Light of Arad: Forerunner

Chapter 6

Jinseong had to lower his posture even further, his heart pounding.

For some reason, he even felt like he had committed a crime.

‘What is this? What is this, really? It’s Seria-. It’s really Seria. And the Flame Vinoche… Wait a minute. Then behind her is-.’

Following Seria was a male Ghost Knight.

To Jinseong, who had already equipped avatars for all the male Ghost Knight classes, the distinctive default appearance of the male Ghost Knight with the spiky hair felt surprisingly fresh.

‘Come to think of it, it reminds me of the male Ghost Knight before they redid the dots. Sort of like that- no, no. Stop escaping reality! Think properly.’

The hypothesis forming in his mind was clear.

However, understanding that it was reality, and that it was the situation he was currently in and had to accept, was not easy.

Even though it was the easiest moment to fall into panic, Jinseong sharpened his mind.

‘How many times has this happened during coaching in Baek Jinseong’s Training Raids ? The worst thing when you panic is to hope for the best scenario. You mustn’t do that. Accept the worst-case scenario as the worst-case scenario-. Remember that retreating and then re-entering had the highest raid success rate.’

Perhaps because he had become well-trained in dealing with situations that could cause panic.

Jinseong understood that he had been thrown into the game, no, the world of Dungeon Fighter Online.

If he interpreted the current situation from that perspective, where was he now?

‘It’s that scenario quest you experience for the first time when you create a character. The one where there’s a fire in Granfloris and all that… right? Wait, hold on a sec ? If it’s there, why am I here?’

As soon as he began to accept reality as reality, Jinseong’s brain began to spin rapidly.

The first thing he realized was an incomprehensible issue.

If this place was part of the scenario quest you naturally experience when you first create a character?

At the request of Linus to save Seria, who had run alone into the forest, the player’s first created character, the ‘Adventurer,’ enters Granfloris, meets Seria there, and goes through the process of identifying the cause of the fire and other issues.

So, if this is in the middle of that?

‘Am I in the scenario quest…? No, then how did… I? Scenario quests are supposed to be for solo play only. I shouldn’t be here-. Oh, can’t they see me? That, uhmm…’

Jinseong himself was inside the scenario quest?

Despite the whirlwind of thoughts swirling in his mind, Jinseong’s ears listened intently.

The distance was considerable, but he could clearly hear Seria and Vinoche’s conversation.

“I don’t know why you’re doing this, but Lady Vinoche, you can’t keep holding on like this… Lord Keraha is struggling.”

“Keraha… My Keraha-.”

“Please let us help you, Lady Vinoche. We’ll lend you our strength so you can return to Lord Keraha’s side.”

The situation was unmistakably clear.

“You’ll have to take responsibility for those words.”

With Vinoche’s sharp voice, the previously calm flames roared even more fiercely.

Jinseong swallowed dryly.

‘In other words, now… Yes. Now the ‘conversation’ in-game is over-.’

It meant the battle was about to begin.

The male Ghost Knight rushed towards Seria in an instant.

Even a basic combo, merely pressing ‘normal attack’ three times, would be enough to deal with Vinoche.

It didn’t matter if you didn’t equip particularly good items.

‘The difficulty of the ‘Scenario Quest Dungeon’ in Dungeon Fighter Online is easy. Yeah… In that case, now, I am clearly.’

Inside the Dungeon Fighter Online game.

The world of Dungeon Fighter Online that Jinseong knew, the setting he was familiar with.

The only difference was that it was not the belt-scrolling action game of Dungeon Fighter Online.

‘Inside the game… in other words-. Possessed by the game, I-.’

He had to move with unlimited freedom in the world of Arad from a first-person perspective.

In this situation where even the basic combo of pressing ‘normal attack’ three times seemed flashy and terrifying, he had to move.

‘So what exactly am I supposed to do? What is my role here?’

While Jinseong was contemplating, the Flame Vinoche fell.

There was nothing more to do.

Vinoche extinguished the fire as Jinseong remembered, and Seria and the ‘Adventurer,’ that is, the ‘Player,’ were heading to the next dungeon.

‘What happens if I jump out here? Then… If this is indeed a game to ‘that person’ at least-. Will they see me if I jump out here? Is that how it works?’

The concept of an unknown player or NPC intervening during a scenario quest?

Could such a thing be possible?

Jinseong shook his head.

The important thing was not to recklessly take such a gamble.

Anyway, since he had ended up possessed in the body of a Dark Knight, there was certainly something he needed to do. It was urgent to deal with that task without messing around and return to the original world, to his own body.

‘At least one thing is certain. Whatever it is, once I finish this-.’

Amidst the confusion that stirred his brain, Jinseong found a ray of light.

『When you have completed your mission as an agent, you will return to the place you desire.』

‘It’ll be back in front of the computer. Yes, it will definitely be that.’

The hope that he might be able to go home.

In other words, even though he didn’t know what he had to do, it meant he had to do something.

Jinseong bit his lip and followed the two people.

Towards the deeper parts of the forest, towards a darker place.

In other words, towards the ‘Dungeon: Dark Thunderland’.

* * *

To Jinseong, it appeared that the two were merely continuing to walk.

