kscans

Chapter 20 - The White Throne

If this were a game where falling equals certain death, then a long, pointless fall time would be completely meaningless and just cause unnecessary stress for the player.

This being Arcadia, a VR game, it's hard to imagine they would needlessly implement an element like a prolonged fall that could be traumatic for some people.

Based on that flash of insight during my descent, I figured there must be some kind of lower stage beneath the main cliff path route. I was expecting something like a route back to the upper level, or perhaps a hidden, secret path...

"I see... so that's why it came from below the cliff."

Ahead of me was a giant nest—the kind everyone imagines when they hear 'bird's nest,' formed from branches and other things.

"About that size, though..."

It was ridiculously huge. Boldly occupying one of the intersecting stone bridges, it was a big-scale structure easily over five meters wide. Considering the massive size of that great-winged bird, the size made perfect sense.

Its owner was absent, but given its obvious appearance, it had to be the place. I was starting to grasp the structure and nature of this area... but there was one problem.

"Where am I supposed to go from here...?"

As I muttered that, I was currently on the top level of the web-like stone bridges. Conveniently, there was a groove where the bridges connected to the rock walls, so I was able to climb up through it.

I made it up... but it looks like there's nowhere to go from here. I checked both ends, but there are no more grooves leading further up. I couldn't find any cave-like holes either, so a route back to the upper cliff path seems hopeless.

"Don't tell me I have to go down... There's not a secret boss, is there?"

There's totally going to be one. In fact, the way this is flowing, there definitely is—and it's bound to be a secret boss, more vicious than the one on the main route and clearly above the proper level for this field.

I'd bet on it. It's ab-so-lute-ly not balanced for a low-level player to challenge solo.

"Haha, a journey to my death, you say? Hilarious."

Damn it all. I just survived by pulling off some ridiculous moves. I'd like to get something out of it...

"Well, no choice but to go... Down, I guess."

It's a lot easier than climbing. A short jump down to the next level should be a no-damage landing... but if I misstep and fall, I'm dead for sure this time. My sense of danger is getting numb.

◇◆◇◆◇

The scenery within the thick clouds changed surprisingly quickly. After a few minutes of jumping down the stone bridge layers, about a hundred meters down, the 'ground' came into view.

"...Seriously?"

It was a rock floor, with the same texture as the walls. Having gotten so used to the narrow cliff paths and stone bridges, the spacious ground felt almost alien.

"No, seriously... Does that mean what I think it means? But still, haah..."

I was under a misconception—or rather, I was deceived.

"'Sky Bridge,' my ass."

The white that still surrounded me—it wasn't clouds, it was fog. The name 'Sky Bridge' made me mistake the stuff spreading below the cliff for clouds, and I'd wrongly assumed the field was set high up in the sky.

If this rock floor is the ground, then it was just a cliff about two hundred meters high. I mean, that's still tall, but the name 'a road that bridges the sky' and fog disguised as clouds—talk about misleading.

"The designer's got a twisted sense of humor... or maybe I'm just overthinking it."

At any rate, I can assume this is where the secret stage truly begins. Depending on the difficulty setting, it's highly likely I won't even be able to stand up to the regular mobs, let alone a boss...

"And this fog... isn't it a bit too thick?"

It's so dense I can't even see my fingertips when I stretch out my arm. Isn't that dangerous? If there are mobs in this fog, I could be one-shotted by a surprise attack before I can even fight back.

Because of my STR issues, I can't keep the great axe equipped all the time. My broken straight sword, with '(Broken)' added to its name and its stats tanked, will have to do as a comfort blanket.

With my tragically maimed sword in hand, I advanced into the fog with no end in sight. With literally zero visibility, I kept walking along the wall, but at this rate, I might not even notice if there's a fork in the road.

If this area has a maze-like structure like the [Rocky Wasteland], I might never reach the goal.

"...If nothing happens after ten minutes, I'll have to reconsider."

Mainly, how to kill myself and respawn.

◇◆◇◆◇

And so, about ten minutes later—just as I was starting to contemplate my suicide strategy, it appeared before me.

"—, hah, what..."

At eighteen years of age, I might have just experienced being "speechless" for the first time.

The dense fog parted rapidly, with a force that made me imagine the sound of a receding wave. With my last step, an indescribable sensation intensely informed me that I had stepped inside.

My vision opened up so explosively it almost made me dizzy. The spreading vista was a crater—a hollow so vast it made me lose all sense of distance.

It was a circular depression, likely several kilometers in diameter, surrounded by sheer walls rising three hundred meters high. Countless cracks ran through them wherever I looked, and I must have emerged from one of them.

