Two weeks? 

A day would be enough. 

That was what she thought. 

Gathered at the Stella Dome, in the training grounds for *League of Spirits*, Pulleim tapped her foot restlessly, arms crossed, and asked, 

“...Where’s that guy?” 

Aizel, who was sitting in the corner intensely studying a massive strategy guide for *League of Spirits*, looked up. The book was so large that only her head peeked out. 

“He said he had urgent business and left in a hurry.” 

“Urgent business? It’s not the bathroom, right?” 

“Who knows...” 

“He’s not building a bathroom or anything; why’s he taking so long?” 

“With Yuseol, that’s possible.” 

Sitting next to her, Mayuseong was reading the rulebook for *League of Spirits*. 

That’s right. Just the rulebook. 

Aizel had already finished reading the rulebook before even joining the game and had moved on to strategizing, while the lazy Mayuseong was only now learning the rules. 

“Ugh...” 

Feeling an oncoming headache, Pulleim clutched her head and glanced over at Haewonryang, who was busy with something else.

“What is *he* doing now?” 

“He’s sculpting.” 

Haewonryang was summoning ice and meticulously carving it with blades of wind.

“Sculpting. I get that. But why is he doing that *here*?” 

“He said the Stella Dome is convenient for practice. It helps him refine his magic control. I tried it and gave up.” 

“This is insane...” 

Whether Haewonryang noticed Pulleim’s bewildered gaze or not, he continued his work with a focused expression. 

Mayuseong, seemingly bored by the situation, stood up, rolled the rulebook under his arm, and stood in front of the sculpture, striking a pose that made him look like an art critic admiring a masterpiece.

“Wow, that’s really beautiful!” 

Moments later, Haewonryang shattered the sculpture into pieces with a gust of wind. 

“It *was* beautiful...” 

“I didn’t like it.” 

“Why not?” 

“It had a flaw. I’ll have to start over and practice my mana control until I create a perfect piece.” 

“Oh, is that so?” 

Watching Haewonryang summon another ice sculpture and begin carving it again, Pulleim felt a sinking realization: her plan was doomed from the start.

‘I must be out of my mind...’

Getting a group of unique geniuses together, who had never worked as a team, turned out to be impossible to control.

And it didn’t help that Baek Yuseol still hadn’t shown up. 

“Um...” 

A young man, probably in his late 20s, approached Pulleim awkwardly.

“Are you ready yet?” 

“Almost.” 

“I see...” 

His name was Hwang Seol-gu, an assistant instructor at Stella Academy.

But not all assistant instructors at Stella were the same. Some were graduates of Stella, while others came from outside the academy, making up a significant portion of the staff. 

Why? 

Because 90% of Stella graduates went on to prestigious careers: the Grand Magic Towers, academies, royal court positions, or high-ranking magic warriors.

This meant that Stella-born assistant instructors were rare, and many outsiders were vying to build their careers as instructors, including Hwang Seol-gu, who was assigned to the *League of Spirits* Pulleim Team.

“Just wait a moment longer.” 

“...Okay.” 

Pulleim didn’t have much to complain about when it came to the instructor.

In the original romance fantasy, Aizel’s team didn’t even acknowledge the existence of an assistant instructor. Just having one speak to them felt like a luxury.

Still, something about this team felt off.

The successor of the Full Moon Tower, Aizel, the thousand-year genius Mayuseong, light-wielder Pulleim, and even Baek Yuseol.

Even with all these legendary magic warriors on one team, the fact that their assistant instructor was so nonchalant made sense only if one thing was true.

‘It must be because of Gayurin.’

Gayurin was a promising pro player in *League of Spirits*, as well as the youngest daughter of a prestigious family that frequently produced champions. 

While she had little involvement with magic warrior affairs, her family had the sports industry firmly under control. It wasn’t surprising that they assigned a less competent instructor to the Pulleim Team.

The world was currently peaceful, prepared for any black mage invasions, and in such times, the influence of the sports industry grew even more powerful.

“Sigh, no choice. I’ll explain the basics to Mayuseong while we wait for Yuseol.”

Resigned, Pulleim began explaining the rules and strategies. With only five members, their makeshift team couldn’t afford to lose a single person.

Thirty minutes passed.

Finally, Baek Yuseol appeared, covered in mud and trudging wearily.

“Hey, sorry I’m late...” 

Waving weakly, he greeted them, but Pulleim didn’t even have the energy to be angry.

“What the hell happened to you?” 

“I had some personal business. I tried to make it on time, but it didn’t go as planned...” 

Crossing her arms, Pulleim glared at him. She couldn’t stand people who broke promises.

But Baek Yuseol... was different. His sense of time was unlike anyone else’s.

A single minute or second that felt trivial to others could be a life-altering time attack for Baek Yuseol, and what felt like normal, familiar time to them might be the peaceful moments Baek Yuseol longed for.

“Fine. At least you showed up.”

