[ENG] I'm Really a Cheater! Not a Pro Player!
Chapter 6 – Why Did Everything Turn Out Like This?
Arka lay sprawled across his bed, staring at the ceiling with unfocused eyes. His thoughts were tangled, looping endlessly back to the same thing.
The world announcement.
The reverent stares of the NPCs.
And that cursed name. ArkZurei.
He let out a slow, exhausted breath and rubbed his face with both hands.
"This is insane…" he muttered.
His phone vibrated beside him. Over and over again.
Reluctantly, Arka reached for it.
The screen lit up with notification after notification, all from the same place. Chrono Frontier: The Legacy forums.
"…Of course," he sighed.
He already knew what he would find there. After all, a World Announcement wasn't something that could be quietly ignored. Still, knowing something was coming didn't make it any less painful to face.
With a resigned flick of his thumb, he opened one of the largest discussion boards.
And there it was.
"CFTL Economy Experiences Massive Surge! All Thanks to 'High-Human'!"
Arka closed his eyes for a moment. He had expected consequences. He just hadn't know the consequences will be going this far.
Slowly, he began scrolling.
The thread was already flooded with thousands of comments, and the number kept climbing by the second. Players from all regions, were piling into the discussion, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
As he kept reading, the full situation finally unfolded before Arka.
Since the launch of Chrono Frontier: The Legacy, the game's economy had been carefully restrained and Balanced.
At its core, CFTL operated on two main forms of currency.
The first was Etherium Points (₠)
The backbone of the entire world economy. A system-regulated digital currency with strict circulation limits, monitored generation cycles, and, most critically, the ability to be converted into real-world money. Etherium was accepted everywhere.
It was rare and valuable.
The second consisted of Regional Currencies.
A physical money unique to each land. Gold coins stamped with royal seals, enchanted notes issued by mage academies, crystal shards used among beastkin tribes. Something like thase were the currencies NPCs preferred and trusted. Their value fluctuated wildly depending on political stability, trade routes, and local conflicts.
Before now, most players were effectively locked into regional economies. Even if the Etherium can be used for anything, but for now, it only used at the highest tiers auction houses, elite trades, black markets, or real-money transactions. NPCs rarely accepted it, and when they did, it was usually symbolic of something really valuable.
And then, everything start to feels more convenient.
Thanks to the system defined player as a High-Human.
When Arka had unknowingly unlocked the High-Human Emblem, It slowly and fundamentally altered how NPCs perceived players.
NPCs no longer evaluated High-Humans as temporary outsiders passing through their world.
They recognized them as legitimate resident within it.
The Judgement Scale embedded in the Emblem also used to assessed consistency, intent, and reliability across actions.
And with trust, it can unlocked doors that had never been visible to players before.
NPCs who once opened shops only during emergencies or specific story states now interacted openly. Merchants revealed inventories that had been permanently hidden behind trust thresholds across player. Artisans accepted commissions without requiring convoluted quest chains, With the level of trust reaching a certain point of course. Some NPCs even initiated negotiations on their own after some times.
Then after all of that, came the real turning point.
Contracts.
Through the Emblem System, NPCs and players could now form system-enforced agreements—binding contracts that neither side could violate. Terms were absolute. Rewards and obligations were locked in place by the system itself.
For the first time, NPCs could engage in long-term economic planning with players.
Supply agreements. Exclusive item distributions. Commission-based crafting. Territory-linked trade partnerships.
It's like opening a really big opportunity for many guild to Strengthening their foundations further. And with the infrastructure, it accelerated everything.
Its not end here, Because one word from a player spread across all forums. "With deeper trust came deeper inventories."
It means, rare and powerful items began surfacing from NPC shops. Artifacts, weapons, and materials that had previously existed only as rumors among NPC or unreachable database in the history book. Starts to pop up one by one. However, these items did not come cheap. Their prices were staggering, scaled differently in every region according to local economic conditions.
For most players, they were simply unattainable.
