The match was taking place at the First Abyss Dome Stadium, with an exhibition space for the spectators located in the same building.
There, a bizarre scene was unfolding.
“That’s not the pose! Lennok should be more dignified, a bit indifferent… tilt your hands back a little more. Yes, just like that.”
She was the undisputed number one in popularity polls. Recently, she almost got overshadowed by other heroes, but the release of the mythic skin, Snowflake Queen Camilla, solidified her position as a hero.
A woman who closely resembled Camilla, seemingly cosplaying her, was giving various instructions to those around her.
The ones she referred to were people dressed in wigs and flamboyant costumes—a cosplay team, it seemed.
She was interacting with them, chatting and striking poses for photos, looking like part of the cosplay team even though she wasn’t fully dressed.
Honestly, you could say she was the leader. The woman resembling Camilla primarily controlled the conversation, while the others nodded along attentively.
Passersby thought that maybe the leader didn’t dress up on purpose. They were curious if she’d change into something more fitting before going into the stadium.
And amidst it all, there was a child with a smile that turned into a fidgety expression.
Si Hyun never imagined Mun Ah would get this excited.
Realizing something was off, she pushed through the crowd to grab her older sister’s sleeve, tugging on it persistently.
“Sis…”
“So, the most important thing in cinematics is the balance between heroes. This is what the director wants to convey, okay?”
While explaining the concept of the cinematic trailer for the cosplayers, Kayak turned her head towards the sensation she felt beside her.
There was Si Hyun, with a shy expression. The crowd had swelled, and people were looking at her with intrigued eyes.
Kayak’s face flushed bright red. As she took a picture here and there, she got increasingly engrossed and ended up giving orders directly to the people.
“Aaaaah…”
Kayak’s sharp mind quickly assessed the situation and immediately determined what action to take next.
“Ah, excuse me!”
“Where are you going, Camilla!”
“Just shoot the cinematic final scene and leave!”
Kayak grabbed Si Hyun’s hand and ran off right there.
*
[Live Dome Exhibition Cosplayers Massively Appearing ㄷㄷㄷ]
(A photo of cosplayers making a V-sign)
For the opening match, the cosplay quality from Fusion Gaming’s first season was insane!
Cinematic: Looks like those kids cosplaying from The Origin series?
Everyone was all hyped up and checking it out, ooh ooh.
– Ugh, why can’t I go watch it in person? Why can’t I get a ticket? Why me?
– So jealous… I want to go watch it live too.
– The screen froze, and when the lag cleared, everything was sold out. How’d that happen? ;;
– I left late trying to make it on time, should’ve gone earlier. Sounds fun.
N: Watching in person isn’t bad, especially since they have a lot to do around. The dome stadium itself is owned by Eonix, so they sold a lot of Abyss merchandise and decked it all out.
– What about the person with the covered face? Is it cosplay? The outfit looks simple.
N: Actually, this person is the top-tier quality; not sure if they didn’t get dressed up yet or just didn’t bring it, but their face looks just like Camilla.
N: How much do they resemble her, though?
N: To say they look exactly like Camilla… Hmm… that doesn’t sound right.
N: Isn’t this just cosplayer viral marketing? Lol.
[This person was actually there]
Not lying about the cosplayer being just like Camilla, they truly look identical!
I don’t know if the cosplayers came as a team or individually, but Camilla’s lookalike is totally real.
At first, they quietly followed what others were doing, but after taking a few pictures, they got excited and started directing.
They’re super pretty, and with a nice voice, they talked softly while other cosplayers posed for them.
That made them happy, and they smiled a lot – seriously, so effin’ pretty!
I’ve been to the stadium often and have seen a lot of events like G-STAR, but they’re the prettiest person I’ve seen there.
Really, if they had an Instagram or VTuber channel, I’d immediately slap that like button.
– For real, this is some juicy broth dripping from the text, ooh…
– Review
– What’s up with that cosplayer? Seriously, it’s the opening match today. Can we talk about the league a bit?
ㄴ I like you, Yudong, but wow, you look just like Camilla—200% sync rate!
ㄴ Can we at least talk about the cosplayer? Seems like you’re really riled up, huh?
