【+4G】

▶ Base reward of 4 gold has been granted.

【+3G】

▶ 6-win streak bonus of 3 gold has been granted.

*Gold held: 14G

“Clean and tidy.”

The battlefield was unfolding far more smoothly than expected.

I had spent an additional 12 gold to rapidly push my tempo up to level 6.

Having poured 24 gold into experience alone, I was able to level up quickly, and with one more champion than everyone else, I secured victory in combat without any losses.

The synergies currently active in my deck were shieldbearer (2), Archer (2), and Despicable (2).

The newly activated Despicable (2) synergy granted a bonus of 20 attack power whenever a champion landed the finishing blow on an enemy.

My current deck composition was as follows.

Lee Shin (★) – 1G

– Shieldbearer

– HP: 200/200

– Mana: 0/70

– Skill: Solid Exoskeleton (★): Grants a shield that absorbs damage for 8 seconds. The shield absorbs damage equal to 40% of maximum HP.

Ariel (★) – 2G

– Brave

– Shieldbearer

– HP: 250/250

– Mana: 0/80

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

Seira (★) – 2G

– Noble

– Archer

– HP: 180/180

– Mana: 10/80

– Piercing Arrow (★): Fires a piercing arrow at the farthest enemy. Deals 70 physical damage to all enemies in its path.

Yurai (★) – 3G

– Wind

– Archer

– HP: 185/185

– Mana: 30/90

– Last Whisper (★): Fires an arrow at the enemy with the lowest current HP, dealing 150 physical damage.

Kajik (★) – 3G

– Despicable

– Assassin

– HP: 160/160

– Mana: 0/40

– Invisible Threat (★): Enters stealth for 1 second. The first attack after stealth is guaranteed to hit and applies as a critical strike.

Preta (★) – 3G

– 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.

<<Held Items>>

*Leather Armor (Lee Shin)

– Increases defense by 15 when equipped.

*Cloak of Resistance (Lee Shin)

– Increases magic resistance by 15 when equipped.

*Composite Bow (Yurai)

– Increases attack speed by 15 when equipped.

In the champion waiting room, outside the deck, was Johan—a 1-Cost Shieldbearer.

I had kept him rather than selling him off for champion enhancement, but unfortunately, no 1-Cost Shield Bearers had appeared in the shop yet.

It wasn’t simply bad luck; leveling up quickly had reduced the probability of 1-Cost champions appearing in the shop.

On the other hand, I had been able to find 3-Cost champions with solid skills, so it was a trade-off.

After the battle ended, the shop refreshed.

“Finally showed up.”

《LV.6 Shop》

Avatar of the shieldbearer of the Sun ‘Aurion’ (★) – 3G

Gunslinger of Darkness (★) – 2G

Fire Mage (★) – 2G

A 3-Cost Shieldbearer had finally appeared in the shop.

【-3G】

▶ Hired the Avatar of the Shieldbearer of the Sun ‘Aurion’ (★).

*Gold held: 11G

Aurion (★)

– Sun

– Shieldbearer

– HP: 280/280

– Mana: 0/100

– Shield of Dawn (★): Raises an intangible shield that absorbs 150 damage for 5 seconds. When the shield breaks, blinds nearby enemies for 2 seconds.

*Blind: Basic attacks miss.

“Shield of Dawn, huh…”

I paused to think after confirming the skill’s effects.

The skill’s value was high, befitting a 3-Cost champion, but unfortunately, it wasn’t a skill that dealt direct damage.

It was a skill focused entirely on the tank role—similar in nature to my own Solid Exoskeleton.

“The best option would be to place Aurion in my position, but…”

The gold granted each round was too precious to spend on that.

For someone like me who struggled to save even 100 gold, the battlefield I could participate in once a month was a reliable source of income.

Gold was the fastest means for me to build my strength, so I had to secure as much gold as possible every time I entered a battlefield.

“I still have plenty of room.”

My current HP was 99.

Compared to the player at the very bottom with 40 HP, it was a very comfortable margin.

Unlike the game, the battlefield was designed to make HP management far more difficult.

Even when winning a battle, HP was consumed to re-hire fallen champions.

Therefore, HP management was a direct indicator of skill.

‘What’s this…?’

Checking my device, player 8, who had 91 HP, had dropped to 72 in a single round.

Looking at the other players’ HP situations…

‘Did they get matched with player 1?’

