I never expected to spend such a long time in the Kingdom of Ra developing “Dragon Hunter.”
Thanks to Prince Lethers officially sending a document, I could be in the Kingdom of Ra on what was essentially a business trip, hoping that interest in me would fade from the Empire in the meantime.
When I returned, just as I expected, all interest in me had disappeared.
But…
Boom!!!
“What the heck is all this? Sylvia?”
“What’s it look like? These are the documents that Yuren didn’t clear while he was playing in the Kingdom of Ra.”
A mountain of paperwork was waiting for me.
No way, do I have to deal with this much paperwork?
I checked the documents.
“Crop Harvest Report”
“Tax Collection Records”
“New Settler Registration List”
“Game Crystal Ball Trade Agreement”
“Harvest Storage Inventory List”
“City Expansion Construction Plan”
“Security Guard Employment Contract”
“City Development Budget”
“Water Resource Management Plan”
“Public Complaints Record”
“Royal Donations List”
“Trade Route Safety Inspection Report”
And plenty more documents on top of that.
“…What are all these new documents?”
“Irene Land has finally been upgraded from a village to a city. That means there’s a lot more to handle.”
“Do I have to do all that?”
“Well, obviously someone has to do it. Or should Irene or Jiren handle it?”
“Hmm… I guess I have to do it.”
My master was too kind to handle this admin work and Jiren detested these tasks so much that he’d just wing it.
In the end, I was the only one suitable to do it properly.
As I accepted the future and readied myself to work, Sylvia looked at me with curious eyes.
“By the way, it’s interesting. Doesn’t Yuren prefer delegating to me or someone else?”
“Work doesn’t run smoothly unless the person in charge is monitoring it. Oh! Just to clarify, I don’t distrust you, Sylvia. I just know that’s how work operates.”
It had always been like that.
No matter how much you trust someone, if the person in charge completely takes their hands off, there’s always a problem.
Oh! Of course, even if I take on more responsibilities than necessary, problems would still arise.
In the end, what mattered was balance.
The ideal was for the person in charge to oversee the work while the assigned person handles it, stepping in just before any issues arise. That was the most robust organization I had ever seen.
Sylvia smiled brightly as she always did at my words.
“I understand. I like how you take responsibility and work, Yuren.”
“Then let’s finish up quickly.”
“Sure! If we work together, it should take about a week.”
“A week…”
The thought of suffering through paperwork for a whole week brought tears to my eyes.
Knowing the necessity of responsibility didn’t make the annoyance worthwhile.
*
A week passed.
Endlessly approving paperwork was painful, but I learned a lot in the process.
First of all, “Irene Land” was nearly complete as a city.
Residential areas were almost 80% complete with only a 5% vacancy rate as a large number of people had moved in.
Particularly, many were from the gaming industry; it was rumored that those involved in gaming received a 20% discount on rent.
In addition, the amusement park known as “Irene Park” was also completed.
Rides were themed around “Super Thomas,” “Legend Fighter,” “Dune,” and even “Capsule Monster,” attracting many tourists eager to visit.
Moreover, one of my dreams—the game store, or rather, a mecca for fandom—was finally established.
Not only games but shops dealing with figures, posters, toys, and more gathered, waiting for the visit of countless game enthusiasts, dubbed “Irene Game Store.”
With this in mind, plenty of managers were necessary, and luckily, among the settlers, there were many capable people, so I coordinated placements with Sylvia as well.
Feeling proud that “Irene Land,” which I’d only simulated, was finally complete, I signed the last “Security Guard Employment Contract,” marking the end of my labor.
“It’s done!!!”
“You worked hard, Yuren.”
“You too, Sylvia! Now I’m heading straight to the tower!”
Having finished the paperwork, I prepared to clock out immediately.
Sylvia understood the importance of the day and responded accordingly.
“I’ll head to the tower as soon as I finish tidying up.”
“Okay, I’ll see you at the tower. Smooch!”
With that, I blew Sylvia a kiss as I headed towards the tower.
Smack in the center of “Irene Land,” it served as our school’s new home—the “Irene Tower.” Today was the day we were to conduct the “Dragon Heart Stone Activation Test.”
Upon entering the tower’s lab, everyone was buzzing with activity.
In the center stood the Dragon Heart Stone, radiating a brilliant red light.
