Damned System

Chapter 114. Party Play (5)

After sending off Yang Taeho, I moved along with the players affiliated with Palao.

During this process, my eyes remained fixed on the community.

「Title: Viceta 5th Outpost – Author: Venezia

Content: A lot of Palao players have gathered. Does anyone know what’s going on? Can someone share if they know the reason?」

– Majestic Canyon: I don’t know the reason either… but it really was crowded
⌎ Takuya: There are surprisingly so many players affiliated with Palao.
⌎ Vanilla: Where did they all spring from?
⌎ Squirrel: There really seems to be something going on.
– Eagle: But didn’t they say Palao doesn’t discriminate against players? I heard they even do field raids. Is that true?
⌎ Vine Cranberry: Basically, they do, but it seems like they treat closer people more comfortably.
⌎ Manicure: They are kind to other order affiliates too. I met a Palao priest, and it was touching.
⌎ Vine Cranberry: Honestly, I was worried at first because I heard many were discriminated against by the order, but Palao members are kind. They never ignore us and even offer to teach us how to handle mana.
⌎ German: Don’t impersonate. Do you think Palao is easy enough for someone like you to join?
⌎ Vine Cranberry: I am a Palao member! Proof in the post. Satisfied? Are you Palao too?
⌎ Mackenzie: Wow, amazing, really Palao.
⌎ Elizabeth: How do you know?
⌎ Mackenzie: Attached a status window capture to the post.
⌎ Crescent Moon: Why doesn’t that guy German verify himself?
⌎ Squirrel: Probably failed the entry test, that’s why he’s ranting.
– Strawberry Cake: I’m jealous of Palao. The Purity side is really rude.
⌎ Manicure: It’s not just rude; they treat us like foreign laborers.
⌎ Bus Stop: Ugh, that’s a perfect description. Is the purification allocation a reality?
⌎ Crescent Moon: Tried to escape but accepted prepaid items.
⌎ Mask: And the performance is supposedly good.
⌎ Manicure: Wants to switch, but lacks achievements.
⌎ Mackenzie: Thus, became a slave.
– Elizabeth: The Palao order doesn’t have many dead players, right?
⌎ Vine Cranberry: It seems so. I heard it’s just over 50 in the past three months.
⌎ Manicure: Wow… that’s really few.
⌎ Majestic Canyon: Isn’t everyone trying to become human-less like K? The difference is huge.
⌎ German: That’s because they have fewer members, what’s the big deal?
⌎ Squirrel: You idiot, the mortality rate comparison is no joke? Other orders exceed 20%, but they don’t even reach 10%. Thick-headed moron.
⌎ Mask: Why has this guy been ranting since earlier?
⌎ Strawberry Cake: Lots of people soaked in inferiority lately.

Mentions of the Palao order started to increase in the community from that post onwards.

In such a scenario, there was an event that added fuel to the fire.

≪Important Notice≫

A high-level corrupted area is opening. Check out the corrupted area information available through different outposts.

It was a global announcement sent out by the system.

The new information did not end there.

「Title: Palao is now marking a order-exclusive mission at 3-star corrupted area! – Author: Porsche

Content: You can check from the mission list! It’s constantly increasing.」

– Candlelight: Crazy, wasn’t this supposed to require order points?
⌎ Ballerina: That’s right; they seem to be pouring all their order points here.
– Chocolate Cookie: Oh wow, isn’t this the first order-exclusive mission? I want to take a look.
⌎ Anchovy: Me too!
⌎ Beret: It’s not the time to take this lightly. They’re preempting hunting grounds aren’t they?
⌎ Elliot: Why is that a problem? Just propose the same to your order. Should have joined Palao if you knew.
⌎ Home Run: Are you confident you’d pass the entry test?
– Beer: Isn’t the gathering at Viceta due to the exclusive mission?
⌎ Elizabeth: That seems likely.
⌎ Venezia: That’s right! I just asked a Palao player at Viceta outpost.

Palao-affiliated players suddenly gathered at one place.

With the subsequent Palao order-exclusive mission.

As these two events overlapped, the community was filled with talks about the Palao order.

Looking over this bustling community, I nodded.

“Not bad.”

It wasn’t bad because this was the situation I aimed to create from the beginning.

“With the players taken care of, what’s left is to successfully complete the mission.”

That should be enough to make it a hot topic that even the people of Bihar would talk about.

“Wow, it’s so fast.”

“Even though I heard it in advance…”

“They’ve set something with the exclusive mission.”

While I organized my thoughts on the future, those heading to the assembly point with me chatted among themselves.

Joseph from South Africa, Nadia from Spain, and Girish from India.

These were the group with whom I had the most interactions in the order.

I had many acquaintances aside from them, but they were the only three I could introduce as close.

Their personalities were straightforward, making them easy to get along with.

Interestingly, all three were main dealers focusing on firepower.

I wasn’t lacking in firepower either, so there was no need to recruit someone in the same position to a party.

Occasionally, we just went for cooperative hunts.

“But isn’t it too much? It’s already over 40.”

“What? Did our order have that many points?”

“Are they spending everything here? Why suddenly?”

While I was checking the community, the trio seemed to be checking the mission list.

Then they all turned and surreptitiously questioned me.

“Hey, you know something, don’t you?”

Their tone was filled with certainty that I knew.

‘I actually do know.’

It wasn’t a secret that I was treated specially within the order.

For instance, I was the only one staying at the Bennett mansion, and I often had private meetings with Jordan.

