"It’s about time I leave the village."

I had been living in Yoram, the starter village, for about two weeks now.

A few more completed quests, and I would finally reach level 15, the requirement to leave the village.

Every day, I trained under Charles, helped Bell noona at the inn, and took on various quests from the villagers.

Had I been able to hunt, I would have graduated in a few days, but since I couldn’t, it took me much longer.

Still, life in the village wasn’t bad, and most importantly, I was happy to have Yongyong by my side.

Today, as usual, I finished Charles’ training, helped Bell noona with her inn duties, and returned to my room.

Lying on my bed, I gazed up at the starry night sky through the window.

The sky was filled with countless stars, creating a breathtaking view. When was the last time I looked up at the sky like this?

In reality, I had always been too busy, walking with my head down, focusing on the ground. Now that I was living while looking up at the sky, it felt strange.

As I admired the night sky, I turned my gaze to Yongyong, who was next to me.

My cute Yongyong.

He was eating the mana stones I had earned as a quest reward—were they really that delicious?

"Do you like those mana stones that much?"

Then, something unexpected happened.

"Kyuuu."

I thought I had misheard.

Yongyong, who hadn’t uttered a word until now, had spoken for the first time.

And it was an unbelievably cute sound.

Startled, I quickly sat up and asked again.

"W-what did you just say?"

"Kyuuu?"

My heart hurt, and I clutched my chest as Yongyong looked at me with concerned eyes.

For the first time while playing the game, I almost died.

If there’s a final boss, it has to be Yongyong, right?

I wanted to share his cuteness with the entire world, but I couldn’t because of the stalker situation.

It wasn’t my own memory, but those vivid memories from the past still haunted me.

Whenever I recalled that time, my hands and feet trembled, my heart pounded, and cold sweat poured down.

Suddenly, a warning popped up, and the game was forcefully shut down.

[Due to health concerns, the game has been forcibly terminated.]

The contractor had fallen asleep.

At first, I was alarmed when she suddenly collapsed on the bed, but seeing her asleep reassured me.

Reassured, huh?

Have I already grown attached?

As I was about to nestle into the contractor’s arms, I sensed something approaching.

Turning my head, I peered outside.

Something—or rather, many things—were coming.

Daring to disturb my contractor’s peaceful rest?

At that moment, an anomaly occurred in the village.

Numerous beings appeared out of nowhere, as if they had always been there.

[Sudden Quest: Defend the Village from the Invading Monsters.]
A swarm of monsters is heading toward the starter village of Yoram. Enchanted by something, the monsters seem to be searching for someone, attacking numerous villages along the way. Players and villagers must unite to defend the village.

Success: Rewards based on contribution (experience points, mana stones, items).
Failure: The starter village Yoram will be reduced to ruins, and the villagers will scatter.

[Due to the sudden quest, channels will be merged.]

Invasion quests were different from regular quests; they were critical to the players.

If the quest failed, the village would be destroyed, making hunting and raiding more difficult.

And if Yoram disappeared, where would all the new players go?

Welcoming newcomers is the virtue of seasoned players.

Word spread through the community, and countless players began to flock to the starter village.

High rankers, as well as regular players, arrived one after another.

The players organized themselves swiftly for battle.

Massive walls were erected around the village, and players stood guard, trying to hide their excitement.

A large event like this could be the stepping stone for a mid-tier player to rise to high rank.

The rewards were massive.

Then came the booming sound.

Upon hearing the deep, reverberating noise, the players standing on the walls spotted the approaching monster army, and silence fell over them.

The sheer number of monsters advancing toward the village was enough to make them want to run away.

Goblins, orcs, wyverns, drakes, golems, and even undead monsters like ghouls, dullahans, and liches were among them.

The living and the dead should not coexist.

It made no sense that undead monsters like ghouls, liches, and dullahans were marching alongside living creatures.

The only logical conclusion was that something incredibly powerful was commanding the monsters.

As tension filled the air, players gripped their weapons tightly in preparation.

Then, a massive shadow engulfed the brightly lit village.

Everyone was bewildered, nervously scanning their surroundings, and then something enormous appeared.

It came from the rear.

The tanks and damage dealers had been positioned at the front, while the mages and healers were in the back.

But more than that, no one had ever seen a monster of this size.

