Chapter 384: Side Story, Dream Flower (7)

I went down to the underground workshop to confirm the 'succession' given by the world.

▶「Young Dwarf's Dexterity」

▶「Random Dice」

▶「The Bow of the Black Lotus」

My「Dexterity」had been upgraded, and I had obtained a strange piece of equipment and skill. I had no idea what the item was, but the skill was one of the settings I arranged for the Secret Tower.

"Black lotus?"

I took out the [Random Dice],

It reacted to the caster's wishes, so I just rolled it while thinking positively. The moment it stopped, it turned into a blue diamond, a glowing crystal made of mana and carbon.

"... Whoa."

Considering its size, it should be worth around 5 billion, which wasn't all that bad.

I put the gem in my pocket.

「Young Dwarf's Dexterity」

[Advanced] [Fantasy attribute] [Growth type - Grade 3] [Growth type - 63%]

I didn't know why it used a young dwarf as its reference, but it might be because basing it on an adult dwarf would cause balancing problems.

I spread my palms out wide. It didn't seem like much had changed.

"I'll know once I make something."

Should I make a new bed for Evandel?

Turning my hands around as I muttered to myself, Kim Hosup called me.

- Have you seen the British news?

"What news?"

- I'll send them to you right now! Check them out!

I received several news articles from about 30 seconds ago.

[Conclusive evidence about sniper Xtra has been discovered!]

[With Xtra's whereabouts still unknown, the British government considers asking the Hero Association to investigate.]

I shot James Finley 4 km away.

Stigmatized, my bullet had increased penetrability and lethality, allowing me to kill James Finley with one blow and immediately extinguish it on impact, leaving no evidence.

However, 'conclusive proof' had still apparently been found at the scene.

This was, obviously, Lancaster's framing.

- They're trying to bring us down. Check this as well.

Kim Hosup sent message records from Lancaster's secret line that he had hacked into.

[I don't think I can find out any more information about Xtra. His whereabouts are obscure, and he's revealed nothing else.]

[For now, let's attract the Hero Association into involving themselves with this. He's a mercenary, after all. He'd show some reaction if the association got involved.]

[Make sure we know how James Finley's information leaked as well.]

Kim Hosup had already penetrated into Lancaster's deepest network.

"Hmm... They're moving far more aggressively than I thought. Should I not have killed him?"

- No! We didn't have enough time to use other methods. If you hadn't killed him, the British Royal Guild would've been shaken even more. The magic bomb they bought was really powerful.

Nevertheless, I was concerned.

The situation of the British Royal Guild began to move towards a dead-end situation.

[England's downfall becoming clearer following the first incident of a guild directly killing an examinee.]

['Finley Incident' shocks British stock market, the London Stock Exchange plummeted by 13% as soon as it opened...]

[British Royal Guild stock price plunged 43% in one day on January 8. The market cap reversed to England's second-largest guild, Arthur Knight.]

"If the public opinion continues like this, they'll be criticized even if we reveal the secret line, saying that it's been manipulated."

- You're right, but there are formidable hackers on their side as well. For now, it's best to stay still!

However, if Lancaster really had a force equal to the Nine Evils, we shouldn't be biding our time like this.

"Hosup."

- Yeah?

"Let's make some money."

-Money? Don't we already have a lot of that?

All of the Essence-Strait-themed stocks surged, and the "Truth Office" continued to rake in immense amounts of money. Combined with the items I made with my [Dexterity], which were sold at exorbitant prices, I had already accumulated more than enough finances to be ranked in the top 30 richest people in the world.

In terms of cash alone, I'd probably be number one. The Truth Office only transacted with cash, after all.

"The more, the better. Buy every stock from the British Royal Guild once it's at its lowest. All of it, if possible."

Since this world was also thoroughly capitalist, the deadliest threat to the guild was their stock price plummeting, not the gossips.

By defending their stocks, the pressure they're experiencing would be greatly reduced.

- That 51% of that guild belongs to the royal family. The remaining 49%, the only ones available for purchase, is privately owned.

"Buy them all."

- ... All of them?

"Yes."

- That's going to cost us a lot of money.

I laughed a little.

"I've told you before that I wanted to manage a guild too, haven't I? I'll become the president of the British Royal Guild. Even if I pull the funds from my own account, it won't affect my finances all that much."

Even if Lancaster had power comparable to Nine Evils, he wouldn't be richer than me.

* * *

January 10, 2031. The frost of early winter colored the morning mist.

As the situation of the British Royal Guild was getting worse, its fate changed course. Its stock price, which had plummeted, surged up dramatically.

