The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 203

Episode 203:

There are people you will inevitably meet while playing games.

At its most basic, it is a tutorial NPC that guides players as soon as they start the game.

The village head who provides quests in the first village you visit.

A master or instructor who teaches skills or techniques to players.

Merchants such as weapon dealers and general stores who trade necessary equipment and items.

However, unlike those people who passed by, there were people I met frequently over a long period of time.

Main scenario NPC.

Or, they were the ones who were called guides.

These are people who provide players with a large scenario that runs through the entire game, while also changing the history of the game through a different route than the players.

He could be said to be a kind of hidden protagonist.

And the most representative of them are the ‘Hero Party’.

It was an NPC called a quest maker.

The role of the ‘Hero Party’ appears in various ways in each game.

In some games, they move together as the player’s partner and lead the scenario, or they deliver various requests or information to the players rather than acting directly.

And sometimes, they moved first, separate from the players, and brought up various hidden secrets or events to the light.

In the case of Connect, there were many third cases.

Regardless of the players, their role was to travel across the continent to uncover enemy conspiracies or lead to various events.

‘If I were just a player, meeting them wouldn’t have been so bad.’

What is the player’s ultimate goal?

It’s about seeing the ending of the game.

And the fastest way to see the ending is to follow the quests provided by the main scenario NPC.

Bae Do-hyeon in his previous life moved like that.

Progress through the story by following quests obtained through guides, and if you get stuck, level up through hunting and training.

As you build up your skills, you can follow the flow of the main scenario again.

Of course, the main scenario itself became inaccessible later due to interference from a large guild, but that was the normal way players played.

The warrior party that Bae Do-hyeon met in his past life was a different party from the ones that came to see Raoul now.

Connect is a game set on the continent itself.

Of course, a single hero party could not handle the large number of players.

According to the information he gathered, there were more than ten confirmed warrior parties.

‘But we have something in common.’

The hero’s party almost certainly included figures from the church.

And of course, there is bound to be one ‘warrior’ who has been given the power of a god.

It was also the case that the warrior did not belong to any faction and was born from a class below the commoners.

‘The problem is…’

It was their noble purpose.

[Connect Salvation of the World].

The unprecedented situation called Gate.

The lifting of a seal that had lasted for over a thousand years.

Civil wars taking place in each country, imperial invasions, etc.

The will to block all threats to the Connect continent and find peace on the continent deserved respect.

However, in order to achieve such a pure goal, there was something that was absolutely necessary.

‘Faith and sense of justice that cannot be shaken anywhere. ‘For him, it is natural that he needs pure people who are not affected by the world.’

In the Holy Empire, the party members of the warrior party were formed based on these standards and dispatched to various parts of the continent.

And that was the beginning of all the disasters and problems.

The world is so unequal and unfair that it can be said to be full of ‘a series of absurdities.’

Even on modern Earth, which is said to have the most advanced political system, what about medieval-based connections?

The warrior party that spread throughout the world caused various problems.

The ‘warrior’ who is the center of the party and the ‘priestess’ or ‘holy knight’ who trained in the church all her life.

In their view, the world must have been full of absurd and irrational things.

They sought to bring about ‘justice’ wherever they passed in the name of God and the church.

They eliminated a dark organization that received protection taxes from a shopping district, and liberated the village from a mercenary group that took advantage of the chaos.

There were cases where merchants who accepted bribes were accused, and lords who plundered the common people were judged heretics.

Naturally, those who were harmed praised them, and players welcomed them by giving them various quests.

‘But it didn’t all lead to good results.’

In the shopping district where the warrior party left, another organization took over and exploited the merchants even more severely.

When the mercenary group that protected the village was wiped out, the village that the warrior party left could not survive for 15 days and was destroyed by monster attacks.

When the large merchants that supplied goods to the city were forced out, the supply of goods was disrupted and prices rose like crazy, affecting all citizens.

When the lord was kicked out due to a judgment of heresy, a civil war and territory war broke out over the successor, and more than half of the territory’s residents were conscripted and lost their lives on the battlefield.

These things happened so frequently that they made the already confusing Connect Continent even more chaotic.

‘Why did this happen?’

From Raoul’s perspective, it was a natural result.

The warrior party achieved ‘justice’ but did not take ‘responsibility’.

This is because he did a great job and received praise, but he did not clean up after himself.

‘No, he probably didn’t have the intention or ability to do it.’

Even if a villager who feels in danger asks the warrior party to remain in the village a little longer.

“I’m sorry. “We have to leave because we ‘must do something.’”

representation. Justice.

This huge shield justifies their actions and allows them to escape responsibility.

Of course, their actions of punishing absurdity and evil are not wrong in themselves.

But even if you can’t take full responsibility, isn’t it right to at least try to make things right?

If not, then for whom is their action truly justice?

‘And the problem is that it doesn’t change even if the target is a player.’

Even if they fight together, they are absent or do not appear at ‘really important moments’ or ‘moments of crisis.’

Sometimes, they knowingly force players into harm’s way.

Because players can be revived even if they die.

Those who dedicate themselves to the continent must never die, and aren’t players with multiple lives a type of replacement workforce that can be easily consumed for their own purposes?

‘So how can I welcome them?’

