Chapter 163: Balance Collapse

Episode 163

Juan and Luca were on the same team.

The hunters within Triunfo knew better than anyone how much this would disrupt the balance.

“Whoa?!”

“Wait a minute!”

“Hey, this isn’t fair!”

Most of the Red Team members reacted the same way as the Team 6 members.

Some jumped to their feet in surprise, others expressed their anger, and some were speechless with grave expressions.

And like Ricardo, some muttered in disbelief.

“Why did they form the teams like this? It’s clearly unbalanced…”

Ricardo picked up his smartphone and opened the team leaders’ group chat.

– Team 4: ?

– Team 5: ???

– Team 7: What the…

– Team 4: Why are the teams formed like this?

– Team 8: This really isn’t fair…

– Team 4: Is the PD out of his mind?

Only the Red Team leaders were reacting strongly, while the Blue Team leaders remained silent, suggesting they were all thinking the same thing.

“This is serious enough to summon the PD to a tribunal…”

Ricardo even suspected that the PD might have been bribed.

But he was wrong.

At that moment, Francisco, the leader of Hunter Team 1, was at home, enjoying a glass of 20-year-old Abyss whiskey while watching TV.

“…The teams are formed quite nicely.”

He muttered to himself and took a sip of his whiskey.

He recalled his conversation with the main PD this morning.

‘That PD has no choice but to listen to me. If it weren’t for me, he would have ended up in a slaughterhouse.’

The current main PD was originally a field PD for a famous investigative journalism program in the US called “Unveiling Sselepoh”.

He had been caught secretly filming the illegal enhancement drugs distributed by the Triunfo Clan and was almost dragged to a slaughterhouse.

But Francisco recognized the PD’s identity and released him, then recruited him as Triunfo’s main PD.

‘It was a shame to just kill him off, considering his experience and skills, and it turned out to be the right decision.’

Since then, the PD had been in charge of all Triunfo-related programs and had never produced a single unsuccessful program.

He had been a great asset to the Triunfo Clan, and now he had even formed the teams in their favor. It turned out that sparing the PD’s life had been an excellent choice.

‘With the teams formed like this, they can’t possibly lose. And I’ve even given them detailed tips for this round.’

He had even given Juan detailed information about the ‘Monster’s Canyon’, where this round would take place, just in case.

With the advantageous team composition and the information he had provided, Francisco was confident that the Blue Team couldn’t lose.

‘Unless Alopsky pulls off some ridiculous one-man army feat.’

But that was nearly impossible under the rules of this round.

Because they had to wear ‘that suit’ during the match.

* * *

At that moment,

the ten participants, including Kim Jinsung, were putting on ‘that suit’.

The full-body suits they were all wearing had the same performance, but different colors. The Blue Team’s suits were all blue, while the Red Team’s suits, including Kim Jinsung’s, were all red.

“Please press the round button on your chest after putting on the full-body suit.”

Following the PD’s instructions, Kim Jinsung pressed the button on his suit.

A system window appeared on the screen in front of him.

—

– You have successfully equipped the Triunfo Clan’s exclusive ‘Special Training Suit’.

– Your current stats are as follows:

User: Alopsky

Current Level: 1

Experience: 0%

HP: 100

MP: 100

※ Your current physical abilities are being suppressed. You can only use 6% of your normal abilities.

—

‘Only 6% usable…’

He tried moving while activating his Mana, just in case.

…It was true.

He felt incredibly sluggish, much slower than usual.

‘This is almost like when I first started the Colosseum survival preliminaries.’

As he observed the frustratingly slow speed of his punch, the PD continued his explanation.

“The full-body suits you’re currently wearing are suppressing your abilities to match the environment of the ‘Monster’s Canyon’, where the second round will take place.

As you level up in the game, the percentage of suppressed stats will naturally increase.”

“How much does it increase per level?”

Luca asked, and the PD replied,

“HP and MP increase by 100 per level, and the suppression on your physical abilities is lifted by 1% per level. The maximum level is 20.”

‘…So it can be lifted up to 25%.’

25% was much better than the current 6%. His average stat was currently less than 200, but with 25%, it would increase to almost 1,000.

An average stat of around 1,000 was almost the same as his stats right before entering the New Continent.

