Chapter 139
Arin, who was seated in the center, shouted with enthusiasm from her seat.
“The auction has ended! Now that all the teams have been decided, while the team members get together and greet each other, we must get back to our tasks too, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then, shall we take a look at a team first?”
The auction system guarantees only the user’s tier, not their position.
In other words, each team leader had to carefully consider their team members’ positions during the auction.
From the perspective of the organizing team, it could be seen as an invisible hand leaving the balance up to the participants.
Unfortunately.
Humans were not beings driven solely by rationality and selfishness.
“Hahaha! Let’s first look at the Mental-nim’s team!”
With a laugh, Arin directed her gaze toward Ark, who was seated on her right.
The reason she laughed was simple. It was because the Mental-nim’s team was decent.
The final lineup of Mental’s team appeared on the screen.
“Yes. You can say Mental-nim’s team has a really well-balanced composition. Surprisingly.”
“Right? There was a crisis at first, but someone took over for them. Then, strangely enough, the auction went smoothly afterward?”
“Yes. Perhaps due to the shock of losing Sojun-nim, they seemed to have lost their touch. Thanks to that, they stopped making rash decisions and participated calmly in the bidding. And that oddly enough contributed to making theirs one of the strongest and most balanced teams.”
Arin moved on to the next team name.
Like Mental’s team, it was another team boasting a golden balance.
“These two team leaders can be said to have led very successful auctions, right?”
“Since they’ve managed to gather team members without overlapping positions.”
“But not everyone can have a clean outcome!”
Descriptions of subsequent teams continued.
It wasn’t precisely about segregating strong and weak teams.
What they evaluated was the perceived success of each team leader’s auction and the chemistry among the team members.
“In truth, only the team leaders themselves will know whether their bidding was truly successful. And it seems like they have begun to start their streams as well.”
“Shall we watch the stream of the next team?”
There could have been deliberate intentions behind what they judged to be tangled.
What was the intention of this team leader?
As Arin built up the mystery, she continued the program.
“It just started. Let’s watch Team Leader Kim Taewoo, who made a choice that left everyone puzzled at the end.”
『Kim Taewoo-nim has started streaming.』
『Hey! Why did you pick me there! You should have picked Wind Sword-nim! Wow. Wow, seriously. There’s no one whose primary position is mid in this team. This isn’t good for either of us!』
『I don’t know.』
Team members gathered in Taewoo’s lobby, and a dispute arose as soon as they entered.
“Yes, let’s stop watching there.”
Arin made a quick decision.
– Hahaha!
– The famous “I don’t know” guy, hahaha!
– Run
– They have a sub-mid, so it’s somewhat okay
– But is it worth giving up Wind Sword? Just take whatever!
“Hahaha. Kim Taewoo had already appeared multiple times in LoS but this was his first time as a team leader. Maybe he was just nervous?”
“That could be.”
“Penguin-nim and Sun-nim, what are your thoughts?”
“Considering Wind Sword-nim mostly only plays Kael, I believe he deliberately avoided selecting him. No matter how perfect the position seemed, when you weigh in alternatives, surprisingly, the balance could tilt elsewhere. Though I don’t think it was a good choice!”
“An interesting perspective, Sun-nim.”
They weren’t aware of something.
It was simply that while checking the selection of Sojun, they orchestrated a somewhat decent team.
“Penguin-nim?”
“I’ve decided to give up predicting what streamers think.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because of that last remaining team. I realized there might be something I don’t see.”
“Got it!”
Convinced, Arin introduced the last remaining team.
“Alright! They used all their points to nab the first pick and then gathered players B, C, and D from those left unchosen till the end to form this team!”
“Except for Wind Sword-nim, this team consists of members who’ve all participated in joint streams together. Team leader Sojun-nim has collaborated with everyone.”
A- Jin Sojun
B- Wind Sword
C- Alpaca
D- Rumi
E- Ha Yunho
“Perhaps this team has the best chemistry. As such, it might showcase unexpected results!”
Recalling Sojun’s personality, Ark commented.
He considered Sojun surprisingly sociable.
“Shall we see what this team is discussing?”
