First, what stood in their way was a city wall.
Though I'm not sure if you could even call it a city wall...
It was a wall so high that it seemed to separate the world entirely.
That massive, ash-gray wall stretched all the way up to the clouds.
If this structure even had stairs, they would surely be used for punishment.
"We call this a firewall."
"There's certainly no name that fits it better. But there's no door, is there?"
"Do you know why?"
She gave a sly smile, as if challenging him to guess.
When the newbie gave a bewildered smile just as she'd expected, she stepped forward with a look of satisfaction and placed her hand on the wall.
Then.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Just like playing with building blocks, the wall began to crumble around her palm.
A door-shaped opening, just big enough for one person, appeared.
"It's open to all players. You should try it too, Newbie."
With those words, she stepped inside first.
Newbie slowly placed her hand on the wall as well.
Crackle, crackle, crackle.
Accompanied by the sound of bricks shifting as if to welcome her, the wall swung wide open for Newbie too.
Bright light streaming in through the entrance blinded Newbie and the fairy.
"Ah, my eyes..."
"Everyone's like that at first. You'll get used to it soon. Come on! Open your eyes!"
A peek.
Newbie and the fairy, who had been squinting, soon opened their eyes wide and took in the scenery at a glance.
"Wowwwww..."
"Wooooo..."
Newbie and the fairy simply stood there with their mouths agape, admiring the otherworldly landscape.
In typical city-building or historical simulation games, don't they usually cram all sorts of monuments and cultural heritage sites into a single city?
It looked exactly like that.
Landmarks you'd expect to find in just one major city were scattered everywhere.
To put it in perspective, it was like having Gyeongbokgung Palace next to the Eiffel Tower, or the Pyramids next to Notre Dame Cathedral.
The sight was truly...
"My eyes are spinning."
"Huh…?"
"It's impressive, but… how should I put it…"
Just as the newbie struggled to find the words, the fairy shouted instead.
"It's overwhelming!"
At those words, Arien grumbled as if her pride had been slightly hurt.
"Ugh, it's less exciting than I thought. Everyone who comes here for the first time..."
Before Arien could finish speaking, a sudden wail rang out.
"Waaah! Guild, Guild! Pinch my cheeks!"
"The world has changed beyond recognition. Yet this place remains a paradise... I never thought I'd see this again before my eyes close..."
It seemed that Hansel and his group were the ones who were actually more moved.
They were so overcome with emotion that they began sobbing uncontrollably on the floor.
Is this okay?
"What's going on? Why are those people acting like that?"
"Their clothes look kind of strange…? That's a slave outfit, isn't it?"
Gradually, attention began to be drawn to their tears of emotion.
One of them recognized Arien and shouted.
"Wait a minute! Isn't that Arien?"
"What?! Arien's here?"
The crowd, which had been murmuring among about ten people at the mention of Arien's name, began to swell rapidly.
Before long, a crowd that looked like it numbered in the thousands was staring at them all at once.
"This is a bit overwhelming, isn't it?"
"Ah, ahaha… It's a bit awkward for me to say this, but I'm kind of famous."
Arien scratched her cheek, looking bashful.
Just then, as if on cue, the crowd erupted in cheers.
"You're the best, Arien! Did you save seven this time?"
"What are you all doing! Hurry up and bring the returning family members here so we can throw a welcome party!"
Just as everyone was busy praising Arien's achievements and lifting up those who had been crying on the ground, one side of the crowd began to fall silent.
Amid the growing silence, a group of people appeared, wearing formal coats draped like capes.
Their solemn expressions and precise movements made it clear to anyone watching that they were members of a "very strict and old-fashioned group."
At their arrival, the entire crowd—and even the previously confident Arien—shrank back slightly.
"Well, it seems our only remaining rescue team member has pulled it off again."
An elderly man, clearly the most senior among them, spoke up.
Unlike the other Masters, who wore formal coats in various colors matching their professions or classes, he was a curly-haired old man wearing the only drab, ash-gray coat.
Hearing this, Arien, whose shoulders had sagged slightly, perked up.
"Of course! If the Rescue Squad doesn't save people, who else will? Our great Masters are too busy protecting the guild, aren't they? Right? Our great Grandmaster?"
"Hmm..."
Grandmaster Drusus fiddled with his monocle.
"We are protecting the people of this world, not just the six before us. And your actions pose a grave threat to that peace."
"Ah, so saving people bothers you? Is that it?"
"You should know that better than anyone. The treaty we've made with the Kingdom."
"So... are you saying we should have just left them as the Kingdom's playthings?"
"..."
The Grandmaster stared at them intently before turning away.
"In any case, the returning players are all members of the guild. Archivist Rancer, please register their identities. Professor Meiar and Dr. Emenpo, please check their health and bug stability."
With those words, he vanished into the crowd in an instant, like a ghost.
The other Masters followed him in a rush.
Only three of them remained, approaching Arien and the Newbie group.
"I'm sorry, Arien. Druusus was just..."
"It's fine, it's fine! Places like this need old-fashioned sticklers like him to keep running, after all! Haha!"
"Ah, well... thank you for understanding. Hahaha..."
She waved her hand with a cheerful expression, as if it were no big deal.
Only Newbie was listening to their conversation with a slightly tense look on his face.
"I-is he okay? That Grandmaster guy."
"What do you mean?"
"He looked like the head of the guild just by looking at him."
