The Great Cataclysm Update

The Great Cataclysm Update.

8 p.m.

DeoEn Stadium was packed shoulder to shoulder with a sea of people, and hundreds — thousands — of fireworks blossomed across the sky.

Before the stands, an enormous stage blazed with lights of every color. For the celebration performance, real-world singers had stepped into DeoEn itself, lighting up the stage.

"Whoa! Look, it's Seolha! Seolha!"

"Huh, no way. Guess they actually spent some money on this."

"Who's Seolha?"

"? Boss, how do you not know the nation's little sister—"

"That's just sad."

When I tilted my head, the Rildongbu staff who'd been eating with me back at the villa all shook theirs.

On the huge screen, a woman with snow-white bobbed hair and pink eyes held the microphone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and sang.

Must be a famous singer, then.

"Oh! It's NewAve!"

"Who's NewAve?"

"Seriously? The number-one girl group…"

"Boss, do you not watch TV?"

This time, five girls with black hair were dancing furiously to the beat. Judging by the fact that there was none of DeoEn's usual customization flavor to them, they'd apparently copied their real faces exactly.

As White Autumn, Battery, and the rest of the staff cheered wildly for the girl group NewAve, Apple Flavor — who'd been quietly sipping beer beside them — rose to their feet and planted themselves in front of the screen.

At first they'd presented as a guy, but lately they didn't seem to be bothering to hide it at all.

"?"

"What's up?"

"…N-number one is Reujin Idol, obviously…"

Silence fell.

"What did you just say, Apple Flavor…"

"HERESY!!!"

"No, seriously…!"

"Wh-what! It's obvious! We're number one on the music charts too!"

"Huh?! LilyTube and Shorts and NewTube — our NewAve is number one on all of those!"

While the staff carried on a dead-serious debate about who the true number-one girl group was, I turned my attention to the anchors who were wrapping up the celebration performance and preparing to start the main event.

There was the familiar male ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠commentator, Lak, whom I'd seen before — plus two newcomers. Notably, the caster for this event wasn't Kim Yong-woo, but a woman.

A confident-looking woman whose glasses suited her perfectly.

"2022! The last day of the year is already upon us. Ah, it's such a shame."

"It's been quite an eventful year, I'd say. Especially this one — we've had so many events, haven't we?"

"That's right! After the invasions of the three World Bosses that appeared last year, things were relatively quiet in the early months. But then, like a comet, there was…?"

Ding!

The stadium's enormous jumbotron flared to life.

Inside it: all the monumental events of the past year. The Mock Siege Battle. Sgaredo. The Siege War. The Imperial War. The World Tree… Each one written out in turn — and right at the center, someone's photograph sat boldly enshrined.

The owner of that photo was…

"There you are, Boss."

"So that's why you asked for permission…"

Me.

"Our Hero Lily was there, of course! Honestly, I'd say 2022 was the year of Hero Lily!"

"Agreed. It was February of this year, was it not? With the arrival of the comets-like Hero Lily Elbrit, the entire landscape of DeoEn shifted a full 180 degrees."

"I'd go so far as to say Hero Lily was involved in virtually every major incident this year."

I nodded.

Looking back, it truly had been a year so chaotic I could hardly believe I'd returned at all.

I was eating when I suddenly got curious about the chat and popped into the official broadcast's chat window. I'd originally considered streaming on my own channel, but with the staff here, and since I wasn't deeply tied to this event anyway, I'd decided against it.

"And so, 2022 saw sweeping changes driven by a single user — but the other users certainly weren't sitting idle either, were they?"

"Exactly! Just as Hero Lily shone, the other heroes fought just as hard in every corner of the world. And among them, the one we must highlight is…"

Ding!

A pattern of pure-white wings rose ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up at the top of the jumbotron.

"The Angel Guild's massive World Quest!"

"Speaking of the Angel Guild, we simply cannot go without mentioning Lily. Lily and the Angel Guild fought on the same team during the Siege War, did they not?"

"That's right! Since then, the Angel Guild has secured an undisputed number-one position, and now they're preparing to grow even further with that power behind them!"

"In particular, we hear that the Angel Guild's guildmaster, Hero Michael, has reached level 100."

"Oh! Level 100 — hasn't only Hero Lily achieved that so far?"

"Correct! Which is exactly why the Angel Guild's trajectory is all the more remarkable."

"Level 100…?"

"Whoa, impressive. Didn't even Leo hit that yet?"

"Not that I remember."

So Michael had reached level 100 — a milestone neither Leo nor Sword God had managed.

