Chapter 73
"STAR FANTASY" was one of the greatest MMORPG games the world had ever seen. Due to the recent decline in the world population, people sought ways to escape the dark reality where crime was everywhere, people lost their jobs and some who committed suicide.
The CEO of the game's parent company said in an interview: "We wanted to create a game that anyone and everyone could enjoy. If you don't have the necessary equipment then you could just go to an arcade or even stream others playing our game. Free of charge. The point of the game is to bring this world together. Not make money off everyone but we should still pay salaries, hahaha. It was my selfish wish in the beginning but more and more people began feeling the same way."
The game was still in the development phases and had to get testers. Since I was bored and had nothing to do that day I went to the company and applied to play the game. The money I got as a tester was pocket change but I didn't really care since I understood the company's circumstances. They couldn't sacrifice more than they already had. The company's future depended on that single game, after all.
Besides me there were probably ten other people to test the first version of the game.
Alecs—or whatever her real name was—was probably also among those people since she was a DOP. By the time the first update was ready, there were a few hundred people who received the first copy of the game.
Their jobs—me included—were to help promote the game. I lost my day-to-day job so I had all the time in the world to be a streamer. I was a trashy streamer at first and there would only be two people who would watch me at first but those numbers gradually grew.
It took a lot of months before I was able to make a big enough audience that would get interested in the game.
Just like my streaming account grew, so did the game. Each update added new things which made its loyal community eager to explore and play. Guilds weren't a thing at first since there weren't a lot of people on each server.
But Guilds were introduced when the game surpassed a million players. I wasn't interested in starting a guild so I continued solo leveling since my one goal was to reach the level cap.
I made a lot of comrades throughout my gaming career. My channel also reached the executives of the company. I was always the first one they would call to test a new update or rely on to inform them of fixes their game needed.
Life was good for those few years after college when times were tough and I was depressed daily. The game made a huge impact on my life and that's something I would cherish forever.
During my time as Lufulur, I teamed up with others in raids whenever there was a Raid Event that required four or more people to compete. I never stuck with those people even if they offered me their everything and swore fealty.
I used them when it was convenient.
I held my status as one of the strongest players ever even though I wasn't in a party yet.
Of course, this changed when I battled Misteltein's Guild Master.
The game had not only given me a family which I never had as an orphan but it also gave me valuable lessons in life.
If it was the gods' will then I would like to hear from Alecs' mouth what makes a party.
Perhaps the universe wanted me to find the answer on my own.
Maybe that was also a valuable lesson…
◇
Arnold von Berkley stood in front of the full body mirror. He was looking at himself as if he still couldn't believe that he was one of the most critically acclaimed villains in history.
That face, those eyes, arms and legs… Everything was now his.
His dark blue eyes were narrowed as if he was looking upon the entire world in suspicion. His long hair which was the same color fluttered as the wind came into the room, so he grabbed a nearby piece of string and tied his hair. He was taller than most of the people he knew—almost reaching 189cm.
Arnold looked at himself in the mirror as if he still couldn't believe everything that happened.
A month and a half had passed by ever since his first time with Victoria. The two of them hadn't missed a single day spending time together.
"…."
This room was not the one he had stayed in at the castle. In fact, this residence wasn't even the castle.
They were staying in his mansion in the center of the city.
Arnold opened up the curtains to let the light shine through.
He turned around and saw a woman staring at him with a blanket around her chest. Her brown hair was messily sprawled about. Despite her messy appearance, her uniform was neatly folded in the chair next to the bed.
"Morning, Victoria." Arnold climbed onto the bed and gave her a good morning kiss.
"Hmm… Mmm…" She pulled away, "We can't do this right now. You need to get ready for your departure to the empire."
She stood up, let the blanket fall and walked towards the closet to fetch her gown.
Arnold bit his lower lip when he saw her hourglass figure. Her long legs and perfect skin shined in the light of the morning sun.
