Chapter 16

A text arrived just before the Promotion-Relegation Match.

-Play the game well. Don’t be nervous.

-We’ll be cheering for you. Stop by the house when you’re done.

It was a message of support from Dami’s parents.

They had opposed their daughter becoming a Pro Gamer at first, but now they were purely cheering on her performance.

As Seo Dami, who had seen the text with me, rejoiced, I spoke.

“You haven’t forgotten what you’ve learned so far, have you?”

<Of course not.>

Her transition to the Attacker position was a success.

My only worry had been how well Seo Dami could absorb these teachings, but she had answered that once her body returned to normal, she thought she could perform as she had learned.

If that was true, then Seo Dami’s life from now on would be a path of roses.

The experience as an Attacker she had shown over the past month.

Just by remembering that, Seo Dami was already an excellent player.

“Alright. Shall we have an advanced lesson today?”

<An advanced lesson?>

“You can’t just learn the basics forever.”

While playing matches, I had asked Dami time and again if she understood the lessons, worried she wouldn’t be able to keep up.

Each time, Dami would sometimes honestly reply that there were parts she found confusing.

It was a problem that mainly arose when the Skill Chain Attacks were too fast.

Realizing that Dami couldn’t yet keep up with my full power, I adjusted my speed to a certain extent while teaching her.

How to chain Skills as an Attacker.

How to control Recoil.

Mana control, how to Attack efficiently, and so on.

The experiences I had gained as a UA pro player were steadily passed on to Dami.

And today.

With a big match like the Promotion-Relegation Match ahead, I told her I thought it was okay to move on to the advanced course.

Dami’s eyes were now sufficiently accustomed to the basic Engagement speed.

I thought it would be fine to shift up a gear.

“Let’s climb the stairs, one step at a time.”

Is there anything as fun as watching a fire, as they say?

The day of the Promotion-Relegation Match between Universe Cat and Jinyang Stars.

Over ten thousand Spectators had already gathered in the Arena.

An impossible number for a small Third Division League arena to handle, but the Second Division was different.

Today’s Promotion-Relegation Match was scheduled to take place in the main arena of the Second Division League, and that stadium could accommodate up to fifteen thousand people.

It was three times larger than the Third Division League arena.

-Jinyang!

-Jinyang!

-Jinyang!

The Spectators chanted Jinyang’s name.

Their numbers were several times greater than the Spectators who had come to cheer for Universe Cat.

-There’s no way Jinyang has that many fans…

-Aren’t they using part-timers to intimidate us?

-How cheap;;

The reality was not that they had hired part-timers, but that other fans from the same Second Division team were helping with the cheers. In any case, Universe Cat had to endure the pressure of fighting in the middle of enemy territory today.

It was a starkly contrasting atmosphere to the overwhelming cheers they had always enjoyed while riding their recent surge in popularity.

-Look at them booing. Surely General Seo won’t crumble, right?

-No way.

-Even if the whole country cussed her out, Seo Dami is the type to just say ‘my apologies’ and brush it off.

-Her Mental is just built different.

-Seo Dami, fighting!

-Universe Cat, fighting!

The fans cheered, raising their voices as if refusing to lose.

Listening to the voices of the Spectators, I thought.

No matter what happened, there was no way I would ruin the game out of nervousness.

It was only natural.

It was because the result of the Promotion would have virtually no effect on me.

Even if we failed to get promoted, the fact that I was a Prospect with unparalleled Talent wouldn’t change, and my contract with the team was until the end of this Season.

I was certain that once today’s match was over, countless industry insiders would be scrambling to extend a hand to me.

‘Some fans might be sad if I say I’m leaving, but I’ve done my part, haven’t I?’

<Mmm. That’s true.>

The Arena Waiting Room.

Dami seemed to agree with my words, but her expression looked complicated.

I understood.

To Dami, Universe Cat was her debut team.

Although there had been bad times, she now had many fans who loved her, so it was natural for her to have mixed feelings.

But there was no need to think of it so sadly.

