Due to a leak of combat data, compensation amounting to trillions was claimed from the National Exchange Tournament Committee by 43 countries.
The lawsuit was still ongoing.
Even if it was deemed a past event, security for the future was a pressing issue.
After confirming that participant information had been leaked through individual combat simulations, a strategy meeting was held.
“How do we resolve the security issues for the individual combat simulations used for participant seed assignments? Any good ideas?”
Employees raised their hands one after another to present their thoughts.
“Strengthening application security!”
“Dispatching combat power assessors to each country!”
“Let’s just line them up in order of Aura Heart size!”
“…!!!”
This was the story of the youngest employee, who joined last month and was awarded Employee of the Month.
Although it seemed like a foolish idea on the surface, its justification was subjective.
There was a significant correlation between the performance of the National Exchange Tournament participants and the volume of their Aura Hearts.
Moreover, it could solve the existing problems of the current seeding methods, where upsets rarely occurred in rounds below the quarter-finals.
Creating a security solution in just four months was unrealistic.
Bringing in new measurement criteria would likely face strong resistance.
“Yeah, that’s true. Starting this year, the top 64 will proceed with group leagues. Let’s roughly divide the top seeds from 1 to 4 according to Aura Heart size and then randomize it.”
Everyone was aware that all of this was ultimately about cost reduction, even if it wasn’t explicitly stated.
—
[NoName]
[Just Chatting – 2053 France National Exchange Tournament Group Draw]
[Broadcast Time – 0:02:17]
[Viewer Count – 14,852]
At 2 PM in France, or at 10 PM in Korea, the group draw was held.
The number of participating countries had slightly decreased to 41 compared to the previous year.
The introduction of the group league for the top 64 was unprecedented in the National Exchange Tournament.
Consequently, the number of matches required to secure a victory increased from 6 to 8.
Jokingly, it was said that the number of matches had been increased to collect compensation.
Though this revision had been decided long ago, what could be done?
Perhaps they should have managed security better in the first place.
“Hello to all Mado Federation fans! I’m caster Kim Jae-sung. The largest single Mado Federation event on Earth, the National Exchange Tournament, is just three months away. With South Korea deciding to participate after three years, today we will hold the fateful group draw!”
Caster Kim Jae-sung from KBS announced the start of the draw with his impressive voice.
I walked into the living room with a towel around my neck.
I set up the camera in front of the desk and sat on the floor in front of the sofa.
“Hi hi! It’s been a while since I’ve done a real-life broadcast.”
I had just showered and stepped out.
I shook off the moisture from my towel.
-Namehai~~
-So fresh, Name!!!
-Why did it take you so long to shower, Teacher?
-Kyaa so cute!
-Wow, Name’s legs look so thin… I feel like they could break if you kick somethingㅠㅠㅠ
└ Your legs might break.
-Your face is so smooth and white, totally a baby, hehe.
“Name, if you’re done showering, you should dry your hair first.”
“I’ll do it later, Dad. I just want to watch the draw.”
Professor Cheon, who was in the bedroom, began to nag.
I ignored it and slowed down the chat.
Since I wasn’t confident talking for an hour alone, I thought I would listen to people’s stories.
[‘Deco Mori’ donated 20,000 won!]
-No, Dad, I’ll handle it myself! Close the door and go out already!
“That’s truly slander… Ugh, I have to go dry my hair because of you guys.”
I brought the hair dryer and plugged it in.
Whiiiiir-
Drying this heavy hair would take a while.
I spread my hair evenly on the desk, moving the hair dryer back and forth like ironing.
-Name, the teenage years are off-limits…
-A well-behaved teacher is pretty!
-Father is crying, haha.
-Your hair is so long. Name, you might suit a bob cut.
└ It just looks long because you’re short.
└ (Deleted comment)
└ Kyaaa, censorship!
└ You should never mention height in front of Name.
-What seed are you?
└ You’re pretty bad for asking that.
“Did you know? I’m not the worst, after all.”
I confidently revealed my ranking.
[#62 Name No(KR): 1458cm³]
[#63 Bruno Miguel(AO): 1457cm³]
[#64 Mohamed Bakambu(BF): 1455cm³]
I closed my eyes and stretched my arms up.
-God Name Huang
-Is it worship time now?
-Applaud…
-Ah, I worship you, GOAT.
-AO, BF country codes, where are they from for the first time?
└ Angola, Burkina Faso, in order.
-Name Huang is definitely legendary.
-What’s with your entertainment sense these days, haha.
-Can a ten-year-old’s Aura Heart really be as big as an adult’s? That’s amazing.
└ This kind of situation is usually described as having swollen guts, right?
└ Wow… is Name….?
└ Aah.
“Sometimes I check my DMs, and surprisingly, there are many people worrying about me. ‘I’m worried you’ll get hurt, Unni,’ ‘Name, please overcome the weight difference and definitely win,’ etc. We Mado Masters don’t need you to worry like that since Aura Heart is equivalent to weight class.”
In terms of mixed martial arts, it’s usually only one weight class at most; the difference can be at most two weight classes.
“Anyway, why does everyone call me Unni or Noona? Aren’t you all younger than me?”
