Echoes of the Reverse Planet

Chapter 96: Reversal

“That’s correct. Now that you understand the foundation, let’s begin the simulation battle in earnest.”

Having finished speaking, Baek Woohyun slowly took his stance.

Then, strangely, an Etinel-like aura emanated from him, who was just standing there.

It was as if the entity called Baek Woohyun had been completely erased, and an Etinel wearing his outer shell had taken his place.

Whoosh!

The subsequent attack also resembled Etinel’s—mechanical, dry, and following solely the logical outcome of the combat AI.

It meant that no trace of Baek Woohyun’s characteristics was felt in the fist thrust out after instantly closing the distance.

However, there was clearly one distinct difference—

“Ugh!”

—It was incomparably sharper than that of a mid-version Etinel.

Although the speed itself was only slightly superior, perhaps restrained, the complexity of the attack itself was overwhelmingly on a different dimension.

Even though it was simply a rushing, fist-thrusting action. It felt as if blocking or dodging anywhere would be impossible.

“Going!””Let’s go!”

As if following Geomsaeng Geomsa, who had collapsed in one go, the Beau-tiful Twins charged in.

Yun Areum with a downward slash from above, and Yun Daun with an upward slash from below. It was a perfectly coordinated attack, as if declaring they were twins for a reason.

Baek Woohyun, observing this with cold, sunken eyes, responded in a brutal manner.

“······.”

Crack!

“Kyak!””What?!”

Grabbing Yun Areum’s sword with an outstretched hand, Baek Woohyun kicked Yun Daun right away.

In the process, his hand was cut by the blade, dripping blood, but considering the massive damage he inflicted on Yun Daun in return, it was by no means a losing exchange.

He had nearly killed his opponent with the minor damage of just having his palm torn. At this level, it was closer to Baek Woohyun forcing an overwhelmingly good deal.

The result was similar when dealing with the combined attack of the revived Geomsaeng Geomsa and Shuria.

Baek Woohyun, maintaining a calm defense, didn’t miss the gap when Geomsaeng Geomsa stepped forward somewhat boldly, trusting Shuria’s supporting attack.

He took the CC skill [Chains of Extreme Cold], added due to Shuria choosing the ice attribute, with his body, and retaliated by driving his fist into Geomsaeng Geomsa’s face.

Crash!

“Kuuuh-”

“Why did only I get hit?””Because you look good for kicking.”

– “Look good for kicking” lolololol

– It’s sad enough to get hit, but that’s too much lolololol

– Yun Areum’s desperate counterattack, holy—

– Actually, position-wise, hitting from below was more convenient.

“All my offense and defense right now are based on weighing gains and losses.”

Baek Woohyun spoke calmly in front of the fallen Team B.

He said he was currently judging the potential gain to be obtained and the loss to be incurred, pursuing an efficient method of attacking when the former outweighs the latter.

He added that even if his attacks became sharper, fundamentally, there was no difference from a mid-version Etinel.

– Is this the same as a mid-version Etinel?

– They mean only the operating principle is the same.

– It’s basically an upgraded version, holy—

– How much research did he do to make that possible?

“Do not stop thinking.”

Thump-

“Euk!”

Baek Woohyun stamped his foot hard, channeling all the generated force into a thrusting punch.

Geomsaeng Geomsa, startled by the fist thrusting like an awl, retreated, and the bickering Beau-tiful Twins rushed in to fill the gap.

Then Baek Woohyun, who seemed poised to chase down and finish off Geomsaeng Geomsa whose stance was about to break, retreated as if nothing had happened.

“You must force more loss than gain onto the opponent to control the flow of offense and defense, and then seize the opportunity.”

“Shuria-nim, help!””Help us!”

“Yes! [Ice Spike]!”

The [Ice Spike] Shuria shot out appropriately saved the Beau-tiful Twins from danger.

Because, just as he chose safe defense over chasing Geomsaeng Geomsa earlier, this time Baek Woohyun also dodged the [Ice Spike] rather than attacking the twins.

He judged that the loss of having to take Geomsaeng Geomsa’s renewed attack after allowing the [Ice Spike] would be greater than the gain from attacking the twins while taking it.

“Ranged attacks are the biggest factor disrupting Etinel’s calculations. If used just at the right place, you can adjust the scales’ weight at will like Shuria-nim just did. However.”

