Chapter 230. Wall (2)

Raina was momentarily startled.

[I can't believe this...]

That was Raina's assessment of the play that just occurred. This was the first time Raina ever felt so shocked.

Even Almond paused and was slightly surprised.

'What was that?'

He thought about the phenomenon that just occurred. For a moment, he felt a sensation that he had never felt before.

'What is this?'

No, he felt something similar before.

'As if everything was in slow-motion…'

Right before the bullets from BlackTea's machine gun hit him… He felt something was wrong and summoned all his concentration. Suddenly, the world seemed to slow down.

He felt a similar sensation a few times before, but this feeling was a little different.

Previously, Almond also moved slowly like his surroundings. Only his consciousness seemed to flow faster.

This time...

'It's similar to what I felt right before being disconnected from Fantasia.'

It felt the same as when he was doing Fantasia’s survival challenge. Everything around him slowed down, but he maintained his speed. That sensation persisted for a short while this time.

'Could this be because of a better capsule?'

Was that the difference between capsules?

With that thought, the corners of Almond's mouth lifted.

'Money is good after all.'

He lightly stretched his arms and checked his health bar. Only 5% of his health remained.

"Anyway, that was a close call. If my combo hadn't built up, I would have died."

Even in a fantasy game, a bow and arrow naturally couldn’t compare to the speed of a machine gun. Their damage couldn’t be compared either, but it was Raina's overwhelming victory.

Raina had maintained over a thirty-hit combo and theoretically possessed the strongest arrow attacks.

'It looks like I've got the winning hand.'

Around twenty minutes passed.

Almond’s assessment of having the upper hand proved to be correct.

[Victory]

The celebratory text appeared in front of Almond. Balloon Stars easily won, and the audience’s cheers filled the stadium.

***

"Ah!! Balloon Stars! They’ve finally washed away the stigma of only beating weak teams after defeating Red Carpets!"

Boom...!

BlackTea despondently set down her rocket launcher after witnessing the arena erupt in cheers for the second time that day.

"Ah, BlackTea looks a bit shaken, doesn't she?"

"Yes! Today, she was completely defeated in a one-on-one match between damage dealers! Player Almond is truly a diamond rank, just like me!"

— I'm OrangeKing

— When did OrangeKing become diamond? He fell hard, lol.

— It's a known theory that he climbed to diamond to match ranks with Almond.

— At this point, diamond is better than a lackluster master.

— People are so eager to ride Almond's coattails, lol.

"Diamond is actually the rank where people play the best. It was just proven again."

The caster burst into laughter at this.

"Really? Diamond is the best rank?"

"Absolutely! I've asked pro players, and they all say that playing in the Diamond IV tier is the most challenging!"

— Lol!

— Surprisingly, a fact.

— Fact.

— That's true, lol.

"Now, the damage graph is up while we were talking. Shall we take a look?"

As the graph appeared, a sigh came from the audience.

— Booo...

The commentators were left speechless at the second game’s graph.

"What... what is this…?"

"It’s a real problem if you leave Raina available, huh?"

"Ah, player BlackTea, looks like your ego took quite a few scratches."

The second game featured BlackTea's Terrorist Bonnie against Almond's Raina. Both of them had used the characters they were most confident in.

Everyone naturally thought it would be a repeat of the first game.

"There is a twofold difference."

— Wow, lol

— Wow.

— What’s up with Almond's damage?

— Can't help it if the game is broken, right? Lol.

The damage difference between Almond and BlackTea was staggeringly twofold. Almond had inflicted twice as much damage.

"The scary thing here is that it's not that player BlackTea couldn't deal damage while being at a disadvantage, right?"

"That's correct. Player BlackTea's damage wasn't bad either. Of course, Bonnie's usual carrying power didn't show up..."

"It looked like her mental state wavered in the middle."

"On the other hand, Almond..."

The commentary team's assessment was as follows. Almond's damage output was overwhelming, and his condition during the match was also at its best. However, BlackTea's mental state was noticeably shaken in the middle of the match, and she was no longer able to display her usual level of skill.

"Naturally, it was Tako and Almond who managed to shake her mentality. Player Almond's victory should be acknowledged without any room for mental excuses."

"That's also a skill, and that's how this game is originally."

In conclusion, Almond decisively won against BlackTea in the duel of ADCs.

"Right. The game’s outcome had been determined since the bot lane, wasn't it?"

The snowballing began after the double kill in the bot lane. They showed the replay of that scene again.

Almond drew his bow at superspeed without missing any of the twenty or so targets. His damage output skyrocketed from there.

"Seeing it again, his speed and accuracy is unbelievable..."

Lemon was literally caught off guard. BlackTea thought she could win and continued attacking, but the difference in their damage was huge.

"His combos stacked up too high to the point where BlackTea couldn't calculate the damage anymore."

"Yes... Raina’s arrows all stack the combo count. Even if she hits different targets consecutively, the combo continues. It was already at thirty when Almond first attacked BlackTea."

"That's right. BlackTea shouldn't have fought Raina in that state, and she relied too much on her machine gun."

"Well, it was a close one. It seemed outside the realm of calculation. Who would have thought that Raina would stack up a thirty-hit combo without missing even once while attacking Lemon? Hahaha! There's talk in the community now, you know?"

OrangeKing laughed heartily and looked into the camera.

"Raina is actually broken? Just quit the game, everyone."

— LOL

— Hahahaha

— If you try her out, you'll shut up.

The analyst nodded in agreement.

"If Raina can do that, then she is broken. But she's broken because every other player can’t do that with her. It's difficult to believe that Raina's design is flawed now."

The caster added fuel to the fire, "That's right! Nerf Almond! Police, listen up! I also play Raina sometimes!"

— The caster was part of the club!

— Demian Club!

— Oh no!

