Rewind With A Superstar System

Chapter 160: Abyss Vs Starfall (2)

<🎧 Song Recommendation: Mirrors (Prince Of Nothing) by Griffin Tyler>

...

Von abandoned his push on the enemy base and rushed to return to his base. But he was too late.

Without Aura’s thermal vision to track their movements, Leviathan and K-Z0 had crossed the plaza completely undetected.

Suddenly, a hail of suppressive fire tore through the roof of Aura’s tower. Leviathan had brought a Light Machine Gun, and the barrage of bullets he released quickly finished off Aura before she could even try to retaliate or find cover.

{Ding! Player Aura has been eliminated by Leviathan}

With Aura dead and out of the picture, K-Z0 casually walked out of the building with their Core before Von could even return to the lobby.

Round Three went to Team Abyss.

Round Four was the exact same script. The Blackout EMP triggered again, sending a massive shockwave that paralyzed Starfall’s defenses. Aura was completely neutralized by the jammed electronics and was forced to hide in the shadows of her own tower.

K-Z0, completely unchecked, went on a rampage. He tore through Von’s basic stealth maneuvers, completely outgunning him in the basement, and secured the Core in under a minute.

The score was tied 2 - 2, and the entire fanbase watching was going crazy.

{STARFALL HAS JUST BOTTLED A TWO LEAD ADVANTAGE} Timothy roared at the top of his lungs, clutching his headset as the replay flashed on the massive screen.

{WHAT IS HAPPENING?! THE PLOT ISN’T GOING AS PLANNED!}

"Abyss played them like a fiddle!" Max analyzed, pointing wildly at the economy screen. "They deliberately sacrificed the first two rounds to afford the Blackout EMP and the Aegis Dome! Starfall’s entire strategy revolves around Aura’s infrared sniper, and Abyss just completely turned off her lights! It’s a masterclass in economic warfare!"

"We are going to a Game Five! A winner-takes-all tiebreaker!" Timothy screamed.

But before the final round could start, Von requested a timeout.

In the competition, each team was granted exactly one timeout per match. It was a lifeline. When pressed, the game instantly froze and a sixty-second countdown timer appeared at the top of the monitor.

It was meant to give players a brief, high-pressure window to address their teammates, change their loadouts, and think of something to save the game.

Inside the private Thiscord call, the mood was heavy.

"I can’t do anything," Aura said with frustration. "The EMP jams all my electronics, and I’m just sitting up here completely blind. My sniper is dead weight at the moment."

"And I can’t break that Aegis energy dome," Von added, rubbing his eyes and staring at the red countdown timer ticking away.

"They’re going to charge in one more time. The stakes are too high right now to just run in blindly."

"So what do we do?" Aura asked, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. "We can’t lose... We’ve come too far."

Von thought for a while about a plan. He analyzed the map, the enemy’s loadouts, and the game’s mechanics. Then, it finally clicked.

"We’ll have to adapt," Von said with a smile. "The EMP only jams digital electronics, right?"

"Yeah..."

"So we drop the guns. Can you use melee weapons?" Von asked.

"Melee?" Aura repeated, slightly taken aback.

"Yeah. You have the raw reflexes for it," Von encouraged her. "I’ve seen your coordination. You have the talent for it. The game’s melee system is all about timing and positioning."

Aura hesitated for a second. "I’m not really sure, Von. I’ve never played a close-combat class in this particular setting. But... I can try. I think I’ll be able to hold my own."

"You won’t just hold your own, you’re going to win it for us," Von said confidently.

He knew that Abyss had entirely mapped out their playstyles. They expected Von to be the squishy Ghost sneaking around, and they expected Aura to be the sniper sitting back with a gun.

But Von wasn’t only good with the Ghost class. In his past life, he was a Grandmaster with multiple classes in the game, including the frontline fighters. And Aura was a fast learner with incredible talent.

To win this, they had to take everyone completely by surprise.

"Here is the plan," Von said quickly as the timer hit the thirty-second mark. "We are going to do a complete role swap. You are going to equip the Ghost class. Buy the grappling hook and the assassin’s dagger. Go completely into stealth mode."

"And what about you?" Aura asked, her fingers already moving rapidly to sell her sniper and buy the assassin gear.

"I am going to play as the Swordsman," Von declared. "I’ll buy the heavy broadsword and the dash boots. When the round starts, I am going to charge straight forward and engage them in direct combat. I’ll pull off some moves to get their attention and draw all their fire."

"They have a shotgun and an LMG," Aura warned.

"I know. But if I’m successful, I will manage to hold them off just long enough," Von explained. "And that will be the exact moment for you. While they are completely focused on trying to kill the crazy guy with a sword, they will think you are still sitting powerless in your tower. You will sneak up on them during the fight and strike from the shadows."

