#30 Episode: Promising Candidate (7)

“There’s a way to enter the blessed royal tomb without a map? Where is it?”

“If you go straight north from here, you’ll find the ruins. Since Nadia received a related quest from the lord, don’t you think the GM planned this flow from the beginning?”

“Oh, indeed! No wonder I thought the difficulty was absurd; there was a method all along! I mean, what kind of lousy GM would outright tell players to die!”

At Erin’s explanation, Nadia jumped up, filled with joy, while the viewers looked on in confusion.

「『UsagiMoe』 has donated 10 coins.」

> Wouldn’t Lunara completely disregard that?

「『QuickFireMage』 has donated 10 coins.」

> Our Nadia isn’t that meticulous to plan out so many variables.

「『SeriousSage』 has donated 10 coins.」

> Hmm, can’t really deny that.

Nadia lightly brushed off the viewers’ insinuations and urged Erin.

“Then let’s hurry! If we can somehow solve the map issue, even if it’s not all top-tier players, there might be beginners willing to help us.”

“That’s fine, but what’s your current level, Nadia?”

“32.”

“The monsters on the way to that dungeon are level 36.”

“…….”

Nadia’s face went blank, gaping as if she had turned to stone.

Then, a moment later, as if her petrification had been lifted, she exclaimed in disbelief.

“No way, I heard the monsters on the first floor of the dungeon are level 31—how can the surrounding monsters be level 36?!”

BE was a game where the power gap due to level differences was quite severe.

A 4-level difference made it nearly impossible to solo the monsters.

“They’re not just high level, but their respawn rate is quick, and the monster density is also high. So, let’s gather more party members.”

“Hmmm, I think that’s necessary. It seems tough with just Erin and me.”

“What classes should we include?”

“A party full of Hunters will have high firepower, but due to ammo supply issues, they might be weak in the long run. It would be better to include some Warriors or Priests for balance.”

[Looking for someone to carve out a route to the blessed royal tomb without map fragments. Average level of enemy monsters on the way is 36.]

Using a contract that displayed a large notification above their heads, the players’ attention quickly focused.

“Going to the royal tomb without a map? Does that even make sense?”

“Let’s see who falls for this bait.”

“Wait? The party leader is Nadia?”

“Really?”

Nadia was quite the celebrity among the players.

She had shown significant prowess in the first trial and was the one who struck a deal with the secretive lord of Arkheia, making the ‘Nadia Project’ a reality.

In the context of the whole server, particularly the Alpha server, it was not an exaggeration to say she was the hottest promising candidate at that moment.

When Nadia confidently put her name and face on the official notice, even the initially skeptical players began to submit party requests one by one.

About 50 players gathered.

“Oh, what do we do? Should we split into several parties?”

“Hmm, other parties don’t have ally collision prevention, do they? I think it would be easier to dissolve the current party and create a new one with a high-level contract to gather everyone.”

“That one’s pretty expensive…”

“I’ll chip in too. The more people we have, the safer it will be against monsters.”

In the end, Nadia bought a contract from the shop in the village that had effects like auto-distribution of items and gold, and ally collision prevention.

Seeing the price of this disposable contract being more expensive than her entire previous wealth made Nadia tremble, but she couldn’t audaciously say something like, “Oh, this contract is too expensive; I’m gonna cancel the party!” while dozens of eyes waited behind her.

“Removing just the auto-distribution feature would have made the price drop tremendously…”

Money was reluctant to part with, but there was no alternative.

If they didn’t clarify this part with a top-notch contract, it was already obvious that a horrific tragedy would occur in the kill count as these many players would rush to secure contributions.

And thus, an impromptu expedition team was formed.

“『Killing Bound!』”
“『Three-Step Stab!』”
“『Dragon Emergence!』”

“Flames that burn fiercely, incinerate my enemies!”
“Chilling cold, bind the enemies’ feet!”
“Goddess of mercy, grant us your blessing.”

Players with Warrior or Fighter classes triggered their skills with relatively simple keywords, while Mages and Priests recited lengthy incantations.

Magi players could also wield their skills using only the names or chosen simple keywords, but in that case, their power would significantly decrease compared to when they properly chanted.

This was a result of a dedicated skill called ‘Incantation’.

Regardless of whether they chanted or not, the MP cost remained the same, but the power difference was at least 1.5 times, so magic professions generally preferred using their skills alongside incantation. Initially, the act seemed awkward, but seeing everyone else do it shifted their mindset.

Among the professions that could use magic, only Paladins or Black Knights, who needed to fight in melee while using spells, could get by with just the shortcut keywords.

《For the God Apep—》

Pbbbbb!

The low-ranking priest, about to proclaim the praise of the evil god, couldn’t finish the line and dropped dead immediately.

With knives stuck in, bullets embedded, and fireballs raining, defense and everything melted away before the overwhelming firepower.

It was so shocking it made hunting players uneasy.

“Was level 36 this easy to take down? Normally, a 2-level difference means it’s tremendously difficult to kill.”

“Look at how many people we have here. Compared to a regular party of about 4-5, it’s like ten parties are hitting it all at once. If this is hard to take down, then that would be cheating.”

“Should we stick together like this next time we form a party? The monster respawn rate is really fast, and considering the number of people, the experience and gold aren’t bad either.”

“Didn’t you see how the party leader trembled when buying the contract earlier? If we’re moving around like this, we definitely need to set up a party using the top level contract that prevents allies from hitting each other. The cost has gone through the roof.”

Despite the chatter, the players’ mood wasn’t bad at all.

Normally, hunting in BE required a great deal of tension due to the life-or-death stakes, but moving around in a group eased fears of potential mishaps.

And their favorable response peaked when they realized they could indeed enter the 『Blessed Royal Tomb』 without a map.

