Light of Arad: Forerunner

Chapter 8

Jinseong thought.

‘A lag spike? Not because they were eating ramen or something, but lag? Does that even make sense?’

Why did he have such a foreboding feeling?

Dungeon Fighter Online certainly had lag issues.

It wasn’t just a problem with the game servers; it could also occur due to issues with the player’s computer or internet connection. Any user who played online games would have experienced it at some point.

‘But getting a lag spike at the exact moment a problem arises, and then the lag resolves as soon as the problem is fixed? Ah, the problem arose because of the lag in the first place…’

More than anything, if such a server connection delay occurred, the user controlling the male Ghost Knight character, that is, the ‘real person’ watching the monitor, must be wondering what was going on.

If this situation was really due to lag.

The screen would have been frozen with no response, and only now would it have reconnected properly, showing the screen.

Then?

‘…They would know they didn’t kill Ghoul Guishi themselves, right?’

But if the scenario quest was progressing, wouldn’t they find it strange?

Would they just think it auto-completed because time passed?

‘Well, since it’s still early in the game, they might think that’s possible. Whether they are a new user or someone leveling an alt character.’

The thought that it was just within an acceptable range might be because Jinseong himself hoped so.

Anyway, since everything had already happened, Jinseong could only watch anxiously.

Although he had defeated Ghoul Guishi, the scenario quest was not yet completely over.

From the black and purple mass that Ghoul Guishi spilled as it died, a dark power briefly seeped out, and before long, more ghouls were forming around Seria and the male Ghost Knight!

“This… the ghouls…!”

Despite Seria’s startled voice, Jinseong did not panic.

It wasn’t just because the male Ghost Knight user’s lag had resolved.

“Step back!” “Step back!”

Jinseong knew that those with deep and sharp voices were approaching.

“Lady Vinoche, Lord Shauta!”

Jinseong himself had seen the Flame Vinoche once, and the Tau King Shauta, who had previously given orders to the forest Tau warriors.

Seeing Vinoche instantly sweep away the ghouls and burn the black-red mass that had summoned them, Jinseong finally let out a sigh of relief.

‘Good. This should be… the end.’

Seria, Vinoche, and Shauta’s continuing conversation also flowed smoothly.

“There was a ghoul exploiting the sacrifice of the fairies, and the adventurer dealt with it.”

At Seria’s words, Jinseong felt a bit of disappointment.

‘I actually did it. That human was lagging and couldn’t do anything.’

The fact that he could think this way meant that he, too, was starting to feel more at ease.

It seemed certain that Jinseong wouldn’t have to step forward again in the ongoing conversation.

“How could a mere ghoul…?”

“Is it related to what Vinoche just burned?”

“It was something akin to a plague. One thing is certain, it wasn’t originally from this forest. It’s a phenomenon of transference.”

Vinoche answered Seria’s question in a serious tone.

Though it was a very important conversation, for some reason, Jinseong felt like laughing as he listened.

‘Yes, yes. That must be a shard or fragment from Diregie. As expected of Sister Vinoche.’

It was probably inevitable that Jinseong, who already knew the story, found it somewhat amusing.

More than anything, the fact that no further problems would arise put Jinseong at ease.

After the conversation ended and Vinoche and Shauta left first, seeing Seria and the adventurer, the “user”, also turn away gave Jinseong a sense of slight emotion.

‘Good. That was good!’

Of course, it wasn’t like Jinseong would just watch.

Jinseong also started slowly following Seria and the male Ghost Knight.

Their direction was headed out of the dungeon area ‘Granfloris’.

There were moments when they were almost spotted by Lugharru, goblins, and other creatures like Tau, but luckily, Jinseong was able to move without any major issues, and finally, he saw it.

A road that was far more orderly compared to the rough forest path.

Although not entirely, it was a place paved with stones, where people came and went, and the sunlight was well-lit.

Fwoooosh!

‘Arad Temporary Disassembler!’

And finally, at the point where he confirmed the disassembler at the dungeon entrance, Jinseong realized it.

He had finally exited the dungeon area.

“I’m out… I did it! It’s over!”

At the same time as he let out a joyous and very natural shout,

────────────……!

“Huh? It’s blinding!”

Suddenly, light poured down on Jinseong.

There was no sound, but the intense force of the light enveloped him like a crash.

‘…Could this be the level-up effect?’

However, he couldn’t figure out exactly what it was.

More than anything, it was because there was someone standing in front of Jinseong with a sly smile.

“What are you doing?”

A male Priest character with a sturdy build, arms crossed, spoke.

Jinseong looked at him, tilting his head in confusion.

“Pardon?”

“Why are you mumbling to yourself? What’s over? Why the smug look?”

The male Priest user spoke in a ‘playful voice’.

“……Ah.”

At that moment, Jinseong realized many things.

When he was a male Ghost Knight, he didn’t feel anything particularly special.

It was because they were far apart and he didn’t have the leisure to check his face right then.

Most importantly, his focus was solely on Seria’s safety, which might have made it a natural reaction.

But now, it’s different.

There are no monsters, and it is not inside a ‘single-player dungeon for scenario quests’.

It’s a public place where users and other users pass by and can encounter each other at any time.

“Ah? What’s with the dots?”

The male Priest, barely holding back his laughter, spoke to Jinseong.

Jinseong himself also felt this situation was somewhat awkward.

Nevertheless, Jinseong asked.

“Are you logged in right now?”

