The Ruined World Was Mistaken for a Game-Chapter 22.2: Leon (3)
Translator: Dreamscribe
After his debut on Haebyul’s stream, Jinwoo began moving busily. Taking on the role of Leon, he roamed around helping players.
“Hero nim, allow me to help you.”
“T-Thank you!”
He assisted with hunting.
“Excellent. To collect so many herbs, even the top herbalists in Evanth would struggle with that. As expected of you, Hero nim.”
“H-Hehe!”
“Ah! I think I saw a rare herb over there.”
If a player was on a quest, he complimented them or pointed out good locations.
He also helped for long periods with difficult tasks like construction, cleaning, and carrying loads.
“Um, Leon nim. Aren’t you tired from helping so much?”
“Compared to your devotion to Arsilan, Hero nim, this is nothing.”
“Ah....”
The player was so touched that their eyes welled with tears.
Jinwoo even gave away potions and herbs without receiving anything in return, some of which were worth quite a bit at Evanth’s shops.
“I-Is it really okay for you to share this much, Leon nim? Don’t you lose something by doing this?”
“Just the fact that you, Hero nim, have chosen to stay in Arsilan is more than enough. Thank you. Your warm words give me great strength.”
“Ah....”
The player who asked the question lowered their head and shed hot tears.
Just as planned.
Jinwoo simply smiled as he watched the scene unfold.
All of it was to build a favorable image and become someone deeply rooted in the hearts of Heroes.
Sightings of Leon frequently popped up on social media and online communities.
One of them even made it to the top of the best posts.
[Title: I'm a loser who was lucky enough to buy Soul Link....]
I used to be heavily bullied. All I got from it was scars, not friends.
I've been holed up in my room for a long time.
I thought I might change if I came to Arsilan, so I had high expectations. Actually, the reason I bought Soul Link right away was just because that was my dream.
Like one of those stories where you get transported to another world....
I just really hated myself.
I took out an emergency loan, thinking this might be my last chance.
Even if it was a scam... I guess I had given up.
But when I actually arrived, it was just like real life. I couldn’t even talk to people. I just wandered around the Evanth area alone.
It really wasn't easy.
I was on the verge of giving up, when Leon nim approached me and spoke first.
(Attached Photo: Leon nim)
I don’t know why, but the moment I heard Leon nim’s voice, I just burst into tears and cried my heart out. He listened seriously the whole time.
Honestly, it was the first time I had a real conversation with someone in three years ㅋㅋ
I went hunting with Leon nim and we took down a Spiked Boar in an hour ㄷㄷ. He praised me, said it was a ranked monster level ㅋㅋㅋ
I didn’t know doing something with someone else could feel so good.
(Attached Photo: With Leon nim)
Feels like I’ve made my first friend in life.
Today, I talked to my mom for the first time in five years.
I used to be terrified of leaving my room, but I thought of Leon nim.
When Leon nim calls me a Hero, it makes me want to be brave.
When I opened the door, my mom was crying and I felt so sorry.
What hurt most was hearing her blame herself.
But I’m a Hero now, after all.
I need to find a daytime job and start paying off that loan!
Newbies will be joining soon, so I’ll work hard in Arsilan too and take care of Heroes like me.
Wouldn’t Leon nim have done that?
Just thinking that helped me endure, and now I feel a bit better.
Leon nim is pure light.
The light that came into my life.
Thanks for listening to this loser’s story.
Anonymous1: Good job, kid! You’re a Hero now. Quit crying and go kill some Goblins. Shit’s hard. Hurry up and join us ASAP.
Anonymous2: If you can beat up monsters in Arsilan, what's scary? I used to tremble at the sight of my team leader, but now, no matter how much shit he pulls, I don’t even flinch ㅋㅋ
Anonymous3: What’s it like seeing Leon nim in person? I heard some people faint on the spot.
└Anonymous6: I saw him the other day and froze for ten seconds. Couldn’t say a word.
Anonymous4: I got help from him too. He taught me an advanced sword skill. Said I could learn it if I practiced in Evanth.