When Raoul was first reincarnated in Connect, he also wondered how to use the ‘Hero Party’.

But the conclusion was the same.

A bomb that might explode at any moment is not something to be left around carelessly.

The moment you have a party of heroes by your side, whether you’re an NPC or a player, you’ll be reduced to a ‘supporting role’.

‘It’s not Kim Jeon-il or Conan, only the people nearby are affected.’

So, I tried to avoid it as much as possible to avoid getting into a relationship with it, but it came to me first from the other side.

It seemed like the first disaster had been avoided, but we couldn’t let down our guard.

“Kane. Assign an informant to monitor their every move. And we are also investigating information about each and every one of them.”

“I understand, Master. But can I just leave it alone? “If you want, I will handle it quietly.”

Kane, who found out what they had done to Raoul, was also angry.

But Raoul hastily stopped him.

“no. Never touch them! Informants should also only watch from afar and never approach within a 10m radius of them. This is not a request, it is an order! “You should never, ever, ever contact them directly or indirectly.”

Kane looked at Raoul with a particularly feverish expression, but he said he soon realized it.

His feelings were important, but the Master’s orders took precedence over everything else.

As if that wasn’t enough, Raoul immediately opened guild communication.

“Notify former guild members and self-authored members. Never contact or get involved with the church’s ‘special investigation team’ until I give you another order. This takes priority over everything else, so please immediately convey it to those who are not connected to communication.”

To be honest, their skills were quite high.

In the case of Paladin Cornelius, he is at the highest level from Expert level.

In the case of Asher, who was clearly a warrior, he seemed to be at least an expert level – in the case of warriors, it was impossible to figure out what abilities God had given them even with Raoul’s observation – or more.

Goddess Kiera was not an ordinary priest, but a ‘saint’, and she was not someone that Simar or Regan could ignore.

‘But it’s not at a level that I can’t handle if I put my mind to it.’

If you leave it to Kane right now, he might really be able to wipe it out.

But Raoul never intended or could give such an order.

The ‘God’s protection’ granted to the warrior party was absolute.

They lose their lives for reasons unrelated to the main scenario?

‘That can’t be possible.’

This was like an absolute rule of the game.

Even if Raoul draws his Auror blade and strikes at Corneleus’ neck, the sword will suddenly slip or miss for some reason.

It was for a similar reason that the church did not hold them accountable, even though they apologized to Raoul today, even though they were extremely rude to Raoul.

It can be said to be a kind of ‘conditional invincibility judgment.’

So no matter what his subordinates try, they won’t be able to harm them.

Rather, if something goes wrong in the process, this side will suffer losses.

It wasn’t for nothing that Raoul called him a ‘bunch of disaster.’

Since ancient times, disasters must be avoided rather than fought against.

But what if it really goes beyond just interfering with Raoul and becomes his enemy?

‘I have no choice but to teach you why it is called conditional.’

Raoul’s eyes lit up as he clicked on the ‘How to deal with heroes’ section in the Link Cafe.

* * *

“ha.”

Saint Kiera sighed.

Even though I told him that, I ended up having an accident again.

It was about Cornelius, who was included in their investigation team.

‘I didn’t meet Viscount Raoul for this purpose…’

It was not wrong to immigrate strangers, organize them into private organizations, and treat them like private soldiers.

But Cornelius’ words went too far.

Some nobles and strangers reported gossip and complaints about Viscount Raoul to the church.

However, it is also true that his achievements and accomplishments are even more impressive.

The problem was that the purpose of today’s visit was never to discuss or admonish Viscount Raoul on the issue.

Their original purpose was to borrow the power of the most skilled among the Gentiles.

As a result of research in the Free City, where strangers gather, the place where the most talented people gathered was the First Territory.

And, of course, the place they belong to is a private organization called the ‘Purple Guild’.

They actually visited the Purple Guild, but the strangers were away, and those handling guild business were civil servants from the First Territory.

They said that if you want to request so-called ‘rankers’, you have to go through the First Guild or the First Players Association…

“Aren’t the First Guild and Association all private organizations of Viscount Raoul? “It would be better to meet the lord right away rather than deal with the minions.”

The party members fell for Cornelius’ words, and the result was what it is now.

‘The point is, I was kicked out without even saying a word, so what should I do with this?’

In fact, she had no idea that things would turn out this way.

In most of the territories they had visited so far, the lords were unable to refuse their requests.

In the first place, from their perspective, there was no lord who was ruling properly.

Naturally, they were being stabbed, so even if they reported it to the church or told them the proper facts about the investigation, they immediately became discouraged and agreed to their demands.

‘I thought it would be like that this time too…’

So even though Cornelius’ words were a bit harsh, I still felt like I was leaving it alone.

I never thought that would have been a huge miscalculation.

But the bigger problem was that the case was not over yet.

“…This is ridiculous! It’s clear that everyone has something in their eyes. Oh my god! Please give me the courage and strength to strip away the faults of that filthy man.”

“I agree. “Something is going terribly wrong. We need to investigate again!”

Cornelius and Asher did not give up.

They were not listening to the orders of the church or the words of the bishops at all.

‘Oh my God.’

Kiera could only pray that somehow they wouldn’t make another big mistake.

(Continued in the next part)