The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 107

– Check out the video quality.

– Wow, who was that last character that appeared? Seriously, among all the actors I’ve seen, he’s the most handsome. His charisma is off the charts…

-My taste has been attacked~ Does anyone know the name of the actor in this work?

-Didn’t you check under the video? He’s not an actor, he’s the First Knight Order Master. Raul de Ashton. The youngest son of a Count.

-Wait, he was an NPC? Well, it’s unbelievable for a person to have such looks.

-Whether NPC or not, damn, I’m so envious. Knights saluting him from above, it was awesome. He looks young but he’s the Guild Master and the owner of a knights’ order? Was he born not with a silver spoon, but with a diamond spoon in his mouth?

-If he’s both good-looking and skilled, he might truly be the strongest figure in the world.

-Let me predict, he will definitely appear later as an NPC in the main quest.

-Sorry, but isn’t he already appeared? He’s the head of the First Knight Order Academy this time, right?

-I don’t know about that, but I’ve decided to become a fan of Raul from today onwards. So, please upload more videos of Raul, dear uploader.

-Hm-mm. I want to be the white horse Raul rides.

-Suddenly, a concept diverge appeared. And going after the cat theme, buzz off!

– My heart swells with pride. I want to join the knights’ order. I want to join the knights’ order. I want to join the knights’ order.

-Seriously, this is so cool. My heart tickles seeing the fully armored knights’ order.

-I just inquired at the First Knight Order, they said it’s a knights’ order under the guild. So, I’m going to enroll in the academy and join the knights’ order.

-Hey, hey, don’t get carried away. I have my eyes set on that position, you know?

– Guys, not the time for that. A new integrated bulletin board just opened and it’s chaos! There’s a new announcement, and apparently, we’re now battling foreigners over there. We need reinforcements. Grab your keyboards and join the battle!!

-What? What’s going on??

-What battle are we fighting with people we can’t even communicate with?

-Connect is crazy. When you go on the integrated bulletin board, all languages in the world are translated in real-time. Everyone is going crazy there right now.

-Argh. I suffered injuries from the enemies’ attack. Urgent support is needed.

-The enemy dogs are intensively attacking! Join the battle immediately!

-The time has come for me to showcase my typing skills that I honed since childhood. Wait for me, comrades~ Here I go!

The community that was ablaze with excitement about the new promotion video exploded with the introduction of the integrated bulletin board and new announcements.

Immediately, the search rankings of major portal sites around the world were completely dominated by the First Knight Order.

[Green Window Real-Time Search Rankings]

1. Battleground

2. Connect Battleground

3. First Knight Order Master

4. National Championship Battleground

5. Battleground Promotion Video

6. Raul de Ashton

7. 1st Place Reward for Battleground

…

Not only search terms, but also articles one after another attracted people’s attention.

[(Connect Inc., Unveils New Integrated Message Board. Real-time translation in all languages?]

[Connect Event ‘Battleground’. Tremendous rewards for the winner!]

[A new era of national championship begins. Connect’s ‘Battleground’ ignites the hearts of users.]

[World War erupted on Connect’s integrated message board. Who will be the winner?]

‘Who is the mysterious figure in the Battleground promotion video?’

[A new character melting hearts. What is Raul’s true identity?]

‘The operation team is definitely not lacking in ability.’

Raul skimmed through various articles and message boards with a satisfying smile. The promotion video was a collaboration between Raul and Rabel, not from Connect’s side.

Having been a streamer before reincarnation, he was well-versed in shooting and editing game videos.

‘But I made it to the real-time hot searches.’

While the video quality was good, Raul was convinced that Connect’s marketing played a significant role.

Above all, the incredible rewards offered by Connect had captured the current attention, which even Raul couldn’t deny.

Raul navigated to the most popular Connect official integrated message board.

The two notices pinned at the top were the culprits of this situation and the ongoing center of the keyboard battle.

[First Knight Order Academy Special Exam ‘Battleground’. Official reward announcement]

We would like to express our gratitude to all players and prospective players who love Connect and provide information on the official rewards related to this ‘Battleground’.

*Individual Rewards- All 64 finalists will receive a one-month free subscription to Connect.

– The players who advance to the round of 16 will receive 5% of the broadcasting rights revenue from their matches as prize money.

– The winner will receive a prize of ten million won and will be employed as an exclusive model for Connect for six months.

* Special Rewards

– A guaranteed 1% priority draw ticket in the country of origin for the round of 16 players for the following 3 months.

e.g. If there are 3 players from Country A, out of 3,000 capsules, 90 capsules will be allocated to Country A.

– The country of origin for the final winner will receive a 10% priority draw ticket, and all players from that country will be exempt from using fees for a month.

Connect’s management team prepared these rewards with the vision of creating Connect together with the players.

We wish the players good luck, and we hope that prospective players who are still waiting in line will also enjoy the “competition” until the end.

“You’ve thought well. By sharing tournament rewards not only with individuals but also with all players from the respective countries, you’ve framed it as a national showdown; this will definitely attract not only prospective players but also the general public.”

Of course, it will cost a lot, but if you think of it as an investment, the amount won’t be that burdensome. Especially when considering the astronomical profits Connect will make in the future.

