Chapter 278
The History Book.
The War of the Stars, which draws league-level attention from an entire nation, plays countless roles.
It provides entertainment, sets the direction for the next story update, and serves as a time to experience game content in advance.
It’s not about the very next season.
Rather, a year later.
Because if it were applied to the very next season according to schedule, the preparation period for people would be too short.
Anyway.
The History Book had begun, and interest was at its peak.
There was only one reason. It was a match with thirty professional players participating.
Now, if you dig deeper with interest, you’ll discover even more intriguing things going on.
One Korean streamer, whom the general public around the world was gradually starting to recognize because of it.
Above all, they couldn’t help but notice.
In the early stages, where combat and mission completion were relatively lacking and small events unfolded, he played a minigame.
The infamous Coral Fish Fishing.
But that.
[What the hell is that Korean guy?]
==
Is he some legendary fisherman like Jiang Taigong in his past life or something?
This doesn’t make sense, right?
==
- Anyone know how he does it?
- Not a single person knows. Kael’s secret still a mystery.
- It’s just weird. Something’s weird.
[Seriously, isn’t this a hack?]
==
I’m serious.
Think about it. What’s someone else’s best is continuously coming out of that guy.
Yeah, you could say it’s not impossible.
If 1,000 people try a 0.1% chance, by law of averages, at least one might succeed.
But 1,000 people simultaneously breaking through a 0.1% probability is nonsense.
This is a hack.
==
- I agree with this opinion.
- Right. I don’t think it’s impossible either. If you draw out human potential to 100%, not many things are impossible. But drawing it out every single time is impossible, I think. I’d rather believe he’s cheating.
[Soon 100 points! To think this is possible on the first day!]
==
Only 100 left for the prophecy cost.
It’s Kael’s solo run.
The Church of Light will win.
Let’s go Kael new skin!
==
- What win? That’s not it.
└Yeah, hacker.
└└How could it be a hack? Surface’s subsidiary is watching with wide eyes.
└└└People screaming hack are just stupid.
- So, at 100 points it’s not complete balance-breaking; the AI seems to have blocked it well. That’s a relief.
└Definitely a relief.
└└Cheating would be boring.
└└└Wait. They say he’s doing other minigames too!!!!!!!!!
[You think he’d be good at other minigames too?]
==
He’s good?
==
[Crazy Korean]
==
He’s just crazy.
==
- That’s racist.
└Shut up, because he seriously seems crazy.
[The reason Korean game companies make so many gacha games.]
==
Because if it were a skill-based game, they’d go bankrupt because of that bastard.
==
- Ah, I see!
- So they’re not aiming for pay-to-win for nothing?
└Right. You should win fairly with money, not cowardly with skills like that.
└└Lolololololol foreigners defending pay-to-win, now I’ve seen everything lololololololololol
└└└lol for real lol
Seojun dealt with one after another of the games within the game that made countless participants weep.
After the Coral Fish, the next place he went was darts.
The AI did not stop Seojun.
And when Seojun earned 20 points, it kicked him out.
Seojun accepted it with a gentle smile and headed to the next minigame.
Next was a game where you scored by hammering a point.
It didn’t require ordinary strength.
Only precision.
It was a minigame where you had to accurately hit a needle-like single point so precisely that even pros would stick out their tongues.
The participants’ success rate was once every three attempts.
Anyway, since it wasn’t profitable unless you succeeded every time, everyone avoided it, but Seojun was different.
Bang!
[He got kicked out again!]
==
So what? He already earned 60 points.
==
- Only 60 points? He’s heading to the next minigame right away?
- It’s ruined.
- The History Book is ruined.
- No fun.
- But it’s skill.
Seojun said,
“You still won’t stop me?”
It was meant to provoke.
Not to the AI, who was the subject of the words, but to the ordinary people.
[Please, Korean, you stop.]
==
Why can’t I send donations!
==
[Looks like the AI has dementia.]
Actually, it wasn’t dementia.
The AI’s judgment criteria were consistent.
Blocking after earning about 20 points more than the points you started with.
