Chapter 22: Don’t Be Cocky. Always Stay Humble (6)

“Ah.”

Kang Arin stared blankly.

[You have been defeated.]

The red defeat message felt strangely unreal.

Why?

Why did she lose?

It had been a shocking loss.

But true to her status as a pro trainee,

Kang Arin’s mind instinctively began reviewing the match.

If she had to pinpoint the biggest mistake—

It was overextending.

She pushed forward too hard with the sniper.

That was her only real slip.

But her opponent was a total beginner.

Against a newbie, that level of play should’ve been more than enough.

‘Was I wrong? Maybe they’re not a newbie.’

Was it a misunderstanding?

Was that ‘Silver-Hair’ someone Raidel had secretly called in—a hidden pro?

‘No way.’

Even if Raidel wanted to deceive her,

There were thousands of viewers.

She couldn’t have fooled all of them just to bait Arin.

The chat alone showed—Silver-Hair was clearly a beginner.

And yet, she’d been utterly defeated.

By someone with the chick sticker—a total newbie.

Kang Arin touched her forehead.

She felt like she was burning up.

Cognitive dissonance was hitting hard.

‘I’ve never lost like this—not even to actual pros…’

Kang Arin was no amateur.

She was a pro trainee, already signed to a team.

She’d sparred countless times—not just with strong amateurs, but current pros.

Sure, she’d lost before.

But never like this.

Never so helplessly.

Never a one-sided loss.

This was a first.

“Well… They do say there’s such a thing as beginner’s luck.”

She muttered, trying to convince herself.

Coincidence.

Yeah. Just a coincidence.

Like a freak moment when a world champion gets knocked out by a regular person.

It had to be that.

It had to be.

Because if a brand-new player crushed her through raw talent alone—

That couldn’t be allowed.

[Ragnarok: SilverSilver.]

Her fingers hesitated before typing the next message.

Maybe she should just let it end here.

One match could be dismissed as chance.

She could rationalize it.

They dodged the bullet by luck.

Blocked by chance.

Bit the bullet on reflex.

Landed a dagger to the heart on pure accident.

If she lost again, there’d be no excuse.

She wouldn’t be able to lie to herself anymore.

[Ragnarok: One more game?]

But her pride wouldn’t let it end here.

Losing was fine.

But accepting someone with better talent?

That was unacceptable.

“It’s not over. This is just the beginning.”

She may have lost the first match.

But the next would be different.

Kang Arin’s trump card—

Her real strength wasn’t just raw mechanics.

Her eyes sharpened with resolve.

---

[SilverSilver: Oh.]

[SilverSilver: So you really can catch bullets with your teeth.]

[SilverSilver: That’s nuts lol]

[SilverSilver: VR is amazing.]

“Uh…”

Raidel blinked at the childlike excitement in the chat.

Her usual streamer’s anxiety about dead air?

Cured instantly.

She had no idea what to say.

‘So she really caught the bullet with her teeth?’

Deflecting a bullet with a dagger was already pro-level trickery.

But catching a bullet in her teeth?

‘Is that even possible?’

Even for pros, that’s not something humans should be able to do.

‘I didn’t even know that was possible.’

No one had ever tried.

After years of Raid & Master, she’d never seen anything like it.

「Not even a scripted stunt could pull that off LOL」

「How the hell did she do that?? LOL」

「Wasn’t that a headshot? Why didn’t her HP drop?」

「Holy sh*t that was insane」

「BIT THE BULLET LMAO」

「Legendary moment unlocked LOL」

「Thought it was a bug, I swear LOL」

Some viewers were in awe. Others, totally confused.

Raidel pulled up the replay.

‘No need to fast-forward.’

Normally, you skip to highlights in replays.

Raidel was used to it—she had it down to a science.

But this time, there was no need.

The match hadn’t even lasted a minute.

“So, first bullet—dodged. Second—blocked with a dagger. Then they close the gap successfully.”

“The sniper thought they’d picked Assassinate and laid a trap…”

“But it was Paralyzing Arrow instead. Totally outplayed on the mind games.”

Raidel couldn’t stop praising her.

