Ethan Steele looked dejectedly at the notice displayed on his computer monitor.
[Hello. This is 'Ethereal Odyssey' Online.]
[Unfortunately, 'Ethereal Odyssey' will be terminating its service as of 00/00/2025.
Therefore, new registrations will be restricted from 00/00/2025.
Existing players will be able to use all character skills without restrictions until the service termination date.
We sincerely thank all players who have loved 'Ethereal Odyssey' Online.]
"Server shutdown?"
Ethan muttered in disbelief.
In a way, he had expected it.
The gaming world was ruthless.
Even popular games gradually fade into history as time passes, pushed aside by the competitiveness of newer, higher-spec releases.
This game was no exception.
The MMORPG 'Ethereal Odyssey'.
Once popular, now forgotten and barely maintaining its existence, it was a fantasy game that had been operating for 10 years.
'I've been playing this game since my school days... it really feels unreal.'
Since high school when the game launched.
Through his tough military service at the front lines.
And up until now, working various jobs after college graduation.
Ethan had continued to play 'Ethereal Odyssey'.
"Come on, seriously. The main scenario hasn't even progressed halfway through the game and they're shutting down the server? Is this really how it ends?"
Ethan muttered with a dejected expression.
The storyline of 'Ethereal Odyssey' was simple.
It was about preventing the arrival of an ancient evil god in the unknown continent of 'Saint Gaia', defeating monsters, different species, and followers in the process.
Yet they're shutting down the server when not even half of such a story has progressed.
'I really enjoyed it...'
As time passed, most users left, and all that remained were a small number of players who had affection for the game.
Ethan was one of those players.
'They should have introduced a payment system instead. Why didn't they create something that's standard in other games? Seriously.'
Every game company typically has at least one revenue structure in their games, but strangely, this game had none at all.
'Without payments, there was the fun of solving everything with pure skill... but no. What's the use when there's zero new player influx and the game is shutting down?'
Ethan clicked his tongue and logged into the game.
Regardless, the notice was out, and the server closure was inevitable.
Upon launching the game, the world channel was bustling with chat.
Familiar usernames.
The few remaining users.
[PixelPuncher99: lolol :crying:. This garbage game. Finally going down?]
[CosmicWaffleKing: I expected it. It lasted longer than I thought. I thought it would disappear about 5 years ago.]
[NinjaToasterX: WTF at least finish the main scenario before ending it. What kind of feeling is this, like taking a dump and stopping midway.]
[DragonFizzle42: lolololol I'm the idiot who invested 10 years in this crappy game. I'm done now bye]
As expected, they were venting their dissatisfaction and anger.
He understood.
His feelings weren't any different from theirs.
'Are they not going to reveal the follow-up scenarios? I've played through all the scenarios and content that came out so far... sigh... let's see what's changed first.'
Ethan sighed internally and opened his character information window.
"Huh?"
Ethan's eyes widened slightly as he looked at the info window.
──────────────
[Character Information]
Name: ItacHI111
Level: Lv.999
Trait: Taming Master
Strength: 67
Vitality: 102
Magic Power: 578
Agility: 62
Additional Stats: 499
──────────────
His character's level, which had been maxed at 500, was now adjusted to 999.
"So if the main scenario had continued, the level cap would have been 999?"
To shut down the server without even revealing half of this.
Ethan silently looked at the next information.
Perhaps due to the level adjustment to 999?
The information window showed 499 remaining additional stat points.
'Looks like they want us to do whatever we want before the server shuts down.'
Ethan allocated all the additional stat points to magic power.
'This game had higher freedom than I expected.'
Especially the exceptional artificial intelligence and diversity of monsters.
That was what got Ethan hooked on 'Ethereal Odyssey'.
Monsters would leave their spawn areas to attack villages.
New species would be born through interbreeding between different races.
Above all, named monsters would often defy expectations by uniting their species to create large-scale monster waves.
Attracted by such unpredictability, he chose the Monster Tamer trait, and after a long time, Ethan was able to reach 'Taming Master', the ultimate form of the tamer class.
'I've already tamed all tameable mobs. What more is there to do...'
Typically, users would tame only efficient or high-grade monsters to level up.
But Ethan was different.
From common mobs to boss mobs.
He had tamed all the monsters that had appeared so far, by type.
Ethan suddenly raised his head as if remembering something.
'... That's right. The 'Pillars of Apocalypse'. I wonder if I can tame them now?'
In the world of 'Ethereal Odyssey', filled with monsters and other species.
The 'Pillars of Apocalypse' were beings with settings that suggested each one could destroy the world, true to their name.
'Even at max level, you couldn't hunt them normally, let alone with a party.'
Perhaps that's why?
Even in-game, there were only world quests to seal them.
Ethan had attempted to tame the 'Pillars of Apocalypse' for years.
In the end, he gave up after thousands of failures.
'They're not actually tameable... but I wonder...'
Maybe it was because of his personality that once he fixated on something, he had to see it through?
Ethan still had lingering attachments.
"What am I thinking of trying at a time like this? I must not be in my right mind."
He wondered if this was the reason he still remained in this game.
Ethan next checked his skills.
[Skill List]
»Taming - Transcendence(M): Tames the specified monster. (Success rate based on monster grade + summon success rate based on proficiency) ※Success rate greatly increased as game termination reward.
»Summoning - Transcendence(M): Summons the tamed target. (Reduced magic power requirement based on friendliness + reduced magic power requirement based on proficiency) ※Magic power requirement greatly reduced as game termination reward.
