The tour from District 1 to District 10 wrapped up, and a notification appeared with a message:

   [Congratulations! You have successfully restored the Golden City of Eldorado.]

   [Calculating ranking based on contributions. Please wait a moment.]

Finally, after a long delay, the message we’d been waiting for appeared.

   [All players who contributed to the restoration of the Golden City of Eldorado will receive equal rewards.]

   [The quest will end, and channels will normalize in one minute.]

As everyone received their rewards and the main scenario quest concluded, the channels returned to normal. Players were thrilled, some even shouting in excitement.

Not a bad reward, after all.

One by one, the Celestial King, the Demon King, and even the mysterious girl hugged me before leaving.

When I asked the girl who she was, she only hinted that I’d find out eventually and departed with a mysterious smile.

And so, peace returned.

I had been worried about the possibility of failure, but thankfully, we’d cleared it.

Was it time to return to normal life now?

*

*

*

A year had passed since the start of the game, and the Golden City of Eldorado had grown beyond recognition. I was sipping tea with Leah at the Frey Guild headquarters when a message appeared.

   [The Grand Melee Event will begin in 30 minutes. We encourage everyone to participate.]

“Leah, are you joining the event?”

“I’ll skip it this time.”

“Alright, I’ll be back soon!”

“Take care!”

The Grand Melee event was an exciting challenge where monsters invaded the city, offering great rewards and experience points.

Instead of the usual Arcana monsters, creatures from other realms appeared, pouring through dimensional portals to attack the city, and it was the players’ role to fend them off.

Riding my little dragon to the event location, I could already see fierce battles breaking out in the distance.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

Blue particles gathered around us, and with a massive roar, my dragon’s breath attack swept through the monsters from the other realm, ending the quest.

   [The Grand Melee Event has concluded.]

After confirming the message, my little dragon flew us back to the guild headquarters.

Honestly, I couldn’t feel any safer with him around.

Upon arriving and opening the door, I was greeted by the sound of fireworks.

*Pop!*

“Our little one is back!”

“What’s going on here?!”

Surprised, I looked around and saw that the guild had prepared a party just for me.

“Today marks the 300th day since our youngest member joined the guild!”

“You kept track of that!?”

Looking around in shock, they ushered me over to a cake, encouraging me to blow out the candles.

This was a first for me, so I took a breath and blew them out, and everyone cheered.

“Our youngest! Here’s a gift for you!”

Sasha, with a playful grin, handed me a gift box.

   [Necklace of the Dragon King]

   When equipped, this necklace significantly boosts the stats of summoned creatures.

   A gift given to the Dragon King Ernia at his coming-of-age ceremony. If Ernia discovers this necklace, he will become hostile and pursue you to reclaim it.

   If killed by Ernia while wearing the necklace, it will disappear, and all stats will be reduced by 50% due to Ernia’s curse.

“Where did you find this?!”

“I happened to come across it in a dragon’s lair! I thought of you and, well, snatched it!”

I had encountered Ernia before, and if he found out, there’d be trouble.

'He’d probably kidnap me again like last time.'

An unsettling memory surfaced. I thanked Sasha and put the necklace in my inventory to keep it safe—forever.

The party continued for quite a while, leaving me exhausted, when a message appeared.

“What’s this?”

   [Main scenario quest conditions have been met.]

   [Last Chapter: Another Meeting After Farewell.]

   [Time Remaining: 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds]

Staring blankly at the newly displayed golden window, I turned to look at my little dragon.

“Gwee?”

He tilted his head, as if asking what was going on.

I didn’t know either, but the entire guild was in a panic.

The same was true on the community boards.

As the community descended into chaos, I looked at my guild members, who wore equally bewildered expressions, when a single clap sounded.

*Clap!*

I turned to see Leah, who calmly spoke.

“We’ll just have to wait until tomorrow.”

“Y-Yeah, there’s no way they’d shut down the game overnight, right?”

“Exactly. They wouldn’t end such a well-made game just like that, would they?”

Though Leah tried to sound calm, her hands were shaking.

I felt the same way.

I didn’t know what was going on, and as I hugged my little dragon tightly, he licked me, trying to comfort me.

“Gwee.”

“Yes, that’s right. You said you’d always be by my side, didn’t you?”

Maybe it was just a surprise event?

Some event the game developers had prepared.

*

*

*

   [Last Chapter: Another Meeting After Farewell.]

   [Time Remaining: 00 hours 00 minutes 59 seconds]

With only one minute left, I stood with the Frey guild members at headquarters, heart pounding.

   [Thank you for loving Arcana Online.]

And with that message, my body began to glow from my feet upward and slowly disappeared.

Only travelers experienced this phenomenon.

“No, please! My dragon!”

“Gwee?!”

With my little dragon’s startled voice, everything went dark, and I found myself back in the real world.

Lying on my bed in a daze, I frantically tried pressing the play button to reconnect, but it was no use.

   [This game has been discontinued.]

My trembling hands attempted to reconnect dozens, no, hundreds of times, but it was futile.

   [Usage has been disabled due to user irregularities.]

As the notification displayed, my device went unresponsive, and tears began to flow.

A year.

A short time for some, but a very long time for others.

For me, it was the latter.

The time I’d spent with my little dragon.

All the monsters I’d bonded with and the new friends I’d made were gone.

And it all vanished overnight.

At first, I denied it. Then, in a sudden fit of anger, I threw my device to the floor.

And the last feeling that settled in… was emptiness.

The ringing of the doorbell broke the silence.

It was Leah.

In despair, I didn’t answer and buried myself under my blankets. Then I heard footsteps approaching.

“Yuna. I’m here.”

“…”

“D-Don’t even think of doing anything drastic. I’ll find a way, somehow.”

“…”

Her voice shook as she spoke.

She must have been struggling with this situation, too, yet here she was, thinking of me first.

I could understand that with my head, but not my heart.

Did I even deserve this?

I didn’t know.

I didn’t know anything.

Maybe if I slept, I’d wake up, and all of this would just be a bad dream.

Then I’d log back into Arcana Online and feed my little dragon.

He’d developed a refined taste and wouldn’t eat anything but rare mana stones.

My little dragon. How would he manage without his three meals, snacks, and midnight treats?

I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to bring you some delicious mana stones when I get back.

*

*

*

The doorbell’s sound pulled me from my thoughts, and I hurriedly picked up the device I’d thrown and tried to log back into Arcana Online, but it was futile.

   [This game does not exist.]

The alert appeared as if it had never been there.

So it’s all real.

Wiping away the tears from my eyes, I got up and looked out the window.

All I could see was the residential neighborhood.

This is reality, but it doesn’t feel real to me.

What am I supposed to do now…?

I… I…

No matter how hard I tried to think, my mind wouldn’t work.

Then, the sound of footsteps, and my door opened. Leah rushed in and immediately hugged me tightly.

“No, please! Don’t even think about it!”

“…”

I understood her concern.

Or maybe it wasn’t just a misunderstanding.

Leah held me close, her tears falling, saying it wasn’t too late to figure something out together.

Then, the ground shook violently, an earthquake rattling everything around us.

Leah clung to me, shielding me from the chaos.

After what felt like an eternity, the earthquake subsided, and Leah asked if I was okay.

I was about to answer when she pointed toward the window, staring blankly at the sky.

Not knowing what she was looking at, I raised my gaze.

In the sky, massive letters floated.

   [Main scenario quest conditions have been met.]

   [CHAPTER 1: ■■■■ ■■■ ■■.]

   [Time Remaining: 719 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds]