One Man Army

Chapter 152 [Episode 78] EL Tournament 2

Kim Junyoung was an active pro-gamer up until the time Sang Hyuk became a director.

And Sang Hyuk was frustrated four times because of him, losing his chance to win the EL Championship.

The nickname given to Sang Hyuk as a four time runner-up…. Kong Line. (TL note: Kong Line refers to Hong Jinho, Korean pro-gamer, who was also a runner up multiple times. His nickname is Kong. So, people who were always the runner up is at the same line with him, placing them on the Kong Line.)

Of course, in the end after that he won the Unification Championship, but unfortunately, he was able to win only because Kim Junyoung retired that year.

Kim Junyoung, who had beaten brilliant, young and hungry pro-gamers even when he was over 30, said he wasn’t retiring because of his skills, but that he was retiring because the game wasn’t fun anymore.

For your information, Kim Junyoung was two years younger than Sang Hyuk, but he had been a Dream Network pro-gamer since he was 16 years old.

In his previous life, Kim Junyoung was the immovable mountain that Sang Hyuk had never been able to surpass.

No, he was the Great Mawang (Devil King) who remained undefeated by not only Sang Hyuk, but also all the other pro-gamers and Game Teams, not even once.

Kim Junyoung fans won’t think so, but Sang Hyuk thought that Kim Junyoung was WAY too full of himself.

Sang Hyuk went on stage and entered his booth. He was familiar with being on a stage, but Kim Junyoung, who looked so much younger than he remembered, just stood there.

‘Every time I was defeated by you while I was a director…. honestly, I’ve always dreamed of this.’

I wanted to beat him because I was frustrated. That’s what Sang Hyuk remembered. But the opportunity came in this life.

The opportunity happened even faster than he thought possible.

‘In my previous life, even if it was Kim Junyoung, he couldn’t go beyond the limits of how many hours he’s actually played EL, so he didn’t have much skill at this point….. Also, as this new limited mode has appeared, the conditions have changed.’

Kim Junyoung had already been the best in two other games before EL, but that’s why he started EL, in which one’s starting time was important, a long time after the other professionals.

In fact, at the moment Kim Junyoung’s level in the main server was just 50.

Not only the equipment, but also his titles were not very good.

In his previous life, Kim Junyoung started to shine as an EL pro-gamer after the release of the second dimension planet.

The release of the second dimension planet, no matter how fast the time flow in the game, would obviously take a long time.

That’s why it makes sense that he came to this tournament without any affiliation.

Considering the weight of his name, no matter how much of a noob he is right now, he would be able to join the professional gaming team of a large corporation, but Kim Junyoung didn’t really like ambiguous things like that.

Kim Junyoung, who likes to make everything clear, wanted to make it to the finals on his own and then win as an amateur.

Then, when he searched for a pro gamer team to join, everything would be as Kim Junyoung wanted.

‘Am I going to be recorded on the Royal Road as an amateur? But will it happen my way?’ ***

Sang Hyuk knew Kim Junyoung better than anyone else, so he predicted exactly what Kim Junyoung was thinking about participating in the competition.

“I’ll break you and make my dream a reality.”

Sang Hyuk spoke his words to himself and immediately went into the capsule and lay down.

Third game out of a Set of Five in limited mode:

“Immortal’s choice is still the same as before, Shadow Knight and buffer.”

Jeon Yongmin stared at the Sang Hyuk’s screen as he finished his selection, then talked.

“It seems to be an obvious choice. In fact, it’s a combination that’s so well known that it’s more difficult to deal with.”

Following Jeon Yongmin’s words, Jang Minho gave a supplementary explanation.

“This combination is intriguing because it is so well known, yet the Immortal makes it so formidable.”

“In a word, it is not special but also has no weaknesses. But the Immortal is an extraordinary player even with this very ordinary combination. That’s why the Immortal is called the Invincible.”

“I can barely understand. Ah! Master K also made his choice. Ohoo! It seems that he made a different choice than he had so far?”

“Berserker and Blade Master. This …… in other words, is an extreme attack combination.”

Jang Minho looked somewhat surprised by Kim Junyoung’s choice.

