The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

“Guro-side is breached! Send the third unit to Guro Station!”

“Evacuate to the mountains without gates, not buildings! The city is practically a battlefield anyway!”

“Deploy more cameras. What are the drones doing? We can’t get clear visuals of our units!”

The bustling situation room. The gigantic space, about the size of a stadium, was covered with an enormous number of magical screens on all sides.

Screens even adorned the temporary walls placed at intervals. Over a thousand people were stationed at their desks, analyzing data and footage, moving busily.

And at the central command zone. Standing on a platform that allowed a full view of the surroundings, Raul was directing the operations.

“They say America is handling it well? Well, we didn’t need to worry about them. Allocate any spare forces to South America via airborne means.”

“Paris? A request to protect their cultural heritage sites? What a joke. Save the people first!”

“Don’t enter until shooting stops! Saving people is important, but our units’ safety is paramount!”

Raul was issuing orders, responding to the flood of reports and communications from all directions. All the executives of the First Knight Order were fully mobilizing guild communications, magical communications, and community functions to resolve the global crisis.

‘Damn. If just the initial response had been a bit smoother!’

In this regard, america was the most efficient. They unleashed their firepower with the intent to annihilate all threats from the start, allowing them to maintain stable defensive lines.

Moreover, perhaps due to their open-mindedness, they had already deployed their awakened individuals to the front lines, responding effectively.

First Security Corp and Purple Guild members’ help didn’t seem to be needed there, at least for now.

In contrast, the situations in other countries were a mess. Most, like South Korea, attempted to capture the monsters alive. Some places had initially only stationed police around the gate.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the entire Earth was engulfed in chaos. Anticipating such a scenario from the moment gates appeared, Raul had established a defense plan centered around Purple Guild members and First Security agents.

However, he couldn’t deploy them from the very beginning of the crisis. Despite the Purple Guild rankers awakening to their abilities on Earth, those abilities couldn’t protect them from bullets.

So acting independently without military cooperation was impossible. Naturally, they had tried to get the government’s approval for cooperation in advance, but it was in vain.

The common stance was that they didn’t acknowledge the existence of superhumans (awakened individuals) and didn’t want to rely on civilians when the military was available.

Thus, it wasn’t until the situation worsened that they were belatedly allowed to be deployed on the battlefield.

“Remember! Stopping the monsters is important, but the lives of our members are even more important! If you think it’s dangerous, retreat immediately!”

The abilities of the guild members were still immature. They needed more time to grow to properly fight the monsters. However, they were deployed today because they eagerly volunteered and the situation was far more severe than expected.

‘What’s the use if everything is ruined? We need to minimize the damage to the extent that we can hold on, even if we can’t completely stop it.’

Prioritization and focus were essential. The sheer number of gates covering the Earth was overwhelming and the present Purple Guild members couldn’t possibly handle them all alone.

At the very least, they needed to establish a foundation to ensure the continuity of humanity, to think about future steps. And there was another purpose.

Ensuring that those awakened on Earth, like the Purple Guild rankers, could operate freely. As demonstrated in this crisis, there were limits to what modern Earth firearms could handle against monsters.

Thus, a system was needed where the awakened could combat mid- to high-level monsters with government support, and the foundation of that system was the footage being recorded now.

“Get closer shots! Especially of the rankers. How’s the negotiation with the broadcasters?”

“It’s done! They agreed to broadcast live.”

“Good. Although it’s live, make sure the footage goes through us first! Edit out any problematic scenes!”

“Understood!”

Now was the time for heroes. If the awakened were shown being defeated by monsters, it would be disastrous. That’s why they had invited nearly a hundred video technicians to the situation room to work on the footage.

“And announce evacuation spots in real-time! With monsters spreading, buildings near the gates are far from safe. Instead, guide people towards nearby hills or parks!”

Just like in Connect, the gates appeared mainly in densely populated areas. As a result, large mountains, rivers, and parks were largely spared from gates.

‘If time allows, we should relocate to the suburbs, but for now…’

If no additional gates appear, setting up new shelters outside the city will be something to consider. Right now, the immediate priority is to manage the current gate wave at all costs.

Fortunately, there were only a few C-Grade gates, and even those had yet to release truly powerful monsters. So far, the monsters that had appeared could be managed by the Purple Guild rankers.

‘Ilwoo, I’m counting on you.’

Raul gave a determined look at his friend’s face on the screen and quickly resumed issuing commands.

*

“W-we did it!”

“We survived!”

“Hooray, we made it!”

After three grueling days, the gate wave was finally over. In the nearly ruined city, soldiers and civilians briefly erupted in cheers. But their jubilation soon quieted down as they took in the catastrophic scenes they had not anticipated.

“Hah, hah.”

Ilwoo leaned on his sword stuck in the ground, gasping for breath. He was covered in the debris of various monsters and his own blood, looking far from presentable.

Yet no one blamed him.

