Chapter 103
“Heehee, finally……!”
The author who brought ‘Stars Bloom Amid the Mist’ to a wildly acclaimed conclusion in the Empire Daily.
The author who once again couldn’t break his bad habit of abandoning heroine candidates, and even added an NTR scene that had Rozelyn grinding her teeth.
Vaseline wore a greasy smile.
[Congrats★Winner★]
He had finally won the raffle for the map of the limited-edition novel ‘Napoleon’……!
How much had happened before he could get his hands on this package.
He had stood in line to buy the first-release run of the newly launched Hero Gathering pack, ‘Sino-Korean All-Stars,’ to obtain a raffle ticket.
Despite not even knowing how to read sheet music, he had bought the ‘Beethoven Symphony Piano Arrangement Collection’ to obtain another raffle ticket.
He had even gifted the collection to a woman from a musical background whom he had recently been getting close to, only to lose favor with her when she asked, “How am I supposed to play this?”
Anyway, he had collected the raffle tickets one by one, acquiring them through such wildly varied routes that one might wonder what they had to do with Napoleon.
The total he had barely managed to gather was fourteen.
And of those, just one had scattered the aura of victory over him……!
Had he fallen that deeply for Ulysses’s novels?
Half of that was true.
The other half wasn’t.
In the novel ‘Beethoven,’ he had hit a wall.
But in the author’s next work, the novel ‘Napoleon,’ he had felt a sense of disappointment.
Since he had a strong artistic temperament to begin with, he had been able to immerse himself in the story of Beethoven, whose striking individuality as the protagonist shone through.
But a work that once again returned to politics and military history, like the author’s previous books, was not quite Vaseline’s cup of tea.
So why had he gone to such lengths to obtain Napoleon’s map?
“With this…… I can make an enormous profit, far beyond breaking even……!”
Indeed.
Merchandise related to Ulysses’s novels held its resale value exceptionally well thanks to its uniquely high quality.
Limited-edition merchandise, in particular, was a valuable commodity that even people with no interest in Ulysses’s novels coveted, thanks to its combination with illusion magic.
Vaseline’s true goal was to scalp it and secure a war chest for preparing his next work!
Of course, unfortunately, he was an amateur.
He had impulsively jumped into the market after overhearing a fellow author’s heroic tale about making a huge profit reselling goods, without even knowing that unopened, brand-new products sold for higher prices.
“Still, I should check what’s inside, shouldn’t I?”
He boldly stripped away the packaging protecting the map.
Though he had committed the heinous act of reducing its used-market value by roughly thirty percent, Vaseline’s hands did not hesitate.
The first thing that caught his eye was the text ‘Western Europe, 1792.’
1792 must have indicated the year depicted in the story. He still didn’t know why it had been written alongside it.
But Vaseline soon found his attention completely stolen by the map itself.
“The workmanship…… is quite excellent.”
When he lightly stroked the strange pattern at the bottom of the map, the topographical map, with the names of regions written on it, transformed into a faction map in which the nations’ territories were colored in.
Repeating the same motion changed it back from a faction map into a topographical map.
That alone was astonishing, but.
“Hmm? What’s this?”
At one point on the paper-thick, slightly heavy map.
There was a red ornament attached, as though it had been carved and engraved from a sharply cut gemstone.
Unable to resist his curiosity, Vaseline pressed his fingerprint against it.
At that moment.
“H-huh……!”
Vaseline sucked in a startled breath.
The things engraved on the map instantly grew in presence, as though magnified by a lens, and in the next moment, an incredibly vivid illusion rose above the map.
Unlike the character illusions displayed by Hero Gathering’s SSR-rank cards.
It was as though plains, forests, and plateaus had unfolded before his eyes in miniature, just like the real thing.
[January 1797. Rivoli]
Along with the letters that appeared once more.
The illusion’s focus shifted to the commander of the army──
“Napoleon…… I see.”
The figure was not an exact reproduction of a real person, possessing more of a modeling-clay quality, but it was unmistakably the likeness of Napoleon.
A French army, perfectly aligned in rank and file, unfolded before his eyes.
However, the battlefield briefly shrank, allowing him to survey it in its entirety.
“How are we supposed to win this?”
A cry of astonishment escaped Vaseline’s lips before he knew it.
A short distance from Napoleon’s main force, the French troops that had advanced ahead were being unilaterally pressured by the Austrian army.
Even after Napoleon joined the French troops gathered on the plateau, the Austrian offensive still looked overwhelmingly powerful.
To make matters worse, Austrian reinforcements appeared on the French left and began moving to cut off their retreat.
A desperate situation.
As he watched, Vaseline’s fist clenched tightly without him realizing it.
Would they be surrounded like this and wither away atop the plateau?
The French seemed to be staring defeat plainly in the face, but.
The French army did not yield.
As wave after wave of Austrian attacks came crashing down, they desperately re-formed their lines and held the high ground.
“Ah……!”
Another French force appeared and began advancing at top speed to rescue the main force.
Thanks to that, the retreating front regained its stability, but they were still outnumbered.
Just as questions began springing up in Vaseline’s mind over whether they could hold out against the Austrians, who were slowly closing their encirclement from all sides in the distance.
Napoleon moved. The French army moved.
