The top priority for rerolls was gathering 1-Cost Shield Bearers.

The second priority was securing Bard numbers.

The core of this deck was ‘Shieldbearer Lee Shin,’ but the main synergy would ultimately be Bards.

Since the Bards’ mana pumping had to serve as the foundation to generate sufficient deck power, I planned to fill the remaining headcount entirely with Bards.

For the shieldbearer role, I alone was enough.

【-2G】

▶ Spent 2 Gold to refresh the shop’s roster.

【-2G】

▶ Spent 2 Gold to hire a Darkness Bard (★).

【-2G】

▶ Spent 2 Gold to refresh the shop’s roster.

【-2G】

▶ Spent 2 Gold to refresh the shop’s roster.

【-1G】

▶ Spent 1 Gold to hire a Shieldbearer (★).

…

..

.

I poured all the Gold I had into refreshing the shop.

Since the combat preparation time allotted per round wasn’t particularly long, this phase also demanded swift judgment and physical dexterity.

‘The champion waiting room is lacking space.’

The champion waiting room was divided into a total of 10 slots, and right now, they were completely full without an empty seat.

To secure empty slots, I temporarily deployed three Bards, including myself, onto the battlefield.

With open slots now available, it was time to reroll again.

I kept rolling rerolls until I ran low on Gold.

【-2G】

▶ Spent 2 Gold to refresh the shop’s roster.

【-1G】

▶ Spent 1 Gold to hire a Shieldbearer (★).

【-2G】

▶ Spent 2 Gold to refresh the shop’s roster.

【-2G】

▶ Spent 2 Gold to hire a Darkness Bard (★).

*Gold Owned: 1G

As a result of investing 50 Gold into the shop, I managed to newly hire four 1-Cost Shield Bearers, one 1-Cost Bard, and two 2-Cost Bards.

My current champion inventory looked like this.

1-Cost Shieldbearer (★) x 6

1-Cost Bard (★) x 3

2-Cost Light Bard (★) x 1

2-Cost Darkness Bard (★) x 1

“This is a pretty good roll.”

Since I had spent time on refreshes, there wasn’t much left until combat began.

I quickly assessed my situation through my Device.

Player 8 / Lv.4 / HP.64 – 5 Loss Streak

64 Health.

If this had been a standard battlefield without a wager on the line, I would have taken another round loss to accumulate the Gold needed for champion enhancement.

However, Stage 3 inflicted 10 Health damage upon defeat.

Considering the Health cost required to rehire dead champions, this was my Maginot Line.

I sold the Darkness Bard I had just hired back to the shop.

【+2G】

▶ Terminated the contract with ‘Darkness Bard Crimson (★)’.

*Gold Owned: 3G

Then, I reinvested the Gold.

【-3G】

▶ Terminating contracts with Shieldbearer ‘Pukora’ and Shieldbearer ‘Yune’ to enhance Shieldbearer ‘Lee Shin’.

Flash-!

The light of the battlefield enveloped my body.

I shuddered at the sensation of fulfillment radiating through my entire being.

A feeling I couldn’t get used to, no matter how many times I experienced it.

The light faded quickly, and the champion enhancement was complete.

Lee Shin (★★) – 3G

– Shieldbearer

– Health: 375/375

– Mana: 0/80

– Skill: Solid Exoskeleton (★★): Gain a shield that absorbs damage for 10 seconds. The shield is applied at 60% of maximum Health.

There was no time to bask in the sentiment.

The start of combat was right around the corner.

Time remaining: 5 seconds.

– All Shieldbearers to the battlefield!

I sent all the Bards back to the waiting room and deployed all the 1-Cost Shield Bearers, including myself, onto the battlefield.

I excluded the Bards because their synergy only activated with even numbers—2, 4, 6.

My current level was 4.

Excluding my own slot, I could only field three more champions.

Rather than awkwardly fielding three Bards, it was better to activate the shieldbearer (4) synergy.

Dong- dong- dong-!

