Opportunity from a Game Becomes Reality, Episode 74
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Opportunity from a Game Becomes Reality, Episode 74
21. Saintess Contest (5)
[An organization created before the Age of Magic (currently 2019) began.]
[An organization that laid the foundation of the great empire alongside the Great Bringham Emperor.]
[An unfortunate organization that incurred the dragon's wrath and was forced to vanish into the shadows.]
These are the most famous rumors known about the organization called 'Blue Moon.'
An organization that one can tell is mysterious and far from ordinary.
But sadly, 'Blue Moon' had far more terrifying infamy than good or mysterious tales.
[It is said that the Cerberus guarding their base eats nothing but human flesh, so they created a human farm the size of a village.]
[To maintain the organization's bloodline, they kidnap children and put them through death training.]
[All poisons existing in the world today were created by Blue Moon, and they conduct human experiments to produce them.]
[Blue Moon is a demon-worshipping organization.]
Just like that.
Thanks to that, Blue Moon became a villain frequently appearing in Rondel's fairy tales, much like witches on Earth.
They say that if you scare children with 'Children who don't listen to their mothers get taken by Blue Moon!' nine out of ten burst into tears.
That's why, when I discovered the Blue Moon members, I couldn't help but be greatly surprised, thinking, 'That's a real organization?'
Because there were so many unbelievable rumors.
[Gregory Hayden / Aura Master]
Race: Human
Age: 39
Affiliation: Bringham Empire, Francis Ducal House (temporary) / Blue Moon Special-Class Member
Talents: Aura (supreme), Physical Ability (supreme), Learning Ability (high), Intellectual Ability (average), Command Ability (average), Mana (average)
Traits: High-Speed Movement / Shadow Assimilation
Relation: Caution / Hostile
Status: Flustered / Tense
The place where I first discovered Gregory Hayden was when I passed through the administrative district of the Lord's estate that residents were allowed to enter.
He was mixed in among the crowd waiting at the civil complaint counter.
Whether to grasp the structure of the Lord's estate, he was diligently surveying his surroundings when his eyes met mine perfectly.
He naturally pretended to be an ordinary resident and hid himself, but sadly, that act didn't work on me.
When I first found him, I deliberated.
Whether to capture him right away, or let him go for now.
In the end, I chose the latter.
There were surely companions, so I judged it better to set a trap and wait to catch them all at once.
And in the end, my plan worked perfectly, and 'Blue Moon Special-Class Member Gregory Hayden' appeared leading a new guest.
[August Knox / Supreme-Class Spirit Master (Mental Series: Geist)]
Race: Human
Age: 33
Affiliation: Bringham Empire, Francis Ducal House (temporary) / Blue Moon Special-Class Member
Talents: Spirit Power (supreme), Communion Ability (high), Physical Ability (high), Learning Ability (average), Intellectual Ability (average),
Traits: Spirit Magic Enhancement, Madness
Relation: Caution / Hostile
Status: Flustered / Tense
'Gregory Hayden' was a rare assassin-type Aura Master.
Though the times have changed, making it difficult to stealthily slip into a noble family's bedroom, his unique combat style was enough to fluster even Aura Master-class Knights or Grand Mages.
But what I found even more peculiar than him was 'August Knox,' a supreme-class Spirit Master who commands mental-series spirits.
Spirit Masters are abilities rarely seen on the Deferon continent where our Kingdom of Rhinehearts is located.
However, in the Elysian Coalition, a nation of other races, it was a commonly used ability like magic, and a considerable number of Spirit Masters also existed on Triton, the world's second-largest continent.
But among them, special series that did not belong to the '4+3' the four great natural elements (earth, fire, wind, water) and the three great mutated natural elements (ice, lightning, metal) were extremely rare.
And among those, a contractor of Geist, the supreme mental-series spirit that's perfect for being treated as a demon race I couldn't help but be astonished.
A supreme-class Spirit Master stands on the same level as a Grand Mage or an Aura Master.
If he so desired, manipulating people and altering memories would be a trivial matter.
Surely, driving an innocent person to suicide wouldn't be difficult either.
Yet the reason he uses such a flashy method must be because there are some restrictions.
Otherwise, it would be too omnipotent a power.
"Has Blue Moon become a dog of the Francis Duke?"
"...."
"Or is the Francis Duke also being used without knowing you're Blue Moon?"
The Francis Duke is a Grandmaster.
A supreme-class Spirit Master's mental attacks wouldn't work on him, so I couldn't say they were manipulating him.
The two of them, still not free from the shock of their identities being exposed, gave no answer to my question.
