Chapter 116

“Did they really leak data just to play a match like that…? If this was all they had, I might not have needed to tell them.”

Kato Mikane, who had been watching the match between Super Sylph and Nebula GC alone.

She muttered as if her fun had been spoiled and made a call somewhere.

“The materials we prepared. I think it’s okay to release them. Yes. It’s fine now.”

The reason she had temporarily turned a blind eye to Nebula GC’s illegal activities.

It was to gauge Super Sylph’s hidden skills.

The teams Super Sylph had faced in the Preliminary Round.

Teams like the Ice Ravens or Nazmat Al-Sahra weren’t enough to draw out their full power.

The skill gap was wider than expected.

Watching their matches.

Kato Mikane thought that Super Sylph’s Seo Dami was now just a step below her.

Indeed, with the help of that ‘ghost’ and using the Power of the Ley Line, Seo Dami had shown World Class, top-tier skills in a one-on-one.

In any case, a higher-level team was needed to draw out Super Sylph’s true strength, and that opponent was Nebula GC.

The team that had won this year’s European League championship.

Although they had committed illegal acts, they were by no means a team with subpar skills.

And through today’s match, Kato Mikane confirmed that there were two players on Super Sylph receiving the ghost’s help.

It had been a suspicion until then, but this match made her certain.

Seo Dami and Jung Yunseul.

It seemed these two players could wield the Power of the Ley Line whenever necessary.

However, the two never used the power at the same time.

This meant that the source of that monstrous strength was Han Youngin, and it could be interpreted that one of them had to be attached to him to be able to control the Earth Vein.

‘Do they have any more hidden cards?’

They might.

The Han Youngin she had spent a short time with was the type whose head worked quite well when it came to In-Game matters.

Indeed, as the team faced a crisis, new things were being revealed one by one, like peeling an onion.

Moreover, since his own life was on the line in this competition, he would have come fully prepared.

Kato Mikane thought.

The disappointing part was that even if they had more hidden cards, it seemed Nebula GC wouldn’t be able to confirm them.

Nebula GC was collapsing.

With the power of the ghost who had learned the Power of the Ley Line, Super Sylph showed an extremely strong side in games focused on Short Battles.

They were pushed back on the Deathmatch Battlefield, but thanks to the luck of the remaining Battlefields, Super Sylph had seized the momentum again.

The game would probably be decided like this.

As if there was nothing more to see, Kato turned off the TV and lay down on her bed.

Soon, articles about Rachel Dust would flood the internet, and she would pay the price for her illegal activities.

‘Will they advance in first place?’

According to the World Championship regulations, teams that advance in first place from each group do not meet.

That meant the earliest she could face Super Sylph would be after the Semifinals.

Kato looked forward to that day and closed her eyes for a moment.

「The World Championship’s Biggest Upset. Super Sylph Wins Against Nebula GC.」

「The European Champion. Loses Face Against Korea.」

「Group D’s Super Sylph, Tournament Advancement Practically Confirmed.」

As soon as the match ended, articles poured out.

The Score was 2:1.

UA fans were greatly shocked by the news that the European champion had fallen.

Even in Korea, not many people had thought Super Sylph would beat Nebula GC.

-Are you telling me Nebula GC really lost?

-Korea might advance in first place?

-What is this nonsense?

Korea.

For over 10 years since UA first launched, it was the weakest in Asia, never once treated as part of the mainstream.

Such a Korean team was on a winning streak in the Group Stage after defeating the Western European champion.

In Korea, this was even described as the Miracle of Berlin.

It was clearly that hard to imagine.

But the real shock came after this.

It was revealed that Nebula GC’s Ace, Rachel Dust, had used illegal means to gather data on opposing teams.

Berlin was in an uproar over the fact that the European champion had committed a criminal act.

An anonymous informant reported Nebula GC’s crime, an article was published, and in no time, it led to a raid on Nebula GC.

The local reaction was scorching hot.

And the first team to react to this was the Crusaders, who had lost to Nebula GC in the Group Stage.

Realizing they had been unfairly defeated, they immediately issued a statement condemning Nebula GC’s illegal activities.

Was it because of that?

The Marriott Hotel was packed with reporters trying to get an interview.

They pushed their way into the Lobby, causing great inconvenience to the players staying there.

“Please, just one comment for an interview!”

“Seo Dami! Did you happen to know about Nebula GC’s illegal activities beforehand?”

The reporters swarmed like bees, thrusting their microphones at none other than Seo Dami.

That question was clearly loaded with a certain intention.

The Crusaders, one of Europe’s strongest teams, lost, so how did you guys survive?

It meant, ‘You actually knew and prepared for it, didn’t you?’

