Chapter 30

The victory formula of <Eternal World> is simple.

Eat resources. Use those resources to kill enemies. Destroy the base.

Originally, all AOS-type games felt like this. <Eternal World> mixed in a bunch of other stuff, but at its core, it’s still an AOS. It didn’t stray from this formula.

Of course, there were some weird AOS games that did things differently, but that’s just them being strange.

Anyway.

The method of efficiently gathering resources has already been established. No matter how much you tweak it, the overall framework remains similar.

That’s why, if you understand the opponent’s psychology, you can perfectly predict their movements.

Like right now.

After killing all the guards of the enemy’s main carry, “TouchMeAndIBite,” I asked:

“Did you enjoy playing <Excel Busters>?”

“I did! After watching Ga Joon-sik play—”

*Crunch.*

I took down TouchMeAndIBite with Ormal’s first basic skill, [You’re Bad].

As expected, there are a lot of Ga Joon-sik fans. The influence of a big-name broadcaster really hit me.

It’s not for nothing that I stream. If I could get even a fraction of that influence, advertising would be so much easier.

Should I just start handing out ads next time?

After a brief moment of contemplation, I shook my head.

I couldn’t even imagine how much money the promotional power of broadcasters could translate into. Their rates are just too high these days.

I should focus on making a fun game that everyone can enjoy. If I focus too much on ads, I’ll end up broke.

Though I got sidetracked for a moment, I returned to the game and checked on my team’s situation.

Since I wiped out the enemy twice, my team was comfortably growing.

This made it easier for me to focus on my goal.

I closed the info window and quickly headed toward the enemy base.

Ormal isn’t actually a city core character. Right now, it’s being used as one, but when it was first released, it was meant for outer solo play.

That’s why its growth potential can’t even be compared to other city core characters.

But even so, Ormal is a usable character.

Ormal is an ogre half-blood character. Its concept is solid.

Pure strength. Nothing else matters but strength.

Support? Assassination? Information gathering? Late-game damage? Playmaking?

Not interested.

Crushing enemies with overwhelming early-game strength. That’s Ormal’s reason for existence.

Early-game Ormal is a disaster. It becomes pretty awkward once tier 3 objectives appear, but before the enemy carries have enough items, no one can stop Ormal.

The enemies, realizing this too late, focused on their own growth rather than dealing with me.

Which means they abandoned their main carry.

I rushed toward TouchMeAndIBite, who was struggling to farm objectives with their support.

A shadow binds my feet. I roar, breaking the crowd control, and charge forward. The flow was so natural that it almost felt like I wasn’t even hit by the skill.

I smashed the support with a club glowing with red energy and stood in front of TouchMeAndIBite.

I turned on in-game voice chat.

“What part did you find fun?”

Spatial energy gathered in TouchMeAndIBite’s hand. No answer, just an attack. How disappointing.

The space-warping force shot out, but I dodged it easily and raised my club.

For a kid who won’t talk, a good beating is the best medicine.

I mercilessly pounded them until TouchMeAndIBite’s health dropped to single digits.

Only then did they give up and speak.

“The game mechanics were fun…”

“So not the story, huh?”

“The story too—”

*Crunch.* I checked the info window of the ally who had beautifully finished off TouchMeAndIBite’s head.

And then I frowned.

The allies who were supposed to be comfortably growing were all overextended.

How did you lose that? I set up two deaths to completely shut down their growth.

Especially the scout, who pointlessly tried to help the carry duo and ended up dying. That hurt the most.

I told you to just farm quietly. Why can’t you do that?

Ormal has clear limitations. If the enemy over-grows like this, it’s over.

Drastic measures were needed.

I held back my tears and bid a brief farewell to TouchMeAndIBite.

Wait for me. I’ll be back soon.

I stopped by the city core first. A very cheeky friend lived here.

You just farm, huh? Cutely killing our carry duo and scout?

I found my target quickly.

The enemy city core, who was about to take a tier 4 objective, used a skill as soon as they saw me.

*Sizzle.* Ice familiars and ice weapons floated around the enemy city core.

Ice chunks flew at me too.

I dodged them all effortlessly and closed the distance.

The club glowed with red energy, and the enemy city core’s pot shattered.

Mission complete.

Now it’s time for another fan meeting.

“The true ending of <Excel Busters> was so good! A solution where everyone is happy is totally my style—”

*Crunch.*

“<Fantasy Life>? I haven’t played it, but I’ll go try it right now—”

*Crunch.*

“Why are you doing this to me?”

