Semifinals (1)
An all-kill!
A real all-kill.
Sssssh!
Watching Baek Jinwoo stride into the arena with imposing confidence, the guild members clicked their tongues in amazement.
'Crazy bastard.'
'Monster.'
'A monster who commands monsters.'
Hong Ari had gotten an all-kill too, but that had been against the weak nation of Venezuela.
It was on a completely different level from Baek Jinwoo.
He had utterly crushed France, a powerhouse that had made it to the Round of 16, and one that even included three world-ranked elites.
And he had done it with just a single summon.
"Whew, you all told me to show you, and I ended up really showing you. I should've given you a chance too, so I kind of feel bad."
Seeing Baek Jinwoo give an awkward smile, the guild members were left speechless.
Yeah.
This is our master.
The captain leading South Korea from the front.
Step.
Hong Ari was the first to step forward.
"...Nothing to feel bad about. You just did well. Damn well."
Next came Kang Geonho and Gi Jaehyuk.
"That was amazing, Guild Master."
"Since big brother stepped in, it was the obvious result."
Maybe it was not even surprising anymore.
Rather than erupting into wild cheers, it instead felt like cold water had been poured over their heads, forcing them back to their senses.
'I think I understand just how pathetic our level must look from Guild Master's perspective.'
'If I want to meet Sir Jinwoo's expectations, I have to work harder.'
'This isn't the time to celebrate. Let's practice more.'
Baek Jinwoo had declared it before the nation.
That they would absolutely make it to the semifinals.
And this match made them feel once again that those were no empty words.
To become disciples worthy of such ambition, the only answer was to improve their skills even further.
"Alright, alright!"
Hwang Juwon shouted.
"How many days do we have left until our next match now?"
"There's one match per day, so if you calculate it carefully, exactly a week."
An Gijeong answered.
"Germany and Ethiopia. We'll face whichever country wins tomorrow, one week from now."
Germany.
Ethiopia.
Both were powerful nations, but neither was on France's level.
'Which means...'
'If we win the quarterfinals too, then it's basically guaranteed we'll make the semifinals, huh...··.'
'Are we really going to the semifinals?'
The guild members' eyes began to burn with passion.
How long had they dreamed of this moment?
Of course, it would not be easy from the semifinals onward.
They would be facing one of the so-called Five Great Powers.
"Big brother."
Gi Jaehyuk clenched his fist tight.
"I want to undergo special training for the next week."
"That's right! We want to win overwhelmingly too, just like Guild Master!"
The guild members were fired up.
Baek Jinwoo looked at them with pride.
"Really?"
Good.
When the goal you want is right in front of you, the effect of training doubles.
"Then let's go right away. We'll start with physical training again."
Being in the league made no difference. It was simply one nonstop stretch of training.
* * *
Time passed.
And the countries advancing to the quarterfinals were decided.
England, Mexico, South Korea, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, the United States, and Russia.
All of them were the superpowers everyone had expected, and naturally, every country representing the Five Emperors made it in without an upset.
[The match between England and Mexico will begin shortly.]
[The countries in question, please enter the arena.]
And the first quarterfinal match!
The result was obvious.
A crushing victory for England!
Mexico did not even get to see Rachel or Olivia.
They were completely dealt with by Walsh and White, England's 7th- and 8th-ranked players.
That was what shocked everyone.
Walsh was world rank 24, and White was world rank 31.
But then?
Mexico's rank 1 was Jonathan Pacheco.
A player ranked 20th in the world, far above those two.
And yet that very Pacheco got utterly crushed by Walsh.
Because it was generally known that the higher the ranking, the more overwhelming the difference in power became even with small gaps, people around the world were even more shocked.
'Walsh beat Pacheco? That's insane.'
'Wow, England's control really is on another level! This isn't something you can judge by rankings alone!'
'Damn, the world rankings are going to get shaken up again.'
There was only one reason that was possible.
The world rankings were not updated in real time, but only once a year.
Pacheco had definitely held the advantage last year, but it meant Walsh had completely caught up over the past year.
Even Baek Jinwoo, who was watching the match in real time, felt a slight sense of regret.
'I wanted to see Rachel's summon one more time.'
For reference, she also uses only a single summon.
The Yellow Dragon.
A summon known to be S-grade, but even Baek Jinwoo did not know much about it.
To begin with, back during Battle of Summoners, there were not many users, and no S-grades had even been released.
The only S-grade Baek Jinwoo had acquired in ten years was the Ruination Dragon, which said it all.
'How do you even get an S-grade in just one year?'
She had apparently been using only that ever since the second World League, so she had probably obtained it around a year ago.
Anyway.
He had felt this for a while now, but Rachel was pretty lucky too.
'But still.'
Even if Rachel came out, the chances of seeing her other summons were low.
It was the same logic as Baek Jinwoo only using HunGyo.
There was no reason to reveal more when the Yellow Dragon alone could handle everyone.
Just as Baek Jinwoo wanted to hide information, she could easily be thinking the same way.
In any case.
More time passed, and then the next day.
[The match between South Korea and Germany will begin shortly.]
[The countries in question, please enter the arena.]
South Korea's long-awaited quarterfinal match began.
[The first player selected is Player 'Song Yeonhee'!]
The first starter was Song Yeonhee!
"Huh!"
Her body trembled as if she were nervous.
"Song Yeonhee."
"Y-yes, Guild Master!"
Baek Jinwoo looked at her with a gentle expression.
He could be lenient with Hwang Jiwoo and Song Yeonhee, if no one else.
Their rankings were low to begin with, and they had not been properly trained for very long.
'Of course, only for this league.'
From next year onward, no mercy.
Only skill mattered!
It was a free competition system.
