Novel Will Be Taken Down on 17 May or Earlier Chapter 22 - New Updates

110 billion won.

 

I counted it again and again, but it was clear.

 

That astronomical number.

 

If I applied for a deposit, the money would be deposited into my account.

 

…For the first time in my life, I am afraid of money.

 

110 billion won.

 

That’s how many times you have to win the lottery!

 

But what’s scarier is.

 

The astronomical amount of reward.

 

It was a number that I took for granted.

 

A salary that wasn’t bad for living alone.

 

Nevertheless, the old days when I shed tears of blood on various living expenses.

 

Hot and cold days when I was obsessed with the running time of air conditioning and boiler.

 

Let’s imagine that I was given 110 billion won at that time.

 

First of all, what’s certain was that I’d definitely get insomnia.

 

A robbery might happen in my house every night. Maybe a colleague and a manager would notice after I suddenly quit the company. What if the bank clerk stole it?

 

I would have been up all night worrying.

 

In that sense, I was fortunate.

 

『Born as the successor to a great family, he has experienced the end of prosperity.』

 

This extraordinary sense of money.

 

Perhaps because of that setting.

 

Instead of turning pale, my head started spinning faster and faster.

 

“The most urgent thing is equipping myself.”

 

Yeah, it was urgent.

 

From level 55 to level 134.

 

Above all, because my level had risen up rapidly.

 

I honestly didn’t have any equipment items that I used at the moment.

 

In other words, it was no different from wearing a long coat in front of a high-level monster.

 

‘I need to use my brain well…’

 

However, this was another problem.

 

Let’s say I matched the item with the level that had risen sharply.

 

What should I do when I level up next?

 

Of course, there was no guarantee that I would be able to level up at such a high speed in the next rupture.

 

But let’s be objective.

 

Even if it went up, I was only at level 134.

 

At my standard, my level went up just by catching a low-level demon monster, Imp.

 

‘Is it a good thing to get an item that matches the current level?’

 

At best it cost tens of millions of won and costs hundreds of millions of won at most.

 

Absolutely not.

 

Then this question naturally followed.

 

Does that mean I am not going to get an item?

 

When I might have to risk my life again at the rupture?

 

No, absolutely not.

 

I had ideas, too.

 

‘Items that are more effective than specs.’

 

Well, rather than absolute stats like attack or defense.

 

Items that had high value thanks to their effect.

 

‘There are items that have good effects regardless of the level limit.’

 

What I needed at this point was that kind of item.

 

Above all.

 

‘If it could support mana regeneration even if just a little…’

 

Items related to mana regeneration!

 

I realized the importance of mana in this Count Ascura rupture.

 

Excluding the moment of crisis due to magic exhaustion, there were several times when I felt sorry for my lack of mana.

 

In that sense, if it could supplement my mana regeneration…

 

‘I might be able to hold on somehow.’

 

Until I got a decent high-level equipment item.

 

Of course, it would be expensive…

 

Back when Arcana was just a game.

 

Mage-type classes were treated as nobles.

 

Even if it was the second best.

 

Fundamentally, the amount of money invested in raising the characters was as high as the excellent performance.

 

For such mages, an item related to mana regeneration was essential.

 

Now that Arcana had become a reality.

 

Its value would have risen up even more.

 

…Seriously, a surprising number of billions may come out dozen times.

 

Billions of dollars for one item!

 

To think that I would be the one buying those items rather than selling them.

 

It was something I never imagined.

 

There was no agitation in my feelings.

 

Sitting in front of the table.

 

An upright posture with the back rested to the fullest.

 

The teacup that I tilted leisurely.

 

Even if it cost billions, or more.

 

I couldn’t shake Grandfel’s heart.

 

Whether I got 110 billion won.

 

Whether the whole world was focused on me.

 

There was no need to worry more.

 

Crunch–

 

A4 papers that were piling up again.

 

– Train your weakened body. (Repeat) ▲

 

• 20KM runs (In progress)

 

• 1,000 push-ups (Successful)

 

• 500 chin-ups (In progress)

 

• 300 burpee tests (Successful)

 

A repeated quest that was carried out in the same way.

 

My usual behavior was proof.

 

This is my way, terribly so.

 

Suddenly, I had a thought.

