Having pushed the tempo to hit level 5 early, maintaining the win streak was more important than anything else.

Checking the other players’ health and levels through my device, they were all still at level 4.

Meaning no one had matched my tempo.

‘Shame I can’t see their formations.’

But not being able to verify the other players’ force compositions could introduce variables.

Still, observing their buildup process allowed me to predict to some extent what deck they were aiming to complete. I needed to remember the compositions of the players I’d already faced.

The overall round progression of the battlefield followed this order.

The first stage—rounds 1-1 and 1-2—was monster hunting.

From stage 2, where full-scale battles against other players began, the following sequence repeated:

Rounds 1-3 – Random player

Round 4 – Shared selection

Rounds 5-6 – Random player

Round 7 – Monster hunting

The current round was 2-4. The Shared Selection Round.

In the Shared Selection Round, ten options were presented. Players with lower health selected first, one at a time.

If health was equal, priority went to the player with the lower level.

‘I’m last.’

Checking through my device, I was at the top with 99 health, and below me, the ranked players had 98, 96, and 87 health respectively.

The two players I needed to watch out for in this battlefield were the ones with 98 and 96 health.

‘The fact that they just hit level 4 means they were at level 3 until moments ago…’

Since they hadn’t spent gold on experience, the possibility that they’d quickly assembled 2-star champions couldn’t be ruled out.

– Fire Mage(★)

– Composite Bow

– Dark Bard(★)

– Leather Armor

– Brawler(★)

– Giant’s Belt

– Gunslinger(★)

– Cloak of Resistance

– Steel Shieldbearer(★)

– Wand of Mana

The options displayed a balanced mix of items and champions.

[Player 7 has selected ‘Steel Shieldbearer(★)’.]

As expected, the first option to disappear was the 2-Cost champion, Steel shieldbearer.

It was the option I coveted most, but it would have been the same for the other players.

[Player 4 has selected ‘Fire Mage(★)’.]

[Player 2 has selected ‘Dark Bard(★)’.]

The options vanished quickly, and with no selection priority, I could only watch. Eventually, the three options remaining at the end were:

– Cloak of Resistance

– Leather Armor

– Composite Bow

Perhaps because it was an unranked-level battlefield. People who valued champions over items.

It made sense—lower-tier players wouldn’t have item combination formulas.

If they couldn’t craft core items, fielding 2-star champions was more effective, making it the natural choice.

[Player 6 has selected ‘Cloak of Resistance’.]

My choice was the Cloak of Resistance, which increased magic resistance. I’d be able to withstand magic attacks to some extent now.

【+4G】

▶ Base reward of 4 gold granted.

【+1G】

▶ 3-win streak bonus of 1 gold granted.

* Gold held: 5 gold

Even after the Shared Selection Round ended, rewards were distributed, and the shop refreshed accordingly.

Leveling up outside of a combat round was to check a higher-grade shop.

From the level 5 shop onward, there was a chance for 3-Cost champions to appear.

The probability was low, of course, but it was a risk well worth taking, and I could nod in satisfaction.

《LV.5 Shop》

Druid(★) – 1G

Brave shieldbearer(★) – 2G

Despicable Fighter ‘Preta’ Avatar(★) – 3G

‘There it is.’

A 3-Cost champion—the Despicable Fighter ‘Preta’—had appeared in the shop.

From 3-Cost onward, champions were so few in number that they also existed as avatars—replicas that recreated the abilities of champions who had participated in battlefields.

This system was called the ‘Avatar.’ Even through avatar performances in the battlefield, rewards still flowed in, so most champions permitted avatar creation, with only a few proud exceptions.

Of course, champions who had avatars created could still participate directly in battlefields through a contract with a player.

This was called an ‘Original,’ and it could unleash power on an entirely different level from an avatar.

But a champion could form an Original Contract with only one player.

‘No wonder rising through the tiers was so difficult.’

