《Valor》 Chapter 1: I really just want to play Royal Road Finally, all my preparations are complete. After meticulously researching everything about Royal Road ¨C I am confident of the path I need to take. If you are wondering what is Royal Road ¨C it is a virtual reality game that boasts of the best artificial intelligence game management system. If my analysis is not incorrect, starting off early in this game would reap significant benefits. I have been playing the game for little close to a week (6 six days) and am on the verge of completing the beginner 4 weeks. However, unlike other players who have been haphazardly completing quests, I have been more focused on researching more about the Versailles continent and looking out for Easter eggs. There were a few parts of the game that really stood apart for me ¨C the training hall for example. I am not sure if anyone has discovered but relentlessly hitting the scarecrow results in gain of stats. Not that I am convinced that one should hit the scarecrow for 4 weeks, but I my instincts tell me that I might be on to something. Similarly, there is the Haven Kingdom¡¯s grand library ¨C I have never seen anyone visit it but it has tons of material possibly useful for solving quests. Today is the last day of the 4 weeks in Royal Road. After this, I can finally explore outside the city. Just before I could enter the capsule my phone began to ring. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Hyung, Jae-sun on this side. I needed your help.¡± Before I could turn this pesky brat down, he continued on and on with his story¡­. ¡°Hyung, can you please look into this? It¡¯s been six days since we last heard from Bong-Chol.¡± A pleading voice of a young man rang out of my phone. It belongs to my junior from college ¨C the kid would always latch on to me for everything. ¡°So, let me understand the situation again¡­you can¡¯t get in touch in touch with your friend Bong-Chol and instead of calling the cops, you need me to look into it?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Silence greeted me on the other side. ¡°Kid, have I spoon fed you till your brains rotted?¡± Honestly, I don¡¯t think that he is that stupid to ask me for help without reaching out to the cops. If it is a missing persons case then the cops would do a better job than me. I am an investigative journalist not a missing person finder. ¡°***¡± I could hear some indistinct voices in the background. I am not sure who he is talking to but it seems he is not alone. ¡°Hyung, I am going to pass the phone to my friend. It is her brother who went missing.¡± ¡°Yeoboseyo Oppa, I am sorry for not speaking to you directly.¡± A female voice clearly rang out in the phone. ¡°I went to the cops, however, they said there was nothing wrong or out of place.¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I took a deep breath ¨C this sounds really tiresome. Honestly, I don¡¯t care. If the cops don¡¯t see anything out of place then it¡¯s none of my damn business. Nonetheless, out of pure courtesy of my junior, I am willing to entertain this call. ¡°I am not too sure what Jae-sun told you, miss. But I am not a private investigator. Nothing even close to it¡­.¡± ¡°Oppa, I know you are a researcher and even the pyramid scam everyone is talking about these days was uncovered by you¡­¡± the girl chimed in. ¡°It was purely luck¡­¡± I tried to butt in. However, the girl was persistent. ¡°Oppa, Jae-sun told me you have a bachelors in linguistics.¡± ¡°eh?¡± That caught me totally unaware. ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± The girl was quiet for a moment but then spoke up again. ¡°Oppa, the police found some strange writings scribbled in my brother¡¯s room. I think it might be a clue¡­¡± I am holding my forehead with the hand. I am going to kill this brat, Jae-sun, the next time I see him. I want nothing more than to play Royal Road and here I am being dragged into a search for a missing person. *Bzzzz* my phone vibrated ¨C I received a message. I take a look and see a photo of ¨C what I believe to be - Bong-Chol¡¯s room. Aside from the weird posters hanging on the wall, I see a gaming capsule in the centre of the room ¨C it¡¯s a strange design, shaped like a coffin with a blue stone on the top as decoration. Surrounding the capsule on the floor are strange symbols. I can¡¯t recognize what¡¯s been carved into the floor but the spacing and repetition of the symbols would be consistent with that at least of a code or at most of a language. What caught my eye is, however, the strange manner in which the words have been written ¨C they are written in a concentric circle like some sort of pagan sorcery or a magic circle. ¡°Oppa?¡± The girl¡¯s voice broke me out of my stupor. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I have never seen such symbols before. I think they might be a code and I am sure I cannot help.¡± The case is interesting but once again, let me iterate, I have other interests. I know I sound like douche bag, but investigating about a ponzi scheme and finding a missing person are world¡¯s apart on investigative spectrum. ¡°¡­¡± I could tell the girl was disappointed. However, it is better to break her heart now than to promise something and have nothing come of it. ¡°Oh ok¡­¡± came back a soft voice. She dropped the call after I didn¡¯t add anything else. Returning back to the main event for tonight ¨C Royal Road! I put away my phone¡­ *Ring* *Ring* Now what!!!! Who is calling me now!! It¡¯s not like I am popular. I had one foot in the capsule and one out side¡­ ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Hello, would you like a loan?¡± ¡°F*ck you.¡± I slammed the phone. What the hell ¨C do these people have no sense of shame. How can they just randomly call people and expect them to be in need of a loan. *Ring* *Ring* My phone rang again. I am pretty sure a vein of mine is about to pop. ¡°I SAID I DON¡¯T WANT A..¡± I began screaming into the phone. ¡°Stan, Choong-Hoon here.¡± A crisp voice interrupted me. ¡°Oh hello, boss!¡± I embarrassedly squeak like a mouse. Damn, that¡¯s my boss from the media house ¨C the one where I work (if it wasn¡¯t obvious). I should have seen who was calling me before answering the call like that. ¡°I need you to look into something.¡± Choong-Hoon continued, completely ignoring my earlier outburst. ¡°Right now?¡± I ask with a desperate tone. I really just want to play my one day of Royal Road. I am so close to finishing my 4 weeks¡­. ¡°Right now. See your email. I have sent you a few photographs and a police file. Call me back once you have read it.¡± I put the phone down and dragged my legs to my computer. I hate my boss ¨C this is against my civil rights. How can you expect a temporary employee to work on weekends? This better be covered by my contract. I open the email and attached files¡­this got to be a joke. It¡¯s a photograph of a game capsule, shaped like a coffin, with a blue stone on the top. The kicker - surrounding the capsule on the floor are strange symbols exactly identical to the one Jae-sun shared with me. No this isn¡¯t the same photo; the rooms are completely different but the theme is the same. I turn my attention to the police report. I bet I can even guess what¡¯s written inside without reading it¨C missing person. I open the file ¨C yup, another missing person. This just became a whole lot more interesting. Two people missing and both go missing the same way¡­.too strange to be a coincidence. I reach back for my phone and quickly text Jae-sun. ¡°I¡¯ll look into it.¡± Chapter 2: Negotiating my bread & butter Strange would be too nice of a word to describe my current circumstances. One moment I am about to play Royal Road and the next I am on a subway bound to Myeong-dong. To be specific, I am meeting up with my boss at the crime scene. The coincidence was worth marvelling. Two men both of whom have no connection in the real world go missing exactly the same day ¨C 6 days ago. If I hadn¡¯t heard of Jae-sun¡¯s case, I would have never considered the work of a serial criminal at work. There were many things to consider here: two men are missing, both went missing on the same day, the mysterious gaming capsule in the shape of a coffin, and lastly the weird symbols engraved in the rooms. Some how all of this is strangely related. Assuming the men haven¡¯t been killed, this is still pretty dark. It takes a twisted mind to do something like a serial kidnapping. I get off at my stop and head over to the victim¡¯s house¡­specifically, the victim¡¯s father¡¯s house. This is the typical, rich 28-year old son mooching of the parent¡¯s wealth case. Choong-Hoon greets me at the door ¨C there is a grim silence in the air. ¡°What did you think?¡± Choong-Hoon asked me. ¡°This is why I said it would better to meet in person.¡± I replied as I passed him my phone. I left the screen open to the photo Jae-sun sent me. Choong-Hoon¡¯s eyes widened in surprise for a moment before returning to their previous calm. He stood up and pulled out a pack of smokes from his back pocket. He offered me one, but I politely decline ¨C you¡¯d think he¡¯d remember I don¡¯t smoke after the 100th time I have said no. ¡°When did you find out?¡± ¡°Just before your call. It happened to a friend of mine.¡± Choong-Hoon took in a deep drag and then silently stared at the ceiling. Maybe a minute had passed before he spoke again, ¡°You think it¡¯s the same person?¡± ¡°The engravings are identical. It¡¯s like seeing the same handwriting.¡± I replied seriously. ¡°And the cops thought this was a simple missing person?¡± Choong-Hoon asked in concern. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I thought for a moment before speaking up, ¡°The two crimes happened in different districts. I think it might take them some time to link these two cases¡­I just got lucky.¡± ¡°When did that happen?¡± ¡°Same day as yours.¡± I replied as Choong-Hoon entered work mode. He was seriously considering the possibilities. This was certainly going to make a big story especially since serial kidnapping wasn¡¯t your every day news. ¡°This won¡¯t do¡­.¡± Choong-Hoon muttered while lost in thoughts. I raised my face with a puzzled expression. ¡°We need a story not just facts. Why these two men? What¡¯s their link? What do those symbols mean? Get my drift?¡± Choong-Hoon asked. That nearly scared me, thankfully, it was the same old speech. I don¡¯t need facts ¨C I need a story. ¡°I get paid my usual rate?¡± I asked with puppy eyes. Choong-Hoon shook his head in refusal. ¡°You are too expensive for a temporary worker. I¡¯ll pay you half your daily rate.¡± ¡°But my work is twice as good as permanent employee.¡± I stressed on ¡®permanent¡¯ to remind him the reason I am temporary is because he hasn¡¯t offered me a permanent contract. Choong-Hoon gave me the same apologetic look that he always does, ¡°It¡¯s been a difficult year. They are even forecasting a recession. I can¡¯t increase the headcount in my department just like that.¡± My shoulders slumped in disappointment ¨C it¡¯s not like he hasn¡¯t said this before. It¡¯s always the same old story with him. ¡°But Sunbae, you promised me after the ponzi scheme, you would talk to your boss.