*
“Is Team Korea gathering all at once now? But they’re moving to the center, not their base.”
“Personally, I think it may be because they’ve entered Phase 3. From Phase 3 onward, every time they kill a monster, individual buffs are applied in addition to team buffs, so it becomes a very important turning point.”
“Oh, Team Korea. Starting with Hunter Gidan and Hunter Serhi, even the drones are herding all the normal monsters to Hunter Lee Taemin. They’re feeding and raising Hunter Lee Taemin like a mother bird bringing food to her chicks! As you said, have they changed their strategy because it’s Phase 3?”
“Yes, that appears to be the case. It seems their plan is to raise Hunter Lee Taemin, whose power level is relatively lower, and strengthen their overall combat power.”
“I see.”
“The better they stack buffs in Phase 3, the more room they’ll have to change the flow of the game in Phase 4. From here on, all of our hunters need to focus.”
“Uh…… Meanwhile, Hunter Lea is giving buffs to the German team members. And then she’s moving toward the center. What on earth is going on?”
*
Just as the commentators had explained, Team Korea was pulling in normal monsters and feeding them to Lee Taemin for his growth.
Gidan smiled brightly.
“There, there. Eat lots, Taemin-ss~”
[On Geuru: Eat wots, Taemin oppa-ss~]
[Lee Taemin: Waaah, om nom nom.]
[Serhi: You crazy bastard, shut up and eat.]
[On Jurim: Watch your mouth.]
“No bad words!”
[Lee Taemin: I do wonder if it’s okay for me to grow alone like this, but I’ll eat well for now.]
“There you go~”
[On Geuru: There you go-meow~]
“Meow meow~”
[Lee Taemin: Meow meow~]
[Serhi: Did you people come out here to play?!]
[Lee Taemin: By the way, Brother Dan. What was the fun thing you mentioned earlier?]
“I’ll show you when you’re bigger. Wait for it~”
[On Geuru: Wait for it~]
“Cute…… huh?”
[Serhi: What is it?]
“I sense someone.”
Gidan, who had been leading the monsters along, came to an abrupt stop.
His keen senses had picked up a presence hiding in the nearby bushes.
“Serhi, don’t bring the monsters to Taemin. You eat them all for now.”
The moment he finished speaking, Gidan used a skill and swept away all the monsters he had brought with him in one go.
Into the empty space, Lea’s “Boomerang of Light” flew in, coiled around the area, then returned to its owner and was absorbed.
Gidan quickly tracked Lea, but she had already vanished.
Standing in the empty spot, Gidan bit his lip.
“Our plan’s going to get messed up, isn’t it?”
[Serhi: I’ll secure mine first, then?]
“Yeah, don’t let them steal it. And Geuru, for now, follow Taemin around and buff him……”
[On Geuru: Mm-hm.]
[Lee Taemin: Ah, damn it! Steal!]
[Lee Taemin: Ah!]
[Lee Taemin: This is seriously annoying!]
.
.
.
[Lee Taemin: Why is she only doing this to me!]
*
“Ohh, Hunter Lea of Team Germany! She’s starting to cut off all monster supplies going to Hunter Lee Taemin!”
“She’s starving Player Lee Taemin out, Player Lea is!!”
“Hunter Lea is shown interfering with Hunter Lee Taemin while killing the normal monsters. If Hunter Lee Taemin can’t grow, he won’t be able to keep up with Hunters Gidan and Serhi. It looks like Player Lea of Team Germany intends to mark Team Korea’s weakest combatant exclusively to prevent his growth.”
“If this happens, Team Korea will be at a major disadvantage.”
“Player Lee Taemin’s growth has completely stopped because of Player Lea. Is there no room to see this as a rule violation?”
“At a glance, it might look like a cheap method, but it is one of the strategies that is strictly used.”
“I see. Team Korea played far too gentlemanly.”
“Hunters Gidan and Serhi seem to have turned back toward individual growth. They’re killing the normal monsters themselves.”
*
[Serhi: Lee Taemin, you okay?]
[Lee Taemin: Yeah. But this noona just won’t get off me.]
“Ah, I didn’t think they’d come at us this cheaply.”
Gidan swept his hair back.
Geuru, whose “main body was the drone,” had no use for individual buffs even if she received them, and Serhi and Gidan were already at a high power level, so it was more efficient for Lee Taemin to grow.
But if they moved now to help Lee Taemin, Team Germany could slip into the openings they left and steal the normal monsters.
That would slow the growth of all of Team Korea.
[On Geuru: But being cheap is what Oppa Dan is best at!]
“What? Why is my image like that……!”
Laughter burst out from Serhi and Lee Taemin.
With a sulky face, Gidan cut down monsters and said,
“Geuru, Oppa isn’t always necessarily like that……”
He spoke cautiously, almost in a whisper.
“But this time, maybe I am?”
*
“Hunter Lea’s strategy is bearing fruit. Ah, perhaps thinking she has blocked his growth enough, Player Lea is leaving her position and rejoining her teammates.”
“Yes, Team Germany seems to have judged that they have grown enough. It looks like they’ll gather, regroup, and go straight into the boss fight.”
“Player Lea activates an area-wide buff as soon as she rejoins. They’ve entered the Phase 3 boss fight! Team Germany has begun attacking the Phase 3 boss! In comparison, Team Korea is still in the middle of growth. The fact that Player Lee Taemin was blocked by Player Lea is too big.”
