Fortune in the Game Becomes Reality Episode 7
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Fortune in the Game Becomes Reality Episode 7
3. Battlefield (1)
Last time, the treasure chest gifted me money and a circle.
Will it be the same this time?
With an expectant look on my face, I approached the chest.
Then, the moment I lightly touched the chest with a 'tap'.
[You have acquired 30 billion Root. Please enter the account to receive the deposit.]
Following the 5 billion Root from last time, I obtained 30 billion this time.
5 billion is a huge amount, but as the child of a lord, it is still an amount I could scrape together if I really strained myself.
However, 30 billion is hard to obtain no matter how you try.
"I've only reached 2-circle, and it's 30 billion."
At this pace, it might jump to the hundreds of billions at 3-circle.
Then, wherever I go, I'll be able to live a comfortable life without my father's help.
Of course, having come this far, I have no intention of running away, but for someone like me with no backing at all, a sum this large could not help but be a great support.
I don't know what level of cash assets I'll end up with in total, but just having a large amount of money I can use immediately made me feel secure.
From the first treasure chest on the second floor, money came first and then 1-circle was created right away.
But this time, a new reward was added in between.
[A spatial pocket is granted.]
[A spatial pocket is being implanted into the synchronized body (reality).]
[Do not exit the game.]
The reward was none other than a spatial pocket.
Even in our territory, only my father possesses a spatial pocket artifact that has been passed down through the family, that's how precious a treasure it is even among nobles.
And no wonder: a spatial pocket can only be created at 7-circle, and to craft it into an artifact requires the power of an 8-circle mage.
However, the highest-ranking mage in the Kingdom of Reinharts is 7-circle, and worldwide there are only eight 8-circle mages.
Naturally, the price of a spatial pocket artifact is outrageous, and even if you have money, it is difficult to obtain.
"Ohhh."
A sigh of admiration escaped me without thinking.
[Spatial pocket implantation is complete.]
[The spatial pocket can only be used in reality.]
[The spatial pocket has dimensions of 20m*20m*20m, and there is no limit on load weight.]
Moreover, the value of a spatial pocket varies depending on its storage capacity, and a cube with each side 20 meters long was ten times larger than the one my father owned.
It was as if I had gained my own treasure vault where I could hide whatever I needed, and if I used my head well, I could probably use it for more than simple storage.
[2-circle is created.]
Once the delightful gift of the spatial pocket implantation was complete, 2-circle was created as planned.
* * *
"Huh… Your stamina has improved drastically in just a few days."
When I'm not logged into the game, I spend my time resting and continuing my sword training.
Vais, who is in charge of my training, lamented that if I had started learning the sword in my teens, I would have achieved great success, seeing my athletic reflexes and stamina rapidly come alive.
"If the me who had to stop pretending to be a genius just to survive had stood out in swordsmanship, it probably would have been even more dangerous."
Vais probably knew that as well, but his slightly overdone reaction was also meant to keep the knights from looking down on me.
Of course, as the training hours grew longer, his reactions stopped being mere exaggeration.
Perhaps because his student was following along so well, Vais taught me with an extremely excited expression on his face.
"Haha, very good."
The great thing about Grand Duke Lucas's fortune is not just that it improves magical ability.
The fact that in-game stats are reflected as-is in reality also means that, with enough effort, a mage can possess physical abilities comparable to a knight.
If I fully absorb this fortune, I might become a monster surpassing even Grand Duke Lucas, having perfectly compensated for the mage's weaknesses.
Thanks to that, even though I was getting slightly less sleep, sword training was quite fun.
* * *
Lawrence Viscounty, Lord's Castle.
Rayford Lawrence, head of the Lawrence family, stood by the window of his study, gazing out at the splendid scenery of his territory that spread out in one view.
A disc-shaped aerial fortress that monitors for flying monsters and invading enemies looked down over the domain, and the sight of tall buildings lined up neatly in rows in all their splendor was enough to make one feel full without eating.
However, the expression on Lawrence Viscount's face as he looked out over the territory was rigid, because of the unexpected news that had been delivered to him.
"What are you thinking about so hard?"
A woman in a red dress that clearly revealed her figure walked up to him and provocatively hooked her arm through his.
Her name was Anna Lawrence.
She was the mistress of the Lawrence family and the birth mother of Cedric, who had been confirmed as the heir to the territory.
The viscount stared straight down at Anna, then let out a long sigh and handed her a document.
[Provincial Army Mobilization Order]
As the likelihood of war with the Croysen Empire increases, each territory's forces are to be gathered to form a provincial army.
Viscount Lawrence is to lead 5 Vanguard, 50 knights, and 1,000 soldiers and join the Western Command.
It did not take long for Anna's expression to harden as she absentmindedly read the paper her husband had handed her.
"What's the scale of the war?"
"It's uncertain. We don't even know for sure if war will break out. But the problem is that those Croysen bastards are concentrating their forces along the border."
"Y-you're not thinking of sending Cedric to the battlefield, are you?"