"... Brief me on the situation, please."

Rachel sat in her office, staring blankly at the monitor. She hadn't slept since the incident, which happened 120 hours ago.

- Well... An unknown person is buying all the shares of the British Royal Guild. We're trying to figure out what exactly is happening, but we don't know much about it yet.

[British Royal Guild (BRG) +17.5%]

Their shares' price fell by 20% the day before yesterday and 43% yesterday.

That showed how disgraceful and fatal killing an examinee was. There were even claims about her resignation and about changing all their executives...

- Their impact is so huge that even the ants are chasing after them in surprise.

The chart soared in real-time.

Yeouido analysts who dominated the world also said that the possibility of their revival was slim, but the size and trend of the unknown person's purchases easily shattered their expectations.

"Oh, it's going up!"

Rachel watched the churning chart with her hands clasped.

"Ughh... uhh!"

Every time it went up, she screamed and babbled like a baby. Her body heaved up and down, almost as if she was riding an invisible roller coaster.

"... Ha."

However, the uptrend only lasted about 30 minutes before quickly turning into a downtrend.

That was part of Kim Hosup's strategy to shake off the weak hands, which would allow him to secure more of their stakes. Rachel, unaware of it, quickly became sullen as she sank back into her chair.

She felt disgusted with herself.

Why was she humiliating herself this way? Now wasn't the time to fuss over stock prices. Not only was the Hall imminent, but the James Finley case hadn't been closed yet.

It mattered not if it was in the form of a public apology or an investigation into James Finley's relationship with Lancaster. Their guild had to clearly convey its intentions to the public.

Knock, knock.

The knock on her door made her instinctively straighten her posture.

"Come in."

Dake opened and slowly approached her with a hardened expression. With a bow, he took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it over.

"I'm submitting my resignation letter."

"..."

She stared at him in silence.

Unable to meet her gaze, he kept his head lowered. He bit his lip.

He vowed to be the princess's strength, even if it meant having to grind his bones to tiny little fragments.

Now, however, his very existence had become a burden to her. The best he could do for her was leave her side.

"But I'm not asking you to let me quit. I'd love to be expulsed."

Dake always put his country and the guild ahead of his own safety.

That was why she cherished him as a subordinate.

His heart broke knowing he'd be forcing her to work even harder by doing this, but she was Britain's future and last hope.

He hoped she could hold on.

"I'm submitting a resignation letter, but you should tell the media that I've been dismissed rather than I quit of my own volition. I'm going to hold a press conference to keep the press quiet at least until the end of the Hall."

Rachel's lips trembled.

Dake had been by her side even before she graduated from Cube. He was one of the few members she was confident were trustworthy, having devoted his entire being to the guild since she was still a child.

That person was trying to leave her.

Mustering up the courage, she shook her head.

"Still, expulsion is—"

"I apologize. I hope the soon-to-be held Hall will bring good results. I'll be watching over you from a distance."

But he was stubborn.

Once more, she was reminded of how painful it was to have her heart ripped apart. She showed no signs of it, however.

"... I understand. You may leave.

When Rachel unwaveringly let him go, Dake turned away from her and walked out.

The door closed behind him.

Left alone, Rachel sat in silence. She couldn't think straight or untangle her emotions.

All she could do was rest her body against her desk, seemingly crumbling down. As she breathed softly through her gritted teeth, tears fell from her eyes in silence.

But she refused to admit she was crying. Instead, she convinced herself to believe the sadness she felt now would disappear after enduring it for a bit or by sleeping it off.

Hence, she wasn't crying. She was just letting go of her lingering feelings...

Rachel decided to think so.

* * *

The outskirts of Seoul, facing Bukhansan Mountain, had some of the world's most fertile land.

It was a well-renowned place. After all, that was where the spirit of the mountain and the flow of the stream met. Amid this nature, which all real estate experts agreed had an unmeasurable price, old-fashioned hanoks lined up in harmony with the greenery.

This site, filled with trees faithfully following the principles of the mountain behind them and the river in front of them, was the residence of Chae Joochul, also known as the "Immortal."

"... Gosh~ I don't understand this." Chae Nayun, one of the owners of this famous land called 'Sage's Fire Line,' the first adversary in the Essence Strait, complained. Sitting on the floor, she stared at the golden crystal in her hand.

[Miracle Stone]

She obtained this gem after completing the Miracle Tower. Even among its fellow miracles, its phenomenon was the most powerful.

After all, this crystal made 'regression' possible.

"I didn't even do anything wrong."

