Your Commander-in-Chief – Chapter 293

The last day of the Deathmatch tournament.

9:30 AM.

The semifinals and finals are split between the morning and afternoon.

Since it’s the final match, the tournament venue seems to have prepared a lot.

There were more people around the hotel and near the tournament venue than before.

Walk proudly.

I entered the venue, trying to ignore the gazes I felt around me.

The moment I stepped in with my teammates, there was an intense stare.

Unlike the previous day, the audience seats were packed.

The buzzing of the crowd was no longer annoying noise.

“Hayun, do you see that? Our faces are on display!”

I turned my head at Ellie’s gesture.

There was a gigantic screen showing us clearly.

Could there be a camera somewhere?

I quickly scanned my surroundings.

But what could I find by doing that?

The cold, mechanical lens of the camera was beyond my senses.

As I saw my image on the screen, I let out a sigh.

My face, enlarged and projected.

I was gazing down, sighing dramatically.

It was undoubtedly a cute and beautiful sight that anyone would marvel at.

I understood the cameraman’s choice. His instinct would be telling him to capture me in the frame.

But this wasn’t a spot just for me.

I wished they would focus on the other players too…

I hid behind Sohee to dodge the camera.

As I concealed myself, the camera began to move.

On the screen appeared Sohee’s seemingly cold face.

She was staring intently in one direction.

How long had it been?

The camera connected to the screen blinked momentarily, and the displayed scene changed.

It switched from showing the players to a view looking down from above the arena.

As the spectators tilted their heads in confusion, a staff member approached and guided us into the game booth.

I nodded at the neat and rather impressive booth setup.

It wasn’t just separated by a curtain but had a plastic booth installed.

They seemed to have put in some effort for the final match.

“There’s a camera here too.”

While Ellie was looking around inside the booth, she approached a camera hanging in the corner.

As if wanting to hold the camera, Ellie reached out her hand.

But with her small stature, she couldn’t possibly reach it.

“Heh!”

What on earth did she want to do?

I shook my head at Ellie.

“Everyone, focus.”

The match would begin soon.

Having resolved to do my best, I was determined to give my all in the game.

That sentiment wasn’t different for Ellie, Hayun, or senior Seongsin.

“Everyone knows from yesterday, right? The composition of the opposing team.”

I looked at Sohee and senior Seongsin as I spoke.

The opposing team was a semifinals team. That meant they were quite skilled at the game.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a match for Ellie and me.

The problems lay with Seongsin and Sohee on our team.

With their current skills, it would be tough to win against the opposing players.

To be honest, the win probability was around 25%, which is pretty low.

If Sohee had been able to choose a Wizard class, it would have been a different story, but this tournament’s game was VRS.

“I’ll do my best.”

The first player to enter was Sohee.

Unlike before, she chose a more defense-oriented class this time.

Her chosen class was Paladin.

With a hefty blunt weapon and a shield, plus thick armor covering her whole body.

It would be tough to deal damage with any ordinary weapon.

Sohee’s opponent had chosen Knight.

He charged in with a heavy Claymore the moment the match began.

Clang!

The sword swung widely.

In response, Sohee stepped forward, her Kite Shield deflecting the blade.

She absorbed the impact without flinching.

Good decision.

Sohee didn’t stop there and swung her weapon.

Vwoosh!

With a heavy slicing sound, she launched her attack.

But the opposing Knight seemed to have anticipated it, dodging back and evading the attack.

Right after, the opponent changed his grip on the sword.

One hand that held the hilt went up to grip the blade.

A stance for quick and precise stabbing.

Half-swording.

I could tell from the footage I’d seen earlier.

The person fighting Sohee had undergone formal swordsmanship training.

While he looked clumsy to me, it seemed not to be the case for Sohee, who was facing him directly.

Clang!

Rapid succession of thrusts.

Sohee used her shield to block his attacks, but the opponent didn’t give her any space.

As the standoff continued, the opposing player seemed to make a bold decision and attempted to close the distance aggressively.

I bit my lip.

A physical confrontation was about to begin.

Sohee, who had played mostly as a Wizard her whole life, wasn’t familiar with such brawling tactics.

Naturally, she easily fell into the aggressive approach the opponent was using.

Bam!

A solid shoulder charge.

As they got closer, Sohee couldn’t use her weapon effectively.

Sohee struggled with her shield and blunt weapon, but the opponent maintained his Half-swording stance, continuously closing in.

As the grappling began, her stance quickly fell apart.

Sohee eventually lost her shield and allowed the opponent’s thrust.

A sharp blade pierced through the gaps in her armor.

Red blood trickled down the blade.

