EDEN — Chapter 3 (Part 3)

A massive skull was staring at him. In the dark hollows of its eye sockets, red light flickered, definitely eyes. I-eon found himself locked in a silent staring contest with a brutal-looking bone dragon before glancing toward Raham, who was calmly checking the saddle.

“Your pet?”

“Yeah.”

Raham stepped onto the dragon’s ribcage and climbed up to the back of the saddle. Then he held out his hand.

“Come here.”

I-eon had heard it was the fastest aerial pet in the game and could carry two people, which made it very expensive, but seeing it in person, the look was… questionable. With its body lowered, he couldn’t even tell where the torso ended and the wings began.

With a slightly displeased expression, I-eon approached. Once he took Raham’s hand, a strong pull lifted him onto the dragon’s back. Because Raham, holding the reins, sat behind him, I-eon’s body naturally ended up resting against Raham’s chest. Feeling the warmth through his back only made him more uncomfortable. Riding it felt… overly intimate.

“Let’s go.”

“…Yeah.”

Because of their position, Raham’s voice reached him right by his ear. But switching places so he sat behind and held Raham’s waist would block his view and be uncomfortable. If he slipped even a little, he’d fall straight into the desert. Whether he liked it or not, this was the safest position.

The bone dragon rose, spreading enormous wings. Without even a running start, it lifted purely by wing power. As they ascended, I-eon saw sand whipping across the base camp, forcing the handful of NPCs and players there to flee indoors. He turned his head away, embarrassed. They’d caused trouble again in such an unexpected way.

Once they reached a good height, Raham pulled the reins. The dragon cut through the wind, beginning its flight. Compared to I-eon’s one-seater black dragon, this one was incomparably fast. If it weren’t a game, the wind alone would have made his eyes water nonstop.

Despite the speed, it was surprisingly comfortable thanks to Raham’s steady posture supporting him from behind. Relaxing, I-eon leaned back and admired the endless sky and the ocean of sand below. The sun, sinking westward, cast a deep reddish glow across the clouds. With such an open view, it felt like flying through the middle of sky and earth. Lost in the scenery, I-eon tilted his head slightly.

“Pretty great, huh.”

“What is?”

“The view.”

“Yeah.”

He said the words, but his voice held no emotion. I-eon wasn’t the sentimental type either, but even he could appreciate a view like this. Raham must really have none of that in him. Honestly, I-eon was grateful he even replied.

Well, people are different. I-eon didn’t try to force him to enjoy it and simply admired the desert alone. Even those who couldn’t easily travel in real life could enjoy magnificent scenery in Eden. I-eon was one of them, it was how he satisfied his travel cravings. The desert’s unique beauty suited him quite well.

When the sun dipped lower, they finally spotted a group of people. Wearing head-covering veils, the ones in front walked slowly. There were mercenaries and a large wagon too, likely because a merchant player was accompanying them. But there was no doubt, this was the pilgrim group they were looking for.

Raham pulled the reins and began descending. Since they had been flying fast, he had to spiral down in wide circles to lose speed. The bone dragon circled the pilgrims once, then descended in front of them, slowing its wingbeats. A powerful wind erupted like a helicopter landing. The pilgrims all stopped and stared.

I-eon, glad to have found them so quickly, was about to greet them from atop the dragon.

If only the pilgrims hadn’t suddenly screamed and scattered in every direction.

Their solemn march turned into pure panic. Only then did I-eon remember what the bone dragon looked like. A monstrous giant skeleton suddenly descending from the sky, of course they’d be terrified.

“…What do we do?”

“Go catch them.”

“What?”

Raham answered calmly to I-eon’s stunned mutter, then spread the dragon’s wings again. Like a hunting predator, the bone dragon kicked off the ground and soared after the fleeing pilgrims. With terrifying precision, it snatched one person by the collar with its jaws. Dangling from the dragon’s mouth, the pilgrim screamed and thrashed wildly.

I-eon whipped around and grabbed Raham by the collar.

“You idiot, dismiss the pet before you break the quest!”

“Huh?”

“Hurry!”

Looking confused, Raham dismissed the dragon. Not realizing it had vanished, the pilgrim hit the ground and scrambled away in terror. I-eon hurried over with the friendliest face he could manage. Seeing unfamiliar boots stop in front of him, the pilgrim flinched and looked up. His dazed eyes finally recognized a human face.