¡± Choong-Hoon pulled out another cigarette from his pack. ¡°I did and he told me that even though the work was good but we didn¡¯t get all the facts first¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s because Sunbae began use a different investigator after I got you the lead¡­¡± I rebutted. Hey, don¡¯t blame me for ditching me and getting someone worse than me. Choong-Hoon looked like he had been placed between choosing his life and a hard place. He finally caved in. ¡°Fine, give me a 40% discount and I¡¯ll set you up with an interview¡­¡± I give him the ¨C ¡®do you think I am idiot¡¯ stare. Choong-Hoon continued ignoring me, ¡°I¡¯ll also talk to my friend to pay you an investigator¡¯s fee if you find out what happened to his son. This is the best I can do.¡± ¡°Interview this week.¡± I insist. ¡°Deal.¡± Choong-Hoon happily agreed with a crooked smile on his face. I feel as though I have been taken advantage of yet again. *** ¡°Uncle, this is the man I said who would help me investigate your son¡¯s case.¡± Choong-Hoon spoke to an old wrinkly short man. The old man slowly raised his head and looked at me. You could see the pain in his eyes of losing his son yet mixed in there was a determination not to give up. You can tell a lot about people by just looking into there eyes ¨C at least my instinct has never been wrong. ¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot about you, Stan.¡± The old man spoke as he stared into my eyes. ¡°How confident are you that you can find my son?¡± He asked a no-nonsense direct question to me. Finding his son? I don¡¯t know how deep this rabbit hole will go. Honestly, I don¡¯t know. ¡°¡­¡± Choong-Hoon panicked seeing my silence. ¡°Uncle, don¡¯t worry¡­¡± The old man silenced Choong-Hoon with a single glare. ¡°I am not confident at all.¡± I replied after carefully thinking it over. The old man didn¡¯t even bat an eye lash at my reply. ¡°However, I can investigate and tell you what happened here. If that means as a result your son is found, then that¡¯s all it means.¡± I continued. The old man nodded his head at my words. I think that¡¯s his approval ¨C I get paid directly by him for my investigation. Choong-Hoon who had nearly lost all hope of hiring, suddenly seemed completely refreshed. ¡°When can you begin?¡± The old man asked ¨C I could hear impatience in his voice. ¡°Right now.¡± I coolly replied. ¡°To start with, can we have that VR capsule moved to my apartment?¡± ¡°eh?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± It seems I surprised everyone in the room with my request. If it wasn¡¯t anymore obvious ¨C the only link between the two missing people is the gaming capsule. I am convinced that the mystery to solving everything starts from this gaming capsule. Chapter 3: Valor ¡°Just place it right there.¡± I instructed the movers. They slowly placed the heavy VR capsule right next to my RoyalRoad capsule. ¡°Perfect.¡± From the inside the capsule, is your everyday standard VR gaming capsule. However, the outside has been designed to resemble a fancy coffin - I wonder what were the designers thinking when they made this. From what I read up online, you can choose to have a wooden or a metallic finish. What I found particularly eye catching was the blue stone on the lid of the capsule, it seems to only serve as a decoration. Laureta Inc. ¨C that¡¯s the company that sells this along with it¡¯s game ¡®Valor¡¯. Unlike Royal Road¡¯s popularity, Valor¡¯s popularity is almost non-existent. I am not sure if that is a bad thing for Valor, however, it does help my investigation A LOT! My hypothesis is that the person involved in the kidnappings must be a fellow Valor player or at least some how related to Laureta Inc. That is the only connection between the missing people ¨C the game. With a game played by so few - this significantly lowers my suspect pool. I crack my knuckles and sit down in front of the PC. It¡¯s time to begin some solid research. The first step to a good investigation is knowledge. What I lack is knowledge about this game. My browser is quickly filled with multiple tabs about the game Valor. The most popular headline is the US$ 50 Million reward for any person or group of people who defeat the game. I am stunned. Why have I never heard of this game before??? That¡¯s an insane amount of money to be given away for a game! There must be a catch, there is no free lunch in this world. I continued reading on ¨C ¡°Since it¡¯s release 2 years ago, no one has defeated the game Valor. The number of players joining the game continues to grow and so does the prize money. Whilst, the game has been described by many players as the most challenging game that they have ever played, many are confident of defeating the game.¡± Confident my ass. I knew that there was no free lunch here. I continue scrolling through the articles and my fingers freeze ¨C I see Bong-Chol¡¯s photo from an interview about the game from CTS Media. I quickly open up the video: Interviewer: ¡°Today, I have with me the pioneer adventurer, Bong-Chol. For our viewers who have not heard of Bong-Chol ¨C he is ¡®Gold¡¯ ranked in the 4th cycle and a 1st generation Valor player.¡± Bong-Chol: ¡°Hello, everyone!¡± Interviewer: ¡°Bong-Chol, thank you so much for making time for us today. I understand that you and your team have finally captured someone from the Shadow Syndicate. Can you confirm this?¡± Bong-Chol: ¡°Yes, we captured Majora alive¡±. Interviewer was stunned for a moment and then spoke up again, ¡°Oh wow! You captured the General! This must place Korea far ahead of the other teams.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Bong-Chol: ¡°To be honest, this was a group effort. Everyone worked together to solve this. The difficulty of the game is exactly the reason why we all have decided to collaborate. No one is ahead.¡± The interviewer smiled wryly, ¡°Of course, I know. I was only joking about who¡¯s ahead. However, we all know you were crucial to the success of the operation. Do you believe the collaboration will continue after Majora¡¯s capture?¡± Bong-Chol: ¡°Unfortunately, we haven¡¯t thought about that. Capturing Majora is only a small step towards defeating the game.¡± Interviewer: ¡°I am sure the competition across countries will intensify as you make more progress.¡± Bong-Chol simply nodded and took a sip of water from his bottle. Interviewer: ¡°Bong-Chol, a new VR game is coming out ¨C Royal Road. Do you think you will switch out?¡± Bong-Chol: ¡°I might have switched out if we weren¡¯t successful in our mission today. I was very much tempted and have been secretly studying Royal Road. Ultimately, the two games are very good but very different. I think I prefer Valor more.¡± Interviewer: ¡°Oh? How come?¡± Bong-Chol: ¡°I think Royal Road is a more creative and flexible game. There is no story line or real purpose in the game. The game itself is also very easy compared to Valor.¡± Interviewer: ¡°But do you not think that Valor¡¯s rigid story structure and difficulty level would make the game less accessible?¡± Bong-Chol: ¡°Yes, I agree it would make the game less accessible to the public. However, I do not think the developers at Laureta care about this. They are looking for the world¡¯s best players.¡± Interviewer: ¡°Which is why the game is invitation based?¡± Bong-Chol: ¡°Well mostly invitation based. Most Valor players have been invited either by Laureta or their friends, who were invited initially by Laureta. There is the small minority that stumble across the game and purchase an invitation from Laureta.¡± Interviewer: ¡°We actually looked into the prices of an invitation. It¡¯s currently priced at W850,000 (approx. US$850). Do you not think this is overpriced?¡± Bong-Chol: ¡°Relative to the prize money? No.¡± Interviewer: ¡°One last question. Would you recommend others to play Valor?¡± Bong-Chol paused and laughed. ¡°Hahaha, you got me. The game is good but I don¡¯t think I want more competition ¨C competing with the world¡¯s best gamers is already very difficult.¡± The interview ended there. I took a look at a bunch of other news clippings and forums before switching off my laptop and taking a break. *** I stared at the giant pin board hanging on my wall. There were a few printed cut outs of some of the things I read online and some were my own notes. Compared to Royal Road, the players of Valor did not share much information about the game with each other. Even media houses such as CTS Media stopped covering the game with the launch of Royal Road. From the little that I gathered, I concluded that Valor is similar to those old school game ¨C a simple story line and no endless world building. The end goal is to prevent the conquest of evil and annihilate the main boss. The only catch is if your character dies ¨C it¡¯s the end for your character in that cycle. That brings me to the other major difference between Valor and another game that I have played ¨C the ¡®Cycle¡¯. One Cycle in the game is a single iteration of gameplay till a critical objective is failed. For example: If some strategic kingdom is left leaderless, the game resets. Similarly, if evil succeeds in wiping out more than 90% of the continent¡¯s population, the game resets. There are multiple such objectives which need to be balanced while trying to succeed. So far, the game has reset 22 times across 4 years. The longest cycle before the game reset was 8 months and the shortest 3 days. The duration of a cycle really depends on how players successfully manage objectives ¨C the shorter cycles are usually experiments or someone trolling. That brings me next to the players ¨C most of the players are professional gamers and they have been invited by the developers of the game to play the game. The game started with 400 players: 2-3 from nearly every country. However, as of today the game has 6,000 players and only 1% play from Korea. So, my initial suspect pool is down to 58 individuals, assuming the criminal wasn¡¯t an international player. I didn¡¯t find any apparent information that would connect Bong-Chol with Juan Lee (Chong-Hoon¡¯s friend) but I would suspect that they played for the same team. Physically combing through both their homes, mobile phones, and email addresses, I found no traces of contact between each other. Hence, I am guessing that they only ever contacted each other through the game. I stare at the gaming capsule in front of me. It seems I need to log-in if I need to progress any further with this investigation. I am hesitating because in light of the current situation the idea of lying in a capsule that looks like a coffin is rather distasteful. Chapter 4: Audacious-Lee Awesome ¡°Welcome back to Valor, Audacious-Lee Awesome.¡± A female voice spoke into my ear. ¡°Would you like to resume?¡± I do want to say something about that username but given how I am using the victim¡¯s profile, I hold my thoughts back. I didn¡¯t expect I¡¯d be able to log into Juan Lee¡¯s account but clearly this game isn¡¯t as advanced as Royal Road, which uses iris scans to validate its users. Since I just need to see chat conversations, I don¡¯t need to play the game. I reply, ¡°No.¡± ¡°Alright. Is there anything else I can assist you with?¡± The female voice asked. ¡°Open messages.¡± ¡°Unable to understand command. Would you like to look at available commands?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I replied with slight frustration. Usually a basic command like ¡®open messages¡¯ works in most games.
