Chapter 45

It was the worst.

A mess, with no other way to describe it.

-Fuck, is this rigged?

-I heard the payout for Super Sylph losing was dozens of times higher?

-Get it together! General Seo!

-What the hell is wrong with her!

-Bae Yungi! Get the hell out of Dami’s body! You damn ghost!

-FR, watching her play, it’s like she’s possessed today.

The signs of disaster were clear from the start.

From early in the morning, Seo Dami’s condition was clearly not good, to her teammates, the Director, the Coach, to anyone who saw her.

It was so bad that Park Chaerin had even said, “Wouldn’t it be better if Dami rested today and I played instead?”

Still, she insisted she could do it, so they managed to get her into the match, but Seo Dami’s performance on stage was, in a word, disappointing.

She knew she couldn’t go on like this and tried to get the situation under control, but her body just wouldn’t listen.

-Maybe she has the flu.

-But they say not even a dog catches a summer cold.

The fans, not knowing the reason, worried about Seo Dami’s health.

“Dami. Focus. Do you just want to give up on the game?”

“No. I’m sorry.”

“We can’t play if you’re like this. We’ll all lose together.”

Unable to watch any longer, Shin Aram delivered a sharp rebuke.

Of course, it wasn’t just her teammates who were burning up inside.

Seo Dami herself was the one most disgusted by the situation.

Was I always this weak?

I told Oppa not to worry, that I’d do well, and now I’m showing this pathetic side of myself the moment he’s gone?

At her own weakness, Seo Dami gritted her teeth and got back into position.

Truthfully, if it weren’t for the game, she would have wanted to run to the hospital right away.

Just confirming whether Oppa was dead or alive felt like it would bring her peace of mind.

But that wasn’t an easy thing to do either.

What if she went and the hospital room was completely empty?

What if Oppa hadn’t returned to his original body but had instead departed to a place far away, a place she could never reach?

The thought, What if he only said nice things to be considerate of me?, swirled in her head.

At that moment.

With a loud bang, the enemy’s attack began.

The Deathmatch Battlefield, Boundary.

Star Prism was throwing a massive number of bombs, trying to bring down the building and Super Sylph along with it.

“Unni-! I can’t break through alone!!!”

Jung Yunseul, who had been battered by concentrated fire while trying to break out and had barely escaped with her life, called out desperately to Seo Dami.

Stone dust and debris rained down from above.

It’s no use today.

With Seo Dami not even pulling her own weight, but actively being a detriment, they would have to give up this game.

Just as her teammates were thinking that, Seo Dami activated Acceleration and dashed outside.

“Hey, at least say something before you go-!!!”

Hwang Jua, who often used the strategy of sticking to Seo Dami as a dedicated healer, cried out at her sudden action.

It won’t collapse like this. I can do it! I will do it!

Stop the gloomy thoughts and focus on the game.

Reminding herself that this was the best she could do right now, Seo Dami activated Drive.

A skill that spun a live round to curve the projectile trajectory.

Star Prism, who had been relentlessly pressuring them with attacks from unseen places, was startled.

Of course, it didn’t lead to a significant hit.

The Defender was holding up their shield well to prevent them from being hit by a stray bullet.

But Drive was only the beginning.

Securing a route by using Blink to throw a Smoke Screen, Seo Dami attempted an Attack.

You one-trick Acceleration pony!

Star Prism’s Leader, Park Iseo, shouted.

“I’ll block her here! The rest of you, take care of the others!”

Run-and-Gun.

Park Iseo, having ordered her teammates into a fast-tempo individual combat, charged toward Seo Dami.

Normally, she would have been a bit more cautious, but today, she felt it was worth a shot.

And why not? They had already won the first set, and Seo Dami’s condition seemed to be at its worst.

What would happen if she managed to crush Seo Dami one-on-one here?

The spectators and countless viewers would surely be astonished.

Park Iseo has this kind of skill? they would think.

Imagining that satisfying future, Park Iseo stacked a Shield on top of her Acceleration.

It consumed a huge amount of Mana, but it was necessary.

No matter how bad her condition was, her opponent was the league’s top Ace, Seo Dami.

Since her own speed was lacking in a counter-acceleration, she had to reinforce her defense power with a shield to compete.