Pulleim decided to be lenient about his lateness. He wasn’t someone who wasted time carelessly.

‘Phew, I was late because I went to the Eslane Mud Festival.’

Brushing off the mud, Baek Yuseol slipped a plain ring into his pocket. If Pulleim knew that he’d been late for a ring that did nothing but make mud taste better, would she forgive him?

‘It’ll be useful later.’

He was late because he tried to secure it ahead of time for future purposes, but at least he finished his task cleanly.

“All right, let’s start practicing for real now. Don’t tell me you’re going to start reading the rulebook now?” 

“Of course not.”

Baek Yuseol may not have played *League of Spirits* himself, but he had watched many online matches, so he was well-versed in both the rules and strategies.

Given that Pulleim had come from Earth where there was no *Aether World Online*, Baek Yuseol might even have more knowledge of builds and tactics than she did.

But knowing strategies in your head and executing them were two different things.

If that were enough, every local player would be a pro.

‘When it comes to strategy... I’ll leave it to them.’

Pulleim’s leadership skills were excellent, so even if Baek Yuseol had some knowledge, it would be better for her to take the lead.

Besides, Baek Yuseol’s role was as a melee dealer or assassin, not as a commander.

“Let me quickly explain the basic rules again for Mayuseong.”

“Uh...”

Nodding like an obedient puppy, Mayuseong listened as Pulleim began.

“When the match starts, the five of us will be summoned in front of our ‘Control Tower’. Our job is to defend it while destroying the enemy’s Control Tower to win. But it’s not as simple as just rushing in.”

*League of Spirits* resembled the popular AOS (Action Online Strategy) games from Earth.

For Baek Yuseol, *League of Spirits* was one of the most popular AOS games within *Aether World Online*.

At the start of the game, each mage distributed their mana into the map to spawn monsters holding it.

Players had to defeat these monsters to obtain mana, which wasn’t solely used for casting spells.

Mana could be used to upgrade wands, robes, boots, and buy various items at the Control Tower, turning the tide of battle.

“Upgrading your wand increases your spell power and mana capacity. Robes improve defense, and I don’t need to tell you that boots boost your movement speed, right?” 

Mayuseong raised his hand like a student with a question.

“Isn’t it a disadvantage for someone like me who has a lot of mana?” 

“Right. But in *League of Spirits*, all mages need to be on an even playing field. This isn’t a real battle; it’s a sport. If someone like you dominated every match just by overwhelming others with raw mana, would that even be a strategy game?” 

“Ah...” 

Strategy, multiplayer, battle arena.

That’s what *League of Spirits* combined. If a powerful mage started wreaking havoc by relying solely on their mana pool, it wouldn’t be considered a sport anymore.

“But having a lot of mana isn’t completely useless. The more mana our team has, the faster and more frequently resource-holding monsters will appear on our side.”

“So having more mana is still advantageous?” 

“Yes, but those monsters can spawn in our area and be stolen by the enemy, so be careful.” 

“Ah...” 

Players defeated monsters and gathered resources while chipping away at enemy towers, a task that required defeating opponents as well.

“There’s also a limit to the number of spells you can use. You can use bloodline magic or legendary spells if you know

 them, but... you’re restricted to seven spells.”

“Really?” 

“Yes. And the more powerful a spell, the longer its cooldown, so you need a mix of weak but frequently usable spells.” 

“Hmm.”

As she explained the rules, Pulleim realized that this game was going to be particularly challenging for Mayuseong.

She finally understood why Mayuseong didn’t participate in *League of Spirits* in the original story. For someone who relied on endless mana to spam dozens of spells, the restrictions were a significant disadvantage.

On the other hand, Haewonryang, who excelled at strategic magic with limited mana, would find this battleground favorable...

‘This is Yuseol’s stage, isn’t it?’

Baek Yuseol was another story altogether.

He used only one spell and had almost no mana limitations.

In *League of Spirits*, there would be some restrictions on the use of his spell, *Blink*, due to game mechanics, but he could still act the most like himself on this battlefield.

‘Maybe we really have a chance?’

Pulleim wasn’t particularly set on winning before, but now, thinking of Baek Yuseol’s strengths, their odds seemed to rise, lifting her spirits.

Not that she was competitive. But after meeting Gayurin, her mindset changed.

‘I need to knock that arrogant girl down a peg.’

Winning wasn’t the goal. Showing up a cocky opponent? That was the real victory that would let her sleep peacefully at night.

Meanwhile, Baek Yuseol stared at the rulebook, shaking his head at the complexity.

‘This is bad.’

Understanding the strategies didn’t mean he could apply them.

Pulleim seemed eager to lead them to victory, but that was the one thing Baek Yuseol was least capable of.

In a real fight, he could at least rely on fighting back-to-back. But in *League of Spirits*, coordinating magic with teammates was the key to overwhelming the enemy.

‘How am I supposed to coordinate...’

He only had one spell: *Blink*.

Baek Yuseol already felt the darkness of impending defeat.