Baekseol’s spear pierced through Choco’s body.
Choco twisted her frozen body as much as she could to counterattack, but it became difficult to muster any more strength.
-Crazy…
Unlike Baekseol, who was charging like a runaway train, Choco was cautiously looking ahead to the next round.
If she pushed herself too hard like during the mock Siege War, she could suffer significant damage.
In the end, Choco’s choice was to give up.
She wouldn’t mind losing like in her debut match, but she couldn’t afford to give up the victory.
Waaaaahhh!!
[Baekseol! Baekseol! Baekseol! Baekseol!]
[WoW wins! WoW wins! WoW wins!]
[Hahahahahahaha]
[The debut match nightmare, lol]
[They’re reenacting it again]
[Choco, noooooooo!!]
[Chokkkkkkkkkkkkk]
[CO SuDun]
[Don’t hate on Choco! Don’t hate on Choco! Don’t hate on Choco! Don’t hate on Choco!]
[But why is Baekseol so strong? Is it really that much?]
[Oh my god]
[Baekseol is invincible and the frost champion is a god]
[Suddenly, it feels like the balance has completely shifted, what is this, lol]
[Baekseol got ridiculously strong all of a sudden]
[???]
[Is the System tasting again like during the mock Siege War?]
─…The match is over! The winner is WoW!
─There were no surprises in this match. WoW overpowered CO and created a 1-to-1 situation! It was a different flow compared to the last round, right?
─That’s correct! Unlike the fiercely contested first round, this round felt almost like a ‘captain’s match’. What do you think, Crack commentator?
─…I think Baekseol was a bit, no, much stronger than usual. In fact, Baekseol’s ice isn’t that solid.
─That’s definitely true. Baekseol is more specialized in debuffs and attacks than defense.
Professionals are all rankers.
And among them, Baekseol and Choco are nearly out of this world.
If they were to fight in a regular field, it might not just be a 1-to-5 match, but rather a 1-to-100 scenario where they could win.
Even though the professional tournament has managed to balance things quite well, due to the nature of MMORPGs, it can’t be perfectly uniform.
Still, this professional match is being praised for being almost “overly balanced…”
The problem is that some rankers’ skills have been rapidly rising lately.
Crack, who ranked 6th and knows this fact better than anyone, nodded.
─The quadruple enhancement buff using the four magic circles. Because of that, the defense that should have focused on the shield was entirely concentrated on the ice wall, blocking most attacks… although it’s a bit suspicious that there wasn’t even a scratch.
─Suspicious how?
─There’s probably another trick up their sleeve.
Like Leiter, who used a technique hidden in the first round.
─Baekseol’s hand turned completely white and froze at the end. I believe it might be a side effect of gaining a new ability. A ‘penalty’ for strong power.
─Strong abilities definitely come with penalties. The most representative case is Lord Leo, right?
Isn’t that Lord Leo?
─That’s right. He is someone whose personality actually became younger through a race change. The numerous rankers, on the other hand, have special penalties.
This game is trying to find fairness while being unfair.
One person has the power to topple a nation but became a young child.
Another person became the invincible number one that no one could surpass but was eventually consumed by a sword and fell into corruption.
Of course, some might think that the price they pay is still light compared to their power…
‘Well, the world has always been like this.’
From the beginning, there is no balance in this world.
A world where monsters that can tear the sky and crush mountains are born without any cost right from the start.
Even though it became a game, it can’t fundamentally change that.
However, that doesn’t mean the balance system didn’t operate.
Clearly, the fights were quite intense up to the first round, and the techniques Chocolate uses were not game-breaking.
The problem started when Baekseol broke the ‘limit’ set by the system.
‘The limit set by the system.’
It’s a powerful law that restricts skills to be used solely as skills, limiting the use of mana manipulation or special abilities.
Because of this, users could only utilize their techniques within limits, just as it had been until I arrived.
‘Until I did my lecture broadcast.’
Oh?
“Is it because of me?”
“No way… What?”
“It seems like Baekseol has become strong because of me.”
I taught various ways to use mana through my classes.
Although those who didn’t attend directly might have only learned basic mana manipulation, even that would be enough for someone with talent to grasp.
Unlike the past they needed to build from the start, they already had enough power.
Eyna looked at me as if her brain just short-circuited, then her eyes lit up.
“Whoa.”
“…It’s just a talented person blooming.”
This is the fault of the system.
Exactly, they should have been more careful. Who told them to half-ass it?
The debt I owe for my suffering is still piling up.
The system made me roll for 30 years and only tossed me a measly 20 million won after my return.
If my body were the same in reality, I would storm into the Nutri Company headquarters right away.
“…But that would be a bit much.”
“Baekseol?”
“Yes. Using it excessively like that would definitely affect reality.”
The limits set by the system were not because the users were weak.
