Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 259
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Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 259
56. The Beginning of Change (7)
America is probably racking its brains quite a bit right about now.
After all, I heard that beyond judging whether aligning with me is beneficial or not, opinions were split internally.
Apparently, while there are those who view my proposal as a threat and find it unpleasant, there are also those who favorably received the fact that I smashed the head of China, their enemy.
America will probably accept my proposal.
They too will judge that they need to acquire new knowledge in order to adapt to Earth's gradually changing environment.
I just need to wait quietly until their opinions converge.
That's why, after throwing out the meeting proposal to America, I returned straight to Rondel.
Since the time ratio between Earth and Rondel is 10 to 1, staying on Earth for a long time is inevitably a burden.
The situations in Korea and Reiers County have been resolved, so now it's time to pay attention to Rondel.
"What did you say?"
But right after returning to Rondel, upon receiving my subordinate's report, I had to put on a surprised expression.
"The two of them returned in 13 days."
The time I spent on Earth was about 4 days.
Normally, about 40 days should have passed in Rondel, but I heard that only 13 days had gone by.
Honestly, since being away for 40 days was a burden, this was not a bad situation for me, but what this signified was not so favorable.
"The time gap between the two worlds is narrowing."
"Earth and Rondel, the two worlds are gradually being harmonized."
Arcia's thoughts were added to my own observations.
Now I was feeling the change with my own body.
Of course, it's a change no one would feel except for us who travel between the two worlds, but aside from the goddess, no one can interfere in the domain of 'time.'
Even a 9th-circle Mage, who seems omnipotent, can only exhibit the ability to see a little into the future; surpassing or reversing time is impossible, and that was no different for the dragon race, Heavenly Tribe, or demon race.
Do the Heavenly Tribe and demon race of Earth really think they can prevent this situation?
As expected, the more time passes, the more my conviction that one must not oppose the goddess only grows stronger.
"Well, anyway, it's good that the burden of going to Earth is disappearing."
"Would Lord Exceed know about this change?"
Manuel Lucas's reincarnation, Lord Exceed, headed to the underworld of Earth, his original affiliation.
Since there might be another figure like Lord Skrim who acts unexpectedly, he moved to prepare against that and to gradually execute the god race's plan, including my proposal.
For reference, the proposal I made was to ask for a portion of the Creator's power that was meant to be given to Arc Scarlet, to be given to me and Arcia.
Since there may be beings in the underworld like Lord Skrim who view this unfavorably, Lord Exceed's activities will not be easy.
'I don't plan to get deeply involved anyway.'
I was surprised by the sudden time change, but soon shrugged it off as someone else's business.
Since I planned to take only what I'm owed and run, I decided not to consider the underworld's situation in a complicated way.
"Is this Rondel?"
-Murmur. Murmur.
For reference, when returning from Earth to Rondel this time, the number of people was five times greater than when we left.
The reason is that many Earth people were included in the group, including my past-life parents who were on Earth, Kang Min-hee's parents, and Benjamin's younger sibling.
The reason they came to Rondel is simple.
It was judged that Rondel is safer than Earth, and it was to protect them.
Originally, I planned to bring only the families of myself and my companions, but my past-life parents said they couldn't leave their siblings, parents, and other relatives behind in danger, so the scale grew.
They frequently asked whether I was really Kim Minki upon seeing my completely changed appearance, but upon seeing my palace located in the world of Rondel, they became completely intimidated.
The image of a castle exuding an antique atmosphere and middle-aged Koreans wearing colorful functional clothing did not easily match.
"Please manage the relatives so they don't do anything foolish."
At my request, my parents smiled brightly and said they would.
"Anyway, you've really made it big, haven't you?"
So, while moving together with my relatives and receiving reports from my subordinates from time to time, a maternal cousin named Kang Min-hee spoke to me.
'Was his name Kang Hyun-ki?'
In my past life, he was a cousin two years older than me, but since I was born in Rondel and lived 22 more years, it became awkward to call him hyung now.
That's because 22 years in Rondel was a little over 2 years on Earth.
