The Ido Derby
In the representative’s office, a large screen played footage from the previous day’s 14th round match.
The gate was named Civilized Goblins’ Counterattack, and true to its name, Mir’s raid team was charging straight into an army of goblins armed with cannons, siege weapons, and slingshots that fired poison pellets.
“They’re rushing in! Without hesitation, Mir’s raid team is charging fiercely straight toward the enemy lines!”
“Nice. Their movements look especially sharp today.”
“And once again, leading Mir Guild’s vanguard is Park Su-bin!”
“It’s about time we admit it. Park Su-bin isn’t a sub-tank or a secondary supporter. Park Su-bin is the position.”
“They clash! The milky-white giant’s arm comes crashing down! And whenever the battlefield falls into chaos—!”
“Here comes Yu Ri-ra!!”
A streak of light sliced through the dust. A clean hole appeared in a goblin’s head.
With one powerful strike, she shattered their formation, then Yu Ri-ra rampaged across the chaotic battlefield. The moment aggro focused on her dazzling performance, the other dealers spread out wide, encircling the remnants before wiping them out.
Park Su-bin and Yu Ri-ra.
This was Mir Guild’s unbeatable one-two punch.
But the goblins weren’t just sitting idle…
Boom! Boom—!
Cannon fire rained down.
Their naturally spread formation had to tighten, and Yu Ri-ra, who had been running wild, needed to be called back. Most importantly, the giant arm of light that Park Su-bin had summoned returned to shield form.
“The goblins’ cannons are firing nonstop! Mir Guild is being suppressed!”
“Ah, these goblins are different. The name ‘civilized’ wasn’t just for show. These are goblins that actually understand tactics.”
“It looks like they’re aiming for a war of attrition. Support troops have been spotted behind the goblin ramparts.”
The boss here had a gimmick that replenished its forces every set amount of time. Time was not on their side.
But then it happened.
The wildly flying shells began to slow down.
Because the second line, including Park Jeong-seok and Lee Hye-jung, had struck the enemy’s main camp.
“Whaaaaat?! What is that? When did they get over there? Weren’t they at the main base?”
“It’s a tunnel! They dug a tunnel!”
“Aaaaaah! They deceived the enemy with illusion magic, dug a tunnel, and struck the main force!”
Soon the main force reached the heart of the goblin army.
The game was over. Cannons, catapults, slingshots, and long-range weapons were useless against close-range attacks.
And at that moment, the commentator finally said the words Lee Shin had been waiting for.
“They’re different! I don’t know what kind of magic they used, but Mir Guild is incredibly nimble and agile today!”
“It’s not just a feeling. There’s a noticeable difference in their records!”
“This is insane. This guild keeps exceeding expectations. They’re driving people crazy.”
“Park Jeong-seok’s Crushing Kick lands! The boss is knocked off its mount. Lee Hye-jung stabs her dagger into its throat! Clear! Gate clea—”
The TV turned off.
In the quiet space, Lee Shin spoke.
“Ahem!”
His chest puffed out proudly, shoulders raised as if to pierce the sky, and his chin thrust forward in a clear challenge.
Lee Shin’s entire body was screaming one thing:
This body is ready to be praised, so hurry up and give me the compliments I deserve!
Chae Dong-ha, seeing that shameless display, felt a surge of pettiness.
“Pathetic. Truly pathetic.”
“Hyung, your true feelings just slipped out.”
“Ah, oops. My bad.”
Kim Jong-pil chuckled, took a sip of tea, and opened his mouth.
“Praise should be given when it’s due. You did well. I commend you.”
When he had first heard they were going around collecting items, he had assumed they meant ordinary weapons or armor. Never did he imagine they would bring in something so precious.
“Just two hours of lying down completely recovers your stamina and eliminates all fatigue.”
“J-just a little…”
“It fills the whole body with vitality, so training motivation skyrockets too. Since the kids follow training so well, even I get to go all out for the first time in ages.”
“Just… a little more…!”
“The fact that we no longer need to worry about annoying condition management was huge. You can see their potential exploding in real time, so everyone’s going crazy together. That’s why the kids practically live in the training hall. Normally we’d have to regulate their motivation around this point, but…”
Kim Jong-pil looked at Lee Shin, who was twisting his entire body in anticipation, and continued.
“No matter how harshly we train them, two hours of rest brings them back to normal. It’s truly excellent. You’ve brought exactly what our guild needs most right now.”
When someone called his name, he approached and became a flower.
When someone acknowledged his achievements, he approached and embraced them.
Physically.
“As expected, only a genius recognizes another genius! There’s no one but you, sir!”
“This brat, why are you suddenly hugging me?”
“This guy over here scolded me so much for wasting money on that stone bed. I felt so wronged! It has five stars! Five stars!!”
“I never said that!”
“The day before yesterday! You did! You said I spent too much money!”
“W-well, the amount was ridiculous!! How can one magic tool cost as much as a small building?!”
Just seeing the Mountain King praise it and Chae Dong-ha tremble in shock proved its performance. With this, Mir Guild’s chronic ailment had been completely cured.
“Then can we now relax and enjoy ourselves, sir?”
“Of course.”
Time to head back to the absolute peak.
Guild War Korea Bureau.
Right after the 15th round matchups had been decided, an unexpected tension filled the office.
The League 2 department head checked the matchup chart posted on the board and clenched his fist inwardly.