 

…Did I really act like this when I was in my second year of middle school?

 

But that train of thought was soon abandoned.

 

The fact that my dark history was revealed in front of Arang, my one and only niece, I felt today’s shame overflowing.

 

*

 

Sometimes things are more valuable because they are not revealed.

 

“What exactly is he?”

 

Hoyeol’s current situation was exactly that.

 

Raid of Count of Ascura with Jessie Heinness.

 

But the truth of the incident was not clear.

 

Hoyeol and Jessie.

 

It was because the involved parties kept their mouths shut as if they had made a promise.

 

“First of all, let’s watch the video first.”

 

Bam bam–!

 

From the stone pillars rising from the ground.

 

Even a moving stone statue collapsing in front of Hoyeol.

 

The true identity of Hoyeol.

 

At least the people who wanted to figure out his class were not just one or two.

 

But it was supposed to make sense.

 

The more they looked into the video, the more mysterious Hoyeol became.

 

“First of all, it’s definitely alchemy.”

 

“Alchemy?”

 

“Yes. If you zoom in here… You can definitely see it, right? How the rubble of the ruins turns into stone pillars. This is definitely alchemy… But what makes no sense is the amount of mana consumed by alchemy… How high his magical power must be….”

 

“Excuse me, Expert-nim?”

 

Former Arcana executive.

 

AAU was not much different.

 

AAU Korea Branch.

 

Lately, Sung Hyunjoon felt like he had a scab in his ear.

 

Plop–

 

Sitting in front of his office desk, he said to his senior.

 

“Sunbae, I’m dying.”

 

“What’s with you now?”

 

“Everywhere I go, there’s Lee Hoyeol. Lee Hoyeol. It’s just a mess…!”

 

Friends, cousins, and even Father and Mother.

 

There was a flood of inquiries about Lee Hoyeol.

 

He could understand.

 

How long has it been since a star player appeared?

 

Since Gaon’s Nam Taemin, no one had shown such a  performance in South Korea.

 

Well, even if someone won a medal at the Olympics, that was all they had been talking about for a while.

 

Because Hoyeol was not a medalist, but a real hero who had dealt with the catastrophe of the collapsed rupture.

 

“It can’t be helped. The kids go crazy when I get off work, too. ‘Dad, just tell me a little bit’. I send them to the school without saying anything.”

 

“It drives me crazy.”

 

“I know, right. I’ll tell them if know something!”

 

The two simultaneously looked at Hoyeol on the monitor.

 

What the hell is that man?

 

What is his skill?

 

What else did he do to bring down Count Ascura?!

 

Even the people who were operators of Arcana in the past couldn’t guess Hoyeol’s level or his class.

 

Sung Hyunjoon shook his head.

 

“The bigger problem is that I think I’ll continue to be tired from now on.”

 

It would be nice if that man could answer kindly.

 

After all, the main culprit was Hoyeol’s interview.

 

That harsh interview that was gathering as much attention as Hoyeol’s performance.

 

– ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋIt’s a fabulous concept

 

– Can you see his expression? He’s full of confidence

 

– Instead of being in the rupture, he looked like someone on a runway

 

– No, is that a concept? Do you think it makes sense to be able to do such a concept in front of the rankers gathered there?? It’s a real thing

 

“We are dying of curiosity, too. I can’t say this openly…”

 

From the days when he was an operator of Arcana.

 

Until this far, an employee of AAU.

 

Their essential virtue was secrecy.

 

Knowing but pretending not to know, not knowing but pretending to know.

 

As the saying goes, let the fool hold his tongue and he will pass as a sage.

 

It was to avoid confusion in society with unnecessary words and actions.

 

The only fortunate thing was.

 

“It’s the first time I’ve been looking forward to Thursday.”

 

Today was Thursday.

 

There might be a new update.

 

If details of the new update were released, wouldn’t interest in Hoyeol decrease a bit?

 

Then, wouldn’t that protect his ears as well?

 

Sung Hyunjoon had no choice but to look forward to it.

 

“Come up. Come…!”

 

Perhaps because of that earnest prayer.

 

A new update had been announced on the Arcana website.

 

“It’s up!”

 

At those words, the staff at AAU checked the update history in unison.