Even major guilds, with their pooled resources and logistical networks, could only afford a handful of such items at best. Purchasing them required long-term planning, careful trade routes, and no small amount of sacrifice.
But there was another factor. One that changed the economy of the whole world. Yes, the whole world not just the game.
Because, that some valuables item. The npc did not insist on regional currency alone.
When players lacked sufficient local funds, NPC began accepting Etherium as an alternative form of payment when they reach the maximum trust.
And Etherium was different.
Unlike gold or regional coins, Etherium could be purchased directly with real-world money.
That was the moment everything tipped.
What had once been a limited, prestige currency suddenly became a universal economic bridge, capable of bypassing regional shortages, political instability, and even sheer lack of opportunity.
As more players turned to Etherium to compensate for what they could not afford locally, demand surged far beyond the system's intended circulation.
And so Etherium's value began to climb. That was when demand truly exploded. Etherium become essential as high-tier trading chip.
And unlike regional currencies, Etherium couldn't be farmed endlessly. Its generation followed strict system cycles. Limited sources. Time-gated outputs. It also has a Hard caps no amount of grinding could bypass.
As rare, exclusive, and world-altering items entered circulation. Items capable of redefining builds, strategies, even territorial control. Guilds by guilds scrambled to secure Etherium by any means necessary.
There simply wasn't enough Etherium to satisfy the demand being created. And unless the system expanded its generation cycle. Etherium's value would only continue to rise.
Arka stared at the screen, his throat dry.
"…So it's not going back down," he murmured.
Arka then check at the price market, how much one etherium would cost. Believe it or not, 1 ₠ would cost 50$, it raise 500% from 10$ as 1 ₠ before.
Because, even the NPC Technically could sell the valuables items with Etherium. It still sells at a high price.
"Haaahh ...." He sighed a long one. Because he realize the fact that, he is the one that had been the catalyst of this economic change.
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After some time of just thinking. He sit on the bed and look again at his phone.
"Whatever," he muttered. "As long as I stay out of it, it's fine. Let the economy burn even more. I'm not gonna involved in this."
Even Somewhere deep down, Arka already knew. It would never be that simple. But he just wanna lies to himself, atleast for now.
And then, he just casually scrolls on his phone opening different forum just to look at guides. But then, he finds something he really don't want to see.
A forum discussion about 'PhantomArk', the catalyst of the economic change that keep blowing up. The post get more than 10 million views at the moment he see it.
After that, he see threads were updating faster than he could read them. Tens of thousands of comments.
With dread creeping up his spine, Arka tapped one of the most booming threads.
[BREAKING] Is PhantomArk Actually ArkZurei? Shocking Evidence Founded!
"…No," he whispered. "Please no."
His finger hovered over the screen for half a second.
Then he scrolled down to see the post. The thread loaded slowly, as if the forum itself was bracing for impact.
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│ Thread: Is PhantomArk Actually ArkZurei?
│ Forum: CFTL Main Discussion
│ Status: 🔥 Trending
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│ User: ZenithSlayer
│ Posted: 12 minutes ago
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Alright, I'm done pretending this is coincidence.
Two days ago, ArkZurei. A name that hasn't shown up on any leaderboard, any pro record, any tournament archive. Suddenly appears in Legacy of Heroes and instantly takes Rank #1.
Then, two days later, PhantomArk shows up in CFTL.
And what happens?
Multiple World Announcements.
Hidden systems unlocked.
The economy literally reshaped overnight.
Tell me. How is that normal?
Something like world announcement is barely we can see in the last few week since the game launch. Even if there some, it's always someone has slain some boss.
But this time? It's literally evolving the economy of this game. Something this scale is not just achieved by some "Pro player"
I believe, it's beyond that!
PhantomArk is the new nickname of the ArkZurei!
And his skill is something we can never imagine.
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│ User: NightFalcon
│ Posted: 9 minutes ago
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Exactly.
People keep saying "give it time, maybe he's just smart," but come on.
