Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The Ceiling
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An emergency meeting was called.
Section Chief Kwon scanned the murmuring employees before speaking.
"You all know the situation, right?"
"Yes, the internet communities are in an uproar. Over 1,200 articles have been published already. Titles like 'The Miracle of the F2P Player' and such."
"Wow, but this can't be a bug or manipulation, right? The ops team said the only Mythic class is the boss's one. How could an F2P player..."
Yang, the staff member who had been standing quietly in one corner of the meeting room, spoke up at Junior Oh's words.
"It's not F2P."
"Huh? We already checked that player's gear and collection. Even if they spent money, it's less than 100,000 won, right?"
"The cumulative spending is nearly 100 million won."
"What?"
"Huh? For real?"
"Wait, but they said F2P? All the gear and collection info was already circulating online."
Revenge was a game where you could always check other players' gear, collection history, and more. There was a dedicated site where just typing in an ID brought up all the related info in a list.
It hadn't always been this way, but after three years of operation, it had been changed to fully public due to issues like hacked accounts and bug exploits.
It was also the result of a decision made amid nonstop controversies over the developers' super accounts.
"Here's the spending history for the player at the center of the controversy, [Killians]."
As Yang spoke, one wall turned into a display screen, laying out the relevant data. The developers and operators in the meeting room examined it carefully.
And after a moment.
"What... the hell is this?"
"Is this guy insane?"
What was shown there was exactly how much money Han Jaeyeon had spent in Revenge so far, and what he had done with the results of that spending.
★☆Ardenia Settlement Package☆★ purchased!
★☆Ardenia Settlement Package☆★ delete? -> YES
★☆Grand Master Package☆★ purchased!
★☆Grand Master Package☆★ delete? -> YES
★☆Class Summon Ticket☆★ purchased x100!
★☆Class Summon Ticket☆★ delete x100? -> YES
★☆4000 Diamond Box☆★ purchased x10!
★☆4000 Diamond Box☆★ delete x10? -> YES
Section Chief Kwon slowly reviewed the transaction history. He had already heard about it verbally, but seeing it again was still mind-blowing. He had spent an absolutely not-small amount of money, but hadn't left a single thing in his inventory—instead deleting everything.
'Is he some rich guy with money rotting away?'
No, if he were rich, he wouldn't whale like this on purpose. Why do people whale in a game like Revenge? To show off to others, right?
Yet here he was, whaling in the hundreds of millions and deleting it all.
'No, that's not the important part right now.'
He shook his head to clear the stray thoughts and spoke.
"Junior Oh."
"Yes, Section Chief."
"I recall you saying that the record for pulling a Mythic with a Quest Advanced Class Summon Ticket was around the time someone took first place across the entire Leonhardt Empire, beyond just 34th Earth. The odds were something like..."
"One in 38 trillion."
"...Right. That's what you said. Are you telling me that insane luck actually hit?"
Section Chief Kwon let out a hollow laugh without realizing it. Sure, probability was the study of possibilities, but this was nonsense.
One in 38 trillion?
Even if Revenge was a massively popular game, it would need over 100 years of service for that many Quest Advanced Class Summon Tickets to be used.
"No."
But then Junior Oh said something unexpected.
"It was one in 100."
"...What?"
The faces of the employees, who had been relaxed up until now, hardened like stone.
"For real? No way, seriously? Was there probability manipulation? Kwon! What the hell happened to system security?"
"Huh? No! It wasn't breached! Everything's perfectly fine—what are you talking about?"
The meeting room erupted in brief chaos. Junior Oh watched them for a moment before speaking.
"Calm down. It wasn't a bug or hack."
"Then what do you mean? How could there be manipulation without a bug or hack?"
"Isn't there variable probability?"
"What kind of crazy... Huh?"
"Variable probability? What conspiracy theory... Huh?"
The meeting room fell silent. Everyone stared blankly, lost in thought.
"Variable... probability..."
"Huh? Wait a sec. That player... deleted all the items... Ah! No way!?"
"This is insane!"
Everyone in the room right now was a Revenge developer or operator. In other words, experts in pay-to-win games.
They quickly realized what Junior Oh meant.
"The ceiling!?"
"The ceiling! Oh right! There is a ceiling!"
"No way, this is nuts! How does this even happen!?"
"Did he aim for this? No, that doesn't make sense. It's still just one in 100! If it fails, it resets to zero, right?"
"Oh my god!"
