The Ruined World Was Mistaken for a Game-Chapter 126: What is Happiness (4)

The Ruined World Was Mistaken for a Game-Chapter 126: What is Happiness (4)

Translator: Dreamscribe
Not only all the Heroes gathered at the Grand Temple, but also the Heroes watching through the broadcast and those who heard the news in real time through Arsilan Worlds, all felt excitement and happiness.
“Battles are great, but this is nice too.”
“This is healing.”
“But… there must be a lot of Quests in the Undersea City too, right? From the looks of it, it seems about the size of Evanth....”
The Heroes called the advance team wanted to move ahead of others, but for now, they were just peacefully accepting becoming veterans turned newbies.
During the 2nd Anniversary event period, the Undersea City was planned to open one by one according to each country’s theme, starting with the Korean theme.
This was to ensure that everyone could explore evenly without flocking to just one place. Since Arsilan residents were participating as well, it would create a rather beautiful picture.
All the Heroes looked at Jinwoo.
As they were experiencing the Island of Light, the event time had gotten quite long. It seemed like it was time to slowly wrap things up, and all the Heroes were waiting for a closing statement.
“And....”
You thought it was over?
The 2nd Anniversary content announcement wasn’t finished yet. As Jinwoo began to speak again, the Heroes flinched and started focusing once more.
“We’ve strengthened Arsilan’s inner content a bit. We added 1,350 side stories, 30 first-tier Classes, and 150 general Skills and production Skills. Also, many paid items have been added to the Platinum Coin Shop, so please check them out.”
He said it lightly, without even bringing up the info on the Status Window, just brushing past it, but the content was by no means light. If it were another game, it would’ve been promoted for months on end. Despite being such massive content, it was passed over so smoothly that anyone not paying close attention might have missed it altogether.
Jinwoo brought up the next Status Window.
It was an update for ‘Arsilan Worlds’.
“Now, Arsilan residents will also visit Arsilan Worlds.”
The Heroes tilted their heads. They didn’t quite understand what that meant.
A new space had been created in Arsilan Worlds.
Named ‘Arsilan Friends’, this was a space where Arsilan residents could directly post messages or upload videos. It was also launched as a standalone app, allowing users to jump in right away.
Jinwoo immediately accessed Arsilan Friends and displayed a post.
Title: First Post!
Author: Tia
Heroes, you like stuff like this, right?
(Photo attached)
*With Helby nim!
*His Highness Leon reviewing documents.
*Heina hesitating in front of cute pajamas.
Hehe! A gift for you all.
Tiris: Those are bear pajamas. I think they’re nice.
└Heina: I just thought they looked comfortable....
└Garsha: Bears are nice. Behind their gentle appearance lies hidden ferocity and strong combat ability, this suits Knight Commander Heina very well.
└Heina: That’s a compliment, right?
Starting with Tia’s first post, many more posts had been uploaded. There were lots of news and promotional posts circulating among the Arsilan residents.
[How to Handle Fish - by Levi-chan]
[Fun Bonsai Class - by Luceren]
[Let’s Learn Magic! (2nd Class and above) - by Tiris]
.
..
...
These kinds of videos could be subscribed to as well. The Heroes quickly logged into Arsilan Worlds. Arsilan Friends had already been added.
“Arsilan residents can also leave comments on some Best Posts, so please always write carefully.”
At Jinwoo’s words, the Heroes entered the Best Post section of Arsilan Worlds. There really were comments from Arsilan residents.
[12 Times Enhancement Failure]
Thomson: My condition wasn’t good at the time. Come again.
└SockThief (author): Give me my money back!
└Thomson: Why would that be your money?
[Helby nim Yawning]
Helby: Delete it.
└HellHound (author): Gasp?! I’m sorry!
Moreover, comments were being posted in real time!
As the boundary between Heroes and Arsilan residents blurred, the feeling of being together grew even stronger.
