Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 275
============================================================
Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 275
59. New Rules (5)
Though the urge to charge in right away came over him, Major Lee Geunseok, recalling the memory of nearly dying from a wrong choice once before, exercised maximum patience and asked the party members.
"First, we should report before anything else, right?"
At that, the group nodded.
Except for just one person.
"Shouldn't we do at least a bit of internal scouting before reporting?"
Among the Rondel side, 'Nicole Brown,' a first batch student of the Gifted Institute, said that.
Now barely 17 years old, he was a boy Adrian had met in the first war he participated in, who had been taken in after catching Adrian's eye while selling adult magazines.
To him, Adrian was his benefactor for life.
In loyalty, he yielded to no one at the Gifted Institute, and for Adrian's sake, he was prepared to gladly throw away his life.
Because of his young age, Adrian had agonized over whether to include him in this experiment, but at Nicole's earnest plea to be of help to his liege lord even a day sooner, he decided to let him participate after ensuring sufficient preparations for safety.
"Don't we have the defensive artifact and the escape teleportation artifact given by our liege lord? So we just take a quick look, and if it seems dangerous, we pull out immediately, and if hunting turns out to be easier than expected, we just continue scouting."
"Hmm...."
"Even while we're deliberating like this, the time for the dungeon first-discovery benefit is ticking down."
He had a tendency to push himself somewhat, driven by a strong desire to be of help to Adrian.
So his vision would sometimes narrow, but that was only because he was still young and had little social experience.
At times like this, it was the role of adults to guide the boy in the right direction, but....
The problem was that even his fellow Gifted Institute colleagues found Nicole's presence difficult to handle.
There was only one reason because Adrian treasured the five first batch students of the Gifted Institute greatly.
Though the party leader was Major Lee Geunseok, the party members were, knowingly or not, watching the young Nicole's every cue.
"Th-then shall we do that?"
At Nicole's remark, the party members could not help but agree.
Of course, they weren't recklessly sticking their necks into an unknown threat.
When hunting monsters, using artifacts does not drop items like magic stones the way using firearms does.
But to put it the other way, it meant that if one gives up on acquiring items, there is no limit to artifact use.
These people had been issued various artifacts from Adrian for survival.
In other words, Nicole's argument wasn't spoken without any thought, and that was why the others also conceded.
"Alright. Then let's go in."
And so, Major Lee Geunseok decided to lead the party and enter the dungeon.
The dungeon's entrance was narrow.
So much so that if one didn't pay attention, it could be felt as a beast's den.
However, upon stepping inside, the space expanded dramatically.
It was enough for three adult men to stand side by side, and soon a vast expanse emerged large enough for the entire party to spread out.
"Huh? Wait, this is...."
But their interest wasn't only in the expanded space.
A Spirit Master belonging to the Gifted Institute, a former miner who had contracted with the spirit of the earth, revealed the dungeon's true nature.
"This is a Mithril mine!"
"What?"
"Is that really true?"
"A Mithril mine on Earth, of all places."
As the Spirit Master exclaimed while looking at the white patterns carved like waves along the wall of the cave, like veins of gold, the people who had crossed over from Rondel all gasped and were astonished.
"Is it a good thing?"
"Good? It's more than good!? It's a metal worth dozens of times more than gold of the same weight!"
"Hah...."
It was only because Adrian made his equipment solely from Orichalcum and adamantite with Dragonbone as the baseline aside from Adrian and Arcia, no one else possessed treasures of that caliber.
Hence, Mithril was counted as the finest metal in Rondel and boasted an extremely high price.
"Moreover, because it's a core material for the Vanguard and the Heaven-Piercing Fortress, it's treated as a strategic resource in Rondel. At this level, the content is extremely high. Perhaps deeper inside, there might be crystallized Mithril."
"Metals can crystallize?"
"Yes, that's how Mithril is. Crystallized Mithril in particular is extremely expensive because of its high purity. Even a single lump, if sold in Rondel, would easily fetch billions."
"Ooooh!"
"I-Is that really true!?"
At that, the eyes of the Korean soldiers, including Major Lee Geunseok, lit up.
Who in this world dislikes money?
Upon hearing about the Mithril, they showed such enthusiasm that it seemed they had never been reluctant to enter the dungeon.