Although no confession was made, the two of them were now together. There was no greater joy in this world to him. The two of them—being a new couple and all—had been making love every single night for an entire month straight.
It was like they never tire of each other.
But something bugged him which clouded inside his heart and created a deep void.
Victoria had a death flag.
He didn't notice the notification at first. He couldn't just summon the helmet any time. It was by mere chance that he was able to see the alert from the system when he was viewing his stats to see how much they've grown.
By the way, he still hadn't gotten a value for his stats yet. They were still like before—letters instead of specific numbers.
Letters like SS and EX didn't mean anything since he had no idea how strong he really was. And numbers like 5000 and beyond wasn't a direct estimate.
He added Victoria to his little black book of Death Flags. This wasn't to mark her as a potential threat but to acknowledge that she had the intent to kill him before that night they slept together.
That's right. Somehow he had avoided the death flag just by being the scumbag of a playboy Arnold was.
The death flag was his only clue. Also, he couldn't just force Victoria to tell him why she had the intention to kill him. Who ordered this hit and for how long had it been in progress? If he knew this then it might be able to give him answers as to why she wanted to kill him.
The biggest question at the moment was why she hadn't killed him. She was the only person who spent time with him every day of his life.
So why?
Liam could feel himself trembling, imaging how Arnold was next to an enemy every day of his life. But maybe there was a reason why she had a death flag.
His job was finding out what that reason was.
"You'll be gone for awhile so we won't be able to see each other. The academy is opening up today, after all," Victoria brought Arnold's tie.
He snapped out of his daze.
'I need to hide the fact that I know of this. If the one who ordered the hit knew as well then my life is in danger.'
"That's right. I'll be staying in the dorms from now on."
The academy didn't allow its students to leave the premises without permission. But students could leave during lunch breaks to go to restaurants and such. Lumourge was the most popular choice for students and adults alike.
In fact, Arnold was also a frequent customer.
They offered a wide variety of meals affordable and exquisite to commoners and nobles alike. They also had a discount for students—the discount being 60% off on everything except bread.
It was ridiculous but a good investment in the future of the empire.
"How will I get there in time for the opening ceremony?"
Victoria turned around and gave Arnold an odd look, "You never go to the opening ceremonies and only go on the third day. Why did that change for the last semester?"
"Uh, I-I just wanted to see if there's anything interesting that they'll announce…" Arnold laughed awkwardly.
"Hmmm… Well, I doubt we'll make it in time," Victoria checked for any creases in Arnold's academy suit, "Although we are now in the western region after travelling around the north of the empire, it would still take a day to get there. The fastest horse might be able to get you there in half a day."
"I guess that's good enough."
'I haven't ridden a horse before though. Will I be okay?'
Arnold noticed that Victoria was in a daze, "Is something wrong?"
"…."
"Victoria."
"Huh?"
"What's going on?"
"Ah, it's nothing," she stepped back, "I need to go make you breakfast myself since we don't have a chef."
Arnold stopped her when she was about to leave by grabbing her arm.
"Please tell me what's the matter. Servant and master or not, the two of us need to be truthful towards one another."
What a hypocritical thing to say, thought Arnold.
"…It's…" Victoria turned around, "—nothing."
"…" Arnold sighed quietly, "Alright then. But if anything's wrong then talk to me. We're in a relationship now."
'Something is definitely wrong but I can't force her. I'm hiding things too.'
What would everyone say if they knew he wasn't the real Arnold? Would they hate him? Shut him out of their lives?
Knowing Victoria, she would probably suffer the most from this.
'Damn, my back hurts…' Arnold stretched his lower back.
He had been suffering from lower back pain even on earth but this time he had back pain for a different reason.
"Should I go to the dungeon later this week or should I wait?"
Coincidence or not, the final term for the academy consisted of dungeon exploration and the like. Students had to clear dungeons in order to pass the term with excellent results. The more ores you bring the better your chances were of scoring with good results.
