The screen was blue. This wasn’t due to a blue screen caused by device malfunctions or any other reasons; it was because water had flooded various parts of the facility. In the Poplar Ridge Correctional Facility, where only two manifestors remained, an unexpected underwater battle was taking place.

Their movements were so agile that it was hard to believe they were fighting underwater. Of course, compared to their speed on land, there was almost a difference akin to that of airplanes and cars. But who among the participants in this Final Championship had any experience fighting underwater without even wearing a diving suit?

Compared to the overwhelming majority, who were waiting for a slow death to come over three minutes after being submerged, Logan and Yujin's underwater combat was indeed intense.

As soon as the upper facility was completely submerged in seawater, both of them threw everything but their grenades and pistols to the bottom and began to swim. After that, a 3D battle reminiscent of fighter jets in a dogfight began.

Both approached within just a few meters, each wielding only a pistol in their right hand. Yujin grabbed the shield in Logan's hand and desperately tore off two grenades from the molly, shoving them into Logan. Conversely, Logan also folded the shield and did not let go of Yujin.

A heavy, dull sound erupted. At the same time, Logan and Yujin expelled all the air from their mouths, their faces contorted in pain. The shockwave from the grenade explosion rattled their insides.

Even after the bizarre scene of their shields and HP being depleted simultaneously, the two squeezed out their remaining strength and fired their pistols. However, Logan, who had lost his left arm to the grenade explosion but managed to protect his organs, had the upper hand.

As the bullet pierced through Yujin’s flesh, her strength drained away. Leaving Yujin, who was slowly sinking to the ground, Logan swam leisurely and leaned against the escape pod located just a dozen meters away.

With a 'whoosh' sound, the water in the escape pod was expelled, and Logan's body was shot upwards as if he were on a giant drop ride.

"Ah, Logan! He has defeated Yujin and boarded the escape pod! He has become the only escapee from the Poplar Ridge Correctional Facility! The final winner of the second match on Friday is Logan!"

And at that moment—

Click!

"Ugh, I’m going to die."
"Ah, you’re here?"
"Biyam has arrived, Biyam!"
"I watched the underwater battle between the polar bear and the anaconda, sir!"

Yujin reached the debriefing room. Now, she didn’t care much about what her teammates said. Until Wednesday, she had maintained a perfect superhuman appearance even after the matches, but from Thursday, she began to relax a little.

Of course, it was unnecessary to mention that nobody disliked it. And she was well aware of this fact, so as soon as she entered the room, she plopped down on the bed. The debriefing room was also the playroom assigned to Mikael, Ink, and Gambit, which made it possible.

Yujin, wrapped in her blanket like a caterpillar, opened her mouth.

"Since the next match is the last one, do we really have to do the debriefing?"
"Wow, the legend of neglecting duties."
"Just because I don't do the debriefing doesn't mean you all will mess up the last match, right?"

Of course, her words fell on deaf ears.

The situation was subdued when Dice, who had somehow perched beside the bed, pulled back the blanket and slapped Yujin on the back. Thus, Biyam regained her professionalism, took the remote, and began to check the plays of others - the first being Dice's, who had been eliminated much sooner than expected.

But it wasn’t that the cause was unclear.

"Of course."

Dice, who usually made it into the TOP 10, suddenly finished in 17th place. In other words, someone had to have defeated her and secured that rank. Since Yujin hadn’t seen Dice even once in the second round, there was only one suspect.

When Yujin played back the last three minutes of Dice's performance, she let out a rare chuckle and added,
"Before coming to the room, Laurentina said that the blonde seemed to rely too much on gimmicks and told me to scold her harshly, but I wondered what she meant."
"Ugh…."

That shark girl’s words, huh…. Only Dice understood that sound. Naturally, she sprawled on the bed as soon as she heard it.

It wasn’t entirely wrong to say she relied too much on gimmicks, but it was also true that she had no choice. The person herself was well aware of the issue. Of course, she hadn’t thought that an EMP pulse would break the gate.

In other words, it was a kind of deadlock. She had no confidence in winning if she confronted her opponent head-on without relying on gimmicks, and Logan was surely aware of how to use gimmicks by now.

It was hard to accept that there was only one way to win and that the enemy knew it too. In the end, digging traps more thoroughly seemed like a reasonable solution.

…Of course,
"I can't express how fortunate it is that the next match is the last."
"And from next year, neither Logan nor I will be here."
"Uh…."