A bewildered expression naturally crept onto my face.
From just looking at my profile, I look like a high school or college student!
-LOL.
-Oh, Name, I’m rooting for you! The seventh-grade younger sibling supporting you~
-LOL, if you’re good at fighting, calling you Unni or Noona is right.
-Huh, I unconsciously referred to you as Unni.
After the singers’ performances ended, the main draw began.
“For the first pot, we have Mr. Samuel Lopez from France. He’s quite a famous person.”
He rolled his tongue, sounding Italian, not French.
[‘Rice Shower’ donated 5,000 won!]
-Oh, who is this? Please explain Napeed Wagon!
“I… I’m not really sure. He’s famous, so he must be someone important.”
-LOL.
-Failed to act like you know something~
-You’re supposed to be funny, haha.
From Group A to Group P, participants are assigned to the first pot in order.
The host country, France, was assigned to Group A.
Following France were Singapore, Sweden, India, the Netherlands, the USA… skipping ahead, once again the USA, the USA.
“Why does the USA have three participants?”
I stared intensely at the chat with a serious look.
“Um… originally the USA provided the funding, so there were always three. Then for France? Aah, as the host country… Japan, I’ll guess. Because they were last year’s champions. Oh, I got it… clears throat I actually knew that. I was just pretending for those who might not know. Wait a moment… but Italy has no relevance at all!”
[‘Allback Ant’ donated 5,000 won!]
-Italy won last year’s Europa and got a bonus ticket, haha.
-LOL, this Unni doesn’t know anything.
-Please pay attention!
-Master: After all, since Name will crush everyone anyway, there’s no reason to care!
-You’re amazing, Teacher.
The USA, France, Japan, and Italy took three tickets each, while 15 countries, including South Korea, took two, and the remaining 22 countries took one each.
Feeling embarrassed, I hugged my blanket and poked my head out.
As names of the participants were drawn one by one, the cameras focused on the national team coaches’ faces.
Depending on whether it was a golden or death group, emotions were mixed.
Since the tournament format had been abolished, it was an excellent opportunity for minor countries to make it into the top 32.
It seemed Kim Love was assigned to Group H.
Her cheering fans raised their glasses in celebration.
This was because all her relatively well-known friends had gone to the right bracket from Group I to P.
And in Group I, the USA and Japan were grouped together.
To make matters worse, they also got the UK in Pot 3.
-Kyiing, please step on them, Master!
-The main event spots are all filled.
-Not Emika, it’s boring.
-Oh wow, this is definitely a death group.
-One of the three will be eliminated.
-If Pot 4 lands here, just don’t show up and stay there, haha.
Finally, it was the draw for Pot 4.
Now it was finally my turn.
I kicked the blanket away and stood up suddenly.
-Noname is making an emergency escape from the blanket!
-Please not Group B or C.
-Name, may your draw luck be goodㅠㅠ.
-What’s with the thrill?
I wouldn’t care if I ended up in the death group.
I held one side of my hair, braided into pigtails, in my hand and wrapped it around my face.
Group B was definitely out, and C was also a pass.
As my name continued to not be called, viewers began to display signs of neurosis.
[Next is Group H, which includes Korea, Ireland, and Estonia. Who will be the last person to face Kim Love?!]
The drawmaster reached into a transparent basket and picked out a white ball.
He opened the lid of the ball and rummaged through the notes inside.
The man held the note with both hands and lifted it with poise.
[Name No – Republic of Korea]
The audience erupted in a loud murmur that could be heard through the microphone.
The caster shouted with heightened voice.
[The participant from South Korea, Noname! But… since Kim Love is in Group H, we need to move to the next group!]
[Oh, does that mean Group I?]
[Yes, it’s Group I…! Ahhh, the youngest participant in the National Exchange Tournament, Noname, has ended up in the deadly Group I!]
[Uh-oh… UK’s coach Connolly is urgently making a phone call. His expression isn’t too good.]
[Was the death group a little bland? With the addition of Korea’s Noname, they’ve sprinkled capsaicin all over.]
[Additionally, I would like to inform you that in Kim Love’s Group H, the player from Burkina Faso, Mohamed Bakambu, has been assigned.]
“Oh, Group I.”
The group draw concluded.
<Group I>
1: Levi Huening Jr. (USA)
2: Hiroki Naita (Japan)
3: David Everett (UK)
4: Noname (Korea)
[‘Big Trouble Siren’ donated 50,000 won!]
-Wheeeeeeah!
-Bisaaaaan!
-Diddly-deedle-dee!
-How did I get caught;;
-Does this even make sense?
-Group H was so sweet, but the restriction on multiple assignments is too much.
-For a moment, I thought, oh nice, this is really sweet, and then woah, shut the fu-.
-I’ve gone from heaven to hell.
-Name, it seems you are destined for hardshipㅠㅠㅠㅠ.
-Is this real life?
Such a fuss.
Well, the subsequent draw was about the match schedule, so there was no need to watch any further.
I searched for the national anthems of the USA, Japan, and the UK on VTube and played all three songs simultaneously.
-What are you doing?
-National anthem?
-Why the sudden national songs?
“Since I can’t hear all three at once anyway, I thought I might as well listen now.”