Anonymous5: Shut up and post more pictures of Leon nim. Hurry! It’s urgent!
Just light.
Leon was known simply as light.
He was currently the hottest figure around. A fan café had formed, and its membership was steadily growing. Amid this craze, someone asked this on social media:
[Baek Mansik]
Isn’t Leon just a character?
*Dislikes: 1,203,222
Arsilan Saga was a game, and Leon was an NPC. So calling him a character was technically correct. But Leon’s rapidly growing fanbase hated that description. Posts like that would get bombarded with “dislikes” and would eventually be deleted.
That was only the beginning.
“Leon nim is not just a character. He’s real!”
“Do not insult Leon nim!”
“Guarantee Leon nim’s human rights!”
“Grant Leon nim honorary Korean citizenship!”
The Real Leon Movement.
That kind of movement was even taking place on social media!
As Leon’s videos and photos spread through YouTube and social media, even people who weren’t interested in games began to take great interest.
Those who were into subculture likely had, at least once, wished for a character to come to life and move on their own. And Leon became the first being to actually fulfill that wish.
“Hmm....”
Leon, or rather Jinwoo, who was called the light by players and whose popularity was skyrocketing, was working on corrupted goblins in a secret base under Evanth Village.
The secret base, recently completed, was connected to the Magic Tower and also had a rest area for NPCs. There was a Teleportation Magic Circle linked to Rainsword, allowing instant travel to and from Rainsword. In addition, various effects could be added throughout Evanth.
It could be thought of like a staff room.
It was welfare for NPCs!
They were even provided black robes, which had stealth magic cast on them. Those wearing the black robes could recognize each other, but to players without one, they were almost impossible to detect.
When they gathered at the secret base in black robes, it looked like some sinister conspiracy was unfolding.
Anyway, Jinwoo was, together with Tiris, linking corrupted Goblins, whose connection to the Erosion Core had been severed, back to the Magic Tower.
‘If Goblins show up more frequently, the subjugation force will form faster.’
The idea was to control corrupted Goblins to naturally stir up public opinion for subjugation by posing a threat to players. The experience gained from this subjugation would certainly be a valuable asset.
Beep!
The severed connection to the Erosion Core was now linked to the Magic Tower. Tiris and the magic developers confirmed the connection status.
Jinwoo looked at Tiris.
“How is it?”
“It’s fully connected. We can now control them in detail from this side.”
While managing more than a thousand at once was too much due to the Magic Tower’s computational load and magic capacity, he could freely issue commands.
As Jinwoo stretched out his hand, a command interface appeared.
The interface was written in the language of the Magic Tower and was quite complex. Nostalgic, Jinwoo fiddled with it and ended up transforming it into a game pad format.
‘Should I make more?’
The chronic affliction of a Archmage subtly began to surface.
Jinwoo pulled together only the best features from various game pads.
An illusion-magic-infused adaptive trigger would provide a thrilling tactile sensation, and the speaker that connected directly to the user’s ear gave an immersive feel.
Thanks to ergonomic design and light weight, it could be used all day without tiring the hands.
It even came with a holographic display!
It automatically adjusted from 10 inches to 120 inches.
If this were released on Earth, it would have been wildly popular.
‘Game pads are now relics of a bygone era.’
That is, before Arsilan Saga came out.
Such game pads wouldn’t be used anymore.
Holding the game pad brought back wistful memories of staying up all night playing console games.
Tiris looked at the game pad and nodded.
“It’s a highly intuitive command tool. Since the Magic Tower supports detailed movement, there should be no problem.”
“I just made it for fun. Who’d actually use this to control anything?”
Jinwoo chuckled and was about to discard the game pad.
He had intended to issue commands through the Magic Tower anyway, there was no need for such a hassle.
“That looks interesting.”
Tia approached from behind, staring at the game pad with a curious expression. Not only Tia, but Hallon and even Baron Hasman were there too.
*****
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Chapter 22.2: Leon (3)
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