For a player to be competitive, item combination formulas and the number of Original Contracts they’d secured were both crucial.

Ultimately, a player’s tier was a comprehensive metric combining connections with high-grade champions, item combination formulas, and other factors.

Many other factors influenced the battlefield, but they were beyond my current level to consider.

‘I’m still unranked, after all.’

I’d only heard of Original champions through rumor—I didn’t even know if they truly existed.

I was merely a frog that had just crawled out of the well called Luteran.

【-2G】

▶ Brave Shieldbearer(★) hired.

【-3G】

▶ Despicable Fighter ‘Preta’ Avatar(★) hired.

* Gold held: 0G

Ariel(★)

– Brave

– Shieldbearer

– HP: 250/250

– Mana: 0/80

– Full Bloom(★): Leaps into the air and slams the ground, dealing 60 magic damage to all surrounding enemies and stunning them for 1 second.

Preta(★)

– Despicable

– Brawler

– HP: 280/280

– Mana: 110/120

– Throw(★): Hurls the target at the farthest enemy. The thrown target and any enemy it collides with take 100 physical damage.

‘Throw, huh. I’ll need to be careful with positioning.’

Preta had a skill that could collapse enemy formations, so I needed to keep that in mind at all times.

Other players could hire avatar champions as well, and they all shared identical performance.

I’d already encountered a player who used Brawlers as their main force, so this was a champion I could potentially face as an enemy in a future battlefield.

‘Despicable, Brave. I should remember these synergies too.’

Unlike private battlefields that featured only fixed synergies, ranked matches introduced a variety of synergies that appeared randomly in the shop each battlefield.

On average, 11 types of Lineage synergies and 16 types of Class synergies appeared in a single battlefield.

Remembering and counting the synergies each champion possessed was more important than anything else.

“Good work.”

“Yes, sir! Please stay safe out there as well!”

I removed the shieldbearer Johan and placed the newly hired 2-Cost shieldbearer Ariel in that position.

Johan had a separate purpose, so I didn’t sell him. Like the gunslinger Klein, I sent him to the champion waiting room.

“Ah—thank you for giving me another chance!”

Being sent to the champion waiting room meant his usefulness had been acknowledged, and Johan appeared deeply moved.

For Johan, a 1-Cost shieldbearer without any skills, this battlefield would be a cherished memory for a long time.

Thud- thud-!

And in the one remaining empty slot, I placed the 3-Cost champion Preta.

“Whoa—what a body…”

A human battering ram of a figure, every inch of his body packed with muscle. But as an avatar, he stood motionless, holding his position until the battle began.

Preta, with no overlapping synergies, received no synergy bonuses, but as a 3-Cost champion, he was valuable in his own right.

Clap-!

“Good. Clean.”

The active synergies hadn’t changed, but the deck’s overall value had increased.

I’d been lucky this round. Completely mismatched synergies could have tangled the deck, but the right champions appeared at just the right moments.

As tiers rise, there would be more competition and more variables. Things wouldn’t always work out this smoothly.

Even Hans’s victory over Chasey Einthoven, the overwhelming favorite in the private battlefield, had been due to an unforeseen variable.

‘Someday…’

Hans’s death. The player qualification gained from it.

Having received something so significant, the bill would come due someday.

It had seemed like there was no answer until now, but in this battlefield, I’d found that possibility.

As an unprecedented Irregular—both player and champion—I looked forward to seeing how much growth I could achieve after finishing this battlefield.

As a player, and as a champion.

***

Maintenance time before the start of round 3-1.

“Phew—”

Sindra, an elite candidate from the Alliance, had been thoroughly nervous about her first real combat—the placement exam. But only after facing five players could she finally relax.

“Their champion compositions are a mess.”

The skill level of the players she’d encountered so far was far below her expectations.

If anything, the mock evaluations hosted by the Alliance had been more challenging.

“They didn’t even understand the concept of buildup.”

