The Ruined World Was Mistaken for a Game

Chapter 230: Open the Door (7)

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 games 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 Games. Countless Heroes had embraced their work with the passion of devoted fans.

Arsilanians and the Demon Race had also joined in the Dimensional Travel and enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Since they too were connected to the Soul Moon, they couldn't show the same dramatic growth rates as the Heroes, but they were growing at a fairly steep pace.

Many game companies had joined FS Games' Second Party. On Jinwoo's orders, FS Games had even gone as far as acquiring capable but struggling game companies.

The early access period and the Golden Beetle event proceeded smoothly. The situation room at FS Games was monitoring the Golden Beetle event.

"The hit sounds are so satisfying."

"It just makes me 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 Dimensional Travel, they didn't kill them in one blow.

That was because a method 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 time 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 methods to hit Golden Beetles as many times as possible would emerge.

It was a result he had engineered.

The Lesser Entities were tortured, dying and reviving and dying again in an endless cycle. Some 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 extreme profit-grinders. Even the tedious process became a thrill that fueled dreams of sweet rewards.

Jinwoo glanced at the clock and nodded.

"It's finally time 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 time 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 methods 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?"

Games with a high level of polish were also slated for quick release with only minor refinements. 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 Dimensional Travel has been completed! Rewards will be delivered via your mailbox!]

[The Light of the Holy Sword has settled into the Fragmented Worlds, stabilizing them. Through your dedication, the Fragmented 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 Fragmented World where travelers were present. Changes began to take place in the Fragmented Worlds.

There was a Hero who had just cleared the Soul Chronicle dimension, 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, overwhelmed with emotion.

Soul Chronicle had a completely predictable, textbook storyline, so the Hero had expected to feel nothing. But soon, the Hero came 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 instruments 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 same time, the Hero's body began to grow faint.

[Huh? Wait...!]

[Hero?!]

The saintess desperately called out something 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 met, but

SWOOSH!

Like touching a mirage, their hands passed through each other.

They couldn't touch.

They couldn't hold on.

[The dimensional 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 Dimension Gate in Romance Domain.

[Ah....]

DRIP!

Tears streamed down the Hero's face.

Haebyul, who had appeared at the Dimension 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 immersion. 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 mental 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 Fragmented 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 message was written in elegant handwriting.

"I'll wait for you forever, in the world you protected."

The moment the Hero saw those words, the Hero crumbled completely.

[AAAAAGH! Send me back! At least let me 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 game too and I lost 10 kg from the aftereffects

-Same, 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 something 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 time to implement other endings.

"Hmm...."

Jinwoo quietly closed the Information Window.

'As expected of the best developers. I can't believe they made a test game this good.'

Anyway, it's probably not my fault.

It was a game 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 game 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 game platform created to share profits with game 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 become the benchmark. Other game developers would have no choice but to price below it unless their game matched Sion Academy in volume.

Of course, DLC and paid in-game content would also be permitted within reasonable limits. However, if it provoked even the slightest unpleasant feeling, it would be immediately removed.

The development 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 time multiplier even within development mode, the development speed could only be described as light speed.

'By year's end, they'll be pouring out.'

Release schedules were already packed tight.

A game awards ceremony was also in the works.

Periodically selecting a Game 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 immediately exited Arsilan's Barrier.

Even after emerging beyond the Barrier and reaching the deep reaches, the Erosion energy was not dense. It merely lay settled like smoke that might scatter at any moment. The entire planet had already fallen under Arsilan's sphere of influence.

Jinwoo concealed himself, then teleported several times to enter the Higher Entity's domain.

'Working hard, I see.'

It was so engrossed in preparing something 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 homeworld or some other dimension was unclear, but Jinwoo naturally had no intention of letting it go quietly.

'Still as slow as ever.'

Breaking through the dimensional 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 dimensional wall and travel to a desired location through a special method. 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 moment 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 dimensional rift. The creature would guide Arsilan to its next destination all on its own.

'Let me 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.

Some 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 instruments and tried to learn. Every time he did, something unexpected happened, like the instrument getting destroyed or mana going haywire. It had become routine for Ella and Hanu to watch with uneasy expressions whenever Jinwoo picked up an instrument.

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 requirements, but that posed no real problem for Jinwoo.

'This could make Arsilan Saga feel even more like a proper game.'

Until now, skills and magic had been implemented by directly inscribing them into a Hero's soul. That led to movements becoming somewhat predictable. Now it seemed possible to make Heroes truly "learn" them. Naturally, he planned to implement it in a way that fit Arsilan Saga's context.

'While reading a book, or during training....'

That moment when everything suddenly clicks!

If he implemented 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, aimed 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 became 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 somewhat 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 movements.

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 documentary 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 consume, it bursts through the soul and emerges 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 dimensional rift in the void of space. At the same time, 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 some 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 dimensional rift. It looked as though it were falling into a black hole.

KRAKOOOOM!

Jinwoo's magic poured down, but it failed to reach the dimensional rift and dissipated. Something like a gravitational field seemed 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 dimensional 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 dimensional 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 predicament.]

Jinwoo smirked at Tiris's critique.

[Its location?]

[It's crossing through countless dimensional bubbles. Tracking status is excellent.]

[Bubbles?]

[Yes, I came up with a name for those empty dimensions.]

[Not bad.]

If one tried to cross dimensions recklessly, one could end up trapped in one of those empty dimensions 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.