Holding Back the Coaching Lv.999 (3)

"No, I did give some advice. But how can you trust anything an Iron says?"

The person who said that was Mazia, who was currently sitting in Iron tier herself.

If Mazia hadn't said that, the chat would have been flooded with wild speculation that she was intentionally throwing or trolling to drop rank. No matter how solid her FPS fundamentals were, it was hard to believe someone who could drop a cloud, dominate vision, and solo a tower was stuck in Iron.

"Unnie, have you really never watched any Night of Legend guides on YouTube?"

"There was no need. I was doing fine on my own."

But those few words had cleared everything up. Komari and the rest of the na-ssem crew could practically smell the rusty metal aura radiating off Mazia. This was Iron, no question about it.

Mazia wasn't playing Night of Legend right now. She was playing Apola. She was even thinking things like Komari will probably explain it if I mess up anyway and that'll just highlight Komari's character more, which made her even more reckless.

"Unnie. Can you at least remember what I just told you? This is something even the lowest worms know. The kind of basic stuff that even the trash-talking parasitic cockroaches who get banned know. They know it so well they leave the game because they can't stand playing with people who don't."

"Ah."

"I hate seeing you get treated like a bug, unnie. So please remember this. For the first ten minutes, you stay on your lane. That's how you survive among these hopeless idiots."

Of course, to Mazia who was listening, that was also just coaching.

Ding——.

Along with the clear ring of a bell, Mazia declared, "Three stacks."

"Wait, that's not coaching! We were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just talking! How is that backseat advice?"

"I said before we started that I'd ring the bell if I felt like you were giving me advice. I felt it, so I rang it."

"Ughhh."

This was the first time the infamous brake had been applied to Komari, who usually erupted like a broken dam the moment Night of Legend started, spewing criticism nonstop. Even without swearing, she would drag out every similar word until her opponent lost their mind. Yet in front of Mazia she was desperately trying to soften already-softened words, which made her visibly struggle.

The longtime leaf viewers knew exactly how rare this was.

Meanwhile, at Parallel headquarters.

Cheon Do-hee stopped by the operations team on her way out and casually took the seat beside Kang Ji-ho, who was watching the stream with a huge smile.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, heading out? Jia went on Komari's stream today."

"Right, that was today. My brain is fried. How is it? Must be pretty tough compared to her usual broadcasts with all the na-ssem watching."

"I thought so too, but I'm actually dying of laughter right now."

When Cheon Do-hee had asked Kang Ji-ho to handle Jia's work, she'd been genuinely worried the offer might be rejected. After all, she was a mother raising a ten-year-old son, part of a dual-income household, and her position was equivalent to assistant director. Her experience level was almost too high to replace what Mazia did. If family issues forced her to decline, they'd have no choice but to understand. Even if reports were delayed a day, it couldn't be helped.

But Kang Ji-ho had accepted without hesitation. She'd even told Jia to feel free to leave work anytime. The reason was a mother's desire for the daughter she'd never had. She was raising her beloved ten-year-old son with love, but raising another child on top of a dual-income life wasn't an easy choice. The person filling that empty space was none other than Mazia.

Even when she was busy with her own work, she'd notice urgent tasks in the operations team, hesitate, then come help anyway. And whatever she took on, she handled with the same dedication as her own duties. Kang Ji-ho had always had a soft spot for Mazia, but the moment Mazia worried about her getting home safely after covering a night shift in her place, she'd completely stolen her heart. She really was the kind of daughter anyone would wish for.

"How does this kid know even less about Night of Legend than I do?"

"She spent all her time on Battle Colosseum, so she doesn't know any of it."

"But that's what makes it so funny. Still, since she's Diamond in Battle Colosseum, she doesn't listen to anyone in the same tier either."

"...For example?"

"Things like 'stay on your lane for the first ten minutes,' 'who gets the shadow that spawns in the alley and when,' and 'join up when the dark knight appears in the center of the map at twenty minutes.'"

All of them were essential tips for playing Night of Legend, but Cheon Do-hee had only played a little on the side during content droughts, so she didn't know much. That was why Kang Team Leader's game knowledge was surprising. When she'd joined as a manager from an entertainment company at the executive level, she'd had almost zero gaming knowledge and a completely blank slate regarding internet broadcast memes.

"Team Leader, you've really become an expert on internet broadcasts and games in just three years."

"Right? I have to raise my son later. For now Jia is handling it, but I figured there might come a day when I need to help, so I've been learning by watching over her shoulder. Looks like it's paying off."

"Later she might know too much and Re-woo will hate it. You won't be able to lie about his game time."

"Come on, to be honest I'd listen to everything... I'm not planning to raise Re-woo as some strict prodigy or anything. Though I would stop him if he said he wanted to stream."

