“Ahhhhh—!”

The sad sound of tens of thousands of spectators roared through the venue. Some of them seemed to have already antic.i.p.ated it. There were those who said, “I knew it would be like this.” It was because the MCs who hosted events often dragged out the award ceremonies.

“Hoho. The MCs always play around like this.”

“It's too bad.”

Choi Kanghyun and Kim Mikyung were laughing. Jeongdo sat next to them and was unhappy. He was annoyed with MCs who did such a thing.

“Ah, it's too boring. How long is this going to last?”

Well, there were differences between people. I was experiencing it for the first time so I just smiled and watched the stage. Most of the players shown on the screen were smiling. Not surprisingly, Mido was the prettiest. All the others looked like squids.

-The moment you press the play b.u.t.ton, you're already a slave to the rhythm...

The advertis.e.m.e.nt played on the huge screen. A feast of gorgeous dancers related to a rhythm game continued for 30 seconds. Soon after the advertis.e.m.e.nt ended, a second advertis.e.m.e.nt popped up.

-Macarons, don't eat them. Give them to your ears. Your...

Macaron was a bread that my daughter-in-law bought and I tried once. It was so sweet that I wondered how there was such a bread. By the way, why should I give it to my ears? The advertisers had finally gone crazy.

-Sound quality bang bang . Sound bang bang. The Holy Ghost Macaron headset costs only 9,900 won...!

...Oh, the headset was like a macaron. By the way, those guys from the Holy Spirit Group made it? I wished for those bad guys to be ruined.

I swore inwardly while waiting for the advertis.e.m.e.nt to end. Once the advertis.e.m.e.nt finally finished, a tense background sound was heard. The sound of drums heightened the atmosphere.

-Now, everyone has been waiting a long time. What will be the event for the finals of the national team selection?

...d.a.m.n guy. He was slowing things down again.

-The result is now in my hand.

The drumming sound in my ears was like a pulse. In between, the voice of the lowly host was heard.

-It is...

Ah, this f.u.c.ker. Say it quickly.

-The Battlefield!

People around me were buzzing. What on earth was this Battlefield? As if to answer my question, the screen switched. The host continued speaking. 

-I think a lot of people know the Battlefield well. I will explain for those who don't know. This...

The host's long explanation followed. To sum it up, there was a game called Battlefield before Arkstar opened. It is said that it was ruined by Arkstar's opening. As a result, Union acquired it. At the same time, Union created a map that resembled Battlefield. The host started to explain the rules.

-The 50 partic.i.p.ants will refresh in random places all over the island, which is modeled after Jeju Island. They will all fight with the same stats and it doesn't matter if they team up. Of course, that's if they can meet their teammates.

Partic.i.p.ants had to survive in some way throughout the island.

Once they opened the first box in the beginning, they would get a Power Stone and could select three skills. By consuming Power Stones that appeared when killing another player, the stats value will increase greatly and they would become stronger. 

-So in the end, the last person who remains is the winner. The players' actions will be scored by the judges, including the coach.

At the same time, the people sitting in the judges' seats stood up and greeted the audience lightly. The screen switched and the host spoke again.

-Then the players, please access the capsule. 

* * *

Mido entered the capsule and took a light breath. She didn't know what the outcome of this game would be, but she still wanted to do her best. It was a courtesy for her family members who came this far.

[Welcome 'Mido.']

Her iris was scanned and she saw a message about her ID being confirmed. Then the surroundings became brighter. Mido was standing in a reed field.

“Where is this? Let's look for the box first,” Mido muttered and started to search the surroundings. 

According to the host, the map contained a variety of items in boxes to help them survive. It could be a potion, a weapon, or magic scrolls. No matter what, it was better than her present situation where she had nothing.

“I found it.”

Mido cleverly opened a box hidden between the reeds. 

[Wooden Sword]

[Rating: Normal

Attack Power: 10 

A wooden sword.]

“Ah, it's a wooden sword.”

It contained a wooden sword and a small paintbrush. She thought it would only contain a potion. Fortunately, it had a weapon. Mido held the brush in one hand and a wooden sword in the other. She swung the wooden sword through the air and muttered, “It is good that I'm familiar with it.” 

Until recently, Mido had been training with Park Muyeol. The training weapon was naturally a wooden sword so she was now more familiar with it than the b.l.o.o.d.y Butcher.

