Episode 145: Dream in the game becomes reality

35. Story of hometown (3)

An abnormal phenomenon that threw the world into chaos following a huge natural disaster.

Looking at Benjamin's reaction, it seemed like this was the main point.

I used the 7th circle recovery magic on his pained appearance.

Then, I don't know what it was, but I felt better, so I bowed my head in gratitude and was able to hear the story afterward.

"Of the many abnormalities, I can select four as representative ones, the first of which was the epidemic."

From the first moment, something was unusual.

"A virus with a very high transmissibility and powerful killing ability has begun to spread frighteningly through gaps in society that need repair. It has been very difficult to combat this virus, which mutates from mutation to mutation. Infected people died in great pain. It was an evil virus that caused great trauma not only to the infected person but also to the family members watching. "This virus wasn't caught until I came into this world."

Is this a 21st century version of the Black Death?

If you had magic or divine power, you would have been able to easily respond, but this was impossible on Earth.

"The second is a poisonous zone. Poison gas rose in certain areas, limiting people's activities. If you step into the poison zone, you will die in just a few minutes. "This poison entered the body not only through the respiratory tract, but also through exposed skin."

"Is this like toxic gas produced by the earthquake?"

"We don't know the details either. Some said it was toxic gas caused by an earthquake, while others said it was radioactivity, but due to the virus, there was a lack of manpower and equipment to investigate it. However, it is not greatly affected by the wind and stays in one place without distinction between lowlands and highlands. The problem is that this toxic zone not only restricts people's areas of activity, but also blocks access to existing facilities, making it difficult to restore social networks."

There is one thing that catches me off guard in his words.

That's radioactivity.

I couldn't imagine what would have happened to so many nuclear power plants if society had been destroyed by a major disaster.

I asked this.

"Do you really know the situation on Earth? Surprisingly, the damage caused by the nuclear power plant was not significant. Of course, it cannot be said that there was no damage, but most countries managed to prevent it."

"thank god. "Keep talking."

"The third… … . "This is the emergence of mutant creatures."

"Mutant creature?"

"Yes, mutated creatures occur in poisonous areas, and insects are the main targets."

Then he operated his smartphone and showed me some photos.

It contained pictures of mosquitoes the size of your forearm, centipedes larger than a person, and giant wasps covering a car.

However, they looked like mosquitoes, centipedes, and wasps, and their appearance was more deadly and disgusting than ordinary insects.

"It is a poisonous insect that threatens people's survival. "At least the military is preventing damage by regularly burning and cleaning the poisonous areas, but if management is even a little negligent, the poisonous insects can quickly multiply in numbers."

I understand why he reacted so uncomfortable.

Could it be that the devil appears and threatens to ravage the Earth?

Just by listening to the story, I could feel how terrible the Earth was in.

"It seems like Rondel is safer. "Do you still want to return to Earth?"

"Yes, because that's where my family and friends are. And although there are certainly many threats, people are overcoming the crisis little by little. "It's not just despair."

No matter how bad the environment is, hometown is hometown.

I could understand it well.

"What is the fourth and final anomaly?"

"The last one is not causing much damage, but it is the most difficult to understand based on common sense. What this means is that new landforms are being created all over the Earth."

"New terrain?"

"Suddenly one day, an island rises out of the sea where there was nothing, or a mountain appears to cover a wide field, something like that."

Isn't it simply due to the tectonic shift caused by the earthquake?

"It looks like the land beneath the surface has risen up, but it is a perfect island and mountains covered in greenery. Moreover, it is said that newly created land like this is devoid of poison, and that if it is created in a deadly poison zone, it purifies the existing poison. That's why some people call it a holy place. "I happened to fall into the sea while researching such an island and ended up here."

Benjamin guessed that the damage caused by the catastrophe and the virus would have been so great that the Earth's population would have been reduced by at least half.

"I think the Earth's situation from 2020 to 2022 can be roughly summarized like this."

After hearing the whole story, I reacted with wonder and interest, but my expression was extremely cold.

I couldn't accept these changes in the Earth as someone else's problem.

