"Ugh, this pressure is way worse than I thought!"
The Asia Qualifiers and the Final Championship were completely different.
It was sothing Dice had told repeatedly, but as the saying goes, seeing is believing. Harmony felt the full weight of this truth once the first match of the Final Championship began.
There was no issue during the drop from the transport plane or landing, but once she began gearing up, putting on her armor, and preparing her weapons, the difficulty of the combat skyrocketed far beyond that of the Asia Qualifiers. This wasn’t sothing that had happened once, but repeatedly. This was the reason why Harmony was so taken aback.
The reason the difficulty of the Final Championship increased so drastically was not only because of the tactical analysis from last year’s participants, Eugene and Logan, which had raised the overall level of the competition, but Harmony had no way of knowing that.
'I thought Dice would’ve known this from last year, but playing through the footage… it wasn’t nearly as hard as this. I bet Dice is probably struggling sowhere out there too.'
Of course, that didn’t an Harmony couldn't deduce things for herself.
Moreover, Harmony’s skills—after being pumled by countless battles with outsiders—had grown to the point where she could hold her own against pro gars in this tournant. She was managing to keep the exchanges fairly even, even while dodging a storm of bullets.
Though her skills hadn’t unlocked yet—aning no worry over skill-based attacks like the Sicko Mine—the grenades flying at her were the biggest threats to avoid.
And Harmony was more than skilled when it ca to grenade handling.
Boom!
In the brief monts of calm between gunfights, Harmony swiftly pulled the pin of a grenade and tossed it exactly where she anticipated her enemy would be. In the second of silence between the pin pull and the toss, Harmony knew that her enemy would be too slow to react. As she anticipated, the grenade exploded just seconds after she threw it, scattering shards of shrapnel everywhere.
But Harmony was already one step ahead. She’d already moved to a different cover, and while the explosion happened behind her, she was getting ready for her next strike.
"One... two..."
She started cooking her second grenade. It flew through the air in a perfect arc and exploded at the right ti, scattering shards once more.
Unlike the first grenade, however, Harmony had caught her opponent off guard. The explosion was enough to send the opponent reeling, and Harmony took full advantage.
She moved from cover, making her way to her opponent’s hiding spot while pulling another grenade pin with her left hand.
The enemy instinctively crouched, knowing that if they exposed themselves, they would be torn apart by a barrage of bullets. But they didn’t expect another grenade to be coming their way.
Clink!
Harmony threw the grenade right next to their hideout. The enemy’s reaction was fast—part of their backpack shielded them from so of the blast—but they still had to deal with the explosion of smoke grenades and attempt a retreat.
The grenades were only part of Harmony’s strategy. The real victory would co through the gunfight that followed.
And in that fight, the difference was in the HP. Harmony had the upper hand here, as her enemy was left barely clinging to life, ultimately turning into polygons, leaving behind items.
Gasping for breath after a brutal two or three minutes of fighting, Harmony took a mont to catch her breath, the items from her fallen foes scattered around her.
"Ugh, this is so exhausting..."
The complex mind gas and the thinking that “If I survive, I can counterattack” ca together in ways that created miracles. In the Asia Qualifiers, if anyone had tried the sa “second grenade tactic,” they would’ve been sent to the lobby, but here, not only did Harmony survive, but she also seized the opportunity to counterattack.
She understood now what Dice ant when he said that the Final Championship was a battle of ntal endurance.
The thought of doing this over and over again...
Bang bang bang!
"Whoa...!"
And then, as expected, out of nowhere, a shadow appeared from the gym corner. As soon as it noticed Harmony, it unleashed a brutal suppressive fire. The speed of the assault was overwhelming. The enemy’s goal was clearly to seize control while Harmony was still reeling from the previous fight. But Harmony was prepared, and she didn’t fall into their trap.
Instead, she held her ground and beca a wall, blocking the incoming fire.
With the enemy pinned down, she quickly grabbed a new weapon, an XM250, a machine gun that used 6.8mm Fury rounds. The opponent’s speed worked in Harmony’s favor; she could ensure a few hits at least if she unleashed her firepower.
As she squeezed the trigger, the deafening roar of the machine gun filled the air. The bullets tore through the air at around 700 rounds per minute, cutting through most of the area in front of her and successfully stopping the enemy’s advance.
But there was a catch to using the machine gun.
'...It’s loud and heavy.'
While the machine gun effectively stopped the enemy's advance, Harmony had given away her position with the deafening noise.
If she made a wrong move, it could cost her life. Thinking that, Harmony hastily retreated from the area, just in ti to avoid a grenade explosion.
But there was an advantage here: Harmony knew the gym's layout better than the enemy, and she had already predicted two potential approaches the enemy could take.
If she could narrow the field down...
Clink!
The enemy was closing in.
Harmony noticed so old steel crane cables hanging in the gym. As soon as she saw the enemy moving close by, she threw a cooked grenade in that direction, not expecting it to hit, but to set a trap.
As the grenade exploded, the steel cables snapped, and hundreds of kilograms of debris ca crashing down, blocking one of the enemy's escape routes. Harmony’s prediction was on point.
She then quickly dashed toward the remaining route, throwing her final grenade as she went.
4 seconds...
3 seconds...
2 seconds...
1 second...
"Found you—"
KABOOM!
As Harmony rounded the corner, she locked eyes with the enemy. Right in front of him, a pinless grenade sat ominously, and as it detonated, his shield shattered completely. The devastation was caused by dozens of shrapnel hitting him head-on.
Harmony, too, was hit by a few pieces of shrapnel, causing her shield to weaken, but the difference was that Harmony had already aid her submachine gun directly at the enemy.
As the dot sight centered on the target, she imdiately pulled the trigger without hesitation.
The enemy was shredded by dozens of bullets.
"Huff...!"
It had only taken two or three minutes.
Having eliminated two enemies in that ti, Harmony let out a heavy breath. She checked to make sure no one else was approaching before leaning against her cover.
After a few minutes, looking sowhat worn-out, she muttered to herself:
"Doing this for a week? I must be crazy..."
Of course, once you're in, there's no turning back.
No matter how much admiration, praise, or shock ca from the outside, Harmony’s struggles in the Final Championship were just beginning.
"You’re doing well."
"I’m impressed. Every ti I see that, I get jealous, kiddo."
"Now that this is happening, Lorentina, don’t just envy, file your discharge papers and start finding one or two promising kids to take under your wing... Ouch!?"
"That’s not happening. First, I’ll have to shut up that mouth of yours, kid."
anwhile, I was stuck in the clutches of a cruel shark-villain who had clamped my mouth shut with his chest, unable to move.
Sharks are terrifying, after all.
"You know, without needing to dig too deep, I can spot where the troublemakers are in a glance... I guess that’s one advantage. Congrats, kid. You've got the best new ga players in the world."
"I already did my part, so I have no regrets."
"Exactly, kid."
"What exactly is that supposed to an, you crazy idiots?"
- Logan’s classic jab 😂 - Shalessness taken to the next level... making a note of that... - Where even is this? It looks like a private lounge - Polar bear
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