Chapter 274 – When the Final Championship Ends
“The Final Championship, which spans five days, has reached its fourth day. All of you gathered here today are witnessing this significant moment. Considering that eight maps have cycled once as of yesterday, today marks the start of new battles in familiar terrains!”
“Why is it already Thursday? Why is it already Thursday? Why is it already Thursday? Why is it already Thursday? Why is it already Thursday? Why is it already Thursday? Why is it already Thursday? Why is it already Thursday? Why is it already Thursday?”
“I used my vacation days so well, LOL.”
“Everyone back off!!!!! All I need is the Final Championship!!!!! Screw the company!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“This is a madhouse, LOL.”
“Another victory for the unemployed today~ wwwwwww”
Wednesday faded and Thursday approached.
To the general public, it seemed like half of the Final Championship’s matches had passed, and it was just another day before the final. However, for the players, the meaning was entirely different.
During Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the eight maps were divided into 2, 3, and 3 segments, respectively, ensuring that all players played each map at least once. As Thursday and Friday arrived, they would traverse the maps they had experienced at least once during the first three days.
In other words, the excellent players who had made it this far came equipped with all the experiences, mistakes, and debriefs from Monday through Wednesday, with thoughts of ‘It would have been better to play like this at that moment’ embedded in their minds and bodies.
The countless analyses of competitors and higher goals achieved over the three days. There were even coaches who spent three days without sleep, hooked up to IV drips, just analyzing.
All the efforts of these players and coaches culminated in creating a more novel and unpredictable chaos.
“Will the rankings flip significantly again this year?”
“I don’t know. It’s hard to say….”
People harboring the same curiosity were countless. This was because, last year, Dice, who had made his first appearance in the Final Championship, ended up above 50th place despite struggling.
The strategies and meta that all players had built over a year and thought would be effective in the finals clashed and broke, only to heal and form new shapes. Thus, began a drastic change in rankings.
However, this year, that expectation was only half right.
───Thud thud thud!
“Ah!”
“What are they doing?”
Not only Yoo Jin, Dice, and Logan but the entire Korean team tilted their heads from the moment they initiated their first engagement.
At first, they wondered if it was because of the special training Yoo Jin had conducted under the assumption that unexpected events might occur due to meta changes. But as time passed, that thought diminished – the first evidence being the crowded Skill Activation Zone compared to Wednesday.
But it didn’t stop there. The strange occurrences each time the Korean representatives encountered opponents were the second evidence – it seemed like they had researched and brought all sorts of bizarre skill applications, but all of them were bulldozed by the Korean representatives.
Naturally, they quickly figured out why this was happening after just a few engagements.
“What are they doing without knowing the pros and cons and opportunity costs of skills?”
Of course, the participants in the Final Championship were not fools. They just made mistakes they shouldn’t have during the matches.
Over a year of preparation for the finals, some players disregarded their country’s and their own gaming direction and forced skill usage, which inevitably led to their downfall. It was like opening a perfectly functioning machine and replacing parts with incompatible ones.
The gap between their ideals and reality was as follows:
───Ratatatat!
-[Notification: Shield damage at 40%.]
“…What? What are they shooting that doesn’t hurt much?”
First, they underestimated the characteristics of skills.
Skills were created not only to invent new engagement methods but also to supplement or fill gaps in firepower – they were not meant to be used as the main tactic.
Activating two skills limited the number of firearms to one, which could only be a carbine or an SMG. Of course, if used well, one could dominate the battlefield like a certain someone with a snake tail, but most weren’t like that.
People who weren’t familiar with skills gave up the overwhelming firepower of firearms, the easiest way to dominate opponents. In other words, those who chose SMGs over carbines were pummeled unilaterally by the Korean representatives once some distance was established and were sent to the lobby.
And then-
───Boom!
“What? Why did it suddenly explode over there?”
Second, poor skill management.
The skill plays of a certain someone who it’s pointless to name had captivated not only the viewers but also the players and coaches – meaning they, too, were tempted to try out the traps Yoo Jin had personally invented.
Of course, this action was not inherently bad. One of the best ways to grow in any field was through imitation and practice.
