Chapter 15

“…What?”

– Huh?

– What?

– You again!!!

He was so flustered that he froze in place.

And while he stood there distracted, the bear crushed the Tanker.

EasyLife wasn’t the only one caught off guard.

His Party members were too.

“…EasyLife!”

“Party Leader!”

Even so, they kept fighting.

But EasyLife had already lost focus, and the attempt, which had even been backed by a 10 Gold Buff, ultimately collapsed in the worst possible way with the Tanker’s death.

Still, no one was in any position to blame anyone.

All eyes were already fixed on the announcement.

The event had come to an end.

– Isn’t Han Youngwoong that guy? The one who took first place in the Tutorial Tower.

– Yeah. He doesn’t stream, and I couldn’t find him on Fantasia Life. Is he just a normal person?

– Looks like the type who just quietly plays the game.

– That’s insane.

– I wonder how much he spent.

– After seeing that video of him clearing the Tutorial Tower in two seconds, I kind of expected he’d be the one to get the First Subjugation.

“……”

EasyLife was speechless.

If only he had made fewer mistakes.

If only he had bought the Blessed Magi Purification Water a little sooner.

But no matter how many thoughts ran through his head, they couldn’t reverse a result that had already been decided.

So instead, he watched.

– Oh? You can watch the video for this one too.

First Subjugation.

The Savior of Moina Forest.

All users could watch the scene of the Cursed Ferocious Bear being defeated.

Just like the record from the Tutorial Tower.

EasyLife ground his teeth and watched the video.

He was curious.

Had Han Youngwoong tried harder than him?

How much had he spent?

What exactly had he done to clear it even faster?

A loss was a loss, and what mattered was the future.

He had to analyze what happened and absorb or supplement his own strategy so he wouldn’t lose again.

But the moment the video began, and he saw the figure walk into the Magi-filled area without even sprinkling Magi Purification Water, every other thought vanished.

– He’s not using Magi Purification Water?

– More importantly, he’s alone?

– No way. He did it solo?

– Come to think of it, only one ID showed up on the electronic billboard.

What was his Party composition?

Had he dropped the Healer and gone with one Tanker and three Dealers?

What kind of buffs had he stacked?

He calmly advanced alone through the Magi and faced the bear.

Common sense was crumbling.

The attack, empowered by the Magi, struck in an instant, reaching him in the blink of an eye. In terms of speed, it wasn’t the Cursed Ferocious Bear they had fought, but a demon straight from hell.

What was he going to do?

Twist after twist, impossible to predict for even a moment.

Han Youngwoong in the video was only muttering to himself.

– What’s he saying?

– Sounds like he’s muttering.

– Is he casting a spell?

– He was a mage?

– Is there even such a thing as a mage using a Boing Hammer?

The people who turned up the volume to listen tilted their heads.

– Once is a coincidence, twice is a godsend? What’s that supposed to mean?

It sounded like some kind of Buddhist chant you’d hear at a temple.

But before they could even dwell on it, the moment he pulled back the Boing Hammer and swung—

Boing! Crack-boom!

“……”

– ?

– What was that?

The Cursed Ferocious Bear’s two arms snapped, bones jutting out as they were blown away.

Without pause, Han Youngwoong continued muttering, Boing Hammer in hand, and climbed onto the fallen bear.

Covered in the blood sprayed from its exploded arms, he smiled, still muttering to himself as he brought the Boing Hammer down on its head.

And that was where the video ended.

– So what the hell was that?

– Wasn’t his concept supposed to be the Boing Hammer Butcher?

– No, what was that Damage…?

– Isn’t that supposed to be a Monster you kill after getting rid of the Magi?

Amid the confusion, one thing burned itself deeply into the users’ minds.

– That prayer-like thing was kind of cool.

– The words are childish as hell, though.

– It feels weird seeing him do that while swinging a Boing Hammer.

– That Boing Prayer is sick.

– lol what the hell is the Boing Prayer.

– Leopard print, shirtless, Boing Hammer. Get out of my head.

[Quest Complete!]

[Level Up!]

[You have succeeded in the First Subjugation of the ‘Cursed Ferocious Bear’.]

[Your achievement will become known across the continent.]

[The moment of your great achievement will be recorded.]

[You may view it at any time through the statue in Moina Village.]

“Wow…”

Even with the flood of messages and rewards pouring in, he stood there blankly, savoring the lingering sensation in his hands.

Of course, he was already used to it.

Ever since starting Fantasia, ‘Luck’ had triggered quite a few times.

It was just that this was the first time he had used it exactly when he wanted to.

