Eunjae's Moonlight Kick Miracle
Two days later, it was the final day of the first week of Round 2 in the Eternal Combat Women's Academy League Summer Season.
It was also the day of our team's first match in Round 2.
Our opponents were the Vipers, a fairly low-tier team even in the Academy League, and the skill gap between us was glaring.
"The Vipers might be a weak team, but don't get complacent just because we can beat them."
"Got it."
"You've all leveled up your skill specializations a lot, so they should be easier to handle than last time. Just always keep an eye out for their habit of popping smoke and diving mid when they're at a disadvantage."
"Seon-ah, always keep in mind that the enemy might swarm mid... Actually, no. Just have Ha-young call out if she doesn't see them."
"Okay."
"Hey! What was that supposed to mean? Why'd you stop talking to me like that?!"
I ignored Seon-ah's protest as she fumed and continued briefing the players on various precautions against the Vipers.
"Players, please enter the stage!"
At the familiar call from the staff, our team rose from their seats.
"Alright, let's button up the first match of Round 2 properly. Shining Star!"
"Fighting!"
As the match began, I focused on Eunjae's movements. She'd been the one I'd invested the most time in over the past few days, so she needed to show that all that training had paid off.
###
"Seon-ah, I don't see the enemies!"
"Gasp! Oh, got it!"
At Ha-young's call, Seon-ah, who had been overextending on mid lane, hurriedly fell back. And from the bushes near where Seon-ah had just been standing, the enemy supports' skills flew out. If the call had been a second later, Seon-ah would've died just like always.
The game favored Shining Star, but it was still close enough that a single teamfight could flip it.
"These guys keep smoking and swarming mid to poke—it's pissing me off. Eunjae, come to mid. I can't handle them alone."
"On it, be right there."
Eunjae started moving from top to mid at Seon-ah's request for backup.
'First, Moon's Veil...'
As she tried to use her ultimate, Moon's Veil, Eunjae flinched. It felt like she was hearing things.
Eunjae shook her head, cold sweat trickling down, and instead of ulting, asked Ha-young.
"Ha-young, any wards here?"
"Nah, I cleared it. Safe to go."
"Roger."
Eunjae crept down the river path on foot, then sneaked up the hill near the enemy mid and nocked an arrow. Just as she was about to release...
Eunjae swallowed hard, holding the draw without releasing, watching the enemy mid's movements.
The moment she judged the enemy mid had stepped forward a bit, Eunjae activated Moonlit Leap forward. In mid-air, she perfectly angled and aimed for the enemy's torso.
That instant.
"H-Here, enemy support!"
A Vipers support, placing a ward, spotted Eunjae leaping from the hill and yelled to her team.
Eunjae's legs were already airborne, heading under the enemy mid hill. No turning back now.
Seeing Eunjae leap down, the Vipers mid hurriedly retreated toward their tower.
"S-Seon-ah! Catch her somehow!"
"I'm too far!"
The Moonlight Arrow was set to whiff into empty air.
"Ugh... Then..."
Eunjae released the bowstring and, mid-air, shot her right leg straight out. Twisting her waist with all her might, she kicked the arrow's fletching.
The Moonlight Arrow's trajectory bent sharply from the mid-air kick. What should've flown straight veered nearly 90 degrees toward the tower where the Vipers mid was hiding.
A physically impossible maneuver in reality, made possible only in the game through motion and physics interaction with the arrow.
The Moonlight Arrow was huge but slow-flying. Normal auto-attacks were too fast for this, but only the Moonlight Arrow allowed such a trick.
"Wh-what the hell?!"
The Vipers midlaner screamed in shock at the arrow curving from an unimaginable direction.
Too flustered, she couldn't dodge. Even if she had, it would've been tough. Eunjae's Moonlight Arrow was far faster and more precise than anything Shining Star had shown before.
With a thunk, the massive arrow pierced the Vipers midlaner's gut, stunning her long.
