24. Arcana Online

24. Arcana Online24. Arcana Online

At the Frey Guild headquarters.

After sending out all the other guild members, I was talking with just Sasha.

"You didn't know it was Yuna?"

"No! Her face and hair color were different, weren't they?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Look at this."

Sasha showed me a community post.

[What was that red-haired demon next to her?]

It disappeared in an instant.

[Comments]

- Red? Wasn't it blue?

- I saw it as green.

- Wasn't it black?

- [Author] Stop joking around, you crazy bastards.

[Who's the demon next to Demon King noona? (photo)]

Black hair and cute looks are my type.

[Comments]

- What? Why is it black here? No, more importantly, what did you just say? You trash!

- Police officer!!!!!!!

- You pedo! Go die.

- How about trying to hold your breath for 30 minutes with your nose in a plate?

[The player (presumably) next to the Demon King seems to be using a disguise item? (video)]

The Demon King noona in the video looks the same, but the demon next to her is different in every video.

[Comments]

- I've never heard of such an item.

- [Author] There are so many items, how could there not be a disguise item?

- Is it the Demon King noona's servant?

- [Author] Servant? So jealous lol

Checking the community, fortunately Yuna's appearance was showing up differently for everyone.

Did she use a disguise item?

But the state of the article contents and other posts is quite a sight.

[Failed main scenario quest. Are the top 10 guilds not responsible?]

Today, in Arcana Online, the first scenario quest was generated, but an incident occurred where one player monopolized the rewards, drawing attention. Regarding this...

[Comments]

- Is this article for real?

- Wow, legendary blame-shifting.

- It's easy to make money, isn't it? Right?

- Mr. Reporter, I'm unsubscribing from your articles from now on. You should just load and unload trucks.

[You crazy bastards at the game company, is this right?]

In a situation where we need to raid just to defeat a baron-level demon, a Demon King!? No, more than that, make an announcement!! Why aren't you saying anything!?

[Comments]

- That's right, but the Demon King noona was pretty. Searᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

- [Author] What the hell are you talking about noona for?

- Calm down, friend lol. Aren't you too angry?

- Heuheung noona lol

[Forget the quest, I want to see Demon King noona!!]

How do I get to the demon realm? I'm going to see Demon King noona lol

[Comments]

- Figure it out yourself lol

- [Author] How do I go!!

- Don't know~

- Now you have to figure that out yourself lol

For the first main scenario quest that appeared for the first time, the game company seems to be brushing it off with an attitude of "well, that's how it is".

They've never communicated with users once while providing the service, and they've never sold paid items, so most users just want them not to shut down the service.

No one knows what money they're operating with, or even which company is operating it.

Despite this, it's an undisputed No.1 game.

Experts say there's no better-made virtual reality game than Arcana Online, and there won't be in the future.

Thanks to that, all the attention is focused on the Demon King's appearance.

An appearance that stands out among the countless beauties I've seen in my life.

Sighing, I closed the community and logged out of the game to return to the real world.

*

*

*

Arriving at the City of Stars, I went to the information guild to meet Erica unni after a long time.

Hearing that she was away, I left the store and while walking down the street, I saw a blacksmith shop.

As I was thinking about changing my staff because it didn't match the clothes I was wearing, I decided to take a look inside the blacksmith shop and saw the dwarf I had met before.

"Welcome. Oh, who is this? Isn't it the little miss I met before?"

"Hello! It's been a while. Were you doing business here?"

"That's right. I may not look like it, but I've been doing business in this city for over 30 years."

After chatting about various things, when I said I came to look at staffs, he looked at my attire and shook his head.

"Our blacksmith shop doesn't have any staffs suitable for a little miss like you."

"What!? Then where should I go?"

"How about visiting my hometown, the Village of Iron?"

[Village of Iron]

A village where dwarves live, with numerous blacksmith shops.

He handed me a letter.

"It's a letter of recommendation. Take this and go to the Silver Blacksmith Shop located in the Village of Iron."

I thanked him and left the blacksmith shop.

I checked the map to see how far it was to the Village of Iron, and it would take three days on foot.

Wouldn't it be faster if I used the bear taxi?

If I camp along the way...

"Alright! Let's just buy camping gear and head out right away, Yong-yong!"

"Kyuung!"

To buy the necessary camping gear, I entered a general store and purchased a camping set that included everything from tents to sleeping bags.

[Beginner Camping Set]

Contains all the equipment needed for camping that even beginners can easily use.

