Chapter 177: Finish It When You Can (1)

Episode 177

“Luca.”

– Yes?

Juan asked in a gentle voice.

“Are you holding up alright?”

– Yeah… I’m fine.

Luca’s reply was also soft.

It was the first time they had ever spoken to each other so gently.

“Finish off the dragon quickly and recall. And from now on, you take all the blue buffs, Luca.”

– Thanks.

“No problem.”

Their conversation was incredibly amicable.

Even their teammates, who were attacking the dragon alongside them, were exchanging surprised glances.

This harmonious atmosphere was the result of their shared victory as a team.

Although they hadn’t achieved their primary goal of a decisive team fight victory, they were on the verge of securing their secondary objective: the dragon.

‘If we get the dragon buff, our team will have a significant advantage.’

How could the Red Team possibly defend against a gigantified Luca with the dragon buff?

It had already been proven that the enemy was no match for him, even when they used all their abilities.

‘Let’s easily secure victory in the second round using Luca.’

And then, before the third round started, they would thoroughly analyze Luca’s ability.

If he performed well in the third round, the newbie showdown would ultimately end in Juan’s victory.

‘There’s no way this plan can fail. The team leader will tell me the rules for the third round in advance, and most importantly, I haven’t revealed my true ability yet.’

– The enemy is approaching again.

Chano’s report snapped Juan out of his thoughts, and he looked at the minimap.

The entire Red Team, having successfully recalled, was running towards the dragon pit.

“…Don’t worry about them. We’ll have plenty of time to kill the dragon before they arrive.”

Juan replied nonchalantly, checking the dragon’s remaining HP.

They were on the verge of killing the dragon quickly and easily, with the gigantified Luca handling both offense and defense alone.

“But just in case they try to steal the dragon with Teleport, stay alert until we finish it off.”

– Yes, sir.

“You two junglers, remember to use ‘Smite’ as soon as the dragon’s HP reaches 1,000. You know that, right?”

– Yes, we know.

“Good.”

Juan looked away from the dragon, whose HP had dropped to exactly 2,000, and towards the Red Team.

He kept a close eye on them, wary of Alopsky using Teleport.

‘As long as we watch out for Alopsky, who has Smite, we don’t have to worry about the others even if they use Teleport…’

It was then that,

“…Huh?!”

– What?!

– I can’t see!

– What’s going on?!

The entire Blue Team was thrown into confusion as darkness suddenly enveloped them.

Not only their surroundings, but even the minimap was completely blacked out.

What had happened?

“Quickly finish off the dragon with Smite!”

Juan ordered his teammates to prioritize killing the dragon.

But it was too late.

**Boom!**

The sound of ‘Smite’ being used echoed from inside the dragon pit, where none of the Blue Team members were standing.

A system notification appeared on their helmet screens.

—

– The enemy has stolen the dragon!

– The enemy has acquired one ‘Fire Soul’ trait.

—

“You incompetent fools!!”

Juan roared, and the darkness that had enveloped them vanished instantly.

He saw Alopsky, who had suddenly appeared inside the dragon pit, waving at them.

Alopsky then used Teleport and leisurely returned to the Red Team’s base.

– Yes!

– Well done, Alopsky!

– Amazing! I can’t believe he actually stole it…!

Kim Jinsung, upon returning, was treated like a hero by his teammates.

He shook his head at their cheers.

“It’s not me. It’s all thanks to the Team 7 member.”

He gave credit for stealing the dragon to the Team 7 member.

“Without his ‘Dark Zone’ skill, I wouldn’t have been able to sneak in alone.”

Exactly 30 seconds ago,

Kim Jinsung, who had just recalled to the ‘Healing Fountain’ in the Red Team’s base, had pulled the Team 7 member aside and asked him what his ability was.

The Team 7 member had answered honestly.

– It’s a skill called ‘Dark Zone’. It completely envelops the surroundings in darkness, blocking vision.

‘Vision?’

– Yes. Unless you have a really good vision ability, you can’t see anything. You can’t even tell who’s standing right next to you.

‘Hmm…’

– I actually wanted to use it, but I couldn’t find the right timing…

‘No, now’s the perfect time.’

Kim Jinsung had immediately come up with a plan to steal the dragon.

While the Team 7 member used ‘Dark Zone’ to completely block the enemy’s vision, he would use Teleport to enter the dragon pit and kill the dragon, whose HP was low.

‘If I use Smite and Kill together, I should be able to easily take out 2,000 HP in one shot.’

He had used both skills simultaneously from behind the dragon, and the plan had been a resounding success.

As a result,

– All Red Team members have acquired the ‘Fire Soul’ trait.

– All attack damage is increased by 10%.

They had permanently acquired an incredibly beneficial trait.

“Now that we’ve stolen the dragon, let’s move on to the next plan.”

Kim Jinsung said to his teammates.

