Chapter 118

Berlin, Germany.

Wednesday, 6 PM.

The day of the Quarterfinals match between Saturn V and Super Sylph.

The World Stadium was already packed with countless people.

Those who couldn’t get tickets sat in front of their PCs or TVs, waiting for the match, while in Korea, many fans discussed Super Sylph’s future.

-Shouldn’t they reinforce the player roster a bit?

-We’re definitely not at a championship-contending level.

-Is it true that we’re the weakest among the teams that made it to the Quarterfinals?

-Look at the annual salaries. The other teams’ salaries are over 10 times this team’s.

-General Seo and Jung Yunseul are definitely World Class-level, but…

-Why don’t we just rebuild the team, minus those two?

-Hey! Are you saying we should kick out the trio who stuck with us through the dark ages!!!

-No;; I’m grateful they held on, but what can you do if their skills don’t improve…

-Do you guys even watch the game? What other team is improving as drastically as ours;

-FR, you’re being ungrateful.

The trio was holding Seo Dami and Jung Yunseul back.

No. Leave Kim Dain out of it. Dain is a fast grower.

Really? Then let’s just replace the other two. Isn’t their contract up this year? Such conversations flew back and forth on the UA Community.

The reason they were discussing Rebuilding instead of the match’s direction or outcome was that the majority of fans expected them to lose today’s match.

It was true that Super Sylph had shown an incredible performance representing Korea this year, but the fans’ consensus was that it would be difficult for them to achieve anything more.

In fact, since Super Sylph had already lost to the Crusaders, the fans’ prediction could be seen as quite reasonable.

The Crusaders were certainly one of the world’s top teams, but the prevailing opinion was that Saturn V had distinct points that made them stand out even in comparison.

Super Sylph lost to the Crusaders, right?

But Saturn V is a stronger team than the Crusaders?

Then Super Sylph will obviously lose, right? It was a train of thought that followed this logic.

Before the match began.

Han Youngin, who was browsing the internet, saw the fans’ conversations and asked Seo Dami to make sure the kids didn’t look at the internet.

There was no need for their motivation to be crushed by seeing such comments before a match.

And there were many incorrect statements among the fans’ opinions.

It was true that Saturn V was a very powerful team, but that didn’t mean they were guaranteed to lose.

An underdog beating a powerhouse was a really common occurrence in this field.

Of course, there was a bit of a skill gap between the two teams, but that didn’t mean there was no way to win, Han Youngin thought.

And one more thing!

The players were not at fault.

From Han Youngin’s perspective, who could watch the players from the closest vantage point, Super Sylph’s growth rate was on an unbelievable level.

Everyone seemed to have forgotten, but this was a team that had just been promoted to the First Division League this year.

If you grabbed any random person on the street and asked, you would probably get the same answer.

What would happen if you asked, “So, there’s a team that was in the Second Division League and just got promoted this year. Do you think they could win the First Division League this year, go to the World Championship to compete against world-class teams, and even advance to the Main Round Tournament?”

Wouldn’t they say, “Did you hit your head, by any chance?”

For a team showing such rapid growth, the fact that the players were keeping up so well was something that deserved praise.

In reality, Shin Aram, Hwang Jua, and Kim Dain’s growth rates were quite respectable compared to other players in the League.

It was just that they were being compared to Seo Dami and Jung Yunseul, who were soaring at an absurd speed, as if on a rocket.

Contrary to the fans’ opinions, it was a clear fact that any industry insider in this field would immediately move to recruit any of Super Sylph’s players if they heard they were on the market.

Of course, this kind of problem could arise.

The case where teammates feel disheartened or self-conscious watching a player who is growing too quickly.

When one player is too outstanding, they can sometimes receive such looks, knowingly or not.

And that kind of awkwardness was not helpful at all in a team game.

Han Youngin had been wary of this during his time with Super Sylph.

So he always instructed Dami and Yunseuli to talk frequently with their teammates, help them, and grow together.

He couldn’t know if this was the right answer or not.

But it was a principle Han Youngin had maintained throughout his Pro Gamer life while playing for Magnus, and thankfully, he had never experienced problems with team chemistry during his career as a player.

<The atmosphere seems okay.>

Watching the team members from within Dami before the match, Han Youngin let out a sigh of relief.

Jung Yunseul, watching TV with a sullen expression.

And Hwang Jua, who was making her wear that sullen expression by giving her a back hug from behind.

And Kim Dain, who was also giving Hwang Jua a back hug from behind.

Looking at the players who resembled a giant three-tiered rhinoceros beetle, Han Youngin thought that at least this team wouldn’t have problems due to a collapse in team chemistry.

