Chapter 9
1.
[Who are we scrimming for our first match today?]
Pizza Beer, the team captain, was setting up a private room when a teammate asked.
“We’re scrimming Aura’s team today.”
[Aura’s team? Is that even good practice? I heard their scrim win rate is something like 4%.]
[The tournament’s coming up soon. Why bother scrimming such a weak team? This is when we should be practicing as much as possible and improving.]
“That’s true, but we’ve never played them before, so we should give it a shot. Besides, you know what Aura’s team is going through right now, don’t you?”
[Ah….]
The team members seemed to understand at last.
“From what I’ve seen on the community forums, quite a few people hate Aura’s team.”
[They did cause trouble for the tournament, so I can see why people hate them. I’m not too fond of that person myself.]
“Exactly. If we crush Aura’s team 3–0 in this situation, imagine how good the reaction will be.”
Pizza Beer’s lips curled into a grin.
“And our recent scrim win rate’s been pretty low, too. This is when we need a good dose of medicine.”
[We’ve been losing so much lately, it’s stressful. The viewers aren’t happy with us either.]
“Let’s beat up some punching bags and get our form back. I’ll find a proper team for our next match.”
[Sounds good!]
2.
[The team we’ll be facing this time is Pizza Beer’s. They have a 61% scrim win rate, which is quite high.]
Aura gave a brief rundown of the opposing team from the waiting screen.
[With a win rate that high, they’re expected to make it to the Round of 64 without much trouble.]
[So if we can beat that team, making it to the main event isn’t out of reach, right?]
Heukrangi said in a cheerful voice.
[That’s right.]
“Our team’s win rate is… almost fifteen times lower than theirs. Can we really win?”
-Putting it that way, that’s fucking brutal;;
-A team that loses fifteen times as often lol
-LMAO
-It’s honestly amazing this team hasn’t given up;
-That’s what you’d expect from the 128th-ranked team out of 128…
[Bullet, why are you saying that already!]
[Exactly!]
The healer duo scolded me in lively voices. Being that cheerful with a scrim win rate of 4% was a talent in itself.
‘Still, that’s a positive.’
If the team had been worn down by defeat, then no matter how well I played, it would’ve been hard to lift the mood.
In the end, momentum mattered in every sport. With an atmosphere like this, we had a good chance if we could just get the ball rolling.
“D-do they have any heroes they’re especially good with? Or a map they prefer?”
[No.]
“I-if we’re bad at the game, shouldn’t we at least be t-thorough with our analysis…?”
-For real lol
-Fact: true
[You’re not wrong, but there’s a different reason we haven’t analyzed them than what you’re thinking, Bullet.]
“What reason…?”
[There are 128 teams in the Battle of Ruin alone. We can’t analyze all of them, can we?]
“There are 128 teams…?”
[Yes.]
It was a much bigger event than I’d imagined. With five players per team, that meant 640 participating streamers, by a simple count.
At that scale, it was practically an official tournament, not just an exhibition. That was probably why Nova Syndicate was supporting it, too.
“Th-then how does it work…?”
[The 128 teams are split into groups of 32. The first round is random; after that, teams with the same records face one another.]
“Th-then how many teams advance?”
[Sixteen teams from each group, 64 in total, will advance. Win three matches to move on to the next round; lose three and you’re eliminated.]
“Ah….”
So exactly half would survive.
“Th-then that’s doable, isn’t it? If we just look at the odds, it’s 50%….”
[Right. That’s why it’s important that we beat Pizza Beer’s team, the team we’re facing now. They’re considered a sure bet to make it to the Round of 64.]
‘This scrim will be the turning point.’
If we lost horribly again, our team would probably lose all motivation and drive to compete in the tournament.
It didn’t matter if we couldn’t win. But we had to show at least some potential. Aura must’ve known that, too, which was why Aura had dragged me onto the team, even if by force.
“Let’s try to win…!”
***
『Entering the battlefield.』
A huge transport ship slowly descended toward the landing zone. Soon, the inside of the base came into view, along with the words ‘Select your hero.’
[Since this is our first match, let’s each pick the hero we’re most confident with.]
“O-okay!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, I picked Odin.
A sleek body made of red lenses and purplish metal, with a submachine gun mounted on its right arm and a plasma cutter on its left.
‘No guy could resist this hero.’
Of course, I wasn’t a guy anymore, and no one used Odin because its controls were so ridiculously difficult.
[Huh?]
[Oh?]
[What, you’re playing Odin? That’s a hero people only use in the lower tiers. And even then, only when they’re throwing.]
See? This was happening even now.
The moment I picked Odin, my teammates immediately started ganging up on me like I was a rat they’d cornered.