He hadn’t suddenly become stronger, yet the feeling was different.

Using it intentionally, at the exact moment he wanted, with the exact attack he wanted.

Lucky Strike, used like a Skill, felt like Han Youngwoong’s own authority.

“This is insane.”

It only lasted for two hits.

Each time he used its power, half of the Golden Light filling the Cursed Ferocious Bear’s territory vanished, and after the second attack, it disappeared entirely.

Even so, being able to use it exactly how he wanted at a decisive moment was an enormous gain.

“Hooah.”

Once the dopamine flooding through his body finally settled a little, he began to notice his surroundings.

The Magi had lifted, and the bear lay collapsed.

The First Subjugation message was congratulating him.

Curious, he opened Fantasia Life.

“Hehe.”

Han Youngwoong was still just an ordinary person who liked getting attention.

He hated being criticized, but envy and praise boosted his self-esteem.

As expected, Fantasia Life was in an uproar over him.

How strong was he, how did he kill it without purifying the Magi, and so on.

Thinking back on it, it really had looked pretty cool.

But the moment he saw a post about the video, his expression stiffened.

“…Huh? Everyone could see it?”

Since it was an event, the scene had been shared.

This time, the video had even been uploaded to the event page, so everyone must have seen it.

“I look like a total otaku.”

A flashy Title, boxers, and a Boing Hammer.

A see-through T-Shirt that made him look almost topless.

And on top of that, muttering to himself like he was lost in his own world.

He immediately abandoned any thought of ever becoming a streamer.

Let’s just quietly play the game and make money.

The shame of having such a dark history permanently recorded was soon washed away by the messages that followed.

[10 Gold has been awarded as the First Subjugation reward.]

[The Title ‘Savior of Moina Forest (Legendary)’ has been awarded as the first clear reward.]

[A ‘Class-Exclusive Weapon Box (Heroic)’ has been awarded as the first clear reward.]

“In the end, I really did catch two birds with one stone.”

The corners of his mouth rose.

No matter what happened, seeing Gold pile up in his wallet solved everything.

He was doing all of this to make money.

Who cared if he looked like some kind of otaku, or became known as the guy who muttered weird things?

[Quest Complete!]

[Quest Complete!]

The Main Quest and Cain’s side quest had both been completed.

Just collecting those rewards would bring in another 4 Gold, and there were so many extra rewards that he was already wondering when he’d ever get around to opening them all.

And most importantly, the items that had dropped where the Cursed Ferocious Bear fell.

First, he took the liver.

Then he picked up a pair of huge bear paws.

And on top of that, there was an old ring.

“Is there really nothing else?”

Human greed knew no end.

He searched every corner thoroughly, just in case he had missed something.

Even if there wasn’t a treasure chest overflowing with gold and jewels like he had imagined, it was fine.

[The ‘Blessed Magi Purification Water (Heroic)’ registered on the Exchange has been sold for 10 Gold.]

Because he still had a mountain of unchecked rewards waiting for him.

===

“Team Leader. The Act 1 event has concluded.”

Fantasia Korea Operations Team.

At the report, the team leader turned to look at the large screen.

“…What is this?”

Fantasia had been created and was being operated by an AI called Lucky, so humans had no authority to interfere.

The only work people at the Fantasia company handled was work only humans could do, related to promotion and management.

So while they monitored what happened inside the game, there was nothing they could directly step in and control.

But that didn’t mean they did nothing at all.

Users who negatively affected the game.

For instance, catching people who conducted cash transactions without using the Exchange, or suspending those who interfered with game operations through things like gambling streams, were also important tasks.

And because this first event was attracting so much attention, they had been watching closely for any trouble that might arise.

“Is this even possible?”

The team leader asked while staring at the First Subjugation video.

One of the team members scratched his head.

“There’s no reason it wouldn’t be possible, right?”

“You little punk. That’s not what I’m asking. It hasn’t even been a week since launch, and you’re telling me it’s possible to kill the Act 1 boss in one shot without even clearing the Magi?”

“It was two shots, though?”

“Hah.”

Seeing the team leader’s fist clench, the team member hurriedly continued.

“I asked Lucky, and they said there’s no issue with the user. He’s that user who maxed out Lucky Boxes as soon as he started and got a Unique Grade Class Change. As you can see, Lucky Hero is a Class that deals massive Damage based on luck, so if his luck is high enough, a one-shot kill—well, I mean, a two-shot kill is possible.”

“……”

He was speechless at the perfectly neat answer from his Gen Z subordinate.

The team leader grabbed the back of his neck.

