The Ido Derby
The MBS Broadcasting Station’s Relay Team 2.
The CP smacked the PD over the head with a rolled-up stack of papers.
“You little shit! How many years have you been doing this? And you still can’t get it right?!”
Pak. Pak. Pak…….
It was the kind of beating that shattered pride more than it hurt flesh, yet the PD stood at rigid attention without a word, waiting for the CP’s rage to burn itself out.
It wasn’t even a serious mistake. Just a tiny breakdown in communication between the cue sheet and the transmission crew. On any other day the CP would have let it slide.
But not today.
Today’s match could not tolerate even a single speck of dust.
Because today’s match was the Ido Derby.
Once his anger had cooled, the CP stuck a cigarette between his lips and offered one to the PD as well.
“Sorry. I’m not usually like this, but fuck……”
“It’s fine, sunbae.”
“Vice Chairman Lee Young-bin and the rest of those Ido Group big shots kept blowing up my phone. Guess I got a little sensitive.”
“……For real? They actually called you?”
“Yeah, no shit. Look at this phone.”
It wasn’t a joke.
We’re watching. Please do a good job. Make sure there are no mistakes…….
People the relay CP would normally never meet in his lifetime were all calling in with uncharacteristically humble requests.
The best one was this:
“Have you ever heard Chairman Lee Sang-byuk’s voice?”
“Hup?! You mean that Lee Sang-byuk, Chairman of Ido Group? The one even the president has trouble reaching?”
“Fuck, I pissed myself.”
“……I think I just did too.”
The director? The station president? Who at this network had ever actually heard Chairman Lee Sang-byuk speak?
The PD would have bet his entire life savings that no one had. Yet that man had called.
And then he said:
“How much is the production budget? Upgrade it to the highest level.”
“Ah…… So that’s why the League 1 filming crew and CG team showed up. I had no idea……”
“I guarantee you, across every single league match this year, none have had a bigger production budget than today’s. You’re in charge of the match of the year. Feel free to be proud.”
“Sunbae, I feel like my heart’s about to burst. I’m actually dizzy.”
“If I hadn’t stepped in, the director and station president would’ve come out in full force.”
“Thank you…… I really mean it.”
“Thanks. At least you understand.”
Faced with the truth, the PD lit another cigarette, unable to calm down. The CP was already on his third.
“Remember this. The future of our entire Relay Team 2 depends on how entertaining we make today’s broadcast.”
“Why are we suddenly talking about the future?”
“Because it is the future. Right now there’s only one Ido Derby, but what happens when Mir Guild gets promoted? How many Ido Group guilds will there be in League 2?”
“Uh…… uh…… fu…… ck?”
“You get it now? This is a test. A test to see whether our station can produce matches that satisfy the great Chairman Lee.”
If they succeeded, every future Ido Derby would receive this level of budget. If they failed……
Now on his fourth cigarette, the CP issued a warning.
“You and I will be opening a chicken shop.”
“Why me?”
“Because I’m dragging you down with me no matter what.”
Having learned every unwanted truth, the PD kicked open the door to the broadcast control room a short while later.
“Run a full check on everything! Schedules, camera paths, observer team, CG team—everything! Double-check it all! If you don’t want to die, move!”
And so they waited, barely breathing, in absurdly perfect condition.
3.
2.
1.
“Go!”
At the PD’s signal the cameras rolled, and the screen filled with the caster and commentator.
29Round
VS
“Hello, viewers. Welcome to Guild War League 3, Round 29—the match between Mir Guild and NG Jaguars. With expert commentary from Choi Moon-seong, I’m your caster, Baek Seong-je.”
“Hello everyone, I’m commentator Choi Moon-seong. Wow~ The day has finally arrived! The biggest match in League 3 as voted by the experts! The Ido Derby!!”
“Currently Mir Guild sits in first place while NG Jaguars has climbed all the way to fourth and is breathing down their necks.”
“Power levels aside, these two teams carry a story you simply can’t ignore. It’s the full-blown family feud of Korea’s greatest chaebol, the Lees! Krr~ This is exactly why I don’t watch morning dramas.”
“If Mir Guild wins here, they’ll claim first place regardless of the remaining schedule. A tremendous amount is riding on this match. Let’s take a look at the players. Starting with Mir Guild’s……”
Watching the data climb on screen, the PD asked, “How’s the chat looking?”
“It’s insane.”
The AD monitoring real-time traffic stuttered, overwhelmed by numbers he had never seen before.
“I-it keeps climbing! 480,000… 490,000… 500,000! It’s not stopping!”
“Wow…… This is crazy. Is this even possible in League 3?”
“It feels like a League 1 match.”
In just three minutes they had already shattered the League 3 record of 510,000 viewers set by Mir Guild’s opening match.
The PD felt his heart tighten. If he could, he would have lit a cigarette right there.
“You checked with the server team, right? If it goes down we’re all dead. You, me, everyone.”
“Yes, sir!”
“PD! Trash Talk segment in three minutes!”
“It’s the version focused on Park Su-bin and Dr. Hong, correct? You double-checked? Never mind, I’ll handle it. Stay put.”
·
·
Q. It’s a big match. Have you heard of the term “Ido Derby”? If so, what were your thoughts?
Q. Many experts say the key to this match is the mid-lane matchup. Your thoughts?
Q. A lot is riding on this match in every sense. Final thoughts?
“Aww, he’s so cute.”
“The more I see him, the more I like the kid.”
On screen, Park Su-bin was flailing in panic, shouting, “I’m sorry! Boss Lee Shin made me say that!” Laughter erupted all across the control room.
The only one not laughing was the PD, who was sweating buckets.
“Enough. Prep the arena cameras.”
The final commercial break came on. Right as the caster’s voice reached its peak—
3.
2.
1.
