Arcana Online
Parallel world.
A different world said to exist alongside our own.
In other words, pure science fiction.
I never believed in it.
Well, I hadn’t until yesterday.
When I woke up, something was wrong with my body.
I thought the low angle of my vision and the complete lack of strength in my limbs meant I’d caught a cold, but that wasn’t it.
The moment I looked into the full-length mirror in my room, I froze.
Staring back at me was a tiny child who looked to be about 130 centimeters tall.
Blonde bobbed hair.
Mysterious blue eyes.
She had a face cuter than any child actor I’d ever seen on TV, and I had no idea what the hell was going on.
When I pinched my cheek, pain shot through me.
And then a flood of memories came crashing in like a tide.
How much time passed while I clutched my head through that hideous pain?
It had only been about a minute, but it was the most agonizing minute of my life.
And then I understood.
This world was a parallel world, not the one I had lived in.
My name was Han Yuna.
I was twenty-one years old.
I didn’t have any family.
No, I had—my parents and older sister had died in an accident.
On the day we were leaving for our first trip abroad, a plane crash had happened.
My parents and sister had wrapped their bodies around me to shield me, and because of that, I’d survived.
Alone.
The reason the room had been such a mess.
The reason I’d awakened in a body skin and bones.
I understood.
The me of this parallel world had been trying to die.
Or maybe, because I’d crossed into this world, the me from this world had gone to the one I’d come from?
I didn’t know.
I didn’t know anything.
My brain wouldn’t turn over.
I lay back down on the bed.
Something bumped against my hand, and when I checked, it was a bankbook.
Inside was a sum so enormous I could hardly believe it, and it was insurance money.
The life insurance payout for my parents and sister.
The money had remained untouched all this time.
If I went to sleep, would I be able to go back again?
I missed the family I’d had in my original world.
I wanted my mom.
I wanted my dad.
I wanted my sister.
I wanted my mother’s doenjang-jjigae, and I wanted to go fishing with my father.
I wanted the bibim guksu my sister used to make for me sometimes, grumbling all the while as if she were ordering me around like a servant.
The moment I closed my eyes, a stomach-growling rumble thundered through me.
A terrible hunger crashed over me so hard it felt like my stomach had glued itself to my back.
I had no idea how many days I’d gone without eating.
I forced my useless body upright, opened the door, and stepped out, only to find the house in utter chaos.
Trash was strewn everywhere, and shards of glass and bloodstains were smeared here and there.
Following my memory, I made my way to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, only to slam it shut again the instant a putrid smell hit me.
I rummaged through the kitchen cabinets, and thank goodness I found ramen. The moment I did, I started eating like a starving animal.
I choked and coughed, barely able to swallow, but I kept shoving it into my mouth.
Just to live.
I wanted to live.
I didn’t want to die.
I had no idea why I’d ended up in a place like this when I’d been living an ordinary life until yesterday, but I wanted to live.
After finishing the ramen, I collapsed where I sat.
What was I supposed to do now?
Was I going to have to live in this world forever?
In a world where I didn’t know a single person?
It was horrifying.
*
*
*
A week passed.
During that time, I finished cleaning the house and focused on recovering my strength.
I had a cleaning company come in to do the work, but the way they looked at me was strange.
In the end, even though they insisted on not taking any money and told me to hang in there, I practically forced the payment into their hands.
After that, I got through my meals with food I bought at the convenience store and checked the information on my phone.
To my surprise, the parallel world possessed technology that was even more advanced than the one I’d lived in.
The virtual reality game I’d only ever dreamed about.
It was the perfect place to forget reality and run away.
I ordered the gaming device right away, waited a week, and today it finally arrived.
It looked like a small VR headset. Could this really take me into a virtual space?
I read the manual, plugged in the charger, put it on, and lay down on the bed.
Then I pressed the power button, and in an instant, I was transported somewhere else.
A space where nothing existed.
From there, I logged into Arcana Online, a game that had held the number one ranking for a long time.
At that moment, the scenery changed.
Welcome to Arcana Online.
The Notice appeared, and I was moved to a place that looked like a parade ground.
