Arcana Online
Demonic nobles of high rank appeared in the audience chamber, each one looking peculiar in his or her own way—but the one thing they all had in common was that they looked terrifying. Maybe that was why the Demon King's beauty stood out all the more.
Our Demon King sat upon the throne in graceful majesty, then rose and proclaimed to the assembled demons, “I shall bestow upon Yuna, who saved the Demon Realm, the title of duke.”
Demon Realm Duke.
You have become the first traveler ever recognized by the Demon King.
One hundred thousand reputation points were added.
A title was something I was getting for the first time. Was that good? When I slotted Demon Realm Duke into the empty title slot, it did look pretty impressive.
“If there is anything else you desire, speak it.”
I was just about to refuse when I remembered I didn’t have a single magic stone left.
“Could I have some magic stones?”
“Very well.”
Grade: Supreme Magic Stones
Several hundred stones of the highest grade, along with an uncountable number of high and mid-grade stones.
As I stood there with my mouth hanging open at the sheer number of them, I heard the Demon King's voice again.
“Remain comfortably in the Demon Realm for a time, then return when you are ready.”
“Yes!”
After greeting her and leaving the audience chamber, I wandered around taking in the surroundings when Yongyong’s adorable voice reached my ears.
“Kkyu-ung! Kkyu-ung!”
“Yes, yes!”
I handed over a magic stone and followed the long corridor outside, where one of the Bone Dragons flying overhead shot us a furtive glance.
Was it jealous of the magic stones Yongyong was eating?
“Come here!”
When I took out a magic stone and waved it around, a few of them came flapping over, clearly checking to see whether it was all right.
Since I had plenty of stones, I fed them one by one, and the way they happily accepted them made me feel as though I were feeding puppies.
Other Bone Dragons that had been watching the scene also flew over and looked at me with those cute little eyes.
“There’s enough for everyone. Take one each!”
They were gifts from the Demon King anyway, so it should be fine to share them, right?
As I handed out magic stones one by one to the many Bone Dragons and walked along, looking around, I spotted the demons at work.
They were building a village on land restored by the World Tree.
While I was watching them, someone tugged at my clothes, and when I looked down I saw a tiny child.
A little girl with cute pigtails and a single huge eye.
[Cyclops]
“Unnie! Unnie!”
“Huh? O-oh, unnie...?”
“Can I have one too?”
She asked so boldly that it was adorable, so I took one out for her. She accepted it with delight and started eating, and then I felt eyes on me from all around.
When I lifted my head and looked around, I saw countless demons staring back at me.
More precisely, their attention was focused on the little girl eating her magic stone.
“Shall I give everyone one?”
“Thank you! Duke!”
The demons swarmed me, and as I pulled out one stone after another, my once-bulging pouch quickly turned thin and flat.
While I was checking how many were left, I heard a familiar voice.
“A rare sight in the Demon Realm.”
“Demon King!? When did you get here!?”
She had the look of someone observing an unusual creature.
“Might you spare one for me as well?”
“Okay...”
Take it away and then ask for it back? That was evil. No doubt about it—she really was a demon.
The Demon King took the stone from me and absorbed it, then murmured, “Oh? So this is how it works.”
What was she even talking to herself about?
“Let me make you an offer. Would you be interested in becoming my successor?”
“I’m sorry.”
The hidden advancement quest has been rejected.
“A shame. If you became my successor, you might even end up ruling the Demon Realm.”
“Thank you for the offer. But I like being a summoner.”
The Demon King looked at me with regret in her eyes, then gave a faint laugh and flicked her hand at empty air. Space split open.
On the other side of the torn opening, the audience chamber was visible.
“I have much to do, so I’ll be taking my leave.”
She crossed through the space, and the torn rift sealed itself shut in an instant.
That had all happened so fast—was that even possible?
“Amazing. Maybe I should have advanced too?”
“Kkyuuuu!”
“Huh? You say it’s nothing special?”
I patted Yongyong’s jealous little head, then continued touring the village before turning my steps toward the World Tree.
