At the waiting area where the players who tragically lost all their HP are gathered. As the Pirate King Event Quest is being broadcast, the viewers are surrounded by a strange atmosphere.

“FUCK, THAT IS SOME BULLSHIIIITTTT!”

“Whoever thought of this Boss, come on out!!”

“How are you supposed to win against something that steals your equipment, huuuh?!”

Angry shouts and boos are flying. The anger was directed at the unreasonable boss monster and the developers that made it.

It’s natural. All items are stolen before the fight, and then your equipment is also stolen. How many players can still fight in this state? Moreover, the fact that if you lose, you will have your equipment confiscated. If you were in that position, would you be able to play in a decent state of mind?

Among them, no one thought about Johann and the others, “That’s just what they deserve.” Everyone here is a player. Each of the players here has paid a monthly fee of 980 yen 1 for their subscription, which is not expensive, but not cheap, either, and it adds up over time. 2 It could have been for the sake of their equipment, their character’s abilities, or their friends.

Now, it is unreasonably stolen right before their eyes. It was unbearable and frustrating for them.

“Please! Let us join the battle, too!”

“Let me help them!”

“I don’t even want a reward for it!”

“Please… just let us all help.”

But the losers’ voices were never heard. Avenger Masuo, the player who was paying attention to Johann and the others, broke down in tears.

“You looked like you were having so much fun until just now…I can’t forgive them…I can’t forgive them, the developers,” Masuo said, looking away from the screen.

“No, there is still hope…” someone else said, their eyes fixed on the feed.

Hearing those words, hope filled the faces of the other players.

“The Swords of the Farthest Reach and the Sacred Cult of Elysion from the major guilds are mostly intact. Besides, famous solo players like Donald☆Smile and Kon are still alive and well. If they all get together, or…”

“Yeah, that’s right! This is a raid battle! Reinforcements may still come yet!”

“Aah. There’s still hope left.”

“Please endure… until support comes, please endure without giving up… all three of you,” one player muttered as if praying to their god.

The surviving players could check the state of the Pirate King Raid by opening their menus.

The Solo Summoner, Kon, watched the battle between the Pirate King and Johann and her friends with narrowed eyes.

“What in the hell is with this boss…? It’s impossible, ain’t it?”

Kon planned to let some major guilds take the lead and get some information about the enemy before joining the battle herself. However, the facts that she learned from watching Johann’s fight were:

“Nobody will go into a fight like this,” Kon huffed. “It’s so damn stupid.”

Especially for a Summoner like Kon, this is the worst opponent possible. It’s not surprising she thinks this way. Kon violently shut off the feed while cussing out the developers.

Currently, the strongest guild in GOO is the Swords of the Farthest Reach. One of its members, Roland, was watching Johann and her friends battle with a sorrowful look on his face. Then, with a determined expression, he called out to his guild master as she relaxed and watched the raid, too.

“Guild Master,” Roland said. “Let’s head out, too. I won’t be satisfied until I bury this damned monster with my own hands.”

“No. Rejected.”

So said the blond girl clad in golden armor, Guiltia.

“We are the strongest guild for PVP,” she continued. “Leave the anti-monster stuff to the strategy team.”

“But……” Roland said.

“There is the possibility of permanently losing your equipment, isn’t there!? This equipment is my treasure! I absolutely despise the thought of losing it all! I ABSOLUTELY! WILL NOT GO! THAT’S FINAL!” Guiltia yelled.

“But… isn’t Zecca one of the players fighting the Pirate King?” Roland asked.

“…I know that,” Guiltia said.

“Then is this alright? If they lose, they’ll have all their equipment stolen. Even someone like Zecca-san will retire after that, wouldn’t she?”

“…I don’t know!! I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know! If she wants to quit, she can do whatever the hell she wants! That girl who left us… I never want to bother about her ever again!!”

Roland realizes his persuasion had failed, muttering to himself, “I poked her too hard.”

“Now you’ve done it, Roland-san,” another member said.

“Roland-san, if this happens, you won’t budge Guiltia even with a crowbar,” another said.

Then, a third asked: “So, then: from the perspective of GOO’s strongest player, Roland, do you think they have a chance of winning? Against that Pirate King boss, I meant?”

“I don’t think there’s a chance of winning… Archers and Summoners won’t be able to fight if you steal all their items. On top of that, there’s the Skill to strip players of their equipment,” Roland said.

“Once again, it’s a shitty boss, isn’t it? And if you don’t beat them, you don’t get your stuff back? What the hell, they might even get sued for this.”

“If they don’t manage the case well, it’s going to become a problem, the servers may be shut down by the law.” 3

“… Right?” Roland said. “I am especially disgusted that the developers hid the equipment stealing until after they entered the fight.”

Roland clenches his fist. “If possible, I’d like to defeat it myself, but… I don’t have the overwhelming power to go in alone and win.”

“What we can do is pray that they don’t retire from shock,” another player said. “And we can warn everyone else not to face this shitty raid boss.”

“… Right?” Guiltia said. “Let’s spread it to our guild members and their friends. No one else challenges that raid boss.”

At that moment: the hopes of the players who were watching the battle in the waiting room and the hopes that a major guild would rescue them were completely crushed.