Emperor! Can You See Stats!?

Chapter 185: Eurius's Return and the Unfolding Crisis

After so Much time had passed.

“Yellow Dragon.”

[What is it?]

Eurius had a serious expression at first, but soon sighed.

“Hmm…”

It was hard to believe. 

Even if he explained it to someone, they wouldn’t understand.

[You seem to have reached some conclusion. Ask me if you have any questions.]

The Yellow Dragon didn’t sound as impatient as usual. 

It must have been an important matter.

“…”

[…]

Silence ensued, and after a while, Eurius finally opened his mouth.

“Is this world created by someone else?”

[That’s one way to put it.]

‘One way?’

Eurius tilted his head for a moment, but anyway he accepted it and moved on.

“Then…”

He paused here for a while. 

The first question wasn’t that important.

‘The Church of the Continent teaches that God created the world anyway.’

But the second question was different. 

It was crucial information that could affect his future actions. 

Eurius carefully uttered his next words.

“Am I human?”

[You are human, yes.]

“Then…”

Eurius was surprisingly nervous. 

This third question was the most important clue that could solve his doubts.

“What about the others? Are they the same as me?”

He was no fool. 

He didn’t know what a player was, but he knew that he was different from ordinary people.

‘I can read people’s minds a little bit, even if not very well. That’s not normal for a human.’

What he feared the most was also this. According to the information he had checked with the help menu,

[Player – It means a user. It is the opposite concept of NPC.]

[NPC – Non-player-character – It means an auxiliary character that helps the player. Usually in games…]

“Could it be…”

When he learned this information, he was most worried about whether the people around him, excluding him, were really the same as him. 

The Emperor, Mareus, Beatrice, Nuada, Kains… If these people were just devices made for him?

It was chilling to even imagine.

And the Yellow Dragon’s answer made Eurius’s face turn pale.

[Of course they are different. You are an incomplete player.]

“…”

Thud!

Eurius kept his mouth shut, but he felt a huge lump rolling in his heart.

‘That means…’

However.

[Just kidding. Your expression was priceless.]

“What?”

He widened his eyes and looked at the Yellow Dragon. 

The dragon’s face was hard to see, but on closer inspection, its mouth was curled up.

[Biologically, you and they are the same. Is that what you wanted to ask?]

“Damn it… You sure about that?”

Eurius cursed as he felt his blood pressure drop.

[Yes. Didn’t I tell you that you have no talent? You didn’t have the abilities of a player from the start.]

“…”

[Did you think you were some great being? I’m sorry about that too. How did such a guy show up and tsk…]

The Yellow Dragon seemed to mock him on the surface, but it was actually different, so Eurius soon found himself chuckling.

“Then I’m sorry. I’ll ask you one last question.”

[Go ahead.]

“Why did I go back to the past? And why are you explaining this to me now?”

It was still a mystery to him. 

Why was he chosen if he had no talent? 

And why did Yellow Dragon, who had helped him with his training, but not much else, suddenly become so kind and informative?

The Empire, Yellow Dragon, Emperor Sharnos, and the other people who appeared in the videos… Who were they really?

Yellow Dragon answered him bluntly.

[I don’t know why you were chosen either. That’s why I thought you were unfit at first. Do you remember what I said about you having no qualifications?]

“Surely…”

Come to think of it, after he got it, Yellow Dragon was just a good sword for a while, not very cooperative.

[But the others liked you.]

“The others?”

[You’ll find out soon enough. And that’s also why I changed my mind.]

“Hmm?”

Beep.

A video suddenly appeared next to Yellow Dragon. 

And in it, a familiar scene unfolded.

“Your Highness, the First Prince! Please focus on the class.”

“I pledge my loyalty to Your Majesty.”

“Your Majesty, the First Prince is again…”

.

.

.

.

.

.

“What is this?”

Eurius looked at the video with a slightly puzzled expression. 

It was his actions from the moment he returned to the past until now.