Chae Nayun, in fact, did a little in the end. With the miracle stone under her nose, she became extremely excited and acted too recklessly.

"... I broke it just a tiny little bit."

A small scratch was carved on the thumb-sized miracle stone's right side. The damage was light, but her heart seemed to burn as she looked at it.

Because of it, she was forced to postpone her 'real regression.'

"Sigh."

Grabbing a pen, she began writing in the journal she bought the night prior.

[Chae Nayun's Diary]

[January 13, 2031.]

[A little over three months have passed since I acted out a fake regression on October 1, 2030.]

[According to my research, this world doesn't have a Tower of Wish, a Tower of Miracle, or Baal. My brother isn't here either.]

'My brother isn't here either.'

She underlined that last part.

[I'm lost. I don't know what to do in this dream.]

[Roughly speaking, I have to find miracle stone fragments and rescue the people trapped in this fake world, including Rachel.]

[What kind of tower reward breaks when dropped on the floor? The more I think about it, the less it makes sense. Fuck.]

[Well... That's it for today.]

"... This much is enough."

After roughly finishing today's entry for the diary she decided to write from today on, she nodded satisfactorily.

"Since I used my head today...."

Closing the notebook, she stood up. Having studied for 15 whole minutes, she decided to cool her brain down.

She sprinted to the virtual reality capsule in the corner of the room and slipped into it.

"Connect!"

At her command, the capsule's door locked. Soon after, a world different from reality unfolded.

[Welcome 'Nayunjajangman'.]

[Please select a game.]

"Online games. Middle Ages."

The Middle Ages was the most popular game in capsule rooms these days. Since it didn't exist in the original world, she enjoyed it quite a lot.

[Nayunjajangman]

[199cm, 115kg]

[Level 93]

[Occupation: Ethonic Tribe Warrior (Hidden)]

[Title: Legendary Barbarian]

Upon connecting to it, a city market emerged, spreading right in front of her. This place was where she logged out last night.

"Everyone~ this one's for sale~"

"Look at you and your amazing body. Why not buy a potion to go along with it?"

Numerous merchant players came to her.

"It's all right. I don't want it." She walked away from the touts and was about to go out of the castle to warm up when a character appeared and blocked her way.

"Hey, Chae Nayun. What are you doing here?"

"...?"

She narrowed her eyes at the player.

The character seemed strange to her. Her level was low and uninteresting, but she wore fancy clothes. Why would she wear a dress in the market amid broad daylight?

"... Who are you?"

"Me? I'm Yoo Yeonha."

"Huh? Oh... I see. What do you want?"

She could certainly see Yoo Yeonha's unique gestures. She wrapped her left arm around her waist and put her right arm on top of it, typical of a medieval noblewoman.

Yoo Yeonha frowned. "The Hall will be held soon. Why are you still doing this?"

"What? You're playing it too."

"... I'm not playing. You blocked me, so I had to create a character and follow you."

"Huh? Then why are your clothes so fancy?"

"I refuse to go around looking shabby, even if it's just a game~ I spent a bit, but only on clothes and accessories. Oh, right,

I even created a clan with my name on it. Only '15 minutes' after logging in."

Yoo Yeonha laughed heartily but quickly regained her serious mien.

"Forget it. Log out now. You have joint training today."

"Yeah, I'm blocking you."

"What? Hey, no! Don't—"

With her blocked, her fancy and colorful character immediately turned into a black silhouette.

"!@$#@!@# !@#%#@! @#!@#."

Ignoring the black mass trying to hold onto her, Chae Nayun used the [Teleport Spell] to go to the [Castle of Count Black Rose], a place only high-level players gathered.

A wave of light enveloped her and transported her to her destination.

[Castle of Count Black Rose]

-Only Level 80 or higher can enter

Many Named players were waiting for the quest in this castle, which also functioned as a checkpoint.

Looking through their gamer tags, she stopped and smiled upon finding a familiar ID.

[Extra 7]

Chae Nayun knew whose ID that was. He might not know her, though.

"... How is that one always around?"

In fact, the reason she installed this game was to watch him. This was the only game he played.

She didn't have the courage to approach him, so she just looked at him from a distance.

Just then, Extra 7 turned around. He seemed to have spent a huge amount of money on Middle Ages, considering all the high-end equipment he was wearing. His character was also much better-looking than him.

However, Chae Nayun thought of the man controlling the character in front of her.

"...?"

Soon enough, Extra 7 looked in her direction, perhaps feeling her gaze on him.

However, she didn't show herself.

She just hid in a corner somewhere, smiling softly and glancing at him constantly.

'I'm not ready to meet him yet.'