The Ruined World Was Mistaken for a Game-Chapter 141: Turning Point (2)

The Ruined World Was Mistaken for a Game-Chapter 141: Turning Point (2)

Translator: Dreamscribe
Arsilan was in mourning.
The days spent recklessly charging through the Empire of Evil, enjoying happiness and pleasure, now felt foolish. The repeated clues leading to happy ending routes stabbed roughly at the hearts of the Heroes.
They had been too focused on battle and conquest to look around.
The collapsed Grand Temple of Ella, dungeons hiding numerous untold stories, and various arrangements whose nature was still unknown were discovered far too easily. It was practically as if they had been spoon-fed, urging them to find these things quickly.
Especially, the clues discovered beneath the occupied city tore at the Heroes’ hearts. It was because they contained detailed instructions on how to make the Power of Darkness entirely one’s own.
And that wasn’t all.
Leon was on the verge of death.
Even the high-ranking Cleric of Arsilan and the Saintess Airi came to heal Leon’s wounds, but it was no use. The Erosion deeply embedded in the wound was so powerful that even large-scale Sacred Techniques were ignored. According to Saintess Airi, unless the Lord of Greed was eliminated, he would not last long and would eventually lose his life.
Leon was someone incredibly special and precious to the Heroes. He wasn’t just a simple character. Since Early Access, he had created history with the Heroes, building countless memories and beautiful experiences. Arsilan Saga without Leon was unimaginable.
The overall atmosphere of Arsilan had darkened, and the rage toward the Lord of Greed only continued to grow.
Arsilan Saga now had a massive impact in reality as well. Especially in South Korea, Arsilan Saga was part of mainstream culture. Not playing Arsilan Saga seemed strange.
In such circumstances, even the atmosphere in ordinary company offices had changed.
First of all, people suppressed their anger and passionately engaged in company work.
Unless there was something special, everyone got up from their seats as soon as it was time to leave work.
“Alright! Let’s clock out quickly. Things will probably get busy, so let’s all hang in there.”
“Then, I’ll be heading out.”
“Let’s all do our best!”
“We have to work even harder over the weekend.”
People now shouted ‘fighting’ more often at clock-out time than during work hours!
Thanks to FS Games and Arsilan Saga, South Korea’s economy was hitting new peaks daily. The various high-tech industries driven by Jinwoo created countless jobs, and the technological gap with other countries was so vast it couldn’t even be imitated, resulting in a complete monopoly.
Taking leave due to Arsilan Saga events had become an accepted cultural norm. There were even instances where people would cram work into the weeks leading up to a Sealing Day.
A slightly early clock-out time.
Subways and buses were crowded with office workers. Many of them were wearing Soul Glasses. They were waiting for the subway while reading posts from Arsilan Worlds with serious expressions.
“Ah! Assistant Manager Kim, thanks for the birthday gift.”
“Was it okay? I heard it’s a new product.”
“Yeah, just eating one of them meets all your daily nutritional needs. And it doesn’t even taste bad.”
It was now rare to see overweight people among office workers. The nutritional blocks sold on the market were taking care of their bodies, and they could indulge freely in binge eating inside Arsilan Saga. As a result, real-world restaurants took a hit, but quickly adapted by opening shops in Marogo, Solis, and other towns.
For restaurants, receiving a paid permit allowed them to generate revenue, so profits were actually increasing compared to before. And rightly so, there were already 30 million customers, and it was a market that could expand to hundreds of millions. There was even a saying that one could make a good living in Arsilan just by selling fish-shaped bread.
That’s how precious Arsilan had become.
It had become the foundation of life and a second reality. Therefore, any threat to Arsilan was no different from a sworn enemy.
Office workers who got off the subway returned home with solemn expressions. When they ran into neighbors in the elevator, they greeted each other and talked about Arsilan Saga.
“I want to kill that asshole as soon as possible.”
“Right? I was so pissed all day I couldn’t even focus on work.”
“Tonight, I’m going to search the southern city more.”
“I’m planning to check out the mines.”
Communication between neighbors had become more active than in the past. Since people interacted daily with Heroes in Arsilan Saga, they had developed real-life social skills. Even when meeting someone for the first time, making eye contact and having a conversation no longer felt awkward.
It was the same in other countries where Arsilan Saga was serviced.
And so, the Heroes logged into Arsilan Saga with anger in their hearts.
Arsilan was filled with sorrow and rage, but Jinwoo, who had orchestrated the situation, smiled in satisfaction as he watched the number of logins rise.
“We’ll hit forty million soon.”
