Episode 1: A dream in a game turns into reality

prologue

A skyscraper that stretches high enough to reach the sky.

Teleport gates connecting various parts of the city.

The sky fortress watches over the city on earth.

Trains and airships powered by the speed of sound transport various supplies.

'Rondel' is a world where magic is so advanced that it is almost like science fiction.

In Rondel, which has 4 continents and 20 countries, various races such as humans, elves, and dwarves live in their own factions.

The current era, after the Age of Myth and the Age of Swords, is called the 'Era of Magic', and humans refer to this Age of Magic as the Golden Age.

-Magic Century December 29, 1999.

Ahead of the advent of a new century.

When the will of an archmage was revealed, the world was turned upside down.

"Power, knowledge, wealth. "I have hidden everything I have somewhere in this world."

"Aspire. "You could be the one who takes possession of an ownerless gift."

The wizard's name is 'Manuel Lucas.'

He was a pioneer who led the golden age of the Magic Age, the Grand Duke of the Brigham Empire, and a great wizard of the 9th class, something that only three people in all of world history had achieved.

He was crazy about magic, remained single until his death, had no children, and did not even accept disciples as he continued his research.

'That means that whoever finds his fortune hidden somewhere becomes the official successor.'

Archduke Lucas' estimated wealth is comparable to the national budget of the Brigham Empire.

However, more important than wealth was his 'giwon', which contained his knowledge and power.

It was thanks to the influence of Archduke Lucas that the Brigham Empire gained a reputation as the world's most powerful nation and was revered as a leader in magic engineering.

For this reason, regardless of race, the intelligence services of each country as well as many private interest groups set out to find Archduke Lucas.

'In the wasteland, Dragon Land, Manuel Lucas' dungeon exists.'

'Manuel Lucas' assets are hidden in the United States of Elysia, a famous tax haven.'

'The sky fortress owned by Manuel Lucas is anchored in the sea of ​​storms at the center of the world.'

People poured out all kinds of rumors about Giyeon.

However, most of these are just speculative fiction, no cause was found anywhere, and even though many people investigated Manuel Lucas, not even a clue was found.

So time passed and 20 years passed.

[You have acquired the talent of Manuel Lucas.]

"at las… … ."

When the treasure hunters who had been searching all over the world got tired and left.

A young man acquired the skills of a great archmage.

1. Korea Institute of Technology (1)

I am a reincarnation.

A reincarnated person with memories of a past life.

It has been given a new life in a fantasy world where magic and miracles exist on an Earth centered on electronics and mechanical engineering.

As a result, the nationality changed from 'Republic of Korea' to 'Kingdom of Reinharts'.

The name changed from 'Kim Min-gi' to 'Adrian Lawrence'.

The background has changed from an ordinary middle-class family to the second son of a 'self-author' who owns an estate.

The end of my previous life was truly ugly.

Before my death, I was serving in the military, and while I was on my way to be forcibly exploited as a laborer under the pretext of supporting the people, I met my death when the truck I was riding in overturned.

Isn't this truly the worst of all dog deaths?

What was even more unfortunate was that there was only one month left until discharge.

In the past, it was said that sergeants in their later years were exempted from work and did not ask them to do anything bothersome, but perhaps they were born in the wrong era or had bad luck with their unit placement, but they died an unlucky death.

Thanks to this, I had to suffer for a long time thinking about the family I left behind on Earth right after my reincarnation.

'Nothing is solved by suffering. Adapting to the new environment is the priority now.'

Fortunately, time resolved the pain.

Although it took me two years to accept reality and decide to adapt to this world.

"Master Adrian is very intelligent. "I've taught a lot of English skills so far, but I've never seen someone with such excellent learning skills."

Memories of my past life caused me suffering, but on the contrary, the life experience I accumulated over the past 20 years served as a great advantage in my new life.

