Support is innately the dullest role in any genre of game, even truer in the most popular VRMMORPG of all time, Arkmeria Conquer Online(ACO), a game that's sole objective is to cultivate one's status and conquer the opposing nations and kingdoms, be it players or monsters, NPCs and even cities and towns for them to take by their own hands in a competitive fight.
Players often imagine themselves as the center of attention on their team, favoring classes or roles that can inflict burst damage, flashy moves, or blast off a series of combos so they can appear cool and feel good about themselves.
Who else would wish to play the role of support in a virtual world where merit and power define their characters? Naturally, players had a driving ambition to become the hero of their life, a dream they could never fulfill in the real world.
They aspired to grow stronger and demonstrate their ability to stand on their own. Leveling up on their own implies they are self-sufficient, allowing them to feed their impulses in both ego and imagination.
The high-ranking Arkmeria Conquer Online players listed on the leaderboards have all achieved the highest echelon because they keep support under their sleeves, outperforming their team composition simply to bring one over the top of their team.
Those who were worthy of the highest among the highest, on the other hand, have a class of either a rampaging berserker, a high wizard of flames, or a crafty assassin who had reached the Sovereign rank; the highest possible superiority ACO may bestow upon their players.
The essential recipe for achieving the greatest rank is power, good status distribution, and skill. Supports, on the other hand, required a group to work effectively.
Their status distribution is mostly focused on aiding teammates, and in terms of skills, they're required to have actual support mastery sets such as heal, defensive boost, and essential spells that can limit break companions during a fight.
It was the reason supports in Arkmeria Conquer Online are scarce. Players who picked such a role that limits one's cultivation in a virtual world are either stuck on the lowest level, which they call bottom feeders, or they are grouped under the control of a greater player that they can serve.
Choosing support implies players seek the companionship of another; an ironic judgment for many who just enjoyed the thought of assisting other players as part of their adventure or playtime within a fantasy world.
The ACO developers even attempted to balance the class system in order to put the function of support above a lighter perspective, but the years of stigmata drawn at the image of the position cannot be simply ignored.
However, when the Kingdom of Alfahim's leaderboard was updated, the tides of roles were flipped upside down. It wasn't just the fact that the top player on Alfahim since the beta release had been replaced; it was the reality that a support-main had attained the position of Sovereign, standing atop the avaricious ladder of power and superiority.
They suspected the leaderboards had been hacked or were malfunctioning, but the Top Support Player had won consecutive fights in a row after being crowned the strongest. Not only did he show himself deserving of the title, but he would also eliminate anything that stood in his way of being the finest player in Arkmeria.
As Sariel, the Farasia Empire's Overlord of Flames battles Fargil, the Top Support Player, a battleground on the fringes near the Alfahim Kingdom's border has been established.
The combat between a supreme flame magister and a support player had finally started.
"I, the bearer of flames from the great Farasia Empire; challenged by inferior support? Know your place, trash; I'll permanently place your name at the bottom of your leaderboards!"
The first step determines the victor; Sariel, the strategist, understood what he was doing.
He rises further above the clouds and points his index finger at Fargil's coordinate, exposing a massive magical circle the size of a town beyond border's reach, encircling the stars beyond the darker horizon.
"No freaking way! That's one of Sariel's Grand Spells that once demolished a city on Pandora Alliance! It has a long cast-time, but none of us can silence him if Sariel's that high in the sky... So losing is our only option...?"
The armored guy who appears to be the border defenders' leader simply looked at the massive magical circle that was about to crush them.
He accepts his defeat like a man, knowing there's nothing he can do but watch as Sariel incinerates his squadron protecting the northern boundaries.
However, someone patted his back, and as he turns around, he caught Fargil shaking his head, reciprocating an assertive gaze.
"What kind of support am I if I can't protect those who are around me?" "No one will face a penalty here, I guarantee."
Fargil muttered this just before waving his palm over his head, building a large-scale magical barrier surrounding the whole northern suburbs. However, his barrier falls short in comparison to Sariel's magical circle, which is expected to cause mass extinction.
Not only did he erect a considerable shield, Fargil even chanted layered protection by amalgamating several barrier spells, which cost an immense amount of mana.
And, on top of all the defensive spells he cast to keep his promise, Fargil took his own words to a whole new level by creating the final shelter, which protects all players around him from harm.
