The Final Boss Has Returned 93

Chapter 93

Drakan and Rio, and the war between the North and the East!

The first all-out war between users in Ard Saga Second ended with Drakan’s victory.

The scene of Rio, who challenged Drakan and was miserably killed by the Over-Rankers under Drakan’s command, was broadcast live worldwide, and the Northern Alliance rapidly collapsed as soon as Rio died.

Of course, the High Chieftain of the Northern Alliance and the Master Druid refused to surrender and tried to resist……

But with their deaths on the battlefield, the center of the Northern Alliance completely disintegrated, and with countless users surrendering, the war ended with Drakan’s complete victory.

The result of this war was a great shock to the users.

Over-Ranker!

Not only did two characters among the twenty super-strong players, called the Beyond the Heavens, the stars among stars, disappear from the Ard World, but Drakan received the complete surrender of the Northern Alliance, placing the entire North under his control.

That wasn’t all.

The Top Ten Guilds!

The fact that one of the seemingly unshakeable Top Ten Guilds fell from its position and became one of the Top Nine Guilds was also a huge topic of conversation among users.

[Hul Karun died and Rio died too]

[I never dreamed they would fight to the death;;]

[Ah, this is what a game is all about. I had fun watching for the first time in a while lol. They say they fought like this every day in the previous game? I should have played the previous game, it’s a shame;]

[If it was the previous game, you would have quit because you were controlled by Drakan;;]

[You’re a Eugene fanboy]

[Your dentures are confiscated for 2 weeks]

[Isn’t the Simseong Milky Way Guild ruined?]

[It’s not ruined yet, but with Rio gone, it’s virtually out of the Top Ten Guilds lol]

[So now it’s a Top Nine Guild lolololol]

[It was wrapped up in a hurry, but who the hell hired the Black King?]

[There are a lot of people Drakan holds a grudge against? Someone must have paid and hired him lol]

[The water is getting muddy; Isn’t this obviously the work of Eugene fanboys?]

[Welcome, you gullible fools~ Does Drakan give you an allowance for shielding his bloody actions?]

A considerable number of users considered this war as ‘fun content’, and various theories circulated among them, but at this point, with the war over, the biggest topic of discussion was undoubtedly how Drakan would rule the North.

[Drakan finally took over a region, guys, you’re screwed now, Drakan’s control is coming~]

[What nonsense? Have you already forgotten the promise Drakan-nim made with Eugene? Besides, it was Drakan-nim who took over Lawless Port and the Pirate Archipelago and maintained low taxes and no control, so what’s with the talk of control now lol? Previous game fanboy level;;]

[Even if he does control it, your Eugene-nim will teach Drakan a lesson, so why are you making a fuss lol]

How would Drakan, who had acquired control of the entire region of the North beyond Lawless Port and the Pirate Archipelago, rule the North!

Drakan’s anti-fans mocked him, saying he would impose heavy taxes and various controls like he did in the past, while his fandom, the Black Cows, refuted them, citing the example of Lawless Port, which he currently manages, turning the Ard Forum into a battlefield once again.

But Drakan was actually ruling Lawless Port and the Pirate Archipelago reasonably.

He wasn’t controlling them like before, and he wasn’t imposing heavy taxes, so the forced claims of Drakan’s anti-fans that he would control them soon lost their power.

However, it wasn’t just the users who were watching Drakan.

Dr. Kim Hong-gi.

The chairman of Miracle Holdings, the holding company that owns Miracle Entertainment, the maker of Ard Saga, the number one conglomerate in South Korea, and its affiliates, and the genius developer who created Ard World, which is practically another world!

He too was paying attention to Drakan.

▄ ▄ ▄

Pangyo Techno Valley in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province.

Since its opening in 2012 and until today, when Ard Saga has conquered the world, at the center of this industrial complex, which can be called the center of Korean IT, stood majestically the tallest twin skyscrapers on the Korean Peninsula, surpassing even Seoul’s Jeil World Tower.

The so-called Miracle Twin Buildings.

The nickname of these giant twin buildings, home to the headquarters of Miracle Entertainment, the world’s largest game company, which practically dominates the global game industry and boasts the number one ranking among Korean conglomerates, was the Lighthouse of Pangyo.

The Miracle Twin Towers, shining brilliantly today, befitting their nickname as a lighthouse!

On the top floor of the right-hand skyscraper, in the Sky Lounge, was Dr. Kim Hong-gi’s office.

In the office, with a panoramic night view of Pangyo Techno Valley and Seongnam City through the glass windows, a small elderly man sat in a chair, wearing jeans and a shabby checkered t-shirt.

“Drakan.”

The name Drakan came out of the mouth of the small elderly man, Dr. Kim Hong-gi.

On Dr. Kim Hong-gi’s desk, various materials about Drakan were displayed as holograms.

From the internet reactions to Drakan to the videos he posted on official channels, and finally the quests he is currently undertaking!

All the information, known and unknown, unfolded like a panorama before Dr. Kim Hong-gi’s eyes.

“Miracle.”

[You called, Dr. Kim?]

