Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 273
============================================================
Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 273
59. New Rules (3)
Count Elfried watched with interest the party struggling against the Minotaur.
They ultimately emerged victorious against the monster, and a gasp of admiration escaped Count Elfried's lips.
However, her admiration was not because the party fought well.
It was because the scene of the monster dropping items and turning to dust before disappearing was so unrealistic.
From the drop items came a magic stone slightly larger than a ping-pong ball, along with the Minotaur's horn and leather.
There were no magic items with abysmal drop rates, but if that horn and leather were processed at the Mage Tower in Rondel, they could be reborn as new materials with strength surpassing Earth's carbon fiber.
It was a scene that made one think it would be worth advancing the Lawrence Mage Tower into Earth, given the promising outlook of a materials business using drop items from hunting grounds.
"Come to think of it, I heard that magic stones obtained from hunting can substitute for Mana Stones."
"That's right. Once commerce between the two worlds ramps up before long, I imagine Earth's magic stones will flow into Rondel in large quantities."
"Considering the price of Mana Stones, that's quite a big temptation, isn't it? Because more people will sell magic stones for profit rather than for self-enhancement."
"Well, that's each person's choice. Haha."
Magic stones are not only a substitute for Mana Stones, but can also be processed to produce electricity.
However, rather than using them as an energy source on Earth, selling magic stones to Rondel would yield a higher return.
'Because in Rondel, Mana Stones trade at the same weight as gold.'
Decided.
I must absolutely advance the Lawrence Mage Tower into Earth.
It seems necessary to seize the industries related to hunting grounds first.
"But most Gift owners on Earth are soldiers would free trade even be possible?"
"That's true, but since Earth is mostly democratic nations, the military's binding power is weak. If professional soldiers want to discharge, the country can't hold them forever."
"Huh...."
I know why she's reacting this way.
She must find it absurd, this policy that seems to lack responsibility.
But that's only because she's accustomed to the feudal system.
The feudal system has a strong tendency to prioritize the state's interests over individual human rights.
I smiled and continued.
"Once Rondel's people can freely come and go from Earth's hunting grounds, I expect countless mercenaries and Knights will flock here."
"That's true too. Perhaps these hunting grounds could become a major industry for Earth."
I feel the same way.
What the goddess gave to Earth's people was not simply supernatural ability, but a new industry itself one that could rival Rondel's arcane engineering.
Shortly after, we flew over to the party taking a rest.
"G-Grand Duke Lawrence!"
The party leader, Major Lee Geunseok, spotted us and saluted with a thoroughly tense expression.
I don't belong to South Korea, so there's no need for him to salute, but he and all the special forces squad members regarded me as a superior.
Rather, the individuals from the Genius Hall of the Duchy of Lawrence who had formed a party with them greeted me comfortably and offered a moderate bow.
I accepted the greeting with a light raise of my hand, then asked Count Elfried.
"Is there anything else you're curious about?"
She, who had been staring intently at the party members, nodded.
"By any chance, do you have any of those magic items that can be obtained from hunting monsters?"
At her question, I extended my hand toward Major Lee Geunseok, and he quickly caught on and handed me the OPG he was wearing.
[Ogre Power Gauntlet]
- Strength increased by 50%
- Supernatural ability power increased by 30% (Gift, magic, Aura, spirits, etc.)
- Fear (Ogre and below stats decreased by 10%)
It's quite a good item.
So much so that anyone who isn't as decked out in treasures as me and Arcia would inevitably covet it.
And it seemed the same was true for Count Elfried.
After identifying the item's functions through magic, she opened her eyes wide and wore a surprised expression.
"I see, so that's how it works."
"There are items containing ordinary magic, and there are also items like this one with stat boosts and additional effects. Basically, the stronger the monster, the better the magic item it drops. However, the acquisition rate is extremely low, and this item drops from ogres at a 0.1% chance."
One in 1,000 ogres.
For them, it couldn't be anything but a suffocating number.
Since it's something obtained with such difficulty, comparing the OPG's stats to magic, it could be called a 6th Circle-class item.
However, unlike typical 6th Circle-class artifacts, it comes with rare additional effects, so much so that its price might be higher than a mediocre 7th Circle-class artifact.
So it was only natural that she, a Grand Mage, was surprised.
I returned the OPG to its owner.
"Let's head back to the castle now."
And after leaving them a word of thanks for their hard work, I used teleport to move to Grand Duke Lawrence's ducal palace in Rondel.
"I have a feeling the summit between the two worlds won't be resolved easily."
