Game's Mirror of Magic Becomes Real — Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Fortune (3)
Until now, while playing Chronicle Online, I had only thought of MP, displayed alongside HP, as magic power. I had never actually felt the presence of magic power.
No matter how realistic it was, at its core, a game was still a game.
[Circle creation has been completed.]
That was why the presence of the magic power now quietly rotating in my chest felt so utterly foreign to me.
-Ziiing!
As I placed my hand on my chest, the single circle representing 1st Class increased its rotation speed.
It was unfamiliar, but there was no issue at all in moving the magic power.
The circle followed me perfectly, as if it had always been there from the start.
'Now that I've created the 1st Circle, there should be corresponding skills, right?'
I had been sitting still on the floor waiting for the circle to form, but I dusted myself off and stood up, walking toward the bookshelf settled in one corner of the Magic Tower's 2nd floor.
[Would you like to search for materials?]
There were quite a lot of books, so I was wondering how long it would take to look through them all, but there was even this convenience?
As expected of the fortune of Manuel Lucas, who was called humanity's greatest mage.
In a good mood, I commanded the search and looked through the lengthy list of books.
Skimming through them, I could roughly categorize them into four main groups.
And among them, what I wanted was included.
[Spellbooks]
[Skill Books]
[Materials]
[Records]
The Materials and Records contained Archduke Lucas's research data and magical know-how.
Most of it could be considered basic material rather than core techniques, but they were still things that had been touched by a 9th Class mage.
If even one of these were leaked to the outside, it would be possible to earn a considerable amount of money.
Of course, if I did something like that, I might be tracked down, so it was something I shouldn't even dream of.
I decided to look through the Materials and Records gradually, and first prioritized selecting the lists of Spellbooks and Skill Books that would be immediately helpful.
[1st Class Fire Attribute Spellbook]
[1st Class Water Attribute Spellbook]
...
...
[Magic Power Understanding Skill Book]
[Magic Power Recovery Skill Book]
[Magic Power Accumulation Skill Book]
All 1st Class spells and the essential basic skills every mage needs.
[Would you like to acquire Magic Power Understanding Skill Book?]
And with just a light touch, the skills and spells were instinctively acquired, just like in a game.
'If spellbooks and skill books are given this easily, leveling up will be easier than I thought.'
Originally, skill books and spellbooks aren't easy to obtain.
Chronicle Online is basically an item-collection game, so skills, spells, and the like must be acquired and used by finding ones that match your rank.
Also, acquiring a skill isn't the end—all spells and skills have proficiency levels, and there was a significant difference in power between mastered skills and those that weren't.
However, the differences from the game became even more apparent in the process of acquiring spells and skills.
"Kgh!"
That was—the principle of the corresponding skill being engraved into my mind every time I acquired one.
For me, it was good that I could understand the principles of magic through attributes, but the process was utterly unpleasant and painful.
Still, I couldn't not learn them.
The headaches were immense, but I stubbornly continued learning spells and skills.
"Ugh..."
Eventually, unable to endure the headache any longer, I vomited next to the bookshelf.
Since this place was a game, not reality, the trash would soon be cleaned up anyway, so I ignored it and took out the last remaining skill book.
[Circle Concealment Skill Book]
-Conceals the magic power held along with the circle.
-It is useless against Aura Master-class knights, mages of 7th Circle or higher, or top-tier detection artifacts.
A consideration that seemed to know my situation well.
A pleasant laugh naturally escaped me.
I went ahead and acquired the last skill book as well.
-Ziiing.
It seemed its inherent rank was higher than the previous skills, as the headache worsened and I even experienced tinnitus.
But since all of this was a miracle for me, regardless of the discomfort, my mood was only good.
I lay sprawled next to the vomit, waiting for the headache to subside, and it was only after about two hours that I could finally get up.
-Ziiing!
As soon as I stood up, I recalled the magical theories engraved in my mind and attempted to cast.
The magic circle began to rotate fiercely, and I could feel the surrounding magic power converging together.
"Magic Missile."
After a short casting of about 1.5 seconds, the completed spell transformed into a bullet of magic power and flew fiercely toward the wall.
-Pfft!
The Magic Missile fizzled out weakly, as if the Magic Tower's walls were made of metal, but it was confirmed that the spell worked without any issues.