Therefore, I had lived a total of 44 years when combined with my past life, and his current age was 26.
"I got lucky."
Even with my indifferent reaction, whether he was oblivious or whether it was because of his expectations about living an upper-class life in a new world, he wore a face full of smiles and said useless things.
"Can I learn things like magic or swordsmanship too?"
Belatedly recalling that he had liked Japanese manga and anime, I checked Kang Hyun-ki's stats with Myriad Mirror.
Considering Earth's environment, I thought he wouldn't have any such talent, but unexpectedly, he had a stat called 'Mana (Low)' attached.
"It's not high, but it seems you meet the minimum requirement to become a Mage."
"Oh, really?"
With Mana (Low) and his intellectual ability and learning ability at 'Medium,' if he gets a good teacher, he should be able to reach a regular Mage (3rd 4th circle).
However, his age is an obstacle.
Ordinary Mage or Knight aspirants receive education from childhood, so he might not be able to become a regular Mage.
"If I want to learn magic, would it be possible?"
"Alright, I'll attach a suitable person as your teacher."
"Thank you, thank you!"
He wasn't someone I was particularly close to, and the reason I simply granted his request, which seemed to be caught up in some serious delusion, was only because I found lengthy conversation bothersome.
But perhaps my relatives felt something from my reaction, because everyone's eyes sparkled.
At that, I clicked my tongue and, telling them to ask the lady-in-waiting if they needed anything in the future, attached lady-in-waiting belonging to the palace interior department to them.
In the process, I had to make an additional request to my parents.
"Please give them a heads-up that if they pull any weird power trips, I'll send them back to Earth."
"Yes, I understand. But don't worry too much. They're all good people."
They feel that way because the two of you are good.
Fundamentally, I did not trust any relatives other than my parents.
"But will it be okay? If the parents who raised you here feel uncomfortable around us…."
"Don't worry. I've already told them. Those people don't oppose anything I do."
"Really?"
"I'll arrange a gathering sometime."
"That's fine by us."
The meeting between my past-life parents and my current-life parents.
It will probably be quite awkward for both sides, but if possible, I hope they get along well.
"Your Highness the King, you have returned."
As I passed through the long, long corridors of the ducal palace and drew near my office, the aides of the Rondel Peace Organization, who had been waiting in advance, bowed their heads and greeted me.
The figure standing at the center of the aides was Count Stella Elfried of the Bringham Empire, called the Ice Princess.
When she raised her head and gave me a eye smile, the word "Jackpot" slipped from Kang Hyun-ki's mouth as he followed behind me.
I deliberately ignored his reaction of marveling every time he saw a beautiful woman and asked Count Elfried.
"What is the current situation with member nations?"
"All nations of Rondel have agreed to join the Peace Organization."
"Good. You've worked hard."
"Not at all. It is all thanks to Your Highness's reputation."
Count Elfried tilted her head for a moment as she looked at the colorful crowd standing behind me, but soon, without paying it much mind, she brought up an additional matter.
"Actually, the Saintess has been staying at the ducal palace for the past few days."
"Your Excellency?"
"Yes, it seems she has something she wishes to say to Your Highness the King. I told her I could not know when I would return, but she said she would wait then and has continued to stay here."
"What about her work?"
"It seems she has likely pushed it onto the Holy Son."
He was a Holy Son completely treated as a subordinate by the Saintess.
Whether Ibril's wish to meet me was due to personal feelings or whether she had other business, there was no reason to refuse the Saintess's request for a meeting.
So I nodded, saying I understood.
"Understood. I can have a meal with the Saintess this evening."
"I will convey that."
Belatedly recalling something I had forgotten, I turned back and called again to Count Elfried, who was about to turn and withdraw.
"Next time you go to Earth, Count Elfried, you should come along too. It seems you'll likely end up meeting leaders from various nations."
At that, Count Elfried wore a bright smile, saying she too would like to visit Earth, and expressed gratitude for the suggestion.
