Chapter 1

Chapter 0 : Prologue

[Elysium Online Classic Server Open!]

[Classic Server Pre-registration Surpasses Ten Million Special Bonus, Given to All!]

[Limited Prize Draw for Event Achievers, Up to a VVIP VR Capsule, ApplePhone 26 Pro, and even a High-End PC Equipped with a VTX9680 Graphics Card!]

[Download Now!]

“......Hm?”

While I was lying around with nothing to do, a random spam message popped up. It was nothing special as far as spam went, but one thing caught my eye.

[Elysium Online].

‘I used to play that a lot.’

No, “a lot” didn’t even begin to cover it.

I poured my soul into that game! I’d even held onto a fairly high ranking in the in-game arena for quite a while.

A top-ranked duelist.

That was me.

‘Well, it’s all old news now.’

Of course, that was before I started focusing on the college entrance exam. Between studying for the exam, getting into university, and then going to the army, I stopped playing.

‘I never thought I’d see this again.’

It was a game I’d forgotten for a while, and now here it was in front of me again.

But the spam message did not end there.

[Web Message]

[Hello, ‘Kim Woo-jin’! This is ‘Elysium Online: Classic’!]

[‘Kim Woo-jin,’ you are a legendary player registered in the Elysium Online Hall of Fame under the Reincarnator nickname ‘Kylo’!]

“Uuuuuh?”

What was this? A legendary player?

[An exclusive legendary item usable in ‘Elysium Online: Classic’ has been granted to legendary players!]

[Shine upon Elysium once more with the skill of a legendary player!]

[Sent by all of Elin, the guides of Elysium for all Reincarnators.]

“Oh......”

Apparently, they gave some kind of extra item to people who had ranked in the past.

‘I haven’t logged in for ages, though......’

I was surprised the records were still there.

“What are they giving me?”

I casually began searching YouTube for information about Elysium Online.

To start with the conclusion, I could not find out what a legendary player was.

Instead.

─[Elysium Classic Server Early Builds by Class Guide] 3.29 million views · 3 weeks ago

─[Not Trashic, It’s a God-Tier Game] 12.01 million views · 3 months ago

─[Elysium Classic Operations, First Season Meta Predictions] 6.93 million views · 2 months ago

─[10 Essential Tips for People Starting Elysium Classic] 1.1 million views · 2 weeks ago

─[Elysium Classic All-Night Open Run Day 3!!] 420 thousand watching · Live

An overwhelming amount of interest in Elysium Classic!

YouTube’s view counts made it clear that this game was currently the unprecedented center of attention among gamers.

‘There still has to be something.’

After even using AI search, the only information I found was an explanation on the official site.

─What is a legendary player?

─These are users registered in the original server’s Hall of Fame for outstanding play.

─On the original server, twenty users per year have been registered in the Hall of Fame!

─As of the opening date, there will be a maximum of 200 legendary players on the Classic Server!

─Legendary players will receive exclusive items on the Classic Server as well, in commemoration of their contributions to the original server!

Only 200 players on the server.

That was the only explanation.

‘Only 200 in Korea?’

Since there were so few people it applied to, there did not seem to be any real rumors going around online communities either.

‘I guess I’ll have to try it myself.’

As it happened, I had quite a bit of time on my hands.

I had just been discharged from the army and had been planning to return to university, but because my enlistment order had been delayed, I found that I had missed the timing for my return by the time I got out.

It was not impossible if I forced it, but the required lectures were already full, so even if I did go back, my credits and class schedule would get completely tangled.

So I had given up on returning for the time being and was thinking of getting a part-time job to save up some tuition money, but.......

‘It’s not like I’ll be punished for playing games for a few days.’

It was not as if a part-time job could be found in a day or two, and playing games for a few days seemed fine.

With that thought, I found the VR capsule that had been gathering dust throughout my military service and pulled it back out.

Then I launched [Elysium Online: Classic].

[Original server play record exists.]

[Target Code: Legendary Player]

[Nickname: Kylo]

[Legendary player record loaded!]

[The Return of a Legend!]

[Welcome, legendary player ‘Kylo’!]

The moment I logged in, a special message greeted me.......

[Legendary Player benefits granted!]

