Episode 99: Dreams in the game become reality

26. Strange events (1)

Although the Hollywood system was developed more than 50 years ago, as far as I know, no errors of any kind have occurred.

At best, hardware or program problems may occur, but the Hollywood system has a high level of stability that can be said to be flawless.

Thanks to this, it could be widely used throughout society, including public institutions, finance, and military sectors, and today it is no exaggeration to say that everything in the world is linked to the Hollywood system.

As a result, Chester, the acting manager, used his Hollywood system administrator authority to show that he was as omnipotent as a magic lamp.

Didn't he show signs of accessing financial institutions around the world to launder tens of trillions of funds left behind by Archduke Lucas, and accessing government offices to create Arcia's family register?

However, a problem occurred in that near-perfect system... … .

It was not a light matter that could be overlooked by saying, 'I guess that's just the way it is.'

"Let's return to the castle quickly."

"all right."

Following my instructions, the driver moved the floating car that had stopped for a moment and increased its speed.

'I don't know, but it is highly likely that administrator rights for the Hollywood system are one of the quest rewards.'

In other words, it is a system that can become mine someday, even if not immediately.

So I think we need to look into it in detail.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I just fainted for a moment from shock. "There is nothing wrong with my body."

"thank god."

Above all, if this situation repeats, we don't know what will happen to Arcia.

It's the Hollywood system and all, and that's my biggest worry.

Because she was like my family.

* * *

After a while.

When I arrived at Yeongju Castle, I walked forward with a scary expression.

When the employees saw me like that, they moved out of the way, and I was able to quickly enter the room.

Then, without even changing his clothes, he just took off his shoes and put on his virtual reality goggles.

After a while, I entered the virtual world and operated the console to run the game.

[Would you like to access Chronicle Online?]"okay."

Next, with a feeling of floating similar to when using a teleport, a typical fantasy world where nature and an archaic civilization were combined instead of a bleak landscape with a lot of holographic windows floating in front of the eyes.

This is Chronicle Online, the source of inspiration that I put the most effort into and spend a lot of time on.

[Character Window]Name: Mingi

Occupation: Wizard

Level: 236

As soon as I logged into the game, there was a long list of abilities along with the character window, but now that I had not logged in simply to level up, I went straight to the magic tower of Manuel Lucas, the center of Giyeon.

[This is the 8th floor of Manuel Lucas' Magic Tower.]"Master Chester! Mr. Chester!"

A space reminiscent of a huge library surrounded by books on all sides.

As I approached the desk in the center, I looked for Chester, the fund manager.

Then, like a fairy, a palm-sized old man appeared with light powder.

It was Chester, an artificial personality with the appearance of a typical wizard wearing a cone hat, a robe, and a wooden staff, and the image of Archduke Lucas when he was alive.

[You logged in earlier than expected today.]Even though I was busy with work, I played games whenever I had time, so I rarely had a day off from playing games.

Although leveling up is slow because I can't fully focus on the game, I've continued to level up and level 14 remain until I complete the 8th level quest.

As I logged on to the game every day, I met Chester a lot.

Thanks to this, I was able to become close to them like long-time acquaintances, even though they were non-realistic virtual reality characters.

"Arsia just fainted!"

I said that as if I was angry at his calm appearance.

In response, Chester looked troubled as he brushed his long white beard that reached down to his stomach.

"I heard that an error occurred in Hollywood and all systems went down. How did this happen?"

I used the community to publish external articles.

Naturally, it was no exaggeration to say that the world was in chaos as there was a problem with the system that was the backbone of society.

He scanned the article and sighed softly.

And he, who cherished the memory of Archduke Lucas, who was from the same Earth as me, began to explain in an easy-to-understand manner.

[Hollywood, on Earth, is a system that encompasses the Internet communication network and the hardware and programs for convenient use of it. However, the difference from Earth is that signals are transmitted using the mana present in the atmosphere, so there is no need for a separate base station or line.]Because it uses atmospheric mana, it does not require a separate communication facility.

This is the great and scary thing about the Hollywood system.

[But ultimately, in order to make this law possible, a central system for management is needed.]At this point, I could understand what he was trying to say.

"In other words, something went wrong with that central system?"

[That's right.]All hardware has a set lifespan.

Therefore, it is understandable from common sense that a problem occurred in the Hollywood system that has been around for a long time.

But wasn't Archduke Lucas prepared for that?

Because of this, I couldn't end the story by agreeing.

After all, this isn't the first time something like this has happened.

"Is that the end?"

He thought for a moment at my interrogating gaze.

And when I saw the concerns, I realized that this was not the end of the story.

After a while, Chester gathered his thoughts and nodded.

[We will determine that it is okay to disclose information about the incident to Adrian, the official successor to Archduke Manuel Lucas.]Event?

I narrowed my eyebrows, and his next story was shocking.

[Today, around 16:30 Rondel Standard Time. An intruder has occurred in the facility where the Hollywood system's management terminal is hidden.]At the same time, he ran a holographic image.

In the video, there was a huge pillar like a tombstone standing in a smooth space on all sides, and spider-like golems were moving around like robots to manage the facility.

It was a recording of surveillance equipment.

[Intruder Occurs!] [Intruder Occurs!]Then, a large hole opened in one wall made of metal on all sides, and figures in black robes, like assassins, came rushing in.

In response, doors hidden in the flat floor, walls, and ceiling opened and spider-like golems poured out, showing off their fearsome majesty and judging the intruders.

The intruders were professionals armed with force daggers, specialized equipment for assassins, but they were no match for the spider-type golems.

But that only lasted a moment, as Vanguards armed with Force equipment entered the scene, and with the appearance of two people wielding Auror Blades, the battle quickly turned towards the intruders.

