An Unexpected Choice

The long-awaited DCK finals had finally begun. Countless broadcasters, Tritch channels, and influencers were carrying the broadcast live, and the official channel—known simply as the Siege War channel—had swelled to a staggering seven million concurrent viewers.

Seven million.

And that number included only Korean viewers, not a single one of the international channels tuning in from abroad.

The international channels, matching the size of their populations, were drawing multiples—tens of multiples—of that figure.

To handle all seven million viewers, the chat had been rate-limited to one message per person every ten minutes, but the messages cascaded in anyway, as if the restriction simply didn't exist.

The players steeled themselves through fairly ordinary interviews, but the two team captains, each carrying their own deep story, were a different matter entirely.

'We will win. The way we always have.'

'You're a star that's finally setting, aren't you, Choco?'

The two glared at each other, sparks flying, and with every fresh collision between them, the chat shook even harder.

Kim Yong-woo wrapped up the interview with a laugh, and the players filed into their respective access pods one by one.

The screen changed.

The commentary desk that any regular DCK viewer would know at a glance. Two familiar faces—and one person nobody had ever seen before.

─Hello, everyone! The long-awaited DCK finals! I'm Kim Yong-woo, your caster for today!

─And on commentary, I'm Rakl!

─I'm Crack, your special guest commentator! A pleasure to be here!

The man called Crack fluttered his short, ash-gray hair as he offered his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠greeting. Gray spirits drifted lazily about him.

He was a first-time face on DCK.

─We've managed—barely—to bring you the dreaded high ranker of necromancy himself, Crack! Welcome, Crack!

─This is nearly the first time I've introduced myself like this. It's a pleasure. Honestly, just being here feels like a tremendous honor.

─Oh, come now~ You're ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one of the handful of high rankers out there. If anything, the honor's all ours.

─Thank you. I'll do my very best with today's commentary.

Crack dipped his head in a polite bow. At that, the spirits floating beside him dipped their heads too.

The chat exploded even harder than before.

"Oh. It's Crack."

"You know him?"

"...? You don't know him, Lily?"

Watching the commentators' banter through the screen, I shook my head at Yena's question.

I'd never seen the man before in my life. Part of it was that I rarely browsed community forums or watched other broadcasts, but even when the chance had recently presented itself, I hadn't taken it.

...Mostly because NewTube had been absolutely buried in videos of me.

"He's currently rank six. The necromancer, Crack. His class being what it is, he shows his face about as rarely as the Sword God does—but even so, he has appeared on broadcasts a few times."

"Necromancy... doesn't Yena have something similar?"

Yena had Death's Echo, a skill built into her pendant. It summoned an orc shaman and a horde of level-sixty orcs or so. From what I remembered, it had been quite useful back in the day—but after she'd gotten the Green Hermit, I hadn't heard a word about her using it since.

"Hmm... compared to that, mine's just way too pathetic."

Well, it was the truth.

Yena said it matter-of-factly and turned her attention back to the screen.

─...So! This match! How do you see it playing out?

─That depends on which games get picked, I'd say. CO holds a slight edge in raw power, but depending on how the matches unfold, I fully believe WoW has a real shot at taking it.

─What the opening match will be remains to be seen! And now! The time to choose the matches has arrived!

As the caster spoke, the screen shifted once more.

At some point, both teams' captains had entered Deo En and were now standing face-to-face inside a replica of the stadium's temple.

It was time to select the matches.

DCK's professional circuit featured many event types, and of those, five had been adopted for the finals.

─The events are: Team Brawl, Relay Duel, Flag Capture, Boss Annihilation, and Deathmatch!

─It's a best-of-five, and each team takes turns choosing the event. The first team to claim three wins takes the championship on the spot!

─Which would mean... some of these events might never even get played at all, wouldn't they?

─Exactly! That's why a team has to analyze its own strengths and strategy carefully and pick the events that favor it most.

It wasn't simply a matter of one person being good enough to carry everything. The director overseeing the team, the coaches analyzing the opponent's roster, and every player responsible for their own role all had to put their heads together and squeeze out the best possible conditions.

I'd only heard about it before, but it was a genuinely interesting format.

Especially the "Boss Annihilation" event in a professional match.

