Chapter 8
“What? Blacklisted?”
“Yes… that’s right. You caused a disturbance at the Illusion Magic Tower…”
“What…?”
Count Logos suddenly recalled something.
Not too long ago, he had sent one of his knights to the Illusion Magic Tower.
There was nothing else that came to mind other than that incident.
“…So you’re saying I can’t buy this now? Do you have any idea how long it took me to get here?”
“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do. Unless the Illusion Magic Tower lifts the ban, we can’t sell it.”
“How dare mere merchants…”
-“If you can’t buy it, then hurry up and get out of the way!”
-“Count! There are a lot of people waiting behind you!”
-“Do you think you’re the only one waiting…? All of us came from far away to get here!”
The complaints from other nobles behind him.
If it were only a matter of dealing with merchants, he would have pressed them with his status.
However, there were too many nobles expressing their discontent for him to handle.
“Bwaaaaanh— My, my maple leaf! Bwaaaaanh—!”
“Sigh…”
“What’s going on? What do you mean, blacklist?”
“Father! If you don’t hurry, everything will be sold out!”
In the end, the Count had to leave the guild with his youngest child, who was throwing a tantrum on the floor.
His wife and eldest son were also standing there, looking completely at a loss.
Of course, the Count felt the same way.
“Count! Count Logos!”
When they exited the guild, people were waiting for him.
It was his own relatives.
“Isn’t it true that we’re blacklisted because of the Logos family now?”
“How are you going to take responsibility for this? I’ve been waiting here since last night!”
“I’ve been waiting months just for this! What are you going to do about it?!”
His relatives were also on the blacklist.
“Kn-knight, call Sir Fenil right this instant!!”
***
“W-wow…”
“I didn’t expect so many nobles to be willing to invest like this.”
Hina’s eyes widened at the sight of the piles of money.
Unbeknownst to us, the ‘Maple Leaf Story’ had become immensely popular among the nobles.
Ever since that unpleasant knight first showed up, many noble families had personally visited the Illusion Magic Tower.
Some were polite nobles, but others, like the first knight, were annoying individuals.
We put all such people on the blacklist so they couldn’t buy ‘Maple Leaf Story.’
“But is this really okay, Rai-kun? The nobles might retaliate.”
Rain asked, sounding worried.
But it should be fine.
After all, we have Galliard.
If we decided to shut down the service for ‘Maple Leaf Story’ because of them, the other nobles already enjoying the game would turn on them instead.
In the end, it would be the nobles on the blacklist who’d have to bow their heads.
Knock knock—
And just as I expected, the nobles on the blacklist came to visit the tower.
“I’m here to personally apologize. It seems one of our knights made a mistake. Please, lift the blacklist.”
“I-I’m sorry! At the time, I had just travelled a long distance late at night, and I wasn’t in my right mind!”
The first to visit was Count Logos and his knight.
The very knight who had picked a fight with us from the beginning.
It seemed that putting the relatives of the Logos family on the blacklist had worked well.
The knight, who had been so arrogant back then, was now grovelling on the ground, prostrating himself.
“I’m begging you like this. My child is causing a lot of trouble every day.”
What should I do?
I could lift the ban if they paid, but that wouldn’t make me feel any better.
“I’ll think about it. In any case, you can’t buy it right now, so just go back for now.”
Even if I lifted the ban now, they wouldn’t be able to buy it.
The second batch sold out in a single day.
Due to a shortage of manpower at the tower, it takes a long time to create new artifacts.
I thought I’d send him back and decide later, but the Count desperately grabbed the closing door.
“P-please, I’m begging you! Just this once…”
“If you keep doing this, a rumour might spread that Count Logos is causing delays in the next production.”
“A-ah…”
The Count let go of the door with a despairing expression.
He looked so pitiful collapsing weakly on the floor.
But his pitiful act didn’t soften my heart.
He might be begging like this now, but he had been disregarding the Illusion Magic Tower for a long time.
Not only him, but many nobles had ignored and ridiculed the Illusion Magic Tower.
For as long as I can remember, those who belittled Illusion Magic would badmouth it whenever the topic of magic came up in social gatherings.
As a result, the reputation of Illusion Magic had plummeted, leading to the destitution we face now.
Why do people mock and look down on those who have nothing?
I could never understand, but such people exist everywhere.
Even so, it did feel satisfying to see those who had once disdained us now bowing their heads.
At the same time, disgust welled up at seeing people flip their attitudes like turning over a palm.
“Has it been resolved?”
