chapter_0089

89 – Why Can’t We Use Shotguns?

89 – Why Can’t We Use Shotguns?

[Dingsam: You have been successfully registered as a participant, Majiya.]

[Dingsam: The auction is on Friday, January 5th, so please remember that.]

[Dingsam: I look forward to your wonderful performance! ^^]

[Majiya: Thank you.]

[Majiya: Happy New Year!]

[Dingsam: Yes, Happy New Year to you too, Majiya.]

Thanks to Rupko’s quick handling of tasks, it took less than two days after the Ppajijik year-end party for me to hear from the organizer, Dingsam.

For reference, Dingsam is also part of the Makgeolli Crew and got scolded by KraeMang two days ago.

The reason was that despite telling me to speak casually, he insisted on using honorifics.

… I felt a strange sense of camaraderie.

Even if someone tells me to speak casually, I can’t drop the formalities unless I truly feel comfortable with them.

Anyway, my participation in the tournament was confirmed, and tomorrow the finalized members will be announced through Dingsam’s broadcast and the tournament page, so I decided to start preparing in earnest.

You might think that once the team is decided, everything resets, but in reality, the tournament’s results depend on how well the team formed before the competition can synchronize over the week.

So, I need to prepare well until a week after the auction starts.

No matter how excellent my FPS genes are, if I can’t adapt to the game, I’ll fall behind in an instant.

And didn’t I feel that clearly while supporting the members on the Wicker Server this time?

When I perform well in a place with many people, especially broadcasters, they naturally follow my lead.

And if they follow? It becomes easier to build connections.

Rupko, who was once quite distant during Aym Wolf, treated me casually and even offered me a spot in this tournament?

That was all possible because I lent a lot of money on the Wicker Server.

So, I must do my best this time as well.

I can’t tarnish the name of Parallel and, on the contrary, I want to leave only a positive image.

* * *

The next day, I received a message from Serena first.

[Serena: How about joining me for Combative?]

It was a sudden proposal, but I thought it was a good thing.

I had been wondering who I should learn Combative from anyway.

Dora was going to participate in the Naore Bsilgol Tier exclusive “Gaemodae Tournament,” and Komari was busy helping Dora as a teacher.

Maru and Rain were busy handling advertising proposals instead of the two of them and recording their new cover song.

The Boss was now busy preparing for the second generation selection, so his broadcast time had decreased significantly. Just a moment of silence for him.

Anyway, this meant that Serena would become my Combative teacher.

I naturally asked the obvious question.

“By the way, what tier are you in, Serena?”

Just like Koreans ask each other about their age when they meet.

Gamers, especially those in the same genre, must ask and answer about their tiers.

I was hoping to sneak in above her if she was below the Diamond tier in Battle Call, but….

[I barely made it to Diamond.]

No matter how watery the Diamond is, if it’s Diamond, it’s acknowledged.

“I will take you as my teacher.”

[Ah, um. If you do that, I will feel uncomfortable.]

Maybe because I had become quite close with Serena recently, a joke slipped out of me.

“Sensei. Arigato gozaimasu.”

[No. Please, just act normally…]

Later, I found out that she was a character with pink curly hair and round eyes who introduced herself as “I’m a healing-type Virtual Youtuber,” but once she started Combative, she seemed to change completely.

In a way, it felt similar to how a cute elf who usually looks sharp turns into a foul-mouthed person when Naore is on.

However, this was a bit softer.

She often lived with phrases like “What do I do? This is bad,” but when ranked games started, she led the team to victory with clean orders.

She had decided to participate in Combative a few days earlier than me, and even before the auction, she was already being evaluated as a valuable asset.

Of course, since the reviews were from broken Simps, I shouldn’t believe them all.

I often praise the Boss on his broadcasts just for fun, but that’s not the whole truth. (Usually, the goal is to embarrass him.)

However, while playing games together, I could definitely feel that she explains things really well.

