Chapter 121

Nina Cruz could clearly predict any attack coming at her, regardless of the distance.

I wanted to know the specific conditions or limitations of this information, but unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time.

The information we gained by sacrificing the first Set was that Nina Cruz’s ability to respond to close-quarters Swordsmanship was weak.

This information was a great help to us.

And one more thing.

She couldn’t react to Blink.

This was information Yunseuli had already confirmed several times in the first Set by casting a TP Barrier at Nina Cruz’s feet during a Chaotic Battle.

From this, I formed a hypothesis.

What if Nina Cruz could only predict direct attacks aimed at her?

Then her ability, which we thought was seeing the future, might actually be closer to a sense of crisis.

A clear downgrade compared to future sight.

With the information gained from giving up the first Set, I devised a strategy with a high chance of success, one that would work against the opponent.

Yunseuli would lay down a TP Barrier, and Dami would use Blink to dive in and pressure Nina Cruz with her Swordsmanship.

Nina Cruz, being weak against close-quarters combat with a Lightsaber, wouldn’t be able to escape easily.

The reason I divided the roles between Dami and Yunseuli was to maximize our gains.

Assuming Nina Cruz was taken down, Dami would have to continue fighting the enemy to maintain our lead, and that would be difficult if she consumed too much Mana.

Two players coordinating against Nina Cruz, a world-class player.

It was certainly not an easy task, but I wasn’t worried in the slightest.

At the very least, Dami and Yunseul were undoubtedly the best in the world when it came to their ability to coordinate and execute a strategy.

“Then, let’s begin.”

With Dami’s words, the operation began.

As a Smoke Screen was deployed, the Vision of the Control Point was chaotically scattered.

At that moment, Yunseul activated Red Sight, scanned for Nina Cruz’s position, and immediately activated the TP Barrier.

And just like that, Nina Cruz’s Blink was sealed.

If she had foreseen what would happen next, she would have played from a distance where Yunseul’s TP Barrier couldn’t reach her at all.

But since she didn’t, it seemed her precognitive ability wasn’t all-powerful.

And so, Seo Dami’s Attack began.

She used Blink to close in on the immobilized Nina Cruz.

Nina Cruz’s reaction was fast.

No, it was as if she knew from the start that Dami would attack, setting up a play where she laid down bullets with Time Bullet and waited.

A play that seemed to read the future.

Countless players had knelt before Nina Cruz, defeated by her setup attacks that seemed to know their every Movement Path.

But Dami was different.

The world’s fastest reaction speed, enhanced by the flow of the Earth Vein.

Every time Seo Dami, who had blinked in, moved her hand, the gleam of her Lightsaber flashed, parrying every single bullet Nina Cruz had set up.

The explosive Cheer from the Spectators was only natural.

The Swordmaster of this era was here.

When Seo Dami, having deflected all the bullets, thrust her sword forward, the look in Nina Cruz’s eyes seemed to say, What the hell is this girl?

She seemed to feel it was unfair.

Though the players who had fallen to her precognitive ability must have felt the same way.

“Seo Dami! She finally takes down Nina Cruz!!!”

-Waaaaaaah-!!!

-Is that a play a human can even make?

-Look at that Lightsaber movement;;

-That Asian player. It was like watching a Jedi Knight!

-Fucking Kimchi players! Now they’re even aiming for the UA!

-General Seo!!

-Noona!!!

-She’s not your Noona…

-They’re all way older than her but still call her Noona, smh.

-Don’t you know the unwritten rule of this scene? If they’re better at the game than you, they’re your Hyung or Noona.

-Hmm. Now that you mention it, that seems right;;

The champion of North America.

Saturn V’s Ace, Nina Cruz, had fallen.

It was a result no one had expected, so much so that even Shin Aram and Hwang Jua were surprised.

But Dami silently moved on to her next action.

The game wasn’t over yet.

Four enemies were still alive, and Nina Cruz would Respawn in a few seconds and rush back here.

In that case, before that happened.