“Holy crap, can this really happen?”

“The difficulty of breaking through from the village to here is a bit intense, but considering the difficulty of farming for the map, this isn’t too bad.”

“But why can all 50 of us enter? When we entered using the map before, there were no one else aside from our party of 6?”

“That’s because that was a limit set by the map. Normally, the same party can enter the same instanced dungeon, so that’s how it should be.”

“Uh… Wait. So can we just push all the way to the 5th floor with this many people?”

“……Right?”

The players’ eyes changed.

When they tackled the dungeon with six, they faced life-threatening risks at every floor, and from the 4th floor onwards, when monster levels suddenly spiked, players often couldn’t even set foot into the area. But with this number, it became possible to push through even if the enemy level was high.

“Nadia! Since we’re here, let’s go all the way!”

“Will this party be regularly active? I’d love to join again.”

“Ah, if the contract price makes you anxious, how about splitting it 1/50 for each?”

“Uh? Huh?”

Nadia was flustered by the players’ sudden attempt to talk, but that didn’t matter; the players excitedly chattered among themselves.

Nadia searched for Erin with a pleading gaze, but Erin seemed caught up in gossip with other party members and didn’t catch Nadia’s request for help. In fact, she was likely ignoring it on purpose, but Nadia was none the wiser.

However, Nadia was no stranger to virtual reality games and was also a Vtuber.

While she wasn’t exactly taking charge, she wasn’t someone who would fail to fulfill her basic responsibilities as the party leader.

“For now, let’s definitely push through to the 3rd floor. From the 4th floor, we can fight and adapt based on the situation. Also, we might need to reconfigure our formation. The collision prevention from the contract only prevents damage but doesn’t stop attacks from going through allies, so the Warriors should try not to obstruct rear support as much as possible—”

「『UsagiMoe』 has donated 10 coins.」

> Oh! Leadership! Nice job! Our bunny!

「『SeriousSage』 has donated 10 coins.」

> You don’t see this kind of large-scale cooperative play anywhere else. Quite refreshing and nice.

「『QuickFireMage』 has donated 10 coins.」

> Let’s wipe out the dungeon! We’re gonna smash the bosses and everything!

「『FlowerCoffeeShop』 has donated 10 coins.」

> What’s going on? Isn’t this an event dungeon? Why are so many people here?

「『GoldenSuitBoss』 has donated 1,000 coins.」

> Oh, the streamer here seems pitiful; the sponsors are so stingy.

「『SeriousSage』 has donated 10 coins.」

> What are you talking about? We all donated 1,000 after entering, you know?

The commotion was not only among the players.

Nadia, already drawing attention because of the previous show, found herself leading a massive expedition team this time, drawing sponsors from other channels over to her stream in droves.

And they were responding positively.

「『FlowerCoffeeShop』 has donated 10 coins.」

> This is refreshing in its own way; quite enjoyable.

「『GoldenSuitBoss』 has donated 10,000 coins.」

> Not bad at all.

The playstyles of other rankers were somewhat similar to each other.

With a 6-player limit and high-level monsters, they could only repeat the routine of fighting, resting, and fighting.

Of course, the specific styles of players did lead to various entertaining scenes, but among 100 rankers, 99 would follow similar strategies, while one brought a completely different approach, making things feel fresh for viewers.

They bulldozed through the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors, and on the 4th floor, even though the tankers’ health was dropping rapidly due to the level difference, the sheer number made it manageable as they took turns to shield each other.

And then came the much-anticipated 5th floor.

“Damn, this isn’t even a boss; the mobs here are level 40!”

“Is this even meant to be cleared? Are there people who can clear this with a 6-person party?”

“Everyone! Focus! Tankers, if your health drops below half, retreat immediately! Priests, prioritize healing for each designated tanker! DPS, don’t hold back on your mana!”

The enemies were strong, but the power of unity was even greater.

No matter the level difference, a dungeon designed to be cleared by a 6-person party wouldn’t withstand 50 players charging at it.

【You have cleared the first five floors of the Blessed Royal Tomb.】

“We did it! We cleared it!!”

“Phew, I thought I was going to die from the tension!”

“But since we could clear this at the current level, I guess if we keep repeating this, our level and proficiency will rise, and it’ll become quite manageable?”

The players cheered, and Nadia felt relieved.

‘With this method, even beginner players can tackle the dungeon. Though it might be too much to handle up to the 5th floor, tackling up to the 3rd floor shouldn’t lead to death from curses.’

It was just at that moment a sudden announcement broadcast rang out.

《Ahem, ahem. Players, we have confirmed that an illegal game strategy has been conducted in the game that was not originally accounted for.》

《Since this strategy ignored the retrieval of map fragments, a core component of this trial, we will reset the results obtained during this strategy and subsequently block entry using the dungeon entrance to prevent a recurrence of such events.》

“No, damn it! You crazy lady!! You made the event so flimsy, and now you’re talking about a reset?!”

“It’s one thing to patch up the bugs, but shouldn’t you at least offer some compensation?”

“Whoa, I just leveled up by 3 this time; are you saying that’s going to be wiped out? Are you serious?”

As players protested against the absurd announcement, Lunara seemed to ignore them entirely.

No matter what the inner chimpanzee shouted, that seemed to be none of her concern.

“Ah….”

Nadia sat there, despair etched on her face.

She thought she had finally found a solution, but it seemed it was about to become useless once again.

As she lowered her head, tears welling in her eyes at that moment.

《Oh, wait? Please, everyone calm down. I mean, this is merely a penalty for the bug—everyone? Everyone?!》

The GM, who always mocked the players with a playful expression,

Nadia stared blankly as her face morphed into confusion and dismay.

Something was happening.