The Dawn of the Training Camp
The day of the full-fledged training camp had arrived.
Screens installed throughout Mir City flickered to life, and live broadcast notifications popped up on the official Neutube channel as well.
Then a new comment caught everyone's eye.
Ten screens. Ten channels. Ten valleys.
And so the ten rivalry matches began, introducing faces no one had seen before.
The people appearing on screen wore suits and stiff expressions. Anyone could tell they were the broadcast crew.
In fast-paced rivalry matches, commentary was a vital element.
The Baek Seong-jae and Choi Moon-seong duo, who had covered Mir Guild since the fourth division league, were currently the hottest pair in the business. Their value had skyrocketed to the point where most offers couldn't even get them in the door.
Yet here they were, broadcasting ten matches that would run nearly all day?
Money was one thing, but their schedules made it impossible. Because of that, not a single fan had dared to hope for proper commentary... until now.
But who was Lee Shin?
A man who built roads where none existed.
“Ah, hello everyone. This is Choi Min-su, aspiring caster for Valley 1. Please take care of me...”
“My name is Kim Min-ji, currently attending Korea University's Department of Broadcasting. During this training period, I'll be covering Valley 2...”
“I promise the most professional commentary possible. Valley 3! This is AB, amateur caster for Valley 3, and I vow to...”
Students, aspiring casters, streamers...
Just as the league market grew every year, so did the number of people dreaming of becoming casters.
They were being offered broadcast experience that money couldn't buy, along with generous pay?
Only a fool would pass up that chance. In fact, the recruitment post had filled every slot in just five minutes.
The fans who saw this? They could only shake their heads at the brilliant move.
With the broadcast team ready, the fans were fully prepared to enjoy the matches.
They checked the schedule with excited hearts and headed to their chosen channels.
Mets Guild 2nd Team VS Namgoong 8th Team
“The Mets Guild is fast. It's the Amazing Mets Time. It's like they've got bombs planted inside their bodies. Whether they're throwing the opponent or the game itself, they're risking their lives to finish the match within the time limit!”
Namgoong 2nd Team VS Mir 5th Team
“Right side, left side, right side! Right side again! Swordsmanship that drives people crazy! This is the sword of the Kangho Murim! Take this! From the very start of the lane, Namgoong 2nd Team is pushing!!”
Mir 3rd Team VS Namgoong 7th Team
“Kang Malsuk! She's advancing while taking every single attack from the entire Namgoong 7th Team! The Mir 3rd Team is following right behind her, trusting only in her! They're pushing in! Advancing without hesitation, advancing again and again! Finally securing space!!”
And so Lee Shin's signature training camp showed signs of massive success right from the start.
But not every match could be shown to the public...
Valley 0.
In this undisclosed valley, the main members of the Mets Guild and the Namgoong Sega were currently clashing.
“...Stay... hidden.”
Inside the brush of the top lane.
Destroyer Catherine's gaze remained fixed beyond the foliage.
Namgoong Jin, the Namgoong Sega top laner in white martial robes and wielding sword and shield, was clearing minions.
The lane was naturally being pushed back, and Namgoong Jin was slowly approaching their team's formation. His eyes were sharp as he scanned the surroundings, but he clearly hadn't detected Catherine hiding in the brush.
It made sense. The match had only been going for a little over two minutes. This was an extremely early gank that sacrificed all early growth.
The risk was obviously enormous. Every single second that passed tightened around Catherine's throat.
Yet Catherine endured with desperate patience.
“Just one more step... one more step...”
She had learned from the previous four losses.
Excluding herself, the weight class difference between the Namgoong Sega and the Mets Guild was clear.
It was bitter, but not something to bruise her pride over.
The opponent was the Namgoong Sega, champions of a league where talent was filtered from a population of 1.3 billion. No matter how much of a storm the Mets Guild was causing, gaining the upper hand against a league champion wasn't easy.
That was why Catherine had thrown the dice by sacrificing herself. And whether the heavens had answered her prayer or their top laner had desperately wagged his tail to lure the enemy in...
Namgoong Jin's foot finally crossed the line!
Catherine's eyes flashed.
No need to wait any longer! She launched herself forward!!
Whoosh—!
“!!”
Namgoong Jin visibly panicked at the sight of Catherine bursting from the brush.
Using her signature Double Dash, Catherine closed the distance in an instant.
Destructive light blazed from the palm of the gauntlet she thrust forward. It was the single-target supreme trait called Destruction, worthy of being called a finishing move.
In that fleeting moment, she clung to him, splitting seconds apart.
Namgoong Jin twisted his body and tried to block with his shield, but Catherine's gauntlet was faster.
She struck the shield at point-blank range. With a tremendous boom, the shield flew into the air. For a moment, Namgoong Jin looked like he was celebrating.
