The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

‘Haah, I’m going to die.’

Kim Ilwoo felt like he needed a dozen bodies to keep up with everything these days. In Connect, he was practically the top-ranked player. To maintain that position, he had to devote a lot of time to training and hunting.

On top of that, he had to handle the affairs of the Purple Guild and the Purple Association, and he needed to pay attention to the rapidly increasing number of new players lately.

This was possible thanks to his special ability. His continuously growing attribute, clone Creation (S), had shown remarkable improvement.

Having reached the level of an advanced Clone Master, Kim Ilwoo could now create around a hundred clones simultaneously.

He could also generate ten clones with abilities similar to his own, so recently, his clones had been taking on most of the hunting and training.

Thus, excluding the insurmountable Bae Dohyun, he earned the title ‘One-Man Legion’. While his clones were busy working (auto-hunting, etc.), Ilwoo handled the affairs of the association and guild through the system window….

‘Am I playing a game, or working?’

The problem was, that wasn’t all. In real life, he had to manage company affairs as the Vice President of First Management Corp. To be honest, that was strange too.

His title was Vice President of First Management, but practically every external affair of First Company had to go through him.

No matter how famous Kim Ilwoo was as a player, and despite being the only one who could meet with Chairman Raul one-on-one, wasn’t this a bit too much?

‘And what about the other CEOs of the affiliates?’

He once directly confronted Raul about it. Raul’s answer was simple.

“They’re just professional managers, but you’re my spokesperson, right? What, do you want a higher rank?”

Kim Ilwoo had literally jumped and declined. A higher rank would mean a higher salary and better treatment, but….

‘Obviously, that just means more work!’

He was already being treated more than generously.

If his workload increased any further, he might actually die from being overwhelmed. In any case, it wasn’t that he was extremely dissatisfied or thinking of quitting. Surprisingly, he found that such work suited him.

Of course, he received tremendous support and assistance from Raul, but if he had been incompetent, he wouldn’t have been able to hold his position for so long in the first place.

A mere orphan who graduated from a four-year college and quit his job at a small company is now practically the representative of a global corporation!

Even Ilwoo himself found it hard to believe that this was possible. Sometimes, he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

‘Anyway, what should I really do?’

Ilwoo pondered deeply, watching his two clones perform dazzling swordsmanship before him. It had been over five years since he began training in swordsmanship and weapon skills upon Raul’s advice.

Within Connect, he honed his sword skills to the point where he could defeat top-grade expert knights with ease.

Whiiing!

Bang! Thud!

From the swords of his sparring clones emerged mana blades, the symbol of expert knights. Although the blades were as short as a palm, indicating just-gained expertise, Ilwoo maintained a serious expression.

This was not within Connect but in a secret training hall at the headquarters of First Company. In other words, Ilwoo had achieved the ability to generate two clones in the real world, each capable of wielding mana blades.

“Whistle! Vice President, your achievements are impressive as always.”

Someone entered the training hall, whistling and expressing admiration. It was none other than Louis Blake.

He was a top-5 ranked American fighter player. Alongside him were Wang Chunmyung, Han Seohyun , Linda, and other rankers who were directors at the management company.

“You complained about having too much work, but here you are practicing alone? That’s unfair.”

“Seriously. Maybe we should tell the Chairman that Vice President Ilwoo actually has plenty of free time.”

“Pff, that would be hilarious.”

Their teasing comments turned Ilwoo pale.

“No, please, anything but that!”

Seeing Ilwoo cowering and pleading instantly brought a burst of laughter from everyone present.

“Enough with the jokes, let’s warm up together today.”

Srrring.

Wang Chunmyung drew his longsword, and Louis Blake put on his gauntlets.

And then.

Vuum.

Their weapons began to emit a glow, evidently powered by mana.

“Then I will too!”

Seohyun closed her eyes and focused, and with a pop, a small silver fox appeared out of thin air. It was her first summoned creature and her best partner, the Silver Fox ‘Eunbyeol’.

Everyone in the training hall began to manifest their unique abilities and started training together. Everyone was recreating the abilities they used in Connect right here on Earth.

It had been 1 year and 6 months since they started training together. What initially seemed like faint abilities, like fireflies, had now risen to a significant level; they were already surpassing level 50 in Connect terms.

‘The issue is that these abilities have been growing rapidly lately….’

After the new scenario started, their abilities began to grow at a faster pace. The speed increased so much that recently, it felt like their levels went up overnight. Ilwoo was more worried about this.

Such abnormal growth must have a reason, he thought concernedly.

Just then.

Rumble!

“Gasp!”

“What the…!”

“What is this!”

The faces of those gathered in the training hall turned pale.

“Did you feel that?”

“You too?”

Holding their pounding hearts, they exchanged glances. An overwhelming pulse of power was felt for a moment. It was something absolute, almost never felt even within Connect.

“…What in the world is happening?”

Struggling to suppress the wildly surging mana within their bodies, one by one they walked out of the training hall.

*

Rumble, crash!

Lightning struck, and the atmosphere roared. Though it was midday, it was dim all around, and the sky was covered with something red, losing its natural hue.

People murmured. Cars came to a stop, and people inside buildings ran out onto the streets.

“What’s going on?”

“The sky is red!”

“No clouds, yet there’s lightning?”

People were captivated by the eerie changes in the sky. And slowly, a thought infiltrated their minds.

Something feels wrong.

Something terrifying is about to happen.

Flash.

A bright light passed through the sky, and something appeared in the void.

“A gate!”

“Everyone run! If you get sucked in, you’re done for!”

Bang! Clatter!

A translucent circular hole appeared in the middle of the city. It was unmistakably the same gate that appeared in Connect. People’s minds were almost paralyzed with the bizarre situation, but their bodies reacted honestly.