Dami’s job was to break the enemy’s Momentum as quickly as possible and fill the gauge.

Because she had split the role with Yunseul, she still had a usable amount of Mana left.

Dami once again used Acceleration and dove between the enemies.

Her weapon was still the Lightsaber.

If this had been a different Battlefield, the Saturn V players would have created distance and responded with gunfire.

Because playing Jedi is one thing, but blocking every incoming shot with a sword is an impossible feat.

But the current Battlefield was a Domination Battle.

The Saturn V players couldn’t leave this area.

Leaving the Control Point to create distance meant giving it up themselves.

“Hold on until Nina gets here!”

Saturn V’s Defender.

Hailey Jones’s shout urged her teammates to fight to the end.

And with that, their fate was sealed.

A swordswoman using Acceleration, weaving through players armed with guns.

Seo Dami began to destroy Saturn V’s Formation with movements like light.

“She fights well~.”

While the match between Saturn V and Super Sylph was in full swing.

The players of team Kamui, gathered together in the Meeting Room, were watching the game.

Kato Mikane watched the screen with a relaxed expression.

In contrast, the other players couldn’t quite hide their discomfort.

“Aren’t you worried?”

“Worried?”

“The Super Sylph players. Aren’t they better than you thought? Maybe you’re being too relaxed, Unni…”

The youngest member of team Kamui.

Takahashi Haruna, responsible for the team’s Support, watched the match with a constant this isn’t right look on her face.

It was understandable, as Super Sylph’s Game Performance was far better than expected.

How could a team like that have been buried in the Second Division League until just last year?

It was a point she just couldn’t comprehend.

Thinking everyone else must feel the same, she glanced around to seek her teammates’ agreement and was startled.

Her teammates were looking at her with expressions that said, Are you crazy?

Only then did she realize her mistake.

To dare say something like maybe you’re being too relaxed to the Leader.

A year ago, with the old Kato Mikane, it would have been unimaginable.

On team Kamui, the Leader’s authority was absolute.

In fact, Kato Mikane was a more fearsome presence than the Director.

The cause of today’s incident was that, for some reason, her personality had softened a bit around this summer.

Because she sometimes treated her with a kind attitude, Haruna had unconsciously started treating the Leader too casually.

“Is it wrong for me to be relaxed? Our Haruna. Even pointing out your Unni’s attitude. You’re quite comfortable, aren’t you?”

Normally, a sharp-tongued remark like this would have been followed by a reservation for hard training.

As she was about to snap at the youngest member, who was creaking like a broken machine, Kato seemed to have another thought and shut her mouth, saying it was fine.

Haruna, who had narrowly avoided experiencing a hellish training session, bit her lip, feeling like she had just aged ten years.

The youngest had barely survived.

Now, the conversation’s target shifted to the Sub-Leader, the Defender.

“Sena, what do you think? Does that team look like a threat to us?”

“I…”

“Speak honestly. I’m not asking for flattery.”

Sasaki Sena pondered.

No matter what she chose here, it was hard to survive.

If she said, “Who would dare face you, Unni? We’ll win easily~,” she’d get chewed out with, “Are you flattering me now? Do you think my words are a joke?”

If she honestly said they looked like a tough opponent, she knew it would start with, “Is that how I taught you? You need more practice,” and lead to a hellish training session.

Sasaki Sena knew this all too well from her years of experience.

Since the outcome was bad no matter what she chose, Sasaki Sena sighed inwardly and decided to follow her words.

To answer as honestly as possible.

“Seo Dami and Jung Yunseul’s Chain Attack is honestly outstanding. Their coordination is great. Especially Seo Dami’s instantaneous Physical…”

…is similar to yours, Unni.

Unless she’s illegally Doping, I don’t think it’s possible to improve so much in such a short time, and so on.

Sasaki Sena conveyed her thoughts to Kato.

“And what else? Did you notice anything else?”

She’s not getting angry at this?

Is this a trick question?