As for what Shin Aram was doing, she was, as always, going through a final mental image training in her head, reviewing the summary of the opposing team’s information and analysis one last time before the match.

The fans didn’t know about the Leader’s efforts like this.

Shin Aram, who was in charge of Super Sylph’s tactical Orders, poured this kind of invisible effort in every single day without fail.

<The feeling is good.>

Looking at the players’ condition, Han Youngin thought he had a good feeling about today.

If there was one variable, it was the person who had to make her UA Debut Match today…

“Ugh…”

“Hey, you were a National Representative in the game next door, so why are you so nervous?”

Seo Dami patted her shoulder with a look of incomprehension.

The person groaning limply.

The person in question was Coach Park Chaerin, who was having her first Debut Match for Super Sylph today.

Park Chaerin, who was trembling one leg from how nervous she was and burying her face in Dami’s shoulder to collect her Mental, didn’t look to be in good shape.

Although the game was different, she should have more practical experience on the pro stage than anyone else here, so why on earth was she so nervous?

Just as both Han Youngin and Seo Dami were thinking they had no idea why, Park Chaerin quietly confessed.

“Dami-ya…”

“Yes.”

“It’s true I was a National Representative, but I almost never got to play in big matches like this…”

“Why?”

A National Representative who almost never played in big matches.

It was a story that didn’t quite add up, so everyone had no choice but to perk up their ears and focus on her story.

“Well, you see, in Gaia, the number of people who can participate in a match is large, so they pick way more players than in UA.”

“Okay.”

“But when I went to the national team, there was always this monster Unni who had a firm grip on the main Sniper position, so I didn’t really have many chances to play…”

<Huh? Isn’t that basically like being on the reserve squad?>

For a moment, Han Youngin recalled his past of training together at the Athletes’ Village and ultimately not making the Starting Lineup.

He also thought that, in a way, there wasn’t much of a difference between himself and Park Chaerin.

Anyway, it was a slightly sad story that Park Chaerin ultimately couldn’t push out her Sunbae and ended up retiring even earlier than that person.

“So you’re saying this is your first international match?”

“No, it’s not my first… It’s just that I have almost no experience on a big stage like the Quarterfinals…”

“Then we can all get our first win together today. Don’t be nervous. We can win.”

Pat, pat—.

Seo Dami thus steadied her Coach’s Mental.

Normally, their roles should have been reversed.

And so, the time came.

The fateful hour that would decide whether they would reach Kamui or pack their bags and return to Korea.

“Super Sylph? They’re a strong team, sure, but I don’t think they’re on our level.”

Innate talent. And even a way with words.

Saturn V’s Ace, Nina Cruz, who had captured the hearts of North American fans, gave this answer before the match when asked what she thought of Super Sylph.

“We’ll win cleanly 2-0 and get ready for last year’s revenge match~.”

-That’s our Nina Cruz!

-You’re the only one who can beat Kamui!

-Show them the pride of North American FPS!

-Let’s win it all this year!

The revenge she spoke of referred to the Tokyo World Championship where they had lost to Kamui.

Although they had fallen to Kato Mikane back then, this year’s Saturn V was different.

Nina Cruz, who had successfully evolved one step further by completely mastering Time Bullet, a Skill that Users had shunned.

She was burning with confidence, declaring that she would take down Kamui this year.

And to her, Super Sylph wasn’t exactly competition.

They might be the protagonist of this tournament’s upsets, but that was as far as it went.

They were just a team that would lose to them in the Quarterfinals, pack their bags, and go home, Nina Cruz thought.

However, right before entering the Arena, that flow began to change slightly.

It started with a bulletin from the Scouting Report team that the opposing team’s player roster had changed.

“They’re changing players? They didn’t have a Sixth Man.”

“They didn’t, but they changed it.”

“To who?”

“They’re saying it’s the Coach?”

“……?”

Why would they change the Entry to the Coach, leaving a perfectly fine player on the bench?

Was it too frustrating for the Coach to watch?

But to think that, the Super Sylph Sniper seemed to be a player who had the basics down.

Completely unable to understand the other side’s thinking, Saturn V entered the Arena.

-Saturn!

-Saturn!

-Saturn!

The stadium was filled with voices chanting their name.

At the same time, the Super Sylph players entered from the opposite side, but the voices calling for them were buried, their presence faint.

The Super Sylph fans, who couldn’t help but feel their spirits relatively dampened.

As the dejected fans were still cheering for their players, they too noticed that something was different from usual.

-Wait a minute. Where’s our Dain?

