The Fortuitous Encounter in the Game Becomes Reality, Episode 2
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The Fortuitous Encounter in the Game Becomes Reality, Episode 2
1. Fortuitous Encounter (2)
This goes back 10 years from now.
It's a story from when I was 10 years old and entered the Royal Academy.
"Huh?"
While I was researching for a class assignment about a man named "Manuel Lucas," who led the golden age of the Magic Century, I discovered something completely unexpected.
"What is this...."
What caught my eye was the crest of House Duke Lucas.
[WHY]
For some reason, there was English written there.
"Don't tell me he was too?"
That short word "why," which somehow felt meaningful.
Because of it, I kept blinking stupidly and checked it over and over, thinking I might have seen it wrong.
And once I was sure there was nothing wrong with my eyes, I naturally began to question the origins of Duke Lucas.
"No, I can't jump to conclusions from just this. It could be a simple coincidence."
I was greatly flustered, but since I'm cautious by nature, I didn't rush to a conclusion.
"Ha...."
However, before long I could no longer deny that Duke Lucas was from Earth.
[His Highness Lucas left these words just before his death: "I wanted to walk once more with Mary along the beaches of California." I cannot be certain of the meaning of these unfamiliar place and name, but since this is the story of a great saint, I cannot let it pass lightly. Therefore, I record His Highness's final message here.]
The record left by the butler who stayed at his side until the end was irrefutable evidence.
Whether, like me, he remembered a previous life, or whether he had crossed dimensions like in comics or novels, I didn't know, but the great archmage of Rondel was clearly from Earth.
Most people did not attach much meaning to that incomprehensible last will, but to me, it was like a secret message.
[Prototype of the Aura Condensation Device "Washington"]
[The first virtual reality system combining Ego, Indream, and Thought Sharing magic "Hollywood"]
After that, as if possessed by something, I devoted myself to researching Duke Lucas, and evidence that he was an Earthling poured out from all sorts of places.
Through that process, I began to see one possible conclusion.
"Perhaps I'm the only one who can truly understand this great mage."
That in turn reminded me of the declaration Manuel Lucas had made, which had turned the world upside down.
[Power, knowledge, wealth. I have hidden everything of mine somewhere in this world.]
[Yearn for it. The one who claims this masterless fortuitous encounter may be you.]
Even if you don't know Duke Lucas's achievements, there is no one who doesn't know that statement, which stirs human greed.
"He blatantly used an English word in his family crest, and left traces everywhere that he was from Earth. On top of that, the way he revealed the existence of the fortuitous encounter and drew massive attention almost feels like he was looking for someone from the same hometown."
Of course, just as he longed for someone named Mary, he might simply have been unable to forget his homeland and done those things without deeper meaning.
However, seeing that his legacy still has not been found despite the entire world searching for it with eyes wide open, I started to think that there might be some condition required to obtain it.
"Maybe knowledge of Earth could be helpful."
Common sense says it's impossible to break through all the talented people across the world who are aiming for his legacy and obtain the fortuitous encounter, but if this assumption doesn't end as mere delusion, then I would be closer than anyone to Duke Lucas's legacy.
"I'm already having a hard time building my own arrangements while avoiding Anna's eyes. But if I manage to get Duke Lucas's fortuitous encounter?"
Of course, this might be an overly optimistic outlook.
But once my thoughts went that far, I had no choice but to throw myself into gathering information.
I not only explored the person named Manuel Lucas, but also checked every one of the technologies and papers he developed in his lifetime, and during vacation I even flew directly to the Brigham Empire, the country of the archmage.
I poked around all over the place during my investigation, but no one paid any attention to a 10-year-old brat.
They just dismissed me as one of Manuel Lucas's followers.
In that way, amidst the indifference of my competitors, I managed to acquire quite a variety of information.
And in the end....
[You have acquired Manuel Lucas's fortuitous encounter.]
I did it.
* * *
Knowledge of Earth was a great help in finding Duke Lucas's fortuitous encounter.
Of course, I had made arrangements so that I could eventually reach the fortuitous encounter even without Earth's knowledge, but as long as an irregular like me existed, competition could never be fair.
[Heir to inherit the succession of the great mage Manuel Lucas.]
Now that I had obtained the above title, there would be no need to cower while yielding to threats anymore.
Was Anna, merely the mistress of a viscount's household, really a problem?
Duke Lucas's power was enough to move an entire nation.
My future would be smooth sailing from here on out.
All that was left was to leave hardship behind and walk a path lined with flowers....
- Clack!
"Ck!"
Or so I thought.
But then an unexpected problem immediately arose.
"Damn, that hurts! This fucking—!"
It turned out that the true beginning of hardship was after obtaining Manuel Lucas's fortuitous encounter.
[Goblin]
HP 80/100
A short humanoid monster with green skin.
Goblins exist throughout the Kingdom of Reinheits, but the reason their HP is displayed so kindly is because this place is inside a virtual reality game called "Chronicle Online."