『…….』
『…….』
『…….』
『…….』
“A cheerful and harmonious atmosphere where they connect even in silence and there’s no awkwardness…”
“It looks like the team leader is being punished…”
“Shall we turn it off?”
“Yes!”
Once again, the decision was prompt.
– Yes!
– Wow! Really harmonious! Hahaha
– Ha Yunho hahaha with hands up hahaha
– Seems like a disaster. Big thumbs up, haha!
* * *
When the auction ends, the teams can be divided into those tangled and those untangled.
And usually, there’s never just one tangled team. If one team leader trolls, it inevitably impacts other teams as well.
The reason why Mental was infamous as the biggest variable in the auction.
Thinking about how all teams got slightly entangled during the last tournament because of Mental’s choices, one could argue the infamy wasn’t significant enough.
‘Given that players were evenly divided by rank but not by position, failures among teams were inevitable.’
Though not absolute, for example, lower-tier members were often allocated to the bottom position.
In top and mid positions, the number of players who juggle both statistically was the highest. Among players, many could cover these as sub-positions.
In such circumstances, the team leaders conducted the auction accordingly.
And someone always trolled and led to failures.
Yet, Ha Yunho didn’t even mess it up.
‘He could not even wreck it.’
With no choice from the start, all his points were expended on the first pick, Sojun, he was left to plead, “Please don’t take our pick!” having no capability to ruin it for others.
He simply sank on his own.
Strangely enough, excluding Sojun’s team, the situations of the other teams could be considered reasonable.
Even Taewoo’s team, when considering past tournaments, surprisingly placed among the decent, so they were the only ones who could be seen as completely ruined.
‘Let’s go in.’
Sojun accepted Ha Yunho’s invitation into the lobby where his team members were gathered.
The first thing he saw was Ha Yunho standing with hands up and the team members glaring at him.
‘Everyone’s doing well.’
– The Streamer-nim was the last to arrive.
– Capsule connectivity seems slowest. Could this also be due to synchronization rate?
– Feels like a tech-challenged issue, haha!
– Ah haha tech-challenged issue haha!
Indeed, there was not much difference in connection speed. He took a little longer transitioning from PC to capsule for streaming.
They’re sharp.
Upon Sojun’s entrance, the silence was broken.
“Sojun-nim! It’s been a while! It feels odd to meet like this, but still, I feel reassured being in the same team!”
Alpaca quickly approached for a greeting.
– Alpaca’s trait is that they only played mid
– Entered 30s, oddly resembling Alpaca’s unattractive demeanor, assassin troll, low rank within C tier. This guy’s bad news!
– No wonder he remained unchosen, haha
Hmm.
The viewers were being harsh.
Reflecting again, Sojun thought it wasn’t entirely bad since he knew the team members.
“Wow, seeing you in the same team, Sojun-nim. I thought we would face each other due to position conflicts.”
Next was Wind Sword.
And the viewers, once again, harshly recited his profile.
– Formerly a challenger mid-player who plummeted vertically since meeting Kael two years ago.
– At master tier, Kael’s win rate 48%, pick rate 64%
– Purely a Kael one-trick. Loses points with Kael, regains with other heroes haha!
– Wind Sword might have immense potential, but for stability, avoiding seems right. He belonged in this team, haha
– Seems everyone was unchosen for a reason, haha!
– Wow! The team is amazingly good! Insane!
Stop it, guys.
Regardless of the circumstances, the players didn’t deserve the blame, right?
The real fault lies with…
“…….”
The team leader, currently avoiding eye contact and kneeling with arms raised.
“I meet Rumi-nim again.”
“Hello!”
Sojun greeted Rumi, who was overseeing Ha Yunho.
Anyhow, the atmosphere was amicable, except for Ha Yunho.
Again, noting that the team members weren’t at fault.
“Hey, since this is a virtual reality, you don’t feel physical fatigue, but only slight mental fatigue. Can’t I lower my arms?”
“Then you can hold them up for life, Yunho.”
Rumi said.
– Rumi is quite stable.
– May have remained unchosen not due to flaws but because there wasn’t a fitting team.
– Sorry, but D, e, doesn’t matter much. Whether stable or trolls, it’s irrelevant.
