Emperor! Can You See Stats!?

[Wait! Don’t put it in your mouth.]

It was when Eurius was about to swallow the Vermilion Bird’s Core. 

The Yellow Dragon suddenly stopped him.

‘Huh? What’s the problem?’

[You have to choose the timing carefully from the second absorption onwards.]

‘Why?’

[Fusion.]

‘Fusion?’

[Yes. You’ll find out more when you absorb it, but fusing two or more divine artifacts is a completely different matter from absorbing just one.]

The Yellow Dragon’s words were unusually serious. Eurius, who had lowered his hand for now, asked him curiously.

‘So how long does it take?’

[That depends on your ability. But at your current state, it could take months or even years.]

‘……!?’

Eurius had to stash away the divine artifact that he had finally obtained. 

He had a pile of things to deal with right now, and he would be absent for months! It was a dizzying thought.

But it was something he couldn’t postpone forever.

Besides, he had broken through the wall and reached the fifth stage not long ago.

‘I should be able to handle the Demon Sect without having to collect more divine artifacts, right?’

Eurius was a bit smug. 

He had a reason to be, as he had reached a level that was unparalleled by anyone except the players from two hundred years ago.

But the power of the Demon Sect was stronger than he expected. 

Eurius had some idea of it through Gungjeokyeong, who used to be the vice-sect leader of the Demon Sect.

“The power that the Demon Sect has shown is not even half of their total strength. They have many hidden things.”

“Hidden things?”

At Eurius’s question, she answered cautiously.

“I don’t know the details, but the sect leader and the three great families of the new sect! And maybe Gunmisaeng Sayeohan, who is a military officer.”

“Hmm…”

Her words were not bluffing. 

Even the ones he fought recently, who seemed like disposable goods, gave Eurius a hard time.

‘What about the fusion of divine artifacts you mentioned before? How long would it take if I do it now?’

[Hmm… If you’ve entered the fifth stage, fusing two divine artifacts shouldn’t be too difficult. But it would still take at least a few weeks.]

‘A few weeks?’

It was a rather vague period. 

It would have been easy to decide if it was just a week or so. 

He also had a quest that required him to deal with the Demon Sect as soon as possible.

But after thinking about it carefully, he decided that it was better to do it even if it took time. 

He didn’t even know how strong the enemy was, so wouldn’t it be better to prepare for any contingencies?

‘And besides, he said it would take a few weeks at most.’

Eurius had already suffered from unexpected hardships. 

He was confident in his own way.

And now.

Gulp!

“Ugh!”

Eurius swallowed the Vermilion Bird’s Core and felt his mind go blank. 

At first, he felt a heat surge through his body, but that was only for a moment.

Zap!

“…!?”

Suddenly, he heard a crackling sound and saw countless messages pop up in front of his eyes.

[Loading authentication system]

[Authentication complete]

[Player1 recognized]

[Synchronization initiated This process may take some time.]

.

.

.

.

[All tasks completed]

Ding!

[Hidden Quest – ‘Pro Gamer’ has started.]

‘Pro Gamer?’

Aaaah!

He had no time to think about the unfamiliar word as Eurius’s eyes were blinded by a bright light and he lost consciousness.

***

Pop!

Eurius opened his eyes. 

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a cold metallic wall.

“Where is this?”

He turned his head and observed his surroundings. 

It was a very strange place. 

The four sides were surrounded by metallic walls and there was no exit or door in sight.

The circular space was very spacious and the height to the ceiling looked to be at least several tens of meters.

‘But where have I seen this structure before?’

Eurius felt that this place was very familiar. 

After a while, he exclaimed.

“Ah! The Colosseum!”

As he said, this place was very similar to the Empire’s Colosseum. 

Except that it was indoors, not outdoors, there was no entrance, and the four sides were made of metal.

‘But what am I supposed to do here?’

It wasn’t the first time that his consciousness had flown away. 

Eurius decided to wait patiently. 

As he thought, another message appeared in front of his eyes.

[The player has completed the connection to the arena.]

[The quest will begin.]

Pop!

Click!

The ceiling emitted a dazzling light and the dark arena became bright as day.

