Tidings of Victory

A bomb suddenly dropped on the AAU.

"S-So you're telling us to believe that? Again?!"

It wasn't just Korea Branch Chief Park Minjae at the branch chiefs' video ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠conference. The chiefs who had caught wind of the news late were all pressing their temples in unison, as if on cue. Their heads throbbed too much to bear!

"A duel observation message popped up, so I accepted..."

"Then suddenly my vision changed."

"I blinked, and there was this grand colosseum...?"

"No, how are we supposed to believe this?"

Park Minjae was the last to let out a sigh of despair.

"Sometimes I wish I could just become a player for a day, you know? There's no reason our players would lie about something like this..."

London Branch Chief Baker Chat chuckled with an amused "Hahaha."

"According to Shreyg, he'd never seen such a flashy colosseum before—not even back when Arcana was just a game!"

"A colosseum built with jewels and gold..."

"There's no such thing. Not even on the Arcana continent."

Even digging through memories and databases from their developer days turned up no matching colosseum with the players' testimonies. And the entry method didn't make sense to begin with.

"It wasn't entering a rift or portal."

"Right! I just closed my eyes and opened them!"

"And the flow of time was different too."

US West Branch Chief Joshua had spoken with Rocks and the others about it. The duel in the colosseum had lasted at least several dozen minutes, but when they returned to reality, barely a few dozen seconds had passed.

"...Where the hell did that group go as a unit?"

Damn Arcana! Learn one thing, and a flood of unknowns pours out. Park Minjae dropped his head in frustration, missing the stares pouring down on his crown.

"But, Branch Chief Park."

"I'm listening. No, I'm thinking, not sleeping."

"Don't you know someone who might have the answers?"

"...Pardon?"

Park Minjae lifted his head at the sly tone. What met him were the branch chiefs' expectant gazes. He could sense it instinctively.

"...You don't mean the Yusra overall commander, do you?"

A player and Yusra branch overall commander. The one and only being who could resolve all these questions.

Lee Hoyeol.

'That's a bit...'

But facing Hoyeol one-on-one was burdensome even for Park Minjae. So he hurriedly changed the subject.

"Right? Speaking of which, isn't it amazing? Taking down Sword Saint Shegwin with a sword! Total blockbuster event!!"

Maybe borrowing the young folks' lingo worked. The branch chiefs nodded one by one.

"Shegwin wasn't designed as an NPC for players to defeat or even challenge, right? He was made like an insurmountable mountain for players."

Indeed. In a way, it was like the Mage Tower.

Sword Saint. The pinnacle of the sword. Too strong to let him influence the Arcana continent, so they gave him an extreme setting of knowing nothing but the sword.

"Considering his lore age... he should've died of old age long ago."

"We'll need to hear more from the players on that front. It's hard to wrap our heads around right now."

Shegwin regaining his youth. Astonishing enough on its own. But after losing to Hoyeol in the duel, he turned old again, then vanished in green flames with his sword. Good thing there were multiple witnesses.

"...But even if it spreads, it'll be hard to believe, right?"

No matter how many player witnesses, it sounded like mass hallucination. Too absurd for human reason.

Especially.

"Even for Overall Commander Lee Hoyeol..."

Beating the Sword Saint with a sword. As mentioned, Shegwin wasn't designed for players to beat. He'd have insane stats and unique skills that would shock players senseless.

So discussions turned to him too.

"Who knows. Maybe some mix-up?"

"Mix-up?"

"As you know, the Sword Saint is designed as the peak. Made unbeatable by the sword. He was meant to exit naturally as an old man as the Arcana story progressed."

"...True."

"Maybe the players weren't in a state for sound judgment? You can tell from their testimonies. Not just the luxurious colosseum, but Shegwin regaining youth, turning old again, engulfed in green flames."

...Glad the topic shifted, but listening quietly was getting him heated again. Park Minjae flashed a rotten smile.

Joshua, daring to doubt our commander? When did you last flatter him to his face? So sleazy. Some have no pride.

"Hoo—"

Just as Park Minjae's true nature from clashing with Raymon Sean threatened to emerge, urgent news hit every branch chief.

"?"

The Arcana official homepage update.

Someone cried out in anguish.

"It's not even Thursday! An emergency patch?!"

Thankfully not the worst. No patch notes appeared.

Instead, a video popped up on the homepage.

"...Arcana official account? Uploaded by Raymon Sean? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Wait, Raymon uploaded a video? First non-patch post ever?!"

"Calm down. Let's play it first."

The video was soon shared in the branch chiefs' chat room.

"...!!!"

Even the chatty Joshua shut his mouth. The footage showed the colosseum. Hoyeol facing the Sword Saint. And after dazzling exchanges, Hoyeol stood tall, having felled the Sword Saint.

*

Yeah, no wonder it was blowing up.

'Even I was shocked watching it.'

The duel with Shegwin immortalized on the Arcana official homepage. Not from a player's POV. Angles like cameras everywhere. Blockbuster-level editing.

Only one person could pull this off.

'Raymon Sean.'

Thanks to his action-movie flair, the community was in chaos. Slow-mo on clashes with Shegwin. Over-the-top gold plating.

My swordsmanship naturally couldn't be at ease. Those moves weren't from my swordsmanship. All thanks to the ego sword.

