Chapter 11
After the first update announcement for Maple Leaf Story, the response was not very positive.
Players couldn’t access the game for about three hours due to the update, despite the fact that it had been running smoothly.
As soon as the update was complete, users logged in eagerly.
“What’s going on? What’s changed?”
“Cash Shop?”
The first thing that caught their attention was the Cash Shop.
It now contained items that could be purchased not with the in-game currency, Mesos, but with real money.
To buy cash items, players had to go to the Central Bank of the Continent in person and link their artifacts to their bank accounts.
When a player used cash in the game, the money would be deducted from the linked bank account.
“What the… It doesn’t have any effects?”
“It’s just items to change your appearance. Who would buy this?”
“They say you have to register your artifact at the Central Bank? No way, I’m not doing that.”
Most users turned away from the Cash Shop.
It couldn’t be used without first registering a bank account in real life, and the items didn’t make the player stronger when equipped.
Although there were some useful items like the “Teleportation Stone,” cash items weren’t necessary for playing the game.
Few players were willing to go through the hassle of visiting the Central Bank just for this.
Still, there were a few users who showed interest in the Cash Shop.
The next update was in the character information window.
Players could now see general information about characters they encountered, with a new section for Popularity.
Once a day, and only once a month for the same person, players could raise or lower someone’s Popularity.
There seemed to be titles available for reaching high Popularity levels, but it didn’t seem particularly meaningful.
“Popularity? Why did they even add something like this?”
“Who knows…”
It didn’t take long for players to figure out how to use it.
“Ah, that guy again…!”
A player who was hunting.
Having just gone through their second job advancement to become a Cleric, this player often had their hunting grounds stolen.
A malicious player kept following him, interrupting his hunting.
Then, he remembered the newly added Popularity system from the update.
[Your Popularity has decreased by 1.]
A message popped up in front of the malicious player, PowerArcherx.
The player who lowered his Popularity had already returned to town.
Opening his information window, he saw that his Popularity was now at -1.
It didn’t affect any of his stats, but it was annoying.
“Ugh… This is no fun. I guess I’ll go back to town.”
With no one left to bully, PowerArcherx returned to town.
There, a group of players had gathered.
“Ah, it’s him! PowerArcherx!”
“I’ve been harassed by him too! That scumbag!”
“Me too! Me too!”
“…?”
Players began to approach PowerArcherx.
PowerArcherx took a step back, bewildered.
But if you’re within a certain range, you can still open someone’s information window.
[Your Popularity has decreased by 1.]
[Your Popularity has decreased by 1.]
[Your Popularity has decreased by 1.]
[Your Popularity has decreased by 1.]
[Your Popularity has decreased by 1.]
[Your Popularity has decreased by 1.]
.
.
.
.
.
“What, what the hell?”
In an instant, his Popularity dropped to -11.
Panicking, he ran away from the town.
There were still no negative effects on his stats.
But now, the -11 on his profile felt like a stigma.
And -11 was just the beginning.
“Minus 11? He must be a real piece of work.”
Even without committing any malicious acts, players who encountered him started lowering his Popularity just by seeing how low it already was.
No matter where he went, his Popularity kept dropping, and soon it was approaching -50.
Frustrated, he tried lowering other players’ Popularity in retaliation.
But since you could only decrease it once a day, it was a huge disadvantage compared to multiple players lowering his.
There was even a time when he lowered someone’s Popularity, only for that player to call others and cause him to lose even more Popularity.
“…Minus 58? Sorry, but you can’t join our party.”
No one would invite him to a party with such low Popularity.
He couldn’t participate in party play or boss raids, which were impossible to clear alone.
“Damn it…! What kind of bullshit is this! Why did the Illusion Magic Tower implement such a stupid update!”
PowerArcherx eventually exploded in anger.
“It’s all over anyway, I’m not holding back anymore!”
His Popularity had fallen so low that it couldn’t be recovered.
In the end, he decided to go back to his malicious activities.
It was even more frustrating to see his Popularity drop just by staying idle.
“Heh… Isn’t that idiot from before?”
And then, he saw <Light of the Empire>.
A female Cleric player who spoke in a silly manner.
Her appearance had become quite fancy, but it was definitely the same user as before.
“Ah, ah! It’s that bastard from last time!”
As expected, when <Light of the Empire> got her spot stolen, she just stood there screaming helplessly.
PowerArcherx laughed as he continued hunting.
Seeing her act like an idiot again made him laugh out loud.
“Heheh. This is it. Popularity? It’s already as low as it can get!”
“You, you! This time I won’t let it slide!”
Screaming in frustration, <Light of the Empire> took out a strange item and brought it to her mouth.
It looked like a trumpet of some sort.
Then, she began speaking into it.
(Megaphone) Light of the Empire: “xPowerArcherx is being a scumbag in the Wraith’s Den hunting ground! He’s stealing all my prey!”
Her message was broadcasted to all the users in the server.
‘…What’s she doing?’
Acting like a child and shouting seemed to suit JeBbit’s personality.
PowerArcherx glanced at JeBbit with a look of disdain, like one would look at a fool, while continuing to hunt his prey.
However, that only lasted for a moment.
In less than a minute, users hunting nearby started to gather around.
“JeBbit-nim! Are you okay?”
“Th-that guy! He’s the one who got us last time!”
“…?”
And then, they all started to lower PowerArcherx’s popularity.
“W-what’s wrong with you guys? Stop it!”
“You stop it, you scumbag!”
“Take this!”
“Ugh!”
In an instant, his popularity dropped to -100.
He hurriedly used a scroll to teleport back to town.
But that was just the beginning.
“Oh? It’s PowerArcherx.”
“?”
[Your popularity has decreased by 1.]
“Isn’t that the user who was mentioned on the megaphone earlier?”