[Obtained ‘Sword of the Sky’!]

[Obtained ‘Sword Saint’s Token’!]

[Hidden Class ‘Blade Master’ has been unlocked!]

I was given a new class that had not existed in the original game.

[Legendary Player Kylo!]

[Become the Sword Saint, ‘Blade Master,’ and forge a new legend in Elysium Online!]

A hidden class just for me, *for a legend-class ranker.

***

Chapter 1 : A Legend-Class Ranker’s Tutorial (1)

[Legendary Player benefits granted!]

[Obtained ‘Sword of the Sky’!]

[Obtained ‘Sword Saint’s Token’!]

[Hidden Class ‘Blade Master’ has been unlocked!]

After I received the limited benefits granted only to Legendary Players, the screen went dark again.

[Starting game in Legendary Player Mode!]

[Legendary Player performance will be broadcast as video!]

[Check your performance!]

[View Video / Close]

‘What is this now?’

Were they telling me to stream in exchange for the benefits? I wasn’t even a streamer.

‘My VR capsule can’t record video in the first place.’

Recording or streaming a VR game devoured an absurd amount of a VR capsule’s specs.

Unless a VR capsule had dedicated streaming equipment installed separately, it could not even record, let alone broadcast.

And the VR capsule in my studio apartment, an ordinary household model?

There was no way it could.

[Close]

I closed the broadcast window just as it was.

WHOOOM―

Then the operating noise of the old VR capsule echoed through my mind. Counting the years I had spent in the army, this model had to be eight years old by now. It really was ancient.

Well, it should still be more than enough to play the classic version of an old game.

‘It’s a classic. There’s no way the system requirements are higher than they were back then, right?’

Surely not. If the developers had any conscience, they wouldn’t do that.

─Can you hear me? Can you hear me?

Then a goddess descended into the dark world.

It was the opening cinematic for [Elysium Online].

─Traveler, wanderer of many worlds....... I am Minerva, the goddess of this world.

─Our world is at war with the demonfolk, who have lived since ancient times.......

[Skip opening video?]

[YES]

[Skipping opening video.]

But at this point, there was no need to watch the entire opening for a game I had played ages ago.

On top of that, as befitted an early VR game, [Elysium Online] boasted a truly old-fashioned introduction. Something about the Divine Race and the demonfolk and so on.

[Elysium Online]’s strength was its vast number of side quests, enough to overwhelm the main questline, and among them, its hidden quests.

As long as you met the right conditions, hidden quests with excellent rewards would pop out one after another.

Without question, those hidden quests were [Elysium Online]’s biggest draw.

VWOOOM─

In any case, after one more round of loading ended.

CLANG! CLAAANG! BOOM! CLANG! RUUUUMBLE!

A tremendous explosion.

The sound of metal colliding.

The virtual stench of blood created by the VR simulator began to stab at my nose.

Then all five senses returned perfectly.

“Uwaaaaaaaah!”

“KRrrRrrrrr!!!!”

“Kkeuaaaak! Aaah!”

What unfolded before my eyes was a massive battlefield. A bloody battlefield where humans, monsters, and demonfolk were clashing.

That was the very beginning of [Elysium Online].

VWOOOM!

Immediately afterward, a lump of magical light appeared near me and began circling around me.

─Traveler....... Do not panic.......

The voice of Minerva, the goddess I had skipped earlier, flowed out from the lump of light.

─This is the Gorseia Battlefield....... It is the place where humanity is locked in fierce battle with Medusius, the great general of the demonfolk.......

─The locations where residents of other worlds can be summoned are limited, so we had no choice but to reincarnate you in this place. I apologize.......

─It is dangerous for a body that has only just reincarnated to fight on a battlefield this fierce. Quickly, you must leave this battlefield and head somewhere safe.

Once the lump of light finished speaking, it flew toward the far side of the battlefield, leaving a trail behind it.

[Main Quest]

[Leaving the Battlefield]

◆ Grade: Tutorial

─[You have reincarnated in Elysium. Follow the goddess’s guidance and escape the dangerous battlefield.]

◆ Objective

─[Follow the goddess’s light.]

◆ Reward

─[100 EXP]

─This way. Quickly. You must hurry.

