Arthur

December 8th, Friday.

It’s the day Deron’s update finishes.

The servers haven’t officially opened yet, but everyone is waiting with bated breath for Deron’s launch.

The integration of the Korean and Global servers, plus a brand-new expansion pack. Deron’s unprecedented large-scale update has drawn even those who weren’t interested in the game before.

I sighed as I looked at my phone screen. Messages from my classmates were giving me a bit of a headache.

Who am I? When you think of Deron in Korea, many people naturally think of me first. I’m that famous of a player.

That’s why my phone keeps getting flooded with messages.

Friends who weren’t really interested in Deron are now naturally curious and are bombarding me with questions.

From job recommendation trees to hunting grounds, leveling routes, and even guild recruitment inquiries.

If these were questions from strangers I didn’t know, I would have ignored them without a second thought, but I couldn’t in this case.

,Euhe-,”

I sigh naturally and answer the kids’ questions one by one, kindly.

Thanks to the know-how I’ve accumulated over my long experience, I reel off a series of leveling routes that are completely different from the ordinary ones posted online.

Of course, I added that it was just my personal leveling method.

If it’s too hard, they’ll find another way on their own.

I naturally cut off replies to kids who ask me to set them up with items from the start.

Demanding items before they even get into the fun of the RPG? Those users are highly likely to disappear before long.

The only help I can give to friends who are new to Deron is light advice.

If I can really see that they’re passionate about the game and playing it consistently, I’ll reach out to them first, even if they don’t ask for help.

I nodded, impressed with my own thoughts.

Yeah, you gotta raise newbies tough.

I threw my phone onto the bed.

Because it was almost time for the server to open.

The one-minute countdown begins.

Watching other users’ reactions on the broadcast, everyone was waiting for the server to open, just like me.

From one minute to 30 seconds, and from 30 seconds back to 10 seconds.

Why is waiting for that short amount of time so nerve-wracking?

I swallowed hard and closed my eyes.

After Deron’s server opens, I immediately try to log in to the game.

I feel like my body is floating, and my mind calmly sinks as if falling into water.

Even though I know I’m sitting inside the capsule, it feels like my whole body is flying somewhere.

Shwaaa-!

Light pours into my eyes. Immediately after, I’m faced with a girl holding a sword and a girl holding a staff on the familiar screen.

Deron’s character selection screen. My main character, Yeon, and my alternate character, Princess Yeon.

Sorry, Princess Yeon, but now is the time to focus on my main character.

I smiled slightly and tried to log in to the Yeon character.

The view that had been facing each other like looking in a mirror gradually began to change, and at some point, my body was Yeon.

Immediately after, light pours out once again.

The place I was transported to with the light was a familiar but unfamiliar place.

The city that comes to mind first when you think of Deron.

It’s the capital city of Lunaris.

But for some reason, I felt like my field of vision had widened.

Whether I was the only one feeling that way, most of the people who logged into the game were looking around and exclaiming in admiration.

In the update announcement, it was clearly written that all areas would be expanded.

I never thought that’s what it meant.

Were they thinking about the increased number of users due to the server integration?

The capital city of Lunaris welcomed users with a look that was three to four times wider than before.

The locations of the main NPCs hadn’t changed much, but as the map expanded, unfamiliar streets and NPCs appeared.

,Oh.”

And users I’d never seen before also began to appear.

I know most of the max-level users by sight. The same goes for guilds.

But the users who had just logged in were strangers I’d never seen before.

Of course, the guilds were also marks I’d never seen before.

At that moment, my eyes met theirs.

,Oh…”

,A kid?”

The language I heard wasn’t awkward. It was proof that Deron’s automatic translation system was working properly.

The avatars in VR games make it impossible to guess who the person beyond is.

In reality, I could guess their nationality through their appearance, or through the language and intonation they use, but that was impossible here in Deron.

Everyone is the same. The conditions for treating each other without prejudice about nationality were complete.

The users who logged into the game were largely divided into two groups.

Even after the update, it hadn’t changed. Some people immediately left for new areas to strengthen their characters, while others toured the map and made friends with people from other countries.

I was naturally one of the former. Even though the servers were integrated, it hadn’t changed.

Since I find great fun in growing my character, I also started following the main quest marker at a fast pace.

The place where the main quest starts was, as before, the Adventurer’s Guild, where many users gather.

Most of Deron’s main quests start in this place.

Elves, humans, demons, and all races were mixed together, receiving quests.

I frowned at the sight.

There were too many people. Because I’m short, I couldn’t even see the NPC beyond the people.

Was Deron such a popular game?

In Korea, Deron was a bit of a maniacal shit game that only a few people played, so there weren’t that many users.