“Hello. Sorry for scaring you.”

“Uh…?”

The pilgrim looked around, confirming the dragon was gone, and his shoulders slumped with relief. I-eon crouched beside him, apologetic.

“That dragon wasn’t a monster. And we’re not suspicious people. Here, look.”

More effective than any explanation was the Fairy King’s seal. When the pilgrim saw the mark on I-eon’s hand, his eyes finally cleared, and he stood up. Dusting off his clothes, he gave an embarrassed laugh.

“I thought an undead desert dragon showed up…”

“Sorry about that.”

All he could do was apologize.

Once the massive dragon was gone, the others slowly returned. When the whole pilgrim group had gathered again, I-eon explained everything once more and apologized. The real culprit watched shamelessly from behind, leaving all the cleanup to I-eon. Thankfully, the beastkin pilgrims, each of them wearing traces of animals somewhere on their bodies, were forgiving.

As their smiles returned, the merchant player who had run off earlier cautiously returned with his mercenaries leading the way. As a player, he should’ve known what a bone dragon looked like, but he must have panicked and run anyway. Or perhaps he thought I-eon and Raham were desert bandits.

Looking puzzled at the peaceful atmosphere, he approached I-eon. Then he saw Raham standing beside him, and his eyes widened.

“Whoa, aren’t you Raham-nim?”

The merchant abandoned his reserved demeanor and shoved his face forward eagerly. Even though Raham didn’t return so much as a polite smile, the merchant beamed at him.

“Can’t believe I’m meeting a celebrity out here! I’ve seen you a ton on the official site. You wouldn’t know me, of course. Haha!”

Raham silently glanced at I-eon. Since they’d just barely calmed the pilgrims, it seemed he was wordlessly saying: If you don’t want a PK incident, handle this.

Was this shyness, or just a personality flaw? I-eon sighed internally and stepped between them.

“We need to travel with the pilgrims for a quest, so please take care of us.”

“Oh, sure. I’d be glad to. We avoid monsters as much as possible, but the desert is dangerous.”

Judging by the fact that he hired twenty mercenaries for a single wagon, the merchant was extremely cautious. It made sense to travel with the pilgrim group, the beastkin priests knew the safest routes through the desert.

After the commotion, the pilgrims resumed their journey with two additional members. Their god, Tiog, valued suffering to overcome one’s limits. Following his teachings, the beastkin priests regularly crossed the desert with minimal food and water. Many had died attempting the pilgrimage, so aside from meals or emergencies, the group maintained strict silence in solemn remembrance. Each step was taken with sincerity and caution, making their pace so slow it was yawn-inducing.

Wincing at the blazing sunlight, I-eon trudged behind them. He liked quests with instant gratification. Whether it was the palace or the desert, neither suited his tastes.

—Swift Steps! Movement speed increased by 30 percent.

—Circulating Vitality! Grants tireless energy.

“…What?”

Tap, tap, tap, suddenly, the pilgrims’ footsteps grew noticeably quicker. Feeling newfound strength, they burst into exclamations.

“It’s Tiog’s blessing!”

“Oooh!”

“Praise Tiog!”

The pilgrims lifted their hands toward the sky, cheering as they marched with renewed vigor. It was amusing that beastkin priests mistook demon buffs for divine blessings. But with nearly a hundred people receiving buffs at once, it was understandable they assumed it was divine intervention rather than one person’s doing.

I-eon quietly gave Raham a thumbs-up.

The desert plunged into darkness the moment the sunset vanished. The pilgrims lit a fire, enjoying a simple dinner and soft conversation. Having tasted the ultimate boredom of their silent march, I-eon sprawled on the sand. Though rough, the fine grains were surprisingly soft under his back.

Using the sand as his bed, the moment I-eon lay there and took in the night sky, a breath of awe escaped him.

“Wow…”

The darkened sky was draped with a vivid Milky Way. It was the kind of sight one could hardly see back home.

I-eon stared blankly at the river of stars pouring down over him. It was a view he could watch for hours without growing tired of it.

“What are you doing?”

A face suddenly slid into view, blocking the beautiful night sky. I-eon frowned for a moment, then relaxed and studied Raham’s face. Even looking from below, his flawless features blended perfectly with the beauty of the night behind him.

Honestly, if Raham weren’t that handsome, player interest in him would have taken a very different shape. His fame absolutely included the value of that face.

“Lie down here.”