The two women laughed together as they watched Mazia running around as Apola. I should say what needs to be said. Cheon Do-hee muttered quietly.

"Jia's going to be a fourth-year next year, so I was thinking of promoting her and giving her a team lead position."

Kang Team Leader's ears perked up immediately.

"Oh, that's wonderful. Is that why there's an opening in the operations team?"

"Yes."

They usually aimed for a four-to-one ratio of applicants to interview slots. Kang Ji-ho recalled the number of document passers she'd received from Cheon Do-hee just yesterday and murmured, "I wondered why three hundred resumes came in when we're only hiring a few people."

"Parallel has gotten pretty famous. I didn't expect three hundred people for three positions either."

A one-hundred-to-one competition ratio. Considering the two-hundred-to-one ratio when they'd recruited Parallel's first generation, it was an incredible number.

"Anyway, things will be busy for us after Halloween, so I want to hold the interviews before then. But I'm debating whether I should only call you, Team Leader, or have Jia sit in too."

It was the kind of statement that could undermine Kang Team Leader's authority. But she responded casually.

"Jia should go in alone. We're on the same team, but our jobs are completely different."

"...I suppose so."

"Besides, when it comes to streaming, Jia is my senior. I ask her about things I don't know sometimes. So it's only right that she reviews the new streaming management staff who'll be coming in under her."

Do-hee nodded in understanding.

"Thank you, Team Leader."

"No need to thank me... But will Jia move seats if she becomes team lead? That'd be a shame."

"No. We're going to pull all the partitions toward the president's office to create more space. We'll split the monitors at Jia's old desk so two people can use it together."

"Oh. Lucky~. Seeing Jia's face before leaving work is one of the joys of my company life."

Kang Team Leader, who had been giggling, suddenly thought of something and asked Do-hee.

"By the way, is the new person coming under Jia definitely a woman?"

"Yes."

"Hmm."

The entertainment company where Kang Ji-ho had originally worked was a female-dominated workplace. It was also a place rife with vicious mind games and faction wars. Thinking back to that time, it was natural to worry that a petite team lead like Mazia might get eaten alive by her subordinates. Seeing how she handled Dora and Rain made it seem like she'd be fine, but that might just be because the first-generation members were all so gentle...

"I think once we hire the new person, I'll need to have a talk with her."

With a bright smile still on her face, Kang Ji-ho said, "Or would it be all right if I kept her with me for a week before sending her to Jia?"

Of course, Kang Ji-ho's worries were largely unfounded. No matter how scary people said she was, there was no way Mazia would ever truly be afraid of a woman. She might keep her distance once the illusion broke, but if Mazia had really been scared of women, she would have been cowering in front of the furiously fuming Komari right now.

"Ha. Uh. Heh. Uh... Un... Uh. Ah, uh, ah!"

The entire team had gathered in the center of the map to hunt the spawned dark knight, but Mazia was alone hitting the core turret. The urge to give advice was overwhelming. She shouldn't be hitting the base turret right now; she should join her allies and hit the dark knight. She wanted to tell her to switch to Adaptive Skill I and take it down with accumulated stack damage. But she was holding back because she couldn't keep up with the leaf viewers' increasing donations and the Rubber Duck House playtime.

"Ughhhhhhhhh. Shi. Shiii. Shiiiiit."

"Hey everyone. Why are you making me out to be a delinquent? I really went to school properly. I got hit, sure, but I never hit anyone?"

But the leaf viewers were desperate too. If they didn't distract her like this, Komari would clearly start dishing out advice again.

"Ugh. What proof pictures? This is so annoying."

In the meantime, Mazia destroyed one core turret with a boom and was waiting for the next wave of demolition units to arrive. Most siege classes could fight while hitting turrets, but Apola couldn't, which created this delay time.

The reason Komari had tried to give advice? Because she could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clearly see what was about to happen.

When the dark knight was slain, siege champions gained siege destruction power, while other champions gained attack power. Additionally, everyone received a movement speed buff that made chasing enemies much easier. In other words, the team that took the dark knight had a high chance of getting an ace in the next team fight and pushing many turrets.

So if Apola had come to help with the dark knight, Jia's team would have won easily. Especially since she could likely secure the last hit after stacking so much.

The enemy team seemed to know this too, because they were busy mocking them in all chat.

Mazia's team was clearly losing. The person who had left had come back, but they were still angry. Two people had been cut in the last team fight, and they'd even lost the dark knight buff. What more could you say?

From now on, the enemy's response was simple. One dealer would stay at base to stop Apola while the other four, including the siege champion, would take the buff and push the enemy base.

But right when everyone was certain of Jia's defeat, Komari, who had been trading blows with the leaf viewers about school violence and everything else, checked the enemy champion returning to base and muttered, "Wait... can we actually win this?"