A significant number of the newly acquired fans could be called fans of the player Seo Dami, not of Universe Cat.

Wherever Seo Dami went, it was highly probable that her fans would follow.

‘The one who’d be sadder than the fans would be Kim Harim.’

Kim Harim.

The kid I’d raised this Season to boost this damn team’s ranking.

Kim Harim, now handling the Defender position, was sitting next to me, muttering “we have to win, we have to win” over and over.

Kim Harim would want to keep playing games with me.

But that wouldn’t be easy.

It was true she had grown this year, but to be brutally honest, she was still at a Third Division League level.

It became clear while preparing for this Promotion-Relegation Match that she didn’t have the skills to pull her own weight in the Second Division.

Even Jinyang Stars, ranked 10th, had individual capabilities that all overwhelmed Kim Harim.

So, it was inevitably going to be difficult for Kim Harim to follow me, who would be leaving the team soon.

“Everyone! No need to be nervous! Let’s just do what we’ve prepared!”

Director Hong shouted at the players not to be nervous.

Yet he, with his shaking leg, couldn’t hide his own tension.

I turned my head away from the chattering Director Hong and looked at the entrance leading to the Battlefield.

Just as the weather forecast had predicted, a light rain was falling.

‘This is going to be a tough fight.’

The weather in Universe Arena.

This weather is linked to the weather outside.

It was raining in Seoul right now, and that rain was pouring down on the Battlefield.

Of course, this wasn’t the first time we had experienced combat in the rain.

Even excluding the Break Period, there was a time in August when it rained quite a lot.

At that time, the players felt the difficulty of aiming amidst rapidly encroaching fatigue and obscured Vision as they played their matches.

And if you fight a Prolonged Battle in a downpour, you lose more Stamina than usual.

When your Stamina drops, the fingertips aiming the Muzzle tremble, and your speed dies, so it’s a given that you make more mistakes.

In the end, this meant that the more adverse the conditions, the more advantageous it was for the side with superior Stamina, and there was no way Universe Cat could have a Stamina advantage against the Second Division League team, Jinyang Stars.

“Alright! Everyone gather ’round!”

Putting their hands together and raising them to build Fighting Spirit.

It was something we had almost never done at Universe Cat, but it seemed the Director and Coach wanted to inject some energy, just for today.

“On the count of three, we’ll shout ‘Universe Cat, fighting!'”

“Yes.”

“Yes!”

“One, two, three!”

“Universe Cat, fighting!”

<Fighting…!>

The Roar of the Spectator Seats poured down.

The Promotion-Relegation Match that would decide the fate of both teams had begun.

The 1st Set Battlefield was Attica Temple.

It was a Domination Battle.

‘Bad luck.’

Every single Domination Battle battlefield was a place that couldn’t properly block the pouring rain.

Battlefields like the Starship Enterprise allowed for indoor matches regardless of the weather, but at Attica Temple, we had to play like drowned rats.

The temple, in particular, had a unique effect…

<The ground has turned to mud.>

‘This battlefield is the most severely affected by wind and rain.’

A temple built on a sand planet.

The pouring rain drenched the sand covering the Battlefield, turning the area into a mire.

The players all wore ponchos to keep from losing body heat.

Amidst the sound of raindrops bouncing off the surface of the ponchos, we ran toward the center, stepping through puddles.

Domination Battle is a mode where the side that first captures the Central Point and charges the Point Gauge wins.

No matter how many opponents you kill, you were bound to lose if you couldn’t ultimately capture the Control Point.

“Eyes front.”

The rain limited our Vision, but we had to do what we had to do.

Attica Temple, in particular, had temple structures and pillars placed throughout the Battlefield, so we had to watch not only the Front, left, and right, but also above our heads.

If an enemy Sniper who had used Blink or a jump Skill to get on top of a pillar aimed at us first, there was a high probability our heads would be blown off.

I carefully led my teammates along the pre-determined Route.

It was a Movement Path tailored to avoid the sniping points that Jinyang Stars favored, which I had analyzed by rewatching their matches numerous times.

