The entire world was in an uproar.

All because of a mere 3-minute-and-39-second teaser for Continental War: World Championship.

The teaser for Continental War: World Championship was, in the truest sense, a massive hit.

Its 24-hour view count on JoyTube had already surpassed a staggering 70 million views.

On top of that, a 40-second ad version of the teaser was broadcast across television channels all over the world.

That ad version contained only the core highlights.

The moment it began, Hyunsoo appeared standing atop a snow mountain, and the narration rang out.

[Even when the earth freezes solid, when the time comes, the shoots still rise.]

The screen immediately cut away, showing the horrific battlefield, Barad shouting Form ranks, and the assembled troops.

Then it showed the last allied army collapsed and broken. At the very end, thousands of high-rankers appeared together, lined up in formation, shouting Form ranks in one voice.

But the true centerpiece was, of course, the ending.

With a BOOM, Hyunsoo burst forward, and around him thousands of high-rankers advanced while scattering their individual auras, protecting him. The ad ended at the exact moment Hyunsoo moved to cut off the Demon King’s head.

Damn, this ad is insanely well made, lol.They’re saying it’s airing in 132 countries around the world. Pureum really is on another level... damn.I can’t resist this. I’m going straight to JoyTube right now.People who had only seen the TV ad started flooding into JoyTube after the fact.

The Ares communities across the world exploded.

At first, I was blown away by the line “Even when the earth freezes solid, when the time comes, the shoots still rise.” But I was wondering, there’s no way they just put that in because it sounded cool, right? And yep, I was right. When they showed high-rankers from all over the world lined up at the end, that’s when I got what the line meant.Fr. The earth is frozen, but seeds still rise someday. I think it means that if users keep growing, then someday they can reach even the Demon King.Kyaah! It ended with a kind of open ending, but it honestly felt like I’d just watched a short film.My favorite part was how the high-rankers from all over the world weren’t snarling at each other like usual. The fact that they all joined forces in the face of humanity’s extinction was so good.Yeah. Same. Usually Hyunsoo, Musashi, Fond, Liu, and all the other world rankers are busy tearing into each other every day. But this time they all stood together. And with just one phrase, they showed that every single one of them was of one mind right now. Form ranks.Form ranks!Form ranks.Form ranks.Form ranks!The community users around the world were lavish with their praise.

And people were paying attention to something other than the video itself.

But who did the voice acting this time? Some rookie?You mean the narrator?Yeah.Honestly, the narration carried half the whole video.“Then, one voice rang out with power. Form ranks.” Kyaa!!!!!The narration held the whole thing together from beginning to end without a single shake in the voice, so it was insanely immersive. And that deep, low tone with that weirdly powerful voice made it even more chilling. Honestly, whoever did this narration deserves a Nobel Narration Prize. Agree?Totally agree.Hey, hey, I found some huge info.Here we go again with the drama.Is the king of overreacting here?They’re saying the person who did the narration is also the one who wrote that opening line!O_O??What kind of talent is that... holy shit.Life is so unfair. Rookie voice actor, but he’s good at narration and writing lines too~The teaser for Continental War: World Championship was on a completely different level from ordinary animation or other works that merely needed narration.

Since Ares was played by over a billion users, it was only natural that interest in and expectations for the person behind the narration would be beyond common sense.

In response, experts around the world rushed to refute the users’ guesses.

There is absolutely no chance it was a rookie. Pureum is the richest company in the world. They likely hired the very best voice actor available.Global PR Team Lead Ayaka is known to be an extremely capable person. Someone like Ayaka, striving to create the greatest possible video, would have paid a fortune to secure the best narrator.But soon, a shocking video struck the whole world.

[Behind the Scenes of Continental War: World Championship.]

A two-minute behind-the-scenes clip had been uploaded to JoyTube.

Onscreen, Hyunsoo was shown entering the recording studio, where Ayaka greeted him.

Huh? Why is user Hyunsoo there?...M-maybe he just came to visit. That must be it.So Master Blacksmith Hyun stopped by the recording studio! B-but why would he go visit a recording studio!?The experts tried to deny it through gritted teeth.