The Soul Link continued its sold-out streak. A next-generation Soul Link that could handle both nutrient infusion and waste elimination was also planned for release. It even periodically stimulated muscles with electric pulses to minimize muscle loss. It allowed users to enjoy the game continuously for up to a week without waking.
Jinwoo looked toward the capital of the Empire.
From the fully sealed capital, a massive presence could be felt. The Lord of Greed was nearing completion in his preparations to descend upon the surface.
Even though the path to the Empire’s capital had opened, the Heroes had not yet departed. The Lord of Greed, who had toyed with Mary and the Empress, was on a completely different level. He was so meticulous that he even used the Heroes’ invasion to craft a tragic stage.
Charging in recklessly would only guarantee defeat, so they all agreed to comb through clues and prepare thoroughly.
“Well then…”
Let’s begin.
It was time to seriously move the story forward.
Jinwoo, in the form of Comfortable, moved to the Romance Domain. Restoration work was in full swing. Since paid buildings were preserved in the domain inventory, they could be reinstalled immediately, but ground clearing and debris removal still required effort.
The contaminated oasis also had to be purified.
Erosion could not be purified through ordinary means, and required high-level Sacred Techniques. Since using high-level Sacred Techniques required a second class advancement, purification fell to Jinwoo. Since it was all fake anyway, he only had to pretend.
“The oasis has been purified!”
“Thank goodness.”
“Now it finally feels like the Romance Domain again!”
Heroes who had been wearing sad expressions were able to smile again after a long time. The Romance Heroes jumped into the oasis. UruBear, who dove deep, discovered something at the bottom.
UruBear: There’s something at the bottom of the oasis?
Haebyul: Huh?
He immediately sent a message to Haebyul.
Since Romance Heroes were currently absorbed in searching for clues, even the smallest detail could not be ignored.
Haebyul also immediately entered the oasis and inspected the bottom. She spotted something slightly protruding. She quickly called other Romance Heroes and began digging into the floor.
A tightly sealed, worn-out chest emerged. The Romance Heroes brought the old chest out of the oasis.
“What could this be?”
-Is it a treasure chest? But it looks too shabby for that.
-It was under the oasis…?
-Could it be a new clue?
Haebyul tilted her head as she looked at the old chest. It was sealed so tightly it couldn’t be opened. Haebyul pulled out an Appraisal Scroll and used it on the old chest.
[???] A relic left by someone
Tightly sealed.
Haebyul shared the information window with those nearby. The Romance Heroes did their best to break the seal on the chest, but it didn’t budge.
“Hmm, it won’t open.”
“This clearly isn’t an ordinary item.”
“A relic….”
Hearing the rumors, more and more Heroes began to gather around the chest. Jinwoo, watching the situation, walked over to them.
“What’s that?”
“Ah! Bishop Comfortable-nim, we found it at the bottom of the oasis. It looks like a relic chest, but it’s sealed and won’t open.”
Jinwoo nodded at Haebyul’s words and approached the worn-out chest. The chest had been tainted by Erosion, and its surface was dirty.
“I’ll try using a purification Sacred Technique.”
When Jinwoo used the purification Sacred Technique, the surface of the chest became clean. Symbols were engraved on the chest’s surface.
“Huh? These symbols… I think I saw them at the temple before….”
Haebyul recognized the symbol engraved on the chest. It was a symbol seen at Ella’s Grand Temple. However, she didn’t know exactly what it meant.
Not only the Romance Heroes, but all the Heroes who had gathered around turned their eyes to Jinwoo. To undergo a second class advancement, one had to pass difficult theory and practical exams at the Grand Temple. That’s why the Heroes assumed Jinwoo would know well about the symbol.
Jinwoo pretended to be lost in thought, then opened his mouth at the right moment.
“It is a symbol representing Ella’s Spear.”
“Ella’s Spear?”
-I think I’ve heard of that before.
-There was a picture of it at the Grand Temple too.
Haebyul tilted her head as if she had no idea. Among the Heroes watching through the broadcast, a few seemed to recognize it.
The high-ranking Clerics at the Grand Temple were also diligently scattering clues and hints just as Jinwoo had intended.
“It’s a story recorded even in the Sacred Text.”
Jinwoo took out the Sacred Text and opened it.
Then he looked up at the moon. All the Heroes followed Jinwoo and looked up. Even in broad daylight, the broken moon could be seen.
“Long ago, when Ella-nim was on the surface, there was an Archmage who carried out her will. It is said that he had mastered all magic and was the first being to be personally given the title of Archmage and a symbol by Ella-nim.”
“Ooh!”
“Archmage…!”
“I’ve heard of that too!”
As Jinwoo began his story, the Heroes listened with eager expressions.
“When Erosion appeared in Arsilan, the Archmage shattered the moon floating in the sky and brought it down to the surface to buy time.”