"No one gets hurt under my watch!" Fargil sweeps his arms in the air; a wave of magic enveloped all of the players' avatars under the enormous barrier's proximity.
And with the exact moment he gave his all, Sariel had finished his incantation.
"Wait a minute, Fargil... Is this what I think it is?! You must not do this for us or else you–"
"Burn them in purgatory's hellfire! Total Annihilation!" Sariel cast his magic, filling the black heavens with searing light.
The border defenders' leader couldn't speak his final words as a pillar of light showered down on them, smashing the layered walls Fargil had erected like paper, scorching the woods in eternal flames as though a god smites the overworld.
The pillar of spiraling flames can be seen across the Alfura continent, devouring the soil and wreaking absolute torment on anyone who dared to oppose the Overlord of Flames.
The northern boundaries of the Alfahim Kingdom had been completely burnt to nothingness, but once the billowing smoke had been carried away by the wind, Sariel had observed a consequence he could never have predicted even at the pinnacle of his knowledge and pride.
Rivers have dried up, trees have been reduced to ashes, and rocks are still burning as a result of the total destruction that has befallen the vast greenery, but all of the players who were supposed to be sent back to base after dying were still alive, standing on their own two feet on the same battleground he ruined.
"How are all these low-leveled players still... Could it be?!" Sariel got a suspicion, so he checks his surroundings, only to uncover the answer to Fargil's condition while his greatest adversary remains at his initial position.
Fargil's entire character avatar is on fire, barely crawling on the incinerated land. His Health Points indicator over his head declines as he succumbs to the scorching effects of the spell Sariel cast.
On his knees, the commander of the defenders approaches Fargil. He pulled out several healing potions and showered them to him from head to toe.
"Why save us? Applying Soul Link on all of us here..." He mumbled, immersing Fargil in the potions of those he protected around him, but to no avail as the burning effect of Sariel's Grand Spell was too severe for elixirs to handle.
"Soul Link? Impossible! How did he survive my Grand Spell?! My Total Annihilation burns and penetrates all kinds of defense. So how...?!" Sariel exclaimed, his HP slightly decreasing biting his lower lip; disappointed that he couldn't kill all of them at once.
He was aware of the Soul Link, a support-specialized spell that binds two players in an intangible string. Any damage, harm, and ailments applied to bound players will be directly sent to the caster, in other words, the support.
Sariel's only conclusion was that Fargil absorbed the searing damage of all the players defending the outer boundary on himself. He would give his life to defend whose names he didn't know, except that's what Sariel believed while seeing Fargil perish in his burning flames.
"Huh. In the end, a support's biggest burden is his team! Sacrificing yourself for the greater good will not gain you victory. Now, taste your despair because I, the Overlord of Flames, vanquished the best player of Alfahim Kingdom!"
As the players Fargil protected couldn't raise a finger because the Soul Link was still attached to him, Sariel landed on Fargil's back, crushing his feet into his face.
As he chuckled along with his victory pose, Sariel, who had seen Fargil's Health Points drop to zero, noticed Fargil's ring finger accessory flashed a small light. But Sariel didn't care since he had already beaten the most dangerous threat, effectively seizing the northern boundaries with his might.
Even still, thinking about victory during a war spells disaster, and this was Sariel's gravest mistake.
"Now that this region is temporarily mine... Because you supported this lousy support, I'll murder you all little fry over and over again, even when you respawn to base, I shall–"
Believing he had already won, from the same ashes where Fargil was killed; a miracle for them to behold was granted.
"You think death would kill me? I've learned my place for a long time, so you should learn yours now...! Vine Prison!" Fargil screamed. He slammed his left foot into Sariel's knee, bending his legs as he clutches his arms and pressed his rear right into their foothold.
As Sariel attempts to bring out his molten wings, Fargil's vines that grew from the soil had already encroached on Sariel's limbs. The vines then turned to silver, locking him on the ground.
"You...! Fargil! I have no clue how you survived dying... But I'll murder you as many times as I want until I'm satisfied with your demise!" Sariel shouted, his body emitting a tremendous level of heat that a regular player can't stand.
"Bring it, Sariel; your failure is my last judgment... And my reward for assuming you can beat me!"
Fargil yelled his aggressive superiority, ready to end Sariel's winning streak once and for all.