— We are everywhere!

— Demian Club's most famous member!

"Right. Nerfing Almond... doesn't seem likely. He's actually getting buffed now?"

"Yes! That's right. His skill level keeps going up!"

"I can't believe it. He's doing better than when he played against Green Tea Bagging. Isn't he?"

"That was the first time he used Raina in a real match. This is the second time!"

"That couple got wrecked by Raina... Could this be because of GreenTea?"

OrangeKing grinned at the camera.

"Did Almond's Raina become stronger because GreenTea didn’t ban her then, which allowed Almond to gain real match experience? Just curious."

— What a bad guy...

— BlackTea is gonna blame GreenTea, LOL

— GreenTea is in trouble, LOL

— He's screwed!

The caster answered OrangeKing's mischievous question, "Almond just improved that much~!"

— Yeah~!

— You sure?

— Poor caster.

— What's going on?!

— Protect him!

"Ah, yes. Almond has gotten stronger through various trials. That's what I meant to say. It's not that GreenTea was simply a hurdle."

— That's what we meant.

— A hurdle, hahaha

— Run GreenTea!

"Right. Didn't we say that Almond’s stats were lower compared to BlackTea when we first started the match?"

"Yes. But now, data-wise, Almond will overwhelmingly win."

"How did this happen? Did his skill level increase in such a short period? Or could it be because of the capsule change?"

"Ah! Aston's Plato! Could it really be because of that?"

***

“Could it really be because of that?”

Mr. Park's expression hardened when the capsule from Aston Co. was mentioned. He tapped the ash off his cigarette into the ashtray.

Then he spoke to the head of the research department beside him, "It seems like giving a dog a bone."

Chuckle.

He said it with a laugh, but it was no laughing matter. More was at stake in this project than he previously thought.

"Wouldn't it have been better to just lend them one of our products?"

"Hmm… If you think about it objectively, yes," the CEO admitted more easily than expected.

"But why…?"

"That manager guy is the son of someone I know."

"Ah, I heard."

The research director heard about that too, but didn't pay much attention. He brushed aside the information into the back of his mind.

Mr. Park wasn’t someone who would let personal feelings affect his work. Only his wife could emotionally move him.

"For that manager guy to have another chance, this Almond guy has to succeed first."

"Ah …"

"His eyes looked desperate. I saw for myself that he wasn’t doing so good either."

"That’s true, but we can’t go on like this."

"Yes, it's hard to risk our product for them. I got a call again from him recently, asking for a favor."

"That… that person?"

"Yes, it's uncommon. He’s not the kind of person who would ask a junior for something like this."

"Ah…"

The research director subconsciously thought of his own father. If it was like that, it would be hard to refuse.

Mr. Park knew how to separate personal and professional matters, but he wasn’t a machine.

"So I just told them about it and gave them a giveaway price. Well…"

Chiik.

He lit another cigarette. It burned him a little on the inside.

"It’s good. We have an opportunity to prove that Nova is much better. This will be a fight. Let’s do our best."

Mr. Park turned to the research director.

The one holding the steering wheel in this direct confrontation wouldn’t be the CEO, but the director.

"Yes!" the director straightened his waist and replied.

'That's right. As the CEO said, this was a mountain that had to be crossed anyway.'

He felt like they could surpass Aston with this opportunity.

Aston had shown no weaknesses so far, but now it's different. Hadn't Aston failed to improve Almond's condition?

They continuously received data with consent every time Almond used the capsule.

Aston had not been properly caring for Almond in the game. Only the machine’s monstrous physical rhythm maintenance function alleviated his symptoms.

'Nevertheless...'

They had been accumulating data ever since this in-house tournament battle started.

The director frowned as he looked at it.

'As expected, Aston is amazing.'

Aston displayed in-game performance that was true to its reputation even though the Plato model wasn’t custom-made for Almond.

'But the diver's ability is also amazing... He’s taking complete advantage of the machine.'

What kind of numbers would appear if that diver used Nova's top custom model?

He couldn't help but be curious as a researcher.

***

Balloon Stars’ momentum became unstoppable after defeating Red Carpets.

"How can this be!?"

"What is going on? Another mass of minions are rushing in!!!"

"If I were Dominoes, I would have collapsed at all those dots wriggling on the mini-map!"

"Ah! Dominoes! They're ruined! It's all falling apart!!"

"Almond! How do you keep getting better!?"

This was a game against a current mid-to-upper team, Dominoes.

As expected, Balloon Stars achieved a 2-0 victory.

Their next match was no different.

"It's like Almond is telling them, ‘Didn't I tell you not to leave Sana available!?’"

"They just couldn’t die! They just couldn’t die no matter what!!!"

"The skill difference is too much! All team members in Balloon Stars didn’t die even once... The audience is going crazy!"

"GG~~~!"

Beer Chicken also lost 2-0.

Now, they only had one match left.

"First of all, Balloon Stars has made it to the playoffs!"

"The only question is whether they will advance in first or second place!"

"This match will be between two top teams with only a small difference in points!"

The current rankings popped up as a hologram.

1st) High Protein 14 wins, 0 losses

2nd) Balloon Stars 14 wins, 0 losses

3rd) Solo Is Back 12 wins, 3 losses

4th) Red Carpets 11 wins, 4 losses

High Protein and Balloon Stars were tied at 14-0.

High Protein was ahead in points, but the results would be decided in their final matches.

***

Two days later, the game with High Protein arrived.

[High Protein VS Balloon Stars]

The game would begin at 6 P.M.

"I'm going in."

"Alright, fight hard."

Sang-Hyeon entered the capsule at 5:30 P.M., and his capsule reopened almost at 10 P.M.

Swoosh.

"... Sigh."

He sweated so much that it made him wonder if switching to Aston's capsule was the right choice.