NOVEL NEXT Chapter 31
Well, they had even come up with a team name, and I thought this was the end of it for today.
Then, Director Jacky dropped a bombshell.
“Um? Guys, wait a minute. How about we have a scrim with the Panoro Team?”
A sudden scrim proposal.
Come to think of it, was it a team that had some connections with our director? Looks like they were having a meeting just like us.
They must have brought up the idea of a scrim during that meeting.
“I’m in! Even one match should help us get the feel for it, right?”
Tex, full of enthusiasm, was the first to respond.
“I think it’s a good idea. We don’t have much time before the tournament, so a quick match today would really help.”
“I’m fine with it too!”
“Yeah… I’m good with it as well.”
The atmosphere was mostly in agreement.
Ah, I was planning to log off quickly right after the meeting.
But I guess it can’t be helped.
My plan to ambush the viewers who had been teasing me with a surprise log-off was thwarted.
Seeing that I agreed, Director Jacky went ahead to create the room.
“Who was on the Panoro team again?”
“I think their tiers were generally similar to ours.”
“Master, Diamond, Gold, Silver, Silver.”
“Just a little behind. But not a huge difference, right?”
The team members discussed the opposing Panoro team.
I also started digging into my memories of the Panoro team.
Who was on that team again?
As I rummaged through my thoughts, I let out a small gasp.
“Ah.”
One name brushed through my hair.
O Daesik.
Wasn’t Daesik on the Panoro team?
Freshly blooming memories of how he diligently taught his students as a mentor came rushing back.
Facing the Panoro team while recalling those beautiful memories.
Let’s see how good they really are.
*
“Whoa, scrim! It’s a scrim!”
“What about their team? Who’s the highest tier?”
“Isn’t Mollru a Master?”
“I think we’ll probably do better.”
A sudden one-match scrim proposed by the Panoro director.
I could feel the excitement from my teammates, who were initially in a decent mood.
In the middle of it all, Daesik was clutching his head.
“What do you think of Mollru, Daesik? Is she really good?”
“She’s a demon…”
“What? What did you say?”
“Yeah, she’s pretty decent, I guess.”
Daesik mumbled evasively to the teammate questioning him while observing the situation.
‘Of all times…’
Of all times for our director to have ties with Director Jacky, and for a scrim to be set up today.
How terrified I was the first time I saw Mollru’s name on the tournament participant list.
She really showed up to the tournament.
With skills that were outrageous, but because her tier was similar to mine, the chance of being on the same team was slim.
With a sigh, Daesik relaxed his hands.
Either way, we were bound to face her during the tournament.
Entering the scrim room with the mindset of taking a beating early on.
-Panoro_: Hello
-Jopf: Hello
-TACS’: How do you do?
As both teams exchanged brief greetings, they engaged in small talk while waiting for everyone to join.
And within that was a subtle tension.
-Park Yang: We’ll be taking the first win~
-Pa Jang Dongbul Jumeok Kim Ryuah: Haha, we’re gonna win, though
-Jacky_: It was all strategy
A little harmless taunting that didn’t cross the line.
As the audiences reveled in the pre-game trash talk, this kind of banter unfolded naturally.
But Daesik remained silent, typing nothing at all.
His contrasting demeanor compared to his usually playful self puzzled his teammates. Still, Daesik was tense watching Mollru’s chat.
-Mollru: ^^
What did that smile mean?
Was she planning to smash me?
Mollru just sent an eye smile because she had nothing else to say, but Daesik overinterpreted it and became fearful.
[Why is this guy so scared?]
[Daesik… are you scared of Mollru?]
[Honestly, I’m scared]
[It’s a Pavlov’s dog experiment here]
[After getting beaten for hours, just seeing her makes me scared]
[Daesik, cut your high school crush vibe]
[Why is she smiling?]
[Daesik is going to get shredded]
Teeming in fear, Daesik received both sympathy and mockery from the viewers.
Regardless of that, Daesik quietly prepared for the game, and then—
-Cheolwoo-lee: Let’s go.
Finally, the game began.
The battlefield was in the heart of the city.
Had all the citizens evacuated? Not a single face was visible in the street lined with various stores and facilities.
It was a map focused on capturing points.
The map was supposedly random even in the tournament.
A team deathmatch where teams would respawn infinitely, seeking to achieve the target kill.
Grateful that Mollru’s specialty map wasn’t picked, Daesik felt a sense of relief.
Choosing a wizard, which appropriately balanced survival and damage dealing with the DPS position.
He nestled behind the solid shield of the front-line tank and slowly advanced.
The team assigned to attack first approached the opponent’s base.
The Mollru team was defending, each member holding positions.
Daesik quickly turned his gaze to spot Mollru’s location first.
Noticing that she was nowhere to be seen, Daesik said,
“The odds of a sniper are high. Let’s stay behind the shield for now.”
As if affirming his prediction, gunfire rang out.
A teammate who scooted behind the shield managed to save his life.
