Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The Great Summoning
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# 2
God of Fighting Online Chapter 2
Chapter 1: The Great Summoning
Beautiful snowflakes fell from a starless, pitch-black sky.
December 31st. The time was 11:48 PM, rushing toward midnight.
A young man scrambled up the gloomy stairs of his studio apartment building and hurriedly stood before his door. His hands trembled slightly as he punched in the code for the lock, his heart racing.
“Still 11:49.”
After checking the time on his smartphone, the young man rushed into his room. A small space, completely filled by a single bed and a desk, greeted him.
His face still held a touch of youth.
He looked to be around twenty, twenty-two at the most.
The young man quickly kicked off his shoes and turned on the laptop resting neatly on his desk. Even as the operating system booted up, he anxiously checked the time on his phone again.
11:50 PM.
Ten minutes until the server shutdown.
Various icons were popping up on the laptop screen, but it hadn't finished booting yet.
The young man quickly reached out and grabbed the joystick sitting in the corner of the desk. It connected to the laptop via USB.
‘Can I get in one last match?’
11:51 PM.
As soon as the boot-up finished, the young man typed furiously on the keyboard, entering his ID and password in a combat-ready stance.
God of Fighting Online.
It was an online game centered around the "fighting game" genre, a relic now that arcades across the country had all but vanished.
This year marked its eighth year of service.
When it first launched, players from all over the country who were thirsting for a fighting game had flocked to it, making it a huge success, but that was a story of the past.
Unable to defy the prevailing trends in the gaming world, its user base had dwindled day by day, and finally, an announcement was made this fall that the game service would be terminated.
It was because they had failed to solve the so-called "veteran problem," known as the limitation of fighting games.
Fighting games were primarily about player-versus-player combat, which meant the skill level of existing users itself became a barrier to entry.
A newbie just starting out would find that every available opponent was a hardcore veteran.
The idea of "I'll learn by losing a few times at the start!" was met with a wall that was just too high.
Think about it. While you're still fumbling, not even sure how to execute a move, your opponents are all monsters who can pull off 108-hit combos as a basic skill. Would a game like that be any fun?
Of course, the veterans knew the game couldn't survive without new players, so they tried their best by throwing a match here and there or going easy on them, but there was a limit to that as well.
Whether they threw a match or went easy, it was meaningless from the newbie's perspective.
How would you feel if your opponent let you win one out of three matches, only to completely dominate you in the other two?
You'd feel like you were being toyed with.
‘I guess it can’t be helped.’
For the young man, who had enjoyed the game since its open beta, it was a deeply regrettable situation, but there was truly nothing he could do.
A single enthusiast couldn't sway the decision to shut down a game's service.
‘Since it’s the end, it’s only right to log in with my main.’
One of the defining features of God of Fighting Online was its incredibly flexible customization system.
Not only the character's appearance but also the skills and combos used in the game could be customized within a set of rules.
It was a desperate measure by the developers to overcome the shortened lifespan of the game caused by a limited character roster.
As befitting a player who had enjoyed the game for eight years, all sixty-four slots in his character selection screen were full.
His eyes first went to the character he had played most recently—the last female character he had created.
Snow-white skin and golden hair that cascaded down to her hips.
She wore a revealing, form-fitting red leather outfit, and, as is typical for game characters, possessed an unrealistically stunning figure.
As the character winked and beckoned as if to seduce him, the young man unconsciously moved his mouse but quickly changed his mind.
Hadn't he just said it himself? For the last time, he should log in with his main.
In the very first slot stood a handsome young man dressed entirely in black, save for his skin, eyes, and hair.
His eyes were two different colors, one blue and one red, and a black-lined tattoo stretched from the corners of his eyes down to his cheeks. As if that weren't enough, his right hand was wrapped tightly in bandages, and he held an eyepatch in one hand, meant to cover his right, red eye.
The character's name, an incarnation of eighth-grade syndrome, was "Dark Destiny Lord."
It was his oldest character, one that had been with him since the open beta.
The young man stared at Dark Destiny Lord and couldn't help but give a bitter smile.
It was a funny thing for someone who was just in his early twenties to say, but should he call it a folly of his youth?
There was a time when he had thought that appearance and name were genuinely cool.
11:53 PM.
What greeted the young man after logging in was a nearly empty lobby screen. Only the NPCs, positioned in the corners of the screen, stood repeating their programmed lines as always.
“Still, it’s the end.”
There was a time when this lobby was packed. The capital city of Enerheim, the world of God of Fighting Online, used to have dozens of lobby channels.
But now, there was only a single channel, and even that was usually this empty.
11:54 PM.
Staring blankly at the lobby, the young man quickly opened his cash item inventory.
Befitting a fighting game, God of Fighting Online had no items, but they still had to make money, so a cash item inventory existed.
It contained chat-related items that didn't affect gameplay and minor clothing items that could change one's appearance, like the eyepatch Dark Destiny Lord was holding.
