Chapter 94 : Reverse Experience
Chapter 94: Reverse Experience
Baek Woohyun advised the Beau-tiful Twins on two things they were lacking in the current situation.
It was nothing too difficult, like telling them not to get too hung up on small gains and to keep in mind coordinating a bit more with team members other than themselves.
The interesting part, though, was that the Beau-tiful Twins’ eyes still sparkled and they nodded their heads. They looked as if they were hearing some incredible secret.
Likely because earlier, when Baek Woohyun proved his qualifications, they had been thrown off several times, feeling the gap with him more keenly than others, so they seemed to deeply accept any advice.
It didn’t seem like they were simply calling him ‘teacher’ and agreeing with everything he said just for the sake of it.
“Well, let’s try again.”
“Yes!””Alright!”
“…H- I’ll do my best!”
Soon, in the resumed combat training, Team B demonstrated a noticeably improved performance compared to before.
Geomsaeng Geomsa defended against Etinel’s attacks much more stably, and the Beau-tiful Twins also struck in more sharply, aiming for weak points.
Shuria, who had a relatively low presence, also fully performed her role, although she did cause some damage to allies a few times.
The time it took for Team B to defeat their first Etinel was just over 3 minutes, but after receiving advice, it sharply decreased, breaking the 2-minute mark.
It meant they reduced the time by almost a full minute, which was truly a remarkable result.
“Hehe~”
– So annoying, acting all high and mighty.
– I want to give him a flick on the forehead.
– But it was appropriate advice though yep yep;
– Look at him glancing at the chat window.
As Shuria’s active role proved the effectiveness of his advice, Jeong Nayeon’s nose rose higher with pride.
Though a few viewers were irritated by it, separately, many were amazed at how Team B’s combat power jumped up with just a few pieces of advice.
If such a level of skill improvement could be brought about by light advice, expectations grew even larger for how much more amazing it would be if he taught them properly.
“······.”
However, even this didn’t seem all that satisfying to Baek Woohyun.
Then again, if he had taught them thoroughly from the basics, they could have defeated a mid-version Etinel alone without needing team coordination.
And the moment team coordination was added, a mid-version Etinel or the like would surely have been torn apart in an instant.
‘Well, that’s a problem that will be solved if I raise them as disciples in the future.’
After watching Team B’s combat training a bit longer, Baek Woohyun and Jeong Nayeon soon moved to Team A’s side.
They had no choice, because if they only gave advice to Team B, malicious rumors would spread, like favoritism towards Team B or that the audition was rigged with predetermined picks.
Perhaps the timing was good; by the time the two stood next to Cha Seongcheol, Team A had also finished adjusting their supernatural ability builds and were about to begin combat training.
“Alright, everyone, pay attention!”
Jeong Nayeon, with a slightly playful smile, shouted as if to make them listen.
“Now, we’ll have a chance to witness the strength of Team A, who received help from Seongcheol-nim! I’m looking forward to seeing how they do!”
“Ahem. All I did was help with build composition ideas though—”
– Putting a ton of pressure on them.
– Team A got advice from a current commentator, holy—
– Kya, Iguoguoden (practice complete)
*- Here comes the legendary 1st team!*
“Let’s begin!”
“Roger! Everyone, fighting!”
Realizing they were in the spotlight, Team A faced Etinel with all their might and, through precisely connected coordination, succeeded in defeating it as quickly as Team B.
Considering that Baek Woohyun and Jeong Nayeon hadn’t given them advice yet, it was a very fast speed. Enough to instantly flip viewer opinion, which had been leaning towards Team B.
In the chat window, comments sprang up like mushrooms, saying things like ‘as expected, ranged builds are the true foundation’ or ‘you sword-users, go over there and hold hands and play by yourselves.’
“Ah, come to think of it, Woohyun-nim, will you be alright?”
Amidst this, Cha Seongcheol suddenly seemed to remember something and threw a question at Baek Woohyun.
“···?”
Baek Woohyun tilted his head at Cha Seongcheol’s question, which lacked a proper subject.
To him, it was a random question.
If someone suddenly asked if he was alright while watching Team A’s combat practice, how was he supposed to answer?
“Ah. Team A is composed solely of ranged supernatural ability build users, so I meant ‘Will you be alright?'”
“Ohh—”
Indeed, Cha Seongcheol’s worry wasn’t entirely unfounded.
Baek Woohyun had been a close-combat build from his first appearance on Kang Soyul’s broadcast—although, since it only had one Core Element, one might wonder if it should even be called a close-combat build, but anyway—, and he had consistently used only close-combat builds since then.
He didn’t use other supernatural ability builds even in PvP, only using the build based on [Perfect Being], which had at some point become his symbol.
So, it was only natural to question whether he could give appropriate advice to ranged build users.
It was a difficult task to assume that being an authority on close-combat builds meant mastery over ranged builds as well.
‘Ranged supernatural abilities…’
It’s true that Baek Woohyun also reached the state of ‘Transcendence’ in ‘that place’ through a perfected authority based on the [Perfect Being] Core Element.
Because of that experience, he continued to use the same build he used ‘there’ here as well. Because it fit like a well-worn, comfortable garment.
However, that doesn’t mean he never tried using other supernatural abilities.
‘There’, the system was applied just like in Reverse Planet, which means he could also reset his supernatural ability build anytime and try using other builds.
