Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Episode 243
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Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Episode 243
54. Preparation (2)
"This flower called Bloody Mary is a species that doesn't originally exist in this world."
I took out a flower as red as blood that Arc Scarlet had harvested from the subspace.
Its appearance was similar to a rose.
But this isn't an ordinary plant found in nature it's an artificially created one.
"Bloody Mary is a flower that only Scarlet can bloom in this world. It blooms only through her supernatural power."
In other words, it's a flower that's practically a symbol of Arc Scarlet's authority.
Rather than explaining at length about the value of this flower, I decided it would be better to let her experience it directly, so I tore off a petal and handed it to Maryang.
She received the petal and reacted as if asking what she was supposed to do with it, so I shoved the petal into the mouth of her, who was making a silly face.
Maryang flinched in surprise at that, then let out an exclamation of admiration.
"What is this."
"How is it? Your impression?"
"It's good? It feels like my head is clearing up, and it seems to come with a stat enhancement option. Oh, and is there also a Mana recovery option?"
It was just as she said.
When consuming this flower, one can enjoy the effects of a Buff & recovery.
Listing the approximate effects:
Healing ability at the level of a 4th-circle spell.
Mana recovery equivalent to an intermediate Mana potion.
Buff effect equal to the blessing of a regular priest.
Resistance to heat and cold.
Relieves fatigue.
Soothes hunger for a day and eliminates the need for water intake.
Truly an all-in-one potion.
It was a figure hard to believe came attached to a single small petal.
Naturally, Maryang and Bug were also greatly surprised.
But that wasn't all this flower had to offer.
"The thing is, these effects stack. If you eat a large quantity of petals, you can see even greater results."
"Up to what level?"
"For Buffs and healing magic, you can enjoy an effect similar to receiving the Saintess's backing. As for Mana recovery, the more petals you eat, the greater the effect."
If one consumed a large quantity of petals, the effect would rival an elixir.
This was part of her divine power, and it was the biggest difference between her and other Demon Lords whose healing and buff-related abilities were lacking.
[In the places Arc Scarlet passed, red flowers bloom.]
[Those flowers grow by feeding on human blood and corpses, and Arc Scarlet wore the petals of those flowers like a protective barrier.]
That passage, which describes eyewitness accounts of Arc Scarlet during her descent 1,200 years ago, is quite famous.
As such, this ability was Arc Scarlet's trademark and the decisive factor that allowed her to overwhelm other Demon Lords.
"Certainly, if she can produce medicine with this much effect using blood, we can't refuse just because it feels ominous."
"So the Blood Donation Department is being created for the purpose of cultivating these petals?"
At Bug's question, which implied she already knew about the Blood Donation Department, I readily nodded.
Since Arc Scarlet's stats have dropped significantly and I need to nurture her one by one, cultivation is difficult but if large-scale cultivation succeeds, its value would be hard to put a price on.
"This isn't just for making money. We need to prepare for the disaster that's coming soon, and we need to stockpile large quantities of healing agents for that time."
In other words, the Blood Donation Department is a very important department befitting the name of the Rondel Peace Organization.
The two of them looked convinced by my explanation.
"However, it requires a lot of blood. That's why your help is desperately needed."
Did the words "your help is desperately needed" please them?
Maryang and Bug puffed up their chests with unwarranted pride.
And the two let out a little cough and nodded.
"If you're asking that much...."
"Alright, we'll help."
I let out a small chuckle.
But something must have happened down below, because Bug suddenly narrowed her brow and brought up Arc Scarlet.
"But does she have to grow those flowers in a public place?"
"Why?"
"That woman was openly pouring blood in a garden where people walk by isn't that not allowed?"
But I had to tilt my head in confusion.
"Wasn't the Bloody Mary in the garden already budding? I heard there's no need to pour blood on it except at the very beginning when it's taking root. That's why I had it transplanted to various places to find a good spot to grow after it sprouted."
At this explanation of mine, the two of them had question marks floating above their heads.
And soon, as if realizing something, veins bulged on their fair foreheads.
"So you were tricking us?"
I could roughly piece together what had happened.
Apparently, Arc Scarlet had chosen intimidation as a way to shake off these troublesome pests.
But that's the worst possible strategy.
Bug and Maryang were the kind who only got more annoying when you tried to shake them off like that.
The two of them were about to leave my office to confront Arc Scarlet.
But just then.
"Oh, right."
There's no ignoring the wisdom that comes with age, so Maryang asked a question that hit the core of it.
"But what kind of great task are you planning that you picked the Blood Donation Department members like this?"
I couldn't help but smile.
"Since the image of blood donation isn't good, there's a need for publicity."
At my words, Maryang questioned what that had to do with them, but I skipped the detailed explanation.
Because if they heard the method of publicity, they might run away.
The publicity I have in mind is a proposal I once thought up as a joke and then scrapped.
One that comes with singing and dancing....
* * *
Kang Min-hee, Adrian's former cousin who had fallen from Earth to Rondel out of nowhere one day, and her subordinates couldn't help but marvel the more they learned about Rondel.
"Magic really is amazing. From an Earthling's perspective, miracles on the level of science fiction are performed so easily."
"Of course. To recreate Rondel's teleport gate with Earth's technology alone would take at least hundreds, even thousands, of years."
"Moreover, the military is both efficient and mighty. Since the outcome of wars is decided by the Heaven-Piercing Fortress and the Vanguard, casualties can be kept to a minimum too."