And right below was another announcement—the players’ ranking list. The rankings list all players by level, updated every hour, and also provides rankings by country.

Keyboard warriors engaged in fierce battles, assessing their country’s players’ chances of winning based on the level rankings.

Meanwhile, players who fell behind were frantically hunting and completing quests to catch up with others’ levels they checked.

“The atmosphere is really heating up. Can’t wait for that day to come already.”

With a satisfied smile, Raul closed the augmented reality browser.

Just before the browser tab closed, the player ranking window briefly flashed past.

[Real-Time Player Rankings]

1st: Bae Dohyun (Level 23), South Korea

2nd: Luis Blake (Level 21), USA

3rd: Li Jincheng (Level 21), China

……

* * *

Finally, on the morning of February 1st, the sun rose.

As the First Knight Order Academy entrance exam took place today, all eyes from around the world were on the Free City of Mira.

7 a.m.

Raul woke up early and wandered around the guild branch where the entrance exam would be held. The atmosphere was bustling with players who had gathered since dawn, lining up at the guild entrance.

The entrance exam was scheduled to take place over a week, starting from today. Preliminary matches were set for Groups A to H from the 1st to the 3rd day, along with practical skills tests and interviews for non-combat professions.

Starting from the 4th day, the main tournament with 64 participants who passed the preliminaries would span four days, concluding with the semi-finals and finals on the last day. Additionally, general aptitude tests for combat professions would continue for a week, determining the final successful candidates on the last day.

“Even though they said they would filter out, the numbers are still considerable.”

Raul thought to himself.

Approximately 6,500 players applied to the academy. Since 8,000 capsules had been distributed, it was safe to assume that almost all players who reached level 10 had applied. Except for 2,000 applicants, the rest were boldly eliminated in the document screening process.

The criteria were simple: level and login time. Those whose level and login time were relatively lower compared to players in the same cohort were filtered out. Naturally, many were in opposition.

“How can they expect us to manage with our jobs? Are they only recruiting unemployed people?”

“My level is high, yet they attach a rejection sticker on me?”

Protests flooded the bulletin board and the Connect homepage, with players even coming to the guild to complain. However, Raul remained firm. Talent, characteristics, and personality were important, but more crucial was the ability to log in steadily with passion.

“Having a job? Important. But it doesn’t matter to us, right?”

Employing someone who already has a job for a company position would be unthinkable. From their perspective, this place may just be a game, but for Raul, it was reality.

Although skills were essential, a player who logs in consistently with passion, even if slightly lacking in talent, was what they needed. And naturally, growth in level is closely related to login time. Unless there are special circumstances, players who log in for longer periods are expected to grow faster.

Eventually, 2,000 examinees were selected, with 1,600 participating in the “competition” after excluding 400 players from non-combat professions with lower levels.

A while later, in the central square of the guild, Raul, seated on the neatly prepared platform designated for distinguished guests, warmly greeted the guests who had arrived. The first person he encountered was the sage, Gray.

He received a lot of help from him while preparing for this exam. The examination hall for the preliminary exams was a massive, unprecedented facility covered with various magic circles in addition to illusion magic circles.

It was meticulously constructed, with numerous mana stones and expenses allocated, with plans to use it for training in the future. Thanks to Gray’s introductions to relevant mages and his oversight, the examination hall was impeccably completed.

“Thank you once again for your help, Professor.”

“Of course, I had to help when Raul requested it. Personally, while contemplating how to help these foreigners grow, Raul presented a good solution and I was so pleased. Undoubtedly, they will be a great strength in restoring stability to the continent. I hope Raul guides them well.”

After exchanging pleasantries, the venue shifted towards where the mayors of the free cities were gathered. Sixteen free cities, sixteen mayors.

They were all dressed in formal attire, engaging in conversations with smiling faces. However, it seemed that they could be roughly divided into two groups.

One group included those joyfully conversing with bright smiles, such as Mayor Mira and the mayors of the free cities of the Ruben Kingdom.

The other mayors seemed to be smiling, but their eyes revealed annoyance. It was quite understandable. They had all faced difficult times running the free cities together, but while one group was reaping the benefits due to their prior preparations, the others were still struggling.

“Well, they reap what they sow.”

In fact, they were the ones who originally rejected Raul. Unlike the mayors of the free cities in the Ruben Kingdom who accepted the land and partnership eagerly when investment proposals were made, these mayors simply settled for investing at low rates.

They had underestimated Raul, a young noble from another country. Naturally, unable to accept such terms, Raul’s investment funds ended up concentrating in the free cities of the Ruben Kingdom. The results were clear to see.

“Esteemed mayors, thank you for coming from afar.”

“Oh, Master Raul. Congratulations on establishing the academy.”

As Raul bowed first to greet them, the mayors also returned the gesture with smiles. Though they might hide it well on the surface, there must be much bitterness inside.

However, what’s done is done in the past, and moving forward, they would need to cooperate occasionally, so there was no need for them to be embarrassed.

As the dignitaries finished their greetings, all the players had taken their places. It was time to announce the beginning of the First Knight Order Academy.

(To be continued…)