Chapter 322: Dopamine (1)

Translator: DreamscribeThe course of action was set.

Games like drugs packed full of malice, gambling so addictive that people would keep at it even if their hands were cut off.

Gambling-riddled online games, sports betting, casinos, and all the other forbidden games Jinwoo had forcibly kept sealed away until now came flooding into his mind.

Openly stirring up chaos would be difficult, but this kind of cultural invasion should be no problem. If he used the authority of an Imperial Prince, wouldn't he actually be praised for it?

'Anyway, you lot are bored out of your minds.'

The Sanctuary was dull and tedious.

It was a life like a jellyfish drifting in the sea.

So now he would show them what true fun really was!

He would teach them what it felt like for dopamine to explode.

'The Subspace has plenty of room.'

Even without using his authority, the Subspace was more than sufficient. As long as it wasn't at the level of grand magic, it wouldn't be much affected by Dimensional Energy.

The Imperial Prince was rich.

He possessed one of the greatest fortunes in the entire dimensional realm. He had ample human resources, an army permitted to the Imperial Prince, and technological power as well. Even if he was looked down upon by the imperial family, that was merely a matter of ranking among the royals themselves.

Well then, first let's get a grasp of the scale of Reist's wealth.

As Jinwoo, strolling through the garden with Kalgul, gave a flick of his finger, Berto and the servants came running and dropped to their knees.

"I shall go to the warehouse."

"I will prepare a vessel!"

A vessel?

Was the warehouse far away?

Perhaps because he had used the Subspace for so long, that was the first thought that came to him.

Jinwoo boarded a dazzling, resplendent vessel and rose up over the city.

Dozens of escort vessels fell in behind him, and the airspace was completely locked down, every other vessel clearing far, far out of the way. If any vessel were even spotted floating nearby, it would supposedly be shot down on the spot.

'This is what it means to live as an Imperial Prince!'

Jinwoo had been the wealthiest and most famous man on Earth, yet even he could never have produced a spectacle like this. He was savoring the convenience of power.

Normally, when a modern person possessed someone in an otherworld like this, they'd draw glares from the family or face concentrated pushback from the retainers, leading to one frustrating, sweet-potato scenario after another, but of course, none of that existed here. [TL: "sweet-potato" is Korean slang for something stifling or frustrating, the opposite of a refreshing "soda" moment.]

On the planet ruled by the Imperial Prince, the Imperial Prince's word was law.

The vessel flew at high speed and left the city behind.

The moment it crossed a single mountain range, a colossal metropolis revealed itself. Its sheer scale alone overwhelmed Alusion. Yet no people could be seen. Only the soldiers guarding the metropolis were visible.

It was not a metropolis.

'Don't tell me....'

That immense place was, in fact, Reist's personal warehouse.

When the vessel landed, Berto pressed himself flat to the ground.

"Your Highness! We have arrived at Warehouse No. 1."

"How many warehouses are there in total?"

"Three hundred and two. We are currently expanding by another fifty, but shall I increase the number further?"

There were 302 warehouses on this planet alone, and adding in the warehouses on the other planets Reist owned brought the total past several thousand. There was even a place where an entire planet was one giant warehouse.

'The scale really is on another level.'

Items presented by nobles or acquired personally were sorted by grade and stored across the various warehouses, he was told.

This place was the First Treasure Warehouse, where the rarest and most precious of Reist's treasures were kept.

Enough weaponry to incinerate an entire dimension and more was mounted atop the walls, and Reist's Knight Order and elite forces were garrisoned there. The powerful barrier that enclosed the place like a dome did not permit so much as a speck of dust.

The vessel carrying Jinwoo passed smoothly through every security measure and descended into the space at the very center of the warehouse. It was a landing area reserved solely for the Imperial Prince's vessel.

Stepping off the vessel, Jinwoo marveled at the sight of the treasure warehouse.

The warehouse itself was like gazing upon a work of art. The pillars and walls bore paintings adorned with gold and jewels. Selling off just one of those pillars would be enough to buy an entire city.

The treasures were neatly organized into sections divided by type and by grade.

Jinwoo, together with Kalgul, approached a section labeled 'Jewels.' Berto and the servants were unable to disembark from the vessel. Anyone the Imperial Prince had not granted permission could never set foot on this ground.