"Well, they're probably using the Francis Ducal House as a temporary hideout. But even if it's just for show, having two special-rank members of Blue Moon attached to the Francis Duke what exactly are you two, no, what is Blue Moon hoping for?"
When I teased them as if I knew everything, the two were visibly flustered.
Gregory, whose entire body except around his eyes was covered in black cloth, and August the Pierrot, clad in a blood-red suit, had their emotions shifting several times per second in sheer confusion.
"Y-You... Are you connected to Him...?"
"August! Shut up!"
There it was. "Him."
The stand-in for the backer.
Gregory roared at August, who had slipped up, and stopped him in his tracks.
His appearance was full of madness, but he seemed to have a surprisingly naive side.
I spun the Magic Staff in my hand, then pointed it at the two of them and spoke.
"I'm not exactly connected to you. But I am someone who knows quite a bit about you."
"Then we'll have to kill you right here."
"Can you?"
In response to my question, August answered by growing his blood-colored spirit until it covered the entire room.
Arcia, just like in the game, was fully armed down to a shield, and with that, a defense-boosting buff befitting a supporter was added.
Intruders must be dealt with properly.
But I had no intention of simply killing these members of Blue Moon.
So, to seize the initiative, I showed August a strike no one could have anticipated.
-KWAANG!
"What!?"
The Magic Staff dyed in blue light.
At the same time, a beam both familiar and destructive devoured the space as it surged forward.
Gregory, his comrade, reacted quickly to the attack aimed at August, but his wide-eyed expression was filled with great confusion and shock.
"The world is wide, and there are many prodigies. Don't think you're the only special ones."
That attack was canceled out by Gregory's Aura Blade.
But even for a clean block, Gregory and August both wore expressions of dismay.
"Y-You were a magic swordsman?"
It was only natural they'd react that way.
The preemptive strike I'd launched was none other than a Vanguard's force attack.
To be precise, it was merely a support function of the Eestro equipment left by Grand Duke Lucas a new technology of Aura charging and force release loaded into the Magic Staff.
Since this was a function beyond everyone's common sense, the easiest conclusion to jump to was the misunderstanding that I was a magic swordsman.
"So that's how you could fight an Aura Master in close combat."
Furthermore, with my fighting style shown so far, they had turned that misunderstanding into conviction.
As expected, having the Myriad Mirror makes this great.
Since I can grasp the opponent's information and emotions, I'll never lose a psychological battle.
"Is that all?"
I grinned and snapped my fingers.
At that, anxiety crept onto both their faces.
-KWAANG!
At the same time, the wall burst apart, and before Gregory could even defend, a large chunk of flesh was torn from August's leg.
"GAAAH!"
And beyond the balcony window behind me, a black eagle with enormous wings appeared.
Calling it an eagle is a stretch its wingspan could rival a small wyvern's.
"I'm also a Beast Tamer."
"Kek! You son of a bitch!"
August, fully enraged, mobilized his spirit to engulf the entire room of Ibril.
At that, the guards of Ibril, who had been crouched in a corner awkwardly surveying the situation, slammed their faces into the floor like marionettes with cut strings.
[Spirit Skill: Mind Control]
-Spirit Power cost: fixed at 1%
-Maximum duration: 1 hour
-Automatically dispelled if distance from caster exceeds 1 km
-The more clearly the spirit's form is revealed, the stronger the control
-Those subjected to Mind Control build resistance, eventually gaining full immunity
-Casting range: 100 meters; requires eye contact
I nodded at the detailed info of the Spirit Skill displayed on the guards' status.
There were several restrictions, but once under Mind Control, one became a complete puppet.
It was fair to call it a downright cheat ability.
Unfortunately for them, it didn't work on me or Arcia.
"What did you do?"
"W-What?"
Aura Masters and Grand Mages normally have this kind of resistance, but even so, they shouldn't be able to brush off a top-tier spirit so easily.
August, muttering "This is strange, this is strange," grew even more deranged, then gritted his teeth and used a new skill.
[Spirit Skill: Memory Manipulation]
-Spirit Power cost: fixed at 1%
-Maximum duration: 3 hours
-Automatically dispelled if distance from caster exceeds 1 km
-The more clearly the spirit's form is revealed, the stronger the control
-Those subjected to Memory Manipulation build resistance, eventually gaining full immunity
-Casting range: 100 meters; requires eye contact
But I just shrugged and spat out the same line.
"What are you doing?"
"Wh-What the hell is this..."
The reason me and Arcia could remain unaffected was very simple.
We just had absurdly high curse resistance.
'An Opportunity Seeker inherits the stats from Chronicle Online into reality.'
