Chapter 10
Normally, culture flows from the upper class down to the lower class.
This was true in both this world and the modern world.
Naturally, Maple Leaf Story had become a hot topic even among the commoners.
“Maple Leaf Story seems to be famous even among the commoners.”
“I suppose that’s to be expected.”
Even so, the speed was incredibly fast.
Maple Leaf Story was currently too expensive for commoners to afford, and it’s likely that very few have actually played it.
But considering the world of my past life, this was a natural phenomenon.
Originally, games were something that ordinary people enjoyed and were passionate about.
It’s only natural. The ones who dream of ideals and immerse themselves in a new world are people like them.
It would be impossible for commoners not to be excited by the idea of a new world unfolding before them.
I felt the same way, and knowing that feeling, I planned to lower the price as much as possible once mass production became feasible.
For those who had already purchased it at a high price, I could give them special rewards or titles.
“I plan to lower the price soon so that commoners can enjoy it too. Of course, this will depend on the success of our current task.”
Rain and I were currently traveling across the continent to recruit a new Illusion Mage.
We were looking for people with Illusion Attributes that had been identified in the past, especially those whose attributes could be useful for game development.
“This is the place. This person has an A-rank Illusion Attribute but once refused to join the Illusion Magic Tower.”
I was worried since we were trying to recruit someone who had already declined once.
But such concerns were quickly resolved.
“Alright, I accept.”
People were agreeing without much persuasion.
“If I become an Illusion Mage, I’ll be able to play Maple Leaf Story, right?”
Thanks to the widespread fame of Maple Leaf Story, everyone accepted the offer.
Even those who initially refused accepted once they were offered a chance to play Maple Leaf Story.
I hadn’t even discussed the salary yet, but they agreed… I didn’t expect it to become this famous.
“That’s good news, Rai.”
“Yes. I didn’t expect things to go so smoothly, thanks to this, we can start production even sooner.”
And so, we returned to Trinity with our new recruits.
“…Huh?”
“That looks like a royal carriage…”
Upon arriving at the tower, there was a magnificent carriage parked in front.
Could it be that the royal family came here to buy Maple Leaf Story?
I told them not to open the door no matter who came.
I hurriedly opened the door and simultaneously witnessed a horrific scene.
“Kyaaaaaah!”
Medeia’s scream.
And a man swinging his sword towards her.
Medeia’s head was severed, and she collapsed to the ground.
By the time I processed what I saw, I had already lost control of my senses.
“…What do you think you’re doing?”
He replied calmly, saying he cut her down because she annoyed him.
It was an unacceptable response.
I shoved aside the Imperial Court official blocking my path and approached him, my mana surging.
In Trinity, mages weren’t supposed to use magic recklessly, but it was an exception when someone attacked a mage.
Of course, I couldn’t kill him with illusion magic.
But I couldn’t bear seeing what happened to Medeia.
I was sick and tired of being looked down upon and attacked just because I was an Illusion Mage.
-Grooooooooan-!
Giant golems began to rise from the ground, stretching their limbs.
It wasn’t just one or two.
Several golems, as massive as our shabby tower, began to rise, causing the ceiling to start collapsing.
Soon, the golems began to attack the man.
“R-Rai? What the…”
Rain rushed in, shocked by the sight.
But he didn’t stop me.
After all, this was all a well-crafted illusion.
Even knowing this, the illusion was vivid enough to instil fear.
Boom!
A golem slammed its fist down on the ground.
At the same time, I cast an illusion of the ground collapsing.
The man swiftly dodged the golem’s attacks and started running toward me.
I ran out of the tower and created a giant sinkhole on the path he was taking.
A sinkhole so deep that its end couldn’t be seen.
“This is fun.”
But the man didn’t hesitate and continued running over the sinkhole.
As if running through the air.
He knew everything was an illusion, so he wasn’t fazed.
Despite that, jumping up there without hesitation required considerable courage.
He was certainly no ordinary human.
While I was lost in these thoughts, his sword was already at my face.
The man swung his sword at my shoulder, cutting deep into my chest, and blood gushed out.
“Rai!”
Rain shouted, but there was no pain.
Because this was also an illusion.
The moment the man slashed through the clone, I, who was hiding within the illusion, dashed forward and grabbed his neck with a dagger.
All the illusions disappeared, and the man froze in place.
“…I didn’t realize it was a clone.”
And just as I was about to stab his neck with the dagger—
“W-wait, Rai! Stop-!”
Medeia’s voice echoed.
