Chương 70: Not My Fault!

One day, while I was studying materials, I got bored and decided to browse the forums for a bit. There, I saw a particular strategy named after me.

"… The little bomber strategy?" It was completely based off of my playstyle, just more refined and optimized. People just can't get enough of me, can they? I haven't sold any potions in a month nor have I even trolled the public, yet, they can't get me off their mind. Should I be flattered? Since I've seen this post, I couldn't just not go down the rabbit hole. I needed to learn more! And so, I began watching various clips, streams, and reading more posts. Hours had passed by in a flash.

It really was entertaining to see. Oh? There's even a clip from Rumi. On screen, Rumi was entering an empty village. It didn't seem looted and there were still the monster spawns in it. [Chat, I'm telling you, pineapple pizza is not that bad!] She was spouting some nonsense, barely paying attention to her surroundings. She swiftly killed a few monsters close to her before opening a door. BOOM! [… Has eliminated RumiVT] Rumi's model stood frozen, staring wide eyed at the screen for a second.

Then, she screeched, [WHAT THE HELL!!] [EVERY SINGLE MATCH!!! IT'S A TRAP!] [THIS IS BIN'S FAULT! DAMN YOU, BIN!] The clip ended there and I stared at the screen, baffled. What she say screw me for!? After the initial confusion, a mischievously grin appeared on my face. Hehe… Hehehe!

"I certainly didn't expect to bring a new meta of explosions, but, man! Am I loving it!" There was even a part of me that wondered if I should make a Tawer post to promote the strategy to more people. But, I decided against it. I don't want more people associating 'BinLover' with 'Raccoon' then there already is. I scrolled through a few more clips after that. Some people were discussing the viability in pro play, others thought it was a meme strategy. One particular post caught my attention.

[Could the 'Little Bomber' strategy possibly be used in the Awakener's League?] Author: xx We all know and have suffered from the Little Bomber strategy recently. For those who don't, it's basically having an alchemist create bombs and trappers set them around the map. It's a truly effective strategy and a quick one too. You can get it done in about 10 minutes of the game start, and then they'll last until the rest of the game.

The current only known counter is having a detection skill, however, there's a trapper skill that counters that. We know that this game is based off of the awakener's league; A lot of the skills and class information comes from it itself. If those pro teams optimize and perfect this strategy, I'm curious to see the effects. So, does this strategy have any viability in the real awakener's league? → [Very hard to tell, but I hope it gets tried. I'd love to see a team just get blown up because they opened a door.] → [There's a difference between computer games and the awakener's league, so, no.] This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. → [I think it would be even better in the league. There'd be much more freedom and creativity.] → [No way, everyone in the league is a professional. There's no way they'd fall for traps as simple as this.] ↳ [But, the trappers would also be professionals. It's impossible to say that absolutely no one would fall for such a trap.] → [I think the real problem would lie on the alchemist. They'd have to create a bomb powerful enough to eliminate the enemies in one go.] ↳ [This is true; Most alchemists don't have explosion related skills and they're barely any on the exchange. Since the tower personalizes the skills you get, you'd have to find an alchemist who focuses on explosives. The only one I can think of is the Little Bomber herself, but, she's still just a beginner.] ↳ [Right. Yeah. The problem isn't whether it'd work or not, but rather, whether they have the ability to start the strategy.] ↳ [Is there really no alchemist who focuses on explosives? Even Bin, the creator of the strategy, knew how to make bombs.] ↳ [It's not that alchemists don't know how to make them. Rather, do they have the related skills for them. Most alchemists don't really make explosives. Combat class skills are generally superior for clearing gates and floors. And outside of the tower and gates, unless you're aiming to become a terrorist, there's no reason to create bombs.] ↳ [Unless you're the military lol] ↳ [… Or the Little Bomber.]"Hm…" I stroke my chin in thought as I read through the contents of the post. Would my potions be effective in the league? The consensus was quite split, one half believed it would, the other didn't.

As the creator of the strategy, and the most knowledgeable, greatest(cutest) alchemist in the field of explosions(self-claimed), I have quite a simple answer: I don't see why they wouldn't. Especially if a trapper class could hide their detection. Leaving the burning debate in the comment section, I clicked off and stretched. Ah, my mana's back up. Back to training. …

"Mouse!!" I ran up behind her, pitifully saying. Luna was playing with Rumi. She flinched a little before turning to me,"What's wrong?" [Is that Bin?] Rumi asked.

"Look at this!!" I showed Luna a clip on my phone. It was the same clip where Rumi was cursing me. Except it was maliciously edited to just hear the ending. [DAMN YOU, BIN!] Rumi's voice echoed through the phone.

"Rumi cursed at me! Please deal with her for me!" [W-What?!] Rumi's panicked voice came through the speakers.