And at that time when defeat deepened.

[Quaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!]The video ended with a huge explosion.

"Is this really possible?"

[Yes, we could not hand over the main body of the system to the intruders, so we made it self-destruct. And Hollywood System Unit 2 began operating in a more secret location.]Now I understand the cause of the brief error.

At the same time, I had to feel a great sense of crisis... … .

The reason is that my talent was hidden in a game based on the Hollywood system.

"If the central core was taken away by them, what would have happened to Giyeon?"

[You don't have to worry about that. Like Unit 2 following Unit 1, sufficient preparations are made for any emergency. Even if the management terminal of the Hollywood system is hijacked by enemies, there will be no problem because the owner of this mysterious tower is Adrian.]I feel relieved to hear that.

However, I couldn't help but be taken aback by the fact that there were people who were targeting the Hollywood system itself, not the agency.

I don't know, but looking at the power of the enemies that just attacked, it was clear that there was intervention at the national level or an organization equivalent to it.

"Where do the intruders belong?"

[Unable to confirm.]"yes?"

No, there's something that even Chester, the hidden leader of Blue Moon and a magic lamp, doesn't know?

[These are the ones who took the lead. There were no terminals, no artifacts, no voice use, the equipment was of a design I had never seen before, and no fingerprints were found. In addition, the body completely dissolved and disappeared due to the poison implanted in the body at the time of death, and it appears that the swordsmanship and fighting style were thoroughly restrained and hidden.]"It means that there is no information anywhere that can identify their identities."

[yes.]I made a small groaning sound and then sighed.

"I'm sorry for questioning you."

[no. I completely understand.]"Unit 2 is safe, right?"

[Yes, it is hidden in a more difficult place to find than Unit 1. And if there is a problem with unit 2, unit 3 is ready, and if there is a problem with unit 3, unit 4 is ready. There are a total of 21 issues, so you don't have to worry about this.]I was heartbroken by Archduke Manuel Lucas' thorough preparation.

"But in the future, if the same thing happens, would you please cut off the connection with Hollywood first so that Arcia does not self-destruct and is forced to shut down?"

[Yes, I was not careful enough in that regard. I will take action as you said.]Although the identity of the enemy is unknown, the reason for targeting the Hollywood system is clear.

If you can manipulate the Hollywood system to your liking, it will bring you as much benefit as acquiring a role.

It is not surprising that there are organizations and countries that believe that it is more profitable to target the Hollywood system itself rather than uncertain opportunities.

This time, the administrator terminal of the Hollywood system was lost in front of our eyes by suicide, so it is clear that next time we will break in with even more thorough preparations.

"You said you don't have to worry because it's in a safe place, but if you've been discovered once, there's no way you won't be discovered a second or third time, so I think we need to work harder to find the culprit."

[I agree. That's how it should be.]This will be possible in any country that has more than one Auror Master.

And since this world is large, it is not strange if there are several groups like Blue Moon or Prius Republic Revolutionary Army that have increased their power without appearing in the world.

There is nothing more difficult than dealing with an unidentified enemy, so you need to narrow down the suspect at least a little bit.

"I think I should increase the time I invest in games, even if it means reducing my sleep."

[It would be a good idea to achieve Circle 8 quickly, just in case.]There are still level 14 left until the next level, but at the current pace, it's still 4 to 5 months away.

If you push yourself a little harder, you may be able to reduce those 4-5 months to 3-4 months.

[We will continue to share information about the incident.]"All right."

Since I was rushing in and couldn't even take off my uncomfortable hunting clothes, I decided to log out first.

* * *

An anomaly occurred in the Hollywood system, which had never had a single error.

This created a small crack in the otherwise flawless system.

The crack was something that neither the pension manager, Chester, nor the group that attacked the Hollywood system had expected.

However, the cracks were very small and subtle data.

In Hollywood, where an infinite amount of data moves, this was a minor problem that was difficult to detect, so the small crack 'bug' was completely neglected without the knowledge of the management system.

* * *

A month has passed since the Prius incident ended.

Since there were no major incidents during that time, I was able to concentrate on the game like crazy, and thanks to that, my level increased by one a week to 240.

There are only 10 levels left until the next step.

Slowly, the next step began to come into view.

"I will definitely do my best for my lord."

"Miss Ivril will do well."

As the war between the two great countries ended and a period of stability entered, the contest for saints, which had been paused for a while, resumed.

Now there is only one task left.

Before the final contest, Everil clenched her small fist and shouted to me, who was addicted to gaming, to fight.

The final contest is practical experience.

Since I cannot provide direct help here, I have no choice but to trust Ivril and her assistant, Eric, who has political and administrative talents at the Youngjae Institute.

From now on, each person must handle things in their own power, whether through internal politics or by enticing others to take advantage of them.

However, since all candidates for sainthood perform practical duties as high-ranking priests, they can have one deputy, but it is said that this deputy cannot be someone who holds a title or is listed as a public official.

It was indeed the right conditions for Eric Jones.

'In other words, I can't interfere, so I have time left.'

All you have to do is pay attention to Ivril's situation from time to time and focus on the game.

After cheering on Ivril, I returned to the castle and logged onto Chronicle Online to focus on hunting... … .

"what? "Isn't it true that no one but me can enter this hunting ground?"

While continuing to hunt in an exclusive hunting ground that I rented for a large sum of money, I saw someone running from afar.

-Ta-ta-ta-ta-dak!

The running speed was so fast that it looked like an agile rogue or assassin.

I immediately tried to send a note to protest to the guild leader of the guild that rented the hunting ground.

He was attacking me at a speed that was difficult to follow with my eyes.

"What, what? "Who is this crazy guy?"

"Ttukbaegi!"