But then the truly shocking sight aired.

Hyunsoo took the script booklet, went into the booth, and personally participated in the recording.

It even showed him collapsed in exhaustion and asleep after two straight days of overnight recording. At the end, a neat and composed Hyunsoo appeared for an interview.

It was an honor to participate in this narration.Soon after, an interview with Ayaka appeared in article form.

I wanted to make a teaser created together with the users. In the past, I saw one of Master Blacksmith Hyun’s mad movies, and I was captivated by him. I realized that the way he phrases things is exceptional. So I approached him directly, and as expected, the result was a success.The experts immediately began changing their tune.

T-the world-famous Ayaka, who is known for being so exacting, recognized Master Blacksmith Hyun’s potential? That is astonishing. As expected, Master Blacksmith Hyun truly is different... Hyunsoo, he must be a god.Ahem, ahem. I said they must have chosen the best voice actor, did I not? Since the result was the best possible, doesn’t that make him the best voice actor!?H-hahaha. That’s right. Truly the best voice actor. Is there anything Master Blacksmith Hyun can’t do!?As the experts pivoted at the speed of light, one community user posted:

Dipshits............

*****

A world without dragons.

Yet there was a user who became a Dragon Knight.

His name was Resil.

Even when he first obtained the Legendary class Dragon Knight, no dragon existed on this land.

But the one who made such dragons appear was Hyunsoo.

The Furnace Sword of Haemosu.

Through it, Resil had become a true Dragon Knight.

As time passed, Dragon Knight Resil acquired not the dragon within the Furnace Sword, but a real dragon.

A black dragon.

Resil named it Blackie, and as the saying went, you take after the company you keep. Its naming sense wasn’t very good either.

Anyway, Blackie was one of the finest dragons there was.

And now—

[You have entered the Land of Dragons.]

[You are the first to enter.]

[For one week, EXP and artifact drop rate are doubled.]

Thanks to Blackie, Resil had been given the chance to become the first person ever to enter the Land of Dragons.

His heart swelled with excitement.

Because there was a reason Blackie had led him here.

[Class Advancement Quest: Dragon Monarch]

Grade: SS

Restriction: Holder of Blackie

Reward: Hint regarding Dragon Monarch

Penalty for Failure: You cannot advance to Dragon Monarch

Description: As a Dragon Knight, you have walked a special path and are one of the users qualified to become Dragon Monarch. Please meet the dragon elder in the Land of Dragons.

Dragon Monarch.

It had not yet been fully revealed, but just from the name alone, Resil could tell it was a class that could become the monarch of all dragons.

At last, even I...

The average level of a dragon was 500.

Even Blackie alone could actually exert power on that level, and the reason Resil—who was still only in the high 470s—could wield such exceptional strength was, in truth, because of Blackie.

And what made Resil even happier was the fact that he might be able to become a great help to Hyunsoo and the nation of Hyun.

Together with Blackie, Resil pushed through road after road on his way to meet the dragon elder.

A week later,

he was finally able to meet the dragon elder.

[The dragon elder appears!]

[He is a dragon elder who has lived for a thousand years and has long awaited Dragon Monarch.]

The moment he saw the elder, Resil felt an immense surge of emotion fill his chest.

The dragon elder was twice as large as Blackie, wore a pure white beard, and its scales were beautiful.

And unlike Blackie, it was a blue dragon.

Soon, the great dragon elder who had lived for over a thousand years opened his mouth.

“Krk, I can feel it. In your blood runs that same burning thing as mine, which has flowed for a thousand years. Ahh... you are a warrior born to destiny. Glory to the heat of your blood...”

“???”

Resil could not hide his bewilderment.

What is this cringe edgelord dialogue?

And yet, for some reason, hearing it sent a strange thrill through him, and he felt the blood in his chest heat up.

What happened next was even more astonishing.

“Petty humans never acknowledged our Dragon Speech. They feared it and fled. But the sound of your heart, resounding like a ship’s horn—krk, you are truly one of our kind. Just by looking into your eyes, I can feel in my chest that you understand my Dragon Speech.”