Games like Revenge had something called [variable probability]. It referred to a system where probabilities fluctuated based on certain conditions during whaling or gacha pulls.
Of course, it was mostly used in a negative sense, and when it got caught, players would riot and flip the entire game upside down. There were even several cases where games shut down completely because of it.
However... there were a few variable probability cases that players forgave and that the game company announced in advance.
Like applying slightly higher odds than advertised on the first pull, or boosting specific characters during events.
And above all.
There was the [ceiling].
"My god."
The ceiling was a kind of safety net commonly used in partial monetization games, especially those with gacha or random box revenue models.
Gacha was ultimately probability, and in the world of probability, absurd things sometimes happened. The ceiling was created to prevent those situations.
What if someone was extremely unlucky and poured in 1 billion won trying to pull a Legendary class but got nothing?
'It's possible in the world of probability.'
You couldn't just brush it off with that. Players were customers, and if this happened to a customer, they wouldn't hold back their rage and would quit the game. It might bring short-term revenue, but long-term, the company loses.
That's why game companies implemented systems where if a player's [duds] exceeded a certain amount, they guaranteed some reward, or [success probability gradually increased with each dud]. This became known colloquially as the "ceiling" because it set a spending limit for whaling.
"You all know the ceiling threshold amount built into the system, right?"
"100 million..."
"Precisely, it's 100 million won in diamonds—though actual cash wouldn't quite reach that with initial payments, packages, event spends, etc. Anyway, the key point is that this player Killians spent over 1 million diamonds in Revenge and got absolutely nothing for it."
"So the variable probability kicked in."
"Yes. The moment cumulative diamond usage exceeded 1 million, the ceiling triggered. Data shows that when he used the Quest Advanced Class Summon Ticket, the class table was Hero 90%, Legendary 9%, Mythic 1%."
"One in 100..."
One in 100 wasn't high by any means, but compared to one in 38 trillion, it was entirely plausible. Hardcore whales would be thrilled, yelling [This is totally doable!].
"So... he aimed for it?"
"No way. That's idiotic. What if the Mythic didn't drop?"
If the 90% Hero hit, that counted as a win too, resetting the ceiling.
Getting one Hero card for 100 million won.
If he was aiming for the Mythic, probabilistically he'd have to do this 100 times...
"Why would he do this?"
Quest Advanced Class Summon Tickets cost 100,000 won each.
Mythic pull odds: one in 100,000.
In other words, for 10 billion won, you could just buy straight Quest Advanced tickets and get a Mythic easily. Plus all the other classes you'd pull along the way—anyone would call it stupid.
But as with most probabilities.
Once it hits, all that debate becomes pointless.
"For now... no bugs or hacks. That's the conclusion."
"Yes, Section Chief."
"...Good. Report it that way to the boss. Meeting adjourned."
At Section Chief Kwon's words, the employees rose from their seats.
"Wow, stuff like this really happens..."
"Over 20 years in development, and this is a first..."
The employees filed out, murmuring. Section Chief Kwon sat back down, deep in thought.
Yang, standing beside him, asked.
"Anything bothering you?"
"No, nothing specific. It's just... too weird. It's too bizarre to just call it systematic insanity. If we report it as is, the boss will feel uneasy too."
Section Chief Kwon stood up and said.
"Keep a closer eye from now on."
"Closer... Understood, Section Chief."
Yang bowed and left the meeting room.
* * *
Seven days on Earth. Twenty-five days in Ardenia.
The population of Starting had grown to 12,000. Considering low-level players were being sent to the second dungeon [Wild Boar], it was explosive growth.
'People are finally realizing the inland is more dangerous.'
Most nations on the continent had shattered. Countless refugees had fled, scattering in all directions to escape the swarming monsters.
Those who naively fled inland either died or realized it was more dangerous and hunkered down deep in the interior lands (between ley lines).
And amid that chaotic reality.
My territory was developing at an insane pace.
"High-grade Red Thorn Goblin Dagger, 12,000 gold!"
"Isn't that too expensive? Even for high-grade, it doesn't have accuracy, does it?"
"Hey now, what's with that? The Red Thorn Dagger gives agility in this small size. Just wearing it on your belt applies a stat bonus!"
"Sold."
"You didn't even say what the item is... Gasp! Battle Cry Manual! The one only elite soldiers among elites have...!"
The elite soldiers had been running dungeons whenever they had time, bringing out drop items and gold. Using that gold as currency for trade was a natural flow.
Of course, unlike centrally minted and controlled gold coins, gold dropped from monsters inevitably caused inflation structurally, but Revenge had various systems to prevent that.