“Yuren, you made it!”
“Yes, Master. I just finished all the paperwork.”
“You’ve worked hard, my disciple.”
“How’s the Dragon Heart Stone?”
The Dragon Heart Stone was connected to four magical power sources in the middle of the lab.
Everyone was returning to their roots as game developers, setting up magical tools; it looked just like my lab from a past life.
“It’s stable. I believe it’s the most stable Dragon Heart Stone I’ve ever seen.”
“Really?”
Fortunately, the Dragon Heart Stone given by Ras was indeed a genuine one, the highest purity among all that Master had ever seen.
They say dragons are extravagant, and it seemed to be true.
“Then let’s activate the magical power sources now.”
“Understood. Jiren, my disciple.”
Once all the magical power sources were installed, Jiren approached the activation crystal ball.
And then…
“3… 2… 1… Activate!”
As Jiren activated it, dragon blood began to transform into mana, supplying magic power to the Dragon Heart Stone.
The blue mana intertwined with the red, and it seemed as if the heart of a dragon that had lived for thousands of years was coming back to life, beating with magical energy.
And to prevent it from going wild, Master guided the stability of the Dragon Heart Stone from outside.
And then…
Crackle!!!
“Caw!!!”
A tremendous crackling thunder and smoke shook the laboratory, unveiling the brilliant red form of the Dragon Heart Stone.
“This is…?”
“The legendary Dragon Heart Stone…”
“Dragon Heart Stone (DRAGON HEART STONE)”
Created from the crystallization of magical energy in a dragon’s heart long after its death, it is an incredibly rare stone that isn’t formed from just any dragon but from the remains of a very small number of dragons that have passed at least 100 years.
Legends say that possessing this stone grants one ‘immortality’ or ‘the ability to create gold,’ but through current research, it has been revealed that the stone enhances the user’s “magical manipulation ability.”
Fundamentally, the relationship between magical power and magical tools is akin to computer memory in my past life.
The more potent the spell, the more magic it consumes, and as mages, we had to create spells to match the capability of the magical tools.
Thus, more powerful spells require higher capacity magical tool materials, which is why I had been delivering magical tool materials to the estate.
But there was another way to enhance magical effects.
It involved improving the design efficiency of the spells, which, in terms of my past life’s computer, meant “optimization.”
However, we weren’t complete novices. Including myself, everyone in the Irene School had limited magical optimization skills.
To enhance efficiency beyond that, we would need external assistance, but magical tools that assist in magical manipulation were extremely rare, and even if there were, they often come with side effects like halving lifespan or causing impotence.
But the Dragon Heart Stone was unique in that it increased manipulation abilities without any side effects.
The problem was that even in the Kingdom of Ra, where it was solely obtainable, Dragon Heart Stones were considered priceless treasures managed by the royal family, making it virtually impossible to purchase—even with money.
Seeing the legendary item, the Dragon Heart Stone, right in front of us, we could scarcely contain our ecstasy as mages.
“My magical manipulation feels different already!”
“It’s just your imagination, Julia. The effect of the Dragon Heart Stone won’t kick in until the magic is linked directly.”
“Ah… I see. Hahaha!!”
Julia scratched her head awkwardly.
But looking at the scene before us, even a regular person might think, could I also become a mage?
The mesmerizing light emanating from the Dragon Heart Stone imparted a sense of magical mystery.
“Alright, raise your hand if you want to try the Dragon Heart Stone.”
“I do!”
“I want to try too!”
“I also want to try! Yuren!”
Almost everyone, including me, Jiren, Julia, and Sora, wanted to give the Dragon Heart Stone a shot.
Fortunately, there were enough connected crystal balls, so I said,
“Then let’s all link up to the Dragon Heart Stone and try using it.”
As we approached the crystal balls, Master asked,
“My disciple, what do you intend to do with the Dragon Heart Stone?”
“That’s already determined.”
I touched the crystal ball tinged with a red hue from the Dragon Heart Stone.
The dragon’s magic coursing through my veins made my heart race with excitement.
Just a brief contact was enough to understand why a mage who fell to corruption sought to dominate the world with the Dragon Heart Stone.
With this Dragon Heart Stone, I…
“I’m going to create the next game.”
I planned to make the game I had never been able to create until now.
