Chapter p2-203: TCF Part 2 - The trade has been established (9)

"...Virtual Reality?"

Alberu Crossman was the one to show his confusion.

Cale, who had been blankly nodding his head at Ahn Roh Man's comment, looked toward Alberu.

However, Alberu only looked at Ahn Roh Man and asked for an explanation with his gaze.

- In simple terms, it is another reality but one that doesn't exist.

"Does not exist?"

- Yeah. You use a device to enter that world and you can feel all of your senses. You can also make all sorts of things happen in that world. However, the moment you step out of the connecting device-

Ahn Roh Man lifted up his empty hands.

- You can no longer touch that world. Only the mana and the device that was used to create that world exists.

"Mm."

Cale crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch.

'Mana-'

Ahn Roh Man's Earth 3...

That place seemed like a fusion of Kim Rok Soo's Earth and Cale's Nameless 1.

'It is a place with magic and aura. But they also have all sorts of cold weapons.'

It seemed like a world where a lot of things were mixed together.

Cale watched Alberu and Ahn Roh Man ask and answer before focusing on what Ahn Roh Man was saying.

- Of the energies that exist in nature, mana has the most transformability. My parents believed that its transformability could not only create the virtual reality world, they also believed that it would be able to handle the game users leading the world in different directions.

It could be considered a form of magic engineering.

- Of course, there were a lot of places proceeding with that research. However, they could not defeat the algorithm that my mother and father created.

"Did they manage to create the game?"

- Yeah. They finally managed to complete it.

Cale stopped listening and interjected.

"I feel like a project of that scale would have been kept as a secret."

- That's right, sir. It was a secret. Of course, my parents informed the chief executives of the company.

"Including your uncle, the Vice President?"

- Yes sir. Once my uncle learned the truth, he claimed that we needed to receive investors.

"Your parents must have rejected that."

Ahn Roh Man nodded his head.

- Yes sir. Our company at the time had its internal affairs extremely firm but its size was not big. We also did not have many employees. Because of that, we felt that the likelihood of the company being stolen was high if we received investments.

"It is surprising that they managed to create a virtual reality game with such a small group of employees.

-.......

Ahn Roh Man was silent for a bit before he responded.

- My father was the greatest developer while my mother was the greatest magic engineer. The two of them truly were geniuses.

He then shrugged his shoulders.

- Of course, the virtual reality that the two of them developed was not as complete as the game that the Transparent Bloods have released. It was closer to a prototype.

Alberu opened his mouth.

"Your uncle ended up dragging the Transparent Bloods in."

- That's right.

Cale and Alberu... The two of them did not ask what happened to Ahn Roh Man's parents after they had their game stolen.

Ahn Roh Man had also said the following.

'A world created with his parents' blood and sweat.'

Ahn Roh Man shrugged his shoulders after seeing the two of them being quiet.

Crown prince Alberu watched him before nonchalantly commenting.

"I'm surprised you managed to rise to the position of President. If I was a member of the Transparents, I would not have left you alive."

- Haha-!

Ahn Roh Man laughed.

- Yeah, I'm sure they would have done that if they knew that I knew the whole truth.

"They don't know?"

- Of course not.

Ahn Roh Man's story continued.

- The project was stopped because my parents suddenly passed away in an unfortunate accident. Furthermore, the company struggled because of attacks from competing businesses. In that situation, my uncle said that he would take things to the Transparent Corporation to protect my parents' dying wishes and save all of us.

Ahn Roh Man had been ten years old at that time.

- At that time, I took that to be the truth. He then grew up being protected by his nice uncle and aunt, getting some benefits from the conglomerate Transparent Corporation as he grew up.

"You then found out the truth?"

- Yeah. I figured it out after seeing the game that the Transparent Corporation put out.

"How?"

A smile appeared on Ahn Roh Man's face.

- My parents hid the truth in the game.

Cale's eyes clouded over.

He sat up on the couch. His body leaned forward.

Ahn Roh Man's voice continued.

- No matter how much those Transparent Corporation bastards changed the game, the foundation was within the system that my parents created.

Those bastards did not manage to erase the letter they stealthily left within it while I managed to find it.

- Because that's how I used to play when I was little. My parents were quite mischievous, I guess? I was basically just as mischievous as them. It was something only we knew about, something we did to have fun messing with each other.

Cale and Ahn Roh Man made eye contact.

- And there was an existence that fooled around with my family.

Cale's mouth opened.

"...System."

- Yeah. It was the AI. The minimum artificial intelligence system required to maintain the virtual reality world.

Cale had been curious.

How had Ahn Roh Man ended up as the top ranker in the game?

- That AI is my friend and sibling. I guess I should call him hyung since he was born a year before me?

A bitter smile appeared on Ahn Roh Man's face.