“They’ve fallen far behind!!”
“Korea needs to catch up!!”
“There’s no time now. The gap has widened too much for them to stack buffs again.”
“Player Lee Taemin is joining up. Team Germany seems like they’ll complete the raid soon.”
“Once they defeat the Phase 3 boss and receive the buff, you can consider the match almost decided. It’s very difficult to overturn that. In Phase 4, it’s usually standard to skip the normal monsters, go straight for the boss, and end it……”
“Is Team Germany going to seize victory like this? ……Huh?”
“……Huh?”
The commentators were surprised for one reason: the drone was creeping toward Team Germany’s boss.
“What on earth is it trying to do? Team Germany’s Phase 3 boss is already nearly out of health, isn’t it? Shouldn’t it go help Team Korea with their raid?”
It was then.
The commentator, who had been deep in thought, spoke up.
“I think it might be planning to steal the kill……”
“Pardon?”
At that moment.
Piyuuuuung—
From the bushes behind Team Germany, a railgun fired in a straight line.
The railgun’s projectile lodged itself in the forehead of the Phase 3 boss, “Fanatic Zarat.”
And then.
[“Team Korea” has defeated Phase 3’s “Fanatic Zarat (Left).”]
[“Team Germany” is entering Phase 4.]
[The Supreme Executor, “Demextria (Left),” has appeared.]
The caster slammed the table and shot to his feet.
“The last hit! Kill steal! It’s a kill steal! Team Korea has devoured Team Germany’s boss! Team Germany’s boss raid buff is going to Team Korea! This is an incredibly rare sight!”
“It’s not something people usually do! If you make a mistake, you could end up scoring an own goal by only adding damage and helping someone else kill their boss faster! But they succeeded!”
“The difference of a single hit! They overturned the entire state of the game with one shot! Truly amazing!”
“Germany now has no choice but to kill more normal monsters and stack buffs. ‘You’re stopping our growth? Then I’ll take your buffs!’ Team Korea has devoured Team Germany’s boss like a ferocious tiger! And it hasn’t even been five minutes since we said Team Korea was playing gentlemanly!”
“It is a play Hyeonak is usually good at. Cheaply starving opponents out through growth.”
“Ah…… That’s a dangerous statement…… In any case, Team Korea has stolen Team Germany’s buff! And right on time, they take down their own Phase 3 boss as well and cleanly enter Phase 4!”
[“Team Korea” has defeated Phase 3’s “Fanatic Zarat (Right).”]
[“Team Korea” is entering Phase 4.]
[The Supreme Executor, “Demextria (Right),” has appeared.]
“Then Team Korea has taken two Phase 3 boss buffs. If this happens, the gap that had opened up shrinks all at once. Looking at it, this drone wasn’t just support—it was equipped with a railgun as well.”
The commentator nodded excitedly.
“I’ve never seen such a completely filled-out hexagonal item. You could truly call it all-purpose. I’m looking forward to its grade assessment.”
“That’s right. Team Germany seems to have tried hitting the Phase 4 boss a little, but they’re going back to killing normal monsters to stack buffs. The mood is gloomy.”
“Losing the Phase 3 boss buff is truly huge.”
“Player Lea is continuing to stack buffs. Now, all that remains is Phase 4, where the match ends once the single remaining boss is cleared! Who will the goddess of victory smile upon? This is a match where we cannot let go of the tension until the very end!”
“That’s right. Who will be the winner of this exchange match?”
“Uh…… But at this moment, Team Germany! They’re moving to take down the boss, ‘Demextria’! They’re faster than Korea! Team Germany makes no mistakes even in this urgent situation! If this happens, we still don’t know how things will go. Team Korea has only just gathered! But where did our team’s drone go?”
*
Gidan raised his clenched fist.
“Shot, shot!”
[Serhi: Nice!]
[Lee Taemin: That was insane!]
The drone’s railgun defeated Team Germany’s Phase 3 boss, and cheers erupted at the same time.
[On Geuru: Th-that’s a relief…….]
“Well done!”
[On Geuru: Hehe!]
“Gather up again! This time, let’s do something really fun!”
At Gidan’s call, the three who had been scattered all over stood before the gigantic “Demextria.”
“Geuru-Geuru, you’re ready, right?”
[On Geuru: Mm-hm!]
Gidan drew Demextria’s aggro and turned its gaze.
On the opposite side, Serhi and Lee Taemin were dealing damage to the boss.
That was when Demextria’s health had been reduced by about half.
[On Geuru: I’m doing it now!]
At Geuru’s signal, Gidan and Serhi each grabbed one of Taemin’s arms and moved far away.
In the spot where Gidan had been holding aggro, the chick drone was now standing with both wings spread wide.
As if condensing light inside its body, the drone began to shine brighter and brighter.
A tension spread through the area, as though the surrounding air itself was trembling.
At that moment, the light blazed so intensely that it could no longer be compressed, and at last, it exploded.
Suuuuuuung—
A colossal beam of light scattered in every direction and detonated.
The commentators, the audience, and even the coaching zone all held their breath as they watched the light erupt.
As the blinding flash dispersed, Demextria’s massive body was swallowed by the light.
[“Team Korea” has defeated the Supreme Executor, “Demextria (Right).”]
[Match over!]