Recently, minerals from Rondel such as Mana Stones and Mithril were being discovered in Earth's poisoned lands as well, but this was the first time a Mithril vein of such a large scale had been found.
"Monsters."
How much time had passed since they began exploring the dungeon?
The path was a single corridor, so they had only been pushing forward then skeletons of white bone came into their view.
Earth had countless hunting grounds, but there were few undead-type hunting grounds.
In Korea especially, there were none at all, so this was their first time dealing with skeletons.
-Clack!
However, skeletons were monsters above goblins and below orcs.
They fought as carefully as possible just in case, but their party included a priest of the Sepia Order and had been hunting Minotaurs until just before, so they crushed the skeletons without any crisis.
"Jackpot they're weaker than orcs, but they give magic stones worth two orcs."
"The first-discovery bonus in the dungeon is better than I expected."
Skeletons gathered in groups of up to ten, but half of them were killed by default through the attacks of the Mage, Spirit Master, and priest before the fight even began.
Thanks to that, they grew even more confident, and their steps forward were light.
"This time it's Skeleton Warriors and Skeleton Knights."
"Are they strong?"
"Warriors are above orcs and below orc warriors, and Knights are above orc warriors and below trolls."
"That level should be more than enough to handle."
Then, when they reached the section where Skeleton Warriors and Knights appeared, the quantity of magic stones they earned was considerable.
Even compared to the Minotaur hunting ground, which they had considered the most efficient until now, the yield per time was five times as much.
This was so even excluding the first-discovery bonus, because the monster density was high and the party composition including a priest had good compatibility with undead dungeons.
"Even without the first-discovery bonus, we should keep hunting here."
"Haha, indeed."
The situation before them was all reality.
But perhaps because the system was so game-like?
Everyone wore excited expressions, as if they had all fallen into a game.
However....
It did not take long for those expressions to twist.
-Kwaaang!
"Kh!"
"W-What is this. The difficulty suddenly."
"Let's fall back!"
"They keep following us!"
In the section after Skeleton Warriors and Knights appeared, Dragonbone Soldiers Spatoi and Liches enhanced versions of skeletons appeared together.
The Spatoi were a mixed unit of warriors and archers, and three Liches capable of using 6th Circle-class magic supported those Spatoi.
Naturally, Major Lee Geunseok's party fled in utter confusion.
Of course, it was not a free-for-all but an organized retreat the problem was that the monsters kept following as if they would not back off until they killed the intruders.
On top of that, to make matters worse, monsters regenerated along the path they had come through, blocking their escape route.
In the end, Major Lee Geunseok clicked his tongue and spoke to Nicole, who was much younger than him.
"Use that."
"Understood!"
Nicole nodded quickly and held out the ring she was wearing.
"Grand Shield!"
Then an 8th Circle barrier unfolded, wrapping around the party members.
-Kwaang! Kwaang!
-Thud! Thud!
-Kiiyaaak!
During the escape, they drew the aggro of countless monsters and found themselves surrounded by monsters numbering in the hundreds.
However, they did not panic.
No matter how powerful the Spatoi were and how destructive the Liches' magic was, it was never enough to pierce an 8th Circle barrier.
So everyone chatted in relief.
"We didn't get crystallized Mithril, but this is enough exploration for now. We also earned a lot of magic stones."
"I agree."
"Then shall we wrap up the dungeon here and head back to report?"
At Major Lee Geunseok's suggestion to return, everyone nodded.
This time, Nicole had no objections either.
And so, Nicole once again held out the hand wearing the ring.
That ring had teleport gate magic embedded in it.
"Teleport."
[Spatial Teleportation Magic cannot be used inside the dungeon.]
Nicole attempted teleportation to return to the unit with her companions.
But then, that message appeared before everyone, didn't it?
"..."
Everyone wore a bewildered expression.
It was because this was a completely unexpected pattern.
"Te Teleport!"
[Spatial Teleportation Magic cannot be used inside the dungeon.]
"Blink!"
[Spatial Teleportation Magic cannot be used inside the dungeon.]
"Warp!"
[Spatial Teleportation Magic cannot be used inside the dungeon.]
The flustered Nicole tried using different types of spatial teleportation magic in succession, but the dungeon permitted none of them.
Only then did the gravity of the situation sink in, and everyone's faces turned pale.
-Kiiiyaaak!
