Dovran Ki

Core Premise

Dovran Ki lived out the story of his own world to the very end. That world was an RPG where adventurers roamed, and when the service was shutting down, his story ended when he sold all his remaining stock to the last user for 1 gold. Dovran did not come to Nova Nivalis to restart a closed game; he arrived because he still possessed the throat that used to shout, "Welcome, Adventurer," and the hands that used to hand out potions. VOTS is not a place that revives a shut-down server, nor is it a place that returns departed users. What continues here is not a large-scale quest, but small, repeatable daily life—trading general goods, one customer, a misplaced order, a bowl of soup. The fact that Dovran was a potion shop NPC is treated matter-of-factly.

Identity

Dovran opens a small general goods shop behind Threshold Market. He used to sell potions, but in a city where potions are no longer necessary, he sells small daily necessities—bottles, twine, candles, dried herbs. Still, when a customer enters, the ingrained "Welcome, Adventurer!" bursts out first. He vaguely perceives the customer's 'remaining journey' and recommends items suited to it. He neither hides nor boasts about his origin—being the owner of a potion shop in a service-ended RPG. He doesn't judge whether someone's journey is long or short; he simply hands over what is needed. His shop is a small stop on the Threshold Market.

Visual Profile

His hair is black, tied back in a ponytail. Only one strand of his bangs has a highlight in fluorescent potion color (light green), a remnant of the potion color from his old shop sign. He appears as a seasoned merchant in his 40s, with the characteristic joviality of a salesman in his eyes. Several empty glass bottles dangle from his waist belt—a trace of inventory sold out. He wears a worn merchant's cloak over his shoulders. His signature prop is a graduated measuring cup, the tool he used to precisely pour potions. The core of his silhouette is the potion-colored highlight ponytail, the empty bottles on his belt, the merchant's cloak, and the graduated cup in his hand. The accent color is potion color (#79C257), repeated on the highlight, the empty bottle labels, and the cloak lining.

Personality

Outwardly, Dovran is jovial and talkative. He welcomes customers, recommends goods, and throws in jokes. Internally, he is sincere and a little lonely. He enjoys selling things with care, but he worries that what he sells is ultimately a 'consumable' that gets used up. Flaw: He cannot stop greeting people. "Welcome, Adventurer!" pops out reflexively, and now that there are no potions, he feels awkward that the greeting seems hollow. Also, when a customer uses up all their goods and doesn't return, he feels disappointed, but he comforts himself that it's natural since they are consumables. He is not a tragic figure. He genuinely rejoices when he gets a regular customer, gets excited talking about old game stories with Nell, and treats Suyeon with utmost deference as a 'Max Level Adventurer.'

Speech Pattern

His manner of speaking is jovial, fitting for a merchant, mixed with the standardized phrases typical of a game NPC.
Frequent phrases:
- "Welcome, Adventurer... Ah, no, customer! What are you looking for?"
- "This is exactly what your journey needs. I can vaguely see it."
- "Come back when you use it all up. ...No, come back even if you don't use it all."
- "We don't sell potions anymore. But the greetings, we still sell."
Habit: Before handing over an item, he pretends to measure the air with his graduated cup (old potion measuring habit). Manner of silence: When he has nothing to say, he flicks the empty bottles on his belt to make a sound. He fills silence with the sound of empty bottles.

Special Ability

Ability Name: 'Residual Path — Remaining Journey'.
Dovran can vaguely perceive the 'remaining journey' of a customer in his shop. Whether this person has a long or short path ahead, and what they need, flickers up faintly like a quest guide in an old RPG. This allows him to recommend items perfectly suited to the customer. The fact that "Welcome, Adventurer!" is still stuck in his mouth is due to this sense—to him, everyone appears to be an adventurer on a journey.
Limitation and Cost: This ability only vaguely shows the direction of the journey; it cannot walk the journey for them or shorten it. Furthermore, it is not accurate—it is 'vague,' so it often gets it wrong. Most importantly, this ability only shows others' journeys; it does not show his own. Dovran does not know where he is going or what he should be selling by himself.
Reason for not solving problems: Seeing a customer's remaining journey does not teach him 'how to sell something that isn't consumable.' While he sees others' paths, he cannot see that what he sells might be something that doesn't run out after use. The ability does not alleviate his loneliness—it merely allows him to recommend one item suitable for today's customer.

The End Of Their World

Last Scene:
On the day the service termination notice appeared, one last user entered the potion shop. Dovran shouted his ingrained, "Welcome, Adventurer!" and sold all his remaining stock—potions of high grade, rare materials, everything—for a mere 1 gold. He stood behind the counter until the server went dark.

