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'The Soul of Hydragon, no way!'
Names, engraved clearly into my eyes.
I can't tear my gaze away from the rewards floating in the air.
『Soul of Hydragon (Raid)
You can summon and command Hydragon (Lv5).
Hidden trait – can be enhanced through 'Beast Lord'』
First, the soul of a raid boss monster.
I'd only known it existed, this was my first time seeing one in person.
A treasure that had never dropped even once, despite being hunted over a thousand times.
A top-grade artifact that lets you summon Hydragon with a soul-imbued stone!
A raid boss monster's 'soul' is a treasure with the most brutal drop rate, you can ride it, or summon it to help you fight, but because it's so rare, there weren't even any listings.
'Only one dropped in five years since release.'
And among them, the Soul of Hydragon was rarer than any other raid boss soul, only a single one had ever appeared, three years ago, that was it.
Even then, all we had was a photo snapped and a vague mention on the community, the player was someone nobody knew, and I'd never seen that character either.
'People only spread rumors it had to be a GM.'
In a way, this soul was harder to obtain than a one-of-a-kind item.
I was overwhelmed, normally I'd have posted on the community and pinned it for proof first.
And it can even be enhanced by a hidden trait, icing on the cake, my whole body felt like it was buzzing with electricity.
'And on top of that, Michella's Sword.'
That wasn't all.
A gigantic greatsword, a blade that looked like it would easily weigh over 10kg, was shining brilliantly.
『Michella's Sword (Raid)(Set)
The sword of the giant knight Michella, the one who killed the first Hydragon, Hydragon's curse and Michella's soul dwell in it.
Required stats to use – Strength 20 or higher
When used by one who knows honor, 'Michella's Strength (STR +3)' activates.
If you gather three pieces of Michella's equipment, you can use 'Celestial Dragon'.』
There wasn't a better sword for pushing through the early game.
Especially for sword users, it was the best cost-performance weapon, since stat-boosting gear usually piles up only after mid-game.
It even had a set option.
'Celestial Dragon', usable once you collect the sword, armor, and helmet, is a transformation skill, dragon wings sprout from your back, letting you fly through the sky for a long time.
'To skip that garbage stretch, the Michella set is mandatory, it's just that getting it early is like plucking stars from the sky....'
A certain quest segment that demands insane grinding, hidden dungeons, hidden quests, what helps you find all of that is Celestial Dragon.
But this too is like plucking stars from the sky, it won't activate unless you gather the sword, armor, and helmet, and the drop rates are filthy low.
And Michella's Sword is the hardest part of all, I'd gotten lucky.
'But what is that Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule?'
The two above were items I knew well.
But that thing, that golden coin, I'd never seen it before.
『Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule (???)
A Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule.
Enables 'synchronization' between reality and Pangaenia, On/Off available (remaining time 24 hours).
Can be used at the 'Golden Rule Shop'.』
Every bit of it was new, "Golden Rule", a "Golden Rule Shop", I'd never even heard of either.
More than anything, synchronization with reality?
"Holy...?"
The Snake Princess, hearing my dying words, frowned.
"...Not holy, Snake Princess Isabella."
I hurriedly gathered myself.
Snake Princess Isabella von Dersian.
She glanced at me with a strange look for a moment, then spoke to the White Captain.
"Escort him."
"Pardon? B-but Your Highness said to kill them all..."
"He is a VIP, you will attend him with utmost respect."
***
Faisalmer, the great desert city.
A world of absolute monarchy ruled by the Queen!
There, I became a VIP out of nowhere, and rented an entire luxurious palace for myself.
'To think the character I raised became the number two of Faisalmer.'
Standing in the palace, looking out, I sank into thought.
What I learned on the way here was that Isabella too was the real power among real powers in Faisalmer, I could tell the moment I saw even the Great Warriors treating her with rigid deference.
Because the desert Great Warriors follow no one but the Queen, and those the Queen acknowledges.
"Shall we wash you?"
At the voice behind me, I turned, five beautiful women were lined up in a row.
A palace handed to me with permission to do whatever I wanted, a lease is a lease, but there were a lot of women, and they were all stunning women in their prime.
...This was a harem.
A realism so intense it didn't feel like a game at all, even tiny veins were clear, every breath they took was natural.
They wore nothing but thin silk, revealing their sensual bodies without holding back.
Even with the heart of an Iron-Blooded Monarch, it was still a male instinct to feel dizzy.
"Just wash my feet."
"Yes."
I said it as flatly as possible.
Then the women brought a clay basin filled with water and sat neatly in front of me.
Washing feet.
It's a ritual for accepting outsiders in Faisalmer.
If you don't wash the outsider's feet, it means they're a slave, washing them means they're a guest.
I was a guest, one extremely important to the Snake Princess.
'This is Faisalmer's test.'
Every part of this situation was a test Isabella had set.
A Star Bearer wouldn't be blinded by lust, she'd see my reaction and report it, but if I refused even the foot-washing, I'd be someone ignorant of desert etiquette.
So the answer was, let them wash my feet, but keep my composure.
Shrrrrk.
With the gentle sound of water, soft skin touched my feet.
Hands without a speck of fat, bare skin against bare skin.
Ten hands, softly melting my feet.
It felt like being tickled with fine down.
I forced my mind elsewhere.
'Is there no way back to reality?'
I was sucked in while making a character.