"Certainly, the hunting grounds carry great weight. But there is a mediator at this meeting, so one side won't unilaterally suffer a loss."
Naturally, that mediator is me.
"Then how shall I report to His Majesty?"
The reason she visited Earth and toured the hunting grounds was to check Earth's situation and verify whether the information given to them was true.
The one who gave the order is the Emperor of the Bringham Empire.
Now she could simply return to her country and report what she had seen and felt, so I didn't understand why she was asking my opinion.
"What do you mean?"
"From a coercive tone to a conciliatory one I will relay the news of Earth to His Majesty the Emperor however Your Highness wishes."
She must surely know what I want.
The reason she still asked was to emphasize that she was following me to that extent.
Lately, her increasingly frequent displays of goodwill made me clear my throat.
"If possible, conciliatory would be better. The purpose of this meeting is cooperation, not suppression."
"Understood. I will handle it that way."
Judging by her actions alone, I couldn't tell whether she was a subject of the Bringham Empire or of the duchy.
"Thank you for guiding me personally."
"Not at all. I had free time."
"I think I'll have to stay in the Empire for a while. I'll be busy preparing for the summit, after all."
She is both the Intelligence Chief of the Bringham Empire and an aide to the chairman of the Rondel Peace Organization.
Having prioritized the Peace Organization's work over matters within the Empire until now, she needed to stay by the Bringham Emperor's side for the time being, if only to maintain her power.
I'll probably see her again at the summit.
* * *
The temple that grants Gifts is surrounded by poisoned lands.
The poisoned lands are an anomalous terrain that appeared on Earth along with the Great Disaster, and at the time were blamed as the cause of an epidemic.
In addition, plants usable as remedies for various diseases including epidemics were discovered within the poisoned lands, but a monster called a poison insect mutated from insects interfered with activities inside, making collection difficult.
Even after the two worlds merged, the poisoned lands still remain throughout Earth, and now they produce not only ingredients for new medicines but also precious minerals of Rondel such as Mithril and Ether.
It's dangerous, but that means it's a profitable place.
However, what represents these poisoned lands isn't new medicine ingredients, poison insects, or rare minerals it's the existence of the temple.
The temple that grants Gifts made Earthlings rethink the poisoned lands as a treasure trove.
The number of Gifts obtainable from the temple is 100.
It's a facility capable of creating no fewer than 100 superhumans.
Of course, once the Gifts run out, it's considered a facility that's finished...
-Kwaaaaaaaa!
"W-what?"
A hidden new function was additionally discovered.
When a magic stone was brought to the temple, a pillar of blue light shot up through the poisonous fog, and simultaneously this message appeared.
[Please select the transport zone you desire.]
-Earth region temple
-Rondel region temple
It was a teleport gate function connecting temple to temple.
The American researchers who had been conducting various experiments on the temple were electrified by the newly discovered function.
It could be used for exactly the same purpose as the teleport gates said to be spread throughout Rondel.
No, considering efficiency and cost, it couldn't even be compared to existing teleport gates, given that it allows travel between the two worlds.
Now the constraint of distance had disappeared.
* * *
The news of the temple's teleport gate activation spread quickly.
Even with the arrangement the goddess revealed, I had thought one hunting ground alone felt a bit lacking, but I never imagined she would install teleport gates across all of Earth free of charge.
Before the goddess's overflowing consideration, my head bows on its own.
However, it is not free to use.
To use the temple's teleport function, one orc-grade magic stone had to be consumed.
But even this was a very cheap price compared to Rondel.
And while the price was one thing, it was not hard to see that this would bring various changes to Earth.
'If there is one problem, is it that the temple is inside the poisoned lands?'
Purification is essential for safe use, and this point can be resolved in Rondel.
We can negotiate over hunting grounds using the purification of the poisoned lands as a weapon.
'A temple-to-temple connection, huh....'
For reference, Rondel has no unmanned temples that grant poisoned lands and gifts.
Perhaps because of that, a normal temple of the Sepia Order was connected to Earth's poisoned lands temple.
In other words, it meant that from now on, Earthlings' planetary travel would be managed by the Holy See.
If that happens, the nations of Rondel will not be able to intervene in Earthlings' movement.
After all, all temples of the Sepia Order can be said to be extraterritorial.
Since all of this is the goddess's decision, the church has no choice but to obey, naturally.
However, when one recalls the religious issues currently taking place on Earth, Rondel's Sepia Order is highly likely to become a target of terrorism, so the situation cannot help but make them sensitive.
