Chapter 113

“So you’re saying Seo Dami is a player on the level of Kato Mikane?”

“The speed measurement results clearly show she’s a player who approaches that level.”

“Do East Asians eat something special?”

“To think another player like this would appear. And from the same part of Asia, no less!”

“Anyway, let’s assume she’s a player outside the norm and focus on figuring out how to stop her.”

The meeting room set up in the hotel.

Nebula GC was busy analyzing Super Sylph’s game and devising a counter-strategy.

Various Analysis Coaches and players were discussing how to efficiently take down the team, analyzing Super Sylph’s weight class, strengths, and builds.

And watching this unfold, Nebula GC’s Ace, Rachel Dust, was silently lost in her own thoughts.

‘What in the world is that tactic?’

Super Sylph had completely crushed India’s Goa GC in their first Group Stage game.

And it wasn’t a game won by some elegant tactic or build-up, but a solo carry by a single player.

Rachel Dust focused on this point.

After being placed in the same group, the Nebula GC staff had analyzed every team’s matches.

They had focused on creating data on how each team had played, even going as far as to review their country’s Regular League and, if necessary, their matches from the previous year.

Hadn’t they even used improper methods to gather data to increase its reliability?

But Super Sylph had dominated the game with a Seo Dami one-person carry, something that wasn’t in the data at all.

It was as if they were saying, ‘This is what we planned to do if we met a strong team.’

‘Don’t tell me it was a fake?’

Rachel Dust thought that perhaps exposing the Double Sniper Operation was part of Super Sylph’s plan all along.

To draw attention to the Double Sniper from the start while preparing a different strategy.

That would certainly be a way to catch her off guard.

But she soon dismissed the idea as nonsensical.

‘They knew I was spying and planted a fake strategy to confuse my judgment? That’s ridiculous. Then where would they practice?’

The teams staying at the hotel provided by the German government and the UA Association had no proper place to practice other than the practice room in the hotel basement.

Considering the nature of Pro Gamers, whose senses begin to dull after just three days without playing, it seemed impossible.

‘Then are they really going to use the Double Sniper Operation against us?’

Rachel’s head ached.

She even thought it would have been better if she hadn’t known about the opponent’s practice situation.

Just as she was massaging her throbbing temples, the analysis staff cautiously asked for her opinion.

“Rachel, what do you think?”

“That’s right. You read their tactics perfectly last time, too.”

“When things get tough, you have to trust the Ace.”

“Rachel is the strongest in Western Europe, no, in all of Europe!”

At the staff’s words, Rachel smiled as if nothing was wrong.

She was the only one on this team who knew the secret to the Nebula GC Ace’s predictions.

No one else knew that she had even committed illegal acts to complete her counter builds for the sake of her career.

“I’ll think about it a little more. I don’t have a good feel for it yet.”

“Alright. Feel free to tell us anytime.”

After replying to them, Rachel got up and left the meeting room.

Then she grabbed her phone.

“It’s me. That thing we did last time. I need you to do it one more time. Yes. Tell them I’ll pay whatever it costs.”

The source of her headache.

To erase the doubt clouding her mind, she had no choice but to test the waters one more time.

That night.

Rachel gathered her teammates and the strategy analysis staff and opened her mouth, saying she had thought of a plan.

“I’d like us to prepare a response to the Double Sniper.”

“The Double Sniper, all of a sudden?”

In UA, where a team on the Battlefield consists of only five members, a tactic using two Snipers was extremely rare.

Moreover, since Super Sylph was a team that had never used a Double Sniper build before, the others couldn’t help but wonder about her reasoning.

Of course, Rachel had no proper excuse to offer.

How could she say, “I re-watched Super Sylph’s practice data, and they’re really going to use the Double Sniper. I saw them today, and they’ve gotten even better.”

So, Rachel had no choice but to make something up.

“That team has a Coach named Park Chaerin. I looked into her, and while she has almost no UA experience, she was a successful player in Gaia, even making it to the National Representative team. They say she originally handled a Sniper Rifle, so it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious.”

“A Coach from Gaia?”

“Hmm. Snipers have a lot of technical similarities, so that makes sense…!”

“Alright. Let’s trust our Ace and prepare for it. Rachel’s opinions have never been wrong.”

And so, Nebula GC began to flesh out their practice for the game against Super Sylph.

There were about 16 hours left until the match began.

A few hours before Nebula GC began their nighttime strategy meeting and practice.

Super Sylph, having decorated their match against Goa GC with a victory, went straight into practice without a moment’s rest.

Their next opponent was Nebula GC.

Not many people still thought Super Sylph could win against Nebula GC, who were called the strongest in Europe.

That was true even considering the fact that Seo Dami had leveled up.

UA was a team game, and in a showdown between world-class teams, the balance of the squad’s average abilities was extremely important.