Minerva’s urging voice came from beneath the trail of light.

‘I’d like to check the hidden class first, though.......’

In this game, the system menu was locked until you finished the tutorial. Before that, you could only check quests and exit the game.

In other words, if I wanted to check the hidden class and legendary weapon, I had no choice but to follow that goddess according to the tutorial quest first.

But.......

‘Only rookies do what they’re told.’

Games were always more fun when you played like a contrarian, doing everything except what you were ordered to do.

SQUELCH.

I ignored Minerva’s light and stepped forward through the mud.

CHING! CLANG! RUUUUMBLE! CLANG!

Then the noise of the battlefield rang out even closer.......

[Warning]

[You are leaving the quest route.]

[Warning]

[You are leaving the quest route.]

The warning messages I had expected began to appear.

‘It was around the eighth time, I think.’

I ignored the warning messages and kept heading into the battlefield.

Then.

“KRrrrrRRR!!!”

“Aaah! S-save me! Aaaaah!”

I saw a soldier screaming as he was torn apart alive by a unit of wolf-riding Goblin Riders.

CRACK!

“Kkeueok......!”

Right after the soldier’s death the rattle rang out with his neck broken.

“Krrr! KRRRrrrr......!”

“GrrrrRrr!”

The gazes of the goblins and wolves turned toward me. And then,

[Hidden Quest unlocked!]

‘There it is.’

The [Hidden Quest] I had been aiming for revealed itself.

[Hidden Quest]

[Battlefield Breakthrough - I]

◆ Grade: Hero

─[You have left the goddess’s guidance and thrown yourself into the chaotic battlefield. Break through the demonfolk encirclement and cross the battlefield.]

◆ Objective

─[Escape the monsters’ encirclement.]

◆ Additional Objectives

─[Defeat one Goblin Rider.]

─[Defeat all Goblin Riders.]

─????(Locked additional objective)

◆ Reward

─[Linked quest unlocked]

─[Armaments of the Lost Battlefield]

─[1,000 EXP]

─????(Locked additional completion reward)

─[Additional rewards will unlock according to completion rate.]

In this tutorial section, there was a hidden quest concealed like this.

Normally, the opening method was something you would never even imagine. After all, it was a hidden quest tucked away inside the tutorial section, where you could not even open the menu screen.

The conditions were a bit tricky, so I had heard that it was discovered only after quite some time had passed since the game opened.

In truth, this hidden quest had been designed around the assumption that you would “replay” this section through the scenario replay function after finishing the main quest.

Maybe that was why its difficulty was hard enough to make you call it hell.

“KRrrrrr......!”

“Grrrr......!!!”

First of all, the Goblin Riders surrounding me right now were roughly over level 20. They were not monsters that a freshly created level 1 character could handle. If I allowed even two or three attacks to hit me, I would die.

But if I tried to flee according to the quest objective, the Goblin Riders were cavalry-type monsters, so they would catch up to me in an instant.

On top of that, this was a quest you challenged while the menu was still closed. You could not receive help from any equipment or item.

It was the same when entering through scenario replay mode.

During this hidden quest, the effects of all equipment were disabled, items could not be used, and the stat corrections gained from leveling did not apply.

Whether you cleared it depended purely.......

‘On skill.’

Because of that, there were plenty of cases where even players who had raised their level to the maximum could not clear this hidden quest because their skill was lacking.

That said, well.

‘It should be perfect for getting my feel back.’

To a jaded old fossil, it was just a practice ground and nothing more.

All the more so for a player like me, who had even become a ranker.

“KrrrR! KRak!!!”

Soon, a wolf howled and began charging toward me.

“Kh!”

I quickly rolled to the side and avoided the Goblin Riders’ charge.

“GRRRrrrrrrr─!!”

THUD-THUD-THUD─!

The Goblin Riders whose charge had missed circled around the battlefield and aimed at me again.

From this point on, I could not run away. Even if I tried to flee on foot, I would only be trampled to death by the Goblin Riders.

The real way out was somewhere else.

‘There it is.’

While still watching out for the rest of the Goblin Riders’ charge, I examined the surrounding terrain.

Then I saw several places where a faint light wavered among the corpses piled up on the battlefield.

