Chapter 115

I concluded that it would be difficult to win this match unless we revealed more of the trump cards we had.

That’s how outstanding Nebula GC’s game performance was.

The reason the situation had turned out this way was our failure to take down our opponent in the 2nd-floor engagement, despite having a two-to-one advantage.

The Kim Dain and Shin Aram duo was failing to score against Lucille.

Of course, this was a picture we had anticipated before the game even started.

Nebula GC was a world-class team.

We already knew that each and every one of their players had higher stats than our team.

If Kim Dain had managed to take down Lucille, she could have provided support fire toward the 1st floor, which would have allowed us to change the situation somehow, but in a stalemate, there was nothing we could do.

And as the enemy Dealers, who had received a Double Buff, rushed in and gained the upper hand in firepower in the 1st-floor engagement, the balance of the match crumbled.

When I came to my senses, the score was double theirs to ours.

It wasn’t a huge point difference since it was still the early game, but the flow was clearly one of us being crushed.

I had Hwang Jua and Dami switch back to Supporters, and I, receiving all their buffs, tried to fight back using the Power of the Ley Line, but it wasn’t enough.

They were in a thorough hit-and-run formation.

When I charged, Nebula GC would try to keep that Attacker alive as long as possible while aiming to attack the opposite side.

For example, if I rushed in to get Rachel Dust, Rachel Dust would buy time with evasive maneuvers, and Rina Arnie, who had run to the opposite side, would wipe out Dami and Hwang Jua. That was the pattern.

It was already a disadvantageous fight between Supporters and an Attacker.

On top of that, since the enemy had the upper hand in buffs, our Supporters had no way of holding out.

-Are we going to lose…?

-We’ll win.

-Win what! We’re losing!

-ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-Save Dami!

-Save Yunseuli…

The game time for a Deathmatch Battlefield is 15 minutes.

With over 5 minutes already passed, Yunseuli shouted in my head as if she had made up her mind.

<It can’t go on like this. We have no choice but to pull out one of our secret weapons.>

‘……’

<If we lose like this, they’re all strategies we won’t even get to use anyway!>

She was right.

But every time we unwrapped a bundle here, the probability of us beating Kamui would drop exponentially.

‘Of all the Battlefields, why did it have to be Arcfactory.’

The fact that the Battlefield was split into a 1st and 2nd floor.

The fact that even with a Double Supporter setup, we couldn’t fully push our firepower to the entire team was working against us.

<Then what about telling Dain Unni to come down?>

Yunseuli asked what I thought about abandoning the 2nd floor entirely and having our team gather on the 1st floor for a power struggle.

But that wasn’t the right answer either.

If Shin Aram and Kim Dain were to rendezvous on the 1st floor, it would reduce the chances of our rear being blown open by Rina Arnie’s breakthrough, but on the other hand, the enemy Sniper would be free to snipe at us from the 2nd floor at her leisure.

And because of their relatively easier positioning, they would continue to secure the Objective advantage.

I could predict that no matter which way we went, the development would be disadvantageous for us.

‘Should I reveal a strategy…?’

Even if we did reveal a hidden strategy, there was only one we could use.

Since Coach Park Chaerin wasn’t in today’s player entry, the only strategy we could use was Yunseuli’s conversion to a Supporter.

We were facing an opponent we couldn’t beat even with Seo Dami and Hwang Jua as Double Supporters.

Even if Dami went back to being an Attacker and we put Yunseul in as a Supporter, the opponent would only be flustered for a moment.

It wouldn’t be easy to catch up to the score gap that had begun to widen.

‘Let’s just give up this set.’

<Are you really giving it up…?>

‘No matter how I think about it, the Deathmatch Battlefield is disadvantageous for us. I think it’s better to aim for the 3rd set.’

<If that’s what you say, Oppa…>

Yunseuli nodded her head, saying she would follow my decision anytime.

And so, time passed listlessly.

It was a set we couldn’t win.

But there was one important point here.