After paying, I left the City of Stars with Yong-yong and while walking towards the Village of Iron, I saw a bear taxi running from afar.

"Groooan!"

"Yes, yes! This time I want to go to the Village of Iron, is that okay?"

"Groan!"

"How many do you want!? 15!? Isn't that too much!?"

"Groooan!"

"Round-trip fare, you say!?"

After negotiating down to 10, I climbed on the bear's back and it ran at high speed.

It seems faster than when I rode it last time?

The scenery changed rapidly as we moved faster than I expected, but I wanted to camp for at least one night.

"Bear! Let's camp for one night on the way!"

"Groooan!"

"Additional fee!? That's too much!"

"Groan!"

The bear said it would let me sleep in its soft embrace as a service.

It's tempting.

After paying the additional fee, the bear stopped at a good spot for camping.

I took out the camping set I bought from the general store from my inventory and set it up, making a decent campsite.

I handed one magic stone each to Yong-yong and the bear, then lit a fire and grilled some meat, filling the air with a delicious smell.

I seasoned it with salt and pepper, and when I took a bite, it was delicious!

It's not as good as the food Bell unni makes, but it's adequately atmospheric and edible.

While eating the meat, the bear that had been rolling around suddenly got up and became alert as we heard rustling sounds from the bushes.

"Groooan!"

"Kyaang!"

At the bear's roar, something jumped out from the bushes - a fox with a cute appearance.

Looking closely, it was injured.

"Are you okay!?"

"Kyaang!"

At first it was wary of me, but after a while it let its guard down and slowly approached.

I took out a potion from my inventory and poured it on the wound, and it disappeared completely.

When the wound disappeared, it looked at its body curiously and then hugged me.

"Kyaang!"

It acted cute with an adorable voice, and I couldn't help but give it a magic stone.

"You're too cute!? Here, eat this!"

"Kyaang!"

I took out a magic stone and handed it over, and it ate it in one bite. As it looked up at me with cute eyes, its gaze met Yong-yong's.

"Kyaaang!"

The fox ran away with a scream.

As I stared in the direction it disappeared with a bewildered look, I turned to Yong-yong and saw it looking at me with an equally bewildered expression.

"It's not like that, right?"

"Kyuung!"

It claimed innocence, saying it was wronged, and it's true.

Our Yong-yong is cute-looking after all.

If fate allows, we'll meet again someday.

After finishing grilling and eating the remaining meat, I patted my full stomach and leaned against the bear, feeling its soft touch.

The bear hugged me.

"See you tomorrow, Yong-yong, Bear."

"Kyuung."

"Groooan."

I said goodbye in that comfortable position and logged out.

After taking off the gear, I checked my phone.

But something felt strange.

Lately, I haven't been receiving any messages.

Usually, there should be at least a few spam messages, but there was nothing.

"Is it broken?"

I turned the phone off and on, and only then did the notifications sound.

Among the spam messages, I saw messages from Rea unni.

And there were many of them.

[Is something going on these days?]

[I'm worried because you're not answering. Is everything okay?]

[Are you really alright? Feel free to contact me anytime.]

As I was about to reply after checking the messages, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"I'm so relieved. I was worried because I couldn't reach you. Is everything okay?"

"I'm sorry. My phone was broken so I couldn't check."

We exchanged greetings and I told her about what had happened recently, including that I was currently moving to the Village of Iron.

"Then you've reached level 50 now, right?"

"Yes! I just hit level 55 after completing the quest this time!"

"That's great. Then I'll send you a guild invitation. Let's talk in detail when we meet later."

"Okay! I'll see you then!"

Why is it that I'm fine talking on the phone, but get so nervous when meeting in person?

This body is uncomfortable in many ways.

As I lay down on the bed, my empty stomach protested, demanding food.

I got up, went to the bathroom, then moved to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. I took out a triangle kimbap and took a bite while boiling water in the kettle.

Cup noodles are easier to eat than packet ramen, so I've been eating like this lately.

After finishing the meal, just as I was about to get up from the chair to return to my room, my head started spinning.

When I regained consciousness after passing out, I found myself collapsed on the kitchen floor with no memory of what happened.

Checking the clock, not even 10 minutes had passed, but why was this happening?

Perhaps due to the shock of falling, my whole body ached and I felt chills and a headache. I took some cold medicine and returned to my bed with shaky steps.

I barely managed to lie down on the bed and cover myself with a blanket, but why was it so cold...?

With trembling hands, I took out a few hot packs that I had left in a corner and put them inside the blanket. As warm heat spread, my eyes finally closed and I fell asleep.