Dancer of the Battlefield

The First Abyss Dome Stadium, where the match was underway. And, in that same building, the exhibition hall set aside for spectators.

There, a rather peculiar scene was unfolding.

"That's not the pose. Lenok needs to look a little more imposing—almost indifferent… bend your hand back a bit more. Yes, just like that."

The undisputed number one in popularity polls. Lately she had nearly been overtaken by other heroes, only for the release of her mythic-grade skin, Snow Queen Camilla, to lock her position down for good—the hero Camilla.

A woman who looked as if she had cosplayed that very Camilla—who resembled Camilla to an almost unsettling degree—was issuing instructions left and right to the people around her.

Those people, in wigs and elaborate costumes, appeared to be a cosplay team.

And the woman trading banter with them, striking poses and snapping photos with genuine enthusiasm, wasn't dressed for the part herself—yet she still looked for all the world like a member of the team.

No—honestly, you could have called her the leader. She was the one doing most of the talking, and the rest of them listened carefully and nodded along.

Passersby simply figured she hadn't put on a costume because she was the leader, and that she'd change once they headed into the arena. They watched with idle curiosity and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠left it at that.

And in the middle of it all stood a little girl whose face had gone from beaming to restless.

Even Sihyeon had never expected Muna to get this carried away.

Realizing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something had gone badly off the rails, she pushed through the gathering crowd, grabbed her unnie's sleeve, and started tugging hard.

"Unnie…"

"So the most important thing in a cinematic is the balance between the heroes. What the director was trying to capture is—hm?"

Kayak, mid-lecture to the cosplayers on the cinematic trailer they were recreating and the concepts behind Abyss's heroes, turned at the tug on her sleeve.

Sihyeon's face, somehow embarrassed. The throng of people that had closed in. All those curious eyes fixed on her.

Kayak's face went scarlet in an instant. One photo, then another—she'd gotten so absorbed without realizing it that she'd started giving orders herself.

"Aaaauuugh…"

Kayak's sharp mind assessed the situation in a flash and decided exactly what to do.

Grip—

"Hey, wait!"

"Camilla-nim, where are you going!"

"Just one more shot of the final cinematic scene!"

Kayak seized Sihyeon's hand and bolted from the spot.

"Fusion was so dominant last season people were calling them an invincible armada—they literally never lost. Of course they're confident."

"Pre-match win predictions. Fusion Gaming at 78%, Optimum Prime at 22%."

"That number comes from how overwhelming their play has been and the fact that they haven't dropped a single series… but from Optimum's perspective, there's no guarantee Fusion keeps winning forever. That's the angle they have to exploit."

"Plenty of people saying they're due for a loss. There is no such thing as an eternal win streak—or an eternal losing streak."

There was truly very little time left before the match began.

In a way, it had already half-started. All this analysis from the casters before tip-off was its own kind of warm-up—the kind that made the actual game more fun to watch.

Earlier… I'd done something deeply embarrassing. Call it getting absorbed without realizing. Seeing people who'd actually prepared and dressed the part, I'd decided that if we were doing this, it might as well be perfect.

After grabbing Sihyeon's hand and coming into the arena, I was so mortified I deliberately kept my eyes locked on the stadium jumbotron. Thankfully Sihyeon seemed to be enjoying herself, because she wasn't trying to talk to me.

"But if we're being coldly objective, Fusion Gaming is currently the number one team in the world based on pure performance."

"They've already been recognized overseas and proven it on the world stage. Right now, the best team is Fusion Gaming. That's an undeniable fact."

"But even the best team can fall at any time. Especially early in the season—when new strategies keep dropping and multiple teams are mid-rebuild—change can happen fast."

They were mid-display of a table listing each player's picks and win rates from last season when the broadcast naturally shifted into the ban-pick phase.

Familiar faces. The Fusion Gaming players, headphones on, expressions dead serious.

"Through the coin toss, Optimum Prime has chosen the blue side."

"That means they're first to ban-pick… what kind of strategy did they bring?"

"Lenok and Alec are banned. They're immediately cutting the heroes considered the biggest beneficiaries of this patch."

They took turns selecting heroes one after another. Nothing particularly special so far. Camilla still hadn't appeared.

"Both teams are running a fairly standard ban-pick, wouldn't you say?"

"That's right—they're trading back and forth, splitting the picks they each want in a reasonable way."

"Everything up to here is within expected range. Looking at the players' faces, that's basically what they're saying. But if things keep going like this, Fusion Gaming—picking last—won't have much left to take."

"Exactly. What's left… maybe Ian, who Minhyung likes to play? But that hero's been getting pretty poor evaluations this season."

And then, out of nowhere, a hero portrait appeared.

I could almost hear a dramatic doo-woong sound effect in my ears.

At the same time, a scream erupted from the caster desk.

"Camilla? They're suddenly picking Camilla?"

"Is this real? Five seconds left on the pick. Five, four, three, two…."

"Ah—Camilla! They actually locked Camilla! The Dancer of the Battlefield has taken the stage in the league!"