Legend of Legends

A small girl was next to him. She had large eyes, a small body and two wings on her back.

“An angel?”

The child smiled at what he said.

“Thanks for being so kind.”

Junhyuk frowned at the sound of her voice. It sounded familiar.

“You are the voice behind the broadcasts!”

She was the owner of the soft voice. The voice sounded like it came from a woman in her twenties, but that it came out of a small child was unexpected.

“Nice to meet you, Hero Junhyuk Lee. Just call me a Help.”

“Your name is Help?”

The child moved her head from side to side still looking at him.

“Are you curious about my name?”

“If you have a name… ”

She had called herself Help, but smiling, she said, “My name is Ariel.”

“Ariel, nice to meet you.”

He greeted her, looking her up and down. Meanwhile, Ariel stared back at him.

After some time staring, he finally asked, “Since you are Help, shouldn’t you explain things to me?”

“Ah! That’s right!” Ariel smiled and continued, “There are many changes this season. Let me go over them.”

Junhyuk was curious about everything, and as he stared at her, she quickly began her explanation, “The battlefield has changed. We are no longer in the Valley of Death. This place is Nightmare Mountain.”

“A mountain?”

Junhyuk could feel that the scope of the battlefield had increased, and Ariel continued, “Nightmare Mountain is larger than the previous battlefield. Each team will still be comprised of five heroes, but the number of minions has increased. Each team will have access to a thousand minions.”

“The minions are…”

Minions were known for lasting a single battle, and they had little to no damaging capabilities.

Ariel nodded and continued, “With the new season, the value of minions has increased. They still have the same defense, but now, when minions are outside someone’s attack range, they are immune to damage. Also, when a minion attacks a hero, a gate, a watchtower or a giant golem, the minion deal 1 percent damage to those things.”

Realizing how valuable minions were now, Junhyuk frowned. Previously, he would’ve been able to sweep the minions away with his shockwaves, but now, he had to kill each minion individually.

Heroes, gates, watchtowers and golems were now vulnerable to minion attacks and would take 1 percent damage from each. It wasn’t a lot of damage, but the teams would have access to a thousand minions, so it all depended on how well a hero used the minions. Even without heroes, the minions would be able to destroy a castle.

Ariel continued, “Whenever you kill a minion, you’ll earn 10G instead of 1G. There’s also no need to pick up coins now, as they will be added to your account automatically.”

Junhyuk had killed numerous minions, but he seldom picked up coins. The fact that they would be added automatically was a good thing.

“Watchtowers and archers are immune to hero attacks until you destroy the castle’s gate.”

“What the hell?” Thinking those changes were crap, he asked while trying to remain calm, “How powerful are the archers when they get buffed in battles with heroes?”

She smiled and answered, “Regardless of a hero’s defense, each attack will deal 3 percent of damage to that hero’s health.”

Junhyuk was getting a headache. Things had definitely changed, but thinking about it, he could use all of those changes against enemy heroes.

There were five archers per watchtower, and if a hero went within range of them, that hero would lose 15 percent of their health. However, Junhyuk had long range attacks like Spatial Slash and Spatial Collapse with range longer than the archers’.

“OK. What about buff monsters?”

“There are six buff monsters, three close to each camp. Killing an opponent’s buff monster comes with added benefits.”

Junhyuk shook his head and said, “The buff will disappear while we are moving since the battlefield is larger now…”

“The buffs have also changed. They last for five hours, so you won’t lose them while getting from one place to the other.”

It was a good thing that the buffs’ effect time had increased.

“Do you have dragons?” Junhyuk asked.

“Of course, but now the dragons will be summoned during the engagement. They will spawn in the Dragon’s Valley, which is southeast of the mountain.”

Junhyuk listened and thought as Arial continued, “At the top of the mountain, there is a buff tower. When you reach it, you’ll receive a buff for three hours.”

“What are the buffs?”

“You’ll know when you get them.”

Those were big changes, and the new season would require new strategies. Thinking that, Junhyuk balled his hands into fists. He wanted to check out his powers. The battlefield had gotten more difficult, but heroes were still paramount to victory, and he wouldn’t lose.

Arial said, “I am done. Aren’t you going out?”

Junhyuk shook his head and said, “I just became a hero. Who is on my team?”

“You want to know how to select your teammates? A new season has started, so everyone in the team must agree to the selection. If not, you get three tries.”

“Three tries?”

“The others have to agree to your presence on the team. If you don’t like anyone, you may also disagree.”

“What if one isn’t selected after those three tries?”

“You’ll find yourself in a random team.”

“I can become a member of a team that I don’t want to belong to?”

“Yes. So, if possible, you should choose your teammates. If not, you might find yourself in a team you dislike.”

“What if I agree with two members, and they agreed with me, but I can’t decide on the other two?”

“In that case, you’ll find yourself teamed up with both the ones who agreed with you and those who disagreed.”

“So, to form a full team by choice, everyone has to agree to it?”

“That’s right.”

All five had to agree, which was good, but he might end up joining a team he didn’t like. As he thought about it, his headache got stronger.

“That means I have three matches to decide on a team, right?”

“Don’t worry too much. You can always swap teammates with other teams.”

Thinking about it, Junhyuk asked, “Is it even possible to form a team within three matches?”

Ariel smiled.

“It takes luck, and you have nice luck.”

He sighed.

“I’ve been talking to you for a while. Is that OK?”

“Time doesn’t pass in the battlefield while you are here.”

“Really?” Junhyuk shook his body to loosen it up and said, “OK, I want to see my team now.”

“May you win.”

Before Junhyuk walked out the door, he turned to look at her and asked, “Ariel, can others meet you, too?”

“What do you mean?”

“Am I the only one who talks to you?”

“Ah! That’s correct. You are my responsibility.”

“Then, others have their own angels?”

“Yes.”

He smiled at her. Seeing that she was his own Help, he felt closer to her.

“OK. Should I go out now?”

She smiled, touched her lips and announced, “Hero Junhyuk Lee deployed.”

The door opened, and he walked outside. The castle was bigger than before, and the minions were crowding it.

Junhyuk noticed their equipment had changed. They were carrying saw-bladed swords now.

After he passed them, he saw some beings waiting for him. One had a massive body with a scar across one eye, a green giant. The second had a slim figure but large teeth, a female troll. There was a hooded figure with two crossbows in hand, and a robed old man carrying a tall staff.

He smiled at them and said, “Nice to meet you. I’m Junhyuk Lee.”

The green giant said, “My name is Balonte. I’m a tank.”

“I’m Embla. I have buffing powers,” the female troll continued.

The hooded man spoke next, “Aldrac. I have long range powers.”

The robed old man went last.

“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Nice to see you. I’ve seen you fight. I lost a lot of money because of you. I’m Malone, a wizard.”

From his remark, Junhyuk knew that Malone had been a hero for a while. He looked at the others and asked, “Is this anyone’s first season as a hero?”

Balonte raised his hand.

“I just became a hero.”

Junhyuk realized that the other three had been heroes for much longer. That was a problem. Why would heroes not have their own teams? They had to have disliked their previous teams. Only one had just become a hero like himself. The others did not have teams of their own.

Junhyuk knew it would take luck for him to put his own team together, and he murmured to himself, “Gon, please become a hero fast.”