episode_0020

The card game called Swat is a commonly seen trading card game. It was a game of a genre commonly called TCG.

It is a game where you create your own deck using cards and play against an opponent according to set rules. It was a game widely known as a very noble game in the world of tactical combat.

Of course, since most cultural trends were led by nobles, it went without saying that it became a game that commoners of all ages enjoyed as well.

Swat was played by competing against an opponent with a deck of one’s own creation at a table with magic added, and was a game that could be enjoyed by up to four people.

The motif of the game was, of course, a battle using giant soldiers, and it was a simple game where you could win by reducing the opponent’s movement limit, or life points, by using various types of giant soldier cards, technology cards that could assist the giant soldiers, and weapon cards mounted on the giant soldiers.

It was a fairly complete game with a mix of luck and numbers, with various strategic elements such as disarming the opponent’s armed cards or defending with counterbalanced techniques.

In the real world, this mini-game was so popular that the makers of Tactical Combat produced and released a separate SWAT game, making it so popular.

And even Korea, the country of duelists, could not avoid it.

-What is this quarrel?

– Then what are you? Dual?

This kind of conversation took place in the community, making it a huge hit not only in Korea but all over the world.

Gilbert was also one of those who delved deeply into Swat, which was released as a mini game. One of the achievements of Tactical Combat was to become a SWAT champion, so at one time he was crazy about SWAT, so the confidence shown by the Wild Rose manager seemed cute.

“Do you have a deck?”

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring it today.”

“great. It’s also fun to do things under the same conditions. “You can clearly know who is on top.”

The manager was happy to be judged solely on strategic skills, excluding any card advantage. The reason I couldn’t erase the thought that I had caught a tiger after a long time was partly because I was confident in my own skills, but also because of information about Gilbert.

It was a known fact that Gilbert frequently appeared in the Swat gambling scene on the Lithuanian side. And that day was also a day when gamblers drank heavily.

The manager felt good at the thought that he could probably make more profit than the gold he received in exchange for the information.

But he didn’t know.

Gilbert, who lost all his money at the gambling table and played a game, turned into a man named Kang Do-jun from the land of duels, and that Kang Kang-jun achieved the SWAT champion achievement in Tactical Combat, which only a few people have achieved.

And the fact that he is the Swat World Champion, which was released as a separate game.

***

＇This is…＇

The official Swat match rules adopt a best-of-three format.

In general, there are a total of 40 decks that can be used in one game, and you play the game with a total of 60 cards, including 20 auxiliary decks.

After one game was over, the main deck could be strengthened and modified using the auxiliary deck to make strategic decisions, but in some gambling tables, there were also cases where it was a single game.

Because Wild Rose’s manager was a former Swat Master, he fought Gilbert under official rules.

There was some concern that if the match ended in a single match, the opponent would not give in and go on a losing streak, but it was also to show an example to Gilbert, who had the audacity to request a SWAT match.

But when he lost the first battle, he realized something was going wrong.

As usual, he deployed using heavy-equipped giant soldiers and was easily defeated by the light-equipped giant soldiers that caught Gilbert off guard.

Gilbert, who had bet on a quick, short-term match as if scoffing at his plan to lead a long-term war, had a near miss, and all of his weapons were disarmed, and he was faced with the limit of his mobility.

As a Swat Master, he was defeated so vainly that he gritted his teeth and unfolded his auxiliary deck to prepare countermeasures against the light-equipped Colossus. Looking at his tendency to play Swat, he seemed to enjoy quick card development, so he tried to complement that point.

Was I too careless in the first edition?

The manager, who clicked his tongue, came to his senses and glared at Gilbert, who was reinforcing his cards with an indifferent look. If he loses like this, not only will he lose the Dragon Fruit worth over 100 gold, but his reputation as a Swat Master will also be damaged.

＂Preparations are complete.＂

“Then shall we begin the next match?”

＂Then…dual!＂

“I’ve been curious about this for a while. What does it mean?”

“It’s like a kind of divine protection. In the sense of never losing.”