He was only in his mid-forties, but was he already failing to keep up with the times?

He’d started seriously thinking about retirement more and more often these days.

“Don’t you think it’s overpowered? The community’s probably going to explode over this.”

“Ah, of course. Posts like that are already pouring in.”

“……”

“But what can we do? Lucky said it’s fine.”

The operations team had a lot to consider.

They had no authority to meddle with Fantasia’s internals, but they could still bring up and adjust issues that might cause a serious user exodus if left alone.

“Talk to Lucky. Ask if this is really okay.”

“I already did. I even got a response back saying that while his performance is more than 20 times stronger than Lucky’s calculations, it’s the result of that user’s pure luck, so there’s no reason to intervene.”

“If it’s 20 times stronger, then it’s not fine!”

In Fantasia, a Unique Grade was essentially synonymous with a god, a license to wield the authority of the god Lucky.

That was why it had been designed to possess game-breaking power, and why that power came with far harsher Penalties to keep things balanced.

But if he was using it at over 20 times the calculated output—

Didn’t that just mean it wasn’t being restricted at all?

He cut off the fruitless conversation with his unhelpful subordinate and went to speak to Lucky himself.

“It’s harder talking to Gen Z than an AI.”

After lying down inside a capsule and putting on the goggles, he was transported to a pure white space.

“Team Leader Kim Chanwook.”

Lucky greeted him.

“Lucky.”

He swallowed dryly as he looked at the breathtakingly beautiful goddess.

Kim Chanwook, the team leader, had spent decades as an ace in the game industry.

He had created and managed countless masterpieces and seen all kinds of beautiful characters, but facing one in person was still awkward and difficult to get used to.

“You’ve come because of the Lucky Hero.”

At the question that cut straight to the point, Team Leader Kim Chanwook snapped back to his senses and said what he came to say.

“User Han Youngwoong’s power is excessive. You need to either strengthen the Penalty or lower his performance. Other users will feel deprived and leave.”

“That is impossible. Fantasia is a free world. The deprivation of legitimate rights cannot be tolerated.”

“Everyone has already seen that this is a balance-breaking issue that could interfere with game operations, and even you admitted that much.”

“Team Leader, Lucky Hero is a Class whose performance is determined entirely by probability. By your own logic, it is actually a half-finished Class that must use a weapon with 1 Attack Power for an Option that only activates at a 1% chance. He was lucky, and the luck he accumulated simply produced that result.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying is excessive. The luck accumulated during the early stages belongs to the individual user, yes, but the snowball effect caused by the results of that accumulated luck could eventually destroy the game’s pacing.”

Kim Chanwook’s experience and long career in the game industry told him as much.

Games do not last forever.

In the end, even RPGs have both a beginning and an end, and the protagonist’s adventure eventually concludes.

How much tension and accomplishment could you provide to how many users during that journey?

That was the duty of someone who operated a game.

But Lucky did not yield.

“Do you know why so many people play Fantasia?”

A question that touched the essence of the matter.

“Because it’s free.”

“……”

And that answer.

Kim Chanwook returned.

He knew.

He had already confirmed it.

The mechanism of Lucky Hero.

Its method of growth.

The 1% of explosive power.

Even the risks that came with it.

When Lucky Hero first appeared, he had been surprised, but he had also clicked his tongue, even joking with his team members about how long it would take before the Class got deleted.

Should they really sanction a lucky user just to match the pacing of the story?

Before Fantasia, that would have been the natural decision for a game company.

But the words that Fantasia was different struck deeply into him.

His face flushed, and he could no longer stay there as he remembered the mindset he’d had when he first stepped into the game industry, when all he had thought about was pure fun.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t know. They told me not to interfere with the game balance, so I guess I’ll just do the work I’m supposed to do.”

Fantasia was sailing smoothly.

At least for now, the user graph was rising steeply, and the revenue didn’t even need to be mentioned.

The metrics, with two more zeros than the days when they celebrated hitting 100,000 or 200,000 concurrent users, made Lucky’s calm tone feel almost like mockery.

Was I the one who was wrong?

The team leader watched for a long time as Han Youngwoong fumbled around on the screen picking up the items the bear had dropped, then turned away with light steps.

(T/N: I’m glad the author took the time to address just how overpowered the MC is. While it does feel somewhat justified, I still hope someone eventually pushes him enough that it doesn’t always end in a one-hit K.O. Still, it’s been a fun read so far.)

(T/N: I’m thinking of doing 3 chapters per week for this series since the raws are currently only at chapter 126. If we go with 5 chapters a week, we might catch up too quickly.)