Beyond Imagination — The Opening Match
The long-awaited opening match that defies all expectations has finally arrived. The first half of the RCLK 2024 season is officially underway.
Suwon Art&Fight Stadium. As of this year, it has become the official home arena for Team ORASTY, also known as ORS.
Out of the 1,800 seats, half — the home stands — were filled with fluorescent yellow and black. The signature colors of ORS created the impression of a massive swarm of wasps. On the opposite side, however, the away stands for the visiting team appeared to be only about thirty percent full. It was understandable; Diafle Monarch was a brand-new team that had only recently been founded.
“ORS! ORS! ORS!”
The roar of nine hundred ORS fans dressed in wasp-colored gear echoed through the arena. It was bound to put considerable pressure on the visiting team, Diafle Monarch.
“Whoa… the stands look like they’re packed with wasps… it’s scary…”
“Don’t be afraid, Eunha. If we win, they’ll go quiet.”
Team ORASTY’s prime had been nothing short of explosive. They claimed the unified championship in the first half of 2020, the second half of 2020, the first half of 2021, and the second half of 2021. Four consecutive unified titles — an unprecedented feat in RCLK history. After social distancing measures ended, they began to falter slightly in the first half of 2022. Even so, they barely edged out RTH Crown to finish in first place, only to suffer a shocking upset in the playoffs. By the second half of 2022, they had slipped into the middle of the pack.
Battle robot team matches are decided in a best-of-five format, with each contest being one-on-one. Once a robot has been used in a match, it cannot return for the remainder of that match.
In Set 1, the home team chooses whether to deploy first or second. Choosing to go second is usually preferred because it allows for favorable matchups. However, if a team possesses an overwhelmingly powerful robot capable of seizing early momentum, they may opt to go first. From Set 2 onward, the losing team from the previous set gets to choose.
Set 1 — DFL V-Killer VS ORS ORS_Blade.
“ORS Blade!!! A rookie like V-Killer will get crushed in seconds!!”
“Blade! Blade! Blade!”
The ORS fans were ecstatic as soon as ORS_Blade appeared. They were convinced Set 1 would be a complete domination. They figured the match would be over in about fifty seconds.
ORS_Blade was practically the symbol of Team ORASTY. It was a horizontal spinner with a slightly twisted take on classic design. Its SF-inspired appearance was undeniably cool. Despite that sleek look, it was a veteran machine that had been active since the league’s inaugural 2018 season. It used two T-shaped blade supports and a blade positioned extremely low — almost like an undercutter. The blade itself was exceptionally thick and quite long. It featured sloped armor in the rear and a self-righting mechanism on top that could also function as a lifter in emergencies. The small wheels were installed specifically so the robot could still move even when flipped.
ORS_Blade’s blade began spinning with a menacing growl. It sounded similar to the wingbeats of the Asian giant hornet that inspired the team’s nickname, only deeper and heavier.
The two blades collided. Both machines were pushed back almost equally.
ORS_Blade struck V-Killer’s rear and flipped it over. But V-Killer used its self-righting mechanism and immediately returned to its wheels.
V-Killer tore away the self-righting arm like pulling up shallow-rooted weeds. ORS_Blade would now be unable to recover if flipped. Even though it was a horizontal spinner, the question of how it would be flipped had just been answered.
ORS_Blade struck back, slamming blades together once more. Because V-Killer’s blade hadn’t reached full speed yet, it was pushed back harder. It looked like it had been hit by a 1.5× reflection skill in a video game. No matter how short the spin-up time was, there would always be a brief window of vulnerability.
ORS_Blade had struck V-Killer’s sloped armor at the wrong angle. Once again it bounced off like a shell ricocheting from angled plating. The machine was sent flipping 180 degrees and the KO count began.
“The wasp swarm in the stands has gone completely silent. Suwon’s about to turn into a library~!”
Right after securing the victory, Moon Naru delivered a fiery piece of trash talk.
In just 43 seconds, V-Killer had decorated its professional debut with a flawless KO victory — and against none other than ORS_Blade, the very symbol of ORS and one of its most veteran machines.
Set 2 — DFL Neptune VS ORS ORS_Hound.
ORS_Hound was a textbook four-wheel-drive vertical spinner. Its vertical blade sat atop sloped armor, and near the blade were structures resembling dog ears. These helped the rear wheels maintain traction and mobility when the robot was flipped.
Neptune immediately charged forward, launching ORS_Hound into the air and flipping it cleanly. It looked like a skilled chef flipping a pancake high into the air.
ORS_Hound launched its own counterattack. Thanks to the reverse-sloped armor, Neptune’s vertical weapon wasn’t biting effectively. It was like watching someone try to scratch a brick wall with rose thorns.
Neptune flipped ORS_Hound again like another pancake. The smaller machine was driven all the way to the edge of the out-of-bounds zone.
It was launched like a basketball player attempting a three-pointer.
In 1 minute and 13 seconds, Neptune had secured a clean, veteran-style out-of-bounds victory. Its drum was overwhelmingly powerful, and the reverse-sloped armor had done an excellent job neutralizing the vertical spinner.
Set 3 — ORS ORS_Kicker VS DFL Peaceful.
ORS’s Three Divine Artifacts: ORS_Blade, ORS_Hound, and ORS_Kicker.
ORS_Kicker was a textbook pneumatic flipper. Its design took the standard flipper layout and gave it an SF-style flair. The body was shaped like a flat box, with the middle third functioning as a powerful pneumatic flipper capable of launching opponents with enough force to cause serious damage.
The commentators were clearly excited. An unexpected match had unfolded right from the opening game of the season.