TL/Editor: raei
Schedule: 5/week
Illustrations: Posted in discord
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Han Se-ah's stream, or more precisely, the point betting based on her viewership points, was garnering an unexpectedly massive response.
I'd had a feeling people were getting overly invested when they were waiting for me at the Magic Tower, but now it was even more apparent.
The reason was easy to figure out. As she strolled through the 51st floor's plains, constantly chattering away to her viewers, she began explaining in a way even a child could understand.
"This time, for clearing the 50th floor first, so many donations poured in from all over the world as congratulatory gifts... I used a lot for family and charity, you know? But it still felt a bit lacking, so I opened a point shop to give back to you viewers. Show your loyalty to the big shot chairman!"
-Zhuwen Zhang, I really believed in you, seriously, the Bill Gates and oil tycoons
-Ugh, is this the defeat of the temporary Bill Gates this time?-But I have more points than that
-What are you talking about? Do you still have memories left?
-Ahhh ahhh ahhh my head ahhh ahhh
The method of fanning the flames for viewers who were already thirsting for point betting was a major overhaul of the point shop.
Perhaps for Han Se-ah, who still retained a frugal mindset, the hefty donations were a bit overwhelming. Or conversely, she might have felt she should share since she received so much without thinking.
Because of this, while other streamers' channel points could at best be used to highlight messages or buy special emotes, Han Se-ah's channel points could be used to purchase everything from small items like chicken and pizza to the right to assign missions.
...But was it okay to give out real, physical things with that? I was sure she'd already worked it all out with the site admins.
"Alright then, the first item is the first safe zone we'll discover. This isn't based on how close it is to the gate, but on which direction Grace wants to go. Even if the eastern safe zone is closer, if she insists on going north for days on end, the eastern point is a bust."
While I was thinking these trivial concerns, Han Se-ah's betting stream continued smoothly. Having lived in the Fantasy Kingdom for so long, it felt a bit strange that the average viewership was in the hundreds of thousands and that she was giving out things with stream points.
The streamers I watched in my past life had live viewers in the thousands. Was this the power of virtual reality gaming?
"Hanna, I think there's a group of goblins ahead. Should we change direction?"
"And for the other... Shouldn't we experience combat at least once? If there are no centaurs nearby, it might be worth a try."
We continued exploring the plains while chatting with viewers. As expected, the first encounter was with centaur cavalry, and as we continued our search, a goblin infantry unit also caught our eye.
The centaurs were easily dealt with, massacred by Han Se-ah's intermediate magic and Grace's marksmanship before they could even approach. As horses galloping across the plains, just turning the ground into mud was enough to make them flounder and unable to get close.
But the goblin unit seemed to be a different story. First of all, their numbers appeared to be at least double that of the centaurs, which were around ten, and their equipment was surprisingly excellent.
"I thought they'd have crude wooden shields since they were said to have shields and spears, but the quality of their equipment is better than expected."
"At that level, it must have been made by a blacksmith in a forge. Considering those explosives the orcs throw, I wonder if they have an alchemy workshop and a forge?"
The shield was too high-quality to be called goblin equipment. The craftsmanship was evident in its construction - wooden boards layered horizontally and vertically like bulletproof glass, covered with a layer of tough monster hide, and framed with metal.
The long, straight spear shaft without any twists, the well-balanced shield harmoniously combining metal, leather, and wooden boards, even metal armor that clanked with each step despite being worn by mere goblins.
It was a sight more befitting the name "goblin infantry unit" rather than mere goblins. Even though there was supposedly an orc commander, it was hard to believe goblins were marching in formation.
"What do you think, can we handle them?"
"As long as we're not surrounded, easily."
But no matter how high-quality their equipment, they were still goblins. Unless there were super goblins emitting auras on par with high-rank adventurers, it shouldn't be difficult to deal with them.
Even if their shields were of good quality, they couldn't block aura despite being large compared to a goblin's size, and while the sharp spear tips looked threatening, a high-rank warrior wouldn't die from a blind thrust. At the high-rank, 5★ level, you could run as fast as cavalry if you put your mind to it.
Just like cavalry picking off infantry on the plains, we could break through their formation and deal with them one by one. Even if the centaurs noticed the commotion and intervened, Irene should be able to handle it.
"Then, Katie and I will charge in and disrupt their ranks, so provide covering fire freely. If centaurs or other monsters intervene, gather around Irene."
