Chapter 79

-Is it true a dragon showed up in Thorn Bach?

-Yep. Screenshots are up.

-Holy shit... Isn't the field boss for this Monster Wave a basilisk? Why is the difficulty so insane only over there?

The news from Thorn Bach threw the community into utter chaos.

-An announcement from the Norn Raid Team. We are currently traveling from the Ashen Wastes to Thorn Bach.

-The Red Tower's mages are preparing as well.

-Red Bloom is recruiting mercenaries. Anyone interested in joining the dragon hunt...

But just as Woojin had planned, some saw an opportunity in the chaos.

-Holy shit... What's going on? All the top raid teams are gathering?

-Don't tell me the Phoenix Corps is coming too?

People began to grow excited at the unprecedented prospect of famous raid teams converging on Thorn Bach.

-Looking for a healer to go sightseeing in Thorn Bach. (No hunting.)

-Don't go as a mercenary and end up a meat shield! Just come see the dragon! Tank standing by!

The mood changed in an instant. Even people who hadn't dared consider going to Thorn Bach began taking an interest, one after another, under the pretext of sightseeing.

"There's a mass migration to Thorn Bach underway!"

"The advanced portals installed in the five great kingdoms have reached capacity! Even the regular portals have over ten thousand simultaneous users!"

"Estimated numbers exceed fifty million! Ethan reports that Thorn Bach may freeze!"

The administration team, too, was caught up in the unexpected commotion. One-sixth of the three hundred million concurrent players were flocking to Thorn Bach.

"Contact the technical team and bring as many servers online as possible! There's a battle going on. We absolutely cannot allow any lag!"

"Understood!"

"There could be mass casualties. Have a few administrators standing by in Thorn Bach in stealth mode!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Wow, Team Two is really in an uproar."

Amid the bustling office, a man leisurely prepared a cup of instant coffee mix and handed it to Go Juncheol. It was Baek Minhyeok, the leader of Administration Team One.

"... If you've got that much time on your hands, you could at least lend us some staff."

Go Juncheol rebuked the grinning man and all but snatched the cup from him.

"Haha, we're responsible for the Labyrinth Tower, remember? You might not realize it, but there are quite a few people inside the tower too. We can't exactly spare anyone."

"Looking at you, I'd think you were just slacking off."

"I'm the team leader."

"Team leader, my ass. What does that make me?"

"Isn't that just because you're so capable? That's surely why Ethan specifically entrusted field management to you."

"Enough flattery..."

Go Juncheol downed his coffee in one gulp.

"Anyway, a dragon appearing in a Monster Wave that wasn't even in the original plan... This must be because of the Dragon Lord quest, right?"

"Probably. Khan is in Thorn Bach."

Go Juncheol brought one of his open windows to the foreground. Reports of Khan's movements were continually coming in there.

"He crossed over to the central continent before he was even level 50. It looks like he was forced into a quest leading to the fairies' forest."

"The fairies' forest? Don't tell me... Is Ethan trying to start the second scenario?"

"I don't know yet. But now that the existence of the fairy race has been revealed after being hidden all this time, changes are definitely beginning to happen in the game."

The fairy race was one of the essential elements of the second scenario update, [The Resurgence of Uldin].

'As a rule, players decide whether to accept quests in Evil Tale. But forcing one on him without his consent...' Go Juncheol thought as he looked at the monitor.

"It seems Ethan has selected him as a Forerunner."

"I can't believe it. A player who's only just reached level 50..."

Forerunners.

Among the staggering total of 1.5 billion registered users, they were the ones [Ethan] had specifically deemed worthy of leading [Evil Tale]'s main scenario. For the sake of its planned scenario, [Ethan] would sometimes directly influence their gameplay.

"This is the third time a quest has been forced on someone, isn't it?"

"That's right."

The first had been Kerga. It was [Ethan] that had made him a conqueror of the Labyrinth Tower.

"Maybe Ethan chose him because of the second one. That person quitting the game did slow down the scenario's progress."

Go Juncheol nodded at Baek Minhyeok's words.

No one disputed that Kerga was now [Evil Tale]'s top player, but things had been different in the beginning. While Kerga was famous for his overwhelming dungeon clears, another player had made a name for himself by discovering hidden quests.

"Baal the Pathfinder."

He had discovered and completed such an enormous number of quests that it was no exaggeration to say he had written most of the quest guides currently known to the community.

But two years ago, Baal had abruptly quit the game. No one knew why. What was certain was that the pace of quest completion had slowed noticeably in his absence.

'He found the Hidden Spot in the Goblin Nest, and the shortcut in the Bloodstained Cave...'

It occurred to Go Juncheol that [Ethan] might have selected Khan to replace Baal.

"... We'll have to watch him."

