Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Brain Proxy
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- What did I say the 973 Build was before?
"Uh... It's the build where you place the second and third corpse depositories in the resource zones and start operations."
- And why is it called the 973 Build?
"Because you assign nine, seven, and three workers each to your main base and two multis? You said that's the most cost-efficient way to mine."
- Then, why don't you check the worker count in your main base right now?
"...Eleven of them."
- What are you doing? Not assigning two workers to the front yard.
Wait. She didn't even drag-select to check herself, so how did she spot the worker count just by glancing?
Kang Nari broke out in a cold sweat and sent two skeletons to the front yard as instructed.
Usually, training sessions with Yoo Seo-ha were done in a private 1v1 room,
with vision shared between them.
They hadn't practiced various builds.
The goal of the lessons was to hone faction-specific builds to the bone, crafting one killer move.
Right now, Yoo Seo-ha was teaching her how to handle Dragonkin.
- Alright. You saw my Lizardman worker heading out with the Ghost Ship.
"At this timing, it's probably a scout. Gotta catch it."
- No, boss. What if you send ghouls straight to where the Lizardman worker is heading?? You gonna ask your opponent to share vision in a real game??
"Ah..."
- It's circling around, so scatter ghouls across the map to find it. Like in a real match.
Something about it.
Today, Yoo Seo-ha's words stung more than usual.
Every mistake got ruthlessly called out, making her groan involuntarily.
- You've got three corpses stacked at your second multi. Not using them?
"Ugh..."
- Wrong worker assignment. I told you to pick the ones mining specific high-yield minerals, right? This defeats the purpose of 973.
"Kuhk...!"
- Hmm. I specifically said habitually spamming ghouls is a bad habit to fix. Why are you making more than six on a 973?
"Kuhak...!!!"
Fix one mistake, and another pops up. Focus on that, and you screw up again. The vicious cycle repeated.
No surprise there.
It's what every beginner goes through.
Meanwhile, the viewers were thrilled.
In a streaming culture where coaching was banned, plenty had gritted their teeth watching Kang Nari's plays.
Now, Yoo Seo-ha was vicariously satisfying them by tearing into her.
- Nari Yuksu-nim's 5,000 won donation!
"Shut up!! You're just saying that to piss me off!"
- Whoa? How'd you know?
"...Seo-ha, that wasn't for you."
- Aha.
"But what was that response just now??"
- Boss. Focus on the game.
"Seo-ha?"
This wasn't it.
Just yesterday, Yoo Seo-ha had pointed out mistakes without any chit-chat.
Normally, it'd be something straightforward like, 'One worker's idle in your main.'
Today, it was, 'As expected from the boss with great employee welfare. That worker in main's on vacation, right?'
Honestly, it was funny and amusing. Viewers seemed to love it too.
The only problem was Kang Nari's mentality crumbling in real-time.
- Uh-oh. Scout incoming. They're gonna see your build!
"No way! How'd they slip past?! Why are my ghouls so dumb?!"
- Are the ghouls dumb, or... hmm. That's as far as we go.
Seo-ha had this side to her?
Was it because they'd redefined their relationship as friends?
The type to joke freely with people she'd grown close to?
- Oof. You absolutely can't send scouts on 973...
"I know, but what can I do! Your worker control is too good!"
- That's why I told you to cap at six ghouls. Oh, you made more. Ten now.
"......"
- Normally on 973, you cut scouts with two to four ghouls, right? But since you can't, six is fine. What I didn't expect was you'd still miss with that.
Asking her to catch a semi-pro gamer's worker with just a few ghouls would be unfair...
But she failed even with ten.
And Yoo Seo-ha wasn't even Humanity. She was Dragonkin. Vassal.
Kang Nari's guilt was undeniable.
- Anyway, I confirmed you've researched Dark Magic for Necromancers, so I'll skip Lich and cancel Dragon Lair.
The Dragon Lair nearly complete in Yoo Seo-ha's main was canceled.
Most Undead players, regardless of opponent, favored aerial units like Liches.
Group them up to harass workers, forcing defensive resource sinks.
Dragonkin countered Liches with Wyverns.
They could only attack air, but their Lich suppression was so strong you had to grit your teeth and build them.
A single Wyvern required hefty resources.
The aerial production building, Dragon Lair, was expensive, and Wyverns had terrible cost-efficiency.
A unit with zero ground attack had limited uses.