 

Sung Hyunjoon also breathed a sigh of relief as he checked the details.

 

‘…I shouldn’t be happy, but I have to live too!’

 

The ruptures were always a ticking time bomb.

 

However, the existence of Hoyeol that appeared out of nowhere.

 

It was a disaster for his ears and mental health.

 

Squeak–

 

Sung Hyunjoon grinned as he spun the mouse wheel.

 

It was long.

 

Not a breakdown of updates with just ruptures.

 

It was an update full of substance.

 

‘At this scale of updates…’

 

Wouldn’t interest in Hoyeon fade a little?

 

Sung Hyunjoon thought so.

 

Unfortunately, however, it was just an illusion.

 

At the same time.

 

Players also checked the new update history.

 

“W-Wait. Is this real? This really came up?!”

 

“…In that case, we’ll have no choice but to meet again.”

 

“I’ll hold back until this update.”

 

“Ha. Only one more competitor.”

 

A competitor.

 

Of course, it was referring to Hoyeol.

 

By the way, this update was a massive one.

 

No, for those who had played Arcana in the past,  just by checking the history, it was obvious that the update was exciting.

 

『A new area will come to you.

 

A new area, ‘Yusra Islands’ will be added…』

 

Yusra Islands!

 

Back when Arcana was a game.

 

A rumor about these islands had spread a lot in Arcana.

 

Quests, treasure maps, and even NPCs.

 

This was because Yusra Islands were referred to as ‘Treasure Islands’.

 

There was a saying that everything born and raised there was treasure at a level incomparably superior to that of the world.

 

So players who got that information searched all over the continent to find the treasure islands.

 

However, Yusra Islands weren’t discovered until Arcana became a reality.

 

So they had thought it was just a fantasy island that descended down like a legend…

 

“Is it giving us medicine after giving us disease ^[1] Give a disease then give medicine = To make trouble and then give help. ?”

 

After Count Ascura.

 

The Yusra Islands got updated.

 

“All monsters will gather. Really.”

 

How could high-level players, including rankers, leave that treasure island alone?

 

Among them, the one that stood out the most recently was none other than Hoyeol.

 

So, the interest in Hoyeol grew bigger, and it could never fade.

 

“This time with real formality…”

 

In a good way.

 

“One humiliation is enough for the great Union.”

 

Even in a bad way.

 

Yusra Islands.

 

Hoyeol received as much attention as the treasure islands.

 

However, as if nothing was wrong with that interest and restraint.

 

Hoyeol was just like usual.

 

Yusra Islands.

 

Even at the moment when he checked the update history.

 

“…”

 

There was no change in that arrogant look.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Yusra Islands?

 

What else is this?

 

I tilted my teacup while checking the update history.

 

‘I’ve been feeling this lately, but…’

 

The 10-year gap was definitely a big deal.

 

Well, just recently.

 

That pointed hat…

 

Just like how I didn’t recognize Jessie Heinnes.

 

The [Divine Punishment] that turned Count Ascura to ashes.

 

I thought it was amazing to see the power of that skill.

 

To think that she was the 4th ranked player.

 

‘I want to be polite to such a person…’

 

It was human’s basic to be polite.

 

 I had preached out of the blue.

 

Not only that, in the end, I was given a very polite self-introduction, and I…

 

I was reminded of that atrocity again.

 

I had the audacity to say.

 

“The new improvement isn’t bad.”

 

You bet.

 

It’s a green tea bag that costs 200 won each!

 

…Enough.

 

Let’s stop thinking.

 

This personality didn’t change just because I agonized over it.

 

Even if I found out that Jessie was a ranker.

 

My attitude towards her wasn’t going to change.

 

Of course, looking at the update history, I could take it easy.

 

It wasn’t just because of this personality.

 

A 10-year gap?

 

Civilization was convenient.

 

I could overcome it by searching the Internet.

 

‘Yusra Islands.’

 

In terms of quantity.

 

The core of this update was obvious.

 

I immediately opened a green window and entered the search bar…

 

“?”

 

The moment I tried to type in Yusra Islands.

 

I paused.

 

The update history at the end.

 

“…What is this?”

 

A single sentence caught my attention.

• 1. Give a disease then give medicine = To make trouble and then give help.