Becoming a Shadow in the New World

Meanwhile, at the Underworld venue, the powerful figures from various factions were unable to use the teleportation array due to the dimensional rift, and because they were being targeted by the Great Red due to the Samael aura on their bodies, they were unable to escape the dimensional rift. At the same time, suicide terrorist attacks calling themselves the Calamity Group occurred in the territories of various factions.

It is said that the leaders of suicide terrorist attacks in the territories of various factions are all, without exception, infamous evil dragons who have long since died in mythology.

These evil dragons, which have made their mark in mythology, must have been incredibly powerful.

The evil dragon, already powerful and known for its bizarre attack methods and immortality, could still call its terrorist attacks suicidal, which shows just how insane their attacks were.

Especially at a time when most of the top experts from various forces were tied up in the World Battlefield and the Underworld Venue, leaving their territorial defenses extremely weak, even though a small number of experts stayed behind to defend their homes, the evil dragons still caused significant casualties to various forces.

However, in turn, most of the evil dragons who launched the terrorist attack were killed in the counterattack of the weakened forces. However, after the evil dragons died, the group did not find the things they had plundered, but only the symbol of the Calamity Gang, a snake with its head and tail connected to form an "8".

This symbol... is the symbol of Orpheus, the "Infinite Dragon," who is among the top five in the world.

"So what does this have to do with the price increase of the Familia pieces? Did the evil dragon steal the vacant, unused Familia pieces?"

Sid thought for a moment and felt that if he were to connect the familiar chess pieces with the invasion of the evil dragon, then this was probably the only possibility.

"No, but it's about the same."

"?"

Asagi pulled up a page on her computer and turned it toward Sid. Sid looked closely and saw that it was a report from the Underworld Demon Government about the damage caused by the evil dragon's invasion.

While it's certainly not true that everything that was lost is listed here—after all, who knows if the evil dragon stole anything that might be shameful—it still has some reference value.

"Agra...Reias! That floating city? A city has been plundered?"

First on the list was a name called "Agreias," a name Sid knew; it was the name of a city in the sky.

It is very famous in the Underworld and is the place where the ranking game has the greatest influence in the Underworld. The match between Rias and Raiza was held in this city.

The fact that this aerial city's name appeared on the Underworld's list of losses at this moment meant that the aerial city had also been stolen.

Cao Cao, you are so powerful!

"Yes, a city was taken away, but that's not the point. The point is that one of the raw materials for the family pieces is unique to this city."

"Oh! I see... then I understand why the price of the family pieces has gone up."

Indeed, if no alternative raw materials can be found, then the Demon Chess pieces that are not currently in use in the world will become increasingly rare, eventually becoming completely extinct. It is understandable that extinct items would increase in price.

"This is just one reason, there's no need to worry too much. The Mitsukoshi Chamber of Commerce has announced that they have developed alternative raw materials."

"?"

Asagi's fingertips danced across the keyboard, and a new page unfolded on the computer screen. The content was roughly that after learning that the city in the Underworld that provided the raw materials for the Familiar chess pieces had been stolen, the Mikoshi Trading Company had worked through the night to develop a substitute material.

Sid squinted; why was he so skeptical?

"What's the reason for the price increase?"

Suppressing his doubts, Sid steered the conversation back to where it all began.

"because this."

Another video page opened, and judging from the date, it was released the day after the Evil Dragon Invasion. The person on it was someone Sid recognized; he was her childhood friend, one of the Seven Shadows, "Epsilon".

"Yesterday, the terrorist organization 'The Bloc of Calamity' attacked the capital of Netheril, causing significant property damage. Fortunately, thanks to the protection of the Magic Network, there were no casualties."

No, Epsilon, do you really know what you're talking about? Just how strong is the opponent to be able to block so well, to withstand the attacks of the "invincible below SSS, useless above SS" magic network to steal things, and not cause any casualties.

No, that's not the point. The point is, Epsilon, aren't you from the Mitsukoshi Trading Company? What are you doing in Netheril? Did you quit because Alpha wasn't paying you enough? Or is this just a small circle of women?

Suppressing his urge to criticize, Sid patiently began to read.

"...Originally, I wanted to announce to everyone that Netheril had successfully broken through the technological barrier and successfully developed the 'King' chess piece, which can increase the user's strength by dozens of times. However, I received the news that Agreas had been stolen. It seems that there are not enough materials to make the 'King' chess piece."

"It was this news that caused the price of the family pieces to skyrocket. The Mikoshi Trading Company's alternative raw materials have made up for the material shortage in Netheril. The 'King' piece, which can increase a person's strength by dozens of times, is too tempting."