Now!
“Throw!”
The throwing hammer launched by the Mets Guild top laner cut through the air and struck Namgoong Jin in the chest.
“Ugh!”
Stun.
Namgoong Jin trembled violently as if struck by lightning.
And against Destroyer Catherine, the fate of an opponent who had stopped moving was already decided. Catherine's gauntlet seized his face.
'Catherine Hamilton' has slain 'Namgoong Jin'.
“Nice, Captain!”
“Don't let up! We can't end it here!! Go! Go!!”
“Yes ma'am!”
The balance of the match had been shattered.
But for the Mets Guild, this was only the beginning.
As mentioned, excluding Catherine the difference in team weight class was obvious. To make up for that shortfall, they had to press the attack even more aggressively.
If rivalry matches could be expressed in 'turns' as some experts claimed, then they had to twist their bodies to create those turns.
Especially in the very early phase when the opponent's lane wasn't stabilized yet!
“Keep reporting. Support is coming up. Keep pressuring top. Mid, don't lose sight of the Sword Emperor!”
With the top lane where the balance had been broken as the center, Catherine spread her influence, took control of the enemy formation with wards, and pressured the Namgoong Sega jungler.
The Namgoong Sega grew flustered by Catherine's aggressive movements.
And when people panicked, their weaknesses showed.
The moment the Namgoong Sega jungler took an incomprehensible path... the Mets Guild led by Catherine didn't miss it.
'Catherine Hamilton' has slain 'Namgoong Su-hyeok'.
“Don't rest! Keep running.”
This was how the Mets Guild tore into the early wounds and dug deeper.
Centering around top, they split the valley in half and focused solely on this area.
Even if large objectives were taken, even if the bottom laners couldn't hold and fell, even if the bottom tower was destroyed.
They refused to let go of the flesh they had bitten into.
With the mindset that there was no retreat, that losing this would mean losing the game!
There was only one situation in which Catherine would run.
When the Blue Sky Sword Emperor stepped forward!
“Mid MIA! The Blue Sky Sword Emperor has disappeared!”
“Nice call.”
Catherine fled without looking back.
She meticulously avoided the Blue Sky Sword Emperor, repeating hit-and-run tactics like a cunning hyena. She always stayed one step ahead of the opponent's predictions, slowly tightening the noose.
And when they finally destroyed the nexus...
The match time was 23 minutes and 11 seconds.
It was an amazing victory.
After the match, the person waiting for both teams as they entered the control room was Lee Shin.
Lee Shin kept his eyes fixed on the wall of monitors as he greeted them.
“If you're here, take a seat.”
Tap tap.
Lee Shin turned dials, tapped the keyboard, and manipulated the equipment.
Slow motion, fast motion, repeating scenes. He operated multiple monitors at once, reviewing the match.
Lee Shin in his true element was completely different. The serious expression was nothing like his usual carefree demeanor.
Especially that rumpled shirt...
“Ha...”
“Namgoong Baek-hee.”
“Cough. M-my apologies, Family Head.”
“Heh, don't be too hard on her. Sexy is supposed to be fatal, after all.”
When Catherine winked at Namgoong Baek-hee, the latter nodded with wide eyes.
Meanwhile, Lee Shin, having finished monitoring, turned his chair and stood up.
“Does anyone need a break? Cigarette? Bathroom? If not, we'll start the feedback.”
Take your seats.
The moment Lee Shin spoke, the main members of both the Namgoong Sega and the Mets Guild sat down one by one.
Soon after, Lee Shin pushed over a large smart monitor. It was a custom order from Ido Electronics.
Lee Shin rolled up his sleeves, put on the glasses from his front pocket, the very pair he had bought at Chae Dong-ha's earnest request.
Setup complete. Let's begin.
The monitor lit up with the match footage.
“Out of five matches, the overall score was 4:1 in favor of the Namgoong Sega. What determined the difference between the two teams was their power excluding the Blue Sky Sword Emperor and the Destroyer. It's what we commonly call a weight class difference.”
To put it coldly, the Blue Sky Sword Emperor was a cut above the Destroyer.
However, when you factored in the nature of rivalry matches, the positional difference between mid and jungle, and the specific timing of the early game, it was fair to consider them equals.
Once that happened, the supporting cast became crucial, and that was where the Mets Guild fell far short of the Namgoong Sega.
“That's why Catherine's extremely early gamble was excellent. You judged that if this didn't work, there was no answer, correct?”
“Yes. Because the previous matches had gone that way.”
“Exactly. And it was superb.”
The feedback naturally began with the Mets Guild.
“It's clear that the Mets Guild has fully internalized that the team's center is Destroyer Catherine. From start to finish, from one to ten, every movement revolves around Catherine, and every team member's judgment is focused on taking care of her.”
