A loud siren rang out, and the red lights installed all over the production team’s offices flashed without interruption. The mechanical sounds rang out repeatedly.
[x:;72ZX987B19 has disappeared.]
[Three large episodes will be permanently deleted.]
[188,490 out of 390,112 related quests are now unlikely to occur.]
[Restoration of x:;72ZX987B19 is recommended.]
[Correction.]
[x:;72ZX987B19’s dropped items have been acquired by a specific player. It is recommended to rollback the server.]
“What?”
Category x:; entities had a great influence on Satisfy’s world view. Among the great demons, only eight were given the code ‘x:;’ and there were only five NPCs. It was extremely unlikely that contact with players would occur, so the ancient species were classified as ‘secret monsters.’ Among them, the giant cave cricket was classified with an x:;.
The dark elves episode, which was scheduled to take place, was meant to reduce the number of elves to one-tenth of their current population and darken the 12 Te. The 12 Te would then sell their souls to the great demons and become dark elves. As a result, players would be able to select from various types of species and create different power structures during the ‘Great War’ episode.
However, this all flew away at once. Why had this suddenly happened?
The leader of the third production team, Rahul, saw the warning messages on the monitor and shouted, “Convene an emergency meeting right now! It is the first bug in Satisfy’s history! We have to respond quickly!”
Rahul’s Korean was so perfect that it was hard to believe he was Indian.
Chatter chatter! The production team was upset and hesitant about where to start fixing this.
“It isn’t a bug.” The manager of the operations team, Yoon Nahee appeared. She handed paperwork to Rahul. “It is something that happened due to two players. There is no bug in the current situation.”
“Did I learn Korean wrong?”
Rahul was a genius with an IQ of over 180, so it had been easy for him to learn Korean which had become more influential since the launch of Satisfy that now dominated the world market. He asserted himself that his listening and speaking abilities were perfect, yet he couldn’t understand Yoon Nahee’s remarks. It seemed like an alien language.
“Players encountered an x:; code monster and raided it? Do you expect me to believe such nonsense?”
“It is true. Will it make sense if I say that the Overgeared King and Merchant King are involved?”
“The Overgeared King and Merchant King...!”
“Yes. This is how it happened. Merchant King Kir succeeded in discovering the forest of the world tree and simultaneously tried to obtain wealth from the elves.”
Kir had briefly made the world tree sick and deceived the elves. Then he returned and captured them. As a result, the incident of some of the elves being eaten by the cave cricket was absent.
“...It prowled the area after losing its food and ended up meeting Grid?”
“Yes.”
“...” Rahul could no longer deny reality. He knew the power of Overgeared King Grid better than anyone. How surprised was he when he saw the character details of Grid, the protagonist of the Fourth National Competition’s Breaking the Hero? Rahul had almost fallen down. He could still feel the bruised bones from that time. Rahul thought that no one would be able to clear the Fourth National Competition’s Breaking the Hero.
‘It might be possible for the Five Miracles, including Kraugel. But...’ Rahul shook his head.
“Was Mercedes with him?”
Mercedes’ legendary knight story had caused a huge impact in the S.A Group. How many NPCs were there that had SSS potential stats? There were thousands. However, most of them were waiting for their talents to blossom. In the meantime, some NPCs sadly perished.
It meant that the expectations of the S.A Group toward the youngest of them, Mercedes, hadn’t been high. Moreover, she had originally been scheduled to be killed by the insane dragon. The empire would then fall on that day. However, this episode had been deleted due to Grid and Kraugel. Afterward, Grid saved Mercedes and she became his knight.
“You should remember the leader of the fourth team. Mercedes was supposed to be a short-lived character, so he designed her with greater affection.”
Keen insight—it was a passive skill that would show an overwhelming performance as time passed and the skill developed.
The leader of the fourth team, Chen, had said that if Mercedes could grow, then she would be able to develop ‘foresight.’ However, since she was a short-lived character that was unlikely to exert an influence on Satisfy’s subsequent world setting, she had been given a fraudulent skill.
“How can she stop that monster…? ...No?” Rahul was trying to convince himself when he suddenly cocked his head. He was reminded that the combat power of the giant cave cricket was equivalent to the 28th great demon.
“How can the cave cricket... Ah!”
It was due to Knights Summoning! A chill went down Rahul’s spine as he remembered the characters Grid had obtained from a long time ago. “I understand... Now I understand everything.”
Merchant King Kir had used his unique intelligence and resources to obtain the elves, while Grid had used his unique strength and people to handle the cave cricket. Rahul was convinced of the situation once he recalled all of their abilities. “Yes... In the end, a rollback won’t happen. We can’t reverse history written by the players themselves.”
“That’s right. Even if it was a bug, I wonder if he would’ve allowed a rollback.”
The water was already spilled, and there was no fault behind the water being spilled. It was a natural phenomenon. Rahul was able to calm his mind. “I’m glad it wasn’t a bug...”
