A blazing sun, red and gold, rose high in the center of the sky. Its dazzling rays spread out in all directions, flowing through the air like a river of light, illuminating the world and tinting everything with its own color.
Perhaps because of the fierce sunlight, even the swirling dust and sand rising from the city shimmered and sparkled. Then, cutting through the dusty haze, came the chaotic shouts drifting in through the windows. Until yesterday, the city had been quiet, but this morning it suddenly buzzed with activity—and there was only one reason for it.
The warp gate had finally been activated.
This was the official signal to begin the city’s reconstruction, and the first to kick off the effort was Istantel Low. With countless users’ expectations riding on it, Istantel Low was already fully prepared. As soon as the warp gate opened, residents began moving in and materials started arriving. The noise echoing outside was all part of the restoration work underway.
“Hmm…”
Han So-young, resting her chin on her hand, gazed blankly out the window. A soft breath escaped her lips as her eyes, dark and calm like black crystals beneath long lashes, shifted downward to the records laid out on her desk.
She flipped a page quietly.
Click!
“Hey! Han-woo!”
The door slammed open without warning, and a familiar, sharp voice rang out, echoing down the hallway. Han So-young’s eyes immediately sharpened.
“I told you not to call me that.”
Han-woo. Originally, it referred to a native Korean cattle breed. But here, it was a kind of nickname. At first, people called her “Han-so,” taking the first two syllables of her name, Han So-young. But somewhere along the way, it morphed into “Han-woo.” Anyone who compared Han So-young’s full, generous chest to Yeon Hye-rim’s comparatively modest one would understand why.
Yeon Hye-rim strode in and slammed her hand down on the desk with a loud thud.
“Take a look at this. It just came out from the Mercenary Clan today.”
“I’ve already heard rumors about the fortress they discovered.”
“That’s not it. This is about the city’s reconstruction. I grabbed the notice they posted in the plaza. There were tons of people there.”
“…A lot of people?”
Han So-young squinted slightly, and Yeon Hye-rim nodded, pulling her hand away. The slightly crumpled document had three roughly scrawled points. It looked like a copy of the official announcement. Han So-young picked it up and began reading carefully.
She skimmed over points one and two—they were matters already discussed and applied across all cities.
But when she reached point three, a sly gleam suddenly flickered in her eyes.
A simple line, but its implications were anything but light.
“City reconstruction? Support?”
“Yeah. That’s why everyone’s been buzzing.”
“Is that all? Any details?”
“They’re answering questions in the plaza right now. Some guy named Shingung and a girl—oh, Im Hanna—were explaining things.”
Han So-young frowned. It wasn’t who was speaking that mattered, but what they were saying. Yet Yeon Hye-rim shook her head.
“I don’t know. There were so many people, I barely managed to copy this…”
“How was the atmosphere?”
“Not bad. There were occasional cheers… Oh! They even brought some equipment to the plaza.”
“Equipment?”
“Yeah. Weapons, armor, stuff like that. Looks like some accessories too. Seems like part of the loot they found.”
“……”
Yeon Hye-rim shrugged and fell silent. Han So-young suddenly closed her eyes, wearing a thoughtful expression.
After a moment, she opened them and smiled faintly.
“Not bad. Actually, it’s a pretty good idea.”
Yeon Hye-rim looked at her curiously. Since she disliked thinking too hard (though she never said it was a bad thing), she could only see the surface. But Han So-young must have noticed something deeper.
“It draws attention, boosts their image, and gains momentum all at once. It’s killing three birds with one stone. How fast they get started is the key.”
“Huh? But everyone says the Mercenary Clan is desperate, so they’re willing to risk losing some of their hard-earned loot.”
“That can’t be. Mercenary gear is top-tier in the Northern Continent. They probably set aside the good stuff and only put out the leftovers. Even so, that’s enough to attract a swarm of users.”
“Heh… So can’t we do the same?”
“Huh? You mean recruit users?”
“No, no. Just recruiting. In some ways, users are better than residents. The response seemed pretty good.”
Maybe because she saw it firsthand, Yeon Hye-rim sounded a little envious.
She wasn’t wrong. In some ways, users were better than residents for tasks like demolishing buildings or clearing debris. A single spell from a user could accomplish what would take dozens of residents.
“No.”
But Han So-young shook her head firmly. The reason was simple: combat users were highly skilled personnel. They lived by adventure, not by doing menial labor. If you wanted to make combat users do grunt work, you had to compensate them accordingly. In other words, it came down to money.
Yet Yeon Hye-rim said the users’ response was good. That meant the Mercenary Clan had promised a hefty amount of gold coins. Plus, they dangled the newly discovered equipment from the new city. Even users not stuck in a dead-end situation would be tempted by such conditions.
“How much must they have stockpiled all this time…”
Han So-young let out a faint smile.
As mentioned earlier, Istantel Low had been steadily preparing since before the summit. They were confident they’d get a city, so they kept in close contact with the Northern Continent, gathering residents and materials. That’s why they could move so quickly as soon as the warp gate opened this morning.
In contrast, the Mercenary Clan was late to everything. They still had to find residents and materials. By all accounts, they were behind schedule.
But suddenly, they started chasing in an unexpected way. Even if luck played a part with their discovery, results would speak for themselves.
One thing was clear: the Mercenary Clan was staking everything on Atlanta. They would begin a fierce pursuit at a terrifying speed, by any means necessary.
“I can’t just stand by.”
