Thursday.
AAU.
The moment when the appointment time passed.
Sung Hyunjoon sighed.
Really, how long has it been?
Regular updates, none!
It had been a while since they ran out of regular updates.
This was Arcana that urgently poured out updates.
He didnt know what kind of wind suddenly blew, but.
Thanks, Raymond.
Sung Hyunjoon, muttered, hurriedly packing his bag.
I cant even remember the last time I did this. Leaving work on time on Thursday.
But for some reason.
Yoon Sookyum, who was supposed to match his tune, didnt answer.
Well, ominous promotions were never wrong.
Sung Hyunjoon looked at him and was stunned.
Sunbae, what are you doing right now!!?
Huh? I am working.
Is this the time to work? Lets celebrate!
Even so, his serious senior had become more serious these days. As a result, Sung Hyunjoon who sat next to him was also getting tired.
Branch Manager Park even came and lectured.
Newbies these days. They have no spirit.
It was followed by terrible preaching.
Yes, he should listen to the words of his senior and boss.
He tried to listen to it with the pride of a newcomer, but he couldnt.
In the first place, that remark was unfair.
How could he be a newbie in his nth year!?
The entry conditions for AAU?
There was only one.
They must have worked at Cosmo at a time when Arcana was just a game.
But there was no way Cosmo, who died with Raymans disappearance, would hire a new employee.
No, sunbae! Does it make sense to be the maknae forever?
Then and now.
Sung Hyunjoon had no choice but to be a newbie for life.
He directed a resentful look at Yoon Sookyum.
Are you going to be harsh on me, too?
What have you been saying since earlier?
Why do you work voluntarily overtime? Sunbae!
The reason he worked overtime.
Creak
Pulling his chair closer.
Yoon Sookyum said while straightening his back.
Pride of the proxy.
Ah, seriously!Finndd the new𝒆st 𝒏ovels on n/𝒐/velbin(.)com
Haha, its just a joke, I have to do something.
Yoon Sookyum shook his head.
Hundreds of monitors.
They revealed the figures of the players.
Dont you think this is your first time seeing something like that?
Although there were no regular updates, players didnt stop.
They were hunting all over Zero Mountain.
Yoon Sookyum continued.
Everyone is more serious than ever.
It was different than before.
There was no laughter seen in the players.
Maybe it was because of the danger of the Zero Mountains.
Or maybe it was because of their pride as a player.
There was no way for him to know.
Looking at them
Yoon Sookyum looked down at his chest.
I feel stabbed by my conscience.
Sung Hyunjoon looked around after he said that.
He didnt think Yoon Sookyum was the only one thinking like that.
It was already past business hours.
No one left the place.
Constructive conversations were heard from everywhere.
Whats the pattern of the named mob? Did you come up with anything?
Yes, I found the unique pattern for each race, but Im not sure if this also applies to Zero Mountain mobs.
Thats good enough. Its not us, its the players who judge.
Flop
Eventually, Sung Hyunjoon collapsed into his seat.
Yes, I guess I have to do it. The maknae for life.
The seniors usually looked extremely lenient.
He thought he had misunderstood them.
No.
It was only now, they werent like this in Cosmo.
He felt like he had found the dignity of his sunbaes who seemed out of reach.
Why arent you leaving work?
Thats enough. I dont know how many years of experience I have, but I dont want to show off as a rookie either.
Is that so? Then, can I ask you for this?
What is it?
He was wondering what he should start with anyway.
Sung Hyunjoon checked the link sent by Yoon Sookyum.
An image file appeared.
Lizard? No, its a dragon, right? Wings!
Yes, thats right.
Wait, are you leaving the dragon to me?
Anyway, even if the dragon was small in size.
All of a sudden, he gave him the dragon.
The ultimate king.
The content was too deep for a newbie to take charge of.
Sunbae, this is a little
Just as Sung Hyunjoon, who felt burdened, was about to ask.
Yoon Sookyum sent him additional data.
On the data, a list of classes was written.
Whats up with the pressure? There are so many of them.
Right? There are thousands of combat classes.
Why did you send this to me?
Along with dragon-related files?
Of course, because Zero Mountain has appeared.
The dragon is still far away.
So, we need to collect information in advance from now on. Of course, there may be players who need information related to dragons right now.
Huh? Who?
Who else? Just take one from that list of classes.
List of classes Ah!
Those words reminded Sung Hyunjoon.
Countless classes of Arcana.
Among them, there was one out of a hundred hidden classes.
The existence of the [dragon knight].
Skal!
Click.
