194 – Epilogue (1)
Everything was over.
…Of course, thanks to Arthur and Loria’s rampage, the territory had suffered some damage that needed to be fixed, but on a large scale, it was safe to say that there was nothing more for Kim Hyun-woo to do.
After all, he had succeeded in stopping the demons, celestials, and even the other world that had tried to destroy this world.
The day after Kim Hyun-woo had finished his task in his own way.
“Hello.”
Kim Hyun-woo made a strange expression as he looked at the mysterious merchant who had entered his office before Elena could even give him a proper report.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
The mysterious merchant asked with a sullen expression, not liking Kim Hyun-woo’s strange expression.
“No, yesterday you acted like you were going to tell me the whole hidden story, but you told me to rest for today and disappeared.”
“Oh, that? I told you, didn’t I? The one who came yesterday was just a clone of my magic projection, so I couldn’t keep it up for long. In the first place, the reason I forcibly created and sent a clone was because of Loria, right?”
“…Even so, I think it’s slow in many ways.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Usually, these things are told before the fight, and then the fight takes place.”
At Kim Hyun-woo’s words, the mysterious merchant shook his head and said.
“That’s only in novels or games. How can things unfold so perfectly in reality? There are times like this and times like that.”
“…Is that so.”
“That’s right. In the first place, there are some who don’t know what happened to them even after everything is over. Compared to them, I’m quite a good person to come and explain everything.”
“Even so, there’s something I want to ask you before I hear that.”
“What is it?”
“First of all, is it really over?”
At Kim Hyun-woo’s words, the mysterious merchant made a humming sound and said.
“Well, it’s all over, right? The demons won’t be able to come down here anymore because they’ve lost their power, and the celestials have also lost most of their power, and Arthur has been destroyed. In fact, there’s nothing left for you to do, and there’s nothing more to worry about on this continent.”
“It’s really over.”
“Is that right?”
“Then that’s fine. Actually, I asked because I would have been exhausted if there was something else after this.”
At Kim Hyun-woo’s words, the mysterious merchant shrugged his shoulders and said.
“Don’t worry, that won’t happen. All that’s left for you now is the right to hear the secrets of this world directly from this administrator.”
The mysterious merchant said so, and then crossed one leg over his thigh and said.
“Now, ask me what you’re curious about.”
“…Even if you tell me to ask you what I’m curious about, there are so many that it’s hard to ask.”
“Then I guess I’ll just tell you from the beginning.”
The mysterious merchant thought for a moment and then said.
“Kim Hyun-woo, you probably know to some extent, but the Arteiel you played wasn’t an ordinary game.”
“Well, I know that.”
“Huh? You knew?”
“The developers were crazy.”
“…”
At Kim Hyun-woo’s answer, the mysterious merchant let out a sigh and said.
“That’s not what I mean. What I’m saying is that Arteiel is really not an ordinary game.”
“…Honestly, I’ve never thought about it that way.”
In fact, Kim Hyun-woo had also felt some doubts about Arteiel.
No, not only Kim Hyun-woo, but many players had such doubts at least once while playing Arteiel.
It was understandable, because the hero AI of Arteiel was so sophisticated that it could not be matched by the level of technology at that time.
That’s why there was even talk that Arteiel was a game made from a real world that only appeared in web novels.
…Of course, such rumors were instantly shattered when the development team began to accelerate the BM system in earnest.
Kim Hyun-woo looked at the mysterious merchant with such thoughts, and she replied.
“In conclusion, the Arteiel that you enjoyed as a game is a game that was made from the real world. To add a little more to the story, it was made like a game on purpose to get help from the humans of your dimension.”
The mysterious merchant thought for a moment and then said.”I think you’ve heard the story, but have you heard the story about the higher dimensions?”
“You mean the story about how this is the lowest dimension and the dimensions get higher from there?”
“That’s right. I see you’ve heard it.”
The mysterious merchant continued.
