Chapter 20: Don’t Be Cocky. Always Stay Humble (4)

The sniper grinned.

In contrast, Raidel looked flustered.

Cold sweat dripped down her back.

The trap clamped around her ankle.

Where the hell did that thing come from?

Hunter’s Trap—one of the sniper’s trickiest skills—

Takes a few seconds to activate after being placed.

Which meant… it had been planted before Raidel even used Assassinate.

‘She read me.’

Raidel let out a breath.

The opponent already knew.

That the Paralyzing Arrow was a fakeout, and she’d go for the dash-Assassinate combo.

From the moment Raidel feinted, her entire plan had been read.

The sniper had even predicted the exact location Raidel would teleport to with Assassinate.

So she’d preemptively placed the trap behind her.

That stagger during the dash? Not from panic.

It was her hiding the trap.

‘It’s not over yet.’

Raidel was still within dagger range.

She tried to swing—

But thanks to the trap’s mini-stun, her body wouldn’t move.

It didn’t last long,

But by the time she could move again, the sniper had already stepped out of range.

Unlike the brief stun, the movement restriction lasted much longer.

That was the core of the trap—it immobilized its target.

For long enough that a sniper could finish off a squishy assassin.

Bang! Bang!

From a distance, the sniper began firing.

Shot after shot flew toward her.

The Rogue Master is an assassin.

Exposed to bullets with no way to dodge? She’d be shredded.

‘Like hell I’m going down like this!’

Raidel grit her teeth.

This wasn’t just any stream.

It was a Raid & Master tutorial for newbie Silver-Hair.

Losing helplessly in the first game? She wouldn’t be able to show her face for weeks.

Clang! Clang!

Raidel deflected the bullets with her dagger.

Blocking bullets with a dagger.

With such a tiny blade? Nearly impossible. Acrobatics of the highest level.

The kind of thing you’d see in a montage.

Maybe her sheer desperation worked in her favor.

Raidel succeeded in deflecting all three incoming shots.

「Wait, did she just deflect bullets?」

「Raidel’s form is insane today wtf」

「What did Delbung eat this morning??」

「That was sickkk」

「If she gets out of the trap, it’s comeback time」

「Is she really gonna turn this around???」

The trap’s duration was ending.

Raidel had been waiting for just that.

She was in an overwhelmingly bad position,

But by some miracle, she’d blocked every bullet so far.

If she could just break free from the trap, she could counter—

“Ack!”

But then—

A bullet slammed into her left knee.

She’d perfectly blocked every other shot,

But when her left leg was targeted, her guard faltered just a little.

A twinge in her knee.

Raid & Master didn’t simulate full pain,

But taking heavy damage still sent a sharp jolt through the body.

Enough to disrupt concentration.

Thud! Thud!

After that first hit, the rest connected in a cascade.

Her health plummeted.

Desperate, Raidel tried firing the Paralyzing Arrow—

Whoosh—

But the sniper sidestepped with a smirk.

She wasn’t the type to get hit by a frontal arrow.

Bang!

A final shot.

The Rogue Master’s HP dropped to zero.

Raidel’s body flickered and vanished.

[You have been defeated.]

A red message appeared.

「Raidel down!」

「Delbung did good though, unlucky.」

「True true, valiant loss.」

「Her defense at the end was so clean.」

「She looked like a real pro when she blocked those bullets.」

Even though Raidel lost,

the chat was surprisingly supportive.

A few light jabs, but they were rare.

Thanks to her insane move at the end—deflecting bullets with a dagger.

Even considering her high mechanics, it was jaw-dropping.

Sure, she lost right after blocking three shots—

But the fact that she did block three was impressive.

Even pros would struggle to deflect sniper bullets with a dagger.

Of course, it wasn’t just because of her cool moment.

「Who the hell is this sniper?」

「Seriously, what’s their deal?」

「They feel like a smurfing pro. Anyone else think that?」

「Their gameplay doesn’t make sense.」

「Might be a 1v1 mode specialist.」

The sniper’s skill level was simply absurd.

Normally, snipers were supposed to get wrecked by Rogue Master.

But this one? She broke the matchup with raw mechanical skill.

Even though Raidel put up a great performance, she still lost.

“Haa… so close. Right?”

Despite the warm chat, Raidel didn’t look happy.

The sniper had been incredible—sure.

But still. Losing to a sniper with Rogue Master?

Her pride took a hit.

And worse—it was Silver-Hair’s coaching stream.

Getting wrecked despite picking the counter? Total humiliation.

After a moment’s thought, Raidel began typing.

[Raidel: Ragnarok.]

[Raidel: Would you be up for one more match?]

Ragnarok—the player who’d used the sniper.

She couldn’t walk away like this.

She needed a rematch.

