"The Whale's winning strategy is none other than Pay to Win"
- ShanTheWhale -
The Intermediate Wisher League continued with intense battles. After officials from the association intervened to mediate the argument between the sponsors, the competition was able to resume. Nevertheless, it was clear that the team of the new sponsor, Shan, was outperforming all expectations and defying all predictions.
Shan's team comprised mostly of N-level E-Tier Wishers, along with Vinzent, a UR-level D-Tier Wisher whom everyone had once looked down, this team, once scorned and considered unworthy, but under the guidance of the Whale sponsor, Shan, they became a force to be reckoned with.
The Wishers on Shan's team wielded SS and SSS-rank weapons, fully upgraded to their maximum potential. Their gear was so expensive that even many teams in the Advanced Wisher League didn't have such high-quality equipment. The team that was once considered trash in everyone's eyes had emerged as a dark horse in the competition.
Shan's young Wishers team continued to win consistently, even though they relied solely on the One-shot strategy in every match. Due to the short burst of damage at the start of the game, many teams were inexperienced and unprepared to withstand such immense damage. Simply put, no one expected any sponsor to be crazy enough to invest so extravagantly in lower-tier Wishers, below B-Tier, just to win a non-professional competition.
No matter the opponents, Shan's Shota team defeated them within seconds. The damage numbers displayed on the DPS meter were still astonishing.
Many who once looked down on Vinzent began to change their minds. Perhaps Vinzent had never been nurtured correctly, which is why he never showed his true potential. Even those who had underestimated the weak power scale of N-tier Wishers started to rethink their opinions. Maybe they could be strong if equipped with good weapons.
"Amazing! Mr. Shan's team defeated their opponents in less than 5 seconds. The damage per second broke the record for the Intermediate Wisher League! Mr. Shan, the new sponsor is truly here to win!"
"Who said that? I'm here to show off, haha!"
Shan laughed in response to the announcer, amid the envious glances of other sponsors who couldn't match his showmanship.
At first glance, it might seem like being a whale makes winning easy, but it's not that simple. The key factor behind Shan's success was that he meticulously planned everything. Without Vinzent in the damage-dealing position today, this strategy wouldn't have worked. In other words, Shan intentionally built the team to maximize Vinzent's power.
Shan had been playing Miracle Azlia since the game launched. He knew the skills of every character and all the weapons in the game. Vinzent, unlike other UR-tier Wishers, possessed a unique characteristic: his strength was heavily influenced by the weapons he wielded, the gear he equipped, and the team composition.
If the team invested little, Vinzent performed poorly. However, if the team invested heavily, Vinzent excelled.
Vinzent's strength lay in his ultimate skill, 'Falling Night Luminary,' firing projectiles into the sky to rain down on opponents, dealing AOE damage. When the damage hit enemies, there was a 5% chance to repeat the damage endlessly like a chain reaction.
The initial 'Falling Night Luminary' skill had a significantly low damage multiplier and only a 5% chance to activate chain reaction. In practical terms, this low chance made it unreliable, often likened to a mere firecracker among players. Consequently, Vinzent was perceived as one of the least effective UR Wishers.
Moreover, based on in-game data, every time 'Falling Night Luminary' was leveled up, it not only increased the damage multiplier but also raised the chance of triggering continuous damage as a chain reaction by another 1%.
Vinzent in Shan's ID, whose Falling Night Luminary skill exceeded the level cap to a hundred, thus had a 100% chance of triggering endless chain damage. This made Vinzent in Shan's ID unparalleled in power.
Following the whale tier list, which measured character damage, Vinzent-tier was considered infinite, while other characters like DeathSoul could reach up to a hundred million, but it still didn't compare to infinity. Therefore, Vinzent in the Whale tier was deemed the best in the game.
However, in the world of Azlia, unlike in the game itself, Wishers' skill levels come from training, not from simply using miracle stones. Therefore, Shan had to take shortcuts by buffing up the skill from the weapon, causing one of his team members to carry a weapon that enhanced the effect of the skill or Falling Night Luminary by 100% within a period.
That was behind the big damage numbers.
"Victory goes to Mr. Shan! His underdog team emerged as champions of the Intermediate Wisher League! Their unexpected triumph has shattered expectations and set a new benchmark for the competition. This remarkable achievement will undoubtedly lead to a major reshuffling of the tier rankings, and I firmly believe that Mr. Shan's Wishers will ascend to at least B-Tier."
A grin spread across Shan's face as the outcome unfolded just as he had anticipated. Shan then got up and performed the Lucky Dance in the spirit of victory, as he often did whenever he achieved the highest scores on the server.
"What's that guy dancing?"
"What kind of dance is that?"
"He's definitely lost his mind."
Many sponsors looked at Shan with a mixture of confusion and amusement, just like the spectators.
