Server Integration (2)
Two weeks earlier.
Purum Corp's World Promotion Team hit a major snag.
The story.
Ayaka twirled her pen, lost in deep thought.
'We've landed an incredible star for the trailer.'
Of course, this was just Ayaka's personal opinion.
Though it hadn't been revealed yet, once the world learned that User Hyun-soo was the trailer's main star, there would be global backlash.
The criticism would stem from him not being a local.
A Korean playing a starring role in a Korean game.
His name might be number one, but he'd been chosen over top players from around the world with even loftier reputations.
But if the trailer nailed it, that backlash would flip to cheers.
To handle protests from world rankers, the team had prepared a polite rejection notice:
'We regret to inform User XX that you do not align with the image we seek for the Server Integration trailer.'
Straight translation?
'Your face isn't trailer material.'
Facts.
Ayaka had cast what she considered a perfect star.
And the biggest foundation for that was Hyun-soo's looks.
No matter how famous a world ranker was, if they were ugly or short, they wouldn't make a great lead.
On the flip side, Ayaka already knew Hyun-soo had killer screen presence.
She was the only one who'd seen his mad movie footage.
'It was perfect...'
Even with the best ingredients, the story wouldn't come together easily.
"How about a trailer where User Hyun-soo walks to the throne amid cheers from millions of subjects? 'You could be next!'"
"Cliché."
"What if we show him leading hundreds of thousands against China's Sword Emperor?"
"Boring."
"Here's another: User Hyun-soo falls for a princess and becomes king in the finale..."
"You wanna die?"
Ayaka sank into profound agony.
'The throne walk with millions cheering is the safest, most epic option.'
But then doubt crept in.
'Can this beat the first trailer?'
A universal rule every director and viewer knew: the second rarely tops the first.
Sure, exceptions exploded now and then, but they were rare.
Ayaka was racking her brain precisely to create one of those exceptions.
Then a team member spoke up.
"Team leader, you seem too stressed."
"...Yeah?"
Those words made her realize the pressure was crushing her.
Obsessed with surpassing the first trailer, her scenarios weren't progressing.
'Ayaka, when I force myself to write something "great" or "groundbreaking" to prove myself, it turns out stiff and unreadable.'
Words from her writer friend Park Min-gyu.
'You've bombed two in a row, right?'
'...Yeah, because I did exactly that. Kekeke.'
'...?'
Anyway, Ayaka felt the need to let go.
And suddenly.
"...Should I call Hyun-soo?"
She stood up.
Not with huge expectations, of course.
She just knew he was one walking the path of kings.
She wanted to hear his perspective.
After she left.
"Think it'll go with the first idea."
"Yeah, Hyun-soo is just the actor here."
"Ayaka's really something..."
They held zero hope.
***
Ayaka called Hyun-soo from the rooftop.
She pitched the three ideas from the meeting.
"Then how about..."
"Then the princess..."
The reactions matched Ayaka's exactly.
Hyun-soo was humble.
What followed was the tale of Hyun-soo and King Barad.
From their first meeting to now.
'...Hyun-soo as the king's successor? Shocking.'
News to her. If she didn't know, the world didn't either.
And Barad called him a close friend.
Suddenly, ideas flashed through her mind.
"Hyun-soo, thank you. That helped a ton."
"It is special."
The protagonist couldn't see it.
Barad and Hyun-soo's story was one no other user could claim.
"I think we've got a winner."
Ayaka bolted back to the meeting room.
"How'd the call..."
The team couldn't finish.
Ayaka hammered her laptop like she was possessed.
An hour later.
"Check this out."
From intro to end, she'd written it in one go.
The team read, heads tilted.
Then they reacted in unison.
Ayaka saw it.
Their thumbs up!
"This rocks!"
"No clichés or boredom—perfect!"
"It even weaves user-NPC bonds, showing players can own Ares!"
With the story locked, production flew.
Ayaka and the team whipped up the trailer at breakneck speed.
Two days before Server Integration.
Ayaka marveled at the finished product.
'Congrats, Hyun-soo.'
He wasn't there, but she wanted to say it.
'You've become the star of a killer trailer.'
***
Second Ares begins at 7 AM.
Watch the Server Integration trailer upon login.
All Ares servers shut down at midnight worldwide.
The world buzzed.
Journalists rushed articles.
Community vibes differed.
They claimed no hype, but the world had counted down to Server Integration day.
Dawn broke.
Like that, the world waited by their capsules.
7 AM arrived.
Millions worldwide climbed in.
Pssshhh—
IDs and passwords spoken as always.
All buzzing with excitement.
Black screen drops, notification rings.
Chapter 1: Adventure. And Beyond.
Hearts pounded.
Chapter 1: Adventure. What came next?
Trailer begins.
All players' views went black.
***
Viewers' screens brighten.
Cheers erupt at the reveal.
A man familiar to the world.
Sword King Barad stands before his son's grave.
Barad turns; his white cloak emblazoned with a sword emblem billows.
Barad's voice booms like narration.
Wind tousles his closed-eyed hair.
A mysterious figure—face shadowed—stands before him.
Barad regards him.
"Will you walk it? The path of kings."
Music swells as Barad slowly closes his eyes.
Flash—
Combat erupts as he opens them.
Barad kneels mid-air, exhaling, unleashing Sword Cry.
Kirararak—!
Hundreds of blue blades clash with the heavens.
Heavenly Spear's thrust pierces them instantly.
"Ghost Step."
Kakakakakakakakaka—!
Blue sparks from Sword King's blade, red from Heavenly Spear.
Twaaaang—!
Sword King parries the spear.
The challenger shifts.
Renowned named NPCs from every server.
First: Emperor, King of the Dead.
"Kuhahaha!"
Barad charges, sweeping thousands of undead.
His foes cycle endlessly.
Kaaaang—!
Kaaaaang—!
Kaaaaang—!
Each clash ages Barad rapidly.
Seasons flash: spring, summer, fall, winter—eight cycles in a second—as exhaustion etches him.
Screen shifts.
20 years later? Barad stands dazed as powerhouses swarm.
Then.
"Gathering."
Viewers doubt their ears.
The incantation slicing through the horde was too familiar.
The man blocking Sword King yanks Twin Dragon Swords from his back, eyeing the clustered foes.
Kuwaaaaaang—!
Swords clash with countless weapons; massive sparks erupt, screen flips.
Vast plain.
Bella at Barad's left, Lookburg, Falo, Constantinu, sword noble heads at right.
Tens of thousands of troops behind.
Before them.
Viewers knew, yet drank in the figure striding forward.
Brown coat draped, greatsword Twin Dragon Swords in hand.
A black artifact—called calamity gear—equipped.
His face reveals: User Hyun-soo.
"You've arrived at last, the path's end."
"Yes. Today."
Summons glow behind the lone walker.
Nel beside him, Hyun's Forge behind.
Then blacksmiths filling the field under crossed hammer-and-sword emblem, vast army marching.
Barad and Hyun-soo kneel in unison.
"Shall we begin?"
"Yes."
Both draw.
Kuwaaaaaang—!
Red and black sparks fill the screen, fading slowly.
In the gloom, king and challenger clash at unseen speeds.
Screen blacks out. Silence.
Barad's voice pierces.
Viewers finally get it.
Chapter 1: Adventure. End.
Chapter 2: Path of Kings. Begin.
In Second Ares, players will walk the path of kings.
Trailer ends.
Primitive hype ignited.
'Players becoming kings in Ares...?'
Didn't have to be them.
First Ares, players never owned it.
But Second Ares hinted they could.
"Fucking epic..."
Awe burst from viewers.