Chapter 55

Currently, Pape is ranked 62nd in Challenger.

I’m at Master Tier 1 with 0 points.

Last time, it took me about 6 days to climb from Master 0 points to Challenger, so to catch up with Pape, it’ll take at least 6 days, if not more.

And Pape isn’t just sitting around either. He’ll keep grinding solo rank, and since he’s so skilled, his rank will keep climbing.

From 50th place onwards, the competition gets fierce, so even Pape might struggle to climb at his current pace… but the same goes for me.

In the end, I had to take drastic measures.

[Person who forgot how to sleep]

Because of part-time work and game development, I can’t go full no-sleep mode, but if I pull off about 5 no-sleep days a week, it should be fine.

I never thought secretly adjusting my part-time work to just one day a week would come in handy like this.

―――

Has it started?

This is only possible because I’m young.

It’s not like I’m forcing myself to endure; I’m still full of energy, so maybe my pancreas is just built different.

Pancreas supremacy, honestly.

―――

What does the pancreas have to do with sleep?

My viewers are getting weirder by the day.

Who’s responsible for this?

Is it Bunny Run?

I apologized while booting up the game.

“Sorry, everyone.”

―――

What the hell?

Stop it!

Enough!!!

―――

The viewers are having a meltdown.

I was genuinely confused.

I didn’t even do anything, so why?

“Everyone, calm down.”

―――

I don’t know what’s going on, but the chaos is starting!!!!

Don’t look at Han Yoorim, don’t look at Han Yoorim, don’t look at Han Yoorim, don’t look at Han Yoorim, don’t look at Han Yoorim, don’t look at Han Yoorim, don’t look at Han Yoorim.

It’s Han Yoorim from Rulebook #9, it’s Han Yoorim from Rulebook #9, it’s Han Yoorim from Rulebook #9, it’s Han Yoorim from Rulebook #9, it’s Han Yoorim from Rulebook #9, it’s Han Yoorim from Rulebook #9.

―――

“……”

I sulked a little and picked my position.

[Guardian]

Then, I queued for a quick match, and the game started almost instantly.

As expected of Guardian. Unless you’re a points-crazed maniac, no one plays this role, so the queue pops at near-light speed.

[For the glory of the motherland]

Every game has performance differences.

<Eternal World> is no exception.

Performance gaps between characters are a given, and there are also performance gaps between roles.

In my opinion, the role with the highest carry potential is City Core.

If we’re purely talking about growth potential, Main Carry is higher, but overall, City Core takes the top spot.

But that raises a question.

Setting aside carry potential, which role has the most influence?

I think it’s still City Core, but theory and reality don’t always align. At least in solo rank, outside of tournaments, it’s not City Core.

The role with the most influence in the current solo rank meta.

The role that can make enemies surrender the fastest.

That role is Guardian.

That’s why I apologized to my viewers.

To catch up to Pape before he hits rank 1, I had to play Guardian.

People who play this boring role, I guarantee you, have sold their souls to the devil of points.

The character I picked was ‘Noah Weber,’ the current most OP character.

The game begins.

The base interior transforms into a classic building reminiscent of modern Germany. It’s Noah Weber’s passive.

I headed to the secret room in the building and fiddled with the communication device.

After about 3 minutes and 15 seconds, I hit level 4.

Having achieved my target level, I immediately went to the building’s basement.

Every Guardian has a passive that dyes the building in their color.

This locks one skill as a non-combat skill. As a result, Guardians are relatively weaker compared to other characters.

But that’s only true for older characters.

For MZ characters, who pack multiple abilities into a single skill, the Guardian’s traits are meaningless.

I crossed through the underground passage.

It’s one of the effects of Noah Weber’s passive, [Safe House].

You can use secret passages connected to every corner of the map and the shortest routes.

What? A broken skill like that? You might think, but what can I say? That’s MZ characters for you.

I opened the manhole cover and climbed out. Not far away, I heard the sounds of combat. It was our carry duo and an enemy Scout.

I pulled out my staff and approached the enemy.

The enemy Scout turned their head at the rustling sound. Then, they freaked out.

“Rulebook #9, Han Yoorim of the Blue Eyes!”

What is this lunatic talking about?

*Slash.* I cut the enemy Scout’s throat with my staff blade.