Although we had mentally given up on the possibility of victory to some extent, we couldn’t let the opponent notice.

Even if we were going to lose, we had to drain the opponent’s stamina in this round.

I ordered them to cling to the enemy until the very end and asked my teammates to run a little more.

And so, 15 minutes passed.

Only when sweat was pouring down our bodies and we were gasping for breath could we return to the Waiting Room.

Score 22 to 51.

It was our complete defeat.

-Who do you think you are!

-A hundred years too early for victory!

-Nebula!

-Nebula!

-Nebula!

It was as if the World Stadium was the enemy’s home arena.

The spectators shouted the names of Nebula GC and Rachel Dust in loud voices.

We had to return to the Waiting Room while hearing the boos of “Booo-!”

Looking at my teammates, whose momentum had somewhat died down, I recalled a past event.

The day Kato Mikane had warned me about Nebula GC’s illegal data collection.

After that, I had sent Kato an additional message.

-Can’t we just report them?

Illegally collecting another team’s practice data was clearly an act deserving of disciplinary action.

Wasn’t it a criminal act committed by bribing the staff of the team houses where each team was staying?

At best, Nebula GC would be disqualified from the tournament, and even if it didn’t go that far, there was a very high possibility that Rachel Dust would be barred from competing.

If that happened, it would be the same as cutting off Nebula GC’s arms and legs.

For us, who belonged to the group of death, Group D, it was a picture we couldn’t help but welcome.

It meant eliminating a powerful competitor in advance.

But to my opinion, Kato had said this.

-If I was going to report them, I would have just done it myself. Why do you think I told you?

-Then why… did you tell me?

-So you can at least play a game without being wronged. Leave Nebula GC alone. I’ll take care of it.

I didn’t know what on earth she meant by “take care of it,” but in any case, as a price for temporarily turning a blind eye to Nebula GC’s misdeeds, we were now on the verge of defeat.

‘Damn it. Should I have just reported them back then and gotten rid of them?’

Regretting it now was spilled milk.

All that was left was to pray that we got a good Battlefield for the 3rd set.

The worst-case scenario would be getting Boundary, another Deathmatch Battlefield.

There were four Battlefields left, and I watched the scoreboard, praying to avoid just that 25 percent chance.

“The 3rd set Battlefield is…! Enterprise!”

Hearing the Caster’s shout, I let out a sigh of relief.

We avoided a Deathmatch.

The 3rd set Battlefield was Enterprise.

On a One-on-One Battlefield with no Respawn, we had a good enough chance.

“What are we going to do this set?”

Shin Aram asked Dami.

Once in-game, Shin Aram would give the orders regarding timing, but the team’s spiritual pillar had been Seo Dami for quite some time.

Of course, that spiritual pillar was currently looking at me.

Her eyes were asking, “What should we do?”

“Let’s pay them back. But this time, our way.”

As I spoke through Yunseuli’s mouth, everyone’s gazes focused on her.

And soon, the players’ eyes widened.

An order that hadn’t been given during practice had come out.

But their surprise was only for a moment; as Seo Dami threw her support behind the opinion, everyone nodded.

“Then… let’s get our fighting spirit up and go.”

When Dami extended her hand first, everyone stacked their hands on top of hers in a friendly manner.

“Let’s win!”

“One, two, three!”

“Super Sylph, fighting!”

-Fighting!!!!

The curtain rose on the 3rd set as we pumped ourselves up with the fans.

“Whew. They were a better team than I thought.”

“Don’t let your guard down.”

Although they had won the 2nd set easily, the atmosphere in Nebula GC wasn’t entirely bright.

Set score 1:1.

Their opponent was the weakest team in Group D, the Korean team they thought they would beat without trouble.

Some of the Nebula GC players didn’t even know where the country of Korea was.

That’s how faint Korea’s presence was in the UA.

“We’ll proceed calmly, as we always do.”

Rachel Dust ordered them to focus and gave her instructions.