[This is what you experienced before you met me. I requested the data.]

Yellow Dragon spat out as he continued to watch the video.

[And these are things you didn’t show me much.]

“What do you mean by that?”

[Don’t you get it yet? Anyway…]

Yellow Dragon compared Eurius right after his regression and Eurius now.

The difference was!

[Why didn’t you actively use your biggest advantage?]

“…My advantage? What is that?”

[Tsk! I’m talking about the privileges you have.]

“Privileges? Do you mean the abilities of the ‘system’?”

[Yes. You only focused on personal training after meeting me. Well, you were lucky and the results weren’t bad.]

‘What’s wrong with that?’

Eurius was secretly flustered and opened his mouth.

“I’ve always used this ‘system’ ability. If it weren’t for the player’s privilege, I wouldn’t have achieved such results in my training.”

[That’s just using the abilities you have naturally. Think back to your humble days.]

“…”

Eurius finally recalled his situation right after he returned to the past.

‘Everything was a mess. I had to do anything to survive.’

After his regression, he had to use all means to avoid the eyes of his enemies, build up his strength, and grow his power. 

And what helped him greatly in the process was…

“Help. You mean the player’s knowledge?”

Of course, his memories of his previous life were a great help. But he couldn’t ignore the knowledge of the player that he glimpsed from time to time. 

There were times when the player showed him an unexpected twist, and usually there was the power of the hint.

[Right. Things would have been much easier if you had paid attention to that point.]

“Ugh…”

Eurius felt like he had been hit by a hammer on his head.

‘Come to think of it, did I ever actively investigate the player, except for my childhood?’

He seemed to have a lot of interest in him when he had more time. But as time passed, his interest in the player itself faded quite a bit.

“Hmm…”

He swallowed his saliva and thought about the reason.

‘There are several reasons. First of all, it’s because of the size of the faction I have.’

In the beginning, he used all means to survive. 

Therefore, he had no choice but to squeeze out all the abilities he had. But after a certain time, he didn’t need to do that.

‘And I was satisfied with the abilities I gained during that time.’

He had capable subordinates and his power became incomparable to the past. 

He had some crises, but Eurius rarely faced a threat to his life.

As a result, Eurius continued to work hard as a warrior and as a crown prince, but he neglected to hone the player’s ability, which was the key to regression.

Eurius changed his expression to a serious one as he thought this far.

‘I was careless. Yellow Dragon had a reason to be dissatisfied.’

He had already seen the player’s ability through the video that Yellow Dragon showed him. 

An overwhelming power that overturned heaven and earth with a light gesture! 

It was definitely not something that could be obtained by simple training.

‘Maybe things would have been different if I had continued to investigate the player.’

Eurius’s current state was at best ‘an excellent warrior who uses the player’s power’. 

Nothing more or less than that. And wasn’t that something that he had seen several times from the cultists he faced?

[Hmph! Did you realize it now?]

“…”

When Eurius remained silent with an awkward expression, Yellow Dragon said something unexpected.

[Actually, I was quite impressed by your early performance. You had good application skills.]

“Huh?”

[You are a royal. You can be said to be at the peak of a rigid mindset. It’s not something that anyone can do to use the knowledge of another world well in such an environment. That’s probably why the others rated you highly.]

“Uh…”

Yellow Dragon surprisingly gave him some compliments. But then he followed with harsh criticism.

[But did you relax a bit when things got better? Think about your goal.]

“…”

Eurius honestly had nothing to say. 

His goal was nothing at first.

[I want to live this life without regrets!]

But his goal became more complicated as time went by. 

The enemies who drove him out in his previous life were like onions. 

He couldn’t see their core even if he peeled off their layers.

[A player? What happened to me?]

[A cult? They look suspicious at first glance.]

[The emperor also had a secret. It must be related to the player.]

[I’ve always suspected Leonhardt too. I need to dig into him well.]

[There must be a secret in the east that I don’t know.]

He went on like this, looking for clues, but the important thing was his method.