This was not a welcome development for Go Juncheol. It would be disastrous if Khan brought the logout incident, which had only just died down, back into the spotlight. One wrong move could reveal that user data had been lost after [Blackout].

"Do you think... he can really subdue the Black Dragon?"

"Who knows? It's a problem if he does, and a problem if he doesn't... But Ethan set this in motion. All we can do is manage the servers."

"AI is great, but times like this are frustrating. We can only sit around twiddling our thumbs."

Go Juncheol tightly crushed the empty paper cup as he watched the monitor. Players were pouring into Thorn Bach. And there was Yujin, facing off against the Black Dragon.

"... We can't just sit around twiddling our thumbs."

He tossed the crumpled cup into the trash, speaking as though he had made up his mind.

* * *

"Hold on just a little longer!"

"Bring every trap in the village! We're setting them up below the walls!"

BOOM! BOOM!

Monsters swarmed through the breaches left in the walls by the Black Dragon's attacks. The collapsed walls were a danger, but the defenders were turning those gaps to their advantage, using them as kill zones to slaughter the monsters.

A thunderous cheer suddenly rose from the rear.

"The raid teams are here!"

The defenders began cheering as they recognized the emblems on the flags.

The journey should have taken well over half a day, but they had arrived in Thorn Bach in less than a few hours by using advanced portals reserved for the kingdoms' high-ranking figures rather than regular ones.

"Look! The Norn Raid Team is leading the way!"

Only those with the king's permission could use advanced portals. Receiving that permission was itself proof of exceptional ability.

CRAAASH!

Ten players in matching golden armor raced toward the village, sweeping aside orcs and lizardmen in an instant. They certainly lived up to their reputation as the team tackling the seventh floor, second only to the [Phoenix Corps] in progress.

BOOOM!

On the other side, monsters were being ripped to shreds like sheets of paper and scattered in every direction.

"Jin Horyun from Red Bloom is here too!"

The blue aura surrounding the fists of the hidden-class [Monk] flared across the battlefield.

RUMBLE...!

At the same time, the ground shook as though an earthquake had struck, and sharp pillars erupted from the splitting earth.

["... Gack! Gack!"]

["Kraaagh!"]

Monsters screamed as the rising stone pillars impaled them.

"Wow..."

"So many at once..."

Dumbstruck by large-scale magic unlike anything they had ever seen, the onlookers stared at its caster.

Then there were the Red Tower's mages. One figure among those red-robed ranks drew everyone's attention.

"I-isn't that Suzuki Hana?!"

"No way!"

"The Red Witch came to Thorn Bach!"

Her arrival sent the crowd into a frenzy.

"We can win!"

"Let's kill the dragon!"

With their arrival, all the monsters except the Black Dragon were wiped out in an instant. People thrust their weapons high into the air, their fighting spirit blazing.

BOOOM!

Their excitement was short-lived. The Black Dragon's enormous foot came down on the cheering crowd.

"Aaagh...!"

"S-save me!"

WHOOOOSH!

As if making a show of it, the Black Dragon unleashed its breath on the screaming people. The blast burned down half the village. Hundreds of people caught within it vanished without a trace.

"... That's incredibly powerful."

"It looks even stronger than the Grade Three large-scale spell, 'Hellfire.'"

The Red Tower's mages clicked their tongues in astonishment at the breath that had swept through the area.

"Of course it is. It is a dragon, after all."

Unlike the others bustling about, Suzuki Hana spoke calmly.

"First, determine the Black Dragon's element. There's no need for us to move first. Those guys will handle the physical work anyway."

"Understood."

"Find somewhere to activate the magic circle. No matter what happens, we'll be the ones to finish the Black Dragon off."

"Yes!"

She bit her lip as she watched the Black Dragon.

'The Phoenix Corps kept failing, then suddenly cleared the tenth floor. Serin must have gotten that Dragon Mana Stone that went up for auction.'

Because mages were key to clearing the tenth floor, the Red Tower had been preparing to tackle it as well. But the unexpected appearance of the Dragon Mana Stone had jeopardized not only their chances of clearing the floor, but even her position as the top-ranked mage.

Then she had heard that a Black Dragon had appeared in Thorn Bach, and felt that an opportunity had come her way. She had only one goal.

'Naturally, a Dragon Heart would be better than a Dragon Mana Stone.'

But they weren't the only ones waiting to see how things unfolded.

'Going first will only get us killed. We have to wait until its health drops.'

'Who's going to make the first move?'

They exchanged wary glances, trying to read one another's thoughts. Ultimately, they meant to pressure someone else into going first.

'It'll have to be the Norn Raid Team. They're the strongest team here.'

'Even if they don't want to, they'll have to save face.'

'Move. Come on... Move.'

'Hmph. They want to use us as cannon fodder. Why should we do them a favor?'

With the Black Dragon before them, no one dared make a rash move.

TAP.