Finished admiring the view, I-eon tapped the spot beside him. For some reason, Raham had become strangely obedient lately, and he lay down on the sand without complaint. Now the two of them were looking at the same scenery.

“How is it? Is that beautiful?”

“The Milky Way?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s beautiful.”

It was a plain answer, but it sounded more heartfelt than earlier, and that alone made I-eon quite satisfied. Feeling the pleasantly cool night breeze, he let himself be influenced by the quiet mood of the pilgrim group and began speaking softly with Raham. The conversation drifted without direction until it eventually reached a question he’d been curious about but hadn’t had the right moment to ask.

“By the way, how did you learn all your skills? I tried calculating it, there’s no way it adds up.”

He thought Raham might refuse to tell him, since it was the secret of the rank-one player, but surprisingly, Raham answered without hesitation.

“From random boxes before.”

“Random boxes?”

“There was a ticket in the A-grade pool that gave one skill point.”

“…No way.”

“I bought a lot of those.”

“Were they tradable?”

“No.”

“……”

It was a method anyone could know yet still be unable to follow. Even if it was A-grade, there wasn’t only one item in that category. The individual probability was probably under one percent. Forgetting the Milky Way entirely, I-eon turned toward Raham.

“How much did you spend?”

“Don’t remember.”

A life unbothered by money, truly enviable. I-eon had seen plenty of people pour money they didn’t have into games, but someone who didn’t even remember or brag about how much they spent… that showed the leisure of someone who had plenty. I-eon let out a hollow laugh and changed the subject.

“So what about your main quest? Why do you keep running around with me?”

“I did it while you were offline. I’m in a downtime now, so I’ve got nothing to do.”

Eden, for an online game, had taken a bold approach to its mainstream storyline. Each race had divine relics created by their gods. When all the relics were found, the gate to the utopia the gods promised would open. That was effectively the ending of season one, and after a break, the next season would start.

It was the kind of rest period only Eden could afford, other games had to squeeze every dollar out of players nonstop, but Eden was so far beyond all competition in virtual reality tech that even if updates paused, there was no real rival to steal players away. Another unique point was that only one player per race became the protagonist of the mainstream ending.

Of course, if one wanted to compete at the top, the amount of money required was ridiculous. Monthly upkeep fees, upgrades, and so on. For casual spenders like I-eon, being the first to clear the mainstream was an impossible dream. And yet somehow, he’d stumbled onto a hidden route…

“So how far have you cleared?”

“About the same as you.”

“…I don’t even know where I am right now. How do you know?”

Not much was known about the hidden route, but Raham seemed like the type who might know even that. A strange kind of trust. He wasn’t someone I-eon would ever fully trust as a person, yet in some ways, he inspired baseless confidence.

Raham parted his lips, about to answer something, when someone suddenly interrupted.

“What are you two talking about so sweetly~?”

The merchant popped his face over the two of them, who were lying side by side. His smile was bright enough to make ignoring him feel rude, but Raham was not the forgiving type. He gave the merchant a cold, icy look that made I-eon nervous, but the merchant either didn’t notice or didn’t care and cheerfully continued.

“Did you know? Somewhere in this desert, there’s said to be an ancient ruin! Supposedly filled with priceless ancient treasure. It appears and disappears like a mirage, so no one’s ever found it!”

“Ah… yeah.”

“If we could find it, that’d be amazing. Actually, I have a treasure detection item, and it’s been reacting a little. It might be nothing since the accuracy sucks, but… imagine if we found something, right?”

“I guess so.”

Even in a conversation he didn’t care about, I-eon responded dutifully, worried Raham might kill the man before dawn and render all their efforts pointless. Since the merchant recognized Raham, he should have known what kind of person he was and why he had such a terrible reputation… yet he showed no fear. Either he was clueless, or he was unreasonably confident.

He kept rambling beside them until the pilgrim group began setting up camp.

I-eon had hoped to finish everything in one day since they’d found the pilgrims so quickly, but their routine forced him to spend the night with them. With nothing to do in the middle of an empty desert except for the guards keeping watch, I-eon logged out and crawled out of his capsule, flopping onto his bed.

Staring blankly at the ceiling’s wallpaper, he absentmindedly slipped his hand under his shirt and touched his stomach. Sure enough, having slacked off on workouts lately, his abs were on the verge of softening. Feeling a little concerned, he briefly considered asking Valror about the gym he used, but the thought vanished as soon as he picked up his phone.