It was clearly a snipe, so I didn’t hesitate.

By the way, you’re the type to snipe but not camp? I’ll put you in Tier 3 Fan.

Leaving the carry duo, who resumed farming as if nothing happened, I returned to the underground secret passage through the manhole cover.

Huh? I just used the manhole, how can I use it again? No cooldown? If you’re asking, there isn’t one.

Well, technically there is, but the cooldown for exiting and entering is separate. So, effectively, there’s no cooldown.

This part will probably get hotfixed. It’s way too broken.

The performance is good.

But not now.

Novella. Your careless balancing. I’ll teach you a lesson now.

[Victory]

Starting from the City Core, we stabbed the outer solo so hard that a sharp 10-minute surrender came out.

The next game was the same.

The advantage of the secret passage was the reduced movement time.

Moving faster than others. This in itself was a huge advantage, but strategically, it was almost cheating.

It meant having one more turn than others.

It was usually impossible for the Guardian who just sliced the Main Carry to also visit the City Core. It was normal not to have such a turn.

But Noah Weber did it.

And not just coming, but also converting the acquired gold into items.

Novella, you guys are really hopeless. Let’s teach you a lesson.

Whoosh—. Boom. [Victory]

I secured 2 wins in 20 minutes.

Total points gained: 26.

Still a long way to go.

Next game. Noah Weber got banned.

It could be a snipe, but it was also likely not. Banning the current meta’s top OP character was a natural phenomenon.

I picked the character I had prepared as Plan B.

‘Flawie’. Not the top OP in the current meta, but a character that always delivers solid performance in solo rank.

Flawie had the disadvantage of having a base that was too obvious.

The building itself turns into a flower, and it would be hard not to notice unless you were blind.

Of course, if the game progresses normally, the base’s location is revealed in less than 10 minutes. So this might not feel fatal.

But if the base’s location is revealed, enemy scouts can easily read the movements of our Main Carry. Naturally, it’s better to be revealed as late as possible.

So how does Flawie always deliver solid performance despite such a clear disadvantage?

It also had good mobility.

That was the whole reason.

After reaching level 3 through photosynthesis, I flew through the sky on a giant petal.

Flawie’s base bonus effect. Super high-speed movement to the target point.

Looking back, this character’s appearance changed the game’s foundation of <Eternal World>. I realized this while reading past patch notes.

Starting from Flawie, all characters began to have multiple abilities attached to one skill.

It’s amazing how Thierry, included in the first 21 characters, still doesn’t fall behind any MZ character.

In terms of the number of skills.

Performance-wise… I think it’s good, but people think differently.

A Super Developer respects people’s opinions.

As I arrived above the enemy Main Carry’s head, our waiting scout ambushed them.

I gathered solar energy in my flower-shaped hand and slaughtered the enemy.

Using the Sleep-Flower Trap-Solar Beam combo, they were thrilled to death.

Flawie wasn’t a complete MZ character, so showing plays like that required a cooldown. About 2 minutes.

So, squeezing out as much play as possible during these 2 minutes was Flawie’s core.

I used turns to the point of slightly overextending, harassing the enemy.

Sometimes I got kills, sometimes I just disrupted.

After 2 minutes.

Returning to the base, I converted all my gold into items and dropped onto the enemy Main Carry.

The enemy carry duo was level 5.

Meanwhile, I was level 6.

Just a 1-level difference, but there was an insurmountable wall between us.

Whether you can use your ultimate or not. That makes a world of difference in character performance.

<Eternal World> is that kind of game.

Using the ultimate, flowers bloomed everywhere.

The effect was area slow and DoT damage.

The enemy tried to escape the range as the damage intensified, but my skill was faster.

The enemy hit by the solar beam fell.

And.

A giant flower grew in their place, feeding on the enemy’s nutrients.

I boarded the flower that bloomed from the ultimate.

This time, it’s the outer area.

*

[Victory]

I won the game in another 10 minutes.

Killing all the way to the outer solo increases the chance of forcing a surrender.

My current score is Master Tier 1, 40 points.

The points per win increased from 13 to 14.

The MMR gain range is starting to change.

I checked Pape’s ranking.

Still 61st.

At this rate, I can catch up in about 4 days.

Doable.