*Crunch.*

TouchMeAndIBite really enjoys these fan meetings.

Cooking up the enemy city core and scout whenever I had time was just a bonus.

And so, I collected every possible objective and kill in the game, achieving absurd growth.

Finished the chapter.

Facing a big team fight, I stared at the enemy.

There were no stragglers.

It’s impressive they didn’t surrender.

Maybe they thought they could turn things around by killing me once since I’m Ormal, but that was a pretty naive thought.

It’s true that Ormal is an early-game character with poor scaling. As time goes on, the character’s power drops like a waterfall.

But that’s only in normal situations.

A fed Ormal like now is a disaster until the game ends.

Thud. I took a step.

In response, the enemy’s skill sliced through empty air.

An ice pillar crashed into my body.

Health got chipped away.

The space split in half, cutting down all enemies in the designated area.

Health got chipped away.

A shadow dragon roared, applying slow and extra damage.

Health got chipped away again.

I kept pushing forward.

I tanked all the desperate attacks coming my way. Ormal is a big character with a large hitbox. In small skirmishes, it might be manageable, but with so many AoE skills flying around, it was hard to dodge everything.

Well, I didn’t even think about dodging in the first place.

Step by step, I approached the enemy and slowly raised my club.

After taking all the ultimates and regular skills head-on, my health was pretty low.

Now, only three-quarters of my health left!

If they repeated this three more times, they could kill my character.

I used Ormal’s ultimate, [I’m Angry!].

As I swung the club down, the ground caved in, creating a crater.

The relatively well-fed outer solo character who was there died as a bonus.

Now, only five enemies left.

It felt like playing whack-a-mole.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

After taking out all the characters who stood still as if resigned, I approached the last remaining enemy main carry, “BiteIfTouched,” and asked:

“Did you have fun?”

“Did I have fun? Seriously—”

Bang!

After defeating all the enemies, I nodded and said:

“I’m glad you had fun.”

*

People only know if it’s honey or bitter medicine after tasting it.

The enemy, realizing it was impossible to kill Ormal, immediately surrendered.

Whoosh. Boom. [Victory].

Back in the lobby, I caught my breath and checked the chat.

—

“Sniper education by Han Yoorim! Sniper education by Han Yoorim! Sniper education by Han Yoorim! Sniper education by Han Yoorim! Sniper education by Han Yoorim!”

“Trash kid got wrecked lol Trash kid got wrecked lol Trash kid got wrecked lol Trash kid got wrecked lol”

“You even banned snipers and still lost? Quit the game.”

—

Seems like my play was satisfying. As an entertainer, I felt good.

Enjoying the cheers from the viewers, I touched the virtual touchscreen.

There was still more to do.

[Friend Request – BiteIfTouched]

I sent a friend request to the enemy main carry I just met, and it was accepted immediately.

A chat came in.

BiteIfTouched: Why the hell are you like this?

Han Yoorim: Just one more question.

BiteIfTouched: You still have more to ask?

BiteIfTouched expressed doubt. We had communicated a lot.

I didn’t have much to ask either. Just one last thing.

Han Yoorim: Are you looking forward to my next project?

BiteIfTouched: Like hell I am.

Confirmed.

Since there’s no expectation, it seems my game still has a lot of room for improvement.

I need to keep improving.

After finishing the conversation with BiteIfTouched, I opened the friend list.

And I tweaked the settings to create something.

[Fan – Tier 1]

[Fan – Tier 2]

[Fan – Tier 3]

[Fan – Tier 4]

[Fan – Tier 5]

After creating the friend categorization folders, I placed BiteIfTouched in [Fan – Tier 3].

I said:

“You were slightly lacking in affection, but your last sharp critique bumped you up to Tier 3. Do you like it?”

I checked the friend chat.

No chat came in.

Did they turn off the stream already?

I crossed my arms and fell into thought. This was a variable.

If this happens, I can’t check customer satisfaction. What should I do?

Ding. A donation came in.

Is it BiteIfTouched?

<ㅇㅇ donated 1000 won>

-Why only that guy? Why only that guy? Why only that guy? Why only that guy? Why only that guy? Why only that guy? Why only that guy? Why only that guy? Why only that guy?

Nope.

Where did you go, BiteIfTouched?

I answered, slightly sulking:

“That’s the only person I interviewed.”