He'd clearly been in the early 90s when we last met. Had something changed?

I felt a flicker of doubt, but we'd be meeting again before long anyway, and a stronger Angel Guild was a good thing as far as I was concerned.

Plenty of other tidbits of interesting information kept coming through the broadcast as well — which user obtained what, which user allied with a kingdom and rose to a noble title, who ascended a throne.

A good deal of it I already knew from meeting with the various guilds, but a fair amount was new to me too.

'Well, there were quite a few guilds that refused to meet with me in the first place.'

Especially hot on everyone's lips was the Grim Reaper.

"The Plunderer, Grim Reaper! The fearsome, terrifying Grim Reaper's growth has been staggering, they say?"

"The Bandit class, unfortunately, doesn't enjoy a good reputation among most players. It is, after all, a profession built on killing others and taking what's theirs."

The Plunderer's nature and defining trait was plunder. No matter how strong or successful you became, you couldn't escape people pointing fingers at you.

In fact, some in the chat were getting angry — why on earth were they showcasing a Plunderer?

"However, the Plunderer is still part of the system. Since Devil of Angel itself recognizes the class, we may not coddle it, but there's no need to deny its existence outright, is there?"

"Indeed. The Plunderer Grim Reaper is currently level 97, and has already swallowed two whole kingdoms."

"A truly terrifying trajectory. But that's precisely what makes it so entertaining, don't you think?"

"Agreed! When a powerful villain like that appears, users band together all the more, and the rivalries only get richer."

"Now then! 2022 — with our DeoEn year-end review concluded, it's time for the main event, isn't it?"

BOOM!

Fireworks burst across DeoEn's sky, and letters conjured by magic were carved into the empty air.

The crowd roared at the glowing script hovering overhead.

"Oh? OHHHHHHH!"

"Whoa, insane."

"…!"

And even I flinched, genuinely startled.

Because behind those words carved into the air, I could feel divine power — and demonic mana.

And worse, they were energies I knew very well.

"The Cataclysm Update! The subtitle is 'The Hidden Truth,' I see?"

"What could be hidden, and what will be added? Be sure to find out in advance right here on the official Devil of Angel broadcast!"

"The first addition is something I'm sure you all know well."

"There was quite a bit of information released ahead of time, wasn't there?"

"Yes! The 4th advancement."

"Every class can attempt the 4th advancement upon reaching level 100. Many of you are probably thinking, 'Well, isn't level 100 something only the top-tier users ever reach?'"

"That's right! After level 80, the EXP requirements climb sharply — and the 90-to-100 range in particular is at a level even top-ranking users can't easily touch."

"HOW. EV. ER!"

BOOM!

An explosion erupted on the jumbotron, and every gaze in the stadium snapped toward it.

Where the blast had gone off, the word 'BURNING!' blazed across the screen.

A fiercely burning orange message.

"Burning…?"

"Don't tell me…"

"That's right! An experience event!"

"For the next three months, ALL experience gained will be TRIPLED?!!"

"Triple?! That's going to be insane growth!"

"And note that this Burning Event lasts all the way to level 120! Even the existing top-ranked users will get to enjoy the fun of leveling up!"

"Doesn't this just put Lily at a disadvantage?"

"Hmm, well. It's a gain for me too, since I can ride it up to 120 as well."

I still hadn't eaten the level-up Tteokbokki.

If nothing came up by today, I'd planned to eat it — but with an event like this announced, there was hardly any need anymore.

"More people getting stronger is a good thing."

"Heeh… Boss, you're too nice."

"And the second update is none other than the New Continents. The truth is, part of the New Continent was revealed in last year's update as well, but progress was limited, wasn't it?"

"That's right. The New Continent's monsters are mostly level 100 and above — a level ordinary top-tier users couldn't even dream of tackling."

"But with levels rising this time around, progress will be possible, yes?"

"Indeed. Moreover, a New Continent reserved for users level 121 and above has also been unlocked. These continents can only be entered by users level 121 or higher who accept the entry quests — no other players may set foot there."

"A dungeon for the very top echelon, then?"

"The EXP event does leave the top-rankers at a bit of a disadvantage, after all. I'd say this update patches that hole rather neatly!"

"Oh."

"Sounds like a place only you can enter, Boss."

"Now this is nice."

Not a bad update at all.

If I entered those dungeons first, I could claim the first-clear rewards and pre-empt all sorts of achievements and titles.

Good news for the rankers, then.

"……?"

But wait.

That one.

Why did it look so familiar?