Isekai Online Game Developer

---

“…Have you all regained your senses?”

I looked at the three of them.

They were avoiding my gaze, either staring into the distance or hiding their reddened faces.

“What kind of illusion was it that… even after it’s over, you’re still like this…”

Even after they’d broken free from the illusion magic, all three remained somewhat trapped in it.

Thanks to that, we were further delayed.

I decided to remain silent and closed my mouth.

“Let’s move on quickly. Everyone step back behind me, and Leah, please bring some light.”

Using Leah’s light as my guide, I began releasing the deeper illusions.

As I grasped the structure to some extent, it turned out to be a simple repetition.

While clearing the path, I thought about these spells.

‘For sure. This isn’t the illusion magic I know.’

It was definitely magic utilizing the Illusion Attribute.

But the method was entirely different.

Typically, illusion magic is just that—an illusion that ‘dissolves’.

In other words, even if you see an illusion, the moment you return to reality, you can’t help but say, “Huh?” and snap back to reality.

Once your senses return, you must realize that what you saw just moments ago was an illusion.

However, these spells are ‘dissolving’ illusions…

No, they are still the same dissolving illusions.

But they are something I still can’t comprehend.

Something at a slightly higher level.

Due to that principle, they were spells that cast a stronger illusion.

The reason I didn’t reprimand my companions was the same.

It wasn’t simply that the three of them had weak mental strength and couldn’t escape the illusion.

It was because these artifacts had a special illusion magic cast upon them.

“By the way, why was the Prince saying ‘Goshy goshy’? Just like Zebit.”

“Th-th-that’s…”

From the back, I could hear the three of them chatting.

Rikal was flustered, claiming that he was a fan of Zebit, making excuses about meeting Zebit and such.

To me, it sounded like an awkward excuse, but the two who didn’t know the truth seemed to buy it.

“Honestly, I’ve never had anything like this happen before. Was it because we were trapped in the illusion for so long? Though it’s only been two hours in reality.”

“I’ve never experienced anything like this, even after playing games for hours.”

It seemed all three spent what felt like an extremely long time in the illusion.

Not just a few hours, but days or even decades.

Rikal mentioned he felt like he had been in there for days, but Leah seemed to think it was over ten years.

Could it be due to individual mental states?

That reason was something I still couldn’t grasp.

“Hah… it feels endless.”

How many hours did we progress like this?

Focused on dismantling the artifacts, I eventually stopped.

Even though it was a simple repetitive task, after doing it for so long, my head felt like it was going to crack.

Rubbing my forehead, I stretched my stiff body.

“I’m sorry that it’s only Riot doing all the hard work. I came along to help…”

“It’s alright. I’m just glad we have an illusion mage with us.”

The group looked at me apologetically.

It’s likely no one expected a situation where combat would be unnecessary.

They probably didn’t think the hideout would be completely plastered with illusion magic.

“Here, drink this.”

Leah handed me a drink.

For some reason, Leah’s attitude seemed to have changed since earlier.

“Thanks.”

As I gulped down the water, I noticed Rikal looking around restlessly.

“…I think we’re almost there.”

“Really?”

“I can feel the temperature changing. There’s warmth.”

The three of us, being mages, couldn’t feel anything.

Though it seemed the flow of mana was slightly altered.

If Rikal, with his keen senses, felt it, it must be true.

“Then let’s hurry in. I’d like to return by the time the sun rises again.”

Out there, the time must have already passed sunset.

I hadn’t prepared for such a long time spent here.

I was hungry and sleepy too.

I continued to open the path while the illusion magic concealed those sensations.

How many more hours passed like that?

At the end of the tedious tunnel, a door appeared.

A quaint wooden door awkwardly standing alone.

It didn’t fit at all with the scenery of this tunnel.

“Is this some kind of trap?”

“It doesn’t seem like it. I don’t sense any of the illusion magic we’ve encountered so far.”

I answered the space mage’s question.

After hearing my reply, the space mage stepped forward and began to unleash his mana.

“…It’s quite a large space. The elevation seems to have gently increased as well. That means there must have been a very low angled slope along the way.”

“Then can’t we just open it?”

“Prince, please do so.”

“…Me?”

The three of us stepped back behind Rikal.

Instead, Leah and the space mage cast several protective spells on Rikal.

“There’s no magical danger ahead. The worst you’ll face is a physical attack, which you’ll handle better than we would.”

“No, ha… understood.”

Rikal sighed as he grasped the doorknob.

As he opened the door, light began to fill our view.

“Ugh…”

“It’s blinding…”

It was natural light.

If one had to describe it, it was bright as if the sun had just risen.

But having just been in the dark tunnel, it was overwhelmingly dazzling for us.

“Oh…”

And the scene that awaited us.

A vast expanse stretched beyond the door.

The ceiling reached as if it would touch the sky; no, it was certainly underground, yet high enough to see the sky.

Natural light was streaming in through a transparent glass ceiling.

