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Chapter 260: Humans of Jeremiah

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Earlier that day, just hours after the defeat of The Legion in Alexandria, he saw the news regarding the Big Black Ball ‘The Company’ was protecting.

It doesn’t have much of an effect to him but what made him grind his teeth was the article before the slanderous scoop of the said channel.

A video displaying the castle wall of Apus Epirus was shown, marking the faces of the people that were part of The Company.

While the video was being played, profiles were also being shown on the right side of the panel screen. Otus, Niobe, Pitou, and Diyers weren’t famous celebrities but they are personalities that have their own supporters who uploaded photos and videos of them in the net.

Heller was by no means an unknown name. He is the only Archmage of The North and so he does have some fame on his name.

Red Metal… was a new character.

Debra and Rentaw were guests from The Hydra Society that took over the mantle of the City Lord in Battle City Warjillis.

Then there was Coralline… the infamous Short Tempered Little Witch who was famous on being an antagonist on every wizard who happens to be in the same place as the places she visits.

These nine people were marked and yet, they are not the main personage of the video.

Because while all of them were talked about by the host of the show, a certain video was played showing a serene lake… and then there was a bench at the side of the lake, a flowerbed around it, a tree to shelter from the sol, and a beautiful fairy emitting an air of indescribable tranquility that silently watches over the lake, sighing every now and then.

At the top side of the video was the label “fairy of the lake” that the uploader wrote. Just a few months back, no one thought that she was a player and some even tried to show gaudy fronts to try to sway her from giving the quest/mission she would offer.

Back then, she was the perfect “fairy of the lake” revered vehemently by men and women because of her unusually rare kind of beauty.

Of course, Kathleen Brew and FlowerLord were both beauties of their own; the former a playful kind of beauty and the latter a fiery temperament that boasted confidence and determination, but Scion’s was a beauty like no other.

Her melancholy was heartbreaking. Her downcast eyes could ignite a country to of men to revel and then rebel to give everything they own to buy her the greatest of all gifts just to see her smiling… for hers was a beauty unstained by the mundane of everything and her posture was of the most graceful of all swans even by just sitting there on that bench, doing nothing.

Any man or even woman in particular; old, young, teen, or even just a youth, of any status, position, or social standing, would always and without miss, look at her twice at minimum, even thrice if they’re still battling themselves in their hearts.

Yes…

Prince Zola was infatuated by her beauty. He was never a man who obsessed himself on anything but ever since she saw her personally that day, he knew he was in love.

Her popularity skyrocketed upwards right after the end of the War of the Two Powers.

Videos and photos of her traveling around with renowned personality Kathleen Brew and another player who uses [Ten Forms BlackTech] that made all possible suitors back away in fear and trepidation were being circulated.

And it continued to be uploaded even as of late.

Seeing his prize being featured worldwide in this channel, Zola couldn’t help but feel rage because of two big reasons.

In that video in the castle wall of Apus Epirus, her beauty stood out the most as she was featured to be tending with Siva while he was being healed by the Mages.

Her heart-broken tears could crush the hearts of all men who sees it. Her sobs and pleading cries and gestures of begging could wrench the souls of any person who’d see it live.

Scion’s beauty was such in a degree that at the moment that her video was showed in that channel, tens upon hundreds of fan groups were immediately erected in honor of her name.

In fact, some of those fan groups even became an instant enemy of Siva since her grieving cries and attention of worry were all directed at him.

—these are the two reasons.

Zola wanted to monopolize her beauty to himself so he was angry at the fact that many people are also now aware of her existence.

But he was more angry at the fact that Scion, of all the people she could show that tender loving side of her, she was showing it to that ugly monster who was supposed to be one of the reasons for his eventual demise.

Zola’s veins popped out of the skin on his head, visibly portraying the rage in heart. He was truly and utterly furious at this very moment.

