Chapter 196
Chapter 196
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 196
Chapter Title: Launching the Kingdom
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When you read regression stories, this kind of scenario pops up from time to time.
-Mage. Your true talent is actually the sword.
-No way! Me… Me, born into a prestigious magic family, actually a swordsmanship genius?
-And a muscle genius to boot.
-Hmm, what I just did was the 'Perfect Squat of the Forgotten Era' form? I merely sat down and stood back up.
The so-called 'Our Child Has Changed' cliché.
In previous loops, talented individuals who failed to fully bloom due to prejudices, discrimination, poverty, and misfortune.
The regressor gives them one-on-one personal training, and thanks to that, they become true powerhouses.
As a proper regressor PT trainer myself, I've raised quite a few outstanding clients. In this field alone, I daresay I'm better than any other regressor.
However, we need to approach this with the brain of the sciences rather than the heart of the humanities.
Come on. How many exactly does that 'quite a few' modifier refer to?
-Saintess, Seo-gyu, Dang Seo-rin, Cheon Yo-hwa, Sim A-ryeon, Lee Ha-yul, Yoo Ji-won, Let's go.
Unbelievable. Just 7 at most!
Of course, depending on the loop, you could add or subtract about five. But even then, fewer than 15.
From my perspective, most regressors are seriously deluded. How do they plan to change the world with just an elite few?
Sure, changing 15 lives in your lifetime is impressive. But that's small business owner scale. Apple has over 150,000 employees.
After regressing, just scraping up all the surefire human lotteries with guaranteed futures? That's just the basics. Like buying Bitcoin—something you 'obviously have to do.'
In the end, what's important is the societal system.
Realigning society's vast talent pool to be healthy enough to support a tiny elite of powerhouses.
That is what can truly be called the regressor's lifelong endeavor.
"I will decisively invest in the [Kingdom Project] currently being developed by the powerhouse DMs."
After returning from the writer's retreat at Dalmatigo Pass, I immediately convened the Regression Alliance.
No Do-ha, whose life was overtime incarnate, greeted me with weary dragon eyes.
"DM? You mean those casino hustlers who pair up with fairies to fuck their dream ideal types…?"
My god. This is the current perception of the ruler of the Korean Peninsula!
Every time I honestly reveal No Do-ha's ignorance and prejudices to you all, my teeth chatter and my cheekbones tremble. Please spread No Do-ha's stains far and wide to the world.
"Ahem. It's the only industry still growing in the current market, so please refrain from such defamation."
"This guy's brain fried after dreaming of Romance of the Three Kingdoms a few times? Why are you suddenly making a fuss about investing in DMs in the middle of the night…?"
I calmly explained the potential of the [Kingdom Project].
Before long, No Do-ha's eyes glazed over with interest.
"…Hoo. If you strip away the DMs and Tutorial Fairies, it's basically a 'virtual reality world,' right?"
"Exactly."
"I see. You can rack up experience hunting monsters and smashing voids to your heart's content… Hmm. Sounds plausible…"
[Isn't the risk too high?]
The Saintess, joining remotely via video call from Yongsan, raised a counterpoint.
[The Ten Tribes and Meteor Shower are real monsters that existed in reality. If you transplant their data wholesale into virtual reality, that world will essentially be infested with voids just like our reality. It could expand the monsters' range of activity as a side effect. Separately, the possibility of new virtual reality-related monsters spawning is extremely high.]
"You're right. There will be side effects 100%."
I nodded.
"But the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages from those side effects. We should try it unconditionally, and if unmanageable side effects arise, we can stop in future loops. No harm done."
With the heart of Warren Buffett toward Coca-Cola stock, I plunged into investing in the [Kingdom Project].
Starting the very next day, we began managing the 'risks' the Saintess had pointed out.
Among all risks, the dumbest is human error—man-made disaster.
I summoned Dang Seo-rin and Cheon Yo-hwa to the 1,200-meter depths of the Café Azit to address the talent issue.
