Translator: rainbowturtle
Editor: LD & Jyazen
Six players belonging to Crescent Moon were gathered in a moderate-sized room, and five of them were seated in chairs at an elongated table. Meanwhile, Hyeonu was standing with a small remote control in his hand. He said, âThen I will start a presentation on our plans for the future, which is one of the purposes of todayâs gathering.â
Right after, Hyeonu controlled the remote control to turn off the lighting of the room and turn on the projector. The walls were painted white, so the projection could be clearly seen without a separate screen.
âThere are approximately 45 days left until the start of the next season of the Korean Arena League. That is around six weeks. Itâs both a long and short period of time. Regardless, we absolutely donât have enough time to work on our cooperation, especially in comparison to the other teams.â
Hyeonu pressed the remote control again, and the documents he had prepared were displayed in the projection.
[Short-term Rapid Training]
A red laser came out of the remote control and pointed at the words on the wall.
âWhat Iâve prepared is a plan for short-term training. There are three main categories: PvP, siege, and raid.â
The red dot momentarily disappeared from the wall, and the image changed again. In the new image, only two words remained: âsiegeâ and âPvPâ.
Hyeonu turned to look at the five players and stated, âIâm sorry, but you donât have to prepare anything for the raid. Just do it as usual. It means you have to stick to the role that suits your profession.â
They were cruel words. It was a bitter confirmation of factsâcommonly referred to as a fact bombardment. However, their faces didnât show any signs of feeling bad. Instead, they nodded and agreed with Hyeonuâs opinion. After all, it was irrefutable. Putting aside everything else, it would be difficult for them to exert a great influence in raids. In fact, only the priestâs buffs could be of help to Hyeonu.
âThen I will move on to PvP. As you know, PvP is going against characters with the same specifications. That means individual control is important. Practice sessions will be done with the accounts that Quency gives to us in the near future. Until then, there wonât be separate practice times for this either.â Hyeonu pressed the remote control and the image changed. âFinally, itâs the siege. Honestly, this doesnât require too much practice either. It is because we are currently practicing for it already.â
Five heads cocked at the same time. It was the exact opposite reaction from before. This wasnât the expression of a conviction but a question.
âIsnât this our first official team meeting? Yet weâve already practiced?âIt was Lee Hoon who asked the question.
âArenât you doing it right now? Havenât you been hunting hard in the Balder Mountains?âHyeonu answered with a smile like it was obvious.
âIndeed. So what does that have to do with siege exercises? Isnât it just five people hunting?â It was Sunny who asked this time.
âYes, thatâs right. You will do the same in the siege. There is me and then the other five. That is the basic strategy for the siege.â Hyeonu smiled.
Then he pressed the remote control to display the next image on the wall. The projected image was of two circles. Hyeonuâs and Tang-Eâs names were written in one circle, and the other circle contained the names of the other five players.
âThis is the basic formation. Tang-E and I will create a battlefield on one side, and the other five will create a battlefield on the other side. We will never fight together. Iâll draw peopleâs attention while you end the game, or youâll draw peopleâs attention while I end the game.â This was Hyeonuâs siege strategy.
***
The presentation ended, and Hyeonu was temporarily absent. The remaining five people gathered to discuss Hyeonuâs strategy. A few of them understood Hyeonuâs intentions, and a few of them didnât. Lee Hoon was the representative of the former, and Sunny was the representative of the latter.
Sunny tapped the table and grumbled, âI donât understand what he is thinking.
âI seem to know. You really donât know?â Lee Hoon laughed at Sunny while eating the snacks on the table. His teasing expression that asked her why she didnât know was a bonus. It seemed that the two of them had become close after several meetings, and there was no longer a wall between them.
âWhat? Why are you looking at me like that? Are you laughing at me right now?â Sunny couldnât stand it and got up to walk to Lee Hoon.
âLaughing? I donât seem to have done that? My mouth opened because I put too many snacks inside. Noona, you saw incorrectly.â
This was the surprising thingâLee Hoon was younger than Sunny. Lee Hoon was actually 20 years old, much younger than his appearance suggested. Meanwhile, Sunny was actually 25 years old, older than her appearance suggested. In addition, her affinity with Lee Hoon was better than expected. During this period of time, their relationship had become that of an older sister and a younger brother.
âWhat?â Sunny scoffed coldly. It seemed like she would swing her fist at any moment.
âThink carefully. Alley Leader will carry out a guerrilla war with Tang-E while we fight as normal. Our goal is to hold on. That way, Alley Leaderâs thoughts will come to life.â
After hearing Lee Hoonâs words, Yuri murmured, âThoughts?â
What was Hyeonu thinking? Yuri couldnât guess his thoughts at all. At this moment, words spoken in a beautiful foreign language entered Yuriâs ears.
âI see. Thatâs what Brother was thinking.â It was Mason speaking English in a low voice.
âYou know what heâs thinking?â
âYes, I understand him too well.â
âCan you tell me?âYuri asked Mason with a desperate expression.