“??”
[Your popularity has decreased by 1.]
[Your popularity has decreased by 1.]
[Your popularity has decreased by 1.]
.
.
.
Now, everyone he encountered started to lower his popularity.
Some even chased after him as he tried to flee, just to lower it.
“Stop, just stop it already!!”
[Your popularity has decreased by 1.]
[Your popularity has decreased by 1.]
[Your popularity has decreased by 1.]
.
.
.
“Uwaaahhh!”
In the end, his popularity plummeted to -291.
Considering the current number of active users was 1,500, it was a staggering number.
And at this rate, it would continue to drop.
Whenever he met a new user, they would lower his popularity, and users who knew him whispered about him whenever he passed by.
Although it didn’t affect his stats at all, the mental stress was wearing him down.
The -1 he initially thought was no big deal had now snowballed, crushing him under its weight.
“S-stop it, stop iiiittttt!”
In the end, he had no choice but to log out of ‘Maple Leaf Story’.
***
The Grand Banquet Hall of the Imperial City.
Today, the birthday celebration of the Emperor was in full swing.
It was the birthday of the Emperor, who ruled the Empire, one of the pillars of power on the continent.
It was a day when all the major figures of the continent gathered.
As such, important political discussions were exchanged there.
“Your Highness, have you also purchased ‘Maple Leaf Story’?”
“Yes, I arrived the day before and stood in line to buy it. The time spent waiting was worth every second for such a great game.”
“Could you perhaps share your username? If given the chance, how about a boss raid together?”
“Hahaha! That would be wonderful, Duke. I can’t believe I didn’t know someone like you played. Let’s use this opportunity to build stronger ties while playing ‘Maple Leaf Story.’”
“Hahahahaha! That sounds excellent! I knew you would be playing ‘Maple Leaf Story’ too, Your Highness!”
That’s how it normally would have been.
But this year’s birthday banquet was different somehow.
No, it wasn’t just the Emperor’s birthday, but most social gatherings were like that.
“You’re really amazing. To have a popularity of over 50.”
“Hohoho. It’s nothing. It’s nothing compared to the famous JeBbit-nim.”
“Then how about we exchange popularity points tonight?”
All anyone could talk about was Maple Leaf Story.
Both those who had played and those who hadn’t yet played talked only about that.
The few who had played made plans to meet in Maple Leaf Story, strengthening their networks even further.
Those who hadn’t managed to purchase it yet envied them and eagerly awaited the next production schedule.
“Did you hear? Along with the next production schedule, a new update will be released.”
“Ah, is that so? Where on earth did you get such high-level information…?”
“One of my acquaintances has connections with the Head of the Blue Head Merchant Guild.”
“Oh…! If it’s information from the Blue Head Merchant Guild, there’s no reason to doubt it! What’s the update about?”
“Well… this is something I don’t just tell anyone, but it seems a Guild System is going to be introduced.”
“Hooh… So you’ll be able to create a guild within the game. This is something to look forward to!”
“What’s even more surprising is… After the next update, a new class with its own unique story will be released.”
“W-what?!”
“Something called a Knights Order… Ha… Just hearing about its marvellous skills and storyline is making me thrilled. I hope that day comes soon. So, how would you like to proceed with this transaction?”
If someone knew the update schedule, they would instantly become the centre of attention in any party.
Moreover, many nobles were now lining up to forge connections with the Illusion Magic Tower.
However, most of the illusion mages were commoners, so they still had no close ties to the nobility.
“Hmph… What in the world is this ‘Maple Leaf Story’ that’s causing such a commotion?”
“It’s an artifact released by the Illusion Magic Tower. They say you can experience a new world.”
“…The Illusion Magic Tower? People are so excited over an artifact made by a mere place like that?”
The Emperor clicked his tongue at the scene of the party.
“What a mess, what a mess…”
He furrowed his brows at the young nobles who were obsessed with this strange trend.
The 2nd Emperor of the current Empire, Lidon Leonious.
He was a figure who fought on the battlefield since the reign of the previous Emperor, struggling to establish the current Empire.
Thinking of his own youth, filled with blood and battles, today’s young nobles seemed nothing but indolent.
Instead of training or studying, they were caught up in this strange thing called a game.
“…Could it really be that fun?”
That’s what he thought, but he was still human.
He had heard so many rumours about ‘Maple Leaf Story’, and just listening to them made his heart race as if it would be incredibly fun.
The Emperor actually wanted to try it as well, but he couldn’t because of his dignity.
They even said you had to visit the merchant guild in person to buy it.
No matter how much he wanted it, it would be humiliating for an Emperor to stand in line.
After that noisy banquet came to an end.
During the National Affairs Meeting, a report was brought before the Emperor.
Once again, it was about the 3rd Prince.
“…What trouble has that brat caused this time!”
Bang—
The 3rd Prince had made an absurdly favourable investment in the Illusion Magic Tower.
He even put his handprint on the contract, making it impossible to back out.
If they didn’t honour the contract with the Illusion Magic Tower, whose stock was rapidly rising, the reputation of the Imperial Family would certainly plummet.
“But we can’t squander such a huge amount of money. We gain nothing from this.”
“Summon the 3rd Prince at once…! Haa… No, never mind.”
The Emperor, who was about to summon the 3rd Prince in a fit of rage, withdrew his words.
He wouldn’t listen anyway, no matter what he said. It would only build up stress.
“What to do…”
As the Emperor pondered a solution, a thought flashed through his mind.
“…Summon the illusion mages.”
“Pardon?”
“The mages are, at least, intellectuals. They should be more reasonable than that brat.”
“…Yes. I will get in touch with them.”
Perhaps, he could get his hands on ‘Maple Leaf Story’ without standing in line.
—
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