“Wow.”

The light was incomparable to anything like torches or night lights, so Eurius couldn’t take his eyes off the ceiling with a curious expression.

And another notification appeared in front of his eyes.

Ding!

[There is a reference video before you start the quest. Do you want to watch it? Video title: Memory 1]

‘Yes!’

[The video will be sent according to your request.]

As soon as Eurius nodded his head, the scenery in front of him changed again.

Papapapop!

First, the empty seats of the arena were filled with people. 

No, to be precise, they were not people. 

They were transparent human-shaped objects sitting on the seats.

Ding!

Words appeared above their heads.

[Amazing event! Is this the first time an amateur has made it to the finals of Champs?]

[Who cares about that, when will they start? These sponsors are so annoying with their ads. I’m in a capsule, why does my head hurt;;]

[The result is obvious. It’s Grandpa’s crushing victory!]

[Bullshit! You didn’t watch the main game, did you?]

[Lolololololol you guys are so clueless about games. What’s your rank? This is not an easy league for an amateur to win.]

[I agree. Did you guys come from playing some 2000s games?]

[Shut up, you morons, it’s starting now. Be quiet and pay attention.]

‘What are they talking about?’

Eurius could hardly understand what they were saying. Pro? Champs League? He had never heard of those words before.

[There, idiots, watch this. This is how Grandpa plays.]

Another message appeared in front of his eyes, followed by a loud noise.

Boom!

The center of the arena exploded and a huge figure emerged from the smoke.

It was a giant robot with four arms and two legs, armed with various weapons.

Eurius gasped in shock.

“What is that?”

[Wow! Really?]

‘…!?’

A dazzling light burst in the center of the stadium. 

And with that light, a giant screen popped out!

And what was shown on the screen was the sight of huge structures. 

Countless buildings covered with gray walls and glass were densely packed.

[Period: Modern]

[MAP: Sky Tower]

The screen showed the scene from various angles, and then suddenly lowered the viewpoint to the ground.

Pop!

And the screen switched and showed a man.

‘The Emperor?’

Eurius was surprised.

A handsome face with blond hair. 

He looked exactly like the Great Emperor Scharnos he had seen before, even smiling brightly.

Only his outfit was very different. 

He was not wearing armor or fancy clothes, but only a shirt and pants. 

He looked relaxed throughout, looking ahead.

And what he saw in front of him was also a person. 

He was an old man, unlike Emperor Scharnos.

‘A wizard?’

As Eurius said, the old man was wearing a long gray robe and a gray pointed hat. 

He looked like a wizard from a fairy tale. He had a displeased expression, unlike the emperor.

[Well, let’s start. The XXth VR Champions League Final!]

‘Huh?’

Eurius was surprised again. 

A cheerful female voice echoed from the screen.

[This tournament had a big surprise! A challenger from an amateur background made it to the league finals! The challenger’s nickname is Scharnos! It looks like he really likes the Cthulhu mythos by his nickname!]

‘It seems like he is Emperor Scharnos after all? But nickname?’

Eurius nodded his head while the female voice started to introduce the other side of the old man.

[Well, do I need to introduce him? He has been dominating the top for twenty years, Sir. Merlin! The number one virtual reality player representing England!]

The old man in the robe seemed to be called Merlin. 

He seemed to have many fans, as dozens of messages popped up at the same time.

[Wow! Fantasy is all about wizards.]

[Look at that overflowing charisma. Compared to that, the challenger is meh… Let’s not talk about it.]

He didn’t understand what they were saying, but anyway Emperor Scharnos was the challenger and the old man was accepting his challenge.

He shook his head while the female voice continued to chatter.

[We have some special guests for this final match. Don’t be surprised! We have invited the most famous psychic of this generation. Amazingly, he is sitting right in front of me. I’m also nervous. Come on! Say something!]

[‘I’m Lee.’]

Suddenly, a blunt male voice rang out. 

And at that moment, people’s reactions exploded.

[Crazy! Mr. Lee?]

[Is it Lee Chengwen from China?]

[Is K Foundation crazy? No matter how much money they make from VR, they invited the current ranking number one psychic as a guest?]