While other kids my age were mindlessly rolling around and playing, I was passionate about learning and was able to successfully act as a bright student who received recognition from those around me.

My father always looked at me with expectant eyes, which soon led to good treatment.

However, as my head grew, one thing that was disappointing was that in this rondel, knowledge from my previous life was not of much help.

Although Rondel is a fantasy world, it is not a medieval world, but a world with a more advanced civilization than the 21st century Earth.

It was impossible to innovate this world by using memories of a past life like the protagonist of a typical web novel.

All I could do was to constantly work hard and focus on my studies to increase my own value.

"Tsk… … ."

-Clink!

however.

Life is not easy enough to be solved with one effort.

"Adrian!"

I was tried to poison myself when I was seven years old.

"You're welcome. "If there had been just a little delay in taking action, he would have died."

Fortunately, he was able to avoid ending his life by dog ​​deaths twice in a row, but the attempted poisoning incident was enough to instill a sense of crisis.

"Oh, Adrian, you don't know how worried this big mother was. Are you okay?"

"Thank you for your concern."

There is no need to ask the culprit.

My biological mother was a commoner, and my father had a second wife from a high-ranking noble family.

It was clear that this was done by 'Anna', the biological mother of his half-brother 'Cedric' and his father's actual wife.

Of course, there is no evidence that he was the culprit.

However, I will never forget the murderous look in her eyes when she came to visit me.

At that time, her eyes seemed to say this to me.

'If you are a concubine's child, behave well as a concubine's child.'

I never thought he would show his teeth so openly.

To put it in a good way, it can be described as bold, and in a bad way, it can be described as ignorant.

The problem is that that ignorance worked well.

If I were alone, I would have tried to fight back, but I couldn't go out without fear for fear that the magic of Anna, my wife, would reach out to my own mother.

Although there are many vassals who keep an eye on me, it's only interest, and compared to Anna, my power is as if not there.

So I thought about asking my father for help, but I never did.

Not only was I not sure that my father would take my side and exclude Anna, but I also could have ended up getting scratched and turned into welts.

'shit. No matter how developed the world is, what do you do? The country's political system is so backward. Damn feudalism.'

This is not the democratic country of Korea, but the feudal kingdom of Reinharts.

It was impossible for a child with no background to blame Anna, who had the strong support of the Margrave.

I eventually gave in to her threats.

He abandoned the image of a brilliant man, asserted his mediocrity, and isolated himself by minimizing interactions with his retainers.

"How could Adrian, who was brilliant, do something like that!"

"I guess it's an aftereffect of drinking poison… … ."

The father's reaction was extremely abusive.

Are you asking because you really don't know?

If it weren't for the headdress, it would be hard to not know that Anna was the prime suspect in the poisoning.

No, in this case, it would have to be seen as knowingly ignoring the fact.

Afterwards, my father gradually became less and less likely to meet me face to face, perhaps because he became uncomfortable with me or because he lost interest in the child of his concubine who was not a brilliant child.

Thanks to my father's attitude, there was no life-threatening situation, but in return for gaining safety, my evaluation of the people around me dropped to the bottom, and my treatment was no longer the same.

I lived like that for about 10 years with my existence erased.

I became an adult at the age of 20.

* * *

-Magic Century May 1, 2019.

"welcome. "It's a Ford convenience store."

'Ford Convenience Store,' a retail store boasting the largest number of stores in the Kingdom of Reinharts.

When a silver-haired young man entered a convenience store whose motto was kindness and convenience, the clerks reflexively lowered their heads.

And the two clerks looked up and belatedly saw the other person's face.

"you worked hard."

A handsome young man with silver hair and blue eyes who looked like something you'd only see on TV smiled kindly and moved to the book section.

A look that all women would like.

However, for some reason, the female clerk flinched with an expression of surprise rather than admiration, and the new clerk tilted her head as if she were puzzled.

"Do you know someone?"

The female clerk narrowed her eyes as if asking if she was sane.

