Season 4: Chapter 225. A Moment to Be Remembered Forever (5)

The Knights were in the thick of battle against the monsters.

“The server shutdown time?”

“Ah...”

Their mouths fell open, and their eyes went blank.

The Lord looked pleased after discovering something that everyone already knew. “Yeah, I figured it out.”

Zelu shoved a troll back with his hammer. “Ah, come on, my lord! Just shoot your bow already!”

— The way they treat the Lord keeps getting worse lol

— Once Survival Craft ends, everyone picks on the sergeant?

— The sorrow of a Lord in his final days

— The server’s terminal illness is the Lord’s terminal illness

— No, guys, the server is actually about to end lol

— Just shoot the bow already

As the server’s end loomed, even the Knights couldn’t laugh off the Lord.

“Yes. Just shoot your bow, my lord.”

“

Khmm...

”

They all decided to pretend it never happened and refocused on the fight.

“

Hmm...

I don’t think any of you understand my theory.” Almond wasn’t satisfied, but he drew his bow anyway.

Gireeek.

Vast violet energy gathered around his arrow. It carved a purple arc through the enemies.

Kwagaaaaang!

“Nice shot, my lord~!”

“Wow, as expected of the Lord!”

The Expedition Squad cheered.

— Is the Lord just an arrow slave now?

— honestly, this is right

— Ah, so refreshing

— this is Bow-mond

His arrow had cleanly cleaved through the monsters. The Bow of Hope boasted absurd power due to the chakra coefficient attached to it.

[Current Viewers: 358,000]

Almond, participating in the main scenario, was drawing in a record-breaking viewership. The power infused into his arrows reflected that.

Kwaaang!

Bang!

“Even trolls go down in one hit?”

“Wow... this is completely overwhelming.”

Amid the chaos, Orange continued rifling through books. He glanced sideways at the monster massacre and relaxed. “Phew. At least they’re not chasing us down.”

— For real

— The Lord is shooting for us~

— The Lord bestows bows

— Almond is wilding out LOL

Orange began laying out the books he’d selected.

[Ancient Artifacts]

[Urban Energy Theory]

[Ultimate Ore: Absolute]

[Urban Construction Studies]

He pulled out anything that looked related to the city of Treevy. Now, he seriously needed to piece things together.

Kwagwang!

Kwaang!

Even as he worked, the other members handled the incoming monsters.

‘Let’s see....’

Rustle. Rustle.

Orange rapidly flipped through the pages and read the records. Despite their thickness, the books weren’t packed with text. As with most in-game books, only select portions were readable.

‘This might go faster than I thought.’

Their defense against the monsters had grown stable. With more breathing room, Orange felt that he would find something soon. He specialized in this kind of thing.

‘I’ve done this all the time in RPGs.’

He held the world’s first kill records in

LIL RPG

because he had uncovered hidden strategies that the developers tucked away. Compared to that, cracking the lore of a

Survival Craft

world that had been built over just two weeks felt manageable.

Orange held up a book with a diagram of a facility. “Okay. First, Treevy is an energy sphere. Step one is inserting it into the facility beneath the ancient city of Treevy.”

— Oh

— He found it fast

— This might be easier than expected

— They wouldn’t make it too hard

“But this Treevy energy sphere... It’s luminous energy. Light, so where does that light come from? The source of that energy comes from the Observer... The moment that disappears, when observation stops, it...” Orange paused. “Scatters into tiny particles.”

Anyone could tell what the Observer referred to. The icon printed in the book looked identical to Treevy’s viewership symbol.

“Wait, but Treevy’s had almost no viewers for a while now, right?”

Treevy had lowered its video quality and announced its shutdown. It allowed simulcasting, but viewers gradually left the platform. The platform would soon disappear, so leaving early was the natural and rational move.

“Doesn’t that mean Treevy has no energy? It says without Observers, it disperses into particle fragments.”

— Gasp

— Oh no!

— Damn

— Ah

— Isn’t literally no one watching Treevy right now?

Orange checked his own Treevy viewer count. Unexpectedly, he did have a few viewers.

“I-It’s not zero. Thankfully, it hasn’t scattered into particles.”

— The brave ones!

— Some people will stay till the end

— That’s so touching...

— Wow! Let’s go!

Even as the platform neared its end, some viewers remained to spend its final moments together. Because of them... the Treevy sphere hadn’t vanished completely.

“But it’s too few.”

To power an entire city, the energy output needed to be far greater. This level was obviously insufficient.

Orange turned to the Saintess. “Saintess, hasn’t Treevy lost too much energy? There are barely any Observers left.”

“

Hmm...

” Treeana held up Treevy for him to see.

The violet radiance still flowed, unwavering.

“No, it is intact.”

“Huh? Th-Then, am I the only small fry? Again?”

— Hahahahahaha

— LOL so it was just you with low numbers

— Oh wow

— Hey, there are plenty of others holding it up solidly right here~

Orange assumed that only his Treevy channel didn’t have enough viewers.

The Saintess replied, “No.”

“Huh? It’s not? I’m not that low either, right?”

“It is true that your chakra is low.”

— Hahahahahaha

— She’s attacking again

— No seriously lol

— Why is she like this?

