Chapter 14
He took a deep breath to calm down.
"Will that really work?" Ran asked quietly, thinking about the crazy idea he just read.
"Of course it will!" the book said proudly. "It is very simple. As the Lord of this private world, you can invite as many subordinates as you want, anytime you want. But..." The book paused, sounding serious. "There is a big catch. If a subordinate kills you, they will become the new Lord of the private world."
Ran shivered. A cold chill went down his spine.
He thought hard about it. If a subordinate grows too strong, what if they kill me? No wonder other Lords did not do this. Inviting strangers was too dangerous.
But then he thought about his unique system. The system loved crazy risks. If he did this, he would probably get a massive reward.
"Can I just ban or delete a subordinate if they get too strong?" Ran asked, hoping for a safe backup plan.
"Yes, you can," the book answered. "But the rules say you need a valid reason. You can only ban them if they attack you or betray the territory. If they are well-behaved and you just feel scared, the system will not let you ban them. That is why subordinates are dangerous. They might kill you in one sudden hit before you can ban them. Because of this, Lords usually only invite people they know and trust."
Ran hesitated. That was very risky. But he felt sure he would get a huge reward if he did it.
Seeing him hesitate, the book made a suggestion. "Lord, you do not have to summon them right next to your base. The private world is huge with unlimited resources. You can put them far away."
Ran's eyes lit up. "That is a great idea! Show me the map of the private world."
"I cannot do that," the book said. "The private world is too big. It is beyond my power to map it."
Ran nodded. "I understand."
Then, Ran had a smart idea. "What if I filter the invitations? I will only invite good people who are struggling in life. Also, for my safety, I will only invite people who are Level 20 or below. I can raise the level limit later when I get stronger."
"Good idea," the book said. "Normally, a Lord cannot do that. But because you have me, I can scan the Earth and find the exact people you want. However, I must do the scan on Earth."
"Got it," Ran said.
Ran immediately opened a portal and went back to Earth. He stood in his empty living room with the floating book.
"Do it," Ran ordered.
The book glowed with a golden light that spread across the whole world. A few seconds later, the light faded.
"Scan complete," the book said. "I found exactly 17 million people on Earth who are good, struggling in life, and Level 20 or below."
Ran was shocked. "Seventeen million? Can I send the invitations to all of them at once?"
"Yes," the book confirmed.
Ran quickly opened another portal and went back to the private world, where his mom and sister were still gathering resources.
Standing in his massive territory, Ran got ready to send the message. He wanted to make it look like a video game so no one would know his real identity.
He typed the message in his mind:
[System Notice: You have been chosen as a Player under the Unknown Lord. Do you want to enter a new world where you can level up fast, change your life, and get powerful Martial Souls?]
[ Yes / No ]
"Send them all," Ran commanded.
Instantly, 17 million invisible invitations were sent to Earth.
***
Meanwhile, somewhere on Earth, Clara woke up with a loud gasp.
She was an elite member of the Flora Clan Institution, also known as FCI. She had joined right after her graduation and officially became a full member after just a two-month internship. Like many others, she applied for the internship right after her awakening, and she had just reached Level 20.
Today was supposed to be an ordinary day. She was planning to go out and hunt with her teammates. But after taking a short nap, she woke up from a very long, realistic dream. It took her a moment to look around her room, check the calendar, and realize the shocking truth.
She had gone back in time. She was back to the exact day she was Level 20.
"Is this... July 20?" Clara whispered to herself, staring at her hands. "I'm back... I really went back in time!"
She remembered everything.
It was Ran, the Venerable Chaos Lord, who had sent them back. At the very end of her past life, the Lord used a very powerful, rule-breaking item to send his core and elite subordinates back in time.
Clara knew exactly what was going to happen today. On this exact date, July 20, a massive recruitment would happen. Every person with a good background who was Level 20 and below would receive a mysterious invitation.
From this day forward, Earth would enter a new era. The people who accepted the invitation and became players under that Lord would rise in power very fast. Slowly, they would discover the truth about the universe.
First, the recruitment was only open to Level 20 and below, but the level limit would gradually increase later on. Clara was one of them. She was one of the very first recruits. Because of that, she became extremely strong in the future. She grew so powerful that she was picked to be part of the Lord's core subordinates, later known as the "Shadow Guards."
There were exactly 12 Shadow Guards, selected from millions of elite subordinates. Clara was sure that the other 11 Shadow Guards were also experiencing the same thing right now. They also went back in time.
However, Clara smiled. None of the other 11 Shadow Guards would be recruited in today's first phase. She knew that out of all the future Shadow Guards, she was the only one who qualified for the very first batch. The other 11 were already above Level 20 by this date, so they would have to wait for the next recruitment batches.
"This is it," Clara muttered. "This is the time the Lord does his first recruitment..."
She remembered the grand events of the future clearly. One year from now, another Lord would invade Earth and the lords private world. That was the day Lord Ran would finally reveal his true identity.
Everyone on Earth would discover that he was the Venerable Ran, the Chaos Lord. Clara was there when Ran single-handedly protected Earth. He used his incredibly powerful units from his private world to defeat the enemy, and then he counter-invaded the other Lord's planet.
War after war happened. Earth, which was originally a small and weak planet, became a cosmic powerhouse. Earth went from being a Beginner World—which had a level cap of 1000—to a Rebirth World, completely breaking the ceiling of leveling. And it was all because of Ran, the Chaos Lord who protected it.
But then, the great tragedy happened. A huge war broke out during the competition for the Heavenly Ranking, a list that ranked the strongest Lords in existence. As she remembered, Lord Ran was competing for the number one spot on the Lords Heavenly List. Unfortunately, it was a catastrophic war. For the first time ever, Venerable Ran lost a battle. He was defeated and died at the very last moment of victory.
Before he died, he used a supreme item to send his core subordinates back in time to assist his younger self.
And now, she was back. With all the memories and information in her mind, Clara felt completely confident. She was going to surpass her past self and become a core member of the Lord even faster. Becoming his most loyal core member was her greatest dream.
Clara was trembling in excitement. She looked up at the ceiling, her eyes burning with fierce determination.
"Venerable Chaos Lord," Clara promised aloud, "I swear... this time, we will win that war!!!!"