The young Wishers in Shan's guild jumped up and hugged each other joyfully. They were teary-eyed with happiness, as they had never expected a day when they would compete and win like the high-level Wishers.
The young Wishers wanted to express their gratitude to Shan, a sponsor who saw their worth and welcomed them into his guild. However, upon seeing Shan dancing strangely on the sponsor zone, they could only stand there blinking in confusion.
Vinzent glanced at Shan with a calm expression. One young Wisher noticed Vinzent looking and explained,
"I don't know where Mr. Shan got this dance from, but I do know that he dances every time he happily spends money."
"Yeah, it's a dance like a whale tossing money. He really enjoys spending. When he buys weapons, he dances. When he orders uniforms, he dances too."
"That's right, Mr. Shan is always happy when he spends money. Should we dance like him too?"
"Mr. Shan has invested a lot in us, which is why we were able to win."
"Mr. Shan once said that spending money brings happiness. Topping up the game is also happiness."
"Topping up the game?" Vinzent was puzzled by the unfamiliar term.
"I'm not sure either," the young Wisher shook his head. "Mr. Shan says it a lot, but we don't understand. Every time he buys something for us, he dances and often says that topping up the game makes him happy."
"It must be one of Mr. Shan's slang terms, meaning spending money to support the Wishers."
"That must be."
Vinzent listened quietly, sensing that the term had a deeper meaning.
As the competition ended, Vinzent was about to slip away but a young Wisher called him.
"Mr. Vinzent, Mr. Shan said that if we won the competition, he would throw a celebration party. He asked me to invite you as well. Mr. Shan also mentioned that the conditions of your agreement would only be met if you attended the party."
"…" Vinzent remained silent.
He clearly recalled the agreement he had made with Shan. Shan would answer all his questions if he cooperated, which he had done today. He hadn't expected Shan to find an excuse to invite him to a party as well.
Vinzent just sighed and left.
Shan hosted the celebration party at his own residence. Due to his recent victory in the competition, both his reputation as a sponsor and his residence had been upgraded to gold level.
The Wisher Association was professional in organizing the event, as sponsors apparently often liked to hold the party. Shan's residence had a large reception room, and the association staff took care of all the food and services. They also helped promote the event to other guests since Shan had opened the party to all Wishers from every guild.
The atmosphere at the event was vibrant, filled with an array of colorful food and drinks. Most of the attendees were Wishers looking to make a good impression and get to know the new sponsor, hoping for a chance to join his guild in the future. As a result, many SR and R level Wishers attended the party. Shan's recent performance, where he soared through the competition with remarkable scores, propelled him into the spotlight as a dark horse sponsor worth keeping an eye on. Now, as a Gold-level sponsor, Shan could recruit SR-level Wishers into his guild.
With such a lively party, it might seem like the host sponsor would be happy, but the reality was quite the opposite. Shan had organized the party as an excuse to invite Vinzent over to his place for a date. Instead, he ended up having to entertain many guests, which left him feeling exhausted. Many Wishers came to introduce themselves and leave their resumes with him. At first, Shan enjoyed chatting with them, but eventually, he became overwhelmed and couldn't remember anyone. In the end, he had to let the association staff handle the rest.
"I'm so tired. Vinz is not here yet?"
Shan, growing weary from the wait, retreated to the upstairs lounge. He scanned the bustling crowd below from his vantage point, but Vinzent remained nowhere to be seen.
"Mr. Shan, would you like some refreshments?" Young Wishers in his guild noticed how tired Shan was and brought him some snacks and drinks.
"Thanks," Shan smiled, his heart warmed by the sight of the adorable boys surrounding him.
"Speaking of which, I haven't had the chance to get to know you all yet," Shan just realized. For the past week, they had been so preoccupied with preparing for the competition that they barely had time for chitchat.
"Let's get to know each other. What are your names?" Shan felt guilty. He had welcomed Shota into the guild, but he realized he had never bothered to ask anyone's name. Thankfully, Shan could still recognize their faces.
"Red, sir." "Blue, sir." "White, sir." "Brown, sir." "Black, sir."
"Gray, sir." "Green, sir." "Beige, sir." "Pearl, sir."
"…" Shan even raised his eyebrows upon hearing each name.
"Wait a minute, why do your names match your hair or eye color?"
Shan couldn't help but think that the game developers were incredibly lazy when it came to designing N-level Wishers. They couldn't even come up with more creative names than those based on physical appearance.
"Those are common names among Azlians," Red, the red-haired young man, replied.
"You don't know that Mr. Shan?" Blue, the blue-haired young man, asked.
"It's a popular trend among modern parents," White, the white-haired young man, explained.
"I see," Shan nodded in understanding. It must be a cultural thing, similar to the common names like George, John, and Mary among Westerners.