In Chronicle Online, casting a spell was as simple as saying a command, but now I understood the spell completely.
[You have been logged into the game for 10 hours without rest based on real-world time.]
[Please end the game and take a rest.]
Had time already passed that much?
I was planning to log out anyway, curious to see if a real circle had formed in reality as well, so I obediently followed the warning.
[Logging out of Chronicle Online.]
With a slight feeling of floating and a sensation of my body being pushed backward, the blackened world greeted me.
-Swoosh.
Removing the headgear that covered my entire head, the familiar ceiling that had been tormenting me until just moments ago came into view.
Day had already broken, and light was seeping through the blackout curtains I had drawn over the terrace window.
And as I swallowed dryly and placed my hand near my solar plexus—
"Good."
The magic circle was clearly felt, just like in the game.
Now there was no doubt about the existence of the fortune.
I savored the surging emotion and clenched my fist tightly.
In both my past life and my current life, I thought I would end up without achieving anything, but it seems this life will be different.
'Strictly speaking, I've only just taken a single step.'
But this one step was a leap of tremendous significance to me.
Through Manuel Lucas's fortune, what I desire is nothing grand.
'I only wish for my own well-being and my mother's.'
However, the fact that this wish includes the exclusion of those who would interfere could be seen as being far from peace.
* * *
The current population of Rondel is approximately 7 billion.
But if all non-human races are included, it would likely be more than Earth's population, not less.
The number of countries distributed across the four continents is only 20, less than even a tenth of Earth's, giving an undeniable sense of imbalance compared to its size.
No, looking at it differently, even the country classified as the smallest in Rondel has a population of 50 million and a land area comparable to Mongolia's level, so perhaps it's this side, not Earth, that has better balance between nations.
Even small countries can't be taken lightly if three or more band together against a large nation, so war deterrence is also considerable.
Of course, that doesn't mean wars don't happen, but in the last 500 years, there has been no war large enough to lead to a nation's downfall.
Certainly, at this level, not only the technological prowess but also the geopolitical situation is relatively more stable than Earth's.
In such a world, the Reinharts Kingdom I belong to is—
Apart from the Four Great Empires, it is a powerful nation with formidable military and economic strength that is hard to find a match for.
Although it shares a border in hostility with Kroizen, one of the Four Great Empires, the kingdom is being managed without major crisis through alliances with neighboring kingdoms.
Population: 180 million.
Land area: comparable to India.
Thanks to that, even our Lawrence family, which holds the rank of Viscount, operates a territory with a population of 1 million, and possesses 6,000 private soldiers and 300 knights.
Even my own estate, after leaving the main house, has over 20 knights and 300 soldiers stationed there—so you shouldn't view it as a typical medieval feudal lord.
At the training ground of the Lawrence family's estate.
"Excuse me? Swordsmanship training?"
At my sudden visit and out-of-the-blue request, my guard knight Weiss asked back with a surprised expression.
Naturally, the gazes of the surrounding knights turned toward us.
Among them would surely be spies of the lawful wife Anna and Cedric.
I waved my hands, telling them not to misunderstand.
"I've been feeling sluggish lately. I was thinking of doing some exercise, would that be alright?"
"Of course. I'm always welcoming. In fact, I've been worried about your health since you've been playing games all day."
The truth was, I wanted to try training in reality as well, thinking it might help with activities in the game.
Since my real body and in-game character had become synchronized, I had been struggling considerably in combat.
Although my class is a mage, being a mage doesn't mean I can just stand still.
Moreover, combat in the game could become an extension of reality.
"Then shall we start with some conditioning exercises?"
Weiss seemed quite motivated.
The other knights around looked at Weiss with expressions that said they didn't understand him, apparently thinking, 'What's the point of trying to get on the good side of such a weakling?'
"Surprising. You have better stamina than I expected?"
"Is that so?"
It seemed the improved stats from the game were indeed affecting reality.
Of course, by a knight's standards, it was still a weak body, but he seemed to consider it decent for a shut-in who only played games all day.
However, rather than the physical aspect, I focused on the fact that no one had noticed I was a mage, and felt relieved.
The problem had been how to hide my circle from knights who are sensitive to magic power, but thanks to Archduke Lucas's consideration, it was resolved too easily.
Thanks to that, it seemed there would be no issues with secretly building up my strength.