◈ Episode 22. New Update

110 billion won.

No matter how many times I counted again, I was sure.

That astronomical number.

It’s money that will be deposited into my account if I just apply for it.

……I’m about to be scared of money for the first time in my life.

110 billion.

That’s how many times I’d have to win the lotto, that’s how much!

But even scarier than that.

The astronomical payout.

I was taking it for granted.

A salary that wasn’t bad for living on my own.

Still, I used to bleed money for all sorts of living expenses.

The hot and cold days of obsessing over air conditioner and boiler uptime.

Imagine if I was given 110 billion dollars.

First of all, insomnia is confirmed.

Every night, I wonder if my house will be burglarized, if my coworkers will find out, if my manager will find out, what if the banker will steal it.

I’m sure you’ve had sleepless nights worrying about it.

In that sense, it was a relief.

“He was the heir to a great family and had tasted the end of affluence.

He had an unusual sense of money.

Maybe it was the setting.

My head began to spin faster, not whiter.

“The most urgent need is armament.”

Yes, it is urgent.

From level 55 to level 134.

I’ve leveled up a lot, and a lot fast.

My current equipment items are honestly only one level of mana.

It’s like wearing a long coat in front of a high-level monster.

‘I need to use my head better…….’

Well, that was the problem again.

Let’s say you’ve tailored your items to match your rapidly increasing level.

What do I do the next time I level up?

Of course, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to level up as fast in the next rift.

But let’s be objective.

Even if I did, I’d only be level 134.

At my level, you can only level up by killing low-level demonic monsters, imps.

I wonder if it’s a good idea to get items for my current level.

For tens of millions of won, or hundreds of millions of won?

Absolutely not.

The question naturally follows.

Does that mean you’re not going to customize items?

You never know when you’re going to have to enter another life-threatening rift?

No, not even close.

I have an idea.

“Items that are more effective than their specs.

Why, rather than absolute stats like attack or defense.

Items that are valuable because of their effects.

‘Because there are items that have good effects regardless of level cap.

That’s what I needed right now.

Among them.

‘If only I had a little bit of magic regeneration…….’

A magic regeneration item!

I realized the importance of magic in this Count Ascura Rift.

Aside from the moments when I was in danger of running out of magic, there were many times when I was disappointed that I didn’t have enough magic.

In that sense, if I could supplement my magic regeneration, it would be great…….

‘I might be able to survive somehow.

Until I can get a decent high-level gear item.

Naturally, they’d be expensive……?

Back when Arcana was just a game.

Mage classes were treated as nobility.

Cool as hell.

Aside from being cool, they were also expensive to train.

Items related to magic regeneration were essential for such mages.

Now that Arcana is a reality.

Their value would only increase.

…… I’m sure there are dozens of billion sounds in my head.

Billions for a single item!

I can’t believe I’ll be the one buying them instead of selling them.

It’s something I never imagined.

My emotions were unmoved.

I sat down at the table.

My back straight and erect.

The occasional leisurely tilt of a teacup.

An item worth billions, maybe more.

You can’t shake Grandpell’s mind.

Even with 110 billion.

Even if the whole world is focused on me.

There’s no need to worry more than necessary.

Square.

An A4 sheet of paper filling up once again.

─Train your weakened body. (Repeat)

Run 20 kilometers (in progress)

1,000 push-ups (successful)

500 pull-ups (ongoing)

300 burpee tests (successful)

Repeatable quests that fill up.

It’s just a matter of doing the usual things.

It’s a terrible, terrible My Way.

Suddenly, I had a thought.

…… Did I really do this when I was in second grade?

But I quickly dismissed that thought.

Today’s shame is that my garage is overflowing with black history in front of my one and only nephew, Arang.

*.

Sometimes things are more valuable when they’re not revealed.

“What is it?”

That’s exactly where Ho-Yeol was at the moment.

The raid on Count Ascura with Jesse Hynes.

But the truth of the matter was not exactly clear.

Ho-Yeol and Jesse.

That was because the parties remained silent, as if they had made a pact.

“First, let’s watch the video.”

Koo-koo-kung!

A stone pillar rises from the ground.

An animated statue collapsing in front of Ho-yeol.

The identity of Ho-yeol.

There were many people who squinted their eyes to find out the class.

But it had to make sense.

The more they watched the video, the more mystified they became.

“First of all, it’s definitely alchemy.”

“Alchemy?”

“Yes. If you zoom in here……. You can see exactly how the rubble of the ruins turns into stone pillars. This is definitely alchemy……. But what also doesn’t make sense is how extreme the amount of magic required for alchemy is……. I mean, how high is the magic power…….”

“Excuse me, expert?”

Former Arcana operatives.

AAU wasn’t much different.

The Korean chapter of AAU.

Lately, Sung Hyun-joon felt like he had scabs on his ears.

Twitch.

Sitting at his desk in the office, he said to his senior.

“Seung, I’m really dying.”

“Why again?”

“Everywhere I look, I see Lee Ho-yeol. Lee Ho-yeol. I’m just going crazy……!”

Friends, cousins, even fathers and mothers.

They were inundated with inquiries about Lee Ho-yeol.

I could understand it.

Is this the first star player to emerge in a while?

Not since Gaon’s Nam Tae-min had South Korea had a player performed so well.