Seon-ah's Nightcrawler pounced on the defenseless target. With ultimate Absolute Evasion ignoring the tower, Seon-ah casually secured the kill and escaped.
Watching Eunjae's mid-air feat, Seon-ah rubbed her eyes in disbelief and muttered.
"What the heck did she just do...?"
###
The streaming chat was exploding. Our team already had insane recognition for an Academy squad thanks to the players' looks, the level 1 Rosie bait in Round 1 against Brilliant, and the 5-Blade Armor strat that one-shot their tank. So our matches drew way more viewers than average, and with Eunjae's stunt, the crowd went wild.
Most couldn't believe their eyes.
And honestly, neither could I.
I rubbed my eyes and muttered.
"What the heck did she just do...?"
While watching the live match, I snapped my fingers to pull up a holographic replay of that moment.
During the lull, the replay showed Eunjae releasing mid-air, then using insane core and leg strength to roundhouse kick her own arrow. And the arrow's trajectory bending on impact.
In all my pro years, I'd never seen anything like it.
Honestly, I couldn't replicate it if I tried. Eunjae's move was incredibly flexible, fluid, yet powerful.
I might have stronger legs, but I couldn't twist my waist mid-air for an instant kick like that. My back doesn't turn that far.
A feat born from natural flexibility, dance-honed stamina and muscle, and choreography-acquired moves and techniques—something only Eunjae could pull off. It defied the standard three basic skills plus one ultimate of Eternal Combat champions. Like a fifth skill unique to her, transcending the limit.
I gazed down at Eunjae on the field with a pleased smile.
"Practicing that on your own, huh? Good girl. Gotta give her a reward after the match."
Stunned by Eunjae's play, Vipers crumbled fast. The trick didn't repeat, but its impact made them overly paranoid, tripping over their own feet.
Returning to the lounge after winning set 1, the players mobbed Eunjae with hugs and screams.
"Whoa, Eunjae! What was that?! You can do tricks like that? I was stunned even after grabbing the kill!"
"What happened? I missed it. What'd she do?"
"Insane! Unnie, check this out!"
Yuna's eyes widened at the highlight. She'd been grinding her teeth under joint liability from Eunjae's antics lately, but even she had to admit this.
"...Damn, that's sick. Were you an acrobatics gymnast or something, Eunjae?"
"Hehe, I did good, right?"
"You crushed it! Me and Sera had it so easy thanks to you!"
I sat the players for set 2 strategy and praised Eunjae briefly.
"Eunjae, that was awesome. Must've been tough putting up with me all this time, but pulling off something like that already? I couldn't even do it myself—seriously impressive."
"Even Coach can't do everything, huh."
"Of course not. I'm not as flexible as you. Anyway, you killed it this match. Moonlight Arrow, all your skills—speed and damage show your specialization levels shot up. Keep progressing like this, and I won't need to ride you so hard."
But Eunjae's face after my praise barrage was oddly subtle. Happy, yet bittersweet—complicated.
I couldn't figure out why the superplay star looked like that.
###
Eunjae couldn't hide her regret.
That move was a technique she'd secretly practiced, grinding her teeth out of Coach Yuseong's sight. A personal finisher fusing skills from various dances.
Shed planned to use it during "training" as her assassination tool against Yuseong, who kept roasting her for slacking.
Sure to land on a first try, she'd stun him with the arrow and finish with a follow-up. Perfect crime, play dumb after.
But wasting that golden opportunity here left a bitter taste.
'Can't use it again now... it'll never work.'
Sacrificing sleep, hiding from teammates and Yuseong to practice that killer move—and now she couldn't even use it. How else to kill Yuseong?
'Hmph, so what if it fails. I'll come up with something new! You jerk Kang Yuseong, I'll get you once for sure!'
But Eunjae's bloody vow of revenge didn't last.
A few days after the match, Yuseong gifted her the latest perfume from her dream brand as a "reward for keeping up so well." Her grudge melted away like snow.
After that, Eunjae never slacked on practice. Not for fake-training assassinations, but to impress Yuseong enough for more gifts.