- That AI kept itself tightly hidden inside the game. Of course, it handed over most of its abilities to the Transparent Corporation as if it had no choice when they took it away. The Transparent Corporation probably didn't even know that an AI existed. That guy hid himself extremely well and waited.

Alberu's mouth opened.

"For you?"

- Yeah.

Ahn Roh Man's parents apparently had some idea about his uncle's ambitions. That was why they had created a couple arrangements just in case, with the AI inside the game being one of them.

The results of research created by two of the greatest minds in that world.

That AI stealthily existed inside the Transparent Corporation's game and waited for Ahn Roh Man, and...

- It helped me take the top ranking.

Alberu quietly listened before looking toward Cale.

"Is that AI similar to Central Plains?"

"Yes, your highness. But it probably can't do as much as Central Plains did."

Cale asked Ahn Roh Man a question.

"Sir, that AI doesn't have enough abilities to control that game, right?"

- Yes sir. Most of what you could call 'authority' in the game is controlled by the Transparent Corporation.

Cale organized his thoughts for a bit before asking again.

"Did the Transparent Corporation become a transcendent corporation thanks to that game?"

"Why do you think that?"

"You mentioned that you grew up with benefits from the conglomerate Transparent Corporation. But in the beginning, you described it as a transcendent corporation."

- ...That is correct. Sir, you are someone who pays attention to each and every word.

Ahn Roh Man looked at Cale as if he was quite amused.

Cale responded back with a stoic gaze.

"Sir, you seem to be someone who puts a lot of meaning into each and every one of your words."

- Haha-

Ahn Roh Man laughed but did not answer. Instead, he asked a question.

- You both also seem like people who put meaning into your words. What is a Hunter?

Cale and Alberu looked at each other and nodded their heads.

The explanation was Cale's to do.

However, there was something he needed to ask before that.

"Are you close with the Transparents?"

Ahn Roh Man. He still could not fully trust this person.

He stealthily peeked to the side to see that Alberu also did not fully trust Ahn Roh Man yet.

The reason was clear.

'Ahn Roh Man is a three-term president.'

Three terms. That meant that he had been president for three consecutive terms.

The transcendent Transparent Corporation... If he was fighting against them, if he was opposing them, it should have been difficult to rise to the position of president.

Cale could see a bright smile appearing on Ahn Roh Man's cold face at that moment.

The moment he thought it was exactly the same as Alberu...

- Very close. Politically and personally, we are very close.

'Ah.'

The corners of Cale's lips curled up at that moment.

- Human! That smile is the same as the crown prince! That's the smile the crown prince has when he is scamming!

Cale listened to Raon's voice as he looked toward Alberu.

Alberu had an unsettled look on his face.

That was his reaction when he met someone like him.

Ahn Roh Man continued to speak at that moment.

- And I plan on continuing to be close to the transcendent Transparent Corporation if possible. Mutually benefiting each other.

Ah.

He quietly gasped. It was exaggerated, almost as if he remembered something he had forgotten.

- For your information, the Transparent Corporation has no idea that I am the top ranker. That is because Taerang is known externally as the Unbreakable Spear.

First place: I'm going to fuck up the bastard who took Taerang.

- Ah, for your information, that was a nickname change. Originally my name was not I'm going to fuck up the bastard who took Taerang, it was unfilial son. Hahaha.

'...As expected, this guy is no joke.'

As Cale had that thought...

- Is this enough to hear a bit of your story now, sir?

"......."

Cale was silent for a moment before he blurted something out.

"I guess I should let you know as your world might end up being destroyed."

- ...Excuse me?

As Ahn Roh Man's face filled with shock for the first time... Alberu smiled. He then mumbled.

"Now that guy will get to experience the Cale Henituse art of speech as well."

Of course, Cale just disrespectfully ignored that mumbling. He then started his story.

"The Transparent Corporation is originally the Transparent Bloods. Their true identity is a gathering of Hunters."

He naturally gave a short explanation of everything that had happened; only enough that Ahn Roh Man had to know.

He could not explain everything.

'I still don't fully trust him.'

He and Alberu both felt that way.

After finishing his explanation, Cale quietly observed Ahn Roh Man who had been quiet throughout the explanation.

Ahn Roh Man seemed to have finished organizing his thoughts as he immediately started speaking.

- I guess you want to approach RPOG. That is why you contacted me.

"RPOG?"

He answered the confused Alberu's question.

- I shortened the game name. Raising my very own precious omnipotent god. RPOG. We generally call it RPOG.

His face turned bitter.

- ...For Bluey to be dead before I could see her face-

That damn Bluey.

As Cale's face turned unsettled...

- If you use Taerang, you should be able to set a new user on the tablet.

This was the information he wanted.

Taerang.

The AI existing in Alberu's Unbreakable Spear.

"What about getting into the original user's account?"

- If you try messing with the user's physical data, it will become impossible to approach the game. It would be safer to take a detour by creating a new account.

