『In its early days, the Guild War League was not nearly as popular as it is now.
The archmage Jamal Popper established the league with the noble ideal of “liberating humanity from the fear of the Gates,” but what the general public wanted was not noble ideals, but the fun and pleasure they could enjoy with a beer after a hard day’s work.
― “A league only watched by perverts who voyeuristically observe long, boring raids.”
― “Even my dog could make this more entertaining.”
In response to the public’s harsh criticisms, so-called fundamentalists scolded them for being ignorant, but Jamal Popper, like a sage of the era, looked for problems within himself rather than blaming others.
― “Do not be obsessed with value. Just because the usage changes, the value does not change.”
― “We are not the answer. Of course, they are not the answer either. If there is no answer, isn’t the best answer to satisfy the greatest number?”
Wars transformed into games, where fields created by modifying the Gates had physical laws altered, rules set, and modes developed.
The public could watch and enjoy them, just like a sports game.
This was called the Confrontation Battle.
It was a masterstroke that elevated the Guild War League to the status of the greatest show on Earth.』
― From the GM’s Setting Book
________________________________________
It came.
The big one came.
The day has finally come.
Nine years ago, on a certain day, the ICU dragon fell miserably here.
Despite all the mockery and persecution, the dragon’s followers cheered until their throats bled, but in the end, the dragon had to wait for death connected to an oxygen respirator.
It was a difficult time.
Days of suffering.
Even the steadfast followers, who had shouted for glory amid countless oppressions, had their will broken by this time of endurance.
However,
The dragon in the ICU returned from the brink of death.
It stood again, showing a miracle.
And finally, today, it spoke to us.
It said we had returned home.
“Ugh… it’s the Dragon Palace. It’s the Dragon Palace. Sob.”
The first match after Mir Guild’s promotion to League 3.
At the corner of Yeongdo, in front of a roughly built wall on an abandoned factory site, retired player Park Seong-cheol wept endlessly.
Although it had a proper name—Mir Stadium—it was more commonly called the “Dragon Palace,” the resting place for dragon fans. This was our home ground.
We had never used it since being relegated to Division 4.
“Damn it… sob.”
Even though I promised myself I wouldn’t cry on the way down from Seoul, thinking of the times when I held my father’s hand as a child made the tears unstoppable.
“A man crying…”
“What’s flowing from your eyes then, Father?”
“Saltwater.”
It wasn’t just this father and son.
Young people in casual clothes too.
“I saw it in middle school, now I’m finally back.”
“Damn, I can’t stop crying.”
Even the uncles who had chartered buses.
“Man, I missed this!”
“Guys, please, let’s not go down this time!”
And that elderly couple with gray hair.
“You said we’d come before we die, right?”
“…You win the bet. It was a Chanel bag, right?”
“It’s Hermes.”
Fans of Mir Guild, filling the stadium area, were laughing and crying in front of the gates of the Dragon Palace, reopened after nine years.
“Let’s go in.”
“Wait a moment.”
Look at me.
Wiping the corners of his eyes, Park Seong-cheol uploaded this emotional scene to the community to live up to his nickname.
The reaction was overwhelming.
└ ㅠㅠㅠ Damn ㅠㅠㅠ my mom is crying. She never thought she’d see this place again ㅠㅠㅠ
└ ㅠㅠㅠ Is this a dream? Phew phew ㅠᅟᅲᇁphew ㅠㅠ phew
└ Let’s do well ㅠㅜㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Thus, amidst the joy of tens of millions of dragon fans both offline and online, the entrance began.
Passing through the old gate, the musty smell of stone walls hit the nose.
The stadium was so old that there was only one concession stand.
Professional dragon fans remembered this and brought chicken, pig’s feet, and other food along the way.
Was it just me, or did the menu seem to call out? So many thermoses, suspiciously many.
…This is why I hate people with sharp instincts.
“Did we get through?”
“It’s Dad. You?”
“The miracle of putting dark beer in a coffee cup and getting an Americano.”
“Damn, smart like me.”
Pushed along by the crowd, we entered the winding path, and at the end of the dark corridor, a faint light appeared.
An exit glowing with a multicolored aurora, not sunlight.
And finally, when we reached the end, the stadium came into view.
A 5,000-seat arena spread in a circular form around the central field (artificial Gate).
My skin tingled.
“The tremor makes it feel real, right?”
“Yes, it does.”
Just as my father said, the tingling magical energy flowing from the mana light stimulated the skin, making it feel once again that this was a stadium.
I wanted to see the match soon.
It wasn’t just me—everyone seemed anxious, rubbing hands and feet, constantly checking the clock.
“How can I already be this excited? Oppa, it’s top, mid, bottom over there, right?”
“When the match starts, the field unfolds. That side is the base, minions come from there, you use the coins earned to buy buffs, and destroying key objectives is the core.”
“Hey, don’t worry about complicated stuff, just remember this: best of five, first to three wins. Break the enemy nexus, you win. Easy, right?”
“Su-bin is playing, right? I just need to watch Su-bin.”
Everyone was excited.
No one here doubted that our guild would gift the first-round victory today.
For that, we were ready to shout until our throats broke.
That’s what fans in love with a guild do.