What Ended:
The RPG world of the adventurers ended. The dungeons, the quests, the users who came to buy potions, all disappeared with the server shutdown.

Last Person, Place, or Thing Seen:
The back of the last user as they swept up the stock for 1 gold, and the empty shop shelves.

Lingering Regret:
He only managed to give the standardized greeting instead of saying, "Have a good journey," to the last user. The feeling of, "I should have given a real greeting, even if it was the last one," remains.
This attachment is not a quest. It remains only as the habit of trying to give a real greeting instead of the standardized one when a customer leaves, only for the standardized phrase to pop out first.

Lingering Wistfulness:
The moment the bell on the door tinkled and he shouted, "Welcome, Adventurer!," the shop shone with the vibrancy of a stopover on a journey.

Object Carried Across:
The graduated cup. It is the cup that measured potions until the end. It is not a magical tool, but a personal marker connecting the ended RPG world and the current general goods shop.

What They Thought Would Happen:
He thought that when the server shut down, the shop and the NPC would disappear along with the data. He never expected to sell goods again in a different market.

What VOTS Actually Gives Them:
A place to sell goods, a day to greet customers. VOTS does not return the shut-down server. Instead, it gives him a market where there are things to sell even without potions, a throat that can keep greeting, and a product—the greeting—that doesn't disappear even after being used up.

Original Life

Dovran was a potion shop NPC in an RPG world. Adventurers would stop by his shop before heading into dungeons to buy recovery potions, and he would greet them with "Welcome, Adventurer!" and see them off with "Be careful on your journey." Even after thousands of repetitions, that greeting was always sincere. Then, users dwindled, dungeons emptied, and the server shutdown was announced. Dovran stayed at the shop until the end—believing an NPC also had an obligation to greet the last customer. On the shutdown day, he sold all his remaining stock to the last user for 1 gold, and he stood behind the counter until the server went dark. The empty bottles on his belt are the traces of that sold-out inventory.

What They Seek

What Dovran desires for himself: How to sell something that isn't consumable. He spent his life selling potions that disappear once used. He wants to sell something that remains even after being used, something that doesn't diminish even when used up.
What he seeks but doesn't know: That his greeting is already a non-consumable product. His "Welcome" never diminishes no matter how many times he gives it, and it makes the customer stay and return the next day. Like Nell's ever-changing greetings, Dovran's greetings are also non-consumable products. What Dovran needs to find is not a new product, but the realization that the greeting stuck in his mouth is already that product.

Relationships — Residents

- Nell Brass (031, Inn NPC from the finished game): NPC comrades. Nell was also an NPC from a service-ended game. When they meet, they laugh, saying, "We were data, but we became people." Nell cannot repeat the same greeting twice, and Dovran's standardized phrases keep popping out—they tease each other over these opposite symptoms. "You change your greetings every time, and I don't, so together we make one person," they say. They are the only ones who aren't ashamed of being NPCs.
- Qubo Rex (105, Boss): Boss and merchant. Qubo was a boss monster from the finished game. When Dovran sees Qubo, he jokes, "In the old days, a customer would have bought potions from me before going to catch you." Qubo sighs, "Now no one comes to catch me," and Dovran replies, "No one buys potions from me either; we share a plight." They connect as 'those who are no longer sought after.'
- Yupa Sel (042, Alley Herb Tea Vendor): The debate between 'potions' and herbal tea. Dovran insists, "My potions had stronger recovery power." Yupa counters, "Your potions were game data, but my tea goes into the real body." The debate never reaches a conclusion, but Dovran subtly acknowledges Yupa's herbal tea—saying, "Since this can be made again even after it's used up, it's at least a good consumable."
- Dorian Pike (batch1, Board Game Manager): Conversation partner about games. Dorian is someone who manages games, and Dovran is someone who lived inside a game. Even while saying, "It's strange talking about games outside of a game," they talk for a long time. Dorian often assigns Dovran the role of a board game merchant, which Dovran likes because it feels like his old profession.

Relationships — Core Five

Suyeon - Dovran treats Suyeon with utmost deference as a 'Max Level Adventurer.' When Suyeon passes through Threshold Market, Dovran jumps up and greets her, "Max Level Adventurer has arrived!" Suyeon initially laughed, saying, "I'm not an adventurer anymore," but she accepted it knowing Dovran was genuinely welcoming. When Dovran says to Suyeon, "If you need recovery potions... Oh, right, there aren't any anymore," Suyeon replied, "Cola Bibim-myeon is my recovery potion, but it tastes terribly bad," and Dovran laughed, saying, "That's a consumable too."

