CH 413

All of the commentators began discussing the events that unfolded during the first half of the game.

[We witnessed a series of surprises during the first half. This was true especially with the Korean Team who shocked the entire world with their overwhelming performance!]

[Ali, who they said had regressed back to Level 1, came back even stronger, while Master Archer Root showed us a far more sophisticated archery skills than from his time as a national archery representative. And there’s also the Food God… He truly lives up to his name.]

[Yes, that’s right. A lot of countries have shown us their amazing powers. Just like Alexander, he has proven to us that he’s truly the strongest and the best among all of the players.]

[Just like the Korean Team, Alexander has also been targeted by the other countries’ representatives. However, instead of engaging in a fight, he avoided them and focused on scoring goals. True to his name: ‘Ghost of the Battlefield’, he used his ‘ghost’ to get away and escape from his opponents’ sights and keep scoring.]

[We can all agree that that’s an extremely smart strategy. It’s a bit hard for me to say this since they did a good job, but it looks like the Korean Team would be having a hard time getting a medal.]

[It’s mainly because they have no choice but to fight fiercely against their opponents. They do not have Alexander’s ‘ghosts’ which makes it harder for them to escape their enemies.]

[Perhaps showing off in the early stages had brought an adverse effect to the Korean Team.]

[Alright. Now, let me explain how the second half works. Most of the rules in the first half still work for the second half. However, there will be a special ‘time’ waiting for our players twenty seconds before the end of the game. This special time is none other than the ‘Golden Time’. Once the Golden Time starts, dozens of golden balls will fall down on a certain area in the field. Anyone could turn the tables as long as they score goals with these golden balls that would appear in the last twenty seconds of the game.]

[That’s right. They can possibly turn the tables. However, you have seen players like Alexander, Root and Japan’s Kentaro scoring goals with the golden ball. Scoring a goal with the golden ball is not an easy task.]

[We can confidently say that it’s very hard to score a goal with the golden ball in just under twenty seconds. After all, the golden ball has a will of its own. There’s also the fact that the players would do their best to keep each other in check.]

[There are only thirty seconds left before the second half starts! Right now, we can see that the representatives from each of the countries are having a discussion.]

[They need to have a new strategy for the second half of the game.]

[The Korean players are also having a discussion.]

Ppiiiiiiiiiii—

[As we speak, the second half begins!]

***

Second half.

Alexander and James flew all over the stadium, rushing after balls to score goals.

Thuuuump—

Alexander chuckled lightly after striking another goal.

[1st Place: America. 120 points.]

[2nd Place: Japan. 94 points.]

[3rd Place: Russia. 81 points.]

[4th Place: South Korea. 69 points.]

At first, it seemed like Korea was doing well. However, as time went by, the gap in their scores began to widen. Alexander acknowledged the strength of the Korean players, however he could not help but think about how foolish their choice was.

‘You drew too much attention in the first half.’

In fact, the Korean Team would definitely be able to perform well in the second half. With America at the lead, the other teams had chosen to ignore them in favor of keeping the team ranked first in check and scoring goals to quickly catch up. Of course, their scores were not enough for them to win the gold medal but if things continued at this rate, the Korean Team would most likely be thrown out of the top ten rankings.

At that moment, Alexander wondered, ‘That’s strange?’

He was located quite far away from where the Korean Team players were, so he could not pinpoint them from the other players. America was currently in the lead, so Korea was not that much of a threat to any of the top ranking teams. However, they were still unable to make a huge splash. This meant that the other players were still entangling with them and keeping them in check.

‘Why are they still keeping Korea in check?’

Just when the thought flashed in Alexander’s head…

Shwaaaaaaaaa—

…a player suddenly appeared in the sky and attempted to cut him down with his ax. But the ax just brushed past Alexander’s body, which had turned translucent after he turned himself into a ghost, before slamming on the ground.

Slash—

Alexander took advantage of the gap and slashed the man’s neck neatly. James was also seen logging out the man’s colleague. Yes, it was without a doubt that the American Team was the best team at this point in time.

[America’s Alexander and James are really powerful.]

