The opening match of Wagal featured The Blory Team.
The six-team full league, which is played as a one-off match, was being broadcast on the Letterbox official channel.
For viewers who regularly watched the scrims, they might have had some sense of each team’s strength, but in most cases, that simply wasn’t true.
A whopping 200,000 simultaneous viewers gathered for just the opener, and when Yggdrasil appeared on the map, the cheers supporting each team intensified.
And adding to this fervor were the passionate commentators, fueled by their job ethics.
“Right now, the Mankai Castle team must be regretting it to the bone. I mean, what did we do wrong…?! What exactly did we do wrong?!”
“Yeah! But they must have done something wrong otherwise it wouldn’t have come to this!”
“Exactly. To earn the one coin needed to tackle NoName, they took out loans during the early planning and scraped together a bunch. They went all in and couldn’t win? Now they’re paying the price.”
“Aaaah, why is the one coin so expensive?!”
The first match, expected to be tight, continued to flow one-sidedly.
1,000 gold and a level 2 experience for NoName.
Even if they tried hard to dismiss the healer as having no influence, this was clearly overgrowth.
And in games, over-leveled characters tend to sweep the battlefield.
-1-level Knight Bella is beating you one-on-one? Are you crazy? LOL
-Wizard Bella is the weakest in one-on-one; Knight Bella is different, right?
-Yeah, she’s super strong at level one limited. Just think of her as stronger than the warrior at level one.
-Knight Bella can’t even take down one against three.
-Starting with 1,000 gold? LOL what is this, Wagal or League?
-In League, starting with 1,000 gold means your game is over; how much more for Wagal?
-I thought if she put down her sword to punch, it would be a gamble, but rather she turned it to her advantage.
-In fact, if it came to that pattern, she should lose, but it turned out to be the only way to win.
Wagal’s NPCs always made rational choices.
In deciding the state of the battle, they chose what had the highest winning rate, and if one operated mostly as the NPCs spoke, they wouldn’t come out at a total loss.
This was a system intentionally designed so that people in low-tier would focus more on combat than on operating.
Thus, when a knight faced a priest alone, the judgment to run away was difficult for both human and AI.
“At that time, you could say NoName led a brawl somewhat by making openings in the head. But when Isabella tried to hit with a heavy Flamberge, she cleverly blocked at that moment.”
“I wonder, would a person have fallen for the provocation?”
“I think I would have tried to engage in close combat, even if it made me mad!”
“For those who don’t know, once again, a priest has no combat-boosting skills except for a dagger. In simple terms, everything NoName does is manual command! Every single move!”
“That’s really impressive! And as we speak, Kariri is rushing in! Kariri is running! Behind her, NoName is providing cover!”
From the start of the game, which seemed tilted, the Mankai Castle team was firmly holding on based on their tight teamwork.
In Wagal, where means of HP recovery were scant, the healer was the number one target for elimination in clashes, and due to being that target, they cleverly avoided large-scale battles.
So NoName ran. Together with Kariri. Towards Yggdrasil.
For those who often watched scrims, they would have known what they were doing.
Early backdoor.
Before even 20 minutes had passed in the game, they lured the enemy lanes into their territory and then went around to burn Yggdrasil.
In V-tube, it had only worked as a comedic build, but it was a highly credible strategy approved even by their coach.
The priest’s quick mobility, along with Kariri’s unusual existence as a tank yet assassination role, made her speed exceptionally fast.
The guarding NPC by Yggdrasil was like “Oh no!” and the enemy team had one player.
As their eyes met, Kariri realized the backdoor strategy had been discovered; she swiftly approached the enemy and slashed with her claws.
The enemy facing her tried to limit her approach by swinging a long partisan, but there was no reason to dodge.
Kariri’s HP dropped sharply, and a red aura indicating she was the healing target spread around her skin.
Now, this had become her trademark: the suicidal assassin.
However, that was limited to solo rank; in team games, a bizarre character was formed who didn’t die thanks to NoName’s healing.
The attack power coming in was erratic based on HP, making damage calculation difficult.
A sharp claw scraped the spear-wielding enemy repeatedly, but she refused to back down.
