Mountains or Skies, Climb Them All
Thursday. AAU. The moment the promised time passed.
Seong Hyunjun let out a groan. “Seriously, how long has it been since we last did this, senior?”
Regular update log: None!
For a while now, Arcana hadn't been satisfied with just regular updates. It had been bombarding them with emergency patches. But suddenly, what wind had blown in?
“Thanks, Raymon Sean,” Seong Hyunjun muttered as he hurriedly grabbed his bag.
“I can't even remember. Clocking out on time on a Thursday?”
But for some reason, Yoon Sugyeom, who should have been playing along, stayed silent.
Why did ominous premonitions always prove right?
Seong Hyunjun looked at him and freaked out. “......Senior, what the hell are you doing right now?!”
“Huh? What do you think? Working.”
“No, is now the time to work?! We should celebrate first!”
His senior, already diligent, had become even more so lately. And that meant the guy next to him—himself—was getting dragged down with exhaustion. Why? Because Park, the branch chief, had been dropping by and saying things like:
—“These days, the newbies have no fire in them.”
Followed by a torrent of dreadful motivational speeches. Fine, he was the senior and the boss, so he'd listen. He'd tried to take it to heart for a newbie's pride, but it was impossible. It was an unfair statement from the start. Who in the world had an n-year newbie?!
AAU's hiring condition? Just one. They had to have worked at Cosmo back when Arcana was still just a game.
But with Raymon Sean's disappearance and Cosmo shutting down, there was no way it would hire newbies.
“No, senior! Does it make sense to be the youngest forever?!”
Seong Hyunjun meant then, now, and forever—he'd always be the newbie.
His resentful glare turned to Yoon Sugyeom. “Even you have to be this harsh on me?”
“What are you even talking about?”
“Why are you volunteering for overtime, senior?!”
Why do overtime? Yoon Sugyeom pulled his chair close with a screech, straightened his back rigidly, and said, “A chief's pride.”
“Argh, seriously!!”
“Haha, kidding. We have to do something anyway.”
Yoon Sugyeom nodded toward the screens. Hundreds of monitors. What they showed were the players.
“Doesn't it feel like even you're seeing something new like this?”
There were no regular updates, but the players hadn't stopped. They were continuing their hunts all over the Zero Mountains.
Yoon Sugyeom continued. “Everyone's more serious than ever.”
It was different from before. There was no levity among the players.
Was it because of the Zero Mountains' danger? Or their pride as players? There was no way to know.
But watching them...
Yoon Sugyeom looked down at his chest. “It pricks the conscience.”
At those words, Seong Hyunjun glanced around. It seemed his senior wasn't the only one feeling it.
Work hours had long passed, yet no one had left their seats. Constructive conversations echoed everywhere.
“Named mob patterns? Anything new?”
“Yes, we found unique pattern values by race... but we're not sure if they apply to Zero Mountains mobs.”
“That's enough. The players make the judgment, not us.”
Thud—In the end, Seong Hyunjun slumped back into his chair. “Yeah. Guess I have no choice. The eternal newbie it is.”
His seniors, who usually seemed so carefree, must have been a misconception.
‘......No.’
Maybe now he was finally seeing the dignity of those Cosmo-era seniors, who had once seemed like gods in the sky?
“Why aren't you heading out?”
“Forget it. With all my vacation days, I don't want to look like a total newbie.”
“Alright then, can I ask you to handle this?”
“What is it?”
He'd been wondering where to start anyway...
Seong Hyunjun checked the link Yoon Sugyeom sent. An image file popped up.
“Lizard...? No, that's a dragon, right? Wings!”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“Hold on, you're assigning me a dragon?!”
Sure, the dragon looked small, but a dragon? The final boss? This wasn't newbie-level content.
“Senior, this is a bit...”
As burdened Seong Hyunjun started to protest, Yoon Sugyeom sent more files. A list of classes.
“What the— so many, even now?”
“Right? Thousands if you just count combat classes.”
“But why send this to me? With the dragon file?”
“Obviously, because the Zero Mountains appeared.”
“Dragons are still a long way off.”
“That's why we gather info now. Plus, some player might need dragon-related data right away.”