Event items.

In this section, you could not survive unless you used those event items.

‘Let’s see.......’

I calmly stared at each light and chose an item.

“GrrrrrRRRRrrrr───!!!”

THUD-THUD-THUD─!

Then, scattering dust, the Goblin Rider unit’s second assault approached.

“Hup!”

WHOOSH─!

Once again, I dodged the wolf’s teeth and the goblin’s blade by a hair’s breadth.

WHOOSH!

Once, twice, three times. Then again and again, I slipped through the charges and continued dodging without allowing so much as a single wound.......

“GrrrrRrrrr──!!!!!”

The spear of the goblin at the very rear brushed past my skin.

A shiver ran down my spine at the thrill of narrowly avoiding even the final attack.

“Good......!”

Right after avoiding every attack, I quickly ran toward the event item I had checked earlier.

CLACK!

And the moment I arrived in front of the item, I grabbed the hilt where the faint light was wavering and pulled it free.

SHING─!

[Additional quest objective completed!]

[Obtained ‘Sword of the Lost Battlefield’!]

[Stats temporarily adjusted to match acquired weapon!]

The moment I acquired the event weapon, the faint light enveloping the weapon flowed into my body together with the quest completion.

Then, because of the adjusted stats, I felt the enhanced physical senses unique to VR games.

This was where the real game began.

“GRrrrrrrr───!!!!!”

The Goblin Rider unit, having finished circling around, approached from behind me with a roar. I turned around, gripped the Sword of the Lost Battlefield I had just obtained, and took my stance.

CLANG! CLANG! CLAAANG! Aaaaaah! Aaak! Grrrr!

The noise of the battlefield coming from afar gradually faded. What I heard and what I saw began to focus on only one point.

RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE──!

After fixing my eyes only on the Goblin Riders charging toward me, whipping up dust right in front of me, I steadied my breathing and sharpened my concentration to its limit.

“GRRRrrrRRRAAaaaAAAAA──!!”

As if they refused to miss this time, the Goblin Riders closed in with even greater momentum. The wolf’s head soon came right up to my nose.

‘Now......!’

My offense began.

WHOOOOSH──!

The Sword of the Lost Battlefield cut through the air.

Then, at the exact moment it collided with the molars of the lead wolf.

CLANG!

Red sparks flew in every direction.

“Grakak─?!”

The wolf and goblin that collided with the sword could not withstand the impact and were instead sent flying back.

Parry.

It was a phenomenon that happened when a deflection technique, common in action games, succeeded.

Of course, not all parries completely deflected and blocked a monster’s movement like this.

If you simply succeeded at a parry, it only amounted to receiving the attack.

The phenomenon where the monster’s movement completely collapsed from the aftermath of the parry and sparks flew occurred only when the parry achieved a “Great Success.”

In Elysium Online, the timing for a Parry Great Success, without any parry-enhancing skill, was approximately four frames (=0.033 seconds).

Countering every single monster attack within those four frames was not easy, even as empty praise.

But.

‘Once you get used to it, you can do it as much as you want.’

It was a technique the old me had pulled off as a matter of course.

Therefore.

‘I’ll knock them all away!’

If I could not knock away every attack in front of me, it would not even count as practice for getting my feelings back.

“GRrrrrRRRRaAAA!!”

The second attack came from the side. I turned my body and received the next attack head-on as well.

CLANG─!!

Once again, red sparks flew in every direction with an electrifying sound effect. The second parry was also a Great Success.

“KRrrrrrRrrrr!!!!!!”

CLAAAAAAANG─!!!!

The third parry was also a Great Success.

‘Good, good, good......!’

Together with the thrilling sensation, the world gradually began to feel as if it had slowed down. My concentration was hitting its stride.

CLAAANG─!!

By the time I perfectly blocked the fourth attack with a parry as well.

‘I can do this!’

I started to find the leeway to attack after parrying.

CLANG─!!

So when I perfectly received the fifth attack, I decided to go on the offensive this time without hesitation.

WHOOSH─! SLAAAASH──!

The Sword of the Lost Battlefield split the wolf’s body, left defenseless by the parry, in a single stroke. The wolf’s body was cleaved clean in two, and the goblin riding on top of it fell.