Is she planning to lump me in with the youngest and send us both to a hellish training session? The thought spun in Sasaki Sena’s mind.

As the Sub-Leader, following the youngest, also began to creak like a broken machine, Kato called out, “Hey,” and raised her voice, saying, “Just say what you see.”

“Y-yes. I think their Sniper is really strong. Usually, when allies and enemies are clumped together in an Engagement, it’s incredibly difficult to provide Support, but his shots are bold. I think he’s a player who has fired a great many shots.”

“Good observation.”

See, you just had to say that,* Kato retorted and pointed at the screen with her index finger.

“The average skill of their two Attackers is on our side. As for the Sniper, that guy they call Coach seems pretty decent.”

At the praise for the opposing Sniper, the heart of Kamui’s Sniper, Suzuki Rina, crumpled inside.

She thought she had managed to avoid the training hell, but it seemed training was inevitable after all.

“We have the upper hand in Defender and Supporter. Now, what do you think the result will be?”

“Since we have the advantage in the majority of positions, we will definitely win!”

The sub-Attacker who had been the only one out of Kato Mikane’s line of sight.

Shimizu Misaki shouted with confidence.

“Misaki.”

“Yes!”

“Since when is there a ‘definitely’ in games?”

“…Huh?”

“Can you beat Seo Dami in a one-on-one right now?”

“……”

Shimizu Misaki, who shivered for a moment, turned her eyes to look at Seo Dami on the screen.

She was ridiculously fast.

Nina Cruz, the strongest in North America and known as perhaps the only player on this planet who could compete with Kato Mikane, was being helplessly defeated.

Could she win against a player like that one-on-one?

Honestly, she wasn’t confident.

No matter how she thought about it, she felt like the Sub-Leader was right, that it had to be some kind of Doping scam.

“Can’t answer? You’re not confident you can win one-on-one, are you? Right?”

“…No.”

“Then if Super Sylph takes you down first and comes at me two-on-one, we lose the Attacker fight too, right?”

“……”

“We lose the Attacker fight~. We lose the Sniper fight~. So we have to plan our strategy with just a Shield and a heal? Huh? Is that it?”

At Kato’s words, the Kamui players just rolled their eyes like they had been struck dumb.

“Right. It was my fault for having expectations. Let’s just practice. You know that hard work never betrays you, right?”

In the end, hard training was confirmed for the entire team.

This hard training meant one-on-one combat with Kato Mikane.

This was possible because she possessed the Stamina to not get tired even after sparring with the entire team in succession.

“Un-Unni. Don’t we need to watch the third Set?”

The milk was already spilt.

Haruna asked, trying to postpone the practice even a little longer.

The Score between Super Sylph and Saturn V was 1-1.

Since both teams were formidable, it was safe to say that no one knew who would win.

The other team members also seemed to want to see the conclusion of this match.

But Kato shook her head and told them to hurry to the Practice Room.

“If you want to watch the match, watch the recording later. Super Sylph will win anyway.”

“Super Sylph will win?”

“Against Saturn V?”

“The Battlefield is Nicaea Research Lab, isn’t it?”

The Battlefield decided for the third Set was Nicaea Research Lab.

Kato Mikane already knew it well.

The man named Han Youngin had several outstanding strengths, and one of them was demonstrated on that very Battlefield.

With Seo Dami’s instantaneous speed, which was at its peak, she could turn Saturn V into lost children on a Space Station.

“Now, no more chatter, let’s go to the Practice Room. You all have to practice until you retire.”

“Hmph…”

Kato Mikane disappeared into the Practice Room, taking her sullen-faced teammates with her.

And a short while later, another Cheer exploded from the still-on screen.

“Here we have a grim reaper from the East!”

“Saturn V! Can no longer withstand Seo Dami’s fierce onslaught!”

“Will the champion of North America! Fall just like this!!!”

Super Sylph’s Swordmaster.

It was the moment Seo Dami, with nimble movements amidst the Gravity Shift, countered Saturn V’s attack.