Episode 98: Dreams in the game become reality

25. Put on a pair (7)

I quietly looked up at the nobles who were whispering with their arms crossed, and Arcia spoke on my behalf.

"I can hear everything."

Nice Arsia.

At her words, the nobles who had been talking quietly behind the scenes, saying they should be careful about other things, were startled and swallowed their saliva.

I asked the Marquis of Trenton directly about his business.

"Is there a problem?"

"First of all, let me apologize for being rude to my group."

"I don't care. That's what aristocratic society is like. "A masquerade ball where you smile on the outside but you don't know what you're thinking on the inside."

The Marquis of Trenton's eyebrows twitched at my outspoken remark, but as expected of a person familiar with masquerade balls, he quickly adjusted his expression and explained the reason for such a stampede.

"The Marquis of Lawrence rarely engages in social activities, does he? "I wanted to let you know that there are so many nobles who would like to become friends with you."

To put it simply, it meant that the faction gathered around the Marquis of Trenton wanted to have a good relationship with me.

Seeing the division of factions even within the same camp made me think that politicians are similar wherever they go.

Well, if I raise his hand, the faction in question will emerge as a powerful group since two of the four marquis who follow the Second Prince Luke will form a team together.

"And since we are archmages of the same 7th Circle, I don't think there is anything wrong with active interaction."

"okay."

However, when I gave only a vague answer and did not react in any way, he just smiled awkwardly, and soon a third person intervened with good timing, and the friendly exchange for recruitment took on a new aspect.

"Isn't that really shameless? "You attacked him like that last time and now you want to become friends with him."

"Are you saying that knowing that you couldn't help it at the time? "Marquis Vincent."

Among the two princes' faction, he was the only one who had no contact with me, the kingdom's greatest swordsman, Marquis Vincent.

Having no contact with me meant that we had no ill feelings towards each other.

"Is Marquis Vincent also here to become friends with me?"

"Don't misunderstand, I didn't approach you for such an obvious purpose."

"Marquis Vincent is being harsh!"

Do the Marquis of Trenton and the Marquis of Vincent have a bad relationship?

I was quietly watching the fight between the two people and looked at Marquis Vincent, asking what the business was.

"I'm talking about Count Klein. It's been a long time since I've participated in a hunting competition, so why not show off your skills? "Your dance is famous because you defeated the Auror Master on TV, but there are many people who are curious about Count Klein's dance because they have never seen it in person."

She has already experienced quite a bit of combat.

However, because they were all unusual combat situations, they were not widely known to the outside world.

When I turned my head to hear his remarks, I felt the second prince looking in this direction.

From the looks of it, Marquis Vincent was the second prince's messenger.

Unlike in the beginning, the second prince never showed any overt interest in Arcia.

It seemed like he was doing it purely out of curiosity this time.

"Can you confirm the Aura Master's skill against a deer?"

"I guess this is Marquis Lawrence's first time at the royal hunting grounds?"

"Yes, it is."

"There are more than just animals here."

When I tilted my head, he grinned and spread two fingers to make a V shape.

"Let's prepare two ogres. "That will be enough to show off your skills as an Auror Master."

The royal hunting grounds raise animals for fun and release them on hunting days.

You can think of it as a kind of royal version of an indoor fishing pond.

That's why I had to look surprised.

What he meant was that the royal family even raises ogres for hunting.

"Are you raising an ogre?"

"Could it be just an ogre? "You probably raise almost all monsters except winged monsters and magic-type monsters, right?"

It's really amazing.

Raising man-eating monsters for fun.

I looked at Arcia.

If you want to do it, do it, and if you don't want to, you don't have to.

Now I was in no position to worry about anyone.

"I'll do it."

"Finish it quickly."

"yes."

When Arcia showed motivation, Marquis Vincent responded with satisfaction.

"Vanguard equipment cannot be used in hunting competitions, so please be careful. "An ogre is not someone you should look down on."

Know.

Because the ogre was a monster that had already been fought tens of thousands of times in the game.