Player Profile
Graphics
Sound
I quickly scroll through the list of options: Player Profile, Graphics, and Sound. Maybe, its under Player Profile? A window pops up displaying a character image and various stats noted to next to it. The character looks nothing like Juan Lee. It¡¯s resembles a Westerner: 6¡±2, muscular etc. etc. Don¡¯t care ¨C I only wonder if Lee chose this for himself or was it assigned to him. The window that popped open was interactive - if I clicked on anything more details would follow. Strangely, Mr. Lee only a backpack filled with cards. There is nothing else. No chat logs, no video recordings, nothing. After fiddling around through all possible options with increasing amounts of frustration, I temporarily step out and check online forums ¨C nothing. There is no mention of video recordings or chat logs or anything. In fact, now that I think about it, I don¡¯t see any in game video recordings. Huh, unlike majority of the games which offer in-game recordings, Valor seems really outdated in this regard. I need a coffee break ¨C investigating this is going to take a lot more patience than I previously imagined. *** ¡°Welcome back to Valor, Audacious-Lee Awesome.¡± A female voice spoke into my ear. ¡°Would you like to resume?¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Yes.¡± I sighed. The moment I logged in a bunch of notifications started popping up in my face.
You have not eaten for the past 42 days! Health reduced by 200HP.
You have entered a weakened state. All stats reduced by 25%.
You were found by the local residents in a state of coma. They have transferred you to the Sacred Church.
Well that¡¯s one way to begin the game. I remember reading about this on one of the forums ¨C Valor does not have an offline mode. If you log-off, your character continues to exist in the game. The only thing players can do about it is pre-set actions for the character to take in your absence. I am not sure what ¡®pre-setting actions¡¯ means but if I were to guess something like sleep, eat 3 meals, etc. Another article from the developers described it as keeping the game more realistic. 42 days in the game have passed since Lee last logged in. Given the game¡¯s time acceleration ratio of 1:6 i.e. every 1 hour outside the game is 6 hours in the game, implies that Lee was definitely playing the game on the day he went missing (about a week ago). Although this is just a suspicion, given how his character just awoke from a coma, it might be quite possible the murderer or kidnapper made his move while Lee was still playing the game. I mean he didn¡¯t even have time to pre-set actions for his character. I slowly open my eyes ¨C the blinding white light is painful. Everything is blurry but my eyes are slowly focusing on my surroundings. The ceiling is quite high and bright sunlight is pouring through the arched windows. I slowly try to sit up ¨C the weakness feels ¡°very¡± real. I take my words back, although the game¡¯s display settings are outdated, the game itself is very realistic. Definitely on par with Royal Road. I seem to be in a hospital wing of the church? Not too sure, however, I look around me and I can see six other people sleeping on beds: some of them are awake, some are sleeping, and two of the six are bandaged up. As my eyes scan the room, a nun (nurse?) pushes open the door, holding a tray of food, and freezes as she stares at me. I think a whole minute passed before the nun stared at me, then dropped the meal tray she was holding and ran out the door. *** An old short priest (I kid you not he looked a lot like a human-Yoda) sat next to my bed holding my wrist. To be specific, I think he was measuring my pulse. There were three nuns/nurses standing behind the old priest, including the one that ran away screaming hysterically, with varied expressions ¨C fright, concern, and hope. They all wore white robes with a golden border and an overly complicated insignia in the center. ¡°Only weak but nothing else.¡± The priest declared after several minutes of examination. ¡°The Holy one has graced us.¡± The nuns whispered to each other. ¡°Ummm, where am I?¡± I guess this is the right question to ask NPCs? ¡°At the Elbonia branch of the Sacred Church, great champion.¡± The old priest replied and then turned to one of the women. ¡°We must inform the main branch that the champion, Audacious-Lee Awesome, has awoken at once. Maybe there is still hope for the others.¡± Although I was still observing my surroundings and getting used to the game, that last sentence caught my ear. ¡°Others?¡± The priest turned to me, ¡°Yes, we found two others with you.¡± The priest pointed out to the two beds beside mine. There were two men sleeping. I couldn¡¯t tell if they were NPCs or players. ¡°Two other¡­ummm¡­champions were found beside me?¡± I think champions is NPC language for players. The priest nodded his head. ¡°Yes, Great East Winds and Dancing Daggers. Three champions collapsing in the mines of Elbonia has certainly frightened Lord Troy. He would have never been able to explain himself to the Sacred Church. Thankfully, there seems to be hope¡± I ignored the NPC¡¯s words after Dancing Daggers (more weird names). Does this mean that there was one more player who disappeared? And did the disappearances happen simultaneously? I need answers but for now I don¡¯t think I can find them in the game. ¡°Log-off¡± I spoke in my mind. ¡°Please select a pre-set action.¡± The female voice rang in my head.
Recovery: Your character will continue all actions required for a complete recovery.
Return to Aldonisia: Your character will make reasonable preparations before heading to Aldonisia.
Custom Option: Please detail instructions for your character.
I wordlessly select the first option. ¡°Logging-off.¡± The voice answered. My character took control of itself. ¡°Thank you, I am tired and will sleep now.¡± Chapter 5: Great East Winds and Dancing Daggers ¡°Dancing Daggers.¡± Jae-sun answered my question. ¡°That was Bong-Chol¡¯s in game name.¡± I don¡¯t have a good feeling about this. ¡°And have you heard of Great East Winds or Audaciously Awesome? They might have played Valor with Bong-Chol.¡± ¡°No.¡± Jae-sun replied. ¡°But I will check with Bong-Chol¡¯s sister.¡± ¡°Okay, let me know as soon as possible.¡± After a short pause, Jae-sun spoke up. I think he noticed a hint of frustration in my voice. ¡°Hyung, is this related to Bong-Chol¡¯s disappearance?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe.¡± I could sense some hesitation with that question of his. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Hyung, could you not look into it.¡± Jae-sun answered. I took a deep breath. I knew my instincts were bang on ¨C something seemed off about this call. ¡°Why?¡± I asked while holding back my impatience or any sign of annoyance. With great hesitation Jae-sun meekly replied, ¡°I am not too sure but Sangnim said someone offered her a large compensation package if she agreed to withdraw the case filed with the police and sign a non-disclosure. They said this was bad PR for the company and they would personally assist with finding her brother.¡± I silently swore under my breath. My mind raced as I considered the possibilities. The only one who would suffer from a PR catastrophe if top gamers go missing is Laureta Inc. I quickly take Sangnim¡¯s number from Jae-sun and drop the call. It¡¯s likely Juan Lee¡¯s father must have been contacted. I first call Sangnim to ask stop her from signing the NDA. I won¡¯t get into the details of the call: we spoke briefly and it seems that the silly stupid girl signed the NDA and took the compensation. So much for blood relations. While I was annoyed with her, it was interesting to note that some ¡°movers and packers¡± came from the company and took away the gaming capsule ¨C apparently, Bong-chol was an ¡®invited¡¯ player and thus, was ¡°lent¡± a gaming capsule. I wouldn¡¯t say this is necessarily mysterious but definitely suspicious. I have a feeling Laureta Inc. is more involved in these disappearances than I previously imagined. I am willing to bet that the ridiculous gaming prize money involved is inciting not only jealousy but kidnappings. Stolen story; please report. I had researched about the company when I undertook this investigation. Other than the fact that it exists no other details were available. For example: I know it¡¯s incorporated in USA (Delaware) but no mention of its employee names can be found anywhere. They have a spokesperson but he only announces information through twitter. Yet, suddenly a person turns in front of Sangnim¡¯s house when he goes missing for a week? Suspicious. I quickly dial Jaun Lee¡¯s father. ¡°Ahjussi, were you contacted by the gaming company, Laureta?¡± I courteously asked him. ¡°Do not worry.¡± The old man replied. ¡°Finding my son is your only priority. I will take care of the rest.¡± I breath out a sigh of relief. If the old man had agreed to the NDA or withdrew the case, investigating these missing people cases would have been a lot more difficult. ¡°Stan, I have lived a good many number of years and during that time I have learnt to read people. These people don¡¯t seem like your ordinary white-collar employees but rather professional thugs.¡± The old man continued. ¡°Thank you so much, sir. I will not let you down.¡± I promised him. I am not doing this to find his son but to find out what happened here ¨C there are just too many moving parts to this case. ¡°Were they very insistent on recovering the gaming capsule?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, they were. They wanted everything related to the game back. Even the packaging.¡± ¡°Everything related?¡± I mumbled. I quickly thanked the old man again and got off the call. *** As I hastily dug through the boxes, I found a pen drive. This is it ¨C a clue. My heart is racing as I insert the pen drive into my laptop¡­.its a user manual. Well that¡¯s disappointing. I wouldn¡¯t say this is a breakthrough in the case but its somewhat helpful to verify a conjecture. I search for the word ¡®coma¡¯ and I find it immediately. ¡°If the player chooses no action before logging out or exits the capsule abruptly, the character will be in the default state of coma. Hence, please choose your character options.