Edward Family’s Mansion
The mansion, as glorious as a palace befitting the Edward Consortium, was brightly illuminated by crystal balls, making it shine like daytime even at night.
In the humble study of the head of the family, a long-overdue conversation between father and daughter was taking place.
“Silvia, are you really going to do it?”
Mark, Sylvia’s father, was an aristocrat who understood the dignity suitable for the Edward Consortium, with sharp eyes and the same blonde hair as his daughter.
But in front of his daughter, he resembled an ordinary, anxious father who genuinely worried about his daughter boldly pursuing a new business.
“Yes, I will, Father.”
Sylvia said as she looked at her father.
Her confident and unwavering gaze made Mark feel a sense of pride.
But at the same time, he was worried.
Since becoming the branch manager of the Royal Capital branch, Sylvia had been on a winning streak without a single failure.
Even this year, when a decrease in profitability was expected, she had remarkably succeeded in launching a new crystal ball product.
However…
“I have transferred the authority of the Royal Capital branch to you, so I will keep an eye on things, but I am worried, my dear.”
“Don’t worry, Father. You saw how well Tetric is selling.”
As a senior merchant, Mark had concerns.
A massive success could turn into poison later.
Sylvia at that moment felt just like that.
The enormous success of her new product made her feel as if the world belonged to her, and her triumph would last forever.
That is the most dangerous moment.
It’s the moment when she plans to reinvest all profits gained.
“But it could be temporary, you know? Just like the other companies think.”
Other companies were clearly aware of Tetric’s success.
Yet their actions were incredibly passive.
The Edward Consortium’s Tetric was being distributed in a hurry, and they were mobilizing their own wizard school to create something far inferior to Tetric for very cheap.
The reason was a common understanding.
[It’s just a mere amusement (game).]
They had no idea that there was a difference between games and entertainment.
No matter how great the success, it was Tetric’s success, not a thriving business in games.
And Mark somewhat agreed with that thought.
But Sylvia was resolute.
“Well, it may have been up to now. But with the next game crystal ball and the founding day festival, this market will definitely stabilize, Father.”
Sylvia’s eyes were filled with certainty.
She could see the energy and future of the game Yuren had shown her.
Mark’s heart was complex as he watched his daughter in a way he had never seen before.
“It’s surprising that cautious you is so certain… Do you have something you believe in?”
At Mark’s words, Sylvia recalled her business partner.
The silver-haired wizard who was arrogant enough to trade without backing down,
but he truly showed what being the best meant with the best game.
Sylvia liked those who took responsibility for their arrogance.
Just like her.
That’s why she was fond of having Yuren as a partner.
“Yes, because my partner is favored by the gods.”
At that moment, Mark saw traces of his wife in her.
His wife’s eyes had looked like that during their courting days.
Mark thought of how similar his wife of that time and his daughter appeared.
“Please come and see it too, Father. You’ll be able to witness something incredible.”
“I understand. I trust you, Silvia.”
Mark had no intention of participating in the event his daughter had prepared for other matters.
Yet, curiosity about his daughter’s partner and her request led him to decide to join.
Later, Mark would think that day’s choice was truly fortunate.
*
“Is this Zephia? It’s different! It’s nice! It’s amazing!”
After three days, we had finally arrived in the royal capital, Zephia.
Julia, who was visiting Zephia for the first time, appeared to be fascinated and excitedly exploring every corner of the city.
Well, it wasn’t just Julia.
“Wow! Yuren, look! There are dragon clouds flying in the sky!”
“Wow! Fireworks! Fireworks!”
As the founding day approached, Zephia was truly in a festive mood.
The sky welcomed guests with cloud magic and fireworks, and various people, including elves, dark elves, and beastmen, had gathered to enjoy the festival.
Moreover, among them were many participants holding Tetric’s crystal balls and playing the game.
“Everyone, move in teams as arranged. If anything happens, use the communication crystal, got it?”
“Yes!”
“Okay! Got it, Yuren!”
Thanks to the Edward Consortium’s considerations, our Irene School had reserved a very nice inn where we settled our belongings.
On the first day, I took the kids to show them the famous spots of Zephia.
We visited familiar places like the “World Tree Magic Association” and the “Amelia Saint Church,” where the saint who saved the empire was chosen.
