While I generally agree with the saying that a famous player can’t be a great leader,
the existence of the hero, Klaus Nestro Vanapott, proves otherwise, and I must admit I was the professor who deserved an F grade.
So here I am, retaking the course for the third time.
So, can I at least become a renowned commentator instead of a leader?
Even that still feels doubtful.
“Ahhhh, this golden opportunity…! What am I doing? I need to pressure them more! What good is it to be aware of traps at this point!”
My upper body, which I had leaned forward, slumped back again.
I plopped back onto the sofa, letting my body relax.
Unlike the simple amateur-level Academy Competition, the level I demand from the players in the National Exchange Tournament is quite high.
And this would hold true even for Professor Cheon, who has experienced hell and back during the 5th Middle Eastern War.
“Maybe it’s because we’re in the quarterfinals, but everyone is moving cautiously, heh. Of course, in a war, hesitating leads to losing your head in no time.”
He showed a benevolent smile while inevitably revealing his disappointment disguised as praise.
A duel isn’t a game of chess where you simply make the best moves and say, “Yay, I win.”
Rather, like poker, sometimes you need to take a gamble.
Of course, through many trials and errors governed by the law of large numbers, the more skilled person ultimately wins…
But if you operate too passively, you end up like Giselle Fischer against the United States.
Lukas Schmid made a mistake in his magic casting, but Love Kim couldn’t catch onto it.
The chat window erupted with disappointed sounds as well.
-Did they miss that?
-The opponent is nervous too. This is actually good.
-Love Kim Jebalaraaaaaaa
-Focus!!!!!!!!
-A player in the National Exchange Tournament makes a mistake with the coefficient of friction…?
-To be honest, even Love Kim might have a brain freeze here, hahahaha
-Ah, what a waste;; the opponent blundered.
“Everyone makes mistakes. Especially with adjusting the coefficient of friction, they might not have used it much, so they may not be familiar with it. Ah, if only they had used Roszeus Panthera from there, they would have had the upper hand… For now, let’s keep watching.”
After botching a fundamental spell, Schmid’s casting speed subtly slowed down.
Did Love Kim somehow realize this? She awakened.
In the 26th minute of the second half.
Starlight poured from the crossbow shot by Schmid.
[Spell: Star of Lucerne]
It ensnared Love Kim in a dome-shaped barrier, and sharp star shards sprouted aggressively.
The arrowhead embedded in the center of the barrier generated copies as if through self-replication.
Surrounded by thousands of arrowheads, Love Kim.
The stars, tired of granting wishes, fell with fierce momentum.
It was too late to break the barrier, but I predicted Love Kim’s victory.
“Just ignore it and charge through! The barrier is sturdy enough!”
I clenched my fist and shouted.
“Those going to the National Exchange Tournament are all genuine psychopaths,” said Miocic. This might be wrong, but they definitely need to lose their fear.
[Delayed Casting: Self-Portrait]
Babababat-
Numerous star fragments clung to Love’s barrier, refusing to detach.
One of them lodged itself directly in front of her right eyeball, a gap the size of a fingernail.
Naturally, Love Kim charged forward without blinking.
[Spell: Coefficient of Friction Adjustment]
[Spell: Linear Momentum Adjustment]
Bang-!
She headbutted Schmid in her hedgehog-like form.
Schmid twisted his body to dodge before all the barriers were completely shattered.
[Spell: Roszeus Panthera]
After Love’s fist created a crimson local barrier.
Swak-
Like a lion in the Serengeti, she raised her paw and sliced Schmid’s body diagonally.
Chachachachang-!
The sound of breaking glass formed a colorful harmony.
The barrier was relentlessly torn apart within the swirling local barrier, reminiscent of our galaxy.
[Spell: Ventus Repulsio]
Bang-
An explosion without flame erupted as both flew off in opposite directions like opposite poles of a magnet.
The match had clearly ended, but who won?
“Did they take care of it?”