Within a matter of hours, Scion, dubbed as the immortal beauty, the Fairy of the Lake, had become the Guinness Book of World Records’ record holder for the fastest person to gain a hundred thousand fan groups dedicated solely to her ‘name’.

She was in instant celebrity and Zola didn’t like it.

BAM!

Unable to hold in his rage on seeing her tending to Siva, Zola broke the wall as he threw the chair he was seated at on it.

“Siva!!!” a wrathful cry of hate rung on his room and the servant waiting outside his quarters were startled as they ran and entered the room. “She is mine, no matter what!” he added in fury.

“Your Highness… what’s wrong?!” his steward cried as he stooped to appease the angry prince.

Zola didn’t reply but he continued to glare at the video with burning jealousy. Seeing Scion shed tears as she cried to prop Siva to lie on her lap is just so envy-inducing that it was suffocating.

That act of care and tender attention made his heart feel heavy.

But then, the media agent’s camera drone was shot down by a new member of The Company and thus the video ended there.

The news of The Company’s possession of that Big Black Ball followed next but Zola did not pay that much attention to it. Instead, he looked at the steward and then gave a command.

“Alfred, I want you to purchase me four additional Insurance Policies from the Game Store of Terroa and prepare my room. I will be logging in and I don’t want any distraction.”

The steward wanted to say something. As a prince of their country that is at the prime age to marry at least any noble daughter available, to be addicted to video games was just unbecoming of his status.

And yet, seeing the wrath on his gaze and that last scene in the hologram TV panel, as the one who sometimes handled information about Terroa for him, knowing the prince’s tendencies, he could at least patch a few things here and there.

He didn’t dare to say anything.

“As you command.” Alfred bowed but before he could take a step out of the room, Zola gave him another order.

“I also want you to connect my bank account to the Game Store of Terroa.”

This order had clear connotations. Zola was going to use his rich background to buy exclusive items sold only using UC (Universal Credits).

Alfred was startled, “Your Highness, it’s not that I am against it but His Majesty, The King, had specifically given the order to hold your bank accounts movement of assets because of your excessive demand to maintain the business-grade network connection despite the already reliable connection of the manor.”

Zola grimaced at this.

Right, they were in a deep alliance with the Uglya Kingdom, especially the queen sovereign and her royal family.

But lately, they announced a change in the manner of their businesses and these changes had affected their own family’s businesses.

As for these sudden changes in the policies of the kingdom, their own kingdom’s businesses and connections were affected, slightly impacting their financial sector.

Though it’s not on the point that it would definitely affect their stability, it was still enough to create a tension and so, before tragedy comes, they were already creating small adjustments on their family’s financial assets.

His royal father and the financial sector of the royal court were in deep management status right now and his insistence on maintaining the business-grade network connection just to prevent any disturbances while playing the game had cause his father to tighten the belt on his monthly spending costs.

Of all the princes, he was the one who spend the most in an almost useless thing. He knew that his royal father’s view of him was starting to degrade because of this. But even though he could stop it before, when he was still part of The Legion, he still held on because of his ego and pride that never admitted defeat against Kladis.

But now, despite any other reasons, he can’t let Scion land on any other man without at least getting his hands on her.

His obsession had reached such terrible heights!

Although he was irritated enough, he can’t raise his voice against his father and so he can’t say no or change the fact that his spending was limited.

Zola was willing to compromise.

“Just... how much are we spending on my network connection?” he asked solemnly.

Steward Alfred bowed respectfully, “It is exactly 450,000 Universal Credits per month, your highness.”

That big?!

It should be noted that even in the current market exchanges, 600UC was enough to buy the latest model of Communicator Device (cellphone).

The latest Ferrari was around 160,000UC.

A Lamborghini Lebintador, the latest masterpiece, is around 180,000UC.

Even the land property taxes in Moscow wouldn’t reach 300,000UC, let alone 450,000.

