Chapter 124

Super Sylph had put up an unexpectedly good fight, tying the score.

While Han Youngin and Kato Mikane were facing off in the central hall, Shimizu Misaki, who was chasing Hwang Jua, frowned at the score.

2 to 2.

An incident had occurred in the center.

The portraits of her team’s Defender and Supporter had turned gray.

Super Sylph’s Attacker duo had scored against her allies while simultaneously keeping Kato Mikane in check.

At that, Shimizu Misaki thought that she should have been the one to follow them.

Of course, it was Kato Mikane who had made that call, so it wasn’t her place to argue.

‘At this rate, I have no choice but to do it myself…!’

To regain the upper hand in the current situation, the priority was to eliminate the fleeing Hwang Jua and score.

However, there was one problem she had to be mindful of.

It was the presence of Park Chaerin, who had been tying down their Sniper and peppering the Battlefield with sharp suppressive fire from the start.

‘I have to be careful about when I’m exposed to the enemy’s vision.’

Shimizu Misaki pictured Hwang Jua’s escape route and the spot where Park Chaerin had been firing her shots, suspecting that the opponent might be luring her in.

What if she was sniped and gave up a score while trying to take out Hwang Jua?

That would be a complete disaster.

Of course, even if things went that way, there would be more chances to recover under Deathmatch rules, but there was no need to make the game harder on purpose.

“Rina. Do you see the enemy Sniper?”

-No. I think she moved her position.

“If you can’t find her, you should rendezvous with Unni and support her. The situation in the center doesn’t look good.”

-Okay. Got it.

The information that Park Chaerin had changed positions was updated in Shimizu Misaki’s mind.

There was a high probability that she had moved to get a shot at her.

Shimizu Misaki focused even harder and chased after Hwang Jua.

A moment later, she began to hear the footsteps of her target.

Although Hwang Jua had used Blink to leave the front line first, the distance between the two had closed.

The reason the gap had narrowed despite her earlier escape was the difference in their Acceleration proficiency.

Shimizu Misaki was at a level where she could be called the Ace, the best Attacker, on any team in the world.

Hwang Jua, on the other hand, had shortcomings that would have made it difficult for her to join a Worlds Main Round team if she weren’t on Super Sylph.

Just as Shimizu Misaki, having caught up to Hwang Jua, was about to open fire, a red flash appeared, and lightning struck where she had been.

It was a snipe from Park Chaerin, who had been waiting, anticipating her course.

A roar erupted in the Arena.

-Wow!

-Super Sylph’s chain attack is incredible!

-Did they predict it to this extent?!

-No?

-Look over there!

-Shimizu Misaki dodged the attack!!!

-That’s Kamui for you!

The cheers were brief as Shimizu Misaki’s body scattered like smoke.

Even though the attack had clearly been successful.

Watching her target disperse like smoke, Park Chaerin gritted her teeth.

‘A Clone…!’

The Shimizu Misaki that had been rushing to catch Hwang Jua was not the real one, but a Clone.

She must have seen through their ambush from the very beginning.

The moment Park Chaerin gritted her teeth and tried to move again, Shimizu Misaki rushed in, breaking through her flank.

A burst of rapid fire erupted with a Drrrk-! sound.

Park Chaerin went down, and Kamui scored another point.

Watching Park Chaerin fall, Hwang Jua counterattacked Shimizu Misaki.

Her shot was accurate and flew in the right direction, but her attack was repeatedly blocked by the opponent’s Shield, ending in failure.

It would have been better if she were an Attacker, but a Supporter’s Attack Power had clear limits.

Still, Hwang Jua’s attacks weren’t entirely feeble.

She supplemented her lack of Attack Power with a Bomb.

One of the rules a Pro Gamer must follow.

Delay going down as much as possible before Mana runs out.

Hwang Jua consumed her remaining Mana to tie up Shimizu Misaki’s feet.

Of course, even that only managed to hold her opponent for a few more seconds.

Score 4 to 2.

With Shimizu Misaki’s score, Kamui began to pull ahead again.

‘Unni is…?’

Having cleaned up the situation, Shimizu Misaki checked on her teammates’ status.

Kato Mikane and Suzuki Rina, whose portraits had not once gone dark since the game began.

The blue gauge (Mana) displayed beneath their portraits was slowly decreasing, indicating that a fierce battle was still raging in the center.

‘It’s almost time for the Mana Pack to appear.’

The time for the Mana Pack to appear in the central hall.

If the fight wasn’t decided by then, the Mana Pack’s existence would surely have a major impact on the outcome.

Hoping her Leader would win the battle, Shimizu Misaki replaced her spent Magazine with a new one.

There was still a decent amount of ammo left, but replenishing her bullets whenever she had a moment to spare was Shimizu Misaki’s routine.

There was one thing she had to do.

