Chapter 313: Now This Is Arsilan Saga! (1)

Translator: Dreamscribe

Everything FS Games prepared was for the Heroes' enjoyment. The medical business Jinwoo had introduced to the world and the latest technologies were no exception.

Physical disabilities would get in the way of enjoying Arsilan Saga, so he eliminated disability. He built and distributed fusion power plants so people could enjoy themselves without worrying about electricity bills. As a result, humanity's lifespan increased dramatically, and people could live healthy, happy lives until the very end.

Holding a grand announcement for Episode 7 was also entirely for their enjoyment. Therefore, the entire process would be made transparent to the Heroes.

Jinwoo conveyed that policy to the various countries vying to host the Episode 7 announcement. They might have been displeased by the unilateral notice, but once Jinwoo agreed to hold an offline announcement at all, every country threw itself enthusiastically into preparations.

He had wanted to keep the selection of the announcement venue confidential, but the scale was simply too large and too many countries were involved to hide it. Articles poured out not only in Korea but in countries all around the world.

Naturally, it also became a hot topic on Arsilan Worlds.

Title: I live in Korea, and I guess those articles really are legit.

You've probably seen the news, but high-ranking officials from overseas keep arriving in the country right now. Looks like they're heading straight to the FS Games Hologram Center, and things seem insanely busy over there.

They're probably going there to pitch their countries as hosts for the Episode 7 announcement, but honestly, that's not surprising.

They're basically guaranteed an audience of over 2 billion people. Even just running ads would have a ridiculous impact.

The World Cup? The Olympics?

Feels like this would generate profits those can't even compare to.

Anonymous1: I'm an insider, and we're seriously going all in on this.

Anonymous2: Feels like yesterday when this was just an internet stream lol

└Anonymous3: Ngl, I kinda miss the vibe back then sometimes. Now it's literally planetary-scale, so it doesn't feel anything like it used to.

Anonymous4: The first Arsilan Saga announcement was tacked onto an Osung Electronics event, right?

└Anonymous5: Compare back then to now. The world's changed so fucking much. Honestly feels like we've jumped 100 years into the future. If you went back and told people this was gonna happen, nobody would believe you.

└Anonymous4: Long live the Creator God!

└Anonymous6: Turns out he was literally a real god, holy shit

└Anonymous4: At this point I'd probably believe that too lol

So many countries applied that they first had to narrow them down into the official "Episode 7 announcement candidate host countries".

Representatives from numerous countries gathered at the FS Games Hologram Center. Each delegation thoroughly prepared a presentation explaining how attractive their country was, what infrastructure it possessed, and just how far it was willing to go.

After listening to all the presentations over the course of two days, Jinwoo met with FS Games' team managers to select the candidate host countries.

"I think a city with a large number of Soul Gates would be best. With spatial limitations removed, a lot more people will be able to participate."

"Since we're doing it offline, wouldn't we need a large venue to really preserve the appeal of an offline event? A lot of people will probably come in person, so we'll also need accommodations nearby, and the roads and transportation infrastructure should be convenient."

"If we'd had a few years, we could've told them to build an entirely new venue, but…."

Han Yong-seon and the team managers carefully went over the presentation materials once more and assigned scores with great deliberation. There were so many formidable candidate countries that the meeting continued for quite some time.

Apparently, the representatives who had come to present their countries were anxiously awaiting the results. And the entire world was watching.

In the middle of the heated meeting, Jinwoo felt somewhat detached from it all.

'Is it really that big a deal…?'

It was.

'I can't just announce Episode 7 and call it a day.'

The Episode 7 announcement itself would be over within two hours, but now that the scale had grown this large, Jinwoo felt the need to make the event more substantial. Of course, whichever country was ultimately selected would put on an opening performance and various other events. FS Games had also agreed to send hologram technicians to help.

Still, that alone felt insufficient.

Jinwoo participated in the meeting while considering various ideas.

After a long meeting, the Episode 7 announcement candidate host countries were finally selected.

There were sixteen countries in total.

They had considered every factor and even conducted on-site inspections through their overseas branches in the respective countries. Korea was the best option, but Jinwoo excluded it this time. They had already held far too many events there.

Jinwoo ordered the presentations given at the Hologram Center to be edited into a video. It was meant to be shown to the Heroes. The Heroes' votes would also be taken into account to some extent when deciding the final host country.

"The video editing is finished!"

Several days later, the edited video was complete.

Everyone was watching with bated breath, so there was no reason to delay its release.

Apparently, all the representatives who had visited the Hologram Center were still staying at their hotels. The Osung Group had provided their accommodations, so their stay was extremely comfortable.

Jinwoo nodded.

"Release it."

At last, the candidate host-country announcement video was uploaded to Arsilan Worlds. It would not be released immediately, however. It had been scheduled to premiere.

