Translator: Dreamscribe
Arsilan Saga's Side Story Episode was still in an early access phase, not yet officially released. Despite that, the concurrent player count across all gas was in the tens of millions.
The number of Heroes in Arsilan Saga had surpassed 200 million and was ceaselessly climbing toward 300 million. At this pace, analysts projected it could be looking at one billion within the next year.
Everything about Arsilan Saga was only going to grow bigger from here.
The developers who participated in this Side Story were moved when they saw the data sent from FS Gas. Countless Heroes had embraced their work with the passion of devoted fans.
Arsilanians and the Demon Race had also joined in the Dinsional Travel and enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Since they too were connected to the Soul Moon, they couldn't show the sa dramatic growth rates as the Heroes, but they were growing at a fairly steep pace.
Many ga companies had joined FS Gas' Second Party. On Jinwoo's orders, FS Gas had even gone as far as acquiring capable but struggling ga companies.
The early access period and the Golden Beetle event proceeded smoothly. The situation room at FS Gas was monitoring the Golden Beetle event.
"The hit sounds are so satisfying."
"It just makes want to keep smacking them?"
"I caught a few myself yesterday. Most of them were duds, though...."
Jinwoo gazed at the scene displayed on his Information Window.
When Heroes discovered Golden Beetles during Dinsional Travel, they didn't kill them in one blow.
That was because a thod existed to squeeze out maximum profit.
A post on Arsilan Worlds titled "Let's Farm Golden Beetles for Free Loot!" had held the number one spot on the best-of list for days. Since Golden Beetles dropped Arsilan Gold every ti they were hit, the more hits you landed, the better the payoff.
At minimum, an F-rank level attack was needed to make them cough up Arsilan Gold.
Jinwoo had expected that thods to hit Golden Beetles as many tis as possible would erge.
It was a result he had engineered.
The Lesser Entities were tortured, dying and reviving and dying again in an endless cycle. So people had taken it even a step further.
"I didn't expect them to use healing potions, too. Applying a healing potion and drying them at the beach actually heals the Golden Beetle's wounds...."
"If you compare the cost of healing potions to the gold the Golden Beetle drops, it's still a net gain."
It was such a tedious process that Heroes didn't bother going that far.
But the Demon Race was different. They were extre profit-grinders. Even the tedious process beca a thrill that fueled dreams of sweet rewards.
Jinwoo glanced at the clock and nodded.
"It's finally ti to shut down the Side Story servers."
The Side Story's test period had already ended.
It was originally supposed to end three days ago, but it had been extended at the Heroes' desperate plea. The winning team had already been given their prizes and benefits.
At Jinwoo's words, the situation room staff wore awkward expressions.
"I bet a few protest trucks are going to show up again."
"Last ti it was a breakfast buffet...."
"Hmm...."
What they called "protest trucks" were actually coffee trucks and catered buffet trucks.
The protest culture in Arsilan Saga was unique. Instead of making aggressive demands, people used thods that put pressure on Jinwoo through generosity.
Because the Heroes themselves knew all too well how much Jinwoo treasured them, they poured every ounce of devotion and money into their protests.
The price tags were still climbing even now.
That strategy had actually worked, forcing Jinwoo to extend the early access period.
"Erosion Headquarters has finished developing the official version of Sion Academy, and they plan to reveal other titles sequentially. There probably won't be much backlash."
"That's a relief."
"Phew...."
"Hmm, you really think so?"
Gas with a high level of polish were also slated for quick release with only minor refinents. So while many titles would go offline, the gap wouldn't feel too significant.
Probably.
"Then we'll take the servers down as planned."
When Han Yong-seon said this and gave the order, the situation room staff sprang into action. Ten minutes before the server shutdown, an Information Window appeared within Arsilan Saga.
Jinwoo entered his office and opened a separate Information Window to watch over Arsilan.
[The quest Dinsional Travel has been completed! Rewards will be delivered via your mailbox!]
[The Light of the Holy Sword has settled into the Fragnted Worlds, stabilizing them. Through your dedication, the Fragnted Worlds have connected with their original worlds and begun restoration.]
FWASH!
It was an Information Window drenched in light.
The Information Window dissolved into particles of light and settled into every Fragnted World where travelers were present. Changes began to take place in the Fragnted Worlds.
There was a Hero who had just cleared the Soul Chronicle dinsion, a Side Story impressive for its classic, traditional storyline. It was a Hero from Romance Domain whom Jinwoo also knew.
The Hero clenched a fist, overwheld with emotion.
Soul Chronicle had a completely predictable, textbook storyline, so the Hero had expected to feel nothing. But soon, the Hero ca to understand the greatness that a classic story could deliver. There was a reason this kind of narrative structure had been beloved for so long.
The Hero had intended to play solo and clear it quickly.
