Unleashing the Spirits Against Peacemaker
Match day against Peacemaker.
The players usually cracked jokes or chatted idly on the way to the arena to loosen up, but today everyone was unusually quiet.
It had to be because they were burning with the desire to beat Peacemaker—and just as much on edge about it.
The only sound in the car was the soft music drifting from the stereo.
"Nervous?"
I asked as I drove toward the arena. No reply.
"You seem more tense than your debut. Even Seona's quiet—no dirty jokes today? What's the heaviest, dumbest bird in the world? An owl lololol All-Femi lololol?"
"Ugh, Coach, don't mess around. It's an important match."
Seona responded with uncharacteristic seriousness.
These kids had way too much tension in their shoulders. Was it the pressure of using new champions, or the thrill of facing a team they desperately wanted revenge on? Either way, they were wound up tight.
This wouldn't do at all.
To ease their nerves, I switched the music. A lively rhythm kicked in, accompanied by whistling.
I bobbed my body exaggeratedly to the beat while driving, and the girls tossed comments at my antics amid the sudden change in tune.
"What song is this? It's too hyper."
"I can't focus! Change it back!"
"Haven't heard this in ages. We used it for dance practice sometimes."
"C-Coach, focus on driving..."
"Huh? I am focusing."
I replied, still swaying my head slightly back and forth. And yeah, I really was focused on the road.
"We're the hyper ones?!"
"You think a song like this is gonna throw off your focus?"
The car hit a red light. I turned around to look at them all.
"You're all freaking out inside, right? You really don't wanna lose to Peacemaker."
"......"
"That worried?"
"It's not worry, just focus—"
"No need. Did you slack on practice? Lack skill with the new champs? You trained till you were puking blood, right?"
Yuna, Eunjae, and Sera had been under my brutal regimen since before the season started. Hayoung and Seona joined after they made up. Intense sessions that brought tears.
One puke a day was basically initiation. By the end, they'd crawl back to the dorm on all fours.
Even through the madness, none of the five quit. That's how Sera and the others mastered their champs to grandmaster level first. Hayoung and Seona nailed two mains each.
You couldn't brute-force that without shortcuts—but with my perfect knowledge of every skill and mechanic, they skyrocketed.
"You trained that hard, so what's still bugging you? Nothing for me. You couldn't train harder if you tried."
"So no need to tense up. No gritted teeth for victory. Just play like in practice, no regrets."
"If you choke after all that, that's unfair, right? Pour out what you drilled. You'll win naturally."
I don't need to try to control you
I said it, blatantly nodding to the music.
"Go have fun. What's the problem? Doesn't it sound thrilling? Shining Star debuting full new champs—some near-new ones—to shock the world again? Sure, three showed last game. But Seona, Hayoung—you got this. You're not betraying your own hard work or my coaching, right?"
My eyes met Hayoung's and Seona's.
Look into my eyes and I'll own you
Seona burst out laughing with a pfft.
"Yeah, Coach is right. If we lose after that practice, it just means that's our level! But I played great, so we'll win. Duh, we're gonna win—of course no need to freeze up!"
"That's the mindset. We're winning anyway—what's to worry? Go, play fun, come back happy."
"Whoa, our coach knows how to handle his players."
Seona started bopping to the music just like me.
In the rearview, her antics spread—the others' faces relaxed one by one.
"In that spirit, lemme lighten the mood! What sound does a bird make when it drowns? Cheom-bu-eong, cheom-bu-eong lololol eok lol!"
"Argh, we're doomed! Coach revived her bad jokes—take responsibility!"
Yuna shrieked at Seona's trash gag, but her face was much softer now.
Light turned green. I faced forward and drove.
Back in the day, my coach would ham it up like this sometimes while driving to loosen us up.
Now here I was, front seat, doing the same.
"Yes! 2052 ECK Women's Division 3 Winter—broadcasting the Shining Star vs. Peacemaker match! Joined by commentators Park Hyun-woo and Kim Seo-jun. Ah~ Promotion match-up! Happening again—this time in Division 3!"
"Indeed. Peacemaker had a solid win back then, right? 2:1 score, but Shining Star crumbled to Bloody Rose and Tidal due to the rookies' inexperience."
"Peacemaker wasn't a team that should've dropped in the first place—that was the real upset. They steamrolled back up like settling scores. Now, how's Shining Star prepared their revenge?"
"Players, get ready!"
"Like I said—no tension needed! Just show practice plays. Make all that blood, sweat, and tears worth it! Shining Star!"
"Fighting!"
Picks began. First Yuna, Eunjae, Sera: Mightback, Light Spirit, Hollow Spirit.
"Ah, they're back—the new picks that crushed Dolphin!"
"Same players as last time, so Kim Seona and Lee Hayoung left. They used mains before... Huh?"
"Ooooh! There it is! No playing it safe!"
Seona sparked like when picking Lightning—but blue electricity, not purple.
Hayoung's frail frame took on rock-hard skin.
Lightning Afterimage (Q) - Leaves a short-duration afterimage at the current position. Explodes for area damage if enemies approach.
Lightning Vortex (W) - Disables target enemy and slowly pulls them to your position.
Overload (E) - Passive. Next basic attack after skill use deals magic damage to target and surroundings, greatly reducing attack speed and movement speed briefly.
Vortex Stream (R) - Become an invulnerable lightning bolt and dash extremely fast to target point. Deals damage proportional to distance to enemies on path. No cooldown; base mana plus percentage of max mana based on distance.
Earth Afterimage (Unique) - Place an earth afterimage at target spot. Used in abilities. Max 6 charges.
Boulder Smash (Q) - Kick ally, enemy, or earth afterimage in a line. Damages targets; kicking afterimage pushes it farther and stuns path enemies.
Ground Roll (W) - Roll to target after delay, damaging path enemies. Stops on champion hit (slows them); doubles distance/speed with afterimage on path.
Earth Grip (E) - Pull ally or afterimage to you. Enemies touching pulled target take damage and silence.
Earth's Wrath (R) - DoT debuff on nearby enemies. Afterimage contact refreshes on all nearby. Shares slow/silence from roll/grip with all debuffed enemies.
Seona's Thunder Spirit, Hayoung's Earth Spirit, Sera's Hollow Spirit.
High-skill champs in Eternal Combat, the "Spirit siblings"—three of four non-overlapping roles.
Tricky mechanics, constant hyper movement caused dizziness. Few pros main them.
Thunder Spirit especially: no ult cooldown, endless dashing. Tests mana, roaming, picks, skill use, balance, physicals, map control—a mid icon. One of my mains with Elementalist.
One Spirit is tough; a trio signals two things in Eternal Combat.
Confidence in our skill.
Or: "We win even with these."
Few master Spirits, but everyone knows the implication.
Peacemaker carry Jeong Yujin's eye twitched.
"These idiots... pulling three Spirits after we stomped them? Haven't learned."
Thus began our pride-fueled showdown with Peacemaker.