“So that’s why the moon is broken like that?”
“That’s an insane scale.”
“Ah! Leon-nim also brought down the moon!”
Jinwoo nodded.
“The Sacred Technique used by Leon-nim probably originated from the Archmage. It is written that he was not only a master of magic but also actively involved in the study of Sacred Techniques, creating many beneficial Sacred Techniques for Arsilan alongside Ella-nim.”
“Romance is insane!”
“Kuhh!”
Jinwoo closed the Sacred Text and returned it to his inventory.
It was about time to offer a bit of hope.
Jinwoo pretended to examine the worn-out chest, then placed his hand over the symbol.
“If Sacred Power related to Ella’s Spear is infused…”
Murmuring so, he activated a Sacred Technique.
Flash!
A bright light burst forth and infused into the symbol. As the symbol rotated, a clicking sound came from the worn-out chest.
“It opened!”
“It’s open!”
-Oooooh!
-Great Comfortable!
-As expected of Bishop Comfortable-nim, the only light of the Romance Domain.
-What will come out of it?
All eyes were on the chest. Jinwoo slowly opened it. Inside were a map and a key. When Comfortable opened the map, it was automatically entered into the maps of all nearby Heroes.
[The location of the ‘Archmage’s Research Lab’ is now marked.]
The Archmage’s Research Lab appeared on the map window of each Hero. When they checked the map, it wasn’t far from here.
“If it’s that Archmage…”
“He might know a way!”
“Ugh! I should’ve looked around more!”
The expressions of the Heroes brightened.
They had been stuck in such a frustrating situation, but now it felt like things were starting to unravel.
The Archmage who brought down the moon to resist Erosion.
If it were someone like that, wouldn’t he have left behind a countermeasure against the Lord of Greed? A glimmer of hope that could turn the tide appeared.
“Let’s hurry!”
“Let’s go!”
“I’ll post it on Arsilan Worlds!”
-Whatever works! I just want a way to kill that greedy bastard.
-If that’s true, I have no more wishes left.
-Lately I feel like I’m going insane from all the rage.
The eyes of the Heroes regained their spark. Jinwoo smiled at the sight, nodded, and headed toward the Archmage’s Research Lab with the Heroes.
After half a day of riding their mounts, a cliff came into view. The map indicated that the Archmage’s Research Lab was located on this cliff.
“This should be the place…”
“There doesn’t seem to be anything special though?”
The Heroes went ahead and checked the map. They tried scanning it with magic and even knocked on it, but it was just an ordinary cliff.
Flash!
When Jinwoo took out the key he had obtained from the worn-out chest, light burst forth and a door appeared. It was a door engraved with the symbols of the Goddess Ella and the Archmage, side by side.
Bathed in the warm light emanating from the symbols, the Heroes fell silent for a moment and simply stared at the light. It felt as though the light was comforting their sorrow.
‘It’s a little embarrassing, though….’
It was, in fact, the very symbol that Ella had personally drawn and transferred.
He recalled an old memory.
When Jinwoo became the Archmage, she had created a symbol to represent the Archmage. Ella had called Jinwoo to the Grand Temple and engraved the symbol onto a large wall.
‘This is my symbol? Feels a bit awkward, though?’
‘Look carefully! If you combine it with mine like this…!’
As Ella reached out her hand, her symbol and the Archmage’s symbol merged into one. A symbol that contained stars, the moon, and the sun. It was imbued with all colors, including a golden hue.
‘Ta-da!’
Ella spread her arms and looked at Jinwoo.
Magic contained all the colors found on the surface. It was a power that could freely manipulate the laws of all things. However, the radiant golden light that Ella possessed couldn’t be imitated. Even when trying to reproduce it with magic, it would only result in an ordinary gold color.
But now, as the two symbols merged, all the colors of Arsilan flowed out.
To Jinwoo, it looked overly extravagant.
‘This is way too flashy.’
‘…Really? Then I’ll change it to something else.’
Ella, looking disappointed, pouted her lips at Jinwoo’s reaction. Jinwoo chuckled and shook his head.
‘No, that’s why I like it.’
‘Right? It’s nice, isn’t it?’
The smile she showed him then was more beautiful than any light in the world.
As Jinwoo approached, the two symbols merged into one and emitted a beautiful light.
Light that could not be seen on Earth.
Colors of another dimension, invisible to the human eye, spread before the Heroes.
“Wow!”
“Whoa!”
-This is insane…!
-Never seen anything like this.
-So colors like this existed too.
Overwhelmed by the never-before-seen colors, the Heroes were left speechless.
This was the world as seen by the Archmage. Jinwoo was showing the Heroes a brief glimpse of that vision.
