This ti, it was Kuro's turn to feel a little ashad. He knew about Oath's many problems better than anyone.
The Academy Head's emotions were also fluctuating wildly beside him, but he still gave a sharp cough, signaling Kuro to keep pressuring Carl.
"Compared to most online gas today, Oath's monetization is already quite restrained. That is also one of the reasons this ga is so popular."
Kuro looked at the debate points recorded in his small notebook and played his final card.
"I hope you will consider Elysium's future. The Calamity Plague is eroding this world faster and faster. The Academy Head and Oath's board of directors have already increased their investnt into Elysium's servers."
"Mr. Carl Agata, could you also contribute your strength to Elysium's future?"
Kuro was not sure whether this counted as moral blackmail.
"Contribute my strength? You an by letting more families lose everything and beco refugees?"
Carl had not forgotten his character's backstory. His hotown had been contaminated by the Calamity Plague, forcing him to flee here with Irene.
The refugees from the Holy Nation were in the sa situation. After they were infected by the Calamity Plague, Oath's official team and the Holy Nation had chosen to abandon them.
"The mission of Oath's Saviors, the players, is to purify the plague! But look at things now. You've allowed Elysium's lands to fall, and you've started treating the purchase of new servers as the natural solution!"
"Since when did failure beco a bargaining chip? The fact that you are helpless against the Calamity Plague only proves that Oath's current quality doesn't live up to its reputation, doesn't it?"
At this point, Carl slamd both hands onto the table and looked at everyone in front of him.
"The people Oath's Saviors cannot save, my villagers will save! Make all those Imperial invaders get the hell out of my players' worlds! Let my players purify that Plague Torrent!"
Carl's declaration successfully left Kuro silent, but it only earned a sneer from Madam Calamity.
"You? A group of villagers with an average Data Volu of barely two or three thousand? Weaklings who can be torn apart even by our Imperial War Beasts? What right do you have to resist the true monsters inside the Plague Torrent?"
Madam Calamity stood up, her cold vertical pupils fixed on Carl.
"Does your tail not hurt anymore?"
Carl suddenly poked directly at the sore spot of this oversized mother dragon.
"Do you think every Savior can fight by relying on Hasumi's strange weapons?"
Madam Calamity imdiately pointed out the weakness of the Monster Hunter players.
"In my eyes, the weapons you designed are indeed far too rigid. They can only be used to hunt large monsters."
"Not only that, they can only hunt single monsters. Once the numbers increase and the terrain becos complicated..."
"The Saviors under your command will panic and start complaining about how unreasonable those weapons are. If not for the Pokémon helping them, the Imperial soldiers would have wiped out your villagers long ago."
"..."
Carl did not deny it.
Because this was indeed his miscalculation. His assumptions about the enemy's lineup had been too ideal.
As long as there were enough hunter players, they could always create situations where soone had a one-on-one confrontation with an Imperial War Beast.
But in this invasion war, the Empire had no interest in fair fights. They just dogpiled everyone, which made countless villager hunters hate them to the bone. All the constant interruptions and endless gang attacks had players cursing the producer nonstop.
It was only because the Pokémon accompanying the villager hunters helped lure away so of the monsters that the experience beca slightly more bearable.
Of course, Carl could design other combat systems for the players, ones better suited for group fights and human-versus-human combat.
But with their current Data Volu, those combat systems would be sowhat difficult to implent.
Because the Monster Hunter combat system focused on the weak overcoming the strong, then gradually growing stronger in order to defeat even greater enemies.
That perfectly matched the current situation of the villager players.
And Carl could guarantee that as long as the monsters were designed well enough, it would absolutely beco a satisfying combat mode, one that would allow players to generate a large amount of plague antidote.
But who could have known that the Empire's monsters would refuse to play fair and jump straight into group beatdowns?
And right at that mont, Anan, who had been silent all this ti, suddenly spoke.
"Huge monsters, acting alone... Isn't that exactly the characteristic of the monsters inside the Plague Torrent?"
Anan's words instantly startled everyone present.
"Anan! What are you trying to do?!"
Madam Calamity imdiately realized Anan's goal.
"Ms. Anan, you are the main feature of the next version. Please don't do anything reckless."
Kuro also hurriedly tried to persuade her.
But Anan did not answer them. She simply held Carl's hand and whispered to him.
"Carl, let's go. There's sothing I want to talk to you about privately back ho."
"Okay."
Carl also knew there was no point staying here, so he returned to Netherworld Village with Anan.
After they returned to Netherworld Village, Anan still held Carl's hand tightly. She seed to be going through an intense inner struggle before she finally confessed her thoughts to him.
"Just as you said, Carl, the Abyssal Knights have already carved away countless lands from the Holy Nation for Elysium. But I don't want to keep running anymore."
"I can draw in and control the Plague Torrent. That is also the main content of Version 2.0. I can pull the Holy Nation's Plague Torrent toward the City of Glory, let the players face the monsters rampaging inside it, and begin a true battle."
"I know."
Carl did not let go of Anan's small hand. He gently held it, feeling the nervous sweat spreading across her palm.
"In Oath's design, campaigns related to the Plague Torrent are just ordinary field monster-killing events. Combined with Oath's own combat system, I think the Saviors of Oath are only sealing those monsters into a dormant state. They are not truly purifying the plague."
Anan patiently told Carl what she truly thought.
"But if the villagers co, if the hunters co, then in your words, Carl, if their Hunter Souls catch fire, they will definitely be able to purify this Plague Torrent, right?"
"I guarantee it," Carl said.
"Heroes need a stage worthy of heroes, and hunters need a stage worthy of hunters."
"One-on-one duels against giant monsters, without complicated city terrain. Of course, adding so field ecology would be nice too, right?"
Anan continued confirming what kind of battlefield the hunters needed.
"Yeah. Oh, and rember, no matter what the area looks like, don't add ledges. Uh, or at least keep the ledges to a minimum."
Hearing this, Carl already understood what Anan wanted to do.
"I understand. I will release all the power inside , control the Plague Torrent, and forge the coming battlefield into a place where hunters can fight to their hearts' content."
"And I, together with the mbers of the Abyssal Knights, will probably beco the final targets the hunters pursue, Ancient Dragons capable of destroying this world."
"But that is exactly my duty. My duty as a ga character. As the final boss, I must give the players the ultimate challenge and beco part of the supre honor and sense of accomplishnt they achieve."
When Anan said this, she suddenly held Carl's left hand with both of hers. Then she pressed the back of his hand against her forehead and whispered.
"But I'm not sure whether I can co back after rging with the Plague Torrent."
"Actually, I was really looking forward to becoming a summonable character in Version 2.0. I prepared quite a lot for it, all the howork a summonable character should do. It would be a bit of a waste to throw it all away."
"I know you're different from everyone else in Elysium. Compared to us, you're more like a player."
At this point, Anan raised her head and spoke to Carl in a joking tone, like an older sister teasing an innocent young man.
"So, Carl Agata, could you beco my player and go on a date with for one day? Let experience what it feels like to be your main character."
(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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