[The team class is insane! It’s unbelievable!]
[Is it real that two STK players are teaming up with Friede? It’s making my heart swell.]
[Not shrinking, right?]
[Even if they formed a pro team right now, it would make sense.]
[If Friede is in the mix, the team’s dignity definitely changes.]
[Could the Lotus-Grotto duo’s losing streak until now have been preparation for meeting Friede?]
[Wow, this is insane.]
The chatroom couldn’t contain itself over the intriguing development.
After all, this match involved two main players from STK.
Even though they had suffered a four-game losing streak before, losing streaks were common, even for pros playing solo or duo.
Wasn’t there a player in the past who famously set the catastrophic record of a 17-game losing streak?
What mattered now was the alliance of STK’s big names and Friede.
It was rare to find such a combination of entertaining elements.
“Unni, were you solo-queuing? You should’ve told me.”
Friede smiled softly at Lotus, who puffed her cheeks slightly, looking a bit hurt.
The timing had worked out perfectly, and they were assigned to the same team, surprising and delighting both.
Although it was just within the game, Friede hadn’t imagined that such a chance meeting could happen due to overlapping coincidences.
At that moment, a man next to them stepped forward and introduced himself.
He was wearing the same armor customization as Lotus—STK’s exclusive team armor style.
“Hello, Friede. I’m Grotto, part of the same team as Lotus. I’ve been watching your streams. Haha.”
“Oh, hi. Nice to meet you. I’ve been enjoying your games.”
“Wow, if Friede is watching, I have to do my best. I subscribed and turned on notifications for your stream. I’ll keep supporting you.”
“Thank you.”
[Look at Grotto getting all sweet.]
[Honestly, wouldn’t a Friede and Grotto ‘virtual couple’ concept be awesome?]
[But why does his nickname have to be Grotto? It sounds so lame.]
[He should’ve gone with Warden instead.]
[Stop putting random guys near Friede. It’s annoying.]
[LOL, this is so frustrating.]
Unlike the chaos in the chat due to the sudden shipping ideas, the ban-pick screen—where there was still time to choose—was filled with friendly conversation.
It began with casual greetings, and when Friede mentioned she had just started her stream, Lotus, who had chosen her weapon, suddenly said, as if she had a realization:
“Unni, want to duo with us?”
“Duo?”
“I’m in!”
The two had decided to pull Friede into their duo party.
Their previous duo game being their last match of the day had already become an insignificant past event to them.
Although the offer came out of nowhere, after thinking about it for a moment, Friede didn’t find it bad.
She had been feeling a bit bored playing solo ranked matches lately.
‘Well, just endlessly grinding ranked games alone can feel monotonous.’
Even though she had set a goal to climb to Challenger rank 1 due to personal ambition and a public pledge…
It would be much better to enjoy herself along the way.
Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t really played ranked games with anyone else before… Oh, wait. She had.
There was that time she duo-queued with Dayoung.
In a ranked duo game, SUHO had targeted them, accusing them of being cheaters.
Well, now it was all resolved, and it had turned into a funny memory.
But back then, it had been a bit serious.
She had been worried she wouldn’t be able to protect Dayoung.
As that thought crossed her mind, Friede gave a wry smile.
Anyway, her answer was decided.
“Sure, let’s do it together.”
“Yay!”
“Let’s go break into the top 20!”
[A fun new combo is born.]
[With those three working together, winning streaks should be easy, right?]
[Their last losing streak was just a complete disaster. But if Friede joins, their team strength skyrockets, so victory is almost guaranteed.]
[The other four just need to play decently, and it’s over.]
[Lotus is so cute.]
While Lotus and Grotto cheered, the game finally began.
Though it was in-game, Yoonsoo, meeting Friede for the first time, was awestruck.
His impression of her was simple: she was a streamer whose appearance and voice lived up to her reputation.
It was enough for him to understand why so many people were fans of her.
‘Seriously, there’s a limit to how pretty someone can be. But this is too much.’
Because of that, he was genuinely excited.
Friede, who had both the skill of a top-tier gamer and the charm of a celebrity—how amazing would her plays be?
Friede Haldir
Friede Gunder
Friede Unknown
[She’s like a human blender.]
[Friede is doing all the work. What is Grotto even doing?]
[He’s doing nothing. Just grab some popcorn.]
[You’re all wrong. Grotto’s ranged support allowed Friede to win. Without it, she’d have been taken out instead.]
[Do you think logic works in this chat? LOL.]
Whatever the chat was saying didn’t matter.
Yoonsoo, feeling pretty good about the current play, whistled internally as he glanced at the devastating records flashing on the scoreboard.