-Dude, what are you doing;;;
-What kind of play is it to pick Odin after saying you’d carry us???
-The mind games are ON
“P-please trust me. Odin is the best choice for making the most of my ability…!”
[I’m not convinced… Well, give it a try. It seems a little harsh to discourage you before we’ve even seen you play.]
“How am I supposed to take that after you’ve already discouraged me as much as you possibly can…?”
[Oh, sorry. I couldn’t help myself.]
“I-I understand. You couldn’t help yourself when you made those remarks back then, either.”
[You fucking bitch.]
-That’s a proper jab lol
-She really is like an alligator snapping turtle;;;
-GOAL~~~~~
『5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Round 1, begin』
When the countdown ended, we left our base and sprinted toward the central control point.
This battlefield was Red Outpost I.
It was a capture map where we fought over the central point. We’d win as long as we held it for a set amount of time.
The first engagement was the most important part of a capture match. Just like in other games, it was much easier to defend than attack in Nova Syndicate, too.
‘Given the difference in skill between us and our opponents, there’s no way we can break through their defenses.’
That meant we absolutely had to win the first fight. Otherwise, we had no chance.
[Enemy spotted!]
At Heukrangi’s call, the enemy team appeared all at once. I checked their heroes, but none of them looked like a serious threat to me.
“Supports, funnel as much healing and support as you can into me!”
As I shouted, I immediately changed the robot’s form.
Whir—clank—
My field of view widened as the huge robot’s body began to reassemble into the shape of an armored vehicle.
“Push—!”
At my shout, our team surged toward the enemy.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat—!!!
The chaingun mounted on the armored vehicle let out a beastly whir. Its chain spun like crazy, spewing dozens of bullets in streams of light.
Clang-a-lang—
Shell casings poured down beside my screen like a waterfall, pounding against the ground. The gunfire and metallic clatter tangled together, hammering mercilessly at my ears.
With a rate of fire that brutal, the recoil was just as monstrous. My aim kicked up in an instant. Even dragging my mouse downward, I couldn’t get it under control easily.
That was why people said Odin could only be used by high-sensitivity players or hackers.
I was a low-sensitivity player. But I had something else.
‘Activate.’
[Aim Assist Lv.1 - Active]
A ding rang out inside my head.
Something changed in my hand. The mouse slid across the pad as if scraping it clean. Even so, my aim didn’t waver; it locked onto the enemy tank’s torso.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!!!
The chaingun’s bullets shredded the enemy’s barrier. It seemed to hold, but only for a moment.
Crash—!
The shield shattered, leaving the enemy tank completely exposed to the bullets. The enemy’s armored vehicle mode would end soon. But that didn’t matter.
Rat-a-tat-tat—!!!
‘Two seconds is enough!’
Dozens of bullets pierced the tank’s armor and flesh. Just as the enemy tank was about to die, my armored vehicle mode ended, cutting off my firepower completely for a moment.
“Tch.”
I’d come so close, but I hadn’t finished them off.
The enemy tank was just about to recover with help from their healer.
[I’ll finish them!]
A black shadow bloomed behind the enemy tank. A masked figure, Phantom, appeared and aimed at the tank’s head.
Bang—!
The Night Flame shotgun spat darkness.
Bang—! Bang—!
The enemies hurried to attack Phantom, but Heukrangi’s hook caught one of their damage dealers by the nape.
[Pulled one!]
Bang—!
As the fourth dark blast hit, the enemy tank’s body broke apart and spilled across the ground.
『‘Phantom (Aura)’ has eliminated ‘Leonhardt (Pizza Beer).’』
[Their tank’s dead!]
Aura’s shout rang out.
[Kill every last one of those bastards! Kill them, you fucking assholes! Kill them, you goddamn bastards! You little bastard! Get over here, you little shits—!!!]
Heukrangi shouted, voice ablaze with excitement.
『First Red Outpost temporarily captured!』
『Time until fully captured: 3 minutes』
-Holy shit
-We captured it???
-This is the first time I’ve seen us win the opening fight;;
-Is this a win angle!?!?!?!?
The enemy team collapsed after losing their tank. In the end, one damage dealer and one healer were killed, and the two survivors barely managed to escape the outpost.
‘We did it. Now all we have to do is hold them off!’
Capture mode.
And we’d claimed the easiest point to defend on any capture map: Red Outpost I. On top of that, Odin was theoretically the best hero for defending!
“I-if we lose here, let’s all hang ourselves from the ceiling and die together!”
[Sounds good!]
[How could we possibly lose this!?]
[Kyahahaha, kyahahaha!]
***
『Defeat』