The Uninvited Guest
The Death Game, Arcadia Online. A colossal continent made up of exactly one hundred zones. That was where this death game unfolded.
There would be no salvation from the outside. No loopholes existed that would let you escape back to reality from within the game, either.
The only way a player could log out of this world was by defeating every single boss located in each zone.
From Zone 1 to Zone 100. One hundred bosses whose identities remained completely unknown had to be cleared.
Yet even now, a full month after the death game had begun, the players still hadn’t managed to leave Zone 1.
No one had discovered the boss’s identity.
Fear of death was certainly a factor, but the biggest reason was the overwhelming lack of information about the game itself. Unlike ordinary games that ran closed or open beta tests, Arcadia Online had undergone zero testing whatsoever.
Everyone was a complete beginner. In that kind of situation, only a tiny handful of players were willing to risk their lives on exploration.
And even if someone did manage to find the boss, they would almost certainly die before they could reach a safe zone.
Still, letting the current stalemate continue was unacceptable. As the sluggish exploration dragged on, the players’ hopes were being chipped away day by day.
We’re all going to die here.
Whether it was the people who refused to leave Startia or those throwing themselves into leveling at the front lines, everyone probably shared the same thought.
Which was why the sudden news that the Zone 1 boss had appeared hit like a bomb.
“Is that really true?”
“Come on! I’ve never lied to you before, have I? It’s true!”
“I-I can’t believe it. Who found it? Who exactly?”
“This has to be a lie! Bring proof!”
“Ahh… Does this mean we can finally get out of here?”
The street erupted into chaos in an instant.
People swarmed the man who had delivered the news, bombarding him with questions. Others collapsed to the ground, sobbing. Still others shouted that it was all a trick meant to incite panic.
Once the excitement caught fire, it refused to die down.
“U-Unni? Why is everyone acting like this?”
In the middle of the pandemonium, Rian trembled with fear.
He had no idea what was happening, and for a young boy it must have looked utterly terrifying. I took his shaking hand in mine, trying to calm him.
“It’s nothing. They’re just… yeah, there’s a festival going on.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry too much. We’ll be leaving soon.”
But moving a carriage through such a dense crowd was impossible.
The driver waved his hands and shouted for people to make way, looking clearly distressed, yet no one paid him any attention.
What now?
I couldn’t exactly blame them for their reaction. Even I wanted to finish the quest and hear more about what the man had said.
It was the Zone 1 boss—the one no one had found in an entire month. Even someone like me, who had little interest inWalkthrough,, couldn’t help but feel curious. No, anyone trapped in this death game would have felt the same.
That was when it happened.
“Hey, everyone shut up for a second!”
The messenger’s irritated shout silenced the street as if by magic.
“I don’t know the details either. But the party that discovered the boss is going to make an official announcement in the plaza soon. They said they’ll answer all your questions there!”
A brief hush fell.
“You should’ve said that from the beginning!”
Someone’s shout broke the silence, and just like that the previous quiet became a lie as people began moving frantically.
“Then let’s go right now! Hey, stop standing there and get out of the way!”
“Don’t push! There’s plenty of room over there anyway!”
“Still, the closer you are, the better you’ll hear!”
“Fine, I’ll go check if this is a lie myself.”
The crowd surged toward the plaza like a tidal wave. In the blink of an eye the street became eerily empty.
All that remained were a few bewildered players and NPCs wondering what the commotion had been about.
This was the perfect moment to slip out of Startia.
“Let’s get going before they come back.”
“Ah, right. Hyah!”
Yet even inside the departing carriage, thoughts of the boss refused to leave my mind.
What did it look like? Was it even possible to clear? Part of me wanted to follow the crowd to the plaza, but…
Rian was staring straight at me from across the bumpy dirt road.
“Unni, are you okay?”
“Hm? I’m fine.”