Afterward, she withdrew, and my cousin Kang Hyun-ki, who had been staring intently at Count Elfried from behind, struck up a conversation with me.
"Who's that woman? She's really pretty."
I didn't forget to warn him.
This isn't South Korea.
It's Rondel.
"Behave with some awareness. This is a feudal system society. If you fall out of a noble's favor, you're dead."
"Uh, uh. Right. I was too forward, wasn't I? Sorry."
"As long as you understand."
I let out a faint chuckle and spoke to the head butler.
"Please show the guests to their rooms."
"Yes, Your Highness."
After clearing out the relatives like that, I finally entered my room and flung myself onto the bed with a sigh.
"I feel like something's going to go wrong?"
"The relatives?"
"Even if they come from a free-spirited world, I noticed a few people who lack any sense of awareness."
Arcia's rather scathing response.
At her all-too-human demeanor, a laugh escaped me without my realizing it.
"Let's put surveillance on them."
"Yes, let's do that."
Honestly, I only need to protect my parents.
Everyone else is outside my concern.
At most, I'll look after Kang Min-hee's parents and Benjamin's younger sibling, but the rest are no different from extras to me.
For my parents' sake, I'll treat the relatives decently too, but that's treatment as guests, not the treatment they'd receive as my family.
Treating the relatives' existence as trivial, I pulled Arcia in and embraced her.
-Beep! Beep!
But then.
The terminal device I was wearing buzzed with a notification, and an unexpected message appeared.
[There is a new matter to confirm. Could you visit for a moment? Chester]
It was a message from the Opportunity Administrator, Chester.
We were in the middle of a good mood, but the content was hard to simply ignore, so I let out a sigh and pulled out the virtual reality goggles for the first time in a while.
* * *
After reaching max level in Chronicle Online and completing the final quest, my in-game stats no longer added to reality to make me stronger.
Even so, I've been consistently logging into Chronicle Online, because that's where the countless materials left behind by Grand Duke Lucas and the Opportunity Administrator Chester who could be called my advisor existed.
[Welcome to the Lawrence Mage Tower Online Branch.]
Immediately after meeting Grand Duke Lucas's reincarnation, I blocked all paths through which he might access the Opportunity.
In addition, I moved the Opportunity into a new framework, and that place is precisely what was named the Lawrence Mage Tower Online Branch.
"You've arrived?"
The exterior of the Lawrence Mage Tower Online Branch was not greatly different from Manuel Lucas's Mage Tower.
As I stepped inside, the Opportunity Administrator Chester greeted me as always.
"I looked into the matter you asked me to investigate previously."
"Seeing as you called me here so urgently, it seems there were results?"
"That's correct."
While I was heading to Earth, I had left him with one instruction.
That instruction began with this statement made by Lord Exceed.
'Chester's memories aren't intact either. I modified or deleted anything of importance by replacing it with other content.'
Since I had thought Chester was a perfect copy of Grand Duke Lucas's memories, I had no hesitation in accepting his knowledge.
And the same was true of Chester himself.
But in that line Lord Exceed had tossed out so casually, I should have felt some inexplicable sense of unease.
So I gave Chester this instruction.
'Investigate what memories Grand Duke Lucas rewrote or deleted.'
Thus, Chester found himself in a situation where he had to doubt and investigate the memories left behind by Grand Duke Lucas who was essentially his original body and as a result, he had obtained some kind of result.
"Take a look at this."
Then he projected a holographic image before me.
"What's this?"
In the image, a familiar backdrop unfolded, and I could tell it was the sanctuary 'Path of the Goddess' located in the Holy Land Everhill.
The Path of the Goddess is a sanctuary said to be climbable only by the Holy Son and the Saintess.
Of course, recently, the Emperor Bringham, the Emperor Rhinehearts, and I climbed it, breaking that rule, but until then it had been regarded as an absolute law.
But even in the past, there had been anomalies.
Just one person.
There existed the exception that was Manuel Lucas.
"This is footage someone else took when Manuel Lucas climbed the Path of the Goddess."
The video contained the meeting between the goddess and Manuel Lucas.