With the new meta season, the perfection of strategy on Enterprise depended on how well one utilized the Illusion Skill.

The reason Illusions were mainly used on Enterprise was, for one, because the attack routes were long and straight.

This Clone skill was easy to distinguish by intuition when seen up close, but from a distance, it inevitably took time to tell them apart.

Moreover, since the Illusion Skill was, true to its name, a phantom, one couldn’t expect it to have the Attack Power to take down opponents and score.

Then was it a skill with low Mana consumption?

The amount of Mana that went into the Illusion Skill was among the highest of all skills.

That meant one had to consume an enormous amount of Mana on a skill that was purely for deception and couldn’t even kill the opponent…

Using this on a Deathmatch Battlefield was practically impossible, making it a skill that could only be used occasionally in One-on-One matches where Respawns were restricted.

“Alright, positions!”

Nebula GC, who took up a defensive position first, went to defend the left passage while creating Clones in the right passage to set up dummy decoys.

A situation where five players were blocking one side of the passage.

It was different from the typical Enterprise formation of splitting up personnel to block the enemy’s Attack.

In this case, if the opponent were to go for an all-in rush through the opposite passage where the Clones were placed.

They could get right inside without any real resistance.

At a glance, it might give the impression of playing a game of luck, but underlying this was Nebula GC’s confidence.

It was a formation that held the conviction that even if the opponent safely reached the end of the passage, they would win the final engagement before the Bridge.

And as if they were prepared to face that formation head-on.

Super Sylph charged.

It was a 5-man Attack.

-Why are they all rushing in?

-It’s a suicide mission!

-They’re friends who haven’t analyzed Nebula GC at all, huh?

-Good! Let’s show them the spicy taste of the European champions!

Nebula GC had defeated numerous enemies on Enterprise until now.

Lucille, a World Class Sniper.

And a Double Supporter setup to back up her firepower.

On Enterprise, Nebula GC used their two Supporters, Pauline and Rina, for an Enhancement to empower the Sniper’s long-range shots.

“Hoo.”

Lucille took a deep breath, applying an Enhancement Skill to her first shot.

No player had ever blocked and withstood this attack before.

It was only natural, as it was an attack created by two Supporters and a Sniper pouring their Mana into it.

Occasionally, there were players who tried to dodge the attack with their physical skill in the straight passage.

They all met their end as their Health Gauges were shredded by the combined support of Lucille and Rachel Dust.

Rachel Dust had immediately changed her weapon upon confirming that the 3rd set Battlefield was Enterprise.

It was an assault rifle with a 4x scope, the AUG-S5 model.

Of course, its long-range accuracy wasn’t as high as a Sniper Rifle, but since it had a scope, its effective range was guaranteed.

“They’re coming.”

Lucille, who was the first to spot the enemy’s movement, shouted.

“How many?”

“I can’t see, they’re hidden by a shield. But I have a feeling it’s five.”

“Five…?”

“They’re trying to break through in one go?”

“They’re greedy friends.”

Lucille, describing Super Sylph as greedy, ordered more buffs.

“Since the opponent is also using a Double Supporter, they might be planning to break through with a thick Shield.”

Taking that into account, Lucille intended to blow away Super Sylph’s shield with the first shot.

The Supporters’ additional skills went into Lucille, and the first shot, which had gathered a great deal of power, was fired with a clap of thunder.

Kwarreureung!* The attack split the passage with a roar.

As that intense attack struck the enemy Defender’s Shield, a flash of light erupted.

At that moment, Lucille, who was checking the enemy’s movement through her scope, realized the attack had failed.

Although it had wavered for a moment, Super Sylph was still advancing with their shield, its form intact, attacking the remaining distance.

‘How on earth did they withstand that?’

It was a fact already proven through various overseas leagues that no matter how much you enhanced a shield, it was impossible to block a Sniper’s buff-focused shot.

Moreover, this first shot was a one-hit-kill attack created by sacrificing stamina through the Berserker skill.

And yet they endured the attack.

