Chapter 61 : Peace Strategy (2)

Practice was in full swing.

Nanmi didn’t hold back on sharing her tips.

And all those tips, of course, were sniper tips.

Nanmi shouted in a stern voice.

“We are assassins!”

“””Yes!!”””

“We target only one person!”

“””Yes!!”””

“What do we do when we see Danding on the opposing team?”

“””We bite and tear until they’re dead!”””

“What do we do when we see Inaring on the opposing team?”

“””Same! Bite and tear until they’re dead!!”””

“Very good, our team slogan. I told you earlier, right? Our team doesn’t have tanks, dealers, or healers. Everyone is an assassin. Got it?”

“””Yes!”””

Team synergy was at its peak.

The flow and atmosphere were perfect.

There was a reason for that.

We unfortunately lost the first game.

And also lost the second game.

But we won the third one.

To see if it was just luck, we tried again and won.

Then one final game — and another win.

The opposing team helping with our practice had tiers like Plat 1, Diamond 4, Master 1.

We scored three wins in a row against such a team.

We easily surpassed our first goal: to win even once.

How could we not revere Nanmi after that?

Nanmi said:

“There are still many positions I haven’t taught yet, but for now, this is enough to remember. If I teach too much, you might get confused.

Everyone remembers their spots, right?”

“””Yes!”””

“Great. If we maintain this synergy and momentum, victory is basically guaranteed.”

She really taught us everything.

Even the sniper spots she rarely revealed on stream.

Surprisingly, the one who did the best was Mirya.

Had she finally adjusted to the tempo?

She was no longer just following along, but even taking initiatives.

Nanmi said:

“Honestly, I think Mirya is our team’s joker.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Yes. I think it’s because you’ve adapted so quickly to the new hero — Female Soldier.”

Her skill at throwing Heal-ban grenades was exceptional — and that’s exactly what Nanmi valued.

The tournament would be less like typical ranked matches with spread-out movements, and more like tight, close team plays.

We planned to strike at that exact moment of movement.

Female Soldier’s Heal-ban grenade.

It was truly broken.

And since she’s a new hero, many players wouldn’t know how to deal with her.

Especially if she throws the grenade from behind, there’s a good chance it hits all six opponents.

Nanmi said:

“As long as the opposing team doesn’t know our playstyle, the match might even be easier than in practice.”

Our team strategy was to disrupt the enemy’s tempo.

If successful, victory was just a matter of course.

That’s how I felt when I sniped Inaring.

“Okay everyone, fighting~”

“””Fighting!”””

After practice ended, I received a private message on Doscode.

Ding—

“Huh?”

The message was from none other than Larne.

She said she wanted to talk about something privately and asked if I could take a call.

Wow~ Larne is so passionate.

I replied that I was available and joined the channel.

“Oh, welcome, Nanmi.”

“Yes~ Hello~”

“Nanmi, this is a bit personal, but…”

“Feel free to speak casually.”

“Well, Nanmi…”

Larne spoke in a very polite voice.

“Please take care of my sister.”

“Oh.”

Ah, right — Larne’s sister Aruru was accepted into our Blue Art 2nd gen class.

I smiled and replied in a respectful tone.

“If it’s about Aruru, don’t worry. We didn’t select her because of your connection.”

“I was honestly really worried. I heard that our relationship came up during the interview.”

“Hmm… To be honest, we had a clear selection criteria. And Aruru met that criteria.”

“May I ask what that criteria was?”

Hmm… I guess it’s okay to tell Larne?

I said:

“You must not tell anyone else — it’s a secret. It wasn’t about singing skill. It was about ‘passion.’”

“Passion!”

“Yes. We only passed those who showed a clear passion for joining, for becoming a true VTuber.”

“I see… I’m really relieved to hear that.”

…Hmm? That voice sounded a little teary.

Wait — is she crying?

I panicked for a moment, unsure how to respond.

“Um… well…”

“I was so worried. We both auditioned for the same group, but only I made it…”

“Ah, I see.”

“I felt so guilty—”

“Really?”

