Chapter 57
What is the purpose of the users participating in the battlefield?
The battlefield is a game event, so simply participating grants massive rewards.
That's because game events aim to gather many people.
With many people, the atmosphere becomes lively, new users flock in, and the game becomes more fun.
Rewards serve that purpose perfectly.
Even if you don't play well, just participating could earn you rewards like costumes or material items you'd otherwise need to farm.
Or they could be something useless yet desirable, like a title.
Then, is the reason people join the battlefield solely for the rewards?
Can we say those useful or satisfying items are what drive the battlefield?
'That could be the case.'
By the time it was 7 o'clock.
A ranker of Salmak, one of Dang So's game friends with the nickname "Mumyeong," thought to himself.
If a game has no rewards, it's disappointing to the point of being a dereliction of duty.
The reason the battle pass model achieved tremendous success among game business models is no different.
The battle pass is a business model that rewards players with in-game items for playing the game and completing specific challenges.
One of the reasons the battle pass succeeded was the presence of short-term goals and rewards tied to gameplay.
Rewards are that important.
But is that all?
'No. Even though additional rewards are given based on contribution, if you don't make it into the top 16, the difference isn't huge. So why do the rankers try so hard?'
Mumyeong was one of those who strategized for the Unorthodox Faction in every battlefield.
In other words, when it came to the battlefield, he was an expert.
In his view, one of the major reasons people played the battlefield was pride.
'The top 16 are a tiny minority. Most rankers don't really care. They know they can't aim for it. And yet...'
They still play hard.
The reason is precisely pride.
The battlefield is a competition between factions.
By now, you should have an idea.
If you lose on the battlefield...
You have to endure all kinds of mockery and ridicule from the users of the victorious faction, not just on Nohyeop but everywhere, until the next battlefield!
'Absolutely not!'
Even when the team you're cheering for fails to win the championship and people tease you, it's infuriating. But on the battlefield, you're one of the team members playing directly.
Can you stand receiving all that jeering directly?
If you don't win and the battlefield ends, you can't even play any other game for a while.
Because whenever you run into people, they bring it up with a smirk.
If he wins a game:
"You lost on the battlefield, I guess you have to win at this game at least. Pfft, congrats on the win."
If he loses a game:
"You lose at this too."
Those are the kinds of reactions you'd get.
'It's an unavoidable checkmate. There's nothing you can do.'
Of course, conversely, if you win, those are all things you can do to them.
That's why rankers, united as one, devise strategies and cooperate for their faction's victory.
Just looking at this chat room, you can see how serious everyone is.
[Wi Jeong Cheok Sa Sect] [999+]
Interpreting the name, it's the Unorthodox Faction that eradicates the hypocritical Righteous Faction.
True to its name, this chat room for the Unorthodox Faction is so active that even after not checking for just a few dozen minutes, the notifications max out.
There are 80 members.
This is a room where the elites among elites gather.
To understand why they've gathered, you need to understand the battlefield's system.
The majority of users can be said to just play the game.
They don't coordinate or move in sync with others from their faction.
No, realistically it's difficult and close to impossible, so it's more accurate to say they can't.
Then the battlefield would ultimately become content where the faction's victory hinges on the actions and luck of an unspecified majority, but fortunately, that's not the case.
The reason for that is Fame Points.
Without Fame Points, the 80 gathered in this room, no matter how tightly they unite, would remain just 80.
But Fame Points exist, and because of that, after the mid-stage, they can move as a group and produce meaningful results.
For example, if all of them accumulated Fame Points and gathered in one region of the enemy to attack one day, the offense points of that region would inevitably surpass its defense points, and that region would be occupied by the Unorthodox Faction's forces.
'Of course, the enemies won't stay idle either.'
Both the Righteous Faction and the Demon Cult have chat rooms where rankers gather, just like the Unorthodox Faction.
-Just focus on collecting Fame Points.
-I'm going Righteous Faction for today's raid.
-Anyone collecting info on the Demon Cult?
-Looking for someone from the Green Forest to plan a route together later.
-It's my first time, where do I get info?
-Go to Nohyeop.
Mumyeong currently had all sorts of site windows open and was gathering information about the raid.
'Most rankers are probably doing it like me.'