The four of them had expressions that seemed unsure whether to be happy or not. While Logan might not be, Yujin was still the mental pillar and solid rock of the Korean national team. Just as one does better when others perform well, and one also wavers when others waver, she firmly held the center of the team, ensuring that everyone maintained their composure in any situation.

And with that, Yujin officially expressed her intention to retire to the representative players. For some reason, that made Dice and the others feel a weight on their shoulders.

Of course, even after the Final Championship ended, Yujin planned to guide scrims and curriculums as long as she could, but that was purely her goodwill.

"Moreover, because of the play shown this year, there’s a high probability that everyone will study their skills deeply for next year. If you get too comfortable, you won’t even get back what you invested."

"Well, there’s no guarantee that the skill curriculum for the users competing next year will all go in the right direction, right?"
"I can’t deny that."

At that moment, Yujin was digging through the combat data existing within the Icarus gear to teach the Korean national team, extracting only the most effective and efficient methods to dose them, while the representatives learned the best curriculum distilled from countless trials and errors.

To bridge that gap would likely take at least two years. It was a combat manual perfected by sacrificing human lives.

Somehow, it felt closer to laying the groundwork for future ambitions rather than just a debriefing, but that was also true. Once the next match ended, Yujin would have no reason to be responsible for them anymore, and she would lose her position as coach.

Thus, Yujin, with a different kind expression than usual, added,
"But do not get complacent. The time to develop what I’ve taught you is when it truly becomes valuable. Complacency is just another form of regression."

She placed an unbearable weight and a gift upon them simultaneously.

Her mouth opened once more.
"I hope everyone makes it into the TOP 10 next year without exception, and Dice… shouldn’t you at least earn the title of Apex Predator once?"

Apex Predator.
The pinnacle of predators.
A title that only one person in the world can possess. The moment you achieve first place in the Final Championship, not only do you gain honor in reality, but you also receive an incredibly splendid recognition badge, shoulder patch, rank insignia, and permanent gun skin that can be used in-game.

Before being a pro gamer, it was an appealing collection item as a user.

Upon hearing that, Dice giggled and continued,
"One thing’s for sure, the first-place recognition badge and patch I’ll get next year will look better than what Yujin will receive this year."
"Let’s see about that. Let’s compare on January 1st of the year after next."

At the same time, Yujin looked around.
"I hope not only Dice but all of you can come to boast to me as well."

Clap.
She clapped once and added,
"Though it’s a bit early, everyone, thank you for safely following my curriculum until now. You have all achieved the results you wanted, and even if you eventually stop in the Dark Zone, I hope today’s results are remembered as a glorious moment in your life that you can recall even 40 years later."

With sincere feelings, Yujin bowed her waist.
At the same time, a thunderous applause erupted, and only then did Yujin straighten her back and gesture towards Dice. There were only about three minutes left until the last match of Friday, and the final match of the Final Championship was about to begin.

And the following words,
"There will be a Harmony match later, so those who want to watch can stay, and those who want to leave can go to the hotel. Also, on Saturday, there will be the final party of the year hosted by Henry, so everyone, feel free to shop nearby."

Whoosh.
At that moment, Yujin tactically snatched Dice, and only the remaining three had bewildered expressions as they opened their mouths.
"...Henry?"

Of course, it would take a little more time for them to recall who Henry was.

The end of the Final Championship was approaching.

"It is finally the last day of the two-week Final Championship, and the final match is about to begin! Who will be the one to close the curtain on the main event? The results will be revealed over the next 30 minutes!"

The final match of the Final Championship begins.

Originally, no conversation was allowed inside the transport aircraft, but the last match on the last day of the Final Championship was literally an exception. Everyone smiled as they sent their congratulations for the upcoming New Year, adding wishes for a good end to the year.

"Yujin! Yujin! Can I get an autograph after it’s over?"
"Everyone shut up! I’m first!"

Of course, there were many who were not as polite.

Dice, sitting right next to Yujin, chuckled and mumbled, "You’ll be busy after the match," as she popped up the minimap. She needed to identify the flight route of the transport and the location of the volcano. At the same time, one by one, others began to do the same.

As Yujin stared intensely at the map, countless routes began to form in her mind - that was practically the most crucial part. The variable of the map gimmick also began to operate the machine called tactics in this vast logical deduction process.

Atakaia Volcano Island. Beneath it lies a considerably wide space and passageways. As too many people came to the island, it was almost developed underground as well as above ground, but this was more than enough space for the lava flowing to serve as a kill zone.