That amount of Universal Credits is just… too expensive, too extravagant, even for a prince, for a monthly-paid network connection used only to play a mere VR-game. And he’s been using this connection for almost two years now….

His monthly spending was just too large for his father, The King, to not get strict on his spending.

Compromise, he had to compromise.

Zola thought for a moment then said, “Lower the subscription plan but don’t change the monthly spending quota. Buy me those policies and then inform me when my father will be coming home.”

Alfred wanted to protest but he didn’t say anything as he only lowered his head walking out the door.

Zola went into his room through the door in the corner and then after taking a bath and wearing a robe, he laid down the bed and set the air-con settings to his ‘gaming mode’ as he wore the NLD on his head and logged in.

“She is mine. She is mine, no matter what! Game Start!”

*****

Castle City Jeremiah was one of the cities with the largest amount of players in all of Terroa. But despite its grand size as the biggest city in the game, it was only next to the capital city of the Flowerion Empire in terms of player density over NPC ratio because of one important thing:

“So only Humans are allowed to start in this city? I wonder if all these people are here because of the monthly Aptitude Tests…”

It wasn’t Zola’s first time in Jeremiah but it was his first time starting in this city, and in fact, it was his first time restarting a new career, all in all.

Even though he was just fuming in hate moments ago, after logging in and seeing this mega city, he couldn’t help but marvel and think of Mexico City, one of the largest cities in the real world.

“The Humans of this world created this, huh…”

Jeremiah was unlike the Terran Cities which were littered full of NPCs, with the majority being Wizards and Mages.

Castle City Jeremiah is like an oversized Singapore where cleanliness and order was just like any other Terran City although the exception were that the highways are higher and stacked in at least three layers; the streets are wider; there are more vehicles; NPC Shops are open 24/7; and there are more people here than anywhere else he had ever seen.

What more, while Terran Cities are filled with to the brim of players and NPCs wearing bland-looking smooth-leather and fabric clothes, 60% of the citizens and visitors of Jeremiah were Inventors and thus their clothes either had lights or glowing patterns, with some even having robot pets following or sticking on their bodies.

“Like a Modern Human society…” Wandering his eyes around, Zola murmured with slight awe.

Castle City Jeremiah got its title because of the castle built at the center of the city. Originally, the city was the stronghold of the main force that led the resistance against the invasion of the demons.

But after the war 56 years ago, a kingdom was built with the combined efforts of the Humans and Terrans, and so Jeremiah became an official sovereign territory under the rule of the last descendant of the Astarte Royal Family.

The Astarte Royal Family is a very old and ancient bloodline, possessing a mysterious power that only a few select individual in their entire history are able to awaken and master.

In record, the Astarte Royal Family had a history that dated to an even older era than the ones recorded in the Book of Legends that is displayed in the Main Palace Hall of Jeremiah for visitors.

In fact… there were theories that the legendary Immortal Emperor Gabriel Etrama De Raizel… is a descendant of the Astarte Royal Bloodline because of the color of his hair.

There was no one who could prove this claim though because ever since The Founding Era, 21 Cycles ago*, no one had been able to actually personally get close enough to Emperor Gabriel to know of his exact origins and history. All they know is that he somehow had the ability to defy the flow of time and live like an immortal across the years. (*1cycle = 1000 years and that the eras in the Terran History are divided into parts: The Beginning, The Founding, The Dragon, and etc.. I will reiterate on this when we get to the part where the H-Class Quests are introduced. Let’s just stick small part to this for now.)

“It was mentioned many times in the clues I got in my Providence Quest that the Astarte Royal Family was supposed to have been extinct since that rebellion many years ago…”

As it was said, although the Astarte Royal Family was a family attached to the noun ‘regalia’, their bloodline, through the years, had continued to decline and unable to produce the ‘Miracle’ that was once revered and respected by the people.

As such, around nine hundred years ago, after all the years that they have preserved their legacy, an uprising dethroned the royals of the Astarte Family and their members were killed as to stop their rise back to power in the future.

