The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 108

Episode 108:

I boldly omitted things like grand ceremony.

The congratulatory speech was replaced with a promotional video, and only the guests in the VIP room were briefly introduced.

Of course, there were cheers when Raoul appeared. No matter what anyone says, he has become the most popular character in Connect right now.

What followed was guidance on the exam content and an announcement of the group composition.

As it was the time they had been waiting for, the players also paid attention and listened.

The person who appeared on the podium was none other than Palmer, the head of Mira’s branch.

He introduced the ‘Contest’ preliminary round format through a large magic screen.

“Around 1,600 applicants are divided into 8 groups. “A group of 200 players will enter the battlefield at the same time and engage in unlimited survival battles until the last person standing.”

Murmur.

“I expected it, but is it really survival?”

“Then how do you select successful candidates?”

Players are also curious for a moment. A method for selecting successful applicants appeared on the screen.

“Only 8 successful candidates per group. The last survivor and the five players who have defeated the most other players will pass. And special rules apply to the remaining two seats.”

A piece of a golden falcon, the emblem of the First Guild, was displayed on the screen.

“On the battlefield where you will be deployed, there are small pieces like that hidden here and there. The first two people to collect five statues will pass. but.”

Five statues were gathered together on the screen. Then a bright pillar of light rose high into the sky.

“As you can see, the moment the five come together, a pillar of light appears for 5 seconds, indicating your location. From then on, if you can safely protect the statue for one minute, you will pass. “If the statue is taken away or killed, it disappears.”

Then a number appeared on the screen.

“The time limit is 100 minutes. If the last person and the owner of the statue are not determined by then, the successful candidate will be determined based on kill ranking.”

The numbers disappeared and Palmer appeared on the screen.

“Lastly, I would like to advise you that there are some hidden rules to ensure a fair test. “I will end my explanation with the hope that you will experience it for yourself.”

The screen switched and what now filled the screen was a list of people.

“I will announce the group. The group formation was organized fairly by taking into account the players’ country of origin and the number of players connected. Players in Group A, please follow the instructions and proceed to the testing site.”

The official event ended like that, and Raul moved to a special seat where he could comfortably watch the fight along with the other VIPs.

* * *

Ilwoo took a deep breath to calm his trembling heart.

‘After all, it’s Group A…’

I did my best to prepare by hunting and leveling up.

A small company where salaries were not paid on time submitted a resignation letter.

This is because I decided to bet everything on Connect, even if it was a gamble, rather than wasting time in a place with no future in sight.

I purchased a month’s worth of capsule-specific energy supplements and stayed home to stay connected except during my avatar’s sleep.

Fortunately, unlike reality, his efforts did not betray him and he was able to take the exam with satisfactory results.

Still, what’s the point of being in Group A?

‘I wanted to at least watch the other groups play and come up with a strategy.’

But it has already been decided. There was no time to continue airing complaints.

While moving to the exam room, Ilwoo hurriedly searched for people in the same group.

‘The ones I’m most concerned about are the players in the top 100.’

I didn’t think the level represented the player’s strength. But it was definitely one of those indicators.

Ilwoo, who was looking at the list, made an ambiguous expression.

Current highest level is 25LV. 2nd place was 24LV, and from 3rd place, 23LV, about 30 people were in the same lab.

It was good to avoid 1st or 2nd place, but there were more top-ranked players included than expected.

7th 13th 16th 25th 31st.

Five 23-level players are included.

‘There are a lot of guys to worry about.’

Fortunately, as the branch manager said, there were very few players of the same nationality. In terms of ranking, all of them were of different nationalities, except for two each from China and Korea.

First of all, it seemed like there wouldn’t be much to lose from the programming.

As I was walking along, calculating various things in my mind, someone spoke to me.

“Hey, are you Korean by any chance?”

I closed the system window for a moment and looked at the person who was talking to me and answered.

“So?”

Then the man, who appeared to be in his late 20s, smiled brightly.

“Good for you. “Would you please come here for a moment?”

As the man spoke, he glanced to one side, and four or five players were watching them from a distance.

“What’s going on?”

When Ilwoo asked with some caution, he slowly approached and spoke softly.

“We need to cooperate with fellow Koreans. It’s not a bad thing to hear. “Come on, come on.”

As the man pulled his arm, Ilwoo thought for a moment and then reluctantly followed him.

When I looked around, people were already gathered together.

‘The atmosphere was so…’

To be honest, I didn’t think it would be a completely fair match, but I didn’t expect that they would come together so openly even before the start.

Among the 200 members of Group A, 20 are Korean. In terms of number of people by country, it ranked third after China and the United States.

Starting with Ilwoo, all Korean players gathered in one place.

The impressive man who took the lead in gathering people was the first to speak.

“Nice to meet you all. My name is Seonho Park. “It feels reassuring to be gathered together with Korean people like this.”

‘Park Seon-ho.’

Ilwoo quickly searched and found that his level was 19, which was the highest level among the 2nd generation users.

It ranked 357th overall, 27th in Korea, and 4th among Koreans in Group A.

Looking at the level rankings alone, the possibility of passing the preliminaries seemed vague, but I had no idea what it would actually be like.

