Ex Rank Supporting Role’s Replay in a Prestigious School

"That's unexpected. I thought a team full of rankers would be more aggressive."

"I agree. I also thought we'd see a match between high-level players right from the start."

A team made up of rankers had no doubts about the individual skills of its members. If they had gone for a direct confrontation from the beginning, it would have been clear that the opposing team wouldn't have been able to withstand it.

'With rankers who've completed high-difficulty quests gathering, the harder the challenge, the more favorable it is for Duskwind. And they've picked a difficult task.'

Duskwind had drawn a map of the lakeside village, while the opposing team had drawn the task of locating and destroying the contaminant.

The lakeside village map could be broadly divided into three areas: the village itself, the lake surrounding the main base, and the lake's interior. No matter what task was drawn, the critical battles usually took place underwater.

Underwater combat was much more difficult than fighting on land, as skill usage was restricted and players had to manage both health and air.

Since Duskwind's members had experience completing many quests and missions first, they were familiar with underwater combat. Thus, they could have chosen to level up moderately and quickly finish the game.

But instead, Duskwind made another choice.

[Duskwind hasn't entered the lake yet! What's going on?]

[They're currently exploring the village and the lakeside. As soon as they left the base, one of their teammates checked the lakeside and used a few skills, but that was it.]

[This will make the other team think. If Duskwind's team builds up their strength, they could destroy the contaminant first and win.]

[It seems like they're considering the same thing as the commentator. They've invested all their growth points into skills and abilities for underwater combat and are heading straight into the lake!]

Even after the opposing team entered the lake, Duskwind's members continued to explore on land.

In Seon-oh, despite being the team captain, didn't give any orders to the team but instead voluntarily handled tasks that could be done without insight skills, like revealing the map and clearing minor enemies.

Looking at the items and records left behind by the villagers who had left the town, it almost seemed like Duskwind wasn't playing a team battle but rather enjoying an adventure mode.

However, every time they continued exploring, growth points accumulated, and new item acquisition paths were unlocked, so it wasn't a waste of time.

Everyone knew that, but as soon as the team heading toward the lake found a trace of the contaminant, the tension grew.

"Oh no, what if Seon-oh loses?"

"We just have to cheer harder to help them finish exploring faster!"

Gu Seulbi and Ong Gil-dong, who were especially close to In Seon-oh, were in a frenzy.

In contrast, In Seon-oh seemed calm, almost leisurely.

The camera frequently zoomed in on In Seon-oh's face, where there was no change in expression compared to when they first entered.

Then, something changed.

[One of the team members just handed an item to Dusk, the team leader.]

[What kind of item is it? It doesn't look like a weapon or armor.]

[Its rarity isn't very high. It's an item left behind by an NPC who fled the village. Oh, it looks like they're having a conversation now.]

The commentators changed the sound settings to capture the conversation between In Seon-oh and the team member.

The person talking with In Seon-oh was a well-known player, second only to her within Duskwind.

At one point, this player, who had teamed up with "Captain" In Seon-oh, had used the character name "Defender Captain" but later changed it to "Defender Dove" because the game terminology was confusing during competitions.

'In person, it seems like Pierce's numbers are higher. In Seon-oh, like the attention-seekers, mixes well with people who love flashy outfits.'

The Defender Dove ran a channel for uploading raid videos, and I had watched a few of them for reference when editing Yoo Sang-hoon's videos.

While he didn't stream often, he didn't hide his face and wore multiple piercings on his lips and ears, which made him easy to recognize.

Using the device provided by the event organizers, Defender Dove spoke to In Seon-oh.

"Do you think you can handle this alone? I've gathered all the growth points I earned, so we could go together."

"You don't need to come. Please continue exploring."

As soon as In Seon-oh said, "You don't need to come," the class, who had been quietly listening, and the audience cheered.

The commentators laughed in amazement before continuing.

[What Dusk just said is currently the hottest catchphrase in the PlayerZ community, right?]

[I know! Recently, it's become the dying words of dealers who recklessly play in raids!]

The phrase "You don't need to come" was created from something In Seon-oh had said during a live stream on Yeom Jun-yeol's broadcast.

In a life-threatening situation, In Seon-oh had fought alone, defeated countless enemies, and survived. It was so impressive that many dealers in the game started copying it in-game.

But even if the situation wasn't as dire, there weren't many dealers who could match the gameplay of the number one server-ranked player.

That's why many dealers who tried to copy it ended up dying, leaving "You don't need to come" as their last words.

[At that time, Dusk performed outrageously well. In situations like that, tanks or support players should beg for their lives, right? A lot more dealers end up dying if no one comes to help them.]

[Exactly. No wonder some raid recruitment posts even include "You don't need to come, prohibited." Following the super plays of rankers is one way to grow, but dealers should be careful when using 'You don't need to come.']

[But now, Dusk just said it! I can't wait to see what happens.]

In Seon-oh instructed the support player to cast an acceleration skill on her, then quickly moved toward the lake.

Soon, In Seon-oh used the "Water Spider's Walk" skill to walk on the surface of the lake and positioned herself at the center.

Looking down at the surface of the lake, In Seon-oh was holding the item that Defender Dove had given her.