[Introducing the candidate host countries for the Episode 7 announcement.]

*3 hours until release.

It was scheduled to go public three hours later.

-OOOH!

-Finally!

-At last!

-Pleasepleasepleaseplease!

Even though the video had not been released yet, the viewer count exploded and easily soared into the hundreds of millions. As a result, an enormous number of separate chat channels sprang up as well. Anything related to Arsilan Saga always drew attention, but this time the interest seemed especially intense.

'Glad they're having fun.'

Jinwoo smiled faintly as he skimmed through the chat.

Jinwoo returned to the CEO's office and looked toward the sofa. The sofa itself was quite large, but the office was spacious enough that it did not make the room feel cramped. It was an expensive sofa he had replaced only recently.

Someone was already occupying it.

"Why don't you just move in here?"

"I have been considering it."

Helby answered seriously.

Jinwoo sighed and looked toward the display cabinet. It was packed with snacks of every kind, including various chips and drinks. There were even different varieties of ramen. Helby was reading a holographic comic book while using magic to eat potato chips.

Unless something important came up, she usually lounged around like this and rested. Helby basked in the sunlight streaming through the window and curled herself up.

Apparently, her original body had been so extraordinary that even sunlight like this produced no real sensation. She liked having a body that let her fully enjoy the sensation of lazing around, which was why she had practically moved into the CEO's office.

'She's not a cat…'

On top of that, Helby said that since Earth was part of the Higher Dimension, she could feel her soul expanding. Jinwoo had been born on Earth, so he could not really perceive that difference himself.

Ella often said the same thing.

Arsilan's expansion had certainly contributed to her becoming a High God, but apparently the main reason was that living on Earth had expanded the vessel of her soul.

"How long does it normally take to become a High God?"

"I once estimated that it would take ten thousand years. And that was assuming continuous training."

No matter how much one's influence and divine authority increased, it meant nothing if the vessel meant to contain them was too small. In Jinwoo's case, that vessel had been enormous from the very beginning, allowing him to pile practically anything into it.

"Hmm."

"What is there to ponder? You could simply research the Higher Dimension."

Helby glanced at Jinwoo as she spoke. Jinwoo chuckled and sat down beside her.

"Yeah, I suppose I can just research it."

"Having no limits is a delightful thing. If one remains trapped in a tiny world like the Dimensional Realm, one ultimately becomes capable of thinking only the same thoughts. One cannot soar any higher, and eventually one will hit the limit and wither away."

The Dimensional Realm that contained Arsilan was a closed world.

It was immensely vast, but its limits were clear.

"Well…, your laziness doesn't seem to have any limits either."

"That is also a good thing."

Helby squirmed around before resting her head on Jinwoo's thigh. She seemed to be growing drowsy and closed her eyes.

Jinwoo shrugged.

Suddenly, Jinwoo wondered what his old companions would have thought if they had seen this scene. No, since they were now part of Arsilan, they were surely watching. The sunlight somehow felt especially warm. Jinwoo passed the time in silence like that.

The peaceful expression on Helby's face suddenly twisted.

"That noisy bitch is coming."

PATTER-PATTER-PATTER!

The sound of someone running came from beyond the door. Ella flung the door open and rushed inside. Her arms were full of food, seemingly bought from somewhere outside.

Helby turned toward the inside of the sofa as though she did not even want to see Ella's face.

Ella strode over toward Helby and then

"Ghk!"

sat directly on top of her.

"You crazy bitch…!"

"Huh? Sorry. Didn't see you there. You're so small."

Helby and Ella spent quite a while bickering and scuffling with each other.

Jinwoo browsed Arsilan Worlds and waited for the situation to calm down.

Ella, her hair now completely disheveled, sat down beside Jinwoo.

"Let's watch it together! Everyone in Arsilan is looking forward to it right now."

"Really?"

"Yeah, the Arsilanians in the New World are watching too. I guess they're curious about the Heroes' world."

"That's good."

Jinwoo nodded.

Very few beings in Arsilan understood the concept of the Higher Dimension.

Even if it was described as the Heroes' dimension, it would not seem particularly alien to them. They already knew countless dimensions existed, and they considered the people from the Heroes' dimension no different from the people of the other dimensions that had joined the New World.

Immortal warriors who embraced both light and darkness.

Great souls that never changed.

That was how every Arsilanian thought of the Heroes.

'It's a little disappointing that the mystique is gone, but…'

The mystique had disappeared, but in its place came familiarity. That familiarity allowed everyone to become one. Ella extended a hand, and an Information Window appeared.

Helby also sat up on the sofa and looked at the Information Window.

There was no need to worry, since any video viewed in the New World or by Arsilanians would be appropriately filtered and edited in real time through the Magic Tower.

-OOOOH!

-LET'S GOOO!!

-Lmao it's a whole festival.

