Second Life.
My new name is Leon Graal.
If I looked at myself in a mirror, the image of an eighteen-year-old boy with black hair and gray eyes would look back at me.
"Young master, are you awake?"
The butler knocked on the bedroom door a few times before entering the room.
"Yes, I feel a bit drowsy."
Then, the maids entered the room and began to undress me.
"Today is important. The ceremony will take place on Star Planet in zone G-5."
Sebastian, the family's sole butler, took out a plate and placed it before my eyes.
A holographic image floated above the marble plate, and a map divided into various zones appeared, with a red dot marked on G-5.
"Coming-of-age ceremony, huh..."
Coming-of-age ceremony.
A sacred day to allow new children to become full-fledged adults. But this system had another function.
It was to discover the children's talents.
Some were born with combat talents, a natural skill with a spear, while others had support talents.
Noble people born with extraordinary attributes.
Naturally, I, Leon Graal, was born into a noble house of the Morbel Federation.
But a terrible truth.
I had no talent.
Some children showed extraordinary behavior, while I...
"Young master, the spaceship has arrived."
"Alright."
I got off my chair, extended my arm to don my grayish coat, and strapped a weapon to my belt.
Sebastian stood behind me, followed by several escorts, and we entered the compartment reserved for the Graal family.
Then, the spaceship began to tremble before ascending into the sky.
[The spaceship is heading to zone G-5]
Blue Star.
The planet grew smaller as the spaceship moved away from the spaceport. People looked like ants.
And a floating island stood out in the sky.
A dilapidated mansion, with outdated military and administrative installations.
I was the sole heir of this noble house.
My parents died of a disease, just like in my previous life.
Lichtenberg Curse...
Strangely, I am immune.
We were a family of three brothers and two sisters, but now, only I remained.
Of course, these are the memories of this body; when I entered this consciousness, the man was already dead.
I managed to reincarnate because he had died of the same disease.
Fate is truly capricious.
However, another worry gnawed at my mind.
"Young master, here are the finances of our territory. And our creditors visited earlier."
Sebastian produced several documents.
The documents spoke of debts, urban problems, corrupt officials, and other unnecessary things.
I sighed, closing my eyes.
Damn it, why did my parents neglect this shabby territory?
I had been confined to a room my entire life because my parents thought I would die of the same disease.
It was a completely foolish idea.
Now that my ceremony was about to take place, I find myself with empty coffers.
"We will soon arrive at the spaceport of Star Planet!"
Announced the female voice of the spaceship.
I disembarked from the spaceship and took a flying car assigned to the Graal family.
"This car seems expensive. How much does it actually cost?"
Sebastian replied.
"Around 25,000,000 C."
A-Around 25,000,000 Credits?!
"Is there a place to empty my stomach?"
I sighed at hearing those figures.
Fortunately, the costs are covered by the Morbel Federation. Otherwise, we would have had to borrow again.
25,000,000...
10,000 C would allow a modest family to live for several years.
In my memories, the debt of the Graal house was around 300,000,000 C.
Just thinking about it made me want to empty my stomach for a few hours.
Quickly, we arrived in front of a building several dozen meters high, and then entered.
A man wearing the insignia of a star on a blue planet stopped us.
"Servants are not allowed inside."
Sebastian became immobile, then stepped back, giving me a glance.
"Young master, be careful."
"Thank you, you too."
Then, I entered the hall.
I felt Sebastian's fixed gaze on my back, his atmosphere of "Will he manage to live without me?" embarrassed me.
"Leon?"
Someone called me.
I turned to find an average person with guards behind him.
"Alise?"
My expression darkened.
This is... my fiancée.
"I didn't think you would come."
"Well, how can one live without showing up in the world? Times are changing."
She fully inspected my body before lifting her eyes to mine.
"...The disease is gone?"
"Uh, yes. The doctors indicated that my health has improved. It seems I have overcome my own disease, haha."
I felt a certain unease.
"I see. Ah, by the way, I sent you a letter with an official document. Please read it."
Then, she turned and sat in her designated seat, which was in the front rows of the ceremonial hall.
I guess it's a divorce document?
Scratching my head, I sat in my designated seat at the back of the auditorium.
The lights dimmed and people took the stage, especially a man with a gray beard and an orb in his hand.
"I welcome you all."
A wave of applause followed.
"Grace Kellon! Isn't he the admiral of the Morbel Federation?!"
"I'm sure!"
The murmurs were audible.
Grace Kellon signaled for silence, and the auditorium became quiet.
"Good. We will have you come up one by one to this evaluation orb to know your talent before we move on to serious matters."
