Chapter 26
Chapter 26
T/L:Penny
Colosseum (6)
Even after our match ended, the spectators couldn't escape their shock and were giving a standing ovation.
"Is this really an E-Rank match?! I guarantee you that this was the most exciting match we've seen today!"
"Indeed it was. I'm highly anticipating the future growth of these two."
Leaving behind the excitedly chatting commentators, I waved to the crowd and exited the arena. My hands were still dripping with sweat. It was because this was one of the toughest Valkyrie matches I had ever played.
The shock and euphoria were indescribable, especially when Heiji survived with exactly 11 HP. Could I have calculated all of this just because I played Valkyrie like a madman for five years? That's nonsense.
I could estimate the damage output to some extent by looking at the opponent's equipment, but calculating a damage exchange down to an 11 HP margin is impossible without knowing the exact level of the opponent. Since it was still a 3-on-3 match, I was barely able to do a rough calculation, but later on, when it scales up to 15-on-15 matches, my head will explode.
In a 15-player match, you can use endless tactics, but only a supercomputer would know if they would be executed perfectly. Moreover, the algorithm dictated by each Valkyrie's agility has to be calculated by turns, and knowing that in real-time is next to impossible.
"It couldn't be helped. My defeat came down to the difference in formation."
Seohan, who had followed me out, spoke to my back.
"Huh? What did you say?"
"If you had placed them in the front row, I would have won."
"Stating the obvious..."
This still-young fellow was spouting nonsense, as if he couldn't let go of his lingering regrets. And he looked perfectly normal, too.
"Is Heiji level 17, Holla level 16, and Garujan level 17?"
"Uh? How did you..."
"If I had raised my levels just a bit more before coming, Heiji wouldn't have been left with 11 HP."
I couldn't understand what this guy had been talking about since earlier. The opponent's HP is only visible through the HP bar; the exact numbers aren't shown. Yet, this person accurately deduced that Heiji had exactly 11 HP left.
Is that even within the realm of human capability? This was pure talent. Every Valkyrie has unique base stats and values that increase with their level. Damage is determined by calculating attack and defense power. That means he calculated all of that in real-time to figure out my Valkyries' levels.
I already thought calculating that was absurd, but he even memorized the Valkyries' unique abilities? That was also on a ridiculous level.
‘Who is this guy?’
If what he said was possible, this person would have optimized everything from the very placement of his units. He would have set it up in the best way to win, regardless of whether I placed my units in the first or second row. Even though there seemed to be a slight margin of error.
I slowly began to fear this person. After playing the Valkyrie game for five years, I knew making such predictions was not easy.
"The items your Valkyries are wearing are only rare tier. That's why I could predict it. If you had equipped higher-tier gear, it would have been harder to calculate."
"You really calculated all of that?"
Seohan nodded silently. He's genuinely insane. This guy.
If anyone else had said that, I would have ignored them as a madman, but coming from Seohan, I couldn't brush it off. Leaving me frozen in this unbelievable situation, Seohan quickly turned around and left the arena. I could only stare at his back until he completely disappeared.
For some reason, I felt a strong connection drawing me to that person.
. . .
Even after Seohan left, I couldn't move my body for a while before finally regaining my senses and moving. The place I headed to was the Colosseum's management team. It was to rank up, as I had recorded 5 wins. Reaching D-Rank meant I could finally summon six Valkyries.
"Excuse me. Could I get your autograph?"
While walking to the management team, two women nearby approached me and held out a piece of paper. I was flustered by the sudden situation, but the two women asked once more with smiling faces.
"I became a fan after watching your match today. Please, I beg you."
Having to continuously experience things I'd never gone through in my 28 years of life left me dumbfounded.
"Ah... I... I don't have a signature."
The only signing I had ever done was at my company; there was no way I had an autograph prepared.
"Just... please write your name."
"Ah... yes. What's your name?"
Thinking there was no reason to refuse such a simple request, I asked for the women's names.