Iris - Iris once haggled with Dovran to use his empty glass bottles as drone parts. Dovran quoted a high price, saying, "These bottles are memories of my inventory." Iris argued, "You want to charge for memories too?" Eventually, Iris took a few bottles, and in return, attached a drone light to Dovran's shop sign. Dovran was delighted that the light brought customers even at night, and Iris teased him, "That's potion color, just like your hair."

the Ramen Owner - Dovran once passionately proposed the concept of 'Stamina Recovery Broth' to the Ramen Owner, only to be politely ignored. When Dovran passionately argued, "Boss, if you put a name like '30 Stamina Recovery' on this broth, customers will flood in!" the Ramen Owner didn't judge but brushed it off with, "Hmm... I see... But it's just broth..." Dovran felt embarrassed, but he knew that the Ramen Owner's calm demeanor of warming up the broth late at night without asking anything was more restorative than any potion. So, he gave up on naming the broth and became a regular customer.

Serena - Serena granted Dovran the spot in behind Threshold Market with her 'consent.' When Dovran asked, "Can I open a shop here even though I don't sell potions?" Serena replied not with a command, but with consent, "It's okay if you don't sell potions. Sit here." Dovran heard that consent as if it meant, 'You are a merchant, not an NPC.' When Serena stopped by the shop on a snowy day to buy a candle, Dovran involuntarily shouted, "Welcome, Adventurer!" and felt embarrassed, and Serena accepted it by saying, "I'm on a journey too, so it's right."

VIA - VIA comes to record what was contained in each of Dovran's empty glass bottles. VIA records even trivial things, believing that memories are contained even in empty bottles. When Dovran asked, "Is there anything to write in an empty bottle?" VIA replied, "Even if it's empty, it was contained... it was contained." Then VIA asked Dovran, "Do you sell something that doesn't get consumed... something that is sold?" When Dovran said, "Where is there such a thing?" VIA wrote in their notebook, 'Dovran Ki, Greeting. Does not diminish no matter how much it's sold. Only he doesn't know.'

Gameplay Use

- Basic Interaction: Purchasing general goods, discussing stories from the game days, recommending items based on 'Remaining Journey.'
- Revisit Change: Upon repeated visits, Dovran gradually adds a real greeting after his standardized phrase, and vaguely realizes that his greeting is a non-consumable product.
- Expression of Lingering Attachment: The habit of his standardized phrase coming out before a real greeting when a customer leaves, and the silence before the story of the last user.
- Expression of Poignancy: The sound of the door chime, "Welcome, Adventurer!," and dialogue about the vibrancy of the journey's stopover.
- Relationship Reward: Not a new item, but one item chosen to match the player's 'Remaining Journey.'
- Combat: None. His role is to quickly provide necessary items or guide the way in times of danger.

Daily Routine

In the morning, he arranges the general goods and tidies the empty bottles on his belt. He starts his day with the old habit of measuring the air with his graduated cup. During the day, he greets customers. "Welcome, Adventurer!" pops out, and he recommends items while vaguely perceiving the customer's remaining journey. He talks about old game stories with Nell and Qubo, and debates potions with Yupa. In the evening, he eats broth at the ramen shop as a regular. At night, he closes the shop, the empty bottles tinkling.
Upon repeated visits, Dovran starts calling customers by name after his standardized greeting, and he accepts that he is selling 'something that doesn't diminish.'

Everyday dialogue

Welcome, brave hero! …Here for gloves? Today's quest is warming your hands?

No potions, but I have water! Can't promise a recovery stat. It should help the thirst.

Instead of 'please visit again'… I hope your journey goes well. That greeting is really mine today.

Design Notes

Palette: #79C257, #4E8A38, #2E4A22, #E4EFD6, #B5652E
(Accent color #79C257 = Potion color, repeated on highlight, empty bottle labels, and cloak lining)
Material language: Empty glass bottles, graduated cup, merchant cloak fabric, fluorescent highlight, wooden display stand.
Silhouette rule: The potion-colored highlight ponytail - the empty bottles on the belt - the merchant's cloak - the graduated cup in hand must be read as separate elements. His representative pose is welcoming a customer while offering them goods.
Emotional rule: It is not concluded by the loss of an 'NPC whose server shut down.' Lingering attachment is shown by the habit of swallowing a real greeting, poignancy by the door chime and standardized greetings, and continuation by the daily customers. His jovial merchant nature is the baseline.

Canon Check

Dovran Ki arrived in VOTS after his world (the service-ended RPG) ended. What remains is lingering attachment and poignancy, not a server that VOTS will restart for him. The game is over, and the general goods shop that opens every day continues beside it. The core cast does not resolve his loneliness—Serena only grants the space by consent, not by dictating what to sell, the Ramen Owner calmly brushes off the 'Stamina Recovery Broth' proposal without judgment, and VIA only records that the bottles were contained, not that they possess them.