[Your Affinity with the dragon elder increases.]

That was right.

Hearing those words, Resil felt his heart swell, and he awakened to his true self.

It was a self that had been hidden away.

And then—

suddenly, his right hand grew hot.

“The dragon you command was, by nature, destruction sealed into the left hand. By meeting me, that blood awakens once more, and from your left arm it shall manifest even greater power.”

SHAAAAAA—

Blackie was sucked into Resil’s left hand.

By meeting the dragon elder, the hidden power dormant inside Blackie had been unlocked.

[You have acquired the Legendary skill: Dragon Sleeping in the Left Hand.]

[Dragon Sleeping in the Left Hand is special.]

[Your EXP gain permanently increases by 40% as you absorb dragon energy.]

[All stats increase by 15.]

[You may summon the Dragon Sleeping in the Left Hand at any time.]

“...!?”

Resil was too stunned for words.

Blackie had been a dragon with the power to sleep in his left hand.

Even more astonishing was the fact that the sensation coming from that left hand was giving him an inexplicable thrill.

I’m twenty-one years old...

Only now did Resil finally realize it.

“At last, my hidden self has awakened.”

If someone else had seen him, they would have called him a lunatic with terminal edgelord syndrome.

But instead, those words only made the dragon elder like him even more.

“You truly possess the qualifications to become the master of us, who have slept sealed away through a thousand years of time, krk, krk, krk...”

Soon, from behind the dragon elder, the voices of dragons hidden in the darkness began to sound out.

“Krk, the dragon sleeping in the left arm is proof of the right to lead us...”

“I have never before seen a human who understands Dragon Speech. One who understands Dragon Speech may receive praise...”

“Krahahaha, frail and wretched human, yet candidate who bears the dragon sleeping in the left hand, may you lead us with your blood... for this shall be our fate.”

Ding!

[Chain Quest: Dragon Pearl]

Grade: SSS

Restriction: One with a dragon dwelling in the left hand

Reward: A total of three dragons, including the dragon elder

Penalty for Failure: You cannot advance to Dragon Monarch

Description: By revealing the black dragon sleeping in your left hand, you have proven that you possess the qualifications of Dragon Monarch. The path to becoming Dragon Monarch is long and perilous. Retrieve the Dragon Pearl hidden deep within the Land of Dragons for the three dragons, including the dragon elder.

“The one who possesses the Dragon Pearl. That one holds the right to grant names to us, who have waited through a thousand years of fate.”

“Krk, krk, krk... the one who grants names. That one shall become our monarch.”

“Ahh... my left heart feels as though it might burst. Krk, yes, it is as though my left heart is running wild.”

In other words, whoever possessed the Dragon Pearl could grant names to those three dragons, and the one who named them would become their monarch.

Resil set out in search of the Dragon Pearl.

And the dragon elder and the others had a wish.

A being who understood Dragon Speech.

And they expected that one who bore a dragon in his left hand would surely plant into them names as magnificent as they deserved.

A week later,

Resil finally returned with the Dragon Pearl.

The dragons were overwhelmed.

The dragon elder even wept.

Krk, krk, krk... so this is the dragon’s tear I had heard only in legends? Through a thousand years upon the thread of fate, I have waited for the name that will be granted by the one fated to become our lord... Destruction Dragon, Destiny, Rampage Dragon, Thousand-Year Dragon...

Just imagining those names filled him with joy.

They were all eagerly anticipating just how precious, grand, and magnificent the names bestowed upon them would be.

Soon, the Dragon Pearl began to radiate a brilliant light.

FWAAAAA—

[The one who possesses the Dragon Pearl grants a name to the nameless dragon elder.]

[The dragon elder is the Lv.567 parent of all dragons. Please grant a name worthy of such a being!]

The dragon elder was generous.

“Krk, krk, krk... anything will do. So long as it is together with my monarch, whatever name it may be, it shall be the fate of this life of mine...”

At that moment, Resil spoke.

“Dragonie.”