Prestige Grinding : I Can Reset My Level-Chapter 247 - 243: Kill me now.

Sora held back a chuckle at the stunned faces in the room. But wanting to maintain his image as a famous and respected player, he forced himself to keep a straight posture and a composed, mature expression.

"I won't do anything that could harm the New European Union or our kingdom. On the contrary, I commit to minimizing our losses and making the enemy pay dearly for their relentless attacks on our kind."

Sora carefully studied Admiral Figaro's expression and found it difficult to decipher his emotions.

'I see fear, doubt… but also hope? Why so much hesitation, though?' he wondered.

The admiral took his time, then let out a long sigh.

Turning to the room, he spoke, "I'll speak publicly so that everyone here can witness this exchange."

The Admiral's solemn tone caught more than a few people off guard, and the thirty or so players present fell silent immediately.

Figaro continued, "In the past, we once gave someone full authority… and saying it ended badly would be an understatement. That person destroyed everything we'd built over five years, leaving the New European Union in shambles."

Sora didn't need to think long to understand he was talking about Hannah Stone, the former representative of the region.

'According to my investigation, around a hundred elite European players had been invested in by Hannah. After the update, she took everything back. Those players lost it all and were weakened to the point they couldn't compete with anyone anymore.'

'I hadn't paid much attention to it, but that must've been a huge blow for this region…' Sora quickly analyzed the situation and realized just how delicate his request really was.

'Hannah Stone… That witch did more damage than I thought. But I can't stop now. I need that position to be truly effective.'

"How can I convince you?" Sora asked simply, hoping to find some common ground.

The admiral seemed surprised by the young man's diplomacy and responded immediately, "Hannah was extremely secretive in her actions. We'd like a bit more transparency in your actions, and the ability to oppose any arbitrary decisions."

Sora, who had originally wanted full authority like his predecessor, didn't seem thrilled by the request.

'Just what I need. People breathing down my neck and vetoing every decision I make.'

Still, his words were more measured. "I don't want to come off as arrogant, but helping Europe isn't my only concern. Showing you my training or missions doesn't seem very useful or wise. How about weekly meetings instead, to discuss all active wars and territories in the kingdom? You can object to any decisions you don't agree with."

Figaro listened attentively, seeming lost in thought. Knowing that someone of his level didn't need that much time to reflect, Sora realized he was communicating with others in the room.

Jérôme Figaro was just France's representative, and the neighboring countries' delegates were also present. If his position had strengthened recently, it was only because Paris had become the new central hub in Europe after the server update.

'Madrid, Rome, Lisbon, Brussels, and most other capitals have been pushed aside after the update… Like all cities outside of the top thirty.'

After nearly a minute, the admiral finally spoke. "Contrary to Hannah, you have proven to everyone how valuable to humanity you were. Just because of your actions, we are honored to have you lead us. That is why we accept your proposal. However, we'll have one condition. We'd like to see the results with our own eyes before appointing you officially. Would you accept having a one-week trial period?"

Sora nodded. "Fine by me."

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Seeing the admiral extend his hand, Sora reached out and shook it. "Can we start right away? Let's have the first meeting now."

The admiral was caught off guard but recovered quickly. "The appointment of the commander was the only item on today's agenda but now that it's settled, we can indeed proceed."

He gave a wave of his hand, and the room began to change. The chairs disappeared first, catching a few of the seated attendees by surprise.

Sora didn't get the satisfaction of seeing anyone fall on their ass… Everyone reacted quickly enough. Unfortunately.

A gentle force encouraged those present to move away from the center, and a massive table materialized in their place.

"Take your seats," Figaro instructed.

Sora sighed. 'The second meeting today. Kill me now.'

He seemed to have forgotten he had asked for the meeting himself. He headed toward a random spot, but someone gestured to him. Seeing them point toward the end of the table, he obliged and took his place.

Once everyone was seated, Sora waited for the meeting to begin... But no one spoke.