“Clear!”

Kim Harim, who had checked the Front through the eye slit of her Shield, confirmed there were no enemies ahead.

Now, just past the corner and up the stairs was the Control Point.

The way to fill the Point Gauge is simple.

Whether a player is standing, lying down, or whatever on the Control Point, as long as they occupy that spot, it works.

If players from both teams are on it at the same time, it becomes a stalemate, and the gauge doesn’t charge for either side.

In other words, standing on the Control Point and preventing the opposing players from entering.

This was the way to win a Domination Battle.

“Let’s turn on our Shields and prepare to charge.”

“Okay.”

It was when I was instructing Kim Harim to raise her Shield and climb the stairs.

A roaring sound filled the air and pierced through the Battlefield.

‘Something’s coming?’

Domination Battle.

The only mode among all battlefields where the sound of the Spectators is heard by the players in the game without any filter.

For a large number of Spectators to start stomping their feet with gasps in such a Domination Battle was a sign that some great shock was about to hit the Battlefield.

-Jinyang!

-Jinyang!

-Jinyang!

The moment the shouts enveloped the Battlefield and goosebumps rose on my arm, I saw a Shield cutting through the raindrops from the right.

“Three o’clock! Enemy!”

Shouting that an enemy had appeared, I reflexively fired my Rifle.

However, it wasn’t enough to stop the opponent who was charging in with a Defender’s Shield at the forefront.

At the same time, Attackers who leaned out from the left and right of the enemy Defender peppered our side with sharp shots in an instant.

Drrrrrk-!

A mix of Live Rounds and optical weapons swept through, and Lee Seyeon and Song Yuri went down simultaneously.

‘Son of a bitch.’

No sooner had I used Acceleration to get out of the way than bullets flew in and struck me.

Kim Harim barely held on with her Shield, but she was taken down by a Bomb Chain Attack before even five seconds had passed, and Kim Yujeong was shot in the head and collapsed while turning her Muzzle.

<Why, why did they come from that way? We were fast too, weren’t we?>

Seo Dami spoke as if she couldn’t understand, and I gritted my teeth as I climbed the stairs as fast as possible.

‘Jinyang is treating us like idiots…!’

In a Domination Battle, the main battleground is usually on top of the Control Point.

It’s obvious since you have to capture the point to win.

But just now, Jinyang Stars had showcased a strategy where they got into position before us and then hit us from the side.

We both ran towards the center at the same time, so why was there such a difference in speed?

The answer lay in Jinyang’s Mana consumption.

Universe Cat had chosen the common method of shortening travel time by mixing in Acceleration while running to the center.

But Jinyang, not content with even Full Acceleration, had also deployed Blink to drastically reduce their travel time.

Because they went that far, they were able to arrive at their desired location first in an unexpectedly short amount of time.

In return, Jinyang consumed most of their Mana.

Common sense dictated it was a bad trade.

Pouring Mana just to go a mere hundred meters faster?

How on earth were they supposed to fight without Mana?

Acceleration, Shield, Attack Enhancement, position tracking, and so on.

Mana was required for the use of all Skills.

Naturally, the side with more Mana had a higher chance of winning an Engagement.

If today’s match wasn’t between Universe Cat and Jinyang, but a match between ordinary First Division League teams, it would have been Jinyang that was turned into a honeycomb.

The advantage of an Ambush certainly exists, but that advantage is by no means enough to overcome an overwhelming difference in Mana.

Deploy Acceleration to evade the enemy’s attacks as much as possible.

Then, regrouping the Battle Line and launching a Counterattack would have been more than enough to devour Jinyang in return.

However…

This damn team, regrettably, was not a team that could react flexibly to an ambushing enemy.

Kim Yujeong, Lee Seyeon, Song Yuri.

Those three were beaten down without even getting to use Acceleration.

If not Acceleration, if they had at least put up a Shield, they would have lasted two or three more seconds.

Kim Harim managed to put up her Shield, but her Stamina melted away from the incoming Grenade and Grenade Round Combo.