The only player whose HP hadn’t decreased was player 1.

Still sitting at 98 HP.

Just how powerful was their deck?

Feeling a hint of tension, I deployed the newly hired 3-Cost Shieldbearer Aurion in place of the 2-Cost Shieldbearer Ariel.

‘That makes four 3-Cost champions now.’

Since I wouldn’t remove myself from the battlefield unless absolutely necessary, this was the optimal deck composition for now.

“Time to start saving gold too.”

Now was the perfect time to recover the gold spent on early leveling—my win streak was unbroken, and my deck power was roughly where it needed to be.

I still needed 28 more experience points for the next level-up.

From level 7 onward, 4-Cost champions would appear in the shop, and 4-Cost champions were close to the highest tier one could encounter in a standard battlefield.

Supposedly, 5-Cost champions would appear at level 9, but reaching level 9 in a battlefield where HP management was harder than in the game was near impossible.

Round 3-2.

Dong- dong- dong-!

The preparation time ended, and the wall crumbled.

Two players had yet to be matched against each other.

Player 1 / Lv.5 / HP.98

Player 8 / Lv.5 / HP.72

I would likely face one of them this round.

I stood at the very front line of the battlefield, tense and watching straight ahead.

The battlefield opened up, revealing the enemy’s force composition.

Brawlers and mages.

It was a classic mage deck composition.

“I’ve won.”

With thousands upon tens of thousands of battles worth of experience, I assessed the enemy’s formation the instant I saw it.

But there was something I hadn’t anticipated.

Fwoosh-!

“Keugh-!”

Flames crawled up my body. The searing agony was so intense I couldn’t even scream.

The leather armor fused to my skin, and the blistering heat made it feel as though my entire body was melting away.

This was no ordinary pain.

‘An item?’

Even through that agony, I managed to heave my shield up.

After all, a burly champion was swinging fists at me from right up ahead.

Crunch-!

The shield caved in from the powerful impact, but compared to the flames consuming my body, it was almost laughable.

‘Hurry up!’

While I was personally enduring this torment, thankfully, my team’s champions weren’t just sitting idle.

“Uwooooh-!”

<<Throw (★)>>

Hurls the target at the farthest enemy. The thrown target and any enemy it collides with take 100 physical damage.

Vroom-!

Preta hurled the brawler champion that had been attacking me far across the field.

With high starting mana, the skill had been used not long after the battle began.

Next to act was the 3-Cost assassin champion Kajik, who had infiltrated the enemy’s rear.

<<Invisible Threat (★)>>

Enters stealth for 1 second. The first attack after stealth is guaranteed to hit and applies as a critical strike.

The target was, naturally, the champion positioned at the enemy’s rear.

As luck would have it, that champion was the mage who had taken damage from Preta’s skill.

Squelch-!

The low-HP mage champion couldn’t withstand the follow-up attack and dissolved into the light of the battlefield.

The focused assault on a single target wasn’t coincidence—I had positioned them that way deliberately.

A favorable 4-on-6 fight.

<<Solid Exoskeleton>>

Grants a shield that absorbs damage for 8 seconds. The shield absorbs damage equal to 40% of maximum HP.

“Huu-“

Only after activating the skill could I finally catch my breath and survey the battle.

Whizz- whizz-!

With the archers’ fire support melting the brawlers one by one.

And Kajik, his attack power boosted by the Despicable synergy, wreaking havoc in the enemy’s rear.

Kaaaak-!

The enemies fell one after another, until only the mage champion who had inflicted that agony on me remained.

Whether it was a final desperate struggle, the mage activated a skill—and my expression changed as I charged toward the last enemy standing, after reading the skill’s information.

Vwoomm-!

A red pentagram appeared on the battlefield floor.

<<Inferno (★★)>>

Creates pillars of fire dealing *240 magic damage to enemies in the area and inflicts burn.

“A 2-star skill? You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Huh?”

Boom-!

Fortunately, the target wasn’t me—it was the rear where the archers were positioned.

Two perfectly healthy champions dissolved into the light of the battlefield in an instant.

【+4G】

▶ Base reward of 4 gold has been granted.

【+3G】

▶ 7-win streak bonus of 3 gold has been granted.

【+1G】

▶ Interest reward of 1 gold has been granted.

*Gold held: 19G

The battle ended in victory, as expected, but I had taken unexpected losses.

To think a 1-Cost champion would possess a 2-star skill.