“Additionally, this...”

She picked up a brightly lit stone.

[A Power Stone has been acquired.]

[All your stats will increase by +1.]

[The first box has been opened.]

[From now on, you can choose three skills at random.]

[1. Body Painting. 2. Weapon Drawing. 3...]

After a brief struggle, Mido picked two skills. In fact, there were a few useful skills, but there were only two that could help her in her role as a supporter—Body Painting and Weapon Drawing. Body Painting might be weak, but she could buff her body. Meanwhile, Weapon Drawing would allow her to draw on a weapon, such as her wooden sword, to increase its attack power. If so, what should the last one be?

“I should take this.”

She selected the last skill and a message popped up.

[The three skills have been selected.]

[The skill 'Body Painting' has been created.]

[The skill 'Weapon Drawing' has been created.]

[The skill 'Sketch Mind' has been created.]

Sketch Mind was a new painter's skill that she recently learned. It was a very useful skill for her who was less likely to use the brush and palette while practicing swordsmans.h.i.+p. It was a skill that allowed any tools that could be used for drawing to float in the air and follow beside her. Additionally, she could use the skill to project what she thought as a drawing, without her having to draw it herself by hand. 

What did this mean?

“Hup!”

Mido started to crush the box in front of her eyes. The box was disa.s.sembled and several wooden planks fell down. Then she picked them up. She muttered in a low voice, “Sketch Mind.”

The brush in her left hand hovered in the air and revolved around her. Mido imagined hitting a person in her head. The brush moved by itself and started to draw a small picture on Mido's wooden sword. Of course, it was the cat character called 'Kitty.'

[Human attack +1 is added to the wooden sword.]

“Good.”

Mido then imagined her shoes with wings. The brush in the air moved to her ankles and drew the image she imagined on it. It was soon completed and a message similar to the previous one appeared. It was a message that her movement speed had increased.

“Good. The preparations are complete.”

She thought no one was looking at her so she held her hands together cutely and vowed to win. Then the wooden plants she obtained from breaking the box floated in the air due to 'Sketch Mind.' She started to look around at the terrain.

* * *

-The players are opening boxes one by one.

-Everyone seems to have a weapon.

-Choi Mido also finally got a weapon.

I listened to the descriptions of those introduced as commentators while focusing on the screen. I wasn't very satisfied when they showed the others, but I nodded and smiled when Mido appeared. The moment she started, she searched carefully around her for a box. She might be the last one, but she finally found the box with her indomitable will. It contained a Power Stone, a wooden sword, and a paintbrush. 

According to the commentator, it wasn't unusual for a paintbrush to come out because the first box came with a box suitable for the cla.s.s.

-Choi Mido is wielding the wooden sword while feeling troubled.

-What skills will she choose?

-Her competence as a painter is being tested.

The eyes of the judges shone as they paid attention to her choice. Then Mido made her choices.

-Ah, they are expected choices.

-Choi Mido's specialties, Body Painting and Weapon Drawing are indispensable for her when she is a supporter.

The screen showed the scene where Mido used Sketch Mind to draw shoes on her ankles and Kitty on the wooden sword. The commentators laughed when they saw it.

-Choi Mido's love for Kitty is famous. It is very cute to look at when fighting.

-Haha. I see. I often watch Choi Mido's broadcasts. Hasn't she become more famous recently thanks to Dark Wolf? Well, I heard that Choi Mido has many fans because she is so beautiful.

-However, the last skill is a bit strange. Sketch Mind...? Why did she choose that? Why not draw it by hand? There are many other helpful skills. For example, there is a basic skill called 'Pallet Throwing.' It is a very useful skill for her when she is a supporter.

At this time, the commentators' words were cut off as they let out an exclamation of surprise.

-Ah~! Choi Mido has started breaking the box!

-What is she doing by smas.h.i.+ng it?!

-The judges are paying attention to her behavior!

-Ah, she is using Sketch Mind on the broken wooden plants of the box!

-What is she thinking?

The spectators, including myself, were surprised by Mido's unexpected action. The judges watched the screen with s.h.i.+ning eyes. She started using Sketch Mind to draw something on the wooden plank. The screen zoomed in and revealed the ident.i.ty of what she was drawing.

-Ah~!! It is a map! Choi Mido has started to draw a map on the wooden planks!

[1] Bread is 'bang' in Korean