The camera paused, and Asagi Aiba pointed at Epsilon on the screen, speaking in a helpless and resentful tone.

A set of family pieces, apart from soldiers, bishops, knights, and queens, does not have a king piece. The owner of the family pieces, the "king," registers his status as the king of this set of family pieces at the registration monument.

It can be said that the Familiar Pieces are mainly friendly to the reincarnated Familiars, not only turning the reincarnated Familiars from short-lived humans into long-lived mythical beings, but also granting them powerful physiques due to the change in race.

This is also why most of the Familia pieces' "King" are treated as slaves by the Familia pieces, because the Familia pieces do not enhance the "King's" strength at all. This makes it so that although the production of Familia pieces is low, pure-blooded Mythic species don't care much about Familia pieces. The main reason for their rarity is that they are monopolized... That's how it was originally.

Dozens of times! Dozens of times! Dozens of times!!!

Now, Netheril has not only "developed" (Sid expressed doubt) the "King" piece, but the boost to the King is also terrifyingly many times over. This means that an S-rank powerhouse could very well reach SS-rank with this boost.

In other words, all the alternative materials from the Mitsukoshi Merchant Guild were pre-ordered by Netheril. With this amplification, the maximum level would be SS. Any higher and the body would be unable to withstand it and self-destruct. Otherwise, even though the strongmen of various forces are injured now, they would immediately take action to divide up the "King" pieces.

"Hmm... Asagi, are you sure you want to try for the King's Pawn? Or should you wait until next year?"

Having understood why the price of the "King" chess piece had increased—no, it should now be called "King"—Sidd looked at Aoba Asagi with hesitation and began to persuade her with a doubtful tone.

It was precisely because he knew the value of the King's Piece that he began to suspect Asagi.

Given that the familiar chess piece was rare but not valued, he estimated that Asagi would have to work for several years to obtain one.

In this situation, where even the owner of the King's Piece would strip it from their corpse and keep it as a family heirloom, is it really that fearless to fight for the King's Piece?

"Yes, I want to try, and I must get it this semester. There's still a chance now, but if I wait until next year, I'm afraid I'll never get it in my lifetime."

Upon hearing Sid's voice, Asagi Aoba nodded emphatically, her eyes resolute, and answered with an open and resolute tone.

In Aiba Asagi's original plan, she should have been vying for the familiar pieces at next year's graduation tournament, when she would have a much higher chance of success.

But plans can't keep up with changes. Once the "King" piece was released, its value skyrocketed. There's still a chance to sneak in and get the piece now, but once the school realizes what's going on next year, they'll most likely cancel the King piece distribution rule at the start of the new semester. If she wants to get the piece, she has to do it now.

"Asagi, I don't think you're the kind of person who would be blinded by the power of the 'King' piece. Be rational, okay? You definitely can't get the 'King' piece."

Shaking his head with a hint of distress, Sid felt he should still advise Asagi not to do something reckless, considering that he had known Asagi for almost a year. It would be a pity for such a useful tool to die like this.

He didn't care when Aiba Asagi showed signs of trying to get the pieces before, mainly because failing to get them back then wasn't a big deal. But now, trying to steal the pieces could lead to his death.

However, Aiba Asagi seemed to be blinded by the power of the "King" piece, acting as if she had to get the piece even if it meant dying.

"I don't care about the 'King' piece! What I care about are the family pieces! Even if he doesn't keep his promise, I must get the family pieces. Only in this way can I..."

Seemingly provoked by Sid's constant admonitions, Lan Yu Qiancong's eyes reddened slightly, and she wanted to retort angrily, but quickly stopped herself.

"Phew... I'm sorry, Sid, I lost my composure a bit. I'm not feeling well. Let's talk another day."

Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, Aiba Asagi apologized and hurriedly left.

Sid watched Asagi Aiba leave, wanting to ask her something, but considering the close proximity between them, he refrained from doing so.

Or... I could transform into "Roland Augusta" and give Asagi a plate as compensation. But then again, I don't have a deep relationship with Asagi, so it's not worth ruining my identity separation plan.

Chapter 114 The Diversity of Networks

Because of Aiba Asagi's departure, Sid had to search for information online himself, and soon he got a lot of interesting news.

Thanks to this terrorist attack, the gossip surrounding Rias's engagement to Raiza, which was originally of great interest to most people, has been overshadowed.

The remaining small group of people who are still paying attention are less attracted by the gossip between Rias and Lessa, and more likely they are already fans of Lessa and Rias. Therefore, the limited discussion is entirely focused on Rias and Lessa.

