Collaboration Day 4 (1)
The RCLK was turning out to be incredibly thrilling. The standings were a total bloodbath—third place and tenth were separated by just a single win.
In three lines, the league structure could be summed up like this:
1. The Two Emperors: DFL and WIZ
2. The Nine Contenders: RV, RTH, SHU, IDS, ORS, KRE, SYV, SSR
3. The Two Weakest: LJ and 5EX
A rough start, but RVGL Resistance had now climbed all the way to third place. A brand-new team that had held first place since the very beginning of their inaugural season—Diafl Monarch. The clash between those trying to rise and those trying to hold their ground. Who would emerge victorious?
Gangneung Blizzard Dragon Park, the home arena of RVGL Resistance. Out of four hundred seats, only the two hundred allocated to Diafl had sold out.
“They have arenas this small in the RCLK?”
“Eunha, Gangneung isn’t exactly a metropolis. They had to build it small to keep the atmosphere alive.”
When sports arenas are excessively large, the atmosphere suffers. No matter how many spectators show up, the place looks empty. Even the Sangam Stadium right in the heart of Seoul often feels hollow. Selling the place out is a pipe dream for regular league matches—it only happens for major national team games.
Even though it was an away match, the cheers from the Diafl Monarch fans dominated the arena.
“Sole first place! Let’s push even higher, Diafl!!!”
“RVGL Resistance, land a decisive blow!!”
It might have been because RVGL was an unpopular team, but they had never really had a chance to build a fanbase. Back in the Hallelujah days, the strong aversion to them being “that cult pastor’s team” had been overwhelming. After the RVKGG sale, they had pulled off a miraculous championship run, but the ending had been far too bitter.
[Set 1, RVGL's choice is… the later pick!]
First Steel (DFL) VS RAZA Blade (RV)
[First Steel was a monster even in the States, and it's still going strong!]
[For a horizontal spinner, the blade is short but extremely thick!]
[RAZA Blade countered immediately with its vertical blade… but will it work?]
[First Steel is just that dominant.]
[3, 2, 1! Battle—begin!!]
[There's no winning a head-on collision against First Steel!]
[You have to target the side… whoa!! Beautiful movement!!]
First Steel slammed into the side of RAZA Blade. It looked exactly like a skilled hunting dog dodging its prey’s desperate thrashing before sinking its teeth into a vital spot.
“It really is like a skilled hunting dog, isn’t it? Dodging the opponent’s attack and striking at the weak point!”
“RAZA Blade counters immediately!”
“It’s been flipped, but First Steel is completely fine!!”
One of the great advantages of robots like First Steel was this very thing: even when flipped, its drive and weaponry functioned without issue. Being perfectly symmetrical made it only natural.
“Back to head-on!!! This should favor RAZA Blade!!”
“It regains its composure for a moment… and counters again!!”
First Steel smashed into the side once more. By now, RAZA Blade’s flank was badly crumpled. It looked like someone had stepped on a plastic bottle.
“Hitting the side is good, but is there a more decisive way?”
“There it is!! It’s going straight for the weapon shaft!!!”
First Steel attacked the weapon axle directly. RAZA Blade’s blade shaft was now ragged and torn, like a slender roadside tree completely snapped by a typhoon.
“RAZA Blade has no path to victory now!”
“One more heavy hit!! And now it’s stopped!!”
“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! RAZA Blade KO! First Steel wins!”
“Naru, using your method really works great!!”
“Senior Hansu… you’re the one using it even better, aren’t you?”
“Naru, you can just call me oppa.”
In just 1:27, First Steel had completely overturned the usual vertical-versus-horizontal matchup. By destroying the weapon shaft of the vertical spinner. It was a perfect application of the counter strategy Moon Naru had developed with V-Killer.
[Set 2, RVGL's choice is… the first pick!]
Sung Chan-ho (RV) VS Peaceful (DFL)
[They went with the first pick for once, and of course they brought out Sung Chan-ho.]
[KO before it can even get close—that’s the plan.]
[Peaceful is incredibly sturdy and has no problem with long matches.]
[The question is whether Sung Chan-ho will allow it to become a long match.]
[3, 2, 1! Battle—begin!!]
Sung Chan-ho was extremely slow, but Peaceful was at least average—wait, what?!