Dungeon teams were usually made up of three to four students or even more. Students could also level up by doing something called dungeon farming. This means killing monsters and dividing their experience points equally among the members of the party.
Liam preferred leveling solo. He didn't want to be part of a group which might steal his experience points. But if he was forced into a team then he would always get the final kill.
The entire purpose of the dungeon exams was to encourage students to have the motivation to clear dungeons in the future. As with many other fantasy worlds, dungeon exploration was one of the most beneficial ways to make money.
In fact, there were many cities on Diacree which were built around dungeons. Ores that spawn within dungeons were very valuable and could fetch for a lot of money depending on which difficulty type it was.
However, the most profitable thing inside any dungeon was its core. And that was something you get by killing the boss.
The Sky God Mountain was an unranked dungeon(since Liam himself didn't know what its official ranking was nor did he know what it looked like): meaning it could be an F-rank or even an SS. Who knew what kind of monstrosities were inside that dungeon. The name itself made it sound ominous.
Arnold was wavering whether he should attempt to raid the dungeon immediately when the final exams begin or wait. The fact that it was unranked was the reason he was so hesitant.
A sole level 40 5th star knight wasn't nearly enough to clear it if it were an SS-rank dungeon. Putting aside the fact that his demon power had an unfavorable time limit, he had to think as if he didn't have the power so that he could safely judge whether it was safe to attempt raiding the dungeon.
Of course, raiding wasn't the right way to put it since he was thinking of entering it alone. A raid party consisted of at least ten people.
Dungeon exploration wasn't as simple as buying equipment and trying your luck by entering the dungeon. He had to consider what kind of ecosystem existed inside the dungeon and what he would need to help him survive at least.
'Just because I have this power as a demon lord doesn't mean that I should be reckless. Because even a demon lord can die if the unexpected happens.'
There was a knock on the door. Arnold quickly stopped his train of thought.
--Good morning, young lord. There is a visitor here to see you.
It wasn't Victoria's voice but another servant who spoke from the other side.
'A visitor?'
Part 2
"H-huh?" Arnold widened his eyes when he entered the living room. The maid, who had led him, excused herself stealthily.
Now it was just Arnold and the person who appeared in front of his door.
"Hello, lord Arnold von Berkley," a young woman with pink hair was standing in front of him, "Is it alright if I call you milord?"
She was short and lean. She wore a business suit which consisted of black pants, high heels, a white shirt and a waist coat. She looked like a noble boy if one looked from afar.
She bowed gracefully, "My name is Lunaria Lupusil Azeli."
"And you're from…"
She nodded, implying that she knew what he was going to ask, "Yes, I am one of Lady Selia's subordinates."
'Ah, is she the supposed Lupus Selia mentioned? I got confused with the name.' He couldn't understand why demons and monsters referred to themselves by their middle names(Like with "Selia" for example). Was it the same with how elves allowed others to call them by nickname?
"And what business do you have here, miss... Err…"
"Please call me Lunaria."
"Uh, right," Arnold noticed that she was carrying a clipboard in her hand.
Lunaria cleared her throat with a light cough before reading the documents attached to the clipboard in her hands, "This contract signifies that I am bound to lord Arnold for a period of five years. The answer to your earlier question is that my job is to help you manage your city in your absence."
"Hold on a second. Five years? And what the hell do you mean by manage my city?"
Lunaria blinked as if she didn't understand why Arnold seemed against this.
"A city's economy can't improve over just a year or two. I feel like five is the minimum required. But if you want to, I can renew the contract with permission from lady Selia."
"I already have someone in mind to manage my city. I don't need another one."
"I am certain that my skills far exceeds whoever milord is referring to," Lunaria spoke immediately, "You may choose to believe me now or not but I hope you witness it for yourself during this contract period. That is the purpose of these five years, after all. Since we are receiving financial support, it is only right that we support you in other ways. I am responsible for helping you in managing this city. It is beneficial for both our nations. If you require help in other areas then you may speak to me about it."
