Chapter 135

Obviously, the new continent that the announcement spoke of was Atlantis, where Merlin presently was. Merlin checked the time by stroking his left eye. A clock appeared in his vision, displaying both real time and in-game time. The current time in the real world was six-o-clock in the evening. In other words, he had one hour in real-time, or twelve hours in DIO, before the start of the event.

“The announcement was released… this morning. They sure rushed this one out.” commented Merlin.

“Still, those who are logged into the game will feel as though a few days of advance notice was given. Also, since there are so many users, I’m sure the developers weren’t concerned about gathering enough participants.” said Quiet Heaven.

“Come to think of it, the current number of users exceeds four-hundred million, and the game hasn’t even hit its peak. The user base numbers are growing larger with every passing moment.”

Indeed, the number of users playing DIO was huge. Considering that the population of Earth was slightly less than eight billion and that many countries didn’t have access to the technology, a user base of four-hundred million was mind-blowing. Just a few weeks prior, the user base was two-hundred million. In roughly two weeks, DIO was able to double its user base through the expansion of real-world infrastructure and direct contracting with several countries.

“If things keep going like this, they’ll hit a billion users in no time. Of course, there’ll always be some countries that won’t allow the game to enter their markets, but still, about one in five people on Earth will be a DIO user…”

In Korea, with its extensive internet infrastructure, and strong gaming culture, more than seventy percent of the Korean population played DIO. Virtually everyone was playing, except for infants and the elderly. Even students, who were restricted from playing games, were logging in to DIO as a way to leverage the time differential to attend classes and lectures. There were even talks over enacting rules and laws to allow for traditional classes and lectures to be conducted in DIO.

“Hmm. I’m not certain where this is going, but I know it’s having a big ripple effect."

“Tremendous effect.”

Though Merlin was unaware, several large corporations, intelligence groups, and even state agencies were already forming their own bases and powers within DIO. Among them, there were many who struggled to find out how DIO’s basic system worked, but its core technology was all veiled, so these agencies and institutions didn’t have much to work with.

“Hey, what are you talking about?” Miho asked.

“Ah, something about passengers. Like, maybe other passengers will come here besides me.”

Merlin thought that Miho would ask him something about passengers. Mages sought the truth of the world, so they were usually very curious about things they didn’t know much about. Since Merlin and Quiet Heaven had been talking about population figures, Miho probably had an idea of what they were talking about. Naturally, Merlin thought that Miho would be surprised that so many people existed above the Noise Belt. However, contrary to expectation, Miho just nodded.

“Well, okay. Do you need to do something?”

“Huh? What? Ah, well… yes. It’s something like a meeting for all passengers. Since the Great Will won’t make an appearance for three days, I’ll be going to that passenger meeting.”

Merlin was momentarily caught off-guard by how unconcerned Miho seemed; however, thinking that perhaps she just wasn’t that interested in passengers, Merlin took off the Gate Ring from his left index finger and looked inside. An inscription read [Tower of Truth].

‘Hmm. Fortunately, it saved this location. If I take out the Gate Ring that has Starting stored on it, then it’ll auto-save my current location, right?’

The Gate Ring was a magical item that allowed its owner to save the location of the last city they visited so they could return to it at any time. The only problem was that the location on the ring was auto-saved, not by the user’s choosing. If Merlin took out the Gate Ring from his inventory and used Return, he’d be moved to the Tower of Truth, not Starting.

“Are you planning on leaving right now?”

“I think so. Hmm. It would be nice to bring you with me.”

Merlin knew that this was impossible. It was incredibly difficult to cross the Noise Belt just by himself, so it would not be wise to bring another person across. Moreover, the Gate Ring didn’t allow companions, so if Merlin wanted to take Miho, they’d have to traverse a long distance. No matter how fast Merlin could swim, the distance from Atlantis to the southern coast of Starting was over a thousand kilometers. On top of all that, they were currently in Atlantis’ inland area. Though Merlin could move faster than an arrow at sea, land traversal was a different story.

“Well, as a representative, I’m not allowed to leave this place anyway. Also, I need to spend some time honing the power I just gained through the trials.”

Miho hesitated as if she had something more to say, but as if she had resigned herself to something, she sighed and sat back down.

“There’s still some stuff you haven’t fully absorbed yet?”

“I’ve absorbed all the monster power. I just have some Magic Eye stuff left. It developed unexpectedly.”

Ting!

Saying this, Miho activated Magic Eye and pointed at her eyes. Unlike before, where her eyes simply changed color, they were now engraved with a hexagonal magic circle pattern. Merlin, who had not properly trained his Magic Eye but rather copied Miho’s approach, didn’t know what this change meant. She now possessed Red Fox Vision, an ability that allowed her to subdue virtually anything with her eyes.

“It’s called Extreme Vision. It’s the second step of Magic Eye.”

“There are different steps?”

Miho sighed. Merlin’s question indicated that he knew nothing about the ability.