I felt like I’d been robbed of my own little Deron.

After standing behind people for a long time, no matter how long I waited, there was no sign of the line getting shorter.

I sighed and used the newly created system.

The channel system.

The existing Korean server also had a channel system, but you couldn’t freely move between channels through personal settings.

But it’s different now. Users can move to the channel they want through personal settings.

The channel I’m currently connected to is channel 13.

It was quite different from the two-channel system used on the Korean server.

There were even other channels below that.

I quickly moved my hand to find a quiet channel.

Channels 1 through 10 are saturated. It seemed like they were filling people in from channel 1 in the order they connected.

I quickly moved my hand and selected channel 45.

Then, with a brief feeling of floating, the surrounding scenery blurred, and the many users disappeared in an instant.

It was a pretty good system, but on the other hand, I was worried.

What kind of server is Deron using to be able to increase the channels of such a large game to 50?

It seemed like a special technology that I didn’t know about, one that hadn’t been revealed to the general public, had been invented.

I shook my head. That’s not what’s important. I had to level up quickly.

Unlike the channel I was in earlier, the Adventurer’s Guild was quiet. But that would only be for a moment.

Because people with the same thoughts as me were moving channels one by one.

,Ah!”

At that moment, a woman who had appeared while moving channels in front of me opened her eyes wide with a shriek.

Long blonde hair flowed like honey taffy. Her eyes also sparkled with a blue light like her luscious blonde hair.

,Eummegeol!”

,Eum, Eummegeol…?”

It seemed like the woman who appeared in front of me knew me.

It’s a person I’ve never seen before. The guild and nickname were also unfamiliar.

The armor she wore all over her body and the pure white cloak hanging behind her were impressive.

She was definitely a human paladin-type tank.

,I can’t believe I’d meet you here!”

[Arthur]

Arthur, or is it Arthur?

I frowned and looked at him.

The appearance of the equipment was set separately, but the internal specs were plastered with top-tier items from the previous season.

Wearing raid-only accessories meant that he was definitely a user who ran raids himself.

,Arthur?”

,That’s right. I’m Arthur.”

I listened to the other person’s introduction and looked at her other information.

[Knights of the Round Table]

Translated into Korean, it becomes [원탁의 기사들] (Wontakui Gisadeul), [Knights of the Round Table].

The guild name is quite long.

Well, there were guilds with quite long names on the Korean server as well.

I’m sure that name was… [길드명이너무길어서나무뒤에숨어도길드명때문에들키는] (Gildeumyeongi Neomugil-eoseo Namudwie Sumeodo Gildeumyeongttaemune Deulkineun), [Guild Name Is So Long That Even If You Hide Behind A Tree, You’ll Get Caught Because Of The Guild Name]?

This person. Both the nickname and the guild name.

She was definitely a true user who enjoys role-playing.

My favorability naturally rises.

,Yeon!”

,… Yes?”

[Friend Request.]

Nickname: Arthur

Level: 85

Master Level: 0

Job: Arc Knight

YES/NO

,Be my friend!”

,Ah…”

It’s a bit sudden. Judging by the fact that I’m seeing her for the first time, she’s definitely a user who was active on the global server, but I didn’t have any information about this person. But the other person seems to recognize me.

Looking at the infinite goodwill she’s sending me right now, it didn’t seem like she had any bad intentions.

And she’s pretty too.

I nodded and accepted Arthur’s friend request.

,Di, did you accept it?”

,Yeah. Do you happen to know me?”

,Of course. I’ve been waiting for this day to meet you.”

,Uh…”

I stroked my cheeks at Arthur’s direct words. If the person in front of me was a tall man, it would have been quite offensive. But the other person is a beauty. A huge one at that.

,Are you perhaps my fan?”

,That’s right!”

I knew it. I nodded with a smug look.

Outstanding people are bound to stand out wherever they go.

I felt good seeing such a pretty fan after only seeing creepy old man fans.

,Were you perhaps trying to proceed with the quest?”

,Yeah.”

,Let’s do it together!”

Was it because she had a pretty face? I nodded without realizing it.

Arthur smiled brightly at the answer, as if she was happy.

It’s the first meeting immediately after the server integration.

It’s a good start. Judging by the specs of the character she has, her achievement score, and the title she’s wearing, this user named Arthur was definitely quite skilled.

Skilled tank users are rare in Deron. There was no harm in getting close to her.

Unlike these calculating thoughts, Arthur’s bright personality also played a part in drawing out my favor.

Of course, it’s a bit of a problem that she’s human…

If I coax her from the side, won’t she reincarnate as a demon?

I gave a bright smile to the beautiful blonde woman.