The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 104

The First Knight Order Academy had been Raul’s brainchild for a long time. It aimed to turn the city mayors into business partners and persuade them to provide support for players.

Naturally, players flocked to the free cities of the prosperous Ruben Kingdom for better treatment, and that was when the First Knight Order mobilized to attract promising early players with potential.

This was a rough outline of the plan, with the finer details still being refined by Bernard and the staff. Through this plan, Raul aimed to achieve three main goals.

Firstly, recruiting and persuading potential high-rankers with a high likelihood of success. He already knew the information and general tendencies of these high-rankers.

So, those available for recruitment would be absorbed into the First Knight Order, while those unavailable would be left with a good impression to potentially form alliances in the future or be employed as mercenaries.

Another goal was to find hidden talents who may have quit the game for various reasons or had not fully blossomed their abilities.

Secondly, seizing the guild’s image and brand effect was essential. The current players were pure and unbiased, signifying no preconceptions about Connect.

Everything they saw, heard, and experienced would guide future players once they logged in. Besides Raul, nobody else showed significant interest in the players yet.

Despite the grand proclamation of a savior, the players who actually appeared were merely civilians who didn’t even know how to fight. Even the noble families, who had sent people out just in case, had lost interest and cut off communication.

This was the perfect time to generously support and open the academy to earn the players’ favor, with potential effects beyond measure.

Being remembered as the first guild to extend goodwill to players, the first to establish an academy, and possessing the greatest influence in the free cities would be crucial.

Most importantly, leaving an impression on players that they were on the “same side” was vital. Once players ventured outside the free cities and the scenarios progressed, conflicts between territories, factions, and nations would escalate.

At that crucial moment, whose side would the players choose to support?

“Moreover, the costs are much lower now.”

The total number was barely reaching ten thousand, a manageable figure even when providing funds to all members. However, even after just six months, the number of users will increase to 100,000, and in a few years, it is expected to exceed 1 billion. The support policy for new users cannot be implemented unless it is a long-term policy.

Later on, competing guilds or factions would surely incur much higher costs to win players’ favor through such policies. Lastly, there was a need to determine how such self-generated events would impact the Connect.

Traditionally, events are prepared and executed by the operators. However, connect is a different world that values free play. I wanted to know if it was possible for NPCs, rather than the operators, to create events and quests independently, and whether there were any restrictions associated with that.

“So far, there doesn’t seem to be any issues.”

There were no constraints on gathering players in the cities of Ruben, recruiting academy students, or any interference with the movements of Raul or the First Knight Order. This was a crucial fact for Raul.

Having crossed the mid-stage of the game in his past life, the Connect operators had lost their original intentions and became henchmen of the powerful.

Events that should have been fair were manipulated to favor guilds sponsored by corporations, and hastily organized events were rampant to push forward nationally sponsored guilds.

Of course, there were limits to direct intervention by the operators since the artificial intelligence maintaining the Connect would block excessive interference.

Nevertheless, the operators’ influence could not be ignored because they could guide players towards specific actions.

“But this time, it will be different.”

Now that the fact that events and quests that could influence players could be hosted within the Connect was known, they wouldn’t just let things flow as the other side wanted.

Or perhaps they didn’t realize that they might be able to manipulate the players from this end.

“You think you can manipulate the players from above? Your plan won’t work.”

Raul swallowed his laughter, imagining the helpless appearance of the operators who could do nothing.

* * *

“Oh, welcome. Young master Raul.”

Reynaldo, who was working, greeted Raul enthusiastically as the mayor. There was a rumor that after the player appeared, Raul seemed to have stiffened up, but fortunately, there seemed to be no change in his attitude towards Raul.

“You must be busy, and here I am without an appointment, excuse my rudeness.”

“Oh, no need for such formalities between us. We both know there’s no need for that kind of etiquette, hahaha.”

‘It seems like he’s in a really good mood.’

Well, it made sense.

Just a year ago, Mira was nothing more than a quiet rural town, but now it was transforming into the central city of the player with a promising future. Everything the player ate and used turned into taxes, filling Mayor Reynaldo’s pockets, and Mira’s influence was even making the nobles uneasy.

Anyway, for Mayor Reynaldo, Raul was not only an excellent business partner but also a benefactor. If Raul hadn’t invested, it would have taken at least a few more years to create a city of this level.

In fact, when comparing Mira to other independent cities and kingdoms, there was already a huge gap, and it would only widen in the future. The principle of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer applied not only to individuals but also to independent cities.

“So, what brings you here today? If it’s a request from Sir Raul, I can help with anything, so don’t hesitate to tell me.”