But the atmosphere of Super Sylph, engrossed in practice, was not so bad.

It was just a little strange; their expressions seemed to say, ‘What kind of practice are we even doing?’

“I really don’t know what you guys are thinking.”

Coach Park Chaerin, who should have been watching over the players’ practice, was standing on the Battlefield with a Sniper Rifle, conducting shooting practice.

“We have to get our feel back anyway. To bring up our real-match senses for when we play Kamui.”

“That’s true. But you said we’re not going to use the Double Sniper against Nebula GC anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to do other practice then?”

“Ah, Coach. If you say that, it’s an NG.”

“NG…?”

As Coach Park Chaerin tilted her head, not understanding, Jung Yunseul shook her head and made an X with her hands. Seo Dami, watching from outside the capsule, was busy deleting records and managing the data.

“Anyway, I just need to do shooting practice, right?”

“Yes. I think you can shoot a little more sincerely this time than last time.”

During the last practice session.

Seo Dami and Jung Yunseul had asked Coach Park Chaerin to practice shooting poorly on purpose with them.

A Pro Gamer practicing how to shoot poorly.

The coach had grumbled that there was probably no other team in the world that did this kind of practice.

But what could she do?

The players were asking for it.

And for some unknown reason, they were players who repaid the time she invested in practice with results, so Coach Park Chaerin diligently listened to their requests.

“Unni, you should pick up your speed now too.”

“Me too?”

At Jung Yunseul’s order, Kim Dain wore an awkward expression.

“You’re the star tomorrow, Unni.”

“I’m the star…?”

“Considering the weight of the strategy, you’re the star. So let’s practice properly. If we lose tomorrow, Coach might not even get a chance to play as a player at all.”

That Coach Park Chaerin could also be in the Starting Lineup at any time.

This was something that had already been discussed within Super Sylph.

However, there was a condition: the opponent had to be Kamui.

To catch a strong team like Kamui off guard, an unexpected variable was needed, and everyone agreed that was the perfect timing for Coach Park Chaerin’s actual debut.

After the Skill upheaval update, Coach Park Chaerin’s skills showed superior power in many aspects compared to the team’s main Sniper, Kim Dain.

So, there would be no problem if Coach Park Chaerin took the field instead of Kim Dain.

But if they couldn’t beat Nebula GC, their advancement to the Main Round Tournament would become uncertain, so Coach Park Chaerin might not even get to step onto the real stage.

She said it was no big deal if she played or not, that it didn’t matter if she wasn’t in the Starting Lineup, but her teammates thought differently.

Because for someone who said it didn’t matter, the Coach was practicing way too hard.

‘What the. She says that, but she totally wants to play in the match.’

Watching Coach Park Chaerin practice harder than the active players, all the Super Sylph players had the same thought.

The Coach was twenty-nine years old.

If more time passed, a time would come when she couldn’t, no matter how strong her will was.

Even if Sniper was a position less affected by the decline in physical ability due to age, there was still a clear limit.

Coach Park Chaerin, who was secretly looking forward to her own debut.

For her sake, the players decided to put a little more effort into their practice.

Of course, they weren’t just working hard for the Coach.

Super Sylph was no longer just a small team from Korea.

They were in a situation where they were starting to receive worldwide attention, causing a storm in the tournament.

At this important time when they were gaining fans all over the world, all the team members shared the same desire to achieve the best results.

“Alright, shall we begin?”

“Let’s finish practice early today, have dinner, and get a good rest.”

Seo Dami, who had finished organizing the data, logged in again, and the practice resumed in earnest.

A situation where just one more win would secure their spot in the Tournament on their own.

Super Sylph began to run toward their goal of winning the championship.

-Woooooah!

-Nebula!

-Nebula!

World Stadium.

In the largest of the VR arenas operated by UA, fans chanting Nebula GC’s name were already doing the wave.

In contrast, the Super Sylph fans seemed somewhat dispirited.

It was inevitable, given the absolute number of them filling the arena seats was small.

Nebula GC was a traditional powerhouse that had consistently performed well in the European League for several years and had made numerous appearances on the World Championship stage.

On the other hand, while Super Sylph was the protagonist of an upset, they were just starting to make a name for themselves, so it was natural that their fan base would be smaller.

-Do you think we can win today?

-I believe in our kids….

-Dami told us to believe.

-General Seo will do it!

-Yeah! Let’s not lose and cheer them on!

-Su-per-Sylph!

A moment later, the players emerged from the two passages of the stadium.

Before entering the waiting rooms, the players waved and greeted the spectators filling the stadium.

The cheers for Nebula grew even louder, but the Super Sylph players, as if it didn’t matter, smiled brightly and greeted the fans who had come to see them.

They looked as if they weren’t nervous at all.

