Isekai Online Game Developer

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Arcane War unfolded rapidly under intense interest.

The round of 32 spanned a total of 4 days due to 16 matches that needed to be played.

From the round of 16 onward, the numbers began to dwindle quickly.

“Oh no…”

“Bwahahaha! You’ve always been beneath us since ancient times!”

“I refuse to accept this… Let’s settle it with magic again!”

A small incident occurred during the last match of the round of 16, featuring the Fire Tower and Water Tower.

Fortunately, with the intervention of other Tower Masters, the Water Tower Master’s rampage was halted.

It was only natural for the Water Tower to lose.

The Water Tower Master, lacking skill, had been forced to compete as a representative.

Of course, she blamed her disciples who had come along with her.

“What… This is nonsense. How could we lose to that vile darkness…”

“Keehee…”

Then, the long-awaited meeting of rival Towers occurred.

The match between the Light Tower and Darkness Tower drew significant attention.

When the Darkness Tower, known in society as the villain, emerged victorious, countless spectators were left in shock.

Though darkness is merely one attribute, such perceptions have existed since ancient times.

Light is seen as holy; darkness as evil.

Strangely, Dark Mages relished such views.

In this match, the Darkness Tower also portrayed a villainous persona and triumphed over the Light Tower.

Some even reveled in the darkness.

“Hah, hahah. Hahuhuh!”

And finally, the finals approached.

The Towers that made it to the finals were the Illusion Tower and Electricity Tower.

“Don’t be nervous, Tower Master. You’re going to lose your breath!”

“B-b-but… for the first time…”

“It’s the first time the Illusion Tower has achieved such a result in the Arcane War?”

“Hah, we always just watched…”

“Naturally, we’ve always just spectated!”

Hina was trembling with excitement ahead of the finals.

It seemed she was quite nervous since the Illusion Tower was garnering this much attention for the first time.

“Let’s aim for victory till the end!”

“Y-yes…!”

Hina clenched her fists and ascended the stage alongside the other members.

Contrary to her initial worries, the Mages were genuinely enjoying COL.

Many would think that since it did not involve magic, people might be dissatisfied, but it appeared they were enjoying the competition itself even more.

Everyone was thoroughly absorbed in COL.

Of course, even if the Illusion Tower won, they wouldn’t necessarily validate the magic itself.

At the very least, they would acknowledge the utility of the Illusion game artifacts and the skill displayed in COL.

Such were the reactions characteristic of Mages who grasped the essence of every situation.

“Oh, Tower Master.”

Soon after, the Electricity Tower entered.

Electra approached me and spoke.

“Looks like the Illusion Tower has made it to the finals.”

“Our Tower Master is quite passionate about the game. I’ve heard you’re quite good as well!”

I was aware of Hina’s gaming talent.

But Electra’s skill was also astonishing.

In particular, the Electricity Tower was incredibly devoted to the game, having even abandoned work to focus solely on COL prior to the Arcane War.

“The more I play, the more my skills improve. Facing various opponents has begun to reveal different angles to the game.”

“You have talent. It’s not easy to improve this much in such a short time.”

I had been grinding for ten years yet struggled.

The skills of Electra and the Electricity Mages noticeably increased as the Arcane War progressed.

More impressively, they demonstrated great teamwork.

Under Electra’s leadership, the Electricity Tower coordinated the best among all Towers.

Electra would occasionally head mid and sometimes play ADC.

Typically, one person exclusively focuses on a single lane.

However, it seemed she adjusted depending on the skills of the other members.

“…Thank you for creating something like this.”

“Pardon?”

“Thanks to you, I could feel joy after a long time.”

“I’m glad to hear that!”

Electra flashed a gentle smile as she ascended the stage.

Unintentionally, my mouth turned up at her beautiful smile.

“Hmph!”

Leah, who was behind me, shot me a disapproving glance, then followed Electra onto the stage.

She hasn’t changed a bit, just like the old days.

“Phew… I’m really looking forward to this. Already at the finals.”

When I moved to the commentary section, Galleard was seated there.

Fully immersed in COL, Galleard had recently started commentating without permission.

I wanted to say something to him but opted to stay silent.

Instead, I activated the voice amplification artifact.

“From now on!”

The voice spread across the entire Trinity area through the amplification artifact.

Instantly, the audience’s scattered focus converged on the stage.

Ooooh—!

Simultaneously, the stage illuminated.

As the final battleground was revealed, cheers erupted from the audience.

Echoing along with their cheers, I raised my voice toward the heavens.

“Center of all magic in this world! The starting point of all knowledge and wisdom! With the fervent cheers of everyone filling this place, we shall kick off the finals of the Arcane War—”

—Let it begin—!!

Waaaah—!

With the thunderous uproar, the final match of the Arcane War commenced.

*

“Ugh! If only we could win this final team fight…!”

As the first set concluded, the Electricity Mages exited the game, shouting in frustration.

Returning to reality, the audience was cheering for Hina’s last play.

“It’s all my fault.”

“No, Tower Master! The enemy mid was just too…”

The reason for their defeat lay with the Illusion Tower’s mid. Tower Master Hina.

Electra had done her best against Hina.

However, Hina’s physical prowess was unmatched.

She didn’t miss a single tiny opening.

Rolling the one kill she accidentally gave away into a snowball, she carried the game.

