The opportunity to confirm the change came immediately.

Dong- dong- dong-!

Round 3-5.

Even though the battle had begun, I didn’t bother checking the opponent’s information.

Vroom-!

I simply swung my shield at the enemy right in front of me.

Shhhh-

A blue light traced a line through the empty air.

The red heat haze blooming from my body infused into the shield.

Whoosh-!

The moment I thought to swing my shield, it had already reached the enemy.

Boom-!

[Dice of Fortune x1: Attack Power and Spell Power increase by +7.]

I couldn’t defeat the enemy with this single blow.

Even as a 3-star champion, my foundation was ultimately that of a shieldbearer.

What is the most outstanding ability a shieldbearer possesses?

It was none other than defense.

A shieldbearer must excel at defense.

Though there aren’t many shieldbearers who can make this obvious fact truly obvious.

But if it was the current me, it seemed possible.

Shhhh-!

The two sword blades approaching me.

Fwoosh-!

The fireball flying in from afar.

Zap-!

The lightning mana generating from the mage champion’s hands.

Ding-!

The sound of the bards’ performance echoing from behind me.

Every situation on the battlefield was felt through my skin and senses, and I merely moved according to instinct.

Shhhh-

The red heat haze embroidered the empty air.

Clang-!

Lightly deflecting the sword with my shield, I stared straight ahead and focused on the flow of mana.

The ones I had to be careful of were the mages.

Because the mages’ skills contained immense mana that couldn’t even be compared to a swordsman’s.

One mage champion hurled a fireball.

Hwareureuk-!

The slowly flying fireball grew larger as it approached.

What was once the size of a fist became the size of a basketball, and soon after, it transformed into the size of a person.

I checked the skill’s information.

<<Explosive Fireball (★)>>

Fires a fireball that deals *240 magic damage to the target. The fireball explodes upon hitting the target, dealing *160 additional magic damage to surrounding enemies excluding the target.

‘Explosive Fireball… what champion was that again?’

I quickly sifted through the memories in my head.

And immediately arrived at the answer.

Crimson Lowe (★)

– Sun

– Mage

– Health: 285/285

– Mana: 30/100

– Explosive Fireball (★): Fires a fireball that deals 150 magic damage to the target. The fireball explodes upon hitting the target, dealing 100 additional magic damage to surrounding enemies excluding the target.

– Magic Acceleration (Passive): When a champion with Magic Acceleration uses a skill, it deals an additional 25% damage per tile of distance.

The 4-Cost Sun Mage champion, Crimson Lowe.

One of the champions I had kept an eye on in the guidebook.

Crimson Lowe’s starting mana was 30, while the mana required to use the skill was 100.

‘They used mana boosting.’

The fact that they used a skill as soon as the battle started meant there was a core item affecting their mana.

If it was a core item efficient enough to instantly fill the mana, it would hold tremendous value…

It was definitely not an item level one would see in the 999+ tier.

Hwareureuk-!

Crimson Lowe and I were four tiles apart, and the fireball grew in size with every tile it crossed.

The spell power increase effect from the Mage synergy, the core item’s effect, and the damage increase effect from the Magic Acceleration skill all stacked together.

The fireball, once the size of a fist, had grown massive enough to engulf the entire battlefield.

Igeuligeul-

A wall of flames was about to crash down on me.

Even so, I thrust my shield forward.

The flames, seemingly capable of burning the entire battlefield, struck my shield.

And then, it exploded.

Flash-!

A powerful flash of light engulfed the battlefield.

A deafening explosion followed.

Boom-!

The house-sized fireball detonated, blooming into a mushroom cloud.

Beeeep-

The impact briefly burst my eardrums.

A power hard to believe for a 1-star skill.

It was a relief there were no allied champions around me.

If there had been fragile bard champions, they would have all been wiped out by that single skill.

Fwoosh-!

The mana radiating from the exploding fireball and the heat haze blooming from my body clashed fiercely, blooming into a crimson flower.

My basic defense and magic resistance had increased upon becoming a 3-star champion.

The magical power flowing from my body protected my form, allowing me to offset the impact without significant pain.

Vwoomm-!

The Cloak of Resistance obtained from defeating the Orc Warrior also helped greatly in this process.

Though it wasn’t on the level of a core item, the +15 magic resistance effect was nothing to scoff at.

Slither-

It was a skill that seemed absolutely impossible to block.

But now, as a 3-star champion, I could deflect the impact without much difficulty.

However, it was certain that if I were a 2-star champion, I would never have been able to withstand that power.

‘This is definitely no ordinary player.’

It was the second time I had felt this way since encountering the Irregular during the Placement Exam.

Feeling a sense of alarm, I belatedly checked the opposing Player’s information.

Player 8 / Lv.5 / HP.61 – 3 Win Streak

– Bard (4): Whenever a Bard uses a skill, allied champions excluding Bards recover 10 mana.

Player 6 / Lv.7 / HP.53 – 3 Loss Streak

– Sun (2): When a Sun champion’s health drops below 30%, they remove harmful effects and transcend, reducing damage taken by 20% and increasing damage dealt by 20% for 8 seconds.

– Mage (4): Allied spell power increases by 40.

– Swordsman (2): Basic attacks have a 30% chance to deal an additional attack.

Reaching level 7 by round 3-5 was somewhat understandable.

But building such a highly refined deck while reaching level 7 was near impossible.

For this to be possible…

‘Do they have an Augmentation Body?’

It was only natural to harbor such suspicions.