Ragnarok had expected Assassinate.

The unexpected Paralyzing Arrow caught her completely off guard.

This wasn’t just mechanical skill.

Silver-Hair had outplayed her psychologically.

She wasn’t just faster—she understood the game.

Just by watching a few matches between Raidel and Ragnarok,

She’d completely absorbed it.

“And finally, the bullet in the mouth… I really don’t know how that’s even possible. I’ve watched it and I still don’t get it…”

Even at 0.1x speed, it was baffling.

Like watching a magician’s trick you just can’t figure out.

Silver-Hair’s stunt wasn’t just hard to replicate—

It was impossible to understand.

「Felt like I was watching a damn circus LOL」

「Now I get it」

「Those are some steel-ass teeth」

「I’ve seen it and I still don’t get it. Is that even doable?」

「Nope.」

「No clue.」

“I’m confused too…”

“So, Silver-Hair? How exactly did you catch a bullet—with your teeth? Shouldn’t they have broken?”

In-game, Raid & Master champions had enhanced bodies.

After all, a normal human fighting a sniper with a dagger wouldn’t make sense.

Stronger jaws, more strength—far from average.

Still, biting a bullet out of the air?

Maybe their teeth were steel implants or something?

Maybe Rogue Master had some hidden lore about metal teeth?

Raidel shook her head.

‘No way. That can’t be a real thing.’

[SilverSilver: Oh, that.]

[SilverSilver: You don’t block it—you just slow it down with your teeth.]

[SilverSilver: Tilt your head back gently.]

[SilverSilver: It’s kind of like distributing the kinetic energy evenly;;]

Raidel replayed the clip again.

Still looked like she just got shot and flopped back.

[SilverSilver: Still took some damage. My HP dropped a little.]

[SilverSilver: My gums bled. Kinda scary.]

‘YOU’RE scarier.’

Raidel thought—but didn’t say it aloud.

「Wait that actually works? LOL」

「That’s insane hahaha」

「Were you in a circus troupe or something?」

「Legit acrobat found LOL」

To be fair, Rogue Master’s lore did say she was from an assassin clan trained in secret arts.

So maybe having crazy strong teeth wasn’t so strange after all.

‘If she’s literally the Rogue Master, maybe it makes sense.’

Raidel stopped thinking about it.

Her head hurt.

[Ragnarok: One more game?]

Just as she tried to replay again, Ragnarok messaged.

A rematch request.

「Revenge match incoming?」

「Let’s gooo」

「Kinda wanna see one more.」

「Yeah that last one ended way too fast LOL」

Raidel agreed with chat.

She wanted to see more.

Or rather, more of Silver-Hair’s gameplay.

“Silver-Hair? Want to play one more?”

[SilverSilver: Sure. I don’t mind.]

Silver-Hair accepted instantly.

A new match queued up.

But this time, the opponent hadn’t locked in a champion yet.

Last match, they’d instantly locked sniper.

This time felt different.

‘Are they switching champs?’

Raidel frowned slightly.

Silver-Hair had only seen two champs so far.

If the opponent picked something new, she might not know how to respond.

“Silver-Hair. The game’s actually pretty simple, you know?”

“If it’s a warrior, just watch for sword swings. Archers are similar. Mages are a bit trickier, but it’s mostly spells.”

“Supporters have more utility, but nothing too crazy.”

Actually, both Rogue Master and sniper were outliers.

Highly specialized utility champs.

Most characters focused on body enhancement and brawling.

Complicated skills were rare.

So—

“Even if it’s a new pick, don’t panic.”

[SilverSilver: Nah, I’m fine.]

[SilverSilver: Besides, Rogue Master looks like she has other skills too.]

“Uh? Yeah, but don’t take those. They suck.”

Raidel shook her head.

In Raid & Master, you could choose from multiple skills per character.

But for Rogue Master, the default three were set:

Dash, Assassinate, and Paralyzing Arrow.

The others were too weak.

[SilverSilver: Yeah.]

[SilverSilver: Still, this one looked more fun…]

Hoo boy.

She was definitely picking something else.

Raidel could feel it in her bones.