Chapter 181
Looking at the chat window, they said that the biggest event of the League is for users to dive into the game world with goals matching their factions and create history.
It’s not just global, but it draws as much attention as the pro league.
And it makes sense.
‘It’d be a battle of the world’s greatest masters.’
They gather the best players for each hero and make them fight for pride. There’s no way the impatient viewers could resist that.
And of course, the masters of each hero would have high recognition.
Also, since it becomes the official lore of the League, anyone who plays the League would naturally understand and take interest.
Unlike streaming tournaments aimed at viewers, this targets absolutely every player of the League.
“Didn’t you enter?”
He’s asking about this year. It’s usually held early in the year, and now it’s the end of the year.
“Pros usually don’t. Around that time, we get busy preparing for the spring season. You could say it’s left to the civilians?”
What civilians.
But it seems like a pretty fitting expression.
You’ve completely loosened up.
“No, but whatever it is, just don’t do it. Just be polite about it and win only the ones you want, no more. There’s no way it’ll happen like you said. Surface isn’t an idiot for real.”
Maybe that’s why.
He’s nagging. Out in the open. How can a pro worry about stuff like this?
- lolololololol
- It’s worldwide, you think he’d get first in more than two?
- Stuff using swords he might snag lol
- The world is wide
- But he beat a pro
- The League isn’t a martial arts arena
- So when is he checking the mental image?
“I can’t hold back on this. Ah. Not that.”
When Lee Dongsu tried to nag him again about something, Seo Jun corrected him.
He really just asked because he was curious, but they treat him like he has no manners.
“Then what can’t you hold back on?”
“That event you guys are talking about. What exactly is its name?”
“We just call it the History Book. During the event, a book gets posted on the League homepage. The official name changes every time. They give names that match the theme of the historical event. Something like ‘Watcher of Darkness,’ that kind of vibe.”
“I see. Anyway, I can’t hold back on that. Right, everyone?”
- Kya!
- He really can’t hold back
- How could the streamer hold back on global aggro lololol
- Fo real lol
- We can’t let only the Korean Peninsula feel this gem of a bamboozle lolololol
- Is he gonna give us a patriotism shot?
- Call the booze? Drop the shot?
- Calm down, chat lolololololololol Rios isn’t even over yet
“It’s not just a can’t-hold-back level. As a streamer, if I just let this pass, it’s dereliction of duty. Don’t you think?”
Seo Jun turned to his teammates, who were streamers themselves.
“Um… Seo Jun-nim?”
“Huh?”
What’s this.
Why are they all making faces like they don’t really agree? All four of them?
People who also competed in Rios.
“We aren’t Seo Jun-nim.”
- lolololol
- Even his teammates feed him
- Ah lololol
“For us, regardless of holding back or not, we just can’t participate.”
Ah.
I see.
“Let’s just hurry and check.”
The chat window got plastered with ‘ㅋ’s again.
Saying he’s changing the subject.
- Still, getting first on each hero won’t be easy
- You think Kael would?
- What are the odds Kael gets selected for this year’s History Book?
- One in four
* * *
“Alright then, let’s go.”
Lee Dongsu opened the showcase containing the Orb.
Then he placed his hand on the Orb inside and took it off.
After that, he touched the air, as if handling a message window that appeared in front of him.
Soon, Lee Dongsu’s body vanished.
While Seo Jun looked bewildered, Rumi and Ha Yunho also touched the Orb one after another and disappeared.
As Baramgeom disappeared, Alpaca said,
“Seo Jun-nim. You can just think of it as going to a training ground.”
“There’s a training ground on the first floor too.”
“It’s a bit of a special training ground. Customized for each hero so you can even play mini-games? That kind of place.”
“Ah.”
So you do the test like that?
No wonder I haven’t seen anything related in the interface so far.
Seo Jun walked toward the showcase.
He reached out and touched the Orb.
Then a notification window popped up.
[Would you like to move to the map ‘Id’s Escape Route’?]
Seo Jun pressed yes, and his body moved. The place he arrived at was a wide clearing in the woods, surrounded by trees.
A floor made of ash-colored bricks, a dry well, collapsed structures with only their frames left.
He saw the others who had arrived earlier.
‘So this kind of thing existed.’
Seo Jun realized he had been unconsciously thinking that in an online game, he wouldn’t need to look for such things.