“Yes. You don’t need to worry about it anymore. They won’t bother us again. By the way, where is the Tower Master?”
“She went to play games. She hasn’t slept lately and has been doing only that. Well, it’s fun, so I understand.”
“Hmm… game addiction isn’t a good thing. We need to hurry up and finish the next production…”
With so few people in our tower, it takes quite a long time to create new artifacts.
After we built the main server, all we have to do is imbue it with the Illusion Sharing Spell, but that’s quite difficult.
The Illusion Sharing Spell is an advanced spell, so only high-level Illusion Magic users like Hina and I can use it.
Attributes like Clone aren’t very useful for mass-producing artifacts.
“At this rate, it’ll take a long time before we release the update or the next game…”
We need to figure something out.
Specifically, we need a high-tier Illusion Mage.
“Why don’t we have any new recruits in our tower? Even if no one comes to us, don’t we usually go recruit high-tier attribute holders?”
“Of course, we do. But when we ask them to join the Illusion Magic Tower, they all refuse. You were the first one in eight years, Rai-kun. No one has joined in the eight years since you came.”
“Ah…”
So, there was an option to refuse. If I had known, I would’ve turned them down back then.
Maybe I should run away with all this money now.
“That’s why we were so happy when you joined us, Rai-kun. Fufu.”
Recalling the first day, he brushed off his negative thoughts.
“So, there are quite a few people with talent?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then let’s go again. We’ve made a lot of money, so let’s take a carriage this time.”
“Sounds good!”
Thus, the quest to find new staff began.
***
[The world of Maple Leaf Story. Victory Island.]
The character with the nickname <Light of the Empire> was hunting for level-ups, just like any other player.
His class was Cleric.
Among all the classes, it was currently the least popular choice for the second job advancement.
This was because, when selecting the second job advancement as a mage, the description for Cleric stated that it was a support character that assisted party members and provided healing.
But <Light of the Empire>, without much thought, skipped through the dialogues and absentmindedly chose Cleric.
Since character resets weren’t possible, he had no choice but to continue levelling up the Cleric reluctantly.
His second-tier attack skill, Holy Arrow, was complete garbage.
Its damage output was so low that he had to keep using his first-tier skill, Magic Claw, just to hunt.
It was nice that healing and buffs were strong, but that was all it had going for it.
Other classes would use flashy new attack skills when they advanced to the second job, flying around maps.
Meanwhile, the Cleric was still trudging along, using that miserable Magic Claw.
He was getting sick of the sound that skill made as it went chak chak.
But then, <Light of the Empire> had a change of heart when he discovered something in the skill descriptions.
He rarely read the skill descriptions.
One day, he happened to read Holy Arrow’s description and found a particular line.
[Deals significant damage to undead and demon-type monsters.]
That one line.
It even stated that the Heal skill inflicted damage to undead monsters.
<Light of the Empire> immediately headed to a hunting ground filled with undead monsters.
And there, he experienced a whole new world.
“Whoa?! This, this is it—!!”
How envious he had been of other classes using their flashy second-tier skills all this time.
But now, with Heal and Holy Arrow, he too could hunt just as efficiently as others.
While levelling up rapidly—
“This area is taken.”
“Oh, sorry…”
“Huh? Wait. Are you a Cleric?”
“Yes, so?”
“Wanna join my party?”
“Party?”
It was a party invitation from another player he met one day.
At this time, parties weren’t formed often.
<Light of the Empire> had purchased Maple Leaf Story when it was not yet well-known.
He was lucky to buy a first-batch copy thanks to Rippert’s recommendation.
Back then, there were only about 500 users, so encountering other players in hunting grounds was rare.
Even under those circumstances, the Cleric class was enough to receive party invitations.
“Yeah, yeah. Sure.”
After that first party experience, <Light of the Empire> started joining parties more frequently.
Surprisingly, playing his role as a Cleric—healing—was quite fun.
Then, after a little more time had passed, the second batch of the game was released.
As the number of users surged, they began to actively attempt party play and boss raids.
Naturally, in such a situation, many sought out <Light of the Empire>, who had been playing a Cleric from the start.
“Hey, JeBbit-nim, want to come hunt Balrog with us?”
“JeBbit-nim is partying with me today.”
“JeBbit-nim, please party with me too!”
“No, I said I’m partying with JeBbit!”
In Maple Leaf Story, he became a well-known user under the alias “JeBbit.”
“Hawawa~? Don’t fight, everyone! I’ll party with everyone, so no fighting! JeBbit can’t stand seeing users fight amongst each other!”
…His personality had changed quite a bit.
