Chapter 23: Don’t Be Cocky. Always Stay Humble (7)

“Rogue Master.”

The first character Raidel had shown.

While its base stats were a bit on the lower end, it was unmatched in mobility.

‘I like it.’

In other games, speed alone didn’t always equal fun.

But this was a VR game.

A fully immersive virtual experience.

Just running around in it felt more thrilling than driving a high-end sports car.

Not that I’d ever actually driven one.

Probably more exciting, anyway.

Shooting guns or swinging massive weapons might be fun too, sure—

But the most tangible sensation was definitely speed.

The only downside was Raidel’s skill tree.

She’d locked into Dash, Assassinate, and Paralyzing Arrow as if it was set in stone.

Maybe they were proven builds—she was experienced, after all.

But they didn’t fully capture the Rogue Master’s greatest strength: agility.

The Speedster build.

While Raidel was getting wrecked, I came across a different skill path online.

“Playstyle that boosts your own speed.”

As Raidel had explained, most Raid & Master skills focused on physical enhancement.

Stronger muscles, more HP.

Even magic was mostly direct damage like fireballs.

Very intuitive gameplay.

Rogue Master, on the other hand, relied on utility—Dash, Assassinate, Paralyzing Arrow.

The trade-off? Lower base stats.

To make up for it, another skill tree existed.

A wild one that pushed speed to the absolute limit:

The Speedster.

It shredded what little defense Rogue Master had—paper-thin.

But in terms of pure movement, it was the fastest in the game.

A completely unique build.

Raidel’s voice echoed: “Don’t take that skill, seriously.”

‘Now I want to try it even more.’

The more someone said not to, the more tempting it became.

Step. Step.

The sniper—Ragnarok—appeared from the enemy tower.

She stayed close to it this time.

Guess she wasn’t going to overextend again.

‘That’s fine by me.’

I may have won the last game, but it was mostly due to her mistake.

Even just watching a few matches made it clear: snipers shouldn’t expose themselves.

Now I wanted to fight her at full strength.

[Monsters have spawned.]

Ragnarok stepped forward aggressively as the minions appeared.

Still an offensive posture—but more calculated this time.

Back in the match against Raidel, she’d done the same: used the monsters to dominate early.

I picked my first skill.

The Speedster starter:

Acceleration

Pushes Rogue Master’s physical limits to gain explosive speed.

Drastically increases movement and reaction speed.

Ideal for evading attacks or closing distances.

However, due to the strain on the body, all incoming damage is increased during activation.

A true double-edged sword.

“That… that skill is basically troll bait.”

“People usually take it when they’re griefing and run straight into towers.”

“Even if you’re not trolling, it’s just a bad skill.”

“The speed is too much to control.”

“You looked really solid just now—why not just go Dash this time and play it safe…?”

Raidel’s voice rose as I hovered over the skill.

Click.

I took Acceleration and sprinted at the enemy.

‘Whoa.’

My legs moved faster than ever before.

Even as a level 1 skill, the speed boost was real.

The distance closed rapidly.

Ragnarok backed off, aiming for my legs.

Bang!

But the shot came for my head.

‘A fake.’

She’d aimed at my legs but redirected the barrel mid-shot.

Easier said than done.

Changing aim at the last second ruined accuracy.

If you weren’t precise, you’d miss completely.

But Ragnarok nailed it.

Her bullet was dead-on, flying straight for my forehead.

An impressive trick.

Too bad I saw it coming.

I tilted my head.

The bullet grazed my ear.

Way easier to dodge than expected.

‘Acceleration is great.’

Maybe it was the stat buff.

Dodging felt smoother.

Last game, I barely avoided some shots.

Now it was effortless.

No idea why Raidel told me not to pick this.

Click.

Maybe Ragnarok realized backing off was pointless.

She braced and aimed carefully.

Fair choice.

This time, archer minions were on the field.

And I was taking increased damage from Acceleration.

Even a minion arrow could hurt.

Bang!

She timed her shot to match a minion’s arrow.

Pretty clever.

It made dodging way harder.

But—

Clang!

I dodged one arrow and blocked another with my left dagger.

Used my right dagger to deflect the bullet.

Two daggers. Easy blocks.

I closed in.

Ragnarok backed up, raising her sniper rifle to guard.

Using a long rifle as a shield.