He shifted his gaze to the most active place, Nohyeop.
[Streamer who started fighting the Demon Cult (Link)]
[Unorthodox Faction is Dang Family, Righteous Faction is Namgung]
[Collection of streamers currently broadcasting the battlefield. (Continuously updated)]
[Yesterday's Great Master, that fraud's goal. For the Demon Cult guys, it's worth covering for]
Great Master?
Having challenged the Demon Cult's test recently after a long time this morning, he had become interested in that streamer.
And after searching on iTube, he even found out that they had used the same nickname in their previous game.
'Anyway.'
Mumyeong clicked on a post that piqued his curiosity.
[Yesterday's Great Master, that fraud's goal. For the Demon Cult guys, it's worth covering for]
==
During that fraud's broadcast, he made a pledge: either the Demon Cult wins, or he gets into the top 16. If he fails, he'll wear a magical girl outfit.
And this is for the sake of Hyup. Day 2. Spoken by someone who's never even played a ranked game.
For the Demon Cult guys, it's precious.
No one ever told them they'd win, but here came someone boldly making a pledge lolololololol
==
-100% gonna fail and do a penalty ditch.
-So this guy's all bluster.
-A newbie who hasn't even played ranked makes a pledge like this??? That's insanely cocky.
-It might be possible. The Fame Points he got yesterday were pretty high.
└That's because he was sealclubbing.
└It's only the first day though?
-Why are you stating fraud as a confirmed fact. It hasn't even been confirmed yet. Please let's get our Hyup back.
└Even if it's not fraud, it's a fact he's cocky.
└Hyup was thrown away by the streamer you worship first lolololol
└Fr a crazy statement just came out again!!!! (Link)
"If they set a strategy, they set it. Why make such a big deal out of it."
Frowning as he scrolled through the comments, Mumyeong muttered while clicking the link.
"What crazy statement now."
[???: I think 4 minutes should be enough?]
==
Streamer Mr. Jin, who got 17 minutes on his first run.
Said he could finish a raid in 4 minutes.
LOLOLOLOLOL
==
-His lie-telling is seriously so bad.
-This honestly pisses me off?
-4 minutes my ass.
-The Demon Cult brats will pounce again like crazy saying "Our Heavenly Demon can do it!"
└Fr
└Can't believe there are extreme fanatics spewing such bullshit.
-Aren't you showing off too much just because you beat Shin Ha-yeon?
-Do you guys even watch the broadcast once before talking?
└Yeah I'm going to watch now, gonna go terrorize the comments.
And countless insults were attached too. The reason: being cocky.
"Oh dear, why did he say something like that."
He seemed like someone who inherently attracted a lot of backlash.
"Even if it's possible, just show some restraint."
Suddenly, that thought crossed his mind.
True superstars drive both fans and haters crazy, they say.
But no.
It was obvious he just didn't know that he'd started getting hated on in the community right now.
"Isn't the chat going crazy because of these guys?"
Since he was planning to go to the Demon Cult's region, he entered Seo Jun's stream, which he hadn't been watching.
Fortunately, only followers could type in the chat, so the chat was clean.
But one problem arose. It was because of a donation that came right when he entered.
"What's this guy doing now."
Sigh.
This was how he ended up going to find Dang So.
* * *
"Pack up, what do you mean. Listen carefully. The Heavenly Demon is definitely going to fail to catch Namgung Cheon."
Dang So recovered quickly.
I don't know what he believes in to be so sure.
"What are you going to do now. Are you really going to the Demon Cult?"
"Ahem. I said I won't lose the bet."
Yeah, like you really won't lose.
"Why on earth did you make that kind of bet."
Every single ranker matters. What the hell is this.
At least the fact that Dang So would be going to the Demon Cult gave some comfort to his heart.
An increase in Demon Cult rankers isn't a problem. Even if it doubled, he wouldn't worry.
"Farewell."
In the chat room, a vote was already underway.
[Dang So, accept the result of the bet!]
[Agree - 90%]
[Disagree - 10%]
The approval was at 90%.
They were just having fun teasing their comrade.
"I said I'm not going!"
"What's he saying."
"Listen carefully. Since that fraud's build helps with inner energy recovery, you might think even using up all your inner energy isn't a big problem."