“It’s intense. But if we’re just careful of the sniper, it doesn’t seem like much. The front line is almost breached, you know? I’ll signal when we go in.”
Streaming the game, Park Yang, who was the next highest tier diamond user after Daesik, watched the front and opened his mouth.
“Now! Raise the shield and head for the point, Jopf and Daesik, keep an eye on the surroundings.”
At this moment, the enemy tank’s gauge had dwindled considerably due to the strong front line.
Under Park Yang’s keen eye, the team entered the point.
Cheolwoo’s tank collapsed, dragging down Tex and Papi Joah who were sticking close to him.
Except for Mollru in the backline, Ryuah was the only one left trying to dodge attacks at the objective.
But soon enough, she lost her life to Daesik’s fireball.
“That was smoother than I thought.”
“We’re in sync well.”
“Looks like their team isn’t working in harmony.”
“We can push with the ultimate next time.”
Within the first minute, one of the three capture points was seized.
With 9 minutes still left to attack.
Watching his teammates enjoy the game as if it was a piece of cake, Daesik thought,
What’s going on? This can’t be right.
Why is this so easy?
*
A complete breakdown seemed to be unfolding.
“Ahh! Heal me, heal!”
“Oh, I got backstabbed. I’m down…”
“You moved too far, Tex! Come back!”
“Our front line is collapsing! We need to fall back!”
“Let’s just pick our best heroes without worrying about the composition.”
Following Jacky’s advice to view each other’s plays, it was time for everyone to select their confident heroes.
Since I was generally confident, I picked the sniper role, which could observe the battlefield’s situation from the back.
That way, I could clearly see my teammates floundering through the scope.
Boom—
A fireball from Daesik fell upon the frontline Cheolwoo.
Cheolwoo, whose gauge dropped instantaneously, said something, but his voice was drowned out by in-game sound effects.
With the other side seemingly well-pressed, my support wasn’t doing much.
Since the opponents huddled behind their shield, there wasn’t much I could contribute.
I could only intermittently break up Daesik’s damage dealing.
At a time like this, Tex, playing a bomber, should be breaking their shield.
But with Jopf’s opposition, he was unable to perform that role effectively.
Amid all this, Papi Joah in the backline lost her life to an assassin.
The balance of the battlefield was lost in an instant.
Eventually, Cheolwoo’s gauge dropped under continuous fire, and the team remaining at the point was wiped away.
Everyone, except me, was eliminated.
Now, briefings were meaningless.
Because I stepped back, Ryuah, who assumed the main order, became chaotic and shouted for a retreat.
Yet again, Papi Joah went down.
This is going to mess up the respawn cycle.
Now, even if we lose one point, we need to regroup.
Just as I was preparing to wait for Papi Joah’s respawn,
“I’m going to take out the wizard; please guard B.”
“What? You think you can take them out? Don’t go rushing in—”
“I think this is better than just relying on the bomber.”
Tex, having switched to an assassin, aimed for the enemy’s backline.
It seemed like a poor choice to me.
The enemies were clustered tightly behind their shield thanks to my presence.
In such a setup, they wouldn’t fall for an ambush.
Of course, Tex was taken down, and without a significant difference, our team ended up conceding the C-point as they lost.
A one-match scrim wrapped up.
The opposing team left with a simple “Thanks for the match.”
Silence filled the call connected via Discord.
“Uh, um….”
Was the shock of defeat too much for them?
No one was opening their mouths.
Well, it was quite an overwhelmingly crushing defeat.
These guys were all gamers before being streamers.
Experiencing such a major defeat would surely shake them up.
Suddenly, memories of the days I used to dream of being a pro came rushing back.
Back then, I would also slump like this after a loss.
Defeat was bitter and heavy.
There was always something to learn from it.
What truly mattered was that sulking won’t bring anything good.
It’s important to learn, get feedback, and rise quickly.
Recalling lessons learned from the past, I tried to lift the mood.
“It’s okay. We can lose sometimes. But more importantly, Papi Joah, why is your nickname Papi Joah? I’ve been curious about it since earlier.”
“Huh…?”
To shift the gloomy atmosphere, I suddenly shifted the topic.
Maybe it was too abrupt, but Papi Joah, whose name was called, looked perplexed but soon figured it out and replied.
“Um… Papi Joah is just an abbreviation. It’s nothing special.”
“Yeah, what’s it an abbreviation for?”
“Originally, it was Pineapple Pizza Love, but it felt too long, so I shortened it to Papi Joah….”
Kraaaak.
I unwittingly took a hit while trying to change the subject.
But I couldn’t react like, “Why eat that on a first meeting?” and instead, I forced a smile when—
“Oh, I love pineapple pizza too.”
“I do too. A lot of people dislike it, but I find it delicious.”
“Really? All my friends hate it, but I’m the only one who likes it.”
Three people excluding me… saying such horrific things.
Is this hell?
Somehow the atmosphere lightened with the topic of pineapple pizza.
I became quiet, trembling internally, unable to break the mood.