Had my expression been that grim? I seemed to have worried him without meaning to. Getting worked up in front of an NPC—no, in front of a child—was embarrassing. I pulled back my hood and shook my head vigorously before turning my gaze outside the carriage.
Right on cue, a pack of wolves emerged, eyeing the carriage as prey.
“I’ll be right back after I take care of those.”
My head was already a mess. Throwing myself into combat might help clear it a little.
I kicked off from the carriage and leaped down.
But no matter how much I ran or swung my sword…
Thoughts of the boss refused to leave me.
It was around 4:30 in the afternoon by the time I returned to the village and finished the quest.
As expected, the reward gave a hefty amount of experience, but it wasn’t quite enough to level up. Even though it was getting late, I headed into the forest anyway.
Leveling was important, but if I stayed still, my mind would keep drifting back to what had happened in Startia. Moving my body was better than sitting around.
I wandered the outskirts of the forest, hunting every beast I came across.
Before long, however, the sky had grown dark.
“Looks like today’s a bust.”
I thought I had killed quite a few, yet I was still a little short of the experience needed to reach level 8.
The reason, of course, was Arcadia’s own system.
Experience gained from hunting in this game varied depending on the level difference between the player and the enemy.
The lower the player’s level, the more experience they received. The higher their level, the more the reward was halved in proportion to the gap.
The beasts found at the forest’s edge were usually level 4 Dire Wolves and level 5 Black Pumas. Even if a level 7 player like me hunted them, the experience gained was minimal.
Nevertheless, the reason I stayed near the entrance was simple: the deeper you went, the more dangerous it became.
Yesterday had been an anomaly. Normally, beasts of level 6 or higher lived deeper inside the woods.
For the sake of experience efficiency, going further in was the correct choice. But I was alone. I wasn’t stupid enough to act recklessly by myself.
“Sigh… Can’t be helped.”
It was already late. I would have to put off reaching level 8 until tomorrow.
Swallowing my regret, I decided to head back to the village.
—Kwooaaar!
At that moment, a roar erupted from behind me—an uninvited guest.
My instincts screamed in alarm. I had never heard this sound before, and goosebumps exploded across my entire body.
I quickly drew my sword and spun around.
“That’s…”
Within the shadow-draped forest, a massive black bear with pitch-black fur emerged from between the trees.
Its blood-red eyes locked onto me. Its low growl made the very air tremble.
Why the hell is something like that here?
Cold sweat ran down my back.
The opponent was level 8. A higher level than my own level 7.
The fact that it had appeared here wasn’t what mattered most.
What mattered was whether I had any chance of winning. Whether I should run or fight.
My decision was quick.
Run.
My stamina and mana were in far better shape than yesterday, but there was no need to take unnecessary risks. Besides, if I kept moving I would soon be out of the forest. In an emergency I could even ask the guards for help.
Keeping an eye on the bear, I took one step backward, then turned and sprinted away.
—Kugugugu!
The black bear immediately gave chase.
Every time its feet slammed down, the ground caved in and trees shattered.
But what shocked me more was its speed.
How is it so fast?
I had never faced a real bear before, but I knew they could be surprisingly quick. If this weren’t a game, I never would have chosen to run. However, this was a game, and my current Agility stat was 15. With that number I thought I could easily escape.
Yet the bear had already closed the distance. It reared up on its hind legs and lunged.
I rolled sideways to avoid the shadow falling over my head.
—Boom!
The spot where I had just been standing caved in, sending a cloud of dirt into the air.
If I hadn’t dodged, it would have been instant death. I bit my lip hard to suppress the terror rising inside me.
“This is insane. Seriously.”
I erased the option of running from my mind. That left only one choice—fight.
The black bear charged at me again.
I pulled my sword back tightly behind my waist. Focusing on its foreleg, I waited for the moment it swung, then swiftly slipped into its blind spot.
“Slash!”
A perfect counterattack. The blue blade sliced through the bear’s hide, and bright blood sprayed from the wound.