Despite having an overwhelming Mana advantage, the game collapsed just from being caught in an Ambush.

It was like raising a white flag of surrender without doing anything…

It was a scene that should never happen in the pro scene.

With a smooth Acceleration, I bounded up ten steps at a time and reached the Control Point in an instant.

A mechanical voice announced that the Blue Team was attempting to capture the Control Point.

There were no pursuing footsteps.

Having taken down everyone but me, it seemed their plan was to take their time and cook me.

<…What do we do now?>

‘What do you mean, what do we do? We have to mix it up as best we can.’

A 1 vs 5 situation.

It would take time for Kim Yujeong and the others to get here from the base again.

In the meantime, Jinyang Stars would finish me off, then find another good spot and go for Universe Cat’s throat.

‘1 vs 5, huh…’

It was a save situation not often seen in the First Division.

Especially in a shitty case like this where the opponents all have full Stamina.

‘Still, it’s too early to give up.’

I still had 70 percent of my Mana left after using Acceleration.

‘Alright. The advanced lesson begins now.’

“Jinyang Stars! With a bold expenditure of Mana, they succeed in an Ambush on Universe Cat!”

-That’s Jinyang for you.

-No matter how much you call them Second Division scrubs, there’s a clear difference in level from the Third Division, you know?

-That one loudmouth you guys love so much is all that’s left.

-Shall we see some skills then? Not that it’ll matter, lol.

-Shut up! General Seo will pull through!

-General Seo, she says.

-LMAO.

While the indignant Universe Cat fans clamped their mouths shut, some Spectators were checking Seo Dami’s condition with serious eyes.

They were the Scouts who had come to check Seo Dami’s skills before.

And today, their numbers had grown even larger than last time.

‘Isn’t that Director Baek Jeongseop?’

‘The Titans’ Director came in person to see Seo Dami?’

Every year before the Transfer Market approached, Scouts would frequent the arenas.

Among them, who knew the industry’s information and faces better than anyone, was a familiar figure.

It was the staff of the SH Titans, occupying one side of the Universe Cat cheering section and exchanging words.

Baek Jeongseop.

He was the Director leading the First Division League team, SH Titans, and had been commanding the team for three years.

The Titans’ rank this year was 8th.

It was a low rank among the 12 teams in the First Division League, but the Titans’ level was by no means comparable to the Second Division League.

Right now in the Arena, Jinyang Stars had crushed Universe Cat with an effective Ambush, but the Titans were a team that could play with a team like Jinyang Stars as if they were a toy.

‘I didn’t know the Titans were paying attention to Seo Dami.’

‘Isn’t the Titans’ Yang Mirae a Free Agent after this Season ends?’

‘I don’t know for sure, but if the Titans have their eyes on her, it won’t be easy to sign Seo Dami.’

The Scouts from the Second Division League and below who recognized Director Baek Jeongseop frowned.

If a First Division team like the Titans tried to steamroll a player acquisition with money, it was extremely difficult for a Second or Third Division team to win.

There were even some who wished Seo Dami would mess up in today’s Promotion-Relegation Match so that the Titans would lose interest.

If Seo Dami botched today’s game, a team of the Titans’ caliber would reconsider signing her, but the teams from the Second Division and below wanted to bring in Seo Dami as an immediate asset regardless of today’s game results.

Amidst these differing thoughts.

Jinyang Stars began to move again.

1 vs 5, an extremely disadvantageous situation for Universe Cat.

Jinyang Stars, with their Defender in the lead, charged up the stairs to the Control Point.

“Initiating Acceleration!”

Jinyang Stars, squeezing out what little Mana they had left, began to accelerate.

What they faced as they bounded up the stairs was Seo Dami, with a smirk and a meaningful look in her eyes.

With just her gaze, she revealed her intention not to give up this game meekly, and she fiercely threw her hand.

With a pop!, a Smoke Grenade exploded on the Control Point.

Simultaneously, the Muzzles of both sides spewed fire, and the battle resumed.