Opportunities from the Game Become Reality Episode 120
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Opportunities from the Game Become Reality Episode 120
30. Opportunity Quest Stage 8 (4)
If I had to pick the best gift left behind by Grand Duke Manuel Lucas, I would choose Arcia without any hesitation.
She was practically my other half a trusted companion and family who would fight for me until death.
[What the who the hell are you people!]
As the battle with Balrog Tarnis passed the midpoint, there was no longer any communication between me and Arcia.
No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say that communication was no longer necessary.
She moved like my third hand, acting on my will without needing words.
Whenever I needed her, she was always there, and whenever she needed me, I was there too.
The fact that being too in sync can be terrifying was made abundantly clear by Balrog Tarnis.
From his perspective, the two of us must have looked utterly possessed.
Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, like a flower blooming, our combat style had reached complete perfection, even if our raw power still had room to grow.
-BOOM BOOM BOOM CRASH!
Balrog's area-of-effect breath attack came sweeping in.
But what was different from before was that he wasn't firing it in a straight line he was spraying it everywhere like a madman.
There was one reason: he was worried about a surprise attack.
It was a move made with awareness of my Blink-based backstabs and the spell-sharing with Black Eagle.
Thanks to Black Eagle's relentless pinpoint attacks, his head was already little more than a rag.
Furthermore, with Arcia drawing his attention from the front and me striking in and out with Blink, his hamstrings, Achilles tendons, and wings had been burst and torn repeatedly with no chance to recover.
The sight of him shaking his head like a madman and spewing breath attacks was starting to look almost pitiful.
And understandably so.
-CRAAAAASH!
[Kek! You cowardly bastards!]
He hadn't landed a single solid hit on us, and his HP was already scraping the bottom.
Having fully memorized the reach of Tarnis's breath, I used Blink to circle behind him just before the attack ended.
He whipped his head around in a panic, but the breath attack ended right on cue.
I then gifted his hamstring with the 7th Circle high-level magic I had been casting.
-THUD!
With damage piled up on his hamstring, Tarnis slumped to his knees without resistance.
He swung his scimitar at me from his awkward crouched position, but sadly, I wasn't the one he needed to worry about it was his front.
-CRAAAAASH!
There are many ways to evade Tarnis's attacks.
Throw your body aside, use Blink, or deflect the strike by hitting his wrist with Explosion.
But instead of evading his blade, I blocked it with a 7th Circle defensive spell.
Thanks to that, we were locked in a brief contest of strength, and while Tarnis's gaze was fixed on me, Arcia charged in from the front and drove her sword into his Adam's apple.
-SHLIIICK!
[Kugh!]
And right after her sword split the target
-CRAAAAAASH!
Black Eagle's spell transfer blew a hole clean through the deeply cut throat.
"Getting worked up only loses you the fight."
Why would a monster that moves on a programmed routine need to be this emotional?
Tarnis clutched his throat, hacking and wheezing.
This was a free-damage window we had forced open.
-BOOM BOOM BOOM CRASH! CRAAAAASH!
-SHINK! SHINK! SHLICK!
Magic poured down without mercy, and Arcia carved him up relentlessly.
After about five seconds, Arcia raised her shield and shifted into a defensive stance, and I slipped behind her.
Then Tarnis, eyes burning with madness, gnashed his teeth at our turtle-like formation.
A thin membrane had formed over the hole in his throat, making it clear he had poured all his healing capabilities into that spot.
"Huh?"
But something was strange.
By now he should have gone berserk and charged in recklessly, yet Tarnis was just staring at Arcia's shield without moving.
"What's going on?"
Hidden behind Arcia while continuously casting and using Memorize (spell storage) on a 7th Circle spell, I couldn't help but be puzzled by this unexpected reprieve.
And so, with our shield raised before us and him blazing with fury, the standoff lasted about ten seconds.
[I concede.]
With those final words, he collapsed to the floor and vanished into a wisp of smoke.
"Huh?"
Did a named monster just concede?
Arcia, who had been in a battle stance, lowered her shield in bewilderment, and I got to my feet with a dazed expression.
[You have subdued the named monster Balrog Tarnis.]
The follow-up message confirmed that the Balrog really had conceded.
"Hah..."
He had less than 10% HP left, and the momentum had fully swung our way, but he wasn't an artificial intelligence entity.
A programmed being conceding because the odds are against it?
It just didn't add up.
[The conditions to open the next floor of the Mage Tower have been met. Manuel Lucas's Mage Tower 9th floor is now open.]
[Would you like to ascend to the 9th floor of Manuel Lucas's Mage Tower?]
But since there was nothing to lose and time to be saved, I replied yes to the prompt asking if I wanted to go up to the 9th floor.
With that, the barren combat arena of the 1st floor shifted into a grand library.
Books crammed into the walls was the same as the 8th floor, but what differed was the sheer scale.
Even the 8th floor, which I'd reached after clearing the 7th-stage Opportunity quest, had felt comparable to the royal library.
But I'd bet this 9th floor either matched or outright surpassed the royal library.
The space was large enough to fit an entire shopping mall, and it was filled to the brim with books.
"This is straight out of a fantasy."
What was peculiar was that a single step forward in that vast space sent the surroundings blurring past as I instantly advanced ten meters.
It seemed they'd built a space-compression function for convenience given how huge the area was, but the scenery constantly whipping past made me feel motion-sick.
