The day of the tournament.

Hans headed to the arena early in the morning to participate in the preliminaries.

I thought I might have four days without any incidents, but…

This morning, I was summoned to the battlefield once again.

My pessimistic mood had been somewhat relieved by the drinking session that day.

‘Let’s think positively. I’m improving every year, aren’t I?’

At first, I couldn’t even dream of becoming a champion.

But now, I was a proper 1-Cost Shieldbearer with a skill of my own.

I couldn’t sense mana, but I could still develop further somehow!

My limit was indeed 1-Cost.

However, being 1-Cost didn’t mean success was impossible.

In fact, among all the champion tiers, the 1-Cost line was the most specialized, where the gap in skill was the most extreme.

They were a bunch of freaks trying to squeeze out maximum efficiency from minimal mana.

Countless hours of research and effort culminated in the creation of 2-star skills.

And taking it one step further resulted in 3-star skills.

These were such advanced techniques that they were difficult to find even across the entire Empire.

And only champions possessing such 3-star skills could attain something special.

It was a title granted only to champions directly appointed by the Empire, permitting them to use their own names on the battlefield.

The title of ‘Named’.

My body couldn’t sense mana anyway.

If I couldn’t raise my Cost, I just needed to reach the absolute pinnacle as a 1-Cost Champion.

As always, I just needed to keep pushing forward steadily.

Dong- dong-!

Along with the bell signaling the start of the round, I renewed my resolve.

Bang-!

‘Shit!’

The Gunslinger, the current mainstream meta.

I was forced out of the battlefield by a single skill from the enemy Gunslinger champion before I could even fill my mana.

“Hu-u- No wonder Shield Bearers are being pushed out.”

The ‘Armor Penetration’ synergy attached to the Gunslinger class was essentially a hard counter to Shield Bearers.

For someone like me, who had lower health than even the average shieldbearer, the impact felt even greater.

“Should I change my class?”

It was such a powerless death that it made me question the shieldbearer class itself.

Dying without any notable achievements, I ended today’s battlefield with a mere 1 gold profit and no re-employment.

I habitually visited the shieldbearer Guild to settle my gold, but…

“Yes- I’ll help you with your settlement.”

“Th-thank you.”

Since Hans, my usual clerk, was absent, I ended up spending an awkward moment with a staff member I was meeting for the first time.

‘I wonder if he’s doing well.’

I had roughly explained the Hardcore Assassin deck strategy to him, but since he had never actually operated it, his proficiency was close to zero.

In truth, Assassin was one of the less highly regarded synergies.

– Assassins leap to the enemy’s rear at the start of combat, and their first attack deals bonus physical damage.

(2) 130% Attack Power bonus damage

(4) 200% Attack Power bonus damage

(6) 300% Attack Power bonus damage

Compared to the Gunslinger’s always-active Armor Penetration synergy, there was bound to be a difference in cumulative damage.

The fact that most Assassin champions were melee attackers was also a major drawback.

They were especially powerless against tank-heavy decks featuring Brawlers, Knights, or Shield Bearers.

“Hans said he was in Sector 4, right?”

The sun was already high in the sky, meaning the preliminaries held in the morning must have ended a long time ago.

To quickly check the news, I sought out my personal information hub in front of the guild.

After looking around and confirming no one was there…

Fumble.

“Here it is.”

My personal information hub.

Having acquired today’s edition of the Luteran regional newsletter from the trash can in front of the guild, I paid for it with a satisfied smile and quickly left the area before anyone could see me.

‘Saved some money.’

The Empire, lacking much entertainment, had incredibly fast information transmission thanks to the fraudulent device known as the Device.

The newsletters, which served a similar role to newspapers, became faster and more accurate to outcompete their rivals.

I had no idea what methods they used, but if something interesting happened in Luteran, a newsletter containing the details would begin distribution within five minutes.

The price of a newsletter wasn’t too burdensome, so many people read them once and threw them away, making it easy to find discarded copies in areas with heavy foot traffic.

‘Of course, the competition is fierce, too.’

The trash can in front of the guild was my personal treasure vault, discovered over my three years living in Luteran.

“Let’s see…”

– Notice: Results of the 1st Preliminaries for the Einthoven Hosted Private Battlefield.

<Sector 3 1st Preliminary Results>

<Sector 1 1st Preliminary Results>

<Sector 4 1st Preliminary Results>

<Sector 2 1st Preliminary Results>

The results were already out by the time I returned from the battlefield.

I checked the results for Sector 4, where Hans was participating.

And immediately found a familiar name.

1st Place. Chasey Einthoven

“Bad luck.”

The Young Lady of the Einthoven family, the overwhelming favorite to win, was placed in the same Sector 4 as Hans.

True to her reputation, she ranked 1st.

Below her, the names and rankings of the participants were listed in order.

It didn’t take long to find Hans’s name.

Grin.

Having played through many seasons, I knew.

“Meta isn’t the meta for nothing.”

<Sector 4 1st Preliminary Results>

1st Place. Chasey Einthoven

2nd Place. Randolph

3rd Place. Hans

4th Place. Gray William

.

…

…

Hans recorded 3rd place in the first preliminaries. He had advanced.

***

A woman of such beauty that any man would inevitably react.

Chasey Einthoven, the Young Lady of the Einthoven family also known as the Flower of Luteran, was staring intently at a man.

Men feeling a twinge of jealousy followed her gaze, but…

All they could see was a thoroughly unremarkable man with an unkempt, wildly growing beard.

As Chasey watched him, a faint crease formed on her smooth brow.

“Who is that man?”

The unwavering composure emphasized by her father, the excellent player Federer Einthoven, had been slightly shaken.