Of course, the place that the young priests liked the most was definitely the “Empire’s Food Alley.”
“Yuren, I want that too!”
“Jiren, I want that!”
“You guys can eat everything, right? If you leave anything behind, you’ll get in trouble.”
[ “Yes!!” ]
Thus, while enjoying Zephia’s famous ‘lamb sausage,’ we spent a joyful first day.
On the second day, we headed towards another famous site of Zephia, where the Tetric tournament was being held, the “Zephia Coliseum.”
That place, where slave gladiators once fought, was now being utilized for a different kind of battle.
“Wow… Disciple, there are really a lot of people.”
“Yeah, Yuren, this is the first time I’ve seen so many people gathered.”
While all the places we had visited until now were bustling, this place was unparalleled.
Countless people were preparing for the Tetric tournament, and event staff were welcoming attendees with guiding magic in the air.
[Participants, please register under the red flag. Those who have received a registration number, please proceed to the blue flag for preliminary round instructions.]
The event was being conducted with a much more thorough system than previous game events I had witnessed.
I had been looked at with suspicion as I shared knowledge about game events with Sylvia, but seeing her execute it all, I realized once more that she was indeed remarkable.
“Well then, disciple! I will also participate.”
“Me too, Yuren!”
“Then I’ll go too! Hahaha!”
One of the reasons we came here was that Master and Noirin wanted to enter the tournament.
While Jiren, Karen, and I were developers and were uninterested, Master and Noirin were eager to challenge themselves as gamers. Julia was just after the prize money, it seemed, deciding to give it a shot.
I left the younger priests with Jiren for a moment and began exploring the “Zephia Coliseum.”
“Fighting! Jackson!”
“Don’t let up, Ain! Show them the skills of the Northern Academy!!”
What a remarkable sight it was.
Humans, elves, dark elves, beastmen… people of various races from fantasy were all enthusiastically engaged in Tetric.
It was a scene I genuinely wanted to show my comrades from a past life.
And in the center of the coliseum, the preliminary rounds were being held collectively.
One hundred participants were competing in the game simultaneously for the preliminary round.
How could a hundred participants compete at once?
The reason was simple.
The Tetric that I had requested from Jiren and Karen was not just a simple two-player duel.
It was a ‘Battle Royale Tetric’ capable of accommodating up to 100 participants!
Honestly, I thought it would be difficult even to have 100 players.
Yet, our Jiren and Karen duo managed to pull it off.
Jiren had especially worked hard…
As I watched the hundred participants battling it out in Tetric, I thought of poor Jiren.
When I return, I’ll have to feed him a health potion.
Thinking that, I watched participants engage in the Tetric tournament when I noticed someone particularly skilled.
In this other world, Tetric was a game that had only been around for six months.
No matter how good someone was, it should have been visible that they were struggling to maneuver the blocks, but that participant’s screen showed nothing of the sort.
As blocks fell, they dropped without delay, appearing to execute a mechanical, seamless ‘no-delay block drop.’ Other contestants began to be eliminated quickly,
and soon everyone except that participant faced game over, moving on to the finals.
[Participant number: 1980, Johan, Preliminary round qualified.]
“Yay!”
Confirming his qualification for the preliminaries, the boy with yellow hair, Johan, raised both hands in celebration, performing a victory ceremony.
That guy sure has showmanship; things will definitely get interesting if he moves on.
After watching the preliminaries, I returned to the group.
As I checked on the younger priests, Jiren and Karen also returned.
Noirin looked sulky, and I could tell the results without asking.
“Yuren, I lost…”
Though Noirin was decent, compared to the boy I saw earlier, he simply lacked the skills.
I glanced at Julia, who also looked downcast.
As expected, she…
“Yuren! I qualified! Hahaha!!”
“What! You?”
Julia passed? I hadn’t seen her play Tetric since she was outsourced from our school.
How much had she played at home?
So, it seemed that the only ones from our team who qualified for the preliminaries were the Master and Julia.
Looking at Master, I noticed he was also sulking.
“Disciple… I lost as well…”
“Master too?”
Could it really be?
There was someone strong enough to defeat the Master? I became curious about who it could be.
“Who did you lose to?”
“I don’t know the name. But their participant number was definitely 2222.”
“2222!? ”
What was this familiar number…
I felt like something unknown was unfolding before me.
