Chapter 45: Breaking the Rules (4)

While Raidel was following Yoo Seo-yeon’s orders in a half-dazed state…

In the Pixelwars Streamer Server Operations Room,

Zeronix, the server’s head planner, wore a grin like he wanted to burst into dance.

The one-month anniversary event had just begun, and the atmosphere was already on fire.

“Damn~ this event’s killing it! We’ve broken the concurrent viewer record again!”

“Yeah, bro. We’re probably gonna break 400,000 concurrent viewers.”

“We’d better. Running this server costs a ton. If we flop, we’ll be out eating tree bark in the mountains.”

Zeronix said that jokingly, but his expression was full of confidence.

Sure, it made sense that more streamers meant more viewers.

But if the server itself wasn’t fun, it meant nothing.

There were plenty of cases—he didn’t even want to imagine—where the server felt crowded, but the viewer count dropped.

Thankfully, this one was going well.

Especially right around the one-month mark, when interest typically began to wane.

Zeronix had prepped a massive event just for this.

It was the perfect push to rekindle hype.

“Gather 10 collectibles to earn an access pass, and finish with a fiery raid!”

Maybe it sounded a little generic.

But Zeronix believed in the appeal of that comforting, no-fail content style—what Koreans call a “soul food” formula.

“So who do you think’s gonna win this one, bro?”

“Personally? I think it’d be more fun if a wildcard won.”

On the split monitor display, Kreetzone’s team was shown.

Kreetzone had sent his 10-member clan off in a perfectly balanced dispatch formation.

It was like he’d preplanned everything—zero hesitation.

“But if I had to bet money, it’d be Kreetzone. He looks super prepared.”

“True, this quest definitely favors teams with more people.”

Since it was a big one-month event, the scale had to be massive.

Smaller-scale activities didn’t feel epic enough.

And the bigger the event, the more manpower you needed.

Just like a blockbuster movie.

So, unintentionally or not, the game ended up skewed in Kreetzone’s favor.

“Didn’t mean for that to happen, but yeah.”

Zeronix was a little bummed about that.

For a real competition, things needed to be more evenly matched.

Like in martial arts—weight classes exist for a reason.

Sure, viewer numbers were up now.

But if Kreetzone looked like a guaranteed winner, the hype would quickly die.

“Oh, look. A few streamers are forming alliances.”

Of course, the others weren’t just sitting on their hands.

No one wanted to hand the trophy to Kreetzone.

Streamers with similar strength levels began forming alliances.

By banding together, they could match Kreetzone’s numbers.

“Now that’s more like it! They’re streamers, they wouldn’t let an event crash that easily!”

Zeronix beamed watching the screen.

Now even Kreetzone couldn’t guarantee victory.

The tension was back.

Then, Frost, who’d been reviewing data next to him, spoke carefully.

“But… bro, what do you think about Raidel and Silverhair?”

“Hm?”

Zeronix gave him a puzzled look.

He was well aware of Silverhair’s skills.

If he had to pick the most skilled individual, it’d be Silverhair over Kreetzone.

Raidel was also solidly competent in her role.

“Still, I think it’s better to focus on the other teams this time.”

But realistically, they didn’t stand a chance in this event.

This game favored numbers. What were two people going to do?

“But… isn’t it true that this time, you allowed the use of hidden pieces?”

Hidden pieces.

So far, the only revealed one was Silverhair’s ‘Mask of Deception.’

Others were ready in the backend but never implemented.

Why? Because balancing them was nearly impossible.

Even ‘Mask of Deception’ wasn’t particularly useful due to those same balance concerns.

It gave minor advantages in a few quests, but nothing game-changing.

Hidden pieces weren’t living up to the name.

The only relief? Silverhair hadn’t complained about it.

“Yeah, technically she can use it.”

Still, Raidel’s viewers often asked, “When is she ever gonna use that mask?”

Knowing the item had a weak reputation, Zeronix had quietly enabled it for this event.

“If she uses the mask, she’ll have an easier time collecting a few materials. I placed a few hidden mechanisms.”

A slight advantage for possessing a hidden piece.

That was all.

“Of course, it’s only a slight edge.”

Zeronix paused in thought, then shook his head.

“It’s not designed so two people can beat a 10-man blitz head-on.”

The ‘Mask of Deception’ might be useful, but it wasn’t a miracle item.

There was still a massive wall of numbers in their way.

Frost sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, figures. Still… I never thought Raidel would really go in with just the two of them.”

Even if your individual skills were god-tier—11 vs. 2?

That was a slaughter, not a competition.

Zeronix turned his gaze back to Kreetzone’s screen.

“Yeah. No matter how cracked Silverhair is, they won’t win this one.”

In his eyes, Silverhair’s little screen had already dropped off the radar.

There wouldn’t be any highlight moments from her this time.

But Frost felt differently.

He knew it didn’t make sense.

But some deep gut feeling told him Raidel’s team might actually do something.

And so, he focused on their feed.

“They can’t win.”

Zeronix said, even as he sighed and stood beside Frost, watching the screen.