It’s because he just found out that thought was wrong.
“Everyone’s here, even Alpaca-nim. Alright then, for our precious ace and the hyung who looks like he’ll hit me if I don’t explain, let’s explain everything I know from the start.”
Everyone except Seo Jun chuckled.
“First, there isn’t a lot of info out about Id. Actually, it’s similar for all heroes, but.”
“Because of the History Book?”
“Right. Well, if you think about it, it’s more like they just haven’t revealed it yet. Details are still undecided. They’ve only set up the basics. Anyway, the info you can get about Id is, first, his epithet.”
“The Abandoned Automaton?”
“Yes. You know what an automaton is, right?”
“Isn’t it basically a machine?”
“Oh, you know this.”
“……?”
- lololol Has Lee Dongsu always had this personality?
- He’s like a younger cousin who subtly sasses his hyung
- This guy’s still a school kid lololololol
- He’s streaming well!
“Just kidding. Anyway, there’s that and a one-line description of the hero……”
“So what is it.”
- Abandoned Automaton Id: Id is a machine created by someone. He gained life through an unknown force but was abandoned. He fled from enemies pursuing him. The boy, now alone, meets someone.
- That’s it?
- Yeah
- So freaking useless lololololololol
“It came up in chat, did it come up in your chat too, hyung?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks, explanation-obsessed viewers!”
Suddenly Ha Yunho butted in.
Whether he did or not, Lee Dongsu continued speaking.
“Anyway, that’s what it says. And the final clue is the map name.”
“I think it said Escape Route.”
The map name.
Id’s Escape Route.
“So that’s it for the background, which is why I can’t explain. As for the test, or more precisely, Id’s trial, I guess it’s about escaping?”
“Just escaping?”
“While taking care of the targets chasing you. You’ll know when you try. Anyway, let’s check it out now. Id’s skill is Orb Summon……”
Seo Jun also knows the skill.
[Orb Summon]
It’s a skill that summons not a simple magic sphere, but that complex-looking Orb that was placed in the showcase.
There are types of Orbs.
They have the same form but are differentiated by size, divided into three categories from the largest to the smallest.
The largest Orb can only summon one at a time. In return, that Orb can be struck four times.
The medium-sized Orb can summon two at a time. It disappears after two strikes.
The smallest Orb can summon up to four at a time. These Orbs disappear if even one strike lands.
“The damage is strongest for the largest one, but there isn’t a huge difference. And if an Orb flying around gets struck by an enemy, it goes on cooldown before you can resummon it. So having four is unconditionally advantageous.”
There is a damage difference, but if you summon the largest Orb and it gets neutralized, you end up unable to use the skill at all.
But if you summon four and one of them gets struck and goes on cooldown, the other three can still be freely summoned and used to attack in the system.
Above all, with four, it’s harder to control but likewise much harder for the enemy to block.
In other words, summoning four disperses the risk while making it easier to land attacks.
Thus.
“For balance reasons, summoning the Orbs itself is extremely difficult. So much that most first-timers can’t even summon three at once.”
As Lee Dongsu said that, he held his palm flat toward the sky and closed his eyes.
“This skill is just blatantly related to mental imaging.”
In an instant, four Orbs smaller than an apple, about the size of golf balls, appeared above Lee Dongsu’s palm.
And they began spinning around him with a whoosh.
‘That bastard.’
Acting all cool.
Seo Jun clicked his tongue.
- So that’s why it’s used to judge talent
- When you bring a friend new to the game and make them do it, if they summon four at once, they’re a talent-freak. So make sure to tease them a lot when that friend was a newbie.
- Did you? Me too lol
“What’s the reason it’s hard?”
“The inside of this thing is a little complicated, right? You have to mentally image that accurately as well. Not just end the thought as ‘I’ll use the skill.’”
“It seemed meaningless though.”
“It does. So that’s why it’s a hero where if you’re blatantly good at mental imaging, you’ll do well. Then everyone, let’s give it a try.”
“Yes!”
Rumi shouted energetically and then, like Lee Dongsu, held her palm to the sky and summoned an Orb.
The other teammates did the same.
The size was golf ball.
The smallest Orb.
But the number.
“Three? That’s amazing.”
“I’ve tried it a few times…… hehe.”
The others summoned as well.