‘Raidel couldn’t get past that.’

Most of Raidel’s attacks were blocked.

She couldn’t gain the upper hand, even in melee.

‘Is it really that hard?’

I faked a slash with my left dagger.

Paused.

Then suddenly twisted.

Her arms twitched—flinched.

That was the gap I needed.

My right dagger shot in like lightning.

Shhk—

The neck.

Swish—

Under the collarbone.

Slash—

The heart.

Dead-on.

Fatal cuts only.

Her hands moved quickly—but I could tell where she’d block.

I attacked the blind spots.

Blood sprayed.

The sniper collapsed slowly.

[SilverSilver scores First Blood!]

[Victory Achieved.]

The win message popped up.

My body trembled from the high.

“Oh right.”

I’d wanted to test other skills… but it ended too fast.

A bit disappointing.

I looked down at the (former) sniper and typed:

[SilverSilver: Would it be alright to play one more?]

Politely, if possible.

---

“Ah…”

Kang Arin collapsed onto her bed, dazed.

Defeated.

10 losses.

She’d played ten matches, but they were all short.

Most ended in a quick kill.

She even tried her main—Knight—but ended up a walking punching bag.

Silver-Hair had even complimented her for having more HP than the sniper.

“F*ck…”

She bit her lip. Blood trickled.

Her greatest strength had always been analyzing opponents.

Not through logic—just instinct.

She’d sense patterns, habits, weaknesses others didn’t even know they had.

With Raidel, it was a slight lag in her left leg.

She found a few more too.

That’s how she crushed Raidel’s Rogue Master.

She thought she could beat Silver-Hair the same way.

But—

‘What the hell…?’

Silver-Hair.

No patterns.

No habits.

Or rather, what looked like weaknesses turned out to be traps.

Poke them, and you got punished.

Like a grown-up toying with a child.

Even her strongest moves were swatted away like a joke.

Honestly, calling it a child vs. adult match didn’t cut it.

Between her and Silver-Hair,

It felt like a chasm with no bottom.

‘I lost.’

Defeat.

She’d lost before—but this?

This was her first real loss.

Was this how others felt when they lost to her?

She hugged her pillow tight.

For some reason, she felt cold.

---

“Mmm… That was fun.”

I stretched wide.

The collab with Raidel wrapped up nicely.

The game was fun. Overall, a satisfying day.

“That last one wasn’t bad.”

Guess they realized sniper wasn’t gonna cut it.

Their final pick was a sword-and-shield type—

Definitely tougher than a sniper.

Which was great.

Unlike snipers that fell in a few cuts, I got to enjoy the fight longer.

They rage-quit right after losing, but—

‘Ten rounds is plenty.’

I’d had my fun. No complaints.

“Guess I’ll hit the convenience store for a snack…”

Bzzt.

As I got up, my phone lit up.

[Sorry to message so late.]

[Are you still awake?]

From Raidel.

I remembered giving her my number when I got the package.

[Yeah, still up.]

I wasn’t even close to sleeping.

My bedtime had crept way past normal thanks to lazy days.

[Whew, good.]

[That collab was so fun today!]

[My fans really loved it too.]

[And if you ever want to start streaming, please let me know!]

“Ughh.”

Streaming.

Something I’d have to face eventually.

But the thought of talking in front of thousands?

Still terrifying.

Just playing was fine.

But showing my face? Using my real voice?

A whole different level.

I still couldn’t even make eye contact with the guy at the convenience store.

‘Why’d he look so shocked…’

Yesterday I’d mustered the courage to try it—

He gasped and looked away like I’d cursed his ancestors.

No idea why. Kinda hurt.

[Oh, and about the collab revenue.]

[After platform fees, we made about ₩4.93 million.]

“Huh?”

I dropped my phone.

Did I read that wrong?

₩4.93 million—not Zimbabwe dollars, but Korean won?

After fees?

I scrambled to pick it up.

Nope. I read that right.

[We had way more viewers than usual.]

[That’s the highest donation total I’ve ever gotten, even more than on my birthday haha.]

[Anyway, I’ll send you ₩3 million. 😊😊]

So that’s…

Three million won.

I made three million won in one day.

Even if it was unusually high—

The number spun circles above my head.

“Mmm.”

I cleared my throat.

Typed back with the gravity of a high priest:

[What do I need to buy to start streaming?]