¡± That¡¯s basically a confirmation that ¡°Great East Winds¡± too ¡°abruptly¡± left his gaming capsule. In other words, there is a third person missing. I reach out to my laptop and quickly sent a few emails to my ¡®friends¡¯ in the police department. If these missing cases are linked, then it¡¯s likely this is the work of a highly dangerous individual. I am sure the Korean police in some district must have encountered a missing person case similar to the ones I am investigating. Once I am done, I throw myself back into my chair and stare at the gaming capsule. Somehow, ¡®you¡¯ are related to all of this. The things people do for a game. *** I log back in and find my character ¡®resting¡¯. As I open my eyes, I find a man and a woman, suited in complete armour, sitting beside my bed. The man wore a thick deep red armor: like a knight? The woman on the other hand was dressed in plain clothing ¨C nothing about her attire told me anything about her or her in-game profession. ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± The man asked. He¡¯s a player ¨C NPCs wouldn¡¯t ask such a question. Did he know Juan Lee? ¡°Yes.¡± I replied as I considered who he might be. ¡°What happened?¡± he asked impatiently as he moved around in his chair. Both the man and woman were looking terribly impatient as though they had been waiting here for hours. ¡°I don¡¯t know. What do you mean?¡± I asked while looking confused. I am just pretending: I don¡¯t know who they are- friends or foes? My experiences have taught me that some times its better to pretend to be stupid than reveal all your cards in one go. There are 3 people missing, it would be foolish to tell others this without knowing their intentions. ¡°You!¡± The woman angrily swore under her breath as her eyes tried to pierce through my skin. Trust me lady, I have a very thick skin. You won¡¯t get anything out of me by glaring at me like that. ¡°Don¡¯t know what I mean? Don¡¯t joke with me. I told you to uncover what Dancing Daggers found. You even borrowed Great East from my mission to help you and suddenly the three of you disappear for a week? Are you testing my patience as your team captain?¡± Team captain? Interesting. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call me? You could have just found out what happened.¡± I casually replied while slowly sitting up in my bed. The duo stare at me as though they were looking at a stupid stranger. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°Who are you?¡± The woman curiously asked. Chapter 6: Thick skin ¡°Who are you?¡± The woman curiously asked. My heart raced for a moment ¨C what gave me away? Was Audicious-Lee a quiet person? Was he easily intimidated? Or did he get angry easily? What gave me away? ¡°How did you find out?¡± I asked directly. No point with the cloak and daggers now that I am caught. ¡°You asked us why we didn¡¯t call you. Outside of this game, we have never spoken. We don¡¯t even know your real name.¡± Oh¡­that was a really basic mistake. It also makes sense now why Juan Lee had no personal records of his game play in real life. Still, this can be recovered from rather easily. ¡°To tell you the truth, I have lost all my memories.¡± I blatantly lie to their faces. They stare at my long and hard as an awkward silence began to brew in the air. ¡°Bullshit.¡± The man finally spoke. ¡°No, really. I don¡¯t remember anything.¡± I stare back without giving a hint of my lie. To be honest, I didn¡¯t think lying would work in this game. However, when I logged back in I could feel a visible difference in my health and I mean ¡°FEEL different.¡± This game is good at capturing details; every shudder, the feeling of your heart racing, sweat rolling down etc. If my guess is spot on, if you are a terrible liar in real life, you¡¯d be a terrible liar in this game. The two of them continue to stare at me, searching for an answer. I very ¡®realistically¡¯ sigh as though I have done this a thousand times. ¡°I had a car accident in real life and am suffering from amnesia.¡± After a moment, the woman spoke up. ¡°Let¡¯s say we believe you¡­that you really did have a car accident and lost your memories. Why are you playing a game right after an accident? Shouldn¡¯t you be recovering in hospital?¡± I nodded my head sideways ¨C disagreeing. ¡°Hit my head, that¡¯s all. My therapist told me to play the game in hopes of recovering my memory.¡± I am good at this and can go all day ¨C bring it on. ¡°Ridiculous.¡± The woman shot back without delay. ¡°Look, I know this sounds like something out of a drama but it really isn¡¯t.¡± I shrugged my shoulders. ¡°What do we do?¡± The woman turned to the man for guidance. I could tell he had been studying me constantly but I doubt that would help him. ¡°How about this, you help me recover my memories and maybe we uncover what happened together?¡± I suggested. This is a great proposal ¨C quite brilliant if I may praise myself. If they accept my proposal, I gain two players working for me and I uncover the truth.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The duo seemed to be hesitating. ¡°I mean you could always ask the Great East or Dancing Dagger what happened?¡± I suggested with a small smile. *** ¡°Let us introduce ourselves, once again.¡± The man said. ¡°My in-game name is ¡®K-Drama Too Much¡¯ and I am the team captain for ¡®Thermal Hearted Champions¡¯.¡± Not a hint of embarrassment when he spoke out his name. How thick skinned must you be to christen yourself ¡®K-Drama Too Much¡¯. Like what were you thinking? I mean I thought I was thick skinned but THIS is ridiculous. And Thermal Hearted Champions ¨C that¡¯s the WORST word play on warm-hearted champions. This is the stupidest name and team name, and yet it some how all makes sense why someone with a ridiculous name like Audicious-Lee would team up with such like minded terrible naming sense people. ¡°My in-game name is One-Shot Wonder.¡± The woman disapprovingly spoke. ¡°But I go by One-Shot. I am KDrama¡¯s guardian.¡± I am not even surprised with her terrible naming sense. It expected. No if she had a normal name, I¡¯d be shocked. ¡°I am Cho¡­¡± Before I could speak further, KDrama raised his hand to stop me. I was going to reveal my fake name. ¡°We abide by the Code. We will stick with Audicious-Lee.¡± KDrama explained ¨C he looked exhausted as though this was common sense. ¡°The code?¡± I asked. ¡°The code of conduct - an unspoken agreement by the Valor gaming community.¡± One-Shot impatiently butted-in. ¡°Never tell your real name or give away any details of your real life that could track you to anyone.¡± This is interesting. Why would they have this kind of code of conduct? ¡°Why the secrecy?¡± I curiously asked. With great hesitation, KDrama spoke, ¡°Because all the top players who were public figures have gone missing.¡± ¡°Wait, WHAT!!!?¡± I almost accidentally spoke my thoughts. There are MORE missing people? *** ¡°Why would people still play this game?¡± ¡°$50Million is a big number, kid.¡± One-Shot answered my question. ¡°If you are scared, then you should quit. There will be more left of the rest of us.¡± KDrama angrily glared at her ¨C almost imploring her to shut up. ¡°I don¡¯t want to scare you into quitting this game by telling you this. However, the last thing we want is something to happen to you because we were selfish.¡± KDrama explained. One-Shot snorted from behind him. ¡°Yeah, right. He would have learnt about the Code one way or another.¡± KDrama ignored her and continued, ¡°As sad as it sounds, the current Valor community could be considered toxic. It is less about beating the game and more about winning the prize. Those who were scared by the rumors left and mostly the greedy stayed behind. In some sense you could say we¡¯re the greedy ones ¨C you included. However, we all still have our bottom line.¡± ¡°But wouldn¡¯t the police or government stop this game? Especially, if people are going missing?¡± I asked with a slight panic in my voice (it¡¯s all acting ¨C I should get an Oscar for this). ¡°Like the government cares if some gamer goes missing.¡± One-Shot smirked. ¡°It¡¯s not like they have actually been confirmed missing. For all we know they quit the game. I mean Kdrama, have you seen any actual proof of players going missing?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t but I did hear of a story directly by someone who knew someone who went missing¡­¡± KDrama explained. While I am still piecing together the information in my head, KDrama mistook my pensive silence for my lack of courage. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. Just stick with us and hopefully, you will remember everything.¡± KDrama explained. ¡°Can I think about it?¡± I ask politely. They aren¡¯t my suspects ¨C well at least the possibility is unrealistically low. KDrama nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll set up a summoning circle so we can recall you the moment you come back.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± I replied with slight confusion. ¡°A summoning circle will let us know when you are online and can teleport you to our location.¡± KDrama explained. ¡°Can¡¯t we send an in-game message to each other?¡± I asked. ¡°Nope.¡± One-Shot enthusiastically replied. ¡°It¡¯s annoying but you will get used to this way of communicating.¡± She¡¯s pretty happy letting me know how painful the game-play is. KDrama, meanwhile, began spreading a huge sheet of paper on the floor. It had a huge circle printed on it ¨C similar to the concentric circles I saw in Juan Lee¡¯s and Bong-Chol¡¯s room. This ¡®magic¡¯ circle had fewer rings¡­and maybe the characters were different. Similar but different. ¡°What is this?¡± Hopefully, my next clue is here? ¡°A summoning circle.¡± KDrama replied. ¡°It¡¯s quite standard in the game. There isn¡¯t any magic in this game. Everything works on summoning circles ¨C we can talk about this in more detail if you decide to play on. We would have to because you can¡¯t do anything in this game without these circles. Just step in and answer yes.¡± I did as I was asked. The moment I stepped in ¨C a window popped open:
Do you wish to establish a bond with summoner, KDrama Too Much?