But along the journey, companions had appeared.
A mage who acted prickly but always looked out for the Hero from behind.
A stalwart shield knight who guarded the front, and a saintess who handled healing.
The beer they drank after clearing a dungeon was fantastic. They played instrunts together in the back of a wagon, laughing and chattering. They saved a city and thwarted a conspiracy that nearly brought a kingdom to ruin.
In the end, the Hero reached the Demon King's castle, defeated the Demon King, and concluded a month-long journey. It was a short adventure, but through it, the Hero had discovered true friendship.
And then....
Standing before the Hero was the saintess, shyly confessing her feelings. The Hero tried to answer her with a bright smile. But that answer never reached her. An Information Window signaling quest completion had suddenly appeared.
Light flooded the Hero's surroundings. At the sa ti, the Hero's body began to grow faint.
[Huh? Wait...!]
[Hero?!]
The saintess desperately called out sothing to the Hero, but the words couldn't be heard.
The Hero reached out toward the saintess.
The saintess reached out toward the Hero in turn.
Their outstretched hands t, but
SWOOSH!
Like touching a mirage, their hands passed through each other.
They couldn't touch.
They couldn't hold on.
[The dinsional rift is closing.]
And then, the Hero vanished.
FWASH!
Without even leaving a final word behind, the Hero was transported to the front of the Dinsion Gate in Romance Domain.
[Ah....]
DRIP!
Tears stread down the Hero's face.
Haebyul, who had appeared at the Dinsion Gate, stretched beside the Hero with a cheerful smile.
[That was fun! Now THAT's what I call healing! Hot spring trip was the best!]
-Ah... I wanted to see more.
-Why do only YOU get to see it? Why only you? Why only you? Why only you?
[Hehehehe.... Curious, aren't you? It was amazing. I can't wait for the official release. Oh! I got a farming skill too. Apparently you can use it here as well.]
Haebyul was laughing happily when she noticed the Hero crying beside her.
[Oh..., um....]
[Hnngh.]
Haebyul closed her mouth.
She had realized the Hero was deep in imrsion. But she was the lord of Romance Domain. She had a duty to look after the Heroes under her charge.
Maybe opening a gift would help restore the Hero's ntal state a bit?
[Oh! Um..., apparently there are gifts in the mailbox.]
[...Okay.]
Haebyul opened her mailbox first.
Friends she had made during her healing getaway had sent seeds. Gifts like these had arrived for every Hero who had invested the Light of the Holy Sword in a Fragnted World.
[Wow! Seeds! I've gotta plant these right away. What did you get?]
[A letter....]
The Hero opened the envelope with trembling hands, carefully. Haebyul watched from beside. Inside the envelope was a photograph.
[Hnngh....]
The Hero and the saintess sat side by side at a lakeside, gazing at beautiful stars. On the back of the photograph, a ssage was written in elegant handwriting.
"I'll wait for you forever, in the world you protected."
The mont the Hero saw those words, the Hero crumbled completely.
[AAAAAGH! Send back! At least let say one last thing...!]
Haebyul gently patted the back of the Hero, who was curled up on the ground sobbing, then stepped back.
[Uh, um..., hang in there.]
-I played that ga too and I lost 10 kg from the aftereffects
-Sa, I couldn't do anything for two days ㅋㅋ Gonna be hard to snap out of it.
-The part after you beat the Demon King is the real deal. The feels hit different.
-But that Hero seems to have experienced sothing else entirely....
A Hero bonds with companions, shares friendship and love, and vanquishes the Demon King.
A classic storyline like this was anything but boring. And when you experienced it as your own reality, it seeped deep into your heart and soul!
On top of that, the developers' unique sensibilities and worldbuilding made it resonate even more deeply. Among the Heroes, Soul Chronicle was already being called "Tear Chronicle" instead.
Most of them didn't experience a parting as dramatic as that Hero's, but the majority still ended with a farewell. The developers hadn't had enough ti to implent other endings.
"Hmm...."
Jinwoo quietly closed the Information Window.
'As expected of the best developers. I can't believe they made a test ga this good.'
Anyway, it's probably not my fault.
It was a ga worthy of the world's best developers coming together. Jinwoo was about to check Arsilan Worlds but decided against it.
In any case, the Heroes had grown, and the ga was fun. Wasn't that enough?
* * *
When the Arsilan Saga Side Story Episode test ended, it was officially released along with "The Heart-Pounding Sion Academy of Love and Friendship."
Naturally, it wasn't free.
Side Story Episode was a ga platform created to share profits with ga developers worldwide.
Considering it was virtual reality, few would object even if prices were set high. But Jinwoo, of course, didn't do that. Nor did he give it away for free as he usually did.
'It'll set the standard.'
Sion Academy's launch price would beco the benchmark. Other ga developers would have no choice but to price below it unless their ga matched Sion Academy in volu.
