Light of Arad: Forerunner

Translator: FenrirTL
Editor: Saphartlantis
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< Chapter 10 >

Jinseong hurriedly looked around.

He needed to organize his thoughts before the abundance of information got mixed up and forgotten.

‘First, let’s see how I can get back. In the end, there are three options.’

Grabbing a stick, Jinseong hastily started writing on the dirt.

The tasks assigned to those, aside from himself, who were also transferred into the world of Dungeon Fighter Online.

1. Becoming a forged blade

Jinseong could say this clearly.

‘It doesn’t make sense. The story in Dungeon Fighter Online hasn’t even concluded yet. The overall flow is somewhat established, and a lot about the conflicts is already revealed. Well, I was quite immersed in the story myself, so I can predict some parts, but…’

Becoming a forged blade essentially meant facing all the Apostles.

The Apostles, who could be seen as the main focus of the Dungeon Fighter Online main scenario.

They originated from the ‘evil part’ of the creator god, and their power and abilities were on such a level.

Even dealing with one of them individually was daunting in the game, let alone facing all of them in reality.

Jinseong swallowed hard and pulled out the cards.

‘Right, that’s probably why… this person changed his goal halfway through.’

Along with the Ghoul Guishi card came what could be considered a kind of ‘reference material’ given by Nemer.

In the form of a stiff paper, like a card, it detailed the past actions of the user who had been with Jinseong.

Specifically, it listed the monsters he had [Purified] from [Corruption].

This was related to the second method through which Jinseong could return.

2. Finding the unclear cause of the corruption

‘The ranger user must have waited until the moment he could meet Nemer again. Endlessly. Being here for five years can be interpreted that way. Realizing that becoming a forged blade and killing all the Apostles was impossible, he fell into near despair… Perhaps he waited and waited, hoping for another way, anything…’

Based on Nemer’s statement, the involvement of the seemed relatively recent. It must have appeared before the ranger user due to that.

Did that user receive a promise from Nemer that he could return home just by finding the ? And was he happy about it?

Did he endure the pain with the hope that he could return soon?

Jinseong looked at the card left by Nemer.

How many dungeons, side dungeons, and adventure dungeons had the male ranger user cleared!

Jinseong bit his lip in bitterness.

‘But… if you think about it, it should have been obvious.’

There was no way the would be hiding in such ‘weak dungeons.’

There are limits to hiding in unnoticed places.

If it had revealed its power in such a weak place, Nemer would have appeared directly, even at the risk, to eliminate it.

‘But the fact that even Nemer hasn’t found it yet means it is cleverly hiding, mixing its corrupting power. And the only condition for that is ultimately one thing.’

An Apostle or something of Apostle level.

Gulp.

‘For now, I’ll have to accept this.’

Jinseong had to swallow hard once again.

The user who died in the final Prey-Isys raid.

No, the ‘Adventurer’.

‘Five years, five fucking years! Even if his equipment was terrible, his level was 95! But even such a person…’

Did he die without even finding a trace of the ?

Did he die here in Arad, only killing corrupted monsters, albeit a large number, that were of such a low level and standard!

“Damn it… damn…”

Jinseong felt like he might cry.

Because he thought he knew why so many corrupted monsters’ names were repeated in the list Nemer had given.

He could now vividly imagine the ranger’s situation, unable to move upward, repeatedly clearing the same dungeon in hopes that the would be among them, like scratching a lottery ticket.

‘Then the method I should take… is the third one. In a way, it’s probably the safest method-.’

3. Becoming the

In other words, adjusting so that the storyline of the game Dungeon Fighter Online, which Jinseong knew, flows as it should.

Controlling the ‘character adventurers’ who are playing the game Dungeon Fighter Online on their computers, ultimately removing obstacles that hinder those who might become the ‘true adventurers’ and ‘forged blades’ in the future, and ensuring that the users grow correctly.

‘Anyway, I don’t need to fix everything, right? As long as I hold onto the storyline for the forged blades, the adventurers… The details-.’

Nemer had also given a clue.

She said she couldn’t intervene directly because of the dimension of this place, ultimately because of the existence of the spacetime managers of this plane.

‘And about those managers, the Time Lords… I’ve heard about them multiple times in the game.’

The phrase, “The Time Lords will adjust the details”, is a saying that can be heard repeatedly while clearing the scenario in the game Dungeon Fighter Online.

So, perhaps Jinseong could rely on that and move accordingly.

‘I vaguely understand Nemer’s intention. Strictly speaking, I shouldn’t just follow it blindly-.’

Who was Nemer?

According to Jinseong’s memory, she was someone who should not be trusted or relied on unconditionally.

She might even be the most dangerous being in the game Dungeon Fighter Online.

But what choice did he have?

At this point, Jinseong had no options.

At least for now, if he had to follow, then he would.

“Alright….”

Jinseong gazed at the organized notes on the ground.

Then he quickly erased all the writing with his foot.

It was a light motion.

“I will become the Tongs.”

However, his voice was heavy.

Jinseong’s eyes shone.

“Tongs? Are you dreaming of becoming a blacksmith?”

“Whoa!?”

A sudden voice startled Jinseong, causing him to turn around in surprise.

He soon recognized the owner of the voice.

A middle-aged man with a thick beard.