[Reist Dion Kalsus, Your Highness, the light and hope of the Kalsus Dimensional Empire! May you bask in radiance for all eternity!]

As Jinwoo drew near, a majestic voice rang out, and a door taller than a skyscraper swung smoothly open.

"Ohh...."

Jinwoo was impressed.

Jewels that even he was seeing for the first time were on display. The truly precious ones were set out on display stands, while the less precious ones were piled up in heaps. Even the "less precious" ones were all A-rank or higher.

Jinwoo took a jewel the size of a fist into his hand.

It endlessly drank in mana. It felt as though an entire dimension had been transformed into a Magic Stone. It could hold more than enough mana to create an entire planet, and the loss rate was even infinitely close to zero percent.

An S+ rank jewel.

Reist had merely collected it because it was beautiful, but it held value far beyond that. The same was true of the other jewels.

"I think Tiris would love these."

At this level, might he finally get to see Tiris cry?

Jinwoo slowly looked the jewels over.

There were jewels from which one could craft dozens of Philosopher's Stones, and he spotted jewels that, if turned into artifacts, seemed capable of wielding the power of a god.

"This is...."

He saw a jewel brimming with life.

Set it down in a forest and trees seemed like they'd grow, and it was so full of nature's energy that spirits seemed ready to appear. Placed in Elvens, it looked like it would create tremendous synergy.

"A jewel that resembles the sun, huh...."

A jewel that gave off light like the sun stole Jinwoo's gaze. There was also a jewel that held the starlight of the night sky. They seemed like they'd suit Ella and Helby perfectly.

Jinwoo looked at Kalgul, who stood behind him.

"Kalgul, I told you to organize a legion, didn't I?"

"Yes. Four legions have been permitted."

"They'll have to be the very best of the elite."

Jinwoo had various plans regarding that.

He handed Kalgul several sizable jewels. Kalgul, who knew just how much these jewels were worth, was astonished.

"For now, use those to outfit everything as impressively as possible."

"Just one of these would be more than enough."

"Spend freely, and use the rest however you see fit."

"Understood."

The imperial court had provided funding for forming the legions, but it wasn't enough.

When Jinwoo stretched out his hand, every last jewel was stored away into the Subspace.

Jinwoo moved on to another section.

It was full of rare materials gathered from across the dimensional realm. When a dimension was incinerated, trace amounts of metal came out, and ingots forged from that metal were piled high.

It was a metal capable of holding Dimensional Energy, no less. It seemed like it would be of enormous help to Arsilan.

"From now on, all of this belongs to Arsilan."

Let's put everything held in this treasure warehouse to use for the dimensional realm and the Heroes. He was already looking forward to the next event.

Space pirates, treasure brimming with romance, and epic sagas woven around that treasure!

At this level, even running a treasure-hunt event would surely earn rave reviews.

A game developer overflowing with funds, time, and development capacity was truly invincible. And on top of that, he was carrying a whole heap of gift bundles.

Let's show them the terrifying might of Earth and Arsilan.

Very clearly indeed!

* * *

Jinwoo investigated the culture of the Kalsus Dimensional Empire.

As he'd already experienced, their entertainment culture was undeveloped. Even noble society had little more than luxury goods and banquets. They possessed technology great enough to manipulate dimensions, yet their standard of cultural life lagged so far behind that it couldn't even be compared to Arsilan.

Even though they had communication technology that crossed dimensions, smartphones did not exist. The nobles used classical telephones plastered with gold and jewels, and did nothing more than listen to radios powered by Dimensional Energy.

It was understandable, really.

The Kalsus Dimensional Empire did nothing but invade, and everyone besides the nobles had to become a soldier. It was an environment in which inventors who might improve quality of life could never emerge. Among the nobles living their peaceful lives, hardly anyone cared to take up something like invention. What little they had achieved amounted to only this much, cobbled together from what they'd absorbed by incinerating countless dimensions.

'What a truly boring bunch.'

The fellows who strutted around with their shoulders thrown back in such a boring world were simply laughable.

Well then, let's plunge the Sanctuary of this Kalsus Dimensional Empire into some dangerous games.

The first, naturally, would be a casino, keeper of Earth's long-standing traditions.

Since they even had a simple board game called Stone Game, things like card games, slot machines, pachinko, and roulette would be easy for them to take to. They could be regarded as games that had evolved several stages up from Stone Game.