Alpaca got three.
“Same as last time. Haha.”
Baramgeom naturally got four.
Ha Yunho also.
“This is the power of 80!”
And finally, Seo Jun.
“Pfft.”
Lee Dongsu laughed.
“Uh…… This is for real?”
“You’re not joking, right?”
- Eok lololol
- Fo real lol
- The streamer is really doing this?
- No, this was actually real?
It was one.
Seo Jun was naturally flustered…… not really, he just shrugged and said,
“It’s my first time, so it felt a bit awkward.”
After that, he dismissed the first summon and summoned again.
The size was golf ball.
Drawing the four Orbs on his hand with the form and shape he had seen.
But.
“Two?”
“Oh! Then three will come quick?”
“Probably not?”
‘Is two the limit?’
For a moment, Seo Jun recalled the sensation of summoning.
The conditions felt tight. If Eric’s magic circles appeared immediately as he drew the trajectory, this felt like something blocked.
‘They said it’s blatantly a hero for mental imaging, didn’t they?’
Soon, two more were summoned. But it wasn’t a simultaneous summon, so it didn’t matter.
‘I didn’t expect to feel this kind of thing.’
Seven years ago, before he knew about the synchronization rate, he had marveled, thinking everyone played games under such difficulties.
Seo Jun chuckled.
“I’m telling you, I’m not sandbagging. Think about it. My synchronization rate is 10.”
Sandbagging is short for “weakling cosplay.”
- Well, with a synch rate of 10 lololol
- Yeah, this makes sense
- Has the world finally started turning correctly…?
- Have we finally found a weakness?
- Eok lolololololol If the streamer looks a bit more human now, I’ll upvote lololol
- You serious? You’re not gonna suddenly summon four after this and brag that there’s no weakness, right?
The reactions are a bit weird?
Anyway, Dongsu.
‘Did you mock me?’
Well, that’s possible.
Seo Jun let it slide with his generous heart.
‘See you tomorrow.’
Anyway, he let it slide.
“Hehe. No, Seo Jun-hyungnim, don’t be too discouraged.”
I’m not discouraged.
“It’s not just about summoning this. Id’s Trial itself evaluates the fundamentals of mental imaging. So don’t be discouraged. Of course, with two it’s a bit more disadvantageous, but if you summon using the medium-sized Orbs, you won’t fall too far behind. Hahaha!”
Roughly, having more Orbs to handle means you can deal with more targets in a shorter moment, so it’s advantageous?
That’s probably why he said it like that.
But that’s when.
Ding.
[‘Sagi Jusa-wi’ has set a mission.]
[This time it’s really a safe asset, right?]
[Place within the Top 10 in Id’s Trial — Mission reward: 1,500,000 won]
A mission was set. After quite a while.
The fact that the synchronization rate was 10 and that Seo Jun had shown he wasn’t a total novice at mental imaging with Eric was key.
Usually, a total newbie could grow as their know-how in mental imaging increased, but there’s no way Seo Jun lacks know-how or technique.
It’s the synch rate that’s the problem.
That is, it’s just an innate physical issue. An unfixable one.
On top of that, it’s placing within the Top 10.
That means?
- Yeah, seems right
- This time is different!
- There’s a famous stock market saying. The thought “this time is different” is always wrong.
- But I can’t hold back on this
- Ah lol I also tried the test after playing the game a bit and summoned three
- One is a bit… yeah lolololololol
- And the streamer isn’t even a total newbie!
- This time really seems different!
Like that, the prize money started to pile up on the stream being watched by over 100,000 people.
And.
Seo Jun smiled inwardly.
‘If I fail, the fee was 10%, right?’
Of course he’ll try to succeed, but even if he fails.
[+Prize money increased by 10,000 won]
[+Prize money increased by 15,000 won]
[+Prize money increased by 100,000 won]
.
.
.
- Let’s go!
- King.Safe.Asset. Go go go!!!
- Finally, we can get one back at the streamer!!!
It’s still a profit.
“You’re doing this again. No, everyone, what are you going to do if I succeed? Keep it in there. Keep it in.”
So.
He stokes the fire.
- Ah lol The two-orb noob shrimp needs to get properly schooled lololololol
- Fo real lololol
- This kind of chance really doesn’t come often lololololololol
- Let’s just get that one win against the streamer lololololololol