---

“Oh man, I’ve never seen someone space out and cause a collision before.”

“She’s really doing some physical comedy live.”

“Pro gag girl Lotus is working hard, heh.”

“Everyone shut up!”

The blush spreading across her cheeks was tinting her earlobes as well. Eunha, who was so embarrassed that she nearly fled, connected to the virtual reality in what felt like a near escape.

Compared to the past when she would leisurely sit with her team and log in, this was absolutely blinding speed.

On the flip side, the other team members, who slowly leaped into the game, were now smirking as they started to whisper in her ear.

“Hey, is she doing that because of that streamer sister?”

“Is she not being caught by the camera?”

“Yeah, it’s obvious. Whoa, is this the Marine Corps sister literature thing? Scary, so scary.”

It’s rare for such a blunder to happen during player introductions.

Especially since Lotus was known for being as meticulous as Warden, everyone’s surprise was only magnified.

As the team members who logged in early began to tease Lotus, Eunha couldn’t hold back her rising emotions.

“Shut up! It’s just that my sister agreed to cheer for me! You all got smacked by her too!”

“How tacky, Eunha!”

“Sometimes I doubt if we’re even the same team.”

“If Friede makes a pro team, Lotus would jump over there in a flash. Instant runaway ninja, right?”

— Ahem! Let’s cut the chit-chat there!

The voice of the coach coming through the external microphone nicely interrupted the flow.

If they kept hearing these snarky comments, even Eunha would start to tremble.

Since she had already caused a stir on a broadcast with hundreds of thousands watching live, her nerves were on high alert.

But that didn’t mean her emotions would explode. Thanks to the comedy mishap, the tension of the other teammates had relaxed a little.

At that moment, someone whispered in her ear; it was Warden, Chan-hyuk.

“Good job.”

“Why? What? Huh?!”

She understood the meaning but, caught up in a pride-fueled battle of wills, Eunha gritted her teeth and forced herself to ask again.

Chan-hyuk only smiled at her demeanor and whispered again.

“What’s this, like a surprise return or what?”

At least he could have said why she did well. If you’re going to compliment someone, do it properly.

If it were anyone else, they’d probably get roasted right off the bat for such half-hearted praise.

As Eunha grumbled internally, she cleared her mind.

Before long, the pick-and-ban phase started, and lively discussions were happening between the coach and the team.

At this moment, Eunha, the sister of the sister and former hero, needed to be the professional gamer Lotus.

— Snap!

Today, she prepared a surprise pick to dedicate to her sister and contribute to the team’s opening victory.

For this game…

‘I will carry.’

Touching her cheeks with her palms, Eunha’s eyes glowed with a calm yet determined light.

—

As soon as the match’s pick-and-ban started, the one focused intently, moving her eyes, was Dayoung.

Having streamed for a while, especially gaining experience in Soul Warfare, she was a skilled player in her own right.

Maybe it was her occupational hazard, but even when not broadcasting, she was tirelessly scanning the screen for information.

“Yes, many discussions have already taken place during the preseason. This first match is essentially going to be the real test, right? On the shrine map, where the starting point is randomized, the combination of characters will definitely be the point of focus.”

“Several skills have significantly changed due to various events during the preseason. However, I think focusing on solid, reliable tanks will be more valuable than aggressive, double-edged combos, especially in unexpected situations.”

Ah, the events during the preseason.

Her sister is so indifferent that she wouldn’t know about such things, especially since they happened right after she lost interest in Soul Warfare.

But Dayoung knew well because she was one of the people involved, still playing as a user of Soul Warfare.

“That’s right. Especially, while wizards now can move while casting, high-cost spells have actually become harder to cast. If we raise the value too high just because we have good control, we might end up with two wizards isolated at the start. If that happens, it’s going to be a huge mess in terms of strategy…”

“Speaking of wizards, I remembered the recently adjusted Supernova skill.”

Did she just realize that while listening to the commentary?

A familiar voice whispered in her ear.

“Did Supernova get patched this time?”

