NoveLight ™
Logging out in this game doesn’t make your character disappear like in other games.
If you don’t log out in a safe place, the next time you log in, you might find your character stark naked.
I took off the VR headset—or rather, the gear—and returned to the real world.
A bleak reality.
No family, no friends, not a single person I know in this real world.
I wanted to go back, but my stomach was growling for food.
It wouldn’t make sense for me to feel full in the real world just because I ate in the game world.
I got out of bed, went to the bathroom, then headed to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
I took out a convenience store triangle kimbap and a bottle of water I had bought the previous day, then started boiling some ramen.
Warm, but not really warm food.
After finishing my meal, I wanted to return to the game world, but it was impossible.
Due to the player protection system, I couldn’t log in for a while after playing for a certain amount of time.
I tossed and turned in bed, struggling to fall asleep.
The next morning, after eating breakfast, I logged back into the game, and just like in real life, it was morning in the game too.
Time in the game world passed at a 1:1 ratio with the real world.
Stretching as I got up from the inn’s bed, I opened the door and headed downstairs, where I saw Belle already working early in the morning.
"Good morning!"
"Oh, you're up early! Do you want breakfast?"
"Yes, please!"
I answered with a bright smile, and she ruffled my hair, calling me cute.
I had missed this touch.
The warmth of a kind hand.
She chuckled at my cheerful expression and went to fetch the food.
I sat at a table, and soon the food arrived. The amount was no joke—it filled the entire table.
She looked at me with a gaze that said, "You can eat all this, right?"
"Thank you for the meal!"
"Eat as much as you want."
After finishing my meal, I tried to pay for the stay, but she firmly refused.
"Kids don't need to worry about money! Just relax and stay here as long as you like."
"But I can't do that!"
"You can!"
And with that, I was practically thrown out.
She easily lifted me up and set me outside, telling me to go have fun before closing the door behind me.
The innkeeper... is scary...
Anyway, should I head to the hunting grounds?
No, gathering information comes first.
I didn’t get the chance to check the guidebook or system last night.
Plus, my class is summoner, and I’m level 7—how long can I keep beating monsters with just a staff?
I decided to head to the village library to gather information.
I needed to find out how summoners can obtain summons.
After arriving at the library and reading various books related to summons, I gained some knowledge.
[Knowledge +1]
[Knowledge +1]
[Knowledge +1]
[Knowledge +1]
Reading books increased my knowledge by quite a bit.
But I didn’t find the information I wanted.
How to get a summon, that is.
Feeling dejected, I sat by the window, basking in the sunlight, when a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Why don’t I check the community?
I logged into the large community that exists for Arcana Online and checked the latest posts.
[The story of getting caught raiding the Red Dragon King’s lair]
What would you do if you stumbled into the Red Dragon King’s lair?
The ground was littered with gold coins, and there were mountains of legendary items. My eyes practically popped out, and I started shoveling everything into my inventory. But then, I felt a chill. I turned around, and there was a massive red dragon staring at me. I almost wet myself. What happened next, you ask? Well, I lost everything—from the gear I was wearing to all the items in my inventory. I’m quitting this game. Peace.
[Comments]
[Is this class even made for summoners, you jerks?]
I’m level 50 and still don’t have a summon. Don’t even ask me questions, you jerks!
[Comments]
[Just started as a summoner, where do I get a summon?]
I’ll give you 100 gold. Come on, tell me.
[Comments]
After checking the general opinion on summoners, I tried searching for how to get a summon.
But there was nothing useful—mostly clickbait.
There was one post claiming you could get a slime summon by killing 9,999 slimes, but it had hundreds of angry comments.
I also checked the system and guidebook, but found nothing special.
Having gained no information, I headed to the hunting grounds.
'Might as well hunt.'
Today, I was going to try something stronger than slimes—goblins.
Hunting alone felt lonely, though.
How could the top-ranked game have no other players?
I even switched to Channel 1004 on purpose.
How cute is the "Angel" channel name? But why is no one here?
As I gloomily walked toward the hunting grounds, I noticed a streaming button in the game system.
What’s this?
Apparently, I could stream my screen in real-time. Maybe if I streamed, I’d feel less lonely?
I decided to start streaming, but there were a lot of settings to configure.
Profile picture? Should I just upload my own photo?
After setting things up, I pressed the streaming button, and it went live.
A small chat window appeared next to me—how interesting.
[Viewers: 0]
No one had joined yet, so there were no messages.
Should I stop by and see the rabbits on the way?
As I entered the hunting ground where the rabbits were gathered, they swarmed toward me.
"Ahh! Stop licking me! It tickles!"
The rabbits crowded around, licking my cheeks with their cute little tongues and offering me carrots.
Just then, a message popped up in the chat.
[How’d you do that?]
"Huh? What do you mean!?"
Startled, I looked at the chat window, realizing someone had entered the stream.
[Viewers: 1]
[How’d you make the rabbits do that? They’re not aggressive, but they’re not that friendly either. And they gave you carrots?]
"Uh, hello? Isn’t this just how they are? They’ve been like this from the start for me."
[What’s your unique trait?]
"My unique trait?"
Just then, the person in the chat was kicked out, and a warning message appeared.
[Asking about someone’s unique trait is a bannable offense. Never share your unique trait with others.]
More importantly, my precious viewer was gone!
[Viewers: 0]
My only viewer was gone, leaving me alone again.
Well, there’s nothing I can do about it. At least I learned that I shouldn’t share my trait.
I waited for other viewers to join, but no one else came.
It wasn’t that they didn’t join—it’s that they couldn’t join.
I clicked End Stream and consoled myself alone.
With a heavy heart, I arrived at the goblin hunting grounds, where the names appeared in red.
[Young Goblin]
Does red indicate aggressive monsters?
Slimes weren’t red, so what’s the deal?
I approached the goblin and swung my staff.
With a loud whack, it fell to the ground, but then got back up?
The goblin rubbed the back of its head and stared at me.
'That look is terrifying!'
My hands trembled as I gripped my staff tightly and swung again, this time knocking it down for good and dropping an item.
[Goblin Necklace]
It’s old and shabby but seems to have a story behind it.
I put the item in my inventory and moved toward the next goblin when I noticed a small cave.
That cave definitely wasn’t there a moment ago.
It looked dangerous, but I felt drawn to it, almost as if I was being pulled in.
Against my will, I entered the cave.
Inside, I heard a voice.
"Come here, child."
"Who’s there?"
"Come this way."
Following the voice deeper into the cave, I came across an iron cage.
But something was off.
This wasn’t just any cage—it was massive, at least five times thicker and stronger than normal.
Touching the smooth surface, I felt a strange tingling sensation. This wasn’t any steel I was familiar with.
There was also a warning written in front of the cage.
[Turn back. If you attempt to break the seal, you will be cursed by the Red Dragon.]
[Warning: Breaking the seal will trigger the Red Dragon’s curse.]
[Due to your unique trait: Protective Instinct, you are immune to the curse.]
[Do you wish to break the seal?]
YES / NO
With trembling hands, I broke the seal. A dark shadow rushed toward me, but it vanished in a flash of light.
For a brief moment, I saw something inside the cage—something enormous.
Now that I think about it, I might be in serious trouble.