Saharan Successor

Vol. 1 - Chapter 52 – Juander and the Book

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With the Guild War event ended the entire event was recorded by someone and placed on the main forum of Satisfy, from there on, people began cropping and editing certain parts making the fights even more exciting, sharing them around on YT and other popular platforms and social media.

The buzz made was unexpected, which as a result generated even more interest in the game, with certain media outlets picking on those news, especially in South Korea which had developed gaming news outlets that started sharing this event like hot bread.

Everyone managed to profit over such an event made by the mysterious person called Karl, yet the one who basked in the profits of this event was S.A Group itself.

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Inside the medium size office building in Seoul, South Korea, the main developer, Lim Cheolho was holding a meeting with the developers of the game, discussing the recent news, while from nowhere, Yanis the developer from Germany said with a jerk tone.

"Karl, you crazy moron. Are you trying to destroy the game balance by giving people epic items?"

"Hmph, shut up you blind fool, I didn't break any of the agreements we signed together. What I did was purely on my own personal will because I was playing around testing some early bosses in the Saharan Empire and that sword just dropped to me. Obviously, I didn't need that thing which made me want to give it to someone else. Yet who should I give it to?"

"Just keep it to yourself and don't interfere with the players, what's so hard to understand." said Yanis to Karl, who just gave him a deaf ear, saying while targeting the CEO.

"Lim, you should understand better that what I did was on my own rights as a player, not a developer. This should also be a test for how events could be made, maybe in the future we do something like the Olympics. Regardless, this small thing of mine seems to have spread like wildfire, even the gaming news outlets in Wien have mentioned the event."

"Something akin to Olympics?" said Lim Cheolho to himself, pondering this idea, while Yoon Nahee was monitoring the flow of people accessing their platform and the orders placed for the capsule.

"Cheolho, I think we need to hire more constructors for our capsule, at this rate we will not be able to keep up the production."

"Is it really that hot?" inquired Lim Cheolho half focused, while the woman beside him told him some numbers, which made Karl laugh like a maniac.

"Do I get a share for my contribution at the salary?"

"No." answered Nahee in a stoic manner to the European developer.

"Poor me. Right, have you liked the fights put on by the beta players?"

"Indeed, it was impressive. Lucakovisk Alexander, an amateur sambo champion from Ukraine, followed by Arturo LaMotta from the US but coming from an Italian descend, he is an amateur boxer with 53 fights under his belt, all wins in domineering fashion, a possible prospect at becoming a Middleweight World Champion after turning professional, or so the sources I am reading say."

"No clue who those guys are, but they put on a great show for my eyes." mentioned Karl to Yoon Nahee, as she was stating the background of the two finalists in his event.

"Wow, such talented young men gave a try to our game. I am feeling a bit weird since I was expecting to hear about those stars from the gaming industry." said a developer whose interest was picked when hearing the accomplishments of Cain and Lucas.

Lim Chelho nodded his head, and targeting Karl, he told him with a calm voice.

"We will see how things turn out in the future, and according to how high the interest of the players for those types of events are, we will pull it off. It will be a pain to convince all those Governmental bodies, but if we manage to deal with the US Government, Chinese Government and Russian Government, the rest will just circle around with the giants. Good job, Karl. I haven't thought of doing such a thing, I just wanted to leave it to the players to sort it out.

"Hah, sometimes we have to force things and be more proactive or all of our years of work and all the investment and loans we have taken for this project will go down the drain. My girlfriend will kill me if this project doesn't go well." commented Karl, stating a harsh reality for all the developers.

They placed a huge investment, from governmental loans to all short of money sources, they had to repay those loans.

"Indeed. By the grace of God, the project managed to sprout its seed on the minds of the general public. We just have to be patient and watch everything going in the game with a keen eye."

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With their talk, things outside of the world only amplified like wildfire which didn't seem to be downed by any rain or event of equal noteworthy.

Even Mathias and Vlad, in the passing days were subjected to different questions from their coworkers, especially Mathias who was summoned by his manager Leonor, who at first thought he messed something inside the hotel. However, when he heard Leonor ask him about Satisfy, he was dumbfounded.

"Mathias, what do you say, it is worth buying that VR capsule? I heard the talks of some of your coworkers who discussed that you and Vlad were playing this game."

Staring with surprised eyes at her, it made the lady in her late twenties with raven long hair, a bit embarrassed when seeing Mathias who was wearing his uniform give her that gaze.

"What? Can't I be curious? This is a talk between friends, not subordinates."

"Ahem, sorry. Well, if you want to relax yourself and explore new things, having the spare money to invest on the product, I would totally recommend it, even playing some short hours would be enough to destress from all the tension from work."

"I see, if I by chance start playing this game, can you teach me around and guide me until I get the hang of the game?"

