every time it stamped the ground, the earth sank and trees shattered.
But what was even more surprising was its speed.
‘How is it that fast?’
I had never actually faced a bear in real life, but I knew bears were fast.
If this had not been inside a game, I would not have chosen to run.
However, this was a game, and my current Agility stat was 15.
With a number like that, I thought I should be able to escape easily.
But before I knew it, the bear had closed the distance and charged in with its foreleg raised.
I rolled to the side to avoid the shadow falling over my head.
—Boom!
The spot where I had been just moments ago was gouged out, and dust billowed up.
If I had failed to dodge, I would certainly have died instantly.
To suppress the fear rising inside me, I bit down hard on my lip.
“This is driving me crazy, seriously.”
I erased the option of running from my mind.
In that case, the only thing left was to fight.
The black bear charged at me again.
I pulled my sword taut past my waist.
Focusing on the bear’s foreleg, I slipped swiftly into its blind spot the moment it swung.
“Slash!”
A counterattack burst forth.
A blue strike pierced through the bear’s hide and carved into it, and blood sprayed from the wound.
—Graaaah!
The black bear roared, thrashing in pain.
But that was all.
Before I even had time to feel joy at landing my attack, I had to roll across the ground to avoid the foreleg rushing at me.
Once I lost my balance, it was difficult to regain it.
The bear gave me no time to recover my posture, and I kept breaking out in a cold sweat before its claws and teeth as they came at me again and again.
‘Why is it still so fine?’
Its movements did not seem like those of something wounded.
Even while bleeding continuously, it was still fast.
I needed to create an opening.
An opening to stop its movements and let me get my stance back.
I did not have a skill that could make that possible.
However, actions like swinging and thrusting a sword were possible even without using a skill.
The bear’s paw loomed over my head.
Toward the foot larger than my face, I thrust my sword upward.
When the blade dug into the bear’s paw, the bear let out a bizarre cry and went berserk, thrashing in every direction.
Using that opening, I desperately rolled away and widened the distance between myself and the bear.
“Haaah… Hah…”
Ragged breaths burst from me.
I had barely managed to create some distance, but I had lost my weapon.
My health and mana still had room to spare, but the situation was the worst.
“I need to get myself another weapon or something.”
Of course, I would have to survive here first before I could get one.
I turned around again and sprinted with all my might.
Even with its paw stabbed, the bear did not stop chasing me.
The sight of it charging in with the sword still lodged in it, scattering blood everywhere, was chilling.
‘But its speed has definitely slowed.’
Until now, the bear had easily caught up to me, but now it seemed to be having a hard time closing the distance.
And that meant the bear had reached its limit.
It seemed like it would be easy to run all the way to the village like this.
But was running away like this really the right choice?
‘If only I had a weapon, I don’t think killing it would be impossible…’
I did not know what kind of enemies would appear in the future.
If I chose only to run away every time, I would never obtain the strength I wanted.
Moreover, the bear was currently weakened.
If I could just grab my sword again, I could do it.
In that case, my choice was clear.
“All right. Let’s do it.”
I stopped and waited for the bear.
It might have been a reckless choice.
But in my heart, I felt certain that I could do it.
Let’s trust this feeling.
I opened my eyes wide and stared at the charging bear.
The bear came running on three legs, instead of the one pierced by the sword.
Before I knew it, it was right in front of me, raising its foreleg high.
I dodged the foreleg and slipped into the bear’s embrace.
Thanks to having become a woman and having a smaller build, it was easy to slip into the bear’s blind spot.
I reached out and grabbed the hilt of the sword embedded in its foot.
As expected, because it was lodged too deeply, I could not possibly pull it out with my strength.
But right now, I was holding the sword.
And that meant I could use a skill.
‘I can’t pull it out. In that case…’
I would widen the distance while cutting through the bear’s entire arm with the sword stuck inside it.
I had a skill that could make that possible.
Basic Swordsmanship, Second Form.
A single-strike charge skill.
“Sword Rush!”
—Slash!
My body and sword shot into the sky, cutting through the bear’s bone and flesh.
The bear’s roar shook the earth, and trees toppled and dirt flew from its rampage.
However, the bear still did not fall.
It had lost a lot of blood, and its movements had slowed greatly, but its blood-red eyes were still searching for me.
But the bear could not find me.
Because my body was still floating in the air.
So I would end it this time.
My target was its neck.
With the force of my fall behind it, I swung my sword at the black bear.
“Slash!”
—Thud!
The black bear’s head fell to the ground.
Blood gushed up, its massive body collapsed, and an enormous cloud of dust rose around me.
[Alert: You have leveled up!]
[You have acquired status points.]
With the tension gone, I sank to the ground where I stood.
“Ha, haha…”
Still, it did not feel bad.
I had leveled up, and even while panting for breath, laughter escaped me at the fact that I had defeated an enemy I thought I could not win against.
Not that I was saying I would do something like this again.
“…Let’s hurry back.”
Exhaustion washed over me belatedly.
I felt like doing nothing and sleeping like a log.
But when I returned to Ms. Kate’s inn, what I was faced with was—
“Hello. My name is Emily.”
Another unwelcome guest.
“Would you like to join our party?”