"Let’s see. About 4 hours in real ti… so in VR ti, it’s 12 hours. To think you earned 12 million just sitting there—well, you sure know how to make a profit."
"Stop saying weird things and sit down."
"Okay."
I sat next to Dice while watching the sun slowly dip below the horizon from the 30th floor of the SSM building, overlooking the Han River. It was 4 PM. The sun hadn’t set yet, but ntally, I was already exhausted. This was due to ti acceleration.
The familiar ding from my phone, and the hologram that only I could see, announced that the deposit had been completed, signaling the end of today’s schedule.
While leisurely looking out at the view, Dice spoke up.
"You haven’t changed, have you?"
"...It hasn’t even been a year since we t, has it?"
"Well, does ti really matter?"
I turned my head slightly, confused by what she said, and she continued.
"How should I put it… you’re unpredictable in so ways, but you always take responsibility to the end…"
"Ah."
"Honestly, after last year, you’ve done everything for us, so we don’t really need to worry about it anymore. But, you showing up today is..."
"Just for my own curiosity."
As she said, if I hadn’t been interested in visiting SSM today, I would have spent the day wandering around with Dice before heading ho. However, with the combination of visiting the company headquarters and the possibility of so monetary gain, I was more than willing to make my way here.
As for why I agreed to teach Looming again… well, there wasn’t a deep reason. Last year during KSM, I had focused all my attention on Dice, and I hadn’t been able to teach Looming as much, so I thought it might be good to continue where we left off. It was partly a sense of responsibility, but also curiosity.
Anyway, while pondering this, Dice added sothing.
"But lately, that 'curiosity' thing is starting to get a bit scary. The butterfly effect is a bit much..."
"Should I start showing up at other teams?"
"You’re still as sharp as ever."
It suddenly dawned on . What Dice was saying was that, because I had so enthusiastically supported SSM and Dice, the power balance between the teams had shifted. Of course, this wasn’t just affecting SSM—teams like Reaper Infected, Clear Sky, and Xi were also experiencing the sa shift.
All of these teams were the ones that I, along with the others, had flown to the US with during last year’s final championship.
Strictly speaking, this wasn’t sothing I needed to worry about. I had chosen to teach, and by the ti the third Final Championship was over, the issue was already out of my hands.
However, as I watched the effects unfold, I couldn’t deny my responsibility for the butterfly effect that had followed.
"So, what should I do? Help equalize the teams?"
"Oh, no. It’s actually kind of scary because you sound like you’re serious about it, so don’t do it."
"Ha-ha."
As she said, if I were to go to a team where none of my taught players were, and help equalize the team, I’d be faced with the question of whether it would really work the right way. Balancing things out, where so players do well and others fall behind, can’t exactly be called the ideal thod.
That said, this was just one possible way—though I had once said in an interview during KSM that balance needed to be maintained, looking back now, it was a rather careless thing to say.
Besides, I didn’t need to act myself. Others had already started moving behind the scenes.
"For instance," Dice continued, "Reaper Infected, Clear Sky, and Xi are already collaborating with the other six teams and sharing so know-how. They’ve already sent in a ton of cash and asked for help."
"So, it seems things are moving along as expected. You didn’t share anything sensitive, right?"
"Of course not. We made sure that they can’t leak anything outside."
"Ha-ha, of course."
The "sensitive things" Dice was referring to were the combat data I had used to teach her—data that, if leaked, would trigger self-destruction protocols on her hard drive.
But the reason I asked was to check just how far the secondary data had spread.
And Dice gave a satisfying answer.
"Just so you know, there’s almost no one who can combine theory and practice as well as you can, Yu-jin. In other words, the knowledge shared with other teams is only being passed through practical lessons. All the written curriculums are based on that."
"So, rather than forming practical applications from the data I gave you, you’ve created a theory based on what you learned?"
"Is that a problem?"
"Not really, but there might be so complications."
The reason was simple.
The combat manuals I had developed over the past five years, written with the blood of the dead, were designed purely to kill, and thus, they were intended to teach how to murder. But the theories derived from teaching professional players who learned from parts of those manuals… naturally had a different purpose.
Murder and being the best—the gap between these two goals was wider than I had originally thought, and it would only widen from here. Simply put, think about the path of light. Even a tiny deviation, say 0.000001 degrees, would make a huge difference between two photons after one second.
It was the sa with combat.
"Well, that’s a relief... but, either way, cleaning up after you is my job, right? You’ve given us so much already, so I’m obligated to take care of this."
"Ha-ha."
"Now that you’ve offered to help Looming, things will get a little easier from here on out."
There was a brief silence. It didn’t seem like she didn’t have anything more to say, though. There was sothing else, but it was hard to get out.
After a few seconds, Dice awkwardly laughed and added:
"Well, it’s a bit late, but..."
"You an I’m late?"
"No, not you. It’s just that the timing for helping Looming ca a little late. A few days ago, I asked soone who could indirectly support him to help out."
"Ah."
Indirect help. I wondered who it could be. Several people ca to mind, but quickly faded away.