"You are the second master of the Lawrence family."

"yes?"

The Lawrence family refers to the lordly family of this region.

Naturally, the newbie's eyes widened in surprise, and the female clerk, who looked at him pitifully, poked his side, telling him to come to his senses.

Suddenly, they looked towards the entrance of the store and saw men in black coats staring at them.

It was clearly the escort of the lord's son who had just entered the store.

"hey."

"Huh!"

Thanks to this, the newcomer, who was very nervous, swallowed a sigh of relief without realizing it when the noble master approached.

"How can I help you?"

The female clerk quickly pushed away the stiffened new clerk and naturally put her face in front of him and asked about his business.

"I can't see my Chronicle Online Point Card."

"Oh, here it is. Due to a change in policy, point cards can only be purchased at the checkout counter. "How much would you like?"

Although he was said to be the son of a lord, his attire was no different from that of an ordinary commoner, perhaps to avoid being conspicuous.

His appearance was nothing short of gorgeous, but because of his attire, it was difficult for strangers to think of him as a lord's child.

"Everything."

"The point cards were just received yesterday, so I have 5 million routes (5 million won) worth of them."

"Yes, please give me everything."

"Then, let me help you pay."

KRW 5 million is the amount of money a convenience store clerk can earn by working full-time for three months.

If you look at the fact that he readily calculates that amount of money as if he were buying snacks, he was still an aristocrat, even if his clothes were ordinary.

"Thank you for using us."

After a while, the convenience store fell silent after a storm swept through it, and a female clerk, who had belatedly relaxed, kicked the newbie's joint.

"Are you going to come to your senses?"

"sorry."

The female clerk shook her head.

If the lord's son was a picky person, it could have been a disaster.

"Why do you come to the convenience store yourself when you could just have your subordinate order it for you?"

"How do I know? Well, I was really scared when I first saw it."

"Does the second master come often?"

"About two or three times a month? As you can see, he seems to be very engrossed in the game."

"IM jealous. "I can't believe you can live without working and spending too much money like that."

"We live in a different world."

* * *

As I left the convenience store, the guards guarding the store entrance approached me.

Thanks to the guards wearing swords with flashing blue lights, the eyes of the residents of the territory were pouring in as they busily walked through the forest of buildings.

No matter how the world develops and the human rights of commoners improve, the nobility in feudalism are objects of fear.

Because of this, the residents of the territory who recognized who I was quickly left the place.

"young master."

How many steps did he move like that?

Weiss, a trusted confidant and escort driver, cautiously opened his mouth.

"I just received a call that Master Cedric visited the mansion."

A not-so-welcome story.

I frowned and Weiss let out an awkward laugh.

'Cedric' is my half-brother.

As soon as I graduated from the academy I attended from the age of 10 to 16, I became a monk at Yeongju Castle, and one of the reasons I became a monk was because of my half-brother.

'It's annoying.'

Depending on the family, there may be places where even half-brothers become close friends, but his mother is the person who tried to kill me, and if he were not a nobleman, he is an insignificant being who would not be able to protect himself.

Moreover, he is so mischievous and has a bad personality that he constantly gets into trouble in many ways.

I couldn't be happier when I heard that my half-brother was visiting my mansion.

"Let's walk quickly."

I didn't want to see it, but I had to hurry up for the sake of Cedric's mother, who was obviously uncomfortable.

"Oh, is Adrian here?"

When I arrived at my mansion after covering the 10-minute distance in 5 minutes, a beautiful middle-aged woman with silver hair and blue eyes was waiting for me.

She is my mother, Sylvia Lawrence, the second wife of Viscount Lawrence.

Seeing that you were fidgeting, it seemed like Cedric was talking nonsense again.

"What about you, brother?"

Before my mother could answer my question, a loud voice came from the hallway of the mansion.

"Are you walking around the estate without a vehicle? "Are you out of your mind right now?"