It's not that there's no discussion about him, but because he beat up Lessa, Lessa's fans talk about him with complete hatred.

Rias's fans, driven by their protective instincts, ignored numerous facts and insisted that he was the one who dragged Rias down, claiming that if it were a stronger familiar like Raiza, they would have already lost.

This disregard for premises even includes the fact that the announcement clearly states that he left Rias's familiar group because he was unable to fuse with the demon pieces due to his physical condition.

Conspiracy theorists took the factual announcement as official jargon and imagined the "truth" behind his dismissal as a hindrance. Ironically, this conspiracy theory was endorsed by Rias's die-hard fans, who believed it to be the "truth."

Fearing that this "truth" would damage Rias's image, and driven by the "fighting the world" mentality of die-hard fans, they started a bizarre group to prove that Rias's dismissal of him was in line with common sense in the conspiracy theory "truth".

Although he could understand that some people might believe the conspiracy theory "truth" to be true—after all, there are very few people who reject the demon reincarnation constitution, and it is unheard of for a constitution to undergo malignant mutation after being seriously injured—he still had to sigh.

The amazing world of fandom...

Currently, online discussions are mainly focused on the "Calamity Group," a terrorist force suspected to be led by the Infinite Dragon God, one of the world's strongest beings, who launched simultaneous terrorist attacks in various factions' territories. The discussions also touch on the implications of these factions withdrawing their arrest warrants in gratitude to Shadow for joining forces with them to successfully defeat the otherworldly evil dragon, the Great Red, who is also among the world's strongest.

Did they intervene when I was fighting?

This idea popped into my head when I saw this.

Sid recalled carefully and determined that apart from the fact that the three dragons would pull them into the attack range due to Samael's aura when they were fighting, and the fact that he threw a nuclear missile at the venue floating in the dimensional gap to avoid embarrassment, it would be an exaggeration to say that the people in the venue were just bystanders the whole time.

With these doubts in mind, Sid followed the clues and found the announcements issued by various forces. He then discovered that the so-called alliance between him and the various forces was purely a figment of netizens' imaginations. The announcements only contained two pieces of information: his participation in the battle between the dragon gods and the revocation of his wanted notice.

Then, based on the fact that the various forces withdrew their arrest warrants, and assuming that the powerful figures in the venue could not possibly stand by and watch the Dragon Gods attack them, netizens came to the conclusion that "if Shadow attacked the powerful figures of the various forces, why would the various forces cancel their arrest warrants against Shadow?"

Besides, Great Red is currently showing signs of breaking free from the "one of" category and becoming the world's strongest, according to netizens. On the contrary, he is being kicked out of the world's strongest list by netizens, for the following reasons.

The fact that the Great Red Dragon chased down two otherworldly evil dragons proves that the Great Red Dragon's strength is greater than the combined strength of the two otherworldly evil dragons; otherwise, why would the Great Red Dragon be able to chase down the otherworldly evil dragons?

When Shadow stormed into the first World Alliance Conference, he was severely injured by the powerful figures from various factions, proving that the combined strength of all the powerful figures was greater than that of the world's strongest individual. The number of powerful figures in the conference hall was not as many as when Shadow was severely injured, but it was still very close.

Therefore, even if all the strong individuals in the venue combined are not as strong as the world's strongest, the gap between them and the world's strongest is not large, so they can also be considered as the world's strongest.

In this battle involving five (?) of the world's strongest warriors, the Great Red fought two otherworldly evil dragons and still had the strength to contend with the combined forces of Shadow and a host of powerful figures. The Great Red is awesome!!!

Amazing netizens...

This well-reasoned reasoning almost convinced Sid himself, if... he hadn't been involved.

The Great Red's strength is at most on par with a single otherworldly evil dragon. At best, it can use the otherworldly evil dragon's inferior intelligence compared to Delta and its reliance on instinct in combat to boast that it will win easily.

The fact that the otherworldly evil dragon could be hunted down for a year only shows that the otherworldly evil dragon is not smart enough. It only attacks everyone indiscriminately and does not cooperate. Otherwise, even if the two otherworldly evil dragons are not rational, once they join forces, their physical attributes and the Great Red Brick would be helpless against them.

After marveling at the diversity of the internet, Sid continued searching for major events that had occurred around the world during his coma.

"Hmm? 'A great hero who repelled the invasion of the evil dragon, the Underworld welcomes back its third transcendent being, and Lucifer's bloodline still protects the Underworld!!!'... This title is so exaggerated."