I had reached a point where I couldn’t keep up the charade any longer. Sena had come up three times in a row from the gacha.
Instead of feelings of jealousy and competition, most reactions were of amazement.
[How is this even possible?]
[Sena herself]
[The catalyst’s performance is undeniable.]
[Human catalyst, wow.]
[Could it be that Mollu is actually Sena’s reincarnation?]
[Whoa.]
[Both are pretty.]
[The spirits in the game are reacting. Yeah, I’m a shaman blessed by the gods, so it’s kind of believable.]
[That’s nonsense.]
[Since things have come this far, should we try for more? Let’s see if we can get Sena in the next gacha too.]
“No, I will stop here with the gacha.”
I had originally decided to limit the number of pulls to about 200. It was regrettable that I couldn’t pull any other 6-star units besides Sena, but stopping here seemed like the right choice.
After all, Sena alone was more than enough to play the game, and I felt it was a waste to spend more money. I wasn’t a professional gacha streamer, and I thought 200 pulls was quite a lot.
Going beyond that required a certain affection for the game itself. Otherwise, it was the kind of thing that only people whose eyes had glazed over from the gacha system could do. This was the sight of various human figures commonly found across multiple platforms, including the Switch.
These were the ones who streamed, providing a subtle thrill just from watching. They spent a significant amount of money, ranging from a few tens to thousands, purely on gacha.
Viewers experienced a primal pleasure and vicarious satisfaction by watching those who would spend such money. At the same time, they would mock their foolishness. Generally, gacha systems weren’t honest, so it was rare to get the desired items even after pouring in that amount.
I somewhat agreed with that sentiment. Spending a few tens or hundreds on a gacha that might not even yield anything was one thing, but enjoying it might be followed by an overwhelming sense of reality crashing down afterward.
Even if I had been earning a decent income lately, given the years I had lived as a commoner, I couldn’t just engage in activities that would ruin that account.
Especially when it was unclear whether I would continue playing Crownling in the future. I had never played games like this before. I was only playing it now because I had recorded it myself. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have given it a second look.
There was no reason to waste that much money on something that was likely to be a one-time content.
Still, since I had already started, I thought it would make sense to play a bit after pulling Sena. I was curious about how the game progresses.
It had a tag of strategic simulation, so it might actually require some thought.
I proceeded through the tutorial and set up a party with the characters I currently had based on the system’s guidance.
6-star DPS Sena, 4-star tank Yuzuki, 4-star DPS Jakun, and 4-star supporter Aria.
[Why are there two male characters??]
[These are the only usable ones lol.]
[I thought it would be an all-female party.]
[Wow, Sena is 6-star all on her own.]
[Sena is defending Crownling!!]
[Meanwhile, only trash 5-stars are coming out, so I have to use 4-stars, which is hilarious lol.]
[Even the 4-stars aren’t that great lol.]
[Seriously, besides Sena, it’s all garbage. How is this happening?]
[Just Sena keeps being well-pulled ww.]
“Yeah… this is a one-man team.”
A one-man team isn’t ideal. What is a team, after all? Isn’t it supposed to be about supporting each other and working together? In this case, not only was there no teamwork, but there was also a significant disparity in levels, causing the other members to be dragged along.
If Sena were to run away from this party, the others would regret it—I’d say it’s because of how significant Sena’s contribution is to the party.
But there was nothing I could do. This was the best I could do. I had chosen characters from my roster who had decent performance and synergized with Sena’s skill set.
I had to go with this squad.
“Look over there, hero. A horde of evil undead. Please repel them in battle before they reach the village.”
I proceeded with the story mode. I was the hero and the squad I had put together were my allies.
As guided, waves of skeletons and zombies began to surge forth.
So, I just had to stop that, right? The party began to move according to the formation I had set.
-Die!
-Holy light will protect you…
Perhaps since it was the beginning, the battle ended quite quickly. My characters beat on the enemies with normal attacks and barely used any skills.
Thinking it was too easy, I cleared through the stages smoothly.
However, could this really still be called a game if I just kept clearing with no challenges? I soon found myself at an impasse.
“No, the characters aren’t dying?”
I faced a swarm of golems in the ruins. The boss of stage 3 possessed a distinct sturdiness compared to the squishy enemies I had faced so far.
Of course, the 6-star DPS Sena easily broke through their defenses, but the others were the problem. The remaining characters were falling one by one without fulfilling their roles.
With the front line collapsing, Sena, who had strong DPS but frail health, also retired from the battlefield, leading to a game over.
[Sena’s skill isn’t an AoE?]
