The Healing Solaris Cleric-Chapter 442 (Side Story): Replay (1)

In a pitch-black conference room with no light, several men and women watched a broadcast through a projector.

—The Myers Raid had already lasted three hours and fifty-two minutes.

—They have reached phase four, but it is about time the players grow tired.

—That’s right. However, it’s also time for them to push harder.

—And this is the very heart of Myers’ lair! Time is on its side!

The commentators raised their tone to lift the sinking mood.

The Gold Dragon Myers. It was the boss monster meant to conclude the main episode of Fantasia Online, Nest of the Seven Dragons.

“Even I’m nervous... Sir, what does Ramus predict the result will be?”

At his subordinate’s nervous voice, Han Jung-Woo checked his laptop and replied, “It’s not good. The win rate is falling fast.”

According to Pegasus Corporation’s super AI Ramus, the Cheonhwa guild’s chances weren’t very high.

Five minutes at most.

If the momentum didn’t turn around within that time, their win rate would drop below twenty percent.

Just then, sharp exclamations cut through the conference room and the same reactions came from the commentators as well.

“Huh?”

“Huuh?!”

—Huh?! A massive magic circle has appeared on the floor! What is that?!

—Boyd! It’s Boyd, the Cheonhwa guild master who had retreated from the battlefield during phase 2! 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

—As expected, he had something prepared! However, could one spell really flip the situation?!

Just as the commentators said, Myers scoffed. “How foolish. Do you still think magic can harm me?”

The dragons, ancestors of magic itself, had resistance beyond imagination. In fact, every wound carved into its flesh and scales so far had come from knights.

But Boyd smirked as if mocking Myers' scoff. “Of course not. We’re not that stupid.”

“Hmm...?” Myers’s eyes twitched.

Then what was this giant magic circle spread across his nest floor for? The answer to that question soon revealed itself.

“Peace Zone.”

The moment Boyd said the trigger word, the circle burst out a radiant light.

At the same time, the commentators’ voices erupted in shock.

—Agh! Ahhh!!!

—Peace Zone! An unbelievably old spell!

—So this was what he aimed for!

It was an old spell from early Fantasia Online that designated an area as a peace zone and erased all magic within it. It had once been used for resting in hunting grounds, but after dispel scrolls became common it was used less and eventually was forgotten.

“But you don’t carry things like that, do you?”

A monster who wielded all magic without spell chants wouldn’t carry around a magic scroll.

Boyd wiped the sweat trickling down his forehead and laughed. “Then die already, lizard.”

“How dare you!”

Rage filled Myers’s bright yellow eyes, yet without magic, the dragon soon met his end.

—Amazing! They prepared such a tactic for Myers, who held the greatest magic resistance and regeneration among all dragons!

—Cheonhwa’s strategies have always been praised since the Miracle Dream Online days, and this is surely why.

—No one could have guessed they would use Peace Zone, a spell abandoned years ago.

When the raid ended in success, cheers burst out in the conference room as well.

“Nice! Vacation, here we come!”

“Long live the Cheonhwa guild! Long live the Cheonhwa Group!”

The episode they had managed for a year, Nest of the Seven Dragons, had been brought to a successful close.

“Alright, everyone, listen up.” Han Jung-Woo drew the attention of his excited subordinates and instructed, “Operations team, post a world notice in-game and start the event right away.”

“Yes, sir!”

“PR team, release press material about the side episode.”

“Alright!”

“And the Balance team, nerf the Peace Zone effect.”

“Understood!!”

Among the busily moving subordinates, someone approached Jung-Woo with a smile. “Congratulations, sir!”

“This isn’t something I should be congratulated for.”

Producer Koo, his immediate subordinate, waved his hands. “Come on, what are you saying? The Nest of the Seven Dragons was the scenario you prepared together with Ramus. It ended with an explosive response, and the game’s market share went up by two percent compared to last season, so you deserve congratulations. CEO Marco from headquarters isn’t someone who praises easily, yet he even flew here himself last time.”

“Well, that was...” Han Jung-Woo gave a reluctant smile.

If I had to explain, that was closer to atonement.

In MID Online, which had shut down five years ago, there had been no dragon-related update because before such updates could even happen, he had hunted down Muldine, the final boss. Naturally the game skipped over a dozen major updates and went straight to its conclusion.

“Ahem.” Skipping the embarrassing explanation, Han Jung-Woo waved his hand. “Then wrap things up and enjoy your vacation. I’m heading out.”

“Yes, sir! Please get some rest”

With the end of the main episode, every employee in the Korean branch received a long two-week vacation.

Han Jung-Woo got into his car in the underground parking lot, switched on auto-drive, and picked up his phone. The main page of the portal sites was already full of articles about Fantasia Online, FanOn in short.

[Breaking News! Pegasus Corp finishes updating the side episode Song of the Sword just five minutes after the main episode was cleared.]

[Fantasia Online adds the eastern archipelago region Yushin! Concurrent players surpass 100 million!]

[Pegasus Corp’s selfish monopoly widening the market share gap again? Minor developers in tears.]

“Ridiculous,” Han Jung-Woo scoffed. “Minor developers in tears? They should just make better games then.”

Since FanOn’s market share passed eighty-four percent, no game even worth calling a game had come out in years. Knowing they couldn’t compete, developers only released gambling-style gacha games for quick profit, then vanished, and continued the cycle.