The bell signaling the start of combat rang out.

Player 8 / Lv.4 / HP.64 – 5 Loss Streak

– Shieldbearer (4): Damage taken by Shieldbearers from all attacks is reduced by 20.

Player 5 / Lv.5 / HP.93 – 5 Win Streak

– Brawler (4): Brawler maximum Health increases by +200.

Player 5 had chosen the Brawler deck, nicknamed the Early Thug.

Four Brawler champions and one Mage champion backing them up.

A total of five champions were positioned on the battlefield, and behind them stood a single player, arms crossed, watching the battlefield.

“A five-loss streak? Don’t know who it is, but their skills are pathetic.”

As if his sense of distance was distorted, the guy looked massive despite being far away.

Player Melchapin.

The name of the guy who had bet an Item combination formula against me.

‘He must be confident.’

Most players holed up in their command rooms to avoid giving away information.

Knowing who the player was usually gave a rough idea of what deck they would use.

He was the first in this battlefield to step outside the command room and reveal his face.

‘I’ll have to fight him to find out.’

I tried to gauge the outcome, but I couldn’t rashly predict victory or defeat.

The Brawler deck didn’t earn the nickname Early Thug for nothing.

The simple synergy of maximum Health increase was nothing short of a formidable wall in early-stage combat.

Of course, it would lose its edge in the later stages, but with my current troop composition, he was undoubtedly a very tricky opponent.

I was just one step away from completing my deck, and of all people, I had to run into the guy currently ranked first.

Stage 3 inflicted 10 Health damage upon defeat.

The champions on my battlefield were 1-Cost Shield Bearers that I absolutely had to rehire.

If I lost this round, the odds of losing the bet would skyrocket.

Therefore, I absolutely could not lose.

Clench.

Gripping my shield tighter, I stared straight ahead with sharp eyes.

The Player’s job was done, but my job as a champion still remained.

A disadvantageous 4-versus-5 fight.

‘The only one I can rely on is myself.’

“Euaaaah-!!”

The Brawler champions possessed absurd Health pools, but it wasn’t a synergy suited for offensive prowess.

With the shieldbearer synergy active, the damage I took from all attacks was reduced.

In other words, I could withstand their hits.

Clang-!

Blocking the enemy’s fist, I immediately swung my shield horizontally.

Trickle-

The Dice of Fortune effect triggered.

Boom-!

The swiftly swung shield struck the Brawler’s head hard.

[Dice of Fortune x1: Attack power and spell power increase by +7.]

Crash-!

Taking advantage of the enemy rolling on the ground, I glanced sideways to assess the battlefield situation.

“Come on, you bastard!”

“What, was that supposed to be a hit? Didn’t even tickle.”

The Brawlers and shieldbearers ran their mouths to provoke each other.

They exchanged attacks while employing the efficient method of one curse word per strike.

‘This fight is going to drag on.’

Since both Brawlers and shieldbearers belonged to tanking-type synergies, neither side was inflicting significant damage on the other.

But this kind of stalemate was an incredibly positive situation for me, possessing a Stack-type Item.

Because it gave me ample time to build stacks.

“Euaaaah-!”

The Brawler champion who had risen from the floor charged at me again.

Perhaps due to being thoroughly agitated, his movements had become grander.

Which meant his attack trajectory was obvious.

Clang-!

I swung my shield upward, deflecting the opponent’s fist.

The fist shot into the sky. The guy ended up with his arms thrown wide open, naturally creating an opening in his abdomen.

Hwirik-

Defense and attack flowed together like water.

Vroom-!

Setting the shield vertically, I thrust it forward forcefully.

Thwack-!

The edge of the shield struck the enemy’s solar plexus hard.

[Dice of Fortune x2: Attack power and spell power increase by +14.]

“Kkeuaaah-“

The enemy champion was in considerable pain.

Perhaps his breathing had momentarily stopped, as he gagged in agony.

I raised my shield to prepare for the next attack, but the guy showed no movement.

‘What a rookie.’