A girl soared into the sky, bringing her weight down with her fists.
BAM-!
The sharp blade at the end of her punch pierced through the enemy’s sturdy armor.
Continuing the barrage until it was in tatters, the enemy’s full HP hit rock bottom in an instant.
That was when cheers erupted from the crowd.
Looking purely at damage, it was like getting hit by a meteor only available at level 25 for an Illegal Mage.
Is that the strength a tank can produce?
She was not a kind of special dealer like a berserker. Berserkers have lower defenses.
But she was also not an assassin; assassins don’t have so much HP.
Tank? Tanks normally couldn’t run that fast from the start.
-Is this a tanky assassin? Is this a tanky assassin? Is this a tanky assassin? I can’t believe it! LOL
-This is so OP! Can we get a nerf, please? LOL
-Having 25,000 HP and this is what it’s like? I feel a sense of despair and agony…
Hexagon characters were often criticized for being useless when small, but conversely, compact hexagons had no way to be blocked.
Kariri’s power shone through, having consumed resources while carefully containing NoName.
Damage dealt: 1st place. Damage received: 1st place. Capture time: 1st place.
Lastly, while the enemy was late returning to the base to block the backdoor, Kariri single-handedly held them off,
NoName plunged their sword into the tree.
The coaches analyzing The Blory Team were clutching their splitting heads.
If NoName were to cover, they didn’t know what variable could emerge due to overwhelming skill, but
if Kariri covered well, the game would simply end.
The fate of the game seemed to have been decided.
*
“Oh, what a shame! If only I had hit a few more times, the game would have been over!”
Kariri expressed her disappointment as she respawned with Na-me.
But it wasn’t a major issue.
Having defeated the spirit golems guarding Yggdrasil, victory was almost in hand.
In chess terms, it was like capturing the opponent’s queen.
In League terms, it was like demolishing both twin turrets on the map.
“Now we can take the 3rd objective; let’s see if the enemies rush forward recklessly, and if they do, let’s go for the backdoor. If not, we can engage in a major battle, their respawn timing won’t let them out quick enough, so we have the advantage.”
After failing to finish the game with an early backdoor, Na-me meticulously calculated the respawn times.
14 seconds of fighting time in the enemy base. 32 seconds of respawn waiting time. 21 seconds to move to the objective.
When all that time passed, the time for the 3rd objective had perfectly lined up.
Once might be a coincidence, but twice, three times are not a coincidence. Whenever they barely managed to catch NoName, afterwards, the enemies had to endure far greater losses.
As Na-me’s orders led the team to successive victories, Isabella’s influence in the conversation lessened significantly.
“There’s only one NPC left guarding the enemy’s Yggdrasil!”
“Are they really planning to engage us? The urgency is on their side, so let’s be quick!”
The six mercenaries lined up for the final battle.
Meanwhile, Isabella’s eyes swiftly scanned the battlefield.
“If it’s now, I can take them down alone… I’m sure of it.”
The wizard is weak against knights in one-on-one. However, her advanced statistics and weapon, along with abundant mana to back her up, gave her more than a 50% probability of winning.
Isabella mounted her prepared horse and took the reins.
There was no one chasing after her.
They believed they could win the clash without her.
However, as she moved away along the narrow forest path, Na-me looked at Isabella with suspicion.
“Na-me?”
“I think we can handle the clash with 5 versus 6 without me. I’ll go chase after Isabella.”
“Are you saying you’re going to backdoor again together?”
“This is the right move right now.”
*
The easter egg of Isabella Entvider.
She cannot kill her own doppelganger.
To be precise, if the next attack lands as a finishing blow, she withdraws her attack and immediately enters non-combat mode.
Thus, when placing Isabella in a one-on-one standoff or in a major battle, one needs to pay more caution than with other NPCs.
The sound of hooves pounding the earth gradually closed in before eventually stopping.
Emerging from the dense forest, they arrived at a temple gilded in gold.
Na-me continued forward, avoiding the collapsed pillars and deeply gouged floor from the previous battle.
As expected, the two Isabellas with barely any HP were in an eerie standoff.
‘No one knows this place.’
