1. Arcana Online

1. Arcana Online1. Arcana Online

Parallel world.

Another world said to exist in parallel with our own.

In the end, it's science fiction.

I didn't believe it.

Until yesterday, that is.

When I woke up, my body felt strange.

My vision was lower than usual, and I had no strength in my body. I thought it was flu symptoms, but it wasn't.

The moment I checked the full-length mirror in the room, I couldn't help but freeze.

I saw a small child, about 130cm tall.

Short blonde hair.

Mysterious blue eyes.

A face cuter than any child actor I'd seen on TV, but I had no idea what was going on.

The pain I felt when I pinched my cheek.

At that moment, countless memories flooded in like a tidal wave.

Clutching my head in terrible pain, how much time passed?

It was only about a minute, but it was the most painful time in my life.

And then I realized.

This world was a parallel world, not the one I had lived in.

My name is Han Yuna.

I'm 21 years old.

I have no family.

No, I did have one, but my parents and older sister died in an accident.

The day of my first overseas trip.

There was a plane crash.

Thanks to my parents and sister shielding me with their bodies to save me, I was able to survive.

Just me, alone.

The reason why the room was in such a mess.

The reason why I woke up with such a skinny body.

I realized.

That the me in this parallel world had tried to die.

Or since I came to this world, did the me of this world go to the world I was in?

I don't know.

I don't know anything.

My head isn't working.

I lay back down on the bed.

Something bumped against me, and when I checked, it was a bankbook.

Inside the bankbook was an unimaginably large amount of money—insurance money.

Life insurance money from my parents and sister.

The amount remained untouched, not a penny used.

If I go to sleep and wake up, can I go back?

I miss my family in the original world.

I miss Mom.

I miss Dad.

I miss my sister.

I want to eat the soybean paste stew Mom makes, and I want to go fishing with Dad.

I even want to eat the bibim noodles my grumbling sister sometimes made while treating me like a servant.

Just as I was about to close my eyes, I heard the sound of a ship's horn.

A terrible hunger came over me, as if my stomach was stuck to my back.

I don't know how many days I've been starving.

I got up with a body completely devoid of strength, opened the door, and found the house in a mess.

Garbage was strewn about, and there were shards of glass and bloodstains here and there.

Tracing my memories, I went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, but immediately closed it due to the terrible smell.

Rummaging through the kitchen cabinets, I fortunately found some ramen and started eating desperately. Sёarᴄh the NôvelFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

I choked and gagged, but I kept stuffing it into my mouth.

To survive.

I wanted to live.

I didn't want to die.

I don't know why I, who was living normally until yesterday, am in this situation, but I want to live.

After finishing the ramen, I slumped down.

What should I do now?

Do I have to live in this world for the rest of my life?

In this world where I don't know anyone?

It's terrible.

*

*

*

A week has passed.

During that time, I focused on cleaning up the house and recovering my strength.

I called a cleaning company for the housework, but the way they looked at me was strange.

At the end, they tried to refuse payment, saying "hang in there," but I forced them to take the money.

And I've been eating meals with food bought from the convenience store while checking information on my phone.

Surprisingly, the parallel world had more advanced technology than the world I lived in.

A virtual reality game that I could only dream of.

It's perfect for escaping and forgetting reality.

I immediately ordered a game console and waited for a week.

Finally, it arrived today.

It looks like a small VR device—can this really take me into virtual reality?

After reading the user manual, I plugged in the charger, put it on, and lay down on the bed.

And when I pressed the power button, I was instantly transported to a different space.

A space where nothing exists.

From that space, I connected to Arcana Online, which has maintained the No. 1 ranking for a long time.

At that moment, the scenery changed.

[Welcome to Arcana Online.]

After the welcome message, I was moved to what looked like a training ground.

An angel with pure white wings standing in front of me.

"Nice to meet you, traveler. I am Raphael, here to assist you on your journey."

"Please take care of me."

"Then, let's start the tutorial."

[Please set your nickname.]