I knew it was just a game in a virtual world, but watching Sohee get hurt didn’t sit well with me.

In the end, the first match resulted in our defeat.

“Good job.”

“I’m sorry.”

I hugged Sohee as she crawled out of the capsule.

Of course, from an outside perspective, it probably looked like I was snugly tucked into her embrace due to my shorter height.

“I’ll be right back!”

Next up was senior Seongsin.

The opposing team hadn’t suggested a consecutive win.

The other side also had their second player enter the game.

Senior Seongsin chose Paladin.

Just like Sohee, he opted for a defensive setup.

The opposing player chose Samurai—a nodachi in hand.

A Samurai with skills that disregard defense and high attacking power.

This was a composition that clearly intended to wipe out senior Seongsin.

Thus, the second match began.

The opposing player, having evidently reviewed our team’s footage, rushed in from the start and cornered senior Seongsin.

I could tell his confidence from his expression since he wasn’t wearing a helmet.

Assured, filled with the certainty of victory.

His overflowing confidence made the nodachi he swung even more powerful.

The opponent had taken the lead.

Possibly, it was a natural outcome since they held control over the whole match.

Clang!

Two minutes and thirty seconds in.

The large swing of the nodachi sliced into Seongsin’s shoulder and gutted him.

His protective armor was also torn.

He was losing health.

Ultimately, senior Seongsin collapsed.

[Let’s go!]

The roar of the victor.

The right of the winner.

He gazed toward the sky, seemingly intoxicated in the moment.

“Ellie.”

Before senior Seongsin exited the capsule.

He called for the next player.

Ellie, who had been sitting and meditating with her eyes closed, jumped up in response to my call.

“I’ll be going.”

VR games are not played with the body.

Moving in virtual reality relies solely on mental strength.

Thus, what’s needed is strong self-suggestion.

Believing that one’s virtual self is the real deal, not the weak body in reality.

At this moment, Ellie was transformed into the Knight Jupiter.

“Sorry!”

“It’s okay.”

Senior Seongsin came out of the capsule, bowing his head in apology, but no one here blamed her for losing.

Senior Seongsin had done her best. That was enough.

Ellie chose the Knight class.

Investing in agility stats as much as she couldn’t raise the strength stat.

With the Claymore in hand, the agile Knight entered the battlefield.

[I’ll go all out.]

Stepping into the circular arena, Ellie raised her sword toward the opposing player, declaring her intention.

That was a message to herself and to me, watching from outside.

[Huff…]

A low breath escaped.

When Ellie opened her eyes slightly and held her breath, the atmosphere shifted.

The meek, soft-looking girl vanished.

What stood there was a Knight who had traversed countless battlefields.

Her opponent was a Viking.

With his upper body bare, he charged at Ellie wielding brutal dual axes.

The camera that had been showing the screen switched scenes.

The next view was from the Viking user’s first-person perspective.

As he charged toward the petite Knight before him, he swung his hands wide.

In that moment, our eyes locked.

An endless flow of time, a moment split in the arrival of an instant.

Ellie was there now.

Clearly, the Viking’s attack came first.

But Ellie’s late-moving blade managed to block all his strikes.

Clang!

Crash!

Clang!

Three times.

Ellie focused to acclimatize to her current sensations.

Right after, her movements began to change.

Clang!

Faster.

Predicting where the enemy’s next attack would land, she launched her counterattack.

Before the Viking’s strikes had fully materialized, Ellie’s sword pointed straight at him.

All it took to attack was minimal distance.

Ellie didn’t give him that distance.

The Viking, startled, retreated.

Ellie seized the moment without hesitation.

With a quick dash, she lunged forward with a shoulder tackle.

No need for brute force. The goal was merely to disrupt her opponent’s stance.

Bam!

Successfully breaking his stance.

As if she had expected this scenario, Ellie prepared for her next move.

Pulling her sword back.

Rotating to gather momentum for her lacking strength.

In that moment, her white hair scattered in all directions, and a sharp strike burst forth from Ellie’s hand.

Swish!

The Viking user’s chest was split wide open, a fountain of blood gushing forth.

Thus, the third match resulted in our victory.

I jumped up from my seat.

The fact that Ellie had used that talent meant she would be in a depleted state.

Once she exits the capsule, she wouldn’t be able to do anything.

She needed my help.

“Ellie!”

As expected.

Ellie emerged from the capsule, lying on the ground with a dazed expression.

For situations like this, Ellie always keeps medication at hand.

I rummaged through her pockets to pull out the medicine.

A small white pill on my palm.

I reached my finger to push the pill into Ellie’s soft, tender mouth.