—Kraaaah!
The black bear thrashed and roared in pain.
But that was all. Before I could even savor the satisfaction of landing a hit, I had to roll across the ground to avoid the foreleg rushing toward me.
Once balance was lost, regaining it was difficult. The bear gave me no time to recover, and I broke into a cold sweat as I continuously dodged its approaching claws and fangs.
Why is it still moving so well?
Its movements didn’t match someone who had been wounded. Even while bleeding, it was still frighteningly fast.
I needed to create an opening. A gap long enough for me to regain my stance and stop its momentum.
I didn’t have a skill that could do that directly. But swinging and thrusting my sword didn’t require skills.
The bear’s massive paw descended over my head. I thrust my sword upward toward the foot that was larger than my entire face.
The blade sank deep into its paw. The bear let out a shriek and began thrashing wildly.
Using that moment, I desperately rolled away, putting distance between us.
“Huff… haa…”
Rough breaths tore from my lungs.
I had finally gained some space, but I had lost my weapon. My stamina and mana still had some room, yet the situation was the worst possible.
“I really need to get a spare weapon.”
Of course, that was only possible if I survived. I turned around once more and sprinted with everything I had.
Even with a sword stabbed through its paw, the bear refused to stop chasing me. The sight of it charging forward while spraying blood everywhere was downright horrifying.
But its speed has definitely slowed.
Earlier the bear had caught up with ease. Now it looked like it was struggling just to close the gap.
That meant the bear had reached its limit. Escaping all the way back to the village like this seemed entirely possible.
But was running really the right choice?
If I had a weapon, taking it down doesn’t seem impossible…
I had no idea what kind of enemies I would face in the future. If I chose to run every single time, I would never gain the strength I wanted.
Besides, the bear was already weakened. If I could just retrieve my sword, I should be able to finish it.
Then my choice was obvious.
“Alright. Let’s do this.”
I stopped running and waited for the bear.
It might have been a reckless decision.
But deep in my heart, I felt certain I could win.
I would trust this feeling. I widened my eyes and stared at the charging bear.
It ran on three legs instead of the one I had stabbed. When it was right in front of me, it raised its foreleg high.
I dodged the swing and slipped into its embrace. Thanks to my smaller female body, getting inside its blind spot was easy.
I reached out and grabbed the hilt of the sword still embedded in its foot. As expected, it was buried too deeply for me to pull out with raw strength.
But right now, I was holding a sword. And that meant I could use skills.
I can’t pull it out. In that case…
I would slice through the bear’s entire arm from the inside and create distance. I had exactly the skill needed for that.
Basic Swordsmanship, Second Form. A single-strike charge.
“Sword Rush!”
Sword Rush
The blade carved through bone and flesh as my body and sword soared into the sky.
The bear’s roar shook the earth. Its violent thrashing toppled trees and sent dirt flying.
Yet the bear still refused to fall. Its movements had slowed considerably from blood loss, but its crimson eyes continued searching for me.
It never found me. My body was still floating in the air.
So this time, I would end it.
My target was its neck. Using the force of my descent, I swung my sword at the black bear.
“Slash!”
—Thud!
The black bear’s head fell to the ground. Blood gushed upward as its massive body collapsed, sending an enormous cloud of dust swirling around me.
Level up!
You have acquired Status Points.
The tension finally drained away. I collapsed straight onto the ground.
“Ha… haha…”
Still, it didn’t feel bad at all.
I had leveled up, and I had defeated an enemy I thought was impossible to beat. Even while catching my breath, laughter kept slipping out.
That didn’t mean I planned to do something this crazy again, though.
“…Let’s head back.”
Exhaustion hit me all at once. All I wanted was to collapse into bed and sleep without doing anything else.
But when I returned to Kate’s inn, what waited for me was yet another uninvited guest.
“Hello. My name is Emily.”
“Would you like to join our party?”