In fact, everyone around him looked at him with awe. The last C-Grade gate had spawned an incredibly powerful transformed werewolf.

The 2.5-meter tall, gray-skinned werewolf, with its sharp claws and swift movements, had single-handedly destroyed three armored vehicles and two tanks.

It had also injured over a hundred soldiers. If Ilwoo hadn’t arrived in time, none of the people there would have survived.

‘Damn, the wounds…’

In the battle, he had lost two of his clones, and he himself had sustained significant injuries. But Ilwoo had ultimately won.

Whiiiir.

More than ten drones hovered in the air, capturing his every move.

‘This part is even harder.’

Being told not to show any signs of weakness or collapse was grueling. He wanted to vent his frustration to his friend watching from within Connect. If it hadn’t been for him, could they have even overcome this crisis?

“Vice Guildmaster, are you alright? Medical personnel will be here shortly.”

“It’s over now, right? Can you please get rid of those?”

Ilwoo pointed at the drones. A guild member nodded in understanding and relayed the message through a microphone. Meanwhile, first Security agents approached and set up makeshift tents around Ilwoo to conceal him.

Thud.

“Hah, I feel like I’m going to die.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Ilwoo lay down on the makeshift bed, sticky blood dripping from his body.

“A message from the Chairman: You’ve done well. Leave the rest to us. When you wake up, much will have changed. See you in Connect. End of message.”

“Sigh, understood. I’ll leave it to you.”

For three days, he hadn’t slept properly, running from gate to gate. The heavy fatigue weighed down his eyelids.

‘Friend, when I wake up, please reduce my workload.’

With this simple hope, Ilwoo drifted into sleep.

*

The gate wave that hit Earth took away so much. Iconic cities representing various countries were left with hideous ruins, paralyzing their functions.

In the process, countless soldiers lost their lives, and civilian casualties were immense. The number of victims from this wave was estimated to exceed 100 million worldwide.

The most despairing fact was that while the gate wave had ended, the gates themselves were not closed. Furthermore, less than 20% of the wave had been neatly dealt with.

The remaining 80% saw monsters occupying areas around the gates. Fortunately, the monsters did not venture far from the gates. If they had, the damage would have been even greater.

The scale of damage varied significantly by country.

The United States, with its powerful military, managed to minimize the damage.

While there were soldier casualties, civilian losses were not significant. They successfully eliminated monsters in almost all targeted areas except for some controlled zones, solidifying their reputation.

Other advanced nations managed to handle the gate wave appropriately as well. Although substantial, they succeeded in clearing most of the monsters.

Shining brightly in these efforts were the members of the Purple Guild and First Security agents. Since advanced countries tend to have more players, First Company’s branches were also mostly established there.

Because of this, they were able to handle the more difficult intermediate-level gates.

And then there was South Korea.

A country with one of the most powerful armies in the world. Yet, the damage it sustained was significant compared to its standing.

This was partly due to its many densely populated cities, and partly because of the disastrous initial response.

– Why did soldiers have to face monsters with bayonets?

– Why were gold-badged congressmen in the command room?

– The real culprit behind the disaster: poor predictions. The gate wave crisis was man-made.

– First Company had been warning the government all along. If only they had listened….

– Not a movie: When crisis struck, ‘awakened individuals’ were our saviors.

– The rumors were true: Connect rankers manifested abilities.

– The rise of new heroes? A compilation of Purple Guild rankers’ exploits.

Articles flooded the media following the gate crisis.

Although many city functions were paralyzed, the media still worked. Thanks to the Connect system’s community and broadcasting mechanisms functioning without a hitch, the public had no trouble accessing information.

Naturally, the public’s outcry over the day’s bungled response reached fever pitch, prompting swift government action.

The congressmen who had visited the command room that day were expelled following a rapid parliamentary decision. The generals who gave absurd orders were relieved of their posts and faced imminent court-martials.

This demonstrated how seriously the government was taking the crisis. Meanwhile, Kim Ilwoo and other Purple Guild rankers and awakened individuals began receiving heroic treatment.

The media highlighted their exploits nonstop, and their heroic deeds were broadcasted across various media and personal channels. The government issued commendations while exploring the establishment of a special agency to prepare for future incidents.

There was no doubt that Connect Corp and First Company’s influence played a significant role in these developments. The government, which had previously ignored Raul’s warnings and suggestions, now sought his advice and assistance eagerly.

The recent events had proven that relying solely on the military was insufficient to handle monster outbreaks from the gates. A sweeping change was coming to Earth.

And currently, an enormous issue had emerged within the community for a different reason.

– Help! I can’t log out!

– I hid in my capsule to avoid the monsters. Does anyone know what’s happening outside?

– While I was connected, my house collapsed. Please help!

During the gate wave, some players who were connected to Connect found themselves trapped inside the virtual world.

(To be continued)

TL’s Corner:
First, game becomes reality. Now players are stuck in the game.