“It’s my blessing that I will never lose… But this time, I have no intention of losing either.”

The game started, the limit of movement sign appeared on the table, and the battle came to an end.

The manager smiled inwardly as he looked at the first hand that came in. The Giant God Soldier card I wanted from the beginning and the weapon card needed for it were in my hands. First, I deployed the Giant God Soldier card on the field, put down the armed card, and ended the turn.

The opponent also drew a card, deployed a barrier belonging to an environment card, turned over a few cards, and passed the turn. The manager thought for a moment about whether it was a trap card and drew it.

＇I didn’t know they would bring it like this already.＇

The card drawn was a heavy armored giant soldier’s defensive equipment card. In the first game, I lost the short battle because I couldn’t draw this equipment, but it was clear that with this card in my hand, it would be difficult to break through the defense with the lightly equipped Colossus.

The hard counter to the heavy-equipped giants was a quick attack using light-equipped giants, but on the other hand, it was difficult to break through the heavy-equipped giants whose weapons were fully deployed.

This would have been possible if there had been a firepower-focused Colossus, but since the card itself was rare, it did not currently exist in the deck they prepared and played.

He restrained himself from raising the corners of his mouth and ended his turn after first destroying the enemy’s environment cards.

“Does the manager know that?”

“What do you mean?”

“This is the dream that everyone who does Swat has.”

“It seems like you are talking about reversing an unfavorable situation with a single card drawn… but that is just empty nonsense from people who end their lives at the gambling table.”

The manager spoke sarcastically to Gilbert, who was wandering around the gambling den, but his expression did not change. It seemed like he was trusting the cards he had laid out, but there were no cards in the prepared deck that could completely reverse the current situation.

In the first place, SWAT was a game created with the motif of using giant soldiers. In reality, just as you cannot win a war when the odds are stacked against you, that rarely happened in Swat.

“That is correct. It’s just nonsense that people desperately pray for when they are addicted to gambling. but.”

Gilbert’s red eyes shone. The manager couldn’t hide the feeling that those eyes were somehow ominous.

“Everything is part of a plan, and if the last piece of that plan comes in, it’s not unreasonable to shake things up.”

The manager’s ominous thoughts gradually accelerated. I immediately recalled the composition of the prepared deck and made calculations to see if there was a way to overcome the current situation. If he was not a swarter who focused on short-term decisive battles, there was no way. As he said, if we assume that everything is chosen as expected, there is no way to do it.

The manager’s eyes automatically turned to Gilbert’s hand, which had not yet drawn a card.

“I will bet everything on this card.”

Gilbert said a phrase that had spread like a meme in real life and drew a card from the deck.

The corners of his mouth, which had been expressionless until now, rose slightly.

It was no exaggeration to say that it was indeed a magic spell.

***

Leaving the devastated manager behind, Gilbert walked out of the Wild Rose building with light steps. As originally planned, the dragon fruit was held in his hand. Although I wanted to raise my shame by eating it, it was better to eat this fruit after obtaining the Lion King’s Mana Practice.

If you eat the dragon fruit while only having basic training techniques, you will not only not be able to utilize its effectiveness, but there is a high possibility that you will not be able to acquire an important skill. It didn’t exactly fit the combination formula.

Basically, consumable items that increase magical power were limited to being applied only once. According to the settings, it was said that it could no longer affect abilities due to the creation of mana resistance, but this was simply a measure by the manufacturer to prevent ability values from being amplified by items.

Now that we were in the real world, it was unclear whether the combination would work normally, but if was the word used in situations like this. If I found out later that the combination diet worked, I might regret it.

There was no way I could throw away the 100 gold dragon fruit that I had worked so hard to obtain, as it was commonly referred to as ‘Seosun’. Even if I saved it since I already had mana resistance, it would have been meaningless.

He carefully placed the dragon fruit and left the back alley. I didn’t think much time had passed, but looking at the position of the sun, it seemed like it was already noon.

Gilbert stopped at a nearby restaurant, had a light lunch, and then left the Obitus territory. Now, the only thing to do here was to obtain the Lion King’s Mana Practice.