Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Pierrot Ornaments Everywhere
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At first, he thought he must be seeing things.
So he checked several times.
But no.
No matter how many times he checked, the scene remained unchanged.
All of this was reality right now.
Here too.
Over there too.
[...]
The place was crawling with Pierrot ornaments.
'I figured level 1 NPCs wouldn't have them, but...'
Not only did Scout work on them, but every single one he peeked at revealed the event collectibles—the ornaments.
And this was true for every Pierrot.
'With so many players around, the steal success rates are all over the place.'
But the fact that he could steal the ornaments at all was huge.
Everyone else had to hunt down special Pierrots the hard way.
And even then, they had to watch each other like hawks, engaging in tense last-hit battles.
'Rover Company really structured this event like that, huh.'
Luke recalled the explanation from the helper Pierrot before the event started.
As the helper Pierrot had said, the ornament items dropped only from special Pierrots.
That was an undeniable fact.
In reality, general Pierrots accidentally killed by players didn't drop any ornament items.
Instead, players who kept making those mistakes ended up with nothing and got eliminated from the event.
There was no benefit whatsoever.
But now, it turned out that wasn't entirely true.
Well, it was true—but he, as a thief, was the exception.
Why?
Because not just the special Pierrots, but all the regular ones were carrying ornament items too.
And he could Scout and Steal them without any penalties.
'Yeah, from the company's perspective, this setup makes sense.'
They equip every Pierrot with the ornament item, but only make it drop from randomly designated special Pierrots.
No need to redistribute items every reset—simple and efficient.
Of course, that created a massive loophole.
A fatal one, but only for thieves.
'The questionable part is...'
Night King's successor.
If they'd designed this job early on, they surely would have reviewed it at least once before the 2nd anniversary event.
Whether devs or ops team.
Yet the Pierrots were structured exactly like this.
As if they hadn't noticed the Great Thief existed.
'No way they'd ignore this job if they knew about it.'
No sane game company would.
So was that why?
Stealing Pierrot ornaments suddenly started feeling uneasy.
'If I steal them, won't the company notice right away?'
Or maybe they'd call it a rules violation and take separate action.
Even if it was their mistake, there'd still be penalties for thieving.
'But what if they didn't know about me until now, and this event tips them off?'
Either way, it was a headache.
'Oh gods, why do you test me like this?!'
Not that he believed in gods.
Still, the dilemma remained.
"Argh, missed again!"
"They're all too fast. No way I can keep up."
"Ugh, yeah. Especially those rankers—they're on another level."
"Mm."
Meanwhile.
Deer and Rabbit, diligently roaming Agas Land, let out long sighs as they watched the rankers with their overwhelming stats.
They couldn't keep up.
Not in stats.
Not in skills.
Not even in items.
High-level rankers were a cut above.
"Seeing them makes me think high level really is everything. I'm struggling this much already, and they don't even look tired."
"Maybe they all have insane stamina?"
"Or they're just chugging potions non-stop."
"...'
Potions endlessly poured into rankers' hands.
Rabbit dropped her head with half-resigned eyes at the sight.
"I thought an event like this wouldn't care about levels."
"This area's full of those types, that's why. What rotten luck... Sigh, guess this is the end for us."
Had they lost all motivation?
They were now slumped on a nearby bench, catching their breath with defeated looks.
Even if they got up again, they probably wouldn't roam as energetically as before.
'Yeah, can't blame them.'
Luke glanced around sympathetically at the scene.
"Th-the stat gap is insane."
"How many skills do those guys even have?! They just keep popping out!"
"Whoa, that greatsword can even do ranged attacks?"
"What, are they potion vendors? Gear-carrying bastards!"
Complaints were already erupting.
Level advantage.
Gear advantage.
Skill advantage.
Talent advantage, and so on.
The gap with rankers was starting to show.
Even in this supposedly balanced event.
'High levels mean overpowered stats by default, and their skill count alone is on another dimension from low-tiers.'
Dozens of mastered skills.
Some exclusive to high levels.
Power.
Effects.
Versatility.
Obviously worlds apart from low-level skills.
'That's how they pull ahead even in events like this.'
Rankers exploited that, prioritizing skills with high hit counts and sustained damage to snipe special Pierrots.
