Chapter 303 - IRO Operations (3): World Quest Progress Check
GM Choco entered the room without a greeting. After a 'just as I thought' glance at Misha P, who was slumped over her desk, she placed a tablet on the low table. It was for brewing two cups of coffee.
"Help me," Misha P mumbled. GM Choco bit back the urge to say, "Boss never runs (etc.)."
"You're the boss…," she replied. Misha P twitched in response, then muttered, "Choco-chan is cold…"
GM Choco, with a 'this person is troublesome' expression, placed one of the coffees on Misha P's desk. "Isn't it good? Plan B put the [World Quest] back on schedule, didn't it?"
"No one… no one executed Plan B!"
"Well, 'there's no such thing' was executed, I believe."
Even though the 'Future's Hegemony' guild had monopolized the [Frontline Base] for the Necropolis conquest, and the [World Quest] progress was stagnant, Operations had not decided to intervene. The main reason was that the [World Quest] itself was a pre-arranged situation, and how it progressed was largely left to the players. Unless something drastic happened, the policy was not to guide players, and new players were steadily increasing. There was also a reluctance to forcibly pull players away from enjoying their preferred activities while the [World Quest] was being observed.
In addition,
"Thanks to [Ice Princess Anshia] creating a pipeline with the [Demon Kingdom], the Demon Kingdom route opened before the summer update, so I thought things would gradually pick up."
"That was unexpected too, but thanks to that, the Imperial route's monopoly disappeared sooner."
GM Choco sat on the sofa, sipping her coffee. Misha P, finally stirring, took her coffee and cupped it in both hands.
"Yeah. So, I thought, 'now they just need to thoroughly investigate and find a good strategy,' right?"
"'Good strategy.'"
"But there were people diligently investigating 'purifying the district'!"
"That was also only because the existence of the [Nameless Goddess Statue] was revealed on the island, wasn't it?"
"Guh… Thud…," Misha P slumped again.
"More to the point, you could have stopped the stream from the island, but you didn't, did you?"
"No, that would be unfair to those two…"
She looked up with a apologetic expression. Streaming from Shou on the island to Mion in the studio used the game's streaming function, so it wasn't impossible to stop it. However, doing so would only lead to an "after-the-fact" outcry of "Why did you stop it?!", and above all, those two had done nothing wrong. Everything was a complete coincidence and inevitability. The [White Dragon Princess] liked Shou's sweets, and the [Dragonfolk]'s affinity for him was at max. Argenta, when asked for a goddess statue, gave the [Nameless Goddess Statue]. That statue became the [Jade Goddess Statue] after the battle with the [Maroon Wraith]. When the [Dragonfolk] and their subordinates couldn't properly handle the [Nameless Goddess Statue], the natural place to consult was…
"I think it would have been better if you hadn't locked the archives from the start."
"Yes, I won't do it again. Besides, if you apply even the slightest intervention to that child, it gets unleashed with an absurd direction and power…"
She took off her glasses, massaged her brow with her right hand, and picked up her cup with her left.
"He's like a lump of chaos theory, isn't he?"
"Makes you wonder what kind of school life he has…"
Of course, neither of them knew he was living a perfectly normal school life. At least, on the surface.
"And, we're getting huge complaints from their live stream fans too. 'Why is he treated as not participating in the [World Quest]?' Oh, and even from people who don't play IRO, to the [Rokujo Group Headquarters]…"
"Ugh, I'll go apologize later… And you have proposals for what to do, right?"
"Yes. Let's frankly admit the mistake and clarify the criteria for island residents to be counted as participants. ・Knows NPCs related to the [World Quest]. ・Possesses items related to the [World Quest]. If either condition is met, they should be counted as participating. He meets both, by the way."
As she spoke, the current contribution point ranking, based on these criteria, appeared on the air display. Both of them couldn't help but offer wry smiles at Shou's name displayed at the top. He probably thought he hadn't done anything, but the contribution points gained through the NPCs acting on his behalf were extraordinary.
"Hegemony-san defeated so many undead though…"
And in the middle of the ranking… there were quite a few names unaffiliated with any guild. "Are these the people who collected the [Nameless Goddess Statues] a day or two ago?"
"Yes. They're island fan players."
"Oh My Goddess…," Misha P said, looking up at the ceiling. She reflected that the initial contradictory policies of "wanting players to enjoy the [World Quest]" and "not restricting player freedom" had been a mistake. And then,
"Let's slightly increase the contribution for indirect participation in the [World Quest] and announce that too."
"You mean, 'investigate more beforehand'?"
"That's part of it, but I also want players involved in the production and transport of consumables to feel like they are contributing to the [World Quest]."
Originally, contribution for [Logistics Support Division] also increased in [World Quests], but players hadn't really felt it. The collapse of the 'Future's Hegemony' guild due to a dispute between the combat and production teams was probably due to this difference in perception.
"Understood. Then I'll prepare those adjustments for tomorrow. Um, next…"
"Still more?! It's almost midnight!"
"Yes, there is. Please consider it a consequence of having executed Plan B."
"Toh-hoh, I'm already sick of Plan B~."
(Iris Out)
[Update History]
7/15 Chapter 263 Unpaid Hegemony ~ This chapter
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