Chapter 95

At the same time Seo Dami was making her declaration of war, the Korean UA Community was abuzz with complaints about the group draw.

-Are we really facing Japan right away?

-Looks like we’re gonna get crushed by Kato again.

-Honestly, our skills have improved a lot compared to the last international tournament, but…

-What’s the point if the Dealers are good? The rest of the team can’t back them up.

-Aren’t there any more young, talented players?

-Nope. In the first place, UA is the main game in Japan, but it’s a sub-game for us.

-The population difference is insane. It’s a miracle we’ve even come this far.

Almost no fans expected a Korean victory.

The majority opinion was that even if the Dealer Line, led by Seo Dami and Kim Seunga, could barely hold their own, Korea would be outmatched in every other area, including Defender, Supporter, and Sniper.

However.

Just because the fans had given up didn’t mean the players had.

In particular, Seo Dami, who had declared she would bring Han Youngin over, immediately sought out Kim Seunga, who was resting on her bed after finishing a call.

“Ah, what now!”

The moment Seo Dami barged in asking, “Unni, are you here?” Kim Seunga snapped in irritation.

This alone was enough to guess the considerable amount of hassle Kim Seunga had been through.

“What do you mean, ‘what now’? We have to practice…”

“Why do we keep practicing something we’re not even going to use!!!”

The reason for Kim Seunga’s irritation was Seo Dami’s request to practice.

From the day the national team was formed until now.

Seo Dami hadn’t missed a single day of grabbing Kim Seunga and asking for a practice spar.

At first, Kim Seunga had welcomed it.

That Seo Dami, she’s a real pro!

How long had it been since she’d seen a player voluntarily practice late into the night for a medal?

The reality was that such players were surprisingly hard to find on the national team.

Thinking she had finally met a passionate player after a long time, Kim Seunga did her best to help with her practice.

But as one day passed, then two, and time continued to flow, Kim Seunga’s thoughts began to change rapidly.

Isn’t this practice a bit excessive…?

Something was strange.

Seo Dami, asking for help, was as desperate as if someone was chasing her with a knife.

As if her career as a player would end if she didn’t win a medal in this tournament.

Even when asked for the reason, Seo Dami would only shake her head, remaining silent on the matter.

Still, it was fine up to this point.

Everyone has a secret or two they can’t talk about.

But! Why wasn’t she using what they practiced in a real match!

This was the part Kim Seunga couldn’t understand the most.

I mean, if you’re going to keep someone from sleeping to practice, shouldn’t you at least use it in a real match?

But Seo Dami had never once, not a single time, shown the results of their practice in an actual game.

She was hoarding it as if it were some kind of treasure.

“I’m not doing it. I’m going to sleep, so go practice with the others.”

“Aww, don’t be like that. You know I can’t practice without you, Unni.”

Seo Dami hopped onto Kim Seunga’s bed, forced her to sit up, and massaged her shoulders as she spoke.

“I’ll definitely use it. I was planning to use it from the start when we face Japan.”

“Isn’t she a complete psycho…”

Kim Seunga’s expression softened slightly at the surprisingly refreshing massage.

And she thought about it calmly for a moment.

She was practicing with Japan in mind from the very beginning?

That meant Seo Dami was truly aiming for a medal.

If Korea beat Japan, they would genuinely be in contention for the championship, and maybe even win the Gold Medal.

That’s how strong of a favorite Japan was in this tournament.

“Were you thinking of winning the whole thing from the start?”

“No. I just need to beat Japan. I have to beat Japan…!”

“……?”

She has strong anti-Japanese sentiment for someone of the younger generation, huh? Thinking this, Kim Seunga let out a deep sigh.

“Let’s go.”

“Thank you, Unni!”

“Yeah, whatever.”

As Seo Dami gave her a back hug and buried her face in the nape of her neck, Kim Seunga stood up, saying, “You’re heavy, get off.”

Since Seo Dami was trailing behind her, she couldn’t see Kim Seunga’s expression.

She just felt infinite gratitude toward her for helping with practice every day.

How annoying it must be.

It was like doing grueling extra training every day without even knowing the purpose.

However, the expression on Kim Seunga’s face as she led the way to the Practice Room was surprisingly not bad.

In fact, she even seemed to be smiling faintly.

Truthfully, she was also looking forward to it in her own way.

