novelraw Chapter 122: The Miracle That Came (6)
Chapter 122: The Miracle That Came (6)
Translator: Dreamscribe
Hanu’s Sea.
Hanu's Sea had completely erased the desert.
As if taking revenge, it had swallowed everything and made it disappear.
The power of the Magic Barrier seeped into Hanu’s Sea, and the sea itself gained the power to block the Erosion. Just as Hanu had blocked the Erosion with her body, this vast sea was now blocking it for Arsilan.
The Magic Barrier, and Hanu’s Sea.
Arsilan came to be protected by two walls.
It was a truly astonishing miracle.
Countless lives that had once existed in Arsilan’s sea returned to the sea. Even the mermaids who had been trapped in the narrow sea collectively migrated.
“Keh! I found a pearl!”
“Ooooh!”
“There’s a lobster here bigger than a goblin!”
“I can’t resist seafood!”
The Heroes lifted up what they had collected from the sea.
The scenery beneath the sea was fantastic.
Gigantic clams and beautiful coral were harmoniously arranged, and various lifeforms were being born within the golden particles even now. Heroes who specialized in underwater exploration began to emerge.
Jinwoo was creating content in the deep sea. Now that such a vast and beautiful sea had formed, it wouldn’t be right to not utilize it, he couldn’t call himself a game developer otherwise.
Dodododo!
He built a massive barrier in the deep sea and pumped air into it. Staff members wearing swimsuits entered and began construction inside.
Mermaids gathered around Jinwoo.
Although this was the deep sea, the mermaids were completely unaffected by the water pressure. They swam freely around Jinwoo and offered their help. For Jinwoo, breathing and water pressure weren’t an issue either.
[Should I just build a Dragon Palace?]
A city beneath the sea.
When people are asked to imagine such a city, most will think of a Dragon Palace. It appeared frequently in many films, animations, and even games. It seemed like a good idea to create a Dragon Palace styled to match Arsilan’s atmosphere.
[What is a Dragon Palace?]
[It’s a palace where the Dragon King resides.]
When a mermaid asked Jinwoo, he answered simply.
[Helby nim?]
[Ah.]
Helby was practically a Dragon King.
Still, using the name “Dragon Palace” as-is might be problematic. In any case, the city to be constructed here would belong to the Kingdom of Sillion. Some details would need to be changed, but the overall concept wasn’t bad.
A city slightly smaller than Evanth was smoothly constructed in the deep sea. Jinwoo entered the inside of the barrier. The mermaids followed, and once inside, legs appeared on them.
“Going up to land was difficult, but this is fine.”
“Well, it is still underwater. And really deep, too.”
The mermaids ran around curiously.
Jinwoo looked up. The softly glowing barrier illuminated the surroundings.
Mermaids and large fish swam near the barrier, and mysterious glowing jellyfish and strangely shaped deep-sea creatures could also be seen.
“The Heroes would love this.”
Various content ideas popped into Jinwoo’s mind. Quests inspired by the Dragon Palace, mermaid transformation potions, deep-sea monster content, there were so many interesting possibilities.
‘Deep-sea monsters...’
It seemed best to get help from an expert in this field.
“Leviathan.”
Leviathan was summoned before Jinwoo. She was slicing sashimi in the form of a girl, and upon seeing Jinwoo, she jumped in surprise.
“Ah! Master! Hello?”
“Were you in the middle of business?”
“No! I was preparing for business. A ton of fresh fish has been coming in lately. Feels great.”
Leviathan’s sashimi restaurant was a famous spot in Marogo. Business was going so well that she had even opened a third branch in Evanth and other villages, and after the creation of Hanu’s Sea, business had only gotten better.
Quite a few Heroes specialized in Arsilan food tours now, and a food review YouTuber with six million subscribers had even appeared. That reviewer gave high praise to Leviathan’s sashimi restaurant.
Jinwoo briefly explained things to Leviathan.
“Sea monsters, huh? Hmm..., how about something like a Kraken?”
“Not bad. Can you summon one right now?”
“Yes! I summon one from time to time to make octopus sashimi.”
They say the Kraken’s legs regenerate quickly, so the material cost is almost nothing.
“It’d be great to open a sashimi restaurant here too.”
“If you help me out well this time, I’ll prepare a special spot just for you.”
“Waaah! As expected of you, Master!”
Leviathan raised her hand high in delight and began running around Jinwoo. Influenced by Leviathan, the mermaids joined in as well. As the ruler of the sea, the mermaids naturally followed her.
Jinwoo sent Leviathan back and moved to the Underground Labyrinth. Beneath the lowest floor of the Underground Labyrinth, there was a hidden space. It was a space Jinwoo had created after swallowing the labyrinth whole.