"How am I supposed to fight properly when this is so scary?"
No matter how immersive virtual reality is, a game is a game.
Normally, pain is softened by a filter.
But I had to flinch as I felt pain no different from reality.
Who would believe that this malicious bug was linked to the fortuitous encounter?
- Kieeek!
Just as the pain froze my body for a moment.
I gripped the beginner's dagger in reverse and glared at the goblin.
My left arm had been slashed deeply, which was extremely irritating, but I clenched my teeth and prepared for the next attack.
-Whoosh!
The goblin lunged nimbly and thrust straight at me.
I dodged by a hair's breadth and slammed the dagger down with all my strength.
[Critical Hit!]
The goblin, pierced through the crown of its head, let out a gurgling sound, its HP dropped to 0, and it collapsed.
Soon its corpse dissolved in light after dropping a few coins, and at the same time, blue light burst out around me as an alert appeared.
[You have reached Level 10.]
[You have reached the level at which you can class change.]
All injuries were healed by the level-up.
But while the level-up effect, which should have vanished quickly, continued, a new message appeared.
[You have cleared Stage 1 of the fortuitous encounter quest.]
[You are being moved to a secret space by the chief god Ariel.]
After blinking once, the surroundings had changed into a gray space surrounded on all sides by marble.
Without regard for my own thoughts, I had been forcibly teleported.
-Manuel Lucas's magic tower, 1st floor.
[The conditions for opening the next area of the magic tower have been met. The 2nd floor of Manuel Lucas's magic tower is now open.]
What a rather unfriendly system.
My opinion wasn't reflected anywhere in the situation that unfolded after I finished hunting goblins.
Well, whatever my opinion was, as long as I could properly secure the fortuitous encounter, it was worth accepting anything.
The intelligence agencies of every country, as well as many treasure hunters, had combed the world inch by inch in search of Duke Lucas's legacy.
But Duke Lucas's fortuitous encounter had been hidden in an unexpected place: *online*, that is, inside a virtual world.
"No wonder it was hard to find."
Even when I first obtained the fortuitous encounter, I had thought I might physically inherit Duke Lucas's legacy.
For example, by being told the location of a secret vault in reality or a dungeon.
But Manuel Lucas was more meticulous than I had expected and had not easily leaked his legacy to the outside.
[Your character is being reset.]
[Your character and your real body are being synchronized.]
[The abilities of Chronicle Online are being reflected in reality.]
[Intellectual and material assets will be acquired in stages according to your growth.]
Like that.
Thanks to this, the scout character I had raised to search for the fortuitous encounter in this game was wiped out, and I had to clear the game all over again as a beginner.
'Still, this is pretty good.'
To think that abilities from the game would be applied to reality.
Even if I only managed to obtain the strength of the scout I had raised, it would be hard to find an opponent within the kingdom.
And since I had experience now, character growth would be easier than before, so I also had the mindset to enjoy it.
But when the game synchronized with my real body, my poor physical condition was reflected as it was, and my body didn't keep up with my mind, so I suffered like hell in the early stages.
On top of that, my body was heavy, and whenever I was attacked, tremendous pain surged through me, so I had no choice but to be cautious while hunting, and it ended up taking quite a long time to reach Level 10, the goal of Stage 1 of the fortuitous encounter quest.
[Would you like to go up to the 2nd floor of Manuel Lucas's magic tower?]
A door appeared like a mirage in the gray space where there had been nothing.
This space, an in-game object, was essentially Duke Lucas's fortuitous encounter itself.
Without hesitation, I grabbed the door handle and nodded.
"Yeah."
The moment I answered, I felt that teleporting sensation again, and a space with a broad red carpet spread out before me.
The difference between the 2nd floor and the 1st floor was not just the carpet on the floor.
Unlike the 1st floor, where there had been nothing, the 2nd floor was arranged so that the entire area looked like a study.
Along one wall stood a bookshelf packed tightly with various books, and in front of it was a large metal box.
[Treasure Chest 1]
A message window kindly telling me what the box was for.
Eyes wide, I swallowed dryly and slowly approached the box.
[You have acquired 5 billion Root. Please enter the account to which it will be deposited.]
[If you wish, you may also receive it as online currency.]
At last, a reward worthy of the name appeared.
Root is similar to Korea's won as a currency unit, so it was practically the same as getting 5 billion won.
However, although it was an enormous sum, it was also an amount I could barely manage to raise if I really pushed myself as a lord's son, so it felt a bit lacking.
'This is just what I got for reaching Level 10 in a game where the maximum level goes up to 300, so I can look forward to what comes next.'
Still, from the beginning, the true value of the fortuitous encounter wasn't money, but this.
[A 1st Circle is being created.]
[Due to circle creation, your class is being fixed as Mage.]
[A circle is being created in the synchronized body (reality).]
[Do not log out of the game. If you force quit, your synchronized body will suffer severe damage.]