But they neither understood the principles nor fully mastered the traps, bringing out bizarrely designed traps in actual matches. Naturally, they collapsed or exploded before functioning properly, which only benefited the Korean users.
And in most cases,
-[Notification: Hostile skill detected. Marking location.]
These traps could be identified with just a pulse.
The Korean team already knew how extensive and precise pulse detection was, so they often used traps that activated only upon specific stimuli or were hard to counter even if known – and the reason for mentioning the Korean team was simple.
Other countries didn’t know this.
Sometimes, they even had their trap control authority stolen, leading to them being detected and beaten up, and such farces continued until the second match on Thursday ended.
“Ah, what an eventful day! Contrary to many predictions that Thursday might be a watershed moment for the Korean team, they are soaring! The Korean flag might be hoisted as the best nation this year!”
As he said.
Logan from Orbital Gaming and some of its players, along with the top 15% of users who realized it was pointless to change their play styles at this point and solidified their ranks through defense, all stood out.
At least one-third of the players, apart from the winners and the top 15%, crashed and burned as they tried new play styles, becoming point dispensers for the Korean representatives and the mentioned 15%.
The winners’ gameplay was marked by brilliance and unstoppable momentum. But victory always required losers, and the latter sank with their farcical plays.
With the painful lesson that one should not hastily change their play style no matter how shocking the event, Thursday was turning pitch black.
“This is the earliest end to a day in the history of the Final Championship. Many articles predicted that Wednesday would be a historic turning point, and they weren’t entirely wrong, but….”
“It is historic, isn’t it?”
“…It’s historic beyond imagination.”
9:24 PM, New York time.
When the three rounds of matches were over, the clock showed this time. Including today, never had the finals ended before 9:40 PM.
But today was different.
A single match in the Final Championship usually took at least 30 to 40 minutes. Considering the viewer count, this time was estimated without time acceleration.
With 30 minutes of rest between each match, the Final Championship’s daily schedule was like a sandwich with two rest breaks between three matches.
Thus, the minimum time taken to conclude a day’s matches was 150 minutes. Typically, the day would end between 9:40 and 9:50 PM.
So, what this meant was—
“How badly did everyone have to play for the matches to end in just 30 minutes each…?”
“As soon as we got back to the hotel, you started talking like this. You must be really upset.”
“I didn’t even get 20 hours of special training from Yoo Jin, losing sleep over it, and yet everyone was messing up as soon as the match started. It’s infuriating.”
Dice, who had been speaking harshly, was subdued by Yoo Jin’s tactical tickling and tail swishing.
Seo Ye-rin, lying on the bed with a vague expression that made it unclear whether she was laughing or crying from being tickled so much, took a deep breath. Then she turned over and stared at the ceiling before adding,
“The Final Championship is over now. I wondered if I would ever make it to the top five even once before retiring, and here we are.”
“You have to keep up the practice. Even if you don’t enter another Final Championship, you’ll still get to do personal scrims.”
“That’s a relief….”
Rustle.
A brief silence. It seemed like there was something more to be said, but in the end, the words didn’t come out. Yoo Jin, assuming she would get an answer eventually, didn’t worry too much and headed to the front door, slipping on her shoes.
Noticing the light in the entrance, Dice spoke up.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to pick up Harmony and have a few errands to run for about an hour. Sleep first. We’ll skip the debriefing….”
She paused mid-sentence.
Maybe it felt too much to skip it entirely. After thinking for a moment, Yoo Jin added,
“…No, let’s just review the later part of the match briefly, noting down things that shouldn’t have been done. Tomorrow is the last match, so as long as you manage your condition well, it’ll be fine.”
“Got it….”
“You did well.”
Click.
The door closed.
Walking through the familiar and cozy hallway, Yoo Jin crossed the busy lobby, still bustling with guests enjoying the night view, and pressed the elevator button to head to the underground parking lot.
As the door opened, the typical smell of concrete and the eerie interior of the parking lot greeted her. As soon as the glass door opened, a Range Rover approached naturally, and the door opened automatically. Inside were familiar faces.
Even in the dimly lit car, the red eyes were clearly visible.
Laurentina patted the back seat with her hand and added,
“Shall we take a drive through Manhattan tonight, our youngest?”