In most cases, champion enhancement only improved existing stats and skill performance.

However, if a champion already possessed a 2-star skill or higher, champion enhancement could unlock it.

Inferno was one of the 2-star skills that fire mages commonly learned.

For a 1-Cost champion to possess Inferno was quite rare.

【-2 HP】

▶ Used the Crystal Orb’s mana to re-hire the Noble Archer Seira.

【-3 HP】

▶ Used the Crystal Orb’s mana to re-hire the Wind Archer Yurai.

*Remaining HP: 94 HP

I spent 5 HP to re-hire the two archers who had died in this battle.

Since archers accounted for a significant portion of my deck’s damage output, I had revived them rather than selling them off.

“Damn it, what just happened?”

The Noble Archer Seira let out an uncharacteristically crude remark.

Then, after the battle ended, I checked the newly refreshed shop.

“Finally showed up.”

Something even more welcome than a 3-Cost champion had appeared.

《LV.6 Shop》

Mage of the Tree (★) – 2G

Bard of Darkness (★) – 2G

Shieldbearer (★) – 1G

I immediately hired the 1-Cost Shieldbearer and simultaneously proceeded with champion enhancement.

【-1G】

▶ Hired Shieldbearer Prechel (★).

【-3G】

▶ Terminated contracts with Shieldbearer ‘Johan’ and Shieldbearer ‘Prechel’ to enhance Shieldbearer ‘Lee Shin’.

*Gold held: 15G

Flash-!

Light descended from the battlefield’s sky and warmly enveloped my body.

‘Wow, I think I’m going to lose my mind.’

The sense of fulfillment radiating through my entire body was so overwhelming it nearly clouded my consciousness.

As the light faded and the champion enhancement completed, power surged through every fiber of my being.

Clench.

It felt as though I had shed my old shell and been reborn anew.

I was almost disappointed knowing this power would vanish the moment I left the battlefield.

Lee Shin (★★)

– Shieldbearer

– HP: 350/350

– Mana: 0/80

– Skill: Solid Exoskeleton (★★): Grants a shield that absorbs damage for 10 seconds. The shield absorbs damage equal to 60% of maximum HP.

Looking at HP alone, it had nearly doubled.

Though it wasn’t displayed, my actual combat capability had likely increased by a similar margin.

Since I hadn’t possessed a 2-star skill, the performance of my existing ‘Solid Exoskeleton’ had been enhanced.

Calculating the shield value alone, it was a staggering 210.

In terms of pure tanking ability, that meant I now surpassed even Aurion, a 3-Cost champion.

Among all these remarkable changes, what pleased me most was—

“3 gold per round now…!”

I had reached 3 gold in the battlefield’s value assessment.

Which meant the 1 gold I had been receiving after every battle had increased to 3 gold.

I couldn’t even begin to estimate how much gold I would receive in settlement after this battlefield ended.

“Was gold always this easy to accumulate?”

Hans’s words—that you needed to do ‘Albakgi’ to earn gold properly—finally clicked with me.

Round 3-3.

With my deck running smoothly, spending my remaining gold wouldn’t bring much change, so I saved it.

I needed to collect interest now.

‘I hope I can maintain the win streak.’

After this battle, the next round—3-4—would be a Shared Selection Round.

In the battlefield, win streak rewards could be earned even in non-combat rounds, so losing this match would be the worst-case scenario.

Dong- dong- dong-!

The preparation time ended, and the bell signaling the start of combat rang out.

“Ooh- it’s a shieldbearer!”

On the opposite side was the battlefield’s commander—a player.

A girl who still looked somewhat young had stepped out of the command room, her eyes gleaming.

In that moment, I knew instinctively.

If there was a turning point in this battlefield, it was this round.

*player 1 / Lv.5 / HP.98 – 7-win streak

Shieldbearer (4): Shieldbearers reduce damage taken from all attacks by 20.

Steel (2): Steel champions become immune to damage for 1 second when HP drops below 50%.

*player 6 / Lv.6 / HP.94 – 7-win streak

Shieldbearer (2): Shieldbearers reduce damage taken from all attacks by 10.

Archer (2): Archers gain 10% additional attack speed for each tile between the archer and the target.

Despicable (2): Despicable champions gain 20 attack power when they land the finishing blow on an enemy.

A 7-win streak and a 7-win streak.

Which meant one of them would have their streak broken this battle.