And beneath that natural light, there was a beautifully furnished large room.

A cozy and chic room.

In the well-lit center, there was an egg much larger than my body.

A dragon’s egg.

“What about that thief?”

“Looks like he’s right there.”

And over in one armchair, a man was indulged in his ‘Maple Leaf Story’.

He must be Hetz.

“Completely oblivious to the chaos he caused, casually playing a game…”

Hetz seemed to be an ordinary middle-aged man.

He didn’t appear to have exceptional combat abilities, nor was he a mage.

But looking at the equipment around him certainly made him seem far from ordinary.

We forcibly terminated his connection to ‘Maple Leaf Story’.

“U-uwoah?!”

He tumbled out of his armchair.

And upon discovering us, his expression changed gradually.

It was a look of disbelief, as if to say, “How are there people here?”

“Wh-who are you…”

“We are the creators of that game. Do you know what has been happening in the world because of you?”

“Riot…? O-of course I know. I understand that all sorts are trying to seize this egg. They’re desperate to obtain results without any effort or skill. But more importantly, how did you get here…”

Regaining his wits, he hastily stepped back.

Rikal intercepted him with a swing of his sword as he reached for a weapon.

“Because of you, an angry dragon is burning down the village. Because of you, people have died.”

“W-what…”

Hetz flinched at my words.

Still, he seemed to feel some guilt about the deaths.

To put it another way, it implied that he had never considered that his actions would lead to such consequences.

“What on earth were you thinking when you did this?”

“W-what was I thinking? It’s obvious that others are doing it… And how could I just stand by while those untalented fools tried to rob the Rare? I had to show those kids what the real deal is!”

“Then why are you trying to steal someone’s child?!”

“I-I just stole the egg…”

Hetz’s expression showed no understanding of what was wrong.

I closed my mouth, about to say more.

Perhaps this was to be expected.

After all, I eat eggs without a second thought.

But that was an old human dietary habit, and chickens are far weaker than humans, so there’s no need to worry about them.

However, this sense of discomfort was more than just that.

It was the attitude that regarded such things as completely normal.

Not only Hetz but also the earlier village felt the same.

“…That’s enough. This egg needs to be returned to the dragon, so I will take it.”

“N-no…! How could I just hand over the egg I stole?!”

As Hetz lunged at me, Rikal kicked him back.

Being far weaker, he fell easily.

“…Ugh.”

“By the way, how on earth did you create this space? And how did you move the egg here?”

I asked Hetz, who was rolling on the ground.

After receiving a few more blows, he seemed to have lost the will to fight and began to speak freely.

“…I didn’t create it; I discovered it long ago. I found it while investigating a lair in this area. There was a hole in the ceiling, concealed by illusion magic. The entrance on the wall side had an odd array of illusions, so I thought I could use it as a hideout if I just blocked the ceiling.”

“So then the glass ceiling…”

“From the outside, it probably looks like a normal ground.”

Somehow, I hadn’t seen any glass like that while passing through. Was that also an illusion?

Who exactly made something like this, I still had no clue.

“…For now, let’s take this person along.”

“What for?”

“To show him what he has done. He needs to understand before he can think about it in the future.”

I spoke while contemplating the giant egg.

It seemed impossible for us to move this egg using our own power.

We’d need to go back and summon the dragon.

And while we were at it, I planned to bring Hetz along to show him the damage caused by his actions.

If he understood that he was the one who shattered the lives of those children and the village people, he might finally grasp reality.

Moreover, I intended to make this public to draw attention to the matter.

“It’s going to be tough to move the egg by ourselves…”

Suddenly, the ground began to tremble.

While we were talking, a tremendous force unlike anything we had experienced approached.

“What the…”

“This is… stronger than the Tower Lord…”

The source was above our heads. In the sky.

We slowly lifted our heads with trembling muscles and froze in fear.

Huuuu-

Through the transparent glass that made up the ceiling, a colossal eye was watching us.

That giant eye, slowly rolling overhead, was as huge as the sun.

Just facing it filled us with a primal terror that froze our bodies.

“Th-th-the dragon…”

Hetz muttered as he stared at the eye.

That giant eye, now filling the giant window, belonged to a dragon.

Not a half-dragon like Riji, but a true pureblood dragon.

The caliber of a complete dragon was beyond imagination.

“I heard a dragon lives nearby…”

Rikal murmured, while the other two were left speechless.

It was impressive that Rikal could maintain his composure in such a moment.

Gooo…

The dragon’s eye swept over us and the space for quite a while.

The dragon’s breath fogged the glass, creating condensation that appeared and disappeared repeatedly.

At the end of this repetition, the dragon’s gaze finally settled.

While it was directed at us five, it wasn’t fixed on any one of us.

It was leaning ambiguously towards Hetz but had slightly strayed to somewhere on the ground.

There lay Hetz’s dropped copy of ‘Maple Leaf Story’.