I Was Possessed By An Unknown Manga - Chapter 397



397 – [IF] Special Training and Finals

[Wow~ It was amazing~]

After the preliminaries were all over, Mr. Wasabidon heaped praise on me, saying that.

[I never would have thought that in such an unfavorable situation, I would catch all of my opponents and achieve a come-from-behind victory.]

Mr. Mentaiko agrees with that and lifts me up.

[See, you did a good job capturing Golden-kun, right?]

A foreigner… So, it seemed like Marie was very excited as her voice tone was higher than before.

“What have I done? It’s all thanks to you all following along.”

Of course, I know it myself that I carried the game in all three rounds, but it was a bit too boastful to be too proud.

[Honestly, I thought it was very close to getting through the preliminaries, but I’m glad Golden helped me. At this point, let’s aim for the win!]

Huh?

“Well, weren’t you just tinkering today?”

Since the story was different from what I had heard, I asked carefully, and Mr. Wasabi-don said as if it was something new.

[Ah~ That’s what I said because I knew I would fail in the preliminaries. I already made it to the finals, but it would be a waste of the prize money if I gave up here.]

“Prize money?”

[Huh. I didn’t know? The winning team receives 500,000 yen. Even if you come in third place, you can receive 100,000 yen.]

Gulp-

When I heard the unexpected amount, I swallowed my saliva without realizing it.

If I win first place, even if the money is divided according to the number of people, the amount will be far more than half a year’s allowance.

From noble mtl dot come

I answered as soon as I finished calculating.

“I will do it.”

[Well thought out!]

[I believed it! Jueeeeenjang!]

Mr. Wasabidon and Mr. Mentaiko are happy as if they won the lottery.

Well, as of now, I am the core force of this team, so of course this reaction is inevitable.

“Then let’s start special training right away starting tomorrow.”

[Huh?]

[What?]

I told the two people who spoke in shock the cruel reality.

“If we advance to the finals as is, our win rate will drop exponentially even if there is only one professional player on the opposing team.”

[Well, if you still have it… ]

“No matter how well I do, it’s meaningless if my team keeps getting beat, right? Splatoon is basically a team game.”

No matter how good one person is, there are limits if the entire team cannot support them.

Moreover, because there are so many people in Japan who are good at games, even if it was an amateur competition, one could not let down one’s guard.

[That can’t be possible… ]

Instead of the two people who seemed very disappointed, I asked Marie, who was quietly listening to the story by herself.

“Mari, when is the final round of this competition?”

[It’s next Saturday.]

“Then there’s only one week left.”

I made a rough estimate in my head and told it to the three people who happened to be on the same boat.

“I will improve your gaming skills.”

So,

“Trust me completely.”

I will get these guys to the finals.

***

A week of special training started like that.

“What, are you going home right away today?”

“Something like that happens.”

After school, I immediately packed my bags and went home.

Since I was running out of time, I decided to just close my eyes and take a week off from the gym.

Honestly, I didn’t think I would win if I didn’t invest this much time.

“6 o’clock! Mr. Wasabi, please intercept!”

[Okay!]

“Some of the enemy team is out of sight! Move forward while watching out for backstabs!”

[Leave it to me!]

“Time is running out! Focus on capturing land rather than killing enemies!”

[Ok!]

Every day, we voice chat on Discord, coordinate with each other, and drill various basic strategies into our brains.

Since it is physically impossible to build up your physique in just one week, I spent most of my time learning various strategies and basic techniques that can be used in the game.

After such a hectic week, it’s Saturday again.

We completed all preparations and were able to participate in the finals of the online competition.

***

[Ruler! It has finally begun! 3sen times! Splatoon Amateur Competition!]

[Wow, a lot of people participated this year as well.]

[That’s because it’s a competition that not only internet broadcasters but also broadcasters’ acquaintances can participate in!]

[There is a jinx in which new experts emerge every year and destroy the existing dark horses, so it is interesting to see what the results will be this year.]

I listened to the live broadcast in the corner of the monitor screen and anxiously waited for my turn.

Our team that participated in the finals is the third to play the match.

The final round, like the preliminaries, is a best-of-three game, so considering the intermission, it took at least 30 minutes for us to get our turn.

I thought about practicing in the little time I had left, but to be honest, playing a few more games wasn’t going to improve my gaming skills, and I felt like it would only increase fatigue, so I put down the gamepad.＜ Br＞

[Eww… There really isn’t much left now.]

