Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 276
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Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality Chapter 276
59. New Rules (6)
"Hmm...."
If they're out of contact, it seems we can consider them temporarily missing.
"What about the search?"
"We're conducting one, but we haven't found any traces yet."
"Where were they last confirmed to have been seen?"
"It's the Minotaur hunting grounds."
Does that mean they went missing within the hunting grounds?
I nodded and replied.
"I'll ask my subordinates who aren't present here to conduct a search. If it's them, they should be able to find something quickly. However, since I'll be deploying my forces, I ask for the understanding of the South Korean government."
"Due to the monsters, it's not easy for our personnel to search the hunting grounds. We're rather grateful."
I know.
If it's a Minotaur, personal firearms are hopeless; you'd need anti-tank missiles or tank smoothbore guns to kill one.
But conducting a search while fighting a war against monsters is bound to be difficult.
Rather than the heavy firearms of Earth's modern military, Vanguards who wield a single sword and cut down every enemy before them are better suited for searching.
If I send the Blue Moon agents including Gregory, the duchy's Knights, and the two Demon Kings Dark Square and Lord Skrim who are just idling, they'll easily find clues or the people themselves.
"I apologize for causing you concern despite your busy schedule."
"Not at all. Since they're people mobilized for the experiment I proposed, sharing the situation is only natural."
"Thank you for understanding."
After the South Korean government's official withdrew, I gave simple instructions to my subordinates.
And then I rejoined the meeting.
"...."
But why?
I know this meeting is very important, but the existence of the experiment team that suddenly went missing kept bothering me.
A feeling that something is about to happen.
If it were only Major Lee Geunseok's squad moving, that would be one thing, but that party also included figures from the Gifted Institute decked out in top-grade artifacts.
With people like that missing without contact, I can't help but have an ominous feeling.
'Has a new system appeared or something?'
That's possible.
Because no one knows what the goddess is thinking.
* * *
"Haah, my lot in life is pitiful."
Demon King Dark Square let out a sigh and muttered to himself.
After being caught by Adrian and spending time as an idol manager he never imagined, he unexpectedly had his power restored, and now he'd ended up in a position where he was being used as a errand boy however others pleased.
So lamentations about his fate came naturally.
"I'd say it's not bad at all?"
To Dark Square in that state, Lord Skrim who had his horns torn off after trying to make advances toward Adrian in Tokyo shrugged his shoulders.
Thanks to that, Dark Square, whose beautiful features often get him mistaken for a woman, furrowed his delicate brow and showed discomfort.
"You and I are in different positions! The Demon Kings of Earth fell into the goddess's scheme and were annihilated, while the Demon Kings of Rondel are still going strong!"
As Dark Square said, thanks to becoming Adrian's subordinate, Lord Skrim was able to survive the Heavenly King and Demon King massacre incident.
Thinking of Lord Exceed still made her grind her teeth, but now she held no significant ill will toward Adrian.
"Once they found out I'd recovered my power, they keep pressing me from the demonic realm to hurry and aid the descent it's killing me."
To Dark Square voicing his complaints, Lord Skrim, clad in a rider suit that perfectly showed off her distinctive figure, raised both hands and expressed 'So what?' with her body.
"What can you do? If you catch the eye of Adrian, who's become a god race, you can't even dream of escaping whether you're a Heavenly King or a Demon King."
"That's... true."
"And wasn't it because of those guys' antics that you got caught by Adrian and are suffering this humiliation? Then you should resent them instead. Why help?"
Lord Skrim, whose every word was correct.
Thanks to that, Dark Square had to press his palm to his forehead and nod.
"That's, true. Damn it."
"So stop grumbling and just carry out the search as Adrian ordered."
"You seem to like Adrian?"
"No reason not to he's handsome and strong."
Meaning a Demon King who values martial strength has no reason to dislike a strong person.
It wasn't wrong.
In the end, Dark Square swallowed his complaints and continued the search.
"Huh?"
About ten minutes after they began searching like that.
Dark Square discovered a space radiating the energy of the dark attribute.
"A dungeon?"
"Seems like it. The atmosphere is ominous, isn't it?"
Judging by the situation, there seemed to be no suspect more likely for the experiment team's disappearance than this dungeon.
So the two of them informed Adrian's unit, including Gregory, of the dungeon's existence and immediately entered it.
"The entrance is unremarkable, but the interior looks considerable."
"Indeed. This is the first time I've seen a space with such dense mana concentration on Earth."
"Did you feel it? Something not to be ignored is sleeping deep inside."
"Yeah. How could they plant something like that and expect us to handle it?"
Of course, it was an energy that couldn't hold a candle to the two Demon Kings, but at the very least, it was prey that no human with a Gift could even dream of facing.
Though they didn't know why such a space existed in the middle of Seoul, it was more than enough to catch the two's attention.
"Ah, there are those fools who lost contact."
And shortly after.
The two discovered a barrier surrounded by monsters.
The barrier looked so precarious it seemed it could shatter at any moment.
Inside it, eight terrified people were huddled together.
* * *
When the Lich and Spatoi first latched on, he had thought the 8th Circle barrier could hold out well enough.
But perhaps because of the commotion, the Rondels belonging to Major Lee Geunseok's party turned pale when they spotted a monster from deeper within slowly walking out.
"A, a Death Knight?"
"Is it strong?"
At the reaction of the Rondels, including Nicole, Major Lee Geunseok couldn't help but ask about the level of the newly appeared monster.
