Chapter 45 : Rule – What is Broken (4)

While Rydel (half-conscious) was following Yoo Seoyeno’s orders.

Pixel Wars Streamer Server Operations Room.

Zeronix, the server’s general planner, had an expression that looked like he wanted to dance.

As soon as the special event for the server’s one-month anniversary began, the atmosphere started to burn brightly.

“Ah~ The event effect is amazing! We’ve broken the concurrent viewer count again!”

“Yes, hyung. It looks like we’ll surpass 400,000 concurrent viewers.”

“Of course. The server operation costs are high. If this fails, we’ll be eating tree bark in the mountains.”

Zeronix said this, but his face was full of composure.

Of course, it might seem natural that as more streamers participate, the number of viewers would increase.

But if the server itself is boring, it’s meaningless.

There’s always the worst-case scenario, where participants are many, but the viewer count actually drops (something I don’t even want to imagine).

Fortunately, this server was cruising along successfully.

Especially on the server’s one-month anniversary, when the boredom was starting to creep in.

Zeronix had planned a large-scale event.

He had successfully revived the atmosphere that might have started to slow down.

“Collect 10 items to get a pass, and finish off with a grand raid!”

In a way, it could be seen as a bit of a cliché setup.

But Zeronix judged that this ‘gukbap’ type of fun definitely worked.

“But hyung, who do you think will win this event?”

“As for me, I think it would be fun if someone unusual wins.”

On the split screen of the monitor, CritZone appeared.

CritZone, sending out 10 clan members, distributing them appropriately.

Just as if it had been prepared in advance, there was not a single moment of hesitation.

“But if you’re talking about betting money, isn’t CritZone the only one? He seems like he’s done a lot of preparation.”

“True, the quest itself was designed in a way that favors people with more members.”

Since it was the one-month anniversary event for the server, it had to be on a large scale.

Having prepared so grandly, smaller-scale events felt unsatisfying.

As the scale grows, the number of people needed also increases.

It’s like a blockbuster movie needing many people.

In the end, the large number of participants from CritZone made the game more advantageous for him.

“I didn’t intend for it to be this way, but it turned out like this.”

In fact, Zeronix was a little disappointed with this part.

Competition needs to be at least somewhat balanced to have tension.

That’s why weight classes exist in combat sports.

Right now, the viewer count is rising, but if it looks like CritZone will win for sure, the viewers who tuned in will start to decrease.

“Oh, hyung, some people are forming alliances and running together.”

However, the streamers weren’t just sitting idly by.

They didn’t plan on handing the trophy to CritZone just like that.

Streamers with similar battle power began to cooperate.

After forming alliances, they started to run with a similar number of participants as CritZone.

“Yeah, this is it! They’re broadcasters, there’s no way they’ll let the event fail so easily!”

Zeronix smiled contentedly as he watched the scene.

With this, CritZone could no longer guarantee victory.

The tension that had faded was coming back to life.

At that moment, Frost, who had been carefully looking at the data, cautiously spoke up.

“But hyung, what do you think about Rydel and Silver Hair?”

“?”

Zeronix looked at Frost with a puzzled expression.

He was well aware of Silver Hair’s abilities.

If he had to pick the most skilled individual, he would choose Silver Hair over CritZone.

Rydel, too, was doing his part well.

“I think we should focus on other teams this time.”

However, there was no chance of victory in this event.

In a game where having more members was an advantage, what could just two people possibly do?

“Still… you did make it so they can use the Hidden Piece this time, right?”

The Hidden Piece.

In fact, the only Hidden Piece revealed so far was Silver Hair’s “Mask of Deception.”

The others were prepared but had not seen the light of day.

The reason was simple.

It was too difficult to balance them.

In fact, even the “Mask of Deception” had balance issues, and its usefulness wasn’t that high.

It could only be used a little more comfortably in some quests.

The Hidden Piece didn’t live up to its name.

The only silver lining was that Silver Hair hadn’t raised any issues about it.

“I mean, they can use it.”

As a result, complaints like “When do we get to use the Mask of Deception?” were often heard from Rydel’s audience.

Zeronix was aware that the Hidden Piece had been poorly received, so he made sure it could be used to some extent in this event.

“If you wear the mask, you can easily obtain a few materials. There’s a hidden mechanism.”

It was a small advantage for those holding the Hidden Piece.

That was all.

“Of course, it’s only a ‘slight’ advantage.”

Zeronix paused for a moment, deep in thought, before shaking his head.

“I definitely didn’t design it so you could defeat a full party of over 10 members head-on.”

The “Mask of Deception” was a useful item for this event, but it wasn’t a versatile cheat code.

There was an insurmountable wall in terms of numbers.

Frost sighed and nodded in agreement.

“…I guess that makes sense. But honestly, I never thought Rydel would go with just the two of them.”

No matter how skilled an individual was, 11 versus 2?

That was an overwhelming power gap with no room for strategy or variables to come into play.

Zeronix turned his gaze back to the CritZone clan’s screen.

“Yeah. No matter how much Silver Hair excels, this event will be tough for her.”

From Zeronix’s perspective, Silver Hair’s small screen was already slipping out of focus.

It would be hard to expect much from her this time.

But Frost was different.

He knew it didn’t make sense, but it was purely a gut feeling.

For some strange reason, he felt like Rydel’s team was about to pull something off.

Therefore, Frost decided to focus on Rydel’s screen.

“It’s not going to work.”

Zeronix said that, but he stood beside Frost and watched the screen with a sigh.

Well, it was obvious it wouldn’t work, but at least in the early stages, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Rydel’s broadcast screen and Silver Hair’s gameplay screen.