“Ugh. I should take some time to properly teach you… but then again, you already cause me quite a headache with your own version of Magic Eye!”

“Hahaha! I’m just like that.”

“Y-you’re usually like that?”

Miho scoffed, but she gave in and started explaining, just like how Mary once did for her long ago.

“The Red Fox’s Magic Eye is divided into three steps. The first is the red eye, the level that you’re on right now. The second is Extreme Vision, which is the step I’m at right now. According to records, it can not only penetrate an enemy’s mind but also causes real phenomena to occur.”

“What do you mean causes real phenomena?”

“Like, it can inflict physical damage, or make sparks appear. It’s different for each caster, so I don’t know what it’ll look like for me yet.”

Since Miho knew the training method, the results of her Extreme Vision would soon appear.

“Ah. You mentioned that there are three steps, so does that mean there’s something even greater than what you have right now?”

“Hmpf. Pretending like you’re interested… anyway, the third step is the Jeweled Magic Eye, the final step that only the great Red Fox has achieved. It’s often called Jeweled Eye, and I read that this step of Magic Eye is so strong that it can affect hundreds or thousands of enemies all at once when fully operational.”

Merlin tilted his head. Miho said that she read this information somewhere, which meant she had got it from somewhere else.

“So, you’ve never seen the third step of Magic Eye in person?”

“I’ve never seen it. Even my mother, who taught me Magic Eye and was a very talented fox, only reached the second step. Though our fox clan is small, we are the only ones who are direct descendants of the great Red Fox. Besides, the Jeweled Magic Eye can only be reached when one’s Magic Eye has reached its penultimate development, and no one has reached that level of development except for the Red Fox. I only know about it because of the records I’ve read.”

Merlin lightly circulated his magic power and focused on her eyes. He tried to match her magic system design, but his eyes remained red; he wasn’t able to advance to the second step. Unlike the Seven Jewel’s magic stones, which was a collection of pure magic power, Magic Eye seemed to require a biological change. Thus, Merlin couldn’t replicate Miho’s advancement just by replicating the configuration of her magic system.

“Well, it’s not urgent, so I’ll take it slow.”

Merlin gently lifted his head and looked around for an exit. Though he had a Gate Ring, the save point location was the Tower of Truth, so he had to get out into an open field. Quiet Heaven was the only one around that knew about Merlin’s situation.

“Are you planning on going to Starting?”

“Yeah, but there’s no way out.”

“Don't be silly. You can get out from where you came in.”

"Aha!" Merlin exclaimed in realization.

Merlin activated Scanning Vision and looked at the door from which he had entered. They were all closed, but they didn’t seem to be locked.

“Okay. Quiet Heaven, stay here with Miho.”

“What? Why?”

“If we both leave, I won’t know what’s going on back here. You and I are connected spiritually, so we can communicate easily.”

In a normal game, an owner and his pet couldn’t be split far apart, but in DIO, there was a recall function in case one’s pet got lost, regardless of distance. Moreover, Merlin and Quiet Heaven could share their senses, so Merlin could speak using Quiet Heaven’s mouth if necessary. Hence, this was the best communication system for either one to deliver any news. Quiet Heaven nodded its head in agreement.

“Well, I’d rather spend my time with Miho than a dull guy like you anyway.”

“Great. Though I don’t see this happening, if a fight breaks out, make sure to help Miho as much as you can.”

“I don’t know how much help I’d be, but okay.” Quiet Heaven nodded its head meekly.

Merlin looked at Miho once more. For whatever reason, she looked to be in a bad mood.

“I’ll be taking off then!" said Merlin.

“Hmpf. Go away and don’t come back.”

“Fufufu, our cute little…”

Ting!

Merlin, who was approaching Miho with a mischievous smirk on his face, stopped in his tracks. Miho’s eyes suddenly turned red with the hexagonal magic circles; she was using her Extreme Vision.

“Shall I make you strip in front of all the gathered representatives?”

“… Ugh! This damned Extreme Vision! I’ll learn it soon!”

Of course, if Miho was an enemy, Merlin wouldn’t have let himself be so easily overpowered. It took Miho three to four seconds to properly operate Extreme Vision to hijack his body. During those three to four seconds, Merlin could have easily launched a Great Tantra Hand attack, not allowing Miho to continue operating her Extreme Vision. But, of course, he couldn't do that to Miho. All he could do was grumble before turning to Quiet Heaven.

“Take care of Miho.”

“Hmpf! Who’s protecting who?” Miho retorted, sticking her tongue out.

Merlin smiled and headed towards the door he had entered from.

*** Meeting the Mission ***

“… Wow! So many people.”

When he arrived at Starting, Merlin stared at the large crowd of users around him. The atmosphere among them was hectic and bustling. The roads in Starting were wide and well-maintained, but they were currently jam-packed with people like a subway platform during rush hour.

Whoosh!

“Whoa, hey! Watch it! Be careful!”

“Make sure to fly on the right-hand side, please! If you cause an accident, you’ll be seen as a murderer!”