I chose ¡°Yes¡± and that was the biggest mistake I made in my life. Chapter 7: Dead End The magical summoning circle: 4 concentric circles and in between them were several alien/foreign characters. I say alien because they resemble nothing like any of the languages on Earth ¨C mostly weird but unique squiggles. Most players would write it off as simply gibberish or detailed artwork but I could see a pattern ¨C mostly thanks to my linguistics background. Having studied languages and their evolution, I find it interesting how a gaming company has bothered to build its own language. Nobody does that ¨C not anymore at least. I could think of a few examples such as JRR Tolkien, who way back in the day wrote multiple languages while writing his novel. Then there was George RR Martin¡­but more recently¡­no one. Take Royal Road for example ¨C the in-game language is automatically translated for players. There is a setting to turn it off but a basic analysis of the written scripture is enough to conclude its random characters. Contrast that with the written characters I am seeing here ¨C I see more consistency and structure ¡­ maybe even grammar rules. These are small details but it makes me wonder why did the game developers bother with such minute details. As I stare at the magic circle beneath my feet, the circles printed on the sheet of paper begin lighting up. There is a soft white slow around the borders of the circle and slowly the entire circle begins shining white. The shining light begins projecting alien characters in the air, which then begin swirling around me. Next, the individual alien characters in between the circles begin glowing gold. I don¡¯t know if it was an in-game effect or just the moment of the fancy lighting display: but I felt nauseated. Just as I begin to feel sick, it all disappeared. The printed paper beneath my feet burnt away, leaving behind a small card. ¡°Is it done?¡± I ask as I steady myself. KDrama and One-Shot nodded in unison. ¡°Then I¡¯ll see you two in a bit.¡± I said as I logged off. Audicious-Lee slowly walked towards his bed and went to sleep. ¡°Are you awake?¡± One-Shot asked as she peered over Audicious-Lee. ¡°What are you doing?¡± KDrama asked as he pulled her back. ¡°Just checking if he is here.¡± She replied without looking away. KDrama sighed and dragged her away.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°I can¡¯t believe he agreed to it so easily. Did he really lose his memories?¡± One-Shot asked. ¡°It could be someone else¡­¡± KDrama answered her question. ¡°Those are the only two possibilities.¡± ¡°But does it matter? Are we really going to help him?¡± One-Shot asked with a smug smile on her face. KDrama paused for a moment as he thought about it carefully, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°EH!!? WHY!?¡± One-Shot angrily shot back. ¡°Why go through a summoning circle ritual if we are going to help him?? I thought we were here to steal a candy from a baby.¡± ¡°And then what?¡± KDrama shot back. ¡°What¡¯s the point of that? Does it help us beat the game?¡± One-Shot remained silent. ¡°Don¡¯t be so narrow minded. Even if we get ahead of him now, I am sure he will learn. The summoning circle will only last till the end of this cycle, but what then?¡± KDrama continued asking her questions. ¡°You need to think about the bigger picture. We will get our chance to cut him loose but for the time being we need to know what was Dancing Daggers up to.¡± ¡°Che¡­then I am not going to be nice to him. I don¡¯t like all this waiting stuff, if he annoys me, I am going to give him hell.¡± One-Shot bitterly replied back as though her toy had been snatched away from her. KDrama shrugged his shoulders. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t get in my way, I am alright with anything.¡± One-Shot gleefully smiled as followed KDrama. *** In my pitch-black room, the laptop¡¯s screen bright light illuminated my face. No matter how many websites I checked or how many forums I scrolled through, I found no mention of ¡°missing Valor gamers¡±. That¡¯s strange¡­.It¡¯s as if someone is almost actively working to remove any content which hints the game is dangerous. If that is the case¡­I check historical results of the search engine. Numerous ¡®missing player¡¯ titles began popping up. Players weren¡¯t just missing in Korea, but from France, Japan, and many other countries. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t actually read the content of these historical search results as they no longer exist. I throw myself back into my plush chair as I stare at the screen ¨C so someone IS actively removing any mention of missing players from the game. At this point, it¡¯s obvious: several missing players and actively removing web content, all point to need of large resources and manpower. Unless Bruce Wayne had an alter-ego, the most likely culprit is Laureta Inc. But that brings me back to the main problem I had with keeping Laureta Inc. as a culprit ¨C why bother? What¡¯s up with elaborate scheming? Does it make any sense in developing a game, offering $50M as prize money¡­ My train of thoughts came to a dead halt! I facepalm my forehead. How can I be so stupid? Of course! This is all about the prize money; they don¡¯t want anyone to win. Yet, they want to profit of the capsule sales and rental fees. I am 90% sure, I am correct. However, I am no crusader of justice. Furthermore, before making such a high-profile accusation, as an investigator I need to dig deeper. I reach out to my cop buddies in Seoul HQ and begin leading them down the rabbit hole. *** ¡°Stan, I really appreciate the information you are providing me but how am I suppose to convince my boss that a company is kidnapping gamers to keep their prize money?¡± My friend, Eun Jung, asked me. ¡°I don¡¯t know! Isn¡¯t that the part where you do your work?¡± I retort. ¡°Maybe, we can look into their tax filings or financial statements or something? Or maybe you can track down who works there and ask them?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Eun gave a long pause as she considered my suggestions. ¡°As long as they operate on Korean soil, those things should not be too difficult to obtain¡­sorry my database shows they don¡¯t have business in Korea.¡± ¡°What?¡± I am shocked. ¡°How are players buying this game in Korea, if they don¡¯t have a business here?¡± I could hear Eun clicking away, before she replied, ¡°As far as I can tell the game capsule is distributed here by partner agency, Red Hat and¡­¡­¡­the game capsule is given away for free. They only handle the logistics. If you are saying that they buy the game capsule then it must be directly from the US.¡± I slump back into my chair, holding my phone to my chest. ¡°I am sorry Stan, but if they are giving away the game for free. Isn¡¯t that a dead end to your theory? Stan, you there?¡± This makes no sense. ¡°Thanks Eun. Let me know if you hear anything about this company or game.¡± I drop the call and drag my legs to my bed. I am starting to feel frustrated and yet¡­I am starting to like this challenge even more. Chapter 8: Three Pronged Plan ¡°And that¡¯s the progress I have made so far.¡± I explained to Choong-hoon and the old man everything that I found thus far ¨C from the missing players to the company¡¯s cover up. I don¡¯t know what their expressions since we were on a conference call. However, I suspect Choong-hoon is blushing red with embarrassment with my lack of progress and the old man must be disappointed and annoyed. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± The old man slowly answered to break the silence. Well that''s surprising - he doesn¡¯t sound disappointed just very patient. ¡°Though it is strange that so many people have gone missing and yet, there isn¡¯t so much as a whisper?¡± ¡°Strange but not that strange.¡± Choong-hoon answered. ¡°Hundreds of people go missing every year and the players who went missing aren¡¯t exactly the cream of society. Based on what Stan has uncovered so far, most of the cases have been dispersed across the world. With 12 missing players across four years, and only Korea with 2 players missing ¨C this wouldn¡¯t exactly be breaking news.¡± Well that¡¯s one way to put it in perspective Choong-hoon. Talk about being insensitive. ¡°What Choong-hoon means to say is just because players are missing from the game doesn¡¯t mean that they are missing in real life, they could have simply quit.¡± I quickly explain. ¡°Do you believe that?¡± The old man asked me. ¡°¡­I believe in facts. What we need most now is to establish facts.¡± I answered. ¡°What will you do now?¡± The old man continued, ignoring my reply. ¡°This really depends on how much money¡­.¡± ¡°Money is no objection.¡± The old man cut into my reply. ¡°If that is the case¡­. we need a three-pronged approach to this. There are the missing players, the mysterious gaming company, and the game itself. Google searches aren¡¯t enough to get the information we need ¨C most of that information has been erased or removed. What we need is information from the ground. If players are missing and their family has signed an NDA, they aren¡¯t going to talk to us over the phone.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Right, it would be better to meet them in person.¡± Choong-hoon chimed in. ¡°But other than in-game names, we don¡¯t have any other information on players¡­.it would be very difficult to find players¡­¡± I roll my eyes ¨C this bugger just wants to earn credit without doing any work. It¡¯s so obvious it hurts to hear him. ¡°No, only some of the players who went missing later left their in-game names. Many of the top players in the earlier cycles of the game gave multiple interviews to media channels. I am sure we can track down their relatives or something. The problem is the manpower and resources required to investigate this.¡± There is a solution to every problem, we only need to think of the solution. ¡°I can lead the investigation in the US.¡± Choong-hoon hurriedly replied. This idiot. He sees a free vacation to the US and he¡¯s jumping to seize the first opportunity. I want to dissuade the old man from letting Choong-hoon lead investigations from the US but I hold myself back. As useless as he is, he is good at managing people ¨C he¡¯s got me dancing to his tune, doesn¡¯t he? ¡°Similarly, we need to dig up as much as we can about the company. If there is a prize money, I am guessing they need to hold the actual funds somewhere. No person, would hold that kind of money in cash, so I am guessing it is held in funds of sorts. That would leave a paper trail which can help us trace it back to the original investor.¡± My experience in dealing with a ponzi scheme is beginning to show. ¡°The only problem is my lack of contacts. I am not sure if I could find the right people to find this information.¡± ¡°I have a few contacts in the US.¡± The old man spoke up. ¡°Leave that to me.¡± ¡°Lastly, what we do know is that the very best players of the game go missing. So, our best bet is to play the game. I am with Juan Lee¡¯s old team mates, so if I use them well, we could uncover this faster.