He answered messages piled up while he played and was replying to a few of them when Raham’s random box story suddenly came to mind. I-eon immediately went to the official site and searched for the random box that contained skill points. It was the Spring Special Box released about two years ago in spring.

Browsing related posts on the free board, one title caught his attention.

[Title: The current random box has a skill point ticket]

[If you open a bunch and raise all your skills with it, you’d become strong lol]

└ lolololololololol

└ It’s better to upgrade your gear with that money

└ Do you even know what efficiency is?

Every comment was ridicule. Honestly, if he hadn’t heard it from Raham, I-eon would have dismissed it as a ridiculous, impossible idea. Skill levels didn’t cost just one point per level…

Could this guy be Raham? No, the tone was completely wrong… but just in case, he checked the user’s other posts.

Then he opened a post the same user had written the next day.

[Title: I’m the guy who said yesterday that if you open tons of boxes and use the skill point tickets you’d get strong]

[But the notice just dropped. They put a limit on extra skill point gains? Did the GM see my post?]

└ Did someone actually try it for real?

└ I opened 200 and got 2

Random boxes usually cost around 1500 won each. If he opened 200 and got 2 tickets… considering how many skill types a healer had…

“….”

I-eon tried estimating the cost but gave up when the total easily passed tens of millions. Whether someone spent millions or billions of won on a random box was their own business. Still, since he was already searching, he typed Raham’s name next. Way more results appeared than expected, an endless list. Most had insult-filled titles.

Sorting by recommendations, I-eon clicked the top post.

[Title: A planet-destroying healer staff just appeared]

[(Photo) First, this is what it looks like.

The staff’s rod part used S-grade orichalcum. I only crafted the rod for the client, and S-grade orichalcum is insanely expensive. I’ve only handled it twice and I’m the top blacksmith.

But lol guess what the red gem on top is? lololol It’s the Demon God’s Eye lololololololol No idea how he even got it.

At first I didn’t believe it, but after seeing the completed staff I understood… The other materials must also have been crazy, but the client looked scary so I didn’t ask. Still, I’m honored to have contributed even a little to a legendary healer weapon;;;;;;

He said it was fine to share the info. This is the base version before any enchant or upgrades.

Immortal Soul Scepter
Grade: Relic
A symbol of eternal authority.
A relic filled with the power of an untouchable being. Take care not to be swallowed by that power.
Equip restriction: Demon-only
*Bound to user ‘Raham’.
Weapon Attack: 4275—5130
Magic Attack: 17490
Strength +55
Intelligence +200
Agility +55
Luck +114
Mana +2150
Magic Defense Penetration +120
Special Effects
Magic Resistance Nullification
Skill Efficiency Increase
Mana Drain: Absorb mana from targets struck with the staff.
Resonance [Nox]: Mana fully recovers at fixed intervals.]

└ ??? What is this??

└ Why is the weapon attack that high on a healer staff?? It’s basically a hammer;;

└ Literally planet-destroyer level lololol insane

└ Wow… seriously wow… Wonder how much it’d sell for at auction

└ └ Probably in the hundreds of millions?

└└With no enhancements it’s already worth hundreds of millions, and if it strengthens well you can name your price lol

└???? The owner of that thing is Raham????

└└lolololol if trolls don’t want their heads blown off, they’d better avoid Raham in dungeons

└└But if he’s in your party it must be amazing

└└I dealt high DPS but he killed me because I talked too muchㅠㅠ

└└Wow he kept killing me for trying to talk to himㅠ

└└lol I still don’t know why I died

I-eon recalled the black staff Raham always carried. Even the violet full-enhancement effects alone gave off the impression of “wow, that must be expensive.” But an item so valuable you couldn’t even estimate its price? And he was clearing quests together with the owner of that item.

He finally felt the weight of Raham’s fame, something he’d never paid attention to before. This wasn’t just any game, but the most advanced virtual reality game in existence, Eden. And the player holding rank one there had that face, that personality… even if he himself didn’t try to stand out, his name was bound to circulate endlessly.

I-eon continued scrolling through the flood of comments filled with confusion and amazement until a notification dropped down from the top of his phone screen. He backed out of the page entirely and checked it, of course, it was Iraine again. A few photos came with a message that made no sense at first glance.