“Sure.”
Climbing into the back seat and tucking her tail into the tail compartment, Yoo Jin leaned back against the seat.
The car exited the parking lot without a sound and began to merge onto the FDR Drive, following the East and Hudson Rivers. Yoo Jin checked the faces of those in the car.
The first to speak was Logan, who was reclining in the driver’s seat.
“Did you suddenly want to experience the New York winter air?”
“There are things you can only talk about in the winter breeze.”
Indeed, as she said, this meeting had been arranged at Yoo Jin’s request.
Though it seemed rather grand for a gathering of people already familiar with each other, there was a reason. Yoo Jin and Logan were both competitors in the Final Championship, and if they didn’t have their conversation in a designated place, it could be viewed unfavorably.
In more blunt terms, there was a risk of match-fixing or strategy leaks during the conversation. Even if there was no actual risk, people tend to overreact.
Previously, they had met legally at Madison Square Garden, but not now – hence the chosen method.
A brief silence.
While the others tried to infer Yoo Jin’s intentions, she pondered which topic to start with.
The Dark Zone, and the identity of ICARUS International. Whether they would believe her or not was uncertain, but that was up to her.
Where should she begin? After considering, Yoo Jin took a deep breath.
“When I went to the ICARUS headquarters, I learned about the identities of the Dark Zone and ICARUS International.”
At that moment, everyone’s expressions hardened.
But it was expected. Even Yoo Jin had reacted the same way. And as the story unraveled, except for personal matters, everyone’s expressions changed dynamically.
It made sense. The reason why the Dark Zone accurately depicted events from the past of another world – because it used the entire incident as a motif – was hard to accept.
But it wasn’t just a motif. The Dark Zone was still connected to the previous world in a non-physical form.
Then, to the main point.
As the car silently crossed FDR Drive, Yoo Jin added,
“-That’s why past operations like Operation Northpheus appeared in the game. If you continue clearing the incursion scenarios, you’ll reach the last operation I conducted, and then….”
“And then?”
“…Clearing the Dark Zone’s incursion scenarios affects the other world.”
The meaning was simple. And those present understood its significance and why Yoo Jin was bringing this up.
She was discussing the aftermath of the Final Championship.
But just explaining this didn’t justify why Yoo Jin shared this information.
“So, why are you telling us this?”
Laurentina, who had set aside her usual playful demeanor, looked at Yoo Jin seriously.
Yoo Jin cautiously added,
“Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant. I want to show you what I went through and what happened back then.”
Everyone fell silent again.
The day that left indelible scars on the Dagger Team, except for Yoo Jin. The day the team, which had successfully completed numerous operations over four years, broke for the first time. A day of unforgettable loss….
But Yoo Jin’s intent was clear. She was asking the Dagger Team members present to join her in the mission.
Two members of The Unit – one a reserve – and one DEVGRU member. Given their training and personal schedules, Yoo Jin’s request was unreasonable.
But her proposal….
“…Let’s do it.”
“Laurentina.”
“No matter what. No matter what happens. I’ll clear my schedule. Just let me know when. I’ll make sure the commander frees up that time.”
Laurentina was the first to respond.
Her usual mischievous smile was nowhere to be seen. Her red eyes scanned her surroundings, meeting Logan and Owens’s gazes.
But no one rejected Yoo Jin’s plea. The death of the youngest team member was a deep-seated, untouchable wound for them.
Without using the usual nickname, Christopher spoke up.
“You didn’t need to bring up something like that for us to help you, Yoo Jin. You’re really….”
And then Logan, who had been sneaking glances, joined in.
“There’s still plenty of time until I’m officially assigned to Delta, so call me when you need.”
“The commander… doesn’t have a Dark Zone account, so unfortunately.”
“We’ll confirm the results during the debriefing. Make sure to tie up all loose ends.”
Everyone laughed at that.
And that was the stance that suited Anthony Owens best.
With all issues resolved without friction, Logan manipulated the screen to change the destination to Madison Square Garden.
“Then let’s pick up Yoo Jin’s precious green cat.”
The car, which had been wandering along the outskirts of Manhattan, began to head back in.
The year was drawing to a close.