Numerous users were flying overhead. Some were flying on broomsticks, some were riding summoned beings or spirits, and some were flying by using their aura power to produce wind.

“There sure are a lot of users flying around.”

Still, there were fewer people flying than walking, so Merlin momentarily considered using his spirits to fly. However, since Younghwi and Shining were continuously fed internal energy from his Golden Pill Immortal Technique, the two spirits’ power output was more optimized for large bursts rather than continuous exertion. Of course, it was still possible to use his spirits to exert a small continuous force.

“Oh, right, I forgot I had this.”

Merlin opened his inventory and took out the Memory Stone that he had received from Nell. The stone contained three gravity spells that Nell specialized in: Reverse Gravity, which, as the name suggests, reversed gravity, Gravity Distortion, which added or reduced gravitational pull, and Gravity Cannon, which fired a distorted gravity bomb that could inflict great damage on a target.

“Reverse Gravity is a limited range spell, so it’s not good to use for movement. Then, Gravity Distortion!”

Magic power started to flow and form a system according to the pre-specified design built into the Memory Stone. Merlin chose to reduce gravity.

Bam!

With a light stomp, Merlin’s body soared into the sky as if he was in zero gravity. Merlin had lightened his weight to just over two kilograms total, so he’d eventually fall back onto the ground, but Younghwi and Shining would easily be able to carry him now.

“Don’t use your spirits, you idiot. Use a spell. You learned a gravity-based magic spell, but this is the best you could come up with?”

The young boy, Merlin’s inner self, spoke derisively. Merlin looked at the boy floating next to him with a puzzled expression.

“Wow, you really are like a ghost. I can’t sense anything from you.”

“Of course. I’m just an image in your mind. Wouldn’t it be a problem if you could feel the presence of something that doesn’t exist?”

Then, to hammer his statement home, the boy threw in a “dumb bastard.”

“…”

Merlin could feel a headache coming on. He decided it would probably be best not to converse with the young boy.

“Whatever. Anyway, shouldn’t you be looking closely at the schedule of events? There’s still some time left before the fishing event starts… but first, you’ll have to approach some guards…”

Merlin flew across the sky with the help of his two spirits. He expected that it’d be difficult to find the guards because there were so many people around, but they were surprisingly easy to find. Each of the guards was surrounded by users, creating localized crowds.

“Oh, it’s too crowded!! And you, girl! Don’t touch my exceptional body!” A Diwali 11, who oversaw the maintaining of order and peace amongst the users, screamed aloud.

The Diwali, who had shiny blonde hair and a lively face, was handsome enough to be on any real-world fashion cover. This was probably the reason why there people surrounded him with cameras.

Pop!

“Hmm?”

However, suddenly, about a hundred users in the crowd disappeared entirely. The Diwali 11 looked over at a Gane 11.

“What did you do just now?”

“I just gathered them all together, explained the details of the event, and then sent them to the test center. There’s no need to wrestle and interface with each of them.”

“Oho! This guy is surprisingly smart.” the Diwali 11 remarked, before following suit and gathering all the users in one place. Merlin was among the gathered crowd.

“Okay, everyone. The announcement didn’t explain all the details, so I’ll fill you all in on those now. Once you participate in a general mission three times, you will be eligible to perform the final mission if you successfully complete at least two of the general missions. However, the important thing is that both the general missions and the final mission must be done in a party.”

A user in armor shouted a question.

“Hey, you mentioned that we need to be in a party… are we allowed to make our own parties?”

“No. There will be a placement battle before the three general missions to determine each user’s level. You’ll start by facing low-level monsters and face increasingly more powerful monsters each time you succeed in defeating your opponents. You’ll then be given a level based on how many different opponent groupings you’ve defeated.”

“But what if there’s a monster that can’t be defeated?”

“You just need to shout out ‘Surrender!’, easy right?”

Diwali 11 looked cheerfully at the users around him. Although it was a noisy place, his voice possessed a strange resonance, so one could clearly hear him without missing a word.

“Now, if you understand, raise your left hand. Alright, I see. Thank you. Oh, you there… was there something you didn’t understand? Oh, you understood? Then please raise your left hand.”

Diwali 11 explained the mission and confirmed that everyone understood him properly.

“Specific mission details will be delivered in the form of a quest. Understood?”

“Yes!”

“Let us begin!”

Some anxious users were already warming up and preparing for battle. Just in case, Merlin pulled out his Gold Core and handed it to Shining so it could float with the Gold Core around his shoulder area. Since it took some time and focus to open his inventory, Merlin was making sure he could reach it quickly. Through the ordeal he went through in the Tower of Truth, Merlin learned the Spiritual Power Transfer Method, so his Gold Core contained a whopping one-hundred-and-five years of internal energy. Considering that the limit of this ‘vessel’ was nearly two cycles, the Gold Core represented the pinnacle of his development.

“Then, if everyone is ready, let’s go!”