"S, strong? If you compare it to a Knight, it's an Aura Master; if you compare it to a Mage, it's a 7th Circle-class monster. With that level of combat power, you could go to any country and be granted a Count's title along with a domain."
The power of a Gift is often expressed in terms of magic 1st Circle-class, 2nd Circle-class, and so on.
So the moment they heard it was a 7th Circle-class monster, they could gauge the enemy's level.
"Isn't that dangerous?"
"Indeed. From Aura Master onward, one could even go head-to-head with a Heaven-Piercing Fortress one-on-one. Just think of it as a Heaven-Piercing Fortress compressed into human form."
When the Death Knight in black heavy armor drew a sword dripping with sharp killing intent from his waist with a schwing, everyone swallowed dryly.
And soon, a crimson Aura Blade coated the Death Knight's sword, and then...
-KWAANG!
"Huk!"
"Aagh!"
With an impact incomparable to the previous monsters, it created a very small crack in the 8th Circle barrier.
A crack of about 3 cm, but this implied one thing.
It meant that if the Death Knight kept up his attacks, the barrier would break sooner or later.
-KWAANG! KWAANG! KWANG! KWANG! KWANG!
-Creeeak! Crack! Crack!
The fears of the horrified people soon became reality.
Because not only was the Death Knight continuing to swing his sword and enlarge the barrier's fissures, but his attack speed was gradually increasing, making it seem like the barrier would break at any moment.
"G, Grand Shield!"
So Nicole quickly cast a new barrier before the old one broke.
Instead, she chose to reduce its size to increase the barrier's density.
"How many more times can you use that barrier?"
"One more time!"
The fact that an 8th Circle Grand Shield could be used three times a day alone made it an incredible treasure.
But now, the prevailing thought was that even that wouldn't be enough.
No matter how many new barriers were cast, and no matter how much they were compressed by reducing their size, if the Death Knight's swings increased, they would inevitably break.
In other words, it was nothing but stalling for time.
"It's about to break again!"
"Damn it! Grand Shield!"
Now all they could hope for was a miracle.
A miracle where the rescue team would arrive within the minute or so this last shield could hold.
-Creeeak!
"N, no."
And so, the last shield began to crack.
The fissures gradually grew larger, and the party members fell into despair.
"You're Major Lee Geunseok's party, right?"
But then.
In a situation so precarious the barrier seemed about to break at any moment, a carefree woman's voice that didn't suit the atmosphere reached their ears.
Whoever the owner of that voice was, Major Lee Geunseok's party answered as if shouting.
"Yes!"
-Chaenggrang!
Unfortunately, were they one step too late?
Ironically, the barrier shattered at the same moment as their shout.
Because of that, the party members squeezed their eyes shut and awaited death.
"Hm?"
But...
For some reason, no pain came rushing in.
No, rather than that, the surroundings had suddenly fallen into silence.
Everyone cautiously opened their eyes.
-Ssssss!
-Kiiik!
And then what entered their sight was.
The sight of the once incredibly powerful Lich and Spatoi scattering like dust, and the pitiful sight of the Death Knight struggling in midair, its neck gripped by a woman clad in a Rider Suit.
-Snap.
When the woman, whose wrist was so thin it seemed doubtful she could even swing a sword properly, clenched her hand, the Death Knight's neck broke just like that and its movements ceased.
Then, watching the Death Knight get tossed to the ground like trash, they all wore dumbfounded expressions.
To think she handled that terrifying Death Knight like swatting a bug.
And seeing a large magic stone unlike any they had ever seen rolling on the ground, they unconsciously swallowed dry saliva.
"I'm here to rescue you. We're Adrian's goons, number one and two."
And as the woman who had caught the Death Knight approached speaking in a joking tone, Major Lee Geunseok's party felt bewilderment along with relief.
Even a Grand Master couldn't kill a Death Knight like that.
They couldn't even imagine how amazing Adrian, who commanded such powerful people, must be.
"Alright, alright, let's head back now."
And so the woman in the Rider Suit, Lord Skrim, picked up the Death Knight's magic stone that had fallen to the ground, tossed it to Major Lee Geunseok, and set off to leave the dungeon.
However, Lord Skrim had to stop before long at the sight of Dark Square standing still and continuing to glare into the depths of the dungeon.
"What are you doing? Our mission ends with the rescue. It's not about clearing the dungeon."
"I know."
Dark Square reluctantly turned his head toward the dungeon entrance.
"I apologize for the late greeting. Thank you for saving us."
Major Lee Geunseok bowed his head to Lord Skrim, who went around needlessly exuding seductiveness.
But the answer that came from her mouth was cold.
"Save it, and get ready to be scolded by Adrian when we're back."
"Yes...."
It was an answer that made them fear what was to come.
* * *
In the middle of the summit being in full swing.
News arrived that Major Lee Geunseok's party had been rescued and that the dungeon existed.
And immediately afterward, news came from all over the world that dungeons had been discovered.
Accordingly, the meeting regarding hunting grounds reached an agreement to handle matters collectively the day after the dungeon investigation had progressed to a certain extent, and first succeeded in achieving one task.
"Then as of this moment, I will launch the international alliance encompassing Rondel and Earth. The first President is none other than me, Adrian El Lawrence. Any objections?"
They had succeeded in creating an organization that integrated the Rondel Peace Organization and the UN.
The owner of the first world presidency was none other than me.
Since I was the coordinator of two worlds chosen by the goddess Sepia, it was a result that could be considered natural.