A notification then appeared.

[Jerôme Figaro: It's your turn to speak. If you're lacking information, you could start by asking for a status update. We'll go from there.]

Sora was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected help and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. When he looked up and saw that all eyes were already on him, he felt a bit of discomfort.

'I'm way too young for this shit.'

"Can we start with a status update on our continent? First, internal matters, then the conflicts."

No one seemed surprised by the question. This new leader was known for his exceptional power, not for his knowledge of geopolitics.

All eyes turned to a young woman.

Sora followed suit and took the opportunity to read the information hovering above her.

[Asta Nadal – Level 129]

'Her level isn't that high, but she seems to have the power of someone around level 150. Interesting… She's probably holding back her level to lead during Tier 4 wars.'

Asta Nadal stood and gave him a respectful nod.

"Commander-in-chief Hashino, General Nadal reporting. The majority of Europe's population is currently evacuating the continent. Based on our estimates, the region will be nearly empty within three weeks."

"Our people are currently being accepted nowhere for various reasons. Lagos and Cairo have chosen to implement controlled immigration and have set level or job restrictions for entry. Istanbul justifies its policy by reminding us of the repeated rejections Turkey faced when trying to join our union."

"Our populations are thus constantly on the move, heading toward the twenty-five remaining cities but only a few players are being granted entry."

'We're the illegal immigrants now. Wow! Seems like the tables have turned... ' He thought, half cynical, half saddened. 'I'll need the boys' guild to be ready sooner than later, I guess.'

"We've also recorded over twenty million people who are categorically refusing to leave. They're scattered across Europe and, for the most part, cite their desire to defend their land and refusal to abandon it. Small detail, though: the vast majority of them are below level 15 or 20… Their resistance, while admirable, is mostly symbolic."

Sora raised an eyebrow. 'What a shitshow.' But he didn't comment.

"There are, however, some good news. European leaders have all gathered here in Paris and formed an alliance. In addition, nearly four hundred thousand players of all levels have committed to defending various territories. Finally, around 60% of the players who had left for other parts of the world have returned to fight."

Sora was tempted to scoff at the first 'good news.' 'So when things got bad to a point they can't do anything anymore, they finally stopped playing politics and decided to work together? Do they want to be rewarded for doing their job?'

The next points were more surprising. 'European players are mobilizing? That explains the players I saw outside. It's surprising to see so many return, though. There must be a reason I'm not seeing yet.'

"All of the European Union's outlying territories are under attack by Dark Elves, Spirits, Demons, Dwarves, and Werewolves. If we're only counting the Dark Elves, they have launched a Tier 2 war in London, the last stronghold of the United Kingdom, along with a dozen Tier 3 and 4 wars. Germany, Poland, Ukraine, and western Russia will be the stage for Tier 3 conflicts. The Baltic States, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, and Spain will host Tier 4 conflicts."

Sora looked surprised and asked, "Spain is getting a Tier 4 war? Do you mean Tier 3?"

Asta seemed particularly affected by the question and couldn't respond right away.

A message appeared just after Sora's question.

[Jerôme Figaro: Asta is originally from Spain. The country was practically wiped off the map right after the update… All the survivors are people who weren't there during the attack... It's one of the main victims of the 9%.]

Asta, her eyes slightly red, quickly regained her composure and responded, "The system lets us choose our capitals and sub-regions, but we can't cheat on the classification, which must remain coherent. Spain now has one of the smallest populations in Europe. It's classified as a Tier 4 sub-region."

Seeing Sora nod, she continued, "So we're facing thirteen conflicts with the Dark Elves. But every kingdom I mentioned earlier has launched wars against these same territories to add pressure on our shoulders. Each of these countries is facing at least three or four active conflicts. Germany, for instance, will have to handle five Tier 3 wars… That makes a total of 57 ongoing wars: one Tier 2, twenty Tier 3, and thirty-six Tier 4."