Hard Enough - Chapter 36: Picking the mind of an old legend

In a mass ambush at the Battle of the Gods, the four major guilds with all their armies surrounded one man alone: McRae, known by all players as the God of War.

But even the God of War could not survive alone against hundreds of attackers.

Yet, when McRae opened his eyes again, he’d returned to the first-day launch of the game, [Divine Domain]- and he still had his full-level character, with all classes available to him to switch freely between at any time.

With all his previous memories, McRae knew that their entire world would soon merge with the game world, where death would become permanent… And so he turned on Divine Domain once more– this time fully aware of every detail about the players, the treasures, and the game itself.

Before the four guilds were even formed, McRae would have a guild and an army of his own.

A modern Japanese man reincarnated into a game as Welner von Zeavert. Though he reincarnated as a noble’s son, he is neither the main character nor the hero of this world. He become someone who didn’t even appear in the game.Plus, with only [Spearmanship] as his skill, he can’t even join the hero party to clear main story.His small advantages are the fact that he became the hero’s friend and his father’s rather high status. He’s nothing but a supporting character of the story.He noted the game story that he knew from his past life, used it, along with his authority and influence as a noble, to survive from demon king army.But, without realizing it, the knowledge from his past life and his memories of the game story affected the world. He saved people that should have died and took care of events that didn’t appear in the game.With that, he carved history of this worldThis is not a story about the hero. This is a story about struggle and effort of a young noble.

“The masterminds are cooler than heroes,” I mutter as I stare at the chess pieces before me. It is easier to be the one who sits in the shadows and moves the pieces, likewise deciding the flow of the game.Heroes will foolishly sacrifice their lives for the good cause and villains will sacrifice the world for their own gain, but masterminds will use both the heroes and villains to their own benefit.Why, you ask? Well, that's because I've lost my life once while trying to be a hero so, I don't want that anymore. I'd rather be a mastermind who molds the world as per my convenience and live peacefully. Because, why not?***[Defender of Divine Glory says you are the hope of this world.]What?[Goddess of Wisdom believes that you will be the one to save the world.]Wait, what?![Propose the Grand Duke the idea of a fake marriage.]And, why would I do that?![Stop the assassination of Prince Eric.]Why would I save him?![The candidates for the throne are:... Who will you choose?]Ah! I give up...It seems like a curse that anyone who wishes for a slacker life in Isekai will have to go through the most troublesome things.In my past life, I died because of one rookie mistake but after being transmigrated in the world of fantasy I've gotten an opportunity to start afresh, but unlike the protagonists who look for their love and glory, I'd rather make money and live a life of a slacker.I have magic, I have power and I have money, what else do I need?Well, that was the plan but this damn system is getting on my nerves. I mean who in their sane mind would want to mess with the complicated royal family and political affairs? But that's not all though.I've also become the saviour of this world. Things just can't be anymore worse!Besides, the penalty of failing this quest is...[Failure: Destruction of the World.]It seems like if I screw up in selecting the right person then the destruction that is going to befall the world won't be stopped.If I speak of my reward then it's this vague thing.[Reward: Fulfillment of any wish.]“If that's the case then, I'd rather choose the person who would be the best fit for the throne.”And that's how I decided that I would become the Kingmaker.

[Simulation shall commence.]On this fateful day, the world was stunned by the appearance of ancient animals that were supposed to have gone extinct for millions of years. Huge sinkholes appeared in every corner of the world, becoming a tunnel for the ancient animals to emerge to the surface.Humans have found an answer to one of the biggest mysteries in human history. Hollow Earth is real. Here, humans will wrest their lives to explore this new world that has existed for thousands, if not millions, of years underneath them.Before the start of his exploration, Clovis came across a place called ‘Another World Mall.’Dwarven Sword, Magical Elven Clothes, or Giant Race Toy? Everything can be found in this ‘Another World Mall.’As an aspiring Subterranean Explorer, how would he utilize this ‘Another World Mall’ to become the greatest explorer of all time and find the truth about the simulation?