Ch.265[Episode 265] We Have Rights Too.

The Star’s update preview broadcast reached many viewers through GachaTube’s algorithm.

Even Astromus was surprised, saying it was among the top seventy-five broadcasts in his career.

That finger count seemed oddly specific, but then again, that’s just how Stars were.

Of course, viewer count wasn’t what mattered.

What mattered was the content of that day’s broadcast.

In the chairman’s office located on the top floor of the Black Group headquarters.

‘So this means you’re minimizing random elements as much as possible, and lowering the ceiling on remaining random elements to stabilize prices?’

‘This seems like something that should be in the miscellaneous patch notes, but isn’t it too significant to summarize in just one line?’

“Sigh…”

Morgana Black, the chairman of Black Group, closed her laptop.

Having already watched it three times and practically memorized the content, further viewing was unnecessary.

Normally, Morgana Black’s brilliant mind could remember update details after seeing them just once, but this time was an exception.

That single line from the update.

The impact of that one line was so great that she couldn’t even register the other content.

“Sigh…”

After heaving a deep sigh, Chairman Morgana collapsed into an expensive linen chair, grabbed her head, and uttered a single phrase.

“We’re ruined.”

Chairman Morgana remained motionless with her head in her hands for a moment, then suddenly stood up and walked to the window.

She pulled back the curtain and looked down at the hundreds, thousands of people protesting below.

All of them were dissatisfied with this update.

…

There were three major additions in this update.

The addition of 6-tier equipment and exclusive equipment.

Awakening to 6-tier.

And changes to random elements.

Sir Dominic was already aware of this update.

He had seen the preview video through GachaTube’s algorithm.

Sir Dominic was already familiar with GachaTube from frequently watching dog and cat videos, so he felt no particular discomfort.

“I can safely ignore this update.”

That’s what Sir Dominic thought after watching the entire preview video.

With equipment that was at best 4-tier, Sir Dominic would eventually obtain 6-tier equipment, but it wasn’t time yet.

Even if he used up all the rewards piled in his storage, it would still be barely enough to refine a single 5-tier equipment, so Sir Dominic decided not to worry about equipment issues.

Next was awakening to 6-tier.

Sir Dominic vaguely remembered hearing something similar in a dream.

He probably heard it before landing a decisive blow against the demon race…

After pondering about 6-tier for a moment, Sir Dominic decided this proposition wasn’t worth worrying about either.

He was still only 3-tier, so 6-tier was a distant concern.

Finally, changes to random elements.

Specifically, it was a proposal to reduce random elements to decrease dependence on randomness, and adjust effects accordingly. This applied to Sir Dominic’s shield equipment.

Originally, attacking with the shield had a chance to stun enemies, but after the patch, it would always stun but with a shorter duration.

All of this would be implemented in the next update, not yet applied.

Sir Dominic nodded, thinking he had unexpectedly received a buff.

Thus, this update content didn’t seem particularly disadvantageous to Sir Dominic.

“By the way…”

Sir Dominic sipped his canned coffee while waiting at the place he had mentioned in Arcus’s dream.

Believing that Arcus would eventually come here since he had asked to meet here.

As he leisurely observed passersby while sipping his canned coffee, Sir Dominic suddenly noticed several angry people rushing somewhere.

They were wearing red headbands or carrying picket signs, but they moved too quickly for him to read the signs.

However, the few angry people soon became many, and by the time Sir Dominic finished his coffee and disposed of the empty can in the recycling bin, half the street was filled with angry people.

“What’s happening?”

Sir Dominic became curious about these people suddenly rushing in one direction.

He was certain something had happened.

In truth, Sir Dominic had experienced so many incidents all at once (with much exaggeration) that his body was itching for some action in his otherwise peaceful daily life.

Curious about why people were gathering, Sir Dominic started walking in the direction they were moving.

…

“Respect our rights! Respect them!”

“Respect them! Respect them!”

“Why abolish randomness! Why abolish it!”

“Why abolish it! Why abolish it!”

Following the angry crowd, Sir Dominic arrived at a scene where numerous people were protesting.

They wore red headbands and chanted slogans, with someone leading and everyone else following in chorus.

Bewildered by this spectacle, Sir Dominic stopped a passerby to ask what was happening.

“Excuse me, may I ask you something?”

“What?”

“Do you happen to know why people are gathered here?”

“What? Aren’t you here to protest?”

“No. I was passing by and came over out of curiosity when I saw this scene.”

“Then you might not know.”

The protester, accepting Sir Dominic’s explanation, unexpectedly began explaining kindly.

“All these people have gathered because of the issue with random elements.”

“Because of random elements?”

Sir Dominic tilted his head.

What could possibly be the problem with random elements?

“Listen to the chants and you’ll understand. Listen for a moment.”

The protester fell silent so Sir Dominic could hear the chants clearly.

“Without randomness, small business owners will die!”

“They’ll die! They’ll die!”

“Give back the randomness that fed the Market Area!”

“Give it back! Give it back!”

“Ah, I see.”

Sir Dominic nodded as if he understood why they had gathered from their shouts.

“It seems these people all sold items through gacha mechanics. Merchants from Gachaland, I presume.”

Sir Dominic’s deduction was sharp.

All circumstances pointed to Sir Dominic’s reasoning, and any normal person would think the same.

“I’m afraid you’re wrong.”

But as everyone knows, Gachaland was far from normal.

“These are citizens who bought from merchants.”

“Citizens?”

Sir Dominic turned to look at the protesters again.

“Let’s all protest against this update that oppresses random gacha! Small business owners! We support you!”

However, Sir Dominic looked back at the protester before him with an uncomprehending expression.

No matter how he looked at it, they appeared to be merchants united to assert their rights.

“They look like merchants to me.”

“Well, you might think so. But there’s not a single merchant here. The merchants are all over there.”

Sir Dominic turned his head in the direction the protester pointed.

There was another group there, looking embarrassed at the protesters.

“Everyone! I bought apples yesterday too! And I finally drew a fresh apple! That freshness! That thrill when I drew it! I cannot lose that thrill!”

“…Stop it.”

“We have rights. Anyone who fulfills their duties in Gachaland can claim their rights. Yes, the right to roll gacha!”

“Stop it.”

“Everyone! Let’s chant together! Let’s petition so small business owners can earn even one more Credit, so they can sell items with even more brutal odds!”

“STOP IT!”

Sir Dominic finally realized that the protesters were indeed citizens, and those trying to stop them were the merchants.

Merchants had many ways to make money without randomness, so while it was annoying, they didn’t strongly oppose the law.

But Gachaland’s consumers were a different breed entirely.

“H-how will we live without randomness?”

“Pay full price? Why? Paying full price has a higher expected value!”

“All probabilities ultimately come down to a 50-50 chance of drawing or not, and 50-50 is essentially 100% with rounding, so why make us buy directly?”

That’s right.

The people of Gachaland were like pickles thoroughly soaked in gacha.

People like Sir Dominic who normally paid full price for items had no issues, but they were a tiny minority in Gachaland.

Most Gachaland residents were accustomed to using gacha for everything, tried to use gacha for everything, and had become unable to live without gacha.

Of course, updates were System Industries’ responsibility, but these people—whose minds were thoroughly soaked in gacha and who were furious about the random element suppression law… I mean, update—were protesting just about anywhere.

Sir Dominic realized this and the blood drained from his face.

He had finally confronted the true madness of Gachaland that he hadn’t seen until now.