[So, why am I so nervous?]

[We did our best. So, let’s work hard until the end so we don’t regret it later.]

Three people having such a conversation through Discord’s voice chat.

‘It turns out I wasn’t the only one who was nervous.’

Thinking like that, I felt a little relieved, so I quietly opened my mouth.

“We’ve put in a ton of effort over the past week. Your efforts may not necessarily be rewarded, but at least you’ll be better than those who did nothing. So have confidence.”

Then, the area beyond the speaker suddenly becomes quiet.

‘Did you act too cool?’

I felt such regret for a moment, but I couldn’t hold it back since I had already said it.

So, I anxiously waited for other people’s reactions, and suddenly Mr. Wasabi-don spoke.

[Hehe- I’m kind of embarrassed. We are encouraged by Mr. Golden, who is much younger than us.]

Mr. Mentaiko spoke next.

[Honestly, if I hadn’t been told about my age, I would have thought you were older than me.]

Finally, Ms. Marie spoke.

[I’ve felt this before, but Mr. Golden is more mature than his peers.]

“…”

As the three people continued to shower me with compliments, I was so embarrassed that I could no longer speak.

At that time, Mr. Wasabidon suddenly made a suggestion.

[Should we also shout out some kind of slogan? I like it because it’s more like a team.]

[Good night! Good!]

Mr. Mentaiko strongly agrees with Mr. Wasabi-don’s opinion.

[Then I am A! No way! If you do it, come at the end! I’m doing it. No way! A!]

As the story suddenly progressed so quickly, I started to hesitate and quickly shouted.

“Oh!”

[Phew!]

Perhaps because of the unexpected beep, everyone in the voice chat burst out laughing at the same time.

I suddenly created a dark story and covered my face with my palm in shame.

***

Afterwards, the final match was held in a fierce atmosphere.

We defeated the opposing teams one after another in the finals to the point where it would be a waste to say that we were defeated, and we finally made it to the finals.

The opposing team is a team that actually straddles the line between amateur and professional, including two aspiring pros.

‘But we are not easy either.’

What I taught the three people on my team was to make them move as one body.

In the end, since I am the main force of our team, I have to minimize the death of the three of us from the enemy while I break through the enemy lines, so we thought about ways to compensate for each other’s shortcomings.

The result was the triangle formation.

A tactic to buy as much time as possible by having the other two help out if one person is likely to be hit.

Of course, this tactic would be effective when I, a separate team, overwhelmed the opposing team, but I was confident in my physical ability.

‘If I’m not a professional and I’m just a wannabe, I can do it on my own.’

Don’t underestimate the power of Koreans!

[Ahh! The Golden Samurai player’s ink explodes on the two aces of the Krispy Donut team!!]

We won 2 of the 3 sets in the finals and won the 3sen Splatoon Amateur Cup.

***

A week that passed like a whirlwind.

Fortunately, it was a disaster because it wasn’t the exam period. If it had been the exam period, I would have failed the exam.

Immediately after the finals ended, we were literally screaming in joy, and our joy seemed to be doubled because we won because no one expected it.

[Good job everyone!]

[Honestly, Mr. Golden was peerless from the middle. If it weren’t for Mr. Golden, we would definitely have lost.]

[I didn’t bring you here for this purpose, but I am very indebted to you.]

“Thanks to you all for following my education well.”

I was humbled when I said that to the outpouring of praise.

‘Anyway, is this the end of hanging out with these people?’

Although I felt like I was missing something, I felt like I was having the most fulfilling time in my life.

So, I was satisfied inside, Mr. Wasabi-don said.

[What is everyone doing next week? If you don’t have any other plans, why don’t we have an off-day gathering together after this tournament?]

“Huh? Off-meeting?”

[Huh! Let’s buy something delicious with the prize money we receive this time!]

It was a sudden offer, but it certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea to cheer yourself up with the prize money.

[How are you, Marie? Can you come?]

Ms. Mari hesitated for a moment before answering Mr. Mentaiko’s question.

[It’ll probably be next Saturday. And since we have to distribute the prize money, it would be better to give it face to face if possible.]

[That’s right, let’s gather in front of the Hachiko statue at Shibuya Station at 1pm next Saturday!]

Off meeting schedule decided like that.

However, this was also part of Mr. Wasabidon’s spontaneous nature, so I smiled bitterly and said I understood.