Ch.155[Episode 155] Tag Match

Sir Dominica emerged through the swirling smoke, walking forward with her shield raised.

“You…!”

Park Chunbae tried to move his body but couldn’t budge at all due to his status ailment.

All Park Chunbae could do was glare at Sir Dominica.

Of course, that would be true if he were alone.

Bang!

The sound rang out as Malley fired his shotgun.

The metal pellets rushed toward Sir Dominica, but she skillfully raised her shield to mitigate the damage.

“Two against one? How cowardly.”

Sir Dominica grinned from behind her shield.

“Shouldn’t we make the numbers even?”

Sir Dominica drew her sword.

Special skills required cost to activate, so using them recklessly wasn’t feasible.

Besides, there was… plenty of time to deliver one fair and legal blow before Park Chunbae recovered from his stun.

Isn’t it often the case that the quiet observer nearby is more frightening than someone shouting from afar?

Sir Dominica instinctively knew this fact.

She silently raised her sword in front of Park Chunbae, grinning.

Malley tried to keep her at bay by throwing bombs and firing his shotgun, but Sir Dominica endured the damage while persistently targeting only Park Chunbae.

She knew exactly how to instill fear on the battlefield.

…

“Where is this…?”

Sir Dominic was staring at the back of Sir Dominica’s head.

Where am I, and why am I here?

Sir Dominic fell into contemplation.

But his concerns were immediately resolved by the system window that soon appeared.

[Tag Match System has been activated.]

[Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica can switch places at any time as a pair.]

[Health is not shared, but if one dies, the other will also be considered dead.]

[Sir Dominica is currently engaged in battle.]

I see. This must be part of Gachaland’s system.

With his curiosity satisfied, Sir Dominic immediately began to observe Sir Dominica’s battle intently.

“…?”

“Hmm?”

That’s when it happened.

Sir Dominic suddenly noticed something wriggling and appearing beside him.

Surprisingly, something approached from the side without the blindfold… that is, from Sir Dominic’s right side.

Thanks to this consideration, Sir Dominic could immediately identify what it was.

It was a slime.

“!”

The slime wriggled in surprise at seeing Sir Dominic not through a screen, but in high-definition reality.

Sir Dominic stared blankly at the slime before taking out his phone.

As he searched through his phone, Sir Dominic noticed that the S.P.Y app had disappeared.

“What on earth is this…?”

Sir Dominic quickly racked his brain.

The S.P.Y app was gone, and the slime was here.

And he and Sir Dominica could switch places in battle.

Sir Dominic thought through each piece of information.

And finally, he reached a conclusion.

Was the Tag Match System activated because of this app?

Sir Dominic’s guess was correct.

In reality, the system treated Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica as separate entities, but due to the slime’s existence, it also viewed them as a single being.

Two as one, one as two.

After confirming this absurd yet plausible state that could only exist in Gachaland, the central system bound them together according to the President’s instructions.

Using the slime as a medium to enable tagging.

“I’m not sure what’s going on, but…”

Sir Dominic poked the slime.

The slime seemed to enjoy the touch, wobbling like a soft pudding.

“At least it doesn’t seem bad for us.”

Sir Dominic looked at Sir Dominica.

Sir Dominica was currently persistently pursuing and attacking Park Chunbae, but because she was too close, her special skill [Shock and Awe] often missed.

Above all, Sir Dominica had no damage reduction skills, making her too vulnerable to Malley’s supporting fire.

Sir Dominic observed the flow of battle for a moment.

[Would you like to switch? [Y/N]]

[Switching requires the other party’s consent. Or it can be used urgently in emergency situations.]

Sir Dominic nodded.

While fighting from a distance might be one thing, close-quarters dogfighting was Sir Dominic’s specialty.

Sir Dominic drew his shield and sword… no, before drawing his sword, he stroked the slime once while holding his shield, then drew his sword.

And he silently watched Sir Dominica from a third-person perspective.