As bubbles rose from beneath the surface, Huang Jiho and Han-i nodded and spoke.

"I think I know what's coming."

"Me too."

At that moment, Yong Je-geon interrupted.

"I think Jiho and Han-i figured it out. Everyone's curious, so why don't you explain, Jiho and Han-i?" Bro!u$g&ht* to you by the folk-s& at M.V|LEMPYR.

When Yong Je-geon called out Jiho and Han-i's names, it felt like he was intentionally emphasizing them, which wasn't just in my head.

Jiho and Cheongho both scowled when their names were called by Yong Je-geon as if he were addressing students.

Still, they were students, and Yong Je-geon was a teacher, so what could they do?

Today, the two tigers had been ignoring Yong Je-geon, not feeding him attention, but it seemed like Yong Je-geon wanted to play with them.

Kim Yoo-ri, pointing at the grinning Yong Je-geon, leaned forward and asked them.

"Hahaha... I was also curious about what Seon-oh would do!"

"I had a hunch, but I'd like to hear your thoughts."

Following Yong Je-geon's lead, the rest of the class asked, and Jiho relaxed his expression and started explaining.

"In team battles, the more growth points you have, the harder the challenge becomes. The points they received were more than Yoo Sang-hoon's. In Seon-oh probably realized that the challenge wouldn't be easy, so she prioritized exploration."

"I understand that, but then why did Seon-oh come back alone?"

"Do you remember when one of their team members used a skill on the lake's surface before they started exploring? It was a primitive, simple skill that sends a signal when it detects movement."

When Jiho explained up to that point, the class started to catch on to In Seon-oh's intentions.

Before the team entered the lake, In Seon-oh had anticipated that the team heading straight for the contaminant wouldn't be able to destroy it all at once.

So, she had prepared to wait for the team that submerged first to surface, allowing her to intercept them when they came up for air.

Cheongho added.

"Seon-oh must have been waiting for the opposing team to get exhausted and rise to the surface. I know she's going to fight, but I'm not sure exactly how she'll do it."

"Should we hear Yi-shin's thoughts? He's good at PlayerZ too."

This time, Yong Je-geon turned his attention to me.

I had ignored Yong Je-geon's words before the match started, and I could have pretended not to know, but since the class was looking at me with eager eyes, I decided to explain.

"When we explored the village, we didn't find any bodies of dead NPCs. Even when we checked the village cemetery, there were no people who seemed to have died due to the contaminant."

Hearing my words, Maeng Hyo-don looked puzzled, as if he couldn't figure out the meaning, but he was starting to understand.

"But from the documents we found during the exploration, it says that 'The One Who Opened the Door' is less affected by the contaminant, but Zeta's people are different. Even with the power to wipe out the village, the villagers were safe until they all left the village."

"Then they must have used recovery items to survive, right?"

"They might have, but if that were the case, In Seon-oh wouldn't have gone alone to face the enemies."

I answered Maeng Hyo-don's question.

Maeng Hyo-don still looked confused, but the others were beginning to figure it out.

"In Seon-oh is going to use a consumable barrier item to seal the lake."

As In Seon-oh watched the bubbles rise from the opposing team trying to surface, she infused the item card with energy.

The item card, reacting to the gray energy In Seon-oh released, shimmered brightly, creating a barrier that covered the entire surface of the lake.

At that moment, the energy of the contaminant and the opposing team members trying to escape were trapped inside.

Seeing the blocked exit, the players underwater struggled violently.

Despite being exhausted, they were still players, so they had the strength to break the barrier created by the item.

However, In Seon-oh wasn't about to let that happen.

[The barrier is covered in the web Dusk summoned! It looks incredibly sturdy!]

[It'll be hard to break through. Plus, using skills from below makes it hard to maintain the air bubbles. The oxygen will deplete quickly, right?]

[Not only that, but even if they break through, they'll ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ have to face Dusk, the number one ranked player in the server to survive!]

In Seon-oh stood above the web, looking down calmly.

As she observed the players frantically using skills, In Seon-oh lowered her hand.

She stopped preparing for battle and stopped adding more webs.

As In Seon-oh stood still, the players who had been resisting fiercely gradually lost strength and sank into the lake below, where the contaminant and enemies nourished by it lay.

[What happened?! All the team members drowned! Their revival chances were instantly used up!]

[As expected from a team of rankers who were the first to conquer many quests and raids. Their understanding of the gimmicks and, indeed, their understanding of PlayerZ's system is top-tier. They wiped out the entire team without using any energy!]

[Now, we need to prioritize which teammates to revive first. With the given number of revivals, it's impossible to revive the whole team.]

[Even if they get a high amount of revival experience, the underwater exploration will make the next fight much harder.]

Soon, the team members from Duskwind, who had strengthened their positions, joined.

Just as the barrier item's timer expired, they easily descended to the lake without needing to do anything.

After that, with no more unexpected events, it was a decisive victory for Duskwind.

Another team member destroyed the contaminant, and In Seon-oh's contribution to the exploration was almost zero.

However, both the commentators and the PlayerZ system selected the MVPs as Dusk and In Seon-oh.