If you are a Vanguard wearing Force equipment, you can easily overwhelm him in a 1:1 match, but if not, you will need a 10-person full party made up of Auror Experts and High-ranking Wizards to plan a strategy to defeat him.

This means that it is a very good punching bag for testing the skills of an Aura Master.

Arcia took off the wedding sword she was wearing at her waist and put it into her subspace ring that she had prepared a while ago.

Then, he took out a regular armoring sword made of mithril from within and fastened it to his waist, and attached a small round shield, which was only about 25cm in diameter and only looked like a decoration, to the gauntlet and fastened it to his left wrist.

However, Marquis Vincent expressed concern over her lack of armament and additional safety equipment.

"Wouldn't it be better to tidy up the helmet just in case?"

"This is enough."

All he wore was slim leather hunting clothes, a sword, a small shield, and gauntlets to secure the shield.

To people who don't know her, she can't help but seem careless, but she reacts like that because she doesn't know how effective the shield on her wrist is in terms of defense.

"Follow me."

As Marquis Vincent guided Arcia, I walked behind them.

Then, unexpectedly, he approached me with the intention of becoming friends with me, but the Marquis of Trenton stood next to me as if it was only natural that he became the background, and many nobles followed us after seeing a good sight for a long time.

"We finally get to see Count Klein's battle."

It was natural that the second prince, Luke Winn Reinharts, was included in such a group of nobles.

He was the one who created this situation in the first place.

To my left were the Marquis of Trenton and his entourage, who pretended to be on the same team, and to my right were the 2nd Prince Luke and the Little Lord of Anaheim, who was attending on behalf of the elderly Duke of Anaheim.

"You will be surprised when you see it."

"Oh, you mean that much?"

It would be quicker to see it in person than to explain it in words.

After a while, we came into a space where the floor was covered with metal.

It was a large place about 300 meters in diameter, and when Marquis Vincent said something into his terminal, the floor opened and two huge iron cages rose up like an elevator.

Inside the cage were two ogres with red-tinted eyes, as if they were in a state of berserk.

-Crrrrrrr.

-bang! Quang!

Many nobles flinched and took a step back at the ferocious force of the ogre, which roared while pounding on the iron bars, but the Auror Masters, 2nd Prince Luke, the Marquis Vincent, and the Archmages, me and the Marquis of Trenton, did not pay much attention.

When the second prince snapped his fingers, the soldiers who were following him holding chairs and the flags of each noble family prepared a seat.

Prince Luke and others who were confident in their abilities sat calmly, while others stood and watched, ready to run away at any time.

"Are you ready?"

"yes."

"Then after the 30 second count, we will open. "I wish you good luck."

When Marquis Vincent withdrew, Arcia was left alone between the two huge cages.

Although Arcia was naturally small, the 10-meter-tall ogres were so large that she looked dwarfed than usual.

[5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Introduction.]The countdown will soon end.

-Kaaaa!

The huge iron fence opened and two excited ogres fiercely rushed towards Arsia.

And the battle that began shattered everyone's expectations.

-Quaaaang! Quaaaang!

Looking at Arcia's size, no matter how smart she is, you can't help but think she's an evasive swordsman.

However, Arcia had a tougher fighting style than any other Auror Master here.

"oh my god."

"Wow, crazy. "The ogres bounced off?"

After defense, attack.

It's a very simple strategy, but how many people would stick to it against an ogre weighing nearly 50 tons?

Probably very little.

Except for Arcia in front of me... … .

Everyone was speechless at the sight of the giant ogres bouncing helplessly against her small round shield, which seemed to be nothing more than a decoration.

The ogres must have been greatly shocked by the single collision, so they staggered and stood up, and Arcia, who walked leisurely as if taking a walk, pierced one of the ogres between the eyes.

-Kaaaa!

The remaining ogre became even more excited and rushed forward.

-Quaaaang!

-Kwasik!

However, the results were more than before, never less.

When the huge fist hit Arsia's shield, the ogre's arm shattered with a crashing sound, and the bones broke through the skin.