As soon as Dr. Kim Hong-gi finished speaking, a stiff male voice flowed from the hologram.

AI Miracle!

The highly advanced artificial intelligence that manages Ard World, developed by Dr. Kim Hong-gi himself, and virtually serves as his secretary, revealed itself.

“What are the chances of Drakan reaching the ending?”

[Drakan’s actions have been consistently exceeding my predicted range. When he first started the game, the probability of him reaching the ending was only 3%, but it has now risen to 30%.]

“I see. Cough! Cough!”

Dr. Kim Hong-gi, who was answering Miracle, suddenly covered his mouth with his right hand and coughed.

Red blood stained Dr. Kim Hong-gi’s right hand.

[Vital check. No abnormalities. Would you like some painkillers?]

“Haa. Haa.”

Listening to Miracle, Dr. Kim Hong-gi buried himself in the custom-made chair that cost tens of millions of won.

“Painkillers.”

[Here you go.]

Whir.

Dr. Kim Hong-gi took the painkiller pill handed to him by the robotic arm that popped out of the desk, swallowed it with the water on the desk, and looked at the hologram of Drakan floating above the desk.

Drakan.

Dr. Kim Hong-gi knew him well.

After all, in the previous game, before Eugene’s era, it was Drakan who came closest to the ‘ending’ of Ard Saga.

‘If he hadn’t recklessly tried to clear the Overlord Quest, maybe Drakan would have reached the ending of the previous game.’

However, Drakan, in his relentless pursuit of the Overlord Quest, squeezed the users dry and even resorted to loan sharks, ultimately leading to the accumulated side effects exploding all at once, causing his downfall at the hands of the divine being Eugene. In the end, the ending of the previous game belonged to Eugene.

Dr. Kim Hong-gi recalled his past encounter with Eugene.

‘He said he wanted to remain as a single user.’

Eugene.

The words he left behind were quite impressive to Dr. Kim Hong-gi.

A pure and kind, righteous young man, a rare sight in today’s ruthlessly competitive and harsh world. That was Dr. Kim Hong-gi’s impression of Eugene.

And Eugene was a person who didn’t deviate much from that impression.

A person who pursues ideals that cannot be achieved in reality, but also has limitations due to his excessive pursuit of ideals.

That was Eugene.

‘His willingness to protect the Ard World is quite appealing, but his lack of flexibility is a concern.’

Dr. Kim Hong-gi!

He didn’t want the virtual reality technology indistinguishable from reality and the AI technology with perfectly implemented reason and emotion to leak into fields other than gaming.

He had already anticipated that the impact of such technologies being released to the world indiscriminately and without restrictions would be so tremendous that even he wouldn’t be able to control it.

Perhaps a dystopian society, only seen in science fiction works, might appear in reality.

And Dr. Kim Hong-gi didn’t want to see a future where the world was thrown into chaos because of the technology he created.

In that sense, Eugene could be considered a successor who shared his views.

However, just as a person cannot live on dew alone, ideals alone cannot run a giant corporation like Miracle Entertainment.

In that sense, Eugene’s flaws – his inflexibility, his rigidity, and his adherence to principles – were a major concern for Dr. Kim Hong-gi.

‘Drakan is dangerous because he’s unpredictable.’

And another strong candidate for successor, Drakan, could be considered the polar opposite of Eugene.

He was overly realistic, always weighing the pros and cons, and since returning to Second, he had been making highly calculated political moves to win public opinion, rapidly rallying the users who had turned their backs on him due to his actions in the previous game.

Moreover, he had already become the contractor of the Dark God and was only one step away from being recognized as an Apostle!

If he completed the Apostle’s Path quest and became the Apostle of Darkness, there was a high probability that he would ultimately clash with Eugene, the Hero of Light, for the hegemony of the Ard World.

Of course, other unexpected dark horses could emerge as candidates for successor in the meantime, but based on the current situation, the most likely candidates were Eugene and Drakan.

Therefore, it was also a problem if Drakan won in the end and reached the ending.

Drakan was overly realistic and had little interest in ideals like protecting the Ard World, which Eugene advocated.

If Miracle Entertainment fell into the hands of Drakan, who only acted for his own benefit, Dr. Kim Hong-gi couldn’t even begin to predict the future.

Of course, he would undoubtedly manage Miracle Entertainment much better than Eugene, but there was no guarantee that Drakan would uphold his will – not to disclose virtual reality and AI technology.

A man who was like a loose cannon!

That was Dr. Kim Hong-gi’s impression of Drakan.

“It’s difficult.”

Dr. Kim Hong-gi shook his head.

Both Drakan and Eugene had aspects he disliked.

“It would be perfect if they were mixed half and half.”

How great would it be if only the best qualities of both were combined!

But reality wasn’t like that, and more than anything, he couldn’t break the principle he had set for himself – to hand over the company to the user who reached the ending of Second.

So, there was no point in worrying about this now.

Thinking so, Dr. Kim Hong-gi let out a sigh.

[Would you like a cup of coffee?]

It was AI Miracle, not a human, who comforted Dr. Kim Hong-gi.