Once they grew accustomed to casinos, he'd make something like smartphones and roll out online gambling, games of chance, and so on.

Various mobile games that would still be dominating the gaming world today, had Arsilan Saga never appeared, came to mind. Gacha, enhancement, limit-breaking, and PVP would, in this place, pack enough power to melt their brains.

'I'll be able to break every taboo there is.'

A thick smile spread across Jinwoo's lips.

The demon he had sealed away out of a game developer's conscience had opened its eyes!

-So creepy.

-Scary!

-So cool!

-This is exciting!

The vengeful spirits seemed to be looking forward to it too.

"Berto."

Even though he'd murmured it ever so softly, Berto came running like a bolt of lightning.

"Where is the most expensive and lavish place?"

"It is this very mansion where Your Highness resides."

"And the second?"

"The central garden of Cartes."

The planet Jinwoo was on was named Reista. Cartes was the name of the largest metropolis on Reista, and at its center lay a beautiful garden.

"A map."

"Yes!"

Berto fetched a map and spread it out with the servants.

Jinwoo gazed at the map, then drew his finger across it in a long stroke.

"Flatten everything from here to here."

"Wha...? The... you mean even the nobles' mansions?"

When Jinwoo furrowed his brow, Berto immediately bowed his head.

"How dare those foolish wretches become an obstacle to Your Highness's plans! I will round up every last one and beat them into submission."

Berto's expression filled with rage.

It was clumsy acting.

Jinwoo snorted a laugh and shook his head.

"Compensate them reasonably. And of course, kill any who refuse. I'll assign you some knights."

"Th-thank you! I will see the sacred plan through without fail!"

"And summon an architect as well."

"I shall carry out your command!"

The architects were mostly lower nobles whose skills had earned recognition beyond the dimensional barrier. The Kalsus Dimensional Empire's construction technology itself was exceptionally advanced, so the buildings could be raised very quickly.

'I can just say Kalgul handled the facilities that go inside.'

Kalgul was a Margrave, a figure who held an important position even among the high nobility. Since he did not reside within the Sanctuary, he wielded tremendous power outside it. The imperial family took that into consideration as well.

There wasn't anyone who'd demand an explanation of where and how the things Jinwoo was about to unveil had been made, but for now, let's go with that.

And then he could simply register a patent.

Surprisingly, even the Kalsus Dimensional Empire had something called a "patent." Even without patents, no noble would be reckless enough to copy something belonging to the Imperial Prince, but registering it wouldn't hurt regardless.

Kalgul, who had gone off elsewhere, arrived.

Kalgul was now being called Reist's right-hand man.

"I have organized the forces. Everything is outfitted with the latest equipment."

"That was fast."

"Thanks to the treasures you granted me, Master. The nobles were so beside themselves they practically rolled over and bared their bellies like dogs."

The Imperial Prince's treasures.

They were precious treasures the nobles could never obtain, and thanks to them, he'd been able to lavishly furnish four legions with an enormous sum of funds. The legions were currently anchored at a satellite of Reista.

"White would be a good color for the armor."

"I will dye it with the finest-grade dye. It will help improve their defense as well."

"Paint the warships and equipment too, all of them."

"Understood."

"Hmm... I ought to change the design entirely."

Since they'd likely be in contact with the Heroes too, looking impressive was preferable.

When Jinwoo sent Kalgul a modified design based on the existing vessels, equipment, and armor, Kalgul immediately issued the orders through the comms.

"The founding ceremony should be lavish as well."

For now, let's start with the nobles under Reist's command.

Since the nobles were all idle, they were sensitive to any bit of news.

All eyes were sharply focused on the hero Kalgul, and many of them were surely curious about the founding ceremony.

On the day of the legion's founding ceremony, unveiling a little dopamine right then would be certain to send rumors spreading across the entire Sanctuary.

"Berto, the founding ceremony will be lavish."

"Yes! I will prepare it at once!"

"Where do you think it should be held?"

When Jinwoo fixed his gaze on Berto, he gulped down his spit and desperately racked his brain.

"Th... the, the Golden Palace would be a good choice, I think."

Reist had built a massive palace and supposedly visited it exactly once. It was larger and even more lavish than the imperial palace of Alusion. Reist was using a palace like that as a single-use disposable.