On the other hand, for some reason, Nebula GC’s Ace, Rachel Dust, couldn’t seem to relax her expression even amidst the passionate cheers from the crowd.

It was obvious at a glance that she was in a very bad mood.

The reason was simple.

‘I’ve been had…’

Super Sylph’s starting player entry, which she had only been able to obtain right before the start.

Each team had to submit their list of participating players to the event staff in advance for the smooth running of the game.

But Super Sylph had waited until the very last second of the deadline to provide their list.

Because of that, Nebula GC could only confirm the opponent’s roster late, but what was this?

Looking at the list, Coach Park Chaerin, who was expected to play, was absent, and the member composition was the same as in the Goa GC match.

What that meant was clear.

The strategy Super Sylph had prepared for today was not the Double Sniper.

“What? I guess it’s not the Double Sniper?”

“Even our Ace’s predictions can be wrong sometimes.”

The Nebula GC players thought, ‘These things happen,’ and didn’t think much of it, but the shock Rachel received was much greater.

Hadn’t she confirmed over and over that they were practicing the same strategy?

She had seen with her own two eyes that both the density and skill of the strategy were improving.

‘They were practicing the Double Sniper yesterday too! So why!’

Super Sylph’s decision was incomprehensible, no matter how much she thought about it.

If they weren’t going to use it today, then why on earth did they practice it?

Could it be that they were looking down on them?

That was impossible.

They were a world-class, top-level team, rated higher than Goa GC.

What if the Double Sniper Operation was prepared for the match against Kamui, and they planned to use the same old strategy from the Goa GC match against them…?

If they really pulled something like that, Rachel Dust clenched and unclenched her fists, enduring her boiling anger, thinking about the carnage she would inflict on the Battlefield.

‘If that’s really what you’re thinking, I’ll crush you.’

As Rachel Dust reined in her anger and took a deep breath, the game began.

The 1st Set Battlefield was the Garden of the Gods.

It was a Domination Battle where a Buff Object would spawn at the Control Point.

Nebula GC employed a standard build-up, sending one Sweeper to the outskirts while the other four fought in the center.

The speed at which the players deployed was truly worthy of a world-class team.

The way they wielded Acceleration, flowing like water, was anything but ordinary.

“They’re coming!”

It was then.

Rachel Dust, sensing the presence of an approaching enemy player from the front, warned her teammates.

Who could it be?

Seo Dami? Or Jung Yunseul?

As a Smoke Screen exploded and an Attack came in, Rachel Dust quickly activated her Red Sight skill.

She saw a silhouette moving through the smoke.

A bit shorter than Seo Dami.

The enemy vanguard attempting the Attack with nimble movements was Jung Yunseul.

‘Nice catch. I’ll break their momentum in the early game!’

Sparks flew from Rachel Dust’s eyes as she confirmed her opponent’s identity.

It wasn’t Seo Dami, so she thought she could easily break Jung Yunseul. She immediately raised her Rifle and attempted a Burst Fire.

Rat-tat-tat!

Controlling the Rifle’s recoil with a steady rhythm, Rachel Dust, with Acceleration cast on her, began her attack.

At the same time, Nebula GC’s Supporter behind her, Pauline, cast a double Acceleration on Rachel.

Acceleration on top of Acceleration.

Empowered by the Double Buff, Rachel’s speed was momentarily impossible to follow with the naked eye.

But surprisingly, Jung Yunseul didn’t fall behind Rachel’s speed.

By deploying a minimal Shield and dodging the critical attacks altogether, Jung Yunseul successfully deflected Rachel Dust’s assault.

She must have received a buff from her Supporter before the Attack.

But even so, for her to respond so naturally was unexpected.

‘This kid… was she this skilled?’

Rachel’s eyebrow twitched.

If it weren’t for Kato Mikane, she was a player who would undoubtedly be in the discussion for the world’s strongest.

But for a young player not even twenty years old to keep up with her tempo.

Just as Rachel momentarily suspected the opponent was using a Double Supporter strategy, Jung Yunseul, who had been in a power struggle, parted her lips and showed a relaxed demeanor.

“Watch your back~.”

Watch my back?

Rachel wondered what that meant but didn’t dare turn her head.

She had an ominous feeling that if she ignored the enemy in front of her and turned her head, her own Health Bar would explode.

‘Damn it all!’

To be tied down by someone like Jung Yunseul, not even Seo Dami?

In that moment of anger at her own weakness, Rachel’s eyes widened.

With a bang, the portrait of one of her teammates turned gray.

What in the world was happening?

The one who had retired after their Health Gauge was completely depleted was none other than their Defender.

The position boasting the strongest Defense Power had been taken down with a single shot.

-Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah-!!!

The stadium’s cheer boiled over like an erupting volcano.

The match between Super Sylph and Nebula GC was beginning to flow in a completely different direction than expected.