「Rematch?」

「Delbung, you’re just asking to get stomped harder…」

「Please stop before it gets sad…」

「But if it’s fun, who cares LOL」

Most people thought she’d lose again.

Ragnarok’s sniper was just too strong.

「She almost had it though.」

「Now that Raidel’s warmed up, maybe she has a chance?」

「Yeah yeah, based on that last trade, it’s possible.」

「IDK man…」

Still, a few held out hope.

Maybe because of how close the last fight was.

[Ragnarok: One more?]

[Ragnarok: Sure. Sending invite.]

To their surprise, Ragnarok accepted the rematch with no fuss.

“Phew. Alright. Time to get my revenge.”

Raidel waited, tense, for the invite.

In Raid & Master, players could also create private rooms.

‘I’m winning this time.’

Just as her fighting spirit flared, the invite from Ragnarok came through.

---

[You have been defeated.]

“Ah…”

Raidel stared blankly at the loss screen.

That fiery look in her eyes was long gone.

「Six losses in a row is rough…」

「Um…」

「Just accept it, Delbung.」

「It’s a skill gap.」

「It’s time to stop…」

Six straight losses.

She’d lost every 1v1 match.

Ragnarok had picked sniper each time,

And Raidel had stuck with Rogue Master.

Even with the counter-pick, she lost six times in a row.

[Ragnarok: Hm.]

[Ragnarok: One last game?]

[Ragnarok: Gotta head out soon.]

Normally, Raidel would’ve jumped at the chance to get revenge.

But now, she hesitated.

‘I can’t beat them.’

The matches were becoming more and more one-sided.

Raidel was getting destroyed.

Unlike the first game where she held her own,

the rest ended quicker and quicker.

‘It’s like they’ve read me completely.’

It felt like Ragnarok had downloaded her entire playstyle.

She couldn’t land a single good hit in the last match.

She was broken.

They say the important thing is an unbreakable heart—

But this was a fight she couldn’t win.

She wanted to give up.

[SilverSilver: Want me to try?]

Then, out of nowhere—a chat message.

“Huh? You, Silver-hair?”

Raidel blinked, confused, and shook her head.

“Uh, you might not know since it’s your first time, but this Ragnarok person… they’re basically pro level.”

No matter how talented Silver-hair was,

She was still a total beginner.

Ragnarok was a player on par with professionals.

There was no way this would go well.

[SilverSilver: It’s my first time, yeah.]

[SilverSilver: But I think I’ve got the hang of it.]

「Silver-hair’s gonna avenge Delbung?」

「LOLOLOL that’s gonna be rough」

「She’s literally never played the game—how’s she gonna win??」

「Be serious.」

「Still, I’m curious—big upvote for that」

Raidel hesitated.

Even for Silver-hair, this was unwinnable.

She’d just get stomped by a pro-level player.

‘Well… if she really wants to play.’

What else could she do?

[Raidel: Ragnarok.]

[Raidel: Could you do the last match with someone else instead?]

---

“This is getting boring.”

Glitch Core trainee Chloe—Kang Arin—yawned.

On her screen was the ID Ragnarok.

Nothing strange there.

Ragnarok was her alt account.

Whenever she got stressed, she’d use this alt to curbstomp.

It was her way of venting after dealing with Coach Choi.

Sure, she’d be in trouble if she got caught—

‘But that’s only if I get caught.’

Her personal philosophy: if it being discovered is a problem, just don’t get discovered.

No one knew the ID Ragnarok.

She wasn’t streaming either.

So no risk.

‘That Raidel girl… she’s decent.’

Kang Arin had heard of the streamer Raidel.

Didn’t know how skilled she was—

But after matching with her, she found the gameplay passable.

That was it, though.

Kang Arin’s sniper crushed Raidel’s Rogue Master repeatedly.

Even if Rogue Master countered sniper,

Kang Arin was one of the top mechanical talents among trainees.

Raidel, master tier or not, was just a regular player.

No match for someone on a pro path.

[Raidel: Would you mind playing the last game with someone else?]

[Raidel: A friend of mine.]

[Raidel: I’ve got a headache, so I can’t keep playing.]

“Hmm? Bringing in someone else?”

Kang Arin smirked.

Calling in backup for revenge?

Raidel was a decently known streamer.

Maybe she had strong friends.

‘Sounds fun.’

[Ragnarok: Sure.]

[Ragnarok: Send the invite.]

She accepted without hesitation.

Frankly, she was getting bored of Raidel anyway.

And she was curious about this mysterious friend’s skills.

“Unless they bring in a pro, this won’t change much.”

Even then, she was confident.

Even current pros lost to her regularly.

And then—

The new challenger joined: SilverSilver

“Huh?”

Kang Arin narrowed her eyes at the ID.

“Isn’t that the newbie who’s never played before?”