Jinwoo intended to gradually break down the walls between Heroes and Arsilan residents.
-Now I can’t leave nonsense posts anymore...
-If I make it to Best, will they comment on my post too?
-This feels weird. I’m getting emotional. What’s happening to me...
The Heroes felt a strange sense of emotion as they read the comments. They felt like they truly understood what Jinwoo meant by the joy of being together. It really was a happy 2nd Anniversary.
It was now time to wrap things up. There were quite a few updates that had been stealthily added, but those were left for the Heroes to discover later on.
“Then, I will give you a small gift we prepared.”
A 2nd Anniversary gift appeared on the Status Window floating above the stage.
A 2nd Anniversary Commemorative Coin, 2nd Anniversary Commemorative Costume, 2nd Anniversary Commemorative Emoticon, 2 Costume Selection Boxes, 2 Intermediate Enhancement Stones, 20 Platinum Coins, a 20% Discount Coupon for Paid Items, and so on, it was a generous reward worthy of the occasion.
The Heroes were so dazzled by the gift list that they couldn’t even think straight.
Now it was really time to end.
“Thanks to all of you, Arsilan was saved, and we were able to celebrate such a joyful 2nd Anniversary together.”
The Status Window changed, and the phrase “If we didn’t have the Heroes.” appeared.
A scene of a hopeless Arsilan was shown. Everything had turned black. Evanth had melted down, and only despair remained. Beside that appeared a hopeful Arsilan, in contrast.
Leon, wounded and kneeling, and Leon, smiling brightly alongside the Heroes.
Helby, breathing heavily as she was covered by Erosion, and Helby, sipping tea while looking out the window.
Arsilan residents, crying after losing family and friends, and Arsilan residents, doing business with the Heroes.
As the Heroes’ images appeared, all the hopeless scenes were wiped away.
“You should be proud. Boast about it as much as you want. You Heroes have made the best choices out of all the possibilities. Please continue to look after Arsilan. Thank you.”
Jinwoo bowed deeply to the Heroes.
The Heroes responded to his heartfelt words with applause and cheers.
The Jinwoo they saw was truly a unique person.
In his early twenties, he had created the greatest invention in the world of virtual reality. Instead of being intoxicated by his own genius or arrogance, he worked like a madman solely for the Heroes. Every corner of Arsilan showed traces of his efforts to figure out how to make the Heroes happy.
Could there be another game developer like this?
Probably everyone would shake their heads.
The fact that Lee Jinwoo, FS Games, and Arsilan Saga were with them filled the Heroes with immense pride.
“Creator God! Thank you!”
“Please take some rest while you work!”
“You need to stay healthy! No, you must live forever!”
“Take a vacation! Please!”
-Please get some rest!
-The Creator God would probably still work even on vacation.
-I mean, even the God of Earth rested for a day.
Even those kinds of worries from the Heroes brought joy to Jinwoo. He waved at the Heroes with a big smile.
“Got it! Please look forward to the next update! I’ll work even harder to prepare! That’s all for now!”
Jinwoo’s figure turned into light on the stage and disappeared.
[Returning to Arsilan! The Creator God bestows a brilliant blessing.]
[The 2nd Anniversary Festival and Events will continue for two weeks. We hope everyone enjoys them together.]
All the Heroes who had been at the Grand Temple returned to Arsilan. They looked at each other and smiled.
“So, how do we get to the Undersea City?”
“Let’s find out!”
“Hey, but maybe we can take the airship to the Island of Light?”
“Oh. Shall we try?”
The Heroes chatted like this and immediately started planning. The joyful 2nd Anniversary event had only just begun!
* * *
Lee Han-seok, an ordinary office worker, took a half-day off and headed home. It was because he had heard that his son, who was in 4th grade, got injured. When he rushed home, he found his son with a cast on his arm.
“Can’t I go outside?”
“No!”
Because of his son, who wanted to go out and play the moment he got a cast, Lee Han-seok’s wife, Kim Ji-hye, was chugging water in frustration. She couldn’t understand where that endless energy came from or who he got it from.