It wasn’t one of the other pro players I’d traveled with during the Final Championship. Dice was busy, and those friends were just as busy. Logan and Lorentina were out of the question as well. Logan had already been assigned to Owen’s senior strike team, and Lorentina… well, she still had at least three more months before she could return to the US.
So who could it be? I couldn’t think of anyone imdiately.
"So, who did you contact?"
"He-he."
A brief chuckle.
And then Dice raised her phone. Soone’s record appeared on the screen. 17 wins, 3 losses—an impressive record.
But when I scrolled up, the na that appeared was…
"...Why is Mina showing up here?"
"When you’re up against her in a full-on battle, she has a 30% chance of blowing up. How could I not bring her?"
Harmony.
She had shown extraordinary results in the 20 scrims she’d played against the 1st team of SSM, losing only three tis.
"Last year, when you were running around New York, I suggested that Harmony join SSM. But... well, you’ll let bring a 'rookie' in, won’t you?"
"Heh."
"We haven’t seen each other for a while, but I didn’t expect SSM and us to get so closely involved in that ti."
"Hehe. Well, it’s not like we’ve signed a proper contract. It’s more like what you did last year... I’m kind of an external advisor, you know."
"9 months ago, we were struggling with ammo... Ugh, don’t bring that up!"
"Stop talking about that!"
Clank!
A sharp sound rang out as Harmony, from behind Dice, used a drone cara that was hovering around her. It wasn’t one I brought from ho; Harmony had finally bought one herself. She had been planning to get one after seeing comfortably streaming outdoors with it.
Anyway, it was 6 PM. Dice, Harmony, and I were at a hotel steakhouse in East Seoul. The reason Harmony joined us was, of course, due to the conversation Dice and I had had just two hours earlier.
Whenever Harmony’s na ca up, I’d contact her, and when Dice’s na ca up, I’d call her. That’s how the dynamic was flowing… or so I thought. I hadn’t expected it to apply when I was off doing my own thing.
So, I sent a text asking if she could join us for dinner, and the response ca back quickly.
[Harmony: I was going to play so trash gas for dinner, but I guess this works as content now, haha.]
I wasn’t sure if the viewers would know, but if they did, they’d probably be bowing their heads in gratitude toward .
Anyway, the price at this place was just as crazy as the last ti I went with Logan, maybe even worse, but it wasn’t a big deal. Thankfully, the three of us had enough financial power to not really care.
To back that up, Dice spoke first.
"Wait for three years. You’ll be moving downstairs, Yu-jin."
"...Suddenly?"
"Well, then I’ll just move next door."
"Why is the place I live turning into a hotspot?"
What’s this? Why are they suddenly trying to flex?
What do you want? Grab a spear and co over!
With just one hit, you can finish it all... Oh, Yu-jin can just walk on by.
Even if it's not a spear, I think he’ll win with an automatic weapon anyway, haha.
...What are they even talking about?
Anyway, while the chatroom was full of outdated jokes, Harmony and Dice were happily grilling at. It was a place where the staff usually grills the at, but we had declined that service since we didn’t want the conversation to be interrupted.
The topic turned back to SSM, specifically about how Harmony ended up joining the team. To sum it up, it went sothing like this: while I was gallivanting around high-end restaurants in New York and Washington, Dice and Harmony had a walk in Central Park and discussed various things.
At that point, Dice said, "Harmony, at your level, you could definitely apply for SSM’s AP pro gar role next year." Both of them took it seriously, and eventually, Dice—busy as she was—contacted Harmony to ask for her help.
This had happened three days before my visit to SSM headquarters.
"So, we decided to try a test run and scrimd with the 1st team of SSM…"
"...And you went 17 wins and 3 losses?"
"Yep."
?????????????????
Seriously, this is amazing no matter how many tis you hear it.
What the hell did you do to make rookie players beat pro gars?
This guy ca first in the partner strear tournant in New York, but 1st team players can't handle him, haha.
Fact: Rookie player won a Porsche Boxster with pure skill.
It’s amazing how simple it is.
Now, looking back, I’d say that the seeds I planted had really grown well. Although it’s not quite right to talk about a perfect outco, I could see the results clearly.
The conversation naturally shifted to Harmony’s future plans.
"Do you plan on going to New York anyti soon?"
"Well, if I have so free ti this year, I’ll probably try to make it to the rank for the tournant. I don’t know if I’ll make it to KSM or the Asian qualifiers yet, though."
"I can already hear the 1st team mbers crying about TO shortages this year."
"Haha."
What this ant was that if Harmony started taking up TO spots, it would make it even harder for the players who were working hard to get into the tournant.
Though I wasn’t too sure about it, it ultimately depended on Harmony’s decision.
So, I shifted the conversation to sothing else.
"Are you going to stay in the EU mode until then?"
"Ah, you’re right. I think so. I still need to catch cha Yu-jin. Speaking of which, I saw the battle between cha Yu-jin and you a while ago. I watched it carefully."
"Aah, maybe I should try the Escape from Unknown mode again when I have ti."
"Just stick to what you’re good at."
"But cha Byam is in there too—ugh!"
Haha, haha, haha.
Completely devoted to the teacher!!!
I want to be hit on the head by that snake tail...
cha Byam
Reviews
All reviews (0)