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...
People die when they are killed.
~Emiya Shirou
...
Macchiato's excited call made the three mbers of the Do Alliance gather the last of their strength and walk toward the Vault with high expectations.
After all the hardships along the way, after exhausting every last bit of strength they had, and perhaps even spending an entire month's worth of luck just to win this battle...
What kind of rewards would they ultimately receive?
The answer was, an incredibly generous haul.
Carl felt that the Oath developers had probably adjusted the drop rates for various materials based on hidden matchmaking factors, such as spending level and Extre Abyss ranking.
That was actually a smart move. It ensured that whales on both sides would not fight to the death for ages, only to arrive at a resource point and find nothing worth taking.
Vengeful Blood and her two teammates entered the Vault. With just one glance around, they saw various small golden items, or rather, epic-quality loot, laid out across a single table.
anwhile, Macchiato was still rummaging through the safes scattered around the Vault. Finally, she pulled a truly massive prize out of one of them.
"Heart of Oath, Quality: Mythic, Value: 136,000. Effect: Expands your backpack's secure container to nine slots and unlocks the Hideout expansion feature, not yet implented."
Seeing that Macchiato's lucky little hands had actually managed to loot this item, Carl felt a little embarrassed.
There were indeed many features in Netherworld Village that Carl had promised but had not had ti to implent yet, though it was only a matter of ti.
Even so, the secure container expansion alone was already extrely valuable for a reckless player like Macchiato, who had a habit of dying often.
But she did not plan to keep this precious loot for herself. Instead, she handed it directly to the team's true MVP, Vengeful Blood.
"Guild Leader! I got the big drop! Hahahaha! But I can't use it right now, so you take it first to boost your score!"
When Macchiato handed this glowing red item to Vengeful Blood, she was already prepared to receive Vengeful Blood's thanks and praise from the other two teammates.
As it turned out, Vengeful Blood took the diamond and glanced at its data in the main version of Oath.
[Heart of Oath, Quality: Mythic. Church Points: 136,000. Effect: Unlocking it in the Codex is estimated to grant 300 Contract Stones.]
That was it?
This was the only thought that ca to Vengeful Blood's mind.
Church Points were the points used to exchange for bonus rewards after bringing the item back. And what were those bonus rewards in Oath?
Player skins and alternate outfits for various gacha-pool characters.
Aside from a handful of skin collectors, costic rewards were simply not that appealing.
As for the important Codex unlock and the Contract Stone reward, did a whale like Vengeful Blood, soone who would not even blink at maxing out a character to 6 5, really care about such a tiny amount of Contract Stones?
"Guild Leader, everyone, we finally got so much major loot. Usually, when I play with Teacher Crimson Night and the others, finding this much would have laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. So why are you all..."
Why are you not laughing?
Macchiato did not say the rest out loud.
"I was actually going to ask why you're so happy," Vengeful Blood said, voicing her confusion first.
Because for players of the main version of Oath, this item's greatest value was that it could be exchanged for about three dollars' worth of Contract Stones.
"Uh... because every piece of loot here gives a massive boost once I take it back. It can unlock new items, new infrastructure, new features, and things like that."
"So I really want every single piece of loot here! But it looks like these items count toward ranking score, and since I didn't contribute much, I'll let everyone else have them."
Macchiato was quite kind-hearted. Although she desperately wanted to claim all the loot for herself, she restrained herself out of consideration for her teammates.
Everything she scavenged was useful. Everything she saw from the mont she stepped into the city could be taken away. What did it feel like when every second spent searching could bring a new surprise?
Just as Vengeful Blood was about to ask those questions, she suddenly received a short ssage.
It was a ssage from the Saintess.
"Lord Savior, please do not forget why you first ca to this world, nor the aning of your journey. So of your compatriots have abandoned the great power of the Savior and the sacred mission of saving the world. They have chosen instead to walk the path of thieves, indulging in the petty thrill of stealing. But you are different.
The people of both the Holy Nation and the Empire look forward to the day when you, Lord Savior, will lead them toward a brighter future. The Holy Nation has unconditionally granted you the authority to command. Please do not disappoint the people of the Holy Nation."
This ssage from the Saintess had been sent to all Saviors, serving as a small easter egg at the beginning of the version's story.
But it reminded Vengeful Blood of the true aning of the journey.
What set the Do Alliance apart from many other player guilds was that they were a group of ultimate min-maxers.
And the reason they played that way was not rely to surpass other players. It was because the Do Alliance had long since started treating Elysium as a real world to explore.
These players truly wanted to conquer territory in the world of Elysium, seize regional influence, and beco a massive power that even the Holy Nation and the Empire could not ignore.
In a sense, while other players were simply playing a ga, the Do Alliance treated Oath like a grand strategy simulator.
This included the leader, Vengeful Blood, who had already ford various alliances and cooperation agreents with high-ranking officials of the Holy Nation.
This also included Oath version 1.2, where the Saintess herself admitted that there would be story content and gaplay systems allowing Saviors to beco City Lords and lead the local population.
And Vengeful Blood was pursuing far more than that.
This kind of hidden authority promised by the upper ranks of the Holy Nation could not be fully realized within the current version of Oath.
But since Elysium was a real world, cooperating with the high-ranking officials of the Holy Nation, one of the world's two great powers, or even becoming one of those officials, would surely bring many benefits.
Not only the Do Alliance, but other large guilds were also playing with a similar mindset to so extent.
Think bigger. Play bigger. They could not allow themselves to get addicted to this sneaky little looting loop.
Thinking this, Vengeful Blood turned her gaze toward Macchiato.
"Macchiato, next round, stop using this ratty scavenger playstyle. You need to switch back to main Oath mode and team up with us properly," Vengeful Blood ordered.
"Huh? But Guild Leader... scavenging score is also very important for ranking points." Macchiato had not expected to suddenly beco the target of the team's criticism.
"But you're dragging down our combat power. Who knows if we'll be matched against top players from other guilds in the next round? Either switch to main Oath mode and fight with , or you're out of the team for this Champion Series. The Do Alliance isn't desperate enough to need you," Vengeful Blood ordered in a cold tone.
"I... I..."
At that mont, Macchiato realized that a huge rift had ford between her and the mbers of her guild.
When Macchiato played the Trial of Glory, all she wanted was the thrill of filling her backpack to the brim and extracting with a mountain of useful loot.
But what the mbers of the Do Alliance wanted was only one thing, to raise their score. To win the Champion Series. To make every NPC in Oath recognize that the Do Alliance was the strongest guild in the ga.
"There's no need to hesitate. I've already found a replacent. Leave the party yourself," Vengeful Blood said bluntly.
"..."
Macchiato did not know how to respond. In the end, she could only choose to leave the party.
In the final settlent for this round, Vengeful Blood and the other two reached an astonishing score of 15.0, while Macchiato's glaring 3.0 ranking score seed to prove that she really was the one who most deserved to be kicked.
"An overly high post-match score isn't always a good thing. The matchmaking gods are going to punish them for that."
After Macchiato returned to Netherworld Village, Carl approached the deeply dejected Macchiato and spoke.
"If your score stays too high, once you reach the Champion rank where only solo queue is allowed, sothing terrifying will happen. So terrifying that your Guild Leader will probably wish every match was as balanced as this group queue."
"Carl... you don't have to comfort ." Macchiato thought Carl was just trying to make her feel better.
However, Carl did not say anything more. In any case, the players of Netherworld Village were already setting out to strip the City of Glory bare.
Carl also needed to carefully consider how to use the materials the players had plundered from the City of Glory.
(To be continued.)
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)
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