¡± This is it ¨C the master plan. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to hire professional players to do this?¡± Choong-hoon asked. ¡°Maybe¡­but¡­it¡¯s too early at this stage.¡± I explained. ¡°There are two problems ¨C firstly, the waiting list for the gaming capsule is 2 years. The only way to get early access is to be invited. We only have one capsule.¡± ¡°And the other problem?¡± The old man asked. ¡°We know nothing about the game or the team. Playing a game, rising to the top, and acting as bait, is the slowest way to catch the criminal. I am not too confident if this path would even lead us to an answer¡­if we hit a dead end everywhere else then maybe playing the game would be our only option. At that time, it would be a worthwhile avenue to invest in. So, it would be best if I explored this path.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­I am glad Choong-hoon introduced me to you. You have found yourself a capable employee, Choong-hoon.¡± The old man praised me with a hint of warmth in his voice. Maybe he saw a bit of hope. ¡°Haha¡­of course I have a great eye¡­¡± Choong-hoon shamelessly agreed. ¡°Hyung, what about my interview?¡± I politely asked. ¡°Oh no, my battery is dying¡­.Let¡¯s continue this conversation soon.¡± ¡°Hyung¡­¡± The call dropped. %^$#&*!! Chapter 9: Weird Names Runs in the Team ¡°Mom misses you. Sometimes I catch her staring outside the window, like she¡¯s waiting for you to come home.¡± The bitter sweet voice of my sister touched my heart as she spoke to me. ¡°You know how it is, Katy. I can¡¯t come back. Other than you and mom, there is no one who wants me back home.¡± I explained to my kid sister. Ugh¡­I don¡¯t want to get into the specifics but let¡¯s just say we all have those personal sob stories. Mine is the one where I am the black sheep of the family. ¡°But it¡¯s been 6 years¡­and why did you have to go all the way to Korea? I can¡¯t even afford the flight tickets to come visit you.¡± She sounds as though she is mad at me but it¡¯s the loving mad. ¡°You know why, Katy. I feel responsible for what happened to the family. If I need to find answers, I need to start here. There is no other way about it. And life here isn¡¯t so bad¡­.you¡¯d love it here. Did I tell you about Myeongdong? It¡¯s the mecca for cosmetics ¨C they literally have every conceivable ¡­¡± ¡°I am not a kid anymore, Stan. I know you are trying to change the topic here.¡± My sister sighed on the other end. ¡°Forget it. Did you find out who kidnapped those gamers?¡± Yup, she¡¯s growing up. It used to be easier to fool her before. ¡°Yes and no¡­.I initially thought it was a person but now I think it might be the game developer ¨C Laureta Inc. It¡¯s not just happening here in Korea but all over the world.¡± I speak about my work to my sister: it sometimes help with thinking through ideas and sometimes it just helps cope with things. ¡°Crazy¡­¡± Her voice sounded dull and uninterested. ¡°Will this help?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I have an interview that firm next week ¨C I think they will hire me given the mess I created for them.¡± ¡°You mean by uncovering the ponzi scheme?¡± My sister curiously asked. ¡°Why would they hire you then?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s better to keep your friends close but enemies closer.¡± I replied with a smile. *** The moment a I logged back into Valor, a voice rang in my head. ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± ¡°KDrama?¡± I asked with a bewildered expression on my face. Unlike in game whisper or hearing something in your ear, this was like hearing something in your head. It was such a weird feeling. ¡°Hai, KDrama Too Much here. Finding it weird?¡± He asked ¨C I could feel the smugness in his voice.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°A bit.¡± I honestly replied. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you will get used to it. We are back in Aldonisia and brought along your stuff. Just accept the summon and you¡¯ll be instantly teleported here.¡± A box popped up in front of me:
KDrama Too Much has summoned you. You can refuse thrice (0/3) before you must accept his summon. Would you like to accept KDrama Too Much¡¯s summon?
I accepted the request and found my surroundings turn hazier and hazier. At some point everything turned dark: I couldn¡¯t see or feel my body. So Bizzzzaaareeee¡­.. The next thing I knew, I was standing in the centre of a room filled with people staring at me. I waved at them but got no response. ¡°He really did lose all his memories¡­.¡± A small girl facing me was the first to speak. Next to her KDrama nodded his head almost as though he was reaffirming ¨C I told you so. ¡°He¡¯s almost like a different person¡­¡± ¡°Eh? What was I like before?¡± I asked. Let¡¯s learn something about Juan Lee. Although, his father shared his profile with me, it¡¯s always better to get a first hand impression of him from people. The girl stared at my face as though she spotted an interesting animal at the zoo. ¡°How do I put it in words¡­it was like you were fiercer and much colder. You would have never waved back to me.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± That was spot on. Juan Lee was a brat of the first order. He was spoilt sole grandson of a big business tycoon in Korea. Nothing to the order of a chaebol but still very rich. He looked down on people and treated everyone poorly. His grandfather knew about his grandson¡¯s habits but would perpetually over look them. I wouldn¡¯t say $50M is a small amount to his family but to Juan Lee who had been given a final warning to change his ways or lose his inheritance, I¡¯d say it mattered. ¡°I am TinkerBell.¡± The little girl introduced herself and then began to introduce others in clockwise, ¡°That¡¯s Heavenly Sword, Lethal Bacon, Evil Monster, Glitter Fart, and SgtMorningWood.¡± They all raised their hand slightly as their name was called out. ¡°¡­.¡± I think my brains froze. What the fuck is up with these stupid names. Were they all standing in ascending order of hilariously stupid names? Maybe my expression was too obvious because Glitter Fart needed to defend themselves, ¡°We had more normal names when the game initially started¡­at some point you don¡¯t care and really feel like messing around¡­never mind¡­¡± I think he gave up once he realized how futile his efforts were. As I quickly stole a glance around the room, I noticed that they all wore different outfits ¨C some wore metal armour, some wore a leather outfit, and one was dressed similar to a mage. ¡°Anyways¡­.¡± Tinkerbell interrupted the looming awkwardness. ¡°You won¡¯t find a team like ours for sure! We are the BEST!¡± She added while striking some weird Japanese anime pose. I can assure you my seriously gaze, which literally said are you stupid as well, killed her enthusiasm instantly. ¡°Boooo¡­I want my old Audicious-Lee back¡­ You always found that pose cutesy.¡± She replied with a pout. *** Other than Tinkerbell, no one was particularly chatty. No one asked me what happened or asked how I was doing. They just simply observed me. It was 10 minutes into my summoning, when Heavenly Sword spoke up, ¡°I¡¯m done. I think it¡¯s better we throw him out of our team and than let him drag us.¡± Heavenly Sword had a deep voice, he was over six feet talk and beefed up with muscles. What was particularly eye catching was the broadsword, which was nearly as long as him, hanging on his back. He would be what I¡¯d describe as a swordsman. I am guessing that¡¯s where the name Heavenly Sword comes from? Lethal Bacon and Evil Monster also nodded their heads. ¡°KDrama, you know how intense the competition is. We can¡¯t afford newbie training while others race ahead. Just updating him about all cycles will take forever¡­moreover somethings need to be experienced and cannot be taught.¡± KDrama nodded his head in agreement. ¡°I agree, Sword. However, we all acknowledge that Dancing Daggers was one of the best players of Valor. I don¡¯t know why he hasn¡¯t logged back in¡­. but till he doesn¡¯t we can only turn to Audicious-Lee and hope he recovers his memories. Furthermore, Tinkerbell has agreed to bring him up to speed. So, it isn¡¯t your responsibility.¡± Before Heavenly Sword could say anything else, KDrama added, ¡°This is my final decision as Captain.¡± With that being said, the three, who disagreed with me remaining on the team, left the room. I could hear one of them say, ¡°Why call us when you have already decided¡­¡± Oh boy¡­I am sorry KDrama that you had to make such a tough call because of me. Please forgive me but I am really not Audicious-Lee. Chapter 10: Speechless I can truthfully say that I am not welcomed in this team: other than Tinkerbell, no one wanted me to stay on in the team. It was only KDrama¡¯s veto that has earned me the right to stay on. To be fair, I think both sides are reasonable arguments ¨C the stakes are pretty high in this game and taking on a newbie mid season isn¡¯t exactly a good decision. However, I appreciate KDrama¡¯s long term vision: if I regain my memories, the team regains its previous mojo and propels forward¡­.Unfortunately, that will never happen unless I find Juan Lee. Which brings me to now ¨C Audicious-Lee¡¯s first class in Valor: ¡°Have you read about Valor on the internet?¡± Tinkerbell asked as she began ruffling through a heap of papers in front of her. I had to describe her, I would say that she¡¯s bubbling with energy. She¡¯s hyperactive and has a flippant personality. Her in-game character is a (maybe) 10 years old European girl, short red hair, and red eyes. It suits her. ¡°Only the basics¡­to be honest, there wasn¡¯t much online to begin with.¡± I responded. ¡°I know that the game has been running for 4 years and has since then reset 22 times, some 6000 players play the game¡­¡± ¡°Only surface level facts about the game¡­.¡± Tinkerbell chimed in with her back facing toward me. ¡°It¡¯s not like the internet is flushed with information¡­¡± I defended myself. ¡°True true¡­strange¡­I am sure I kept it somewhere here.¡± She soon pulled out a card which had an image of a book on the front and a summoning circle at the back (that¡¯s the in-game terminology for what I referred to as the magic circle). ¡°Aha! Here it is!¡± She exclaimed excitedly. ¡°Summon - Introductory Guide.¡± The white color bordered card in her hand was immediately replaced with a book. As she struck a victory pose with her fingers, I begin applauding ¨C anything to pander to her ego: the last thing I want is to lose my only team supporter and get kicked off the team. ¡°What I did right now is called summoning. I know it doesn¡¯t look like much compared to other games but trust me, it¡¯s powerful. Imagine if I suddenly summoned a dragon into this room?¡± Her tone went from fun and games at the start of the sentence to dead pan serious at the end of it. ¡°That would be scary, indeed.¡± I admitted. ¡°Can you summon a dragon?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t have that card¡­yet.