[There are only two people left in their team but they can still easily keep their opponents at bay while scoring goals one after the other.]

[The American Team stood firmly on the number one spot ten minutes after the second half had started.]

[The fact that the gold will belong to the American Team will remain unchanged unless some other variable suddenly pops out. To be honest, Alexander is much stronger than Calauhel in terms of power, he just hid himself and his power really well. But from what I heard, he is hailed as the strongest.]

[There are actually rumors saying that Alexander will not lose even if he faces all five players of the Summit Five.]

Alexander was indeed a legend. He was very famous for turning the American Server’s Koiku Kingdom into a wasteland with his power alone. Of course, Koiku Kingdom was one of the weaker kingdoms.

However, even if it was weak, it was still a kingdom and it was a huge feat for an individual to assassinate its king and queen amidst the hundreds of thousands of troops stationed inside the kingdom. There was also the story about how he swept the kingdom’s elite knights. Just like Minhyuk, who created a ‘legend’ by hunting Vormon, Alexander also had plenty of legends under his belt. This was the reason why the Americans called him as the strongest candidate for the championship. In fact, Alexander had always been hailed as the strongest and the best among all of the ‘rankers’ in Athenae.

Alexander brandished his sword once again.

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Thuuump—

The goal post rattled loudly as the ball went in.

***

President Kang Taehoon, with his headset on and working as a special commentator, chewed on his lips. Team Leader Park Minggyu, who was acting as the referee, was standing next to him.

Minggyu felt the piercing gazes from behind him. The branch managers looked at him proudly and talked condescendingly as if to flaunt that they already knew that this would happen.

“They did their best but it seems like the Korean Team will only barely remain in the top ten.”

“You were so confident back then but what a pity, huh?”

“Tsk. Tsk. Team Leader Park Minggyu is so brazen. I would definitely clean you up if you get transferred to our branch.”

President Kang Taehoon, who also felt their stinging gazes, looked at Minggyu and asked, “Hey, what did you talk about during the branch managers’ meeting?”

“I didn’t say much,” Team Leader Park grinned and continued to say, “I think they’re talking about how I said that our country will win at least four gold medals?”

“Hahahahahahaha! This is why I like you!” President Kang Taehoon laughed happily when he heard Park Minggyu’s words. He could already tell what transpired even if he was not there. After all, this was the reason why he trusted Park Minggyu more than anybody else.

But not long after, a shroud of darkness loomed over Kang Taehoon’s face. He said, “It’s not too bad. But, it would be nice if things really worked out the way you said it.”

Yes. It was a decent performance so far. South Korea had done enough to show the world that they were not the weak and helpless country that the other countries said they were. However, even if they became aware of the power of the individual players, in the end, Athenae: World War was still a competition. They were in a competition where they had to devise strategies and beat people that are stronger than them. But the Korean Team, with Minhyuk as their captain, was not showing any kind of strategy at all.

But then, Park Minggyusaid excitedly, “President, can’t you feel it?”

Kang Taehoon, who had turned off his microphone when he started talking with Minggyu, looked at him in doubt and said, “What are you talking about?”

“The Korean Team deliberately created a fight.”

“…?!”

Kang Taehoon finally realized that the other players were not keeping the Korean Team in check, rather, it was Minhyuk, Ali and Root that induced a fight.

But that was a very strange tactic. It made it difficult for them to score a goal as was reflected in the current rankings. So, why did they choose to do that?

Team Leader Park said, “President, you remember that I stayed in Player Minhyuk’s house for quite some time during the Athenae: Korean War, right?”

“Yes. I remember.”

“We talked a lot back then. And I found out that whenever Player Minhyuk does something, he will first run a simulation in his head.”

Kang Taehoon nodded. Professional gamers, athletes and players in reality did a lot of simulation training in their heads. Simulation training was a very helpful training.

“But, would you believe me if I told you that he runs hundreds of simulations in his head?”

“What?” President Kang Taehoon asked in surprise.

“Perhaps… he has already run hundreds of simulations of this ‘Penalty Shoot-Out’ in his head.”

Team Leader Park Minggyuk looked at Minhyuk.