“…Huh?”
She was alive.
***
“…So you’re saying you knew it was a clone and deliberately cut it down. Is that correct?”
“Y-yes, of course. Our Prince possesses a related attribute, you see.”
Somehow, the misunderstanding was cleared up.
Medeia also testified that she heard him say he knew it was an illusion, so it seems he didn’t really intend to kill anyone.
This man was none other than the 3rd Prince, Rikal.
Even in Trinity, he was famous as the Rogue Prince.
There were dozens of people who had died at his hands, and he would throw a fit whenever things didn’t go his way, according to the rumours.
Even if he knew it was an illusion, it’s hard to view someone kindly if they draw their sword just because things don’t go their way.
“…I understand. However, as it was your mistake to recklessly draw your sword in Trinity, I won’t apologize. Instead, it’s us who deserve an apology.”
“T-that… well, that’s… I mean, that’s also…”
Hanon, the Prince’s aide, was sweating profusely at my stubborn attitude.
He seemed worried that the Prince might explode at any moment.
Of course, if I said it like this, the Prince wouldn’t just sit still.
But I had no intention of bowing my head to him.
This was Trinity, and even the Prince couldn’t get away unscathed if he killed a mage here.
“I have a suggestion to make regarding the ‘Maple Leaf Story’ issue. Those bastards are preventing me from playing the game, so handle it quickly, Riot.”
“…It’s Rai. Oat, not Riot.”
Rikal didn’t even bother to apologize and just said what he wanted to say.
Not that I expected an apology anyway, so it didn’t matter.
I was just surprised that he was a player of Maple Leaf Story.
And to think he came here not to argue but to make a ‘suggestion’ elegantly.
“…A suggestion?”
If it was a purchase issue, I would’ve blacklisted him, but if it was a player’s suggestion, it was worth listening to.
There were still many areas in the game that needed maintenance.
I didn’t like the Prince, but I decided to hear him out first.
“There are players who shamelessly steal other people’s hunting spots. It’s not just once or twice; they deliberately target users with slower hunting speeds and habitually act like scum.”
Spot-stealing, huh.
It was a common issue in my original world too.
It wasn’t illegal but more of a bad-mannered play.
You couldn’t suspend accounts for it, but it was definitely a big issue among players.
I expected it to happen eventually, but not this quickly.
“It’s certainly a problem. But it’s not something that warrants suspension or a blacklist.”
“Those bastards are making the game unplayable. Are you kidding me?”
“Hunting grounds are supposed to be for everyone. It’s a shared map. The concept of ‘spots’ is more like a courtesy. An unspoken agreement, or something like that.”
“So, deal with the ones who broke that courtesy.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. It’s not illegal.”
“Tch, you…”
Rikal brushed his hand over his forehead as I continued to refuse.
He seemed to be getting angry.
I could empathize that it was quite a troublesome issue.
And since it was something I had anticipated, I already had a countermeasure in mind.
However, it wasn’t something like account suspension.
“But we can release a new update. This update should reduce that issue to some extent.”
“…An update?”
“Yes.”
I had originally planned to include it in the next major update.
But now that spot-stealing had become an issue, I needed to prioritize this update first.
“We’ll add a Popularity system and a Megaphone item.”
“…Popularity and a Megaphone?”
I briefly explained the new features to him.
Of course, this alone wouldn’t completely prevent spot-stealing, but considering the characteristics of this world, it should help to some extent.
The impact of popularity here would probably be much greater than it was in my previous life.
“You really think something like that would work?”
“It will. Next time you get spot-stolen, try using a Megaphone to broadcast that user’s name to the entire server.”
“…Hmph.”
The Prince seemed skeptical, but he understood the concept.
Since the Megaphone would be a cash item, this was a good opportunity to update the cash shop as well.
I would soon be lowering the prices, so I needed another way to generate revenue.
If nothing else, the Megaphone was like the flower of Maple Leaf Story.
At first, they might use it for this purpose, but later, users would find countless other reasons to use it.
“If it doesn’t work, feel free to come back then. For now, this is the best solution we can offer.”
“…When will it be updated?”
This guy only says what he wants to say.
The fact that he kept pushing his own agenda was irritating, but I held back.
Because I had another objective in mind.
The Prince must have a lot of money, right?
“…Honestly, creating it won’t take long, but we need a large quantity of mana stones to add new features. And as you can see, our Magic Tower is short on funds.”
In truth, ever since the second batch of sales, we’ve gained a lot of investors and sponsors.
