Light of Arad: Forerunner

Chapter 9

In a space filled with darkness and deep purple hues, Nemer’s golden light shone even brighter.

While someone else might have been startled by the unreal scene before their eyes, Jinseong remained unshaken while he was upside down again.

“Right? I did well, right? Yes! Ghoul Guishi was attacking Seria, and the male Ghost Knight user wasn’t moving, so I stepped in to block it! Normally, Seria shouldn’t die! Isn’t that right?”

More than anything, with Nemer’s appearance and the remarks Jinseong had wanted to hear, the current surreal scene didn’t bother him at all.

『From the interference of the entity trying to break the blade, you have corrected it so that the blade can be properly tempered.』

“That’s right! So, it’s over? It’s over, right? Now let me go-. Ugh?!”

Excitedly, Jinseong spoke, but he soon had to frown.

A sudden burst of intense light emerged from his pocket.

The mass of light came out of Jinseong’s pocket, scattering golden light in the dark space.

The card Jinseong had picked up was spreading the same golden light as Nemer.

[Ghoul Guishi (Corrupted)]

─────────────…….

[Ghoul Guishi (Purified)]

‘From Corrupted… to Purified.’

When the golden light flashed once more, Jinseong saw that the text on the card floating in the air had changed.

Nemer spoke.

『However, you merely suppressed the interference from the corrupted, not the cause of the corruption itself.』

Jinseong had to think to understand Nemer’s words.

The meaning was all too clear.

“Wait… you’re saying this isn’t over yet-. No way, right? You have to send me back! You promised, if I did everything you asked, you’d send me back-.”

『What you accomplished was just a small purification. You haven’t found the source of the corruption, nor have you become the tempered blade. You cannot return, and that wasn’t even the task assigned to you.』

“-You said… that if I did all this…”

The word “damn” barely stayed trapped in Jinseong’s throat, thanks to his last bit of sanity.

Even amidst his extreme excitement, Jinseong began to regain his composure.

It was the temperament of someone who had experienced something significant.

Having actually possessed a character within the game Dungeon Fighter Online and experiencing it as reality gave him this calmness.

If it was all real, not a dream or an illusion…

‘What I need to do now… is not to provoke Nemer. Yes, I mustn’t do that.’

The one before him, the transcendent Nemer, possessed an absolute power and abilities beyond Jinseong’s wildest imagination.

Even within the game Dungeon Fighter Online, these abilities had not been fully revealed, and their identity was so vague that they were almost unknown.

“Then… that mission? Will you send me back once I complete all the assigned tasks?”

Jinseong quietly asked.

『I promise. When the unworthy trials forged by the corrupt try to break the blade with the hammer of unworthiness. When you hold the blade firmly to ensure it is honed properly to face the rightful trials. That is when you will have completed all your duties as the .』

Only then could Jinseong see.

『You will be able to exist in the place you desire.』

Nemer, with the faintest movement, nodded her head.

Jinseong caught his breath.

Perhaps because he had already experienced one possession.

Nemer’s metaphor was not too difficult to understand.

The long-handled tongs used by blacksmiths. The tool that keeps the ‘blade’ steady on the anvil, allowing it to be forged correctly by the hammer, the ‘Subsidiary Tongs.’

“The words or images are a bit old-fashioned, but okay. Is that all? Is there no other way? No deadlines or conditions, or perhaps another method?”

It was not just a vague question.

Hadn’t Jinseong already seen it himself?

『As one like you, a human from the same plane, called Plane: Arad, who is also a candidate to become the forged blade. It is my duty to continue to summon the most suitable candidates. The blade’s mission is to be forged through trials without aid from a character adventurer. However.』

The person he had last partied with in front of the computer.

From the circumstances, it was clear that this person was indeed a famous user from the past.

‘Now, they’re probably… no longer of this world-.’

There was no way that person was assigned the same mission as himself.

According to Nemer’s literal interpretation, he was an ‘adventurer’ and a ‘blade’ within the game Dungeon Fighter Online’s world.

Not a ‘character adventurer’ controlled by a computer, but a ‘real adventurer’ who had been possessed and was in the process of being forged as a ‘blade.’

‘During that time-. Probably while trying to verify Isys, specifically the Isys card-.’

It was exactly as Nemer had said.

『Having realized the insufficiency of merely handling a character adventurer of Plane: Arad, and seeking aid from the character adventurer in the face of pain, fear, and terror.』

He must have thought it was impossible to do alone.

Therefore, he requested help from Jinseong himself, who was then a ‘character adventurer’ playing the game in front of the computer.

『Collaboration may be possible, but unilateral assistance is not allowed. As a true Aradian, your identity as a ‘character adventurer’ must not be fully revealed. Above all, you must remember that the Time Lords, who oversee this plane, do not tolerate such incidents that could cause distortion.』

And that must have been an act of breaking the rules, something not permitted for those ‘possessed’ in reality.

Gulp.

Perhaps that was why the user suddenly got caught in a debuff that Jinseong himself had never known about.

‘I never fully realized that the person was possessed. I thought it was strange, but that was it. So, in the end….’

It must have been that the party play with Jinseong himself was not collaboration but assistance, which caused the problem.

Since Jinseong himself, as a ‘character adventurer’, directly alleviated his burden and his ‘trial’.

He was responsible.

『Thus, I have reflected. I realized the need for another approach to forge the blade, and most importantly, I knew that there was a being trying to break the core of the blade in the process of being forged… So, I am sending you.』

Despite the myriad of questions and imaginations swirling in Jinseong’s mind, Nemer continued speaking.