Their treasures… Runes… were also scattered and disappeared in the annals of the past.

Even their sacred treasure, The Providence, was also lost during the scuffle that ensued.

Centuries later, this antique story was buried in the pages of history, and their once almighty kingdom was reduced to a mere city that belonged to no territory.

The castle in the middle of Jeremiah was in ruins and was only preserved thanks for the efforts and care of the Council of Elders.

With the excuse of ‘not changing the location of the original location of The Book of Legends’, for the sake of preserving their history, the nobles that led the uprising only swooped through the treasury of the castle and left it intact as a symbol of a once mighty kingdom.

Through the years, Jeremiah, as a neutral territory that became a stop for adventurers that wanted to go to the four corners of the Central Continent, managed to establish the Knights of the Silver Cross, with the mission and purpose of protecting the Book of Legends.

The Council of Elders kept their promise and so Jeremiah maintained its neutrality, becoming the force that governed the peace of Zenturo.

And yet this peace was disturbed with the invasion of the Demons.

In the time of their needs where the miracle of the Astarte Bloodline should’ve helped them better resist the invasion, the noble families that had remained on the throne they stole, were eradicated as the invasion turned for the worst.

Millions died, cities destroyed, the resistance of the Terrans’ countries were only good enough to delay what was their inevitable demise.

Eventually, a descendant of the Astarte Bloodline was discovered… kept hidden and safe by the Council of Elders, and even in plain sight.

They used the publication of the Book of Legends to twist and hid the detail regarding the Astarte Royals and it was only thanks to the war almost six decades ago that the world discovered the Astarte Royal Family’s lineage… had continued to live on.

Such events led to the current era, the Mysterious Era, where old and ancient mysterious historical details were being unearthed one by one, and the addition of a foreign race known as the Humans**. (**in short, the game’s storyline)

Before, such story was only a ‘Legend’ in the early pages of the Book of Legends. Now, the Terrans and Humans are working hand in hand to uncover their mysterious link to each other, and all of this… are hidden somewhere within Terroa.

And thus, Castle City Jeremiah… had become the center of this revolution, spearheading the quest to discover their mysterious ancestors called only as the Original Terrans***.

Jeremiah, now, is the largest and most powerful force in Terroa… or better yet, it was good to call it a Kingdom run by a single sovereign recognized and wholly supported by the Human Society.

“The Humans, after all, are seen as heroes by the Terran Society because of their meritorious importance during the war….”

Recalling these details of information made Zola clench and unclench a fist, raising his head to look at the large castle in the far horizon of the city.

“This world’s Human Society were just survivors of the invasion on Earth… and if I recall, there was a detail in my Providence Quest saying that these humans were brought here by the SS Pandora because of some mission…”

This is one of the reasons why Zola was in here.

Despite their meager numbers of a few hundred thousands, the Humans had become a force which decision and opinions made impacts to the Terran Society.

“It is because the Humans’ support the Astarte name that the kingdom was deemed the strongest force in the planet after the war. My Providence Quest information should be of great use in this place. And yet I can’t help thinking…”

At this point, he recalled the details of his character profile creation, just before he logged in on Jeremiah.

“…the slots for the Human Race as game avatars are limited to a few hundred people and there are only a few numbers left… why did Panorama Corporation made it so that the human gamers are just few in numbers? And looking at their base stats and attributes, Humans virtually have no magical talents and their only strong point is the reduced requirements when creating new things as [Invention]. Their disadvantage is offset by this advantage so why is it made so that there are only a few Human Avatars?”

Zola looked up to the sky, asking himself: “Are those who chose the Human Race as their initial avatars still alive right now?”

The reason why Zola asked himself this question is simple…

“Well, no matter. With my information advantage, I will control this game’s human race!”

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Panorama Corp. faces one issue after another…

Will Ethan address this as a problem?

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