The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

‘What a situation….’

Raul could only click his tongue at the swift turn of events. Whether it was the demon marquis attempting something or Hero Noel lurking and biding his time, Raul was already aware of it all.

The moment he completed his awakening and activated Infinite Parts, Raul had already perfectly controlled the space. Detecting Noel, who was hiding in the corner consumed by greed, was trivial.

And if he hadn’t noticed the odd behavior of the demon approaching at the cost of taking damage, all his previous combat experience would have been for nothing.

Naturally, he had been on guard, noticing the shadow creeping along the floor and the invisible threads of the dark curse that approached at the last moment. Raul’s golden eyes had comprehended everything.

‘I wanted to elegantly neutralize him and see the demon marquis’s face in despair.’

Unfortunately, there was no chance for that. Having realized that Noel’s target was the demon marquis, Raul had allowed him to interfere.

He had a hunch that something bad might happen if he delivered the final blow to the marquis. And sure enough. Just as the triumphant Noel decapitated Marquis Dailo, something seized him.

Crack, crunch!

「Raul, back off!」

Even without Rabel’s urgent warning, Raul’s body had instinctively leaped backward. Then, from the ceiling’s hole that had been forced open, a colossal dark fist plummeted down.

‘What a tenacious foe!’

Though it was just an arm, the intense demonic energy and immense power it carried were palpable. The giant hand swiftly grabbed both Marquis Dailo Monet and Hero Noel before disappearing back into the Gate to the Demon Realm.

“Nooo!”

Noel’s distant scream echoed through the hall, but Raul didn’t make any effort to intervene. He had no intention of provoking the mysterious dark hand.

‘There’s no reason to save him.’

Considering it was a fitting end for a hero who sacrificed himself to save the world. Now, only Raul and Rabel remained in the hall.

Well, and the mages who were activating the magic circle to draw in the Gate to the Demon Realm.

“Time to wrap things up.”

With a few casual gestures toward the corners of the hall.

Crash! Boom!

The Infinite Parts ripped through the mages’ barriers and reduced them to dust.

Roar!!!

The crimson Gate to the Demon Realm, which had been descending above the tower, let out an eerie wail and began to retreat upward. The black beam connecting the gate to the tower gradually dimmed and then vanished.

Soon, the entire tower shuddered as the walls started to crumble. Raul could feel massive surges of energy beneath his feet, likely from the Empire’s forces opening portals to flee, sensing their defeat.

“Phew. Is it finally over?”

Confirming that the malevolent Gate had closed and faded into the void, Raul exhaled a deep sigh of relief. Though it might not be completely over, at least for now, it seemed unlikely that the gate would reappear anytime soon.

And just as he allowed himself to relax.

Flash!

Three shadows appeared in front of Raul in the crumbling top floor of the tower.

“…Professor?”

Among the three hooded figures, one was undoubtedly Alfredo Gray. A continent-renowned sage and the vice-chancellor of the capital academy, who once taught Raul.

Although they had exchanged messages via magic communication occasionally, it had been years since they met face-to-face. As Raul was about to greet him with a pleased expression.

The figure in the black hood stepped forward and spoke.

“Count Raul de First. We honor your achievement in defeating the Demon Marquis and sealing the Gate to the Demon Realm. Furthermore, congratulations on passing the final scenario test of the Connect system!”

“…!”

Raul was slightly taken aback when the Connect system was mentioned. He quickly deduced that these individuals were the continent’s three renowned sages—Black, white, and Gray.

However, during his exchanges with Gray, there had never been any indication that Gray knew about the Connect system.

‘Could it be that the continent’s three sages are linked to Connect?’

Gray merely smiled contentedly when his eyes met Raul’s.

“We acknowledge you as the ‘Temporary Controller’ for passing the test. It would be better to discuss further details in a different location. Will you follow us?”

Although Black had a somewhat stern expression, Raul nodded. He knew they were telling the truth, as the system message that popped up before his eyes confirmed it.

Whoosh.

With a simple gesture from Black, a large teleportation magic circle formed on the hall floor, emitting a brilliant light. Enveloped in the light, the four figures vanished from the top floor of the tower.

* * *

‘This place…?’

Raul felt a sense of déjà vu. He and the three sages had arrived at a tranquil temple. It was the very same place where Bae Dohyun had obtained three mythical items shortly before his death in his previous life.

“Welcome.”

The person greeting them was unmistakably the old priest who had died in Bae Dohyun’s arms.

‘What’s going on here?’

Raul furrowed his brow at the disjointed flow of events. The combination of the continent’s three sages and a priest was foreign to him. And it felt odd that such a secluded temple was connected to the Connect system.

‘Well, I guess I’ll understand after I hear the explanation.’

Raul calmly followed the three sages into the temple.

“So, you’re saying that you have the blood of dragons?”

“Strictly speaking, it’s not direct lineage, but it’s something like that.”

The story began with the continental war that had occurred thousands of years ago. A great war where demons, celestials, and dragons fought for dominion over the continent.

“At that time, dragons weren’t united but instead divided into two main factions.”

The hardliners, influenced by the demons, believed the continent should be purged for a new beginning. The moderates believed they should fulfill their original duty as protectors of the continent.

Most dragons followed the moderate faction, led by the Dragon Lord, the Gold Dragon Jenadis. But the hardliner representative, the Dark Dragon Mavliones, was immensely powerful.

Having allied with the demons and embraced demonic energy, his strength far surpassed that of the Lord. Unexpectedly, however, the war concluded with humans borrowing the power of the gods to drain the continent’s mana through a ‘massive magic circle.’

The demons and celestials retreated through their gates, but the problem lay with the dragons left behind.

“Dragons are creatures that live off mana. Without it, their lives couldn’t be sustained.”