"We'll hold it there. I'll tell you what needs to be prepared."

Berto jotted down Jinwoo's words and set to preparing at once. Let's put on a soul-stealing production in the Kalsus Dimensional Empire.

It would be nothing more than a taste, but they'd probably never forget it as long as they lived.

* * *

Lont Galik received an invitation from Reist Dion Kalsus, heir to the blood of the great Emperor. The invitation, crafted from gold, bore the emblem representing the Imperial Prince and had his name written upon it.

His was a Baron's house, but it had a deep history. Long ago, ever since receiving a title from His Majesty the Emperor, his family had dwelt in the Sanctuary and lived a cozy life.

It was an invitation to a founding ceremony, and Lont was gripped with worry first and foremost. It was because he knew Reist's temperament. Get on the wrong side of that scoundrel of an Imperial Prince and even a noble would lose his head on the spot. Declining an invitation was an act one could never, no, must never commit. It would amount to disrespecting the imperial family, so the entire house could be wiped out of existence.

"You've come too?"

"It's been a while."

Lont approached a noble he was acquainted with.

Nobles dressed in their finest, each in lavish attire, were gathered together. The colors were so gaudy it bordered on tacky. There were so many of them it seemed as though every noble of any influence on this planet had assembled.

"What on earth is all this...."

Lont's face took on a baffled look at the extraordinary scene. Normally, when invited, nobles would each arrive in their finest vessels or carriages.

That was proper etiquette, and an opportunity to display one's dignity.

Yet Prince Reist had made everyone gather in a barren, freshly flattened wasteland.

'Don't tell me he means to wipe us all....'

No matter how out-of-control the Imperial Prince was, he surely wouldn't sweep away all the nobles. The nobles had gathered for the moment, but every one of them wore a face full of unease and tension.

"C-could it be he wasn't pleased with the item I presented last time?"

"Ahem... I did acquire a rare slave, but... I, I completely forgot to offer it to His Highness!"

"How irreverent...!"

There were ears listening.

The nobles said such things while laying down groundwork in advance to save their own necks.

Just then, a colossal vessel came toward them, passing through the Dimensional Portal. It was a vessel of a design none had seen before.

Unlike the existing vessels that fixated solely on ostentation, it had a sleek, pure-white design. Blending together with the beautiful ornaments and emblems placed wherever there was empty space, it evoked something that went beyond mere splendor and struck the heart.

When the vessel came down, soldiers clad in white armor stepped out.

The armor, too, was on a completely different level from the existing imperial army's, so impressive it was in another dimension entirely. The imperial army soldiers' armor was crude, focused solely on functionality.

"The soldiers are...."

"They're like knights."

"It's like looking at a work of art."

But that armor, each piece of it, was a work of art imbued with a craftsman's soul.

Lont was too busy marveling to do anything else.

It felt as though his eyes had been opened to some new world.

When Kalgul disembarked alongside the Knight Order, all the nobles turned to look at him and showed their respect.

"Everyone, please come inside."

It was a gentle voice, unlike Kalgul.

Lont and the nobles cautiously made their way in. The bodyguards and private soldiers who had accompanied them could not board the vessel. Yet no one raised any objection, and they climbed aboard as meek as lambs.

Servants dressed in attire none had seen before bowed their heads and welcomed them.

"There's a... a sense of restrained beauty about this."

"Ohh...."

"It feels like my eyes have been opened."

They marveled at the servants and maids dressed in butler uniforms and maid outfits.

It was a shock.

A shock like a tidal wave surging through their minds!

Lont could not take his eyes off the maid outfit. The lavish attire of the nobles present here didn't register with him at all. It was like looking at a white pearl floating serenely amid muddy water.

"E-excuse me...."

"Yes, please, go ahead."

The maid answered courteously.

"That, um, that outfit is...."

"It is an outfit His Highness specially bestowed upon us. He called it the 'Platinum Coin Maid Outfit.'"

"Platinum Coin, huh...."

In the empire, a Platinum Coin referred to a specially minted gold coin.

The gold coins minted for each anniversary of the Emperor or the Crown Prince were, unlike ordinary currency, treated as treasures.

Clothing worth as much as a Platinum Coin!

Something that precious had been put on those attendants.

*****

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