That feeling vanished once I reached the center of the 9th floor, where a desk and a treasure chest sat.
In that space, a single step didn't send the scenery rushing by.
"You've been through a lot."
Chester, who had come out ahead of us and been waiting, greeted us warmly.
The moment I saw him, I understood the source of the unease I'd felt against the Balrog.
"I see. So you were the one who ended the trial, Chester."
"Yes, that's right. Tarnis was no match for the two of you. Honestly, I was surprised. I expected you to struggle far more."
The Balrog Tarnis's concession had been his doing.
"Honestly, we went in expecting to die at least three times. But once we actually fought, it was very doable."
"Expecting to die three times that's a generous estimate. When we designed it, we thought you'd die thirty to fifty times."
Was it because he felt we'd wildly exceeded expectations?
Seeing him let out a hollow laugh made me feel oddly pleased.
"But the next one won't be easy. The final gate is steeped in the Grand Duke Lucas's stubbornness. And besides, Arcia's growth is now at its end."
As a top-tier unique supporter, Arcia's level cap was 250.
Once she hits Grand Master this time, she'll have no further growth within the game.
"I'm not too worried about that."
"Is that so?"
"Well, she'll reach Grand Master either way, right? Levels 250 and 299 are ultimately the same tier."
"Even with caps on stats, skills, and equipment?"
This battle had made one thing clear to me.
Extremely refined breathing synergizes beyond imagination.
"I can cover whatever's lacking. There will never come a day when Arcia is useless."
At that, Chester made a face like he'd bitten into a sour fruit, and Arcia squirmed bashfully.
"And you said it yourself. She's no different from a human, and her potential for growth is limitless."
"I did."
"Then even if she can't grow through Chronicle Online, she still has room to grow in reality, doesn't she?"
"That's a fair point."
"She will keep growing."
At my firm declaration, Chester let out a quiet chuckle.
"Watching the heir grow fills me with both joy and a certain wistfulness."
After all, even with a separate self, he shared the Grand Duke Lucas's memories.
Of course he'd feel that way watching me walk away with everything the Grand Duke had built.
"But it's a good thing. A fitting heir to the Grand Duke Lucas should be exactly like this."
With that, he stepped aside and gestured toward a treasure chest the size of a house.
I thanked Chester and stepped forward.
As I placed my hand on the treasure chest, a flood of message windows appeared.
[5 uses of Hollywood System Administrator Authority granted.]
[200 trillion Lute acquired.]
[An account at the Elisia Union Bank holding this amount is granted.]
[Union Bank account added to your terminal.]
[Sky Fortress Aegis acquired.]
[2 Aura Master-class autonomous Vanguards acquired.]
[Information and assassination organization Blue Moon is incorporated under your command.]
[Underground stronghold Hecate acquired.]
[8th Circle created.]
Unlike before, when only one reward or one set of rewards was given alongside money and system administrator authority, an enormous amount had been granted this time.
"Kugh!"
But I had no time to admire the rewards one by one.
The pain of my whole body being torn apart forced me to my knees involuntarily.
"This time, it will be quite painful."
"W-We're getting something, so what's a little pain?"
At Chester's words, I felt my mind fading into the distance from the pain, yet I still curled the corners of my mouth upward.
* * *
A moment later, when I came to, I saw the ceiling of my bedroom in reality.
The headgear I'd been wearing had been removed, and I was resting my head on Arcia's lap instead of a pillow.
I sat up with her support.
"Was I logged out immediately?"
"Yes, the transfer finished without issue."
My whole body ached.
When I'd reached 7th Circle there were aftereffects too, but this time it felt like I'd be suffering for days.
Just then, Arcia gestured with her chin toward something.
Though the pain throughout my body was considerable, my senses had sharpened, so I knew what she meant and walked with her help.
"We greet the master of the full moon."
When I was gaming, no one was allowed into my room.
Yet now, no fewer than eight men and women were bowing deeply as if in prostration.
Among them, I saw familiar faces.
There was August, the jester in the red suit, and Gregory, a swordsman who seemed to wear shadows like a cloak.
"Blue Moon's special agents, I see."
Having become an 8th Circle, I was now not Blue Moon's collaborator but its master.
Those eight were now wholly my people.
Whether because we'd met before or because he was the senior among the special agents, Gregory answered.
"Yes, my master."
"Do you know why I have become your master?"
Last time I'd seen them, they didn't seem to know about Chester.
So I'd thought perhaps they didn't know I was the Grand Duke Lucas's heir.
"Yes, we do."
But it seemed they'd been informed when their master changed this time, and so they said that and fell silent.
'Can I trust them?'
As an Opportunity left by the Grand Duke Lucas, they surely wouldn't harm me, but unlike the other rewards, they were people, so doubt was unavoidable.
[You needn't worry about that. They have a restriction placed on them. They can never defy Adrian's orders.]
Whether she'd read my thoughts from my expression alone, Arcia relayed that to me via telepathy.
That put my mind at ease.
"I'll trust you, then."
"Thank you!"
I'd already doubted them all internally, but outwardly I acted the magnanimous one.
With this, a large number of Aura Master-class combat forces had come under my command at once. Since acquiring Blue Moon had been planned, I'd already decided what to do with them.
Feeling a tremendous energy that seemed to make my heart pound, I wore a deeply satisfied smile.