At the point where the two symbols merged, a keyhole appeared. Jinwoo stepped forward and inserted the key, and as the light faded, the door opened.
Screeech!
The moment the door opened, the cliff vanished like a mirage, and the Archmage’s Research Lab revealed itself. There was a modest garden and a small cabin.
Jinwoo and the Heroes crossed the garden and entered the cabin.
At first, the interior looked like any ordinary cabin.
There was a bookshelf, and a cozy kitchen. Once all the Heroes had entered, the door closed automatically. At that moment, the door disappeared, and space was torn open lengthwise both forward and backward.
Flash!
The ordinary scenery they had just seen shattered like glass and vanished. In its place appeared an enormous corridor that stretched endlessly in both directions.
“Oh, ooh!”
“I can’t see the end!”
Massive bookshelves filled with books lined both sides of the infinite corridor like fortress walls, and in between, statues were placed at intervals. The Heroes looked up toward the ceiling. It extended upward like a mirrored sky with no end.
-Whoa!
-As expected of the Archmage…!
-What kind of production is this?
-Something new keeps popping up.
“Shall we move forward for now?”
At Haebyul’s suggestion, the Heroes nodded and began walking down the corridor. As they did, a golem kneeling on the ground appeared. It had multiple arms and was asleep among the fallen books.
“W-wow, this golem is infused with advanced magic engineering!”
HandGenius excitedly examined the golem. When he pressed the switch on its back, the compartment opened and an empty Magic Stone slid out. HandGenius nodded and took out a small Magic Stone from his inventory.
“The battery’s dead. If I replace it with this, it should move.”
After replacing the Magic Stone and inserting it into the golem, the sound of machinery whirring inside could be heard.
Click-clack!
A blue light shone from the golem’s eyes as it began to move. The many arms attached to the golem reached out, picked up the books scattered on the floor, extended smoothly, and neatly returned them to the shelves.
[Oh! Greetings! I am Haroron, the Archmage’s butler.]
The golem greeted them politely.
With its elongated body and sleek design, such a greeting suited it quite well.
[You are… Oh! Heroes! Just as my master foretold, Heroes have appeared in Arsilan!]
“You know us?”
Haebyul asked, and Haroron spread its arms and nodded.
[Before my master entered eternal rest, he completed the Hero Summoning Circle together with Ella-nim. He prophesied that one day, Heroes would come to this place to save souls tainted by Erosion.]
Haroron’s arms extended and retrieved books from the shelves. Haroron was actually Hallon in disguise.
Jinwoo had created this special role just for him. Hallon seemed to have put in tremendous effort, as his acting was outstanding. Even as a golem with no facial expressions, he conveyed a wide range of emotions through gestures and voice.
[Heroes! You have come to rescue the young soul bound by the Lord of Greed! I once heard a rumor that the Lord of Greed was up to something vile with a young soul possessing immense potential!]
Young soul.
He was clearly referring to Mary.
The Heroes’ expressions grew darker as they listened to Haroron’s words.
[Haha! But do not worry. My master knew the Lord of Greed better than anyone. He has already prepared a solution. If you gather the materials I will now list, and cast both magic and sacred techniques simultaneously, the soul bound by the Lord of Greed will be liberated. She may even join Arsilan’s side.]
“Ah….”
“Hmm….”
The Heroes exchanged hesitant glances.
Haroron continued speaking without pause.
[The Lord of Greed is likely feeding on the suffering of the young soul to build his strength. But if you forcefully sever the connection with her and absorb the energy in reverse, even the Lord of Greed will not escape unscathed! Hahaha! Heroes! You’ve come just as the master planned! I will now tell you everything. Take notes.]
All the Heroes realized it at the same time.
The quest progression had gone off track.
-So the happy ending route is getting Mary on our side?
-We could have fought alongside a stronger Mary by absorbing the energy in reverse…
-Damn it… we should’ve come here earlier!
-Mary… we’re so sorry….
The chat was flooded with despair and regret.
“Um…, the…, the young soul is a girl named Mary. The thing is….”
Haebyul stepped forward as the representative and explained everything that had happened so far. Haroron froze as he listened to Haebyul’s explanation.
[So not only the Princess of Erosion, but even her sister, the Empress, had their pain absorbed as well?]
“Yes. That’s what it looks like.”
Haebyul and the Heroes nodded.
[Then….]
The Heroes all looked at Haroron with expectant eyes. Would he perhaps give them a solution? After all, he was the Archmage’s secretary. Surely he would possess great wisdom.
Haroron remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.
[We’re screwed.]
It did indeed seem to be that kind of situation.

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Chapter 141: Turning Point (2)