‘Surely I’m not the only one here.’
No matter how dead the game was, even right before the servers went down, there had to be at least a few other users logged in.
The young man double-clicked on a Heartphone, an item that could broadcast a message throughout all of Enerheim.
300 won each.
But in just over five minutes, it would all disappear anyway.
Dark Destiny Lord: [Anyone else on?]
LateNightCat: [Oh! I knew there’d be someone!]
FireNoodles: [Whoa, this is my first time using a Heartphone! It was a cash item, so I never wanted to waste it lol]
HelloAgainToday: [Me too lol. I just hoarded the ones I got from events lol]
StarHunter☆: [What kind of name is that lolololol. You got eighth-grade syndrome?]
The moment he finished typing, four lines of text popped up in quick succession. So there were people here. The last message was a bit grating, but even he had to admit his username was cringey, so he couldn't even get angry.
He just felt a strange sense of satisfaction that he wasn't alone at the moment this "world" called God of Fighting Online was ending.
Dark Destiny Lord: [It’s the name I made during open beta.]
StarHunter☆: [Wow, then how many years ago was that? This guy’s a total grandpa.]
HelloAgainToday: [Not just a veteran, he’s a fossil lol. I agree, I agree.]
Solomon: [Huh, this crappy game hasn’t died yet? Who the hell are you people, playing this on New Year’s Eve?]
FireNoodles: [Says you, what are you doing here then? lol]
A laugh escaped him, even though it was just a trivial conversation.
A whole eight years.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he had spent a third of his life with this game. It was just a game, but he couldn't help but feel a special attachment to it.
FireNoodles: [Aww, it’s already 11:56. Is this the end? Is it really ending like this? I’ve played this for 5 years.]
Four minutes left.
In four minutes, the servers would shut down, and God of Fighting Online would be over.
It was bitter, but it couldn't be helped. And in truth, this feeling of disappointment would surely fade in a few days.
It was just a game. Only a game.
Solomon: [I thought this game had a lot of potential, so I had high hopes. Is this really all the people left… a bit of a shame.]
StarHunter☆: [It had potential, but fighting games are a tough sell these days. I say that as a veteran myself.]
HelloAgainToday: [Sob, there are no newbies.]
FireNoodles: [Sob, 3 minutes left.]
LateNightCat: [Aww. I wish I could run a private server. I want to keep playing.]
Dark Destiny Lord: [Me too.]
He had typed the short reply without thinking. It was as if he had hit the keyboard reflexively.
Because he meant it.
He wanted to keep playing. He didn't want to let it go like this.
He hadn't been able to log on much recently.
He had an early birthday and had finished his military service sooner than most, so he was only twenty-two, but he was still a returning student.
His situation wasn't one where he could relax and play games like he used to. But that's why he felt an even greater sense of longing.
His character, standing alone in the empty lobby.
His companion in the game, the very first character he had made eight years ago, the one he had spent the most time with.
StarHunter☆: [It’s 11:59. One minute till shutdown.]
LateNightCat: [Let’s meet again someday!]
StarHunter☆: [You think we’d even recognize each other if we did?]
LateNightCat: [You never know!]
StarHunter☆: [Alright! If we meet, it’s my treat! If we meet! lol]
HelloAgainToday: [I’ll chip in too lol]
FireNoodles: [lol Anyway, hope you all eat well and live well!]
Dark Destiny Lord: [Happy New Year!]
StarHunter☆ was right.
They weren't in the same guild or clan; what were the chances of people who had only chatted a bit in the world chat ever meeting?
Still, every one of those farewells felt warm.
They were the ones who were there for the end of God of Fighting Online. So what if they were complete strangers?
12:00 AM, exactly.
[To all the users who have been with God of Fighting Online for the past 8 years, thank you. We hope to see you all again someday in a new form.]
A cliché global message appeared, and the screen turned pitch black. The login music, so familiar he could sing it from start to finish, flowed from the laptop's speakers.
The staff roll in white text, intermittent scenes from all over Enerheim, and clips of players' matches filled the screen.
It was only a game, but the young man's eyes welled up with tears. He stared at the laptop for a long time before getting up from his seat. Leaving the laptop on, he threw himself onto his bed.
‘It’s over. Starting tomorrow, no more games. I’ll just study like crazy for a while. Adieu, my gaming life.’
Get a good TOEIC score, manage his grades…
But why?
Was it because he had let go of God of Fighting Online?
A strange sense of powerlessness seemed to weigh down his entire body. The young man, who had originally planned to change his clothes and take a shower, ended up just closing his eyes.
The song lingered in his ears.
He had even finished his military service, but he was still only twenty-two.
Instead of getting up and closing the laptop, the young man hummed along to the music. He did so for a long while before drifting off to sleep.
And when he opened his eyes again,
what he faced was a completely different scene.