Because the deck power player 6 possessed was so immense that it couldn’t be explained without an Augmentation Body.

If they didn’t have one, it would be even more remarkable.

It would mean they had built up such a deck through pure skill alone.

Whichever the truth was, one thing was certain: Player 6 was not someone who belonged in a mere 999+ tier private battlefield.

Zap-!

The lightning mana gathered in one place, sparking.

Another mage champion had finished preparing to use their skill.

‘It’s coming.’

That was when.

Ding-!

<<Decrescendo (★)>>

Inflicts a weakened state on a random enemy for 4 seconds. The damage dealt by the weakened enemy is reduced by 25%.

An allied bard champion had used their skill.

Fortunately, Decrescendo hit the enemy champion who was about to use their skill.

<<Bolt Charging (★)>>

Charges mana for 3 seconds before unleashing an electric current that deals *112 magic damage.

Fizzle-

Thanks to the perfectly timed weakening effect, the skill’s damage was reduced by 25%.

For a mage, where a single skill is crucial, this was fatal.

Flash-!

The lightning flew in in the blink of an eye.

But my shield was already swinging.

Bang-!

The shield, having canceled out the lightning, continued straight ahead without deviating from its path.

Boom-!

[Dice of Fortune x2: Attack Power and Spell Power increase by +14.]

That was how I took down one enemy.

Now, two Swordsman champions and four Mage champions remained.

It was a 5 vs. 6 fight, but from my perspective, it was 1 vs. 6.

But that was fine.

Mage champions had powerful individual skills, but they had what is commonly called a ‘sage time’—a downtime.

Meaning they couldn’t deal much damage while recharging their mana.

The moment I survived the initial concentrated barrage, the outcome was already decided.

‘That was close.’

My health had probably dropped to rock bottom.

‘Is that a Burst deck?’

A Burst deck refers to a deck that pours everything into the early stages of combat to unilaterally end the fight; it was a relatively new strategy developed recently.

Burst decks were highly rated because they could minimize the loss of allied champions.

The strategy I had chosen, if I had to categorize it, was a Stack deck that grew stronger the longer the battle dragged on.

Stack decks were weak against Burst decks, so I was essentially countered, but as long as I survived the early game, the advantage would shift to my side.

The opponent’s turn had passed; now, it was my turn.

<<Solid Exoskeleton (★★★)>>

Obtains a shield that absorbs damage for 15 seconds. The shield is applied at *114% of maximum health.

A shield equal to 114% of my maximum health.

A massive, thick barrier of 712 enveloped my body.

The battle would proceed similarly to before.

The only difference was my existence as a 3-star champion.

The blue light flashed.

Shhhh-

The enemy’s attacks, the flow of mana, the openings—I felt them all.

I simply chose the best course of action based on that data.

The red heat haze embroidered the battlefield.

Hwirik- Kwaang-!

[Dice of Fortune x3: Attack Power and Spell Power increase by +21.]

[Dice of Fortune x4: Attack Power and Spell Power increase by +28.]

Clang- clang- clang-!

Unless they had an item with a shield destruction effect, breaking a 712-point shield was nearly impossible.

And that wasn’t the end.

<<Song of Peace (★)>>

Disarms one enemy champion impressed by the song for 3 seconds, preventing them from attacking.

<<Guardian’s Performance (★)>>

Grants an 80-point protective shield to the allied champion with the lowest current HP.

<<Hymn of Hope (★)>>

Grants 2 seconds of damage immunity to the nearest allied champion including the caster.

Every time the bard champions used a skill, my mana recharged, and with the accumulated mana, I could use my skills again.

<<Solid Exoskeleton (★★★)>>

Obtains a shield that absorbs damage for 15 seconds. The shield is applied at 128% of maximum health.

The shield still had about half remaining, and an additional 911-point shield was stacked on top of it.

A combined shield value exceeding 1,000 was an impenetrable barrier that could never be broken.

Of course, this deck wasn’t invincible.

If there was an item that removed shields, this strategy would be instantly countered.

But as I said, the battlefield wasn’t just about building a powerful deck; it was a game of being the last one standing out of eight.

Without the means to remove shields, the Bard shieldbearer deck would be more powerful than any other deck.

Still, I couldn’t let my guard down until the battlefield was completely over.

I would win this round, but it was hard to guarantee I would win the next time I faced player 6.

‘I didn’t expect a Burst deck at all.’

A deck that concentrated all its power in the early game.

A Burst deck fundamentally required a well-composed synergy combination and an item combination formula capable of mana boosting to function.

A deck that lower-tier players wouldn’t even dare to look at.

The firepower of a Burst deck varied depending on the player’s skill.

Player 6, who operated a Burst deck with enough firepower to instantly melt a 3-star champion, was definitely not an ordinary player.

‘Who could it be?’

I was curious.

Did they create this deck themselves, or did they build it with someone else’s help?

Player 6 probably wasn’t acting entirely alone.

The performance of their core item was far too outstanding for that.

Mana boosting items were essential for Burst decks, making their combination formulas just as valuable, if not more so, than stack-type items.

‘Who could it be?’

Whether it was player 6 or their backer who built this deck didn’t really matter.

Whoever it was, I just wanted to meet them.

Of course, that would be impossible for the current me.

As ‘Shieldbearer Lee Shin,’ a Bronze-tier player and 1-Cost champion, they wouldn’t even give me the chance to exchange words.

So I made a decision.

That name I had used to spread the Hardcore Assassin deck to the public.

I decided to bring out ‘Meta.’