As soon he clicked it, Information about the dragon knight appeared.
Starting from the former conditions to class quest plots.
He felt it once again.
The world was wide and there were so many different people.
How did Skal overcome these conditions and transfer jobs?
The players are not normal people. In the early days of the game, there were people who only swung wooden swords for days for their strength stat alone. Well, it made sense that theres at least one person who can overcome it.
But
Sung Hyunjoon shook his head.
That was fine, his questions had been resolved to some extent.
Lets get started.
Then he put his hand on the keyboard right away.
So What you want is a choice where humanity and dragons dont collide, right?
Our Seodang dog, its just pretending, alright? Well, it might be different in a really distant future. But we dont have a chance right now. Even if Hoyeol-ssi comes forward.
(TL notes: Seodang dog is referring to the dog in the idiom A dog recites a poem if it spends three years at a seodang.)
Yes. If they ever wake up and flap their wings, a lot of damage will follow. Of course, we will only have Skal. Such an option.
A dragon knight could handle dragons.
He was the only one who could do [taming].
Then
They needed to collect information that could help the class quests of the dragon knight, Skal. Lets see After looking through the data for a long time, Sung Hyunjoon finally found the starting point.
The [Evil Dragon Hunter] quest starts here?
*
Zero Mountain.
Dragons lived at the top.
So there was one quest that I shouldnt forget.
[World quest: Evil Dragon Hunter]
You who hunted a clan of evil dragons.
The legend of the mountain is calling you.
Reach the summit of the Zero Mountain. (In progress)
[Thefern Labyrinth] rupture.
This was a world quest that arose after defeating the evil dragon, Being That Should Not Be Awakened.
Perhaps because I contributed the most to the disposal of the evil dragon.
I was the only one who got a different quest from the players.
Zero Mountain is not that high.
Dont be bluffing after teleporting with the portal, Grandfel.
How high do you think Zero Mountain is!?
That thing even appears so big in the satellite photos!
As Grandfel said.
If I manifested a portal.
It was possible to reach the top of Zero Mountain right away.
But the real problem was not getting there, but what happened afterward.
What if they really woke up?!
Vivace
Thanks to the commotion with Shegwynn right underneath the dragons nest.
I felt it slightly.
The overwhelming energy of the dragon!
The elf was a unique being comparable to a dragon.
But this was a sense of pressure that I didnt feel from Elsidore.
Of course, it was because of the buff [Blessing of the First World Tree] that I could see Elsidore as an easy target.
Anyway
Right now, Im no match for them.
The [Blessing of the First World Tree], [Natural Enemy Relationship], and finally the ethereal iron that I just mentioned.
As I was struggling, I unintentionally ended up saying a lot of things.
But that meant I was always aware of it.
I knew my place.
[Name: Grandfel Claudie Arpheus Romeo]
[Title: The Last Adventurer, Noble, Transcendent]
[Class: Demon hunter]
[Level: 595]
[Stat]
Strength: 130 / Agility: 131 / Mana: 514 / Luck: 12 / Aesthetic: Medium/ / Tenacity: 1
[Point owned: 0]
Even the Mage Tower couldnt win against the dragons.
What about now when the Tower Master was out of action?
Needless to say.
The moment the dragons woke up and showed hostility to mankind
Its not just me and you that will sink into pride, Grandfel.
However, a mountain is only a mountain if you climb it. You have to follow the procedures.
Yeah, well said.
Zero Mountain was huge.
There were dragons on top of it.
It was a structure where you would climb the mountain range step by step from the bottom, and when you reached the high summit, you would automatically be at the level to face the dragon.
Isnt that right, AAU?
Thats probably why they set it up like that.
Hundred Thousand Caves.
A hundred thousand caves in Zero Mountain.
According to the settings of AAU, there were [Dungeon], [Labyrinth], [Ruin], [Battlefield], etc.
Im sure theres a variety of contents.
Now that the Zero Mountain had come into reality.
It would be safe to think of the one hundred thousand caves as one hundred thousand [ruptures].
If you think of it like that
I guess its possible?
Become strong enough to face a dragon.
As expected, they were not the creators of Arcana for nothing.
Everyone had a plan.
Unlike someone who just uses up everything that looks good or cool without a plan.
But what could I do?
It wasnt something I could blame on anyone.
Moreover, lets change our perspective and think about it.
Actually, its not a good thing.
Dragon.
An entity that could only be encountered by clearing a hundred thousand ruptures.
When it was put that way, I realized how incredibly formidable my opponent was.
In that regard, you did a good job, Hoyeol.