Pabababat-!

The moment their aims sparked at each other, Seo Dami slid in.

It was the same play Han Youngin had shown in a Rank Game during the Legendary Challenge, dodging an attack by sliding and simultaneously striking the opponent’s lower body with a Lightsaber.

With a cracking sound, Park Iseo’s shields shattered one after another.

Seo Dami’s Lightsaber had torn through all of the opponent’s shields.

But that was as far as it went.

In the Rank Game, Han Youngin had completely finished his opponent with this one move, but Seo Dami couldn’t.

The conditions were different.

Compared to Kim Seunga back then, Park Iseo had a lot of Mana remaining, and Seo Dami’s swordsmanship was no match for Han Youngin’s.

It was only natural.

Although she had been with him for a year, Han Youngin had mainly taught her key skills like shooting and Acceleration.

Swordsmanship was, at best, a minor category, so it was naturally out of the question.

Even if she had received his combat lectures engraved directly onto her body, she couldn’t perfectly replicate a pattern Han Youngin had only used once or twice.

When the Lightsaber failed to inflict a fatal wound, a look of “Oh no!” flashed across Seo Dami’s face, and Park Iseo, not missing the opening, threw a kick.

With a dull thud, Park Iseo’s foot slammed into Seo Dami’s abdomen, and the fans instinctively grimaced, letting out groans.

-That must hurt like hell.

-Ugh;;

In UA, the only attacks that caused significant pain were melee combat using hands and feet.

And Park Iseo had stomped on her abdomen with all her might; how much must it have hurt?

Die, you bitch!

Thinking she had seized victory, Park Iseo pulled the trigger with a venomous look in her eyes.

She thought, There’s no way she can dodge in this state.

She knew well from her own experience.

How much it hurt to get kicked in the stomach.

A direct hit was enough to make one’s mind go hazy.

With a drrrk-! sound, Park Iseo’s muzzle flashed.

A headshot right now would earn one point.

If things went as Park Iseo predicted, that’s what should have happened.

“Huh?”

But reality was different.

Even in that state, Seo Dami twisted her upper body to dodge and then used a rolling maneuver to knock Park Iseo over instead.

A kick like that should have made it impossible for her to collect herself.

Thinking she wouldn’t be able to dodge the attack was Park Iseo’s fatal mistake.

It couldn’t even be called complacency.

Any average player would have been paralyzed by the pain and taken the headshot.

But Seo Dami overcame the pain and launched a counterattack.

Who would have ever imagined?

That Seo Dami, touted as a future world-class contender and the queen of the Second Division, had been a player who suffered all sorts of violence until just a year ago.

On the battlefield today, Seo Dami was the player with the strongest pain tolerance of anyone.

Against Park Iseo, who had fallen with a gasp, Seo Dami swung her Lightsaber without hesitation and struck her neck.

There was no shield this time, so it was an instant death.

Mo-monster!

The Star Prism Sniper, watching this scene through their sniper scope, clicked their tongue and fired a shot.

Park Iseo was already dead, so there was no need to worry about a team kill.

However, Seo Dami’s reaction, moving on to her next action the moment she struck Park Iseo’s neck, was faster.

Strike the neck, then charge with Acceleration.

Seo Dami, going in to take out the enemy sniper, scaled a wall like a ninja and managed to get an additional kill.

It was truly a lightning-fast play.

As she scored a double kill in an instant, the spectators clapped and shouted.

-She’s back!!!

-We believed in you!

-General Seo! Revived!

From this moment on, Seo Dami’s performance came back to life.

Considering the third set, she should have been managing her stamina, but that thought didn’t cross her mind.

Just win this set now.

If Oppa is watching from somewhere, I have to show him a good game performance so he can be at ease.

That was her only thought.

“See! You can do it when you try!”

“Why did you make us worry like that!”

“I’m sorry. I’ll get my head straight for the third set, too.”

Kim Dain and Hwang Jua surrounded and hugged Seo Dami in the waiting room.

The Ace’s revival.

Super Sylph had regained their original form and taken the second set.

“Good. If Dami’s revived, the third set will be a breeze!”

Shin Aram and Jung Yunseul, too.

