Chapter 20 : Don’t Be Arrogant. Always Be Humble (4)
by fnovelpia
The sniper grinned.
In contrast, Rydel looked flustered.
Cold sweat trickled down her back.
A beast trap was gripping her ankle.
Where did this trap come from?
The beast trap was a tricky skill among the sniper’s abilities, but it takes a little time to activate after being set up.
It meant the trap had been set up in advance before using the assassination skill.
“He saw through me.”
Rydel sighed.
Her opponent already knew.
The paralysis arrow was a fake, and a rush-assassination combo was coming.
In other words, from the moment she initiated the fake, her actions had been read.
The sniper had anticipated the assassination skill and even predicted she would teleport behind with it.
That’s why he had set the trap behind her in advance.
The slight stumble when using the charge attack wasn’t due to panic but because she had secretly set the trap behind her.
“It’s not over yet.”
She was still within range of the dagger.
Rydel tried to swing her dagger, but the effect of the beast trap, the brief stun, kept her body still.
The stun wore off quickly, but by then, the sniper was already out of the dagger’s range.
Moreover, unlike the short stun duration, the movement restriction lasted much longer.
After all, the trap was a skill that restricted movement.
For a certain period, movement was impossible.
In other words, the sniper had more than enough time to take down the fragile assassin.
Bang!
Bang!
The sniper, who had created distance, fired his sniper rifle.
Bullets flew one after another.
The “Log Master” was an assassin-type character.
If exposed to the bullets unprotected, the character would be taken down instantly.
“I can’t just take this!”
Rydel gritted her teeth.
Today wasn’t just any normal stream.
It was an educational broadcast for a new player in Raid and Master, Eunbal Eunbal (Silver Hair Silver Hair).
If she lost from the very first game, it felt like she wouldn’t be able to lift her head for a while.
Ching!
Ching!
Rydel swung the “Log Master” dagger and deflected the bullets.
Blocking bullets with a dagger.
It was nearly impossible to deflect bullets with such a small weapon, making it an incredibly difficult stunt.
A spectacular play that would fit in a “mad movie.”
Was it her desperate wish to avoid embarrassment that made this possible?
Rydel succeeded in deflecting all three incoming bullets.
“Wow, did she just block those bullets?”
“Rydel’s on fire today!”
“Did Delbung eat something weird today?”
“This is insane!”
“Once the trap wears off, she can turn this around.”
“Is she really going to reverse this?”
The duration of the trap was coming to an end.
Rydel was focused on that moment.
It was an incredibly unfavorable situation, but perhaps by luck, she had successfully blocked all the bullets so far.
Once the beast trap was gone, she could immediately counterattack.
“Ahh!”
But in the blink of an eye, a bullet hit her left knee.
She had perfectly blocked the other areas, but when her left leg was attacked, her defense was a little too slow.
She felt a sharp pain in her knee.
Although Raid and Master didn’t completely simulate pain, when taking significant damage, a certain level of numbness was still felt.
Just that alone was enough to completely distract her.
Perrk!
Perrk!
Once she allowed one bullet, the damage followed one after another.
Her health dropped sharply.
‘She tried to use the paralysis arrow, albeit belatedly, but—’
Whoosh.
The sniper twisted his body and dodged the arrow with a mocking smile.
He wasn’t an easy opponent to be hit by an arrow shot directly at him.
Bang!
And then, the finishing shot.
The “Log Master’s” health quickly hit zero.
Rydel’s body vanished smoothly, and the message [You have been defeated] appeared.
“Rydel down!”
“Delbung did well, but it’s a shame.”
“Agreed, well played.”
“She really blocked those bullets well at the end.”
“When she blocked the bullets, I thought she was a pro gamer.”
Although Rydel lost, the chat was surprisingly warm and supportive.
There were a few comments teasing her lightly, but they were rare.
It was thanks to her almost acrobatic play of blocking bullets with a dagger at the end.
Considering Rydel’s physical skills were quite impressive, it was worthy of admiration.
Even though she collapsed after blocking just three bullets, blocking those three alone was impressive.
Even for a pro, blocking three sniper bullets with a dagger wasn’t an easy task.
Of course, the warm atmosphere wasn’t just because of the “bullet-blocking mad movie.”
“Who is that sniper?”
“Seriously, what’s their identity?”
“Doesn’t it feel like a pro alt account? Is it just me?”
“The gameplay itself doesn’t make sense.”
“They might be a one-on-one expert.”
The reason for the warm chat atmosphere was that the opposing sniper’s skill was ridiculously high.
Normally, the sniper would be overwhelmed by the “Log Master.”
But this sniper user overcame the disadvantage with overwhelming physical skills.
Despite Rydel’s great performance, she was defeated by that skill.
“Sigh. It’s a shame, right?”
Even with the warm atmosphere in the chat, Rydel’s expression wasn’t good.
It was true that the opponent’s skill was exceptional.
‘But still, to lose as a Log Master to a sniper.’
Her pride was inevitably hurt.
Moreover, this was Silver Hair Silver Hair’s educational broadcast.
“To pick a counter pick and still get beaten…”
There was no humiliation like this.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Rydel started typing in the chat.
[Rydel: Ragnarok-nim.]
[Rydel: Would you be up for one more game?]
Ragnarok was the username of the player who had just played the sniper.
It felt too soon to let this go.
She had to get her revenge.
“Rematch?”
“I think we’re going to see Delbung in a tough spot…”
“Let’s stop before it gets more embarrassing…”
“But if it’s fun, I’d totally upvote lol.”