“What happened?”
“He said he fell while jumping down the stairs.”
“Oh geez....”
When Lee Han-seok grabbed his son’s head and shook it around, his son smiled brightly. Seeing him like that, it was impossible to get angry. He was just too energetic, it was a problem. Han-seok felt anxious every day, thinking that one day his son might really get into a serious accident.
Han-seok fell into thought for a moment.
“I’ll just go back to the office for a bit.”
Han-seok worked at a subsidiary of Ohsung Electronics. Not long ago, Ohsung Electronics gave all employees with children a Soul Link T as a gift.
He had left it on his desk and forgotten about it because of work.
All his coworkers were playing Arsilan Saga, but Han-seok and his wife were the type who didn’t like games. Still, it became such a big topic that they at least looked into it.
When he picked up the Soul Link T from work and came back home, his son ran up to him.
“Huh?”
“Jiu, guess what this is?”
Ta-da!
When he saw the Soul Link T, Jiu stared at Han-seok with an incredibly shocked expression.
“Wow! It’s a Soul Link!”
“You knew about it?”
“All my friends have one.”
“Then why didn’t you say anything? Didn’t you want one?”
Jiu shook his head.
“I like playing with Dad more.”
“Hahaha!”
Han-seok rubbed Jiu’s cheeks roughly. Kim Ji-hye let out a sigh, then let out a small laugh and started tickling Jiu relentlessly.
“You behave yourself while playing that, alright? No going outside for a while.”
At her firm words, Jiu nodded, took the Soul Link, and went into his room. Han-seok and his wife looked at each other and smiled.
“At least it’ll be quiet for a while, right?”
“Probably? Everyone’s obsessed with that thing these days. But, are you sure you don’t need to go back to work?”
“It’s fine.”
They didn’t let their guard down.
Even inside the house, Jiu was always causing some kind of trouble. But as time passed and things stayed quiet, they decided to go check his room. Jiu was lying calmly on his bed.
They nodded in sync.
“Yeah, I can see why people are so obsessed.”
“Right? Though now that it’s actually quiet, I feel kind of lonely....”
Han-seok and Ji-hye stared at Jiu for a long time before quietly stepping out of the room. They were able to spend time together watching a movie in peace for the first time in ages.
The next day.
Han-seok got up in the morning to go to work and came out of the bedroom. He felt great, like he’d had the best sleep in a while.
“Huh?”
He tilted his head at the sight of Ji-hye staring at Jiu with a horrified expression.
“Father, did you cough?”
"Cough! What?"
Jiu said that with a formal bow from the waist.
“Ji-Jiu?”
“Would it be alright if I begin preparing for school?”
“Y-Yeah, sure.”
Han-seok stared blankly as Jiu walked toward the bathroom. After washing up, Jiu calmly ate breakfast. The usual picky eating was completely gone.
On top of that, he waited to pick up his chopsticks until after his parents had started eating. Han-seok and Ji-hye just stared at him, dumbfounded.
After finishing his meal, Jiu got ready for school, even though he still had a cast on his arm, acting like it was nothing.
“Then, I’ll be off to school.”
“Y-Yeah.”
“Uh..., alright then.”
Han-seok and Ji-hye watched Jiu’s back as he left for school with blank expressions.
“Y-Yeah, this is definitely worth the hype.”
“R-Right....”
Han-seok quietly changed his smartphone wallpaper to a picture of the Creator God. A newfound sense of faith was welling up in him.
The next day.
When Han-seok came home from work, he was once again stunned.
“N-No way, Jiu is studying math?”
“If you complete your math homework and get it verified, they give you a Skill or something.”
“I see.”
After finishing his math homework, Jiu had it checked by Kim Ji-hye. When she signed off on it, he bowed politely and started memorizing English vocabulary.
Han-seok grabbed Kim Ji-hye’s hand tightly.