Even high rankers who had encountered dragons had never seen anything this massive.

A gigantic creature, shaped like a dragon from Eastern mythology, loomed over the village from the sky.

Its size was beyond comprehension.

Suddenly, a deafening roar shook the earth, followed by a stern voice.

[Inferior creatures. Who dares disturb my sleep?]

Players and NPCs alike clutched their ears in agony, experiencing intense pain.

With just a single word, their HP had dropped to less than half.

It was a dire situation.

In this game, dying results in a loss of experience points. Some players tried to flee, but it was futile.

[Due to the sudden quest, logging out is not possible.]

As they stared up at the dragon with despairing eyes, another anomaly occurred.

Something began to gather in the dragon's mouth.

A beautiful, radiant blue light—was it a breath attack?

“Everyone capable of casting barrier spells, gather now! Use every protection item we have!”
“Tanks, move to the rear immediately!”
“Priests, buff us! Mages, prepare your attacks!”

Though the players followed orders swiftly, their eyes were still filled with hopelessness.

Could they really stop this?

But then, something unexpected happened.

The massive blue energy gathered in the dragon’s mouth, but instead of aiming at the village, the breath was unleashed toward the horde of monsters.

A massive explosion occurred, creating a mushroom cloud like that of a nuclear bomb.

The breath attack was so powerful that the shockwave reached the village, even though it had struck far away.

At that moment, a message appeared.

[Congratulations! You have cleared the sudden quest! Contribution rankings are being calculated. Please wait.]

No.1: Yongyong
No.2: TBD
No.3: TBD
No.4: TBD
No.5: TBD

Rewards will be distributed based on contribution.

[The quest has ended. Channels will return to normal in 1 minute.]

Everyone stared at the blue message window in disbelief.

So, the dragon that appeared just now was named Yongyong...?

No one, no matter how crazy, would name themselves Yongyong.

As the minute passed and players returned to their respective channels, the massive dragon vanished in an instant.

There could only be one conclusion.

The dragon that had appeared was someone’s summon.

This news would undoubtedly create an uproar in the community.

I sat blankly on my bed after being forcibly logged out.

Just thinking about it made my hands tremble, my heart race, and cold sweat drip down my face.

To calm myself, I turned on my secret stream and watched the video I had recorded of Yongyong on my phone.

In the video, Yongyong was tilting his head, looking at me curiously—so cute.

I continued watching the video as I lay down.

My beloved Yongyong.

I missed him already.

Ding ding ding! What’s for dinner! Ding ding ding!
The alarm sound rang out.

Looks like I had fallen asleep while watching Yongyong’s video.

Stretching, I got up and headed to the kitchen to fill my growling stomach.

I opened the fridge to see what was inside, but it was even emptier than I had expected.

Aside from some half-finished water, there was nothing.

Sighing, I opened the pantry drawer, but there wasn’t even a single packet of ramen. The harsh reality of my situation hit me.

It was such a nice day, but I had no choice but to go out.

Pulling on my hoodie and hat, I headed to the nearest convenience store.

As I was picking out ramen and a triangle kimbap, someone tapped me on the shoulder.

Startled, I looked up and saw a familiar face.

“Oh, what a coincidence! Do you remember me? We bumped into each other the other day.”

“Oh, it’s the woman I bumped into back then."

"Am I? Ah, I see.”

The beautiful woman mumbled to herself and asked if we could have a quick chat.

Normally, I wouldn’t follow a stranger, but something about her seemed trustworthy.

I used to scoff when dramas made plot conveniences like this, but now I realized something.

Looks are trust, reason, and everything.

After paying for my things, I stepped outside, where she was waiting for me.

We sat on a bench in a nearby park. What could she want?

“I wasn’t sure where to start, but I think it’s best if I tell you from the beginning.”

She introduced herself as the leader of Frey, one of the top ten guilds in Arcana Online, a small elite guild.

She explained that one of her guild members had seen my stream by chance.

She talked about all the things that had happened, including how they had been searching for me across various channels in the starter village for over a week.

After about thirty minutes of explanation, she made a proposal.

“So, what do you think? Would you like to join our guild?”

 

TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars for the translation - I'd really like to see how far Leon goes and how far we can increase the number of chapters. Thanks~!

If you want to buy me a coffee ko-fi.com/kimsu