Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 164
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Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 164
39. The World Is Wide (4)
Blake said he remembered Arcia clearly.
"Her level is Grandmaster, and in our last battle she blocked my sword, didn't she?"
I nodded.
Blake's attacks were hard for me to even track with my eyes, but Arcia reacted properly and even managed to defend against them.
It was a moment that made me realize that even though an 8th Circle and a Grandmaster are called equals, a Mage's physical capabilities simply cannot match a Knight's.
And this was despite the fact that my body had been strengthened to a level comparable to Master-class.
But from his follow-up reaction, it seemed this wasn't something to simply be evaluated as a difference in physical ability between a Grandmaster and an 8th Circle Mage.
"It's not easy to block an enemy's first-time attack almost perfectly when they're at a higher level than you. In that regard, she clearly possesses remarkable sense and judgment."
It would be stranger if someone who reached the level of Grandmaster lacked exceptional intelligence.
But what he meant was that her level stood out even when compared to other Grandmasters of the same rank.
I roughly understood.
For one thing, Arcia has a human appearance, but at her core she's a homunculus, and like me, her in-game stats have affected reality, allowing her to be strengthened again and again.
Blake, who until a moment ago had been baffled by my sudden request, soon looked at Arcia with an intrigued expression.
"Hm? I can see traces of magical enhancement all over her."
And true to his Observing Eye the ability that served as the motif for the Myriad Mirror he noticed that Arcia was different from ordinary people.
"The feel of her is similar to yours, Adrian."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, unlike ordinary Mages, you also show traces of enhancement all over. Looking closely, she seems similar."
It seemed he couldn't tell that Arcia wasn't human.
I twisted the truth slightly and explained.
"Arcia is my companion and my sword who stays by my side. So it's only natural that she's part of my Opportunity."
A nuance implying that I was sharing Grand Duke Lucas's Opportunity with her.
Blake understood my words that way too.
"Is that so?"
Since he didn't truly know the nature of the Opportunity, he didn't suspect much.
The reason I'm so reluctant to reveal information about Arcia is because if he learns she's a homunculus, he might refuse my offer.
But the bigger reason is that I have no intention of treating her as something non-human.
Blake stroked his chin as if in thought, then abruptly asked Arcia a question.
"What do you think is the biggest difference between a Grandmaster and an Aura Master?"
I realized this was a kind of test.
'Asking Arcia that kind of question is useless...'
Usually, many Knights come to Arcia for advice.
The problem is how Arcia responds to them...
"You just condense your Aura below your waist and go 'Wooooosh '."
That's the kind of answer she gives.
Naturally, I couldn't help but wear a worried expression.
Arcia tilted her head at my gaze, then looked like she was thinking.
And before long, she honestly expressed what she felt.
"If an Aura Master feels like running 'tatatad,' a Grandmaster feels like flying through the sky with 'fwisssh.'"
It was a childish analogy so typical of Arcia.
The Knights would dress up her answers as proof that geniuses are different in a whole other way, but I didn't think Blake would react the same way.
"Then what's the difference between me, a Lordmaster, and you, a Grandmaster?"
But an unexpected reaction came out.
Blake nodded willingly and asked another question.
"This is me, and this is you, Master Blake."
This time, instead of words, Arcia explained through actions like a pantomime.
Arcia described herself as a fist, and Blake spread his arms wide to express a huge circle.
Despite the situation, I couldn't help but think it was cute.
"Hm."
But Blake, at least, was utterly serious.
"Your level of understanding isn't bad."
At his following assessment, my eyes went wide.
Did he actually understand what she meant?
"So Aura Master and Grandmaster express how power manifests and its scale, while Lordmaster expresses the Heart Sword's spatial dominion."
Is that so?
Stunned, I looked at Arcia, and she nodded vigorously with a proud expression.
She was saying she understood perfectly.
"Master Russell!"
I fixed my blank expression.
Because I knew it was time to push.
I handed back the dragon's fang and bone Blake had gifted me and asked again.
"What she needs right now is a proper teacher!"
Blake's face, which had initially shown clear discomfort, softened considerably.
He rubbed his temples, saying he understood my request.
"You're right. She has that raw, untamed feel to her. Polished and refined, she'd shine even brighter."