From here, near the enemy’s Respawn area, she had to take down as many enemies as possible.

Having reloaded her Magazine, Shimizu Misaki went into ambush.

She was waiting to pick off a Super Sylph player moving from their base to the central hall.

‘Should I settle this sword to sword? No, there’s no need for that.’

Against the ghost rushing at him, brandishing a Lightsaber.

Kato Mikane decided to respond with her dual pistols until the end.

She was quite skilled in Swordsmanship, but if by some chance she lost, the momentum might shift to the opponent.

It was then.

Another score was added, and Kamui began to pull ahead again.

‘Nice one, Misaki.’

Thinking that her decision to send Shimizu Misaki as the pursuer was not wrong, Kato’s movements became a little smoother.

On the other hand, Han Youngin’s expression hardened slightly as he checked the score.

‘Our rear has been wiped out.’

<Both Jua Unni and Chaerin Coach are down.>

Kamui was undoubtedly a formidable enemy.

They weren’t a team that could be beaten just by tying down Kato Mikane alone.

‘The way to win is…’

<The Mana Pack…!>

Han Youngin and Jung Yunseul had the same thought at that moment.

The only way left to win the first set was to defeat Kato Mikane and secure the large Mana Pack.

Replenish their Mana and maximize their advantage.

Having found a solution, Han Youngin unleashed the Power of the Ley Line on top of his Acceleration and rushed toward Kato.

In response, Kato counterattacked with her pistols.

The surprising thing was that the distance between Kato and Han Youngin seemed like it would close but never did.

Han Youngin rushing forward, chasing his opponent.

And Kato, backstepping and leaping backward.

In such cases, the one moving backward is usually slower, but Kato was maintaining the gap with perfect precision while pouring out counterattacks.

‘Am I still not up to the original…?’

Han Youngin thought as he parried the attacks Kato poured out with his Lightsaber.

It seemed his opponent was still more proficient in handling the Power of the Ley Line.

Otherwise, it made no sense that he, running forward, couldn’t pull the backstepping Kato into his range.

<Let’s just switch to firearms too!>

Jung Yunseul shouted, watching Kato’s high-speed movement that seemed just out of reach.

But that wasn’t easy either.

Han Youngin knew.

The moment he awkwardly switched his equipment back to a Rifle, Kato would exploit that opening, close in, and land a Headshot.

Kato Mikane would not miss that brief moment of letting go of the Lightsaber to grab the Rifle.

‘Kato wouldn’t give me the chance to grab the Rifle again.’

Han Youngin gauged their respective positions.

10 seconds until the Mana Pack appeared.

How should he plan his movement path to gain an advantage in securing the Mana Pack?

The way to get the Mana Pack was simple.

It was a system where if you touched it with your body, be it hand or foot, the Mana would be absorbed completely.

Thanks to Kato continuously backstepping, he was the one closer to the Mana Pack.

Push the opponent back just a little more and take the Mana Pack.

That was the picture in Han Youngin’s mind.

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds…

As time ticked by, a frantic voice rang through the comms.

-I can’t see the enemy Sniper! Watch out for traps!

It was Seo Dami.

At her shout, her teammates grumbled that their ears were ringing and she should lower her voice.

Another voice asked why she was using formal speech when only Yunseul was on the Battlefield.

But setting aside such trivial matters, Han Youngin was wracking his brain, processing the information Seo Dami had given him.

‘The Sniper is out of sight?’

The enemy Sniper was Suzuki Rina.

She had been pinned down by Park Chaerin in the early game, but it seemed she had moved to a different position now.

What would he have done if he were the Sniper?

Kamui’s Defender and Supporter had fallen in the center.

The thought that if he were Suzuki Rina, he would definitely have moved to support Kato, made Han Youngin’s feet feel rooted to the spot.

‘Isn’t this a trap…?’

The great Kato Mikane just backstepping and giving up a favorable position to take the Mana Pack?

Something was strange.

He hadn’t noticed because the game’s tempo was so fast until he heard Seo Dami’s words, but now he could smell it, so to speak.

The smell of a trap.

3 seconds until the Mana Pack appeared.

Just as Han Youngin moved to throw a Smoke Grenade and create confusion, Kato’s hand moved a little faster, activating a Skill.

Skill: Gale.

A powerful wind began to fill the central hall and swirl around.

The moment he threw the smoke, it would be rendered useless.

‘She predicted this?’

‘It’s obvious what you would do.’

When Han Youngin looked at her with that expression, Kato actually grinned.

They had spent quite a long time together.

His opponent knew his moves all too well.

2 seconds until the Mana Pack appeared.

The vision in the central hall was clear.

The moment he recklessly ran to grab the Mana Pack, Han Youngin envisioned himself being pierced by a sniper shot, his gauge shattering.