"What's the Boss Annihilation, exactly? Do you have to kill it within a time limit?"

"Right. You race the other team to kill a boss inside the time limit—but nobody ever actually picks it."

"Why not?"

If it were me, I'd pick it every single time and flatten the thing in one second.

When I said as much, Yena made a face like she'd seen a ghost.

"...There's no way that's possible. No—okay, knowing you, Lily, it probably is. But no. The balance system clamps ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠down hard on that one."

Unlike the Mock Siege, where balance adjustments had barely functioned at all, the balance system used in professional matches was said to be airtight. Everything got normalized—aside from exceptional powers like unique craftsmanship, divinity, or magic.

And even if the balance system somehow failed, the boss itself would spawn at overwhelming strength.

"The boss scales off the team's power, and it's basically a coin flip—which is why you usually only see that match in a deciding round five. You can't gamble a professional season on pure luck, right?"

"Fair point."

She was right. If you spent months preparing, drilling, and grinding, only for luck to decide the whole thing, it would feel pretty hollow.

─Now then! CO, who earned first pick through the playoffs! Please choose your event!

Choco stepped forward.

For a team whose individual players were so strong, the obvious picks were the Relay Duel or the Deathmatch. Team Brawl and Flag Capture, which emphasized team synergy, played poorly to CO's strengths.

Yena seemed to reach the same conclusion, murmuring to herself.

"She'll pick the Relay Duel to seize early momentum. Given the team's identity, it's the natural choice."

"Yeah, that'd be my read too—"

─We choose Flag Capture.

OOOOOOOOH!

A roar erupted through the stadium.

It wasn't just a bold pick for CO—it was downright radical. In an event like this, WoW, packed to the brim with mages, held a massive advantage.

CO didn't even have an assassin-type like Yena to level the field.

Kim Yong-woo, inside Deo En, grabbed his microphone again in visible surprise, and Baekseol, staring across at Choco, let out a disbelieving chuckle of her own.

─CO has chosen Flag Capture! Choco, is there a reason behind it?

─People kept telling us CO would obviously open with the Relay Duel... that WoW's way better at team events. Stuff like that.

Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

Twin spears of golden light materialized in Choco's hands. One ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of them leveled, dead center, at Baekseol.

─Then watch me prove it. That every last word of that was garbage.

─Ha—?

─Wonderful! Then both teams, please prepare for the match at once!

Flag Capture.

Just as the name suggested, the goal was to steal the enemy's flag. Each team carried a flag matching its team color.

The flag had to be carried at all times. Handing it to a teammate was allowed, but only once every five minutes.

Both teams moved to a designated map, and the first to seize the opponent's flag and hold it—alongside their own—unstolen for ten minutes won.

─A single player may even carry both flags—their own team's and the enemy's... however! Flag bearers are subject to the 'Penalty.'

Why was Flag Capture considered a team event at all? You could be forgiven for thinking the opposite—that since the bearer mostly just had to run, individual skill would matter far more. But any flag bearer paid a heavy price.

Carrying one flag cut movement speed in half and reduced all stats by roughly thirty percent. Carrying two dropped movement speed by seventy percent and cut stats nearly in half.

─So this is the dilemma! Do you hand the flag to your team's ace so it can be defended more safely?

─Or do you entrust the flag to another teammate, freeing your ace to go rip the enemy's flag away?

In the end, it was a game that could never be won alone.

"I honestly don't know if this'll work."

"We'll find out. It's what we decided on, isn't it?"

In Team CO's map-entry waiting room, as the members made their final equipment checks, Haneul voiced his nerves—and Rater, the team's eldest, shook his head.

"We've run the coordination a dozen times already, haven't we? Our odds are more than good enough."

"...Yeah. You're right. Alright. So we go exactly like we practiced? Formation B?"

"That's right."

Formation B. Asa the tank held the vanguard. Haneul, the ranged dealer, anchored the rear while Rater, the support, held the middle. Gunner, with her sniping range, moved detached from the group.

And the most important piece of all—the flag...

"I'll carry it."

"Go get 'em, Choco-monster. Tear those guys apart."

"...You wanna die?"

The flag would rest in Choco's hands.