“Huh? Who?”
“Who else? Pick one from that class list.”
“From the class list...? Ah!”
At that, Seong Hyunjun remembered. Among Arcana's countless classes, just over a hundred rare ones. One of them:
Dragon Knight.
“Skal!!”
Click. Dragon Knight info appeared: advancement conditions, class quest storyline, everything.
He felt it anew, but the world was vast, full of all sorts of people.
“How did Skal even clear those conditions for advancement?”
“Are players normal? Back in early access, some swung wooden swords for days just for strength stats. Bound to be one or two like that.”
“True...”
Seong Hyunjun nodded vigorously. Good, his doubts were cleared. Time to start.
He placed his hands on the keyboard. “So... you want options where humanity doesn't clash with dragons, right, senior?”
“Our guard dog gets it right away? Well, if it's far in the future, maybe. But right now, no chance of winning. Even if Hoyeol steps up...”
“Right. If it wakes and flaps its wings, the damage would be immense. Skal's our only option for that path.”
The Dragon Knight could tame dragons. The only one.
‘Then...’
He needed to gather info to help Dragon Knight Skal's class quest. Let's see...
After poring over files, Seong Hyunjun finally found the starting point.
“[Fallen Dragon Hunter] quest. Starts here?”
Fallen Dragon Hunter
Warrior who hunted the wicked dragonkin.
The legend of the mountains calls to thee.
─Reach the summit of the Zero Mountains.
(In Progress)
* Zero Mountains. A dragon lives in that penthouse.
So there was one quest we couldn't forget.
Lee Hoyeol received the world quest that popped up after slaying the fallen dragon, the being we shouldn't have awakened, in the [Tempest Labyrinth] rift. Because he'd contributed the most to the kill, unlike other players, he'd gotten a unique one.
“The Zero Mountains are not so high.”
Don't boast after teleporting via portal, Grandfell.
How high do you think they are?! Satellite photos show them huge!
As Grandfell said, I could manifest a portal and reach the Zero Mountains summit instantly.
But the real issue wasn't reaching it—it was the aftermath.
What if it actually woke up?!
Viva... I mean, thanks to the ruckus with Shegwin right under the dragon's nest, I'd felt it, even faintly. The dragon's overwhelming presence!
It was pressure unlike anything from elves, the only beings comparable to dragons. Even Elcidoir hadn't given me that.
Of course, the First World Tree's Blessing buff made Elcidoir seem manageable.
Anyway... ‘It's not something I can face right now.’
The First World Tree's Blessing I'd just mentioned, Natural Enemy relationship, and even my steel will. I'd frothed at the mouth struggling unintentionally.
But I never forgot. Know your place.
[Title: Last Adventurer, Noble, Transcendent]
[Class: Demon Hunter]
[Level: 595]
[Points: 0]
Dragons were what even the Mage Tower couldn't conquer. With the Tower Master incapacitated now? No need to say it.
The moment a dragon awakens and turns hostile to humanity... It wouldn't end with just you and me sinking in pride, Grandfell.
“Yet a mountain must be climbed to be a mountain. Procedure demands it.”
Yeah, well said.
The Zero Mountains weren't huge for nothing. Nor was the dragon at the peak by chance.
Climbing from the bottom step by step, by the time you reach the lofty summit, you'd naturally be at a level to face the dragon.
Right, AAU folks?
‘That's why they set it up that way.’
One hundred thousand caves. The Zero Mountains' hundred thousand caves. Per AAU's setup: [dungeons], [labyrinths], [ruins], [battlefields], etc.
‘Varied content.’
Now manifested in reality, the hundred thousand caves were like hundred thousand [rifts].
Thinking that way... ‘...It's doable?’
Getting strong enough to face a dragon.
Arcana's creators weren't half-assed. Everything planned, unlike whoever crammed in cool-looking stuff without thought.
‘Unlike the one who shoved in anything shiny without a plan.’
But what could he do? No one to blame.
Change perspective. ‘Actually, something to celebrate?’
Dragons. Beings only approachable after clearing a hundred thousand rifts.
Converted like that, you realize how monstrous they are.
In that sense, good job, Hoyeol.