Essentially, dumping over 500 resources into defense and scouting.
The Necromancer 973 Build ruthlessly exploited this weakness.
Skip Liches, go all-in on ground forces.
Render the opponent's pricey Wyverns useless,
then overwhelm with superior ground firepower.
That was the build's purpose.
It all got scouted and failed, though.
- I knew you were going Necromancers and ground units. So what should I prepare?
"Uh, mass basic Dragonling Soldiers to block?"
- For real?
"...No?"
- Elite Nagas. No Liches to snipe them, and one Storm turns Necromancers to mincemeat.
That's when Kang Nari finally got why no scouts on this build.
Elite Nagas were magic units without basic attacks, but they cast Ether Storm, a wide-area spell.
Normally, free-flying Liches made them easy prey, limiting mobility...
But against Kang Nari's all-Necromancer comp, they were a deadly counter.
"C-can't I switch to Liches now?"
- After researching Necro move speed and range upgrades? By the time Liches are out, your main's gone.
"Ah, shit. I'm screwed then."
- Wow! You finally got one right. Been a while.
"......"
Yoo Seo-ha's prediction came true without fail.
Her final all-in poured every resource into an army and attacked,
but a few Storms shredded the Necromancers instantly.
An exchange ratio too pathetic to speak of.
In the end, Kang Nari hit GG.
- You need more practice cutting scouts with ghouls. That's the one thing that lost you the game.
"My usual opponents don't micro workers that well..."
- If you're content staying at that level forever, sure.
"Krahk! You make it sound like I have no choice but to practice!"
- That's the point.
She clutched her head in agony.
The viewers reveled in her suffering.
- Hmm. Been too much stick, time for a carrot?
"Please! I need some comfort right now..."
- No more supply blocks now, that's good. Few days ago, you missed every attack timing 'cause you couldn't get Ghost Ships out on time.
"Oh! A bit more...!"
- Great timing pulling the Ghost Ship too. My Drake was about to lift off, and you pulled it out of sight before I could even say.
"Kyaa! Everyone! Hear that? I'm not total trash! I'm improving!"
"But Seo-ha, you're pretty good at vassal too? You said you only played Humanity."
- Solid fundamentals carry over. Didn't leverage any Dragonkin strengths either, just stuck to basics.
"You sound like a real pro..."
- Boss, stick to 973 basics properly, and you'll climb to 2,000 undefeated.
2,000 was the line where you could say you played Triachia anywhere.
In a group of ten users, you'd be top three fingers.
No female Triachia streamers like Kang Nari even hit 2,000 yet, so it made sense.
"Still, I can't get a feel for it. What does 'good' even feel like?"
- I'm curious too. What does 'bad' feel like?
"Quiet."
- Alright. Want me to let you experience it, boss? Boost your motivation too.
"Huh? Experience what?"
- What it feels like to be good. Let's run a custom room.
"Custom rooms are all pros, aren't they...? All over 2,000. Too tough for me to debut there yet..."
- It's fine. I'll do brain proxy for you.
"Brain proxy?"
The term puzzled her.
Proxy usually meant a high-rank player logging into someone else's account to boost their rating.
Obviously frowned upon in any game.
So Kang Nari couldn't quite grasp it.
Proxy was a no-go, but Yoo Seo-ha wouldn't say it lightly.
- From now on, your hands are my hands, and my brain is yours. Just do exactly what I say.
"Ah. You're gonna judge in real-time for me?"
- Yeah. Can't risk ranked, so custom room it is.
This piqued her interest deeply.
What did the world look like through a 2,750-point pro's eyes?
She could experience it firsthand.
"But is that even possible? Honestly, not super confident in myself..."
- Totally doable. We're not winning fights for momentum—we're creating a won game before engaging.
"What if I can't keep up with commands?"
- Already factored that in. Don't worry. Nothing hard.
Kang Nari rated her own control as utterly unreliable.
Yet win against someone 400 points higher purely on macro and decisions?
Doubt crept in, but so did excitement, heart pounding.
- Avoid same-faction. Undead mirrors are control wars—your hands can't handle it.
"True, but ouch..."
- Look for Humanity or Dragonkin players.
"Got it."
Gulp. She swallowed hard and checked the custom room list.
If they could overcome her control handicap and beat a pro...
She might rediscover Triachia's true charm.
The kind of game where talent limits could be surpassed, letting anyone climb high.