Chương 42: Reborn as the Dragon: — Chapter 42 - Magical Exchange — Words Unspoken

Mei Magogoko was an ordinary mage player at Sakura Island's No. 6 Starter Village. In the real world, she owned an adult entertainment establishment. Reasonably attractive, and very, very clever about it. In less than half a day, she'd used her considerable assets, front and back, to rope in a crowd of male players, then turned around and charmed her way into the good graces of every woman in the village with her honeyed tongue. The ones who couldn't be won over got quietly pushed to the margins.

By the end of it, the entire No. 6 Starter Village had organized a guild around her. They called it the Ishii Society. Once she'd secured her position as the village's de facto ruler, she noticed her interface had expanded. [Position: Village Chief] All attributes increased by 10%. [Town Establishment Permission] Command a player force of fifteen thousand to purchase a Town Establishment Token, found a town, and unlock the position of Town Mayor.

[Player Representative] Authority to choose the direction of plot developments. Mei Magogoko's mind worked fast. She saw exactly what the game's designer was going for. Competition between players. A filter that pushed stronger leaders to the top. And at the top, more resources, more power, a better foothold for the invasion. Whether this world got destroyed was none of her business. More benefits were.

She was lying in bed, idly thinking about the male escorts back at her establishment and how badly she needed to unwind before sleep, when the system chimed: [Attention! This world's plot NPC Mesent has entered the Starter Village under your command.] [You have three choices.] [Choice One: Kill NPC Mesent, take his place carrying out the important world quest. Upon completion, you will receive a massive Invasion Point reward.] [Choice Two: Assist NPC Mesent. Upon completion of the important world quest, you will receive Invasion Points based on your contribution.] [Choice Three: Do not participate in the world quest.] The chime was still fading when she glanced through her window and saw a fully armed army pouring into the village square. The man at the front had narrow, upturned eyes, a red and pitted drinker's nose, and a meticulously groomed mustache that curled like a spring roll.

He sat tall on a warhorse, wrapped in a flashy mage's robe, red base, gold trim, every inch of it screaming look at me. [Mesent, Archmage, Level 29 (Tier 3)] Mei Magogoko's eyes lit up. She didn't bother changing. She pushed the door open in her thin nightgown, hips swaying, and went out to meet him.

"Esteemed sir." Her voice was soft and warm.

"I'm the village chief here. We're honored by your visit." This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The moment she spoke, every player in No. 6 Starter Village found themselves frozen. Couldn't open their mouths, couldn't move their arms or legs, just a small range of head movement, like they'd been dropped into a cutscene.

"You're the village chief?" Mesent's gaze landed on her and didn't move. Something shifted behind his eyes, a slow, greasy warmth. The woman in front of him was wearing a black sheer nightgown he had never seen the like of. Snow-white skin half-revealed, half-hidden. A waist you could wrap one hand around. Her posture was low and respectful, her expression soft with genuine-looking admiration, and she had managed to land perfectly on the exact frequency that made Mesent feel like the most important man in the room.

The Anlius queen? he thought. Please. This is the real thing. Mei Magogoko caught the hungry-wolf look in his eyes from her peripheral vision. She didn't mind in the slightest. She let her smile go a little warmer and bent just slightly forward, giving him a generous glimpse of snowy white.

"Yes, esteemed sir. Mei Magogoko, village chief, entirely at your service." A soft lilt in her voice.

"Whatever you need, if it's within my power, consider it done~" Mesent's brain filled with extremely specific thoughts about magic theory and private tutorial sessions. Still, he was an archmage. He kept a thread of caution running underneath everything. He wasn't the kind of man who lost his head over a pretty face. He began studying the village. The houses were neat. Too neat, freshly built, by the look of them. The roads were wide but unplanned, which fit the profile of ignorant settlers well enough.

He looked at the villagers standing around the square. Curious expressions. Quiet. Motionless. No fear in their eyes, and nearly all of them had gear on. Odd. They didn't look like anyone from this kingdom.

"Where are you people from?" he asked, letting the suspicion show.

"What brought you here? This is open wilderness. Monsters everywhere. Building a village out here, that's an unusual choice." Mei Magogoko's face crumpled. Her eyes filled with tears. Her lip trembled. When she spoke, it came out in soft, broken little hiccups:"Oh... Esteemed sir, I... I'm the daughter of immigrants from a distant island. I was leading a merchant caravan, trying to establish a trade route. But we hit a storm. A shipwreck." A small sob.

"We lost everything. All the cargo. The whole ship."

"The survivors had nowhere to go. We had no choice but to settle here and try to make something."

"I know it's dangerous. I know. But I have no one — no family, no connections — what else could I do?" Another soft, miserable sound.

"Wuwuwu..." As she spoke, she stepped closer to his horse. Then she wrapped her arms around his leg and buried her face against his thigh, crying quietly in small, pitiful sounds. The moment she made contact, Mesent's composure took a significant hit. He felt the softness of her against him, and through it, he also reached out with his senses, cataloguing the magical energy in her body. A mage apprentice. Just a mage apprentice. He relaxed.

If the village chief was that weak, how much trouble could anyone else here possibly be? He had an entire army behind him. Knights. He wasn't in any danger. Mesent dismounted. He pulled her into his arms in one smooth motion, one hand sliding across her back with comfortable possessiveness as he soothed her:"There, there. Don't cry. Fortune can't smile on everyone forever. Accidents happen, to all of us. That's just life." His hand wasn't staying still.

"As it happens, I was passing through. I'm tired from the road, and I was looking for somewhere to spend the night anyway. Running into a lovely woman like yourself, well. That's luck on my end~" A small, satisfied laugh.

"Hehe." His wandering hands grew bolder, but Mei Magogoko stayed perfectly pliant against him, cheek resting near his chest, looking up at him with heavy-lidded, seductive eyes, her red lips barely parted:"It is my honor that such a distinguished Archmage would choose to rest in a humble little village like this one..."

"Hehehe." Mesent was delighted. She was something else entirely, nothing like the girls at the capital's taverns. No artifice, no desperation. Just effortlessly captivating. And the way she talked. He loved the way she talked.

"You know, I didn't expect you to be a mage apprentice." He smiled at her indulgently.

"Meeting me today was fortunate for you. I'm a Tier 3 Archmage. Any questions you have about magic — anything at all, you can ask me." Mei Magogoko's eyes went wide with perfectly calibrated wonder. She clapped her hands together, voice going soft and sweet:"Really? You're incredible." She bit her lip, glancing up at him through her lashes.

"Well... I do happen to have a few questions. Would you like to come inside and... explain them to me properly?"

"Oh~" Mesent beamed.

"The honor is entirely mine, beautiful lady. Lead the way. I assure you, I will hold absolutely nothing back." ➤ Next: Killing with a Borrowed Blade