Since it was an AI that had never been wrong so far, this criterion must be quite reasonable.
If only the opponent weren’t Seojun.
Even the Korean community was starting to voice opinions that he should be stopped.
[Just stop him! Stop him!]
[Broadcaster, join the mainstream and find peace of mind.]
[He should be chat-banned everywhere!]
[But our streamer is too handsome to be chat-banned?]
- Lol true
- Even if he wears a tracksuit, he’ll never be chat-banned.
- He’s a club free-pass, man.
└What about the formal meeting with parents?
└That’s free-pass too.
└Damn, why is everything free-pass?
└Because he’s handsome.
Seojun’s base points: 80.
And after doing minigames six more times, each earning 20 points.
Finally, the AI stopped Seojun.
Before he could even start.
[Finally, a chat-ban!]
[???: What on earth is this human?]
[Isn’t its judgment too slow? Is its performance really that good?]
[They say it’s for something, lololol]
[Surface’s stock might drop a bit tomorrow lololololol]
For reference.
Actually, the next day Surface’s stock temporarily fell by 0.5%.
Whether it was because of Seojun, no one knew.
“Ah! 200! We collect up to 200!”
“It’s ruined.”
“Will the prophecy be revealed! On the first day!”
Amid the commentators’ heated commentary continuing, Kapil’s face soured more and more.
***
“Inquisitor, you cannot proceed.”
200 points.
“It stops here.”
It’s a shame. Because there were quite a few minigames left.
“Should I move to another region?”
Minigames aren’t only in Atheas. But even if I go elsewhere, I’ll probably be blocked.
If the format is to lose or gain 1 point as I’ve done so far, then absolutely.
“It’s only learning now.”
Anyway.
It’s gradually becoming an awkward time to start anything new.
About 30 minutes left.
“I’ll log out now.”
Seojun simply exited the capsule right away.
Kael could just wander around the city.
An hour and a half break came, and Seojun immediately ordered steak through room service, then showered.
Showering is the best for cooling down your head and shaking off fatigue.
It’s not for nothing that martial artists train under waterfalls.
Afterwards, Seojun cut and ate the room-service steak while organizing his thoughts.
“There’s a possibility the AI deliberately allowed me to gather up to 200 points.”
The AI could have stopped him at the very moment he had to clear the next mission to buy the prophecy.
Also, there was no way it didn’t know Seojun would be able to buy the prophecy.
The AI is the designer that looks at and designs the History Book as a whole.
It could be seen as intentional.
“Why on earth?”
Didn’t they set the price at 200 points precisely so that the secret would be revealed later?
“This is delicious.”
Seojun leisurely looked down at the scenery outside while chewing the meat.
You have to look at the current situation the way you look at a landscape from a high floor.
Big.
Even bigger.
What could be the intention?
“Could they have modified the content of the prophecy itself?”
By changing it to be vague, reducing the information about the History Book that can be learned through the prophecy, thus adjusting the balance.
Since the AI does real-time adjustments, it’s a possibility.
“Or does it speed up the tempo by one more step?”
Knowing the prophecy doesn’t end things. Rather, it’s the real beginning.
They could adjust things in that part.
“Let’s go back to the beginning once more. It’s certain that this History Book is either everyone on the same side or an individual match.”
If that’s the case, in the former scenario, Seojun, having read the prophecy, will have to rally and persuade the participants.
In the latter, Seojun starts from an overly advantageous position.
Because he can just start hunting right away.
“It’ll be the former.”
Even without seeing the prophecy, the reasoning continues.
“Will they obstruct me from rallying first? Or balance it by having the unknown enemy be released a bit earlier?”
It’s impossible to gain a pure advantage.
Life is hindered by competitors, and the History Book is adjusted by the AI.
But, if you infer the actions of the AI or competitors and find a different path that doesn’t go as expected.
“You can produce satisfactory results.”
Therefore, Seojun now.
“Will not buy the prophecy.”
He intends to break the board.
“No matter how much I can raise my specs, saving 200 points now will be huge.”
Huge for himself, that is.
