Let's Go Hunt the Boss

Which team stood closest to winning the current Mock Siege Battle?

Most people would probably pick Team Leo with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their overwhelming synergy, or Team Lily with its rising rookie star.

But did that mean Team Choco's chances of victory were practically zero?

Not quite.

"Spear warrior, assassin, ranger, tank."

One vanguard, one mid-ranger, one long-range specialist — and then there was Yena, an assassin built for siege battles where long-range fighters dominated.

"In terms of composition, Team Choco isn't bad at all."

"That's right. Not just Choco — all three of the others carry seriously high rankings too."

At my words, Vlack nodded in agreement.

Yena at rank 33.

Raguel at rank 35.

Truck Shield at rank 43.

They weren't quite at the level of 'captain-class' players who fit within ten fingers of the leaderboard, but their rankings were far higher than the members of other teams.

On top of that, having a 'tank' within the top 50 was a remarkably special case.

Tanking is a job played for the team's sake rather than one's own, which usually leaves tanks looking somewhat weak in 1v1 duels.

The fact that he had reached rank 43 on his own strength was proof in itself that he was a genuinely skilled player.

"Next up, Raguel."

"She's with the Angel Guild."

Raguel belonged to the same guild as Raphael — one of the elite Seven Archangels, the man who had invited me to join his guild on my very first stream.

Personally, the fact that she was from the 'Angel' Guild didn't sit well with me.

"She's one of the standout rangers out there. As long as you're careful about arrows flying in from outside your field of vision, you shouldn't have much trouble."

"The most important thing is the Angel Guild's blessing. The guild's stat bonuses are absurdly good."

The defining trait of the Angel Guild's archangels: they could use special 'guild skills'.

Wielding skills unique to the Angel Guild, each of them made a name for themselves as pro players, rankers, or fearsome powerhouses known across the entire continent.

Had it not been for the flood of top-10 rankers participating this time, Raguel likely would have been a team captain herself.

"Yena's Death's Echo is just broken."

A legendary-tier hidden piece bearing the 'Unique' trait — said to exist only once in the entire server.

Death's Echo.

It summoned armed orc soldiers above level 60 while massively multiplying the caster's own stats on top of that.

Purely in terms of power, it rivaled Mythic-grade equipment.

"I've seen it once myself, and it looked incredibly useful."

I had been genuinely impressed watching her unleash Death's Echo and overwhelm Nerindia, a high-tier elemental.

Spirits are like little children, but high-tier elementals have by nature lived for centuries at minimum — never an opponent to take lightly.

"Yena has held her ranker spot for a very long time, so her skill goes without saying."

"But Lily beat her, though."

"...That is true."

I shook my head at my teammates and the chat's reactions.

"That's a question that can only be answered by fighting for real."

The Mock Siege Battle was a legitimate competition with money and prestige on the line.

Back then, I had deliberately held back plenty — the excuse being that I was a newbie, that my gear and specs were lacking — but on match day, there would be no leniency. We would clash at full power.

Honestly, I didn't think I'd lose, but nobody could say for certain how it would go.

At the very least, it wouldn't be an easy win.

'Unless I reclaim my divinity, that is.'

Redberry nodded.

"Exactly. Lily is clearly the more skilled, but you can't ignore the gap in specs. No matter how much balance adjustment gets applied, the fundamental difference is unavoidable."

And this wasn't simply a matter of fairness.

Rankers' specs were themselves the fruit of relentless effort.

It would be impossible to erase all that and level the field completely.

Vlack, who had been walking us through the discussion with a scale model, looked up into the empty air and spoke.

"Let's leave the strategy analysis there... and start looking for scrims."

"Aren't you scrimming against Choco?"

"Choco?"

Hmm... Vlack scratched his chin.

"I think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lily will win. She plays pro matches, so there's more data on her than anyone could sort through."

No problem at all.

Normally, team matches like this required scrimming against the opposing team to learn their playstyles and strategies.

You built teamwork, honed your skills, and developed counterplay through practice.

But this Mock Siege Battle was apparently a little different.

"With three teams involved, scrims between teams will probably be difficult."

It wasn't two teams facing off, but three.

Convening every team for every scrim was one issue, and above all, facing your opponents directly created a spoiler problem.

It would drain the tension and anticipation of who would win and lose on the actual match day.

On the other hand, closed-door scrims would be awkward as content, with more than half the participants being streamers.

But the biggest problem was that it would render the all-important 'rival showdown' meaningless.

Countless viewers were waiting for that clash alone.

In the end, it was decided that scrims would be run against ordinary players and acquaintances instead.

We waited briefly in the Siege Arena while seeking out scrim opponents.

The Mock Siege Battle was such a hot topic that the arena had flooded with crowds hoping to face us, but under Vlack's practiced management, we selected a handful of players suited as opponents.

A blue curtain enveloped us all.

In the blink of an eye, my teammates and I stood within a massive grey castle.

Beside me, Redberry had a marker floating above her head: [Red Team — General].

Above mine, I supposed, hovered [Red Team — Grand General].

From the very start, viewers were proposing all kinds of routes.

Their wishes for me were so varied that even among the audience of over a hundred thousand, hardly anyone wanted the same thing.

"Since this is our first scrim, let's take it easy and not put too much pressure on ourselves."

Vlack commanded the team with practiced ease, as if this sort of thing came naturally to him.

It was clear why they'd made him team leader (though not Grand General).

Vlack split off the NPC soldiers, ordering some to guard the base and others to gather resources, then surveyed the far side of the river.

"Right now it's NPCs, but on match day it'll be real players."

"Should we begin now?"

"Well, we'll need an operations meeting and a proper strategy first... Lily, this is your first siege battle, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Then...

Vlack mulled it over for a moment before slinging his black greatsword across his shoulder.

"Think of it as a tour of the map. Roam around, hunt what you can find, and feel free to attack the enemy team too."

"We're not planning a strategy right away?"

"No. I want to watch how each of you plays first, then decide. I'll stay near the castle, so don't worry about defending the base."

With that, Vlack raised his greatsword and shot across the river in a blur of motion.

He vanished into the 'forest' almost instantly.

Redberry's crimson hair ignited into flame.

"I'll go protect the workers. Some players sometimes cross the forest to hunt them down."

"I'm going monster hunting!"

Each of them hurled fire and black flame as they crossed the river and vanished into the forest.

Left alone, I looked around.

"Hmm... where should I go."

I checked the map.

Three castles, each perched at a vertex of a triangle.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

A blue 'river' encircling the castles, and a green 'forest' swallowing most of the map.

At the center of a grey plain in the very middle of the map crouched a boss monster that looked ready to let loose its roar at any moment.

And suddenly, an amusing idea struck me.

"Let's go hunt our boss."