“Kyaha!”

“…It’s always good to be cautious of counterattacks.”

“Run away, Shuria-nim! Uryaat!”

Whoosh!

Baek Woohyun’s demeanor, continuing his speech calmly amidst the simulation battle, was truly overwhelming. It was even more so compared to Team B gritting their teeth and charging.

One side was leisurely pushing them around while even giving teachings, while those actually fighting were in a life-or-death struggle.

But one thing was certain: this simulation battle would definitely be of immense help in the next challenge.

Just as the reverse perception Team B originally hoped for, Baek Woohyun’s teachings were also content that would become flesh and blood when facing Etinel.

Clap clap!

“Alright, alright, let’s stop watching now!”

“Oops.”

“Should train, train.”

– Why are they just watching lolololol

– “Oops, should train” total nonsense lolololol

– But I’d have watched too, for real.

– Just watching is fun, how do they resist??

Cha Seongcheol clapped his hands and woke up Team A, who were mesmerized watching Team B’s simulation battle.

When a Team A participant asked if they shouldn’t watch more since Team B was releasing great tips, he shook his head and denied it.

The reason was simple: Baek Woohyun’s teachings were exclusively for Team B.

“That story is only valid for Team B, which has many close-combat build users. It doesn’t hold much meaning for Team A.”

“That’s right. We spread distance, throw in CC skills, and attack with ranged techniques. There’s no need to analyze behavior patterns based on combat AI.”

“It’s not that it’s of no help at all, but you can think of it as unnecessary.”

“Ah-”

– For real. Why would the god-tier ranged DPSers do that stuff.

– It’s better to just coordinate more thoroughly.

– Ah lol, while close-combat builds do ass-clenching work predicting behavior patterns, ranged builds just need to attack lol

– So ultimately, Team A needs better team coordination.

“Let’s just practice our own way! Let’s challenge ourselves to defeat twelve in ten minutes while improving our coordination!”

Although Team A set a total record of ten eliminations in the first challenge, the second challenge could completely overturn it, making it an even more tense moment.

Because if Team B managed to eliminate eleven this time, Team B would ultimately win, even if Team A had the advantage in the first challenge.

“We’ll begin the challenge.”

“”Let’s go!””

“Everyone, fighting!”

Soon, Team B declared the challenge with resolute faces, and the moment they clashed with the first Etinel…

‘Huh?’

‘It’s easy?”Weak!’

– So fast.

– It took less than a minute??

– What’s happening?

– Holy crap;; Is a real reversal happening?

They could smash the first Etinel they faced so easily and quickly.

So much so that even Team B, the ones who fought, stood dumbfounded, staring at each other for about five seconds after the battle ended.

Because they had only been thoroughly beaten by Baek Woohyun during practice time and hadn’t directly faced Etinel, they didn’t know it would be this smooth.

“Ne-next! Let’s go to the next one quickly!”

“Yes, yes!””Quickly, quickly!”

‘I didn’t know Hackphysical’s coaching effect would be this much.’

‘If they were his disciples, it would be even more…’

Quickly regaining their senses, Team B proceeded to defeat mid-version Etinels in succession. It was a truly insane speed.

Just as Baek Woohyun had engraved into them for thirty minutes, they used the combat AI to restrict the actions of the mid-version Etinel and seize victory.

Sometimes, they even accepted taking a certain amount of damage themselves, pushing their bodies forward to attack Etinel.

“Uwaaah-!”

“Thirteen!””Eliminated!”

“A-amazing!”

– Wow, holy crap, what’s ‘thirteen’ lolololol

– They overturned it lololololol

– If this continues, Team B wins it all, holy—

– Is Hackphysical’s special lecture this helpful?

And as a result, Team B succeeded in eliminating a whopping thirteen Etinels in ten minutes.

It was a miracle created by overcoming the brutal simulation battles where the monster Baek Woohyun pushed them based on Etinel’s combat AI.

Although they ended up in a more battered state than the previous challenge—Geomsaeng Geomsa and Yun Daun had one arm completely shattered, and Yun Areum and Shuria were covered in blood—so what?

Compared to the astounding result they produced, it was just a very minor drawback. No matter how injured, capturing four more than before was a gain.

“······.”