‘It’s not action. My response was too passive.’

If he knew that it was related to the player, he should have focused on that point first. 

Killing the enemies in front of him was not everything.

‘Then what is the ability that I need most now?’

As soon as he thought of it, Eurius’s vision turned white again.

Whoosh.

And when he opened his eyes, there was a sound that came to him.

[This is my second trial.]

“…!?”

[The second stage of Yellow Dragon’s trial begins.]

[Stage 2 – Acquire the player’s ability and knowledge.]

“Knowledge?”

[Yes. You are neither a player nor a human of this world right now. You can be seen as a hybrid of sorts. Actually, I hoped to fix you in the first trial… but…]

“By the first trial, do you mean the training I did before?”

In his memory, it was clearly a trial where he had to raise his power naturally while his sense of force was sealed.

[To be honest, it was absurd. That was not what I intended.]

Eurius was able to reach a higher level of mastery thanks to that trial. But Yellow Dragon said that was not his intention.

[Players do not need to have the enlightenment of the martial arts. They just need to learn how to use the system.]

“…!?”

[But the result was not so bad, so I left you alone. Anyway, you had such a low aptitude that it would have been equally hard for you to learn that skill.]

In other words, being strong as a player and being strong as a martial artist are completely different things. 

Currently, Eurius had a mix of skills learned from the system and his own achievements as a martial artist.

“Then, can’t I just keep doing what I’ve been doing?”

Yellow Dragon shook his head at that question.

[What do you think is the advantage of being a player? You’ve fought them yourself, so you should know.]

Eurius recalled the appearance of the emperor who fought with him until just before.

“That’s… ah!”

[Yes, players are assisted by the system. So they don’t need any concentration.]

Martial artists needed a high degree of focus and control of force when using advanced techniques like secret arts. But players did not have that.

That’s why Sharnos Emperor was always able to gain the upper hand when he fought with him. 

He could use multiple techniques at the same time and quickly.

Eurius felt frustrated.

“No, then have I been doing something useless all this time?”

[That’s not true. If that were the case, I would have given up on you or torn you apart.]

“…!?”

[Players cannot apply their skills. They learned their skills by rote, not by developing them themselves.]

Martial artists could use their martial arts or secret arts in various ways. 

They understood how their techniques worked because they were the result of hard training with blood and sweat. 

Depending on their proficiency, they could be much more powerful than what players could do.

‘Which case am I in then?’

Eurius thought for a moment and then looked at Yellow Dragon with a surprised expression.

“Could it be…”

[That’s right. What I want from you is to take advantage of both. It should be possible for you at your current level.]

The advantages of being a player and being a pure martial artist!

Eurius could have both at the same time. He quickly opened his mouth again.

“How do I do that?”

[…]

Instead of answering, Yellow Dragon showed him a notification window.

Ding!

[You open a specific help file according to the system’s instructions. Category-Virtual Reality]

[VR! The Mysterious Experience]

[The End of Virtual Reality in the 2X Century]

[Surviving in Virtual Reality -Desert Island Edition-]

And many other materials filled Eurius’s vision.

“What is this?”

[These are materials to help you understand. And there’s something else too.]

Ding!

[You open a specific help file according to the system’s instructions. Category-Modern Knowledge]

[Social Education that Even Primitive People Can Understand]

[Understanding Modern Society]

[The Progress of Civilization]

“…”

[You need to understand society as well if you want to fully grasp the knowledge of being a player. So…]

Yellow Dragon spat out in a firm tone.

[Study.]

“…”

The titles seemed strange, but Eurius asked with a nervous expression.

“All of this?”

The contents he was looking at were enough to fill hundreds of books.

[Yes, you must feel like a child, but there’s no helping it.]

“No, that’s not what I mean… What about the time?”

He would have to study if it was something he needed to know, but he didn’t have enough time. 

He had less than three months left for the quest to go to the Holy Kingdom.

[Don’t worry, this place applies the time of virtual reality.]

