Vol. 10 - Ch. 482 - Mayhem! Eden fell into the clutches of <Yokai - Just One More>!

Chapter 482 - Mayhem! Eden fell into the clutches of <Yokai - Just One More>!We decided to increase the number of ‹Job Ascension Ticket› we held.

As of now, we currently have 3 of these tickets. There was one more ticket, though it was my personal asset that I was keeping to myself. Only Hannah was privy to this.

We had the plan to gather the tickets to some extent and then use them in turn at first. The condition was to hit the level cap, however we had just upgraded our guild rank, and then, the term end exams were right around the corner, which would mean Dungeon was going to be off-limit for a time period then.

I feared members might not be able to keep their frustration from being unable to dive into dungeons if we had decided to use them right there. A distraction was the last thing I wanted to happen during the exams. It would have been putting cart before horse if our guild members failed in scoring passing marks.

Hence, I stalled our plan back then...only to be further postponed due to the following summer vacation. Many were due to home visits during the time and it would have been sad if only we managed to have fun without them. Maybe it might even cause the guild to fall apart.

As I used to say, ‹Job Ascension Ticket› were absolutely, and I mean it, important asset that one should use very carefully. If I were to put analogy, it would be like a once-of-a-kind festival. Hmm, you say it's not? No, no, it completely matches the vibe. Heave-ho, Heave-ho......

Ahem, right. Let's stay on one topic.

Game and Reality could never be compared in 1:1 format. After all, the characters in real life had their own life and a whole personality, so how could they be ignored? Maintaining coordination with guild members was perhaps the most important aspect.

It was a long journey, we had to postpone this day for all the et cetera reasons, but hey, they’re finally back. So I thought it's finally time to act on it. If anything, I felt bad to keep them waiting for so long.

So, back to the beginning, our plan was to start job upgrades with a fixed number of members at a time, except we'd found ourselves caught in a vicious cycle. The nightmare of every gamer. The ‹Eden› had fallen into the clutches of ‹Yokai - Just one more›!!

A party for the dungeon fundamentally consisted of 5 members while, Including the one I held, we had four tickets.

Advanced jobs were a must if we wanted to clear Advanced dungeons. This inevitably means we're short of 'one' ticket.

It turned out...‹Yokai - Just one more› was our true enemy all along. It was this sole existence that had terrorised countless gamers.

I mean, could you believe it was about mere one more item? Everyone would get their happy end as long as they had the last missing thing, wouldn't it be an ideal scenario? Alas, it was like the enactment of those spooky or enigmatic urban legends. Moreover it was happening back to back!

Thus we gamers collectively termed the phenomenon ‹Yokai - Just One More›, one that everyone must fear. I genuinely felt goosebumps all over me whenever there's mention of it.

Over and over and over. We had dived into dungeons so many times this summer vacation that I couldn't even begin where to count. Originally, it was supposed to be two birds with one stone. To assist other members in levelling up while we look out for tickets. Great idea, right? But, guess how many tickets we managed to save?

——ZERO.

‘Seriously, why did it have to turn out like this of all things?’ This was an inevitable feeling.

Well, on the flip side, we also happened to score many ‹Gold Chest› in this summer vacation. Yet, neither of them dropped a single ticket. Sigh.

We had our divine deities ‹Sachineko-sama› and ‹Koneko-sama›, even ‹Gold Coin›, so it wasn't strange to drop ‹Gold Chest›.

——Why! Then just whyyyyyyyyyyy!!

Why didn't any of them drop a mere, single ‹Job Ascension Ticket›!

Damn you, Yokai! It's definitely your doing! If you think doing this would scare me, then you're......absolutely right!!

I believe the reason Sierra and Mert had been showing their impatience recently was definitely due to the almost non-existence of tickets in the grind. I could understand their restlessness, which was why they were strongly pushing for auction.

It's alright, you two. Yokai might be the worst nightmare of us gamers, but we weren't without any means. Well, it's another matter if it could even be called a mean.

Anyway, the name of the strategy was—‹Counter by quantity, die Yokai›!

