Chapter 54: The Burden of the Weak

It was honestly baffling. To think that a quest triggered by a specific set of players could launch an entire server-wide event. The more I saw of Zelpia’s system, the more surreal it felt.

“The special rules for this event are something else, too,” I muttered.

“You mean the one about the player with the lowest combat power?” Sephiroth asked.

In this specific 6:6 event, there was an additional rule: the system would compare the combat power of the weakest person on a team to the average power of a max-level player and apply a bonus multiplier to the team’s score.

At a glance, it might seem insignificant, but if I was participating, the story changed completely. The gap between Level 250 and Level 40 was astronomical; the score bonus would naturally be massive.

“I mean, how low can an average player’s combat power really be? Especially since most people aiming for high tiers are already max level,” Sephiroth pointed out.

“True.”

He was right. Diamond tier was the peak of the battlefield; the odds of someone aiming for it being a Level 40 fresh-out-of-the-tutorial newbie were slim. Once again, this twisted system seemed to assume I was some kind of legendary pro-gamer regressor who had already mastered the battlefield…

Regardless of the “why,” I was stuck in a duo with Sephiroth if I wanted to clear this quest.

“I’m spending an unnerving amount of time playing with you,” I grumbled.

Sephiroth didn’t reply, only letting out a low, amused chuckle.

<Did you guys see the surprise event notice?> View: 447 So basically, the more low-levels you have, the better? What kind of weird PVP rule is this?

[Comments]

Anon 1: Yeah, the lower the level of the weakest player, the bigger the bonus for Battle Points and item drops. Anon 2: ? Wait, really? Then can’t you just throw a Level 40 alt account in the party? Anon 3: So it’s basically a forced 5:5? lol. Anon 1: @Anon 2 @Anon 3 Probably won’t work. If the player with the lowest combat power dies, the team loses the match instantly. Anon 2: @Anon 1 What kind of insane rule is that? Anon 4: Bring a low-level = get points. If the low-level dies = instant loss. Are they telling us to bring them or not…? Anon 5: Of all the recent Zelpia updates, this is the most nonsensical one yet T_T. Anon 6: As a low-level myself, can I harbor a little hope? (Sniff).

<Hah, f*ck, please don’t let me match with Sephiroth in Ranked> God, if I meet him as an ally, I’m just gonna jump off a cliff.

[Comments]

User 1: Isn’t Sephiroth good? Wouldn’t it be great to have him on your team? └ User 2: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Why do you think he’s called the “Mad Fanatic”? └ User 3: “A skilled enemy is better than a trash ally.” – By: The Mad Fanatic. └└ User 4: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Crazy. └└ User 5: If you want to experience what it’s like to have a nightmare mother-in-law, I highly recommend him. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

User 6: Hasn’t Sephiroth stayed away from the battlefield completely since the Tartarus Incident? └ User 7: He’ll probably join the event. └└ User 8: To be fair, it’s been ages since a battlefield event.

User 9: ㅋㅋㅋ I bet we’re gonna start seeing screenshots of people getting murdered by their own teammate in Ranked soon ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ └ User 10: Sh*t, don’t jinx it T_T. └└ User 11: Not a jinx. It’s a statement of fact.

<Mtc… did anyone see the Fanatic’s shout today?> [Screenshot attached] I knew you guys wouldn’t believe me, so I took a capture ㅋㅋㅋㅋ “Praise me” lolol. The Fanatic must be an otaku f*ck ㅋㅋㅋ No wonder he plays like a shut-in. From now on, if I’m about to die, should I tell him I’ll buy him a figurine?

[Comments]

User 1: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Crazy. User 2: Is that really the Fanatic??????? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ └ User 3: Yup, it’s real ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ User 4: Wow, what’s with that emoticon? Even as a weeb, I wouldn’t use that. └ User 5: For real. └ User 6: Truth. User 7: I always wondered who actually used that emoticon, and it’s Sephiroth… User 8: But doesn’t it look kind of cool because the Fanatic is using it? (o_o)? └ User 9: Look at this named-player bootlicker. └└ User 10: Yup ♡(´꒳`)♡ └└└ User 11: Hey, stop it, you’re making me nauseous. └└└ User 12: Is it becoming a meme? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

*<Fanatic is so cuuuuute ♡(´꒳*)♡>** *Content: Pangshin-ie is cute ♡(*´꒳)♡ Recommend: 1 | Downvote: 42

[Comments]

User 1: Can we block this guy? User 2: ㅋㅋㅋ This loser is back. User 3: Honestly, it’s starting to grow on me.

“Let’s look at the videos again later via shared vision. I’m going to stop by the castle first.”

“Ah. Okay.”

It looked like he’d received another penalty reduction as a quest reward. Sephiroth, who normally couldn’t enter castles, took advantage of these windows to handle all his business at once.