"And then."
"But that person has to kill the enemy quickly. But if his inner energy is insufficient, he won't be able to deal enough damage, will he."
That's a sharp point.
As expected, even if he looks dumb on the outside, you could tell his understanding of the game was good.
But.
"Stop talking and just go to the Demon Cult."
"For what reason."
Mumyeong had already seen the plays Seo Jun had made.
Because they were well-organized on iTube.
The battle begins right away.
"See, look at the speed the NPC's HP is depleting. He can't clear it in time. He can't... Huh?"
From the moment Seo Jun gave up on dodging, the enemy's health started dropping rapidly.
"I knew this would happen."
"..."
On the screen, Seo Jun easily took down Namgung Cheon.
The record was in the 3-minute range.
It's an all-time record.
The chat room erupted.
-3 minutes just came out????
-Fr?
-Is there any expert who's scored 3 minutes in a raid?
-Real experts aiming for top 16 don't usually reveal their records.
-Even 4 minutes is record-breaking lololol
-Looks like they found the shortest route for this raid's Righteous Faction lololol is there a way to use it?
-Even if you go up like that, without inner energy, you'd probably spend a crazy amount of time just chipping away at Namgung Cheon's health. We don't have the Soul Absorption Technique.
-As expected, everyone was watching lol
The chat room dove straight into analysis.
Mumyeong's jaw dropped.
"3 minutes."
[Now, then, you'll have to come to the Demon Cult, right?]
Pfft.
Dang So, who had lifted a cup to forcibly calm his heart, spat out the water.
"Damn it."
"What should I do. I really don't want to go back to the Demon Cult."
Finally, Dang So's unbreakable persona shattered.
It was that serious a matter. Going to the Demon Cult.
But, it wasn't his problem.
Mumyeong quickly lost interest in the now-dejected Dang So.
Because he was more curious about something else than a fellow who would leave anyway.
'I wonder what those haters on Nohyeop will say now.'
* * *
Seo Jun played two more rounds in succession.
Since he had already set a record, his goal was to finish as quickly as possible.
Fame Points are given after the standard deviation of records per faction is compiled.
Because records are relative.
"Three rounds all in the 3-minute range, that's decent."
The first round had the shortest record.
After that, Seo Jun had taken it more leisurely.
They say 3 minutes is record-breaking anyway.
Coming out of the game, Seo Jun headed back to his original spot.
"I wonder if he's still there. Surely he didn't run away."
If Dang So couldn't accept the bet result and ran away?
"There are a lot of rankers watching right now, you know?"
The current viewer count was 8,000.
'This is what they call the battlefield boost.'
It was a good thing he started the game and set a record right at 7 o'clock.
In reality, most of the new viewers were people who came to trash him, but Seo Jun was unaware.
-Seo Jun sir, would you like to come to the Righteous Faction? We'll treat you well. Victory is also guaranteed.
-How about the Mount Hua Sect?
-Come on, come on.
-What kind of treatment?
-Don't take even the chat manager away from the Demon Cult.
-T_T T_T
-What about Salmak, the assassins!
Chat messages trying to recruit him flooded in one after another.
Seo Jun made an expression of not understanding.
"No, everyone, the Demon Cult is going to win, so why would I go anywhere else."
Of course, he didn't mean it.
He too knew the Demon Cult wouldn't win.
The reason was the lack of rankers.
The number of regular users was also lacking, but surprisingly, the difference wasn't that big.
Because the majority of users played casually, they chose based on their preferences rather than results.
"I mean it."
Most scoffed, but some chats said they believed him.
Seo Jun laughed bitterly at the chat.
Don't actually believe it.
Anyway, he returned to his original spot while chatting briefly.
Then, the chat that had been full of jabs started flooding with laughter.
-LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
-What's that guy doing lol
-Is he asking to be looked at just once?
-This is ridiculous lololololol
Because Dang So was kneeling beside the chair where he originally sat.
Seo Jun approached him.
"Heavenly Demon, you have returned!"
Hearing the troll's respectful greeting, Seo Jun thought.
"Heavenly Demon's return! Ten thousand demons bow!"
It would have been better if he stuck to his old concept.