Thanks to that, the Sepia Order, which had intended to have only Saintess Ibril, who is close to me, attend this summit formally, had to hurriedly dispatch a large-scale delegation.
Not only the Saintess, but also the Holy Son and Holy King decided to participate.
[For this summit, 23 leaders from Rondel and 140 leaders from Earth will attend.]
[The Pope of the Vatican also decided to attend, but Islamic nations are unanimously boycotting the situation.]
[In Rondel, all three leaders of the Holy See are treated as heads of state. Could they be thinking of starting the suppression of Earth's religions?]
At the news of the visit by the three leaders of the Holy See, Earth's media was in an uproar over religious issues even before the meeting began.
Treating the Holy See as a nation is fine, but sharp reactions appeared asking whether, when a Holy King exists, the Holy Son and Saintess really need to be treated as national leaders.
However, this is because Earthlings do not understand the special nature of the Holy See.
So I dismissed the complaints and grievances, saying there was no problem, and acknowledged the simultaneous participation of the three.
Even so, isn't Earth's side overwhelmingly larger in number?
In the end, the nations and media of Earth that had poured out complaints over my firm decision had no choice but to shut their mouths.
Thus, amid all sorts of controversy, the "Grand Summit" I had announced was held.
"It's President Kim Min-guk!"
"Mr. President! What do you think about this meeting?"
"Please look over here!"
In front of Seoul COEX, where the first meeting was being held.
With reporters and citizens of various ethnicities flocking from all over the world tangled together, the entrance of COEX truly became a sea of people, a scene of chaos.
Since this situation had been foreseen in advance, Earth's security personnel and Rondel's Knights made an iron-wall barrier of people to protect the leaders of each country.
First, the President of America and the President of Korea, familiar to Earthlings, entered side by side.
-Click! Click!
Although I was the proposer of the meeting, the host country of the first meeting was Korea, so Earth's leaders began entering first.
In the end, the Islamic nations did not attend, and the leaders of the remaining 140 countries entered with their attendants at intervals of about 30 seconds.
Even with the long, long entry time, the heat for coverage was intense.
That was natural, since even before the two worlds were integrated, summits of this scale were rarely held.
Thanks to that, the entry of the Earth-side leaders alone took a full hour.
However, the true protagonists of this meeting could be said to be the leaders of Rondel, the residents of the other world.
"Booo!"
"Get out!"
When it was Rondel's leaders' turn to enter, booing suddenly poured out.
The citizens who had flocked from countries around the world may have gathered for this purpose from the beginning.
Reactions close to protests.
But even that was only brief.
As the Emperor of the Bringham Empire, a G1 nation of Rondel, revealed himself, the booing was sucked away.
-Thoom! Thoom! Thoom!
Was it intended to seize the initiative?
Ten new weapons of the Bringham Empire appeared, guarding the Emperor.
The new weapon, 7 meters tall and weighing 150 tons, looked like nothing but a robot to anyone who saw it.
That was none other than a giant version of the Vanga, the Gigant.
The sleekly crafted Gigant strode with agile, humanlike movements, instantly capturing everyone's attention and making them acutely aware of Rondel's technology and military power once more.
Every time the massive Gigants took a step, the roads and sidewalk blocks were destroyed and the ground was gouged out.
However, the Mages following the Emperor restored the ground to its original state, so it did not hinder the entry of those behind them.
-Gulp.
Starting with the Bringham Emperor, who had shifted the atmosphere with his imposing entrance, the national leaders of Rondel began to enter.
"Looks like everyone came fully prepared."
And at the sight that followed, I had to put on a dumbfounded expression.
It was as if they had coordinated in advance, because Rondel's national leaders had brought out all sorts of peculiar things.
The Chairman of the Elysian Coalition rode a boarding-type version of the Spirit Tower, called a miniature Heaven-Piercing Fortress.
The President of the Prius Republic appeared dragging two massive serpent-shaped golems equipped with force devices, which seemed to be new weapons.
The Emperor of my homeland, the Rainhatz Empire, appeared dragging a Gigant that the Lawrence Mage Tower had developed and deployed this time, just like the Emperor of the Bringham Empire.
While the Bringham Empire's Gigant, called the Dark Knight, was a matte ink color, the Rainhatz Emperor's Gigant was called Lionel and had a splendid golden exterior.
"Well, this is..."
The Rondel leaders seem to have mistaken this place for a weapons expo.
Thanks to that, I, who had intended to enter alongside Arcia like a normal person, had to rack my brain.
The atmosphere made it feel like I had to do something.