Hoping that Sir Dominica would accept his request to switch.

…

“Ugh. This is getting dangerous.”

Sir Dominica grimaced at the painful damage from the shotgun.

The strikes from Sir Dominic’s two rivals applied equally to Sir Dominica, another version of Sir Dominic.

Since awakening as a tank, when was the last time she had felt this sense of ‘crisis’?

Well. At least not within the past week.

Sir Dominica hid her head behind her shield.

She could feel the recoil as shotgun pellets hit the shield.

Sir Dominica let out a deep sigh.

This is dangerous.

An alarm bell rang in Sir Dominica’s mind.

Sticking close had been good initially, but after failing to follow up, the initiative had passed back to Park Chunbae and Malley.

Fortunately, she was still close to Park Chunbae, but the cards she held were insufficient to finish him off.

That’s when it happened.

[Sir Dominic wants to switch places with you. Accept? [Y/N]]

Sir Dominic’s request appeared before her eyes.

Sir Dominica considered whether switching places in the current situation would be beneficial.

However, her deliberation didn’t take long.

She realized that if things continued as they were, she would never regain the initiative.

At least this could create a variable, she thought as she pressed the accept button.

And just as Sir Dominic had done, Sir Dominica headed to the waiting room where the slime was.

…

Thud! A flag falls from the sky and sticks into the ground.

A white yew tree and raven drawn on a brown background begin to flutter in the wind.

“…Sir Dominic!”

Park Chunbae growled.

Having been dodging Sir Dominic’s fake—Sir Dominica—until just now, Park Chunbae tried even more desperately to escape when the real Sir Dominic appeared.

But Sir Dominic’s response was faster.

Sir Dominica had been right in front of Park Chunbae.

Since Sir Dominic switched places with Sir Dominica, he could immediately see Park Chunbae’s distorted expression right in front of him.

Without time to think, Sir Dominic immediately raised his shield and pushed it against Park Chunbae’s chest.

“Ugh!”

Park Chunbae stepped back.

His judgment was to create distance first.

But that turned out to be the worst move.

Another step forward and another shield strike.

But this time was quite different from before.

Somehow Sir Dominic’s left leg had slipped between Park Chunbae’s two legs.

Naturally tripping his inner leg while pushing with the shield.

Park Chunbae’s upper body fell backward from the impact, while his lower body was pulled forward by Sir Dominic.

“Huh?”

Inevitably, Park Chunbae’s body fell backward to the ground.

Sir Dominic gently placed his foot on the fallen Park Chunbae and pressed down.

Park Chunbae struggled to get up, but when Sir Dominic applied more pressure, all he could do was pathetically grab Sir Dominic’s ankle with both hands or try to kick him.

Sir Dominic quietly looked down at Park Chunbae.

With this, Park Chunbae’s mobility was completely sealed.

“Park Chunbae!”

Malley panicked, firing his shotgun and throwing dynamite.

However, Sir Dominic currently had 11.25% damage reduction applied.

No matter how much damage increase was applied, the difference in tier and specs couldn’t be ignored.

Above all, what Sir Dominic had found troublesome was being one-sidedly beaten by Park Chunbae and Malley, but now that he had taken the initiative, things were different.

Sir Dominic smiled happily.

It had been a while since he’d smiled happily like this.

But why?

Sir Dominic’s shadowed face looked so cold that Park Chunbae stopped struggling.

A chilling sensation ran down Park Chunbae’s spine along with cold sweat.

“Seeing this, I have something I want to say.”

Sir Dominic said to Park Chunbae as he raised his shield.

“Checkmate. Isn’t that what they say?”

Ah. Damn it.

Park Chunbae thought as he watched the edge of the shield approaching his face.

Of course, that thought completely disappeared after taking three shield hits to the philtrum.

Stun. Stun. Stun.

The stun effect from Sir Dominic’s equipment kept triggering.

A 12% chance to stun on shield impact, continuously.

The slime in the waiting room trembled as if frightened by the sight.