Even if the rank was low, the actual level difference was only a few points, and at low level, a few level differences were less meaningful than expected.

‘Especially in this full-dive virtual reality.’

“As you may have noticed, this preliminary round is likely to be a team event. It claims to be survival, but I don’t know. “How many people really walk around alone?”

Even if he didn’t say anything, the atmosphere around him was already going that way.

“So what are we going to do?”

A female player asked urgently.

“Of course we need to come together and act. It’s about cooperation. Fortunately, we have enough people, so we have a good chance of winning if we don’t encounter China and the United States in the early stages.”

“well. They say odds of winning, but honestly, I don’t know what this means. There are only 8 people who will pass anyway, so why not stick together and get along? “What’s the point of surviving like that?”

Someone spoke dissatisfiedly, as if it was difficult to understand. It felt like he was a top ranker.

“If everyone sticks together like this anyway, the number of early kills won’t matter. It will be difficult to win against many by yourself, and if there are many against many, the kills will be distributed. In the end, who survives long enough to consistently get kills? Wouldn’t it be more likely that someone in a group will survive?”

To be honest, it didn’t seem like everyone was convinced. But there weren’t many options.

As Park Seon-ho said, if most people move around in groups, there is almost nothing a player walking around alone can do.

Ilwoo also had no intention of going against the trend. This was a full-dive virtual reality that was almost similar to reality.

Like other games, it wasn’t a place where you could become a musou with a high level of skill. At least that’s what Ilwoo thought.

“I believe everyone agrees. Then I would like to suggest one more thing. By any chance, who is Kim Il-woo?”

Although he was somewhat suspicious of Park Seon-ho’s intention to suddenly find him, he could not hide his identity in a situation where he had decided to cooperate.

“It’s me. What happened?”

“Oh, you were there. First, let’s all applaud. “This is Korea’s proud player, Kim Il-woo, ranked 16th overall!”

Clap clap clap.

Although it was a strange atmosphere, people applauded appropriately to Park Seon-ho’s rhythm.

‘What are you planning?’

He had no choice but to bow his head and express his gratitude, but Ilwoo couldn’t hide his uneasy feeling.

And his prediction was not wrong.

“Ilwoo, as you are well aware, this test also has the nature of a national competition. “Wouldn’t it be better to have as many successful candidates among Koreans as possible?”

“…So?”

“If it’s not rude, how about giving up the kill to others? In any case, if there is a group action and the kills are concentrated on one person, there is a high possibility that the number of successful applicants will decrease. I think it would be better to distribute the kills appropriately and then check the total number of kills at the end and come to a conclusion among ourselves. Of course, I am willing to give up my kills to someone else. “What do you all think?”

There was nothing to ask. In the first place, most of them were ranked far from the passing range. Who would say no to sharing kills equally?

“I agree. “We go as a group, so the distribution should be fair.”

“I like it too. “It’s broadcast all over the world, so shouldn’t we show the unity of Koreans?”

Ilwoo was so upset that he was about to pour out a few words, but could barely hold himself back.

This is because he knows that if he gets angry when the majority says it is good, he will end up becoming a narrow-minded person.

“What are you going to do, Mr. Ilwoo? Oh, of course, I’m definitely not forcing it.”

Park Seon-ho’s face as he smiled and asked was so disgusting that I wanted to punch him.

I could clearly read his shallow thoughts.

In the first place, in order to increase the number of successful Koreans, it was clearer to concentrate the kills on one or two people rather than dispersing them.

But who would give up on exams and try to do good for others? It was clear from the beginning that he had no intention of doing so.

‘The reasons given above are all just excuses and they are probably trying to keep me in check, as I am a strong candidate for admission. Are you confident that you will beat me in the end if all goes well? And if possible, their intention is to exclude me from the group.’

Ilwoo suppressed his growing anger and asked for confirmation.

“What if you don’t like me?”

“They say this is all good, but are you really planning on rejecting it? Haha then there is nothing we can do. If you’re doing group action, you can’t do it with someone who wants to play individually, right? Isn’t that right, everyone?”

People nodded as if it was obvious and agreed with Park Seon-ho’s opinion.

It seemed as if Park Seon-ho had suddenly become the implicit leader.

Ilwoo found the sight of the players glaring at him with sharp eyes both shocking and laughable.

‘Do they really think they can pass this way?’

“I knew. “I will follow your opinion.”

For now, I decided to stay with that group. Of course, there was no intention of truly cooperating.

Everyone is a competitor anyway. All you have to do is take advantage of what you can, see the opportunity, and cut your losses.

The situation was resolved and the players had already arrived at the entrance to the test site.

‘Wow, I haven’t even started the game, but I feel bad because I got caught up in politics.’

But suddenly a question came to mind.

Park Seon-ho came up with an unlikely plan like this, assuming that his thoughts were correct. But what if the premise is wrong?

What if it is really an individual exhibition rather than a group exhibition?

‘I wonder what kind of expression the cub will make?’

And if that happens, I will pick the bastard’s hair with my own hands.

Ilwoo gritted his teeth and entered the exam room. The full-fledged Group A preliminary round is just around the corner.

(Continued in the next part)