Chapter 60: A Game of Chicken

[Guild] Taki: Easyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Taki: Is it though!!!

[General] Proposal: Hey, GM, what are you talking about?

[General] Ham: ㅡㅡ?

[General] WaterIsSelf: ?Suddenly?

[Guild] Manager Go: Wow, the back of my head stings

I was left speechless by the sudden team leader match.

“No, I mean… We did rock-paper-scissors earlier, so I thought we’d do the same this time.”

Of course, if you think about it a little more, there are all sorts of ways to do this.

[Party] Ro: There wasn’t a single word about it, so I never imagined it’d be solo.

[Party] Happy: They’re showing their real-time intent right here…

It really was random, but everyone’s reactions were good.

[General] Mono: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ This is gonna be hilarious

[General] Gomae: Good

[General] Yongho: This sounds way more funㅋㅋㅋ

If the first person to die takes 3rd place, then naturally the remaining two have a final.

Whether everyone goes solo and plays for laughs, or two teams gang up on one, it’ll be funny either way.

Well, for now, the second option is clearly the easiest and fastest…

[General] WaterIsSelf: Isn’t this super disadvantageous for me;;

Caught between the big guild and proven powerhouses, Water was whining.

But from what I saw, their team didn’t seem that weak, so why pretend to be?

[Party] Proposal: Ha

[Party] Proposal: Sorry, guys

[Party] Proposal: Let’s just be happy with 3rdㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Proposal had already given up, mentally checked out.

As it’s the leader match, it must be a lot of pressure.

We just went along, laughing…

[Party] Happy: No, you have to win no matter what

[Party] Ro: Bro, I don’t want 3rdㅜㅜ

[Party] Proposal: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ These punks

Half joking, half serious, Proposal was pushed forward, faking tears all the while.

Right in front and beside him, Ham and WaterIsSelf shuffled awkwardly, checking the mood.

[Arena — All] Admin: Alright, we’ll start until someone drops first!

The GM, weirdly cheerful, shouted the start… but no one made the first move.

Instead, as if avoiding each other, everyone quietly stepped back, then pressed themselves right up against the fence and froze.

At that, heckling poured from a certain guild.

[General] Pineapple: Come on, do it properly

[General] Inspector: Boring!!!

[General] GreenGrape: Water, don’t get discouraged

[General] MyBad: Let’s just get this over with~~~

[Guild] Taki: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ This is killing me but it’s hilarious

[Guild] Manager Go: Ahㅋㅋㅋ Proposal, what are you gonna do…

[Guild] S: Charge gogo

[Guild] INFP: Someone go first gogo

At that moment, unhelpful advice flooded the chat.

[General] WaterIsSelf: Proposal?

[General] WaterIsSelf: How about an alliance?

[General] Proposal: Wowㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ?

[Guild] Taki: WTFㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Laughter erupted from the audience.

It was a proposal to gang up on Ham, take him out, and then go to the finals together.

Honestly, we’d rather fight Team 20 than Water’s team, so Proposal flatly declined with a ‘sorry.’

And then…

[General] WaterIsSelf: Then, Ham, how about an alliance?

“That, that right there!”

Laughter exploded outside the fence at Water’s shameless maneuvering.

[General] Proposal: Hey, come onㅡㅡ excuse me?

[General] Ham: Hm

Even Ham’s seriously thoughtful reaction got people laughing.

[Party] Ro: What if he says yes

[Party] Happy: Then we’re doomedㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Taki: Ahㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Water’s so sly

We were all on edge.

This 3rd place match was just about ganging up on someone you didn’t want to fight, and Ham’s serious consideration made us nervous.

But for all that, Ham didn’t answer easily.

The three of them stayed in a delicate standoff.

[Arena — All] Admin: 30 seconds have passed.

[Arena — All] Admin: If it’s a draw, we’ll just end it here?

[Arena — All] Admin: We’ll give everyone 3rd place.

At the GM’s oblivious pressure, everyone cursed under their breath.

And then, Ham moved.

“Whoa.”

Ham stepped forward, heading straight for Water, who had just offered an alliance. Water flinched and backed away, but Ham was quick.

He closed the distance and threw a punch without hesitation.

“Amazing!”

That was as good as an offer to us.

Take out Water’s team and face each other in the finals.

“Indeed, a master recognizes another master…”

Anyway, Proposal gladly accepted.

[General] WaterIsSelf: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

As Water fled, the chat outside the fence filled with ‘ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ’.

“Wow, that means we’re fighting Team 20 in the finals?”

Watching Water’s HP gauge fade, my heart pounded.

Team 20 wants to face us! Feels like we’ve been recognized, a little.

Well, there’s no reason for us to hang our heads, but after seeing their skills firsthand, I couldn’t stop trembling.

So Jiho and I buzzed with excitement for a while.

As for the 3rd place match inside the arena… the moment Ham and Proposal targeted Water, it was over.

Water ran for his life but was ultimately eliminated.

[Arena — All] Admin: Well done.

[Arena — All] Admin: Unfortunately, Team 8 is confirmed for 3rd place.

[Arena — All] Admin: Before the final, Team 1 VS Team 20,

[Arena — All] Admin: We’ll take a 5-minute break.

[General] Fake: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[General] Baby: ㅠㅠㅠㅠ Waaah…

[Guild] Taki: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Good job

[Guild] Ariel: Grats grats grats grats

[General] Inspector: Sigh

[Guild] INFP: Con…grats…

[Guild] S: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Good good good good

[Guild] Ghost: Niceㅋ

[Guild] Hungry: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ That was epic

[Guild] Manager Go: Let’s go for 1st place!!! Karma, go for 1st!!!