Na-me mentally repeated the bizarre setting of Wearsoft.
They had made painstaking efforts to embed the storyline of the story mode directly into multiplayer format.
Sometimes, there was a storyline following the epic of a beggar boy who built a nation, sometimes the story of a gladiator dreaming of revenge against the enemy who killed his parents.
And now, a battle of two women fighting for an elixir that could cure an incurable disease.
Over 108 NPCs created more than 500 stories.
It was normal that even professional gamers who thrived on wins couldn’t memorize all of them.
SLASH-
The sound of Skiabona scraping the sheath was especially sharp.
It seemed Isabella had used Water Attribute Magic while fighting since every time Na-me lifted off the ground, wet mud stuck to her western boots.
[Isabella Entvider (RED): HP(83/39401)]
[Isabella Entvider (BLUE): HP(102/23910)]
Each was left with only a single blow.
It was a precarious situation where anyone could fall with just a light poke from the sword.
Na-me approached the enemy doppelganger without hesitation, aiming his sword at her neck.
“Wait, hold on!”
The cry of the allied Isabella stopped her hand.
“Please, don’t kill my sister right now… I’m begging you…”
Na-me, as if bored, withdrew his sword and headed straight for Yggdrasil.
After all, one does not need to kill the NPC for the game to end. Na-me’s objective was ultimately to take down Yggdrasil.
[Yggdrasil RED: 8201/72482]
“We also won the clash, NoName! Bring it down!”
“Waaaah! We won the first match! We did it!”
Victory bells rang out from the side where the objective was located.
Soon, the defeated doppelganger from the battle would die.
“If you start a war, it’s only right for the losing side to pay the price with death. I’ll let you live for now since you have a limited time.”
CLANG-
Swinging his sword at Yggdrasil, a cheerful sound of steel reverberated through the air.
The transformation had taken on a titanium-like durability.
“They’re not really doppelgangers.”
“…”
Na-me, who had only learned from written words rather than experienced the story, knew little of the full details.
Yet Isabella Entvider murmured,
“They’re twins, aren’t they?”
The two Isabellas shivered at the sound of her word.
They weren’t mere doppelgangers, but two identical twins sharing the same name.
Cursed by mana, they had to relinquish their Aura Heart by the age of 10 and were fated that one should have passed away.
Yet, they managed to hold on to life until their 30s, hand in hand.
The curse of mana was also a blessing, and one thrived as a Sword User while the other made a name as a Wizard, albeit under aliases.
Having raced along parallel lines, they ultimately found themselves drawn into a cataclysm where one would have to kill the other.
CRACK-!
The sound of splitting Yggdrasil echoed thunderously.
A tension emerged from the breaths of the twin sisters. The shadow of death looming over Isabella couldn’t hide her anxious gaze.
“Sister, any last words?”
As Yggdrasil was on the verge of breaking, the allied Isabella asked.
The NPC that had faced her since level one looked at Na-me and her twin sister, smiling resignedly.
“I miss Alphonse so much. If we meet later… could you ask him if he became a splendid knight?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
The Isabella who loved swords and the Isabella who loved magic.
Unfortunate women who had to live only under one name due to the Entvider family.
Their childhood friend Alphonse Shipot had chosen swords instead of magic and had become a respectable knight captain of the Empire.
However, only one of them could reunite with the childhood friend they loved.
[Yggdrasil has been destroyed.]
High White Fireflies bursting out from the roots of Yggdrasil engulfed the entire world.
The green hues of the foliage all lost color and gradually turned to dust and disappeared.
Entrusting her body to the familiar sensation of being transported away from the players, Na-me pondered deeply.
[Now that there’s no reason to stay in the capital, I must go home. Back to where I belong.]
Na-me remembered Alphonse’s words about returning home to meet Isabella.
[My childhood friend Bella used to chirp her way through the library every chance she got, sharing the magic she learned with a voice like a nightingale.]
[But Bella had a thing for men in armor wielding swords, so with no clue, I focused solely on mastering swordsmanship to become a proper knight.]
In which world line did Alphonse meet her again?
“I really hate open endings.”
[Victory]