And then, dwarfing everything else, was an overwhelming piece of visual information—a white presence in the center of the crater that had my eyes glued to it.

"A dra, gon...?"

Despite being in the center of this massive crater that warped my sense of distance, its body was so colossal that I could make out its details with my naked eye.

Its color was pure white. It had reptilian features, large wings, and a long tail, a form that would make anyone unconditionally accept it as "ah, a dragon."

But there was a question mark in my mutter because of three distinctly bizarre parts.

One was its head. It was a flat oval, like a catfish's, almost entirely taken up by an oversized mouth. It was closed now, but if that thing opened wide, it could probably swallow a house whole.

Second was its abdomen. Like a swollen caterpillar, it lay heavily on the ground. It had legs that matched its scale, but I couldn't imagine it walking with that grotesque form. Its wings were also massive and didn't look atrophied, but could it actually fly?

And the third was its head. I'm not repeating myself because it's important; it was a second head. At the tip of its long tail, a distorted head was attached, like the serpent tail of a chimera—

"—"

Our eyes met. With it—a face like a human's twisted in agony, radiating an eerie dread.

No, its eyes were closed. But I knew, with absolute certainty, that I was being watched. The tail, like the main body, was lying on the ground, but from the face turned towards me—a gaze.

This is bad.

I can't move.

It's not about it being scary, or the pressure it exudes, or anything on that level. It's violence by information overload from a transcendent being, invading my thoughts so completely I can't even issue a command to my body.

This is a game?

That thing is a construct of data created in a virtual space?

Don't be ridiculous. That thing is—

"—?!"

Suddenly, it was right in front of me. The one who moved was—me.

As I stood there frozen, it was as if I'd been carelessly grabbed and pulled closer. Without moving a single step, I had been instantaneously transported to right in front of the white thing.

In front of it—or to be precise, in front of the head on its recumbent tail.

My virtual avatar broke out in a cold sweat. The straight sword I unconsciously tried to grip slipped from my right hand, which had lost all its strength.

An echoing clang on the rocky ground. And then—a massive tremor.

"Hh... ha, hha...!"

The strained laugh I tried to force out turned into a clumsy sob. My legs, instinctively trying to retreat without my conscious thought, were caught by a ground-shaking tremor on a level I had never experienced before.

I fell back on my rear, and before my eyes, the white thing stirred—and this time, it raised its main head and looked at me.

On either side of its flat head were two huge, milky-white eyes, like cataracts.

Why isn't my HP going down? Even though this is so heavy.

It was like a standoff between a human and an ant—if ants had feelings, is this what it would be like?

Neither I nor the white thing moved. Ten seconds, twenty seconds—the confrontation, which felt like it would last an eternity,

"—Hh.................. Kuhah."

...ended with my voice, as I finally caught my breath.

—Yeah, okay, I lose. It's my complete and utter defeat. I was totally swallowed by it, couldn't even move a fingertip. What am I, a coward? At eighteen, in a game, of all places... Haaaah, how pathetic!!!!

"You've done it now, virtual world... Yeah, that's right. Things have been going a little too smoothly, and I was getting cocky. For a moment there, I even thought, 'I'm amazing.'"

To think it would smack me down with such a big surprise out of nowhere, it's truly—an unexpected blessing.

"Ah, I'm speechless. Is this the best? There's nothing else it could be. Is this the best, Arcadia...!!"

I didn't seek out information, but I imagined it all.

I imagined the greatest adventures, I imagined the greatest encounters, and I imagined the greatest battles.

And at the end, I always added a caveat—I hope it's as amazing as I'm imagining it to be.

The virtual reality world I'd dreamed of. But it was a virtual reality world that had been made real. I didn't know if it could overlap with the dream worlds that exist in fiction.

I kept wishing—please, let it be just one step behind.

I kept telling myself—surely, I'll be satisfied even with that.

Let me be clear. I underestimated [Arcadia].

I remember the moment I first dived into this virtual world—the scenery, the textures, indistinguishable from reality, were overwhelming.

I remember the battles I've fought—the experiences, the excitement, the elation of victory I could never have had in reality.

I remember the adventures I've had—the times I was completely engrossed in this world, this moment, that instant.

—In those moments, did I really see this 'world' as just a game?

"And to top it off, there's you."

An encounter like a punch to the head—the 'best' I had imagined has been reduced to something trivial.

"Whoops... excuse me?"

I picked up the straight sword I had so shamefully dropped.

I gripped it, gave it a light swing, and held it straight out in front of me.

For who, you ask? For the supreme being who has been looking down on me this whole time.

"So, can I beat you?"

Is it even an enemy? I don't know.

