“Why did I choose capture the flag…?”
At the starting point of Team WoW, Baekseol muttered in confusion while checking her ice staff.
It’s true that she provoked Choco, anticipating a relay match would come up.
Since CO made it to the finals as the number one from the playoffs, they had the choice of game, and WoW was the one getting picked.
But she never really thought the provocation would work.
It was just a light scratch on the nerves.
The predetermined order was relay match, team brawl, and death match, and they were preparing accordingly.
‘But suddenly it’s capture the flag…’
Choco might be a bit hot-headed, but she wasn’t dumb enough to fall for such a provocation.
If she really was that foolish, she would never be able to live as the team captain in the pro scene.
‘She wouldn’t mess up the finals just because of a provocation, right? Or is she really dumb enough to fall for it?’
“…Whatever.”
“Sis, everything’s ready.”
Baekseol nodded at her teammate who was setting up the magic field at the starting point.
A massive field created by four mages.
Each mage prepared a long-casting field, and the grand wizard Baekseol skillfully adjusted it.
The magic used here would be several times more destructive than usual, and even Choco wouldn’t be able to breach it.
‘Unless they’re monsters like Leona or Lily.’
“Good job, Cheolbyeok. You guard well too.”
“Okay.”
Guarding the flag at the center of the magic circle was the tanker Cheolbyeok.
As a ranker with the tanker job ‘Cheolbyeok’, he had the ability to absorb considerable damage and create a shield equivalent to the absorbed amount.
There are two ways to take the flag in capture the flag.
You can either steal the flag worn on the back or kill the opponent.
With numerous magical buffs, the protection of the magic circle, and the assistance from Baekseol, there’s no way to kill Cheolbyeok within the time limit, no matter what.
─Now! Let the much-anticipated capture the flag begin~~~~~~!
As the match started, the positions of the players who held the flags were displayed on the map.
These positions updated every three minutes.
Looking from here, they seemed to be quite far away.
Both teams didn’t stray too far from their starting point.
“Alright. Then I’ll move…”
Bang—!!
“Already?”
“Gunshot! It’s the gunner in the northwest!”
The sky of the field, drawn with a gigantic magic circle, crackled with a buzzing sound as it turned blue.
At this distance, they must be at least 30km apart.
“I expected this much.”
Laguiel may not have the far-sightedness of the million-mile view, but the hidden job of ‘Gunner’ also has its own form of insight.
Twa—ang! Twa—ang!
The sniper rifle continuously pounds against the field’s shield.
It looks like the shield is holding up perfectly fine, but damage is steadily accumulating.
If we just sit here, the shield will break.
“Slow.”
As Baekseol waved her hand, the flying bullets slowed down a bit.
Kwah-jak! They still hit the shield, but their power has diminished significantly.
“Trying to get away with it, huh?”
“That’s my sister for you!”
“But shouldn’t we move faster? It feels like it’s getting dangerous just sitting here.”
“Got it.”
While the damage has been reduced, it’s still piling up nonetheless.
Baekseol quickly moves, gliding through the air.
Even if her balance has been adjusted, a high ranker is still a high ranker.
She darts towards the target at an incredible speed.
“…!”
She immediately ducks her head.
A golden spear whizzes just above her head.
She messed up.
“Did you dodge?”
I should have blocked it.
Even if I couldn’t block it, I should have at least altered its trajectory.
The golden spear flies straight on…
Kwah-jajajak!!!
And shatters the field’s shield.
■
─Right at the start of the match, the Gunner player is taking a shot!
─What an incredible long-range shot! It’s practically from one end of the map to the other, isn’t it?
─That’s the advantage of the Gunner. The CO team is definitely dominating in terms of range.
As the match begins, the screen displays the gameplay along with commentary.
A woman, camouflaged, is firing a sniper rifle against the rocky, grassy field.
Twa—ang!!
The woman is dressed in a white uniform, with a striking golden gear symbol emblazoned on her chest.
As the white gun, resembling a fusion of magic and machines, lets out a loud noise, the magical shield far away shakes violently.
“A gun…”
“I’ve never seen one in Deoen before. Is it a hidden job?”
“That’s right. It’s a job exclusive to the Gunner.”
Deoen is a world based on the medieval era, where modern weapons like guns are practically nonexistent.
In a world where magic and mystical abilities reign supreme…
“Even the setting rooms made to mimic reality in Deoen charge a hefty fee, showing how little they enjoy modernity… still, if it’s a hidden job, that changes things.”
After all, it’s not completely modern either, is it?
