Chapter 43: But isn’t my heart racing way too much?

The tower capture match ended in a victory for Legendary Streamer’s team.

Since both Victory and Legendary Streamer exhausted all their ultimates and spells during their duel, the skill of the remaining teammates became far more critical.

In this aspect, Legendary Streamer’s team had slightly better synergy.

Considering the random matchmaking, Victory might understandably feel a bit frustrated.

<This is so unfair!!!>

<How can you say Team Arena isn’t a luck-based game?>

<Victory’s team seems pretty good too.>

<Pretty good? They’re insanely skilled ᄏᄏ. If they played in your tier, they’d score 30 kills every game.>

<This was a 9 Challenger vs. 1 Legendary match anyway ᄏᄏ.>

<What tier are you in? Legendary.>

<What happens to our championship dreams now? ᅲᅲᅲᅲᅲ>

Shortly after, the second event designed to provoke fights in the Arena of Heroes map began.

The Arena Capture Event activates at the 15-minute mark.

During this event, teams can gain continuous gold and experience by standing on the arena point at the center of the map. At 20 minutes, the team occupying the point receives 1,000 gold per player and 100% experience.

This event is crucial, especially for mid-to-late-game heroes, often determining the outline of the match’s outcome.

The central arena, the map’s iconic feature.

Legendary Streamer’s and Victory’s teams began an intense battle.

Cheers erupted from the audience.

<Now it’s worth watching since team fights are constantly happening at the center ᄏᄏ.>

<Props to the Victory fans who endured the boring phases to witness this epic scene!>

<Why not just cover the screen and read chat instead, you idiot?>

<This is a clash of the strongest in the universe ᄃᄃᄃᄃ.>

<Honestly, if you’re Silver and can’t tell what’s going on, give a thumbs up ᄏᄏ.>

<Hey, don’t you know the average chat tier is Master?>

<Honestly, even as a Master, I don’t really understand what’s happening… Something… is going on…>

<Victory and Legendary Streamer are dead even—this is a monumental duel.>

For anyone who could follow the game, the sheer intensity of the match made their heart race.

Meanwhile, one person was getting heated for an entirely different reason.

“I wish I could be there too.”

It was Wild, who had been eliminated by Victory and denied the chance to target Legendary Streamer.

Victory wasn’t undefeated in ranked matches.

Wild had beaten him several times before.

But losing this particular match stung more than usual.

Missing out on such a pivotal event was painful.

A crucial event where he could have faced Legendary Streamer as an enemy.

Not that he hated Legendary Streamer.

The comment about being the first to hand her a loss was a joke.

But even so, Wild truly wanted to face this new rising star.

Before anyone else.

That opportunity had been snatched away by Victory.

Even though Wild was the first to collaborate with her on a stream!

“I felt the same way at last year’s Worlds.”

The memory of losing in the semifinals and watching the finals from home.

The bittersweet pain of being a sidelined loser.

Of course, this game wasn’t nearly as significant as Worlds.

But the familiarity of this dynamic stung, and Wild felt a tear threaten to fall.

That bastard.

Targeting his sore spots like that!

What’s wrong with a gamer giving their best effort?

“…This match is favoring Legendary Streamer.”

The balance began tilting.

Victory and Legendary Streamer were equally skilled—a perfect match, like dragons and tigers locked in combat.

But the same couldn’t be said for their teammates.

With five players assigned randomly, the teams were naturally uneven in overall ability.

Wild, with his sharp, professional eye, saw that this game was leaning toward Legendary Streamer’s side.

As expected, at 20 minutes, Legendary Streamer’s team claimed the arena bonus.

With this advantage, they widened the gap with better items and levels.

At a glance, the game seemed nearly over.

<Is Legendary Streamer really about to win?>

<A newbie with less than 100 hours beating Victory in Team Arena?>

<Yep, Team Arena is 100% a luck-based game.>

<Luck or not, if an average player were in her place, they’d have gone 0 kills and 40 deaths.>

<When skill levels are this close, doesn’t luck naturally decide the outcome?>

<Legendary Streamer, you’re a living moral lesson!>

<You’re on par with Victory—or even better.>

<It does feel like her team is slightly better, though.>

Yes, yes, believe what you will.

But it’s true—Legendary Streamer’s team had the advantage.

Still, the game had dragged on for too long.

“A great disaster has awakened.”

