The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 104

Episode 104: The

First Guild Academy was something Raoul had been planning for a long time.

Make free city mayors allies and persuade them to provide support for players.

Naturally, players will flock to the free city of the Kingdom of Ruben, where they are treated well, and then the First Guild will be moved to preoccupy early players with high potential.

This was the rough outline of the plan, and the details were still being refined by Bernard and his staff.

There are three main things Raoul wants to achieve through this plan.

The first is recruiting and cajoling potential rankers with a high chance of success.

I already knew the information and general tendencies of the rankers.

So, the plan was to absorb those who could be recruited into the First Guild, and those who could not be recruited by making a good impression and later forming them into an alliance guild or hiring them as mercenaries.

And one of the goals was to find hidden talents who, for various reasons, quit the game or did not reach their full potential.

The second is to dominate the guild’s image and brand effect.

Today’s players are untainted and pure. It didn’t mean anything else, but it meant that there was no preconceived notion about Connect.

Everything they see, hear, and experience will serve as a guide for future players.

Aside from Raul, no one was showing much interest in the player yet.

Although there was a grandiose oracle of being a savior, the players who actually appeared were merely civilians who did not know how to fight properly.

The noble family that had sent someone just in case had stopped paying attention as expected.

In this case, if you provide generous support and open an academy to win the favor of players, the effect will be indescribable.

It will be remembered as the first guild to show favor to players, the first to open an academy, and the most influential guild in the Free City.

And most importantly, it can leave players with the impression that they are on the same side.

Once players leave the Free City and the scenario progresses, conflicts between territories and between countries will begin in earnest.

Whose hand will the players support then?

‘Besides, it costs a lot less now.’

At most, the number was less than 10,000. Even if subsidies were paid to everyone, it was at a level that could be easily afforded.

However, after just 6 months, the number will increase to 100,000 and over 100 million in a few years.

This is because support for all new users is a policy that cannot be implemented unless it is very long-term.

It was clear that if a competing guild or faction were to use this policy in the future to purchase the favor of players, it would cost dozens of times more than it does now.

Lastly, we needed to check how these self-events affected the connection.

In general, events are prepared and implemented by the management team.

However, Connect is another world that pursues free play.

I wanted to know whether it was possible for NPCs other than the management team to create events and quests on their own, and whether there were any restrictions.

‘As of now, there are no problems.’

There were no checks on recruiting players to the Free City of the Kingdom of Ruben or recruiting academy cadets.

The management only belatedly tried to resolve the players’ complaints, but failed to stop Raoul or the First Guild’s movements.

This was a very important fact for Raoul.

In my previous life, I was past the middle of the game. The Connect management team lost their original intention and became servants of those in power.

Events that should have been fair were manipulated to favor guilds sponsored by corporations, and even hastily created events were created to promote guilds sponsored by the state.

Of course, there were limits to the management’s direct intervention. The artificial intelligence that maintains the connection will block excessive intervention.

Nevertheless, the influence of management cannot be ignored because it is possible to induce certain actions from players.

‘But this time it will be different.’

Now that we know that they can host events or quests that affect players within Connect, we won’t let them have their way.

No, I didn’t know if it was possible to grab and shake the players from this side.

‘Are you going to arbitrarily control the players from above? ‘It won’t work out the way you guys think.’

Raoul swallowed his laughter as he imagined the devastated management team unable to do anything.

* * *

“Oh, welcome. “Viscount Raoul.”

Mayor Reynaldo, who was working, greeted Raul with a fuss.

There were rumors that the player’s head became stiff after he appeared, but fortunately, there seemed to be no change in his attitude toward Raoul.

“You must have been busy, but I excused myself without making an appointment.”

“No, what kind of sad thing is that? “I know very well that there is no need for such formalities between us, hahaha.”

‘You look like you’re feeling a lot better.’

Well, it was worth it.

Mira, which was just a quiet country town just a year ago, is now turning into a central city for players with a promising future.

Everything the player eats, sleeps, and spends will become taxes and enrich Mayor Reynaldo, and Mira’s influence will make even the nobles bow their heads.

In any case, for Mayor Reynaldo, Raúl was both a great business partner and a benefactor.

If Raoul had not invested, it would have taken at least several years to build the city to its current level.

In fact, if you compare Mira with the free cities of other kingdoms, there is a huge gap and it will continue to widen further.

This principle applies not only to individuals but also to free cities.

“So what brings you here today? “I can grant any request from Viscount Raoul, so don’t hesitate and tell me.”

Well, no matter what you say, if you make a really difficult request, they won’t give it to you easily. Although it may seem light, the mayor is also a businessman.