In front of me stood an angel with pure white wings.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, traveler. I’m Raphael, and I’ll be assisting you on your journey.”
“Please take care of me.”
“Then let us begin the tutorial.”
Please set your nickname.
“I’ll go with Yuna.”
Nickname: Yuna. Would you like to confirm?
“Wh—no!? Yes!? Yuna!”
Nickname: Yuna
Please select your appearance.
There wasn’t much you could change about your appearance in this game.
At most, your hair color.
I decided to just keep going and hit the skip button. In response, countless weapons materialized before me.
Please select the weapon you want.
Swords, bows, staves, rapiers, gunlances, dual blades, bowguns, and all sorts of other weapons filled my view.
Among them, I chose a staff.
We recommend a job suited to your chosen weapon.
Mage
Spirit Summoner
Cleric
Summoner
:
:
:
Countless classes were displayed, and I chose Summoner.
I didn’t want to travel alone.
I wanted to travel with someone.
I was alone in reality already; I didn’t want to be alone here too.
You have acquired a unique trait.
A slot machine appeared.
The angel told me to pull the lever.
When I did, it started spinning with a clattering racket.
You have acquired the unique trait: Protective Instinct.
Congratulations! You have acquired an EX-grade trait!
Protective Instinct.
It means to care for and look after someone so well that danger and hardship can’t reach them.
I’d obtained a strange new ability.
At that moment, the angel’s eyes changed as they looked at me.
“Ahem. You’re not supposed to get this, but here—take it.”
She handed me a tiny egg.
“It’ll be a reliable partner for your journey.”
“Thank you, Angel!”
“A-and take this too!”
She kept pressing a mountain of extra stuff on me, then even waved me off and told me to take care.
*
*
*
When the tutorial ended, I was moved to the starting village, Cradle.
I’d received a ton of things, but were they any good?
I’d never played games in my life, so I had no idea.
More important than that, when was this thing supposed to hatch?
I checked the tiny egg in my hand, but no information appeared.
???’s Egg
No idea what it was.
How am I supposed to know if you don’t know?!
With no other choice, I put the egg into my inventory and equipped the gear the angel had given me.
Summoner’s Ring
Increases affinity with summons.
Summoner’s Necklace
Increases intimacy with summons.
Summoner’s Earrings
Increases summons’ satisfaction.
As soon as I equipped all three accessories, a set bonus appeared.
You have equipped the Summoner accessory set.
The stats of your summons will increase dramatically.
But I didn’t have any summons.
The moment I was about to head straight out to the hunting grounds, someone called out to me.
“Hey there, little lady. You alone?”
I turned my head and saw a big man who looked like a bear, motioning for me to come over.
When I approached, he handed me some bread.
“First time in this town, huh? Eat this and go on.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t have any money.”
“It’s fine, just eat. Want another one?”
He gave me two more loaves of bread, and when I thanked him, he waved it off.
The moment I bit into the warm bread, I was stunned.
It tasted exactly like the bread I’d eaten in reality.
No, it was even better.
It’s that taste from Daejeon, the city of bread.
As I savored the moist, soft flavor and looked around the village, it felt just like the real world.
What was unusual about this game was that it didn’t show whether someone was an NPC or a user.
A world where players and NPCs lived alongside each other.
What a strange game.
Almost like the real thing.
After finishing the bread and looking around here and there, I headed toward the gate, ready to leave for the hunting grounds—only to get caught.
“Little lady. Why are you trying to go out at this hour?”
“I need to make money.”
If I wanted to level up and buy items, I needed money.
“Th-that’s...”
“Don’t you have a guardian...?”
“Huh? I’m alone.”
The next thing I knew, they were crying and handing something to me?
“Take this and stay strong.”
The guards on duty gave me a pouch and told me to hang in there. I refused, saying it wasn’t necessary and that I was fine, but every time I did, another pouch was pressed into my hands.
Only after I’d ended up with three of them did I thank them and accept them, and they told me, in absolute seriousness, not to lose heart no matter how hard things got, and if I ever ran into trouble, to look for Captain Charles of the guard.
I said I would, and even as I stepped outside the gate, they kept waving and shouting for me to stay strong.
Was the game always like this...?
It was full of warmth.