ㄴ Looks like this guy’s mad because he couldn’t go watch live.
ㄴ Ah, you should’ve at least bought some resale tickets.
ㄴ Just grab some chicken at home.
[So who’s winning today?]
Is Fusion going to win again? Do I have to watch those Fusion fans go crazy in the gallery again?
– What’s that Optimum fan saying? LOL
– I heard Optimum prepared a lot, so maybe we can expect something good this time.
ㄴ Were they just having fun during that time?
ㄴ Yup! Fusion’s already set to win today. It’s been decided—are you seeing last year’s and the year before’s championship teams in that group?
ㄴ Look at how terrifying those comments are! Hahaha.
ㄴ So it’s true that there’s a group chat…
ㄴ They’re already opening the cup before the game starts;;
ㄴ The captain’s probably going to come and delete some comments, haha.
[Fusion seems to have some secret strategies up their sleeves.]
Just recently, they said we should look forward to it during a live stream. Even Jun Hyuk, who usually doesn’t say that kind of stuff.
– Isn’t it bluffing?
– Big Jun Hyuk.
– Damn, it’s you again, Lee Jun Hyuk?
– Even if they act like this, once the game starts, it’ll be the same old faces—Lennok, Alex, Nixon…
– Optimum switched up their members and their form is good, so you never know.
ㄴ For real, Fusion tends to be weak at the start of the season. They might lose today.
*
– Last season, Fusion truly was unbeatable; it’s no wonder they’re confident.
– Predictions before the game: Fusion Gaming at 78%, Optimum Prime at 22%.
– Their performance has been insane, and they haven’t lost, which brought about these stats… From Optimum’s perspective, there’s no guarantee Fusion will keep winning, so they need to aim for that.
– A lot of people say it’s about time they lost. There can’t be eternal winning streaks or losing streaks.
The game is just about to begin now.
Honestly, it’s almost like it’s already started. The analysts’ discussions before the match are like pre-work that makes watching even more fun.
Earlier… I did something a bit cringy. I got so absorbed without even realizing it. Seeing all the people who dressed up perfectly made me think I should’ve at least been perfect too.
Hey Hana. Seeing everyone dressed up properly, I couldn’t help but think that if we’re going to do this, we might as well do it perfectly.
After I grabbed Si Hyun’s hand and entered the arena, I felt too embarrassed and intentionally fixed my gaze on the scoreboard. Fortunately, it seemed like Si Hyun was enjoying it too, so she didn’t really try to talk to me.
– But to evaluate it coldly, Fusion Gaming is, based on current performance, the number one in the world.
– They’ve already been recognized overseas and proven themselves on the world stage. The best team right now is Fusion Gaming. That’s an undeniable fact.
– However, even the best team can fall at any time. Especially in the early part of the season, when new strategies emerge and many teams are rebuilding, changes can happen easily.
As they show a table with the picks and win rates of players from last season, it naturally transitions into the ban-pick phase.
Familiar faces. The Fusion Gaming players are wearing headsets with serious expressions.
– Through a coin toss, Optimum Prime has chosen the blue side.
– So they want to take the lead with their ban-pick… I wonder what strategy they’ve brought.
– Lennok and Alex have been banned. They’ve excluded the heroes that are expected to benefit the most from this patch.
They take turns selecting their heroes. So far, nothing seems too special. Camilla hasn’t appeared yet.
– Both teams are conducting a relatively careful ban-pick, right?
– That’s right, they’re sharing their desired picks back and forth in this situation.
– Up to this point, it’s within the realm of expectations. Their faces seem to say that. However, if it continues like this, Fusion Gaming, who will pick last, seems to have very few options left.
– Exactly. What remains… is probably Ian, who Min Hyung likes to use? But this season, he’s received some pretty bad evaluations.
Amidst that, suddenly, the portrait of a hero appears.
It felt like I could hear a “boom” sound effect in my ear.
At the same time, there was a scream from the commentary team.
– Camilla? Camilla just suddenly appeared?
– Is this for real? There are only 5 seconds left in the pick. 5, 4, 3, 2…
– Ah, Camilla! They really picked Camilla! The Dancer of the battlefield has made her appearance in the league!
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