Han So-young jumped up from her seat. For some reason, an overwhelming urge not to lose had suddenly taken hold of her. Istantel Low had prepared everything perfectly, but letting the Mercenary Clan catch up now would bruise her pride badly.
Yet, on the other hand, her heart fluttered just a little. She was curious to see how Kim Soo-hyun would perform—not just as a clan leader, but as the head of a region.
But did Han So-young know that right now, beside Kim Soo-hyun stood the woman she had longed for so much during the first round?
“We need to create a market.”
Je-gal Hae-sol took a long sip from his teacup, looking thoroughly satisfied. Glancing over, I saw the cup, which had been full moments ago, was now nearly empty.
“Stir up rumors to attract attention? Fine. Show off with some decent equipment to improve your image? Fine. Pour gold coins and use discovered loot to draw users? Fine. But the ultimate goal here has to be the formation of a market within the city.”
Je-gal Hae-sol added this with a greedy gleam in his eyes. When I pushed the teacup in front of him, he snatched it up eagerly.
“Market formation… It doesn’t sound bad, but is it really that important?”
“Oh my. You’re underestimating the market? It’s an essential part of any city. The benefits of securing the market first are enormous.”
“I agree it’s essential, but is it really something you can ‘secure’ first? There’s the Northern Continent, after all.”
“That’s the Northern Continent. This isn’t Atlanta. And I’m not talking about now—I mean three months from now.”
Je-gal Hae-sol took another big gulp, the cup now half empty.
“Right now, the plaza’s response is high. That’s a good sign. But even if all eyes are on us, that interest will fade quickly. It can’t. We have to keep that attention alive as long as possible. That’s why we need a market.”
He swallowed hard and continued.
“A market doesn’t just appear because someone says, ‘Let’s make this the market!’ It starts naturally when people begin bartering with each other. Hol Plain isn’t a perfect game, right? You don’t get a message saying, ‘Market construction in progress’ with a mouse click. So we have to use this situation to naturally encourage the market’s emergence.”
“So you’re saying we should turn the city plaza into something like a market to attract users?”
“Exactly. Think about it. There are about 15,000 users living in Atlanta now. Subtract the main and affiliated clan members, and about 8,000 or 9,000 remain. Those are the ones we need to target.”
“Hmm.”
As I listened, I glanced toward the door. I sensed someone slowly approaching from the stairs.
After a moment, Je-gal Hae-sol began twirling his index finger in a circle.
“They’ll probably keep circling through the four outer cities until the warranty period ends. Then they’ll start thinking, ‘Hmm, this city feels a bit empty. Hey, why is this one so crowded?’ That’s when their perception begins to shift.”
“So, okay, let’s say the square goes as you say. What do we do next?”
Maybe because I showed interest, or maybe because I was actually listening to someone with only zero years of experience, Jegal Haesol smiled and spoke.
“From then on, it’s simple. The more attention they pay, the higher their expectations become. If we meet those expectations, the evaluations will naturally improve. In other words, we just need to show how fast this city is changing—day by day. You’ve already decided to put all your chips on Atlanta, right?”
After saying that, Jegal Haesol suddenly looked a little wistful and took a sip from her teacup. Wow, she already finished it?
“But now that things have turned out this way, I can’t help feeling a bit disappointed. I heard the neighboring town really prepared thoroughly. If only we had gotten ready in advance, maybe by now…”
“Neighboring town?”
“I mean Istantel Row. Didn’t you see it this morning? As soon as the warp gate activated, residents and supplies started pouring in…”
“Oh, that? Don’t worry. It won’t be quite that extreme, but we’ll be getting our share soon too. And for free.”
“…What?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Jegal Haesol looked puzzled. Understandable—after all, the mercenaries only recently began gathering residents and securing materials. That’s the biggest penalty we’re facing right now.
But there’s a silver lining.
‘And that is…’
Knock knock.
“Suhyun, I’m coming in.”
Just then, the door clicked open, and as Goh Yeonju appeared, she immediately spoke.
“Yes, I’ll be there soon.”
“The bastards downstairs… huh?”
“Is it fair to call them all bastards? Surely it’s not just the East coming here. I think the Koran Alliance sent people too.”
“……”
Goh Yeonju looked as if she’d seen a ghost, then reluctantly nodded.
“Y-yeah. Two from the Koran Alliance. And from the East, Reverse, Han, Matap, and the Dalbam Clan… Did you know?”
“Of course. At this point, I expected them to start crawling in. But I didn’t expect Dalbam to show up.”
Jegal Haesol still looked confused, but then her eyes widened and a sly smile curved her lips. Seems like she finally understood what I meant earlier. I smirked and stood up.
‘Alright then, let’s see just how loud they can bark.’
---------------------------= Author’s Note =---------------------------
In the midnight serialization,
I write your name—Ro Yujin.
My mind has long forgotten you,
My identity has long, long forgotten you.
Only one thread remains—
The burning thirst deep inside my chest,
A memory of longing.
I secretly write your name—Ro Yujin.
Somewhere in Joara, before dawn breaks,
The sound of typing, the voice of Ro Yumi,
The call for a raid party,
A long, drawn-out sigh from the author,
Moans, regrets, and sighs,
All etched deeply in my heart,
Over Ro Yumi,
Over your trembling surname and identity,
The ongoing Loli wars,
The erased memories of past notes,
The author’s mournful face,
Trembling hands, a pounding heart,
With trembling teeth and shame,
On a blank white screen,
With clumsy fingers on the keyboard,
I write,
Holding my breath, sobbing quietly,
I secretly write your name—
With burning thirst,
With burning thirst,
Ro Yujin, long live.