"This enhancement scroll is limited to 10 per day... If you miss it, that day is wasted, right?"
"Obviously. Oh, by the way, heard the rumor? Turns out +9 Goblin Dagger..."
"Gasp! What kind of effect!"
"Hey, you lot! No funny business—be satisfied at +6! From +7, weapons shatter!"
"Haa... Haa... +9 effects are that amazing?"
"Tch, this guy's eyes are glazing over! Snap out of it!"
As the medieval folk of Lost World—who didn't even know what a game was—began adapting to the system, the initial chaos faded, and the castle buzzed with life. More and more items were circulating, as expected.
'Impressive that food supply isn't an issue even with such rapid population growth. Running Bronze Sword Barony was hell because of food.'
Low-level elite soldiers without classes, plus sturdy commoners, were running the [Windbreak Plateau] dungeon in Wild Boar Castle for EXP and money. There were occasional party wipes where groups didn't emerge, but in exchange, boar hindquarters flooded in.
Even with my Revenge character having the goddess's blessing and picking up others' drops, I couldn't outpace the hundreds or thousands spinning the dungeon.
So my Revenge characters no longer hunted boars.
"It's not even that level anymore. My character now... isn't some grunt hunting mere boars."
Yes. My Revenge character was no longer grunt-level for boar hunting.
My characters had become... far too strong for mere boars.
"Ha."
While working the convenience store night shift, I briefly opened the collection window and selected the one at the very top.
[Collection]
Sword God Who Cleaves Heaven and Earth (Sword God) All Stats +10
A groan escaped me naturally.
"Why Sword God of all things..."
With trembling hands, I opened the class window.
[Sword God (劍神) (Mythic)]
Strength +120 Agility +200 Stamina +120 Vitality +80 Mana +80
Attack Speed +100%.
Critical Chance +10%.
[Transcendent Realm]
[Expertise in Measure]
[Heavenly Sword]
[Man-Sword Unity]
[Sword That Cleaves Heaven and Earth]
"Ah, damn. This is insane..."
Killians' gear hadn't changed at all. I had handed all the new Rare gear from main quests over to Ardenia.
Yet even so.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Slash!
"Wow. 10-second clear..."
I was farming Hero-grade mobs.
[Heavenly Sword - Hundred Man Slash]
[Sword That Cleaves Heaven and Earth]
By chance, the unique skill and transcendent skill triggered together, sweeping away the swarm of [Ice Ogres (Hero)] nearby.
Yes.
81 ogres dead with one swing. Even if those two skills syncing was rare—maybe twice an hour—it was still absurd.
"Wow, insane."
Drop items, gold, and EXP gains were on another level entirely.
It had taken months to hit 40, and post-40 EXP requirements were incomparably higher... yet leveling accelerated. Already at 45.
JeYeonIsBest: Wow! Sword God is so cool. Attack speed is nuts...
Someone chatted enviously. One of the situations hardcore Revenge whales loved most, but I couldn't be happy.
Because I knew.
"Ah."
If that class.
If I had gotten the Mythic class Sword God in my Ardenia self...
"I could've gone to the flower garden alone... solo raided the Ice Queen... and ended the siege..."
It would've enabled munchkin feats incomparable to now. Maybe I wouldn't have bothered training civilians or building up troops.
I could've just gone and slaughtered a thousand or ten thousand myself.
Sword God was that level of performance—enough to inspire such crazy thoughts.
'I thought it'd just be a bit better than Legendary.'
But it wasn't.
"Ah."
I finished the convenience store shift and headed to Wungnyeo Steelworks.
Assisting the enchanters, hauling steel plates.
"Wow! You're just carrying that? Wow, you're super strong."
"Jaeyeon? Why do you look so spaced out?"
"What's up, Jaeyeon? Something happen?"
At the club entrance, I checked the outfits of rowdy newbies and booted out troublemakers.
"S-Sorry! I had a bit to drink and got excited!"
"Hey! I'm paying to get in, what's the big... Ah, ah... Sorry. I'll go..."
"Bro? Bouncers do that kinda thing, but if you scare the customers too much..."
Back to the convenience store shift, checking stock, organizing goods.
"Hey! When the part-timer's called, he comes running..."
"What."
"N-No, nothing..."
Finished convenience store, back to Wungnyeo Steelworks.
And while doing all that, I thought.
"Aah."
So frustrating.
It's great, but it pisses me off.
"My Sword God..."