Devoid of the mana needed to maintain their mighty bodies, the dragons faced terminal fates. Most dragons couldn’t endure for long and perished; only the Dragon Lord and a few others survived.

Accepting their fate, the Lord and the survivors decided to step aside for a new Connect. But the Dark Dragon Mavliones wouldn’t accept this reality.

“In the end, he had a child through a human and used that child to establish a kingdom. That kingdom is now the Cranen Empire. And he entered hibernation in the empire’s depths, dreaming of revival.”

After listening to Gray’s explanation, Raul began to understand. Why the Empire had been trying to open a gate to the Demon Realm.

“They intended to awaken Mavliones from his slumber by opening a passage to the Demon Realm?”

“Yes. And they almost succeeded. If the gate had opened, it would have been only a matter of time before Mavliones awakened.”

“Then you all…”

“We are also descendants of the Dragon Lord and the surviving dragons who left children through humans. We are Dragonians. And for the past thousands of years, we have been curbing the Empire to prevent the resurrection of the Dark Dragon and to protect the continent.”

“Wait a moment! So, are the Dragon Lord and other dragons still alive?”

If the Dark Dragon was in hibernation, there was a chance that other dragons might also still be in hibernation. However, Gray shook his head regretfully.

“They entered hibernation as well, but eventually could not withstand the mana depletion and one by one found their final rest. The Dragon Lord, the last survivor, also recently entered his rest. And his final legacy was the very system that summoned Earthlings to this world—Connect.”

“…!”

The immense complexity and scale of it seemed too great to have been created by humans alone. But to think it was the legacy of the Dragon Lord.

“With the Empire becoming more active, the Lord worried a lot as he neared his rest. If they couldn’t be checked, Connect might be led to ruin. Then, by chance, he met someone.”

“It’s more accurate to call it fate than chance.”

White interjected, to which Gray nodded in agreement.

“That person was an Earthling. Neither he nor we knew how he crossed dimensions. He introduced himself as a game programmer. With the help of the Lord and the temple’s power, he created the Connect system.”

“…!”

No wonder a game-like system had emerged in a fantasy-based world; it all made sense now.

“What about the person who came from Earth?”

“Sadly, he did not survive long either. Dimensional travel is not something the average human can endure.”

‘Sigh, that’s unfortunate.’

There were so many questions Raul wanted to ask the creator.

“Then who delivered the Connect system to Earth? And Chairman Alex Song of Connect Company…?”

At this point, white removed his hood and smiled.

“It seems this is our first time meeting in person. I am Alex Song, chairman of Connect Company.”

“…!”

“After the Connect system was established, we painstakingly determined Earth’s coordinates and completed the dimensional teleportation magic circle. Using the last remnants of the Lord’s power, I traveled to Earth, established Connect Company, and began producing the capsules.”

“What about White, who operated here?”

“A stand-in. Well, there’s a useful spell called Polymorph, isn’t there?”

Indeed, Raul had been operating as Bae Dohyun using a ring from Gray, so it made sense that White could do the same.

“And on the destined day, I abandoned my physical body there and fully returned to Connect, just like the players did.”

With this explanation, many of Raul’s lingering questions began to make sense.

In the end, the Connect system wasn’t just a simple virtual reality game; it was a dimensional transfer system that connected Connect and Earth.

But there were still many questions left unanswered.

“So, what exactly is a Controller? What is the ultimate goal of the Connect system’s scenario?”

At Raul’s question, the three sages exchanged glances and then shook their heads.

“That’s something we can’t reveal yet. You still have one more task to complete before you can become the true Controller.”

“A task…?”

Even now, there were still tasks to be done? Hadn’t the final scenario ended?

“It’s true that you prevented the Demon Realm’s invasion through the gate. But the root cause is still unresolved.”

“As long as the Empire, where the Dark Dragon slumbers, remains intact, this situation could repeat itself.”

“So, at the very least, the partially loosened seal on the Dark Dragon needs to be reconstructed.”

Raul frowned slightly at their words.

“Seal on the Dark Dragon?”

“The seal to suppress the slumbering Dark Dragon Mavliones is located in the mountain range behind the Empire’s capital. We’ve been taking turns maintaining it, but our power is nearly exhausted. Someone needs to take over this duty.”

Having dealt with the demons, now there was the Dark Dragon in the Empire. Raul promptly refused.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll need to find someone else. I don’t know what a Controller is or how great the power is, but I’m not interested. I’m not a hero who sacrifices himself for the sake of the continent.”

By closing the Gate to the Demon Realm, Raul had already achieved what he wanted. For now, there would be no threats to the House of First and the Ashton household. Was his response unexpected?

The three sages exchanged glances and then nodded.

“Of course, we don’t intend to make this request without offering something in return. No matter how strong you are, you can’t manage the seal site near the Empire’s capital alone.”

“And if you fail to maintain the seal, Mavliones will awaken from his hibernation—likely within a few years. Once that destructive Dark Dragon is loose, who can stop him?”

“It’s not as difficult as you might think. In fact, the likelihood of an actual battle occurring is minimal.”

Even with these reassurances, Raul remained silent, prompting Gray to offer a wry smile.

“How about you just come and take a look? Seeing what we have to show you might change your mind.”

Having already received much assistance from Gray, Raul found it hard to flatly refuse his request. Reluctantly, Raul stood and followed Gray and the sages.

‘This path…?’

At the end of a large chapel. A splendid chair sat on a slightly elevated platform. The old priest placed a hand on the chair, revealing a hidden passage leading below the platform.

‘My god.’

Descending into the secret passage, Raul found himself in a stone chamber. In the chamber, neatly arranged, were the bracelets and skill book where Regnator lay dormant.

(To be continued)