[Legendary]-grade item. Gui-cheol's doing...!

'That thick-skinned guy.'

But my face wouldn't betray the truth.

No wonder it shocked even me. So serious it fooled me knowing the truth. A duel worthy of the Sword Saint's throne.

Clink—

I set down the teacup with the teabag still in it.

But even if I understood, Grandfell's pride wouldn't tolerate it.

I spoke lowly.

"Raymon Sean, thou hast no qualification."

That final moment. Shegwin's purest blue sword aura. Thanks to reclaiming his pride? Or the [Noble] title effect? Unknown to me.

But one thing was certain.

"To make his final moments a spectacle."

Not rebuking the cheering victors. They knew nothing of the circumstances between Shegwin and me. Nor why hellfire swallowed him at the end. They didn't even know what hellfire was.

But you know it all, Raymon Sean.

Doing it despite knowing everything. Grandfell's pride could never allow it.

"I await the day we meet."

No idea when, but I'm looking forward to it?

You're the root of all this, Raymon. I have something to repay you for too.

'If not for you.'

I wouldn't worry about shameful nicknames!

Fine, no lamenting to the unhearing party. Besides, I had something to check now.

Victory in the Spacetime Duel. Victory rewards.

Exactly one hundred gold coins.

"Gold coins..."

I knew Grandfell's incorruptible nature. No obsession with wealth and glory.

But these weren't ordinary gold coins. Patience, and behold.

Spacetime gold coins. In short, money used in the [Old-Timer Community], Spacetime.

Exact uses were guesswork for now. AAU info helped, but implementation needed personal experience. Like the Spacetime Duel.

But I knew one use from the salon.

"Hm."

See? Needed for tea orders. Can't just skip it.

How much does he value tea time?

Victory rewards weren't just gold, of course. Duel video on official homepage meant revenue incoming. True wealth and glory—useless to me, but.

'...Think of it as savings.'

Bound to be useful in old age.

Anyway, formal rewards ended there. Real rewards started now.

I checked my title.

New achievement: Incomplete Swift Swordsmanship.

Yes. Grandfell's talent again.

Like manifesting magic after witnessing it. Sparred with Shegwin's swift swordsmanship, witnessed it, and acquired it.

'Incomplete, so no effect listed yet...'

Hone it, and maybe proper effects like Circle?

Far better than gold or money. Acquiring the Sword Saint Shegwin's—no one else's—swordsmanship.

I murmured.

"Thy sword path, I shall continue."

So elegantly put, Grandfell.

"For true victory."

And such a stinging aftertaste, Grandfell.

True victory? The classic structure. Obviously, victory in the Holy War.

Shegwin fell to temptation but reclaimed pride at the end. And the deceiver was the insidious demon preying on his weakness.

'Piling pride on pride again...'

What's the use of struggling? He piles on others' pride when you endure.

But as said, all my karma.

Think positive.

'...At least not immortalized on the homepage.'

A name shameless anywhere.

[Name: Grandfell Claudi Arpeus Romeo]

Good thing personal info is private, seriously...

.

.

.

Spacetime Salon.

Only a woman sprawled across the table in sight.

...How long has she been like that?

The entering ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠man clicked his tongue.

"Does the witch spend all her gold coins on cigarettes?"

"Shut your trap."

"...Tch, too scary to even talk to."

Dawn Warrior. The short-black-haired man sat.

Jingle—

He placed a gold coin on the table. A cup of water instantly appeared from thin air.

"Ahh."

Moon's Purified Water, one gold coin's worth. Fatigue washed away instantly.

The man scanned the salon.

"...Witch, I always think this, but smoking precious elixir-made cigarettes is overkill even with endless gold? Not bragging, though."

Ten-gold-coin-per-stick cigarettes. Only the 'Southern Sea Witch' puffed them endlessly like treasures.

No other Transcendents in sight.

The man shrugged.

"Guess everyone's busy in their ways."

Makes sense with Arcana continent's state. Prime time for Transcendents to pursue their wills.

In that sense, it was odd.

"No sign of the old man today."

Shegwin. Unlike others, the old man pursued only his sword path.

"Had some questions."

Whether Shegwin regained youth or whatever, irrelevant to the man. They only cared about sword discourse anyway.

Suddenly, parchment entered his view.

Glance— He eyed the cigarette-dazed woman.

"You haven't checked this? I'll open it?"

Rare for salon news. But she couldn't even reply—total addict.

The man shook his head and unfolded the parchment.

His face twitched.

"...Death in Spacetime Duel?"

...Shegwin, that old man?

He knew from talks. Shegwin was a formidable swordsman. A fellow Transcendent, after all.

"...Who the hell?"

He checked the opponent's name.

And flinched.

A name unheard before. Only one guess.

"Newbie, huh."

Indeed. A name absent from achievement rankings.

Written on the parchment.

The man murmured it.

"Grandfell Claudi Arpeus ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Romeo."

"...?!"

Then.

Thud!

The sprawled witch shot upright. Her already sharp eyes narrowed further.

She said to the man.

"Say it again."

"...What outta nowhere?"

"That name. Say it again."

...The name? Too long, missed it?

The man muttered once more.

"Grandfell Claudi Arpeus Romeo."

The witch echoed.

"Grandfell... Claudi...? C-Claudi family...?!"