Jinseong held back his curiosity and asked more pointed questions.

“Then what happens with the contamination? Does it end once everything is purified?”

『Contamination and purification are just a repeating cycle.』

“It can be contaminated again… Ah, so you mentioned there’s an entity interfering, and that is the ‘source of the contamination’, right?”

『An obscure entity hiding and intervening within the dimensional rift and its distortion. Adventurers who did not wish to become the forged blade tried to fulfill their destiny by finding this entity, but no one has found the source of the contamination yet…. The broken blade you met was likely obsessed only with minor purification. I hope you do not repeat such incorrect actions.』

As soon as Nemer finished speaking, something new appeared next to the Ghoul Guishi card.

‘Another card?’

Watching as the new card and the Ghoul Guishi card merged into his pocket, Jinseong could guess what kind of item Nemer had created for him.

“Then, if we find the ’cause of the contamination’! If we uncover who or what it is, we can return things to the way they were, right? I won’t need to be the anymore, correct? The scenario will return to normal-. Meaning, the ‘character adventurers’ can properly practice to become real adventurers, and true adventurers? Anyway, if they do things right, the flow will eventually become proper!”

Jinseong quickly spoke.

『…It is an unverified but plausible claim.』

Nemer answered after a brief silence.

At that answer, Jinseong clenched his fist and asked again.

“Great, then… Ah! The contaminated monsters-. So those… the contaminated ones in Arad drop those cards-. Items that originally don’t exist drop, right? If I obtain those and give them to you, they get purified?”

『That is correct. Purification is my power. However, I cannot intervene to confirm every contamination. My summoning you across world lines and meeting you in these dimensional gaps enlarges distortions and fractures, making the beings managing this plane’s space-time fearful and hostile.』

“…What? Does that mean this is our last meeting? Is it over from now on?”

Jinseong asked urgently.

The golden light constructing Nemer was already diminishing.

『Do not rely on irregular and uncertain false hopes; rather, seek me. If you can find me connected through fragments of memory, you will escape the fear of distortions and fractures and achieve what you desire. I will be watching and awaiting your achievements.』

“Wait, just a moment!”

Jinseong, on the verge of spouting a mountain of questions, halted and reconsidered.

With a certain amount of pieces gathered, Jinseong himself could piece it all together like a puzzle.

So, what should he say to Nemer now?

『Speak.』

Jinseong had made up his mind to some extent.

Although Jinseong was partly at fault, if Nemer had also changed methods, then this ‘deal’ did not place Jinseong in a subordinate position. They might not even be equals.

“I am the famed , am I not? I don’t need to be forged through trials if I’m not going to be the blade. So… give me an advantage. Avatars! Items! Growth capsules! Or link it to my original account.”

Believing he might be in a position of power, Jinseong’s eyes burned with determination.

『……I cannot grant you enough power to cause dimensional distortions and cracks, but if it’s one thing, I can grant it. Do you have a wish?』

Nemer looked at the human staring directly at him.

Jinseong’s mind was already racing.

Of course, he didn’t expect to link it with his Dungeon Fighter Online account or receive a rare avatar set from the start.

First, he would ask for something big.

Then, he would pretend to concede and get what he truly needed.

To survive in Arad.

To overcome this place where the rules of the game Dungeon Fighter Online applied to reality.

To get what would be most beneficial for himself.

“……Please apply at all times.”

Jinseong couldn’t fully comprehend the conversation with Nemer immediately.

Therefore, if he had to choose one thing, he believed it was right to select something he could utilize most efficiently from any perspective.

Currently, in the game Dungeon Fighter Online, the ‘benchmark’ that measured a user’s status was [Adventurer Fame].

And the fastest and easiest way to increase Adventurer Fame?

‘It’s most important to equip items with a high level requirement. So, is the key-.’

had the effect of reducing the minimum level requirement for equipment by 10 levels.

Even as a level 1, Jinseong would be able to use equipment that required level 10 or higher if he could get them.

‘-In a situation where I might have to go through all the low-level stages. In the short term, higher-level equipment could save my life, and that’s not all. Considering what Nemer just said, in the long run as well…….’

In both the short and long term, would undoubtedly provide the greatest utility.

Thus, Jinseong was tense.

He worried if Nemer might not grant his request, but after a moment of apprehension, Nemer replied.

『It shall be done.』

So simple.

Jinseong wasn’t one to just let it go.

“And, also! Uh, stamina! Unlimited stamina! Right? I need to be able to enter dungeons continuously without restriction-.”

『Your earnest attitude for your mission is commendable. While trials are necessary for you to be forged as a blade, they are not needed for your role as Tongs.』

The golden light of Nemer, which had been fading, brightened momentarily.

Perhaps due to Nemer’s emotional reaction.

『Following your earnest wish, in Plane: Arad, you will also be freed from physiological needs, though you will retain the senses without being controlled by them.』

However, the transcendental’s kind sentiment only bewildered Jinseong.

“……Wh-what? Excuse me?”

The golden light, as if it had exhausted its last strength, instantly faded.

It could be said that the ‘deal’ between the transcendental Nemer and the mere human was concluded at that moment…….

“That kind of unlimited stamina wasn’t what I meant! I think there’s been a misunderstanding, hey!”

Only an odd benefit that the party didn’t actually wish for remained.

『Like the condensed realm of Plane: Arad that your character adventurer experienced, I hope you will find the way to also fulfill your mission here, in the real Arad.』

───────────……!!!!

At last, the golden light completely vanished.

In the next moment, with a thud, Jinseong found himself standing where he was just before.

“……Elvenguard.”

Like everything was just a dream.