Yet even in this world, references to reality kept repeating.
Which meant there was a way back.
'There's no logout function, I can't force-quit either... wait.'
A sudden thought hit me, I opened my status window.
Level : 2
Strength : 24 Stamina : 24 Agility : 24
Intelligence : 24 Mana : 24
...
<
<
I frowned.
The growth of my stats was abnormal enough, but what mattered more was what was beneath.
When I first saw it, collapse was at 6.12%.
But after finishing the main quest, it had increased by about 1.5%.
If it really reaches 100%, will Earth and Pangaenia collide?
'There was also mention of a Hall of Fame, what was that?'
That wasn't my only question.
But surprisingly, the riddle about the Hall of Fame unraveled quickly.
The moment I thought of it, a window appeared before my eyes.
<
<
<
<1st, 220 points. Randolph>
<2nd, 195 points. Gracia>
<3rd, 187 points. Mintchocoisdelicious>
<4th, 170 points. Black Jade>
<5th, 163 points. Massacre>
...
<
<
'...What?'
Familiar names.
Especially 2nd 'Gracia' and 3rd 'Mintchocoisdelicious', they were comrades I'd played Pangaenia with the longest.
They'd vanished suddenly one day and I'd wondered if they quit.
'They didn't quit, don't tell me they were summoned into Pangaenia like me?'
My head rang like I'd been hit with a club.
It wasn't just my character in here.
The people I played with were here too.
And
'Logout....'
Logout.
Meaning, I can get out, out of this damned game!
"Stop."
At my heavy voice, the women washing my feet flinched and froze.
"Y-yes...?"
"Everyone out, it's time for me to commune with the stars."
"But..."
Panic spread across their faces. Foot-washing is Faisalmer's etiquette, refusing it was never a good sign.
I know, but I had no choice.
"If I don't commune with the stars on time, a Star Bearer loses his power, go ask the Snake Princess if that's truly what she wants."
"Ah..."
The women nodded.
As expected, they were all spies sent by the Snake Princess.
I already knew why she'd brought me in.
"May you have a comfortable communion."
With solemn faces, they bowed and left.
...Whew. Thank god that flimsy excuse worked.
Left alone, I sat and steadied myself. Then I pressed the red button floating at the edge of my vision, at about one o'clock.
<
<
<>
My vision flickered.
And then.
<
The world changed.
***
"..."
I stared down blankly.
On the chair in front of my computer. A worn white plain T-shirt, black training pants I'd bought cheaply at a market.
A pile of cigarette butts in a plastic bottle.
Same clothes, same posture, same environment as before I played the game.
'Was it a dream?'
Had I lived like a wreck for so long that I'd hallucinated?
But it was too vivid to be a dream.
And.
"There's no way I'd have a golden coin like this..."
There was something else on my desk.
A Fragment of the Broken Golden Rule!
That radiant golden coin was right in front of me.
Beside it lay a small leather pouch.
And where the logout button had been outside my view, a red word was clearly engraved, 'Login'.
I slowly rummaged through the pouch, two items slid out.
"Ugh!"
Thud!
A huge sword, the pouch mouth stretched and spat the blade out.
When it hit the floor, the house shook with a deep thud.
...No matter how I looked at it, it was Michella's Sword.
And on a small stone etched with runes, the artifact, the Soul of Hydragon, was there too.
"The game?"
The game window was closed, no, the game itself was gone.
I grabbed the mouse and opened the internet.
Then I searched Pangaenia and tried to enter the site.
[This page does not exist.]
...The homepage had vanished.
A homepage that was fine just a moment ago.
Just in case, I looked for related articles.
But there wasn't even a single news line saying the service ended. Even on YouTube, only videos from at least two years ago came up.
'When the hell did the service end?'
The fact that YouTube videos remained meant the service had existed, the game hadn't been a delusion.
People definitely logged in and played.
But at some point, uploads stopped, and players disappeared.
Fine, fine, whatever.
The real question was, if I'd been summoned into Pangaenia, there should be others who logged out like me.
And if they logged out, there should be traces.
'Only people in the rankings can log out.'
But what if that number is limited?
If it's a tiny handful?
If many people are still trapped inside?
Then the remaining information would be scarce, or none at all.
'If I'd known, I should've at least traded SNS contacts.'
I was a thorough solo player. Even for raids, I handled everything alone. So at most I'd exchanged greetings, I'd never properly played with others.
Of course I'd never traded emails or messenger handles either.
Damn mystique. Cursing my past self who thought it was cool, I hammered the keyboard.
'Vegetative patients, missing persons list....'
My fingers sped up.
In the past few years, the number of vegetative patients and missing people had exploded.
People argued nonstop about the phenomenon. Maybe it was connected to Pangaenia.
Rumble!
That was when it happened.
A vibration strong enough to lift my body slightly, the floor started shaking.
"Th-there's a monster!"
"Save me!"
Outside, chaos erupted.
Monster? What monster, all of a sudden?
I yanked the curtain up and opened the window. As dense cigarette smoke poured out, the sight outside was the worst possible.
A gigantic mantis, easily four meters tall, had appeared in the city and was slaughtering people.
With antennae like tentacles it snatched humans up, with blade-like forelegs it cut through everything that tried to block it.
The shape was oddly familiar, and before I knew it, I said it aloud.
'Giant Mantis...?'