Of course, it was true that we knew about Nebula GC’s scheme.

But I couldn’t just answer, “Yes, we knew~,” so just as I was about to give a vague answer and move on, Dami, who was next to me, said a few short words to the reporters.

Seo Dami, with slightly sad eyes, said she knew nothing at all and was worried that such an incident might tarnish the honor of the tournament, taking a veiled jab at Nebula GC.

“Well then, we have to go eat, so if you’ll excuse us…”

Leaving those short words behind, Dami calmly headed to the restaurant with her teammates.

The reporters just stared blankly at our backs.

‘When did Unni get so good at talking…?’

<I know, right.>

I thought only her gaming skills had improved, but it seemed that kid Dami had gotten a bit better at interviews too.

As if she knew she had handled it well, she looked over at me and slyly asked, “I did well, right?”

Yunseul and I nodded, saying she did, but not everyone was smiling.

Coach Park Chaerin pressed us, asking what had happened.

“You guys… you knew from the beginning.”

Seeing how we had deliberately practiced a clumsy Sniper Operation, and considering the incident and the subsequent flow of the match, Coach Park Chaerin asked if we hadn’t known about Nebula GC’s actions all along.

‘Should I just say we knew?’

I thought about revealing the truth as it was, but the fewer people who knew a secret, the better.

Of course, since she was our team’s Coach, she would have eventually understood even if I had told her.

When Dami and Yunseuli shook their heads until the end, insisting they didn’t know, Coach Park Chaerin sighed and said.

“Well, the result was good this time. But next time, if something comes up, could you please tell me. We need to handle things like this more carefully. If we’re not, we could end up getting entangled in it too.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Coach Park Chaerin was right.

There must have been a smoother way to handle this kind of problem.

So, if something like this happened again, we decided to put our heads together with the Coach then.

Though it was questionable if such a huge incident, hard to experience even once, would ever happen again.

The decision from the UA management was swift and decisive.

Less than a day after the incident occurred, a disciplinary action regarding the case was handed down.

The result was Nebula GC’s disqualification.

European fans were once again shocked by this.

Nebula GC received the enormous Penalty of being disqualified from the competition for the transgression of a single player.

The Community was naturally in an uproar.

How could this warrant disqualification from the competition?

Wasn’t Rachel Dust the only one at fault?

There were loud voices saying that Rachel Dust should be punished individually and the team should be spared.

However, there was no change in the decision.

The fans would never know that various factors had contributed to this rather cold decision, such as the influence of the Japanese government and the resolve of the UA management, who were concerned that their image might be tarnished by the disgraceful incident.

Anyway, with Nebula GC, considered a favorite to win, eliminated, Group D regained its vitality.

An opportunity had come for the Crusaders, who had been pushed aside by Nebula GC and Super Sylph and were on the verge of elimination.

During the police investigation, it was revealed that Nebula GC had collected data on Super Sylph, the Crusaders, and Goa GC during the Group Stage, and Nebula GC’s Group Stage record was completely erased.

Since the Match Record against that team was completely removed, Super Sylph now became a team with 1 win, and the Crusaders also secured 1 win against Goa GC, putting them in a position to aim for first place in the group.

Whether a team finished first in the Group Stage or not had a different meaning for each team.

First of all, the teams that advanced in first place from each group receive an advantage in the Tournament bracket.

In the Quarterfinals, a first-place team is guaranteed to face a second-place team, so they could avoid the strong teams from the Group Stage in their first match.

For example, if we advanced in first place from Group D.

We would meet Kamui, who was confirmed as first in Group A, in the Semifinals at the earliest.

Because of this, not only the Crusaders but also our team officials were all hoping to advance in first place.

“We have to win! If we advance in first, we might make it to the Semifinals!”

Korea’s unexpected advance from the Group Stage.

And now, a situation where we could look beyond the Quarterfinals to the Semifinals.

If we advanced in first place and met a relatively weaker second-place team, the Semifinals were not just a dream.

“Take down the Crusaders!”

Coach Lee Gangseon, unlike his usual self, was caught up in a strange fervor as he encouraged the players.

This reaction wasn’t just in the Practice Room.

All of Korea’s UA fans were cheering for our good fight.

-Are we. really going to win the championship…?

-I don’t know about winning, but it’s definitely our best result ever.

-General Seo said she’d show us a good result. I believe in Dami~.

-I didn’t know they’d do this well.

-What would people have said last year if you told them Korea would make it to the World Championship Semifinals?

-Wouldn’t they have told you to stop talking nonsense and go to sleep?

-lol ikr;;

And so, the final match of the Group Stage against the Crusaders began, with the fans’ expectations and wishes gathering.