-The scale just keeps getting bigger. At this rate they'll hold one on Mars someday lol

As the release time drew closer, the chat became flooded with excitement. Ella and Helby also watched the Information Window with fascinated expressions. After a brief wait, the video was finally released.

Edited footage of their exploits during the Liberation War began to play.

Ships plummeting in flames, Heroes and Arsilanians fighting valiantly, and those who had come to their aid.

Paired with moving music, the footage made the Heroes' chests swell with emotion.

[The long, arduous Liberation War has ended in a glorious victory.]

The words carried a certain warmth.

[We forged our resolve through sorrow and grew through suffering. More than anyone, we have earned the right to feel joy and happiness.]

The view pulled back to show all of Arsilan, now grown vast.

Seeing it like this truly drove home just how enormous it had become.

[What kind of world will unfold before Arsilan now? Our story as we journey toward the future! Meet the candidates who will introduce that story, right now!]

For those watching from Arsilan, along with the Heroes wearing Soul Links, their surroundings changed as though they were actually there. The presentations that had been held at the Hologram Center began unfolding before their eyes.

People dressed in suits stood onstage and gave presentations using holographic materials.

-Oh, that's one of the countries the game launched in recently, right?

-They really prepared a lot.

-Damn, they must be investing a ton. Heard everyone's been going nuts over this lately.

-Whoa! Everyone here is going crazy cheering lmaooo

The presentations mostly showcased cityscapes, beginning with each country's traditional culture. Appearing in the video meant that the country had been chosen as an official candidate. The Heroes from those countries cheered like mad and celebrated.

The United States took an unusual approach, opening with a Wild West movie meant to stir a sense of romance before showcasing several holographic films that had recently become major hits. It was their way of demonstrating just how effectively they had applied FS Games' technology.

Egypt focused mainly on the pyramids and its cultural heritage sites.

By installing Soul Gates on a massive scale near the pyramids and layering holograms over the surroundings, they created scenery that looked as though one had traveled back into the past. Presentations from Japan, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and others followed.

Cheers erupted every time another country was introduced.

Jinwoo discreetly peeked toward the hotel.

The representatives from countries that had made the cut clenched their fists or embraced one another as they celebrated. They looked as though their countries had just successfully launched a satellite.

And it was understandable. Merely becoming a candidate country brought enormous benefits. Huge crowds were expected to pour in through Soul Gates throughout the selection period.

Arsilan's economy exerted an enormous influence on Earth, so every country on Earth had no choice but to pay close attention to Arsilan.

"This is fun!"

"Hmm."

Ella and Helby also seemed intrigued.

The screen displayed a full map of Arsilan, and Earth appeared above it. One by one, the flags of the selected candidate countries appeared and fluttered.

-Damn! Now this is some serious national pride.

-OOOOH!

-But I'm a citizen of the Sillion Empire, so this doesn't really do anything for me.

-My homeland is the Sillion Empire!

-Do you think Leon-nim will visit too?

The reaction was incredibly enthusiastic.

'We'll have to rotate between countries whenever we hold events.'

Building Hologram Centers in several different countries did not seem like a bad idea either. When the video ended, Ella and Helby looked at Jinwoo simultaneously.

"Where are you doing the final announcement?"

"You're not planning to just toss out another video for it, are you?"

Ella and Helby asked.

"We'll do it in Arsilan."

Ella broke into a broad smile at Jinwoo's answer.

"Then I'll help too!"

"Hmm, interesting."

If the two of them helped, he could make the production even more spectacular.

Until then, Jinwoo had been taking the whole thing far too lightly.

***

The final selection announcement for the country that would host Episode 7 was three days away.

The announcement would be made by Leon, Emperor of Sillion, with Ella and Helby helping at his side. A stage had been prepared in Alusion for the announcement, and the imperial palace had been splendidly decorated for the occasion.

After Han Yong-seon summoned him back to FS Games, Jinwoo heard some rather bewildering news.

"The heads of state from each country say they want to visit Alusion."

"What?"

There had been no such plan.

Naturally, a visit like that should have been coordinated in advance. Jinwoo was baffled by the sudden news.

"It seems the idea came up while they were competing with one another. They say they don't need any formal treatment. Apparently, they'd even be fine just watching from somewhere nearby."

"But this is just choosing the country that gets to host the Episode 7 announcement…."

It was not even the Episode 7 announcement itself. This was merely an event to select the country where that announcement would take place.

"Even just getting a photo with Leon-nim would send their approval ratings through the roof. It's more than worth it."

Jinwoo let out a quiet sigh and nodded.

If he simply ignored them, it felt as though it would reflect badly on the Heroes.

All Heroes were citizens of the Sillion Empire, but they still had countries they had originally belonged to and took pride in them.

'Can't be helped.'

Perhaps this could also become an unusual event in its own right.

For the Heroes' sake, he would make sure it was properly prepared!

*****

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