“There are a lot.”
In the dark and vast space, countless souls stood nervously. They were souls that had been trapped in the Underground Labyrinth. Those who had been corrupted and consumed by the Erosion had entered the Soul Gate and found peace.
Only those who had sold out Arsilan or piled up greed in their souls remained. Even the Duke who had acted as a Lord of Erosion and died was among them.
The corrupted souls trembled as Jinwoo’s gaze fell upon them.
He could have locked them up here and given them eternal, endless suffering, but Jinwoo didn’t do that. As much as he wanted to tear them apart on the spot, he held back. There were just too many ways to utilize them as content.
He could use them as monsters, or turn them into laborers.
Turning them into daily event mobs for the Heroes to kill wouldn’t be a bad idea either. The greed accumulated in their souls would make for decent experience points for the Heroes.
“Work for Arsilan forever.”
If those who betrayed Arsilan were to endlessly suffer while bringing joy to Arsilan, there could be no better revenge than that.
“First...”
Jinwoo placed the nobles and priests inside a giant cockroach.
It was a modified version of the insect body he used when designing the Giant Realm.
Those placed inside the cockroach were all traitors who had betrayed Arsilan and sold its land and people to the Lord of Greed. The corrupted priests had insulted Ella and even burned devout priests alive.
Screee! Squeak!
The souls inside the cockroaches screamed when they saw their own bodies. Having become grotesque insects as large as an adult man’s forearm, it was no wonder. Their antennae were extremely sensitive, causing them to writhe in pain every time they touched the ground.
They would suffer from constant hunger and be forced to eat only filth.
“Hm.”
Squish!
Jinwoo stepped on one, causing bodily fluids to burst out along with an item. The impact sensation was quite satisfying.
He connected them to the Soul Gate and made it so they would drop items from C to B-rank or high-grade enhancement stones. He placed them directly in Arsilan, and set them to resurrect after a certain period when killed by Heroes.
Jinwoo nodded and snapped his fingers.
[A surprise event by the Creator God has begun!]
[Treasure Cockroaches have been added throughout Arsilan. Defeat them to obtain great items.]
[Lv.10] Treasure Cockroach
A grotesque bug that secretly devoured Arsilan’s treasures.
The treasure cockroach, full of greed, still crawls across the ground in search of Arsilan’s wealth.
*Drop item info: C ~ B-rank items (weapons, accessories, armor), high-grade enhancement stone, low-grade summoning stone, 50,000 Arsilan Gold, 5 Platinum Coins
This time, 60 Treasure Cockroaches would be released.
“Next...”
Jinwoo grinned as he looked at the trembling corrupted souls.
Let’s add another batch of fun content for the Heroes today!
* * *
While Jinwoo was developing content, a change occurred at the Temple of Miracles in front of Sillion. An empty space inside the temple had been filled with a mural.
Even an epilogue appeared.
There’s no way to resist an epilogue!
The Heroes who had gone back in time and participated in the final battle headed straight to the temple upon hearing the news. The temple was packed with Heroes. When the number of people reached capacity, the space was automatically split, so everyone could enter without waiting.
There was also a change in the long corridor leading deeper into the temple.
“Oh! It’s a photo!”
“My photo’s here too!”
“That was seriously fun.”
Photos taken during the current main story were on display. A Hero charging toward a Dark Priest, a Hero marveling at Hanu, newbies learning about self-destruction for the first time from veteran Heroes. The photos were full of the Heroes’ feats.
Contrary to the despairing battlefield, everyone wore bright expressions.
“This is kind of touching.”
“Yeah.”
“This is Arsilan Saga.”
A group photo of the Heroes decorated the finale. These were pictures uploaded to Arsilan Worlds by various guilds, parties, and domain Heroes who had participated in the main story.
The newbie Heroes who had joined the main story for the first time were moved as they looked at the photos.
“They even include emotional moments like this.”
“I’ve spent 100 million won on mobile games so far..., and the game companies treated me like a sucker. But Arsilan Saga is definitely different.”
“Haha! The Creator God stops you from spending and just hands stuff out.”
“Still, I converted all my salary into Platinum Coins.”
“Damn! You’re a real Hero.”
The Creator God was handing out Platinum Coins through various events. And yet, revenue was actually skyrocketing. The Heroes passed through the photo-lined corridor and reached the mural area.
The once-empty wall was now painted with a mural.
As they approached the mural, an info window appeared, and a video of the past was projected.