"Huh?"
"Eek."
The two arrived with light, carefree steps, only to scowl openly upon seeing each other.
The air around them stirred. A pride clash between representatives of white magic and black magic, Song Enchantment and necromancy.
I spoke from the middle.
"You two, stop fighting already."
"Fighting? What are you talking about, Undertaker? I don't have the leisure to fight people. If I did fight, even if they looked human, they'd probably turn out to be monsters, right?"
"Ahaha—. True. I hear that in Busan, people of all ages and genders wear witch hats everywhere—makes you suspect they're cosplay monsters. Be careful, teacher!"
Don't worry. This level of mind game is child's play. If they harbored real killing intent, they'd pickle a human into fish sauce without batting an eye—these were leaders of massive guilds.
"That's why I'm telling you not to fight. The personal DMs you're both employing total 46 combined. Way too many. Planning to start your own novel platform?"
"No, it was her who started first—"
"Wait. Sorry for interrupting. But hear me out first. I'm not here to arbitrarily judge who's right. What I'm saying is that the DMs you're both employing are desperately needed by me."
"…Huh?"
Dang Seo-rin and Cheon Yo-hwa both blinked.
Like No Do-ha, once I calmly explained, they quickly grasped the point.
The atmosphere, primed for a no-badges brawl (where close-combat Cheon Yo-hwa would win), eased slightly.
"Dang Seo-rin. How many personal DMs do you really need to manage your dreams?"
"Well…"
Dang Seo-rin glanced sideways at Cheon Yo-hwa before answering.
"Four should be enough."
"Good. Yo-hwa. Four's a bit short for you too, right?"
"…Um. Nooo. Actually, that's plenty. I have my favorites anyway, and the rest are just peanuts for boredom."
I nodded.
"Once the [Kingdom Project] gets rolling properly, standout talents will emerge. Talents tempting enough for you to recruit into your guilds."
"Hmm."
"Ah."
"Naturally, guilds will compete fiercely to scout talent. So we'll implement a draft system, granting 'priority picks' each year to guilds that have subjugated the most monsters and voids in reality."
"……!"
Their eyes shifted again. Previously just 'for the Undertaker's face,' now they radiated the aura of shrewd collective leaders.
"The National Highway Management Corps already demands guilds submit data on monster and void subjugations. But compliance is spotty."
"Yeah, makes sense. It's know-how. I'd rather share honestly with you than the Corps, teacher… We just report enough to keep face with the Corps."
"Thanks. But if reporting subjugations to the Corps brings real benefits, that'll change."
"…The right to pick promising rookies first. Rookies proven countless times in dream simulations, for years."
"Yes."
Three Thousand Worlds and Baekhwa Girls' High School were already the most aggressive in void hunting.
They'd naturally get draft priority.
"How about it? Both of you. Isn't this justification and gain enough to drop the turf war and cut DM numbers?"
Done.
With the two top guild leaders yielding first, the rest followed suit. Mid-to-small guild leaders hurriedly trimmed their personal DMs.
The suddenly unemployed DMs were rehired by the National Highway Management Corps and deployed to the [Kingdom Project].
Deployment number: a whopping 120.
All were 'skilled' enough to be employed by guild leaders and 'sociable' enough to sustain it—writers.
Essentially, a miraculous one-shot gathering every top talent on the peninsula, souls and all.
"We'll cover all labor costs. Don't worry about rent or anything. Treat the new DMs not as fellow writers, but as subordinate staff and use them accordingly."
"Uh, uh huh…."
Writer A accepted my investment, dumbfounded.
"Th-thank you. I never dreamed something like this would happen to me…."
"If anyone disrespects your authority as manager, contact me anytime. I'll sort it out personally."
"Eek! N-no! I can't trouble you with that, Undertaker…!"
It happened.