[Iraine: Guildmaster, we really lived up to our name today^^]

“…Huh…”

He checked the attached screenshots, more captured posts from the official site, and let out a hollow laugh. The enraged author wrote:

[Title: This guild event, Nox Guild was absolute trash]

[You know there was an event today, right? Maximum ten participants per guild, and Nox Guild sent six. They didn’t even look at the flag, they just killed every user they saw. The bad manners were insane;;;;;

They turned it into a huge PvP slaughter fest and rampaged like fish thrown into water. Our guild was placed right next to them so we all died in the opening seconds and could do nothingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ. And get this, turns out they got a trophy too, for having the most killsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ what kind of trash trophy is thatㅋ Nox is seriously awfulㅠㅠ]

└Peacemaker? Did you see him turn the corpses into undead and make them mass-suicide so he could get double kills? I never imagined a necromancer skill could be used like that lolololololol

└└I got hit by that and completely humiliated ㅅㅂㅠㅠ

└└Right??? What kind of depravity is that with the corpses, sob sob

There was even a photo of the trophy they’d displayed proudly in the guild hall. I-eon silently sent his condolences to every guild unlucky enough to meet them that day. If they found out the Nox members they were cursing had spent the whole time laughing and having fun, they’d probably suffer a rage-induced illness.

[Cocopang: Ah, that was fun^^]

[Jijong Sose: Haven’t relieved stress like that in a whileㅎㅎ]

[Debbie: Peacemaker was MVP~~~! I wanna recruit him to guild chatㅠ]

[Iraine: I asked earlier but he says he’s still shy]

[Cocopang: lololol he went the wildest of all]

[Iraine: But I-eon]

“……?”

Whenever Iraine called him like that, quietly, it was never good. Because what followed was always…

[Iraine: (photo)]

[Iraine: The three of you being dragged to jail side by side lololololololol]

[Jijong Sose: Huh? Guildmaster, what crime did you and I-eon commit?]

[Cocopang: lololol your faces look even more criminal with the protection filter]

[Debbie: Isn’t that Ensis behind you? What’s with that lineup???]

Of course…

The guild burst into giggles at the photo of I-eon, Raham, and Ensis tied up like dried fish and hauled away by rope. I-eon quickly joined the chat.

[It wasn’t a crime. The emperor misunderstood, so we were detained for a bit]

[Iraine: I heard you even went to trialㅠ Guildmaster, did you bribe him???]

[Jijong Sose: That must be it… You two shouldn’t do that. You need to pay fairly for your crimes]

[Debbie: Right~~~!]

[No]

[Later the emperor acknowledged everything]

[Cocopang: So what, bribing NPCs for acquittal is fine in-gameㅎ]

[Cocopang: We won’t be disappointed in you for that lolol]

[No]

[Iraine: That’s right, be proud I-eon!]

“…Ha…”

He knew it. For them, truth didn’t matter, only the chance to tease him. I-eon gave up defending himself and simply stared at the chat window. With hungry beasts, you never show even the scent of food.

[Iraine: So how was jail? Do they feed you well like in real life?]

[Jijong Sose: I’ll visit you tomorrow with tofu]

[Debbie: Why tofu?]

[Jijong Sose: It’s a thing]

[Valror: ??]

[Valror: Who went to prison?]

[Cocopang: lolol well you see, I-eon and guildmaster…]

“…….”

It had absolutely no effect.

[Title: Saw Raham getting taken to jail]

[I was at the imperial palace earlier and saw Raham getting dragged to jail.

(photo)

The front one is Nox Guild’s paladin, the middle is Raham, and the last is Ensis. What’s going on??]

└? Did Raham and Ensis fight in the castle and get arrested?

└I watched the trial. That paladin brought the emperor’s little brother NPC.

└└I saw that too. If it involves the emperor, must be an important quest. There was a quest like that?

└└They said he was Estevan, the NPC who died in the Divine War. What’s going on;

[Title: Tiog Main Hidden Route Has Opened]

[I’m from the Justice Guild. I went to the palace with Chef Kang for his daily quest, and overheard the guildmaster and Raham’s paladin talking. They said they opened the hidden route.]

└Whoa, Tiog had a hidden route too?

└└What’s that?

└└Like a shortcut for the main questㅇㅇ

└└Usually only one person can open it.

└Isn’t Ensis the furthest in Tiog right now?

└└Probably

└└If the hidden route’s open, who knows who’ll clear first lol

Volume 2 continues.