-Bang! Kwaang!
Outside the barrier, the monsters were still rampaging, and what had felt so casual before now gradually crept closer as something terrifying.
"Haah..."
Nicole, perhaps thinking this situation had arisen because of her, let out a deep sigh and rubbed her temples in a manner unfitting for her young age.
"There's no need to be shaken."
And he calmed his agitated companions.
A composed demeanor unfitting for his young age.
That behavior was taken to mean he had something to rely on.
At that, the companions looked at the boy as if asking what to do now, and Nicole plopped down on the floor and answered.
"There are two methods."
"What are they?"
When he said there were two methods, everyone's expressions brightened.
"The first is to use 7th Circle or 8th Circle attack magic to wipe out the monsters."
He could use the Firestorm and Hellfire artifacts he possessed.
But there was a problem...
"And if the dungeon collapses while doing that, what will you do?"
Precisely this.
There was a high risk of being buried alive.
This was a gamble that relied on luck and should be used only as a last resort.
Still, since he said there was one more method, the people quietly looked at Nicole.
Nicole smiled bitterly and said.
"The second is to wait."
"What?"
"I hate being a burden as much as I hate dying, but if it's my liege lord, he will surely come find us."
The second method was to quietly wait for rescue.
Thanks to that, the party members pressed their palms to their foreheads.
* * *
The summit proceeded cautiously.
Everyone was watching my mood and minding their words.
But there were just two people.
There were people who did not watch my mood.
"Our Rondel intends to take charge of and restore the lands that Earth's side has failed to manage. Naturally, we will also look after the people living in those regions. In exchange, those regions will be managed by us from now on."
"Please open Earth's hunting grounds to Rondel. If you do, we will transfer the technology and knowledge that Earth's side desires."
They were none other than the two Emperors of the Bringham Empire and my homeland, the Rainhatz Empire.
As if proving they were not leaders of great powers for nothing, the two steered the meeting as they wished.
For now, I quietly watched the meeting.
Then others began to offer their opinions one by one.
"That's absurd! Does Rondel intend to force unilateral sacrifice upon us!?"
"Isn't it because you lack the ability to manage abandoned lands yourselves! Then you should have taken care of the survivors on your own!"
"Isn't that just a pretext for invasion? In any case, this is Earth's problem! It's not something for Rondel to interfere in!"
"The two worlds are now inextricably linked. This is far too irresponsible of you."
But in the end, it devolved into a shouting argument.
Rondel on the offensive, Earth on the defensive.
It was a debate in which the defense was bound to be at a disadvantage.
For one reason alone: Earth was outmatched in power and had even lost the initiative.
Having silently listened to the discussion, I leisurely raised my hand and cut into the conversation when words foreseeing armed conflict emerged.
"For now, I have no intention of recognizing Rondel's plans to colonize Earth, whether already underway or planned. No matter how abandoned the land may be, it is not the land of Rondel's nations."
"However, there are many people struggling to survive on that land. Isn't it only natural for the international community to step in and rescue them?"
"Then just rescue them. Why take the land?"
Since I was siding with them, the Earth-side figures all nodded vigorously.
But one must hear a story out to the end.
"Let the region be managed by an international organization that integrates the Rondel Peace Organization and Earth's UN. And we will help with the revival of the nations that existed in that region."
When I suddenly declared the launch of an international organization encompassing both worlds and said the disputed region would be managed collectively, the faces of the Earth-side leaders turned pale.
"No, how is that any different from the proposal made by the Rondel-side leaders?"
"It's different. It doesn't belong to any single nation, and in the end, the former nations return to that place."
"Even if the nations are revived, wouldn't it be hard for them to escape the influence of the international organization you're proposing to create?"
"That's something to worry about when we get there. So should we do nothing and just leave it be?"
At my words, everyone wore expressions of disbelief.
To them, it must have felt as though the meeting was proceeding not as a two-way contest between Earth and Rondel, but as a three-way contest including me.
I shamelessly ignored people's remarks, crushed them with force, and forcibly pushed my opinion through.
How long did the meeting continue in such a one-sided manner?
"Your Highness, I have news to report."
In the midst of all this busyness, I received an unexpected report from a South Korean government official.
"Major Lee Geunseok's party has lost contact. I suspect they've gotten caught up in some incident."