Of course, DLC and paid in-ga content would also be permitted within reasonable limits. However, if it provoked even the slightest unpleasant feeling, it would be imdiately removed.
The developnt speed of Second Party studios was remarkably fast. With the Lord God Engine, they could bring anything they imagined into reality just by thinking it. On top of that, because they could adjust the ti multiplier even within developnt mode, the developnt speed could only be described as light speed.
'By year's end, they'll be pouring out.'
Release schedules were already packed tight.
A ga awards ceremony was also in the works.
Periodically selecting a Ga of the Year for Arsilan Saga Side Story Episode didn't seem like a bad idea either. Unlike real-world ceremonies, they'd be free from spatial constraints, so it could be organized on a grand scale.
[Master, Erosion energy is gathering around the last remaining Higher Being in Arsilan.]
At Tiris's report, Jinwoo nodded and rose from his seat.
Jinwoo imdiately exited Arsilan's Barrier.
Even after erging beyond the Barrier and reaching the deep reaches, the Erosion energy was not dense. It rely lay settled like smoke that might scatter at any mont. The entire planet had already fallen under Arsilan's sphere of influence.
Jinwoo concealed himself, then teleported several tis to enter the Higher Entity's domain.
'Working hard, I see.'
It was so engrossed in preparing sothing that it completely failed to notice Jinwoo's gaze.
It was preparing to break through the Barrier and escape. Whether it was fleeing to its howorld or so other dinsion was unclear, but Jinwoo naturally had no intention of letting it go quietly.
'Still as slow as ever.'
Breaking through the dinsional wall and traveling to a specific destination was a difficult feat even for a god. Even Jinwoo could only travel between Earth and Arsilan through the Soul Moon.
The Erosion Higher Entity appeared to be able to pierce through the dinsional wall and travel to a desired location through a special thod. This particular Higher Entity, it had been determined, possessed an Authority related to that ability.
The Higher Entity's condition was poor.
As Arsilan grew healthier and stronger, it had been forced to expel everything it could no longer digest from Arsilan, and it was carving away its own Authority and power to construct a massive temple and structures on Erosion-tainted ground.
[It's completely different from Magic Circles or Sacred Formations. It seems to operate solely on the principles of Erosion energy.]
It appeared that the Higher Entity's Authority served as an incantation to activate it.
'If I just understand the principles, I could replicate it.'
It was nearly complete now.
Jinwoo had been waiting for this mont ever since he first discovered the Higher Entity.
He had no intention of interfering with the Higher Entity and planned to wait until it broke the Barrier and opened a dinsional rift. The creature would guide Arsilan to its next destination all on its own.
'Let check the Authorities I've acquired while this finishes up.'
Thanks to absorbing a large number of Lesser Entities at once, the Soul Moon had also grown.
So Authorities were useless, but a fair number were quite useful. The Soul Moon itself had grown significantly, and the Lord God Engine had also been massively upgraded.
The Authority possessed by the strongest Lesser Entity was quite remarkable. If it had been left alone, it could have developed into a Higher Entity.
[Transcendent] Informationization
Can convert living beings, objects, knowledge, and similar things into data for absorption.
If the absorbed information pertains to knowledge or skills, it can be freely bestowed upon beings under the Soul Moon. However, depending on the rank of the information, processing power or stats may be required.
Jinwoo pulled a book from his Subspace.
It was "Let's Play Guitar! Beginner's Edition."
Over more than a hundred years he had mastered many techniques, but music was the one field he simply could not get the hang of.
Before the Erosion invasion, Jinwoo had once taken an interest in instrunts and tried to learn. Every ti he did, sothing unexpected happened, like the instrunt getting destroyed or mana going haywire. It had beco routine for Ella and Hanu to watch with uneasy expressions whenever Jinwoo picked up an instrunt.
The book dissolved into particles of light and the skill data was input into the Soul Moon.
'Oh..., so that's how it works.'
Jinwoo could now play the guitar!
The more a skill clashed with one's innate disposition, the higher the stat requirents, but that posed no real problem for Jinwoo.
'This could make Arsilan Saga feel even more like a proper ga.'
Until now, skills and magic had been implented by directly inscribing them into a Hero's soul. That led to movents becoming sowhat predictable. Now it seed possible to make Heroes truly "learn" them. Naturally, he planned to implent it in a way that fit Arsilan Saga's context.
'While reading a book, or during training....'
That mont when everything suddenly clicks!
If he implented it in the form of an "epiphany," it would give Heroes a fresh sense of exhilaration.
THUD-THUD-THUD!
The ground shook and Erosion energy began to coalesce thickly. The energy of every trace of Erosion in Arsilan was gathering along the structures the creature had erected.
CRRRRACK!