It felt like I'd almost won him over.
As my expression brightened, he let out a small sigh.
"Keep the gifts as they are."
"Pardon?"
"Instead, I'll see her every other day. She's clearly too talented to let rot like this."
Who would dare say a Grandmaster is being left to rot?
That's exactly why it worked.
Having achieved what I wanted, I clenched my fist invisibly.
Seeing someone once or twice makes them an acquaintance, but continuous meetings turn them into a close contact.
Moreover, the bond between teacher and disciple is never something to be taken lightly.
It had been a somewhat risky gamble, but in the end, I'd secured the greatest connection of all.
A being on the level of a dragon, no less.
"Thank you! Thank you!"
"Honestly, you're just like your Manuel. You have the same knack for being a bother."
I let out an awkward laugh and looked at Arcia, thinking it had worked out well.
But her expression wasn't what I'd expected.
She looked like she'd been saddled with a chore.
* * *
"Ah, no."
Renel, a major city in the western part of the Croysen Empire.
It was a stronghold city owned by Duke Endless, one of the Empire's four great dukes, and was called the last bastion in the current war against the Kingdom of Rhinehearts.
Thanks to gathering all the scattered forces from across the nation, they could somewhat form a Defense Force, but it was pitifully small hardly deserving to be called an imperial army anymore.
The number of Heaven-Piercing Fortresses was under a hundred, and the Vanguards barely exceeded five thousand.
Compared to when the Empire was intact, that was only about fifteen percent of its former strength.
Duke Endless squeezed his eyes shut as he watched the Kingdom of Rhinehearts' forces closing in moment by moment.
"How did it come to this?"
It was a question voiced by the late Emperor and every citizen of the Empire alike.
To the Croysen Empire, the Kingdom of Rhinehearts had been nothing more than a satisfying punching bag nothing more, nothing less.
But after the new King ascended the throne, they slowly started crawling up, and then the Kingdom of Rhinehearts made the absurd choice to strike first.
Naturally, everyone in the Croysen Empire laughed.
They said the Kingdom of Rhinehearts didn't know its place.
Yet the problem was that after the preemptive strike, the Empire suffered defeat after defeat and eventually found itself on the brink of ruin.
"With the 2nd Army of the Kingdom of Rhinehearts' expeditionary force joining the 3rd, the troop disparity against us has nearly tripled."
"So they're saying they'll give us no hope."
Anyone who wasn't a fool could see that even if they won this war, the Empire had no future.
Even so, the remaining lords of the Empire, including Duke Endless, fought the war with full sincerity.
Because they believed it was for the sake of their honor.
"Fight! Take at least one more of them with you to the grave! Make those Kingdom of Rhinehearts bastards remember the name of our Croysen Empire and feel nothing but spite!"
And so, the remnants of the Croysen Empire rallied tightly around Duke Endless and fought with everything they had in the great city of Renel, the site of their final stand.
"Those are upright eyes that don't suit the rotten Croysen Empire."
Burning with their last flame, their efforts kept the Kingdom of Rhinehearts' forces from claiming an easy victory despite outnumbering them three to one.
In the end, word of their desperate struggle reached Duke Adrian El Lawrence, and it finally moved him to act.
"So you're Duke Lawrence?"
"Yes."
"Hah, to think you're this young."
"A symbol of generational change, wouldn't you say?"
Taking Adrian's life wouldn't overturn the war's outcome, but it would at least be a heavy blow to the Kingdom of Rhinehearts.
Duke Endless and the remaining Croysen Empire forces showed their resolve.
"Guh!"
But.
Adrian was not an opponent soft enough to be overcome by resolve alone.
As if mocking all their previous efforts, the front line collapsed all too easily, and every noble, including Duke Endless, lost their lives to Adrian and Arcia, who had stormed straight into the command headquarters.
"Ah, heaven is merciless indeed."
"Don't play the victim now. This is the price for all the suffering you've inflicted on our Rhinehearts people."
Day 35 of the war.
The war between the Kingdom of Rhinehearts and the Croysen Empire had come to a complete end.
The result was the total annihilation of the Croysen Imperial Army.
And so, the Kingdom of Rhinehearts became the conqueror of a vast territory.