They were a ‘safety line’ created to allow the users’ ‘souls’ to endure.
Users can use their abilities without any constraints or interruptions at the safety line, and the penalty for crossing that line and gaining strong power is high.
Of course, that price is also under the influence of another safety line, but trying to break free from such influences puts a strain on reality.
Yena shuddered as if recalling the pain of that day.
“Ouch. That hurt.”
“It’s a pain that makes you not want to live anymore. But you definitely don’t die.”
“…You seem to know well?”
“Of course! It’s what I use.”
The pain of the soul being torn apart is my specialty.
I’ve experienced the soul being ripped into thousands of pieces.
That level of pain is just a joke.
“But I’m curious about something.”
“What is it?”
“There was no time limit in the group brawl, right? But if they’re stalling like that, won’t it just never end?”
Though Baekseol’s usage of her abilities beyond the limit was unexpected, that aside, CO had no reason to approach the opponent.
In WoW, victory is an urgent choice, but also, CO had no reason to give in.
Aye~ Yena shook her head and took a sip from her drink resting on the armrest.
“Professionals won’t just stall forever. Naturally, they’ll fight and as time passes, the map shrinks.”
“The map?”
“Yep. But the problem is that the field set by WoW can also move.”
In the end, as time passes, the map reduces.
But the magical field set by WoW can move, and so can the ice walls.
Ultimately, after time flows, whether you’re forced to be close or just go close, it makes little difference, which is why CO chose the latter.
Since it’s inherently an advantageous match for WoW due to matchup dynamics, there’s nothing you can do.
You might think it’s invincible, but the standards can change.
“If Choco had thought of the back or had been a ranker stronger than that.”
Leo would have easily overturned the magic circle using the Earth Spirit.
Before losing his sword, the Sword Saint would have casually split the ice wall in two.
“If it were me, I would have just smashed through the magic circle.”
In the end, there’s no escaping in front of strong power.
The third round match after the rest time was a death match.
Every five minutes, one member from each team is randomly sent to a location while communication and contact are cut off.
Each team is granted two lives, and the final surviving team wins the game.
Everyone thought they would choose a relay battle, but Choco chose the death match and won overwhelmingly.
─The winner of Round 3 is CO! Just like the previous rounds, there were no special surprises.
─That’s right. Especially, Baekseol didn’t seem to participate much and acted as if she was letting the round pass.
─It seems that the ‘penalty’ experienced in the previous round has not fully recovered. Each round has cooldowns and health and mana recover, but this ‘penalty’ is a separate debuff.
Just like Leo’s ‘personality’ doesn’t heal even with treatment, Baekseol showed sluggish movements as if she was ‘frozen’ and simply let the round slip away.
Even though receiving this treatment doesn’t seem to heal, Baekseol also showed dull movements as if ‘frozen’ and just gave up the round.
The current score is 1:2.
If CO wins just one more round, they take the victory, and the choice of match returns to WoW.
The match is…
“You’re not going to choose, right?”
“If you pick the relay battle, it means you’re saying you’ll lose.”
The remaining matches are the Boss Annihilation and the Relay Battle. One is completely based on luck, and the Relay Battle favors CO significantly.
Even more intense than the overwhelmingly one-sided team brawl is the Relay Battle.
14 battles: 2 wins, 12 losses. That’s the record against CO in the Relay Battle.
The reason for such a stark difference is simple; unlike the first two rounds where ‘preparation’ was possible since the matches started, in a one-on-one fight, you’re face-to-face, making preparation impossible.
An unprepared mage can’t beat a battle mage, gunner, or spearman.
Even Baekseol would lose 9 out of 10 times in a pure 1v1 against Choco.
─I’ll go with the Boss Annihilation.
In the end, everything has to be left to luck.
After that, they must somehow recover their strength and push their limits once again in the fight against Choco.
That was WoW’s winning strategy.
─The WoW team has chosen Boss Annihilation! The team that first defeats the summoned boss will win!
Both teams move to separate maps.
“What will come out?”
“Well… Since it’s such a rare match, and the pros’ levels have risen, who knows what will come…”
Still, maybe a low-class world boss will show up, right?
Yena said that, and I nodded before suddenly shaking my head.
‘Low-class World Boss?’
I only know of one low-class world boss.
“…Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s here.”
It’s a familiar village.
A very neat and eerie village marked by the red spell’s emblem.
On the screen, it isn’t the commentator’s voice but the system’s voice that echoes.
[We synthesize all the abilities of the designated players to implement the most suitable monster.]
[This match’s boss is…]
A small girl appears before the players wielding weapons.
A neatly dressed girl holding a spell book stained in red.
[LV. 110 – Hungry Copycat (?? ????).]
[LV. 110 – Hungry Copycat (?? ????). Hello?]
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