The first person was a girl with brown hair in pigtails.
She touched the evaluation orb and a blue light flowed into her body before letters began to form in the orb.
[Expert in Ranged Weapons]
"Oh!!"
Grace Kellon applauded.
And the other people started murmuring several compliments.
"Expert in Ranged Weapons. That's a good talent! Sponsors will quickly flock to the Christ house! I need to alert my father!"
Expert in Ranged Weapons?
Things like handling a bow or precision shooting?
Then, others took the stage, and different talents were displayed.
[Commander]
[Merchant]
[Personal Combat]
Alise obtained a [Business Master] talent.
"Leon Graal!"
It was my turn now.
I went on stage and placed my hand on the orb before a phrase appeared.
My expression collapsed.
[None]
"…"
Grace Kellon frowned.
"Was there a problem?"
"Uh, I think my talent doesn't exist..."
I laughed, rubbing my cheeks.
People in the auditorium began to chatter with disapproving looks.
Even Grace Kellon looked at me strangely.
I knew the situation would be bad.
I sighed, stepping back to take my place.
Noble houses distinguish themselves from commoners in a nation by being assigned a talent, but having obtained none myself, I had no choice but to shake my head.
Becoming the target of noble houses.
In reality, this body had a talent, but the host died, so I am present, being a commoner in the body of a deceased noble.
A complicated situation.
Then, the ceremony ended with the allocation of several sponsors from corporations and noble families to various other people.
I was the only one left at the back.
"Now, the ceremony concludes! I wish you all a wonderful future!"
Grace Kellon shouted enthusiastically, while people applauded loudly.
I quickly slipped behind the others and left the auditorium, hoping to avoid bad looks, but some were too fast.
"Is that you, Leon Graal?"
Several people behind a man with red hair and a terrible expression blocked my path.
Ah... He looks like a third-rate villain.
"No."
Then, I continued on my way, ignoring the others.
Who are you?
The best answer is ignorance.
"Young master?"
Sebastian stood before the ceremonial door with the other servants.
The other butlers were conversing, deliberately excluding Sebastian.
"It's me. Let's go now."
Casting a casual glance at the trembling butlers, I left the room.
"And the ceremony?"
"Forget it..."
A headache.
I didn't receive any sponsors due to my lack of talent. It was expected.
"Should I call a flying taxi?"
I held my chin.
"No. We didn't come here just for a useless ceremony. I had something specific in mind."
I continued.
"Sebastian, what is the main industry of our Blue Star?"
Sebastian responded instantly.
"Entertainment."
"The entertainment industry, huh?"
I nodded.
While being confined to my room, I often heard reports from Sebastian who would visit me frequently.
Most of the Graal family's activities were concentrated in entertainment.
90% of the revenue came from that sector.
"If you're looking for ideas, I think the entertainment center would be a good destination, young master."
Well, that wouldn't be a bad idea.
It would actually be quite useful.
"Very well, let's go now."
We got into a car and headed to the Star Planet shopping center, known for its numerous global entertainment centers.
Notably in various fields like musical dances, historical theaters, but primarily in games.
I'm especially interested in the many games available in this world.
"Are video games profitable?"
I asked with interest.
In my previous world, the gaming industry was booming, recording significant financial data.
Sebastian pondered.
"If you're asking about profits... Battle IV would be a good example, having made 400 million credits this year."
I'm surprised.
That much!
Then, Sebastian approached a room filled with advanced computers generating a hologram with battle scenes.
"Follow me, young master."
He requested as he entered.
I followed Sebastian, holding back my curiosity as we passed several empty capsules.
Some were occupied by others.
Is this Full-Dive VR?
Then, Sebastian opened a capsule, inserted a coin into the machine, and stepped inside.
The capsule closed on its own.
Is this safe?
I remember in my previous life the lawsuits against several companies.
Malfunctions causing deaths during immersion.
Overheating mechanisms.
My brain won't fry, will it?
Hesitating, I stepped forward.
I repeated the same movements, inserting a coin, stepping inside, and I fell asleep, but my consciousness remained awake.
And...
A realistic scene.
The world spun around until my consciousness stabilized. Then a myriad of planets became visible.
"You've arrived, young master."
If I hadn't stepped inside a few minutes earlier, Sebastian would have thought I was waiting outside like an idiot.
Sebastian waited for me and initiated a match, an arena appeared before my eyes. Around me, there were hundreds of other people.
A coliseum.
"How much are you betting this time?"
A bearded man raised his tickets high.
"2 million!"