Suzuki Rina would surely land her attack with perfect timing.

Given the skill he had seen from Suzuki Rina while they were together, she was more than capable of it.

But then a thought occurred to him.

‘But where will she snipe from?’

The central hall is inside a building.

She couldn’t just hit him by sniping from the outside at will.

The outer walls of the ruined building served as a barricade.

There were windows on both sides of the building, and four passages to the north, south, east, and west.

The routes for an attack were limited.

‘This situation feels strangely familiar…’

In that fleeting moment before the Mana Pack appeared, Han Youngin recalled the summer when he was still on team Kamui.

A Kamui team practice match.

At that time, Suzuki Rina had been silently going through her training, and one of the strategies they practiced was a chain shot between Kato and Suzuki Rina.

It was an attack that was impossible to block even if you knew it was coming, where Kato, exchanging blows at the front, would obscure the opponent’s vision, and Suzuki Rina would fire her shot.

The bullet thus fired would hit the opponent as Kato ducked her upper body, and this attack was judged to be virtually impossible to dodge.

The reason was the limits of human reaction speed.

No matter how much Acceleration you used, it was difficult to dodge a sniper bullet you spotted too late.

The key to this practice was for the Sniper to fire the bullet in advance, and when the distance closed, Kato Mikane would duck, reducing the opponent’s time to react.

But this setup build was never actually used in a real match.

The first reason was that there was no team strong enough to warrant its use, and the second reason was that the player known as Kato Mikane was the type of person who enjoyed team training by constantly practicing tricks she might never use in a real match.

So, it was just something they had practiced.

But why did he think of that training now?

Why on earth.

‘In times like these, I have no choice but to trust my gut.’

Han Youngin trusted his gut and ran.

If Suzuki Rina’s intervention was a certainty anyway, it would be hard to win either way.

A moment later, as the Mana Pack rose from the center of the hall.

Han Youngin threw his body to the side, sliding, and switched his weapon.

From the Lightsaber to the Arclight Rifle slung over his back.

If his prediction was wrong.

If Kato Mikane was watching him plainly.

She would surely pepper him with rapid fire from her dual pistols, thinking, “Why the hell is he sliding all of a sudden?”

As easily as shooting a target.

Then, before the Mana from the Mana Pack could be fully absorbed, his Health Gauge would shatter into pieces.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators.

And he would be utterly humiliated in front of tens of millions of viewers worldwide.

‘Please let my prediction be right!’

As his body slid across the floor, Han Youngin stretched out his arm.

The tip of his finger.

Barely, by less than half a joint, his finger touched the edge of the Mana Pack.

The Mana Pack was being absorbed.

He had succeeded in the preemptive seizure of the Mana Pack.

Now, the only remaining question was whether his prediction was correct or not.

‘This is it!’

At that moment, Han Youngin saw it.

The red trajectory piercing through the spot where he should have been standing, and Kato Mikane, who had stopped her backstep and lowered her posture by ducking her upper body.

Kato, whose eyes met Han Youngin’s as he slid across the floor, wore a dumbfounded expression, as if to say, “Why are you sliding…?”

‘You predicted this…?’

‘It’s obvious what you would do.’

‘Lies!’

In truth, he had barely predicted it.

But Han Youngin, with a relaxed expression as if he knew everything, deployed his Shield.

He blocked Kato’s attack and simultaneously opened fire with his Rifle.

The absolute superiority in Mana.

Kato Mikane’s body staggered from the attack.

“Jung Yunseul! He’s pushing forward ferociously!”

“Who could have imagined this! Super Sylph’s sub-Attacker, Jung Yunseul, is taking down the empress of UA, Kato Mikane!”

-Great Yunseul! He’s insane!

-Great Sylph;;

-What the hell is this crazy fucking team…

-Yunseul! Thank you for being born in Korea!

Watching her Leader being attacked, Suzuki Rina gritted her teeth.

She wanted to provide support, but she couldn’t.

Her opponent had brilliantly placed Kato on the line of fire and was pouring on the attacks.

If she fired, it would be a Team Kill rather than support.

In the end, it was Kato Mikane whose defense broke first as her Mana ran out.

The moment Super Sylph scored another point, Suzuki Rina pulled the trigger she had been holding down and fired a fatal shot.

However, Han Youngin, as if he had predicted this as well, used Blink to evade.

He closed the distance to his opponent even further.

Han Youngin, riding the momentum.

His Attack, boosted by the Ley Line, broke through Suzuki Rina’s suppression and began to chip away at her Health Gauge.

-Waaaaaah!

-What is with today, for real!!!

-Jung Yunseul!

-Jung Yunseul!

-Jung Yunseul!

Suzuki Rina collapsed with an aggrieved expression.

Score 4 to 4.

It was the moment Super Sylph brought the match back to square one.