– Ultimately, the problem is the mid trio!
– Are they doomed?
Well, what was decided couldn’t be helped. Without giving up, there was no need for premature despair.
Sojun spoke up.
“Let’s decide on our team name.”
“Sounds good.”
“How about Ha Yunho and the Victims?”
Rumi proposed first.
“That’s good. Or maybe, ‘The chosen ones and the unchosen ones,’ for a dramatic touch?”
Wind Sword suggested.
“That sounds too sad. And long.”
“Then, how about ‘Total Mess’?”
“No Hope.”
Alpaca interjected.
“You mean the team name? Not my naming skills?”
Feeling wrongly accused, Wind Sword asked again.
“Yes, yes, that’s right. Hahaha.”
Truly cheerful and pleasant.
Sojun smiled contentedly.
“I came up with a great idea too!”
When Ha Yunho opened his mouth, everyone froze again.
“Let’s hear it.”
With arms crossed, Rumi watched intently to see how well Ha Yunho would name the team, eyes piercing at him.
“Gap between Rich and Poor.”
Oh.
That’s…
Ready for a punch, isn’t it?
“You punk! Are you teasing us because we went unchosen?”
“Stomp him! Stomp that punk!”
“Actually… I’m not that close to him…”
“Wind Sword-nim! I permit you! Stomp him!”
Rumi-nim.
Turned out to be more violent than expected.
As Sojun slightly flinched, Rumi, after thoroughly stomping Ha Yunho, turned her head swiftly toward Sojun.
“Sojun-nim. Why aren’t you stomping him? Do you think of yourself as 995 points…?”
“Haha. I’ll go now.”
In truth, he wanted to stomp too.
Not out of fear, truly not.
* * *
Eventually, the team name was set to Gap between Rich and Poor, as it was apropos.
Viewers also joked that for the capitalist Heavenly Demon, gaps were expected.
What nonsense, Sojun thought.
Incidentally, Taewoo’s team name likely became Self-Saboteur (Messed Up By Oneself). Everyone but Taewoo agreed.
Anyhow, the team name would be announced tomorrow.
“So, what should we do today?”
“A simple game, maybe?”
“The team winning today’s game gets the privilege to compose groups for the group league.”
“I see.”
“Previously, we had a running game. Don’t know what it’ll be this time.”
They all turned their attention to the official streaming window directly ahead.
The advertisement was soon ending, and Part 2 was about to begin.
『You’ve waited long enough. Let’s dive into Part 2. I am Arin, the caster of LoS.』
– Wow!
– Hahaha
『So, let’s proceed. The warm-up games for group selection comprise two types! One is a fighting PC game for E-tier team members, beast Cartel!』
– Seems to be battles among the weak
– The other 4 will play a different game, right?
– Bringing a PC game here, haha!
– The characters in it are so flimsy; it hits well on PC, haha!
『Yes! And the second is the VR battle royale game Ground Zero! It’ll be a 4-person squad, one match, except for E-tier participants. Those who don’t have the game, the organizers have sent gifts, so check and download!』
『Aha! Ground Zero and Beast Cartel!』
『Ark-nim, why are you acting surprised?』
『…… The script asked me to feign surprise. Why pick on me?』
『Haha. Just teasing. Please continue the explanation.』
“Ground Zero?”
“Sojun-nim, do you know it?”
“Hmm, I think I do.”
“Really?”
The excitement spread across the team members’ faces.
They were well aware of Sojun’s physical prowess. And now he claimed to know the game?
Naturally, the scene of Sojun operating a service bus surfaced in their minds.
At this pivotal moment!
Sojun spoke with jest.
“When you see enemies, you kill them, right? Isn’t that it?”
Alpaca quickly wore a knowing expression, as if left unsurprised.
He teased them.
“Ah… that’s true for all games.”
And Wind Sword, seemingly less acquainted with Sojun, earnestly responded.
“Haha… Let’s see how Yunho does first.”
In that instant, Rumi set her mind on swiftly getting closer with Sojun.
Otherwise, throughout the tournament she’D remain awkward, continuously bearing the brunt without retaliation!
『Now, e-rank members within each team, please install the game on your PCs!』