"No problem, Leonor. Just join the same place like me, and I will write a guide in a doc format. Detailing you some certain things that might not exist in the forums and also point you to other materials and tutorials."

"That is nice to hear, thank you Mathias. I will contact you when I require your help, if it isn't a problem."

"It shouldn't be, just call me whenever, Leonor. Is there anything else?" asked Mathias, looking at his hand watch.

"That's all. We will talk later, you can resume your work."

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Continuing with his day, alternating from work to the game, yet still managing other activities, such as washing his clothes, talking with his parents on a weekly basis, and sometimes checking on his brothers, talking with them on the phone. He found from their mouth that they found Satisfy and also wanted to try the game.

"Big bro, have you really bought that capsule??" asked his younger brother on the phone Alex, when Mathias told him casually that he bought the capsule.

"Indeed, but please don't tell mom, she will nag me that I spent my money foolishly. So, how is it like being in highschool? Have you made any friends or encountered any little beauty?"

"It's just the first two weeks, but I can't say I didn't manage to find some colleagues to talk with while staying in the same bench. As for girls, there's a lot of them here since the highschool has a specialization for hairdressers and that class is full with girls."

"Good on you Alex, if you want big brother to help you want with advice on how to pick on them, call me, okay?"

"Sure thing, big brother. Hmm, can I ask you something? Are you still mad at Cris for what happened 2 years ago?"

Hearing his little brother's sensible question, he sighed, telling him. "If that brat wants to talk with me, I will not decline his call since we are brothers. Also, if he asks, tell him I already forgot what happened back then. I no longer care about her, she can do whatever she wants with her life because I am not cornered."

"Big bro, you know Chris just wanted to show you what that girl was doing behind your back."

"I know, this is why I am no longer upset with Christian, come Alex, hand the phone to that bum, I know he is next by."

Seconds later, he could hear the greeting of another young man to which Mathias just told him.

"Cris, while what you did back then annoyed me so much that I wanted to beat the shit out of you, I didn't hit you because you are my little brother and what you did was for my own good. I've watched you grow while mom and dad were away at work, in a sense I am still your protector. I forgave you long ago. Bros before hoes, that's a wise saying but I have no clue who said it first."

"Sorry big brother."

"It is fine, let's not mention the past and stay in the present. How have you been? Anything happening in your life?" asked Mathias, switching the subject, no longer carrying about his former toxic relationship.

"Well, nothing much aside from going to highschool and returning home. I've been looking around for this game, Satisfy, but they are asking for an exorbitant amount of money in order to get that device."

"Don't worry Chris, I managed to buy one, and if things go well and this investment proves worthy, who knows, you two might wake up with some gifts. But for that, you better get good marks and don't skip school. There's no need for perfect scores like those foolish parents ask other kids, but don't embarrass mom and dad, okay?"

"No problem big brother. Call us more often."

"Hmph, are you some shy girls who can't call me back when you want to talk? Or are you afraid you'll bother me?"

"The second part." said Christian a bit awkward.

"Come on guys, think, I've wiped your asses off your poop, fed you, watched over you, do you think I will mind getting called even when I am at work? Just call if you want to talk, but I can't always be the one calling out."

"We will."

Talking a bit more with his brothers, he ended the call and went about with his daily life, feeling as if another stone in his chest was shattered, healing his cold relation with his brothers.

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The days before 'Satisfy' would be closed approached and with the fresh Friday, after ending his working hours and arriving at home, dealing with the menial things, he accessed the game greeting both Jeanne and Fayrene who were drinking some tea in the studio room, looking at the dress he with Fayrene worked on, half completed.

"I am back. How have you been those two days I was away?"

"You know, the usual. We finished copying the book and to gift you something for your hard work. We did something." said Fayrene with a smiling face, attracting all of Mathias' curiosity as he walked toward the two girls.

Giving them a kiss on the lips, he looked around the working table, but could only see the dress sketches and tools, along with the two's sweet chuckling, which made him even more interested.

"Where's my gift?"

"Go to my room and open the closet at the table, there is something waiting for you."

Following her instruction, Mathias walked inside their room and arriving in front of the table, he drew the closet and could see there standing beside the Arcane Tome, his own book which was covered in a leather cover having a drawn printed inside, having a man wearing a crown, similar to the Roman Emperors seated on a the Imperial Throne.

Shocked by how accurate the drawing of Justinian was, he picked the book in his hands, touching it gently, feeling the craftsmanship of the book cover.

"They drew Justinian exactly as I have him in my mind just following the detailed description I placed in the story. Even the Imperial Throne and Emperor Crown with the Purple Cloak are so well depicted."

Turning the pages of the book, he could see that they had a new sewed thread which made the pages transition feel smoother, turning them in a quick manner, his face turned into a bright smile which the girls who were standing at the door basked in fully, winking at one another.