“Is this the combination that Master K has prepared to break the Immortal’s unbreakable defense?”

“It is very likely. Perhaps Kim Junyoung is going to believe in his skills and go ahead with an offensive strategy. It means that if your opponent is using a combination without any weaknesses, you are going to create the weaknesses yourself and target them.”

“What do you think? Who seems to be more favorable based on the chosen ancient knowledge only?”

“Hmm, at this point it is really fifty-fifty. To quote a phrase that has been frequently used in esports broadcasts in the past….. This fight will be purely a ‘corps-a-corps fight’.”

“Then…does that mean that the physically superior player wins?

“To simply define it as physical… the controls in DN are more complex. Anyway, the side who fights most skillfully will win.”

“It is indeed a little vague.”

“Whatever it is, it’s a showdown between the top players, so it’s impossible to predict the exact outcome.”

“It is the first time I’ve ever heard such weak commentary from Jang Minho. After all, this is the battle of the century that so many people have been waiting for! ”

The match began with a short, concise comment from Jeon Yongmin.

sfx. rain pouring hard

A grassy meadow with rain.

It was a meadow without rocks and the only obstacle was the rain that was pouring hard.

‘This is true… Kim Junyoung’s name is indeed great.’

Sang Hyuk tilted his head a bit and bitterly smiled.

As soon as the battlefield unfolded before his eyes, Sang Hyuk knew he was nervous. Even though according to his standards, this was a trivial fight, Sang Hyuk, who was the victor in countless hellish, nightmare battlefields, found that his heart was pounding slightly.

‘Not bad. Rather, studies have shown that this moderate tension elevates VRA.’

Sang Hyuk gently relaxed his body and increased his focus.

Sang Hyuk was unable to know what Ancient Knowledge that Kim Junyoung would have chosen. In his previous life, Kim Junyoung was EL’s most famous Magic Knight.

He was a double soul user, and his job was the magic knight which used the combination of elemental magic (flame) and blade master.

In fact, Magic Knight wasn’t very popular, and it was only after Kim Junyoung begin to show an invincible record of wins as one then it had become the most common job in EL.

‘Is it Magic Knight? No… he certainly wouldn’t have made a common choice.’

Sang Hyuk knows Kim Junyoung well. That’s why he knew he would enjoy being surprised by Master K’s selection in this situation.

Kim Junyoung’s walk revealed his confidence.

Neither Kim Junyoung and Sang Hyuk were the ones who were most interested in each other…

‘Two-handed sword…. I see now that this kid chose a berserker style.’

Sang Hyuk knew what Kim Junyoung chose, even when he only saw the two-handed sword that Kim Junyoung was holding.

Of course, Kim Junyoung also noticed what Sang Hyuk chose.

Now that they’ve acknowledged each other, it’s all about getting down to business properly.

Dudududuuk, Tadadang!

Sang Hyuk deflected the two-handed sword that Kim Junyoung swung effortlessly with his lighter blade, the heavier blade guided with Sang Hyuk’s sword held at a slight angle, slashing into the ground barely missing its target.

In fact, this masterful minimalist parry style was an instant action so it had no counter even when the opponent knew about it.

But Kim Junyoung wasn’t the one who could be beaten by the same pattern that has been used against him several times.

He immediately triggered one of the berserker’s special skills, the ‘Roar of Rage’ as soon as Sang Hyuk deflected the strike.

“Roooooaaarrrr!”

This was a powerful debuff skill, and the shout had a powerful force that stunned the enemy within range for two seconds.

Kim Junyoung was going to immobilize Sang Hyuk, who continued to dodge his attacks like a loach,(ED Note: A wee slippery river fish) and do his work properly.

But as soon as he shouted, Sang Hyuk had already dropped and rolled sideways.

Tingling.

Of course, even if he avoided it, the effect of the Roar of Anger was applied partially. As a result, Sang Hyuk became stunned for a second. But as his body was still rolling sideways he was able to maintain sufficient separation.

Kim Junyoung was amazing because he tried to blast Sang Hyuk using Roar of Rage almost instantly and with perfect timing while Sang Hyuk was also amazing because he rolled sideways as if he had anticipated the counterattack.

