It was the first time Pulleim and Haewonryang had joined the usual dining group of Mayuseong, Aizel, and Baek Yuseol for a meal.

“First time eating pork cutlet?” Mayuseong asked.

“It’s a bit strange to use a knife on fried food instead of steak,” Haewonryang admitted.

“How does it feel to cut fried food like it’s steak?” Baek Yuseol teased.

“It’s… tolerable,” Haewonryang said, taking another bite.

The five of them sitting together felt like an odd combination. Pulleim couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of joy. The characters she had loved most while reading the original novel were now her closest companions. It was surreal yet delightful.

“Ugh. I can’t believe we stopped practicing after just one round,” Pulleim said, swirling her bibim naengmyeon and sighing deeply.

“Maybe it’s for the best. At least we got a sense of how the game plays out,” Aizel added.

There were limits to endlessly grinding practice matches. In *League of Spirits*, there were established “builds” and basic “frameworks” that players adhered to.

These frameworks, which hadn’t changed over time, were fundamental strategies. Whether it was ambushing in side alleys to steal street monsters or moving at the right moment to back up teammates—these were learned only through practice and ingrained over the game’s history.

Then there were builds, which were essentially strategies—and Pulleim’s team’s biggest weakness.

“So, what do you think about our team?” Pulleim asked Baek Yuseol.

He slurped his noodles before answering, “Honestly? We don’t stand a chance.”

“The core of *League of Spirits* is strategy and teamwork. We don’t have either. But we do have one thing that’s perfect.”

“What’s that?” Mayuseong leaned forward.

“Individual skill.”

“Hmm, isn’t that important too?” Aizel asked.

“It is. But when I say individual skill, I mean one-on-one combat ability, not overall game performance,” Baek Yuseol explained.

Aizel finally put down her fork, understanding dawning on her face. She had a habit of not speaking with her mouth full or while holding cutlery.

“So, we’re terrible at handling five-on-five team fights, but we excel at one-on-one combat?” Aizel summarized.

“Exactly.”

Aizel’s expression tightened a bit. “Individual prowess is important, but in a team game, it can be a double-edged sword.”

“Right. Everyone’s so focused on their own thing that we end up playing like individuals,” Baek Yuseol added.

“So, let’s stick to that,” Pulleim declared with a grin.

“Huh?” The team looked at her in confusion.

“We’ll practice just enough not to interfere with each other and focus on picking off the enemy team solo. Play to your strengths.”

“Is that going to work?” Mayuseong asked skeptically.

Pulleim shrugged, twirling her noodles around her chopsticks. “It’s better than trying to fake cooperation now. Use different spells to get familiar with them and pick off the enemy one by one. That’s our ‘strategy.’”

“Is that even a strategy?” Aizel rolled her eyes.

“Close enough. Now, let’s adjust our roles to suit everyone’s strengths.”

Pulleim had previously assigned positions randomly, which had been a disaster. It was clear she hadn’t fully grasped the game either.

“If anyone has a preferred position, now’s the time to speak up.”

Baek Yuseol raised his hand immediately. “Top—no, the ascending lane.”

He sounded serious, his fingers laced as he propped his chin up. “The top lane is the battlefield of real men.”

“...What?”

“It’s a harsh, man-to-man arena where you don’t call for team help. You settle things one-on-one,” Baek Yuseol said, deadpan.

“Crazy...”

It was absurd, but true. The top and mid lanes needed players skilled in one-on-one combat. Many who thought they were good at it would pick these lanes and end up dragging their team down, but Baek Yuseol and Mayuseong were different. Their one-on-one skills were top-tier.

“Mayuseong, you stay in the mid-lane. You’re the best at one-on-one combat and have spells that work well with backup,” Pulleim said.

Mayuseong’s quick reactions and powerful spells made him ideal for holding the mid-lane and supporting teammates.

“Aizel and I will rotate between support and alley positions. We can both cast crowd-control (Mez) spells to disable and bind enemies.”

“Right,” Aizel nodded.

“We’ll rotate positions as needed, depending on who fits the situation best. This way, we’ll confuse the enemy team that analyzes our strategy.”

“That makes sense.”

“What’s the main job of the alley position?” Aizel asked.

“It’s to roam between the top, mid, and bottom lanes, taking out street monsters and helping teammates. Players call this ‘ganking,’” Pulleim explained.

“Ganking...”

“It’s a critical role. If you can’t make quick decisions, a lane can fall apart in an instant.”

“Understood,” Aizel nodded.

“Haewonryang, you’ll take the bottom lane, and I’ll support you. Unlike Aizel, I’ll focus more on defensive and healing spells.”

Baek Yuseol interjected, “If you think about it, the alley role is like the silent, hardworking dad of modern times, and the support is the busy mom at home managing everything.”

“Why would you explain it like that?” Pulleim sighed.

“Oh! I totally get it now!” Aizel’s eyes lit up.

These two are always peculiar, Pulleim thought.

