Arcana Online
“No.”
The hidden class-change quest has been declined.
As soon as I turned the quest down, the orb burst with bright light and changed shape into a pretty hairpin.
Dragon God's Orb has changed form.
Dragon God's Hairpin
A hairpin once worn by the shrine maiden who served the Divine Dragon.
When equipped, greatly increases the summon’s stats.
When equipped, greatly increases the summon’s stats.
When equipped, greatly increases the summon’s stats.
Its abilities are sealed.
Shrine Maiden Robe of the Divine Dragon
Clothes once worn by the shrine maiden who served the Divine Dragon.
When equipped, greatly increases the summon’s stats.
When equipped, greatly increases the summon’s stats.
When equipped, greatly increases the summon’s stats.
Its abilities are sealed.
Bell of the Divine Dragon
A rod once used by the shrine maiden who served the Divine Dragon.
When equipped, greatly increases the summon’s stats.
When equipped, greatly increases the summon’s stats.
When equipped, greatly increases the summon’s stats.
Its abilities are sealed.
Set effect (3/4) unlocks a special skill.
Dragon God's Blessing: increases the summon’s power.
Dragon God's Prayer: restores the summon’s health.
Dragon God's Cheer: explodes the summon’s mood.
One of those sounds kind of useless, doesn’t it?
Still, I should try it at least once.
I followed the Siren Queen outside the shrine and used the skill.
“Dragon God’s Blessing.”
The special skill Dragon God’s Blessing increases the summon’s power.
A barrier spread out to cover the entire city, and then it began to glow in a riot of colors.
It was a scene so beautiful it felt like watching the aurora borealis.
As I stared at it, one Siren after another began to sing.
A lovely melody rang through the whole city and started to resonate.
I was admiring it with Yongyong when I used another skill.
“Dragon God’s Prayer.”
The special skill Dragon God’s Prayer restores the summon’s health.
Yongyong’s body began to shine.
Our little Yongyong was so shocked by the sight that he could only blink in confusion.
“Kkyuung!?”
“It’s okay.”
While soothing him, I scanned the surroundings, and sure enough, every Siren in sight was glowing too. Even Grandfather Kraken far off in the distance had started to shine.
They checked the state of their bodies, delighted by the change, but there was still one skill left, wasn’t there?
“Dragon God’s Cheer.”
The special skill Dragon God’s Cheer explodes the summon’s mood.
The moment I used it, I regretted it.
I mean, just look at the scene spreading out before my eyes.
“What a total mess.”
And right then, a bad feeling crept over me.
“N-no way, the other summons too...?”
I hurriedly opened the community, and my worst fear was confirmed.
The monsters have gone berserk!!
Save me!! The monsters are—
A rabbit hit three times and I’d rack up five million won in hospital bills alone!!
Monsters are pouring out of the Dungeon of Greed!!
Stay away from anything nearby!! You’ll get your ass kicked!!
Just getting close to the Death Valley and the gryphons attack!!
They used to be so gentle, but now they attack the moment they spot you, so don’t go near them!!
After checking the flood of posts, I closed the community.
So the skill I’d triggered affected every summon out there.
Was the Demon Realm okay, I wondered?
Uneasy, I opened the community again and checked the posts.
There were already stories of monsters suddenly getting stronger, turning defeat into victory at the last second. Posts about nearly dead monsters recovering and snatching defeat from the jaws of victory weren’t uncommon either.
And then there was the biggest problem of all.
Posts were pouring in about monsters waving red flags and attacking any nearby players.
I closed the community and looked out over the city, now a complete disaster.
Well, if there are days like this, there are days like that. That’s life.
The Sirens were waving red flags they’d somehow gotten their hands on and shouting about revolution.
“Hmm, so this is affecting me too?”
“Kkyuung!”
I barely managed to stop our Yongyong, who was in my arms and declaring that if I just gave him permission, he’d plant a red flag in the very center of the Arcana Continent.
I’m definitely sealing that skill away from now on.
After some time passed and everyone had calmed down, the queen, who’d been waving her red flag and shouting revolution, blushed and apologized to me.
“I’m sorry, Savior. I showed you something so unbecoming.”
“It’s okay. It happens.”
It had been an unusual spectacle, sure, but if I thought about it, wasn’t it my fault in the first place?
Since I’d agreed to stay only one night for the grand banquet she was throwing that evening, I was wandering around with Yongyong when I caught sight of a familiar face.
The Siren who had handed me the Atlantis treasure map in the village.
The moment I blinked, her appearance changed.
The fortune-telling granny I’d met on the road to the hunting grounds.
What on earth...?
The old woman looked at me and smiled brightly.
“You’ve had a hard time, child.”
“Grandma, what exactly are you?”
“What would you do if an old woman told you her secrets?”
She came over, took my hand, and looked at me.
The instant I saw the old woman’s face with my hand in hers, emotion surged up in my chest.
Why was I like this...?
“Child, I’m glad you grew up well.”
Watching her smile so brightly, I couldn’t stop the tears.
The old woman gently wiped them away and soothed me.
“Um, h-hold on. Why are you taking such good care of me...?”
“This old granny loves every child, you know. But among them all, I love the children who shine brightest the most.”
She smiled at me with such warmth.
“You’ll go through many more things ahead. Just remember this: our child is not alone.”
With those final words, she vanished in an instant.
Who on earth was she?
Yongyong licked away my tear tracks and comforted me.
I said I was fine and moved away to collect myself. I wandered around until evening, taking in the city.
It was a beautiful city, hard to believe it was built beneath the water.
When the Siren who’d come to fetch me said everything was ready, I followed her and found the banquet table piled high with all kinds of seafood dishes.
After taking my seat where I was guided, the banquet began. Beautiful music filled the air, and countless Sirens danced to liven up the atmosphere.
Sitting beside the queen, I chatted with her while she told me all sorts of stories.
“Long ago, you see, Atlantis was home to many races...”
Because the banquet ran late into the night, I logged out later than usual, took off my gear, and got out of bed, only to feel dizzy.
I took the medicine beside my bed and ate the lunchbox Leah had made for me in the kitchen, then checked my phone, but it was dead.
Maybe I should get a new phone.
After pressing the power button several times, the screen finally lit up, and when I checked my messages, there were a bunch from Leah.
Lately I’d been so busy I hadn’t even seen her face, just left the lunchbox and hurried off every time.
[I’m done.]
I sent the message, but there was no reply.
Was she playing the game?
After finishing my meal, I lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
A dazed, empty feeling.
I reached out to pet Yongyong, but Yongyong wasn’t there.
Right. Reality.
“I miss Yongyong.”
I hugged the blanket and fell asleep.
*
*
*
Inside a massive shrine, angels with pure white wings had gathered to hold a meeting.
One of the angels seated around the round table slammed a fist down in fury. She had eight wings.
“The demon race has started crossing the line! Are you really going to just sit there and do nothing!?”
“Exactly! It’s bad enough that the Demon King crossed into the Middle Realm, but now all those demons are spying on it too!”
“And what about the trouble they caused this time!?”
Whatever they’d done, it had caused damage even in the Heavenly Realm.
Michael, the archangel with ten wings, listened quietly to the angels shouting in the meeting hall.
She swept her golden hair back with one finger and smiled brightly. At that, the other angels all lowered their heads in silence.
“Let’s end today’s meeting here.”
With that, all the angels except Michael left the hall.
Once she was alone, she took a sphere from subspace and used it, and a video began to play.
A video of a human girl with blonde hair together with the Demon King.
“So her name was Yuna.”