Of course, I actively used this system, throwing money around without caring about cost-effectiveness as long as it meant strengthening myself. As a result, my debuff defense alone stood tall even compared to a max-level player.
In other words, no matter how much he raged, his attacks simply wouldn't land.
"Even Duke Francis, a Grandmaster, wasn't this bad."
His look of denial, refusing to believe it, oddly came across as a child throwing a tantrum.
I pointed my Magic Staff at that August and gave a sly grin.
"What's this? If mental attacks don't work on me, your combat ability is basically zero?"
This matchup was too favorable almost unfairly so.
* * *
Was this how it felt to fight with all your weaknesses laid bare?
Right now, Gregory and August felt like they had been stripped naked and thrown before an enemy to be appraised.
August, who could turn a city into hell with a single word or a flick of his finger, had lost all will to fight before Marquis Adrian Lawrence had even properly engaged him.
Gregor the assassin, who prided himself on being confident he could kill even a Grandmaster if given the chance, found himself unable to move a single step, as if his feet had sunk into an inescapable swamp.
'Everything's been seen through. And yet, even face to face, we can't figure out who he really is.'
Marquis Adrian Lawrence.
A genius Mage who became a Grand Mage at just twenty years old.
The final disciple of Duke Riverdale, hailed as the great teacher.
A cast-off son who was bullied by the viscount family before revealing his true self.
That was the publicly known profile of him... but...
Gregory denied the contents of that profile.
'He's not just something like that.'
The person before him was no mere being of that sort.
His depth could not be measured, and the darkness behind him could not even begin to be guessed.
For the first time in his life, Gregory felt this emotion toward a person.
[Fear]
The figure known as Adrian Lawrence was etched into them as the most terrifying existence of all.
'He's a monster.'
* * *
[Status: Fear / Loss of Will to Fight]
Blue Moon I thought they were pawns too valuable to just kill and discard.
So I tried a little trick, and wouldn't you know it, it worked far better than I'd expected.
If these two teamed up, there would be few people on the continent they couldn't kill.
Yet I had subdued them without even a real fight just with words and a few actions.
'Things are going better than I thought.'
I took a step closer to the two, and as they backed away in kind, I felt sorry enough for them to cast a spell.
'Recovery.'
They flinched in alarm, but once they realized it was healing magic meant to treat August, who was wounded by Black Eagle's ambush, they showed confusion and an even greater fear.
"I have no intention of fighting you. No, to be precise, I have no intention of fighting Blue Moon."
I thought they were pawns too valuable to throw away, but honestly, the biggest factor was that since I couldn't know Blue Moon's scale or its Backer, killing them outright felt too uneasy.
If these two, who were simply acting as Duke Francis's dogs, were already this capable, then what about Blue Moon's overall strength?
So I judged it better to cajole and coax them into becoming allies rather than wage war with them.
Of course, scaring these two wouldn't suddenly make them allies, but I had a means to make that possible.
That was why I showed them goodwill by healing them... but...
-Tremble, tremble.
They shook without pause.
It seemed they couldn't take an ally's goodwill at face value when they knew nothing about them.
Judging by the look of them, they seemed to be spreading their imaginative wings, all tangled up in delusions and misunderstandings.
At that, I let out a scoff and spoke to the two of them.
"I'd like to meet the head of Blue Moon. Would you pass that along?"
"Ah, understood."
I thought they might resist at the mention of meeting their leader, but perhaps it was their single-minded desire to escape this place?
They accepted the offer surprisingly easily.
"Good. And I'm sorry, but I've dealt with all of the Special Task Force. I hope you can forgive that. They were Duke Francis's people anyway, weren't they?"
"Of course."
With a satisfied expression, I waved my hand back and forth as a final gesture.
It was a signal for them to leave.
"Our apologies."
And then, with an oddly courteous farewell, they fled the scene.
"So, what do you think? Did they seem like big shots?"
At my question, Arcia, who had been disarming herself, let out an unexpected laugh.
"They're funny."
What was funny to some was carved into others as terror.
A moment later.
Once August was far from the Lord's estate, the minds of Ibril's guards who had collapsed from the mental attack, and the reserve Knights who had been memory-manipulated, snapped back throwing the estate into a brief uproar.
"Honestly, making Ibril a Saintess is a pain."
I shook my head side to side and ordered Ibril's guards to forget everything they had seen today.
Having witnessed the appearance of the legendary organization Blue Moon and my use of Force, the two seemed to judge it beyond their capacity to handle, swearing secrecy even invoking the names of their ancestors.
And so time passed, and passed while still awaiting a reply from Blue Moon, the Saintess contest finally began in earnest.