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#31 Chapter Progress 13%

Let’s say you were cheering for a specific team in some sporting event.

You were watching that team, clapping, munching on popcorn, and occasionally swearing, enjoying the game.

Even if it was little or much, you had money riding on that team’s victory.

But suddenly, that team pulled off an amazing feat that no one expected, like winning the season championship or pulling off a giant kill against a strong team.

Laughing out loud, you thought, “Wow! They really crushed it! This is insane!” and were about to turn off the broadcast, feeling great, when suddenly some guy from the tournament management jumps out and says, “Ah, this match is invalid! It’s a reset!”

If the reason was a clear rule violation, you’d accept it without question.

But upon hearing the reason, it turns out it was because they set the rules so loosely in the first place.

If they at least spoke kindly about it, but instead they have an attitude like, “You’ll do as I say, and don’t talk back,” it would be infuriating.

What would you do? Actual reactions may vary from person to person, but regardless, you’d surely feel pissed off, right?

And the result of that anger was evident right now.

“Uh, wait a moment. I’ll be ending the announcement now!”

With a snap, Lunara unilaterally turned off the broadcast.

Of course, she didn’t turn off all the broadcasts. She probably just turned off the one for us players, while still making excuses to the “sponsors.”

“Did you predict things would turn out like this from the start?”

To some extent.

But I didn’t think she would screw things up that badly. If she had just honestly acknowledged her lack of ability or mistakes and apologized, there wouldn’t be such strong backlash.

“But Lunara’s attitude has been like this from the beginning, hasn’t it? Why are the sponsors rebelling only now?”

That’s just a matter of timing.

Since I can’t directly check Lunara’s state, it’s merely speculation, but fundamentally, her approach feels a bit like a VTuber or a streamer.

Taking control of BE and forcing a death game implies she was trying to turn it into content.

The sponsors, or rather, the “viewers” watching Lunara’s stream, have been observing this game from her perspective up until now.

In other words, they had empathy for Lunara.

But now?

After asking Nadia a few things in party chat, it turns out the sponsors are currently watching broadcasts on channels assigned to ranked players.

Considering Lunara can’t show the vast world of BE and the players’ exploits all by herself, it’s only natural for viewers to spread out. Yet, this is also a blow to Lunara as it diminishes her influence.

Those watching Nadia’s channel will naturally empathize with her, and if Nadia experiences unreasonable treatment, they can’t help but feel displeasure along with her.

Lunara likely thought of the sponsors as her allies and tried to bully the “players” as usual, but she probably didn’t realize other viewers would be there behind those players.

“So, if the number of sponsors empathizing with players like Nadia increases, could this damned death game come to an end?”

That might be a bit difficult.

“Why?”

Well, if there are people who sympathize with the suffering players, there are also those who would laugh at their misfortunes.

This time, Lunara attracted ire because she handled things poorly, so don’t assume the viewers will automatically side with the players and fight Lunara for them.

But still, it’s not without meaning. At least it will prevent things that are obviously unfair.

“Then don’t you need to increase sponsors as much as possible?”

I can’t keep offloading everything onto Nadia indefinitely, so I guess that’s necessary.

The sponsors aren’t all fools, and no matter how much we’re secretly chatting through the party chat (which I confirmed could be hidden due to Older Brother’s abilities), there will inevitably be some who direct suspicious glances at me.

However, before people’s attention is drawn to me, I want to use the creator cheat at least once more without anyone noticing.

Since the area I aim for must be level 50 to solo, I haven’t mustered the courage yet.

But at this pace, I think I can hit level 50 around 3 to 4 days before the end of the second trial, so I’ll have to push hard then.

“A major NPC at level 50 would be King Oberon? If I could get him on my side, that would be incredibly reassuring. Politically and militarily, he’s practically a higher version of Aurelia.”

It’s a pity that he’s not as easily accessible as Aurelia for getting help.

Even if I present him with treasures like I did with Aurelia, he wouldn’t even scoff at it.

So, I need to offer a special medicine to his long-suffering wife, Titania, and have her use it, but Oberon is a devoted husband and very suspicious, so even if I bring him medicine out of the blue, he absolutely won’t use it.