Though maybe not for the entire History Book.
“Anyway, other participants will obtain the information in some form.”
Rather, if he doesn’t buy the prophecy, the AI will have to prepare them for the unknown situation.
So it might lower the difficulty for other participants to obtain information.
All this reasoning was a tower built on the premise, after seeing the participating heroes, that it’s either an individual match or a team match.
If the premise is wrong.
If this History Book is a world war.
Or something similar.
“That’s good too.”
Seojun smiled and leisurely sipped the tea that had come with it.
“Because I’ll have become strong, so I just have to beat them all.”
Are the viewers probably expecting the prophecy book?
It felt disappointing to think I wouldn’t see a reaction for a while.
***
After the break, Seojun re-entered the History Book.
The sky was dyed with the faint red light of dawn.
Seojun went to Cardinal Ian’s office to receive a mission.
“Give me a mission.”
“……You really…….”
“I said give it.”
“Understood.”
Ian, with an expression that said he had much to say but was holding back, handed the paper to Seojun—no, to Kael.
[Heretic Extermination]
--
Suspicious movements detected in the capital.
Objective: Uncover the identity of the suspicious group.
Reward: Achievement Points +20
--
[Street Cleaning]
--
Need arises to reduce the guild’s influence.
Objective: Destroy 2 or more guild branches.
Reward: Achievement Points +30
--
First, looking at the newly updated missions, Seojun once again keenly felt how hard achievement points were to earn.
Most missions could be difficult to complete in a single day, yet their achievement points didn’t exceed 40.
The last mission.
[Dispute Zone Support]
--
Support for Atura, the disputed area with Daran.
As much support as possible requested.
Objective: Push the front line by 50m or more.
Reward: Achievement Points +70
Failure: Achievement Points -20
Participants: Two
--
“Hmm.”
The reason Atura’s reward is so high is because it’s a zero-sum game.
If Atheas succeeds, Daran fails.
You ask, why not send a hero from just one side to Atura?
Among prideful participants, who would give up those achievement points?
“I wonder which other Atheas hero will come.”
The personnel assignment is up to the AI’s discretion.
The important thing will be who comes as the opponent.
It’s the same 50m as yesterday, but seeing the higher reward, the opposing heroes will likely be at least two.
Also, there aren’t many missions where you lose points upon failure.
There were even cases where such missions never appeared throughout the entire period.
But it’s appeared already.
What could that mean?
“You’ve gathered enough contribution points. Won’t you buy the prophecy book?”
As expected.
It seemed to be saying, buy it now.
“I’ll think about it.”
His expression showed puzzlement.
“……Understood.”
“I’ll go to Atura first.”
No matter who comes, it doesn’t matter.
Except for a teammate whose head is filled with demons.*
***
[Counterattack]
--
The front line at Atura has been pushed back significantly.
Thanks to additional troop deployments and the absence of Atheas’ war maniac, recovery has succeeded.
Counterattack is necessary.
Objective: Defend without being pushed back more than 50m. Or kill Kael.
Reward: Achievement Points +80
Participants: Three
--
Quests with participant slots must be decided quickly.
Because if you don’t say you’ll do it quickly, you might be snatched away.
Sometimes the quest is sent only to exactly the number of participants, in which case, even if you decide late, you won’t be snatched away.
“The content has been adjusted again. And extremely favorably for us. It hurts my pride a bit.”
“Let’s accept it first.”
The two Daran nobles, who had coordinated their words the previous day, pressed accept on the quest and headed to Atura.
“I wonder who else will come from our side, and are there three opponents too?”
“Probably. The AI balances well in such missions. Seeing that the objective is defending rather than pushing the line, there might even be four opponents.”
Naturally, they began preparing, certain that three or more opponents would come.
Afterwards, confirming that the opponents were two, it was only natural that their pride would be wounded.
“Huh, this stings quite a bit.”
“Did the AI malfunction or something? Let’s show them.”
---
*Note: The phrase “머리에 마구니가 들어간” literally means “with a demon in their head,” a Korean expression for someone acting crazy or irrational.