I, too, was hoping to advance to the Group Stage in first place.

The most important goal of this tournament was, of course, to defeat Kamui, but at the same time, I wanted Super Sylph to be the first from South Korea to climb to a very high place.

This was a very natural expectation for a Pro Gamer who had been in UA for over 10 years.

Korea’s first Semifinals.

Perhaps Korea’s first championship.

For me to be a part of that historic moment, even in this body, was a very meaningful thing.

People wouldn’t know, but at least Yunseul and Dami would know.

So, if possible, I wanted Super Sylph to advance to the Tournament in first place.

However, there was one problem here.

No matter how hard we devised a Strategy, there was a fundamental, unbridgeable skill gap between us and the Crusaders.

This was something we had already experienced in the match against Nebula GC.

Although Nebula GC had a record of crushing the Crusaders 2-0, that was strictly because they knew the Strategy the Crusaders had prepared like the back of their hand.

The Crusaders were a powerful team, enough to be the runner-up in the Western European League, and their skill level was not much different from Nebula GC’s.

In other words, unless we got lucky with the Battlefields like in the previous match.

It meant we could lose.

The only way to solve this was through an extreme method like putting Coach Park Chaerin in the Entry.

I asked the kids what they thought about having Coach Park Chaerin participate in this match against the Crusaders.

Even if we advanced in second place, if we didn’t face Kamui right away, we would have to face another first-place team in the Quarterfinals, and none of them would be an easy opponent.

My judgment was that if we couldn’t win the match without Coach Park Chaerin’s help anyway, it wouldn’t make much of a difference if we used that card now.

It would be better for the team’s Glory to just go for first place and increase our chances of advancing to the Semifinals.

But what was this?

Their reaction to my opinion was more intense than I expected.

“What are you talking about!”

“We’ve already confirmed our spot in the Tournament. The Coach playing! Absolutely not!”

“Boo! Absolutely not!”

Their point was that since our advancement was already confirmed, we shouldn’t use our trump card until we face Kamui.

With Dami and Yunseuli’s strong expression of their will, I had no choice but to say I understood.

Perhaps even more than me.

These kids might be hoping for a victory in the match against Kamui.

And so, we decided to play the match as we had been doing all along.

The Coach seemed dissatisfied with saving the Coach Park Chaerin card until the very end, but since the two Ace players were strongly insisting, he reluctantly followed.

Thus began the final match of the Group Stage.

Since the matches in the other groups had already finished, our match was the last on the schedule.

And because of the incident, the interest of UA Users in this match was enormous.

Could Korea write another miracle against the Crusaders?

In this match where all eyes were on us, we ended up losing with a Set Score of 2:1.

It was something that could have happened sooner, in the match against Nebula GC.

With two Deathmatch Battlefields included, we were crushed by the Crusaders due to the team’s Class Difference.

Katarina Verona, considered one of Europe’s strongest Attackers, was indeed a monster.

I even got the impression that she was a bit trickier to deal with than Rachel Dust.

If it had been a Battlefield without Respawn, we might have been able to find a solution with a surprise strategy, but on a Deathmatch Battlefield where you pop right back out after dying, it was very difficult to overcome a Class Difference.

But despite the loss, no one booed us as we finished the match.

-It’s not luck, it’s real skill, isn’t it?

-I can’t believe Korea is this good at UA.

-The Asian leagues are going to be pretty interesting from now on.

Not just the Korean fans, but the many global fans who came to the Arena.

Everyone applauded us as we left the Arena.

It was applause filled with encouragement and praise for the players who had shown a great match, even though they lost.

And so, the winner’s interview ended.

As all events concluded, the Tournament bracket draw began immediately at the World Stadium.

Since we finished in second place, we had to play our Quarterfinals match against a team that had advanced in first, and the potential opponents were all the first-place teams except for the Crusaders.

Group A’s first place, Kamui.

Group B’s first place, Saturn V.

And Group C’s first place, Varuna GC.

Watching the draw proceed, I hoped that Kamui would be our opponent.

If it weren’t for my promise to Kato, no one would have wished to meet Kamui as their Tournament opponent.

And a moment later, our opponent was decided.

“The runner-up team from last year’s World Championship. The Queen of North America! Saturn V’s opponent is…! Super Sylph!”

God damn it.

The moment I slapped my knee, the kids also let out a sigh, “Ah!”

We, who were achieving the best results in the history of Korean UA.

But it was clear that at least when it came to the group draw, luck was not on our side.

Saturn V.

North American League champions, last year’s World Championship runner-up.

One of the teams we wanted to face the least, aside from Kamui.

They were confirmed as our next opponent.