Chapter 80

After receiving his reward from the lord, Carpe left the castle through a different gate, not the main one. When he glanced back, it seemed there was a bit of commotion near the main gate, but Carpe didn't pay much attention to it.

"Hmm. But a guild creation right. It feels a bit ambiguous."

Indeed, would someone like him, who aimed to play solo, ever need to form a large-scale raid party?

-You never know. What if you end up leading a raid against the Four Evils (四害) someday?

Chunma laughed, perhaps finding his own words amusing.

"I thought the lord would give a legendary item as a reward since everyone who entered the castle became a Ranker."

-A legendary item? It might as well be a dog's name. With how many you already have.

Others might find it hard to see a legendary item even until the end of the game, but Carpe already had four pieces of legendary gear.

Moreover, with the Epic item, the Emblem of the Servant, it was no wonder the word "legendary" rolled off his tongue so easily.

-Anyway, if you become a Ranker, you should think the opposite.

"The opposite?"

-Yes. It's not that they became Rankers because they entered the castle, but rather, they were able to enter the castle because they were capable of becoming Rankers.

"Ah... That makes sense."

Carpe nodded. From his experience, the castle was not a place one could enter just because they wanted to. One needed to have achieved enough to be allowed entry, and those who could achieve such feats were undoubtedly talented in the game.

"So, the people loitering in front of the gate are just wasting their time."

-That's right. Even if they manage to get in, they won't become Rankers. Lase is not an easy game.

"Ranker..."

-Why? Are you interested?

"I am."

-Really? That's surprising. You seemed like someone who didn't care much about such things.

"I don't really care about rankings."

Even when he reached second place in the arena in 'Real Fantasia,' a notoriously bad game, he felt nothing.

As Chunma said, Carpe was not the type to crave rankings or fame. He had only one desire.

"I want to open a Ranker chest. I really, really, desperately want to."

-A Ranker chest isn't that special. It just has slightly better odds than a regular random chest.

"Still, the slight difference in odds is thrilling."

-...I don't get it. Why do you like gambling? You just get angry when you fail.

"But the joy of success is tenfold. Let me give you an example."

Imagine two boxes in front of you. One has a 1% chance of containing a legendary item and a 99% chance of containing nothing. The other has a 99% chance of containing a unique item and a 1% chance of containing nothing.

"Which one would you choose?"

-Is this a question? Obviously, the second one.

"Obviously the first one. You're really frustrating. Why can't you understand this?"

-You're the one who's frustrating!

Chunma realized that this conversation could lead to his early death from anger. Why should he be treated as abnormal? He couldn't understand it.

-If the legendary drop rate was around 10%, I might consider it, but 1%? It's as good as not dropping at all.

"In a gacha game, 1% is a great rate!"

-...Right. What have you done to deserve this? It's all society's fault.

Chunma made a decision. If he ever reincarnated again, he would run for a seat in the National Assembly and propose a bill to cut the heads off all developers who play with probabilities in games. He would also ban games like Lase, which are operated overseas, from being available in the country.

This was the only way to save these gambling addicts.

Chunma sighed deeply.

-Anyway, becoming a Ranker is a distant future. For now, wake up. You need to reach level 100 to even be in the top 1,000.

"If so, my only option is to level up quickly. I need to head to the next hunting ground... huh?"

Just then, while Carpe was arguing with Chunma, someone approached. It was someone Carpe knew well.

"Huh?"

"What a coincidence! It's been a while, Tadoshin. How have you been?"

The in-game nickname was Tadoshin. A user who called himself "Hanzo," a ninja concept character (nationality: American).

"Isn't this a great coincidence?! To meet like this in the vast Luana. This must be a bond from a past life!"

"Ah, yeah. It's a coincidence."

She seemed more excited than usual, almost to the point of being overwhelming.

"I'm glad to see you looking well."

"Thanks. You look happy too. Did something good happen?"

"Indeed, Tadoshin. You have a keen eye. Yes, you guessed right."

Carpe had just asked out of politeness, but Hanzo nodded and exclaimed in admiration.

"What happened?"

"Nothing much..."

"If you're curious, I can't help it. It was supposed to be a secret, but I can tell you since you asked."

"...Right. I remember. You're the type who doesn't listen to others."

Despite Carpe's exasperated look, Hanzo approached and lowered his voice.

"Actually, I'm on my way to the castle. I have a special mission."

"Really?"

"You might not know, but this is a very important task. The mission I received is a direct request from the head butler, one of the lord's closest confidants."

The head butler.

He was probably referring to the old man standing next to Viscount Chris earlier. His name was...

"Mr. William?"

"That's right! The head butler, William... Wait, how do you know the head butler's name?"

"Just a coincidence."

"...Is this the kind of information you can just overhear?"

Hanzo tilted his head at Carpe's answer but then nodded, thinking it was possible.

After a moment, he continued in a regretful tone.

"Unfortunately, Tadoshin, I have to go. I'd like to spend more time with you, but I don't have much time left."

It seemed her remaining playtime was limited.

"I need to complete my mission today..."

"Got it. Good luck. It was nice seeing you. Maybe we'll meet again..."

"Wait a moment. Tadoshin, I have one last request."

"Huh? You said you don't have time."

"It won't take long."

Hanzo took a deep breath and muttered to himself.

"Phew. Okay. Be confident. Reina, you can do this. Okay."

Then, Hanzo cautiously extended his right hand.

"Would you like to be friends?"

['Tadoshin' has sent a friend request. Do you accept?]

"..."

"Can't do it? Is it another no?"

Carpe chuckled, seeing her dejected tone.

"No, I thought you were going to say something important. Just a friend request? That's easy."

"Does that mean...?"

"Sure. Let's be friends. I should have done this after we cleared the bugs last time."

[You have accepted the friend request.]

[This is your first friend registration. The friend window is now active.]

"Ah, now that I think about it, this is my first friend registration."

"First? You haven't registered anyone before?"

"Seems that way."

"R-really? First... first, you say."

"Hey, your voice..."

"Uh?! I was just a bit surprised for a moment."

Her original voice, not the deep, cash-like voice, had slipped out, similar to when she first met the giant Slaught boss. Chunma had mentioned that her voice might crack when she was flustered... Was a friend request that significant?

"Anyway, Tadoshin, why is your level like this?"

"Level? Oh?"

When you register a friend, their nickname, current level, and basic class are displayed in the friend window, just like in a party.

Hanzo's current level was 36, five levels lower than Carpe's.

"Is this possible? I've been following the best leveling route?"

Hanzo was very surprised. She was confident that her level would be higher.

After defeating Slaught, she had gathered experience through a special route she knew... Why?

Moreover, the difference was not just 1 or 2 levels, but a full 5 levels. It was an incredibly fast leveling speed.

"Um... It just happened?"

"Ugh. You must have had a great stroke of luck. I'll have to work harder. I can't fall behind my friend. Oh, Tadoshin, do you have the Backling app installed?"

"Backling app?"

"The app that notifies you when Backling gives you a quest."

"Oh, that one!"

He remembered where he had heard about it. It was when Chunma explained it to him in the beginner village.

"If you haven't installed it yet, you should. It's essential. If you miss a quest from Backling, it could be a big problem."

"I'm fine. Backling hasn't given me any quests."

"Excuse me. I realize that was a rude comment. Please forget it."

Hanzo looked at Carpe with pity. She was confident that he hadn't received any quests from Backling, which meant he must have drawn a trash Backling.

-...That ninja girl