[General] WaterIsSelf: I saw this comingㅠㅠㅠ

[General] WaterIsSelf: Still, I had fun making it to 3rd

While Karma was in festival mode, Water, now 3rd place, put on the air of a big shot, though it was bittersweet…

[General] WaterIsSelf: Guess a shrimp can’t get in the way of whales fightingㅠㅠㅠㅠ

And with that, he hinted that Team 20 might be part of Karma or Hana, casting a subtle shade.

It was a little awkward, but we decided to ignore it.

“Sorry, but the world of competition is always cruel b…”

Anyway, with the finals ahead, Proposal returned to his seat.

[Party] Ro: You were awesome, broㅎㅎ

[Party] Happy: Thanks so much, Proposal

[Party] Proposal: Whoaㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Party] Proposal: I almost died from the pressure, seriously

[Party] Proposal: But more than that, that guy is insane…

[Party] Happy: Who?

[Party] Proposal: While chasing Water, Ham managed to land a few hits

[Party] Proposal: Then dodged, saying it was a misclick, like lightning

[Party] Proposal: How can someone’s hands be that fast???

[Party] Proposal: I’m sure he’s young!

[Party] Proposal: No way an adult could have those reflexes

[Party] Proposal: We really have to keep our wits sharp next round???

He was super hyped.

[Party] Proposal: For now, Ham’s 1, Yoonjae’s 2, General’s 3, okay?

[Party] Happy: But how do we deal with them?

[Party] Ro: Carefully?

[Party] Proposal: Seriously, what even is thisㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Party] Proposal: Why am I this nervous?ㅋㅋㅋ

I mean, who would’ve thought we’d need such intense mouse control for a level 1 fistfight?

“I figured some control would be needed, but this is too intense…”

[Guild] INFP: Seriously, Team 20 raised the event’s difficulty

[Guild] Taki: Trueㅋㅋㅋㅋ Everyone thought this would be luck-based

[Guild] Taki: But they came in all serious

[Guild] Taki: The old guys all got knocked out, hilariousㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Haema: In the end, only the 20s survived…ㅠㅠ

[Guild] Gadfly: This balance is trashㅡ ㅡ

[Guild] Green: For an event, you should think of less skilled players tooㅠ,.ㅠ

[Guild] Manager Go: I tried to DM them to recruit, but they said noㅠㅠㅠㅠ

While everyone chattered, five minutes flew by.

[Arena — All] Admin: It’s been 1 hour 5 minutes.

[Arena — All] Admin: We’ll proceed quickly with the final match.

[Arena — All] Admin: The grand final. Team 1, Team 20, please enter.

[General] Pineapple: Go Team 20ㅋㅋㅋ

[General] Inspector: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Hungry: Those punk villainsㅡ ㅡ

[Guild] INFP: Go Team 1…

[Guild] Bambi: INFP, are you still out of it?

[Guild] Trauma: Rooting for the Three Brothersㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Taki: Let’s win, Team 1!!!!

With fiery cheers, we entered the arena.

“The finals…”

The glory flickered before my eyes, making me sit up straight.

Sitting up tall, I placed my left hand on the keyboard, right hand gripping the mouse tightly, swallowing nervously over and over.

[Arena — All] Admin: Start

The GM’s sudden call sharpened my focus.

As soon as the speech bubble disappeared, I clicked my mouse rapidly.

But we didn’t clash right away.

Not just us, Team 20 was cautious too.

We might not have as much technical control as Team 20, but our teamwork was already certified by the admins.

Maybe because of that, Team 20 didn’t rush at us.

We kept our distance, each moving slowly in our own camps.

Gradually, we closed in, narrowing the space between us.

At last, we were two squares apart, tense and probing each other.

[Guild] S: Wowㅋㅋㅋ Both sides are so careful, nobody’s making the first move

The crowd laughed at how careful we were, but we were on edge.

Wondering who would move first, nerves stretched thin, when—

Ham, whose quick hands Proposal had praised, suddenly brushed past and tapped Jiho, as if testing the waters. Right then, both our team and Team 20 struck whoever was nearest, then retreated.

Strangely, both sides exchanged one hit each, as if testing each other’s reflexes.

[General] Underpass: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Did you plan this? Perfect group choreographyㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Taki: Is this a game of chicken??

While the spectators chuckled, I tried to steady my pounding heart and scanned around.

“Wow… What now? Who’s next? Wait?”

Nervous, waiting for Proposal’s signal, just as our spinning characters shuffled positions, Yoonjae ended up in the center.

Just as Jiho and I passed on either side, Proposal gave the signal.

[Party] Proposal: 2

My response was automatic.

Jiho and I, seeing the number, immediately turned and pounced on Yoonjae in the center.

Tap, tap, tap. Exactly one hit each.

Three total, and Yoonjae, to avoid more, retreated one square.

Meanwhile, Ham and General tried to cover, but we’d already slipped back in perfect timing.

[Guild] Taki: First strike wins!!

[Guild] Gadfly: You landed three hits right away, just hold out for a draw now???ㅋㅋ

Ignoring the taunts, we calmly waited for another chance.

To avoid hasty attacks, I kept my mouse pointer low, clicking with care.

Every time an enemy character got close enough for my cursor to turn red, my whole body tingled.

[Arena — All] Admin: 2 minutes 30 seconds remaining.

The GM’s oblivious alert rang out just then.

Suddenly, Yoonjae started coming our way.

“What the— Who’s the target?”

Assuming he was aiming for Proposal in the middle, I moved to the side—

But Yoonjae, coming down in a straight line, suddenly veered right, charging right at me on the edge.

“No, not good!”

Ham and General also rushed in, closing in fast on my left and right.