"Rumi?" Luna turned her head, looking at the computer. [N-No! It's not like that!] She shouted in a panic. - Rumi? How could you!! - You yelled at our cute Bin!? - Bin! Close your ears, don't listen to this malevolent streamer! [You guys were there too!!! You didn't say anything then!!] Rumi shouted at chat.

"So, you admit it…?" Luna asked. [A-ah…N-no! It's a misunderstanding!]"Hehe…" I giggled under my breath. Luna turned to me, clearly having heard my giggle. I quickly turned my smile to a frown, puffing out my lips. Luna only silently sighed with a smile as she turned back to the computer. [M-Mouse! Listen to me!] Rumi tried to explain her innocence, detailing the exact reason and why she suddenly cursed me. Hehe, it's no use, Rumi! Even if Luna knows the full details, of course, she'll take my side! Wahaha!

"I see." Luna said expressionlessly. The two of them were entering a village and had just killed some monsters. [N-no! You don't! It's every match!!] Rumi said as if she was wronged. Huh…? Why is my danger sense tingling. Though confused, listening to my gut is the right answer. Slowly, I started to back away. Luna and Rumi opened the door to the closest house. BOOM! [… has eliminated ElectricTypeMouse] [… has eliminated RumiVT] Ah… I should've listened to my gut faster.

Quickly turning towards the door, I started to bolt, but, a hand firmly grasped my shoulder, holding me in place as I heard Rumi's screams through the speakers. [GAH!! EVERY SINGLE TIME!!] [BIN!!!!]"… Bin." Luna said with a low tone. I turned to face her and saw a scary expression on Luna's face. I felt wronged! This is clearly out of my hands!

"How is this my fault!?" I tried to explain, "Don't hate the creator! Hate the user!" … A meeting was currently taking place in ALG Headquarters. The directors of the game 'ALG Royale' were discussing the recent meta taking place.

"I think we need to nerf the alchemist skills." One directly bluntly stated, "In the first place, I don't believe they should be skills an alchemist should have and it's ruining the game. Every match there's at least one team playing the 'Little Bomber' meta."

"I disagree," Another director countered, "Metas are always changing and start off strong. Otherwise, why would they be considered meta? There's no problem with players playing the game how they want, when the current hype cools down and people start thinking of counters, it'll be less prevalent as a new meta just as strong will take its place."

"But, why does an alchemist have explosion-related skills? I'd accept it if it was a class related to explosives, but alchemists are for potions."

"Then, does the Little Bomber herself not exist? There's a living proven case of an alchemist focusing on explosives. Explosives are just one part of an alchemists arsenal, just because it's not commonly used, doesn't mean they don't exist."

"She's an outlier. Before her, when was the last time you saw an alchemist using explosives?"

"I think the current meta is fine and doesn't need any adjusting." A new director suddenly cut in and stated, "Players are having a good time using it and it's enjoyable to watch. It's caused such a discussion on the forums which is only a good thing for the game's future. According to statistics, we've seen a 10% player increase since this meta has come out, a 40% increase in discussion on the forums, and a 90% increase of clips featuring our game; It's fun for the fans, fun for the players, and good for us.

I don't see a reason to change it."

"I've seen some clips you're referring too, however, all of them have been complaining about the meta and cursing the creator of it."

"They curse the meta and creator and then they go and use the strategy themselves. It's simply a case of 'I can't believe you did it to me before I did it to you!'. It's just content to curse the meta and creator, none of them actually mean it. Though, I do think we should make contact with the creator and confirm they aren't suffering from any out of the line players."

"The game has always been based off of real skills and classes." Another director said, "Changing or nerfing anything doesn't make sense. In reality, just because a skill is a little strong when used in a creative way, does the tower nerf it? No."

"But, this is also a game. We've already used creative liberties with a variety of skills to make them stronger, weaker, or more viable. Changing a few more wouldn't be a problem especially if it's causing a problem for the game."

"Where is the problem?" The two sides kept going back and forth, essentially debating the same points over and over again. One side disliked the meta and wanted to nerf it, the other thought it was fine and was healthy for the game. Eventually, after nearly an hour of debate, the CEO finally stepped in.

"I've heard both sides repeatedly at this point and have made a decision." He said, his voice deep and filled with his natural charisma, Everyone in the meeting room turned their attention to him and listened intently to his next words, "There is no problem with the current state of the game. We will leave it alone. And I want someone to make contact with the creator of the meta to confirm that no users have been harassing them or making excessive comments."

As those words fell, everyone nodded silently, relaxing slightly.

"Also…" He continued to speak and everyone tensed back up and held their breath, "This strategy is called the 'Little Bomber' strategy, let's see if we can use that for marketing. Attempt to make contact with the Little Bomber and see if they're willing to collaborate, if you can't make contact, don't pursue it. Let's move onto the next topic."