The videos of Friede often found online were either from her own perspective or from those who had to face her.
But there was never a glimpse of what it felt like to be on the same team as Friede.
‘Wasn’t that the case?’ Watching the perspective of a protagonist or the villain who opposes them is always the most fun.
Even though Yoonsoo had always watched Friede’s broadcasts from a consistent perspective, it was only during this duo play that he realized something new.
‘It’s so easy.’
When Friede pushed forward from the front, all he had to do was stand back and provide covering fire with his bow.
Nobody could stop her in that area.
‘They’ve completely given up now.’
Selection and focus.
‘Were they thinking of monopolizing the remaining side maze instead?’
However, Lotus and the other teammates were already stationed on that side.
Their team was already locked in a back-and-forth skirmish through the team voice chat.
For the opposing team, the game was unraveling.
They were all being devoured one by one by Friede’s monstrous combat power.
“What should we do now? It looks like they’ve completely given up here.”
He was a pro, after all—a starter on one of the most prestigious teams.
Still, Yoonsoo threw the question to Friede, partly as a way to test her game sense.
“If they’ve concentrated on the opposite maze, the answer is simple.”
Friede pointed her holy sword toward the end of the passage.
“We’ll break through the center. Since you have a bow, I’ll hold them off. Shoot at their center from behind me.”
“OK. Let’s go.”
That was exactly it.
Friede’s answer made Yoonsoo grin.
He appreciated her choice to avoid the dull strategy of simply taking an objective and holding their position.
With their course set, there was no time to waste.
They exited the passage and prepared to infiltrate the enemy’s base, but as they moved—
“Watch out!”
As they passed through the corridor, Yoonsoo saw the sharp shape of a curved dagger striking out from the side and shouted a belated warning.
The attacker had been lurking, completely hidden, suppressing even their breathing while wedged into a corner.
It was a sharp blow, timed perfectly for when Friede was halfway through the corridor, making it hard to counter.
Even an expert would have a hard time reacting.
‘Was it over?’
Just as Yoonsoo’s mind filled with that thought, Friede’s figure vanished from his sight.
“Huh?”
She disappeared so quickly that the curved dagger, slicing through empty air, looked almost pathetic.
‘Wait, where did she go?’
‘Did she leap into the air? Or sink into the ground?’
With a sliver of hope, Yoonsoo glanced at the floor and had to suppress the laugh threatening to escape his lips.
Friede had flattened her body so low to the ground it was practically pressed against it.
In her hand, the holy sword she had drawn was already glowing faintly with light.
“Damn it!”
Realizing the situation too late, the curved dagger moved for a follow-up strike, but the trajectory of Friede’s holy sword, as she sprang upward like a coiled spring, was faster.
The sword’s azure light, trailing like a brushstroke across a canvas, cut through the enemy’s body in a single stroke.
A one-hit kill.
A critical strike, vital point hit, and the holy sword’s combat skill—everything had activated at once.
‘This is absurd.’
Thinking back, every enemy that had shown even the slightest opening had collapsed almost instantly.
‘Was it all intentional?’
“That was close. Let’s keep going.”
“Ah, yes.”
‘If I had been in that position, could I have dodged and countered?’
Yoonsoo couldn’t answer his own question.
‘Friede, just what kind of fights have you been through?’
As he found himself respecting his teammate, who had tried so hard to defeat such a monster, he suddenly realized something important.
‘Wait. Oh no.’
He had completely forgotten in the heat of the moment—Friede was participating in the upcoming event match.
He glanced blankly at Friede, who was running beside him, his mind spinning.
With reflexes like those… Am I really supposed to fight her?
When the official announcement had come out, Yoonsoo had only felt mildly intrigued.
But now, his nerves were tightening.
‘Did Friede know about this, too?’
Torn between unease and anticipation, Yoonsoo couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer.
“Um, Friede?”
“Yes?”
Without even looking his way, she replied concisely, her focus forward.
Her detached demeanor gave the impression of indifference, but Yoonsoo pressed on.
“You’re participating in the upcoming event match, right?”
Friede finally reacted.
Turning her head slightly as she ran, she smiled warmly.
“Yes, of course.”
Her playful grin sent chills down Yoonsoo’s spine.
Unlike earlier, when he had been admiring her casually, he now found himself instinctively taking a step back.
The torchlight flickering in the corridor cast a reflection of her rabbit ears, their shadow stretching grotesquely across the walls.
It was enormous and menacing, engulfing the corridor like a beast.
Like a Bopal Rabbit…
Meeting such a terrifying creature left Yoonsoo feeling like his heart was burning.
That flame consuming the corridor felt like it perfectly mirrored his own state of mind.