“First, he drew the attention of everyone by easily scoring the ball. Then, he let Root take the golden ball to clash against Calauhel. And finally, what they are doing now…”

Sweat almost covered Team Leader Park’s forehead from the excitement as he continued to say, “Perhaps all of the participating countries and the viewers are playing into the palm of his hands.”

“…!”

President Kang Taehoon believed in Park Minggyu. After hearing his analysis, he also found something strange. Food God Minhyuk was not a fool, but it was an undeniable fact that he showed off to catch everyone’s attention in the first half and cause conflict.

Team Leader Park spoke firmly and confidently, “That player is a genius. And if he really is carrying out the ‘plan’ that I think he’s doing then…” He paused for a moment and continued, “…the gold medal will be ours.”

***

The flow of the game went the way everyone expected it to flow, the American Team maintained their position in first place.

And just like that, the time for the ‘Golden Time’ was fast approaching. The Golden Time was the short twenty seconds before the end of the game where golden balls would rain down from the sky at a certain place. This was the perfect chance to turn the tables especially if the countries ranked first and second were only ten points apart.

Since the golden balls would fall in one area, the players started to gather together. The same was true for Alexander and James.

“Good job, Alexander! The gold medal is ours!”

Alexander chuckled at James’ words. He said, “We’re still not sure if we’ll get the gold medal. Don’t let your guard down, James.”

Right now, what they needed to do was to stop the players that wanted to score a goal with the golden balls. The one hundred surviving players had already gathered together in one place with one minute left to the game. All of them stopped fighting for a moment as they waited with bated breath, some even gulped to ease the dryness in their throats. Then, Alexander turned to look around.

‘Where is he?’

Where was Minhyuk, the player that showed a shocking display of power? Alexander turned until he saw him scoring regular balls in the distance. Alexander realized what he wanted to do.

‘Are you trying to tell me that you will remain in the top ten?’

Alexander admired them a bit. They did well enough to the point that his views about their country had been refreshed. And finally…

Flaaaash—

Flaaaaaaash—

Flaaaaaaash—

Flaaaaaaaaaaash—

Dozens of golden balls flashing a brilliant light fell down from the sky. Alexander did not miss the chance.

[Ghost of the Battlefield.]

[Movement Speed will increase by 350% within a 30-meter radius.]

[Attack and Defense will increase by 30% within a 30-meter radius.]

This was the power that made Alexander the strongest. The moment the skill was triggered, an area with a thirty-meter radius would become his own battlefield.

Then, countless players leapt towards the golden balls falling from the sky. Some even used their AOE skills. But, it was useless in the face of Alexander, who had already turned into a ghost and was running in between them in his translucent state.

Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping—

“Keuaaaaack!”

“Aaaaaaaaaack!”

Alexander was so fast that the only thing that people could see were players spurting blood and falling down from the skies. Even the players trying to cast their AOE skills on the ground also collapsed with a spurt of blood. Everyone was shocked and terrified by Alexander’s ghostly movements. He was literally the embodiment of his name, the Ghost of the Battlefield. On the other hand, Alexander was delighted.

‘The first gold medal…!’

But something strange happened just as the thought flashed in his head. Two men covered with a bright and blinding light suddenly appeared in front of him. One of the men had golden hair and an aloof and noble air. This man was none other than Golden Mage Ali. The other man, the Food God, had short hair and a beautiful face. However, at this time, his eyes were as sharp as a hawk.

“Earth King’s Authority.”

“…!”

Alexander realized that something was wrong. Also, ‘King… King’s Authority?!’

But before he could finish his thought…

“Worship.”

Thuuuuuuud—

…Alexander was already kneeling in worship before him. That was right. Worship. Alexander looked up only to see Minhyuk looking down at him. Then, he looked at the people around him. Hundreds of players all knelt down to worship Food God Minhyuk.

That was when Alexander felt fear and terror creep up his spine. King. The man in front of him was showing him the figure of a king as well as the power that he could not afford to fight against.

Tremble, tremble—

Alexander’s body trembled both in shock and fear. And just like him, the entire world was shocked to see the players all kneeling down to worship the Food God, as if they were all equal in the face of his authority.