“Everyone push your lanes to at least the halfway point, then gather in the mid lane. I’ll clear all the jungle monsters and join you there.”

– You want all five of us to gather in the mid lane?

“Yes.”

He nodded at Dante’s question.

“If we’re lucky, we might be able to end the match in one go.”

– …Huh?

Instead of explaining to the surprised Dante, he checked the notification window that had appeared before him.

—

▶ You have defeated a monster.

▶ Acquired 3,000 Beast Karma Points.

▶ Acquired the opponent monster’s comprehensive trait ‘King of the Skies’.

▷ King of the Skies: Grants the following traits and permanently stored skill:

– Dragon Heart: Increases the effectiveness of all elemental attacks, skills, and traits by 5 times and reduces Mana consumption by 1/5.

– Dragon Breath: Deals powerful elemental damage to a wide area in front of the user. Deals damage equal to 10 times the user’s Intelligence stat and continuously consumes Mana while in use.

– Permanently increases all stats by 200.

—

“…Trust me one more time.”

He read the notification window again and replied confidently.

* * *

A short while later,

the Red Team members followed Kim Jinsung’s instructions to the letter. They returned to their lanes, pushed past the halfway point, and gathered in the mid lane.

Kim Jinsung, who was the last to arrive, shouted,

“Now, just follow my instructions! Advance towards the mid tower!”

He started running towards the mid tower.

His teammates looked anxious but followed him.

Juan, seeing them approaching, muttered with a furrowed brow,

“What are those guys doing?”

They were openly pushing the mid lane after stealing the dragon and getting a trait?

‘Are they looking down on me?’

Fury ignited in his eyes.

He immediately slammed his hand on the ground, activating the ‘Sunlight’ magic circle.

He shouted,

“Hey! You two junglers! Get to the mid lane now!”

The Team 9 and Team 10 members immediately turned and ran towards the mid lane.

Their faces were filled with fear. They had been severely scolded by Juan for losing the dragon.

– Is it okay for just the two of us to go?

Gian, who was in the top lane, asked cautiously.

“It’s fine! Three of us are enough with the tower.”

Juan replied and looked at the two junglers who had just arrived with a cold gaze.

“If the enemy tries to dive us, use your bulletproof shield and Mana Chains properly. Got it?”

– Yes, sir!

– Yes, sir.

“If you fail to use them in time, I won’t…”

**Whoosh!**

A giant wave of flames suddenly engulfed them.

The flames instantly covered Juan and his teammates, along with the tower.

“Argh!”

– Ouch! It’s hot!

– Wh-what?! The bulletproof shield isn’t working… Argh!

They screamed in pain as the intense heat scorched them.

A few seconds later,

– Enemy Triple Kill!

– Enemy is Legendary!

– Allied turret destroyed.

The same system notifications appeared on the helmet screens of all the Blue Team members, and they saw the mid tower crumble.

– …!

– Tsk tsk, how pathetic…!

Gian was speechless, his eyes wide with shock, while Luca clicked his tongue in disbelief.

– I knew it when you boasted that the three of you could handle them.

He muttered and immediately used Recall.

Gian asked him,

– Did you see that, Luca?

– I saw it briefly. It looked like they were hit by Alopsky’s elemental skill, right?

– That’s true, but…

– You should recall too. We’ll lose the mid lane if we keep this up.

– Oh, right.

Gian also used Recall, but he couldn’t shake off his anxiety.

‘That fire Alopsky unleashed wasn’t normal…’

The entire Blue Team had purchased ‘Mage’s Veil’, a trait that protected against elemental attacks.

But the flames had been powerful enough to incinerate three of them in just a few seconds?

‘Alopsky’s elemental skills weren’t that powerful before, were they?’

His anxiety grew with each passing moment.

He arrived at the ‘Healing Fountain’.

Luca, who had arrived earlier, said as he ran towards the mid lane,

“Hurry and follow me! We might be able to get some assists.”

His voice was filled with confidence. He looked as if he didn’t even care if he had to face all five enemies alone.

Gian, reassured by his confident back, thought to himself,

‘…Well, Luca’s gigantification should be enough to withstand even that fire Alopsky unleashed.’

Luca had even withstood the dragon’s breath alone earlier.

Even if Kim Jinsung’s flames were stronger than the dragon’s breath, Gian thought Luca in his gigantified state could easily hold off all five enemies.

As he started running after Luca,

“I’m going to attack the same way as before! Everyone stop!”

Kim Jinsung’s shout reached Juan and Gian’s ears.

Luca scoffed at Kim Jinsung, who was about to unleash another wave of flames.

“Seriously? You’re going to attack with the same method? You’re more arrogant than I thought.”

He was about to activate his gigantification ability, when

—

▶ You have used the skill ‘Mana Seal’.

▷ The target can no longer use Mana.

—

‘As expected, it worked.’

Kim Jinsung smirked as he saw the notification window.