-Didn’t you hear the news? The starting roster changed.

-The roster changed?

-What does that mean?

No one had expected Super Sylph to change their player roster, so even the news articles were slow to come out.

Therefore, almost no one was aware that Super Sylph had put Park Chaerin in the Starting Lineup instead of Kim Dain.

-Park Chaerin?

-No way! You mean the Park Chaerin who got wiped by DamiDami in the Second Division League and completely quit her player career!

-LOLOLOLOL

-Aren’t they screwed?

-Check the Director’s bank account. Didn’t this guy place a bet?

The Super Sylph fans reacted with bewilderment.

Why on earth would they mess with the Entry all of a sudden, leaving out a player who was doing well?

In particular, the fans had no idea how well Coach Park Chaerin did in practice, or the fact that Kim Dain had actually never beaten Park Chaerin, so their reactions were bound to be even sharper.

But even in this atmosphere, the expressions on the Super Sylph players’ faces were nothing but serious.

They didn’t look like they lacked confidence.

They seemed a little nervous, but they also looked like they wanted the match to start as soon as possible.

The players who entered the Waiting Room like that stood in a circle and put their arms around each other’s shoulders.

There was no boisterous Fighting Spirit chant, putting their hands together and shouting “Fighting!” like usual.

There was only the resolve to gather even that small bit of Energy in their bellies and do their best in the match.

“Let’s go, then.”

Seo Dami took the lead, and the door to the Battlefield opened.

Set 1, Attica Temple.

The players began to run toward the temple submerged in a sandy desert.

The desert terrain, with its real-time sandstorms, would usually cause one’s feet to sink in with every step, but the players stepped naturally as if gliding over the sand.

Acceleration Skill.

The movement that surpassed human limits due to the Skill allowed them to take the next step before their bodies could sink.

The players who entered the temple grounds like that began to take their positions as initially promised.

Hwang Jua’s hand flashed, covering Park Chaerin’s body in a silver veil.

Stealth Skill.

The Skill, which wouldn’t break until an attack was made, was activated, and Park Chaerin used an application of the Flying Skill to get on top of a high pillar.

The tops of the high pillars located throughout the temple grounds were good points that allowed a Sniper to look down on the entire Battlefield.

Of course, there were cases where attacks came from the ground targeting this point, but there were many pillars placed on the Battlefield, and since she was hidden with the Stealth Skill, it had to be considered safe for now.

Usually, the typical game progression in Attica Temple was to set up the Sniper on a high place for backup like this, while the main force advanced.

Since it was a game you won by capturing the Control Point in the center of the temple, you couldn’t end the game by just standing still and holding a high position.

However.

As if waiting for something, Super Sylph was just standing still, staring blankly up at the pillar.

The Spectators, as well as the Broadcast Team, were busy holding their microphones and chattering about the unusual situation.

“What’s the situation?”

“Super Sylph. They’re not moving, as if their feet are glued to the ground!”

-What the heck is this now…

-Is this a Strategy?

-I’m telling you, we really need to check Lee Gangseon’s bank account.

-Guys, what are you doing! Run! Saturn is moving right now!!!

The Spectators slowly start to raise their voices.

While Super Sylph was stopped, Saturn V was already moving toward the Control Point.

And due to the nature of a Domination Battle, this atmosphere was conveyed directly to the players as well.

They couldn’t hear exactly who was saying what, but by listening to the flow of the crowd murmuring or exploding in a loud Cheer, they could get a feel for things like, “The opponent must have prepared something,” “Looks like they’re making a strange play,” or “We’re about to run into them.”

But even in that atmosphere, Super Sylph calmly held their positions.

About 20 seconds passed like that.

Seo Dami signaled to Park Chaerin, who was on the pillar, that it was okay to come down now.

‘Is it confirmed?’

<Yeah. To some extent.>

Based on the unfolding situation, Han Youngin was updating the information on the opponent’s abilities.

Nina Cruz, who was presumed to see the future.

It seemed she probably couldn’t read a future where an attack didn’t occur.

After all, nothing in particular had happened to Park Chaerin, who had been standing still, even though she had used Stealth.

<Her ability might not reach distant enemies, or perhaps it doesn’t work unless it’s a situation she’s involved in.>

Since it was a type of enemy he had never seen before, it was difficult to fully grasp the opponent’s ability through video analysis alone.

That’s why Han Youngin had given such an order with the intention of analyzing the opponent’s ability in more detail through a real match.

Super Sylph, having finished gathering information, moved again.

Towards the Control Point where the enemy had already begun to set up their formation.

And a short while later, the clash began.