From the perspective of Earthlings, a situation that could only be considered an unexpected abnormality or a catastrophe seemed too artificial to me.

Just as the Sepia God exists in Rondel, does the God that exists on Earth judge humans?

So I sat quietly and pondered Benjamin's story, and he kept watching me.

An expression that says so many things I want to ask.

But my questions are not over yet.

"Do you know what the situation is in Korea?"

For a moment, I thought a lot about whether to ask or not, but I couldn't help but ask.

When I asked him a question about Korea, his eyes widened and the feeling of 'what if' came to mind.

However, he did not express those feelings, and only answered questions obediently as I instructed him earlier.

"Korea is one of the few countries in the world that is overcoming the crisis well. Even during the great disaster, China acted as a barrier to the north and Japan acted as a breakwater to the south, so the damage was not significant. I heard that there aren't that many poisonous areas and that viruses are being blocked effectively. Thanks to this, we are providing a lot of help to the international community."

That's really nice.

It was the first time I liked Benjamin.

I thought, completely ignoring Benjamin's curious gaze.

This person named Benjamin came from Earth in a different way than before.

Abnormal phenomenon occurring on Earth.

I wonder if this is related to the goddess's prophecy of unknown meaning, and may have some effect on Rondel.

'It seems too fitting.'

But I soon shook off that thought.

First of all, I couldn't hide my feelings of embarrassment about the abnormal phenomenon that occurred on Earth, but there was nothing I could do right now.

At least in Korea, it helped alleviate the uncomfortable feeling that there was no major damage.

So, I told Benjamin, who answered my questions faithfully, about the way to return to Earth.

"Dimension travel is not possible right now. "You need to understand that."

"I know it's not easy. I already heard about it from a high-ranking wizard I met through Michelle. "He said that moving to another world or dimension was impossible, and he treated me like a strange person."

"That is the general view of the magic world. Not only high-ranking wizards, but all arch wizards will answer that way."

"But, Your Majesty the Duke, you have a method, right?"

I nodded at his eager response.

"We have relevant research data. "It is a material that has reached the stage of completion to the point where we can obtain an answer if we continue to conduct research."

His expression brightened.

But I couldn't just convey hope.

"Nevertheless, you should be aware that there is a possibility of failure. But what is clear is that I am the only one who can make this successful and the only one who has the will to succeed."

"At this stage, you just have to trust and wait."

"The good news is that the time difference between here and Earth is about 10:1. Even if you spend 10 years here, only one year will have passed on Earth."

"10 years… … Do you need units of time?"

"It could be sooner, it could be later. You can't be sure about anything. But I also have a great desire to look at the Earth. So, I plan to continue researching dimensional movement."

Of course, this is not the story right now.

I will begin full-fledged research on dimensional travel after I have achieved the 9th circle and acquired all the skills.

"As expected, His Royal Highness the Duke of Lawrence is just like me… … ."

He asked with confidence.

At that, I shook my head.

"I am a person who was born in this world and has a precious family in this world."

"Is that so?"

"I just have memories of my past life."

"yes?"

"Well, it means that in my past life, I was a Korean on Earth."

His eyes became as big as lanterns.

At the same time, he seemed happy, and it seemed like he felt fortunate to have met someone related to the Earth.

I burst into laughter and soon erased the expression from my face.

"From now on, I plan to assist you with your living. And let us help you adapt to this world. instead… … ."

I used magic on him.

The magic was from the 8th circle and had a strong bonding effect.

"My secrets, Earth's stories, and Earth's knowledge must not be shared with anyone without permission."

Then, a powerful light and magic came over him, and I continued to warn him.

"If you break this, you die."

"All right. "I will make sure to keep it."

Unless you were a fool, you couldn't have known that I had done something to you.

Nevertheless, Benjamin nodded with a bright expression.

From his perspective, he also understood that there was nothing he could do.

"Still, I feel very fortunate to have met someone with whom I can share stories about my hometown."

"I was also able to gain quite useful information."

Now that you have restricted it with the 8-circle magic, you can rest assured.

After brushing off the big problem, I no longer showed any hostility towards him.

Did I notice a change in my mood?