When he didn’t want to disrupt his senses unnecessarily, he deliberately refrained, but from the moment he reached the state of ‘Transcendence’ and grasped authority, there was no need for that, and he tried other supernatural abilities, feeling like he was challenging a new path.
“······.”
By composing and using other supernatural ability builds like that, Baek Woohyun came to a realization.
The fact that his talent wasn’t limited to just moving his body directly to fight in close combat.
Annihilation, which the research facility feared as much as the ‘Superhuman’, was born from that small realization.
Of course, there was no reason to explain all that in detail. It shouldn’t be explained unless he was revealing things about ‘that place’.
Therefore, rather than explaining this and that, he simply gave a short answer: “I’ll be fine.”
“When using [Piercing Shadow], Yeoneun-nim, the way you position yourself, try to aim for the back as if—”
“Ah! I understand what you mean!”
“The strength of the Fire Mage build that Zerua-nim uses is its powerful single hit, right? To maximize this—”
“Yes, yes!”
“Nayeon-ah, you…”
“Huh? Me? Why me?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
– Why’d he suddenly call Ms. Jeong lolololol
– But why is Hackphysical’s advice so… so…?!
– It’s way more helpful than I thought?
– Plot twist: Hackphysical was actually a ranged build user, holy—
And during the subsequent Team A advice session, Baek Woohyun clearly demonstrated why he said he would be fine.
To the point that viewers, watching him give perfectly tailored advice to each team member, exclaimed in admiration, ‘How does he know so well?’
It proved that he wasn’t simply a master of only close-combat builds as people expected, but was also quite proficient in ranged builds.
Although it was just him giving advice, so it’s not certain how he would actually perform.
“—That’s it! Practice time is over!”
The thirty minutes passed faster than expected.
That was the case for the judges, the participants, and the viewers.
Going back and forth between Team A and Team B, throwing out a few pieces of advice, and watching them in combat training, minutes just flew by.
“Then, now we have to do the first challenge— which team would like to challenge first?”
“We want to go first!”
“Team A first? Is Team B okay with that?”
“Yes. It’s fine.”
– Just looking at the practice, Team A has the advantage, yep yep;
*- I timed it again; Team A averages 1 minute 10 seconds, Team B averages 1 minute 30 seconds*
– You were timing that again lolololol
– But the result is still unknown.
“Good. Then the first challenge will be by Team A! For the second one, we’ll start with Team B!”
“Understood!”
The first challenge began after practice time ended!
The one who gained the upper hand there was none other than Team A.
They precisely defeated ten Etinels in the ten-minute challenge period, setting a record of one per minute.
Team B managed eight in ten minutes, falling short by a narrow margin of two, or precisely about one, compared to Team A.
If they had defeated the last Etinel they faced a few seconds faster, they would have recorded nine. It was a pity. Though even then, it would have been insufficient.
– At this point, the result is practically decided.
– Can they turn it around next time??
– Nope, probably not. A difference of two, not even one, is a bit big.
– The last one was a bit of a shame, but still, it seems impossible.
“Team A seems to be quite far ahead, more than expected?”
“Skill-wise, they’re similar, but it seems because the build combination synergy of Team A is occurring more effectively compared to Team B, which has many close-combat builds.”
“That definitely seems to be the case.”
– For real, if skill is the same, it depends on the build.
– Wut, are they losing because they’re close-combat builds??
– This is close-combat discrimination!!
– Was it too much for close-combat plebs to face the original ranged DPS king?
Viewers chattered as if the outcome was already decided.
After all, if skill is equal, victory or defeat is divided by build compatibility, and that applied similarly in team battles as well.
Moreover, ranged builds had an advantage over close-combat builds when facing Etinel.
Didn’t the tutorial guide also warn to fight Etinel strictly from a distance?
Even considering the difference of having one Core Element versus a complete build, Etinel was a considerably tricky opponent in close combat regardless.
“······.”
“······.”
The atmosphere of Team B, gathered again during the second given practice time, wasn’t very good. It was a natural reaction, having been pushed back by almost a two-unit difference.
Especially since the cause stemmed more from build compatibility than a skill issue.
“With simple practice, even if we spend more time, we won’t be able to win in the second challenge.”
“Yes, that’s right.””I think so too.”
The Beau-tiful Twins nodded in agreement with Geomsaeng Geomsa’s words.
It’s not like they can change their builds at this point, so ultimately, the only method left for Team B is to coordinate better, but it’s not like Team A will just stand still during that time.
They will also be matching their tempo by repeating combat training during the second practice time. Then the gap between the two teams won’t narrow.
“T-then what should we do?”
“Hmm.”
At Shuria’s timid question, Geomsaeng Geomsa let out a thoughtful hum and spoke quietly.
“There is one method that comes to mind.”
“There’s a method…?”
“Yes. It’s a kind of extreme prescription. It’ll be terribly difficult, but the effect will be clear.”
“Please tell us.””We have to try something.”
Hearing the Beau-tiful Twins’ determined shouts, Geomsaeng Geomsa subtly gestured with his chin towards Baek Woohyun.
As if saying that ‘extreme prescription’ needed for Team B’s victory was precisely him.
In fact, what he intended to say was exactly that.
“Usually, after getting beaten up by an enemy that’s much stronger for a while, facing a weaker enemy feels easier.”
It was the so-called reverse perception operation.