•
•
[Guild War KOREA League 3 1st Round]
<Mir Guild> VS <Baekseok Guild>
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Before the match began, during the last meeting, the leader of gathered his team and shouted:
“Did you see today? Here, it’s the Mir Guild. There, it’s the Mir Guild. The whole world is nothing but Mir Guild. Not a single article has covered our Baekseok Guild!
Our opponents are a guild that spent last season crawling in Division 4. Legends or whatever, they’re still just a Division 4 group! Aren’t you frustrated by this reality? After almost 10 years rotting in Division 4, they barely climbed to Division 3, and now we’re sidelined by these has-beens!”
Anger is an excellent motivator.
The Baekseok Guild leader raised his voice, emphasizing their sidelined situation caused by popularity and fandom, demanding fierce resistance. Perhaps because of that, as he had hoped, flames of anger that could burn everything around them lit up in the eyes of his comrades.
“That’s why they call the gap between League 3 and League 4 the ‘Wall of Wailing’ or the ‘Demonic Wall.’ Traditionally, a guild promoted from below rarely performs well without an adaptation period.”
Even fans, whose patience was said to be as thin as tissue, would applaud just for surviving their first year after promotion.
Experts point to two main reasons for this:
The first is a lack of experience.
To put it extremely, who among them has ever faced humans in combat? This isn’t a duel. This is a battle. To put it bluntly, you don’t think about killing the opponent—you have to kill them. You have to thrust a sword into their flesh and cast spells.
But a normal human instinctively flinches when someone’s life is in imminent danger. Deeply ingrained morals and norms stop the body.
The second is the information gap created by differences in position.
They wouldn’t have hidden their strength before promotion. They gave everything they had, even the power they barely had, to get promoted. From the vantage point above, their opponents could gain a relative informational advantage.
Baekseok Guild had already meticulously prepared to exploit the weaknesses of Mir Guild.
“The tide of battle is smiling on us. Except for Mountain King, all of them are complete rookies with no experience in competitive play. Remember your debut day? That’s fourteen chicks on one team!
They are clearly an abnormal squad. High combat performance, but each individual has an absurdly narrow perspective. They fight well but cannot read the war. Mountain King compensates for their minds.”
So.
Our target is Mountain King! Only Mountain King! Ignore the others! The analysis is already complete!”
Even the fiercest beast dies if its head is cut off.
Therefore,
“Catch Mountain King, and the game is over.”
________________________________________
Meanwhile, the waiting room of Mir Guild was calm, unlike Baekseok Guild.
Tension, anxiety, nervousness, anticipation, excitement…
Seeing the young teammates overwhelmed by the pressure of League 3 and their first PvP match, Kim Jong-pil only smiled.
“Feeling nervous, huh?”
“Ah, no.”
“I’m fine.”
“Really? I’m nervous.”
“……!!”
There’s a time to push and a time to soothe.
Right now was clearly the latter.
Conducting a complex strategy meeting for these already complicated individuals would be a waste of time. It’s much better to lighten the mood with everyday talk.
“I debuted at 18. Back then, I was a thunderous youngster who constantly bragged, ‘I’m the strongest!’ Luckily, I managed to keep some pride under the name Mountain King. Otherwise… ugh…
Sometimes when I remember back then, I even kick the bed. You all call that a blanket kick, right?”
Wearing his symbolic white long robe, Kim Jong-pil casually continued his story, stroking the wall with his thick palms.
“I was actually scared. What if I wasn’t as great as I thought? Back then, I knew nothing. I didn’t know the path ahead or what I needed to accomplish, but I had to walk blindly.
So what I want to say is, it’s natural for you to be nervous. Don’t deny the fear that comes from ignorance. Every beginning is inherently scary and uncertain. This is your first time here, and you know nothing about competitive play.”
That’s how beginnings are.
Exciting, thrilling, yet simultaneously frightening and uncertain.
But turning back or giving up changes nothing.
Only those who move forward can achieve anything—even if it’s progress, not victory.
“Alright, enough dawdling. No one here wants to stay rolling in League 4 forever, right?”
He drew emotions out from shared understanding.
Soon, the atmosphere among the guild members noticeably softened.
“I won’t say much. Don’t get too excited. Excitement stiffens the body, and stiff bodies make mistakes. Just do as you normally do. Open your ears, speak, trust your teammates, and move in sync.”
At that moment, the signal came.
“Let’s go.”
Mountain King, flinging his white robe, entered the gate to the arena.
Behind him, the four members participating in the match followed.
They immersed themselves in the strange magical currents, different from those of a raid gate.
And when they opened their eyes:
“Woooooooah――!!”
The ground shook and the world trembled.
The arena erupted with the roar of fans and applause poured from all directions.
It was magnificent and even the lingering tension melted away like snow.
“Each guild, step forward.”
Under the judge’s wand, the two guilds assembled.
They shook hands and stepped onto their respective formation magic circles.
At that moment, the judge struck the ground with the wand.
The magical energy writhing beneath them scattered into beams of light, and when they opened their eyes a mysterious world stretched before them.
It was a dense forest of trees and foliage.
This was the canyon of the competitive match.
A floating hourglass rotated in the air. Time began to rise.
00:00…… 00:01…… 00:02……
The match begins!
Top, mid, bottom, the hunters dispersed along the three lanes.