Why, even when you win a medal at the Olympics, it’s all you hear about for a while.

Ho-yeol was the real hero, not the medal, but the collapsed fissure, the catastrophe.

“I can’t help it. When I get home from work, they’ll be all over me. Dad, just keep it to yourself. I can’t go to school and tell them anything.”

“That’s what’s driving me crazy.”

“I mean, if I know something, I’ll tell you!”

They both stared at the line on the monitor at the same time.

What the hell is he talking about?

This skill?

The one that defeated Count Ascura!

Even they, the former Arcana operators, couldn’t guess Ho Yeol’s level, or even class.

Sung Hyun-jun shook his head in disbelief.

“The bigger problem is that I feel like I’m going to be tired in the future.”

Would it be nice if he answered nicely?

In a way, Ho Yeol’s interview was the cause of everything.

The harsh interview that has gotten almost as much buzz as Ho-yeol’s performance.

-It’s a concept.

-Do you see the expression? He’s just so confident.

-It’s not a crack, it’s like he’s on a runway.

-No, that’s a concept? Does he think it makes sense that he can conceptualize in front of a bunch of rankers?? That’s not cool.

“We’re dying to know, and we can’t even be honest about it…….”

From my days as an Arcana operator.

Ever since I was an employee of AAU.

Secrecy was an essential virtue.

Pretending not to know, pretending not to know.

As they say, half the battle is won by keeping quiet.

To avoid disrupting society with unnecessary words.

The good news is.

“This is the first time I’ve ever looked forward to Thursday.”

Today is Thursday.

There might be a new update.

If the new update was released, maybe the hype would die down a bit.

Then my hearing would be protected.

Sung couldn’t help but look forward to it.

“Go. Open……!”

His fervent prayers were answered.

A new update was announced on the Arcana homepage.

“It’s up!”

The AAU staff checked the update in unison.

Sung Hyun-joon also checked the status and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

“……I shouldn’t be happy, but I have to live!

Cracks are always a ticking time bomb.

But Ho-yeol’s presence, which came out of nowhere.

It was a disaster for his hearing and mental health.

Druk─

Sung chuckled as he spun the mouse wheel.

It was long.

It wasn’t just an update with a crack.

It was an update that was full of substance.

‘If this is the scale of the update…….

Wouldn’t the interest in Hoyeol fade a bit?

Sung thought so.

Unfortunately, he was mistaken.

Same time.

Players also noticed the new update.

“Wait, wait, wait. Is this true? This actually popped up?!”

“…… Guess we’ll have to see you again, huh?”

“I’ll just hold out for this update.”

“Ha. Just one more competitor.”

Competition.

Of course they were talking about the hype.

This is a big update.

No, for those who had played Arcana in the past, it was definitely an update that would make them excited just by checking its history.

“A new region is coming to your side.

We’re adding a new region, the Yusra Islands…….』

The Yusra Islands!

That was when Arcana was a game.

It was the island of rumors that had been spreading around Arkana.

Quests, treasure maps, and even NPCs.

The Yusra Islands were referred to as “treasure islands”.

It was said that everything that was born and grew there was of a treasure level that could not be compared to anything else in the world.

Players who received this information searched the continent for the treasure island.

But the Yusra Islands were not discovered until Arcana became a reality.

So I thought it was just a fantasy island that was passed down like a legend…….

“Are you giving me a bottle or something?”

Count Ascura asked.

It was an updated version of the Yusra Islands.

“All the monsters will be here. Really.”

How could Ranked and other high-level players leave such a treasure island alone?

Among them, the most prominent was Ho Yeol.

In other words, the interest in Ho-yeol grew and grew and never faded.

“This time, we’re going to be really formal……!”

In a good way.

“One disgrace is enough for the unification of a great nation.”

In a bad way.

The Yusra Islands.

An enclave that receives as much attention as its treasure island.

But the attention, the checks and balances, seem to have gone unnoticed.

It was the same as always.

The Yusra Islands.

Even when I checked its update history.

“…….”

The arrogant expression didn’t change.

.

.

.

The Yusra system?

What the hell is this place.

I sipped my tea, checking the update history.

‘I’ve been feeling it lately, but…….

A ten-year gap was definitely serious.

Why, not so long ago.

That dunce cap…….

No, just like I didn’t recognize Jesse Hynes.

The one who reduced Count Ascura to ashes.

I thought it was amazing when I saw the power of that skill.

She was a fourth-ranked player.

‘I told her to have manners…….’

Having manners is a basic part of being human.

She was preaching to the choir.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, I ended up getting a very polite introduction, and I…….

The atrocity came back to me.

I shamelessly said.

“Your new car isn’t so bad.”

You bet.

I mean, they’re 200 won green tea bags!

It became …….

Stop thinking about it.

This personality wasn’t going to change anyway.

Finding out that Jessie is a ranker.

It wouldn’t change my attitude toward her.

Of course, it wasn’t just her personality.

It wasn’t just personality.

A ten-year gap?

That’s the price of civilization.

A quick internet search was enough to make up for it.

“The Yusra system.

By the looks of it.

The key to this update was obvious.

I immediately popped up a green window and typed…….

“?”

I was about to type “Yusra Islands.

I froze.

The very end of the update history.

“…… is this?”

A single line of text caught my attention.