“To sum it up, the game Arteil was developed to give you the power to fight against the demons, the celestials, and the beings from other worlds.”
“So, to summarize, you created a connection point with the game to borrow power, is that what you’re saying?”
“You’re a quick learner.”
Kim Hyun-woo said to the mysterious merchant.
“…But, how can we help? Even if we play the game a lot, it will only help strategically, and even then, it won’t be that much help.”
“I understand what you’re thinking, but that’s not what we’re asking for help with. To be more precise, it’s the connection between you and us.”
“…Connection?”
“Yes. By simply forming a connection with a higher-dimensional being, a lower-dimensional being can gain a little more power. You know that, right? The correction value.”
“…Ah.”
“What you needed in the first place was that correction value. We created the heroes, but they alone would never have been able to drive out the demons or the celestials.”
The mysterious merchant paused to catch his breath and then continued.
“Anyway, that’s where it all started.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that you need to have this much information to understand what I’m going to say from now on.”
The mysterious merchant said that and began to explain to Kim Hyun-woo.
“It started with the Cheonma War.”
####
About 30 minutes after hearing the mysterious merchant’s story.
“…That’s about it, do you understand?”
“It was a bit long, but I think I understand.”
Kim Hyun-woo nodded his head in agreement, but he also thought.
‘…There wasn’t much to understand.’
The mysterious merchant’s story could have been long, but it was also short enough to be summarized.
To summarize, a few hundred years ago, there was a war called the Cheonma War, which sounds like a martial arts term but was actually a war between the heavens and the demons to eat the lowest-level resource called ether, and all three were destroyed.
“To summarize, they were all destroyed.”
“That’s right, so the ones who returned to their own worlds gathered their strength again and set out to invade this world. Their goal was to revive their leaders through the power of ether, which exists in this world and can grant wishes.”
“Surprisingly, there is no other world?”
“There wasn’t. I created the other world in the first place.”
“…You created the other world?”
“Well, to be more precise, it’s not that I created it intentionally, but rather that it was created by accident.”
The mysterious merchant said, “Hmm,” and then continued.
“Well, to continue the story, I, who am also the administrator of this world, had to protect this world no matter what. Unfortunately, whether it’s the heavens or the demons, the moment they cross over, the balance is broken.”
“What happens then?”
“What happens? It’s destruction. And it’s not just this dimension that’s destroyed. It affects everything from the bottom to the top…even your dimension.”
“…”
“Anyway, from the administrator’s point of view, I had to prevent that at all costs, so I thought about borrowing the power of a higher dimension to prepare.”
“That’s Arteil, right?”
“That’s right.”
“…But in the end, you had to keep the game going for a long time to survive, didn’t you? But why did you operate it that way…no, what did you do?”
The mysterious merchant made a bitter expression at the question that was filled with genuine curiosity and said,
“…Well, it’s a bit of a long story to explain, but even though I’m a transcendent, connecting the higher and lower dimensions and mediating them like a game consumes a lot of power. In other words, I needed a place to replenish my power.”
“…Does that mean it’s a pay-to-win?”
“That’s right. To be precise, the emotions that you guys give off because of the pay-to-win are brought down here and become a great source of ether…well, that’s how it is.”
At the mysterious merchant’s words, Kim Hyun-woo realized why Arteil’s BM was so bad and said,
“…Just so you know, I didn’t do it because I wanted to. It was just something I had to do.””I see.”
“…Actually, I made it a little stronger to make it easier for a short while, but I didn’t know it would fold so quickly.”
“…”
The mysterious merchant sighed and said,
“Anyway, that’s how I raised the heroes well in the beginning, but after the users quit the game, the situation got a little worse because the more users quit, the harder it was to maintain the game.”
“…So you ended the service.”
“That’s right. I didn’t have the strength to maintain the game any longer. So, in a situation where I had no choice but to wait for the invasion of heaven and the devil, she appeared. Roria, who brought you here.”
Kim Hyun-woo focused on her words.