The Final Boss Has Returned 3

Chapter 3

I was trembling like an aspen leaf, my bloodshot eyes fixated on the TV in the waiting room.

[Of course. He was the first formidable opponent I encountered, so he’s still memorable. But why are you suddenly asking about him?]

[Over the past two years, numerous famous users and renowned Rankers have returned to Ard Saga Second, but only one, the Steel Monarch Drakan, hasn’t returned yet. There are even internet rumors that he was sold to a deep-sea fishing vessel.]

Thud.

The fishcake bar I was holding in my right hand fell to the floor.

Deep-sea fishing vessel!

That phrase kept echoing in my head, dredging up horrific memories.

[If Drakan returns and shows ambitions to dominate Ard World like before, what will Eugene-nim do?]

[If Drakan returns and shows such ambition, I will never forgive him. No, from now on, those like Drakan who torment innocent users will not be able to set foot in Ard World! If there are any who are plotting such schemes, they should heed my warning, and remember the precedent set by Drakan and the Iron Blood Alliance.]

Grit!

My teeth ground together, threatening to shatter.

My heart raced, blood rushed to my head, and I started to hyperventilate.

Dizziness washed over me, and a splitting headache began.

A tsunami of rage shattered the breakwaters of composure and enlightenment that I had built through endless tuna fishing, engulfing my heart.

“Eugene-nim is right. Thanks to him crushing that bastard Drakan, we can play the game comfortably now.”

“But what’s Drakan doing these days?”

“Did he really get sold to a deep-sea fishing vessel?”

With my composure shattered, the voices of the passengers in the waiting room, watching the interview, were enough to set my heart ablaze.

‘He won’t be able to set foot in Ard World?’

My competitive spirit, the soul of a gamer, which I thought had vanished, the thirst for revenge against Eugene that I thought I had forgotten, that I had achieved enlightenment from, amidst the relentless toil of catching tuna on a fishing boat adrift on the vast ocean, all of it erupted within me like a wildfire.

Not play the game?

That promise was one that could never be kept as long as that bastard Eugene was alive!

I finally realized.

Enlightenment? Forgetting everything? Focusing on reality?

Yes, all those thoughts were nothing but self-delusion!

They were the excuses of a loser, a pathetic attempt to justify my defeat, the failure of Drakan and the Iron Blood Alliance.

If I don’t step forward, Drakan and the Iron Blood Alliance will forever be the laughingstock of the world, mocked by people just like now.

And that bastard Eugene will reign supreme in Ard World forever.

The past years flashed before my eyes.

The memories of hardship while catching tuna, the salty smell of seawater, and the cold sea breeze were still vivid.

The sight of that bastard Eugene, the cause of all that damn suffering, living a comfortable life?

I wasn’t a saint or a Buddha who could stand to watch that.

Just the thought of it would make me grind my teeth in my sleep, and I would die from pent-up frustration every single day.

‘This time, things will absolutely not go your way!’

Eugene, I will not stop until I repay him for all the pain I’ve endured, with principal and interest!

Steel Monarch Drakan, and the Iron Blood Alliance.

I will engrave those names back into Ard World!

With that resolve, I rose from my seat.

The game was about to begin.

▄ ▄ ▄

Inside the KTX to Seoul, I searched for information about Ard Saga on my stuttering, outdated smartphone.

It had been six years since I last played the game.

I needed to know how the game had changed.

[During the past years, our passionate development team at Miracle Entertainment has strived to provide you with a creative and unique experience through Ard Saga.]

[In the ever-changing and evolving history of gaming, the footsteps you left behind (whether intentional or not) have become a living, breathing history, returning to you once more.]

[Ard Saga Second is set in the Ard World a thousand years after the ending of Ard Saga. What kind of events await you? You can look forward to it.]

[Ard Saga Second, which will soon begin service, aims to create a world that is more real than reality, going beyond the concept of the fantasy that everyone imagined in the previous game.]

[To achieve this, we have further developed the systems and freedom of the previous game and introduced a large number of innovative systems and new and amazing content.]

[An even vaster world and quests! The Hardcore System that doubles the tension! And the Legacy System that utilizes the heroic footsteps you left in the history of the world in the previous game!]

[All users starting Ard Saga Second will create a new character and begin their adventure again at level 1. This is a measure to somewhat alleviate the gap between new and existing users, and an unavoidable choice to provide a high-quality experience.]

