Chapter 319 - The Shape of the World
Why are Arcadia’s four factions named after the cardinal directions?
Come to think of it, I’d never once considered such a simple question—but looking back, it is indeed strange.
The Eastern Faction (Istia), the Western Faction (Vestol), the Southern Faction (Sotalm), and the Northern Faction (Nortalia).
In other words, where exactly are the ‘East, West, South, North’ elements of each faction?
Their respective main districts… or rather, their ‘Fields,’ are floating in a separate dimension as part of the tutorial area, the [Trial Spheres of Partition].
That means direction has nothing to do with it.
If you were to see Istia's city as the ‘Eastern Faction,’ it would be a nonsensical state of East (though it’s not located in the east).
So why, then? The answer, it seems, lies in this world’s past.
The Arcadian Calendar—or as it’s properly known, the ‘Heavenly Calendar’—apparently has a current date of ‘Heavenly Calendar Year 110966.’
That would mean that the game ‘Arcadia’ began its service in ‘Heavenly Calendar Year 110963’… no, wait, it started in December four years ago, so it would be ‘110962.’
Well, the details don’t really matter. What’s important is that this world has been imbued with that much depth of time.
And since such a setting exists, it naturally means that…
There is a historical setting that leads up to the present.
To get straight to the point, it seems that in this world’s past, there was a civilization of NPCs that existed without the intervention of us—the ‘players.’
What’s crazy is that you can’t definitively say it’s just ‘flavor text.’
A vast world that feels infinite.
Time acceleration technology of unknown principles.
And ultra-advanced AI that makes NPCs seem indistinguishable from real humans.
It would be natural for anyone to think:
‘What if this world truly lived through its own history to arrive at the present?’—and so on.
It’s a thought that’s both exciting and chilling, a fantasy-like speculation that runs wild… but anyway, that’s the background.
—And so, to put it simply, that is the reason why the four current factions bear the names of the cardinal directions. They were named not in the ‘present,’ but in the ‘past.’
Originally, they were one… in other words, in the ‘Arcadia’ of a bygone era, before all these strange worlds like separate dimensions proliferated, when it was still a single, pure world.
Four ‘countries’ that existed separately in the east, west, south, and north of that era—those countries, carved out and isolated from the world, are the prototypes of the current ‘factions.’
Now, if you’ll allow me to state my conclusion after being subjected to this history lesson—
“—This is so mysteriously grand I can’t wrap my head around it…”
“You said it.”
“It’s pretty complicated, isn’t it?”
“Well, I actually quite like this sort of thing.”
Unlike Tiger Lucky and Rinne, who agreed with my reaction, Maru II seems to be the type who enjoys these kinds of profound, detailed settings.
I mean, I like them too, but I’m more the type to savor that stuff after I’ve completely finished a game.
“...Anyway, as expected, Sora-san. That was a big help.”
As I said this, I bowed my head to none other than the teacher who gave the ‘lesson.’ Your breadth of knowledge is as impressive as ever.
“Ahaha… I’ve just done a lot of research on the world-building and history.”
“Your explanation was super easy to understand! I bet you’d be a great teacher!”
Though she was slightly overwhelmed by Rinne, who seemed to take every opportunity to praise and dote on Sora, it appeared her usual shyness was beginning to fade.
My partner seemed rather pleased, which was a heartwarming sight—
And with that, I turned to face the hellish landscape unfolding before me.
About an hour after leaving the safe area.
We ran, and ran, and ran… and at the end of our sprint, we arrived at our first destination. The reason I suddenly asked Sora for an explanation on ‘the origin of the world’—
Was this.
“[Rieltahelia of the Red Circle]… the site of its annihilation, huh?”
Approximately five hundred kilometers due south from the safe area, which houses the Great Bell Tower that invites the chosen, located in the center of the [Garden of Divine Creation].
A colossal crater, where the Southern Faction… no, the [Southern Kingdom of Sotalm] must have once existed. The mark of a ‘divine hand’ that had scooped out the very earth.
—And the place where the [Sword Queen], Iris, had slain one of the Colored monsters with her own hands roughly two years ago.
“See that huge monolith in the center?”
“Yeah, the bright red one.”
“Well, everything here is bright red, you know.”
The massive, circular crater was so vast it distorted my sense of distance. It was exactly like the hidden area where I had encountered the White Throne in the past.
In the center, as Tiger Lucky pointed out, stood another gigantic monolith—
Seriously, how big is that thing…? In terms of scale, it looks about the same size as the [Tsarkalv of the White Throne].
…And the problem is everything else.
Just as Rinne said, a countless swarm of ‘Red’ filled every inch of the space.
Trying to distinguish one from another felt ridiculous…
There were ‘dogs,’ and there were ‘cats.’ The flying ‘birds’ were of so many different species it seemed no two were alike, and there were even ‘fish’ swimming through the air.
‘Lions,’ ‘hippos,’ ‘bears,’ ‘giraffes,’ ‘rhinos,’ ‘monkeys,’ ‘rabbits,’ ‘deer,’ ‘goats,’ ‘lizards,’ ‘snakes’—plus insects and a whole lot more.
The pure ‘Red’ mimicking a near-infinite variety of ‘life’ stained the entire surface of the crater, creating a living sea of creatures.
…………Can I be honest? This is absolutely, utterly repulsive.
“—Our first event for today is to cut through those things and touch the monolith.”
“...Are you serious?”
“W-We have to jump into… that?”
This time, even I was genuinely freaked out.
Sora, who had taken on the role of teacher and was giving her lecture—or rather, was escaping from reality—also had a visibly pale face.
“It’s not as hellish as it looks. I mean, I can’t say it’s ‘easy for anyone,’ but they’re basically just the dregs of a defeated Red.”
“They’re not that strong, really. It’s just super gross because of the numbers.”
“Yep, it’s just that the numbers are insane.”
Hey, make up your minds. Are they ‘not that strong’ or ‘insane’?
“By the way, they respawn instantly as you kill them, so you can’t wipe them out. The only way to beat this is to force your way through and keep running… that’s the whole strategy.”
I see… and the reward for this is that encounter bonus I received from the White Throne in the past.
Five levels’ worth of status points is a huge deal. It’s a relief that there’s still a way to obtain them even after the monster has been defeated.
…Though I wish they’d considered the scale a little more.
“Well, I’ll be blunt. This’ll be a cakewalk—for the five of us, that is.”
“This is some serious overkill.”
“Honestly, I could probably handle this by myself. The grossness is the real enemy, though.”
So said the trio of tigers, their faces full of confidence.
Well, well, well—
“...That’s reassuring.”
“I’ll do my best not to hold you back…!”
In any case, as Tiger Lucky said, this is just one part of the event.
There’s no point getting scared at the very beginning; it’s just a waste of time. I’ll trust the words of my seniors and approach this with the intention of clearing it quickly.
Now then… come to think of it, for an online game, this is a bit late in the coming, but—
“Alright, let’s get ready to rumble!”
Time to indulge in my first-ever party play in Arcadia.
The more that's explained, the more mysteries there are. Is this a bug?