I predict it would take about two weeks to build trust and persuade him.

If there hadn’t been sponsorships and personal player broadcasts, it would be easy to quietly proceed with the plan while avoiding others’ eyes, but in the current situation, that’s a bit tricky.

“But didn’t you just mention NPCs? Is there another main NPC who can be accessed at level 50 and would be significantly helpful with the攻略?”

Of course, there is. Did you forget about our sealed Valkyrie?

“…Hey, you don’t mean…”

Brynhildr is here!

“Are you out of your mind!?”

Older Brother just had a fit.

“You want to break into the Crystal Palace? Do you even know how many instant-death traps are laid there? If BE were in normal condition, we’d be dying and reviving repeatedly to攻略 it, but here, if you mess up just once, you’re done! You don’t even have a backup life yet!”

But if I succeed, the rewards would be astronomical.

Players who awaken Brynhildr sealed in the Crystal Palace are given two options.

One is to fight Brynhildr in a 1v1 while she’s debuffed.

If you win, you obtain the unique skill “Brynhildr’s Einherjar,” allowing you to summon Brynhildr like a party member. However, in this case, Brynhildr’s level will drop to match the player’s level.

It’s practically the effect of having a permanent party member +1, but for me currently, that’s a double-edged sword.

To obtain that, I would have to throw away the unique skill of the Death Knight I possess.

The other option is to receive her thanks without fighting Brynhildr.

In this case, you gain a very powerful accessory and the right to summon Brynhildr for one battle without level-down, as a level 90 top-tier wizard.

While it doesn’t have long-term benefits like Oberon, it can be used as a cheat sheet when faced with tough situations.

“How about performing well in this or next trial to gain sponsors and then trying攻略 under those conditions? If I have a backup life, the risks would be lower, and攻略 the Crystal Palace would be perfect for gathering sponsors.”

No, I cannot obtain Brynhildr’s summoning rights in front of sponsors under any circumstances.

Seeing how Lunara is currently handling things, as soon as she knows I have something like that, she’ll undoubtedly adjust the trial difficulty accordingly.

If I want to use it as a trump card, I’ll need to do it before any attention is drawn to me, at least before I gain a personal channel.

“That sounds too risky.”

Sometimes, to gain safety, you’ve got to throw yourself into danger.

More importantly, how’s the task of interpreting that magic or whatever it is going? Is it going well?

“About 13% done.”

Is that how much progress you’re making at that point? If you’re unlucky, you might experience all ten trials before reaching 100%.

“Each trial might take increasingly longer, and once Nebula surpasses a certain threshold, the analysis work could gain momentum, so trust me on this.”

Indeed, if I don’t trust you, who will?

After some idle chatter,

Finally, Lunara’s broadcast resumed.

“Ah, ahem, I’d like to announce again.”

“The reset of the dungeon攻略 and the closure of the entrance will be canceled. Also, players entering through the dungeon entrance will receive ‘blessings’ normally to offset the curse.”

“However, to maintain fairness with players who gathered maps and攻略 with a small group, the play through the royal tomb without using maps will not be counted for bonus points in the ranking tally.”

This broadcast feels pretty formal, even slightly uncomfortable.

Yet, the players focused not on Lunara’s reaction but her statements.

“It’s a bit disappointing, but it’s not so bad, right?”

“I’ve long given up on rankings anyway, and it looks like we can receive blessings properly? That means we’re past the immediate danger.”

Smiles appeared on the players’ faces.

On the other hand, it must be frustrating for Lunara. She likely intended to weed out a lot of players with this opportunity, but it backfired.

“It’s alright! It’s fine, Erin! With this, even beginner players should be able to survive!”

“Thanks to Nadia’s hard work.”

At my words, Nadia’s eyes glimmered with tears as she hung her head.

“Nadia, you’ll continue forming expedition parties, right? I’ll help share the cost of the contract.”

“Getting through to the fifth floor with low-level players might be tough, but if we can just clear the third floor, we should be fine holding off the curse.”

As Nadia spoke, a few players approached, expressing their willingness to assist with rescuing beginner players.

I chose to remain quiet and simply observe that scene.

A few days later.

Once again, without mass deaths from the trial, the Alpha server successfully passed the crisis.