Chapter 79

The semifinal match ended with a crushing 3:0 victory.

Looking at the score, it seemed pretty dull, but in reality, our team dominated the game.

The opposing team’s structure made it difficult for them to beat our team, which is strong in the City Core.

In the midst of it all, while trying to counter Bunny Run, ‘Ormal’ was unleashed, leading to a disaster. It was almost strange that we still won.

“Won’t you call me the Bunny MVP?”

“Bunny Run, you definitely shine when you stay on the outskirts.”

I watched Bunny Run, who ruthlessly collected the enemy’s outer solo and became the MVP of the semifinal.

If this bunny was as good at joining fights as she is at side-laning, I would’ve been five times more comfortable. Can’t we modify her somehow?

I stared at Bunny Run’s pocket. She then turned serious.

“Unnie, why were you looking at my pocket just now? Don’t tell me you were thinking, ‘You haven’t smoked during the training camp. Your patience is impressive.'”

“I was wondering how to take away the hypnosis app.”

“Unnie, what are you even talking about?”

I was mistaken. Bunny Run wasn’t serious earlier.

This is what being serious looks like.

Taking on the roles of both the Apostle of Purity and the Apostle of Seriousness. That’s no ordinary talent.

“But be careful. If you rely too much on the power of the constellations, you’ll have to pay the price later.”

“Unnie, look at this.”

Bunny Run handed me a tablet PC.

A short video played.

“Han Yoorim! She keeps dodging attacks endlessly!”

“That’s not a strong heart; it’s more like she has no heart. No human could fight with such low stamina that one hit would kill them, let alone in a tournament. She’s a monster.”

“She called me a monster.”

I left Bunny Run, who was giggling for some reason, and went to the living room.

“……”

“……”

And then I caught Choco Full Bread eating a choco bar in the corner, and our eyes met.

Where on earth did he get that from?

Even walks are strictly controlled, right?

“…Yoorim unnie, it’s a misunderstanding. This isn’t a bad choco bar.”

“Is that choco bar actually not chocolate but a protein bar?”

“…It’s a good choco bar with 20 fewer calories than others.”

“Hand it over now.”

I didn’t scold her for not being able to hold out just one more day.

Even bodybuilders, the monks of the city, often couldn’t resist and overate before competitions.

I gave Chaenarin some Greek yogurt as encouragement.

“…Hmph.”

I’ve said it before, but what’s with the “hmpf”?

Just because you’re pretty?

Chaenarin started eating the Greek yogurt while crying (not really), so I checked our finals opponent.

‘Milinae No Injung’

As the team name suggests, ‘Milinae No Injung’ is a team made up of broadcasters from Milinae, a domestic streaming platform rivaling V-TV.

Despite the team name suggesting old age, only the team leader is in their 30s, and the rest are in their early 20s.

Their tiers are Challenger, Challenger, Master, Diamond, Diamond, Silver.

You might wonder how such a crazy team was formed, but those two Challengers are at a point where they could drop to Master if they lose a few matches. They didn’t hog points like me or Pape.

But if you ask if those two Challengers are bad… Of course not. They’re Challengers for a reason.

Plus, broadcasters are usually better than their tier suggests.

In tournaments, where chat and donations don’t pour in, their true skills come out, so we shouldn’t take them lightly.

I put on my VR device and logged into the VR room.

I needed to check on Choco Full Bread, our biggest concern.

As soon as I logged in, Choco Full Bread greeted me with a bright smile.

“Yoorim unnie, you’re here?”

“Choco Full Bread, you’re always the same.”

I looked down at Choco Full Bread.

He was lying on the floor. Nothing had changed.

When I looked up, I saw Pape standing with his arms crossed.

I said,

“Since Bbangbbang can’t come, you’ll have to teach him, Pape.”

“Got it.”

Bbangbbang returned to the team as the season resumed.

Luckily, he destroyed the game from the first match, so he didn’t get flak for being out of form due to coaching the invitational tournament.

I looked around the VR room and asked curiously,

“Where’s Malang Mabang?”

“Work.”

Even though tax accountants have a good work-life balance and even took summer vacation, they can’t completely rest. They have to work in between.

I pointed at Choco Full Bread, who had resumed practicing, and asked,

“How is he?”

“Decently usable.”

“Really?”

“I never expected much from an Iron.”

Well, I was against forming a team with an Iron from the start.

Maybe I liked Choco Full Bread because he understood what I said.

Actually, I did like him.

I nodded.

“How did we even make it to the finals?”

“Honestly, I can’t believe it. Am I the only one who sees how to counter our team?”

“I see it too.”

Actually, our team has a fatal weakness.

If the opposing team exploits it, it would be really tough for us…

“But that’s because we understand our team perfectly. For teams with less information, it wouldn’t be easy to figure out.”

“I’m nervous, so nervous.”

“What do you have to be nervous about, Pape? If we win, you’ll be worshipped, and if we lose, your preferences will be satisfied—”

“Stop.”