“Hey, don’t say that! It’ll jinx it!”
I clung tightly to my dad to dodge Saetbyeol’s punch.
Both players’ stamina precariously hovered around the 10% mark,
Rustle-
The moment one barrier broke free, the referee blew the whistle signaling the end of the match.
Beeeeeep-!
“Oh, it’s over.”
“Ah, please please! I can’t watch!”
[Quarterfinal Match 123]
[Time: 27:10]
[LOSE: Lukas Schmid (Switzerland)] [☠9% (Complete Destruction) / 68%]
[WIN: Love Isabel Kim (Republic of Korea)] [71% / ⚠10% (Irreparable)]
9.47% to 10.31%.
A huge announcement flashed at the bottom of the broadcasting screen confirming the advancement to the semifinals.
<[Korea Advances to the Semifinals]>
I immediately clapped and jumped up.
“Sister won!”
“She won? Our country won?”
“Yeah!”
“Yayyyyy!”
“Wait…! You can’t come over here!”
Cheon Saetbyeol jumped up and down with excitement.
I barely managed to push her back as she tried to jump toward me.
She clasped her hands, spinning around, then rubbed her eyes and stared at the screen again.
“What an amazing thought… So we have two Koreans in the semifinals?”
“That’s the case.”
“Yayyy, amazing! Na-me, you’re so cool!”
“Anyone could see that I called this victory from the moment Schmid set the barrier, right? I don’t say anything wrong.”
– Na-me is super excited too, hahahaha.
– Honestly, I doubted at the end, okay?
– For something to be in the realm of calculations, it was really a razor-thin margin, hahahaha.
– It was so close that no one could tell till the end.
– Seriously, this match was super fun.
– Na-me’s energy for the last 30 minutes was off the charts, hahahaha.
– Sister, please perform like our Adella…!
– A familiar scent wafts from the unfamiliar girl.
“Phew, that was tough. My throat is dry from commentating.”
I fumbled around for the cup of water I had set on the table beside the sofa.
A sudden flick from Professor Cheon hit my hand.
“Ouch.”
“NoName! This is alcohol.”
“Ohhhh, I really thought it was water…! Where did my cup go?”
“Haha! Today was fun. I need to go brush my teeth.”
Saetbyeol drained the cup and sprinted to the bathroom, escaping.
“Hey, stop right there!”
I completely intended to leave the scene unnoticed, but our sisters’ plan was soon exposed.
Professor Cheon rolled up his sleeves and dragged us into the living room.
“Come on, you kids need to clean up after you eat.”
“Yes, sir.”
“What a shame.”
The table, and even beneath it, was soaked with kimchi juice.
The culprit who made the mess was obvious. Still, we cleaned together.
Saetbyeol kneeled like Cinderella, scrubbing the floor.
I sat on her back, carefully wiping the table with a wet wipe.
“Ugh. Hey, you’re heavy now! Get off me already!”
“I’m not heavy at all, you know?”
[‘Na-me is an Alien’ donated 10,000 KRW!]
-Wave your hand if you’re a sister who got eaten by her younger sibling
Saetbyeol’s thumb shot up.
I pressed on her 5th cervical vertebra to preemptively subdue her.
After finishing up the recycling, we returned to a calm broadcast atmosphere.
Chikachika-
While brushing my teeth, I glanced at the chat window.
In the meantime, all kinds of slights against us were pouring in.
Cheon Saetbyeol’s social standing had quickly fallen from my little sister, servant, and slave to even that of a pet.
Chikachika-
Saetbyeol, toothbrush in her mouth, stretched out on the bed.
On the Twish screen, you could only see the lower half of her in dolphin pants.
Her feet wiggled, poking my head repeatedly.
“Can everyone see this? Who can’t stretch out at home? My sister is the kind of person who lives to annoy me every day!”
Squish-
A pressure gently pressing on her left cheek.
“Cute Na-me, cheek kiss with your big toe.”
“Am I dying?”
