Chapter 33

Chapter 33. The event continues.

Anyway, after checking all the facilities in the base like that, I finally decided to revisit the goal of the ‘Main Quest’ that the damn Status Window bro gave me right after I fell into this world.

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<Main Quest: Secure a spot within the top 3 in the overall game ranking>

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After seeing that goal, I decided to check my ranking by opening my Status Window… no, the Fleet Status Window.

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Icarus Fleet

Commander: Icarus

Fleet Size: 79 points

Overall Ranking: 23,981st (↑4,553)

Pirate Ships Sunk: 195 (Details OFF)

PVP Wins: 1

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The moment I saw the Status Window (?) pop up, I felt a fluffy thought bubble up: “Wouldn’t it be better to just give up on the Main Quest?”

I mean, seriously, what kind of Herculean effort would it take to climb from 23,981st to 3rd place? Sure, I accidentally won my first PVP match, which shot my ranking up by thousands in an instant, but that’s just how gacha game rankings work, right? Most users are basically just “bonsai” accounts, living their lives without even touching PVP. The fact that there are only 4,553 people above me who haven’t even played a single PVP match is more surprising than anything.

With that thought, I leaned back in the commander’s chair and started pondering.

-*Creak*-

“Let’s see, what options do I have to climb the rankings…?”

And after all that thinking, the conclusion was simple: the only way was to mass-murder pirates through the ongoing pirate event that all users, including me, are participating in.

The problem was whether the ‘points’ earned from this event would actually help me climb the rankings. After all, the pirates are attacking all users simultaneously, so even if I wipe them all out, it wouldn’t make a huge difference in the rankings… which I already knew.

To put it simply, even if I kill all the incoming pirates, it would only help me maintain my current ranking. To actually climb, I’d need to do something more. The issue is that this game’s ranking system is… well, let’s just say it’s *very* stupid.

The ranking is determined by how many enemies you kill and how quickly you do it during events, as well as how many PVP wins you have. The problem is, less than a month ago, the game company that kidnapped and trapped us in this game revealed—without even realizing it—that they’re still terrible at managing things. I mean, ending the first phase of the event early because they ran out of pirates? Seriously?

At least after that…

“Commander, the pirates are attacking again!”

“…Perfect timing. Let’s level up the new cruiser we just pulled.”

“Yes, Commander!”

…the event hasn’t been interrupted due to a lack of pirates anymore, and the whole “unreliable” vibe has somewhat disappeared. But the suspicion that took root isn’t going away that easily.

And given the event’s structure, it’s not just about the number of kills—it’s also about how quickly you deal with them. Unless you have extreme efficiency and luck from the start, climbing to the top ranks is nearly impossible.

As for PVP, which seems like the only way to make a significant leap in rankings… this damn game made it painfully clear why PVP wins have such a huge impact on rankings. The pressure is insane, and it’s not just me—other users feel the same way.

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-[Ugh, PVP is so stressful, what should I do?]

-[Are you a newbie?]

-[Yeah.]

-[Then don’t do PVP, you’ll just get wrecked.]

-[Old-tellers telling newbies not to do PVP…]

There’s a reason why it’s drying up; even the old-timers start wheezing after a single run, so it’s dangerous for newbies.

—

Right now, as I was just watching the chat window I had open next to me, a newbie started whining about how hard PvP is.

Some of the veterans jumped in, saying stuff like “Yeah, it’s dangerous.”

Like that Melon guy I totally wrecked not too long ago.

It was literally a game where you could lose everything and have your mental state shattered.

Because the pressure was so intense, players preferred forming alliances for stable growth rather than diving into PvP.

The general meta was to aim for a late-game comeback.

Of course, if you got lucky with the gacha…

For example, among the SSS-Class Superhumans, some had weak combat abilities but boosted tech development and progress speed.

Or some increased fleet capacity based on level.

Or there were totem-type characters that gave a sort of ‘buff’ to the entire fleet and superhumans.

If you were extremely lucky and pulled even one of these, you could break away from the usual meta and play creatively.

Back when I was seriously spending money, I actually managed to reach rank 5 thanks to a support-type superhuman I got that way.

But excluding that kind of sheer luck, the only real way to climb the ranks was through PvP.

At best, you’d gain as much as you lost, and at worst, it was just a Pyrrhic victory.

So most players preferred forming reliable alliances early on, even if growth was slower, to ensure safe progress.

Unfortunately, since I had quit and come back, I didn’t have the same connections as others and was forced to play solo.

And judging by how I was monopolizing the nearby resource zones, there were hardly any players around to form an alliance with.

“I’m lonely…”

Anyway, as I was organizing my thoughts, I watched through the observation window of the command center as the pirates attacking my base turned into mush.

It made me realize once again how impossible it seemed for me to break into the top 3 ranks required by the main quest.

And it wasn’t just me thinking this.

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**Title:** Is this main quest even meant to be done?

**Author:** ㅇㅇ

**Content:** [Quest screenshot]

Seriously, there’s a limit to how many pirates come, but are they trying to force players into PvP or something?

The PvP is already so poorly designed that it’s hard to fight, and now they’re pushing it like this? What a joke.

It should either be high-risk high-reward or low-risk low-reward, but this PvP is just high-risk low-reward.

Whoever designed this must be out of their mind if they think pushing players like this will make the game more active.

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**Comments:**

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Seeing posts like this as soon as I entered the community gallery made it clear how dumb the game’s policies were.

I nodded vigorously in agreement as I read.

But just as I was about to drop a comment with my thoughts…

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**Comment:**

– [But why are people saying you shouldn’t do PvP here?]

—

As soon as a newbie’s innocent question popped up, the veterans swarmed the gallery like crazy, eager to shove all sorts of info into the clueless newbie.

I couldn’t help but be amazed.