Arcana Online
[CHAPTER 2: Protect the Commercial City of Talisa.]
71:59:59
The invasion was only a few days away.
What was I supposed to do until then?
“Yongyong, is there anything you want to do?”
“Kkyu-ung!”
Our Yongyong said he was happy just being with me and didn’t want anything more.
Wasn’t he just too cute!?
I handed him a magic stone and rubbed his head, and for a split second, his expression looked downright wicked, like, just as planned. Had I seen that wrong?
On the way out of the village with Yongyong, I was heading toward a nearby hunting ground when—
“Kkyu-ung.”
“Huh? You’re telling me to be careful?”
I looked in the direction Yongyong pointed and saw two young girls step into view. The moment their eyes met mine, they dropped to one knee.
“We greet our benefactor.”
“We greet our benefactor.”
Two little girls were kneeling there, calling me their benefactor.
“H-Hold on a second!? Who are you!?”
Startled, I watched as the two girls got to their feet and introduced themselves as Rin and Rang.
Then a gust of wind blew my eyes shut for an instant, and when I opened them again, the little girls were gone. In their place stood two women who looked nearly identical.
They had fox ears on their heads and nine tails swaying behind them. Was this some kind of cosplay...?
“I am the fox who was dying in the village.”
“I am the fox who was dying in the forest.”
The fox who was dying in the village... and the fox who was dying in the forest...?
Only then did I remember.
One fox I had met when I traveled to Iron Village, and another I had met in the city.
“Ah! I remember now! Those foxes from back then!?”
“That is correct, benefactor.”
“Honestly. You’re only remembering now?”
In the blink of an eye, one woman’s fist slammed into the other’s head, and with a cry, she collapsed to the ground.
“What kind of language is that to use toward your benefactor?”
“Y-Younger sister!? We’re in front of our benefactor! No violence!!”
While I watched the fox sisters bicker, a question came to mind.
“What brings you here?”
The fox who looked like the older sister, still gripping her younger sister by the collar, released her and turned to me.
“We came to thank our benefactor, and to ask for a favor.”
“Please help our tribe! No—please, help us!”
They told me their story.
Listening to the foxes, I fell into thought.
My first red flag. No, revolution. No, anyway! This was about saving monsters who were having a hard time.
The answer was already decided.
“I’ll help you, so don’t worry.”
“Thank you, benefactor!”
“Thank you! No, thank you!”
The two foxes bowed to me, and honestly, it was a little overwhelming.
I told them that if they bowed one more time, I wouldn’t help them, and only then did they lift their heads and say they understood.
More importantly, they said the fox village was far from here, but would we really be able to make it in time?
“We have to defend the city in a few days, so let’s move right away.”
Trusting only themselves, a massive fox appeared in an instant.
I was still reeling from the fact that it was even bigger than a bear taxi when my body suddenly floated into the air, and before I knew it, I was riding on the fox’s back.
“Is this your first time flying, benefactor?”
“Flying!? It’s my fir—well, yes, it is, but...”
“I will carry you safely.”
With every step the fox took, we slowly began rising into the sky.
It felt as if we were stepping on clouds as we moved, and what in the world was this!?
Terrified and trembling, I was hugged from behind by the younger fox, Rang, who tried to calm me down.
“You’re more timid than I expected, benefactor.”
“If you speak casually to our benefactor one more time, I won’t let it slide.”
As always, at the older sister Rin’s fierce voice, Rang flinched and hid behind my back.
Maybe it was the sisters’ ridiculous bickering, but the tension started to melt away.
Looking down from high above, I could see a beautiful world spread out beneath us.
Had I ever looked down on the earth from the sky before?
This was my first time.
Riding the wind and flying through the air, we reached the fox village in no time.
After we landed, magic lowered me to the ground, and when I looked around, I saw a small village.
One by one, foxes began to emerge.
Among them, one fox who looked a little older walked up to me.
“Benefactor. I am the chief of the Eunho Tribe.”
“Hello. My name is Yuna!”
After greeting the fox who introduced himself as the chief, I got straight to the point.
“If you share your strength with us, the Eunho Tribe will serve the benefactor for the rest of our lives.”
“Hmm.”
Just as they grew tense, waiting for my answer—
“I’ll have to refuse.”
“W-Why would you do that!?”
The fox sisters were just as shocked by my words.
They stared at me, flustered.
“I’m not helping the Eunho Tribe because I want something in return. So I’ll just help you.”
“......”
For a moment, there was silence.
The Eunho Tribe said nothing.
I took out a handful of magic stones from my inventory and handed them out to the foxes one by one.
After absorbing the magic stones, the foxes slowly began growing extra tails one by one. Before long, all of them had transformed into foxes with nine tails.
The foxes stared in wonder at their new tails, then one by one took on human forms.
They became handsome men and beautiful women. So foxes really were foxes, huh?
They were optimized for bewitching humans.
The foxes bowed toward me.
An elder fox stepped closer.
“Benefactor, do you know the saying that foxes repay kindness?”
“I read that in a fairy tale once.”
“Foxes are creatures that must repay every kindness they receive. If they do not, they cannot ascend and become immortals.”
Just as I was thrown off by the sight of them dropping to one knee, all the foxes around us knelt as well.
“The Eunho Tribe will become the benefactor’s steadfast support.”
You established your first friendship with the Eunho Tribe.
Reputation +100,000
“Even if the road you walk is lined with thorns, the Eunho Tribe will walk it with you.”
You gained the Eunho Tribe’s absolute trust.
Reputation +100,000
“The Eunho Tribe will never spare its lives if it is for the benefactor, no matter the circumstances.
*
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3:59:59
2:59:59
1:59:59
0:00:59
The channel has been merged due to the main quest.
Once the channels merged, countless players appeared in Talisa Village.
Massive fortress walls were raised around Talisa Village, and the combined strength of countless players and NPCs created a powerful barrier.
A gigantic spire served as the core of the barrier, and the twelve-layer magic circle that surrounded it boasted power strong enough that even a dragon would have trouble breaking through.
And then came the beating of drums.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
The moment players heard it, they climbed the walls to check with telescopes, only to lose their grip and let them fall.
Another player watching from beside them grabbed the telescope and looked beyond the horizon, and in that instant—
A monster army numbering in the hundreds of thousands was marching toward Talisa Village.
Then a golden spear rose into the air.
[CHAPTER 2: Protect the Commercial City of Talisa.]
The invasion begins.
When every player was tense, a voice rang out.
“We will protect it! With our strength! Our city!”
One of the ten major guilds.
Zeus, the guild master of Olympus Guild.
The moment he shouted in a thunderous voice, countless players cheered.
One by one, the masters of the ten major guilds revealed themselves.
Among them was one of the ten major guilds, bearing the title of Chungmugong.
The master of Frey Guild, Kathlea, raised the Double Dragon Sword, and the cry that left her lips made everyone cheer once more.
“The Bishik Jiksaeng, Bishik Jiksaeng skill is activated.”
A giant turtle ship appeared in the sky.
Three turtle ships emerged, and the sound of cannon ports opening and loading echoed through the air.
With a deafening roar loud enough to ring in my ears, bombs rained down on the mass of monsters far in the distance.
The explosive force killed some of the monsters, but the rest only quickened their pace and charged ahead.
To hold back a monster army of hundreds of thousands, ranged players unleashed their strongest skills one after another, but there were simply too many monsters, and the waves kept coming without end.
As they began reaching the walls and the tension sharpened to a knife’s edge, the captain of one of the ten major guilds, the Holy Knight Order, shouted,
“Draw your blades!”
The knights drew their swords and finished their preparations.