To how the results of this practice would be displayed in this tournament.

She couldn’t help but feel excited just thinking about how the fans would react.

“You’d better not lose.”

“I’ll win for sure! For sure!”

“But why do you keep avoiding the question? Is Youngin Oppa really not in Japan…”

“Let’s practice. Practice!”

“She keeps changing the subject…”

And so, two players disappeared into the Practice Room for another day of arduous training.

3 days left until the Korea-Japan match.

Ever since the bracket was announced, I had spent my time analyzing the Korean team’s matches.

The weather in Los Angeles is so nice right now.

During the Olympics Season, when players flocked to the beach whenever they had free time, I was just staring at a screen, which prompted Kato Mikane to mutter.

<Is there really a need to go this far…?>

Kato Mikane asked if it was necessary to put so much effort into analysis.

Wasn’t the data compiled by the analysis team enough?

But my thoughts were a little different.

“They say a lion uses its full strength even when catching a single rabbit.”

My teammates, the Director, the analysis team, and even the fans around the world cheering for Japan.

Everyone was taking Korea lightly, but I wasn’t.

Didn’t I know better than anyone the potential that players like Kim Seunga and Seo Dami possessed?

They were players with the ability to bite back if we let our guard down.

And in a real match, allowing that one attack could often come back as a fatal blow.

Besides, there’s no such thing as 100 percent in a game, so the possibility of Korea beating Japan certainly existed.

But if that happened, Kato would truly have to face retiring as a Pro Gamer.

If Japan, who was called a championship favorite, lost in the first game of the Main Round, and to Korea of all teams, it was obvious that public opinion would attack her relentlessly.

Although anti-Japanese sentiment wasn’t as strong as it used to be, the Korea-Japan match was always a topic that drew intense interest from both sides.

And because Kato trusted me, she said she would honor the contract as it was.

She could have just said let’s settle it at the World Championship after her physical condition improved.

Since Kato trusted me and entrusted me with the task first, I planned to do my best to the extent of my abilities.

Because if I were on the Korean team, I would have prepared for the match in the exact same way.

And so, three days passed.

The day of the match arrived.

The Olympics Arena, which would normally have plenty of empty seats, was surprisingly filled with many Spectators.

They were people who had come to see the players’ faces at least once, even if they could only watch the match on a screen.

Among them were a great number of Spectators cheering for the Korean team.

They were mostly citizens residing in Koreatown.

The people who first established Koreatown in Los Angeles had left with the passage of time, but a steady influx of people had continued to flow in, and the town was still maintained today.

-Daehan Minguk!

Clap clap clap-clap clap!

The pre-match interview began along with the clapping cheer familiar to any Korean.

Caster Rich Nelson first directed a question to the Korean team.

“I’ll ask player Kim Seunga first. How do you feel about facing Japan today?”

“Not great. There’s no one who doesn’t know that Japan is strong.”

-Japan is incredibly strong.

-But you can do it, right?

-I believe in our General Seo…

“Still, I don’t think it’s a guaranteed loss. We’ve prepared well.”

“So you’ve come up with some kind of countermeasure. I see. We’ll have to see what that is inside the game later! Now, let’s hear from player Kato Mikane.”

Rich Nelson asked me.

How I predicted the course of today’s game would go.

In response to that question, I held up two fingers, making a V sign.

When Nelson asked if it was a V for victory, I shook my head and answered, “Two.”

“I predict a 2-0, a Perfect game.”

-The Great Emperor To!!!

-Kato-sensei! I love you!

Along with shouts of Kato’s name, applause erupted from the Spectator Seats.

No matter how many Korean fans came to cheer, half the Arena was filled with people cheering for Kato Mikane, for Japan.

And that ratio was bound to become even more skewed the moment we logged into the game and entered the VR Arena.

As the Spectators showed a fervent reaction, Kim Seunga made a displeased face, and Seo Dami looked this way with a complicated expression.

“Of course, even if that’s the result, I have no intention of playing an easy game. I will always do my best.”

-Simply God-Kato-sensei.

-How can she be so good at interviews too…!

I sent Dami a text before the match.

That I wouldn’t intentionally lose or hold back my strength in today’s game.

Do your best under the given conditions.

I thought that was the true lesson I could give Dami.