As they finished their pork cutlets, Pulleim summed up, “Even if Baek Yuseol and Mayuseong are great at one-on-one, the key player in team fights will be Haewonryang. He has the decision-making and combat skills to use all seven of his spells most efficiently.”

Haewonryang’s expression softened at the compliment. Mayuseong leaned over as if to tease him but stopped when Haewonryang shot him a glare.

“Do you all get it now?” Pulleim asked.

The team nodded.

“Then let’s go practice... but not yet. We need to learn the basics first.”

Mayuseong’s face fell. “More boring strategy books?”

“Nope. We have something better,” Pulleim said, pulling small tapes from her bag.

“These are recordings of amateur matches. We’ll watch these to learn how players strategize, secure vision, and react in different situations until our bodies respond instinctively in real games.”

With only two weeks until the school tournament, studying match videos was cutting it close, but Pulleim trusted her team. Their exceptional game sense and intelligence would make this unique training method pay off.

---

The next day at Stella Dome.

The practice stands were full as usual, but today, more people were present. Word had spread that Pulleim’s team was... unusual.

While most were there to mock their sloppy performance, some scouts came out of curiosity, trusting the keen eyes of pro players.

“Are those kids really that strange?”

“Yes, sir. They didn’t understand game mechanics at all, but their individual skills were exceptional,” a scout reported.

“That makes no sense,” a coach scoffed.

He wasn’t alone. Most coaches and players who hadn’t seen the match were skeptical.

No matter how powerful a mage was in real life, their limitations in *League of Spirits* were glaring. The restricted number of spells and the cooldowns were a heavy shackle, making even the best flounder.

Limited spells, set cooldowns, and scarce mana—these constraints made mages feel suffocated in the game.

“I’m curious to see for myself.”

“When do they show up?”

“Let’s wait. Stella’s the only place they can practice.”

“They said yesterday was their first time, so they’ll probably practice hard for the next two weeks. Let’s be prepared to analyze.”

And so, they waited.

Six hours passed.

“When are they showing up?” Players grew restless.

“Let’s give them until evening.”

Even when evening came and other trainees left, Pulleim’s team didn’t appear.

“Maybe tomorrow. The tournament’s soon.”

But a day, two days, three days, and then a week went by.

Still, they didn’t come.

“What are those kids doing...?”

“Aren’t they practicing?”

“Where do they go after class?”

“No one knows. Some say they rush back to their dorms or huddle in the study hall to watch videos.”

“Unbelievable,” a coach groaned, rubbing his forehead.

“They’re dropping out.”

It happened often. Some mage trainees underestimated *League of Spirits*, only to drop out when they found it more challenging than expected. Pulleim’s team seemed to be following that pattern.

“I thought those geniuses would at least put on a decent show...”

“So much for that.”

“No matter how skilled they are in real combat, *League of Spirits* is a different beast.”

“They underestimated it and got burned.”

With only a week left before the tournament, even if they started now, passing the preliminaries was doubtful.

“What a disappointment.”

“I’m not interested in them anymore.”

“Even if we wanted to watch, they won’t come. They’ll probably forfeit the prelims.”

The officials gave up on Pulleim’s team.

But six days before the preliminaries...

“Hey, look at that.”

On a Saturday morning.

A few early-bird coaches and players were surprised to see trainees already practicing.

“Damn, I have special training for my team today, so I can’t watch...”

“Same, I’m only here until lunch.”

“Still, should we take a peek?”

“Yeah, but what can they have learned in a week—”

The player trailed off, staring at Pulleim’s team’s match.

The other officials followed suit.

[Blue Team Victory!]

[Level 12 AI has been defeated.]

“W-what?”

They’d planned to watch, only to find that Pulleim’s team had just beaten the Level 12 AI.

“How did that happen? Did anyone see? You, over there!” a coach called.

“Huh? I was watching my own team...”

“Damn it!”

There weren’t enough people that morning to witness it firsthand.

“They beat Level 12...”

For trainees, it was nearly impossible. Level 12 was a benchmark for seasoned amateurs to prove themselves.

“They hadn’t practiced at all.”

“Did they train somewhere else?”

“Where would Stella trainees even go? And people say they rushed back to their rooms every day.”

“Let’s wait. Maybe they’ll play another match.”

But as if to taunt them...

- Hey, it’s lunchtime.

- Oh, it is. Should we eat?

- Let’s do it. Meet back here after.

“Argh, I have a sponsor meeting during lunch...”

Some scouts grumbled, but for others, it was a relief. At least they’d be back after lunch.

‘Better call in my analyst.’

‘I’ll tell the director to come.’

They had time to gather more experts.

And as lunch ended, the crowd in the practice hall swelled, filled with players, coaches, and analysts eager to see what Pulleim’s team would do next.

The five walked in, ready to play.

“Difficulty: Level 12 AI,” Pulleim said softly.

The room fell silent.

What was supposed to be a mundane practice session turned into the most thrilling match of the day.

 

 

 

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TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars and likes of the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!