In some ways, the first NPC he interacted with, excluding Seria, and the blacksmith of the region: Elvenguard.

“Ra, Linus…!”

Linus, whom he had only met as an NPC, was standing behind Jinseong with his arms crossed.

Linus scratched his chin with surprised eyes and chuckled awkwardly.

“Haha, do you know my name? No, more than that, it feels a bit odd to be called by name by such a young adventurer.”

“Ah, Mr. Linus. Yes, Mr. Linus. I knew you as someone I always respected.”

Even amid this, the fascinating thing was hearing lines that couldn’t be heard in the Dungeon Fighter Online game he had played for so long.

“Oh, well, I used to be a notable swordsman back in the day. Hoho, in that case, I’ll forgive the impoliteness.”

And the fact that he was having a real-time conversation?

Linus laughed heartily and then asked Jinseong.

“But tongs? Even if you want to fix something broken, you won’t have the tools. If your equipment is broken, leave it to me.”

Throwing and catching a hammer in the air, he gestured with his chin.

In the direction he pointed, Jinseong saw it.

A two-tiered furnace and a large anvil next to it.

‘When I first started Dungeon Fighter Online, I used to come here so often… Yes, back in the day, I even visited just to repair my weapons! Those times when it took 20 to 30 minutes to clear a single Dark Thunderland dungeon, how much I owed Linus!’

Nostalgia filled Jinseong’s heart and naturally flowed from his lips.

“Wow, this is really… touching.”

“Haha, it’s not something to be so moved about. Even though I was a swordsman in the past, I’m genuinely dedicated as a blacksmith now.”

Jinseong’s sentiment and Linus’s understanding were slightly misaligned, but there was no need to correct it.

‘Nowadays, I just pass by here when I go to the guild hideout. I never really pay attention.’

On the monitor, Linus was no longer even recognized as an object.

Quite sad

On the other hand, the real-life experience, the heat from the forge, and seeing it all before his eyes was incomparable to seeing it on a screen.

“So, about the tongs-.”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about the tongs. I don’t have any special equipment to repair- Whoa!?”

Jinseong tried to wave off Linus’s concern, but then he noticed something.

“Wait, what? Hold on, my arm-.”

“Haha, that’s why I asked. Your arm, which looks like a Demon Shackle but is slightly different, seems quite powerful and is definitely that of an adventurer.”

Jinseong realized that his body was still that of the ‘Dark Knight’, an ‘epilogue’ character from the game Dungeon Fighter Online!

Even when he was organizing his thoughts with the stick on the dirt, he hadn’t noticed!

Jinseong hurriedly ran towards the entrance of Linus’s smithy.

“Really… again?”

He was shocked when he saw himself in the mirror hanging there.

‘Should I have mentioned this to Nemer first? No, that person was a Ranger!’

He had thought about many things.

Which job class would be most suitable for the tasks he had to accomplish.

Which job would be best to survive in Arad, a world that was now his reality.

Naturally, this was based on the unique skills available to each job class!

‘In the game, it’s fine. In terms of potential, it’s much better than most characters. But-.’

He literally had to reach that ‘potential’ for it to be effective. Only then would it be advantageous.

In other words, the Dark Knight, before achieving the highest level of setup, possessed an operating pattern that could be considered of the highest difficulty level!

In the Dungeon Fighter Online lore, he was the [most perfect Ghost Knight].

‘There’s even a meme about using that [most perfect Ghost Knight] as a joke…’

How would he manage at the low-level stage, with unacquired items, in this place that was his ‘reality’?

As Jinseong stared at himself in the mirror, he finally realized something.

‘Hmm? But… it’s different. For one, the hairstyle is different.’

He wasn’t exactly the same as the Dark Knight from the game.

Compared to the sleek hairstyle of the Dark Knight, his own hair was somewhat tousled and spiky, similar to what he had IRL.

‘Well, the hair, okay, I can accept that. But there are quite a few other differences too.’

One of the Dark Knight’s physical characteristics, the blackened marks on both arms, were longer than he remembered.

Also, the Demon Shackles, the metal cuffs on his arms, were in the same position on both arms.

But what bothered Jinseong the most were his eyes.

The Dark Knight had another distinctive feature: eyes described as ‘black and white eyes.’

The whites of his eyes were black, and the irises were yellow, making the Dark Knight’s eyes stand out the most.

‘My eyes are… just normal. White sclera, black pupils. With my hair, eyes, and arms looking this different, wouldn’t it be obvious?’

However, Jinseong didn’t have the luxury to ponder deeply about this.

What mattered was that his body had been completely transformed.

Accepting the physical characteristics of the Dark Knight as reality meant he now had a muscular and well-proportioned physique.

“Sigh…”

“Is it right for a young adventurer to be sighing already?”

“No, technically, I’m not even an adventurer yet… But yeah, I should do my best since there’s no turning back.”

Jinseong sighed, speaking in a resigned tone.

Despite everything, one thought kept resurfacing.

‘After the failed Isys Raid… the last character I logged in with before being summoned here was-.’

It was the Dark Knight.

Could it be that the possession was based on the last character he logged in with?

‘Ugh, what if it had been ‘Jinseongbubmijang’ instead…?’

Jinseong felt a shiver run down his spine.