Finally, the two characters arrived at the “Ancient Ruins Entrance.”

Here, they could obtain one of the event materials, the “Unstable Magic Core Bomb.”

“Hmm. It seems like they’re planning to make the bomb first… Huh?”

Zeronix’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Wait, a bomb? No, why? Why are they making that first?”

Frost, standing beside him, shook his head in disbelief.

[Unstable Magic Core Bomb]

Initially an overpowered item, it became a useless piece of junk after being nerfed, now just an item that only generates aggro for wide-area effects.

With a 10% movement speed reduction, it was clearly meant to be something used at the very end of the event.

Frost cautiously asked.

“Boss, could it be… Silver Hair misunderstood the quest content?”

“That’s unlikely. Rydel’s right there, after all.”

Unlike Silver Hair, who was incredibly skilled at the game but lacked some of the finer knowledge, Rydel was someone who understood Pixel Wars to some extent.

She wasn’t exceptional, but she wouldn’t make such a ridiculous mistake.

“What are they trying to do? What the heck?”

***

Inside the Ancient Ruins.

A gloomy and damp atmosphere seeped deep into their lungs.

The strange patterns on the walls and the floor.

The scattered bone fragments added to the eerie ambiance.

“Ugh… this place feels seriously ominous,” Rydel muttered, gripping the hilt of her sword tightly as she scanned the surroundings.

“It feels like something’s about to jump out at us…”

Was it the power of her words?

Creeeek…!

From the distant corridor of the ruins,A statue, which had appeared to be part of the wall, began to move, making a rough sound.

Rising, shedding stone dust, was a gargoyle made of solid stone.

Screeek-!

Its red, glowing eyes locked onto the two of them.

‘A gargoyle? Why of all things…!’

Rydel’s face turned pale.

A gargoyle.

A rock monster made of stone.

Its defining characteristic was its incredibly strong defense.

Since its body was made of stone, it was incredibly tough.

And once it locked onto its target, it would cling to them relentlessly, making it hard to shake off until defeated.

‘We don’t have time!’

If it were another situation, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

It was just a tough monster.

But right now, time was of the essence.

They didn’t have the luxury to fight such a trivial creature.

However, Yoo Seoyeno had a calm expression on her face.

She drew the large sword that had been wriggling at her waist.

[Kraken’s Greatsword]

A newly crafted greatsword, one of only two in the server.

“This heavy and chilling sensation… not bad.”

Yoo Seoyeno seemed to really like the sword, even throwing in a joke.

Meanwhile, the gargoyle was charging toward her with its heavy body.

Swish-!

The moment the gargoyle rushed toward her!

The greatsword, glowing with a chilling purple aura, cleaved the air like a flash of lightning.

Crack-!

With a dull, crashing sound,The purple trail sliced through the gargoyle’s tough stone body cleanly.

Just one strike.

The once solid gargoyle’s upper and lower halves were neatly separated and tumbled to the ground.

The twitching red eyes quickly faded away.

“…!”

Rydel, who had been about to draw her own weapon, froze.

‘The gargoyle… that hard thing got one-shot?!’

「What did I just see??」

「That rock monster got one-shotted 🙂🙂🙂🙂」

「Was the gargoyle always this weak?」

「Kraken’s Greatsword performance is insane 😅😅😅😅」

「Wow, this is what item power is! This is skill!」

As the monster, which seemed like it would be tough, was destroyed in one hit,The chat window began to ignite with excitement.

The situation that seemed so frustrating was turned around in a flash.

“This… the attack power is amazing.”

Critzon had mentioned that his specialty was the vampiric abilities,But after actually using it, the raw damage was terrifying.

Yoo Seoyeno’s small smile rose with satisfaction.

The exploration of the ruins was no longer difficult.

In front of the Kraken’s Greatsword, the monsters of the ruins were sliced through like soft tofu.

Every time the purple flash of light flickered,Tough and powerful monsters collapsed helplessly.

The only regret was that they never got to experience the vampiric effect, as Yoo Seoyeno sliced everything before the attacks even landed.

Rydel, who was about to draw her weapon, instead picked up her staff.

What she chose was a buff spell.

Honestly, it was much better to just give buffs rather than swing a sword herself.

Thanks to that, they quickly reached the deepest part of the ruins.

Boom-!

Even the mid-boss level monsters collapsed helplessly after a few strikes.

[You have obtained 5 ‘Fragmented Magic Core’ pieces!]

“Wow…! Silver Hair-nim…! You’ve already gathered all the bomb materials!”

Rydel shouted with a trembling voice, as if she couldn’t believe it.

The speed was unbelievable.

「Wow, it’s like a ruin vacuum cleaner 🙂🙂🙂🙂」

「One tentacle sword just clears the ruins」

「But yeah, big swords can’t equip shields, so high raw damage is expected」

「Didn’t even get to see the vampiric effect 」

Rydel thought that they were probably the first party to obtain the item on the list.

Maybe, they could really do something after all.

Hope began to rise in her chest.

“Let’s head to the nearest village blacksmith and quickly make the bomb!”

Rydel shouted as she led the way.

The blacksmith wasn’t far.

After handing over the 5 Fragmented Magic Core pieces,The blacksmith skillfully placed them on the workbench.

Clang!

Clang!

After a few dull hammering sounds,A bomb, radiating warmth, was completed.

[Unstable Magic Core Bomb]

Of the 10 collection items,They had obtained the first one.

“Where should we go next?”

Rydel asked with an excited voice.

Then Yoo Seoyeno smiled gently and said,“Let’s go to the altar.”