»Joint Attack - Transcendence(M): Performs a joint attack with the summoned target. ※Joint attack power increased by 5 times as game termination reward.
»Body Strengthening - Transcendence(M): Imbues 100% of the tamed target's power into the caster's body. ※Strengthening rate adjusted to 150% as game termination reward.
...….
Perhaps because it was ending?
All specialized skills had been changed to master level.
Plus, game termination reward buffs were applied.
'All regular magic skills are maters too. I wonder if any monsters have changed?'
Ethan opened the summon list.
In the translucent window, an endless list of monsters and different species was displayed.
A list of over 900 pages.
All monsters that Ethan had tamed.
'It seems like nothing has changed with the monsters... wait a minute.'
Ethan's eyes widened as he scrolled halfway down.
The monsters on the upper pages were relatively low-grade, but had high affinity due to being used for a long time.
Naturally, as he scrolled down, the level of monsters increased, and affinity values decreased.
... That's how it should have been.
'All affinities are 'Highest'? Did they max these out too?'
Ethan scrolled down to the lowest page.
When he reached the last page, Ethan's expression became strange.
'They're really all at Highest...?'
At the very end, lined with powerful top-tier entities.
Without exception, all of them had the highest affinity.
'... Wait. At this point, could it really be possible?'
Ethan's eyes sparkled.
Taming the Pillars of Apocalypse.
At this point, with all restrictions removed, the probability of taming them might have increased slightly.
'Everything is ending soon anyway. Might as well try?'
The experience accumulated from failures was overflowing.
Attack and defense, counterattack and finisher patterns.
Knowing all phases would make it not difficult to handle.
'Right. I have enough data. Better to try and regret than regret not trying.'
Ethan began to move his character with determination.
***
The time until server shutdown passed quickly.
The remaining users in 'Ethereal Odyssey' also began to quit the game one by one.
But even without users, Ethan continued attempting to tame the Pillars of Apocalypse.
[Taming failed.]
[Taming failed.]
[Taming failed.]
.....
Numerous failure notifications.
Even with level and skill restrictions removed, taming showed no signs of success.
As a last resort, Ethan mobilized all the monsters he had tamed.
Finally, with little time left until server shutdown.
"..."
Ethan silently looked at the monitor.
Devastated terrain.
Piles of monster corpses.
Ethan's character was bleeding in the middle, his clothes in tatters.
[Successfully tamed the 10th Pillar of Apocalypse 'Belberith'!]
[Impossible Achievement! 'ItacHI111' has successfully tamed the 'Pillars of Apocalypse'!]
"I did it."
Ethan muttered blankly.
He had lost all his monsters, and all the high-grade items he was equipped with were completely destroyed.
But he had finally achieved the desired result.
He had succeeded in taming all the Pillars of Apocalypse.
Coming to his senses, Ethan opened the summon list.
[Summon List]
»Belberith
»Chalkidra
»Shrekken
»Maledict
»Vatz
»Lyre
»Voraxian
»Nosferatu
»Kravax
»Noctyx
At the top of the now empty page.
The 'Pillars of Apocalypse' were listed.
However, strangely, they didn't display affinity like other monsters.
'It doesn't matter anyway. At this point when everything is ending... I didn't expect this to actually work.'
Ethan felt all the tension drain from his body.
[10 minutes remaining until server shutdown.]
The countdown began as if it had been waiting.
After checking the notification, Ethan looked at the chat window again.
[PixelPuncher99: Is everyone gone already? That's cold.]
[CosmicWaffleKing: My memories are here, I should at least see it off.]
[NinjaToasterX: It was fun :')]
Farewell messages were slowly appearing in the chat.
These were the extremely few users who remained until the end.
'This is really the end now.'
He had achieved his ultimate goal in the game.
But why did he feel a void despite feeling unburdened?
....
[3 minutes remaining until server shutdown.]
....
[1 minute remaining until server shutdown.]
....
[The server has been shut down.]
[Thank you sincerely for loving 'Ethereal Odyssey'.]
The final message appeared as the screen went black.
With this, Ethereal Odyssey completely terminated its service.
Ethan made a bitter expression.
His only joy for 10 years had completely ended.
Ethan turned off his computer and stood up from his seat.
Or rather, tried to stand up.
"Huh?"
Ethan's eyes widened.
Why?
His body felt paralyzed and wouldn't leave the chair.
"... What's going on? Why is this happening?"
He tried to exert force, but remained immobile.
'Did my body develop problems from playing too much?'
He thought about it, but his body felt fine with no pain.
Ethan started to feel increasingly anxious.
"I should call 911-."
At that moment, a notification appeared on the blackened monitor.
[All conditions fulfilled.]
[Hidden scenario quest is being updated.]
".. Huh?"
A notification with strange content.
Ethan's eyes became momentarily dazed.
'Didn't I just turn off the computer? What's going on-...'
Then, an anomaly occurred.
Crack. Crack-
The dark monitor began to crack, then,
Crash-
It exploded.
Ethan gasped in surprise.
Whoosh-
Intense light burst through from beyond the screen with the fragments.
Ethan shouted urgently.
"What is this!-"
In the light that was increasingly engulfing the room.
One message flickered before Ethan's eyes.
[Player's soul is being transferred.]
'Transfer... soul? What does that...'
But his thoughts couldn't continue.
In the midst of confusion, Ethan's consciousness rapidly faded,
Swish.
Like a film being cut, everything went black.