A youthful Leon had erected the Magic Barrier using Ella’s Light and the Holy Sword, bringing peace to Arsilan. A statue honoring the Heroes was erected in Arsilan, and a festival called the Heroes Festival was held every year. To remember the Heroes, people dressed up like them and reenacted the battlefield.
That became an Arsilan tradition.
“Keh!”
“This is so heartwarming.”
“Haha! He’s wearing a kindergarten hat.”
“Looks like Leon nim thought it was a helmet?”
“Well, that bright yellow really is striking.”
The Heroes wearing the yellow kindergarten hat were known as the bravest of all. They had self-destructed to save Arsilan, so perhaps it was only natural.
The Heroes turned to the next mural.
A grown-up Leon was shown defeating the armies of Erosion with the power of the Holy Sword. He reclaimed the vast lands of Arsilan and founded a kingdom, becoming its king. However, Hanu, who had always been by Leon’s side, was nowhere to be seen.
Leon, draped in a blue robe, quietly left the castle on horseback and traveled somewhere. Crossing the beautiful lands of Arsilan, he boarded a ship and arrived in a forest full of massive trees.
“Huh? That’s Hanu nim!”
“Ooooh!”
Hanu was reading a fairy tale to the children of the Giants. It was a fairy tale containing the stories of the Heroes. As the Giants children turned to look beside them, Hanu also looked away from the book and turned her gaze to the side.
There stood Leon.
As Leon smiled and walked toward her, Hanu’s eyes quivered intensely, and she suddenly stood up. She ran straight to Leon and hugged him tightly.
Petals swirled through the air.
The sky, the land, and the forest all seemed to bless their reunion.
As they smiled warmly at each other, eyes locked in happiness, the video ended. The final mural depicted the Sillion Kingdom at its height and a peaceful Arsilan.
“Ah...! Show us more! Don’t end it here!”
“They look so happy.”
“This game really nails the drama.”
The Leon of the past looked truly happy.
The Heroes, wearing warm smiles, replayed the video over and over, then came to a realization and looked at each other.
“That Leon nim looks super happy, but...”
“What about our Leon nim?”
“Ah...”
“Now that you mention it...”
They remembered Hanu’s words, asking them to make Leon happy. Now that they thought about it, even though Leon didn’t show it outwardly, he was surely in pain.
He had lost his parents as a child, lost his comrades, and even Hanu, his childhood friend, had left him and become the sea. When he won the Great War, Leon had looked happy, but that happiness wasn’t personal.
“We’ve been too indifferent.”
“Seriously.”
“Hm....”
“Let’s do something. She asked us.”
As that conversation started, it began to spread among the Heroes.
Even within Arsilan Worlds, the discussion became active and began to take shape.
* * *
Jinwoo was having an incredibly busy time developing content and preparing for the second anniversary event. He worked nonstop, moving back and forth between FS Games, the Research Lab, and Arsilan. He had heard that the Heroes were preparing something, but he didn’t know what it was.
He hadn’t forgotten to keep an eye on the Lord of Greed either. At this point, the eastern region of the Empire of Evil was practically part of Arsilan. The Eastern Noble Union had been bound to the Underground Labyrinth, meaning they couldn’t escape from Jinwoo. Through domain wars and quests, he was developing various content and planning to integrate the vast domain into Arsilan.
The Lord of Greed, having lost his territory, would surely go into a frenzy, but there was only so much he could do. Even if the bastard tried some petty tricks, Jinwoo could just turn them into content, so it didn’t matter.
With work piling up like that, the days passed by incredibly quickly. Jinwoo was in the royal palace’s office sorting through Heroes complaints. A massive wave of complaints had suddenly come in from the Heroes, but upon inspection, most of them were meaningless.
‘Something feels off.’
In any case, Leon was supposed to be the type of character who listened seriously to even the Heroes’ pointless chatter. With a small sigh, Jinwoo carefully reviewed each complaint. It took quite some time, but eventually, he finished going through them all and stood up.
Even pointless complaints were still complaints.
Seeing so many flood in all at once meant that something must be going on. Jinwoo decided to take a look around the cities.
“Hm?”
Someone was standing outside the office. When Jinwoo opened the door and stepped out, Heina was looking at him.
“Do you have some business with me?”
“Hm, hm! Your Majesty...”
“If it’s not urgent, let’s talk later.”
Heina quickly shook her head.
“It’s very urgent!”
“Oh? Uh, alright.”
For Heina to speak this urgently, it couldn’t be something ordinary. Jinwoo looked at her. Though she said it was urgent, she didn’t move.
“What is it?”
“Uh... that... it’s a huge matter.”
She was even sweating coldly. At that, Jinwoo’s expression stiffened slightly. If it was to that extent, perhaps something serious had happened.
“T-this way...”