<Wow! The Disaster Awakening!>

<How intense must this match be for it to reach this point?>

<If the game ends with a last-hit on the boss, this will go down in history ᄏᄏ.>

At 25 minutes, the third and final event of the Arena of Heroes map began.

The map has four towers at its corners and five major hunting zones in the north, south, east, west, and center.

When the Disaster Awakening event starts, an awakened monster spawns in one of these zones.

If a team lands the final hit on the awakened boss, they instantly win the match.

Additionally, a shrinking circular zone forces all players toward the boss, dealing continuous damage to anyone outside the circle. This ensures the game ends by around the 30-minute mark.

It may feel unfair, but that’s the point.

The game was designed to end before the 25-minute mark.

The current score was 42 to 35.

Legendary Streamer’s team had 42 points, while Victory’s team had 35.

The score was close, but with their tower and arena bonuses, Legendary Streamer’s team had higher levels and better items.

“Victory’s team should aim for the boss kill.”

Legendary Streamer’s team only needed 8 more kills, while Victory’s team required 15.

While the score seemed competitive, a closer look revealed that Victory’s team needed to secure more than twice the kills to win.

A boss kill might be their best bet.

To sum it up:

At 25 minutes, the game becomes absolute chaos.

This time, the awakened boss spawned in the north, at the Dragon’s Nest.

The end was near.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

This was it.

This was the kind of intense game I’d been searching for.

Clashing with full power, countering each move, and testing each other’s limits repeatedly.

My heart raced as if it would burst.

It had been years since I focused so intensely on something.

This kind of match, where you lose yourself in the moment and forget everything else, was rare.

Victory reflected the dragon’s breath and melted my team.

What kind of tricks is this guy pulling now?

The usual chaos of a 5v5 team fight became even more chaotic with the dragon thrown into the mix.

But that chaos was what made it fun.

I once described this game like this:

“It’s like pulling a cart after racing in Formula 1.”

But that wasn’t an accurate metaphor.

It was more like switching from a shootout to hand-to-hand combat.

The damage one person could deal was significantly reduced, but that didn’t make it a completely inferior experience.

Hand-to-hand combat had its unique flavor.

After all, this wasn’t a war to kill; it was a game to enjoy.

Even in combat, there was meaning and fun to be found.

“Still, it’s frustrating that I can’t dominate on my own!”

Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

Still, I promised myself I’d at least take down Victory.

A mutual kill. A shared demise.

I poured all my strength into the fight and brought Victory down with me.

What about the remaining team members?

Our side was stronger.

“Victory!”

It was a close call.

The dragon’s health had dropped below 15%.

The side that was wiped out next would have lost.

But we reached 50 kills before that could happen.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

(Team-wide chat) Legendary Streamer: “This is Mage’s revenge!”

Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

My heart pounded so hard it felt like it would explode.

<Mom, when I grow up, I want to be like Legendary Streamer! Mom, when I grow up, I want to be like Legendary Streamer! Mom, when I grow up, I want to be like Legendary Streamer!>

<She is Team Arena itself! Team Arena itself! Team Arena itself!>

<Still on about Mage’s revenge, huh?>

<Wow, a newbie really beat Victory.>

<Don’t read too much into a solo queue game; it’s not even a tournament ᄏᄏ.>

<Victory looks furious, but what a beautiful match! Raise a glass!>

<Legendary Streamer! Legendary Streamer! Legendary Streamer! Legendary Streamer!>

<Is she a god? Is she a god? Is she a god? Is she a god?>

<This is my queen!>

<She said she doesn’t have a little brother like you.>

<ᄏᄏᄏ Even now, people are talking about Mage.>

<Oh no! Ascend! Oh no! Ascend! Oh no! Ascend!>

The chat exploded.

My heart pounded wildly.

As the tension finally released, dizziness washed over me.

My vision blurred.

Wait.

Why do I feel so dizzy?

What’s going on?

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

My heart was racing so violently, it felt like something was seriously wrong.

“Uh… hic… nine… one… one…”

My head felt incredibly light, and my blood vessels seemed overexpanded.

The blood was rushing through my body too fast.

I felt like I was about to pass out. Before that happened, I needed to call 911.

I fumbled with my phone, barely managing to dial and say, “Hello, is this 911?”

Using the last bit of my strength, I turned off my microphone.

Then I called emergency services to my house.

See you in the next chapter.