“Gahhh, I almost spilled tooth water on the bed.”
“Don’t spill it on my bed. Go quickly rinse and come back.”
“Oh? Have you all already been brushing your teeth? I brought ice cream from the convenience store.”
We shot resentful glances at the late-arriving Professor Cheon.
Especially since it was my favorite Haagen-Dazs.
Gulp.
I gently placed the toothbrush on the tissue and swallowed the mouthwash.
“I’ll keep brushing for a bit, everyone. Ice cream, please pass it here, dad.”
“Oh, sure…”
-Wow, hahahaha.
-What an unexpected development, hahahaha.
-You’re swallowing that?
-Brushing is what you just keep, huh? Learning something new today~
-In the West, they say they swallow, but that was sudden, huh, hahahaha.
-So Yang? Definitely EU material, right?
-Ice cream-obsessed NoName, whoa.
“Desert belly is separate.”
Saetbyeol also picked up a spoon to join.
However, the ice cream was still too solid to scoop easily without bending the spoon.
The three of us sat together, slowly conquering the frozen Haagen-Dazs.
[‘HeeShan’ donated 30,000 KRW!]
– Na-me, Na-me. Na-me, does dad or mom like you more?
Chewing a tiny scoop of ice cream, I answered right away.
“Mom.”
“Gasp.”
“Ahem…”
Professor Cheon cleared his throat.
Did I answer too quickly without thinking?
-Gasp, hahahaha.
-Dad is sulking, hahahaha.
-(Sense…)
-Na-me, you should have said dad in front of him…!
-(Sense…)
-Na-me is a baby, Na-me likes mom.
“Why are we being childish about this? Dad is great too. But I lived with dad for two and a half years, while I was with mom for seven years. I’ll definitely say dad is better after four and a half years.”
There was no reply, but Professor Cheon seemed pleased inside.
“Eh? Seven years? Why seven?”
2043… 2044… 2045…
0 years, 1 year, 2 years…
Saetbyeol innocently wondered while counting with her fingers.
I fixed my expression and turned the question back.
“Ah, the corpse is not my mom?”
“Puhaha! Cough cough! Um!”
Dad must have suddenly choked on something as he kept coughing.
The cogs in Saetbyeol’s head whirred into motion as she flailed her hands in surprise.
“No…! No no no! Na-me didn’t mean that! Uh-uh, I just got confused!”
“I never saw you like this. You really grasp things well.”
“Should I bow down or something?”
“Sure.”
She ran off and did a handstand in the hallway faster than the speed of light.
“Ice cream’s just perfectly melted! Come on, dad, take a bite first, ahhh.”
“Na-me, the air feels heavy.”
“Really? I don’t feel it.”
The viewers only flooded the screen with surprised emojis and didn’t say anything.
I thought about laying down a ban for a long time, but everyone seemed to catch on quickly.
I didn’t forget to scoop some ice cream for Saetbyeol as well.
“Our lovely sister gets a bite too.”
“Yawn, cough, My head is gushing with blood…”
“Good, you’re eating well. Stay like that for just 5 more minutes.”
Today’s broadcast caused me to emerge as the household’s stronghold.
*
After the broadcast ended, I took a walk outside the hotel with Saetbyeol.
The alley connected to the back gate of the hotel was empty, good for wandering around aimlessly.
“Where’s dad?”
“Dad went to meet some acquaintances for a bit.”
“Again? He’s totally an international socialite. By the way, I really slipped up earlier, sister. It wasn’t intentional.”
“I know. I was just trying to grab some broadcast attention.”
“Phew. I was worried you’d be genuinely mad.”
As we chatted, a few minutes passed.
The street with a flickering streetlight, partially broken, glimmered dimly.
“Saetbyeol.”
“I can smell it too.”
In the eerie alley where the streetlight’s glow did not reach, we simultaneously caught a whiff of blood.
‘There are three presences.’
A thick aura poured out from the dead-end alley.