Watching Jinwoo’s expression carefully, Heina began heading somewhere. Jinwoo prepared himself and followed behind her. They arrived at a building where the Knights’ Order was staying. In front of the building was a training ground where the knights were diligently training.
“So why did we come here?”
“Well...”
Heina looked around nervously, then opened her mouth as if something had come to mind.
“I-it’s almost the Heroes’ second anniversary in Arsilan, right? So, we of the Knights’ Order thought we’d prepare something as well. We’ll all wear the swimsuits you mentioned last time.”
Heina shut her eyes tightly as she spoke. The knights who were training froze in shock when they heard her words.
“Oh, it is a big deal indeed. That’s a bold decision.”
“...Yes.”
Jinwoo smiled in satisfaction at her determination. When he pulled out a sample to show, Heina received it with a hand that trembled slightly.
“Well then, I’ll be off.”
“W-we’ll try them all on now. Please take a look and see if they suit us!”
“Oh? Really?”
So earnest!
Heina had worn a swimsuit once before, but she hadn’t been this proactive. Jinwoo nodded and watched Heina and the knights for a while.
Tiris, who appeared via teleportation, flinched upon seeing Heina in a swimsuit. Then, with a solemn expression, she gave Heina a firm nod.
“Master, I have a question. Let’s go to the Magic Tower.”
Jinwoo moved to the Magic Tower with Tiris.
“What is it?”
“I’ve created various versions of Leon.”
“Hm.”
“This one is Beastkin version Leon, and this one is Female version Leon. Which do you prefer?”
It was quite a pointless question.
“They’re all kind of bad.”
“Then please write down any improvements.”
Tiris handed Jinwoo paper and a pen. Seeing how serious she was, he couldn’t ignore her. Jinwoo wrote down various detailed opinions and handed the paper to her.
“I have a consultation!”
Next, Tia appeared, and they had a long conversation about the upcoming scenario. They even moved to the Underground Library to search for materials to use in the storyline.
Just as he was about to leave, Helby suddenly appeared.
“Come with me.”
He followed Helby to her room.
As always, the Hellhound brought out tea and refreshments. The Hellhound whispered something to her as if delivering a message, then quietly exited the room.
“Stay here for two hours.”
“Why should I?”
“Because I asked you to.”
Helby spoke confidently.
‘Well, it’s not urgent...’
He’d been working nonstop, so taking a short break didn’t seem like a bad idea. Jinwoo let out a small chuckle and picked up the teacup. Being with Helby like this had become very familiar now. A hundred years ago, it was something he couldn't have even imagined.
“This reminds me of the old days. The three of us met you, didn’t we?”
Jinwoo said that with a smile.
Ella, Hanu, and Jinwoo had gone to see the Magic Dragon Helby after nearly killing the Demon King. They fought for three days, but no conclusion was reached. At the time, Jinwoo hadn’t become an Archmage yet, so he wasn’t much help. Hanu was busy defending, so it was essentially a one-on-one between Ella and Helby.
“That damned woman...”
Helby scowled. She clenched her fists, clearly still annoyed.
“She kept showing up and bragging. It was infuriating.”
The Magic Dragon Helby was Ella’s nemesis and a dragon that targeted Arsilan. But to Jinwoo, their relationship didn’t seem all that bad.
Ella would go out of her way to visit Helby’s lair and say,
‘You don’t have anything like this, do you?’
And then boast with a golden glow. Every time, a mythical-level battle would break out, and Jinwoo, who witnessed it, ended up developing a body specifically to counter Helby.
“I’m the one who’s here now. That means I won.”
Helby said that and crunched into a cookie.
After two hours passed, Helby stood up from her seat.
“Now disappear from my sight.”
Helby even created a Teleportation Magic Circle for him.
Jinwoo didn’t refuse her kind gesture. He arrived in Solis via teleportation.
‘What...?’
There were barely any Heroes in Solis. Wondering what was going on, he looked around, and then Haebyul and some named Heroes approached him.
“Leon-nim! This way, please!”
Jinwoo followed the Heroes outside of Solis.
There, a massive crowd of Heroes had gathered, and a stage had been set up.
[The 1st Leon-nim Happiness Wishing Contest!]
That was the message on the banner.
Fireworks lit up the sky, and cheerful music rang out.
“Leon-nim has arrived! Now, we will begin the contest to make Leon-nim happy!”
As Kim Seok-jun shouted this, cheers from the Heroes pierced the sky.
“Wuaaaaah!”
“Kyaaaah!”
“Leon nim!”
Jinwoo was dumbfounded as he looked at the scene.
The Heroes had learned from a certain someone how to put on quite the show.