Some DMs caused a ruckus, and I personally used violence and threats to establish ironclad hierarchy among them. No matter how big they were pre-apocalypse, Writer A was now the project leader.
Two years later.
The [Kingdom Project], already skeletal, gained solid muscle and tasty flesh.
And thus.
[Adventure through a kingdom in peril and save the human world from the void!]
[Hosted by the National Highway Management Corps. Dream project collab with 36 major guilds including Three Thousand Worlds and Baekhwa Girls' High School!]
[Inquire with any Tutorial Fairy for free entry to the 'Kingdom.']
[Season 1 raid boss 'Ten Tribes' appears!]
Countless signboards popped up at Dream Casino, and ad posts flooded SG Net.
"Huh? What's that?"
"130 DMs involved in production?"
"Thought this DM vanished, but they were making this."
"You can dream with just fairies, no DM? Won't that suck…?"
Writers' dedication, regressor's experience, guild leaders' support—all converged into a dream simulation.
The 'Kingdom' launch.
11
The reaction to the Kingdom was explosive.
-Anonymous: No lol wtf the kingdom is fucking insane lmao
└Literature Girl: This is DMs' 'true passion'…? Terrifying….
-Goryeo Jang: Fr, not capping, if you're an Awakener sleeping on sedatives just to dream Kingdom, massive respect lol
-Anonymous: With skills like this, why couldn't pre-void Korean game companies make GOTY? If this dropped back then, it'd crush everything??
└Anonymous: 'Tutorial Fairy'
└Anonymous: Oh
Even Awakeners raved.
Frontline experts fighting real monsters had no choice but to acknowledge the Kingdom's 'realism.'
Of course. Who provided the data?
-Anonymous: Kingdom fags!! Ten Tribes spotted southwest beyond the mountains!! Those things are crazy! Unite armies now or we're fucked!!
└Anonymous: Sure~~ just kills fatties~ I'm safe in the capital~~
-Anonymous: Why does a strange medieval kingdom smell so familiar??
-dolLHOuse: Kingdom's a total failed state on the brink, hilarious. Funnier that it's better than our reality.
└Anonymous: Ah....
In the dream simulation, humanity hadn't fallen to the void yet. Just teetering on the edge.
Even so, the Kingdom's NPCs wasted time on who's right/wrong, housing prices safe in the capital/suspicious provincial upstarts, I'm pure human/you're dirty beastkin, endless politicking.
-Anonymous: Crazy kingdom bastards still terrorist-ing purebloods vs. subhumans lol
-Anonymous: 'The 7 rebel armies from the traitorous southern faction will wear themselves out against the Ten Tribes anyway' (actual quote)
-Anonymous: Even if humanity falls, can't dine with subhumans~~
For simulation participants living in a world where monsters had already wiped nations, overimmersion was inevitable.
Kingdom NPCs lamented the worst era's politics. But participants knew better than anyone.
This was humanity's last golden hour.
-Anonymous: Breaking: Ten Tribes southwest annihilated, heading north over mountains
-Anonymous: Fought as merc in southwest barony, retired after two tentacle hits. Woke to relay, back to dreaming.
-Anonymous: Remaking char in capital to join. Gl everyone.
└Literature Girl: Don't respawn randomly. Specific capital nobles take Ten Tribes seriously, convincing others. Respawn as their citizen to back them.
└Anonymous: O got it
A medieval fantasy kingdom they'd never seen, yet its fate was obvious to participants.
They knew the future.
Knowing the end and acting on it. In this, every real human in the Kingdom dream was practically a 'regressor.'
Yes.
In the virtual reality training ground crafted by DMs, people were rapidly leveling up as 'pseudo-regressors.'
A perfected system needing no direct guidance or tutoring from me.
"Teacher!"
As Kingdom Season 1 ended, Cheon Yo-hwa rushed in, face flushed, and exclaimed.
"This rookie batch… they're insane!"
Finally, the peninsula's forces began explosive growth at terrifying speed.