Chapter 1: Creation

“It’s time to let you go now… sob.”

Mother wiped her moist eyes with a handkerchief.

Seeing her youngest child leave for the academy as an adult must be making her worried.

“I’m worried whether you’ll be able to get along well there. What if kids from some strange, ill-natured families bully you…?”

“It’ll be fine, Mother. I’m an adult now, after all.”

I bent one arm to show my bicep.

The bulging muscles from my past life were nowhere to be seen, leaving only a frail-looking arm.

It didn’t seem very convincing.

In any case, if you add up my age from my previous life, I’m already old enough to be considered middle-aged.

No matter what, I wouldn’t be swayed by kids who just became adults at the academy.

“Of course, but…”

Still, Mother couldn’t shake off her worries, trailing off at the end of her sentence.

“Don’t worry, Mother. I’ll keep an eye on him and take care of him.”

At that moment, a healthy-looking beauty with a ponytail interjected.

Adelina Vernier.

She was the older sister of the body I had reincarnated into.

“…Right. It’ll be fine since you’re there, I suppose.”

She had exceptional talent, even among the best in the empire, and had reached the pinnacle of a Sword Expert.

There’s no way she’d get into trouble anywhere.

Besides, who would dare mess with someone from a ducal family like ours?

“Yes, so you really don’t have to worry.”

“Alright, Albus.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“No matter what, even if you go to the academy, or if anyone asks, you must never reveal your secret. Understood?”

My secret.

She must be referring to the knowledge of that other world.

“Of course. I know how precious my life is.”

“Fuu…”

Despite my reassurances, Mother sighed deeply, as if not fully comforted.

“We should be going now.”

Adelina finished her farewell and climbed into the carriage first.

“I’ll be off too. Stay healthy while I’m gone, okay?”

I quickly followed and slipped inside the carriage.

Then, leaning out of the moving carriage’s window, I waved until Mother was out of sight.

Parting with Mother felt more poignant, perhaps because I didn’t have such a presence in my past life.

All nobles in the empire, including every person of noble blood, were required to complete the academy’s curriculum.

This was a mandate set by the first emperor, and not even the imperial family could avoid it.

I didn’t want to go to the academy either, but there was no other choice.

As I settled into the carriage and prepared to take a nap,

-Are you displeased with parting from your mother?

A mystical voice echoed in my head.

‘Lady Carthesia.’

I had come to know Carthesia, an Ancient Dragon, by chance.

She had contacted me telepathically.

-If you wish, I can speak directly to the emperor and have you exempted from attending the academy.

She wasn’t just any dragon, but an Ancient Dragon.

For her, influencing the emperor would be a simple task.

Especially since she was the guardian dragon of the empire.

‘Th-That’s alright. I appreciate the offer, but I can’t neglect my duties as a noble.’

Asking the emperor to exempt the second child of a duke from attending the academy because of a request from the empire’s guardian dragon!

Wouldn’t that seem strange?

Am I supposed to be announcing that I am the creator of this world!

-Hmm… Is that so.

Dragons indeed have such an extreme way of thinking.

-You humans have always been excessively attached to titles and honour since ancient times. I understand.

‘I don’t really care about things like that. ‘

There’s no way someone who lived on Earth in the 21st century and got reincarnated into a fantasy world would care about honour.

If I could, I’d rather stay at home comfortably without going to the academy.

-Of course, that doesn’t mean neglecting the management of this world.

‘Of course not! That will never happen!’

-Good. But if the ‘updates’ are even slightly delayed because of the academy, I will personally overturn the academy, so be aware of that.

‘Yes! I’ll keep that in mind!’

Thunk.

Only after hearing the sound of her telepathy being cut off could I finally feel at ease.

“…What the hell is this mess.”

Of all things, I ended up getting involved with a dragon.

And not just any dragon, but an Ancient Dragon.

It’s all because of that world.

After dying in my previous life, I woke up as the second son of the Duke of Vernier, Albus Vernier.

I was reincarnated as a new-born baby.

As I was born into a duke’s family, there were no worries about livelihood, and the family was so harmonious that there were no problems living.

From my father, the duke, to my mother, the duchess, and even my sister, everyone got along so well that there seemed to be no issues in this life.

At first.

The civilization level of this fantasy world couldn’t compare to modern times.

Naturally, since it’s a fantasy world, it lacked any proper forms of entertainment.

There were no games, and even basic entertainments like television or radio didn’t exist.

The only things available were plays or books, but such trivialities couldn’t satisfy me.

So, I tried to find something fun from an early age.

Fortunately, this body had a talent for magic, and thanks to the power of the family I was born into, I could receive help from the Magic Tower.

And most importantly, this world had the mysterious magic and illusion magic that were on a completely different track from modern Earth’s science.

With the help of the Magic Tower, I learned illusion magic, and after spending three years, I created a basic level of virtual reality magic, ‘Rudera.’

Of course, it wasn’t the quality I had hoped for.

It was a crude level, similar to the early VR games that had just started to emerge on Earth in my previous life.

Still, I thought that if I kept developing this world, I might be able to create a world where I could move as I wished.

That was until she appeared.

Even though it was magic I created independently, it was implemented through the Magic Tower’s magic spheres and magic stones.

As a result, the world I created ended up being connected to one of the Magic Tower’s magic storage rooms.

The magic storage room was an important repository equivalent to a server room on Earth.

When a link to my world formed inside it, the magicians of the Magic Tower accessed that world.

And among them was one person.

A human magician who had polymorphed and was enjoying herself in the Magic Tower, she, Carthesia, took an interest in it.

She erased the memories of the magicians related to that world, tore apart the storage room, and kidnapped me to her lair.

I still remember it.

The terror of waking up to a strange ceiling that day.

“Human.”

As I got up, Carthesia’s true form, the giant red dragon, filled my vision.

“A, a dragon?”

Of course, I was so shocked that I fell back.

“I am Carthesia, the ruler of this mountain range and the guardian dragon of your human empire.”

I never imagined I would be kidnapped by a dragon.

“Human. Your created world. I like it.”

Carthesia said, bringing her huge head close to me.

“Develop that world further. So I can enjoy it. Add more things to it.”

Saying that, she gave me numerous artifacts, potions, and various treasures.

Moreover, she taught me illusion magics to develop the virtual world, ‘Rudera,’ I created.

“I’ve lived for thousands of years. Repeated countless amusements to overcome the terrible boredom, but none pleased me. But your magic. The world of that magic was different.”

I could feel her excitement.

“I enjoyed it too. For the first time, I felt alive!”

Excitement like a desert explorer finding an oasis.

“So human. You will create and develop that world. So that I can enjoy it fully. You have no choice.”

Thus, I had no choice but to keep creating the world I made for my enjoyment under the threat of a crazy dragon.

At that time, I couldn’t even guess.

How virtual reality, which even modern Earth people would confuse with reality, would be perceived by the people of this world.

That the virtual world created by illusion magic would be no different from reality to them.

And what repercussions this virtual reality would bring.