Well, even if he said that, if it was a really difficult request, he wouldn’t easily agree. Despite appearing casual, the mayor was also a businessman. Fortunately, Raul’s business today was not something that could be called a request.

“In fact, today I came to introduce someone to you.”

“Oh? I’m curious about this. Raul doesn’t introduce just anyone, you know.”

So far, all the people Raul had introduced to Mayor Reynaldo were high-ranking members of the First Knight Order. Thus, Mayor Reynaldo thought that this person Raul was going to introduce might be a new high-ranking member of the guild…

“Come in.”

At Raul’s call, a stranger with black hair, black eyes, and exotic-looking two-toned eyes appeared. Standing at about 178cm tall, he was close to the average height here, and his handsome face could be considered as belonging to the handsome category.

However, his slightly upturned eye corners made him look sharp, and his tightly closed lips and firm expression were quite impressive.

“I’ll introduce him. This is the player who will be working with me from now on, Bae Dohyun.”

“I am Bae Dohyun. I look forward to working with you.”

The mayor, initially taken aback by the foreigner bowing to greet him, quickly broke into a bright smile and extended his hand to Bae Dohyun.

“Welcome. The one who should be asking for favors more should be me. You will be an important customer for our city, haha.”

Whether by nature or as a politician, the mayor’s face did not seem insincere at all. After exchanging some light banter, the mayor bid farewell to Bae Dohyun with a smile.

“Feel free to come to me whenever you have difficulties. Even if I have to look at Mr. Raul’s face, I will definitely help you.”

“Thank you for your kind words. I will be sure to visit again next time.”

As Bae Dohyun left the mayor’s office, reynaldo, with an expression of admiration, looked at Raul.

“Indeed, Mr. Raul cannot be outdone. When will he roast another foreigner like this?”

The mayor seemed surprised that Raul had introduced a foreigner.

“It was a coincidence that they crossed paths. Despite being a foreigner, he is talented and outstanding, and I introduced him because I believe he has great potential. Remembering him may also be beneficial for you, Mr. Mayor.”

“Haha, if recommended by you, Mr. Raul, there’s no need for further explanation. I will keep an eye on him.”

After finishing their conversation, they left the mayor’s office and boarded the carriage where Bae Dohyun was waiting.

“How was the mayor’s reaction?”

“It wasn’t bad. He doesn’t seem completely convinced, but rather, he seems to be taking a wait-and-see approach.”

Surprisingly, Bae Dohyun was treating Raul as if he was his superior.

“Do you think the mayor noticed anything?”

“I didn’t sense any signs of that. It may sound like boasting, but except for Master, no one has ever caught onto my disguise.”

Giving a slight wink, for a moment, Kane’s face appeared on Raul’s, then vanished.

“Still, be careful. Some people have sharp intuition and may notice, especially among foreigners who possess extraordinary abilities beyond common sense. So, be extra cautious.”

“Understood, Master. I will be careful not to make any mistakes.”

When Raul met with the mayor, he was actually the disguiseds Kane. He successfully imitated Raul’s appearance perfectly, just like his alias ‘Faceless’ suggested.

So, who is Bae Dohyun? It was indeed Raul.

Raul possessed [Gray’s Polymorph Ring], a gift from the sage Gray, which he used to transform into his past self, Bae Dohyun. Additionally, there was another item, the [Second Identity], which perfectly complemented his transformation.

[Second Identity]

Grade: Unique

Effect: Provides the user with a second identity that can be changed at any time. It can be used for ranking calculations, party play, quest acceptance, etc. The user’s achievements and public contributions are calculated separately for each identity.

Caution: May be scrutinized by opponents with significant differences in skills or levels.

Price: 10,000 coins

This item was purchased from the recently unlocked [Player Exclusive Shop] in this update.

The Player Exclusive Shop was a store accessible to all players via the connect system, allowing them to purchase items regardless of time or location.

While the convenience and rarity of items available only in the Player Shop were advantages, the exorbitant prices were the biggest downside, deterring players from frequenting the shop.

For example, if the price of the lowest-grade potion in a real potion shop was 1 gold, in the Player Shop, it would cost 20 coins. Since the values of coins and gold were generally considered the same, this meant a price difference of twentyfold for the same item.

Therefore, the saying “consumables in reality, unique items in the Player Shop” was a common refrain.

Anyway, having changed both his appearance and identity, Raul now acquired a new persona as Bae Dohyun. Going forward, he planned to operate as Raul as an NPC and as Bae Dohyun as a player.

Kane would fill in for him as his stunt double, and important matters could be reported and received through guild communication, so there wouldn’t be any major issues.

“Well, shall we return to our main occupation?”

The forgotten player Bae Dohyun started his activities once again in the world of Connect.

(To be continued)