“If there is a game that could be called a competitor...”

Han Jung-Woo searched for a certain game.

[Breaking News! Chameleon Games finishes updating Land of the Seven Giants for Mystic Dream Online!]

[Snow falls in heaps, gifts fall in heaps! MYD Online runs a thank-you event for new users.]

[MYD Online’s real-time share nears two percent! Will they stop the winged horse’s monopoly?]

“Tsk.”

Mystic Dream Online. It went without saying that it had nothing to do with Pegasus’s earlier game, Miracle Dream Online. It was obvious they had chosen that name just to stir attention.

“And they copied again...”

Just skimming the main points of their newly launched episode Land of the Seven Giants showed it was obvious they copied his Nest of the Seven Dragons.

It does make me angry, but I can’t sue over something like this.

They would claim it was just genre similarity, or a story they had planned long ago. Once they insisted like that, there was no way to fight back. That was the reality of the industry.

Should I just go ahead and start that game myself...?

Wouldn’t the game shut down if he hunted down and killed the final boss there too?

Amused by the ridiculous thought, Han Jung-Woo let out a small laugh. “Forget it. Not at my age...”

He realized he was already thirty-three. Seeing the young players soaring these days left him only with admiration.

Boyd is amazing in that regard.

When Seol Eun-Yeong inherited the Cheonhwa Group chairmanship two years ago, everyone expected Boyd’s retirement. However, the thirty-five-year-old veteran broke that prejudice head-on and still remained active. Of course, it was only possible since a Wizard relied less on raw reflexes, but it was impressive all the same.

“Lucky...”

Adventure had long since become a distant memory for Han Jung-Woo, but for Boyd it was still reality.

Beep, beep, beep.

When Han Jung-Woo opened the door and stepped into his home, the empty space greeted him in silence.

He collapsed onto the sofa and a weary voice escaped, “Ugh...”

Laying on the sofa after work was always the best. As he enjoyed the joy of being off work, he placed a video call.

—Oh, are you done with work?

“Just finished now. How is it there?”

—It’s great. The wind is a bit strong though.

His wife, Yoo Ha-Rin, who had gone to Scotland to film the variety program Ranker Over Flowers, smiled brightly.

—I saw the article. It said the episode ended well. Congratulations!

“It’s not really anything to be congratulated for.”

—You prepared it for over a year. Let’s have a celebration party when I get home. I’ll buy wine at duty-free.

“Aren’t you coming back after a month...?”

—Yes, we can do it then.

Han Jung-Woo chuckled and sat up. “Alright. But the staff behind you look busy, shouldn’t you get going?”

—Oh, you’re right. I should. Well then, eat well and don’t just order delivery because you’re on a break.

“Do you think I’m a child or what?”

—I’m gonna check if you gained weight when I get back. Anyway, I’ll talk to you later!

When the image of his lovely wife vanished, Han Jung-Woo got up from the sofa. His steps naturally carried him to the game capsule. A smile unconsciously appeared on his face as he climbed inside.

I hope she’s been doing well.

It had already been a month since he reunited with Helik after five years. But since then, he had been too busy monitoring the episode’s conclusion to log in for days. In real time it had been about a month, which meant around three months in game time.

“Well, nothing big should have happened. Login.”

With fresh air, his last logout spot, the Celestial Island, unfolded before his eyes.

“Helik! I’m here!”

As he left the temple of the Solarian Church and called out to her, a faint voice came from somewhere.

“I’m... here...”

The voice drooped like boiled bean sprouts.

Hurrying down the stairs, Kai was startled. “H-Helik!”

She was sprawled at the bottom of the stairs, raising her head only slightly as she whimpered, “Kai...”

“What happened? Did you fall while coming down the stairs?”

Then she suddenly began to shed tears like chicken droppings.

While he was taken aback, a blue-haired girl walked up beside him. “Ah, you’re here.”

“Rashya... What happened?” Kai pointed to Helik, who was crying sorrowfully, and asked, “Did she really tumble down?”

“Of course not. She may look like this but... she is still a god.”

That was right. Doctor Jim had indeed transferred Kai’s acquaintances’ data perfectly without changing a single strand, which meant both of them were still gods.

If she has the body of a god, she wouldn’t get ill or get hurt inside her own temple.

Unless she went down to the lower realm, that was.

As he gave her a questioning look, Rashya let out a faint sigh.

“You see, in this world...” She glanced down. Looking pitifully at her sobbing friend, Rashya continued, “Helik doesn’t seem to have any believers praying to her...”

“Oh.”

He had been so happy about her return that he had forgotten the Solarian Church didn’t exist in Fantasia Online.

“Sniff, waah...”

One day he had asked her out of curiosity if she didn’t get tired of the voices of believers who prayed to her nonstop day and night.

What did she say back then?

She said it was never bothersome and that it was rewarding to listen to their voices and lend them her strength.

“Hmm...”

Kai scratched his head as he looked at the cry-baby goddess sprawled on the floor. Then, his words came out of his mouth before reason could stop them.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Sniff, sniff...” Helik looked up at him with her swollen eyes and asked, “You will...? How?”

“Well...”

There was only one way. Kai gave a faint smile, having thrown away all the things he wanted to do during his two-week vacation.

“We’ll have to rebuild the Church of Solaris.”