'Hm… Is this woman really someone better than Rein? But how should I test her? Wait, I got it.'
"I'll take you up on your offer then. Being a merchant and all, I'm sure you've heard about the people who came into my city to labor."
"Indeed."
"I want you to assign roles to each of them. Assess their abilities and evaluate what they are skillful in."
Lunaria frowned slightly, "In other words these roles should be beneficial to the land?"
"Exactly."
She looked towards the map of this region that was hanging on the wall. She tilted her head.
"How old is that map?"
"It's about a decade old at least. The city and land hadn't changed much from what is drawn on there," Arnold answered her.
"Farmers and miners. That is what this city needs right now. Builders and construction workers come second."
'What the… She was able to ascertain that from looking at the map?'
He already knew that those were the most important positions that had to be fulfilled right now since there was an abundant of naked land.
The downside of the huge plots of lands was that all of them weren't suitable for farming yet. That was where farmers came in. They would plough the lands, fertilize it and take care of the crops.
Miners would excavate the precious resources underground or in mountain ranges.
Lunaria listed all this and more. Arnold couldn't help but whistle in astonishment.
"You can stop now." Arnold raised his hand so that she could quiet down, "I admit that you are capable. But there's another issue that needs attention."
"…?"
"You probably already know about the crystals?"
"Indeed. They are this city's biggest asset. This also determines the value of milord."
"That so… Anyway, I hope you aren't planning on letting ordinary people mine these crystals. They are a precious mineral found nowhere else in this world."
'That's what I hope for at least.' If there were other places where this mineral was found then it meant that its worth would decrease.
"Do not worry about that," Lunaria reassured him, "I brought along summons that can help with that. They are awaiting further instructions outside the city."
"You brought monsters to my land? Do you realize the uproar that would cause?"
"Well, they look like ordinary animals but yes. They are summoned monsters. I will make sure the humans and these summons do not cross paths. But in order to do that, I need lord Arnold's approval. Will you accept me and allow me to show you that I am capable?" She held out the contract.
Arnold took it and skimmed through the pages.
"Hmm… yes… Oh, so that's what this is…"
'I don't understand what the fuck is written here.' His brain shut off after reading one line. But he kept nodding outside.
Lunaria was only silently looking at him. To be honest, he was nervous. What if this woman was sent here as a spy to try and take everything from him.
She could've been sent here to slowly try and take over the city while Arnold was away.
Of course, this was merely Arnold's delusions and he shouldn't take it that seriously. Well, unless she gave him a reason to worry.
"I can sense your doubt, milord."
"…." Arnold would be lying if he said he wasn't suspicious that she had ulterior motives.
She was a demon and subordinate to a monster lord after all. Perhaps his opinion might've been different if she were a human but he would never know.
"Would you be willing to trust me if I reveal all information about myself? It is within your right to know since I am now bound to you."
Arnold didn't really want to know this woman. He was only cautious and still shocked about her coming here out of the blue. Who wouldn't be?
"I will introduce myself again. I am Lunaria Lupusil Azeli. I am level 100 and my class is Enchantress. But I can also fight hand-to-hand."
'I don't doubt that…'
Even a level 100 without a combat-class could overwhelm someone with pure power alone. Who knows? This woman could probably fight Arnold on equal grounds. Without aura and his factor power, though.
"I am a succubus-demon and I can change gender at will." Cracking sounds echoed as her body changed shape. Her skin remained as soft and unblemished but her hips thinned. Her breasts were also slowly deflating like balloons.
A cute boy with pink hair was now standing in front of Arnold.
'I really didn't need to know that...' But she did say that she would reveal everything about herself so he decided to let it go.
"My weaknesses are divinity and holy water. Of course, I can withstand both to a certain degree but I would be left with injuries that would need months to heal."
