Chapter 35: First Expansion Pack(2)

On the first day of an update, there’s always a feeling I experience upon logging into the game.

Even if the world has changed, even if the gameplay has evolved, the excitement remains constant.

Despite knowing what has changed, that emotion never dulls.

The anticipation of other players zipping past me seems to influence me as well.

Today, a new world opened up in Deron.

A previously impassable transparent barrier was lifted, allowing us to step into unfamiliar lands.

Countless players flocked toward it, each pursuing their own goals.

The level cap was raised, and new classes were unlocked, meaning we could become even stronger.

Time was of the essence.

To get ahead as part of the vanguard, I needed to complete quests and level up as quickly as possible.

Unlocking advanced classes would make me even more powerful, accelerating my hunting speed.

This, in turn, would widen the gap between me and players stuck in the lower tiers.

Of course, that gap is minimal—barely a matter of days before they catch up.

But even that small difference becomes a foundation for creating an unbridgeable disparity later.

This time, I’m aiming for the First Clear of the raid.

As I played the game, my hazy memories grew increasingly vivid.

It was like looking through a faded photo album, where one memory triggers another in a chain reaction.

The new expansion, [Solar, God of the Sun], revealed the traces of Solar across the world of Deron.

Adventurers would continue their journey while learning about this deity through the main quests.

By cutting out all extraneous information and following a straight-line route, the story of the main quest could be uncovered quickly.

Solar, the God of the Sun, had not hidden himself.

He was deceived by an as-yet-unknown corrupted god, who stripped him of his power and sealed him in icy confinement.

The corrupted god shattered Solar’s power and soul into pieces and scattered them across the continent.

The Fragments of the Sun series, which dropped in the Red Orc Empire, was part of this power.

Adventurers were tasked with collecting the fragments of Solar’s power and soul scattered across the continent and reuniting them.

However, while the adventurers gathered these fragments, the corrupted god steadily carried out his plan.

He infused his soul into Solar’s body, claiming it as his own.

If the main quest is followed to completion, adventurers ultimately stand alongside NPCs to confront the corrupted Sun God.

Afterward, they retrieve Solar’s body and reunite the fragments of his power and soul.

Thus, Solar regains his strength.

It marked the perfect resurrection of a once-lost god.

Solar then began spreading his influence across the continent.

The snow-covered mountain ranges reverted to their original state, and blessings spread across the land.

This was the storyline of the newly added main quest.

However, there was also an IF story tied to this main quest.

It was a scenario prepared specifically for the raid.

[Corrupted Sun God]

If adventurers fail to purify Solar, the power they had collected is stolen from them.

The corrupted god, having claimed Solar’s body, gains mastery over the Sun God’s immense power.

With everything in his grasp, the corrupted god darkens the sun in the sky.

The blackened sun begins draining the life force of every living being.

The entire continent of Deron plunges into peril.

Knowing the story, I minimized the quest line and continued leveling efficiently.

It might seem monotonous at first glance, but encounters with the Zing Zing Guild members occasionally broke the monotony.

“Yeon! Yeon, over here!”

I had just been cutting through the bodies of monsters in the new region when I heard a familiar voice.

The sound tugged at my ears, making me turn my head.

Then, there stood three members of the “SingSing” guild, their faces pale.

It seemed they had spotted me while progressing through the main quest.

I hadn’t spared any buffs.

As part of the vanguard, I had just reached level 35.

Seeing that they’d arrived here as well, it was clear they had been leveling up at a considerable pace.

I drew the Solar Light Holy Sword.

It was a good opportunity to try something I’d been thinking about.

The members of the SingSing guild turned to flee.

Their classes excelled in mobility, so the distance between us quickly widened.

However, I had a method to catch up with their speed.

“Come forth!”

As soon as I called out to the air, a massive magic circle appeared, and from it emerged a horse wreathed in hellfire.

Though it was quite small in stature, this was no ordinary horse—it was what people often referred to as a pony.

I immediately mounted the infernal steed.

Despite its small size, its speed was anything but slow.

Riding the pony, I began to pursue the fleeing SingSing guild members.

The terrain was a flat plain, a map that allowed for unhindered movement.

The pony charged forward at high speed.

The distance between us closed in an instant, like wind slicing through the air.

As I gained on them, one of the fleeing members glanced back to see me approaching, and let out a scream.

“He’s chasing us on a donkey!”

Even at the end, they couldn’t help but take a jab.

This isn’t some mere donkey.

This is a horse—a warhorse, no less.

Even if I do call it a pony, it’s a completely different breed.

Kicking off the saddle, I leaped into the air.

In an instant, the warhorse beneath me vanished.

Though airborne, my momentum didn’t falter.

Moving at the same speed as the charging horse, I flew toward my target and swung my sword.