Naturally, cases where the lord personally leads the troops and joins the battlefield are extremely rare.
In these situations, most lords sent their heirs as commanders.
Considering Anna's arrogant and self-willed personality, it was an expression rarely seen on her face, but the viscount had no leisure to pay attention to his wife's complexion.
"Hmm..."
Even if war breaks out, as long as you take good care of yourself, the likelihood of a noble dying is very low.
But the problem was Cedric's disposition.
He could vividly imagine Cedric recklessly throwing himself into the flames, unable to distinguish heaven from earth because he was greedy for military merit.
Of course, Cedric was not a child, so he would restrain himself to some extent, but the battlefield is a place where it is extremely difficult to keep one's reason.
It is overflowing with things that provoke one's temper unreasonable orders, surprise attacks, provocations, and so on.
Cedric might be brave, but it would be difficult for him to be a good commander.
On the battlefield, a good commander is someone who keeps his subordinates alive without getting them killed.
"Send Adrian. He just plays games at the mansion every day anyway. Isn't it time he occasionally showed some sense of responsibility as a member of the Lawrence family?"
To be honest, the viscount also thought that in many ways it would be better to send Adrian than Cedric.
At the very least, Adrian's sense of judgment was solid.
And because he knew very well that the reason Adrian spent his life in his room playing games was because of Anna and Cedric, he never hastily branded him incompetent.
The fact that he knew the value of his own life and had been cautious with himself since childhood was, in a sense, something worthy of recognition.
"After neglecting him all this time, you want to call him out and use him only when you need him?"
"Did we want to neglect him? He's the one who wished it to be that way. And just because he left the house doesn't mean we haven't done anything for him, does it? He's enjoying noble privileges to the fullest."
Even if it was Anna and Cedric who stole Adrian's future, it was the viscount himself who had turned a blind eye to all those facts despite knowing them.
Because of that, even though he found Anna's proposal unpleasant, he could not easily get angry.
"Do you truly think that way?"
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
At Anna's sharply bristling response, Viscount Lawrence silently gazed at her.
Perhaps finding the viscount's gaze burdensome, Anna could not continue to meet his eyes and eventually turned her head away.
"This is enough. Let's finally give Adrian his freedom."
"Anyone listening would think he's been living in captivity."
"That wouldn't be entirely wrong either."
Watching Anna bite her lip hard, the viscount spoke seriously.
"Cedric is the heir to the territory. And I'll make sure there will be no future matters that you or your father-in-law will find uncomfortable. Just this once, I want you to follow my decision."
"..."
Anna could not easily answer.
With an expression that said he understood, Viscount Lawrence gave his verdict.
"We'll send Adrian to the battlefield, just as you said. In return, once he comes back, we will cut him completely loose. From now on, I don't want Adrian and Sylvia to face any threats. That includes surveillance and background checks."
That was the greatest consideration the current Viscount Lawrence could offer.
* * *
An unexpected summons from my father.
And then, I was suddenly ordered to march with the army, so I pointed at Cedric, whose face beside me was flushed bright red.
"I believe this kind of thing is far more fitting for my brother than for me."
"Exactly! Why is a bean sprout like this going to the battlefield as the representative of the family!"
He never thinks of himself as a bear, yet calls a normal person a bean sprout it's absurd.
Still, without much change in my expression, I waited for my father's next words.
"Cedric is the precious heir of the family. That's why I can't send him to a dangerous battlefield."
Thanks to that, the simple-minded Cedric's expression relaxed somewhat, but my mother, who had been quietly listening from behind, asked in shock.
"Are you saying Adrian is not a precious child?"
A brief look of embarrassment crossed my father's face, but he soon answered calmly.
"There's inevitably a difference in weight compared to the heir of the family."
He could have said something nicer, but seeing that he deliberately chose not to, he must feel at least a little sorry.
It was the attitude of someone prepared to accept any resentment.
I soothed my mother, whose face had gone pale, and replied.
"I understand. Then I will go to war as the head representative of the family."
"Thank you."
My mother seemed greatly startled, and my father, who had urged me to join the war, also looked uncomfortable, but to be honest, I did not think this situation was entirely bad.
After all, as long as I have my headgear, I can log in with a portable terminal, and no matter how much it's a battlefield, if I participate as the lord's proxy, interference shouldn't be too heavy.
Of course, if I play games on the battlefield, I might get some side-eye, but when nobles who lived like kings in their territories are dragged out, all sorts of things are bound to happen.
I can confidently predict that there will be more than a few people worse than me.
"Abuse of power and debauchery are the default options, and there may even be ones who do drugs."
So what great disaster is it if I just play some games?
If anything, it's a wholesome hobby.
"And above all, there's one crucial fact: from the moment I leave the territory, there will be a hole in Anna's surveillance."
It seems Anna is quite satisfied that I'm going to the battlefield in Cedric's stead.
Even though this decision means I'll disappear from her line of sight.
Well, I can understand.
She must think very little of me, so it would be perfectly natural for her to let her guard down at this point.