D.I.O

Chapter 184

/You have reached your login time limit. You will be forcefully logged out in five minutes./

Lancelot had been staring off into space when he broke out into a smile.

Oh, my, this is awkward so right, its summer in the real world. Man, I lost track of time.

Although only half a day had passed in reality, Lancelot had experienced nearly 500 days in the training room. This was an incredibly prolonged time of almost two years, so it was obvious why Lancelots sense of reality became muddled.

Lancelots situation was a well-known issue in the real world. As people spent more and more time in DIO, their sense of reality started to diminish, and now, many scholars in Korea and around the world were warning the public. Thankfully, the NPCs in DIO knew the truth of their reality, and they spoke of the real world often; moreover, the other users within DIO were all real humans. If DIO were a role-playing game, many people would completely shun reality if they werent forcibly logged out every twelve hours.

Whoa, final exams are over, and today is Wednesday.

Lancelot awakened from the haze and fogginess in his mind as if he was just getting up after sleeping. In DIO, he lived only for training, but in reality, he had to move according to the flow of the world and a set schedule.

Alright. Then.

Just when he was about to log out.

Beep!

A beep sounded from his Beholder.

***

Beep!

Huh?

Merlin was drawing up a new magic system when he narrowed his eyes at the unexpected sound of the notification. While the Beholder could beep even if it were placed in the inventory, Merlin was surprised because he had deactivated it to focus on his magic research.

Furthermore, Merlin had blocked all whispers and friend requests, so it was unusual that the Beholder would make any sound. As Merlins pet, Quiet Heaven, enveloped itself in flames, it stuck its head out at the sound.

What is it?

Im not sure, but it doesnt seem like its good news.

Merlin stopped utilizing his mana to halt the operation of his magic circle and activate his Beholder. At that moment.

Whoosh!

Hmm.

Merlins surroundings changed in an instant. As he looked around, Merlin realized that he was standing in an unfamiliar place. Merlin pulled out a 20-centimeter-long metal rod from his inventory. The metal rod, which was dotted with dozens of jewels the size of ones fingernails, constantly pulsed, as it possessed a large amount of magic power. Soon, a middle-aged man in a gray suit and fedora appeared. It was Tan, one of DIOs operators.

What about Quiet Heaven?

I left him behind in your housing space since I only needed to speak with you. Theres no reason to be nervous. I called on you because I need you for a mission.

Merlin frowned after hearing Tans words.

Are the operators of DIO giving out missions now?

Were doing this for a select few users. Of course, this is by no means a regular occurrence, but unlike the others, you dont seem particularly interested in conducting missions. We could be a bit more forceful or restrictive but if we took those types of actions on you and you alone, youd probably lose interest in the game, no?

Tan was thoroughly relaxed when speaking. He moved with confidence, and his body exuded a considerable amount of aura. Though Merlin felt a bit taken aback, he wasnt too concerned since he was slowly regaining his [Past] powers.

This might be out of place, but I must say that youre quite friendly and accommodating. For someone with your level of power, Id think it would be more fitting to just get what you want through force.

This was something Merlin had been curious about for a long time. Since Merlin could intuitively understand the others mentality and personality, he could see that Tan wasnt thoughtful or kind-hearted by nature. Tan wasnt necessarily evil, but Merlin was sure that he was cold and ungrateful, which is why the motivations he revealed felt strange.

Fufu. One cant stick with a method that has already failed. A being who is mentally restrained can never enter the realm of transcendence.

So you are giving the users more freedom to avoid limiting their chances of transcending?

Tan nodded.

Yes, but dont get me wrong. This is just a policy, not a deterrent or restriction of our actions. Anyway.

Bam!

When Tan lightly flicked his finger, a space opened, and a large glass tube appeared.

!

Merlin held his breath for a moment. Inside the 2.5-meter-tall glass tube, which was filled with a mysterious liquid, was someone he could never forget.

So, how do you feel? Happy? Youre being given a special service that other users can never have or even dream of experiencing.

You!

The mana surrounding Merlin was influenced by his chaotic emotions, and it started rumbling and shaking. Merlin was enraged. He assumed that hed face this scenario at some point, but he couldnt help but feel anger at being emotionally manipulated. However, at the same time, he also knew he couldnt ignore Tans offer.

Im saying this just in case you believe that what youre seeing is fake. I dont know how it would seem to you, but to us, this being is a mere seven-tailed fox, not even a nine-tailed fox. Its relatively easy to bring her back without resorting to any cheating or manipulation.

Tan spoke calmly as he looked towards the glass tube. Inside was Miho, a fairy girl from the fox clan who Merlin had accompanied in his past travels.

The fact was Merlin had been looking for Miho. Similar to how the Orc Hero Sungmuk died twice but was resurrected, Merlin thought it might be possible to bring Miho back.

However, contrary to his thoughts, the monsters of the New Continent did not possess the feature of Regen. They died once. Since this was the case, Mihos death meant her end and not another cycle of Regen. The monsters of the New Continent seemed like normal living beings; they reproduced, gave birth, and raised their offspring, expanding their population.

At the same time, to prevent the monsters from being overrun by users, a select number of exceptionally high-level monsters were resurrected with the gold dragons trademark ability as the ruler of the New Continent. Of course, Miho resisted in the end, and she wasnt given this option.

What do you want?

I want you to do some missions. Theres an urgent matter, so we need a lot of users who are above a certain level. While the number of Masters has recently increased, their average skill and ability level is still relatively low.

Regardless of the new Masters, only Arthur, Cruze, and Merlin possessed different, specialized powers. As suggested by their titles, the Divine Heavenly Trinity or Outer Gods, which they were popularly referred to by other users, their fighting abilities and understanding of concepts were far beyond the typical Master.

Although, I feel that Ive reached my limit recently.

With this thought in mind, Merlin went on to ask a question.

Are you saying that youll revive her after I complete the mission?

Ah, come on. Itd be a pity if the bar were set so low. Lets negotiate a set price. Okay, how about one million gem points? One day's rental is 10,000 gem points.

It was an astronomical price. While Merlin had accumulated and spent 2.5 million points to create his flying shuttle, that was only possible due to the special circumstances of the events. For ordinary users, it was difficult to get their hands on 1,000 gem points.

Dont be too surprised. The mission will compensate you well. It wont be like other missions.

Though Tan didnt mention it, the mission would possess a high level of difficulty as well. Until now, Merlin had stayed in the dark to fully immerse himself in his research and training, but as long as he was in DIOs system, he couldnt avoid the operators watchful eyes.

The situation was completely different from what he faced in the real world, where Merlin could use his special abilities while avoiding their surveillance. From the start, the operators and developers of DIO were essentially omnipotent gods within the confines of the game.

Its difficult if things progress this way.

Merlin couldnt fool around with them as Sun Wukong did in his adventures, having climbed onto Buddhas hand. With little effort, the operators and developers could monitor Merlins every move.

Though its improbable they might have already noticed that Im using my abilities in real life.

Of course, Merlin could tell this wasnt the case, but even though his intuition was close to a psychic power, it was still confined to predicting the future or perceiving insight. Strictly speaking, he didnt have supernatural intuition, so it was impossible for Merlin to rely on it all the time.

Ill do it.

Great. Im sorry, but were in a bit of a rush. The other users have started the mission already.

Woong!

As soon as Tan finished speaking, another space opened. Before moving on, Merlin glanced at Miho as she floated in the glass tube with her eyes closed, looking like she was sleeping.

I need to come up with a few alternate plans.

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