"How is our gift, dear? Will His Majesty like the book cover me and Jeanne created?"

"He better do it because I will shove this book on his throat otherwise. Fay, it was you who drew Justinian?"

"Hm, this is the image I have of him when reading the descriptions of his character. A man with olive skin-tone, rough skin after working on the farm for all his childhood, with brown hair and black eyes, not tall but not too short, just like you."

"That is right Mat, sister drawing skills are fantastic, not even the Cathedral's artists could outshine Fay's skills."

"Shhh, don't be silly. How could I compare to those professionals? Anyway, I am glad you love it, dear."

He placed the book on the table, and walked to give them a tight hug, trembling a bit when he thought he only had two days with them, the nightmares and worries of the future kept appearing more often, which scared him.

Staying for a bit more with the girls, talking about some casual things while he double checked the book, he got up and with his lover's encouragement and well wishes, he walked out with the mission of delivering his work to Emperor Juander von Saharan.

Walking toward the center part of the capital city, Titan, he used the Imperial Palace as a compass to guide himself, until he took the map he received from Juander, walking away from the path most people were walking, not being a bother.

"So, the marked place should be hundreds of meters away from the Imperial Palace, close to the alley connecting the Hippodrome area. It shouldn't be hard to find this place, so let's follow the map instructions. I can't get lost with this map anyway." commented Mathias, withdrawing the map back to his inventory, returning to his journey, following the instructions.

From alley to alley, he could see the quality of materials used in constructing those buildings, nothing seemed out of ordinary when taking in account the entire scenery, however, as he was getting closer to his target, the buildings began diverging from those using decent quality materials to good quality, but this wasn't the case for a building that was outright a shack belonging to beggars.

Taking the map he received from Juander and also ogling on the game map, he could see he was on the right spot.

"No way. Is this really the place? Doesn't this feel like some place where beggars without money live?"

Nevertheless, after some contemplation, he chose to believe that the location was right, and walking toward the door with the key received from Juander, he introduced in the door lock, but as Mathias turned he key he found it was open.

"Could it be? Someone is inside? Is he here?" inquired Mathias, opening the door, to enter the house which was rather warm, being a sign that someone lived here and that a fire was maintained.

Closing the door quietly, he passed the entrance hall, and walking to the main room, a white-haired man wearing simple clothes, was seated on a rocking chair beside the fireplace of the house.

"Welcome to my home, young man. It seems you haven't forgotten about my request and have arrived to my home."

Hearing the man whose name plate was with a vibrant black-gold, he could only ask him a simple question.

"This is really your home?"

"Indeed, this house used to belong to my Aria when she had just arrived on Titan from the province on her own. This is the place I retreat when I feel melancholic, and want some peace of mind from all the politics and those dirty people."

"I understand. Lord Juander, I have finished writing the book and also continuing adding with more content trying to give it some substance and not leave it on a blank spot. It is here." said Mathias to Juander as he stepped forward, moving slowly to place the book on a table.

"I am thankful for that. Can you keep me some company as I read your book, if it's not troublesome for you?"

"No problem, Lord Juander. You might have some questions, so I'll be here just in case."

"Serve yourself with some tea. It is made from 'Azure Bloom Leaves' a rare species of leaves from Twilight Mountains foraged by the orcs in the North Mountains. It might also give you some benefits at the first taste." invited Juander, allowing Mathias to serve himself with some tea on the table.

As Mathias took out a silver cup from his inventory, and taking the teapot made from some simple wood, which looked rather old but maintained, he poured himself some tea which had a blue-green color. Looking at Juander who admired the cover art of the book, only after he turned to the first page did he take a sip from the tea.

[You have drunk a tea made from <Azure Bloom Leaves> gaining the following rewards]

[All stats increased by 10 points.]

[Calming effect for 30 minutes.,]

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Minutes passed, and from where he was seated on a chair, he could see Juander's expression shifting in emotions, from a full smiling expression to a bitter expression, from amusement to sadness, but the predominant emotion on the white-haired man was enjoyment.

"Hah, this Belisarius is so familiar to me. Such a loyal person to Justinian, even winning the most decisive wars, and crashing the revolt of the plebs. Why do I feel so bad when I am reading about this character of yours, young Mathias?"

"Isn't Belisarius from my story similar to Piaro, Your Majesty?" asked Mathias in a calm voice, but which sounded a bit emotionless, as if a devil descended assimilating the young man.

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[A/N: Karl, you have outdone yourself, you crazy person. Heh, what an ingenious developer to plan this event just to increase the game popularity. I mean, it would be logical since they spent so much money to build this game. They have to be 100% their investment is at least returned]

[We also managed to see a glimpse of Mathias real-life personal information. I am wondering what happened to him? Can u guys help me out]

[Getting to the end of the chapter, we get an awaited confrontation between Mathias and Juander.]