“? What do you mean?”

The male Priest laughed and asked back.

Jinseong saw his facial muscles twitch.

So he asked again.

“Are you logged into Dungeon Fighter Online?”

“? Are you seriously asking that?”

The character in front of him asked back, still seemingly confused.

Now, his expression had lost some of its laughter.

Instead, his face was filled with a puzzled look, and Jinseong spoke once more.

“Yes. Can you see what I’m doing right now?”

Raising his arms in a gesture of exultation.

A simple act of raising his arms, not an action meant to harm anyone in particular.

But there’s no way he couldn’t see it.

In ‘normal reality’, such a movement would definitely be noticeable.

The male Priest character said.

“You’re just standing there, doing nothing.”

A statement that confirmed Jinseong’s suspicion.

“……As expected.”

Jinseong nodded.

Then he couldn’t help but recall his own experience.

‘Was Nemer’s words true? Was it really… really like that?’

If Jinseong himself was inside the Dungeon Fighter Online game right now.

And if that male Priest character was just a character played by a user enjoying the game.

‘In other words, ‘the current me’ is in the position of that male Ranger during the Prey-Isys raid… and this male Priest is-.’

What Jinseong experienced was exactly the perspective of the person right in front of him, the male Priest.

Staring at the monitor, in the ‘real world’, Jinseong had experienced it.

So, in Jinseong’s current situation,

“lol Weird person.”

The male Priest character then left for the Granfloris dungeon area.

It was only for a moment that Jinseong watched his retreating back.

For that person, it was just a game, but considering what Jinseong had just gone through,

Jinseong trudged along.

He had to walk without knowing where he was going.

Engulfed in all sorts of thoughts as he stared intently at his left arm, still stinging from being scratched by Kurogarru.

‘If so, then that male Ranger, perhaps really… 5 years ago-. The one who suddenly disappeared from Dungeon Fighter Online…’

Could it really have been that user?

The one who made the server and channel lively with a megaphone every time they enhanced and amplified, who made users happy and entertained even with trivial things, the user with highly enhanced equipment?

Jinseong suddenly recalled Nemer’s words.

『He is not a character adventurer from Plane: Arad. The adventurer you faced is one of the Aradians being forged to become a true blade. Additionally, as someone who handled character adventurers from the past Plane: Arad the best, he is one of the humans summoned to Arad to become a true adventurer.』

‘…Damn it!’

The emotion he felt upon reaching that thought was compassion.

The pain of being scratched once by the Lugharru tribe, if it were a game, how much HP would have been reduced?

Although Jinseong had never been properly hit, he could guess that the damage would have been minimal.

‘But he got hit by Senbi Cloud’s Thunder Dragon. With such equipment—such poor equipment…’

Compared to that level of damage, the attack from one of the powerful boss monsters in the Prey-Isys raid would involve unimaginable pain!

‘That wasn’t just chatting. So, that… that desperate and agonized state was…’

It was a real scream.

It was real suffering.

It was real death.

When he reached that thought, what he felt was fear and dread.

‘Five years? He leveled up to 95 and participated in the Isys raid? What kind of… No, wait. What about me? Then what will happen to me…’

What would happen to Jinseong himself?

More importantly, how should he resolve the current situation?

There was no way to hide his frustration.

“Jeez! What’s going on! Is it over or not?! What’s this! Why am I still in Elvenguard!”

Jinseong shouted, flailing about in his place as if throwing a tantrum.

Had any users been passing by, they would have seen Jinseong as a strange person. Fortunately, there weren’t many people in this beginner area.

“Ah! Items!”

Another thing was that Jinseong, who suddenly thought of something, stopped his wild movements.

Jinseong hurriedly rummaged through his pockets.

What he felt in his hand was a small, hard, rectangular item, a card.

It was the very item Jinseong had picked up next to the corpse when he defeated the Ghoul Guishi.

‘The item related to Ghoul Guishi should be equipment, right? I think there was one among the rogue weapons, but a magic enhancement card… there isn’t one, right?’

In the game Dungeon Fighter Online, ‘cards’ are imbued with some of a monster’s energy, transferred into magic. Within the game, they serve the purpose of ‘magic enhancement’ on users’ items, adding additional options like skill damage, status, attribute enhancement, or resistance.

However, from Jinseong’s memory, there was definitely no item named ‘Ghoul Guishi Card’.

‘No, even if there was, it’s strange. There’s no way a card would randomly drop in a scenario quest dungeon—hmm?’

Even if it did exist, it shouldn’t drop like that.

When Jinseong realized all these facts, his heart started pounding again.

Finally, Jinseong took out the card and examined it.

[Ghoul Guishi (Corrupted)]

‘…Huh?’

It was strange that there were no stats to be applied to items, but the wording on this card was different from any of the hundreds or thousands of magic enhancement cards Jinseong had seen.

‘What is this? Ah, ah?!’

Jinseong couldn’t look at the card for long. His vision suddenly went dark.

Feeling like he was being sucked into the darkness, and at the same time, sensing that his body was being thrown into the air.

Jinseong shouted without warning.

“Ah?! Uh—hey, hey! I finished it! Yes, I finished it!”

Despite being flustered, he wasn’t entirely unprepared, having experienced this before and being able to predict the outcome.

『The tongs to straighten the blade so it can be tempered. You have fulfilled that role excellently.』

Nemer’s voice echoed.

Jinseong’s lips had already curled into a wide grin.