“Yes. Aruru’s goal was so pure…”

Or simple, rather.

She just wanted to play games with famous people — fame was a bonus.

Basically, that “viewer-participation” mindset.

Wait, isn’t that just like me?

Anyway, that’s not the point.

What Aruru said when I asked if she felt disappointed really stood out.

“She said everyone gets their chance at different times. That really stuck with me. She got accepted not because she’s Larne’s sister, but

because of her pure passion and talent. And after getting accepted, she said something else too.”

—I don’t want to become famous just because of my sister.

“I think Aruru will do well anywhere.”

That’s probably why she got into Blue Art.

“Anyway… I don’t think she holds any grudges.”

“I see…”

“Yes. And now that she’s joined Blue Art, I’ll do my best to make her into our main vocalist.”

None of our 1st gen members were really singers.

Maybe 2nd gen could finally fulfill the CEO’s dream?
We’ll see.

“Thank you so much.”

That was all Larne said.

We pushed even harder in practice.

“Rino, come with me.”

“Yes!”

My strategy is simple.

I pick one teammate and go in for an assassination.

If it succeeds, the rest support us.

That’s the kind of teamwork we’ve built.

In some ways, Time Sorcerer feels like an easy role.

After a successful assassination, I gave the next order to Akemi, our trap master.

“Akemi, sticky trap.”

“Yes! Set!”

With that, our retreat couldn’t be blocked.

Of course, we didn’t always get away clean — sometimes we’d die after the kill.

But that’s okay.

Even if one dies, it’s 5v5.

And we took out a key healer — the power balance shifts to us.

Nanmi said:

“To be honest, this is beyond what I expected. At this level, we’d perform well even at Master tier.”

Not a lie — it’s true.

Our practice opponents yesterday were Master-level players.

And we weren’t just doing snipes.

Nanmi gave commands even in the middle of team fights.

“Rino’s ult first, then Yuzu’s.”

“Got it!”

“Larne, get ready to jump.”

“Yes!”

“Mirya, how many seconds on heal-ban?”

“Three seconds?”

“3, 2, 1. Yuzu, go.”

—Hyaaah!

The Crusader’s roar echoed.

Rino’s outlaw ult shattered their shields.

Three enemies dropped from the roar.

Mirya followed up with a Heal-ban grenade.

Without even needing orders, all six of us charged.

A perfect teamfight win.

“Alright, let’s wrap up practice here. Interview time’s coming up, so get ready.”

The Day 2 interviews were for Eungtae’s video project.

Each team would take turns with short interviews.

I heard it would be short and simple, but who knows — they’re one-on-one.

Soon, one of the hosts entered and said:

“Hello. We’ll call you in order to Eungtae’s channel.”

“Okay~”

“And Nanmi.”

“Yes?”

“Have you picked a team name yet?”

“…Oh.”

We forgot the most important thing — the team name.

We had jumped straight into practice thanks to Nanmi, and it slipped our minds.

“Let’s decide right now.”

“How about ‘Emperor’s Children’?”

“‘Nanmi’s Children’?”

Nanmi chimed in.

“How about ‘Children of [The One]’?”

“You really love that title, huh?”

Then more names were suggested:

“Assassins?”

“Hmm… too generic.”

“‘We Always Aim for the Back’?”

“Isn’t that giving away our strategy?”

“‘Group Formed to Beat the Coaches’”

“LOL true, kind of like a fact.”

Too many opinions, not enough consensus.

Time to bring in the classic solution.

“Let’s draw lots.”

“Ooh, I like that.”

“Agreed!”

The name candidates were:

• Emperor’s Children

• Nanmi’s Children

• Assassins

• Children of [The One]

• Group Formed to Beat the Coaches

• Piss Off the Coaches

• We Play Dirty

That last one was actually a quote from our opponent yesterday.

Our playstyle is a bit like that, admittedly.

If we want to be known for being bold, that name wouldn’t be bad.

But then Larne proposed one more idea:

“How about [The Six]? The brackets are important — like Nanmi’s title.”

“Huh?”

Four of us — including me — immediately fell for it.