"Affirmative. Upgrading the official website for the Host. Constructing game forums."
As the Fire Sprite whooshed back into his mind, Viserys began to strategize.
First, the forum was essential. Going forward, he needed to compile the game's lore, plotlines, and player experiences into videos and post them on the official site.
This would serve as a preliminary filter for players.
If someone had an issue with authority, or didn't want to spend hundreds of hours in a game only to end up bowing to a King, they would likely complain on the forums.
The moment Viserys saw that kind of dissent? Blocked. No mercy. Then, Banned.
It came back to the main selling point: a 100% realistic virtual reality. It gave you an extra dozen hours of life every day. Over a year, how much extra time was that? Whether they were hardcore gamers, casual retirees, or people just trying to extend their lifespans, there was no shortage of potential players.
At first, no one had noticed his game. Now, the player count was hitting three thousand. He could afford to be picky; he didn't need to recruit just anyone anymore.
This luxury would last until a company on Earth developed a second fully immersive VR game. Once players had options, they wouldn't tolerate his tyranny.
But given Earth's current tech level, Viserys was pretty sure he'd die of old age before that happened.
Still, he couldn't push the players too hard. That was where the second phase of his plan came in: The Feudal System.
This was the "Lord" class he had prepared for the players from the very beginning.
Viserys could parcel out the conquered lands to individual players. Once a piece of land belonged to a player personally, their mindset would change.
Would they ruin their own property? If outsiders came in to steal chickens, harass the elderly, or terrorize the smallfolk, would the player Lord sit back and watch?
This was Viserys's second method. Instead of relying on the players to serve him for his benefit alone, he would gradually turn them into a "Vested Interest Group."
Players, you have to trust me. I'm not ordering you to conquer the world for me. We are conquering it together, so we can rule it together!
Think about it. Reality sucks. In the real world, you're a corporate wage slave. Log in here, and you're a noble Lord!
Of course, if some player decided to pull a Robert Baratheon and stage a rebellion, singing "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" while trying to steal his throne... well, Viserys would just have to introduce them to the "God of Permabans."
Worst case scenario? Everyone stops playing. The server dies.
"Hey, Fire Sprite. Can you target the game's marketing to a specific demographic? For example... Westerners?"
Viserys's mind was racing, his schemes becoming increasingly devious.
His fellow countrymen back home had a rebelliousness carved into their bones—the old saying "Kings and Generals, are they born of special stock?" was practically their motto. In reality, they were well-behaved citizens, but in a game? They were impossible to control.
However, in the real world, there was a specific group of people who genuinely fetishized knightly honor, feudal hierarchy, and the divine right of kings.
"This promotion will cost Kingdom Coins..."
---
Earth.
In a university dormitory.
Leonardo, an exchange student from Switzerland, walked back from the communal showers toweling off his hair. He noticed his computer screen was glowing.
"Zhang, did you use my PC?" Leonardo asked his roommate, who was the only other person in the room.
"Nope," the roommate replied, engrossed in a video on his phone.
Leonardo didn't think much of it and sat down at his desk.
"Hm? What's this?"
A pop-up ad appeared. Leonardo tried to click the 'X' to close it, but accidentally clicked through, landing on a sleek website.
[ IS CHIVALRY DEAD? ]
[ ARE THERE NO TRUE KNIGHTS LEFT AMONG YOU? ]
As the site loaded, a video auto-played. A towering knight sat atop a warhorse while countless smallfolk chanted his name: Ser Duncan the Tall.
Then, the scene cut.
"Ser Arthur Dayne," the voiceover rumbled. "A man who could cut through the King's current Kingsguard with his left hand while taking a piss with his right."
On screen, the Sword of the Morning wielded Dawn and a longsword, holding off multiple opponents with breathtaking skill, forcing them back step by step.
Leonardo was hooked. He scrolled through video after video, finally realizing that this was an advertisement for a game claiming to be "100% Realistic Virtual Reality."
Should I try it?
The screen froze on a frame of a knight—known as "The Fearless"—charging through an encirclement to rescue his King.
That image struck a chord deep within Leonardo. He began filling out the shipping information for the helmet.
His father had always told him that their family's most glorious moment was during the French Revolution. When the entire nation turned against the Bourbon Dynasty and everyone was screaming to drag Louis XVI to the guillotine, their ancestor was there.
His ancestor, also named Leonardo, was one of the five hundred Swiss Guards who fought to the last man to protect the King at the Tuileries Palace.
His father had named him Leonardo in the hope that he would inherit that same spirit.
For a young man raised on tales of knights, honor, and sacrifice, this pitch was perfect.
The Code of Chivalry. Loyalty to the True King. Standing alone against the tide to save your liege. It was exactly what he craved.
Unlike the Chinese players who registered just to expose a scam, Leonardo clasped his hands and prayed silently:
Almighty God, please, let this be real.
After his prayer, Leonardo picked up his phone and called his uncle. His uncle was currently "visiting" him, though it was mostly an excuse for a vacation.
His uncle was obsessed with the Teutonic Knights. His father often joked that even if the Teutonic Order rose from the grave, they wouldn't be as pious, humble, or obsessed with sacrifice as his uncle. And certainly, no real knight would fantasize about having a King to serve in the 21st century.
To the rest of the family—especially his mother—his uncle was a weirdo. A mental case. In modern society, who misses feudalism? Who misses the "good old days" of blood and steel?
But his uncle was exactly that kind of man, and he had been a massive influence on Leonardo.
Back in their hometown, his uncle had once organized a full-plate armor parade with seventy participants. It even made the local news.
A man like that wouldn't be able to resist this game.
---
Meanwhile, at a ranch in the United States.
Rick, a ranch owner, swung down from his horse. Wiping sweat from his brow, he walked into his wooden house, tossed his dirty jacket to his wife, and glanced at his computer. His eight-year-old son had been messing with it and left a window open.
---
Rome, Italy.
A sixty-seven-year-old man, dressed in a full set of authentic Roman Legionary armor, was boasting to his twenty-three-year-old son. He was breathless, looking like he had just run a marathon.
His son, Luca, smiled politely as he carried a dinner plate past him.
But as he walked, Luca's eyes drifted to the computer screen.
A strange website was open. And for some reason, he felt an inexplicable pull calling to him.