"So you're a pure demon, huh…"
Half breeds had some degree of immunity to divinity or holy water since they had half the genes of non-demon races and half genes of demon races but the same didn't apply to pure demons. Divinity was a power that existed with the sole purpose of fighting against demons.
"I am not related to demons just because I am part of their race. So please don't compare me to them. I was created by the power of a god. Her Majesty Brynhildr Selia Bloodforth."
"Uh, right…" Arnold smiled wryly as he thought to himself that Selia was unknowingly brainwashing people into thinking of her as some divine being, "Aren't you concerned that I might just use those weaknesses against you?"
"I believe you wouldn't jeopardize your own life by trying to harm me."
In other words, 'If you kill me then you'll be hunted down.'
"Hmm… Oh, well." Arnold shrugged, "I'll sign the contract but if you screw me over then I'll make sure your precious queen's nation would suffer the consequences. All I need to do is tell the emperor."
"I am not stupid." She nodded, "Please sign here. Here and here."
Arnold had to sign on three pages.
'Isn't that too much?' He disregarded the other pages since he didn't understand what the hell he was reading.
"All done," he gave the clipboard to her. It vanished into thin air. No, it disappeared into the ring on her finger.
'An inventory magic item… Maybe it's not related to Star Fantasy but only has a similar function to the skill [Inventory]?'
Inventory was at least at the level of 13th rank magic. The reason for this ranking was because spatial magic was hard to perfect. The inventory allowed people to store an infinite amount of items into a pocket dimension.
That wasn't as simple as casting a waterball spell. That was because the skill itself was equal to magic that no human but an Archmage could achieve.
Simple everyday items like magic bags had the same properties but they lacked the same capacity—which was infinite.
'I want a ring like that too…' Arnold missed his equipment from the game. Many of his items from his time as a DOP wasn't worth much because he had access to Star-Class Items but now he couldn't help but miss them.
"Is something the matter?" Lunaria probably noticed him staring at her ring.
"Ah, no… Now then, tell me what Selia—" Arnold noticed that Lunaria's face twisted when he called her so familiarly, "Ahem, I mean tell me what Her Majesty has gifted to me."
"Going through all of them would take too much time. I am sure you do not have the leeway to listen to everything I brought?"
"Shit. You're right." Arnold had forgotten that the academy was opening today. He wouldn't be able to make it on his second day if he dwindled around here any longer.
"Would you like me to sort out the city's current problems while you are away?" Lunaria asked.
"…Consult Victoria on what you should look into," Victoria knew far more than he did about the state the city was in. She was here longer than him, after all.
"Understood. Oh, before I forget." Lunaria took out a small item from the pile on the floor. Inside the glass box was something similar to a small eyeball. It was resting on a little cushion.
"Is that…?"
"Yes, this is the Cherubim you requested," She gave it to Arnold, "It will take a while before it wakes up."
'Hmm… Well it's still young so I can understand why it needs to sleep. I'll call it Ceru.'
A cherubim only fully matures once it had been sixty days since their summoning. Of course, if he were to go to a temple then they would be able to let it grow faster using holy water.
But the question was how would he explain where he got an entity that is worshipped as an angel? It was difficult for even the Pope to possess such a creature. They literally spawned on holy grounds which was very rare on this world nowadays.
"Tell Her Majesty that I said thanks. Speaking of her, where is she? I thought she would personally visit. That's something people with equal relationships often do."
"Allow me to apologize on her part. She had other business outside our nation. She ordered us—her subordinates—to keep quiet about her whereabouts." Lunaria bowed apologetically again.
Victoria came into the room when Arnold was about to ask what this business was that was more important than their contract.
"Someone is here to see you, young master."
'Again…'
"Who?"
Victoria was silent for a moment as she glanced at the now male Lunaria with pink hair and a cute face, "It is the First Lady and… Lauran."
"Huh?"