“Could our Jiu be a genius?”
“I don’t think it’s that..., I heard he met some foreign friend in the game? I think that’s why he’s acting like this.”
The two of them carefully approached Jiu.
“Jiu, want to go hang out with Dad? Ah! Didn’t you say you wanted to see Pororo? Wanna go to the movies?”
“I’m sorry, Father. I already have a prior engagement. I believe it’s only right to keep promises made first.”
“T-That’s..., a fair point.”
Lee Han-seok felt a pang of sadness, as if his son had suddenly grown up overnight. Jiu stood up and hugged both of them one by one.
He’s grown so well!
Kim Ji-hye’s eyes welled up with tears.
After finishing his studies, Jiu logged into Arsilan Saga.
“Hmm, should we try it too?”
“Shall we?”
“I think I get an employee discount too.”
The two of them grew curious about this thing called Arsilan Saga. The next day, they were able to get their hands on Soul Link devices right away. They both logged into Arsilan Saga.
“Ooh!”
“Wow....”
Just like every Hero who entered Arsilan for the first time, they were touched by the beautiful world of Arsilan, and they were completely hooked!
“Son, Dad is level 14 now. I even took down a Corrupted Goblin.”
“Wow! High level!”
When Jiu looked at him with sparkling eyes, Han-seok grinned widely.
And just like that, another Hero family was born.
* * *
The 2nd Anniversary event kept rolling out nonstop.
As more and more content Jinwoo hadn’t even mentioned continued to appear, the Heroes had no choice but to steadily consume it all.
The main event was the Undersea City.
The method to reach the Undersea City was discovered surprisingly quickly. While defeating monsters in Arsilan or the Labyrinth, a Rabbit Coupon would drop. It had a Horned Rabbit drawn on it.
When Heroes offered the Rabbit Coupon at the Goddess Statue in front of Solis, a Status Window popped up and a previously empty gauge began to fill.
“Rabbit and Undersea City....”
“Is this the Tale of the Rabbit? Byeoljubu-jeon? That one?”
“Seems like it.”
Korean Heroes immediately understood what it meant just from the rabbit and undersea city reference. A foreign Hero tilted their head and asked,
“What is that?”
“It’s a Korean folktale.”
“More accurately, a classic novel from the Joseon Dynasty.”
The Korean Heroes went on to explain the story of Byeoljubu-jeon.
“If we catch the Horned Rabbit, won’t a turtle show up to take us to the Undersea City?”
“That sounds the most plausible.”
Once the Rabbit Coupon gauge was filled, a summoning circle appeared in front of Solis, and a massive Horned Rabbit revealed itself. It was as big as a Giant.
[World Boss: Golden Horned Rabbit has appeared!]
When the Golden Horned Rabbit let out a roar, the ground cracked open and an army of Horned Rabbits emerged. The Heroes gathered in Solis and entered the World Boss Raid.
The Golden Horned Rabbit was powerful, worthy of being a World Boss.
However, the Heroes were under the effect of the Creator God's Brilliant Grand Blessing, so they continued to resurrect and steadily dealt damage to the Golden Horned Rabbit.
KIIIIIIIEEEK!
Unable to withstand the relentless attacks of the Heroes, the Golden Horned Rabbit turned to ash and vanished, leaving behind a glittering liver that shone like a jewel.
The liver was so large that it had to be carried by several Heroes working together.
[A] Golden Horned Rabbit's Liver
*If thrown into the sea, something unusual might occur.
The Heroes loaded the liver onto a train and moved to Hanu’s Sea. As the item description suggested, they threw the liver into the sea, and an anomaly occurred. The waves grew fierce, and the sky turned dark.
KWA-GA-GA-GANG!
A massive sea monster burst from the ocean and let out a roar.
It was so enormous it looked like an island. Its sharp tentacles squirmed as if clutching the sea itself, and the slime dripping from it was filled with terrifying barbs.
