Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 274
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Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 274
59. New Rules (4)
I mulled it over.
Should I really go along with this childish display of bragging, or should I just do things my way and calmly lead Arcia and the dignitaries of the Duchy of Lawrence into the conference hall?
If I wanted to show off the forces I commanded, I was confident I could put on a spectacle that would overwhelm the leaders who had entered before me.
But there was a problem.
And that was that my personality had a weak Resistance to such cringeworthy behavior.
"Hmm...."
What should I do? After agonizing over it for a long while, I made my decision.
Fine, let's just play the clown for once.
If the leaders of Rondel had crushed the spirits of the Earthlings, I intended to crush everyone's spirits.
For the sake of a smooth conference.
"Huh? W-what's going on?"
And so, my turn to enter arrived.
The show began.
"Night has fallen."
"What's happening now?"
The sky suddenly became dyed in darkness, and the people who felt uneasy at this began murmuring.
But there was no need to worry.
I had only temporarily stolen the light around this area; other regions were no different from usual.
A space dyed in darkness where even the streetlights wouldn't work.
Into that space, the Black Dragon Brangish appeared.
-Kiaaaak!
The Black Dragon that appeared in the darkness couldn't help but stand out, but its entire body held a soft light, exuding an unreal presence.
And with the Dragon Fear that followed, people's knees naturally bent, and the massive body of the Black Dragon, large enough to blanket an entire soccer stadium, slowly lowered its altitude.
-Flutter!
That wasn't the end.
Following Brangish, the Demon King Arc Scarlet appeared, descending from the sky while showing off her red-glowing demon race horns and four pairs of red wings.
The Heavenly King Igniel, who had an atmosphere contrasting with hers, spread four pairs of white wings with an angel's ring floating above her head, following behind Brangish alongside Arc Scarlet.
"What is this?"
And then Arc Scarlet's Authority, Blood Mary, and Igniel's Authority, Angel Fall, unfolded.
The two's Authorities were nearly identical from their visual effects to their functions.
Blood Mary scattered red petals, and Angel Fall scattered pure white feathers.
Touching those petals and feathers recovered status ailments and injuries, and healed illnesses.
"Ahh...."
A truly beautiful sight.
The people who touched the petals and feathers overcame the fear caused by Dragon Fear and let out exclamations of admiration.
Probably, once it becomes known later that the chronic illnesses and injuries of the citizens who had crowded into COEX had disappeared, there would be an uproar belatedly.
Although most had gathered to hurl jeers at the Rondel people, right after witnessing the miracle-like sight, many people's expressions softened.
It was a sight made possible because Blood Mary and Angel Fall's recovery abilities brought their condition to its peak and even relieved people's stress.
-Kuuung!
After a moment, the dragon, Demon King, and Heavenly King set foot on the surface.
Arcia and I softly floated into the air and got off the dragon's back.
Brangish, who had transformed into a human along with a golden light, stood behind me together with Arc Scarlet and Igniel.
I subtly looked around.
At my action, people swallowed dryly and tensed up.
-Clap!
Receiving everyone's attention, I clapped my hands once toward the empty air just like that.
-Fwoosh!
Then the darkness vanished in an instant, and light returned to the world.
After that, we slowly made our way toward the conference hall.
Though I hadn't shown off Gigant or other magical weapons, I was already introduced as Rondel's greatest Mage.
But now, people's perception of me would change to that of someone who even commands dragons, angels, and demons.
"Your ears are red."
Arc Scarlet, who was walking behind me, said a word.
Of course they were.
I lacked Resistance to situations like this.
Still, the show should be considered a success.
Among those who had been hurling jeers at first, there were even some who now showed awe toward me.
Probably those inside would be extremely tense.
Seizing the Initiative was definitely achieved.
* * *
President Kim Min-guk was tense.
It was because not a single one of Rondel's leaders had entered in an ordinary manner.
"So they mean to crush our spirits."
"In the end, they're politicians too."
Weapons that didn't exist on Earth appeared one after another, and their power seemed far from ordinary.
Enough to feel that if Rondel decided to invade Earth, we would be overwhelmingly at a disadvantage.
They knew they must not be subjected to Seizing the Initiative from the very start, yet Earth's leaders had implicitly placed their counterparts above themselves, and Rondel's leaders were looking down on them thoroughly.
But even these reactions from Rondel's leaders were not much different from Earth's leaders once Adrian's entrance ceremony began.
For the sight of him appearing atop a dragon, leading angels and demons, struck with tremendous impact.
"So it was true that Grand Duke Lawrence commands a dragon?"
"Something else is descending too?"
"The Heavenly Tribe and the demon race?"
"Wait, four pairs of wings?"
"D-don't tell me those are a Heavenly King and a Demon King?"
"I've never heard of a Heavenly King, but doesn't that female demon's appearance match Arc Scarlet from 1,200 years ago?"
"...."
"Surely it's just a bluff? Actual Heavenly King and Demon King?"
"Grand Duke Lawrence is unusual in many ways, but he is not the kind of person to fabricate lies and pressure others."
Unlike the grave reactions of Rondel's leaders, Earth's leaders, who could not properly grasp just how impressive that sight was, tilted their heads.
"Is it that impressive?"
So President Kim Min-guk asked Count Reiers, who was attending as an Earth leader despite being from Rondel.
Count Reiers, who had been avoiding with a troubled expression the cold gaze of the King of Walter Kingdom, his former liege lord, nodded.
"If that woman scattering flower petals really is the Demon King Arc Scarlet, then it can only be serious. She is a being who once drove Rondel to the brink of destruction."
"Is that... so?"
At Count Reiers's further explanation, Earth's leaders could not help but stir.