[Wow, both of the players are really great! The attack and defense they showed in just a second was skillful enough that I’m speechless!]

Jang Minho, who had been commenting calmly, leaped up from his chair and was screaming in excitement.

[The point that they couldn’t even touch each other at all even after fighting non-stop for more than 10 minutes was really amazing! Is this what we call the best game of the best players at this level?!]

Jeon Yongmin, too, stood up and shouted.

[These players today are making the game into art!]

For 10 minutes, Sang Hyuk and Kim Junyoung were exchanging blows too fast to see clearly. If two evenly matched users who were melee class fought each other, the victor will appear in less than 5 minutes. Because Melee battle was really dangerous because it was so fast paced,  it was inevitable that either side would make a mistake and allow a deadly attack at some point.

However, Sang Hyuk and Kim Junyoung avoided or blocked each other’s deadly strikes as if they were speed skating on thin ice or sprinting across a Slackline.

And despite the speed and power of each attack, they still failed to strike the fatal blow.

As a result, the battle between these two men was a dazzling display of swordsmanship, exciting for everyone.

‘This guy…. is indeed amazing.’

Sang Hyuk knew it for sure now. The reason why the players he raised couldn’t use all of their power and lost like that when they met Kim Junyoung…… He understood so clearly now.

Of course, Kim Junyoung was also very surprised. He knew that the opponent in front of him was called the EL strongest. However, Kim Junyoung thought that he had become the strongest of EL simply because he started the game much earlier than himself.

But when Sang Hyuk and he crossed swords today, Kim Junyoung realized that what he had thought was wrong.

‘This user….. is strong.’

Kim Junyoung felt that the man in front of him was stronger than any pro-gamer he had ever met.

‘Right, Kim Junyoung, you’re amazing. But at least in this game, choosing the berserker is your mistake.’

Sang Hyuk didn’t think he would lose this match. This was due to Kim Junyoung’s choice.

Berserker.

It was an Ancient Knowledge that was optimized for pure, brutal offense. And if one was confident in their control, one could smash through any vulnerabilities in their opponent’s defenses.

In that sense, Sang Hyuk also thought that Berserker was not a bad choice. But there was a reason Sang Hyuk didn’t choose the Berserker.

‘Stamina… Berserkers use skills which consumes health, which not only make them vulnerable, but they also have poor staying power. It’s not comparable to the buffer I’ve chosen.’

In the end, the conclusion was one.

‘Unless you work hard then it’s my victory.’

Even if he could not win by overwhelming his opponent by force, at the very least, if he keeps on attacking and defending then in the end, the one who will stand alone at the end was Sang Hyuk.

Of course, Kim Junyoung wasn’t unaware of this fact.

And Sang Hyuk also knew that Kim Junyoung was aware of the limitations of berserker.

‘But there will be nothing different even if you know it. Rather, if you come out a little impatient because of that limitation….. Then this battle won’t take long at all.’

Sang Hyuk rather wanted to make Kim Junyoung feel impatient and lose it. Then he would not miss the moment and had the confidence to strike him down.

‘Kim Junyoung, what will you do?’

Sang Hyuk, who gripped the sword in his right hand while looking at Kim Junyoung.

He had confidence that he wouldn’t lose.

Chapter 152 [Episode 78] EL Tournament 2 – End

*** ”The Royal Road refers to a rookie winning an OSL (OnGameNet StarLeague) upon their first qualification to that tournament.

A player who has walked the Royal Road is called a Royal Roader.

According to the explanation given by Doa during a 2013 WCS Season 2 Korea OSL cast, a Korean familiar with the term’s origins explained to him that the “royal road” was a road that led to the palace of ancient Korean rulers that only that ruler was allowed to travel on. Also, while the ruler traveled on the “royal road”, no one was allowed to look at him pass by, so that in a sense the ruler was “invisible”. Thus the association between the historical term and the concept of a player who wins a tournament on his first attempt is that of an “unseen” player (because he hadn’t competed before) that ended up becoming “royalty” (because he won the tournament).

From the Liquidpedia, the Starcraft II Wikipedia.

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