Yes!
Finally! At last!!
The opportunity to leave a deep impression on his superiors had arrived!!
The devil of viewership ratings! The box office cheat key!! The league’s greatest big event~!!
VS
The First Ido Derby!! (P.S. ‘League 3’ doesn’t count lol)
The department head shivered and swallowed his tears.
How much suffering had he endured until now?
When that tasteless League 4 department head had snatched the superstar Lee Shin and achieved the highest viewership in history, he could only suck on his fingers.
When the unlucky League 3 department head rode the Lee Shin coin and surpassed League 2’s popularity, he had to suck his thumb until it blistered.
A full two years.
After sucking his fingers for two years, he had finally received this absurd box office guarantee. He felt like he might cry from emotion. Sob.
In League 3, which wasn’t even properly promoted, they hit 730,000 peak concurrent viewers per minute. If we push this hard in our League 2, where interest and recognition are on a completely different level, just how big will it be…?!
The department head didn’t just imagine it.
He had already put it into action.
He had already stirred up the media.
This Year’s League 2 Is Legendary! Reason No.1: The Ido Derby
Are the only ones who can stop Mir Guild’s legend the children of the same Ido Group?
He had even shamelessly asked the guild representatives for comments.
It was a bit much, but using his authority, he had even pulled the match into the prime royal time slot.
⊳ Saturday 17:00
Was it because of that?
The signs were already ominous.
The 100,000 seats at Korea’s largest stadium, Yongwanggung, had sold out in just two minutes. On top of that, Mir Guild’s season ticket sales had suddenly skyrocketed.
People were buying season tickets just to watch this one match. And that wasn’t all.
Suddenly, international demand exploded too.
Southeast Asia, China, and for some reason, quite a bit from North America.
Of course, the Korea League was fiercely competitive and high-level, so foreign interest wasn’t strange, but that was for League 1. This was League 2. The second division!
Frankly, if foreign viewers who had shown zero interest last year suddenly tuned in this year, it was purely because of Mir Guild.
The analysis team’s opinion was overwhelmingly that ‘Mir Guild’s Ido Derby’ generates far more interest than just ‘Ido Derby.’
He had done everything he possibly could. The department head had made every preparation possible.
So.
“My only remaining wish is about the record…”
League 4. 38 rounds.
League 3. 44 rounds.
League 2. 14 rounds.
A combined 96-round undefeated winning streak record.
Mir Guild, who had not lost a single set and had never once fallen from the top.
The department head hoped Mir Guild would continue this record.
It wasn’t because of any personal feelings. It was simply better for League 2’s popularity.
The Ido Derby would still be cool even if they lost here, but there were so many teams waiting ahead.
“7th, 6th, 5th, 4th… 2nd.”
Even excluding teams out of the competition, there were still five big matches left.
It would be much better for Mir Guild to maintain the record and compete until the very end rather than have the record broken early and kill the hype.
And then finish with the biggest event at the absolute end. Hoooo!
It was perfect. His mouth was already watering.
The fact that the League 4 and 3 department heads had been hogging this delicious treat made him feel petty.
However, maintaining the record wasn’t as optimistic as the department head thought…
The office was buzzing.
“They’ll probably drop at least one set, right? Mir Guild, I mean.”
“Who knows.”
“Maybe they’ll keep it? It’s against 9th place after all.”
The department head wasn’t the only one hoping.
Throughout League 2, the hot topic was already ‘Can Mir Guild maintain their record?’
“Looking at the roster, Cheongbaekhap Guild, who recruited three major hunters, should take at least one set… but their opponent is that Mir Guild.”
“I’m calling 3:2, full set. Mir Guild wins.”
“Why do you all assume Mir Guild will win? I think Cheongbaekhap can definitely cause an upset.”
Excluding a small minority, the consensus was Mir Guild’s victory.
But opinions were split on whether they could continue the record without dropping even a single set.
“What do you think?”
“Yeah, you’re the best at match predictions among us.”
“Ooh, has our League 2 team’s oracle finally spoken?”
All eyes turned in one direction. Even the department head, who had been walking by, stopped to listen.
“An oracle, huh…”
The man who had been singled out spoke with slight embarrassment, but he didn’t refuse, clearly confident inside.
“For something like this, you have to look at recent records. You all know Mir Guild has been slumping lately, right? What kind of guild is Mir originally? The emperor of raids. While climbing through League 4 and 3, they always treated raids as a guaranteed win.”
“But what about now? The raid dominance that had been rock solid is now under threat. This is huge. It means Mir Guild’s form is not normal.”
Didn’t their form improve in the previous round?
To that question, the man answered as if he had been waiting for it.
“You’re right about that. I don’t know what kind of sorcery they used, but their play was suddenly full of energy. Did they eat some miracle drug? Even taking that into account, there’s no problem.”
“Because what you, me, and everyone here is really curious about isn’t whether Mir Guild wins. It’s whether the record gets broken or not. We need to be clear on the point.”
He was certain of Mir Guild’s victory.
The question was whether, in their currently shaky form, they could continue the legend without giving up even one set against Cheongbaekhap Guild, who had recruited three major hunters.
Under everyone’s gaze, the man solemnly shook his head.
“No. It’s absolutely impossible.”
2 VS 0
2set Mir Guild Win
2:0
“Ahem.”
The man quietly turned his head away.