It was only natural.

“Oh, I got 3rd place!”

She had suffered a defeat in one round against that seemingly unremarkable, nameless man.

Of course, since she hadn’t lost any other rounds, her health hadn’t dropped below 80, but…

‘If it weren’t for Sir Randolph in 2nd place, I might have lost again…’

This was not something to be taken lightly.

At first, she thought he was similar to the other players.

No, she thought he was even less skilled.

Because he seemed like someone who knew nothing about troop composition and positioning, the very basics of the battlefield.

The battles she had faced him in before were the same.

‘It’s that man again. Why does he insist on only using Assassins?’

A man who hired only Assassins from start to finish.

Chasey couldn’t understand him at all.

A troop composition consisting of simply six Assassin champions and one frontline shieldbearer.

‘Items…?’

If he had at least funneled all his items onto the Assassins, she might have been able to understand his intent.

Instead, he had equipped all his items onto a single shieldbearer.

Chasey couldn’t understand the man.

Funneling items onto a shieldbearer with no synergy?

“Maybe my standards are just too high.”

Ultimately, Chasey concluded that the man was utterly talentless.

It was Chasey’s first time actually participating in a battlefield as a player.

Having received early education from her father since childhood, the knowledge she had accumulated was naturally different from others.

Because of that, she seemed to have failed to consider the knowledge level of an average player.

She had expected an easy victory before the battle even began.

She had composed a Druid & Gunslinger deck.

The combination of Druids with excellent sustain and Gunslingers suited for prolonged battles was a powerful setup that didn’t permit a single round of defeat.

With two Core Items crafted using combination formulas, there was no visible chance of her losing.

Dong- dong-

Along with the resounding toll of the bell, the battle against the strange man began.

As the battle started, the Assassins positioned in the rear all hid themselves at once.

The Assassins, disappearing from sight through stealth, headed for the very back of the battlefield.

Because of this, the visible shieldbearer was inevitably the one taking all the focused attacks.

Scramble-

<<Prism Shield>>

The shieldbearer used his skill the moment the battle started.

The way a champion filled their mana was simple.

By dealing or taking hits.

Under the focused attacks of seven champions, the Shieldbearer’s mana filled up in an instant.

Thanks to the funneled items, he was able to survive and use his skill.

<<Prism Shield>>

Enters a defensive stance for 3 seconds to dodge all attacks. When the stance ends, the shield shatters, dealing magic damage to nearby enemies.

The 3-Cost Shieldbearer had quite a good skill.

Thanks to that, he was able to buy 3 seconds amidst the focused attacks of seven champions.

*Assassins leap to the enemy’s rear at the start of combat, and their first attack deals bonus physical damage.

Using that window of time, the Assassins finally revealed themselves.

This was the moment anxiety began to bloom in Chasey’s heart as she watched the tide of battle.

“The formation…!”

There were three Druid champions positioned in the front.

The number of Gunslingers in the rear was four.

Then, what was the number of Assassins?

*Assassin (6): First attack deals 300% Attack Power as bonus physical damage

As the synergy indicated, there were six Assassin champions.

Which meant…

Whizz- whizz-!

That there was inevitably a champion taking two or more attacks.

The Assassin synergy that dealt 300% Attack Power as bonus physical damage on the first attack.

Even a frail Gunslinger could withstand a single attack, but…

Crunch-!

“Keuaak-!”

It wasn’t enough to survive a second.

Two Gunslingers lost their lives in an instant. In the meantime, 3 seconds had passed.

Boom-!

The shieldbearer, whose skill duration had ended, was also reduced to dust on the battlefield.

“Please support the rear!”

The three Druids, having dealt with the enemies in front of them, hurriedly approached the Assassins, spurred by Chasey’s desperate cry, but…

The six Assassins, already targeting the Gunslingers, were continuing their assault.

Bang-!

Kuack-

In the midst of it all, a Gunslinger champion with a Core Item took down one Assassin.

“Damn it, too late!”

Despite their haste, the shieldbearer had stolen quite a lot of time, leaving the Gunslingers all already fallen.

Eventually, three Druids and five Assassins faced off on the battlefield.

Since a fair amount of time had passed since the battle began, the champions with full mana each used their skills.

<<Salvation>>

Fully restores health to any ally whose health has dropped below 50%.

<<Golden Scales>>

Strengthens scales for 2 seconds to reduce damage taken. Then roars to recover health and apply a damage-absorbing shield to adjacent allies.

The Druids’ skills activated first.

The Assassins, who had a poor matchup against tanks, couldn’t easily whittle down the Druids’ health.

Instead, the fragile Assassins were taking greater damage.

But if they kept enduring like that…

The Assassins would use their skills as well.

<<Invisible Predator>>

Leaps to the enemy with the lowest defense and deals physical damage.

<<Red Rose>>

Swings a blade whip through a target, dealing physical damage. Instantly reuses the skill if the target dies.

The Assassins’ skills were used in succession.

Even the sturdy Druids eventually had their limits.

“…”

The red crystal orb that represented health.

A single crack appeared in Chasey’s flawless crystal orb.

The man who had given her her first defeat on the battlefield.

She never met him again, as his crystal orb must have shattered in the subsequent battles.

“It was a good match, Lady Chasey. I won’t lose next time.”

“I feel the same way, Sir Randolph.”

Randolph, who had suffered a defeat at Chasey’s hands in the final battle, offered his greetings, but…

Unlike her mechanical response, Chasey’s gaze was directed not at Randolph, but beyond him.

The man rejoicing as he looked at the ranking board.

Looking at him, Chasey thought.

‘Assassins…’

The recently trending Gunslinger meta.

It might not be a bad choice to counter that deck.