The trajectory of the blade traced an eerie curve, like a snake slithering through the air.

Swish!

Without a sound, the sword’s arc left a blazing trail of sunlight in its wake, like a comet’s tail.

Immediately, I spun my body and swung the sword horizontally.

The first strike was an imitation of a skill.

However, the movements that followed were a different story.

From then on, I relied solely on my instincts.

Slash!

A rough sound echoed as a head flew off in an instant.

The sensation of the blade slicing through carried back to my fingertips as my feet touched the ground.

Thud!

The moment the impact reverberated, I continued my movements without hesitation.

Turning to face the opponent still standing, they immediately drew their sword in response.

A sharp sensation tingled in my head.

This one had talent.

At that moment, I recalled the final move of a show-off who used to pretend to be Chinese.

An attack that aimed at two places simultaneously.

It was a tactic that worked even against opponents like me, who could predict attacks in advance.

The adversary before me was no different.

Though their sharp gaze wavered slightly, it remained fixed on the tip of my blade.

As I pulled back and raised my sword to strike their neck, their blade moved first.

They were attempting to block my attack.

At that moment, I made a slight twitch with my ankle.

The motion started from below, rising through my calf and thigh, ultimately altering the path of my sword.

Without moving my upper body, I adjusted the sword’s trajectory.

Crunch!

The sword thrust downward pierced through the opponent’s thigh.

A look of panic appeared on the opponent’s face, who had been blocking with their sword raised to protect their neck.

I must have had the same expression when I was struck by this technique.

A talent born from pure pain told me that there was surely a follow-up to this move.

But I couldn’t see it.

I hadn’t learned it, so I couldn’t use it.

In the end, I roughly twisted the sword, pulled it out, and swung it.

An upward slash from below blew away the opponent’s guard.

The now fully exposed upper body was an excellent target.

Switching my grip on the sword that had been slashing upward, I slashed downward.

Crash!

The armor they wore shattered, and the shoulder area caved in significantly.

The opponent, still holding their sword, collapsed to their knees and dissolved into gray ash.

The “Outlaw” stat did not increase.

Since I had declared war on the entire new region against SingSing, I avoided penalties.

I recalled the sensation from moments ago, swinging my sword and aiming it at the air.

At first glance, it seemed like a flimsy movement, but it covered two paths simultaneously.

How did I come up with such a move?

It’s an impossible movement to replicate in real life.

The muscles of the human body wouldn’t be able to follow this motion.

It’s only possible in the game, with a body enhanced by additional stats.

“Phew…”

With no opponents left to fight, the pain began to subside.

The breath that escaped my lips carried a faint tension.

I checked the video I had just recorded.

The footage showed me summoning my warhorse as soon as I spotted the enemy, charging at high speed, and slaughtering them with style.

It looked absolutely stunning.

I figured I could upload this video to the event page for the ongoing event.

As part of the preparation for the global server launch, an event had been initiated.

The event’s end date was yet to be determined, but users were encouraged to upload impressive gameplay videos to the event page.

The uploaded videos would undergo an internal screening process to determine which would advance to the finals.

Once in the finals, users would vote for their favorite videos, and the top-ranked ones would be selected to create a new promotional video.

The event participation condition was simple: anyone playing Daron could join.

The first condition was owning a Daron account.

The second condition was that the video had to be unedited.

There was no limit to the number of videos one could upload.

In short, the company wanted users to upload as many gameplay videos as possible.

Even users without video editing skills could participate.

All they had to do was upload a raw gameplay video.

The creators of Daron wanted unpolished, raw footage.

Including the video I just recorded, I had uploaded a total of five videos.

Although I didn’t know the internal screening criteria, I was hoping one of my videos would be selected.

The event rewards were incredibly tempting.

If a submitted video made it into the rankings, its creator would receive the same prize as other winners.

The rewards included in-game currency worth 2 million won, an interview opportunity on the global launch broadcast streamed online, and a specially designed wing costume.

The costume’s image was faint and only its silhouette was visible.

But even from a glance, the wings looked like those of a majestic angel.

Wings!

This was a costume that had never appeared in Daron before.

I had often thought about how great it would be if Daron had wing costumes while playing other games.

Many other players had said the same thing.

They wanted wing costumes added to Daron.

Although it wasn’t a particularly difficult request, wing costumes never made an appearance.

That’s why I absolutely had to have those massive angel wings.

To obtain the wing costume, I would need to record many videos.

The more videos I uploaded, the better my chances of making it to the finals.

I quickly set off.

I had just reached level 35.

I planned to change to a new class and record myself hunting in a new hunting ground in the most impressive way possible.

I had already decided on the class I would advance to.

[Beserker]

This season, I wouldn’t play as a tank.

I intended to become a damage dealer.