Just then, their friendly demolition wave arrived and Mazia charged majestically toward the core turret. The enemy's well-fed dealer, Lightning—the same one who'd been laning against Mazia—had also finished recalling. Anyone watching except Komari thought that if they clashed here, Apola would die and the game would explode.

"I'm not just saying this. Look at Staffie unnie's items."

Normally Apola built health and defense items to compensate for her low durability. Since stacking let her destroy turrets in one hit anyway, there was no need to build damage. Even if she took Adaptive Skill I and switched to a dealer playstyle, this fact didn't change. It simply changed from stacking to destroy buildings in one hit to stacking to destroy enemy tanks in one hit.

But Mazia's item window was attack, attack, attack. A few people had mentioned it, but the chat had been exploding from her continuous Iron movements. This was the first time everyone had properly checked.

The reason Apola wasn't very helpful in team fights? She usually built defense items, and her combat skills and ultimate were all about stacking and bursting stacks. There was no way for Apola to burst an enemy before the enemy burst her. And in that time, destroying buildings was more helpful to the team anyway.

But right now both Mazia and the Lightning coming to stop her had gone full attack items. Against a wide-area destruction dealer who melted opponents with range and area, defense items were a luxury. In other words, if Mazia could abandon the tower for a moment and melt Lightning, the whole game would change.

"Sorry, leaves. Just one piece of advice."

"Unnie, drop the cloud and deal with the one who came to stop you first! He's squishy too!! Dodge the ultimate no matter what!!"

Ding. The table bell rang, and Komari's penalty stack increased by one on the broadcast screen.

Boom. Black clouds spread out around Apola. From Komari's perspective, this fight favored Mazia. The opponent she was facing was the Lightning she'd been up against the entire game, so she should understand the trajectory and range of the combat skill and ultimate to some degree.

Anyway, the opponent is Iron too, so if she can just dodge the combat skill and ultimate...!

Kwa-kwa-kwaang! Chain lightning tore through the cloud in a straight line. Mazia only dodged the lightning and didn't leave the cloud.

Dodged the combat skill!

Then the opponent charged their ultimate. In two seconds, an electromagnetic wave covering the entire cloud area would fall. 2, 1, 0. The moment the ultimate fired, Apola burst out of the cloud. The brief stealth effect prevented the charging Lightning from chasing Apola. The electromagnetic wave covered the cloud as is.

Kwa-jijijik!

Dodged the ultimate too...!

Stealth ended, and Apola's position was in the blind spot behind Lightning. There was no headshot bonus damage, but two shotgun barrels aimed at the head spat fire.

Boom!

One shot took away a third of Lightning's health. Komari slammed her desk and shouted.

"Crazy damage, nice!"

The reload time that should have taken four seconds was cut in half by the power of full attack items. No matter how well Lightning had farmed, all she could do in two seconds was basic attack. Of course those basic attacks were still devastating to a glass cannon, so Apola's health was also being chipped away.

The double barrel fired again with a boom! Lightning had a third of her health left, while Apola had half.

2, 1. Double barrel reload complete. At the same time, Lightning's combat skill came off cooldown, but while the two champions were frantically jumping around, Apola's gun barrel aimed at Lightning faster. In the critical moment, the physical difference decided the outcome.

Boom!

Immediate praise poured out from the opponents.

Mazia leisurely began hitting the remaining core turret. Ting, ting, ting, ting, ting. Defense pings rained down in the middle of the enemy base, but the enemies were busy marching toward Mazia's base with the dark knight buff. How could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they have known? The dealer they'd sent to stop her would die without even catching a single Apola.

Kang, kang, kang, kang. The stacks filled up joyfully. Two enemies tried to recall at the same time, but the tank and support from Mazia's team who were still alive threw their bodies to stop them.

Before they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knew it, twelve stacks. It was time to demolish. Apola lowered her stance, knelt, and aimed at the turret core. Light flowing from the halo became special bullets loaded into the chamber.

Pew—————.

Kwa-kwa-kwaang!

Only one thing remained until victory. The enemy base that would disappear within the next sixteen stacks. The enemies were still busy arguing in all chat, while their allies desperately blocked the enemy recalls. The revived allies joined in the chaotic fight, so none of the living enemies could return to base.

"Unnie, destroy it!!!"

So Mazia leisurely fired her double barrel, stacking on the enemy's heart, and then—

Boom!

She burst it.

While the chat, which had somehow become one in mind and purpose, marveled at this impossible victory, Mazia looked at Komari and grinned.

"Carry."

Click. The ranked game settlement window appeared in the center of the screen.

They had only played one game. Komari, who was on the verge of losing her mind, let out a hollow laugh and said one thing.

"Is everyone living in Iron like this...?"