Chapter 55: The One-Tile Trap

“Ugh, of all the people, why did we have to go up against Team INFP...”

[Guild] Manager Go: Junghoon will carry, right?

[Guild] Haema: Ari must be happy, lol

[Guild] Gadfly: What, are they just normal users??

[Guild] Taki: They don’t seem like anyone’s alternate character

[Guild] Taki: They really seem like actual newbies??

A sigh of pity spread through the group.

We all knew those guys were no ordinary newbies.

But if they were just a regular team of average users, it wouldn’t be a big deal. The problem was, they were the INFP team, who’d been grinding in Another for ages. It looked just like a showdown between experienced staff and rookies.

“Even if this is all luck-based, it’ll be tough for newbies who’ve only played for less than a month to go up against veterans with years of experience.”

I’d hoped they’d at least win a round or two and have some fun, so I was a bit disappointed.

[Party] Happy: Those people

[Party] Happy: They’re acquaintances of the newbie who gave me gear

[Party] Ro: Really?

[Party] Proposal: Whoa, lol

[Party] Proposal: If they know INFP, they’ll probably throw the match on purpose, lol

Back then, one of the items I got from ‘Jinah’ was handed right to INFP in front of everyone.

It was my personal loot, so I figured I could do whatever I wanted with it.

When I asked out of formality, Jelly answered coolly, so I gave it to INFP right away.

At that time, INFP’s party didn’t have any gear for PvP, so they kept getting beaten by even the second-stringers in the guild... Everyone felt bad, so I shared what I could.

I bet Jelly was pretty jealous inside back then.

[Party] Proposal: Wow, but still, it’s impressive

[Party] Proposal: It’s rare for newbies to jump into these big PvP events, lol

[Party] Ro: Seriously, haha

[Party] Happy: I’ve felt it for a while—they’re really cool people

[Arena — All] Admin: Begin

While we were chatting, the speech bubbles vanished, and we all focused on the match.

The two teams held their ground, keeping a close eye on each other.

Tension ran high right from the start, and when people started murmuring “Ohh,” INFP’s team, led by S, moved forward first.

But neither team attacked.

S hovered near Team 20, moving back and forth, provoking them.

He was well within striking distance, but surprisingly, Team 20 didn’t charge—they stayed calm and waited.

Everyone’s eyes sparkled at this careful standoff.

[General] FirstSnow: Oh...

[Guild] Manager Go: Whoa, the mind games at the start are insane

[Guild] Chrorok: What, at this rate, the whole time will run out—

[Guild] Gadfly: It’s already been thirty seconds—.–

[Arena — All] Admin: If time runs out, the team with a death loses. If both teams have the same number of survivors or all survive, the winner is decided by total hits dealt.

Just as expected, the admin explained the rules.

[Party] Ro: So, no rematches—this will be decided in a single round

[Party] Happy: Probably worried it’d take too long, I guess?

Normally, you’d think that would make people nervous and push them to act, but both teams kept circling each other, staying on guard.

[Guild] Taki: What, isn’t stalling like this cheating— –

[Guild] Manager Go: As long as it ends within three minutes, it’s fine, lol. Besides, this is strategy too

[Party] Proposal: Wow, those guys don’t seem like newbies, lol

[Party] Ro: Their scouting is on another level

That’s when the entire INFP team suddenly charged forward.

Their target was Team 20’s “Ham,” the closest member—they seemed to have picked Ham as their first target.

But as if they were expecting it, Janggun and Yoonjae immediately flanked Ham. Then, standing in front of Ham, they began attacking INFP diagonally.

“Whoa.”

Six characters, three facing three, all attacking their chosen target—this was a true 3v3 showdown.

Both teams ganged up on one person each, and surprised reactions echoed everywhere. Just like us, everyone was completely absorbed in the match.

“Who’s going to die first?”

I quickly darted my eyes back and forth, checking Ham and INFP’s HP gauges as they traded blows. The shaky red bars were almost perfectly matched.

Just when I thought they each had about 40% left, Ham suddenly stepped back.

Exactly one tile.

INFP, who’d been pounding Ham right in front of him, lunged forward one step—thanks to frantically spamming left click.

“Oh, misclick.”

With Ham’s sudden retreat, Ariel and S, who’d been flanking, lost track of their cursor.

Their attacks whiffed into empty air, and Janggun, who was diagonally across, took a clean hit.

With Ham gone, their punches missed in that brief moment—and Yoonjae and Janggun immediately changed directions. They continued pounding INFP, who’d gotten caught between them.

Ham, one tile back, joined in as well.

[Party] Proposal: Whoa

[Guild] Manager Go: What the

[Guild] DeathGod: Hahahaha

[Party] Ro: ;;;;

[Party] Happy: Wow

[Guild] Blue: Wow, insane, lololololol

INFP died.

Before the shock could settle, Yoonjae’s character stepped onto INFP’s corpse, moving one tile up.

Standing on the body, Yoonjae and Janggun simultaneously started hitting Ariel.

Whack, whack, whack, whack—in an instant, four blows landed, and Ariel quickly retreated in panic.

Team 20 also fell back, behind Ham.

“Wow, what was that? What did I just witness?”

I didn’t quite understand everything that had happened, but one thing was clear.

INFP was down, making it 3:2. INFP’s team was at a huge disadvantage now, with only two members left.

“Can’t Yoonjae’s team just stall for time and win now?”

Ariel and S must’ve been anxious, as I could see their nerves.

They circled the arena’s edge, targeting Ham, whose HP was low.

But Ham wasn’t going down that easily.

He clung behind Yoonjae and Janggun’s characters, using them as shields. Yoonjae and Janggun guarded Ham, blocking any approach.