As a champion, he should know how to fight through such pain, yet he was missing his chance to attack because he was groaning in agony.

“What are you doing, attack him now!”

Melchapin shouted, but the guy only looked at me with terrified eyes.

I could empathize with the champion’s feelings to some extent, but from a Player’s perspective, it was definitely an infuriating situation.

A guy like this wouldn’t perform properly even if given good skills and items.

He was no different from the so-called Blank.

“D-Don’t come any closer!”

His will to fight was broken, but thanks to the Brawler synergy, his Health was still plentiful.

He was the perfect opponent for stacking the Dice of Fortune.

Boom-!

[Dice of Fortune x3: Attack power and spell power increase by +21.]

The enemy, plunged into a state of panic, couldn’t mount a proper counterattack and merely served as a punching bag.

‘He probably won’t return to the battlefield after today.’

There are occasionally champions like this.

People who boldly participate in the battlefield, but whose spirits break because they cannot endure the pain.

Among champions, who always accompany violence and death, very few retained their sanity.

Either adapt to the battlefield and continue the life of a champion.

Or fail to adapt, abandon the champion status, and return to being an ordinary person.

A strong mentality was an essential virtue for a champion.

‘Come to think of it, I’m the weird one.’

Most champions took sufficient rest after participating in a single battlefield.

Even at the shieldbearer Guild, I had never seen a champion who participated in battlefields several times a week like me.

Back when I was treated as a ‘Blank,’ I thought that was the case because I only participated in a single round of combat.

Others would fight several consecutive rounds, so their battlefield Aftermath would naturally be more severe.

However, there was something that couldn’t be explained simply by such logic.

Now that I was both a champion and a player, I was fighting continuously from beginning to end of the battlefield, yet I was perfectly fine.

Rather, when a battlefield ended, only enjoyment and a lingering sense of disappointment remained.

Trickle-

Boom-!

[Dice of Fortune x4: Attack power and spell power increase by +28.]

Thanks to landing every attack as a critical hit, I had already stacked four.

The allied shieldbearers besides me were being pushed back due to numerical inferiority, but it didn’t matter much.

As long as I built stacks, I could take on multiple opponents alone even if I was the last one standing.

“Keoheok-!”

The moment the enemy I was facing vanished, two allied shieldbearers fell.

“Alright-! Keep attacking!”

The Brawler champions, emboldened, rushed in to finish off the remaining enemies.

A 2-versus-4 fight.

I glanced at Melchapin standing outside the battlefield.

His body was large, and consequently, his face was large too, making his expression clearly visible.

“Kkeol-kkeol-! A six-win streak.”

The guy’s face was full of smiles and confidence.

‘I’ll wipe that expression off your face.’

The two Brawlers whose opponent had disappeared split up and headed for me and another shieldbearer.

“Damn it-!”

<<Defensive Stance (★)>>

Gain an 80-point shield for 5 seconds, reducing damage taken by 40%. Attack power is reduced by 40%.

As it happened, the shieldbearer targeted by the two Brawlers and the Mage tried to hold out by using a skill, but it wasn’t enough.

Still, he could endure a hit or two, and during that time, I continued building stacks using the Brawler champion right in front of me.

[Dice of Fortune x5: Attack power and spell power increase by +35.]

I succeeded with two attacks, but unfortunately, one didn’t trigger a critical hit.

It couldn’t be helped, since I couldn’t land a perfect attack every single time.

Thud-!

Still, thanks to the attack power increased by stacks, I was able to dispatch the enemy with just two attacks.

Furthermore, the Dice of Fortune didn’t just have an attack power increase effect.

It also had a spell power increase effect.

<<Solid Exoskeleton (★★)>>

– Gain a shield that absorbs damage for 10 seconds. The shield is applied at *81% of maximum Health.

Vwoomm-!

375 maximum Health.

A shield equivalent to 81% of maximum Health.

A shield exceeding a whopping 300 points was generated, giving me what was essentially an extra life.