"Got it, Roland."
As we discussed and thought, the sound of approaching footsteps grew louder. The clanking of armor echoed in a steady rhythm before suddenly turning into a cacophony of noise.
I wondered if they'd spotted us and started moving urgently.
Being monsters, it probably wasn't to run away.
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Raei Translations
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The goblin infantry unit was strong.
They desperately tried to maintain their formation against me, charging in like a bowling ball knocking down pins while brandishing my shield like a madman, and Katie, who blatantly flared her aura as she flanked them.
But that's just saying they were strong for goblins; in the end, they were still cannon fodder to be swept away. After all, if ordinary mobs in this field were difficult enough to overwhelm a full party of upgraded users, not even being named mobs, the game would be quickly abandoned by users.
"For goblins, they're surprisingly tough."
"Better than most mercenaries? Even if they are still just goblins in the end."
"Did you collect all the mana stones? It's fortunate no centaurs charged in midway."
Katie leapt in, exuding a chilling aura, pushing through raised shields and spears planted in the ground, and diving between the scattered goblin infantry.
The suddenly sluggish goblins tried to regroup and struggle, but what awaited them was my warhammer shattering shields whole and Katie's sharp sword cleanly slicing through the joints of their armor.
Add to that the supporting fire from Han Se-ah and Grace, and the future that remained for them was nothing but becoming mana stone chunks, unable to even flee or leave their positions.
As a senior adventurer once said, the only good goblin is a mana stone goblin.
"By the way, there's no orc commander. Is he the named monster of this level?"
"Or maybe the goblin units are divided into those with commanders and those without. Honestly, just hearing about it, it seemed a bit weak to be called a named monster."
Katie, her voice elated from being able to swing her sword freely against grounded opponents rather than flying ones like harpies, muttered with disappointment, and the companions started a casual conversation.
While Katie, Grace, and Irene discussed the orc javelineer, Han Se-ah pretended to organize her inventory and quietly slipped away to chat with her viewers.
"But at this level, wouldn't mid-rank adventurers die in droves? It seems easy because we're high-rank and using aura, but seeing how they desperately tried to maintain formation when Roland charged in head-on, there's no way they'd be a pushover."
-How the f*ck is that a goblin lol
-sh*t, I bet against the goblins, am I f*cked? Am I going to lose my memories again?
-I bet big, so I'll eat well? If I win this time, I'm ordering a large set right away and having a nice time
-For real lol Free chicken and a large cola while watching Han Se-ah's stream, this sh*t is good lol
-Ah sh*t, is that really a goblin? At this point it's almost false advertising, sh*t my points
The topic of conversation on this side was also about goblins.
Did they realize through their long stream viewing experience, enough to fatten their points, that these weren't opponents to be taken lightly just because they were easy for a high-rank adventurer party? Viewers who bet on the damage to mid-rank adventurers started to tremble.
Anxious about the memory loss that would come again, and excited about the chance to recover points lost because of me - extreme viewer reactions. But viewers were once again reminded that the world was a more terrifying place than they thought.
All because of the Empire.
The Adventurers' Guild, returning with no achievements other than clearing out the goblin unit. Having returned in the evening without overdoing it, Han Se-ah immediately grabbed the receptionist and started digging for information in the name of the hero.
"...There's this much information about the 51st floor, which is one thing, but the casualties are already in the hundreds?"
"Yes.... It seems rumors spread incorrectly in the Empire, and too many mid-rank adventurers recklessly used the 50th floor gate and jumped into the 51st floor. There were even occasional incidents of bringing novice adventurers as porters..."
However, what neither Han Se-ah nor the viewers calculated when opening the point betting was the incredibly dense population of the Empire.
In Season 2, when the border between the Empire and the Kingdom was established and people could freely come and go as long as they weren't criminals. This meant that mercenaries who hunted monsters in the northern part of the Empire could become interested in the Kingdom's tower.
Because they didn't want to go further north anymore, because they heard rumors about the Kingdom's giant mana stones, because of the arrogant thought that they, having fought against monster waves, were more impressive than the Kingdom's greenhorn adventurers-
"Um, exactly how many?"
"I'm not sure why you're asking this, but... so far, it's about 140 people. Probably more if you include unreported cases, right?"
The Empire had poisoned the viewers' point betting arena.
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