They wouldn’t make it far.

But hey—watching the early stages couldn’t hurt.

Raidel’s stream and Silverhair’s gameplay feed.

Their characters had just arrived at the ‘Ancient Ruins Entrance.’

This was where one of the event materials, the ‘Unstable Magic Core Bomb’ ingredients, could be found.

“Hm. So they’re planning to make the bomb first… Wait, huh?”

Zeronix’s eyes widened.

“Hold on, the bomb? Why on earth would they make that first?”

Frost shook his head in disbelief.

[Unstable Magic Core Bomb]

Once a busted OP item.

Now a nerfed joke—nothing but a big aggro-puller.

Its 10% movement speed penalty practically screamed, save me for last.

Frost asked cautiously:

“Bro… do you think maybe Silverhair misunderstood the quest?”

“Nah, probably not. Raidel’s right there too.”

Silverhair might be incredibly sharp in gameplay sense, but she lacked some basic in-game knowledge.

Raidel wasn’t a genius, but she did understand Pixelwars.

They weren’t the type to make a dumb mistake like this.

“What the hell are they thinking?”

---

Inside the Ancient Ruins

The damp, gloomy air clung to their lungs.

The grotesque wall carvings and cracked floors.

Scattered bone fragments added to the eerie vibe.

“Ugh… this place is creepy as hell.”

Raidel gripped her sword hilt, voice tense as she scanned the surroundings.

“Feels like something’s about to jump out at any second…”

As if on cue—

Rrrrrk…!

From deeper down the hallway, a statue that looked like part of the wall started to move with a grinding noise.

Dust crumbled off as it rose—a stone gargoyle, built of solid rock.

Ziiing—!

Its glowing red eyes locked onto them.

‘A gargoyle? Seriously, out of everything—it had to be that?’

Raidel went pale.

Gargoyle. A rock-type monster made of stone.

Its defining trait? Insane defense.

Its stone body made it ridiculously tough.

Worse, once it aggroed, it clung to you relentlessly until defeated.

‘We don’t have time for this!’

In normal circumstances, no big deal. Just a tanky mob.

But right now, they couldn’t afford delays.

There was no time to waste on nonsense enemies.

Seo-yeon, however, looked perfectly calm.

She pulled out her writhing greatsword from her side.

[Kraken’s Greatsword]

The recently crafted weapon—one of only two on the server.

“This heavy, chilling feeling… not bad.”

Apparently she really liked it—she was even cracking jokes.

Meanwhile, the gargoyle launched its heavy body toward her.

Shff—!

At the exact moment of impact, the cursed greatsword tore through the air like a flash of purple light.

Crack—!

With a dull rupture, the purple arc sliced straight through the gargoyle’s rocky body.

One strike.

The once-impenetrable gargoyle was cleanly bisected.

Its glowing red eyes flickered out instantly.

“…!”

Raidel froze, hand still on her unused weapon.

‘Wait… that thing went down in one hit?’

[“What the hell did I just watch??”]

[“That stone chunk just got one-tapped lol”]

[“Were gargoyles always that weak?”]

[“Kraken Greatsword’s busted af lol”]

[“Now that’s item power and that’s skill!”]

One-hit killing such a durable mob fired the chat up.

The situation had seemed hopeless—until Seo-yeon flipped it in one clean blow.

“Wow, this sword has insane base damage.”

Kreetzone said it was known for lifesteal, but in practice, its raw power was nuts.

Seo-yeon’s lips curled in satisfaction.

From then on, the ruins were a breeze.

Monsters fell like tofu before the Kraken Greatsword.

Each flash of purple carved effortlessly through their ranks.

The only downside? She didn’t even get to test the lifesteal.

She was killing everything too fast.

Raidel gave up on using her sword and pulled out her staff instead.

Buff spells. That was the better option.

No point swinging a blade when she could just support from behind.

They reached the deepest part of the ruins in no time.

Boom—!

Even the mid-boss collapsed in a few slashes.

[You have obtained 5 ‘Unstable Magic Core Fragments’!]

“Whoa… Silverhair! We’ve already got all the bomb materials!”

Raidel shouted, voice trembling with disbelief.

Unbelievable speed.

[“She’s like a ruin vacuum cleaner lol”]

[“Just one tentacle sword = dungeon free pass”]

[“Well, greatswords do have high base damage since you can’t use a shield”]

[“Didn’t even get to test the lifesteal lol”]

Raidel was pretty sure their team was the first to secure a material.

Maybe… they really could pull this off.

Hope started bubbling in her chest.

“Let’s hit the nearest village forge and get this bomb crafted fast!”

Raidel led the way.

The forge wasn’t far.

She handed over the 5 fragments.

The blacksmith skillfully arranged them on the crafting bench.

Clang! Clang!

A few hammer strikes later, a bomb radiating heat was complete.

[Unstable Magic Core Bomb]

Out of the ten collectibles,

they had just secured the first one.

“Now, where to next?”

Raidel asked, her voice buzzing with excitement.

Seo-yeon smiled sweetly.

“Let’s go to the altar.”