What kind of thing were the ogre bones?

It is as strong as steel and, like metal, is a popular material for weapons.

It was impossible to understand with common sense that the bones of such an ogre could be broken so helplessly.

-Clap!

-thud!

The ogre let out a scream-like roar and rolled around on the floor. This time, she walked leisurely and swung her sword, blowing off the ogre's head the size of a house.

The battle ended so quickly that the 30-second countdown signaling the start of the battle felt rather long.

-Clap clap clap.

Next, when Arcia bowed to Prince Luke, I applauded on behalf of him, who was completely entranced.

As always, Arcia came up to me and took the seat next to me, and the nobles around me flinched and took a step back in great surprise.

"No, how is that possible? "No matter how much he strengthens his body with aurors, he can take an attack with the weight of an ogre weighing nearly 50 tons so calmly without taking a single step back."

"Could it be that the Aura Blade was released at the right time using the shield?"

"Is that possible?"

"I don't know because I haven't tried it."

Prince Luke and Marquis Vincent, the kingdom's greatest swordsman, who were trying to evaluate the skills of Arcia, the kingdom's only female Auror Master, as if looking down from above, showed expressions of confusion beyond admiration.

"Count Klein! How is such a battle possible!?"

In the end, Prince Luke couldn't stand it anymore and asked Arcia.

It's a pity, but they chose the wrong person to ask questions.

"I screamed and blocked it with all my strength."

I couldn't listen to Arsia's theoretical explanation.

The expressions of Prince Luke and Marquis Vincent, who seemed to have lost their composure, were distorted in a pleasing way.

* * *

The hunting competition, which was fraught with confusion due to Arsia, ended and the road returned to the castle.

I let out a low laugh as I remembered Prince Luke's shocked expression in the car.

"I should have taken a video. "The more I think about it, the funnier it gets."

Although it was unexpected, it seems that Arsia's reputation will increase significantly.

Although she is known as the only female Auror Master in Korea, unlike magic, martial arts is based on the underlying mentality that no matter how good a woman is, she cannot be superior to a man.

However, Arcia's shocking appearance with her small body destroyed everyone's common sense.

Perhaps even the kingdom's best sword, Marquis Vincent, would not be confident of breaking through Arsia's defenses.

Thanks to this, the hunting competition ended with a shocking lesson learned: 'As expected, people who become Auror Masters at the age of 20 are very different.'

"good job."

I went to a place I didn't want to go to and unexpectedly ended up laughing heartily. I patted Arsia on the back and praised her.

"huh?"

However, something is strange.

Arcia, who would normally have reacted in any way, was just staring out the window blankly.

Since there was nothing special to see outside, I expressed my doubts and pulled on her shoulder, which caused Arcia to collapse helplessly.

"Arsia!"

I jumped and caught her before she hit her head on the floor and shook her with a surprised expression.

It looked strange because I was laying on the floor and shaking her while I was covering her, but now wasn't the time to worry about that.

She didn't respond to my cries, so I felt like my mind was going blank.

"dismissal! Is there a problem!?"

When the driver sensed that something strange had happened and stopped the car, the drivers knocked and called to me.

"Don't come in!"

"Yes, yes!"

I couldn't show Arcia to others, looking like a marionette with a broken thread.

I panicked and kept shaking Arsia. How many seconds passed like that?

"Ugh!"

Arcia came to her senses with a suppressed groan.

"Adrian?"

She woke up in surprise, and I, who still had not calmed down my pounding heart, asked with a white face.

"What, what? "What just happened?"

Arcia bowed her head, saying she was sorry for causing concern.

"It appears that the blow came as we were forced to temporarily disconnect from the Hollywood system."

"what?"

The Hollywood system refers to a virtual reality-based online environment created by Archduke Lucas.

Arcia is playing the game with me without using any additional equipment, and this is possible because part of her mind is linked to the Hollywood system.

"An error just occurred that took down the entire Hollywood system for 10 seconds. "I don't know why."