They showered her with praise, saying her play in the second set was the Seo Dami they knew.

Super Sylph’s momentum was on the rise again.

But in the mind of Seo Dami, who held everyone’s expectations, things were cold.

I used too much stamina.

She realized it after winning the second set.

In her excessive excitement, she had consumed more stamina than necessary.

The third set battlefield was scheduled to be the Garden of the Gods.

It didn’t seem like it would be easy to carry the third set with her remaining stamina.

Still, I won’t give up.

I’ll do my best, as long as my strength lasts.

As Seo Dami managed her expression, Park Chaerin sidled up to her and whispered.

“Dami. Are you, by any chance, low on stamina?”

“……!”

“I knew it. You seemed to be at more of an overpace than usual.”

Seeing Seo Dami’s expression, Park Chaerin confirmed her suspicion was correct.

She, too, was a player who had become an expert at stamina allocation while on the Gaia National Team.

She could tell with a glance how much stamina a player had used.

“First, don’t let it show.”

Park Chaerin ordered Seo Dami to maintain her poker face.

“In a Domination Battle, you can hear everything the spectators are shouting. There’s no good in showing you’re tired.”

It was common for not only the spectators but also the players to watch each other’s expressions.

Especially in a close battle that went to a third set, a split-second calculation like, Ah, the opponent is tired too! If we just push a little harder, we can win!* could be made just by looking at their faces.

“The opponent will be tired too. So if you can, show them you’re relaxed. It’ll put psychological pressure on them.”

“Yes.”

Watching Seo Dami nod, Park Chaerin thought for a moment before calling the players together.

“Girls. How about we try a Double Sweeper for this round?”

“Double?”

Everyone looked surprised at Park Chaerin’s instruction.

Sweeper, a term used only in the Garden of the Gods where Buff Objects appear.

Usually, only one Sweeper, an Object Specialist, is assigned.

This was for efficiency, but also because having a Double Sweeper would make the power struggle at the central point very difficult due to the manpower shortage.

Therefore, a team using a Double Sweeper was signaling their intention to aim for the late game, turning the game around using outer buff stacking even if it meant giving up some of the point gauge.

It was already the third set.

Everyone was puzzled as to why they would aim for the late game when their stamina was hitting rock bottom.

“Coach. May I ask for the reason?”

When Kim Dain raised her hand and asked, Park Chaerin answered.

“What do you think other teams see as our team’s weakness? Stamina, right?”

“Yes.”

Stamina.

This was Super Sylph’s objective weakness, which everyone acknowledged.

Shin Aram, twenty-three.

Kim Dain, twenty.

Seo Dami, nineteen.

Hwang Jua, nineteen.

Jung Yunseul, eighteen.

The team’s average age was 19.8.

The team with the lowest average age in the Second Division League.

While it could be said that they had a collection of talented players, there was also a downside, and that was stamina.

The peak age for players in the Women’s League was around twenty-three.

In fact, the average age of other teams was often close to twenty-three.

So, it was inevitable that there would be a difference in stamina.

Of course, in three years, most of Super Sylph’s players would enter the peak ranks, making them a formidable team, but that wasn’t the case right now.

A team that floundered due to stamina depletion once they reached the third set.

That was Super Sylph’s transparent weakness as seen from the outside.

“It’s a weakness everyone knows. That our team’s stamina is weak. So what do you think they’re thinking over there?”

“That since it’s a Domination Battle, we’ll try to go for the win in the early game?”

“Exactly. If they think that, Star Prism will likely adopt a defensive position.”

Park Chaerin predicted that Star Prism would try to induce a war of attrition, while not letting their point gauge get drained too much.

If it went that way, the Double Sweeper strategy would surely be quite effective.

Because as the game went into the late game, their side would be the one getting stronger.

If the opponent only thought about our early game and had a complacent response, an opportunity would surely arise.

“Let’s do it!”

Hwang Jua shouted with fighting spirit.

The other teammates also nodded.

There was nothing to lose by following the Coach’s words anyway.

Even if they lost the third set, there was probably a sliver of a shallow thought that they could just say, “We just did what the Coach told us to do!”

But the strategy itself was valid, and the reasoning behind it made sense.

And so, the third set began.