Fortunately, Raoul’s business today was not something that could be called a favor.

“Actually, I came today to introduce someone to the mayor.”

“Ohh? I’m curious about this. “Viscount Raoul is not someone I would introduce to just anyone.”

Until now, the only people Raul had introduced to Mayor Reynaldo were First Guild executives.

So I was thinking that Reynaldo might be a newly recruited guild executive…

“Come in.”

The person who appeared at Raoul’s call was a stranger with black hair, black eyes, and a typical adventurer’s uniform.

He is about 178cm tall. He was close to the average height here, and his face could be said to fall into the category of handsome men.

However, the corners of the eyes were slightly raised and looked sharp, and the tight lips and firm expression were impressive.

“Let me introduce you. “This is Bae Do-hyeon, a player who will be working with me in the future.”

“This is Bae Do-hyeon. Please take care of me in the future.”

The mayor, who flinched for a moment as he saw the stranger bowing in greeting, soon smiled brightly and offered Bae Do-hyeon a handshake.

“nice to meet you. I should ask better. “He will become an important customer of our city, hahaha.”

Perhaps he was a mayor and politician by nature, but his face did not look pretentious at all.

They chatted lightly for a while, and the mayor smiled and saw Bae Do-hyeon off.

“If you have any difficulties, come to me anytime. “I will definitely help you, even if it means seeing Viscount Raoul’s face.”

“Thank you at least for your words. “Then I’ll see you next time.”

As Bae Do-hyun left the mayor’s office, Reynaldo looked at Raoul with an expression of admiration.

“As expected, I can’t defeat the Viscount. “When did you roast and boil a stranger again?”

The mayor seemed to have never thought that Raoul would introduce a stranger.

“I happen to be a friend of yours. For a foreigner, he has excellent skills and talent, so he is a person with a bright future ahead of him. “I introduced it to you because I thought it would be helpful to the mayor if you knew about it.”

“Haha, if the Viscount recommends you, it’s a talent that goes without saying. “We will keep an eye on this in the future.”

After finishing the story, I left the mayor’s residence and got into the carriage, where Bae Do-hyeon was waiting.

“How will the market react?”

“It wasn’t bad. “Even if I don’t completely believe it, I think I’ll wait and see.”

Surprisingly, Bae Do-hyeon was treating him poorly as if he were Raoul’s superior.

“Do you think the mayor noticed?”

“There was no sign of that. “This may seem like my pride, but so far, no one has noticed my disguise except Master.”

Then, when he winked slightly, Kane’s image appeared on Raoul’s face for a moment and then disappeared.

“Still, be careful. People with really sharp eyes might notice. “Particularly among Gentiles, there are many people with abilities that go beyond common sense, so be more careful.”

“I understand, Master. “We will make sure there are no mistakes.”

Raoul, who met the mayor, was none other than Kane in disguise. He succeeded in imitating Raoul’s appearance perfectly, like his nickname ‘Faceless’.

So who is Bae Do-hyun?

It was Raoul.

Raoul had [Gray’s Polymorph Ring], which he received as a gift from the wise man Gray.

Raoul used it to transform into his past self, Bae Do-hyeon.

And one more thing.

A consumable item called [Second ID] completed his transformation.

[Second ID (Second Identity)]

Grade: Unique

Effect: Provides the user with a second ID that can be changed at any time. It can also be used to calculate rankings, receive party play quests, etc.

Restrictions: User performance and public value calculations are calculated separately for each ID.

Caution: You may be caught by an opponent with a specific skill or level difference.

Price: 10000 coins

This was an item purchased from the [Player Only Store] unlocked through this update.

The player-only store was a store prepared so that any player could purchase items regardless of time and place through the connect system.

While convenient accessibility and rare items that can only be found at the player store are the advantages, the heinous prices were the biggest disadvantage that made players avoid this place.

For a simple example, if the price of the lowest level potion in a real-life potion shop was 1 gold, the price in the player shop was 20 coins.

In general, the value of coins and gold is considered the same, so even though they are the same item, there is a 20-fold difference in price.

So, the saying ‘Consumables are in reality, unique items are in the player store’ was used openly.

Anyway, Raoul, who changed his appearance and even his ID, has now acquired a new identity as Bae Do-hyeon.

In the future, he planned to act as Bae Do-hyeon as an NPC and as a Raul player.

Kane would fill in the vacancy as his double, and important matters could be reported through guild communication, so there was no major problem.

‘Now then, let’s get back to work.’

Bae Do-hyeon, a player forgotten by the Connect world, has started his career again.

(Continued in the next part)