Most of the sponsors were people who ended up on the blacklist.
They were making free donations in exchange for having their blacklist status lifted.
“We haven’t even been able to make a third production batch yet. To implement such a large update… it would definitely require a lot of investment.”
We already had enough funds for game development.
But I couldn’t pass up such a golden opportunity in front of me.
“If Your Highness were to invest, well, it could be done sooner.”
“…Tch. I’ll give you as much money as you need, so just get it done quickly.”
“Oh, thank you~ Of course, we will!”
Just a moment ago, I wanted to punch him in the jaw, but now the Prince looked quite handsome.
Is this the power of money?
He was still an annoying rogue, but the fact that he was giving me money slightly improved my opinion of him.
Seizing the opportunity, I drew up a one-sided investment contract and handed it to him.
The terms were practically all in our Favour, leaving almost no benefit for the investor.
“Then, please stamp here. Since it’s a sensitive matter like an investment contract, we need to keep a record, don’t we?”
“…Annoying.”
“W-wait a moment, Your Highness!”
Thud—
His aide, Hanon, rushed over to stop him.
But Rikal’s finger was faster.
By the time Hanon snatched the contract, the Prince’s seal was already on it.
“Oh, thank you so much! I’ll make a copy and give it to you.”
“You handle it, Hanon.”
Hanon, who had read through the contract, dropped to his knees and began to wail.
Rikal, on the other hand, paid no attention to him and continued wiping his fingers.
“Very well, haha… A notification will pop up when the update is implemented, so please check it then.”
A moment ago, he had been an annoying pest, but now I couldn’t help but laugh.
I still couldn’t forgive him for swinging his sword around recklessly, but with this much money, I could let it slide.
I had received the funds. Just as I was about to send this bothersome guy away, I suddenly grew curious.
“…By the way, what class are you raising, Your Highness? Warrior? Rogue?”
Judging by Rikal’s personality, I assumed he’d pick a Warrior or some other class with flashy offensive skills.
He seemed like the type to do spot-stealing rather than be the victim.
“…Who cares about that! Just focus on getting the update done quickly, Riot.”
Rikal didn’t answer my question.
It looked like his eyes wavered for a moment—was I imagining it? He seemed to be trembling a little.
Well, maybe he just wanted to try something different.
Since Maple Leaf Story is basically an anonymous world, I didn’t bother prying into his in-game details.
“C-can the Illusion Magic Tower really figure out who a user is in real life?”
Rikal asked, his voice sweating.
His pupils seemed to be wandering aimlessly in the air.
Technically, as the operator, I could identify users if I wanted to.
In this world, mana is like a fingerprint. Any artifact activated using a certain type of mana leaves a traceable record.
Of course, most users wouldn’t know this.
Someone like Hina, an illusion mage, might have noticed, but there was no need for me to reveal it. I had no intention of using personal information.
As I mentioned before, Maple Leaf Story is a world where people can escape from reality and experience a whole new adventure.
If their real-life details were exposed there, they wouldn’t be able to enjoy the game freely.
“No, even we can’t see personal information.”
“…Is that so?”
For some reason, Rikal seemed relieved.
Having returned to his usual self, he stood up from his seat.
“Anyway, hurry up with that update or whatever. I’m so pissed off because of those bastards that I can’t even play the game.”
“Yes, I’ll do that. I’ll make good use of the money.”
Creeeak—
Rikal left the Magic Tower, dragging the weeping Hanon along with him.
It was only after they left that the people who had been hiding came out.
“H-how did it go?”
“It’s settled. He’s a pain, but we managed to squeeze a lot of money out of him.”
Hearing my words, everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and began to smile.
In the end, it worked out well.
“Rain, guide the new recruits and have the Tower Master teach them some illusion spells. I have something I need to check.”
“Yes, got it, Rai.”
Rain hugged me tightly and rubbed her cheek against mine.
It’s been her habit since childhood, and she still does it. She’s so tall that our heads are almost at the same height.
I left them behind and headed to the room where the artifact that housed Maple Leaf Story’s main server was located.
I needed to find out what Rikal’s character was.
Just now, during the fight, he had used his own magic, so traces of his mana should still be there.
“…Huh? Is this user really…?”
When I found out which character belonged to Rikal, I was shocked.
It was someone I never would have imagined.
But soon, my shock turned into laughter.
“Heh, heh, to think this user was the 3rd Prince. You’re done for now.”
I had discovered something very interesting.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Comment