In short, keep the infinite grind until you hit the jackpot!! Yeah, it's as simple as that.

Eh, you’re saying what a braindead strategy? Ahaha, come on, this was, like, typical for the gamers. Just some fly in the ointment.

At the end of the day, we were ready to counter the curse, as our ‹Collector› Nico, from sub-guild ‹Arc-Arcadia›, finally unlocked her third-order skill tree, acquiring the MacGuffin we were in so need for the counterattack! We could finally break free from that curse, hurray!

So, in short, only an idiot would decide to throw a wad of cash at auction when the ticket was but only a matter of time. Now, it's just I had to somehow placate our planner of ‹Eden›.

"Calm down, you guys. Auction isn't the only way to acquire it. If you ask me, bringing Nico with us in our grind would definitely make it possible."

"Hmm, I am not saying this isn’t viable. I have heard about this phrase as well—sometime the more you wish for something, the harder it gets to acquire it I guess? Either way, we need the ticket to keep the ‹Eden› progress at its track. At Least half of our members have hit the level ceiling."

I understood where she was coming from. She was anxious about our situation. As the situation stands, we need advanced jobs to pave the path, and it was something we needed at all cost. Yet, not a single ticket dropped even though we had opened so many ‹Gold Chest›.

No, it wasn't just her. The entire guild was overcome with a restless expression. Their expressions were clearly revealing their apprehension, thinking maybe their whole life would pass by before they could have a ticket.

The good ol' fear of missing out that we gamers had often went through. I wasn't entirely ignorant of their feelings.

We continued to have on and off conversation, each sharing their opinion, still it seemed like these two were inching toward auction. Other members seemed to be singing the same tune.

Aha. I guess that's to be expected when I'm against the two brains of our ‹Eden›. I was literally alone in counter to their argument. Odds were completely against me, yeah. C'mon guys, I am sure we could do without auction as well.

Uh-huh, it seemed like there's no stopping them. I was hoping it didn't come to this, but...it was time to put my trump card. Mir and QP both were valuable resource. It takes time to earn them, and nothing was more valuable than time.

"First, calm down. Let's make a deal."

"Deal?"

"Yes." Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ ɴøᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

I replied to Mert while taking out that one ticket from ‹Item Bag›. It was my personal asset, one that I was keeping away from others.

Mert's eyes visibly widened when he saw that.

"Wh—!? Ticket?!"

"I will offer this to ‹Eden› if we don't get ‹Job Ascension Ticket› within next one week. This should make for a better guarantee than auction I believe, what do you say?"

The rule might dictate that tickets were forbidden to be sold, but I am sure it wasn't a problem if no one got wind of it, or if I used it for guild members.

"No, wait, Zephyr. When did you get this one?"

Unexpectedly, Sierra wasn't as surprised as Mert. However her stern gaze was cold and piercing, like the icicle. Woah, it's been quite a while since she had grace—ahem, no, nothing.

"Well, I kind of happen to have it. Either way, since we have this, there's no problem in overlooking the auction now, right? That should be a sufficient stake."

"......Phew. Oh god, what do I do with you, seriously......"

Sierra exhaled a sigh and shook her head in disbelief. She was even rubbing her head, as if she was having a headache. Eh, was she sick?

"Hmm, well we can have five tickets if we add the auction one......"

"Hey, hey, that's not the deal, alright. I'm sure I already laid out my terms earlier."

“Fine, I will take upon your deal then. Besides, if you're making the deal, then I am sure we will be able to acquire it. It's a win-win situation either way."

"Ugh, understood. Both have their own cons, so I will follow your words, Zephyr."

"As long as we have agreement! Now, if there's nothing more, let's immediately start our ‹Job Ascension Ticket› grind! I feel like we will definitely do it this time since we have nothing to fear. Just follow my lead!!"

"Alri—......—Ahh. My god, my body itself started to move automatically. As expected of our leader."

"It's understandable. Things have never gone south once he gave his assurity. And you know...I fear it's really going to turn out like that."

Sierra and Mert quietly murmured between themselves.

Err...guys. You know I can hear you perfectly? You're going to make me blush with all that praise.