[But don’t be too sad! Existing users who have already enjoyed Ard Saga will be given a very special Legacy benefit when creating a character! Explore the newly reborn Ard World with the nostalgia of the previous game!]

[Please leave your comments on Ard Saga Second on the official website, and don’t forget to subscribe to the official Ard Saga channel on Ard Live!]

After browsing through various information on the official website, including the developer’s post filled with unnecessary rhetoric, I was able to grasp various changed concepts, including the level reset mentioned by the caster on TV.

It had already been over two years since Ard Saga Second, the sequel to Ard Saga, was released.

With two years in real-time, and six years in game time, it was safe to say that the hardcore players had already secured their positions as Rankers.

As a former top Ranker, a hardcore player among hardcore players in the previous game, I knew very well how difficult it was for a latecomer to become a Ranker.

Even if I started the game right now, it would be almost impossible to reach the rank of a Ranker.

However, it was almost impossible, not completely impossible.

Just look at Eugene, that bastard. He was a latecomer who started the game two years late, yet he managed to defeat all the existing hardcore Rankers, including me, and rise to the top.

In the world of Ard Saga, with its limitless freedom, there is no such thing as impossible.

Above all, if Eugene could do it, so could I.

With a trembling smile, I searched for information about Eugene.

Know your enemy and know yourself, and in a hundred battles you will never be in peril!

To destroy him, I first needed to know about him.

As expected of the top Ranker of Ard Saga, there was a lot of public information about him, and I devoured it.

[Hero Eugene, Completes Ard Saga!]

[(KingGodTV) Shocking Horror! A game that gives you 100 billion won just for completing it?!]

The most striking information was that he had completed Ard Saga four years ago, while I was toiling away on a deep-sea fishing vessel, and that the game company had awarded him a prize of 100 billion won.

100 billion won!

While I was struggling from dawn till midnight, catching tuna on the sea, the bastard who had driven me to the brink of ruin received a prize large enough to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

With a churning stomach, I continued to absorb the game-related information with trembling hands.

▄ ▄ ▄

After arriving in Seoul, I headed to my parents’ house to greet them.

“You’re not going to play that game anymore, are you?”

My parents knew that I had ruined my life playing games, so they asked me this with worried voices.

“Yes. I won’t. I’m going to rest for a while and then look for a job.”

I felt a pang of guilt as I was forced to lie.

My mother and father wiped away tears at my answer.

“Yes, you’ve worked so hard on the ship. Get some rest and find a good job, get married, okay, son?”

My mother said, holding my roughened hand with her wrinkled one.

I held her hand back, nodded, and swallowed my tears.

Our family was dirt poor, and I couldn’t even dare to ask to be sent to college.

The first place where I properly earned money was Ard World, and that’s how I became a Dark Gamer.

I became the leader of a guild, conquered a kingdom through the Rebellion Quest, waged guild wars, and even briefly unified the continent.

In the process, I earned a lot of money, and after deducting the money reinvested in the game, I gave it all to my parents who had worked so hard to raise me.

With the money I earned from the game, my mother was able to undergo surgery and regain her health.

My father opened a decent franchise restaurant in a good location. The memory of them shedding tears, saying they were blessed to have a good son, came flooding back.

When I was in astronomical debt, I readily left for the deep-sea fishing vessel because I wanted to earn money with my own hands to repay the debt and protect my parents.

My parents tried to pay off my debt, but I refused.

I couldn’t ask them to help me with a debt that was my fault.

The thought made me choke up.

But I couldn’t reverse the decision I had already made.

And having failed once, there would be no second failure!

With that resolve, I apologized to my parents in my heart.

I’m sorry, Mother! Father!

I’ll catch that bastard Eugene and show you my filial piety!

After eating a home-cooked meal for the first time in a long time, swallowing back tears, I packed my belongings the next day and headed to the studio apartment I had contracted in advance.

Once I arrived, I didn’t immediately start the game.

Preparation was needed.

First, I registered at a nearby Kendo dojo and gym, paying for their services. During the day, I warmed up my body through Kendo and exercise, regaining my old senses. At night, I studied the changed game system and various game information of Ard Saga Second until my nose bled, meticulously preparing for the game.

Thus, 30 days passed, and the morning of the 31st day dawned.