“To put it nicely, you're tightly knit. To put it badly, you're dependent. If the fifth set victory showed the good side, then the three sets you lost showed the bad side. Let's talk while watching the footage.”
Footage that included team fights, with movements and setups edited together.
Lee Shin's feedback was harsh.
“In the third set, during this team fight, you all had to separate Catherine from the Blue Sky Sword Emperor no matter what. Here, here, and in this scene too, there were opportunities.”
“When it's hard to make a judgment, just think of one thing. Free Catherine!”
First, he swept over the overall situation with a wide view like this.
Then he narrowed his focus to each individual.
“Don't throw your body out so recklessly. The basics of laning is to match the line with your toes. A good example is the Namgoong Sega right here. They constantly extend their toes to feel out the line, see? If you take away only this from this training camp, it will be a huge gain for you.”
“You, on the other hand, I'm going to have to be blunt with. Do you not know how to cast? Why are you spamming magic so sloppily? Especially this no-look casting right here? Is the match a joke to you? Why do high-ranking mages raise their hands or clap? It's all for the sake of completion. From now on, before you cast, you must chant the spell with your mouth. Whether it's embarrassing or not.”
He didn't miss a single small detail. From movement paths to habits, physical motions, and the process of making judgments.
During the process the hunters felt like their souls were being scraped clean until they turned pale, but the cold-hearted professor didn't care about any of that.
“That will be all for the Mets Guild. What I'm giving you now is homework, so I expect to see improvements by tomorrow. That is all.”
You may leave.
The Mets Guild stood up and left. Now only Lee Shin and the Namgoong Sega remained in the room.
“The strength of the Namgoong Sega lies in their early lane phase, built upon the superior weight class of each individual. Look at this split-screen. Separate each lane like this and look at them. It's truly flawless laning.”
“As proof, in the first and second sets, you completely crushed them to the point where the gap was palpable.”
But things changed starting from the third set.
“The match becomes messy. Unlike the previous sets where you pushed from the lane and team fights themselves couldn't even form, the tempo keeps getting interrupted. The snowball you were rolling stops, the entire team's momentum is lost, and as the game drags on, problems finally emerge.”
“The chronic problem of the Namgoong Sega.”
Operation.
Or more precisely, operation that was so simple it was painful.
“The fifth set loss is proof of that. The weight class difference between the two guilds was clear. To put it more extremely, the Namgoong Sega should not have lost.”
“During the fifth set, the Mets Guild grew familiar with the Namgoong Sega's patterns. Once that happened, they gained breathing room and naturally began to operate.”
This was where it became strange.
Adapting in just five sets? Against an opponent a whole weight class below them?
This was a matter that scratched their pride. That was why Lee Shin had sent the Mets Guild out first.
“Of course, it's not that you are simply lacking. The fact that the opponent was the Mets Guild is also important. This is America, where showmanship is valued, and these people have extreme and precarious tightrope walking ingrained in their bones. It is close to a bad matchup for the Namgoong Sega, who pursue orderly battle situations.”
“Still, this won't do. Look here. You're all just playing your own games. Top does their thing, bottom does their thing, jungle does their thing, each focused only on their own tasks. The same goes for you, Namgoong Min.”
Why did the Namgoong Sega have a low win rate in similar weight classes?
Why did their form drop in playoffs and beyond where the number of sets increased?
It was all because of this simplistic operation.
When the feedback ended, a shadow had fallen over the Namgoong Sega.
It had already been dark from the moment the two letters 'operation' were mentioned, but facing the naked reality made it even more heartbreaking.
“So...”
The Blue Sky Sword Emperor, Namgoong Min, spoke with difficulty.
“So what are you saying we should do? We cannot help but be this way. This is our heavenly curse.”
The price of obtaining the power called the Emperor's Sword Form. The fate of those who accepted the name Namgoong. A heavenly curse that could not be avoided, nor should it be avoided.
It was a problem without an answer. Everyone in the Namgoong Sega despaired and hung their heads.
But at that moment.
“Why is that a heavenly curse?”
“!!”
The voice was so light that they almost scolded him for speaking recklessly, but when they saw Lee Shin, they flinched.
At some point the proper glasses had come off, replaced by the old pair of taped glasses that looked like they belonged in the trash.
“The original really is better.”
Anyway.
“You people are making a very big mistake. The simplicity of the Namgoong Sega is not a heavenly curse. It is your tradition, and your strength.”
The lack of hesitation that came from not overthinking.
The narrow field of vision that meant extreme focus.
Erasing all idle thoughts and placing everything on the tip of the sword.
Lee Shin called this one thing.
A martial artist.
“I will teach you. The true martial way of the Namgoong. The power of the Emperor's Sword Form.”