The Beginning of the Ido Derby
The whole thing started in a place no one could have predicted.
It was the 21st round matchup.
The first game after finally switching to a squad composed entirely of loaned players.
The NG Jaguars proved with an overwhelming performance that their choice had been correct.
And then came the victory interview.
At first, everything went smoothly.
When asked for their thoughts on the win, the NG Jaguars loaned players gave appropriate responses like, 'It feels great to win our first match after being loaned out,' and 'I was nervous because we hadn't synced up yet, but my teammates carried hard, so I'm grateful.'
There were occasionally reporters who tossed in sensitive subjects like the Ido Group or fair play spirit, but the players answered in textbook fashion (boring and uninteresting), proving they were true professionals.
Yes, right up until the man known as Dr. Hong did something completely unexpected.
“Hmm? I don’t think so.”
“……!”
“C-Chang-hyun!”
“Hey, you’re asking me, right? Can’t I give my own opinion?”
Dr. Hong.
Real name Hong Chang-hyun.
A core member of this NG Jaguars loan rush.
A European-educated elite who had been part of the Olympus Magic Tower since age nineteen—a genuine prodigy mage.
Dr. Hong, who rightfully belonged in League 1, was already irritated at having been dragged into some trivial incident and forced down to League 2. Being shoved all the way to League 3 left him in a foul mood.
“What did I say? Could you repeat the question?”
Under the weight of every eye in the room, the reporter cleared his throat and asked again.
“This is Kim Cheol-su from Changwon Daily. Today’s match was a brilliant performance that proved the NG Jaguars’ decision was correct. I’d like to hear your resolve for the future.”
“Resolve? Not interested. There was an interesting opponent. I can’t wait to meet that kid.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know the name, but… that boy in the mink coat? Him.”
“……You mean the monster Park Su-bin?”
“Ah, so his name’s Park Su-bin? Monster, though? This whole guild scene really loves its hype. An alias in League 3? Whatever. I want to fight him.”
“……!”
While his teammates sighed and hung their heads, the reporters inwardly screamed in unison.
Jackpot. It exploded. We got him!
Camera flashes rained down like a storm.
“Can you be more specific about what you found interesting?”
“Should we take that as you being conscious of Park Su-bin?”
“Do you have any words for the Mir Guild you’ll be facing soon?!”
Tell us! Just one line!
Dr. Hong seemed rather pleased by the explosive reaction. He gave a small smirk.
“Interesting doesn’t have any deep meaning. Half pure curiosity, and if I had to pick the other half… cuteness? It’s fascinating how he uses something that isn’t even magic as if it were. And that awful fashion sense is honestly kind of adorable, don’t you think?”
Dr. Hong had seen it clearly from the videos alone.
Park Su-bin was playing around with something like a shield that possessed physical force—whether telekinesis or some other ability.
“You asked if I’m conscious of him, right? Yes, I am. I’m very curious how pathetically that interesting child will collapse in front of me.”
Dr. Hong.
His other alias: Shield Breaker.
There was no defensive ability he could not pierce, regardless of type.
“I’d like to tell the Mir Guild something. Leagues have levels for a reason. All the fuss about legends and whatever is pointless.”
Dr. Hong swept back his long, flowing hair.
“The position we stand in is different. From me. From all of us.”
That was it.
The beginning of the Ido Derby.
It had started with the NG Jaguars throwing the first punch.
The communities were no different.
The NG Jaguars fandom poured passionate support onto Dr. Hong’s provocation.
Originally, fanbases’ fighting spirit rose in proportion to their guild’s momentum.
One famous analyst had declared that the NG Jaguars’ current roster was strong enough to casually dominate League 3.
Although the analyst’s real intention had been to express concern that “If they keep charging ahead like this, the league ecosystem will collapse,” fans only ever hear what they want to hear.
Anyway, we’re the strongest, right?
No reason to hold back. Let’s charge!
Still, even when charging in, you couldn’t just blindly rush.
The opponent was those insane Yongbungs—the conquerors who had crushed League 4 with overwhelming force.
Running in headfirst would be like throwing eggs at a boulder. Recognizing the power gap, the NG Jaguars fandom approached with surprising precision.
The Mir Guild—more precisely the Yongbungs—had committed far too many atrocities using their massive numbers. It was only natural they had many enemies.
Other guilds’ fanbases had simply looked away, telling themselves, “It’s not that we’re scared of the shit, we just don’t want to get dirty.”
The NG Jaguars fandom boldly reached out to them.
The result was a massive success.
And so the anti-Mir alliance was formed. They launched an all-out assault on the League 3 gallery and the Mir gallery.
Swears, mockery, every kind of personal attack and meme bombing—exactly the way they themselves had once been attacked.
This succeeded in shaking the evil empire that was the Mir Guild.
The empire was no longer what it once was.