The razor-sharp tentacles grabbed the Golden Horned Rabbit’s liver and began tearing into it with huge fangs. This was the Kraken, a World Boss far beyond comparison with the Golden Horned Rabbit.
“...Uh.”
“Hey, is that the turtle?”
“Uh, well....”
The Heroes stared blankly, overwhelmed by the Kraken’s sheer presence.
[Ah.]
As if it had forgotten something, the Kraken suddenly jerked and reached into the sea with a tentacle, pulling something out. It was a hat shaped like a turtle’s shell.
After hurriedly placing it on its head, it twisted its tentacles again in a threatening posture.
KRA-RARA-RARA!
The Kraken roared and created a giant whirlpool in Hanu’s Sea. At the end of the whirlpool was the entrance to the Undersea City.
Having finished its task, the Kraken disappeared into the deep sea.
[The path to the Undersea City has opened!]
“Let’s gooo!”
“Damn! This is the Tale of the Rabbit!”
The Heroes began diving into the sea. Swept up by the whirlpool, they were pulled straight into the Undersea City.
Some of the Heroes were still dazed.
“Uh, this Tale of the Rabbit… it’s not originally like this, right?”
“…No.”
“Well, let’s go too.”
All the Heroes jumped into the sea.
Jinwoo, watching them from above, also moved to the Undersea City. As the Heroes arrived in the city, the Hero’s Flower bloomed, and Arsilan residents appeared.
“Wow!”
“Elves… it oddly fits.”
“Shall we start with the Quests?”
“There’s so many.”
The countless 2nd Anniversary Quests Jinwoo had prepared were waiting for the Heroes! Watching them, Jinwoo quietly exited the Undersea City.
He walked through the deep sea and arrived in front of a collapsed temple. It was a temple that had once been buried deep beneath desert sands. As Hanu’s Sea emerged and the sand vanished, it had revealed itself.
Jinwoo entered the temple. With a snap of his fingers, all the seawater inside was pushed out.
“It’s been a long time... since I’ve been here too.”
A half-tilted statue of Ella stood before him.
With her head bowed as if watching over Arsilan, the goddess statue looked incredibly divine.
This was the place where he first met Ella.
There was a time when Jinwoo missed Earth so much that he threw everything aside. He lived drowned in alcohol for a while, and one day, wandering aimlessly, he stumbled across this temple hidden among the bushes.
As he sat in the temple, sighing, Ella had approached him.
‘What are you doing here?’
‘Resting.’
‘Really? You smell like booze. Gimme some.’
‘What?’
‘It’s more fun to drink together, isn’t it?’
She had treated him like an old friend meeting again after a long time.
Jinwoo took out all the liquor he had stored in Subspace, and together, they drank all night.
‘By the way, I’m a goddess.’
‘So what? I’m a game developer.’
‘What’s that supposed to be?’
That was how he first met Ella.
Jinwoo reached out and pulled out Ella’s divine power.
The golden power was unstable. Too many pieces were missing; it looked like nothing more than fragments.
The Lord of Greed, who had given up ascension and fallen to the surface, would certainly be a tricky opponent, but Arsilan had over thirty million Heroes. All those Heroes were craving dopamine-fueled content.
He would offer the Lord of Greed to the Heroes and then find Ella.
“The Heroes will love you when they see you.”
If Ella returned to Arsilan, the Heroes might praise her even more than the Creator God.
Leon’s spot at the top could be in danger.
Jinwoo took out a bottle of alcohol from Subspace. He placed a cup in front of the goddess statue and poured a drink. Then he lightly tapped the cup with the bottle.
“I’m going to hold events like this every year, so let’s enjoy it together next time.”
He would make sure of it.
Jinwoo smiled faintly as he looked at Ella’s statue.
Alright, time to get back to work!
After Jinwoo left the temple, a faint light shimmered from within, and the liquid in the cup decreased slightly.
*****
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Chapter 126: What is Happiness (4)