It was a completely different level compared to the current 6%.

‘Then leveling up quickly is the most important thing.’

As he thought to himself, the PD continued,

“It seems like everyone is ready. We’ll start the second round in 10 minutes.

Please move to your respective waiting rooms. You’ll be automatically warped to the ‘Monster’s Canyon’ in 10 minutes.”

The Blue Team and Red Team members walked to their respective waiting rooms on opposite sides.

As they entered the waiting rooms, they naturally started discussing their strategies for the upcoming match.

“Let me explain. In this round, the most important thing is who stands in each lane.”

Juan from Team 1 took the lead in the Blue Team’s discussion.

He pointed to the map of the ‘Monster’s Canyon’ on the table.

Top, Mid, Bottom.

He continued, pointing to the three lanes,

“The ones who stand in these three lanes gain experience much faster than the ones who roam the jungle. So they level up much faster.”

“How do you know that?”

Luca, his rival, asked in a prickly tone.

“Didn’t you hear the explanation? The respawn rate of the mini-monsters that attack along each lane is much faster than the respawn rate of the jungle monsters.”

“How do you know how much more experience those mini-monsters give compared to the jungle monsters…?”

“Listen to me!”

Juan interrupted Luca in a loud voice.

“I know you hate me. But put that aside for now. We can’t defeat Alopsky and the Red Team unless we work together.”

“……”

“I’m explaining this for the benefit of the entire Blue Team. So stop interrupting and just listen, okay?”

“But how can you prove that the ones who stand in the lanes gain experience faster?”

“Want to make a bet?”

Juan looked at Luca seriously.

“If I’m right, you have to bow respectfully and treat me like a senior every time you see me. For the rest of your life.”

“…What?”

Everyone, including Luca, was surprised by his words.

He was betting on leaving the clan if he lost a mere newbie showdown?

“What do you say? Answer me now.”

Luca couldn’t answer immediately.

He could sense the sincerity in Juan’s eyes, expression, voice, and words.

“If you don’t answer, I’ll consider everyone to be following my instructions for this round.”

“……”

“I’ll continue explaining.”

Juan, having naturally taken the leadership role of the Blue Team, continued the strategy meeting.

“As I said, defeating the mini-monsters that attack along these three lanes is the fastest way to gain experience.

The faster you gain experience, the faster you level up, and the faster you become stronger. And when those who have become stronger start intervening in the jungle…

The momentum will shift in our favor. Do you understand?”

Everyone nodded. They had all played ROL before, so they understood the game well.

“Therefore, the three strongest members of our team will each stand in a lane. I’ll take Mid, Luca will take Bottom, and Gian from Team 3 will take Top.”

Juan’s gaze shifted to the remaining two newbies from Teams 9 and 10.

“You two will each take charge of the left and right jungles. Just keep killing the jungle monsters and follow my instructions. Got it?”

(TLN: wth am I hearing 2 jng ?????)

The two nodded.

Thus, the Blue Team’s strategy was finalized.

One member in each lane, and two members in the jungle.

* * *

The Red Team was also discussing their strategy.

Dante, the newest member of Hunter Team 4, was leading the discussion.

“First, let’s compare the strengths of our team and the opponent’s team objectively…”

Dante picked up a marker and approached the whiteboard with a serious expression.

He wrote the names of all the Blue Team and Red Team members on the whiteboard and continued explaining, drawing lines.

“Let’s assume that Alopsky will be in charge of either Juan or Luca. And I can handle Gian from Team 3. Gian and I are considered to be on a similar level.”

He crossed out the names of Juan, Alopsky, Gian, and himself.

He folded his arms and looked at the remaining six names.

“The balance between the remaining members of Team 2, 9, and 10, and our Team 5, 7, and 8 is way off. Honestly, Teams 7, 8, 9, and 10 are known to have similar skill levels. What do you think?”

“……”

“Well…”

The newbies from Teams 7 and 8 didn’t deny it.

“This is where the balance collapses. There’s bound to be trouble on the side that faces Juan or Luca. Hmm…”

“I’ll handle them.”

Everyone turned to Alopsky, who had spoken up.

Dante asked in surprise,

“You’ll handle both Juan and Luca alone?”

Alopsky shook his head.

“No. All five of them.”

—