They cleanly ground down the Austrian attack advancing to seize the plateau with an artillery barrage, then drove the cavalry after the fleeing enemy and broke straight through the center in a concentrated breakthrough.
Vaseline clapped without realizing it, impressed by the strategy’s use of the terrain’s advantages and its concentration of forces.
Whether troops could really follow their commander’s orders with such perfect unity and precision was irrelevant.
Vaseline was a novelist, too.
He could not help admiring the staging: throwing the protagonist into a situation that seemed impossible to overcome, then drawing out a miraculous victory through a dramatic reversal and the protagonist’s tactics.
And so, Napoleon seemed about to smile in triumph within the illusion.
[Can you show me your command?]
“H-huh……!”
When the illusion suddenly spoke to him, Vaseline was so startled that he nearly fell backward.
For a moment, he couldn’t understand what was happening.
Then, before long.
[Tutorial]
[Stretch your hand forward, then move your fingers to control the troops.]
Within the illusion, which had returned to the moment just before the full-scale battle began.
He was able to become Napoleon himself.
.
.
.
Around the same time.
Based on the data of ‘The War of Everything: Napoleon,’ which had been sleeping peacefully inside Kim Yul’s laptop.
Thirty cutting-edge AR experience maps had been created by combining ruby shards infused with Estea’s mana and Historié’s illusion magic, then distributed to lucky individuals.
One person received the Battle of Dego, another the Battle of Lodi.
One received the Battle of Arcole, another the Battle of Rivoli.
“Uh…… um…… the enemy looks way too much like a monster……?”
One especially lucky person.
Had the unique opportunity to tilt their head at Britannia’s Lepans, rather than the Siege of Orléans from Joan of Arc.
Unfortunately, unlike Napoleon, the ‘War of Everything’ series had not covered the Hundred Years’ War in depth.
Even so.
There were quite a few winners, including Vaseline, who had considered reselling the maps──
“Excuse me…… which battle is that?”
“Mine’s Arcole.”
“I have Rivoli. Would you like to trade, just once……?”
“Oh! Welcome!”
Not a single person who had experienced the map even considered scalping it.
At a time when the most dopamine-filled pastime, aside from gambling, drinking, and sex, was Hero Gathering duels.
Although the battlefields, units, terrain, and other elements were limited, the experience of directing soldiers in real time and leading them to victory was simply exhilarating.
Even.
“Grrrgh, again!”
The Second Prince, who had used his power to barely get his hands on one of the thirty maps, was no exception.
* * *
“Zzz……”
“Mrrr……”
Watching Tin Can and Nureongi sleeping soundly while embracing each other, I felt a little sorry.
No.
I didn’t feel particularly sorry for the gold-chomping Nureongi that had munched on the gold bars Duke Vertus had donated as though they were chocolate bars.
Historié had gone through a great deal.
Even when I asked her to cast spells that seemed impossible, she boldly declared, “Illusion magic is similar to coding. Let’s use reverse engineering here,” and did everything I asked.
Of course, because she had pushed herself so hard, the ultra-high-performance AI was now sprawled out, snoring away, and had been wheezing sickly for several days.
“I’ll have to let her rest for a while……”
Normally, a long period of rest is necessary after a crunch.
So, let’s refrain from doing anything like ultra-powerful viral marketing through maps for the time being.
Unless someone researches a method of mass production, that is. For now, it was far too labor-intensive. And we were much too dependent on Nureongi.
Anyway.
With the distribution of the maps, Napoleon’s Italian campaign had now come to an end as well.
It was about time.
[Must be maintained for at least 21 days (relaxed). (Currently 20 days)]
[Expected Skill Acquisition: [A-rank] Na■■ong’s G■■]
Thanks to all the viral marketing, I had rowed the boat well enough to reach A-rank this time.
When I had first begun serializing my work.
I had been aghast upon seeing the expected D-rank skill, ‘■pol■■’s Smel■ Feti■,’ wondering why on earth something like that would be offered as a reward.
So I still couldn’t quite guess what that G■■ skill might be.
But since it was A-rank, it would surely have fairly impressive performance.
And judging from the current trend, if I maintained this upward momentum just a little longer, I had a good chance of obtaining another skill even after acquiring the A-rank one.
“Now, what will I get?”
I deliberately muttered to myself, drumming up anticipation.
I waited for midnight.
And then.
[A-rank] [Napoleon’s Grand Strategy]
[The great genius of war, Napoleon employed sophisticated strategies and tactics that no commander of his era could match. Like him, you will be able to control the environment around you with greater precision.]
“Oh.”
My body did not suddenly flash with the intuition of a tactical genius like a bolt of lightning.
Instead……
When I activated the skill.
A highly intuitive mass of information appeared before my eyes.
A minimap had appeared.
And at the same time.
[Skill Synergy]
[You possess the A-rank skill ‘Yi Sun-sin’s Command’ and the A-rank skill ‘Napoleon’s Grand Strategy’ simultaneously. When activated at the same time, an additional special effect will be added.]
“Huh?”
Along with another status-window message I had never seen before.
On the minimap, which had done little more than serve as a detailed map centered on me, two blue dots suddenly popped into existence.
When I turned my gaze toward the place where the two dots were located very close together.
I saw Historié and Estea, still lightly embracing each other as they slept deeply.