By the way, Maple Leaf Story allowed players to choose the gender of their characters, and “JeBbit” was a female character.
Of course, voices could also be set during character creation.
Since it was all just an illusion anyway, it didn’t matter if the character’s gender was different from the actual person’s.
Naturally, those new to gaming wouldn’t normally do such things.
“Huuyuyuyu… I’m tired after killing the boss three times today… I’ll do some solo hunting and log out after that…”
As a well-known user, <Light of the Empire> was hunting alone one day.
Levelling up through party play and boss raids was effective.
However, the core gameplay of Maple Leaf Story—hunting—had to be done periodically.
But then,
“Pupupupupupupupt—”
“Ahhh! This is my spot—my money! Stop stealing my experience points—!”
A user suddenly appeared and swiftly hunted all the monsters in the area that JeBbit had claimed.
The user’s nickname was <PowerArcherx>.
That user, a Hunter, which is the second job advancement for the Archer class, used their main skill, Wind Song, to rapidly hunt the monsters.
JeBbit, who was just a Cleric, couldn’t keep up with the Hunter’s hunting speed.
In this situation, all the monsters and experience points were being stolen.
No matter how much JeBbit shouted, that user didn’t leave.
“Hah! This is dirty and cheap, so I’m just going to move! It’s like stepping in dog poop!”
In the end, JeBbit decided to relocate.
It was frustrating, but there was no other choice for a Cleric.
“Eeeeyaaaaaaa!!! Stop following me already!!!”
However, the same user followed JeBbit to the new hunting ground and continued stealing experience points.
At this point, it was clear that it was intentional.
“What the hell…?! What are the admins doing if they’re not catching players like this—?! What are they even here for!”
In the end, JeBbit returned to town.
As soon as JeBbit appeared, users gathered around as usual.
JeBbit began recounting the absurd incident in an agitated voice to the other users.
“Did that happen to you too, JeBbit-nim? I’ve experienced something similar recently.”
“Me too, me too! Seriously, those guys are a menace!”
“I’ve been through that as well.”
Talking about it, it turned out that many users had experienced similar incidents.
And most of them were users whose classes had slow hunting speeds during the second job advancement, like the Cleric.
“Ugh… Isn’t there a way to punish players like that?”
In Maple Leaf Story, it was impossible to damage other players or find out their real identities.
This was to ensure everyone could fully enjoy the adventure, but it also made it difficult to penalize malicious players like that.
“That’s definitely crossing the line…”
“They should be banned from accessing the game altogether.”
“Shouldn’t we report this to the Illusion Magic Tower?”
“Yes! This is clearly a problem that the Illusion Magic Tower needs to handle!”
“But what if we get banned instead for getting on the Illusion Magic Tower’s bad side? I heard that all the nobles who argued with the Illusion Magic Tower were put on the blacklist…”
The conversation quickly shifted to the topic of the blacklist, including Count Logos.
It seemed that the users hanging around town were more interested in gossip than adventure.
Moreover, this was a problem that only affected a few classes like Cleric.
It wasn’t a significant issue that would rally the entire userbase.
In other words, there was no one willing to step up and report it to the Illusion Magic Tower.
“Then, JeBbit will log out for now. See you all tomorrow!”
But JeBbit was different.
There was no way JeBbit could stand having such an unpleasant experience and just leave it be.
As the logout music played, the illusion that had changed JeBbit’s world slowly faded away.
“Those bastards… I’ll get them banned somehow.”
A man stood up, placing the maple leaf-shaped artifact on the table.
As soon as he logged out, he called someone in an angry voice.
“Ah, Your Highness! What is it?”
“Prepare to leave for Trinity tomorrow. I’m going to visit the Illusion Magic Tower.”
“Huh? Why the Illusion Magic Tower all of a sudden… If something happens again, His Majesty will…”
Bam—!
He slammed the desk, cutting off the attendant’s words.
“I said I’m going, so why are you saying so much? Do you need to end up like the other attendants before you learn?”
“S-s-s-sorry! I’ll prepare everything right away!”
Startled by his roar, the attendant hurriedly replied.
“Leave.”
“Y-yes!”
The attendant clung to his trembling legs and quickly exited the room.
“Those guys… they absolutely have to be put on the blacklist. Damn bastards…”
The well-known user <Light of the Empire> in Maple Leaf Story.
The player with the highest reputation in Maple Leaf Story was none other than the Empire’s Prince.
The very same 3rd Prince, Rikal Leonious, notorious throughout society as the “Rogue Prince.”
—
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