“Why is the order suddenly doing this?”

To properly explain, I had to go back in time a bit.

It was about two weeks ago, right after reaching an agreement within the seven great orders to open high-level corrupted areas.

The order leadership focused on accumulating points to upgrade buffs for players.

Jordan and I proposed to use the points immediately to strengthen the order’s standing.

There were various complex discussions between the two sides, but the main point was simple.

After some heated debates with slightly hurt feelings, Jordan and I took the upper hand.

As a result, we decided to secure the mission sites recommended to me by the system first.

This was intended to increase Palao’s preference among players.

‘After all, it’s human nature to be envious when a cousin buys land.’

Imagine if only players affiliated with Palao continually hit the jackpot.

Everyone would be insanely jealous, and some would seriously consider transferring.

It was the most sure-fire way to attract players used to capitalism.

Alongside this, efforts were needed to improve the perception of the Palao order among the Bihar people.

‘As the start, we decided to reclaim the order’s lost relic.’

This was the reason Palao-affiliated players gathered at the 5th outpost of Viceta Castle today.

We planned to use spatial magic from here to move to the mission site.

This type of performance—gathering visibly—had been conducted to showcase Palao’s movements to others.

Thus, I knew every detail of the decision-making process inside the order.

However, I didn’t intend to explain it to the trio.

‘It’s a hassle too.’

Because I also knew that explaining wouldn’t be beneficial.

The things I was doing weren’t much different from subtly agitating the players.

Primarily, it aimed to induce transfers while making them dissatisfied with their current order.

There was no need to explain all this in detail myself.

The deed was already done, anyway.

Now, the only thing left was to watch as the sparks I lit grew.

At the same time, it could serve as a small hit against the gods who treated me as a disposable tool.

‘Hope they savor some bitterness.’

Due to these reasons, I answered their questions with a simple piece of advice instead of a detailed explanation.

“Just.”

“Just?”

“Work hard on the exclusive missions.”

Since these were missions guaranteed by the system, they could likely fill their pockets.

Of course, lacking the insight to understand such a context, the trio tilted their heads in bewilderment.

Instead of providing detailed explanations, I gestured with my hand, indicating I wouldn’t answer further questions.

Realizing that no answers were forthcoming, they clicked their tongues and stepped back.

They then resumed chatting as always.

“Aren’t there lots of people asking about the mortality rate?”

“Most are provocateurs.”

“They’re just annoyed.”

“They wouldn’t be able to do the same even if asked?”

“I honestly wouldn’t do it again myself…”

“Now that you mention it… I would’ve switched if there were achievements during the training period.”

“You too? Me too!”

It seemed like they were discussing the training for new members.

Players joining the Palao order were required to undergo mandatory training.

The training lasted for a month and was intense enough to cause daily nausea for bronze-ranked players.

The main advocate for this was, of course…

‘I must ensure it’s never known that I spearheaded this.’

The player mortality rate drastically reduced, but that was irrelevant.

The crucial part is that knowing I suggested this would likely have every order player coming at me with murderous intent.

“I still dream about that?”

“A dream of Shamel chasing from behind?”

“Oh, how did you know?”

“Because I dream it too.”

Seeing them stealing glances at each other while shedding hidden tears cemented my resolve to take this secret to my grave, while a sigh instinctively escaped my lips.

The reason I insisted on the initial training course, even knowing I’d be cursed, was significant.

‘If a player dies, the divinity just vanishes, I couldn’t sit still knowing that.’

An entry limit of 5,000.

That number applied to how many could receive buffs from the divinity Palao invested in this game.

But should someone die after joining? The divinity isn’t retrieved; it just dissipates.

Already, a considerable amount of divinity vanished this way.

A glance at the figures on the order homepage would reveal much.

「1029/4934」

When a order player dies, the count of possible new entries decreases alongside it.

When I realized this truth for the first time, I almost passed out from sheer outrage.

I even reconsidered if I foolishly picked the wrong order.

But even then, I harbored no desire to transfer to another order.

So what could I do? The only way was to solve the problem.

With no Palao available to provide additional divinity, minimizing combat power loss was the priority.

Fortunately, the order was also interested in reducing player mortality.

Thus, after discussions, the outcome was to make everyone die less.

Thanks to the proactive support from Palao’s leadership, the extreme training course was finalized.

As a result, the players of Palao, including me, underwent grueling training.

Surprisingly, that training contributed significantly to player survival.

It enabled more structured maneuvering of weapons.

But the audacity to confess my involvement in this was unfathomable.

Especially when observing those showing ominous fervor towards Shamel, who led the training.

Upon reaching the tent, the trio kept gritting their teeth reminiscing about their training days.

Eventually, unable to bear it, I slightly shifted the conversation topic.

“Stop chit-chatting and prepare for the meeting.”

It was a suitable topic to capture their attention right before the mission.

“I’m not going, though.”

“We’re sending Nadia as our representative.”

“You’re going to leave it to me and just slack off? At least study the strategy guide properly.”

“Yes, yes.”

With Nadia’s nagging as the catalyst, the topic of hellish training disappeared.

Instead, the trio’s gaze fixed in the air.

They were referring to the strategy guide that was uploaded on the order website.

‘A guidebook designed to allow players to participate in large-scale siege warfare.’

Crafted collaboratively by experienced players and Jordan’s team.

According to its contents, there were considerably many things to wrap up before entering the mission site tomorrow.

Damned System