It had to be, unless it was an extremely radical formation where one Defender was backed by four Supporters layering defensive support skills.

‘Radical…?’

At that moment, Lucille felt as if she was on the verge of an answer, but her thoughts were scattered by the shout that followed.

“Engage!”

Starting with Rachel Dust’s attack, the Nebula GC players began their follow-up assault.

An immense amount of attacks poured down on Super Sylph.

An offensive joined by Nebula GC’s Supporters and Defender.

But even against that powerful onslaught, Super Sylph maintained their shield to the end and managed to close the distance.

Only when the distance grew close did the Nebula GC players realize.

How Super Sylph had blocked their attack.

‘They put a Defender in front, enhanced with two Supporters, and cast a Slope Shield on top of that!’

The reason the opponent’s Defender’s shield could hold on, albeit tattered, was thanks to the slanted shield deployed in front of it.

It was a sight that was in the Nebula GC analysis team’s data.

The Slope Shield, one of Seo Dami and Jung Yunseul’s specialties.

On top of that, Kim Dain, who was originally a Sniper, had switched positions and was acting as a temporary Supporter.

Because they maintained 2 Supporters while using a well-coordinated Attacker duo, the opponent’s Defense Power was higher than expected.

‘First, the TP…’

The enemy’s main force was already right in front of them, and having figured out that there were two Attackers mixed in the enemy’s composition, Rachel Dust thought of the TP Barrier card.

The distance between the two sides was short.

If Super Sylph were to Blink behind them and attack from the front and back, it would be very difficult to respond.

The enemy had two Attackers, but Nebula GC only had Rachel Dust.

Although Lucille was a Sniper, an Attacker had a far superior advantage in close-quarters combat.

So, by putting up a TP Barrier to block the opponent’s Blink, she could thwart the enemy’s aim and, at the same time, guide the direction of the engagement to be as simple as possible.

The problem was the team’s mana status.

The Supporters’ mana consumption was severe from supporting Lucille’s long-range shot.

The problem was that they had cast an Illusion Skill on the other side of the passage.

If they were to cast a TP Barrier here, the team’s mana situation would be completely empty.

‘What… what should I do…’

Super Sylph charged fiercely, giving her no time to think.

Watching them, Rachel Dust, her eyelids trembling, made a decision.

“Ah! Rachel Dust! A bold choice! She Blinks to get behind Super Sylph!”

-Rachel!

-Finish them!!!

-Rachel GO!

Rachel Dust’s rifle, now behind them, spews fire, ejecting shell casings.

An attack from the rear.

As their Health Gauges were shredded, the Super Sylph players fell one by one.

-Waaaaaaah!

-Rachel!!!

A clear, successful attack.

But Rachel Dust’s expression wasn’t so bright.

It was because only three players had fallen to her attack.

Biting her lip, Rachel Dust stares straight ahead, beyond the fallen Super Sylph players.

There, the enemy Attackers were also unleashing attacks, wiping out Nebula GC.

“Unbelievable! It’s simultaneous! Both teams have exchanged attacks at the same time!”

“A Cross Counter occurred with the Blinks!”

-What the.

-They Blinked at the same time?

-And Super Sylph has one more person left!

Seo Dami and Jung Yunseul had Blinked, and their attacks had crossed.

And so, the remaining players from both teams faced each other on the Battlefield.

In this moment, Rachel Dust felt the shadow of defeat.

“I told you we could do it, right?”

Seo Dami nods at Jung Yunseul’s words.

And then, the engagement began once more.

The Super Sylph duo got into formation again and charged.

Rachel Dust responded with rapid fire toward the attacking opponents.

But it was impossible to take down opponents splitting to the left and right simultaneously.

Rachel Dust’s rapid fire pushed Seo Dami’s Health Gauge to the brink of destruction, but that was it.

Arclight Rifle.

A blue flash fired from Jung Yunseul’s hand struck Rachel Dust’s chest and head in succession, bursting her Health Gauge.