"Don't Demon Kings commonly appear in games and novels on Earth as well? You can think of it as similar to that. A Heavenly King is a being on the opposite end from such a Demon King. You could call it the king of angels, so to speak?"
"Hah, then Chairman Lawrence, who appeared leading both of them like subordinates, is truly...."
"If he rides a dragon and commands a Heavenly King and a Demon King, then he can no longer be evaluated by human standards. It means that if he so chooses, he could destroy or rule the world."
Until now, we had conversed so casually that I hadn't realized it, but this was the moment I directly felt just how extraordinary Adrian was.
"In a way, it can only be fortunate for Earth."
"Why is that?"
At Count Reiers's words, President Kim Min-guk and the President of America, who had been quietly listening beside him, gazed at him intently.
"At the very least, His Highness Lawrence is not leaning toward either Rondel or Earth, but maintaining a neutral position, is he not?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"It means there is a high possibility he will serve as Earth's shield."
The reason Rondel's nations appeared flaunting their national power was to lead the conference favorably.
But now they had no choice but to watch Adrian's every move.
* * *
As I entered the conference hall, the reactions of the people looking at me were sharply divided.
Gaze of resentment poured from the Rondel side, while gazes of goodwill and interest poured from the Earth side.
"Ahem, ahem."
Thanks to that, I cleared my throat and moved to the head table together with the Secretary-General of the UN, Earth's international organization that had become all but nominal.
The COEX conference hall had desks arranged in a large circle, split exactly in half with Rondel's side arranged in one row and Earth's side in seven rows.
It could not be helped, given that the number of heads of state from the two worlds differed by as much as seven times.
In the very front row on Earth's side sat the great powers including America, Korea, Russia, Germany, France, and England, and behind them were arranged in order the nations that had applied to participate in the conference regardless of national power.
An invisible wall was dividing Rondel's leaders and Earth's leaders.
"Before we proceed with the conference, there is something I must announce."
Seated at the head table with the UN Secretary-General, I decided to first make one thing clear.
With the tables arranged in a circle, in the empty central space were cameras broadcasting this situation in real time.
When I raised my hand and spoke, all the cameras focused on me.
As I took sudden action before the conference had even begun, the leaders all showed confusion and revealed a peculiar unease.
I pointed to the three people sitting side by side with Arcia in the chairs prepared behind me and spoke.
"Brangish, Arc Scarlet, and Igniel will each participate in the conference representing the dragon race, demon race, and Heavenly Tribe, respectively."
At that, the conference hall was steeped in silence.
Not only the people of Rondel, who knew well what kind of beings a dragon, a Demon King, and a Heavenly King were, but also the people of Earth, who belatedly understood the situation thanks to Count Reiers's kind explanation, could not raise a single objection.
The Rondel side had been agitated from the moment Arc Scarlet's name was mentioned, and the Earth side was taken aback.
"And."
But my words did not end there.
To lead today's conference neutrally, there had to be a proper reason for it.
"The goddess Sepia has asked me to coordinate and bring peace between the two worlds. The Rondel side may feel somewhat slighted, but I will strive to ensure a fair outcome from a thoroughly neutral standpoint."
Black dragon Brangish notarized these words of mine in dragon tongue.
It was to declare that the mention of Sepia was true.
At that, the people were astonished.
To have been asked by the goddess depending on interpretation, it could even be understood as being the goddess's apostle.
Even the leaders of Rondel who were close to me rubbed their temples in headache, and the leaders of Earth, including President Kim Min-guk, swallowed dryly while inwardly letting out a sigh of relief.
* * *
Adrian's experiment party, including Major Lee Geunseok, was continuing to hunt even as the general summit was underway.
His group was a rare party composed of a mix of Earthlings and Rondelians, but since everyone was easygoing without any rough edges, they filled in each other's shortcomings and coordinated well without major trouble.
"Heal!"
Adrian's experiment party consists of a total of 3 groups.
Group 1, to which Major Lee Geunseok belonged, consisted of 4 Korean Gift possessors along with a Rondel Knight, Mage, Spirit Master, and priest.
Perhaps thanks to their balanced manpower, these party members were able to hunt repeatedly without great danger, and as a result, they became the top party showing the highest magic stone collection rate in Korea.
However, the reason they could grow this much was entirely due to Adrian's magic stone support.
Thanks to Adrian, they rapidly grew to the level of 5th-circle High-rank Mages, but this was not the result of their own efforts.
"Huu, at this rate, when in the world will we grow to the next stage."
Currently, they had hit a plateau very quickly.
The reason was that the limit for absorbing magic stones given by others to raise one's stats was exactly at the 5th-circle level.
From then on, one had to gather and absorb magic stones by one's own power to grow stronger, but that was not as easy as it seemed.
Major Lee Geunseok's party, who had been sighing at their suddenly slowed growth, swept through the hunting grounds as if venting their frustration on minotaurs.
In doing so, they ended up going deep into the hunting grounds.
There, they discovered a cave cleverly hidden among the trees.
"What is that?"
As if answering someone's question, a hologram message window appeared before their eyes.
[You have discovered the dungeon 'Tomb of the Lion.' Would you like to enter?]
It was a new system they had never even imagined.
[You are the first to discover the Tomb of the Lion. For one day, magic stone drop rate is increased by 3x and magic item drop rate is increased by 3x.]
"A dungeon?"
The appearance of a dungeon so game-like.
Since no information about dungeons had been revealed yet, there was no way to even predict what might happen upon entering.
However, upon hearing that the magic stone drop rate would increase by 3x for one day, Major Lee Geunseok and his party members, who had been stagnant, found their gazes involuntarily fixed on the dungeon entrance.