“Then let’s begin the match between the two teams! Everyone, please cheer for them with a round of applause!”

Amidst the fervent cheering, the players headed for their Access Devices.

Along with the familiar message welcoming us to UA Log In, we opened our eyes in the middle of the In-Game Waiting Room.

A rumbling vibration was being transmitted to us through the walls of the Waiting Room.

The Setup of the Olympics VR Arena was exactly the same as the World Stadium used exclusively for the World Championship.

The World Stadium, capable of accommodating 500,000 people.

Of course, even if it could hold 500,000 Spectators, for a match like the Olympics, with fans wanting tickets all over the world, it sold out in an instant.

Hundreds of thousands of those Spectators were now stomping their feet and radiating Energy outside, waiting to watch our match.

“Alright, everyone gather ’round.”

I called the players together.

On other teams, the Director might take the lead, but on the Japanese national team, it was Kato’s, my role.

“Let’s just do as much as we’ve prepared. Don’t let your guard down, and even if you make a mistake, I can cover for you. You know what I mean, right?”

“Yes!”

The original Kato wouldn’t have said something like this, but the players’ reaction was surprisingly good.

What player would dislike their Leader confidently telling them to play and giving them courage?

I even called over Nakano Ui, who had been stuck on the Bench, to stand in a circle with us.

“On three, we’ll shout ‘Japan, fighting!’ and go in.”

“Yes!”

“One, two, three.”

“Japan! Fighting!”

<You seem like you could just live in Japan…>

The game began.

The Battlefield was the Deathmatch type, Arc Factory No. 2.

Exiting the Respawn area led to a straight corridor.

And past the corridor was the factory Floor area, divided into a first and second Floor.

‘Well then, I should show them, right?’

<Show them what?>

I could feel the Korean team moving diligently beyond the Objectives and obstacles.

Being careful not to get hit by a blind Attack, I retorted to Kato.

‘Who the star of this tournament is.’

Making the Olympics Kato’s one-woman show.

That was the plan I had devised for Kato, so I intended to carry it out faithfully.

Even if the opponent was Korea.

My teammates began to spread out to their respective positions.

In Arc Factory No. 2, auxiliary Objectives like ammo supplies, Grenades, and small Heal Packs would spawn in various places, but the locations weren’t completely random; they were predetermined from the start.

Not only the locations but also the spawn times were fixed, so in the Pro League, the match would often tilt depending on which side secured how many of these Objectives.

Normally, when you run out of ammo, you have to use a summoning Skill to resupply, which inevitably consumes Mana.

But by using the spawning Objectives, you could resupply without consuming Mana, allowing you to continue the fight advantageously.

With a rumbling sound, the rail began to move.

On the rail, fitting for a munitions factory, were large pieces of equipment loaded onto fighter jets.

As a missile the size of an adult moved along the rail, I initiated the first Attack.

The target was the semiconductor shelf in the center of the first Floor.

It was the place where one could most quickly secure a Preemptive Seizure of a Heal Pack and an ammo supply Set.

A shot flew past my head as I ran.

It was a snipe from the Korean team’s Sniper who had taken the second Floor, Lee Arin.

However, the harassment didn’t last long.

It was thanks to Suzuki Rina, whom we had sent up to the second Floor, who began to actively mark Lee Arin.

We even sent a Defender up to the second Floor to protect our Sniper.

As long as we held the second Floor under the protection of a Defender, it would be difficult for the enemy to take it for a while.

‘The flow isn’t bad.’

I checked my teammates’ positions.

Haruna, the Supporter, was angling for a Support shot from the back, and the other Attacker, Shimizu Misaki, had entered into combat with the Korean team’s Defender, Kim Seohyun, over a Heal Pack spawn point.

If Japan could seize the center like this, we could gain a good momentum. Just then, with a beep!* sound, the Japanese team succeeded in getting the first Score.

Suzuki Rina on the second Floor had taken out the enemy Sniper.

And, with Japan leading by one point, there was movement in the central area.

Judging by the footsteps, two players were approaching.

I knew who it was without even looking, so I drew two pistols and prepared for the clash.

‘So, you came out like that after all.’

The Strategy Korea chose was to lock down Kato Mikane in a 2-on-1.

Just like on Jeju Island, the Seo Dami and Kim Seunga Duo rushed in to take me down.