The creature, hidden underground, revealed its enormous body.
"Oh?"
It was a giant caterpillar.
Its size rivaled that of Alusion itself. It had originally been a massive moth, but having wrung out every last drop of power, it appeared to have reverted to its caterpillar form.
[It's been activated.]
When the caterpillar reared its head, Erosion energy began surging upward from the colossal structure. It took the shape of a drill, aid at piercing through Arsilan's Barrier.
It intended to smash through and flee in one shot, running at maximum output from the very start.
CRACK!
Fissures began to spread across the Barrier.
A display worthy of a Higher Entity. Had Jinwoo not been here, the creature's plan would have succeeded.
When Jinwoo waved his hand, mana and Sacred Power infused the cracked sections, rapidly restoring them.
FLINCH!
It shuddered.
With things not going according to plan, its desperation beca obvious. In the end, it burned through even the energy reserves stored within its body in a frantic effort to break through the Barrier. The caterpillar's body, which had looked sowhat plump, shriveled and withered until it was wrinkled and gaunt.
It was a fitting look.
When Jinwoo stopped the repairs, the Barrier broke through.
'Trying so hard.'
Jinwoo moved above the Barrier and watched the caterpillar's movents.
The caterpillar spewed black threads into the hole, connecting them, then wriggled its way upward. Upon reaching the hole in the Barrier, it extended several short legs and barely managed to crawl on top.
SWOOSH!
Jinwoo erased his presence completely and stepped onto the creature's body. Though the creature was swiveling its head around, on high alert, it couldn't detect Jinwoo.
'Now then....'
Jinwoo had not been sitting idle while the creature had been planning its escape from Arsilan. He extended his hand, and a small Holy Magic Circle was drawn on the caterpillar's body. It was a powerful paralysis spell that could anesthetize even the soul.
[You're using that?]
[Yeah. The greatness of nature. It's a perfect fit.]
Jinwoo crafted a fist-sized egg by combining the Lord God's Authority with every Authority harbored in the Soul Moon. It was a parasitic monster that would grow by feeding on the creature's Authority and energy from within its body.
He had gotten the idea from watching a docuntary about parasitic wasps.
Since it parasitized not just the flesh but deep within the soul, it could never be removed unless one possessed power surpassing Jinwoo's own.
Connected to the Soul Moon, it would allow him to know the creature's exact location no matter how far away or where it was. It would also transmit detailed information about its surroundings.
[It'll be slowly eaten alive. And when there's nothing left to consu, it bursts through the soul and erges into the world outside..., that's a cruelty quite unlike Arsilan.]
[On Earth, this kind of ecosystem is fairly common.]
[...I thought it was a beautiful place, but it turns out it was a hellscape.]
It was a ruthlessly cruel ecosystem rarely seen in Arsilan.
SQUELCH!
Jinwoo split open the area where the Holy Magic Circle had been drawn, then inserted the egg. When the Holy Magic Circle vanished, the caterpillar's wound healed rapidly. Even then, the caterpillar noticed nothing.
The caterpillar squeezed out its last remaining strength and tore open a dinsional rift in the void of space. At the sa ti, the egg that had entered its body slowly seeped inward, settling into a critical spot.
'Nicely settled. Grow big and strong.'
Now, shall we put on a little show?
Jinwoo deliberately revealed himself on the Barrier so distance away. He wore an urgent expression as he conjured a Magic Circle.
[Heh, heheheh! You're too late.]
"What...?"
The caterpillar's massive body was sucked into the dinsional rift. It looked as though it were falling into a black hole.
KRAKOOOOM!
Jinwoo's magic poured down, but it failed to reach the dinsional rift and dissipated. Sothing like a gravitational field seed to be at work.
"What are you up to?"
[I will spread the location of this place! Tremble in fear and wait! Arsilan will fall, without fail!]
"No way...! W-wait! Stop!"
Jinwoo teleported and appeared before the caterpillar, but a massive shockwave blasting from the dinsional rift sent him flying backward.
[Hahahaha!]
"Gah!"
Jinwoo hastily unleashed a grand spell, but the caterpillar left only its laughter behind as it vanished into the dinsional rift. The rift sealed shut just as quickly.
[How was that?]
[Not bad acting. I feel rather sorry for the Higher Entity, so full of bluster without knowing its own predicant.]
Jinwoo smirked at Tiris's critique.
[Its location?]
[It's crossing through countless dinsional bubbles. Tracking status is excellent.]
[Bubbles?]
[Yes, I ca up with a na for those empty dinsions.]
[Not bad.]
If one tried to cross dinsions recklessly, one could end up trapped in one of those empty dinsions with nothing in them. That was why a guide was needed.
Jinwoo had acquired a caterpillar navigation system!
The caterpillar was an excellent spy and a delicious morsel of prey.
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