However, he knew.

‘If that’s really a player… a gamer actually playing Dungeon Fighter Online in front of a computer-.’

After briefly switching to the dungeon selection map and clicking to enter Dark Thunderland, it would have taken almost no time at all.

What would have been a nearly instantaneous change in the game, Jinseong was now trailing behind step by step.

Anyway, it was evident that they had entered ‘Dungeon: Dark Thunderland,’ even from the voices of those quite a distance from Jinseong.

“Ghouls, already dead souls. Why is this happening in Granfloris…?”

Jinseong also heard Seria’s muttering.

He watched their backs, specifically from the right rear.

‘The male Ghost Knight is moving. As expected, if this is exactly like the game. At the point of the conversation with Seria, he wouldn’t have been under control. He’s only moving now.’

Jinseong calmly observed the male Ghost Knight character fighting zombies and ghoul monsters.

There was a good reason for this composure.

Typically, Dungeon Fighter Online’s belt-scrolling action progresses from left to right.

The direction might differ depending on the dungeon’s layout, but it generally proceeds from left to right.

‘In other words… from my position at the right rear of them-. At least on that player’s game screen, I won’t be visible. I’ll be positioned ‘outside’ the map shown on the monitor-.’

If this were inside the game Dungeon Fighter Online.

If that male Ghost Knight was really a ‘character controlled by a user in the game.’

Then the ‘user’ wouldn’t be able to see Jinseong’s own appearance on their monitor screen.

“……Phew.”

Jinseong alternately touched his forearms, which had turned black.

His left arm had turned completely black from the fingertips to the upper arm.

And his right arm had turned black from the fingertips to the elbow.

It was a kind of scar and mark he obtained in exchange for freeing himself from Kazan by resolving the Kazan Syndrome.

The cold sensation of the yellow ‘Demon Shackle’ on his left upper arm, left wrist, right upper arm, and right wrist.

It was a body that had a definite response.

It couldn’t be a dream. This had to be reality.

“……But it’s slightly different from the Dark Knight I know. Originally, wasn’t it only on the wrist of the right arm? It seems like there’s more of this dark skin, like a Kazan Syndrome scar……”

Even in the midst of this, it was typical of Jinseong to obsess over the character background settings that had become his body.

‘And the character tier too. If possible, why couldn’t they possess me into something else, especially the one I usually use as my main? Well, it’s not like I can’t play Dark Knight, but-. Oh, right, if I tell Neople about this later, maybe I can negotiate something? If I share this novel and vivid experience with them and ask for something like a guaranteed +20 amplification ticket for all equipment, wouldn’t they listen? Haha.’

Half-jokingly, half as a means to divert his attention and keep his sanity amidst the heavy, cold and cruel reality.

While Jinseong was desperately maintaining his composure, the male Ghost Knight and Seria were steadily moving forward, so Jinseong hurriedly moved to catch up with them.

‘But possession in game? This is so inconvenient. There should be a minimap or something, huh? It would be nice if there was a guide that showed the way to the next room with a closed door opening like “shararang~” so I could move properly.’

The place where the male Ghost Knight fought the monster didn’t seem particularly special to Jinseong.

Maybe it felt just a bit less dense with thick trees, but that was about it.

‘If it were a user, they’d see a few rocks and bushes… it would look more like a flat grassland.’

There was no way to confirm the various imaginations in his mind.

And now, there was no need to confirm them either.

“A ghoul with a staff? And that’s… a fairy’s magic circle?”

Seria and the user were finally facing the final boss of ‘Dungeon: Dark Thunderland’, essentially the last part of the first scenario dungeon since character creation.

‘Mr. Ghost Knight, kill it quickly. And as Seria purifies it… once it’s over, I can finally go back!’

Jinseong clasped his hands together earnestly in support.

Even with the male Ghost Knight’s unremarkable control skills, he could quickly handle the Ghoul Guishi.

Of course, in the storyline, it didn’t die immediately.

The Ghoul Guishi, empowered by the magic circle, kept resurrecting, and to stop it…

“I think I can stop that ghoul. Trust me, Adventurer… I’ll purify the darkness of the forest.”

Seria stepped forward.

‘Yes, Seria! Well done! You’re originally a fairy, right? No, you’re even more amazing than a fairy in reality— Anyway! Let’s purify it quickly and finish this!’

Seria floated into the air, intertwining with the fairy’s magic circle using her own magic power.

While Seria was purifying the magic circle, the ‘user’ had one task.

To protect Seria as she purified the magic circle.

‘To kill the Ghoul Guishi again. Come on, Mr. Ghost Knight!’

Specifically, to defeat the Ghoul Guishi!

Jinseong looked on with anticipation, believing that everything would finally end and he could return to reality.

‘So hurry up…?’

Thus, Jinseong couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

The male Ghost Knight wasn’t moving.

He just stood there blankly.

That wasn’t the end of the surprising events.

“…Huh?”

The Ghoul Guishi, instead of approaching the male Ghost Knight user, swung its staff toward the fairy’s magic circle.

At that moment, Jinseong heard it.

“Aah!”

It was Seria’s scream.

For Jinseong, it was a moment of utmost confusion.