A man with black hair that contrasted with mine and a bear-like look approached me in stride.

The appearance of my half-brother Cedric is nothing more or less than a 'nuisance'.

"It's not that far. "There is also an escort."

"I'm not worried about your safety! "If you're a lord's child, you should think about your family's prestige!"

In any case, the lord's power is hereditary.

There are no commoners who will climb up just because you show a friendly side.

Among the lords with an open mind, there are those who voluntarily experience the life of a lord, but it seems difficult to expect that from Cedric.

However, if I said these thoughts straight out, my temper would only get worse and I would talk longer, so in many ways, it was easier to give up.

"My thoughts were short. "I will pay more attention from next time."

"Anyway, I'm not bragging about having the blood of commoners mixed in."

Cedric scratches his temper as if testing my patience.

Even though his words were annoying, he wasn't immature enough to show his emotions easily.

Rather, I feel sorry for Cedric because I know he has an inferiority complex towards me because he was compared to me so much when I was young.

"But what brought you here?"

The guy lost his words for a moment when he saw me asking him straight about his business.

Then he cleared his throat and said:

"I think your father is thinking of putting you in charge of a business."

Rondel's nobility can be said to be a powerful hybrid of Earth's tycoons and politicians.

Nobles take advantage of their status to engage in various businesses, and this goes without saying if they are lords.

Even if the business was entrusted to me, the family runs more than one business, so I stayed silent and waited for the next word.

"It's the distribution of Pars."

"hmm… … ."

I understand why this guy suddenly attacked.

This is because Pars Distribution was the second largest source of money among the businesses operated by the Lawrence family, following the mining industry.

"The bottom line is, you don't want me to take over the business, right?"

There is nothing to ask.

The greedy guy thought everything his father owned was his.

"Yes."

Cedric looks down at me with powerful eyes.

I shrugged my shoulders and answered lightly.

"All right. "If my father gives me a copy of Pars, I will refuse it."

Is it because I accepted it too easily?

Cedric looked at me silently, then burst into laughter.

"As expected, we communicate well."

Since they were only making concessions unilaterally for the sake of their personal safety, there was nothing else to do other than communicate well.

I said, taking out a game point card from a paper bag at the convenience store.

"Please go back now. "I worked really hard to play that game."

It's a clear congratulatory message, but there's no need for rhetoric between us.

Cedric looked at the bundle of point cards, wondered what was so good about it, and patted my shoulder.

"Yes, you can do that."

Cedric, after kissing the back of his mother's hand tastefully and telling her not to climb up, left the mansion.

"Is that okay?"

"It's best to just not get involved."

My top priority is the safety of myself and my mother.

If you are greedy for no reason when you have no strength, you will have no choice but to pretend.

If you don't know when to take care of yourself and when not to, you will only end up in trouble.

"I'm going to go play a game."

"Okay, just don't stay up too late."

"yes."

I smiled at my mother, telling her there was nothing to worry about, and headed to my room, waving the convenience store bag back and forth.

As I slowly turned my head in the middle of the move, the servants who made eye contact with me quietly walked away.

This is a mansion for my mother and I, but most of the servants who work there are under the influence of Anna, his wife.

So I couldn't use my mouth carelessly even at home.

After kicking out all the servants and entering the room, I took out my gaming headgear and curled up the corners of my mouth.

'If you want to conduct surveillance, you have to do it not only in reality but also in the virtual world.'

What kills one's personality is ultimately a matter of security, not a lack of pride.

I have a pretty selfish personality and can force others to suffer for my own benefit.

Of course, there are exceptions, like my mother, who don't point out calculators and protractors, but I'm confident that the rest of us can handle them without a problem.

Am I so calculating that I only focus on games to escape reality?

'No way.'

The reason I am immersed in virtual worlds, including games, is because I have a clear purpose.

Anna and Cedric just have to keep being fooled by my smile until the time comes.