"I heard that in Rondel, even the weakest nation possesses nearly a hundred Heaven-Piercing Fortresses. And the Bringham Empire, which holds America's position here, is said to have over two thousand."
"If Rondel's and Earth's armies were to clash head-on, Earth wouldn't stand a chance unless they fired nuclear weapons indiscriminately, right?"
"Probably."
Everything in Rondel was grand, majestic, and powerful.
The problem was that they had heard from Adrian that Rondel and Earth would be merged.
Could Earth really hold out against Rondel like this?
No matter how she thought about it, if the two worlds were to merge, hegemony would inevitably tilt toward Rondel.
'And the one leading such a world claims to be my cousin, of all people.'
Kang Min-hee could not easily accept Adrian as her cousin Kim Minki.
The reason was simple.
The gap between the cousin asleep in her memories and Adrian was simply too vast.
The sight of him casually beating up the world's greatest religious leader right before her eyes and controlling the relevant parties to smooth things over was a scene that remained horrifying even now.
Hence, she dared not regard Adrian and Kim Minki as the same person.
"Still, thanks to the Company Captain's good negotiation, we're living well and being treated well, but thinking about the future, I can't feel at ease."
"Same here."
For reference, Kang Min-hee's squad members did not know the two were cousins.
So Kang Min-hee couldn't fully share her concerns with her comrades.
She had such thoughts dozens of times a day.
'Say Adrian really is Kim Minki. Then what could I do by using that?'
Rather than for her cousin Kim Minki, she thought for her country.
Or rather, she pondered whether there was anything she could do to help Earth.
Did her concerns reach the heavens?
She ended up having a strange dream.
[Your ability is a power that can reach anywhere across worlds. Ponder seriously on how to use that power.]
A woman with white hair flowing long in a white dress sat at a garden tea table and smiled at Kang Min-hee as she spoke those words.
'A dream?'
It was far too vivid to simply dismiss as a dream.
Also, upon realizing that the woman looked like the statue of Sepia, the creator goddess of Rondel, she couldn't help but wonder.
'What am I supposed to do with that?'
She never overestimates herself.
Therefore, she didn't place much significance on the appearance of the goddess in her dream.
She is a pure Earthling.
She has no faith in Sepia, nor did she ever trust her in the first place.
Because of that, even as she often recalled the scene from her dream, she never thought she had to faithfully follow that advice and do something.
"Where are you going?"
It couldn't be helped.
The Blue Moon agents, who clung to Kang Min-hee's group like shadows, would always appear and stop her whenever she did something unusual or visited somewhere out of the ordinary, so she couldn't even think of attempting anything.
As a result, Kang Min-hee ended up wasting her days away like a freeloader.
"Hello."
It was around then that she met him.
"I heard you're from Korea?"
"Who are you?"
"Ah, I'm Benjamin Theo, living as a guest at the Royal Palace thanks to Grand Duke Lawrence. I'm also from Earth, just like you all. To be precise, I'm from Singapore."
He was the first Earthling to be swept into Rondel, and one of Adrian's most devout followers Benjamin.
He was the person in charge of managing the people swept over from Earth on Adrian's behalf.
Adrian had assigned him to Kang Min-hee, who still hadn't let down her guard toward him, but the moment the two met and shook hands, a strange phenomenon occurred.
-Ziiing!
Her ability, which hadn't even worked properly until then, activated.
"My Gift ability came back?"
Naturally, no one knew why.
The only thing they could note was that just as Kang Min-hee possessed a space-shifting Gift, Benjamin also had a movement-type Gift that let him fly through the sky.
They could only speculate that because the abilities were of a similar type, they amplified each other.
And so Kang Min-hee conducted small experiments on whether she could return to Earth, and afterward, she came to harbor hope that if Benjamin helped her, she might be able to go back.
"You might be able to return to Earth?"
"I'm not certain, but I saw a possibility."
For Adrian, there was no reason to hesitate for long.
If it seemed possible, then all he had to do was try.
"Then do it."
"Understood."
With that, Kang Min-hee voluntarily selected members of her unit who were willing to participate in the unverified experiment.
And so, half of the unit agreed to take part in the experiment.
The results of the experiment were confirmed almost immediately.
"Where is this?"
"First Lieutenant Kang Min-hee! Is that First Lieutenant Kang Min-hee!?"
"Colonel! First Lieutenant Kang Min-hee has returned!"
She truly succeeded in returning to Earth.
* * *
"She's gone?"
"Y-yes. We can find no trace of Kang Min-hee anywhere. Perhaps she succeeded in a dimensional leap between worlds..."
I had dismissed Kang Min-hee's crossing from Earth to Rondel as a mere accident.
After all, even I could barely travel between the two worlds for just a few minutes at a time, and only by using ancient equipment.
But if Kang Min-hee truly possessed the power to travel between Rondel and Earth on her own, her value transcended that of a mere cousin and took on far greater meaning.
"Well, well."
Upon the Blue Moon's report that no trace of Kang Min-hee could be found anywhere in Rondel, rather than showing bewilderment, I curled the corners of my mouth and let out a deep, pleased laugh.
If Gregory's guess was right, then Kang Min-hee was a card I absolutely had to secure.
The fortunate part was that I had the means to confirm whether Gregory's guess was true or not.
I immediately assembled a party and headed to the ruins of the Dragonlands, deciding to depart for Earth ahead of schedule.
"Ooh! Earth!?"
This time, a new member was with us Arc Scarlet, participating in a trip to Earth for the first time.