He asked carefully.

"Can I ask you one thing?"

"Please speak."

"Can Rondel's magic solve Earth's poison and virus problems?"

I nodded lightly to that.

"These are problems that can be easily solved with magic."

He spoke with admiration for my answer.

"Maybe the reason I came here was to meet my savior."

Savior, what kind of nonsense are you talking about?

* * *

There was a brief commotion, but the situation did not change much afterwards.

The Kingdom of Reinharts was still strengthening its forces in preparation for the Battle of Croisen, and I officially announced the development of the Sky Fortress, constantly showing my face at the Magic Tower, and devoted the rest of my time to playing the game.

A month after bringing Benjamin and Michelle Otis into my territory, my level in the game reached 255.

It was a fairly smooth situation.

"Are you planning on using more administrator privileges?"

"Eh? "You've already written three."

I was looking at research materials related to dimensional movement in Manuel Lucas' Magic Tower, when Chester suddenly urged me to use administrator privileges, and I couldn't help but express my curiosity.

I obtained five administrator privileges each by clearing stages 7 and 8 of the Giyeon Quest.

Among them, one of the powers obtained as a reward for clearing level 7 of the Giyeon Quest was left, and the number became six when the level 8 clearing reward was obtained.

Currently, I have used 3 out of 6.

'As for what I used the three for.'

The first was used to enhance the performance of Louis Fairmont, a fake actor who was captured by the Brigham Empire, by making him look more believable and look like a real actor.

Thanks to this, it succeeded in inciting confusion to the extent that even in the Imperial Magic Tower of the Brigham Empire, which was initially a bit private, the mainstream opinion was that it was real.

As a result, more time can be gained, so it can be seen as a very appropriate use.

'I was taken aback because the Brigham Empire's research capabilities were better than expected, but this gave me peace of mind for several years.'

The second use of administrator authority was to launder 200 trillion won in cash obtained as a reward for clearing stage 8 of the Giyeon Quest.

However, since it was such a large amount, I decided to wash it consistently over the course of a year.

And the third and final use was to sell the laundered money into stocks or futures.

Chester guessed a 10-20% annual return, so that wasn't too bad.

In the process, I bought a fairly good investment company, and I steadily invested Maptop's money there and made a profit.

I heard that Archduke Lucas also spent quite a bit of money in what was called an investment program.

'It is a necessary means from a long-term perspective.'

I've already used 3 out of 6 administrator privileges, so what's the point of urging me to use administrator privileges just because I'm in a hurry?

Chester smiled awkwardly at my question.

"It's because I feel like the remaining three uses will cause confusion."

I had to tilt my head as I couldn't understand what he was saying.

"Based on our own guesses, the subsequent use of the license appears to be related to the war."

I made a slightly annoyed expression.

In fact, during the war against the Croesian Empire, he planned to use his Hollywood managerial authority to destroy the empire's social network.

"Why not?"

"Because it undermines the ideology of the Hollywood system, which was created to benefit everyone."

Originally, administrator rights prohibited the exercise of having a direct negative impact on the world.

However, cases such as the fake actor incident were recognized as exceptions.

The reason is that Chester acknowledged that their preparations for protecting actors were weak.

As a result, something big happened, including the outbreak of war between the Prius Republic and the Brigham Empire. As I watched this situation, I realized one thing.

No matter how many restrictions are placed, you can make requests that are against the rules as long as you make Chester understand.

Since such puns were his specialty, it was natural for him to show such concern.

"hmm… … ."

Thanks to this, I had to react like Chester's awkward laugh.

But what… … I guess it doesn't matter. Because everyone wants me to live.

Because if I die, my chances are in vain.

"I'll think about it."

When I said that with a grin, Chester shook his head.

"It doesn't seem like something to worry about at all."

"haha."

I returned the dimensional travel research book to the bookshelf and spoke.

"What are the trends in the Croesian Empire?"

This was not a question to the Korea Investment Bank manager, but to him, the hidden helper of Blue Moon.

He answered my question by narrowing his eyes.

"We are preparing for a big war. "I don't think it will last more than three months."