"The sniper becomes the assassin," Aura said, a small, daring smile entering her voice. "I love it. Let’s do it."

The sixty seconds expired and the screen regained its color.

Round Five resumed.

They had invested all their remaining money in completely separate gears this time. The moment the digital barrier dropped, the massive shockwave of the Blackout EMP ripped through the map once again.

But this time, Starfall didn’t care. Aura was already in stealth mode. Her blue Ghost armor shimmered and vanished into thin air. Since she had no electronic scopes or cameras, the EMP was completely useless against her. No one on the map, not even the casters, knew exactly where she was going.

Leviathan and K-Z0 executed the exact same strategy that had won them the last two rounds. They popped the glowing Aegis Dome in the center of the plaza, mounted their heavy guns, and waited for Von to try and sneak past them.

But Von didn’t sneak.

A loud, heavy metallic clank echoed across the plaza. Von stepped out into the open courtyard, wielding a massive, gleaming broadsword. He didn’t have his invisibility cloak. He didn’t have his silent boots. He was playing the Swordsman class, and he was sprinting straight at them.

"Is he crazy?!" Leviathan yelled over his personal stream. "He’s just running at us with a sword!"

Leviathan pulled the trigger on his LMG, sending a hail of heavy bullets straight toward Von.

But Von’s fingers danced across his keyboard with terrifying speed. He exhibited a level of skill that left the entire broadcast speechless. He used a complex skill move he had mastered in his past life, the Blade-Cancel Dash.

By rapidly tapping his block and dash keys at the exact frame the bullets hit, Von’s character became a blur of motion.

He deflected the incoming fire with the flat side of his broadsword, preserving his forward momentum and sliding right through the Aegis Dome’s energy field.

He closed the distance in a millisecond. Before Leviathan could even let go of the trigger, Von swung the heavy broadsword in a brutal upward arc.

{Ding! Player Leviathan has been eliminated by Player KingVon}

The casters completely lost their minds.

"HE PARRY-DASHED THROUGH THE LMG FIRE!" Max screamed. "KINGVON IS ON THE SWORDSMAN CLASS! HE JUST SLICED LEVIATHAN IN HALF!"

But the fight wasn’t over. K-Z0 was a world champion, and his reaction time was flawless.

The moment Leviathan fell, K-Z0 aimed his plasma shotgun right at Von’s chest. Von quickly raised his sword to block, but the raw kinetic impact of the shotgun blast was too much. The heavy spread of plasma fire shattered Von’s sword guard and completely drained his character’s health bar.

Von’s health plummeted into the red. He was at one hit point. He had no stamina left to dodge, no energy to swing his sword, and he was locked in the recovery animation.

K-Z0 pumped his shotgun for the final shot, but from the ceiling of the Aegis Dome, a grappling hook shot downward. Aura dropped from the sky like a true assassin.

Before the world champion could even pull the trigger to finish Von off, Aura landed perfectly on his shoulders. She drove her assassin’s dagger straight into the top of his helmet, finishing the life bar that Von had already chipped away at during the clash.

{Ding! Player K-Z0 has been eliminated by Player Aura}

The entire arena went dead silent for a fraction of a second.

Von didn’t waste any time. He instantly rushed forward, grabbed the glowing blue Core from the pedestal before the enemies could respawn, and secured the final point.

The screen froze completely.

A massive, golden CHAMPIONS banner filled the screen, accompanied by triumphant, booming orchestral music that signaled the end of the match.

The main broadcast completely erupted. The crowd noise soundboard was deafening, but it was absolutely nothing compared to the volume of the casters.

{THIS IS MAGICAL! THIS IS EPIC! THIS IS CITADEL! TEAM STARFALL RUTHLESSLY DESTROYED THE COMEBACK HOPES OF ABYSS!}

{THE ROLE TWIST! THE SNIPER BECOMING THE GHOST! THE BRAVERY OF THE ASSASSIN! AURA WITH THE MELEE FINISHER ON THE WORLD CHAMPION! NOBODY SAW THAT COMING!}

{THEY’VE SHOWED NO MERCY AND NO WEAKNESSES, AND NOW THEY MARCH ONTO THE FINAL WITH PRIDE!}

Timothy was standing out of his chair now.

"Abyss can hold their heads up high because they have been amazing tonight! But Starfall! Let it be known! They are not just here to sing, they are here to bring the sting! The pop stars just eliminated the world champion!"

The live chat was moving so fast as the officially greatest match in the game’s history was wrapped up in style.

===

A/N: This marks the last Chapter of this gaming arc. And for those worrying, the System didn’t disappear. It will make a reappearance soon. Thanks for reading!