Most people expected Rydel to lose.
They had seen Ragnarok’s sniper skills.
“It was a shame at the end.”
“Rydel seems warmed up now, so she might have a chance?”
“Yeah, looking at the end, she could win.”
“Ugh, I don’t know.”
However, maybe due to Rydel’s last-ditch effort, there was a slightly unexpected reaction that suggested she might still have a chance.
[Ragnarok: One more game?]
[Ragnarok: Okay, okay, I’ll send an invite.]
Ragnarok, the sniper user, surprisingly accepted the rematch without saying much.
“Phew. Alright. I’ll definitely get my revenge this time.”
Rydel, with a tense expression, waited for the invite.
In Raid and Master, it was also possible for users to create rooms and play with each other.
‘This time, I will win for sure.’
With a burning fighting spirit, Rydel received Ragnarok’s invite message.
***
[You have been defeated.]
“Ah…”
Rydel stared blankly at the defeat screen.
The determined look in her eyes, filled with resolve to win, had completely disappeared.
“Six losses in a row is… rough…”
“Um…”
“Just admit it, Delbung.”
“It’s a skill difference.”
“Just stop now…”
6 losses in a row.
In a one-on-one match, she had lost 6 times in a row.
Ragnarok continuously picked the sniper, while Rydel, as always, chose the counter, Log Master.
Yet, she ended up losing six times in a row.
[Ragnarok: Hmm.]
[Ragnarok: Last game?]
[Ragnarok: I need to head out soon.]
“Last game?”
Normally, Rydel would have rushed in to get her revenge, but she couldn’t easily accept this time.
‘I just can’t win.’
The fight was gradually becoming one-sided.
Rydel was the one losing.
Unlike the first game where she had at least put up a fight, the more they played, the faster the games ended.
‘It feels like everything is being read.’
It seemed like her opponent was analyzing Rydel’s actions.
‘Ragnarok’ had started to perfectly predict Rydel’s behavior.
In the end, the last game ended without Rydel landing a single effective hit.
She had been defeated.
What mattered was having an unyielding heart, but she just couldn’t win.
She felt like giving up.
[Silver Hair Silver Hair: Should I give it a try?]
Then, out of the blue, a chat message appeared.
“Huh? Silver Hair-nim?”
Rydel, momentarily flustered, shook her head.
“Silver Hair-nim is a beginner, right? You probably don’t know, but this person, Ragnarok, is almost at a pro level.”
No matter how talented Silver Hair was, she was still a complete beginner who hadn’t played a single game.
On the other hand, her opponent was a player at a pro-gamer level.
There was no way it would be a fair game.
[Silver Hair Silver Hair: I am a beginner, but…]
[Silver Hair Silver Hair: I think I’ve got a rough idea of what I need to do.]
“Is Silver Hair going to help Delbung get revenge?”
“Lol, it seems tough.”
“How is a beginner supposed to beat that?”
“Let’s be realistic.”
“Still, I’m curious, so I’ll upvote.”
Rydel hesitated for a moment.
No matter how much she wanted to help, this game was impossible for Silver Hair.
If they fought, a newbie would be completely overwhelmed by a pro-level opponent.
‘But it can’t be helped.’
If Silver Hair wanted to try, what could she do?
[Rydel: Ragnarok-nim.]
[Rydel: Would you be able to play the last game with someone else?]
***
“Getting tired of this now?”
Chloe Kang Arin, a trainee from Glitch Core, yawned.
In her game window, the username “Ragnarok” was displayed.
There was nothing strange about it.
Ragnarok was Kang Arin’s alt account.
Whenever she felt stressed, she would use this alt account to crush her opponents, just like now.
This was how she relieved the stress she got from Director Choi.
Of course, it would be a problem if this were found out.
‘As long as I don’t get caught, it’s fine.’
If it became a problem when caught, then just don’t get caught.
That was Kang Arin’s deep life philosophy.
Anyway, this “Ragnarok” ID was an unknown one.
Since she wasn’t broadcasting, there was no way she would get caught.
‘Rydel is actually pretty good.’
The opponent matched with Kang Arin was the streamer Rydel.
Kang Arin had only heard of Rydel’s name.
She didn’t know exactly how skilled Rydel was, but after playing, she showed some decent gameplay.
That was about it.
Kang Arin, playing as a sniper, managed to take out Rydel’s Log Master one after another.
Log Master was considered a counter to Sniper, but Kang Arin was a player with top-tier physical skills among pro-gamer trainees.
On the other hand, Rydel, even though she had reached Master tier, was just an average person.
She was no match for Kang Arin, who was at a pro level.
[Rydel: Would you be able to play the last game with someone else?]
[Rydel: It’s someone I know.]
[Rydel: I don’t think I can continue because of a headache.]
“Huh. Are they asking to bring someone else in?”
Kang Arin chuckled.
Was Rydel trying to call someone else for revenge?
Rydel was a fairly well-known streamer, so she might have a friend with some decent skills.
‘This could be interesting.’
[Ragnarok: Okay, okay.]
[Ragnarok: I’ll send an invite.]
Kang Arin quickly accepted.
She had gotten a little tired of Rydel and was curious about the skills of this so-called friend.
“Well, unless they bring in a pro, it’s going to be tough.”
Even if they did bring in a pro, Kang Arin was confident.
In fact, even current pro players had lost to her multiple times.
Then, the user who joined was Silver Hair Silver Hair.
“Hmm?”
Kang Arin frowned when she saw the ID.
“A person who’s playing for the first time, huh?”
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