She was curious about Hyeonuâs thoughts. âI want to be helpful.â
There were only two reasons why Yuri entered Crescent Moon and became a pro gamerâHyeonu had requested it, and she wanted to help him. So in order to help him, she needed to be aware of his intentions. It would be even better if she could understand them before Hyeonu spoke. That way, she could prepare faster.
âHe just wants to win. To be exact, itâs the championship that he wants to win? He doesnât want to leave any variables. Therefore, he thought of a strategy that isnât fun,â Mason told Yuri his thoughts.
Hyeonuâs strategy, as seen in Masonâs eyes, was a stable one that wasnât terribly fun.
âWhy isnât this a fun strategy?â Yuri cocked her head.
In comparison to the great amount of effort she put into developing her skill, she didnât pay much attention to Arena. To be specific, she didnât care about it outside of what she played in the game. So it was hard for her to understand Masonâs words properly.
âNo fun means no variables. Crescent Moon wasnât made to be a joke team like the community says. Brother is aiming for first place. Moreover, what he wants is a perfect win,â Mason declared in a confident voice.
âThe fact that it is so simple makes it scarier,â he thought.
Hyeonuâs strategy was simple but powerful. Everyone knew that Crescent Moonâs strength was Hyeonu. Alley Leader was the teamâs strength, while the rest were its weaknesses.
âStop the opponentâs variables while he becomes the variable.â
This strategy wouldnât just beat the opponents but completely knock them down; it would be hell for the opposing side. Just then, a strong arm was placed around Masonâs shoulder.
âYou know it well. As expected, a person dreaming of becoming a pro is different.â It was Hyeonu. He had returned to the room and heard Masonâs words.
âWhat a surprise! You shouldâve said something when you came back.â Mason tapped Hyeonuâs chest with his elbow. Mason had an extremely surprised expression on his face.Simultaneously, it turned white like he had seen a ghost.
âIt is a joke, a joke. By the way, donât you know me too well? I almost thought you had done some analysis on me.â Hyeonu smiled and touched his chest where heâd been hit by Mason.Even though he was smiling, Hyeonu was actually in pain.
Ignoring it, Hyeonu knocked on the wall several times to attract everyoneâs attention:âI will say one final thing. Contrary to what some people are saying, Crescent Moon is not a joke. We will go beyond the Korean League and rise to the top of the world. Iâll make it that way.â
Clap clap clap! The room filled with applause the moment Hyeonuâs short speech was over.
âIt really isnât far away.âHyeonu saw the people gathered like this and felt he really had become a professional gamer. It became even more real. There truly wasnât much time left.
***
After the presentation was over, a party took place in broad daylight. Mason had prepared a buffet.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âEveryone has already gathered except for me... I feel a bit sad?â Moon Doyeong also participated in the party. Hyeonu had deliberately called him latein order to give the players a bit more time to talk.
âWho made our club owner sad?â Hyeonu greeted Moon Doyeong.
Just then, Hyeonu felt a vibration from his body. He stopped talking as he reached out to Moon Doyeong, lowering his head slightly. Seeing Hyeonuâs gesture, Moon Doyeong pointed to the other players and made a similar gesture to Hyeonu.
âGo. Arenât there already five other people here?â Moon Doyeong smiled happily.
Hyeonu once again bowed to Moon Doyeong and entered a quiet room. Once inside, Hyeonu took out his smartphone and confirmed the identity of the vibration. A message in English appeared on the screen of the smartphone. The message was very short: -Stream ended.Contact me.
The one who sent the message was Mascherano. It was an answer to the message Hyeonu had sent him.
âOkay, the streamâs over.â
Hyeonu called Mascherano right after seeing the message, and Mascherano answered the phone before it even rang two times.
-Arenât you calling too soon?This is the first time I wanted to wait for a call...
âIâll hang up. I think I called the wrong number.â
-Iâm sorry, Alley Leader.What did you want to talk to me about?
Mascherano was frightened by Hyeonuâs resolute attitude and showed a faintly serious expression. It was a fairly quick transition from his mischievousness before. As Hyeonu listened to Mascheranoâs words, he barely suppressed his laughter. Then he said his original reason for contacting Mascherano: âWhere are you in the East Continent now?â
-Do you mean us?I think that the places I know about are better than the places I donât know anything about, so Iâm moving around the cities youâve already made stops at.
Hyeonu felt tense upon hearing Mascheranoâs words. For some reason, it seemed like an undesired situation would occur.
âAs long as it isnât that place...â
âAre you perhaps in Shuiyang? Shuiyang with the Chonghua Sect.â
Sweat flowed down Hyeonuâs forehead as he waited for Mascheranoâs answer.
-No, weâve already passed it.Maybe Reina will be in Shuiyang.
âDamn.â
âAh!!!â Hyeonu couldnât help screaming.
-Did something happen?Mascherano frowned at the monster screaming over his smartphone.
âShuiyang right now...â
The NPC whom New World had failed to kill...
He was an elder of the Chonghua Sect.