⚙ Service Termination ⚙Thank you for playing Another World up until now.
Even after service ends, you can continue playing solo in single-player mode.
[!] Single-player content will be added.
Please refer to the official notice for more details.
Once again, thank you to all our players.
Another World Team.
"Hmm."
A pang of bitterness hit me as the notification popped up when I booted up my computer.
Another World.
A small online game that had run for 10 years.
To some, it was just another generic title.
But to others, it was a game they'd devoted their lives to.
I was definitely the latter.
I'd sunk about 10 million won into it, after all.
For a fresh-out-of-college newbie like me, it was a massive chunk of my life and money.
And now, that game had just posted its service termination notice.
It wasn't exactly out of the blue.
There had been plenty of warning signs, and updates had stopped coming for three years now.
When I saw the notice, I just thought, Well, here it comes.
Probably the same for everyone else.
I opened the homepage forum.
—Selling new packages two months before shutdown lmao...
—Hey you fucking bastards, you gonna post that refund notice or what? Total scammers...
—Three years of auto-farming and now that the cash ain't flowing, ops shuts down in a panic. Upvoted lol...
—But didn't you see this coming? Why are you even mad...
—Forum's a total shitshow. Let's talk about the game instead?
ㄴHired more shills. Spend that on updates instead, you fucks...
—Came from Arcana Chronicles~ We're the originals at ripping people off...
"..."
Guess not.
The forum was a mess of rage-fueled rants, refund demands, blatant trolls from outside, and smartass shills pretending to defend the devs.
Pure chaos.
I quietly closed the forum.
That place was hell. Just looking at it could infect you.
Ever since I started working, I had less free time to rest.
No time to waste energy on pointless crap.
"Guess I'll try the single-player mode."
One line from the termination notice stuck with me.
—Single-player content will be added.
Right now, that's all I cared about.
I immediately downloaded Another World's single-player version from the homepage.
『 Downloading... 1% 』
—1 hour 11 minutes remaining
It had always been a hefty game in terms of size compared to its content, but the single-player version was even bigger.
With an hour left, I wondered what to do. Then the refund notice on the homepage caught my eye.
I was gonna play single-player anyway, but refunds were refunds.
Most of my 10 million in spending was from ages ago, but I'd dropped some cash more recently too.
Refund PolicyAll purchases made from one month before the service termination notice will be refunded at 100%.
Refunds for earlier periods are unfortunately not possible.
"...That's pretty shitty."
Only one month qualified for refunds.
Checking my recent history, I'd dropped 300,000 won two months ago.
That was right when the 10th anniversary package launched.
I'd bought it thinking of it as server fees.
Plenty of others probably did the same around then.
By this policy, not just me—most anniversary package buyers were screwed.
...No wonder the forum was exploding.
Pinned at the top was a popular post about gathering people for a lawsuit.
Lots of upvotes and comments piling on.
I thought about joining, then noped out.
Unless they were refunding everything I'd ever spent, suing over 300k wasn't worth it.
It sucked, but I'd chalk it up to the cost of memories.
Instead.
『 Inquiry 』
Character Name: Rain
—I saw the service end notice. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't bummed, but I still had a blast playing for 10 years. Thanks for keeping single-player alive.
No need for refunds. Just hook me up with paid currency for single-player. Let me go nuts on gacha.
Like 100 quintillion or something. Would appreciate it.
I fired off a quick inquiry.
If it worked, great. If not, whatever.
The game had gacha you could only pull with paid currency.
Items, consumables, magic scrolls—you name it.
Most pulls were junk, though. Efficiency sucked.
Balance issues meant it was priced high too.
But if it was single-player only from now on... why not go wild?
『 Downloading... 49% 』
—31 minutes remaining
Glancing over, still half an hour to go.
To check single-player changes, I opened the update notes.
Single-Player Changes[!] All content readjusted for single-player.
You can now form parties through NPC interactions.
[!] Playable characters updated.
Origin background now customizable.
[!] Item stat changes...
"Damn, that's a lot..."
The changes went on forever, even scrolling down.
Exaggerating a bit, it was like a full game remake in volume.
I skimmed the fine print—still looked like it'd take over an hour.
No way I'd read it all, so I just got the gist.
"Should be fun."
Reading the meticulously planned changes got me hyped.
Three years in the making?
Regret and excitement mixed together.
Play first, worry later.
Tomorrow was Sunday—no work.
I waited a bit, and the download finished. The screen went black.
Game logo appeared, then straight to character select.
[ Applying Single-Player Update ]
—Please create a character to start playing.
On screen was a blond boy gripping a staff, staring blankly at the ground.
Decent base model, but not quite.
Drawing on 10 years of character creation expertise, I tweaked the appearance.
"Perfect."
Solid base meant minimal changes needed.
Next up... origin background.
Picked something that looked fine.
Astria Magic FamilyFallen house of magic.
Locked in Astria Family for origin.
Fallen or not, the magic bloodline gave the biggest magic power bonus.
Planning to main mage anyway—this was ideal.
Mages had the easiest starter experience.
『 Rain 』
—Create character?
Finalized the name and hit create.
Right then, everything went black—like I'd passed out.
⚙ Inquiry Response ⚙Thank you for playing. Your inquiry has been reviewed positively and approved...
---
"We're here!"
The coachman shouted as he pulled the carriage to a stop.
Inside, passengers hurriedly grabbed their luggage and prepared to disembark.
One by one, they all climbed out.
That's when the coachman spotted something odd.
"You getting off or not?"
Deep inside the carriage.
A boy with a brown cloth draped over his head still had the fresh face of youth.
But the noble-looking blond hair peeking out hinted at his status.
This was Labyrinth City—an gathering spot for people with all sorts of baggage.
Most baggage was money troubles, but occasionally you'd see other reasons.
And those types stood out immediately.
"Now that I look, you seem like nobility... I was in a similar spot once. Third son of Viscount Belheim."
"..."
The coachman spoke to the boy, but no reply came.
The boy just stared blankly at the coachman's face.
Noble kids—especially ones not even adults yet—rarely came this far.
The Underground Labyrinth Dungeon at the city's heart was a pit of endless evil and death.
If this kid's corpse turned up by the city graveyard tomorrow, it wouldn't raise an eyebrow.
Hell, that'd be lucky.
Most bodies never even made it out of the dungeon.
The coachman gave the dazed boy's back a light pat, as if sharing his plight. He pulled a small pouch from his pocket and handed it over.
"Something I got when my family kicked me out. Don't know why you're headed to the labyrinth, but if you wanna get out, find me anytime."
The boy blinked in confusion as he stepped down from the carriage.
The coachman gave him one last pitying look before driving off into the city.
Dust and gravel kicked up, stinging his legs.
Only then did the boy notice the weight in his right hand.
The small pouch from the coachman.
Inside: a bit of ointment for wounds and some bandages.
A familiar combo.
The beginner's kit.
So...
"I'm in the game?"
The set handed out in Another World's tutorial.