“However, your theory is incorrect.”

“My theory?”

“Think carefully. Even if you gathered every Treevy Observer here, Treevy would not be able to shine like this. It was an energy that once illuminated an entire city. How could such radiance be sustained by such a small number alone?”

“Then, what is it? Where is this energy coming from?”

“It is a holy magic I cast, called Resolve.”

“Resolve...?”

“Yes, Resolve. Through it, Treevy can draw upon Observers from elsewhere who are connected to it. That is Resolve.”

Orange remained silent.

“That is why Treevy’s relics have grown stronger by reacting to other chakras.”

— The Three Kingdoms!

— Cheese, Paprika, and Treevy, the Three-Faction Resolve!

— Is this the Oath of the Peach Garden? lol

Treeana pointed at the relics wielded by those currently fighting. They blazed with a violet light. Their Treevy viewer ratios were likely low as well, yet they possessed overwhelming strength because of Resolve. All of Cheese’s viewers were being funneled into the power of those relics.

“There is no need to worry. As you discovered, if we restore it...”

Kuuung!

A heavy, ominous boom suddenly rang out.

Goosebumps ran up Orange’s spine.

‘Huh?’

It felt as though his entire body had become a vacuum tube. An impossibly deep bass, something that didn’t feel real, vibrated through him.

“Are you still resisting?” the dragon asked.

With a single utterance, the land trembled. Everyone froze as if steeped in fear.

Only Treeana, forcing herself through the embarrassment, murmured, “The Dragon of...”

The Dragon of Streaming Destruction had finally appeared.

— Holy shit the mood is terrifying but it’s the Dragon of Streaming Destruction lol

— The name though lol

— Dragon of Streaming Destruction lmao

— Hahahahahahaha

— That damn Dragon of Streaming Destruction finally showed up!

The dragon sneered. “Resolve? Such things are terribly fragile before overwhelming power.”

As his laughter echoed, Treeana lost her footing and fell to the ground.

Thud.

“S-Saintess!!”

— DAMN

— ??? Oh? You endured? Network Fee x20

— Resolve crumbles before massive money... damn it

— Those damn telecom bastards!

Crack!

At the same time, all relics lost their power. Treevy, too, dimmed.

Even Almond tilted his head. “Uh...”

‘It got weaker.’

Pshing!

Now, Almond’s bow only dealt ordinary damage. Naturally, most of his viewers were watching from Cheese. Out of the 380,000 viewers, fewer than 5,000 came from Treevy.

Thud!

An arrow struck a troll’s forehead, but the monster only grinned as if it tickled.

“Trrrrroll~”

— Shit, we’re screwed

— Were trolls always that strong??

— What

— Huh? Did it cut out?

— Damn

It didn’t end there. Treeana hadn’t just connected them to their viewers. Her holy magic, Resolve, had also fortified their mental strength. This explained how they had kept fighting until now. However, her spell finally disappeared.

[FEAR]

Only fear remained.

“I-I’m scared. This is insane.”

“What do we do?”

The Expedition Squad panicked. They all felt fear, real fear.

Kugugugugung...!

The massive tremor could be mistaken for a great earthquake. The colossal presence before them went beyond the limits of human perception.

“Tremble in fear. I deny your very existence...”

Something enormous was approaching. Even underground, its flight could be felt. The destructive beat of its wings pierced the solid earth, making all existence quake.

Kwaaaaaaaa...

“I never granted permission!”

BOOM!

A being with the power to collapse the entire world had directly descended.

— DAMN

— What the hell is this?!

“

KRAAAAAAAGH!!

”

With a roar, the world itself began to tilt. When the world tilted, the fragile lives standing upon it were bound to sway.

“

U-Uaaaagh...

”

“T-The shaking is insane!? Looooord~!?”

The Expedition Squad staggered, unable to keep their footing. Some slammed headfirst into the ground as they fell.

— They really went this far? Did Cheese dump all their money here?

— What do we do??

— What is this?!

— This is terrifying

Beep.

[Main Scenario Quest #3]

[World Boss Raid]

==== ====

Description: The Dragon of Streaming Destruction has appeared. This is earlier than anticipated. It seeks to dominate and control everything. You must stop it.

Objective: Drive off the Dragon of Streaming Destruction

Failure results in server shutdown.

==== ====

— Gasp

— Not even defeat, just drive it away??

— Must be insanely strong

— How does a streaming platform beat a telecom company?

— An unkillable boss, which is realistic as hell

— How do you beat network fees? lol

***

Hiss...

A woman rose from a capsule. “At least they give you time to sleep.”

She swept her long hair back and looked out the window.

Day had now turned into night. Beyond the white lace curtains, the full moon’s light filtered in.

An attendant approached, lifting her and settling her into a wheelchair. “Will you be going to bed now?”

Sa-Rang shook her head. “I’ll watch a bit more before sleeping.”

She rolled toward the monitor where the Treevy platform was open. Yes, she was still one of the few watching on Treevy. She moved the mouse and clicked a stream.

[Almond]

It was Almond’s stream. She was curious how he would get through this situation. He looked scatterbrained at times, but always delivered when it mattered.