“Yeah, just a light adjustment. Since you showed such insane performance, the game company had no choice but to do something. The chaos caused by the fire was quite something as time passed.”

“Oh, my play affected the game? That’s interesting.”

What’s with the vibe of being able to manipulate the emotions of the opponents after pulling all the aggro?

She trimmed it down a bit, but the mood during that time was absolute chaos.

To be precise, it was the moment they were shocked by Friede’s aegis, but as time went on, countless discussions on whether or not to keep that skill raged on in forums.

The atmosphere was so charged that the game company felt like they were subconsciously monitoring the situation.

In the end, Supernova was restructured to focus solely on stat boosts instead of the buffing of virtual reality’s perception time.

Additionally, the high-cost magic shown during streamer forming was changed to automatically cancel if the caster moved out of position for any reason.

It seemed they were seriously shaken by her sister’s carry play.

Ultimately, even her sister would find it more challenging to showcase a performance of that magnitude.

Like a dream of midsummer, Friede’s legendary prowess had now become a thing of the past.

No, not just Friede, but no user could achieve that anymore.

Moreover, many control skills were changed to be usable while moving, breaking away from being a glass cannon that just spams in place.

Remembering that all of this was a butterfly effect from the pre-war era, a wry smile formed on Dayoung’s lips.

That’s when it happened.

“Oh? Lotus player is choosing the Supernova skill? What’s this about?”

Huh?

The skill boldly occupying Eunha’s skill bar on the screen was an incredibly familiar icon emblazoned with a blazing sun.

“Hold on, and she’s equipped with the Holy Light Sword? Plus, the armor is the Armor of the Light’s Arbiter?”

“Supernova was a skill that everyone hesitated to use at first, and even after the patch, it wasn’t exactly beloved. Yet here comes Lotus player pulling it out in this match.”

“Oh, that’s a skill and setup that definitely reminds everyone of someone!”

Even though her sister’s customized gear was obscured, everyone overlooked that it was an exact match to what her sister used last while still playing Soul Warfare.

Eunha had prepared her gear as if intentionally mirroring that of the sister who played until the very end.

It was just like wearing Friede’s skin, even though she wasn’t using it, and Dayoung couldn’t help but be astonished.

“What the heck? Is this really okay?”

“Sure, it will be fine.”

As the question slipped out unconsciously, her sister asserted it with obvious confidence.

When she glanced over, her sister was nodding with a satisfied smile.

“You don’t have to perform exactly like me. The point is whether you can make an impact from here on out. That’s always relative, right?”

Fair enough.

Dayoung checked the logos of both teams that appeared on the screen again.

A match between STK and TBD Gaming.

It was no longer the traditional rival team TK from the last season.

The team they were facing now was actually upper-middle-tier. They consistently made it to the playoffs, but that was about the extent of their capabilities.

Their feature was that most of the players were veterans who had missed their prime or perennial up-and-comers.

As long as they didn’t pour money into the squad and fail to make the playoffs at least, they were truly a cost-effective team in terms of operations.

But no matter how much they gilded the lily, to put it bluntly, this match’s outcome was pretty much predetermined.

Maybe that’s why Eunha felt even bolder to take a risk.

Given the gap in abilities, she could afford to make an experimental pick.

‘If it were me, I’d probably root for TBD.’

If she were broadcasting, from the perspective of streamer forming, she surely would.

That doesn’t mean she was playing the underdog concept. Instead, when a flashy golden team faces a team that looks like a drab stone, she found herself oddly drawn to the latter. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a purely personal emotional choice.

She might be seeking an underdog story but even if they won once, it would provide a remarkable drama. That’s one of the joys of sports.

But as the saying goes, “the arm bends inward,” Dayoung glanced sideways.

While looking at another hero who mirrored her own appearance, the sapphire blue eyes of the one sitting next to her shone ever more brightly under the arena lights.

“I can’t help it.”

It seemed today she had to become a fan of the strong team.

With a slight hint of jealousy, Dayoung fixated her gaze on the match screen.

 

---