The World Tree had grown so large it could be seen from anywhere in the Demon Realm.
Even larger than the one in the middle world.
As I approached, a voice reached me.
Mother. You’re here.
“Yes! I’m here! But can we not do the whole ‘Mother’ thing? It’s awkward.”
Then please speak comfortably as well, Mother.
“Uh... then maybe I should call the World Tree something casual too?”
Mom.
“......”
That somehow made it even more uncomfortable.
I couldn’t bring myself to tell the World Tree, who was already saying she would call me mother, to speak casually.
But then a thought suddenly occurred to me.
“Do I have to stay in the Demon Realm forever?”
Yes. You could cross into the middle world, but if you did, the Demon Realm would suffer from pollution again.
“What exactly is this pollution, anyway?”
I’d like to tell you, but there isn’t enough causality for me to explain it. I’m sorry, Mother.
“No, no. It’s fine.”
I was curious, but there was nothing to be done.
Then for the time being, should I just stay in the Demon Realm and pass the time here?
*
*
*
CHAPTER 1: Protect the World Tree.
Time remaining until the invasion begins: 5 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds.
The start of the main scenario was drawing near.
Countless players had spent that time leveling up, changing to better gear, and raising their favorability with the Forest Tribe in preparation for the main scenario quest.
Even sudden quests offered enormous rewards that could serve as a stepping stone for a ranker-in-the-making to climb up from the semi-rankers. This was Arcana Online’s very first main quest, after all.
It would surely hand out rewards beyond imagination.
But there was one thing that bothered me: not a single shred of information had been revealed so far.
“There’s less than a day left until the main scenario, and we still don’t have any information!?”
“Yes. Every guild member was out gathering intel, but we couldn’t find a thing.”
Right now, all the members of the Frey Guild were gathered together at the guild headquarters.
“Hey, Leader! Where’s the newbie!?”
A muscular man with red hair, shirtless as if he had some kind of exposure fetish, was showing off his body.
Balac, the hidden-class berserker, was proudly flexing his muscles.
“I need to show the newbie my amazing physique!”
“I’m curious too. He’s in a place where the carrier pigeon can’t reach him.”
Just how far away do you have to be for a pigeon not to make it?
He seemed to have hit level 50, but I couldn’t get in touch with him, so I still hadn’t been able to invite him into the guild.
He wasn’t answering his phone in real life either, so nothing bad had better have happened.
“Let’s move out for now.”
“Let’s go! Let’s go!”
Mass Teleport Scroll
Allows a party to travel to any location they have visited before. Some regions excluded.
When I tore the scroll open, my vision shifted and we were transported to the World Tree.
Countless players had already taken up positions around the enormous tree, and this was before the channels had even merged.
For major events like this, thousands of channels would collapse into one, but I had no idea how much money they had poured into the servers to make that possible.
3 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds remaining until the invasion begins.
2 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds remaining until the invasion begins.
1 hour 59 minutes 59 seconds remaining until the invasion begins.
59 seconds remaining until the invasion begins.
The channel has been merged due to the main quest.
Countless players appeared all over the World Tree.
The number was so vast it was impossible to count by eye.
Invasion begins.
The moment was tense, framed by a golden alert window.
And then, nothing happened.
One minute passed. Then five. Then ten. Still nothing happened, and complaints began flying from all around the crowd.
And that was when someone shouted, “What is that thing in the sky!?”
At the cry, I looked up, and saw space itself tearing apart.
The blue sky shattered into pieces and turned into a dark night sky, with two crimson moons hanging overhead.
And from within that rift emerged a being with jet-black hair and enormous horns, red eyes, and seductive lips—a beautiful woman in a black cheongsam dress.
Beside her, I saw a familiar face.
Golden-blond hair cut short, blue eyes that seemed to shimmer with mystery at a glance, and a cute girl dressed in a miko outfit like the ones I’d seen in Japan.
“Yuna!?”
Startled, I shouted at the top of my lungs, and Yuna spotted me, then waved with a bright, cheerful smile.
What do you mean, Yuna is here!?