"I'll go with Yuna."

[Do you want to set your nickname as: Illgowithyuna?]

"What!? No!? Yuna!"

[Nickname: Yuna]

[Please choose your appearance.]

In this game, there wasn't much you could change about your appearance.

At best, just hair color.

Deciding to just proceed, I pressed the skip button, and numerous weapons were generated.

[Please select the weapon you want.]

Swords, bows, staves, and then rapiers, gunlances, dual swords, crossbows, and many other weapons appeared.

Among them, I chose the staff.

[We recommend jobs suitable for your chosen weapon.]

[Mage]

[Elementalist]

[Cleric]

[Summoner]

:

:

:

Numerous jobs were displayed, and I chose Summoner.

I don't want to travel alone.

I want to travel with someone.

I'm already alone in reality; I don't want to be alone here too.

[You acquire a unique characteristic.]

A slot machine was generated.

The angel tells me to pull the lever.

As I pull the lever, it starts spinning with a noisy sound.

[You acquire the unique characteristic: Protective Instinct (保護本能).]

[Congratulations! You have acquired an EX-Rank characteristic!]

Protective Instinct (保護本能)

An ability that naturally compels others to carefully watch over and protect the bearer, as if to shield them from dangers and difficulties.

I acquired an interesting ability.

At that moment, the angel's gaze changed.

"Ahem, I shouldn't do this, but here, take this."

He hands me a small egg.

"This will be a reliable partner on your journey, traveler."

"Thank you, Angel!"

"T-take this too!"

He gives me a bunch of things and even waves goodbye.

*

*

*

After the tutorial ended, I was transported to the starting village, 'Cradle'.

I received a lot of things, but are they good?

I've never played games in my life, so I'm not sure.

More importantly, when will this hatch?

I check the small egg in my hand, but no information appears.

«Egg of ???»

I don't know what it is.

If you don't know, what am I supposed to do!?

With no other choice, I put the egg in my inventory and equipped the items I received from the angel.

«Summoner's Ring»

Increases bond with summoned creatures.

«Summoner's Necklace»

Increases intimacy with summoned creatures.

«Summoner's Earrings»

Increases satisfaction of summoned creatures.

When I equipped the three accessories, a set option appeared.

[You have equipped the Summoner's Accessory Set.]

Significantly enhances the abilities of summoned creatures.

But I don't have any summoned creatures?

Just as I was about to head out to the hunting grounds, someone called out to me.

"Hey, little miss, are you alone?"

When I turned my head, I saw a big bear-like man gesturing for me to come over.

As I approached, he handed me some bread.

"You're new to this village, right? Eat this before you go."

"I'm sorry. I don't have any money."

"It's okay, just eat it. Want another one?"

After receiving two more pieces of bread and thanking him, he waved his hand.

The moment I took a bite of the warm bread, I was surprised.

It tasted exactly like in reality.

No, it was even more delicious.

'This is the taste of the bread I ate in Daejeon, the City of Bread.'

As I savored the moist and soft taste while looking around the village, it felt like the real world.

The peculiar thing about this game was that there was no indication of whether someone was an NPC or a user.

A world where users and NPCs live together.

It's an interesting game.

Almost like it's real.

As I was looking around to eat bread and about to leave through the city gates to the hunting grounds, I was caught!?

"Little miss. Why are you trying to leave at this hour?"

"I need to earn money."

I need money to level up and buy items.

"Th-that's..."

"Don't you have a guardian...?"

"Huh? I'm alone."

At that moment, they started crying and handed me something?

"Take this and stay strong."

The guards on duty handed me pouches, saying "stay strong." I tried to refuse, saying it was okay, but each time I refused, another pouch was added.

After receiving three, I finally thanked them and accepted. They told me not to give up no matter how hard things get, and to find Captain Charles of the guard if I ever have any troubles.

I said I understood, and even as I was leaving through the city gates, they cheered me on and waved goodbye. Is this how games usually are...?

It's a game full of warmth.