Their chairman would be happy again. Rahul thought about Lim Cheolho’s interest and affection for the Five Miracles.
“Why aren’t you convening a meeting straight away?” An angry voice rang out from the office’s entrance. It was Chairman Lim Cheolho. Hadn’t he been enjoying the variables created by the Five Miracles over the past few years? Who would have imagined this...?
Lim Cheolho headed over to the confused Yoon Nahee and Rahul and explained the severity of the situation. First he asked, “How many players and NPCs have a myth rated item?”
“Well...” The production team leader, Rahul, couldn’t answer.
On the other hand, Yoon Nahee of the operations team replied immediately, “There are 17.”
“Have any of them succeeded in enhancing the myth rated item?”
“No.”
“What if someone strengthens multiple myth rated items by themselves?”
“...The balance will crumble.”
Enhancing an item increased its stats. The higher the basic stats of the item, the higher the increase would be. This was why the probability of enhancing a myth rated item was extremely low.
“This...!” Rahul made a dumbfounded expression and sighed. He was reminded of the items that the cave cricket dropped—the ancient weapon and armor enhancement scrolls! They were supposed to emerge when at least 20% of the players were armed with legendary items. What if Grid succeeded in enhancing a myth rated item that ordinary players didn’t even have access to?
“Not only the Five Miracles but most of the existing named NPCs won’t be able to resist.”
Lim Cheolho clearly remembered that the ancient scrolls definitely increased the item’s enhancement level by 1–3. Grid had three weapon and five armor scrolls, so it was possible for him to make a myth rated armor or weapon ranging from +4 to +7.
“What should we do? Should we shut down the server once?”
There was no concept of a pause in Satisfy. Having it formed a structure that would just drive players away from the game. Lim Cheolho smiled. “No. We can’t damage hundreds of millions of people just for one person. I will go and meet directly with Grid.”
“You will go and speak with him directly?”
There were rumors in the company that the chairman’s account would be a ‘god’ in Satisfy. Would they finally see a god? Yoon Nahee and Rahul gulped as their expectations rose to the extreme. Their expectations were huge enough for them to forget about the seriousness of the situation.
“I know that I can’t use my position to force anything upon Grid. But I am certain I will be able to persuade him as he also loves Satisfy sincerely.”
After all, it was a case where Grid’s life was changed by playing Satisfy. His affection for Satisfy had the potential to be greater than Lim Cheolho’s. Lim Cheolho felt hopeful as he logged into Satisfy.
[Name: S.A Group Chairman Lim Cheolho
Level: 29
Class: Fisherman
* The longer the fishing time, the greater the probability of catching good fish.
Strength: 29 Intelligence: 49
Stamina: 175 Agility: 21
Concentration: 75 Endurance: 19]
There were few environments as good as Satisfy to enjoy his hobby of fishing. As such, he raised his character only through fishing! Deeply concerned that someone would see his ID, Lim Cheolho immediately sent a whisper to Grid.
&S.A Group Chairman Lim Cheolho: I am Chairman Lim Cheolho of the S.A Group. This is the first time saying hello to you separately. It is very nice to meet you. I want to share a story with Youngwoo-ssi...
[The target has blocked you.]
“...?”
Was there something wrong? A chill went down Lim Cheolho’s spine.
***
“People are crazy. Now there is someone impersonating Lim Cheolho.”
It was after killing the cave cricket that Grid received a whisper while confirming the information the ancient scrolls, which definitely enhanced an item by 1–3 levels. The more famous a person was, the more whispers they received. It was a chance for Grid to see how many crazy people there were in the world.
“Did something happen?” Mercedes asked anxiously.
Grid shook his head and pulled out the Enlightenment Sword. ‘This is an item that will be kept to the end.’
Therefore, he was confident he wouldn’t regret using the ancient weapon scroll on the Enlightenment Sword!
“Please be +3!”
Grid was full of ambition as he used the ancient weapon scroll on the Enlightenment Sword without hesitation. He was filled with the expectation that the unique characteristic of Pagma's Descendant would help the enhancement go straight to +3.
The result?
[You have successfully enhanced the Lightning Sword Born from Enlightenment and Strong Desires!]
[The Lightning Sword Born from Enlightenment and Strong Desires has increased to +1!]
“Damn rotten luck XX system!”
There was a chance to get 1, 2, or 3, yet he got 1? Grid’s anger reached its peak, and he lost his temper. However, he stopped just as he was going to throw the +1 Enlightenment Sword to the ground.
[You have succeeded in enhancing a myth rated item, and a hidden piece of Pagma's Descendant has opened!]
The newly emerged notification window relieved his anger and sadness.
Simultaneously, Lim Cheolho said, “I will go to Grid’s house.”
He hurried to his car after logging out.
Lim Cheolho was the best scientist, the greatest human in modern society, the world’s best… so on and so forth. This person that even the president found hard to invite was going to visit an ordinary (?) young man’s house. It was a big matter that would decorate the world’s headlines if it were made known.