[Looks like Sena can’t use her skills; this seems a bit weak?]
[No, no, this isn’t Sena’s fault.]
[Sena’s mana bar is quite large, so she needs the front line to hold out a bit for her to charge it, but they’re breaking through too quickly.]
[Let’s expel Jakun first; this guy is too weak.]
[For real, he’s a liability.]
[It might be better to use another tank like Yuzuki.]
“Bolster the tank line… is the DPS sufficient?”
DPS seemed to be lacking in my view as well. According to the comments of viewers who played ahead of me, as long as I could hold the front line, Sena would be able to fill her mana and use her skills to compensate for the lack of DPS.
Speaking of which, Sena’s concept was that of a wizard. A wizard needs to charge mana to unleash their skills; if all they do is normal attacks, they wouldn’t be strong enough. Until now, I had cleared the stages with just normal attacks, but I guess that wasn’t going to work anymore.
“Let’s try this out once, and if it doesn’t work, we’ll change the squad again.”
I replaced Jakun, who had already earned the title of ‘liability’ among viewers due to his off-putting appearance and behavior, with 4-star tank Ejsis.
I changed from a 1-tank, 2-DPS setup to a 2-tank, 1-DPS one.
I just hoped this paladin, who had a skill to increase the overall defense of the team, could hold the front line longer. Generally, paladins were meant to take care of the team’s health.
I wondered if it was okay to have Ejsis, a paladin who used divine power, and Sena, a ghost, in the same party, but it seemed that such fantasy settings weren’t even reflected in the game. If that were a problem, it would have already been one from the start. After all, the 4-star supporter Aria in my party was also set as a devout priest.
“Alright, let’s go, you guys.”
-The golems of the ruins have started rampaging. If this continues, the ruins will collapse! We must stop those cursed boulders!
As the archaeologist NPC Thompson shouted, the battle began.
Characters exchanged blows with the golems. Up to that point, it was not much different from before. The change came when the newly added paladin Ejsis used her skill.
-Look at me!
-AoE taunt. At the same time, a light shield surrounds the entire team.
Good, they are holding up better than before. It was a clear difference from Jakun, who fell without dealing any damage while lunging at the golems. Jakun was a liability, after all.
Sena was also diligently attacking normally to charge her mana. The mana bar was about half full.
I didn’t know how strong her skill would be, but even if she could wipe out just half of the remaining golems, it seemed likely that we would win the battle.
And then it happened.
“Oh no, it’s dangerous. Dodge!”
As Thompson warned, the eyes of the golem turned red, signaling an ominous development.
Then, the golem charged up and unleashed a laser. That laser looked like a fatal move that only bosses could use, and Ejsis fell to it.
-Judgment upon the unholy…
“No, Ejsis!”
[Paladin sis ㅠㅠㅠㅠ]
[Is that a one-hit kill?]
[Seems like just strong damage; she was already half health anyway.]
[Looks like we’re gonna fail again.]
[The chance of failure is about to spike.]
[When’s Sena using her skill?]
With the main tank Ejsis down and her defensive buff gone, the lone Yuzuki was barely holding on, but his HP bar was dropping at a worrying rate; he too seemed like he wouldn’t last.
In this situation, there was just one thing to rely on.
“Sena’s mana is almost full. It’s not over yet.”
Sena’s ultimate skill, Ice Storm. With how much mana it consumed, its power must also be substantial.
Moreover, I had pulled Sena three times, leveling her up to level 2, making it the Sena one-man team.
The moment Sena used her skill, all those boulders would be cut down in an instant.
At that moment, Sena’s mana filled up, and the skill set for automatic activation triggered.
-Flower of ice will bloom on the battlefield.
With a cutscene where Sena opened her eyes wide, a splendid effect befitting her 6-star rank covered the screen.
Fierce winds and swirling shards of ice. After about five seconds, the golems that remained were utterly gone.
“What’s with this strength?”
This was beyond what I had imagined. I thought it would at least take down a few golems, but she wiped them all out. It was like a grand mage at work. One person had turned the tide of battle.
[Of course it’s Sena.]
[What? Those guys who would normally take 20 hits to die just got wiped out?]
[Wizards deal damage with skills, not normal attacks~]
[Sena really is 0-tier, huh?]
[As long as there’s a tank upfront, she can kill everything ㄷㄷ.]
This was a situation that could be aptly called, “My Sena is too strong…”
It was widely accepted wisdom that one individual couldn’t defeat a group, but it seemed that when that individual became superhuman, the story changed completely.