"So what? It's not like we're going to live here forever."
The fairy comforted the newbie with those carefree words.
Just then, the crowd began to move again.
"Alright! The old fogies gave their blessing! Let's party!"
"Hahahaha! What are you all waiting for! Let's grab the protagonists and go! Hahaha!
"My dopamine's skyrocketing!"
The crowd began moving forward, carrying not only the six of them but, before they knew it, the newbie as well.
"W-waaaah! Arien! Fairy! Help meee!"
"Have fun! I've got things to do here with these three!"
"No, wait a minute! I said save meee!"
"Hehehe, we don't rescue people who've been snatched by players craving a party~. Have fun~."
And so, after teleporting the newbie's party away, she began walking and talking with the three Masters, her expression suddenly serious.
And there was someone watching the entire scene from the spire.
"Hm... Strange. It's just strange."
He was someone who looked dangerous to anyone who saw him.
With a neat, bald head that seemed to foretell a future even brighter than Sujeong-gu's... and above all, a bizarre, muscular being clad in nothing but a single pair of white briefs.
That being turned its dangerous(?) gaze toward the newbie, who was being dragged along while the fairy's wings—which had been in the midst of fleeing—were still clutched.
"Hmm... You look fresh... You really do smell fresh."
With those dangerous words, he vanished from the spire's roof.
*
"Are you still mad?"
"Mad? Thanks to you, I had a fun party... I got bombarded with all kinds of questions and made a lot of friends. It's been three whole days."
"Hehehe... I'm sorry. This report ended up taking longer than I expected... Could you please... stop being mad?"
"I told you I'm not mad."
That said, the sight of him grumbling while linking arms with the fairy was quite a spectacle.
Anyway, they had to endure the welcome party for three days and nights.
It was hardly a party—no sleep, an endless stream of food, and even a barrage of shot-drinking games...
It was the kind of ordeal that, if it had been real life, wouldn't have been surprising if they'd died.
What awaited the newbie next was a tedious immigration check.
Lancer, the Master of Records, kept the newbie detained for a full hour.
He just fiddled with his long ponytail and kept shaking his head from side to side.
"Hmm, I just can't understand this… It doesn't make any sense."
He kept repeating those words over and over.
His attitude made it seem as if absolutely everything about the newbie was completely nonsensical.
"Hey!"
"Uh, hmm?"
Since Newbie had become cautious due to the Grandmaster incident, the fairy stepped in instead.
"No! They say it took the others less than five minutes! Why are you giving us such a hard time?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. It's just that this is completely nonsensical..."
"What on earth is it! Don't we need to figure this out together!"
Only then, in response to the fairy's protest, did Rancer realize he had been rude.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Newbie."
"No, but what exactly is strange about it?"
"Ah, well..."
He glanced at the information in the status window as if embarrassed, then spoke again.
"The account creation date was definitely fine. It was before that disaster happened. But... what on earth is this..." He kept trying to hold back his words.Finally, the fairy couldn't take it anymore and let out a shriek. "What! Just say it!""Ah, well...! The account activity date is showing as recent.""Account activity date? What's that supposed to mean! Explain it so I can understand!" At the fairy's outburst, Rancer let out a sigh. "It literally refers to the days the player has played the game. Everyone got trapped in this world after that disaster. Because of that, whether we like it or not, we have to keep playing this game.""What does that mean?"
The newbie couldn't hold back and asked.
"In short, since about 100 years have passed, everyone's account activity date should show 100 years... But you, Newbie... hmm, your account activity date is one week? What on earth. There's clearly some kind of mistake."
For a moment, Newbie felt as if his heart had been stabbed.
In short, unlike everyone else, Newbie had effectively been absent from this world and had just reappeared.
"So you're saying the kid took a time machine or something to 100 years in the future?"
"Well, if I had to explain it, that's the only way to—"
Clang! Crash!
Suddenly, the stained-glass window in the middle of Rancher's room shattered.
A figure appeared through the broken glass.
"Why are you going on with such a pedantic and boring explanation?"
It was the voice of a newcomer that the newbie had never heard before.
However, Rancher looked startled upon hearing that voice.
No, rather than startled...
"Hello there! A strong and powerful morning!"
...It must have been fear.
Anyone would be scared to see a 6-foot-tall, muscular, bald man wearing nothing but his underwear.
"Mr. Bald! Why on earth are you here...!"
"Bald? My name is right there, so why are you using a name like that?"
"B-but..."
"My name is 'I Want to Suck on Bald's Bald Head!'"
"..."
Seriously.
There's more than one thing I want to point out here.
Anyway, that bald man smashed the window and burst in.
And then.
Thud!
"Eh…?"
"Hehe, just as I thought. I could tell there was a fresh scent… I knew it!"
"U-um, excuse me?"
"If you're new to the guild, it's only common courtesy to come say hello to our Old-Timers' Association. Come on, let's go. My cute little newbie!"
"Ugh, aaaargh!"
It happened in the blink of an eye.
The bald man grabbed Newbie by the collar of his jacket and simply walked right out through the broken window.
"Hey, heyyyy! Give my friend back!"
The fairy hurried after them, but the bald man had already vanished into the distance with Newbie.
Lancer just sighed deeply as he looked down at the items he hadn't yet returned to Newbie.
Several necklaces of the same design caught his eye.
"Is this... a collar...? But why isn't there a bug...?"