"Just think of this as experience. All you need to do is find out how well your puppetry can work on the world stage right now."
"Y-yes, understood!"
"Go."
Tap!
Baek Jinwoo lightly smacked her on the back and sent her forward.
And in the match against Germany, she put up the solid result of getting 2 kills.
'She's definitely a genius.'
Fire, Water Lightning, Wood Lightning, Metal Lightning, and Earth.
She was already quite skilled at handling puppets.
"Haa, haa!"
After the match ended, Song Yeonhee returned, panting for breath.
Unlike other players, Song Yeonhee's summons required an enormous amount of stamina.
Because she had to personally control every single string herself.
"Good work."
"Yeah, what kind of domestic ranker gets 2 kills in a quarterfinal? That's insane!"
"You did great! Great job!"
Baek Jinwoo and the guild members encouraged her.
Song Yeonhee, panting hard with her tongue peeking out slightly, clenched her fist tightly.
Her expression looked as though she had gained some kind of insight.
[The second player selected is Player Kang Jihoe!]
"Jihoe!"
"Go! Maybe not Song Yeonhee, but you're getting an all-kill!"
"Show them the might of the Mad Demon that the Guild Master brought back!"
The A-grade Mad Demon.
Kang Jihoe's martial artist, basically a berserker from the martial world.
Naturally, its performance had been guaranteed by HunGyo's teachings, and once its latent abilities were unlocked later, there was no telling how broken it would become!
Kwaaaaaa!
The Mad Demon began rampaging wildly.
Swinging its massive blade, it slaughtered the German rankers' summons.
And on average, every 5 minutes, it started dropping one opponent after another.
The result of that was 4 kills!
Because of the Mad Demon's nature, its damage output was incredible, but healing it was difficult...
It was reverse-summoned due to lack of HP.
'Still.'
Baek Jinwoo nodded in satisfaction.
4 kills was not bad.
There was still a long way to go before they reached the level of those English players, but Kang Jihoe and Gi Jaehyuk definitely had talent.
It was not like they had some special constitution either. They were just good at control.
[The third player selected is Player 'Hong Ari'!]
Hong Ari of the A-grade Phoenix!
For the opponent, it was a moment straight out of hell.
In truth, Hong Ari's skill had already surpassed Kang Geonho.
Aside from Baek Jinwoo, she was currently the number two.
There was a reason she was the vice guild master!
- Kkiiiirururururururu!
Fwoooosh!
The Phoenix let out a full-throated roar and burned everything to ashes.
And just like that, another 4 kills!
It was a perfect, overwhelming victory for South Korea, who crushed Germany with just three national representatives.
'Yeah.'
He had expected things to be easy up to this point.
But from here on, it would not be easy.
In the quarterfinals, the United States and Russia would face each other…..
And the country that won there would face South Korea in the semifinals.
'I wonder.'
How would the battle between Xenos and Moscowman turn out?
* * *
Two days later!
ㄴAmeeericaaaaa! America wins! Xenos takes down Veskov with only a single summon left!
ㄴIncredible, Willi-li-li-liam~! Xenoooosss!
"Oh."
Baek Jinwoo, who had put off the training schedule to watch the match, let out a sound of admiration.
Was it true what they said, that evenly matched scrubs made for the most entertaining fights?
Since the two were so evenly matched, it was actually fun to watch!
"Xenos definitely has better sense. Moscowman was a bit disappointing. If I were playing, I would've won that 100%."
America had won.
Still, the two of them had dragged out even the summons they had kept hidden up to now and fought a bloody battle, so all of their summons ended up exposed.
And as a result—
'I win no matter what.'
Baek Jinwoo was confident.
He was sure he could beat at least Xenos without much trouble.
That was, assuming he did not have some other hidden summon besides those.
'Still.'
He had no intention of letting his guard down.
This real-world league was his first time too, and there was no telling what kind of variables might pop up when fighting someone on the level of one of the Five Emperors or higher.
'Besides.'
Starting with the United States, he might have to use summons other than HunGyo.
The downside was that before facing England, the strongest nation, he would have to show them information.
For now, there was one thing he had to hope for.
'I need to get picked as late as possible.'
If South Korea's national players could hold out as long as possible?
Then when only a little remained, he could push through all at once and finish it off. That was the best strategy.
"Whew."
There was no helping it, then.
He had to make sure the guild members also understood everything he had observed and analyzed from the American players.
Swipe.
Baek Jinwoo picked up his phone and made a call.
"Vice Guild Master."
—Yeah.
Hong Ari's voice came through.
"What are you doing right now?"
—We were all resting and watching the broadcast. We were just about to gather and start training again, though. Why? What's up? Special training ended yesterday.
"Tell everyone to gather in my room before training. There's one last thing I need to teach you."
—Oh, really? Okay! Got it~
Tap.
After setting down his phone, Baek Jinwoo's gaze remained fixed on the overseas broadcast still playing.
ㄴAnd with this, the semifinal countries are confirmed!
ㄴThat's right. England! Japan! South Korea! America!
ㄴEngland, Japan, and America were expected, of course, but South Korea is definitely the surprise here.
ㄴWhich is exactly why this is even more fun! Can South Korea really overtake America?
Naturally, even overseas, people could not help but pay attention to South Korea.
'So we really are in the semifinals now.'
According to the Headquarters' speculation, the rewards given by the system for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place were completely different.
Their reasoning was that there was a 3rd-place match before the finals.
If the rewards were the same, would there really be any reason to bother with a 3rd-place match?
He did not think so.
'Let's see, then.'
What kind of reward this damned system was giving.
And what exactly had let one of the Five Emperors, Rachel, grow that much.
It seemed like it was going to be very interesting.