"If it is an enemy, its majesty seems to scream 'no parties, raid only,' but what do you think?"

Considering this overly vast area and its gigantic body that I can't even begin to imagine tackling alone, that's almost certainly the case.

"I wonder if it's a piece of content that's already been cleared and can be challenged multiple times, or maybe it's a champion that's been undefeated for the three years since the service started."

At the very least, I'm certain that even with a hundred of me, I couldn't even scratch it.

"Can you hear my voice? No reaction, a good listener? Not even a hint of a response, so I can cross off 'dragon NPC,' right?"

I'm at my limit, so it's okay, right?

What limit?

Isn't it obvious—the limit of holding back the first step into this violent wave of excitement!!

"Feel free to blow me away—'cause I'll definitely be back for revenge someday!!"

—Just one hit. Whatever comes, I'll dodge it.

—Just one hit. Even if I can't even scratch it, I'll land a blow.

In complete contrast to my blazing excitement, my mind cooled to a burning intensity. Remember the teleportation. It's highly likely this thing is a cheat-spec that can manipulate space. Don't be fooled by its sluggish movements. Whatever its attack is, don't think a low-level weakling like me can react after seeing it.

Predict. Imagine. What action would an overwhelmingly powerful being take to blow away a speck of dust that's lost its mind? Or would it just ignore me? No, if it's an enemy, it shouldn't be possible to ignore a hostile act from a player. It will definitely take a combat action.

If I were the designer, what first move would I want this thing to have? Dragon, giant, appearance, slow, big mouth, human-faced tail, fog, teleportation, stillness—thinking conventionally,

"Tch—!!"

I was already running.

It was right in front of me, but the scale was too different. The distance between us was about fifty meters, flat.

The closest part was its left foreleg, planted on the ground—the white thing moved.

It's an all-or-nothing gamble. My thoughts, catching up to my preemptive action, delivered their conclusion.

The white thing's first move is a sweeping attack with its long tail.

No time for questions—it's too late to react after seeing it, just do it!!

I jumped straight up with all my might. My maximum height with my current AGI is over three meters, but—it's not enough!!

The white thing's first move is coming. Its movements are slow, but due to its size, it's slow but super-fast. A giant white wall, like a bridge or something, rushes towards me at tremendous speed.

From the trajectory of the tail gouging the earth as it approaches, a three-meter jump isn't enough to escape—so,

"—Quick Change!!!"

I summoned the great axe, curled my body as much as possible—and extended it down below me, towards my palm.

I've used this skill to death, and its properties are hammered into my senses. I don't care if it's an exploit, if my prediction is right—it should be possible!!

I condensed the impact into the shortest possible moment, and the handle of the great axe that appeared in my palm—I didn't grip it, I kicked off it with all my might.

A thin, but definitely solid, footing. I shot up another three-plus meters, no different from a full-power jump from the ground—and then, a deafening roar.

A total of nearly seven meters. Thanks to a forced mid-air jump, the white thing's tail shot past right below me, scattering a terrifying blast of wind pressure.

Buffeted by the aftershock, but unharmed—three seconds and a bit, cooldown finished.

"...ick Change!!!"

Next up, the straight sword—no time for a natural fall!!

Using the straight sword as a foothold just like the axe, I jumped a third time. I landed on the ground with the force of a crash—and ran, then Quick Change.

Left behind in the air, the straight sword vanished, and what I summoned was—the pickaxe I got from the muscle-bound blacksmith, and then

"I don't care if it's no damage...!—Take this!!!"

My first and greatest all-out effort since I threw myself into this world.

I closed the distance to zero, and to the tip of the white thing's foot, so close I could count every scale on its snout—I slammed my utterly insignificant fang.

◇You have encountered 'Tsarkalv of the White Throne'◇

◇You have acquired a Title◇
・'Aspirant to the White Throne'
・'One Who Sees Recklessness Through'

◇You have acquired a Skill◇
・Embodied Protection

"—Alright, I'm dead! Yessss!!"

With a shing, I revived. At the fountain, my usual respawn point, I let out a roar before the light effects even faded.

My fellow players, who were chatting or just passing by, all jumped in surprise, but with my excitement still boiling over, I didn't have time for them.

I tossed the encounter, titles, and skills into the 'pending' folder in my brain and, spurred on by my racing heart, I furiously tapped the system window I had called up.

To cap off my storm of typing, I slammed my fist on the logout button, and the light of return to the real world enveloped my avatar.

"Just you wait, [Arcadia]—from now on, I'm playing for real."

From this point on, I will challenge this VRMMO with everything I have.

So, what's the first thing to do—the answer is simple!!

"I hereby unseal the fountain of knowledge (the strategy guides)!!"