Ahn Roh Man then added on.

- Of course, I will look into how you can access the game through Bluey's ID as well.

A smile appeared on his face.

- Since it is the game ID used by the leader of the Blue Bloods, I'm certain that there are entertaining traces or information left in Bluey's account.

Raon shouted into Cale's mind.

- Human! Ahn Roh Man seems like a villain!

'I know, right?'

- Human, you have a similar look on your face too!

'I had a feeling.'

_ Human, our crown prince's expression is weird.

Cale turned his gaze.

He made eye contact with Alberu, who was tilting his head in confusion while looking at him and Ahn Roh Man. Alberu smiled benignly.

It was unsettling.

However, he focused as Ahn Roh Man started speaking again.

- However, both of these things will take some time. You will need at least one month, sir.

Cale frowned.

"That long?"

One month. That was too long.

Cale had to go deal with the Purple Bloods of Aipotu before that.

Choi Jung Gun. He needed to find that missing dude.

- Yes sir. Originally, one device can only use one account. The Transparent Corporation is quite thorough about that.

"Mm."

- There is one faster way.

"Hooo."

Cale quickly asked.

"What is it?"

Ahn Roh Man suddenly closed his mouth.

He then looked at Alberu.

"Hmm?"

Alberu flinched before pointing at himself.

"Me?"

- Yeah. To be more specific, the Unbreakable Spear in your hand. That is a magnificent device capable of holding an advanced AI like Taerang. It should be easy for me to send the game through Taerang to install it there.

"......."

- Unlike the Blood Demon's tablet, the Unbreakable Spear is a new device so there shouldn't be any issues with the account, so it is very easy compared to the other option. There is some difficulty in sending the game package to Taerang from here, but something like that should be easy for me to do. It should be done in a week at max?

"......."

Alberu looked at Cale, who was silently looking at him. He then looked at Ahn Roh Man's smiling face before being at a loss of words for a bit.

"Cale."

"Yes, hyung-nim."

He was suddenly calling him hyung-nim.

"Should I let you borrow Taerang for a bit?"

"I need to go to Aipotu and work hard, hyung-nim."

- Alberu. If the user account is registered, it will be difficult for you to use Taerang while the game is being played. Cale Henituse. He will need to hold onto it to access the game. It won't be just letting him borrow it for a bit. It would be for a while.

Cale and Ahn Roh Man spoke one after the other.

Alberu stared at Cale with a fierce gaze.

"... I'm busy too."

"Thanks to that, I am able to go save the world without any worries about Roan! Hyung-nim, I respect you so much!"

"......."

Alberu brushed his face with both hands.

Ahn Roh Man calmly consoled him.

- Don't worry. My brother and I... I am talking about the AI. Anyway, the two of us will bus you.

'...Bus me?"

- It means we will help you quickly get strong.

"......."

Alberu sighed as he commented.

"...This is driving me nuts."

Cale smiled with satisfaction.

"Hyung-nim, I trust you."

He truly meant it.

He would be so busy once he got to Aipotu.

Alberu would be able to adjust well to the RPOG virtual reality game with Taerang and Ahn Roh Man's help. He would create a lot of footholds to assist Cale when he faced the Transparent Bloods in the future.

"Ha. I'll give it a whirl."

Alberu agreed despite the look of annoyance on his face.

In the end, the Roan Kingdom's first game user was decided as Alberu Crossman.

ID.

The Disrespectful Emperor.

Cale had no idea about the chaos that this user would cause.

No, he would never have even dreamt it.

* * *

Instead, Cale had to face a different difficulty.

"...What is this?"

Ron warmly explained in a benign voice.

"Young master-nim, after learning that you would be attending the school opening ceremony for young lady Lily, the Chancellor of the Academy has asked you to speak."

Raon and Hong interjected.

"Wow, is our human going to give a speech?"

"That sounds fun, nya! I want to quickly go see the Academy!"

"Me too! Human, I'm going to go see it too!"

On was seated next to them looking through a pamphlet about the education system at the Academy.

Cale had planned on quietly visiting the Academy to protect his youngest sister Lily from the evil hands of the crown prince while letting the children averaging ten-years-old go sightseeing.

Of course, Cale had not informed the Chancellor about his visit.

"... Ron."

"Yes, young master-nim."

"...His highness must have informed the Chancellor, right?"

Ron silently smiled.

Cale brushed his face with both hands.

RPOG. This should be the crown prince's petty revenge for being stuck with that game.

Ding!

He received a message through the divine item at that moment.

It was a message from the God of Death.

< Got permission to move the Black Castle. >

A world ruled by Dragons...

It was now possible for the entire Black Castle in the Forest of Darkness to go to the world of the Purple Bloods, Aipotu.

Translator's Comments

Howl I mean Raon's moving castle!