“Okay.”

I checked on Choco Full Bread.

He successfully used four consecutive skills. His timing was just around 200 ping.

He does so well in practice, so why does he perform so poorly in actual matches?

Did he sense my gaze? Choco Full Bread paused his practice and tilted his head.

“Yoorim unnie, why are you staring at my chest?”

“Maybe it’s made of a different material than humans…”

“I was observing you.”

“My DNA doesn’t have any bird mixed in.”

“Of course, it’s Korea University. They understood exactly what I was saying.”

“Maybe I’m just getting used to you. It has nothing to do with Korea University.”

“Anyway. Don’t worry, Pape. Choco Full Bread is working hard, right?”

“I’m anxious, so anxious.”

*

When watching creative works featuring demon kings and heroes, the following questions arise.

Why doesn’t the demon king move from the beginning?

Why does he diligently send weak enemies first to help the hero grow?

From there, a twist on the cliché emerged where the demon king does it on purpose, but even that has become a cliché now. The hero-demon king dynamic is an old trope.

So, why bring this up suddenly? I wanted to say that just like the demon king had his reasons, I had mine too. It’s not that I was careless.

“What? They used three bans on Chaenarin?”

“Hmm.”

The morning of the finals had arrived.

If it were the <Eternal World World Championship>, there would have been an opening stage and singers to announce the start of the finals in a grand manner, but the <Eternal World Olympics> was an online broadcast tournament. They didn’t go that far.

After a light team leader interview, the tournament began immediately.

The first set was classic versus classic.

The opponent banned my three main characters, and we banned their three main characters, picking tier picks and ending up with a team fight disaster.

We were the winners.

It was thanks to Mos suppressing the enemy’s main carry well.

But in the following second set.

The opponent’s bans suddenly changed.

They banned three of Chaenarin’s main characters, including ‘Cheonseoah.’

The strategy had already been shown to fail in the round of 16 by ‘Cotton Candy Flurry,’ so why?

“Could it be?”

“Not sure yet.”

Pape muttered with anxiety, but we calmly banned the enemy’s three main characters.

And the opponent picked.

First pick was ‘Pallon,’ a paladin character with an ultimate skill that makes the entire team invincible.

We picked ‘Thierry’ and Choco Full Bread’s ‘Messian.’

The enemy’s next picks were ‘Miho’ and ‘Muryeon.’

…Each had an ultimate skill for area-wide healing and a skill that makes all characters immortal for a certain time.

As soon as we saw that, we realized.

You guys noticed, huh?

The enemy’s composition seemed okay at first glance, but in reality, it wasn’t good.

There were characters with ambiguous performance and some that just didn’t fit.

Yet, that composition was very, very effective against us.

What’s the characteristic of invincibility, area-wide healing, and immortality skills?

It’s extending the duration of team fights.

Normally, extending team fight duration doesn’t win games. You need the right composition for that. Just extending the duration without proper setup leads to losing team fights due to lack of damage.

But not against us.

Why?

Because the main carry position was held by someone who loses focus and explodes after just 10 seconds in a team fight.

No. Now it’s not 10 seconds.

How long was the Yoorim Transformation duration when Chaenarin picked ‘Kwon Sooah’?

Was it 6 seconds?

Chaenarin has zero proficiency with characters.

So, no matter which character she picked, her proficiency was similar, but that doesn’t mean she had no main characters.

Chaenarin’s Yoorim Transformation duration varied by character.

Her most played ‘Cheonseoah’ had an 11-second duration, followed by 9 seconds, and another at 8.5 seconds.

But ‘Kwon Sooah’? Only 6 seconds. Similar to when the tournament just started.

You noticed that.

You really prepared hard during this short tournament period.

“…Yoorim unnie. What should we do?”

“What else? We have to try.”

I comforted the flustered Chaenarin and started the game.

30 minutes passed.

Our base was destroyed.

The score was now 1:1. A tie.

You’re good at this game.

So this is how it’s going to be, huh?

“Chaenarin.”

“Yes.”

“Use ‘that.'”

There’s Chekhov’s gun theory.

If a gun appears in Act 1, it must be fired by Act 3.

If you’re going to play the game this well, I’ll respond with all means necessary—.

“…Yoorim unnie. We’re in big trouble.”

“Did you accidentally eat the chocolate bar on the desk?”

“…The bag of Concerta pills. I think I mistook it for trash and threw it away.”

“That’s an even bigger problem.”

This is my fault.

I should have kept the pill bag with me. I left it in a place where everyone could touch it.

But I really didn’t expect anyone to dig through the cabinet and throw it away. I’m upset too.

If Concerta appears in Act 1, shouldn’t it be consumed by Act 3?

Even if the gun is broken, it was still used, so it’s not wrong, right?

“The ban-pick is about to start, what are we going to do?”

“Ban all the characters that extend team fight duration. Go all out.”

No choice.

If you don’t have teeth, use your gums.

It’s all-out war.