Hidden mechanics like Emblem and Judgement Scale weren't found in a month by tens of millions of players, I believe even more than that now.
And this guy triggers them in two days?
I went back and checked ArkZurei's data in Legacy of Heroes.
There are achievements on that account that don't even exist on any other official pro profiles before.
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│ User: ByteScholar
│ Posted: 8 minutes ago
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I know right??
Just because someone didn't go on pro-scene doesn't mean they weren't good in the game. Some players avoid spotlight on purpose.
But yeah… I admit this is still insane.
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│ User: DarkRonin
│ Posted: 7 minutes ago
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Yeah, they need to stop coping and accept the reality.
PhantomArk = ArkZurei.
This isn't even a theory anymore. This is fact
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Arka swallowed.
Cold sweat trickled down his spine as he scrolled.
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│ User: GrandDuke
│ Posted: 6 minutes ago
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I dug deeper.
Legacy of Heroes achievement logs, cached versions, not the public API.
ArkZurei has almost every Mythic-tier achievement.
And here's the scary part.
Some of them aren't supposed to be unlockable.
They're marked "inactive" in the database. It's just like a placeholder achievements.
Meaning either:
1. The system glitched, or
2. He did things the devs never expected anyone to do.
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│ User: CasualJoe
│ Posted: 5 minutes ago
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Wait. What do you mean "inactive"?
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│ User: GrandDuke
│ Posted: 5 minutes ago
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I mean achievements that were designed, documented internally … but never officially released.
They exist. But no one was meant to touch them.
Until ArkZurei. He somehow managed to get the way to something that even the devs expect no one can do that.
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Arka's fingers tightened around his phone.
This was getting dangerous.
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│ User: InfernalRogue
│ Posted: 4 minutes ago
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And we're not even talking about TITLES yet.
Look at this one:
"The Unseen Legend"
Description: ??
Conditions: ??
Are you kidding me?
A hidden title with no description?
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│ User: Lorekeeper
│ Posted: 3 minutes ago
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Actually … that title appears in really old narrative files in the game.
It was tied to an early concept for a "player shaped a myth."
I thought it was scrapped.
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│ User: ShadowDancer
│ Posted: 2 minutes ago
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No way?? That's some crazy sht he done.
Maybe, this is the way "A Legend" comes back.
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Arka's chest felt tight. It's feel comically stupi that everything just happened like this. And then, he broke down.
"STOP IT," Arka hissed at his phone. "You're all wrong!"
He wanted to comment and told the truth. But the moment he imagined posting that, a chill ran through him.
If he spoke up now, it wouldn't clear things up. It would make everything worse. No one would believe him. And worse, developers would start digging into his life.
And if they did that… Arka covered his face with both hands.
"No. No no no."
He scrolled desperately, searching for a thread that made more sense. Something more grounded. Or even, something more rational.
Instead, he found another disaster.
⋟────────────────────╮
│[Discussion] Why Did ArkZurei Never Enter the Pro Scene?
╰────────────────────╯
The answers were simple right?.
Because he was above it.
Because he didn't need recognition.
Because he preferred to operate without hoping to gain any beside his own goal.
And now, as PhantomArk, he had finally chosen to step onto the stage that even pro-scene will never imagine.
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.
.
Each reply built the stupid myth higher. At least for him it is stupid.
"They're rewriting my life," he groaned. "I didn't even do half of this!"
By the time he locked his phone again, his hands were trembling.
The community had decided that PhantomArk wasn't just a player. He was The Legendary Player
A silent player like-myth who had returned to reshape the world.
Arka stared at the ceiling again.
"…What kind of problem is coming next?" he whispered.
Sleep did not come easily that night.
No matter how he shifted, the voices from the forums echoed in his head. Names, titles, speculation. Every time he closed his eyes, blue notifications flashed behind his eyelids.
Finally, he pressed a pillow over his face and screamed softly into it.
"I want to disappear."
The legend of ArkZurei was only just about to begin.
›› TO BE CONTINUED ‹‹
— KS