Yena says this as she refocuses on the match.
Focus on the match.
It’s definitely a bit ambiguous to call the gun that player Gunner has a modern one.
It’s more like a magically engineered sniper rifle, closer to ‘fantasy.’
With magical girls in the game, there’s no need to think too deeply about it.
The shooting continues.
Unable to just stand by watching the ongoing fire, Baekseol slows down and flies straight toward the opponent’s base.
And.
“Oh!”
“That’s…”
─A shot from Chuka Chip! It hit precisely!
Kzzzzzzzz!
The field’s shield shattered.
This was the price for Baekseol not blocking or interfering, instead dodging.
Taking advantage of that momentum, Choco flies toward the field, completely ignoring Baekseol.
Startled, Baekseol shoots ice to bind Choco, but being a Mage requires preparation.
Swish!
Magic without casting time gets sliced away by Choco’s spear in just a few swipes.
Baekseol consumed a bit more casting time for a powerful technique.
No matter how good Choco was, the opponent was Baekseol, who had a similar ranking.
It seemed quite impossible to shake off under a balanced condition…
-Hmph.
Buzz!
A translucent purple cube circles around Choco, absorbing the ice fragments.
As if it had done its job, the moment it absorbed, a pushing sound… and the cubes plummet.
─Leiter’s cubes have blocked all the ice spikes!
─Indeed, Leiter and Choco always make a great combination. I dare say they are tier one for support!
Choco disappears completely from Baekseol’s sight.
The field’s shield is just now being reconstructed.
With three other Mages besides Baekseol, the reconstruction isn’t too difficult; the problem is Gunner.
Tat—!
– Gyaaaah!
– Cheolbyeok! You tank a bit!
– …Then who’s gonna guard the flag?
As the shield disappears, Gunner’s gun targets the Mages.
None of them would die from a single shot, but their magic levels are too low to simultaneously rebuild the shield and reduce the shock.
– Haah… This really…
Only someone like Baekseol, who recently ‘awakened,’ could do that.
Baekseol pulls out a book from her arms.
A completely frozen, deep crimson book.
Shshshh!! The book flips its pages automatically without being touched.
─Baekseol is preparing a powerful technique!
A thick chill flows from the book as the pages, after flipping for a while, finally stop at one place.
Fwoosh!!
Ice thorns burst out from the book.
The thorny vines spiral sharply and fly at high speed, grabbing Choco’s ankle.
Choco quickly uses the spear blade to cut the thorny vines, but it’s no use.
I cut through the thorny vines, but it was useless.
-……
The thorny vines, consisting of hundreds, even thousands, swallowed Choco in an instant.
Bang! Bang! T─…
The thorny vines, which even consumed the bullets, soon completely enveloped the field and entered a defense stance.
Once the gunner’s interference vanished, the field’s shield was restored immediately.
The situation was back to normal, and the WoW crisis had subsided.
Instead, it appeared that Choco, who held the flag, was captured, putting the CO team at a disadvantage.
– With Player Choco captured! What on earth is happening inside there?!
“This looks dangerous… that ‘Extremity of the West’ is mythical too.”
Yena anxiously focused on the mass of vines captured on the screen.
Indeed, those vines were too much for Choco’s spear or cube to handle lightly.
“Well, it doesn’t seem that dangerous.”
But I stared blankly at the vines.
The spear Choco used to break the shield was definitely the technique used back then.
‘Mock Siege War. A technique following ‘Annihilation.’
Although it didn’t follow the overwhelming power or special abilities, it modified the roar of the spear and created something new.
If nothing else, the power alone was quite impressive.
‘Did she reduce the power and the burden compared to that time?’
Unlike Yena, who died once and came back fully awakened, she still managed to achieve something remarkable in her own way.
Choco definitely has talent.
And if that talent continues like an extension…
Kwagagaga… Rank!
The mass of thorny vines erupted with a loud noise as if splitting from the inside.
The fierce storm began from the center.
A stream of the Holy Grail flowed down over the golden hair, dimly visible between the thorny vines.
The golden spear she held was sucking everything in as it stirred up the storm.
‘Eye of the Spear.’
Choco was awkwardly mimicking the eye of the spear using the power of the mythical item, the ‘Holy Grail.’
I felt admiration mixed with regret.
‘…I wish she was Candy Star instead.’
If only there was a strong passion for that technique, if her appearance breaking through the vines showcased the form of a magical girl.
That would have been great.
‘Choco is more suited to be Candy Star.’
Magical girls are a big deal.
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