The Yongbungs, who had nothing left but malice, had slowly melted while watching their guild write new legends. Even their poison-filled faces had begun to show motherly smiles as they watched the future’s two great pillars—Park Su-bin and Yu Ri-ra—shine.
The Yongbungs had grown complacent in peace.
So at first they were helplessly pushed back. But class is eternal.
When vicious comments flooded the SNS accounts of the franchise hunters and beloved Yongbung idols Park Su-bin and Yu Ri-ra—comments so vile it was hard to read with open eyes—the loyal dragons who had been resting finally opened their eyes.
They had shown mercy for once, and now it seemed their opponents had forgotten who they were dealing with.
They were the conquerors of League 4. The mad dogs of the chaotic, lawless community world.
They were Yongbungs.
The League 3 gallery turned into a battlefield in an instant.
Countless dogs and obscenely vulgar genitals vanished from the gallery.
Swears beginning with S and F were merely seasoning. Asking about the health of parents, cousins, and even eighth cousins was basic etiquette on this battlefield.
It was such a wretched war that both sides agreed to put up a sign at the entrance reading “Caution: Not Suitable for Children or the Elderly.”
But……
Nothing is more entertaining than watching a fight—!!
The battle between the two forces drove the gallery to the top of trending, drawing everyone’s attention. And so anticipation for the Ido Derby soared without limit.
In the NG Jaguars guild representative office, bright laughter rang out.
“You think only you can manipulate public opinion?”
Lee So-yul, seated in her chair and staring at her phone, smiled as she watched the fight burn hotter.
Yes.
The NG Jaguars fandom suddenly turning into berserk warriors.
Pulling surrounding guilds into an alliance.
The Ido Derby currently setting the entire internet on fire.
It had all been planned by Lee So-yul, representative of the NG Jaguars.
The plan had begun when they were finalizing the loan list.
At the warning from Lee Myeong-hwan and Lee So-yul, the family members had reluctantly sent in their recommendations one by one. Lee So-yul then hired the three most famous private power analysis teams in Gangnam to carefully select the best among them.
The reason she had gone so far as to act cute toward her parents—something she had never done before—to gather these players in one place was simple.
Make them strong enough to beat the Mir Guild no matter what.
The loaned players chosen with the Mir Guild in mind.
The analysis teams had unanimously declared that unless some natural disaster or terrible misfortune occurred, this squad could not possibly lose. A 99.9% certainty roster.
But how could she trust only her subordinates’ words?
Lee So-yul needed proof she could accept. That proof was the 21st round matchup.
Only after watching them completely destroy a top-tier guild they had never beaten before did she finally move.
She launched the great war known as the Ido Derby.
As Lee So-yul sat smiling with satisfaction, the secretary typing beside her reported mechanically.
“The groundwork is proceeding smoothly. Inciting the fandom, gaining agreement from surrounding fanbases, and drawing attention through SNS and YouTube channels—everything is perfect.”
“Good. At this point let’s do that too. An event. Maybe new uniforms or jumpers.”
“Do you really need to copy Young Master Lee Shin? Maintaining this until the 27th round when the actual match happens shouldn’t be difficult.”
“Hey~ hey! Why are you phrasing it like that? I’m not copying! I’m taking reference!”
It was clearly copying.
Lee So-yul was stealing the exact playbook Lee Shin had used when he created the “Evil Empire” drama and reaped sweet honey from the league’s surge in popularity.
The problem was that—whether from overconfidence, underestimating Lee Shin, or both—she was proceeding far too easily and forcing the issue.
Back then, Lee Shin had actively used his other signature technique, Charm (101), to aggro and tank the hate.
Thanks to that, the attention and stress that would have poured onto the guild and hunters had been dispersed and diluted.
But would Lee So-yul know that?
She didn’t. She simply believed it had worked because she was lucky.
Therefore, while the method looked similar, she had no countermeasures in place. As a result, the guild’s PR team had been unable to go home for days.
They were even pulling manpower from other departments, so their mouths were already uttering things like, “Just how the hell did the Mir Guild pull off this insane shit?”
The guild’s manpower was clearly reaching its limit.
The secretary, knowing it was pointless to mention it, immediately moved to the next issue.
“However, there is one slightly strange point.”
“What?”
“The traffic analysis shows it is far exceeding expected levels. It seems someone other than us wants this matter to grow even bigger.”
“Come on~! Who else could it be but the Bureau or the press? They seem more excited than me these days.”
Having received attention after so long, Lee So-yul smiled brightly.
The secretary’s face twisted as if to say It’s not just that, but she was already riding the wave and paid the secretary’s expression no mind.
“See? He’s not special. He just got lucky.”
I studied more, I have a better academic background, so how could it make sense that I can’t do what that good-for-nothing managed to do?
I’m confident I can do public opinion manipulation and guild management better.
Lee So-yul puffed on her electronic cigarette and laughed triumphantly.
“Next step. Contact the broadcasting stations.”
“The Mir Guild is going to lose to the NG Jaguars.”