“Roll it.”
The match began.
* * *
When ‘Guild Section’ host Im Cho-rong’s Counter Theory first aired, every expert had piled on, unanimously predicting Mir Guild’s defeat.
Top lane—strictly superior.
Jungle—complete domination.
Bottom lane—anti-carry.
And finally, even the mid lane, protected by Mir Guild’s unbreakable fortress Park Su-bin, was at a hard counter disadvantage.
Every lane would explode from the very first wave. The match itself wouldn’t even be able to form. That was the universal opinion. Every single expert, almost suspiciously in sync, had declared NG Jaguars the winner.
So if those experts were watching right now, they would probably be feeling quite satisfied.
Because the game was unfolding exactly as they had predicted.
“Take care of this side.”
Jo Sung-min has slain Park Jeong-seok.
The top lane was being crushed so one-sidedly that combat could barely even be called combat. The jungle, just as the experts predicted, couldn’t even breathe.
Baek Ja-gi has slain Lee Hye-jung.
“What? That was nothing. Hmph.”
The bottom lane was quieter than expected, but considering Yu Ri-ra’s usual performance, quiet was absolutely not good news.
“This is so frustrating! So frustrating! Grandpa!!”
“It’s the boss.”
“What do we do? Everything above is collapsing! Tell me what to do!”
“Didn’t I tell you? Endure the early game.”
Yu Ri-ra stomped her feet in frustration at the suffocating bottom lane that felt like a clogged highway. Even the Mountain King looked visibly troubled by how perfectly the opponent had prepared.
Even while they hesitated, the gap in top and jungle continued to widen. At this rate they wouldn’t just lose—the mental states of those two might actually shatter.
A crack was needed. A fissure that could flip this entire situation.
Naturally, every pair of eyes watching the match turned toward the mid lane.
·
·
“Park Jeong-seok in top has died again! Two deaths in five minutes. Lee Hye-jung in jungle is also being chased out. Even the bottom lane that always held the advantage is strangely silent today. Every single lane is smiling on NG Jaguars.”
“I feel bad putting this kind of pressure on a seventeen-year-old boy, but right now the only person Mir Guild can rely on is Park Su-bin. He has to carry them!”
“But it won’t be easy. Dr. Hong keeps pushing! Just like he said, he’s crushing him with raw weight class!!”
·
·
“Su-bin, do you know the difference between a proper mage from the Magic Tower and these half-breeds?”
Dozens of flame orbs launched from behind Dr. Hong and swarmed in from every direction. They were far too large and crude to be called simple ‘Fireballs.’ Park Su-bin moved his usual milky-white orbs to block them, but—
Right before the orbs collided with the shield—
“It’s understanding.”
BOOM—!!
Explosion. Dispersion.
Each orb split into hundreds of flame strands that bent at bizarre angles, slipping past the shield and turning the area around Park Su-bin into a sea of fire.
“Water, wind, fire, earth—long before the ancient Greeks defined the four elements, humanity has lived alongside nature’s attributes. The magic I’m using now is, in essence, the same: change amplified by mana.”
“But half-breeds don’t know that. They don’t ponder it. Why? Because they can use it just fine without understanding. I hate that so much. Enough to want to kill every last one of them.”
Dr. Hong, a true member of the orthodox Magic Tower.
He despised magic used without study, without contemplation, without understanding. That was why he called them half-breeds. Rootless mongrels.
When Dr. Hong’s magic wand flicked like a conductor’s baton, the ground beneath Park Su-bin—who had barely risen from the sea of flames—caved in.
He managed to stop the fall with his shield, but the moment he caught his breath, a whirlwind had already formed around him.
One wrong move and he would die.
Feeling the threat, Park Su-bin used extreme mana control to manipulate thirty-nine orbs individually. Milky-white spheres spun around him.
They rotated so fast it looked like a single giant orb had formed. In the end, even Dr. Hong’s whirlwind scattered uselessly into the air.
Dr. Hong clapped in genuine delight at the sight.
“You’re not an ordinary half-breed. I underestimated you because of that ridiculous outfit, but you’re actually quite entertaining.”
“Hoo…… Hoo……”
“Why are you even in League 3? It’s not too late. Would you like to learn magic systematically?”
“Hoo…… Hoo……”
“If you’re interested, I can introduce you. Honestly, your talent is wasted here. Someone of your level would have the Magic Tower rolling up their sleeves to recruit you immediately. I’m serious!”
“Hup! Hoo!”
Even while praising him, Dr. Hong’s spells poured out without pause. Blades of wind and lightning storms rained down like a deluge.
This was why he was Dr. Hong.
Splitting, fusing, converting, transforming—he molded magic like clay into countless shapes and created his own unique spells. The pinnacle of intelligence.
Park Su-bin endured with his genius mana control and combat sense, but as time passed, his breathing grew increasingly ragged.
However.
“Don’t push yourself too hard. The difference in level…… Huh? You’re laughing?”
“Heh…… Hehehe……”
Top and jungle were effectively out of the fight. Bottom would need time to recover. Park Su-bin himself had been getting beaten the entire time, but right now he stood in front of his tower.
The situation was overwhelmingly disadvantageous.
But.
“Hehehehehe.”
He was laughing.
Because the clock floating in the sky had reached 10:00.
“Now that you’ve adapted, start moving, Su-bin.”
The Mountain King’s order came down.
“Yes, sir.”
He drew power from the mink coat.
True Berserk has been transferred.
It had been a long time since he last felt the “True Berserk” from Karakum’s Cloak. For a brief moment, Park Su-bin’s eyes turned blood-red.
In his hands appeared a crude, heavy gauntlet he had never seen before.
◈ Gauntlet forged by the Orc hero and zealot Karakum after hunting the Avatar of Hatred.
Karakum's Set (2/5)