“Haap!”

SLASH─!!

I immediately spun my body and cut off the falling goblin rider’s head in one blow.

[Defeated Goblin Rider!]

[Additional quest objective completed!]

Then a message appeared in one corner of my vision, saying the first completion task was complete.

It was annoying.

Without even glancing at the quest completion message, I faced the next attack again.

CLANG!

Was it because my posture had crumbled from the reckless attack? The next attack, the blade swung by a goblin, could not be received with a Great Success.

But even with an ordinary parry, the shock received could be reduced perfectly.

And.......

SLAAAASH─!

Even after an ordinary parry, I could counterattack as much as I wanted.

“Grak!”

With a swift counterattack, I stabbed the goblin rider through the neck this time, then cut to the side and pulled the sword free.

Then I turned my gaze toward the monsters ahead.

‘As expected.’

The Goblin Riders in the rear were losing the momentum of their charge because the Goblin Riders in front had stopped due to the parries.

In other words, there was more than enough of an opening to attack.

WHOOOOOSH─!!

So this time, instead of receiving their attacks and countering, I swung my sword wide first and went on the attack.

SLASH-SLASH-SLASH─!

“KRaka?!”

“Kkaagangg!”

“Rahak!!”

The Goblin Riders in the rear, having lost the force of their charge, were cut down in a single blow.

That was the end of it.

The Goblin Rider unit had completely collapsed, sprawled out from the aftermath of the parries and their injuries.

All that remained was for me to target those openings and attack.

“Hoo......!”

SLASH! SLAAAASH! SLASH─!!

Then I began one-sidedly slaughtering the monsters whose stances had fallen apart.

After I repeated that sequence of attacks several times.

[All Goblin Riders defeated!]

[Additional quest objective completed!]

A quest window appeared before my eyes, announcing the annihilation of the Goblin Riders.

[Perfect Victory!]

[Defeated all Goblin Riders without taking damage!]

[Additional reward unlocked!]

A complete victory.

I had defeated all the Goblin Riders without allowing even a single hit.

‘Not bad for coming back after so long.’

I lightly loosened my body again and prepared for the next stage of the quest.

Because the hidden quest was not over yet.

KABOOOOOM─!!!

Something overturned the battlefield around me, and a gigantic shadow soared into the sky.

“BRrrrrrrrRRRryhwaaaa─!─!!!!!”

The gigantic shadow roared above the sky. A massive body several meters wide. A length with no end in sight.

[Boss appeared!]

“H-hiiiiiik......!”

“A s-snake!”

“It’s Medusius’s snake!”

[Medusius Serpent]. When the boss of this tutorial hidden quest revealed itself, the screams of the surviving soldiers around me rang out.

“Retreat! Retreeeeat!”

“Aaaaaaaah!”

“BRRRRRrrryaaaaAAaaa─!!!”

FWOOOOSH!

When the soldiers tried to flee while screaming, the [Medusius Serpent] spewed poison-laced flames from its mouth.

SIZZLE!

“Aaak!”

“Kkeuaaaaaa......!!”

The moment they touched the [Medusius Serpent]’s cursed breath, the soldiers turned to ash and evaporated.

An overwhelming threat. It was a sight that seemed to show there was absolutely no chance of victory.

“Soldier over there! That thing is Medusius’s direct vassal! There is no chance of winning! Run!”

The nearby soldiers who had begun fleeing shouted toward me.

[Hidden Quest objective changed.]

◆ Objective

─[Escape the monsters’ encirclement.] (Complete)

─[Run from the Medusius Serpent.]

Sure enough, the hidden quest objective changed at this timing.

From this point on, the escape part began, where I had to avoid the [Medusius Serpent]’s attacks and run.

But.

“Is he insane?”

“Hey! You over there!”

“You’ll die if you don’t run!!”

CLACK.

Ignoring the advice of the fleeing soldiers, I lifted my sword and stood in front of the [Medusius Serpent] as if facing it down.

Because,

[You did not run from the Medusius Serpent!]

[Confronting Medusius Serpent!]

[Hidden objective unlocked!]

[Additional reward unlocked!]

for a ranker-class user, the tutorial started now.