One of the most emphasized lessons in the training manual was minimizing champion deaths.

In other words, health management.

The early phase, when 1-Cost champions appeared most frequently in the shop, was the ideal time to build a foundation.

Players who squandered this phase had already become her prey.

They’d been tearing into each other as well, and their health had been driven to rock bottom.

“But then, this person…”

Sindra checked her device to survey the overall situation, and her brow furrowed.

At the top of the player list:

Player 6 / Lv.5 / HP.99

The first player to reach level 5 in this battlefield, and Sindra’s biggest rival.

“I need to break their win streak quickly.”

Having 99 health remaining meant they’d achieved overwhelming victories without a single defeat.

Sindra, who hadn’t recorded a single loss either, had racked up a 5-win streak. That meant player 6 had also maintained a 5-win streak.

From 5-win streaks onward, the bonus gold remained the same regardless of how many consecutive wins followed. But the 3 bonus gold was nothing to scoff at.

Leveraging win streak gold income to roll your economy was one of the fundamental management strategies.

Sindra had assembled a powerful deck featuring 2-star champions.

Considering her own health was 91 after a clean buildup process, it meant player 6 possessed an absurd level of deck power.

That wasn’t her only competition.

Player 1 / Lv.5 / HP.98

“There are two monsters.”

Sindra sighed.

Perhaps because it was an unranked placement exam, the skill levels of matched players were worlds apart.

But she had good news as well.

“At least I’ve completed it.”

Sindra’s only combination formula—Regenerating Flame.

She’d just obtained the required material item, ‘Mage Staff,’ from the previous monster hunting round.

【Regenerating Flame】

– Mage Staff + Troll Belt

– Spell Power 20, Bonus HP 100

– On hit, inflicts a burning flame that persists until death and reduces the target’s magic resistance by 50%.

By the Alliance’s classification system, it was a 4th-tier item combination formula, but at lower tiers, it was tantamount to cheating.

Since it was an item that truly shined in the extended late-game combat, she wouldn’t have to worry about running out of steam.

Dong- dong-!

As all preparations concluded, the bell signaling the start of battle rang out.

With the tolling of the bell, the wall separating the battlefields crumbled, and Sindra’s expression inevitably stiffened at what lay beyond.

“It’s finally here.”

Player 1 / Lv.5 / HP.98

She’d been matched against one of the two she’d considered monsters.

“The formation…?”

The first thing that caught Sindra’s eye was none other than the shieldbearers.

Five shieldbearers, with not a shred of efficiency to be found, were lined up across the front row.

It was a force composition that deviated from what the Alliance had taught her—something beyond common sense.

‘What?’

Her bewilderment at the unprecedented situation was fleeting. Confidence surged within Sindra.

‘I have the matchup advantage.’

Her core champion, a mage, had a favorable matchup against shieldbearers.

She’d just completed her core item, and her battle formation was well-structured, so she allowed herself a measure of expectation.

At the outcome that defied all expectations, Sindra could only let out a bitter laugh.

【-10HP】

▶ Defeated in battle.

Despite having a core item and 2-star champions, she hadn’t managed to eliminate a single enemy champion.

An overwhelming defeat.

‘So this is why the other players’ health was so low.’

Considering the health needed to keep rehiring fallen champions, the damage she’d sustained was staggering.

She’d plummeted from 3rd place to the bottom ranks in an instant.

‘First place is absolutely impossible.’

Sindra, an elite candidate from the Alliance experiencing her first real combat.

“The goal is… second place. Let’s aim for second place.”

She knew how to compromise with reality and quickly revised her goal.

Through this battle, she became certain of who would take first place in this battlefield.

Even player 6, whom she hadn’t faced yet—she couldn’t imagine them defeating player 1.

“This person doesn’t belong here…”

She’d only encountered them because this was a placement exam with no tier segregation.

Player 1.

That person was the Irregular of this battlefield.