A hundred thousand caves? I dont need that arrangement.
Yes, it was better to be proud than to be intimidated.
Of course, I might sink under that heavy pride.
Although there were significant side effects.
I was as good at it as I was at knowing my place.
Struggling, I meant.
In that regard.
I had to talk to Skal.
Skals class was a hidden class, dragon knight.
Above all, Skal called me the Evil Dragon Hunter.
He probably knew something about the Evil Dragon Hunter quest.
The higher the expectations, the bigger the disappointment, so I shouldnt expect too much.
Maybe we can avoid conflict with the dragons.
I had to delve into even the smallest possibilities.
Actually, there was only a small possibility of clearing all the 100,000 caves.
Lets just think that the unfortunate ones struggle more fiercely.
Of course.
Skal, you need to be qualified first.
Skal was hated by Grandfel.
It was concerning to me.
If Skal turned sulky because of Grandfels bitter words.
It would be exhausting.
Lets be formal and proud.
Lets calm down, Grandfel.
I took out my smartphone.
Grandfel, who didnt value wealth and fame and had pure integrity, probably didnt know.
Since ancient times, buying something was good for mental stability.
Shopping is the best.
By the way.
It works even in cold water. Interesting.
I couldnt believe he was being generous with just the new green tea.
Youre such an easy man, Grandfel.
.
.
.
Sksk
No. 1 in the official ranking of Arcana, Skal.
Skal didnt stop grooming.
His beloved horse wagged its tail as if in a good mood.
He muttered to Alexander.
What did I do wrong, Alexander?
What went wrong?
Lee Hoyeol.
Hero of humanity.
An existence who was infinitely benevolent even for players.
But.
For some reason.
That person didnt even want to talk to him!
Skal felt that it was unfair in many ways.
It wasnt just a failure, it was a humiliation. Its painful, Alexander.
Skal was different from most players.
To be exact, since the starting point.
Why had Skal been extremely secretive?
It was because of his own family.
His real name was Skala Rothschild.
Skal was born into one of the few most prestigious families on Earth.
His family had enormous wealth and power that had been handed down since the Middle Ages.
Life was so easy for him, who was born with everything.
For Skal, Arcana seemed attractive.
It was another world.
Unlike in the reality.
He had a lot to achieve.
Skals purpose in playing Arcana was simple.
He would place the Arcana Continent under his feet.
With such a goal, the dragon knight class suited him the most.
If he could put a leash on a dragon, the strongest creature on the Arcana Continent.
That would be a clear symbol of conquest.
Even after the cataclysm, that thought didnt change.
Just like when Arcana was just a game, Skal cleared the ruptures.
And he grew.
By following the class quest that served as a guide.
However.
What is this, really?
Skals hollow eyes turned to the quest window.
[Class quest: Evil Dragon Hunter]
A legendary being.
You who want to face the dragon.
Be prepared to face them.
When the first class quest appeared.
He thought that his goal was finally within reach.
However.
Defeat the evil dragon sleeping in the forbidden zone. (Fail)
It was suddenly a failure.
Fail, the moment he saw that word.
Skal almost fainted.
This was the first time he experienced failure in his life.
Was this what the bitter taste of failure was like?
How could people in the world repeat such terrible failures? He even completely stopped eating and drinking. So Skal had no choice but to carry on.
The quest goal was newly updated.
Encounter with the evil dragon hunter. (In Progress)
There was a reason for the failure.
Someone had their own quest goal, the evil dragon hunter.
He found out that that person had intercepted it.
It wasnt difficult to find that person.
The world had made a fuss about it.
Lee Hoyeol.
Forbidden zone, Thefern.
An evil dragon, Being That Must Not Be Awakened.
The puzzle was put together in his head.
By that point, Skal had taken action.
I have no business with these worthless people.
Lee Hoyeol, I want to talk to you.
The great evil dragon hunter.
But what was the problem?
I even praised him and said he was great.
The evil dragon hunter, Hoyeol, didnt even give time for Skal.
And as he was lamenting to his beloved horse as always.
?!
Skal heard of it.
The Zero Mountain where the dragons slept.
Hoyeol had reached the peak.
Thud
The comb fell from his grasp.
N-No way.
Did Lee Hoyeol also receive a quest related to dragons?
Now that Hoyeol had defeated the evil dragon.
He would even be equipped to face a dragon.
Could it be that the quest he failed was transferred to Lee Hoyeol?
!
In an instant.
An image came to mind.
The image of Hoyeol riding a dragon through the sky.
Skals face was filled with astonishment.
N-No! My dragon!