In a flash, the crowd around the gate retreated. As people moved away, the gate began to emit a strong light with a small tremor.

“R-really a gate?”

“This makes no sense!”

Normally, there would be people displaying curiosity and filming such a strange phenomenon, but no one was brave enough to do so this time.

Everyone was already well informed about the world of Connect through various media, and there were hardly any who didn’t know about the gates that served as the main stage for player activities.

Beeep!

“Everyone, step back! This is dangerous!”

“Do not stay on the streets; return to your homes!”

Weee-oo-wee-oo!

Sirens blared and police forces blowing whistles quickly began to control the area around the gate. Had they already prepared a contingency plan for such situations?

Or perhaps the police were well-versed in Connect?

The control was swift, and fortunately, it seemed that no one had been sucked into the gate. Meanwhile, Kim Ilwoo and the rankers, observing from the rooftop of their building, had their faces harden further.

*

‘Is this it?’

Situation Room at Calix Castle. Raul also watched the projected screen with a hardened expression.

“The situation seems worse than expected! An enormous number of gates are appearing in major cities with high population densities. And the grade of the gates… The highest reported so far is green!”

“Green? That’s C-Grade!”

Raul bit his lip at Rabel’s urgent voice. A C-Grade gate would require at least expert-level knights. But this was Earth.

Could they really handle it?

The bigger issue was that Raul couldn’t do anything immediately.

“What about the Purple Guild members? Have there been any reports?”

“There have been no personal contacts yet, but their movements are being tracked.”

Swish.

The screen switched to display Kim Ilwoo and the rankers on Earth, helping the police evacuate people around the gate. It seemed difficult to make immediate contact with them.

‘Damn. How can I be so helpless!’

Raul desperately wanted to investigate the gates that had appeared, but it was just a wish for now.

“Thankfully, there haven’t been any reported casualties. It seems the gates are not fully active yet.”

Like Rabel said, the gates were still inactive. Though they were slowly becoming more distinct and finding their color, they hadn’t started drawing people in or spewing out monsters.

‘But for how long?’

Since the gates that had appeared were bound to activate sooner or later…

“Broadcast all recorded data and strategies related to the gates immediately, and send the relevant information to the governments of each country! Also, summon the rankers currently connected to Connect!”

“Got it!”

“Understood, master!”

Rabel began broadcasting the compiled gate response strategies and attack methods through Connect-related channels.

Kane communicated through the guild’s network and direct contacts to inform guild members and allied rankers.

‘Damn. I hope we have enough time….’

With a clenched fist, Raul felt a growing sense of urgency.

*

“Once again, we urge all citizens to trust the government and go about your daily lives. Your property and lives are under the protection of the government and the military!”

Government broadcasts streamed continuously through official channels. One week had passed since gates appeared on Earth. The gates, which had been growing in intensity, suddenly fell silent at a certain point.

The government mobilized military and police forces to establish defensive lines and quarantine zones around the gates, preparing for any eventuality.

Seeing soldiers, tanks, and various armaments tightly guarding the gates, citizens slowly started to emerge from their confusion.

Following the government’s guidance, they began returning to work and resuming their daily lives, although some watched with worried expressions.

“Shouldn’t we force an evacuation?”

“How? We’re not the police. The government isn’t willing, so what can we do?”

Seohyun voiced her concern with a troubled expression, but Linda shrugged, implying there were no answers. The rankers of the Purple Guild, gathered in the meeting room, sighed in frustration.

“I didn’t think they’d be this unreasonable. I thought they’d be somewhat flexible.”

Until now, the government had shown a relatively positive attitude towards Connect Corp. and First Company. Therefore, they had hoped the government would heed their advice at least a little.

“You know how it is. Politicians won’t take risks. If they evacuate people and nothing happens, or the military can handle it as they claim, it would be a disaster for them. Imagine the reaction if the displaced people were actually forced to move.”

Louis, an American citizen, hit the nail on the head. Given the quasi-natural disaster-like scenarios caused by the gates, it was inevitable that there would be victims no matter how the government responded.

From the politicians’ perspective, it was obvious they would opt for responses that wouldn’t lose votes. Expecting them to heed the advice of gamers and forcibly evacuate citizens outside certain gate zones was unrealistic.

“But everyone knows, right? If we remain like this, we know what will happen. Despite the power of modern weaponry, do you think they can really stop the monsters? And the firepower we can unleash in urban areas is limited….”

Raul had already strongly urged governments using First Company’s name to evacuate citizens immediately, but it had no effect.

They even ignored the warnings sent by Alex Song, the chairman of Connect Corp, so there was no way the voices of top rankers like Kim Ilwoo would reach the government.

“For now, let’s focus on what we can do. Join forces with as many rankers as possible and use broadcasts to urge citizens near the gates to evacuate. I’ll do my best to move the government and the ruling party.”

As Raul spoke through the holographic video conference, everyone nodded in agreement.

“Additionally, please promote Connect as much as possible to enable many people to connect. Now that we know the skills learned in Connect can be implemented in reality, we need as many people as possible to adapt to these changes.”

“We will. If more people can even slightly sense mana, their survival rate in case of emergencies will increase dramatically.”

One week since the gates appeared on Earth.

That wasn’t the only change. The appearance of gates and the explosive increase in ambient mana provided an environment where players who had connected to Connect could awaken.

So, even those who weren’t high-synchronization rate rankers like the top players were starting to manifest abilities….

‘I just wish we had a little more time!’

But that was merely a vain hope.

Swhoosh!

Rumble.

The seemingly dormant gate began to tremble, and ominous waves of mana swept through Earth.

Tap.

D-90.

Monsters had set foot on Earth for the first time.

(To be continued)