The moment the match began, Sung Chan-ho fired a powerful shot. Peaceful’s outer shell crumpled like an aluminum can hit by a bullet. Yet it displayed incredible durability, continuing to move without any drive issues.
“It took a direct hit from Sung Chan-ho and it’s still fine!!”
“Then two shots… missed!!”
Peaceful shoved Sung Chan-ho toward the out-of-bounds area. With its small wheels and low mobility, the machine looked helpless.
“Is there a way out… using the gun’s recoil to escape!!”
Sung Chan-ho fired at Peaceful while using the recoil to propel itself away.
“What’s happening to Peaceful? The flipper is moving but… the body isn’t!!”
“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Peaceful KO! Sung Chan-ho wins!”
“Senior Cheong-hyeon, is this what you saw in the KORCA Cup finals?”
“He was like that the entire KORCA Cup, Jae-hyun. Even when they closed the distance, he kept shooting while backing away.”
In just 0:37, the 2020 second-half MVP and KORCA Cup champion Sung Chan-ho had returned to his former glory.
[Set 3, Diafl's choice is… the later pick!]
Hokemoth (RV) VS Hapagonis (DFL)
[Hokemoth's days as Japan's pride are in the past, but even a fallen champion is still a champion.]
[It's still plenty strong! You can't guarantee victory just because of the matchup advantage.]
[A lot of people say Hapagonis has been disappointing compared to expectations, right?]
[“It only knows how to farm noobs,” that kind of talk.]
[3! 2! 1! Battle—begin!!!]
“Hokemoth is no pushover at all. You can’t beat it with just a favorable matchup!!”
“That performance in ’23 was just dragged down by the team’s overall slump!”
When the entire team is struggling, it’s hard for one player to carry the whole log on their back.
“Hapagonis is aiming for a head-on attack… it’s strong! Hapagonis!!”
In a direct weapon-to-weapon collision, Hokemoth was instantly flipped. It looked like it had taken a powerful uppercut and been sent flying.
“It’s been flipped!! The good news is that all functions are still operating normally even when inverted!”
“But it’s already given up judgment points.”
Hokemoth’s cool exterior was nowhere to be seen when flipped over. The underside was just a flat metal plate with a few screws in it.
“Back to head-on… no, it’s going for the side! Hokemoth!!”
“Hapagonis counters by targeting the wheels!!”
Hokemoth’s wheels had side covers, so they didn’t take much damage. At worst they would burst open, exposing the internals, but that was it.
“It did burst, but it can still move!”
“Huh? Is it trying to launch the weapon itself?”
Hapagonis spun its body and sent Hokemoth flying in return. It looked like an assassination target turning the tables on its would-be killer.
“Even a robot like Hokemoth becomes difficult to beat with just a matchup advantage when it plays like that, you know?”
“One of the few weaknesses of vertical blades is their narrow range of attack.”
Because the range was so limited, attacks from outside that range were hard to defend against. Hapagonis had simply spun its body to block. Of course, that was only possible because its blade was on the larger side.
“The blade is spinning at full speed, but the legs aren’t moving!”
“The KO count is dropping automatically!!”
“10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Hokemoth KO! Hapagonis wins!”
“Who said it only knows how to farm noobs?!?! Is Hokemoth a noob?!?!”
In 0:57, Hapagonis had managed to shed some of its bad reputation. It had shown that it could do more than just bully weak opponents. Hokemoth was not a robot that could be easily defeated even with a favorable matchup.
[Set 4, RVGL's choice is… the later pick!!]
V-Killer (DFL) VS White Fox (RV)
RV — XOX?? — 1 : 2 — OXO?? — DFL
1st Set — RAZA Blade — Loss — 1:27 KO — Win — First Steel
2nd Set — Sung Chan-ho — Win — 0:37 KO — Loss — Peaceful
3rd Set — Hokemoth — Loss — 0:57 KO — Win — Hapagonis
4th Set — White Fox — ? — ?:?? ?? — ? — V-Killer
5th Set (if needed) — ??? — ? — ?:?? ?? — ? — ???
Moon Naru gripped the controller. Her wildcat-like eyes sharpened with focus as the familiar weight of the transmitter settled in her hands. The crowd’s roar faded into background static. This was her stage now.