His companion laughed, raising other tickets high.
"Small player! I'm betting 10 million now!"
"WOOOO!!"
The announcer was surprised.
"We have some serious bettors!"
He animated the match with even more enthusiasm since part of the bets were transferred to him.
"Today, we have two contenders! The undefeated warrior versus the masked woman!"
The announcer continued, directing the scene towards the coliseum's ranking.
"These are two contenders in the M2 ranking!"
...
"Sebastian, how are the gladiators ranked?"
Sebastian responded instantly.
"The coliseum is divided into several levels. L1 being the weakest, H4 being the strongest. Each letter has four levels."
L1 L2 L3 L4
M1 M2 M3 M4
H1 H2 H3 H4
These are the main levels.
These gladiators were average players.
"The match begins!"
People continued placing exorbitant bets as if it was nothing but trash.
If I collected all the money, my debt would be nullified, wouldn't it?
Turning my head towards the arena, two planets appeared, facing each other with the two contenders.
I'm greatly surprised.
"What is this?"
"Battle IV. A battle simulation."
Sebastian quickly explained to me.
Battle IV is a globally recognized game.
The rules are simple.
Two people enter the arena and select their planets with points.
(The players agree on a fixed number of points, but there's usually a base number set by the game.)
Then, they build infrastructures, develop their economies and populations before producing armies.
In the second phase, the two contenders fight, and the first to destroy the opponent's planet wins the match.
The loser drops in rank, while the winner rises.
Sebastian asked me.
"Young master, what do you think of the man?"
"The undefeated warrior?"
Sebastian nodded.
I thought for a moment before responding.
"He has a substantial mid-tier fleet with hundreds of destroyers in his army."
"You're right."
"But, it's a significant weakness."
Sebastian was curious.
"Why?"
"Although the army is sufficient, his defenses leave much to be desired. If a fleet arrives, he won't be able to hold out for several minutes."
Sebastian was curious, but upon reflection, the young master's analysis seemed accurate.
However, how could a fleet break through the undefeated warrior's army head-on?
Meanwhile, the two contenders had reached the peak of their army production.
The undefeated warrior used the microphone.
"Surrender! I've produced a fleet of destroyers in my army, having always defeated my enemies. You can't resist me any longer! You still have a chance to stay in the league!"
Indeed.
The contender was right.
Normally, a defeat would result in a drop in ranking, but a surrender allows you to save some points.
But the woman laughed.
"Quality? Quantity will triumph! Just wait, the battle isn't over yet, listen and watch your defeat!"
The undefeated warrior immediately sent his main fleet towards the masked woman's weak army.
2,000 destroyers advanced rapidly.
The masked woman's defense was a gathering of small sentinels.
A formation of three rectangles.
"Is this surrender?"
The bettors laughed.
This formation offered no advantage.
But it was a mistaken assumption in my thoughts.
"Ah... She's lost."
A spectator sighed.
As expected, two of the three rectangles were destroyed, but an unexpected event occurred.
A fleet of several thousand sentinels appeared behind the undefeated warrior's planet.
"What?!"
The undefeated warrior was confused and immediately ordered a retreat.
But it was too late.
The defenses were weak.
The door was open.
The sentinels launched thousands of missiles, and the planet was destroyed.
The coliseum was silent.
Then, the undefeated warrior fell to his knees, declaring his surrender.
"I admit defeat..."
"OHHHH!!"
The bettors were excited by the unexpected outcome.
"I knew you would win, ma'am!"
On the other side, those who had bet on the undefeated warrior were crying.
"My... My 10 million credits!"
The bearded man patted his back.
"My brother... Thanks to you, I'm leaving the arena with 5 million credits... Ahah!"
"Bastard!"
Sebastian was confused.
"How did she win?"
I replied.
"It's actually quite simple. She created a decoy army and used a formation to slow down her opponent's large force."
I continued.
"A part of her army was sent at the very beginning of the match to slip past the undefeated warrior's attention. And you know the result."
Sebastian stared at me intensely.
"How do you know all this?"
I turned my head away.
"Just a guess."
"Young master!"
Meanwhile, as my eyes scanned the results, a hint of regret surfaced.
"Sebastian, do we have any money?"
"No, young master ?"
If I had at least brought some credits, I wouldn't have hesitated to bet, but the family's coffers were empty.
Sebastian and I waited for the match to end, then we left the capsule to explore the other entertainment games.
The games were all focused on battles between players.
"Well, Sebastian, let's return to our planet now."
"Yes, young master."
As my thoughts wandered, I boarded the spaceship.