Translator: Dreamscribe

Kim Won-sik, a Hero who had settled in Elvens, was waiting for the server maintenance of Arsilan Saga to end.

Purchasing Soul Link had been sheer luck for him.

Although Kim Won-sik was known for being a good person, his straightforward personality led to workplace ostracism. Caught in office politics, he had to leave his job in his mid-thirties. With the little severance pay he received, he bought a Soul Link and met a benefactor in Arsilan.

‘What’s your name? You’ve got decent skills.’

‘I-I’m Kim Won-sik who wants to live an interesting life.’

‘Hmm..., your name is too long. From now on, I’ll call you Jam-sik.’

‘Huh?’

‘Follow me.’

That benefactor was a remarkable hunter.

When he saw him hunt a bear with a dagger and a bow, he began to admire him. After participating in a goblin subjugation squad together, he wanted to follow him for life. But reality was harsh.

‘Um..., Life Hunter hyung.’

‘What?’

‘I don’t think I’ll be able to log in for a while. I think I’ll need to get a part-time job or something. I need to pay rent and my parents are sick....’

His family situation had worsened.

Kim Won-sik, no, Jam-sik thought that at least he had dreamed a good dream for a short while.

Then Life Hunter hyung said!

‘There aren’t many hunters like you. I don’t want to lose you.’

‘Ha, haha....’

‘Do you need a stable job?’

‘What?’

‘Jam-sik. Tell me your phone number and address.’

Jam-sik, taken aback, gave them his phone number and address.

The next day, men in suits came to see him.

‘Kim Won-sik, welcome to the Secret Strategy Division of the Ohsung Group.’

‘Huh?’

He thought it was a joke, but it was real.

He had been specially recruited into Ohsung Group! And not just anywhere, he was placed directly under the Chairman’s personal team.

They even offered to advance his salary, and when the money actually showed up in his account, he was shocked.

He immediately logged in and went to find Life Hunter.

‘H-hyung-nim, j-just what... how...?'

‘Prepare for the hunt. That’s all you need to do. Good hunting.’

‘Sniff, I’ll follow you for life! Good hunting!’

That day, Jam-sik shed hot tears.

Since then, Jam-sik fought in countless battles alongside Life Hunter and became his reliable right hand.

“Oh, it’s 10 o’clock.”

It was 10 a.m., the scheduled end of maintenance. Jam-sik immediately equipped his Soul Link. But he couldn’t log in.

When he entered Arsilan Worlds.

[Notice] Emergency Maintenance Announcement.

Hello,

This is Arsilan Saga.

An error occurred during additional content updates and is currently being addressed.

We ask for your kind understanding, Heroes.

Emergency maintenance had begun.

It's a game after all, Jam-sik thought. He waited patiently until the afternoon with a generous heart.

[Notice] Extended Maintenance Announcement.

Hello,

This is Arsilan Saga.

We inform you that the maintenance period has been extended.

*Original Maintenance Time: 4:00 ~ 10:00 (6 hours)

*1st Extension: 10:00 ~ 13:00 (3 hours)

*2nd Extension: 13:00 ~ 16:00 (3 hours)

*3rd Extension: 16:00 ~ TBD

We ask for your continued understanding, Heroes.

Thank you.

"Arghhhh!"

Only in the evening was the maintenance finally completed.

Jam-sik logged in immediately. Just what kind of update patch could take this long? It wasn’t even in the listed update schedule.

Jam-sik entered Arsilan Saga and arrived at Elvens.

“You’re here.”

“Yes! Hyung-nim! That was a long extended maintenance.”

“It was worth it.”

“Huh?”

Life Hunter pointed somewhere with his finger.

“They’re offering that as a reward for 100% Quest Completion.”

Jam-sik’s eyes widened.

A ranch had been set up on one side of Elvens. Dozens of chicks were running around wildly. Despite being chicks, they were bigger than ostriches.

“What’s Lunatie compared to this?”

Life Hunter handed Jam-sik a golden-glowing apple. Upon taking a bite, Jam-sik was amazed by the incredible flavor.

Among players, Elvens had been known as the “boring” village, but that was no longer the case.

“There’s no place more fun than this. I’m glad we worked hard.”

“Jam-sik, remember this. Hunting is something that rewards you in proportion to your effort.”

“Cr! That’s a quote to live by! Hyung-nim!”

Jam-sik nodded fiercely and gave a big thumbs-up.

* * *

After emergency maintenance and extended maintenance, Jinwoo cleaned up Elvens using two sharp swords and headed to the Land of Erosion.

For the first time in a while, he equipped a shabby body instead of Leon’s.

The Erosion Core was furious.

Perhaps upset about monsters being taken away, it was causing a commotion. Jinwoo gave a slight chuckle and delved deeper inside.

When he reached the core of the Erosion, the Erosion Core revealed itself.

[You...]

It appeared as a black knight, resembling a Death Knight. This was the strongest form the Erosion Core could take as a single entity. As Jinwoo chuckled and flicked his finger, the knight launched all of its attacks at him.

The army of Erosion joined in and began relentlessly slashing at Jinwoo.

He could have resisted with magic, but he didn’t. Instead, he dodged or took every single attack one by one, nodding to himself each time. Whenever his body was destroyed, he returned and stood before the Erosion Core again.

After that cycle repeated hundreds of times, the Erosion Core finally stopped.

[You..., what are you doing?]

“I was wondering if I had missed anything. Well, thanks to you, I’ve been able to update my data.”

The Erosion Core didn’t understand.

“You’re simpler than I expected. Well, I guess it makes sense, you can’t grow beyond what you’ve consumed. You lack imagination.”

[You cannot defeat me. This is a meaningless struggle.]

Jinwoo shook his head.

With a snap of his fingers, countless orbs floated up in front of him. They were recordings from the hundreds of times he had died.

“I’m done here. I’ve completed the strategy guide. I'll make good use of it."

Erosion's attack pierced through Jinwoo.

“The ones who come next won’t be as gentle as me.”

You’d better be prepared.

They're probably going to be very angry, aren't they?

Jinwoo’s body crumbled on the spot and vanished. Returning to Evanth, Jinwoo felt much lighter inside.

The thousands, tens of thousands of deaths he had experienced no longer hurt him.

Because the time to repay everything was finally drawing near.

*****

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