A window in front of Eurius’s eyes zoomed in.

[Virtual reality can slow down the flow of time up to one-tenth of reality. In theory, it could be hundreds or thousands of times, but human consciousness can’t handle that flow…]

“One-tenth?”

[It means that time flows ten times slower here than outside. You’ve been here for quite a while, but outside it hasn’t even been three days.]

“Hmm?”

Eurius let out a faint exclamation. 

Then he had a lot more time.

[I think you should stay here for about a year in outside time, but it’s up to you.]

“That would take too long.”

Eurius flatly refused. 

Wasn’t that saying he had to be trapped here for ten years?

[But it would take that long to learn all the knowledge, wouldn’t it? As I said, you are exposed to the common sense of a completely different world.]

“Ugh…”

But he couldn’t do that. 

The final battle with the Demon Sect was imminent.

“Let’s just try it for a year for now.”

[You’ll regret it later if you run out of time, won’t you? This space is not always accessible.]

“I can’t help it.”

[Tsk! You’re still stubborn. Fine, do as you please.]

As Yellow Dragon grumbled and backed away, Eurius collapsed on the floor.

‘I don’t have much time. I have to look at it quickly.’

His eyes turned to the help files.

‘Knowledge about the world of players…’

Actually, he was not completely uninterested. 

He just didn’t have enough time to look at it calmly.

And time… flew by quickly.

The scene changed to Jeongdomang.

It was where the Cheokmadan’s headquarters was located.

“Sigh…”

“What are we going to do about this!”

And it was also where endless sighs were flowing. 

One of the owners of those sighs asked a question.

“Military officer, what should we do about this?”

“…”

Jeong Seongwoon kept silent as he looked at the faces of those sitting around him in the conference room. He bit his lip.

‘The situation is dire. I think I underestimated the Demon Sect’s scheme too.’

He trusted Eurius, but there was no news from him for over a month. 

In fact, he even broke into the training hall after more than three weeks of seclusion and opened the door.

But

“The lord… is gone?”

There was no trace of Eurius. 

Jeong Seongwoon had a momentary thought of horror, but shook his head.

“That can’t be. The lord must have some reason.”

But the current situation was too desperate for him to find a way out.

“Cheokmadan leader! No, what happened to that bastard?”

“…”

Je Gal Seong-un had nothing more to say whenever such a question came up. He could only quietly swallow his frustration.

‘I’ll do what I can for now. And wait for my lord to return.’

He finally opened his mouth.

“Anyway, there’s no point in thinking about someone who’s not here right now. And isn’t this crisis partly our fault too?”

“Ahem! That may be true, but…”

The dissatisfaction didn’t seem to subside. 

Je Gal Seong-un felt a headache coming on as he thought he had to engage in another pointless argument today.

“How dare you insult His Highness the Crown Prince in his absence!”

“…”

Swoosh!

The knights of the Western Continent were already anxious because of Eurius’s disappearance. 

They couldn’t stand it when the other figures of the Righteous Alliance insulted Eurius and drew their swords.

“Hmph! Who are you to get angry at us when you’re the ones who abandoned your duty first?”

Woong woong!

The figures of the Righteous Alliance also raised their energy, making their wide sleeves flutter.

‘Ugh… If only Uncle Unhyeon was here…’

Je Gal Seong-un hurriedly tried to mediate between the two sides. 

The situation was on the verge of explosion! 

The two sides that had been holding back finally erupted.

But just then!

“Please calm down a little. My lord is…”

“Did you just call for me?”

“Huh?”

Je Gal Seong-un looked at the direction where the voice came from with a surprised expression.

Following his gaze, everyone else also shifted their eyes.

“My lord!”

“Your Highness!”

“Gasp!”

Their eyes were directed at the entrance of the conference room. 

Eurius was standing there as if he had been there all along.

Everyone was stunned, and he extended one hand.

Snap

“…!?”

Eurius snapped his thumb.

“I’ll be back!”

“What?”