The spot where he stood suddenly felt empty. Despite all our bickering, I guess I’d grown used to him; I felt almost awkward not knowing what to do next. I looked around, but there was nothing but the vast sea. I crouched down and dipped a finger into the water. A sharp chill wrapped around my fingertip before pulling away. Without thinking, I traced the first character of Sephiroth’s name into the wet sand. A wave rushed in and immediately washed it away.

What am I doing? It’s not like I’m writing the name of someone I like.

I brushed the fine sand out from under my fingernails against my pants. Unlike reality, the game sand fell away cleanly with no residue. That sensation felt a little lonely, too.

Feeling bored, I checked the guild chat and saw it was getting lively.

[Guild] Nago-Rang: Going to PVP tomorrow! [Guild] PpoongPpoongLove: Just saw the notice too. [Guild] PpoongPpoongLove: Let’s go for guild points, it’s been a while. [Guild] Nago-Rang: Since Ho-ppang unni got a job, our guild points have been barely hanging on. This is great timing~!~!~!! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Guild] PpoongPpoongLove: Won-jae hyung, get ready to go wild. [Guild] Nago-Rang: 6:6 PVP is my domain, after all. k_k

The PVP event was clearly a hot topic. Seong-jin and someone with a nickname I didn’t recognize started talking. Soon, others joined in.

[Guild] JujiyukLim: First surprise event in three years ㅋㅋㅋ [Guild] JujiyukLim: Anyone want to run the event battlefield tomorrow for guild points? [Guild] JujiyukLim: Gyu-tae, Seong-jin, you guys in? [Guild] PpoongPpoongLove: I’m in. [Guild] OneHitOppa: T_T I can’t go… T_T… T… [Guild] PpoongPpoongLove: ? [Guild] OneHitOppa: T_T T_T T_T

Won-jae hyung was gathering a team for the 6:6 matches. If a guild participated as a team, they earned bonus guild points, which contributed to the guild rankings. Since the event offered extra points, it naturally encouraged guild-wide participation.

For some reason, Han Gyu-tae was drowning in a sea of tears because he couldn’t participate, but surprisingly, no one gave him any attention.

[Guild] VeggieHo-ppang: Gyu-tae’s out? That’s too bad >< [Guild] VeggieHo-ppang: So for the evening slot, it’s me, Won-jae, and Ppoong-ppong? [Guild] Nago-Rang: I wanna go too! [Guild] JujiyukLim: Rang-nim is always welcome ㅋㅋㅋ [Guild] Nago-Rang: Does that mean there are two spots left?

Following Seon-hwa nuna, who logged on the moment she finished work, Nago-Rang raised her hand. It seemed they were an established guild member. Seeing the team come together so smoothly gave me a strange feeling.

Me… I have to run it with Sephiroth…

[Guild] PpoongPpoongLove: But for this event, isn’t it better the more newbies you have? [Guild] Nago-Rang: Ah, I saw that. [Guild] Nago-Rang: They give a score multiplier based on the person with the lowest combat power.

That was true.

Since a lower level meant a higher bonus, a party with a Level 40 character fresh into PVP could theoretically earn a massive score by beating a max-level party.

But no one seemed inclined to do that.

[Guild] Nago-Rang: But in a match with guild points on the line, we can’t really bring a low-level… T_T [Guild] Nago-Rang: That person basically becomes a second Core Castle. T_T

[Guild] VeggieHo-ppang: Ah, right. Guild points.

The team that destroys the Core Castle first wins. If no castle is destroyed, the team with more kills wins. But one crucial rule had been added for the event:

‘The team whose lowest-combat-power player dies first loses the match.’

This meant that if you brought a Level 40 character just to get the score multiplier and they got one-shot, you’d lose instantly. The brief idea of bringing a Level 40 alt had been scrapped immediately for this reason. Since the game’s system made creating alts difficult anyway, it was even less feasible.

[Guild] JujiyukLim: I agree with Rang-nim ㅋㅋㅋ [Guild] JujiyukLim: Since Seon-hwa—who used to live in the game—got a job, our guild’s rank is struggling a bit. ㅋㅋㅋ [Guild] VeggieHo-ppang: Won-jae, you wanna die? ^^ [Guild] JujiyukLim: They say pretty faces come from pretty words, Seon-hwa. [Guild] VeggieHo-ppang: So that’s why your face looks like that. ^^ [Guild] Nago-Rang: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ [Guild] Nago-Rang: Tom and Jerry at it again today~ [Guild] PpoongPpoongLove: No, you guys need to know something. [Guild] PpoongPpoongLove: We have an invincible newbie in our guild. [Guild] Nago-Rang: Huh? [Guild] Nago-Rang: Since when did we get a newbie?