* * *
[King Michael van Rhinehearts declares the end of the war. The territories of the Croysen Empire are hereby annexed to the Kingdom of Rhinehearts.]
-LOL look at those damn Croysen bastards!
--A fitting ending for those who denied history and stole our nation's culture!
--Never thought I'd live to see such satisfying news!
--They didn't know they were a hidden powerhouse, picked a fight, and got knocked out in one blow, huh?
-So now it's our empire?
--Yeah
--With our Kingdom of Rhinehearts added to the former Croysen Empire, we won't lag behind the Elysian Coalition in scale either.
--And we've got two Grandmasters!
--Grandmasters are impressive, but we've also got the God of War!
--Kuh! All thanks to our big brother Lawrence! This national pride is intoxicating!
The war was over.
With King Mikhail's declaration of the war's end, a victory commemorative day was inscribed on the Kingdom of Rhinehearts calendar, and a massive nationwide festival swept across the entire kingdom.
Every citizen of the kingdom rejoiced and cheered, while the nobles focused on political maneuvering to carve their names into the vast new territories.
But unlike the other nobles, I had no interest in political maneuvering.
Because I had enough standing to state my wishes directly to the King without having to run around exhaustingly.
"The northern lands of the Croysen Empire?"
"Yes, I believe it would be best to establish a duchy on the land bordering 'Hook Bay,' which extends inward from 'Brave Bay.'"
Together with King Mikhail, I spread out the new kingdom's map and put our heads together to decide the location of the duchy.
I was personally choosing where the duchy I would rule would be.
Normally, one had to gratefully accept whatever the King granted, but given the contributions I had made in this war, I could afford to make such demands.
The area I had circled on the map was the northern territory of the former Croysen Empire, bordering the northern part of the Kingdom of Rhinehearts.
It shared borders with Lucias and the Jordy Kingdom, and to the east it was close to the Viscounty of Lawrence, now the Duchy of Lawrence, and the Duchy of Klein.
It was an area chosen entirely to my advantage, but it was a sound choice from the Kingdom of Rhinehearts' perspective as well.
"Hmm..."
"It can serve as a buffer zone to hold back Lucias and the Jordy Kingdom, which have caused trouble over the northern territories of the Croysen Empire. Your Majesty's homeland will become even safer."
They weren't enemies, but if I were to shore up the borders of those two nations whose relations had become ambiguous, King Mikhail had nothing to lose.
The reason he was hesitating, though, was out of guilt.
"Considering the reputation Duke Lawrence has built as a commander in this war, it's an excellent choice. But if it's all the same, I'd like to give you territory where you can build your power more securely. There aren't any notable resources there, are there?"
He was a man of clear rewards and punishments.
It seemed he thought my choice wasn't a reward worthy of his standards.
He really did have big ambitions.
"Then may I ask for a few more things?"
"Yes, I'll accommodate you as much as I can."
I made three additional requests to King Mikhail.
1. Incorporate the former Duchy of Lawrence into the Duchy of Klein.
2. Grant my father, Viscount Lawrence, the title of Count and a domain befitting it.
3. Development rights to the southern Dragonlands and a base city for developing that region.
Upon hearing my requests, King Mikhail nodded without much hesitation.
"Items 1 and 2 were things I was already planning."
"Is that so?"
King Mikhail intended to establish two duchies in the newly expanded Rhinehearts.
One would be my duchy, and the other was the buffer zone promised to the allied nations Gracia, Izes, and the Paulo Kingdom in exchange for not participating in the war.
Originally, that allied buffer zone was to be my duchy, but since my contributions this time were so great, it was decided to shrink its area and entrust it to Duke James.
So King Mikhail had apparently planned to assign my domain to Arcia, whose compensation was considered relatively meager.
And since his son was becoming a grand duke, he couldn't leave the Father as a mere viscount among minor nobles so he even intended to raise his title, or so I heard.
It was a moment that made me realize anew just how much consideration Mikhail had for me.
"But item 3 was completely unexpected."
Developing the Dragonlands.
It's a venture worth attempting at some point.
But it's also a dangerous venture that everyone would hesitate to undertake, and when I suddenly demanded the development rights to the Dragonlands, King Mikhail showed curiosity, asking if I had something in mind.
"I've come to know an acquaintance who knows the Dragonlands well."