In other words, by controlling the flow of lava from the control room managing the underground facilities, it would also be possible to guide people into the kill zone.

How would she utilize this?
That was one of her countless concerns.

"You're thinking about something troubling again, aren’t you?"
"…."

Of course, the person thinking troubling thoughts created another person with troubling thoughts, and it was needless to say that Dice was also pondering similar thoughts.

The hatch opened, and everyone began to jump out. Naturally, they couldn’t jump out whenever they wanted to prevent teaming, meaning this was based on strict random timing. In other words, the users jumping out in real-time weren’t doing so of their own volition.

Meanwhile, Yujin's body naturally moved as well. As she stepped on the lower hatch and jumped out, only the sound of the wind enveloped her ears. The altimeter spun tightly, and as she reached a suitable height to deploy her parachute, it made a 'pop' sound and opened.

How long had it been?
"This is…."

Yujin landed in a small town that was sparsely populated. A small market that would normally sell groceries and various items was now bursting with firearms, and unlike before, she managed to acquire enough items to endure the early game.

However, the moment she looted a hammer with spikes and stuffed it into her multipurpose pocket, a tremendous shockwave erupted from outside, accompanied by a loud noise.

—!!!
The volcano erupted, and lava began to flow down. As thick smoke spewed from the crater, volcanic bombs struck various locations on the map. The kill zone of the volcanic island map had officially started to operate. Likewise, areas adjacent to the coast were slowly collapsing due to severe tectonic shifts. This was also a kill zone.

Unfortunately, the place where Yujin landed was an isolated part of the map, meaning it was closer to the kill zone than she had thought. Therefore, she had no choice but to find a vehicle before setting her next waypoint.

A sinister sound of tearing air began to echo from afar. By the time anyone could identify the sound, a large volcanic bomb was already too close to avoid.

Various locations, including lonely pensions, office buildings, and many roads, mountains, and fields, were experiencing several long-range natural disasters. Yujin didn’t even have time to ponder which vehicle would be better and started the engine, with a buggy roaring loudly down the road.

But the volcano wasn’t the only danger on this map.

—Tududududu!

"…Great."

People were the second danger. A heavily armed vehicle equipped with a medium machine gun started chasing after Yujin.

The size and speed of the vehicle itself were slightly better than the buggy, but the enemy had a gun that could negate the distance variable. Just one poorly aimed bullet among the endless barrage could disable the vehicle, and it was clear from how quickly the buggy's durability diminished after only a few hits.

However, that moment wouldn’t last long. Yujin had already given up on trying to save the vehicle long ago - at that moment, the buggy’s door flew off, and the tires burst. In an instant, her speed decreased, rendering her incapable of steering, and Yujin realized that the distance to the pursuing vehicle was slowly closing.

Not quickly, but little by little.

What she had to do from now on was close to acrobatics, so if the enemy’s speed dropped too much, that would also be troublesome.

—Kaga-kak!

The buggy gradually slowed down, resembling a drunken person staggering.

At some point, its speed decreased sharply, and the vehicle's speed dropped so rapidly that it was almost in free fall. The bumper of the pursuing vehicle collided with the buggy, and the sound of crumpling was heard.

However, Yujin had already long since jumped out of the buggy.

What filled the windshield of the trailing vehicle was the silhouette of a snake.

"Whoa!"
Kwajik!

With a chilling sound, the entire windshield cracked.

As sharp spikes pierced the glass in one strike, several hammering blows began - Yujin tightly held onto the protruding muzzle of the machine gun with her left hand, using it as a support while she hammered at the glass.

When the driver, based on their muscle memory, hastily drew their pistol, a massive hole had already formed in the windshield large enough for several fists to fit through, and Yujin threw all the throwing weapons she had through that hole.

The moment the flash grenade exploded, the user was incapacitated, and when two grenades detonated, the vehicle’s steering function went haywire. In that moment, Yujin estimated the speed of the armed vehicle engulfed in flames from the hood and jumped down.

However, unlike Yujin, who came to a complete stop after rolling several times, the vehicle had to meet a different fate. The car, with its handles completely smashed, ultimately crashed into a wall, and that was the end.

Yujin, watching the scene from about ten meters away, shook her head and muttered,
"At this rate, I can’t even farm."

She turned her body, ignoring the scene, and headed towards the building complex.

The sight of the vehicle crashing into the wall, exploding in flames and debris, was the last memory of the first skirmish Yujin experienced.