Ariel and S had no choice but to pull back.

[Guild] Taki: Wow, they’re really trying to stall for a 3:2 win

[Guild] Taki: And that misclick bait earlier was genius???

[Guild] Trauma: Lol, I actually screamed out loud

[Guild] Gadfly: Junghoon’s probably screeching and causing a ruckus, lol

[Guild] Manager Go: Oh dear, oh dear... Our vice guild master’s team, poor things...

[Guild] Blue: Manager, you’re laughing right now, aren’t you?

[Guild] Manager Go: Tsk

[Guild] Haema: Lolololololol

[Party] Ro: Hm, so either they stall and win 3:2

[Party] Ro: Or, somehow, if they take down Ham, it’ll be 2:2, and it’ll go to hit count?

[Party] Proposal: Yeah, Ham’s HP is definitely low

Everyone, including me, thought that’s how it’d play out.

But nope.

“Oh, what the? Amazing!”

Ham, who’d been circling in retreat, suddenly charged forward.

Ariel and S reacted instantly, snapping to him like magnets, and Yoonjae and Janggun moved up alongside Ham.

It looked like they’d go for another head-on clash—but Ham suddenly pulled back before taking any hits.

While that happened, Yoonjae and Janggun moved up beside Ariel and landed two quick punches before retreating.

“Wow. From the looks of it, Team 20 has more hits already, don’t they?”

I found myself clapping without thinking as the teams briefly separated.

Then, Team 20 all charged at once. This time, they relentlessly chased down Ariel, who was almost as low on HP as Ham.

S quickly moved to Ariel’s side to protect her. But as if waiting for it, all three members immediately turned and struck S.

S got hit three times in a flash and had to fall back.

I could almost hear S screaming in voice chat, like Gadfly predicted—it felt like an auditory hallucination.

[Party] Proposal: Lolololol, I’m losing it

[Party] Proposal: This must be so stressful

[Party] Ro: Really impressive, haha

[Party] Proposal: That’s what I’m saying, lol

[Party] Proposal: Are those guys even newbies? lol

[Party] Happy: My eyes are wide open right now

[Party] Proposal: No, when Happy told me about them

[Party] Proposal: I thought they were just casual gamers who try lots of games, lol

[Party] Proposal: But these people are PvP veterans, no matter how you look at it, lol

[Party] Proposal: Their teamwork and tactics are next level, lol

[Party] Ro: Seriously, lol

[Party] Ro: I’d love to fight people like them

[Party] Happy: I’m praying now

[Party] Happy: That we meet them in the finals, lol

Meanwhile, the guild members who didn’t know who Team 20 were, were getting all worked up.

[Guild] Bambi: They’re really skilled, lol

[Guild] INFP: Sigh

[Guild] Gadfly: Lolololol, who’s alt account are they really

[Guild] Taki: Sorry INFP, but those guys are totally dominating...

[Guild] Haema: Ari, you can just relax, lol

[Guild] Manager Go: We need to recruit those guys immediately

[Guild] Manager Go: Anyone know anything about them????

While this was going on, the two teams kept circling each other around the arena.

[Arena — All] Admin: 1 minute 27 seconds remaining.

The admin announced the remaining time at regular, intentional intervals.

Maybe because of the shrinking timer, you could clearly see both teams getting more and more anxious.

[Party] Proposal: Lol, even watching this is fun for us

[Party] Proposal: Imagine how much the admin is enjoying this

[Party] Happy: Lololololol

Then, Yoonjae’s team made the first aggressive move.

Ariel and S started desperately chasing Ham, trying to take him out.

A spontaneous “train game” formed, and people outside the fence burst out laughing with “lololol.”

But the laughter didn’t last.

With the repeated train chasing, a predictable pattern started to form.

And the ones to notice and exploit it were Team 20.

“Ugh, no!”

Yoonjae and Janggun blocked Ariel’s path first.

Before Ariel could even back up in surprise, the two of them quickly landed punches.

Then, as Ariel moved, Ham came up from behind and struck.

The other two followed up, hitting again and again.

That’s how Ariel went down.

“Wow...”

It felt like I could really hear S’s scream of “kyaaa!” echo in my head.

With the unprecedented 3:1 situation, I wondered what would happen next, but S eventually just stopped.

“Oh dear. Is this a give up...”

Of course, once you’re in the arena, surrender isn’t allowed, but in a situation like this, even the admin didn’t say anything.

The spectators watching just let out awkward, sympathetic laughs—“Oh no, poor things.”

In the end, S took a beating from Team 20 and fell valiantly.

[General] S: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

[Arena — All] Admin: Round 5, victory goes to Team 20.

[Arena — All] Admin: Both teams, well played.

[Arena — All] Admin: That was a truly exemplary match.

[Arena — All] Admin: Let’s all keep this up—let’s see some real blood-pumping duels.

...The admin was blatantly encouraging chaos.

[Guild] Blue: Lolololololol

[General] WarriorGod: — —

[General] Newbie: Lololololol, hilarious

[General] WaterIsSelf: Whoa;; Admin, you’re too brutal

[Guild] Ariel: Lolololololol, argh

[Party] Proposal: I’m dying here, lol

[Guild] INFP: Whew, I’m going to step out for a bit

[Guild] Taki: Lololololol, going for a drink?

Despite INFP’s team’s bitter defeat, the admin’s blunt commentary sent the arena’s atmosphere into a frenzy.

[Arena — All] Admin: Moving right along, let’s begin Round 6.

[Arena — All] Admin: Next up, Team 6 vs. Team 10

This time, it was Taki’s team versus Hana Guild’s team.

“Hmm...”

I wasn’t sure who I should root for at this point.