"I'm Sylvia." "I'm Jasmine."
"Understood."
I took the paper and pen the woman offered and wrote on the paper, "Sylvia, be happy. Valkyrie Calendar Year 10, March 26th. Kai." I wrote something similar on the other woman's paper.
Then, as I was about to move again, a crowd of women suddenly started flocking over.
"Could I... could I get an autograph too?"
Suddenly, a massive crowd rushed in. I was currently in the area for Pilots, not the spectator seats. The fact that this many people gathered meant they were all Pilots as well. Among the people asking for my autograph, there were definitely some with a higher rank than me, so them asking for my signature felt baffling.
"Uh... w-wait a minute."
As too many people crowded around, I panicked and stepped back. Seeing my panicked state, an usher ran over and blocked the path in front of me.
"Please maintain order." "Please keep order!"
Thanks to the usher's restraint, the crowd barely seemed to calm down.
"Everyone, please calm down. I'll give you autographs later. I'm a bit busy right now."
After finally speaking to the crowd, I was able to escape the mob and enter the management team's office.
"Phew..."
Getting caught up in a situation only celebrities would experience made me wonder if this was really reality. Ah... it isn't reality, is it? Anyway, I wondered if I should cover my face. I even worried if I would be able to lead a normal daily life going forward. I might end up catching the 'celebrity disease' at this rate.
"What brings you here?"
I was lost in all sorts of delusions on my own when a voice suddenly snapped me back to my senses.
"Ah. I'm here to confirm my rank up."
It was a management team staff member who had approached and spoken to me.
"Ah! You must be Kai. I watched the match too. You were amazing! Please come this way."
The management team staff greeted me with a bright face and guided me. There were also many people inside the management team's office. They were probably people who had ranked up through today's results or had other business. Seeing many people stealing glances at me confirmed that I had indeed become the center of attention because of today's event.
It made sense, considering an E-Rank player summoned two SR-Rank Valkyries. This was why Jenellu had told me to hide Lussera, but instead of hiding her, I ended up revealing Jaira as well.
The road ahead looked bleak.
"Please place your Status over here. We'll go through a simple verification process."
When I placed my Status on the kiosk, my information appeared on the monitor. It wasn't as much information as what was checked at the ‘Twilight Moon’ Clan, just details regarding my match record.
Name: Kai
Rank: E
Record: 5 Matches, 5 Wins, 0 Losses.
"Yes! It's been confirmed. I will now promote you to D-Rank."
The staff member said after typing something on the keyboard.
"You can take your Status now. From now on, you can immediately summon six Valkyries. Congratulations on advancing to D-Rank."
I nodded in greeting to the staff member who spoke with a bright smile.
"Do you know how to advance to C-Rank?"
Of course I knew. That is, if it's the exact same system as the original Valkyrie game. From D-Rank onwards, something called Rank Points is introduced, and currently, my Rank Point is 1,000.
If you lose, it drops, and if you win, it goes up. The higher the Rank Point of the person you play against, the greater the increase. Conversely, if you lose to someone with lower points, it drops significantly. Since I'm still D-Rank, the drop rate is low and the increase rate is high, making it easy to smoothly climb up to B-Rank.
From A-Rank onwards, it got a bit intense. Above that was M-Rank, but after the Valkyrie game updated, that rank was also divided. It was to disperse the players, as too many people were crowded in the A and M Ranks. Above A-Rank came R 1, 2, 3, then S 1, 2, 3 Ranks, and above that M 1, 2, 3. Later on, the GM Rank was even introduced.
The GM Rank was a tier where only 10 people could ascend to. Though it seems like only M-Rank exists right now.
"Yes. I know."
"That's a relief then. If you ever need anything else later, please feel free to come by."
"Thank you."
After saying goodbye to the staff member, I exited the management team's office. I was worried the crowd might still be gathered outside, but fortunately, it seemed the usher had dispersed the people. Looking around, I lifted my Status and made a call to someone.
That someone, of course, was Isteir.