¡± Tinkerbell replied with a twinkle in her eye. ¡°Is this RPG meets card game?¡± It sounds similar to a card game: collect amazing cards, duel opponents or something, collect more awesome cards and so on¡­ ¡°Exactly.¡± She nodded as she returned to her normal cutesy tone. ¡°You should read this book. It was given to all of us when we started this game.¡± She handed me a thin book with a brown leather cover.¡± As she hands me the book, she jumps on the couch and sits right next to me. I flip open the book and begin from the first page¡­why is she sitting right next to me! I fidget away from her but she scoots right over as though she lacks basic concepts of personal space.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Ummm, anything I can help you with?¡± I politely ask her while reaching the end of the couch. ¡°Whatcya doing?¡± She asked as she moved her face closer to mine. Maybe a bit too close for my comfort. ¡°Reading the beginners guide¡­¡± ¡°Why! You can just ask me anything¡­.¡± Tinkerbell complained. Oh my god! She is so annoying¡­she just told me to read this guide. See what I meant when I said she had a flippant personality? Let¡¯s just roll with it. I sighed before asking, ¡°Umm¡­so how do we win?¡± ¡°Win?¡± ¡°Win the prize money? Beat the game? Be the best player¡­etc. etc. You know. What¡¯s the point of playing?¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Tinkerbell¡¯s shoulder¡¯s slumped for some reason as she moved away from me. ¡°That¡¯s boring stuff. You can read about that in the guide. How about summoning? Don¡¯t you want to summon?¡± That¡¯s boring stuff? Why? Why? ¡°¡­Sure?¡± Is there any right answer to her? In the end, I am not her playmate but her toy. ¡°Excellent!¡± Tinkerbell clapped her hands as she jumped up and down excitedly. She pulled out a deck of cards from god knows where and placed them in my hand. ¡°Quick, summon something.¡± I stare at the deck of cards. The cards are the size of a regular playing card but they don¡¯t seem to be made of paper. They felt more like metallic paper. I don¡¯t think I could bend these cards or tear them with normal force. Hmmm¡­I think the best way to describe them would be fancy pokemon cards? ¡°How do I summon?¡± At least teach me something, goddamnit. You are the most useless teacher. ¡°Just say Summon, followed by the card title.¡± Tinkerbell explained. I quickly read through the cards and realized they varied. Some were creatures such as animals, humans, and spirits, while some were objects, and the remaining were action cards. ¡°Which one?¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Tinkerbell was staring at the cards and then she chose one with a silver gloss border. It read Common Fire Sprite; used 10SP to summon, had 50HP, and could summon up to 4 fireballs which would do 25 damage. This seemed to be the basic information on all the cards ¨C SP, HP, and ability. There were more details but they tended to vary by card. ¡°Do the different border colors mean anything?¡± Tinkerbell nodded her head vigorously. ¡°Hai! There are different tiers based on their rarity. A fire sprite can be considered a common card and is denoted with a silver border. The most common cards are known as trash and have a rusty iron colored border. That¡¯s followed by bronze and then silver. The highest tiered cards are Mithril¡­they are supposed to be soft white ¡­.but I don¡¯t think anyone has ever crafted those. Since we are just practicing it should be alright to use your lowest level card ¨C silver.¡± Alright, ¡®Common Fire Sprite¡¯ it is. ¡°Summon Common Fire Sprite.¡± At first it would appear nothing happened. However, if you paid attention, you would notice silver characters of the in-game language flickering on the card. After maybe two seconds of my summon, the card in my hand burst into sparkly dust and was replaced with a hologram of 3 magic circles, hovering in mid air. As I watched in anticipation, a small flaming orb slowly appeared through the magic circle. ¡°¡­¡± It did nothing. I turn towards Tinkerbell who stared at the fire sprite in excitement. Am I missing something? ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± I asked, slightly confused. ¡°I hate to say it¡­but this is rather disappointing.¡± I think my words crushed Tinkerbell¡¯s soul because she practically froze in place after hearing them. ¡°You don¡¯t find this amazing?¡± She asked with a soft voice. ¡°Umm¡­no¡­it¡¯s just a game¡­and that fire sprite isn¡¯t¡­.¡± And that¡¯s when it happened. My words stopped right there. I wouldn¡¯t be able to put it into words but I could ¡°FEEL¡± the fire sprite annoyed with me for summoning it for no reason. The reason why this is a big deal is because ¡®feeling emotions¡¯ imposed by a game is a pioneering new technological front. I believe even Royal Road can only make you feel basic emotions such as ¡®pain¡¯ or ¡®confusion¡¯. But these are considered basic emotions. The nuances behind feeling more subtle emotions such as ¡®annoyance¡¯ are far more complex than ¡®pain¡¯. What¡¯s more I am feeling what the NPC is feeling ¨C I have never read anywhere anything about NPC¡¯s feeling anything! I mean they are complex semi-intelligent programs¡­but to feel something? To be able to share that feeling? I am sure even the most sophisticated programs would not be able to accomplish this¡­ As I stared at the ball of fire with incredulity, I felt it tell me to dispel it. I don¡¯t know how I knew what to say ¨C maybe it was intention? Or feelings the sprite communicated to me but I knew what I had to say to dispel the summoned sprite. ¡°Dispel Common Fire Sprite.¡± I whispered. The fire sprite instantly disappeared. I stood motionless, unable to utter a single word. Tinkerbell excitedly stared at me as though she expected this reaction. ¡°Don¡¯t you find this amazing??¡± She asked again with a smugness in her voice. Chapter 11: Try another one Okay I have to admit this is quite amazing. I am not quite sure how ¡®they¡¯ coded such complicated emotions or figured out to transmit these ¡®feelings¡¯ but the feat sure is impressive. Maybe I should dismantle the capsule and check the underlying technology. ¡°This¡­¡± I paused as I searched for the right words to communicate my thoughts. ¡°medium of communication is normal in the game?¡± I asked as I simplified the many questions I had. Tinkerbell excitedly nodded. ¡°It is the only game that can achieve such great detailing of emotions and that too with such clarity. Even Royal Road cannot compare with it.¡± Her tone was filled with pride ¨C I guess anyone would react like this when they share their hidden gem? I have to agree with her. I can¡¯t think of any game that can compare with Valor on this front. As I was lost in my thoughts, Tinkerbell pushed another card in my hand. ¡°Try summoning this one as well!¡± She said as she answered the questioning expression on my face. ¡°This is a light blue card¡­what tier is it?¡± I asked as I examined the card that she handed me. It read ¡®Holy Paladin ¨C General of the Great Northern Armies¡¯: consumed 100SP / day, 500 MP upon summoning, and 10 Gold / day. Compared to the Fire Sprite, the Holy Paladin General had absurd costs. However, it had similarly absurd attributes - over 3000 HP and a single attack did 500 damage. If I had to guess this was a top tier summoning card¡­ ¡°It¡¯s diamond tier card!¡± Tinkerbell replied. I thought so. She continued talking with impatience pouring out from her voice, ¡°Of all the cards discovered or crafted till now, Diamond is the highest tier. It¡¯s like ULTRA-RARE!¡± She shouted the last bit right into my ear ¨C she is hyperactive¡­save me. ¡°Then why am I summoning it?¡± These things have limited uses. I didn¡¯t see it before but after using the Fire Sprite card, the durability of the card now displayed ?. I guess the durability attribute doesn¡¯t show up if you don¡¯t use the card¡­ ¡°I mean, what if it¡¯s a one-time use?¡± Don¡¯t rare cards usually have strict requirements. It seems as though my question surprised Tinkerbell or at the very least caught her off-guard. However, she didn¡¯t seem troubled at all. ¡°Good point¡­¡± Tinkerbell took the diamond tier out of my hand and placed it on the table. She began explaining, ¡°There are four basic spells ¨C Summon, Dispel, Examine, and Update. You know the first two, so we can skip those. I¡¯ll explain the last two ¨C they aren¡¯t used as often but are still pretty important. If you want to know detailed information about a summon just use the ¡®Examine¡¯ spell. This will show you the underlying complex code of your spell, which includes the terms of contract. When a contract is about to expire or if your summon has morphed ¨C use update to update the information in your card.¡± She could see I had questions but ignored me. Then she took out a small blue gem stone from her pocket and placed it directly on top of the card. ¡°Normally, I don¡¯t need to use mana stones. However, if you want to project information. You need these¡­¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°Examine!¡± She whispered. The blue color drained from the gem stone and the card began shining¡­.no it would be better to say the card turned into a hologram projector, displaying many panels of continuously changing data. I guess this is what she meant by ¨C ¡®underlying complex code of your spell¡¯. It¡¯s like staring at the matrix screen: weird random blue glowing alien characters constantly raining down. Tinkerbell ignored most of the panels and only focused on those with the English language. Her eyes were darting from one panel to another till she reached what she was looking for. ¡°Unbelievable¡­¡± she muttered. I followed her eyes to the text panel and read:
Contract Term 14 Duration of the Contract is to be followed as agreed by the terms described in this clause. This contract is valid as long as the Summoner fulfills the terms of summoning. However, the duration of this validity is determined by the agreed duration between the Summoned and Summoner. It should be noted that the agreed duration between the parties cannot exceed the duration limit set by the ¡®Heavenly Laws¡¯. In this case, the contract is between HUMAN (Summoner) and HUMAN (Summoned) for a period of 5 years. The typical duration of such a contract set by the ¡®Heavenly Laws¡¯ is 5 years unless the parties have explicitly agreed to set durations lower than this. There was no explicit duration set within the contract and hence Heavenly Laws have been applied. In addition to the above, it should be noted that if the contract is not valid or if the terms of the contract are breached - the contract will be considered voided and the Summoned has no obligation to follow through. In this case the duration of the contract comes to an end prematurely. Furthermore, Exceptions Clause takes precedence over all core terms of contract (Terms 01 - 68). Specific to this case, Summoned Beings, who do not meet the exceptions criteria, will automatically void the contract and hence, terminate all remaining duration immediately.