“…Th-thirteen, you say.”

Needless to say, the sparks flew to Team A, who had been watching leisurely.

Team A members’ faces, which had started to stiffen from the moment the first Etinel was defeated, had already darkened by the time the challenge ended.

Because the record of thirteen felt like an insurmountable wall to them.

“Oh dear, oh my—”

“We got too tense… Sorry…”

“No, no. We all felt that way.”

– The pressure was too much.

– Because a crazy record was set right before them, holy—

– It would have been better if they went first, huhu

– This was truly self-destruction;

Perhaps because Team B set an incredible record ahead of them.

Team A lost their pace and floundered in the second challenge, for which they had even received extra practice time, performing worse than in the first challenge.

In trying to rush the eliminations, mistakes occurred, and bad habits surfaced one after another due to the hastily undertaken challenge.

Even so, they managed to produce the same result as the first challenge, but considering they trained under Cha Seongcheol and Jeong Nayeon’s help, it was properly messed up.

“Team A’s record is ten eliminations in ten minutes. Team B’s record is thirteen eliminations in ten minutes. Therefore, the result of the team mission is… Team B’s victory!”

“We won!””A comeback victory!”

“Argh! So close… I thought we’d win…”

– A last-minute comeback victory, holy—

– It’s really something.

– Even if Team A hadn’t self-destructed, Team B would have won.

– Thirteen eliminations is a truly insane record.

When Jeong Nayeon announced the result, Team A and Team B’s joy and sorrow crossed. The opposite direction of what the two teams showed in the first challenge.

Viewers watching this marveled at the fact that, even though they were convinced of Team A’s victory up until the first challenge, they had managed to overturn it.

And naturally, their admiration also extended to Baek Woohyun’s coaching, which created Team B’s reversal drama.

What was even more astonishing wasn’t that they won by a narrow margin.

Team B set a record of thirteen total eliminations, three more than Team A’s previous record. It meant they improved the record by almost over thirty percent.

As one viewer said, it was a figure you couldn’t confidently say Team A could have surpassed even if they hadn’t self-destructed and performed properly.

“To be able to raise Team B’s level this much. Truly amazing.”

It was a result even Cha Seongcheol, a current commentator, marveled at.

“At this point, it’s hard to downplay it as just a strategy tailored for mid-version Etinel. Because that in itself is even more amazing.”

– Pinpoint tailored coaching is possible??

– For real, that’s even more incredible lolololol

– For context: Hackphysical taught for only thirty minutes.

– Wow, damn, then if he taught properly, just what…;

Anyway, the result was set.

Team B advances to the finals, Team A is eliminated.

“We received the ‘Almost Won’ award.”

“But you made it to the quarterfinals. Have a drink~”

– lololololol

– Exiting cheerfully.

– It’s okay to have a drink on the way out.

– I was rooting for you, bye bye.

Although it’s a pity they didn’t make it to the finals, Team A members didn’t lose out.

They showed off their skills in various ways in front of tens of thousands of viewers, almost won, and even properly learned from Cha Seongcheol and Jeong Nayeon, albeit briefly.

Team A members left with smiles amidst farewells from the judges and Team B members.

“Hmm.”

Jeong Nayeon, looking at the remaining Team B, shrugged her shoulders.

Now, only the final team battle mission remained.

Therefore, they had to split Team B into two teams, and looking at them, the answer seemed all too clear.

“Well, the team division is practically already decided.”

“Definitely.”

– For real lol.

– There’s no other way to split.

– Maybe if it were Team A, but Team B? Pfft;

– Ah lol, so they’re gonna split the twins, that’s why lol

If they had to split Team B in two, it obviously had to be the Beau-tiful Twins and the Geomsaeng Geomsa-Shuria combo.

Regardless of team balance, for the broadcast, there was practically no other choice but to compose it that way.

Before the question of whether the Beau-tiful Twins becoming one team is unfair, you’d first have to counter the argument, ‘So is splitting the twins the right thing to do?’

Team B themselves seemed aware of this, as they naturally split and stood as Geomsaeng Geomsa and Shuria, and the Beau-tiful Twins.

“As explained before, the final mission is a team battle mission.”

‘CookingWoods’ donated ‘1000 won’!

[Roughly got it? From now on, kill each other.]