Some even timed their last hits precisely.
'Not that it matters against those two.'
Luke looked up.
Dorothy, riding a broom with Fly active, caught his eye first.
'She's about to start.'
Flames began rising from the staff in her hand.
Roarrr—
The blazing flames coalesced into a sphere that blanketed the sky.
Like a burning sun.
Growing slowly, dominating the entire field.
A spell only top fire mages could cast.
Flare.
'And that hero-grade staff she's holding boosts it...'
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
It doubled her spells—a cheat-level effect.
Proving it, the sun-like Flare split into two before their eyes.
"Huh, what's with the shade...?"
"Gasp, what the hell is that?!"
Only then did players notice Dorothy and look up late.
Two Flare orbs hung like meteors, asserting their presence.
But that was just the beginning.
Snap!
Dorothy casually snapped her fingers.
At the same moment, elongated flames burst from the skybound Flares like fireworks.
Boom boom boom boom!
The flames targeted Pierrots.
Special Pierrots other players had been gunning for.
"Whoa, for real?"
"No way she's controlling each one manually?"
"Nah, probably homing."
"Forget that—it's all AoE damage, so why no penalties?"
Players gaped in shock.
Some voiced doubts at the unbelievable sight.
But one person.
Luke alone watched calmly.
'No way it's homing when she's infusing each one with mana.'
Yes.
The flames splintered from Flare.
Dorothy controlled every single one manually.
Advanced mana control.
She even adjusted blast radii to avoid AoE splash.
Targeting only special Pierrots.
'Her armor and accessories must all be mana or control-boosting options.'
Talent.
Plus gear power.
That was top ranker Dorothy.
'But the real issue is she's not the only monster.'
If Dorothy was talent + gear, then Iron-Blooded Lord Leon was pure gear monster.
Shrrr—
Proving it, fissures soon tore across the sky.
Weapons big and small poured out.
"There it is—Leon's main move!"
"Hey, I think I've seen that on TV."
"Wait, that's totally Gate of Ba... Mmph!"
"What, filming a space war with just two people?!"
Yes.
Leon's unique hidden skill.
Pew pew pew pew!
Kaboom kaboom boom!
Infinite Arsenal.
'Unleashes sub-space stored weapons like missiles—the Infinite Arsenal skill.'
Only Leon.
Or rather, tycoon Leon made it shine.
'Said to burn hundreds of millions per use.'
Why?
Higher quality weapons in sub-space meant more power.
Capitalism incarnate.
'And guiding those weapons to targets? That's the armor.'
Full plate armor born from a scarlet ruby gem.
Crimson Dragon Armor.
'Grants homing to all owner skills.'
Absurd.
But Leon's Crimson Dragon Armor made it real.
Via its cheat options.
Probably all slots filled with rare+ gear.
Money fixed everything.
"GMs, you bastards! Is this a game?!"
"Damn, didn't even hit it once and they stole it."
Domination.
By just two players.
In an event with ten thousand participants.
No mistakes.
Relentlessly sniping special Pierrots with their aces.
Stealing others' kills.
Or hunting unique-featured ones with their power and gear.
'As expected.'
One-sided.
But Luke had foreseen even this.
He knew top rankers better than anyone.
'At this rate, the top spots go to them.'
To top rankers.
And rankers.
So he had to choose now.
Before more time passed.
'Top 5 don't reveal names anyway.'
Only the ornament counts for 1st to 5th places shown.
'...'
Luke's mind raced.
"Oppa?"
Then.
Deer, who like other players had been staring blankly at the top rankers, called out to Luke.
"Mira."
"Yeah? What?"
"You and Heaven rest there for a bit. Oppa’s gonna go collect more ornaments."
"Alone? Want us to come...?"
"Nah, I'll try solo."
Aah.
Of course.
Luke left the two behind and melted into the crowd.
The company response still worried him.
But he couldn't waste this golden opportunity.
'Besides, I stole a hidden scenario with Steal—no action then, so probably fine.'
Plus, this structure was purely their oversight.
They designed without considering Great Thief.
'And they might not even know I exist.'
Hence the event design.
No hesitation.
Thief gonna thief.
'Time to steal.'
Events were no exception.