Wow¡­that was quite legally worded¡­. anyway, long story short as long as I can pay for my summon this summon is valid for 5 years. This card is indeed quite good and vastly superior to the silver tiered fire sprite. ¡°Summon Holy Paladin ¨C General of the Great Northern Armies.¡± I spoke out as I held the card up in the air. The animations were a bit different this time ¨C instead of burst into flames, the card slowly began to dematerialize (evaporate), followed by a hologram of four magic circles appearing on the ground, and finally intense white light slowly forming into the silhouette of a person. As the image materialized, there was a young woman clad in silver armour standing with her sword drawn. With all her armour and helmet, I couldn¡¯t make out her features other than she was a woman. ¡°You summoned?¡± The Holy Paladin asked as she bowed towards me, awaiting my instructions. ¡°You finally appeared!¡± Tinkerbell squealed as she shook the Paladin¡¯s hand while jumping. ¡°I can only be summoned by my Contractor.¡± The Paladin replied with a strict tone as though she were looking down on the little girl. The Paladin freed her hand from Tinkerbell¡¯s grip. Tinkerbell seemed to be pouting, ¡°Really¡­that¡¯s a high level summon for you.¡± ¡°Should I dispel her?¡± I asked. Unlike the fire sprite, I feel no telepathic connection with this summon. You¡¯d think that a higher tier card would be more amazing but she doesn¡¯t give off any such vibe. Before Tinkerbell could say anything, the Paladin took a step closer to me and lifted me into the air by the collar. ¡°You summoned me all the way here for absolutely no reason?¡± I think she is pissed ¨C now I feel bad¡­. Wait! This kind of thinking is just wrong. Why are my cards always so pissed at me when I summon them? Do they need to have a reason to be summoned? ¡°Is it a problem?¡± I meekly ask. I think she raised me higher with that question. ¡°A problem you ask? I left everything I was doing to answer your summon and now I find out it was for absolutely nothing¡­.and you dare ask me a high ranking general ¨C is it a problem? You tell me, do you think I have a problem?¡± The Paladin asked as she shook me in mid air. What¡¯s with this ridiculous strength and comical shakedown!! ¡°No!¡± Tinkerbell snapped. ¡°We have a reason!¡± ¡°We¡ªee-e-e-e-e- Doo-oo-o-o-o-o-o?¡± I asked as I limply went back forth in mid air. ¡°Did he summon you a week or ten days ago?¡± Tinkerbell asked. ¡°I only answer to my summoner.¡± The Paladin replied. ¡°Yee-ssssss. Peh Leezzzzz Aaaaanswer Herrrrr quesssstionnnnssss.¡± I quickly replied. The paladin took a deep breath and stopped shaking me like a milk shake. She slowly placed me down and released her grip. ¡°No. He did not.¡± Well, that disappointing to know. Looks like it¡¯s another dead-end. However, not necessarily a bad outcome. I can summon my cards just to see if Audicious-Lee used them right before his disappearance and gleam some information on what mission was he on or where was he last in the game. Tinkerbell passed me the guide book. ¡°Audicious-lee, read the guide. I have some questions for your Paladin.¡± I quietly take the book and run away ¨C I¡¯ll happily read the book than deal with the Paladin giving me the death glare! Chapter 12: Valor鈥檚 History ¡°It is said once upon a time, the Gods roamed across the continent of Laurentcia. As time went by, the Gods had children ¨C each child different from the other. The Dragons were the oldest and most well endowed: not lacking in health, magic or spirituality. However, the Dragons were too conceited and thus, the Gods decided to give each other next children one gift and only one gift. Thus, each child that came thereafter, was less brilliant than the Dragon. The ancient Elves were gifted in the tongue of magic, the short Dwarves gifted in astounding strength, and the Humans in spirituality. Working together - the Dwarves used their strength to craft summoning circles, the Elves supplied them with magic and spells, and Humans used their spiritual power to summon. Thus, the three races lived in harmony and loved by the Gods. Jealous of their parent¡¯s love for their new children, the Dragon¡¯s created monstrous races to trouble their siblings. However, the venerable God¡¯s foiled the attempts of the trouble making Dragons. As a lesson to all their children, the Gods banished Dragons to another plane. The existence of Gods blessed the lands and seas with bountiful harvest. The Gods preached humanistic values and enforced their peaceful will upon all races. Beyond the reach of any creature, the Gods stood tall above all other races. Hunger, poverty, sickness, and conflict were unheard of words. It was paradise for all races. Unfortunately, nothing is truly eternal. A thousand years or so, the Gods began to disappear from the world one by one. At first it went by unnoticed, after all no one really knew what the Gods were up to all the time. However, as time went food became scarce and people succumbed to hunger. Famines became increasingly common and street brawls were a common sight. This would be later known as the onset of the Dark Age. Ten years later, the last of the Gods would disappear and with this the path for war was paved. The last reason holding back conflict was gone. With no Gods to govern the world, each race took upon itself to govern the rest. The world descended into chaos. At first it seemed that the elves had the upper hand with their ability to wield magic to their will. However, they could not replenish their numbers as quickly as other races. In time their strength waivered and they were forced to retreat. The next race to rise were the Orcs (creation of the Dragons), pushing ahead with sheer strength and numbers. The Orcs became a force to reckon with. The onslaught of the Orcs wiped out many races or brought many of them to the verge of extinction. The existential threat brought about an alliance amongst all remaining races and the Orcs were finally defeated. The rampage of the Orcs was known as the First Great War and went on for nearly a hundred years.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. The world entered into a relatively strange calm for a few years. Just when everyone was getting used to the peace, a new calamity broke out: Mana Surge. Many historical records were lost during this calamity and the exact cause could never be determined. Hordes of monstrous beasts descended upon the cities and towns, indiscriminately attacking creatures of all races. The war had already taken a toll on those who remained and the sustained horde attacks broke everyone¡¯s spirit. It was then that a Prophet of New True God, the Wise Sage, descended from the heavens. Under his guidance, did humanity survive. The Dark Ages had come to an end. Too exhausted to fight or defend, many magical races hid themselves away ¨C the lucky ones found homes on different planes. Humanity came to the forefront of ruling the continent and with the aid of the Wise Sage, humans brought upon an era of peace and prosperity for themselves. The Wise Sage opened churches, orphanages, and charities all across the continent to alleviate the suffering of those ravaged by the war. In time, the glorious name of the Wise Sage spread far and wide and his deeds became known to all. His followers worshipped him and others sang his praises¡­ Unfortunately, as written before - nothing is truly eternal. A hundred years later, the Wise Sage was assassinated by a lich. While the world grieved at the loss of a messiah, the Wise Sage¡¯s first disciple ascended to the head of the holy church. He led a crusade against the lich and uncovered a dastardly secret ¨C the Lich had raised an army of the undead. The world was quick to assemble at the behest of the Wise Sage and thus, the Second Great War was fought. It was a bitter battle and ended with the defeat of Satan, the Unholy Lich. However, this was not the end of Satan. Over the course of the next few centuries, the Holy Church and the armies of the undead would clash several more times. The Third and Fourth Wars not only decimated the forces of the Holy Church but also resulted in the rapid loss of successors: all the disciples of the Wise Sage were killed. Nonetheless, humanity¡¯s continued hope in the One True God helped them persist. At the end of the Fifth Great War, the Lich gained a foothold on the continent: the heretic Dark Empire was born. Unable to ignore the Holy Church¡¯s plea for help and growing evil plague, the One True God summoned great Champions.¡± Okay I get it ¨C the background story is unusually detailed and long but the gist is the same as any other story: save the world from an evil overlord. But seriously, what¡¯s with Christian reference to Satan? Developers had a sudden lack of creativity? ¡°Any luck?¡± I asked Tinkerbell as I saw her approach with the Paladin. Tinkerbell shook her head sideways. ¡°No. You last summoned her for a mission with MorningWood. I think MorningWood have details about that mission. I am sorry ¨C I thought by summoning your strongest summon, we would have uncovered what happened.¡± Tinkerbell¡¯s shoulders drooped as she hung her head. I do feel bad for lying to her ¨C Ah, well such is life kid. I pat her head as I attempt to console her. ¡°Next time, tell me what you are planning. Two heads are better than one, you know?¡± ¡°Not to be the third wheel in your love story but if there is nothing else you need of me, it would be great if you could dispel me¡­.¡± The Paladin muttered. ¡°Eeeeek!!! No!!!¡± Tinkerbell screamed as she pushed my hand away and walked ten steps backwards away from me. She held her hands up in an ¡®X¡¯ and kept saying ¡®not happening¡¯. Her face was flushed red ¨C Don¡¯t tell me she likes Audicious-Lee!! I feel like face palming myself ¨C I should have noticed. ¡°Ou¡­¡± The eyes of the Paladin twinkled with a hint of mischievousness as she watched Tinkerbell react in embarrassment. ¡°Do you lo¡­HEY!¡± ¡°Dispel.¡± I whispered. Seriously, one problematic person is more than enough!