“Maybe I should have locked down the mid and let another lane loose. My misconception was thinking I could beat the Illusion Tower Master.”

“It’s okay. If it wasn’t for you, we would’ve lost even more easily.”

Electra, heavy with self-reproach, was comforted by her disciples.

However, far more pressing was the need to win the next set.

“Tower Master, I’ll take care of the mid this time.”

“Are you sure you can handle it?”

“Yes. I won’t let them take a single kill, and it would be better for you to grow and carry.”

Leah spoke to Electra.

She was right, as Leah pointed out.

If Hina and Electra both stood in the same lane, Electra wouldn’t be able to carry.

It made more sense for her to roam to another lane and grow more to increase her potential to carry.

“…That sounds like a good plan. Let’s definitely win.”

““Yes!””

And with that, the next set commenced.

“Hmm? The Electricity Tower’s picks seem strange.”

“Malphite and Kennen… Who’s going top?”

The audience murmured as the picks for the Electricity Tower appeared.

Even Rai and Galleard, who were commentating, were taken aback.

—Ah, the Electricity Tower. It looks like the Tower Master has gone ADC. We’ve often seen this pattern from the Electricity Tower.

—But what is this Malphite and Kennen? Could they be going mid with Kennen?

—Hmm, considering Mage Leah has been taking mid in place of the Tower Master so far, I think it might be Malphite mid.

The game began.

As Rai pointed out, Malphite indeed appeared mid.

“Mid Malphite?”

“Is that even allowed? I’ve never seen that pick before.”

Audience questions were clarified by Rai’s commentary.

—It’s hard for Zed to secure kills against Malphite due to matchup deficiencies, so they likely aimed to exploit that aspect. They seem to think that Malphite can stall mid while the other lanes can carry. However, mid-Malphite is not a conventional pick.

Indeed, Zed struggled to secure kills against Malphite.

Malphite pushed the lane relentlessly, inhibiting Zed’s roaming.

As a result, Zed’s growth stagnated noticeably.

Double kill!

Meanwhile, the Electricity Tower dominated the bottom lane.

In just 10 minutes after starting, they secured double kills against the enemy bottom duo.

—Oh no! Baine already has 4 kills! Zed went down to the bottom lane but couldn’t secure a kill!

Zed’s failed roam further delayed his growth.

Desperate, Zed entered the enemy jungle to secure a kill.

But by then, the growth of the Electricity Tower ADC, Baine, had become unstoppable.

—Ah! The Electricity Tower! Baine is wiping them out! He’s single-handedly clearing everything!

Quadra kill!

—The Nexus goes down!

—GG—!

Ultimately, thanks to Baine’s carrying, the second set victory went to the Electricity Tower.

Picking mid-Malphite and support Leona, they fiercely protected their ADC.

“Owuoahhhhhh!”

“Ugh! Uuaah…”

“I’m so sorry. We let Baine grow too much.”

“We apologize…”

Following the conclusion of the second set, Rain and Goss appeared dejected.

It was true that they delivered victory due to the bottom lane.

“The Electricity Tower Master’s skills shouldn’t be underestimated if they keep protecting Baine like that; we can’t do anything.”

“I should have grown better. I didn’t expect the Malphite…”

Seris, the jungle, muttered frustratingly, alongside a crestfallen Hina.

They felt the frustration of not countering the unexpected strategy of the Electricity Tower.

“Tower Master, you’ve done well so far. It’s us who should be sorry.”

“Since it has come to this, shall we lock down the bottom lane? It feels like a struggle between who carries among you and the Electricity Tower Master.”

Medeia, looking relatively upbeat, spoke.

At least, she was in a good mood since she had won her top lane.

Of course, her teammates were dissatisfied with her not coming down from top.

“Then I’ll poke mid a lot. I’ll keep an eye on mid, Tower Master.”

“Ugh… even so… If they pick a Malphite again, I’ll be at a disadvantage.”

What both teams needed was to prevent the other’s Tower Master from growing.

At the same time, their own Tower Master needed to grow to carry.

“Let’s hold bottom as long as we can… let’s focus on top.”

“Y-yes?”

“Are you finally paying attention to the top lane?”

“Are we really going to nurture that mental case? No matter how much it is ganked, we’ll still lose!”

“Hey! The enemy jungle came to gank us a lot!”

“What are you talking about? The enemy jungle has only been focusing on the bottom!”

What kind of place is the top lane?

It seems that the top laners, to the point of earning the nickname ‘Top Mental Case’, were solely fixated on their fights.

Medeia and the other top laners were no exception.

Perhaps that’s why there were hardly any top-centric plays in this Arcane War.

“Um, well, the enemy jungle will primarily focus on mid and bottom. Seris, go lower lane while keeping an eye on Electra.”

“Isn’t that just the same as last time?”

“I can’t secure kills mid anyway… I’ll spend more time roaming to top. I’m going to break through top.”

Hina explained her strategy, flapping her arms in excitement.

Though it was a completely new approach, it seemed plausible.

“Hmm… I’m not sure, but I’ll hold on at bottom!”

“Let’s do as Tower Master wishes.”

“Just leave it to me!”

And thus began the finals of the Arcane War. The final set that would determine the victor.

It was the moment when the first-ever backdoor play in COL history would occur.