“A hundred thousand caves? No contingencies needed for Grandfell.”
Yeah, overflowing pride beats shrinking.
Of course, that heavy pride might sink you. Big side effect.
But struggling is my specialty, right after knowing your place.
‘In that sense.’
I need to talk to Skal.
Skal's class: Dragon Knight.
Above all, he'd called me the Fallen Dragon Hunter. He must know something about the quest.
No big expectations—high hopes lead to big disappointments.
‘Maybe we can avoid clashing with the dragon.’
Even slim chances must be chased. Clearing a hundred thousand caves wasn't a sure thing either.
Desperate dogs struggle hardest.
Of course.
“Skal, thou must first prove thy worth.”
Skal had fallen out of Grandfell's favor.
I worried. If Skal sulked at Grandfell's harsh words, it'd be a hassle.
“Mind thy decorum and pride.”
Calm down, Grandfell. For that reason.
I pulled out my smartphone.
You, indifferent to glory and wealth, pure as snow, wouldn't get it. But nothing stabilizes the mind like shopping.
‘Shopping's the best.’
By the way.
“Steadfast even in cold water. Intriguing.”
Getting generous over new green tea. You're an easy man, Grandfell.
Swish swish— Arcana's official ranking No. 1, Skal.
Skal didn't stop brushing. He muttered to his beloved steed, Alexander, who wagged its tail happily.
“What did I do wrong, Alexander?”
What went wrong?
Lee Hoyeol. Humanity's hero. Endlessly merciful to players.
Yet.
Why wouldn't he even talk to me?!
Skal felt deeply wronged in many ways. “Failure wasn't enough—humiliation too. Tormenting, Alexander.”
Skal differed from most players. From the very start.
The reason he'd hidden his identity so extremely? His family.
True name: Scara Rothschild.
Skal was born into one of Earth's few noble houses.
Vast wealth and power from medieval times. Born with everything, life was too easy for him.
Arcana appealed to such a Skal. Another world. Unlike reality, full of things to conquer.
Skal's Arcana goal was simple: Place the Arcana continent beneath his feet.
For that, Dragon Knight was perfect. No surer symbol of conquest than leashing Arcana's strongest creature, dragons.
Even after the cataclysm, his mindset hadn't changed.
Skal had cleared rifts and grown, just like when Arcana was a game. Following his class quest guide.
But.
“......What the hell is this?”
Skal's hollow eyes turned to the quest window.
Fallen Dragon Hunter
Legendary being.
One who would face dragons.
Attain the stature to meet them.
─Slay the fallen dragon slumbering in the forbidden realm.
(Failed)
When the class quest first appeared, he'd thought his goal was near.
However.
─Slay the fallen dragon slumbering in the forbidden realm. (Failed)
Failed, out of nowhere.
The moment he saw “failure,” Skal nearly fainted.
His first taste of failure since birth. Was failure's bitterness like this? How did ordinary people endure repeating such horror?
He'd lost his appetite completely.
So Skal had no choice but to act.
New quest objective:
─Meet the Fallen Dragon Hunter. (In Progress)
There was a reason for the failure. Someone had stolen his quest target: the fallen dragon.
Finding them wasn't hard. The world was abuzz.
Lee Hoyeol. Forbidden realm, Tempest. Fallen dragon, the being not to awaken.
The puzzle pieces fit in his head.
That's when Skal moved.
—“No need to grovel.”
—“Lee Hoyeol, I wish to speak with thee.”
—“Great Fallen Dragon Hunter.”
But what was the problem?
“......I even praised thee.”
The Fallen Dragon Hunter, Hoyeol, wouldn't spare him time.
And as always, lamenting to his steed—
“?!”
Skal learned it. Hoyeol had reached the Zero Mountains peak, where the dragon slept.
Clatter—The brush fell from his hand.
“N-No way.”
......Did Lee Hoyeol get a dragon-related quest too?
Having slain the fallen dragon, he'd have the stature to face one.
If the quest he'd failed had transferred to Hoyeol...?
“!”
A vision flashed: Hoyeol soaring the skies on a dragon.
Skal's face twisted in horror.
“N-No! My dragon!!”