[—— Up to this point, it’s common to all FPS games, and now I will focus on explaining the differences between Combative and Battle Colosseum.]

Knowing that I was a Diamond user in Battle Colosseum, she skipped the simple explanations and adjusted her explanations to my level.

I felt like she would have made a good teacher even if she had taken up teaching.

She said she had almost no experience teaching anyone since her previous life was as an idol trainee, which was fascinating.

[There are a total of four classes. The infiltration team attempts to break through enemy lines using distractions like flashes, the strike team follows quickly to eliminate enemies, the defense team is needed to secure the area after planting bombs, and finally, the tactical team prevents enemy entry through smokescreens or opens paths for allies.]

Combative is a spiritual successor to the once-famous team vs. team FPS.

It adds skills to create a hyper FPS feel while simplifying and making the system more intuitive, receiving praise for being more light-hearted.

However, that also means the strategies are quite standardized. It represents the so-called “national rule combination” of one infiltration, two strikes, one defense, and one tactic.

It’s not like there’s a predetermined place to go like Naore, but the roles are definitely defined.

Naturally, I was interested in the tactical team.

You can use smokescreens up to three times in a match, which can open attack routes or hinder enemy entry.

That was exactly my preferred style.

Can’t I just play with a shotgun and smokescreen?

However, as I listened to Serena’s continued explanation, I realized that the operation of smokescreens in Battle Colosseum was completely different.

Unlike the Battle Colosseum’s smokescreen, which can be spread in the middle of the enemy lines to toy with them, the smokescreen in Combative had a strong purpose of “area separation.”

It was laid primarily in places where the enemy might be waiting, forcing their movement or hiding how many of us were being sent to attack.

This was due to the significant difference in TTK (Time to Kill) compared to Battle Colosseum.

In the later stages, it takes at least five seconds to take down one enemy in Battle Colosseum, while in Combative, if you have a good gun, you can drop an enemy with just one shot to the head.

It was possible to take down an enemy with a single tap to the head.

Thus, the importance of assault rifles is higher than in any other FPS game.

It’s more advantageous to spray the head while moving than to aim with a single-shot gun.

In other words, I had to put my beloved smokescreen double barrel on hold for now.

Sadly….

Knowing that I liked assault and smokescreen, Serena pondered over what position would suit me and said this.

[I think you would fit in the strike team. It’s the simplest, and you can just follow the infiltration team, and generally, people with good shot skills should be in the strike team.]

“Can I use a shotgun in the strike team?”

[That… I wouldn’t really recommend it. The enemy is spraying with ARs (assault rifles), and you have to aim precisely, and you can’t be too far away. Assuming skill levels are similar, a shotgun is only advantageous in very limited situations.]

“But isn’t that established based on the pro scene?”

[That’s true, but… there won’t be much difference. There might be issues with shot accuracy at crucial moments, but the performance difference in firearms always exists. You could say there’s a constant difference. A weight class difference? Would that make it easier for you to understand?]

“Ah. I see.”

In Battle Colosseum, the superiority of firearms changes depending on the version.

It’s quite common for the strongest gun from the previous season to drop drastically and end up in the grave in the next season.

FPS games are sensitive to balance, after all.

If it takes several seconds to kill one enemy in Battle Colosseum, how much more so in Combative, where one-taps are possible?

So, I couldn’t deny Serena’s suggestion that it would be better to use a good gun and be deployed in the strike team.

However, knowing my preferences, she added this.

[So my recommendation is the Smoker in the strike team.]

“Smoker?”

[Yes. It’s a strike team champion, but unlike other strike teams that focus on mobility or attack, it has a smokescreen.]

“Really? I definitely want to play that character.”

[Haha… I thought you would like it, but I didn’t expect you to like it this much.]

“Playing without a double barrel and smokescreen is boring. So? Can I use a shotgun with that character?”

[No.]

“Why not? Can’t I just get close with it?”

[The Smoker’s smokescreen is for escape, so trying to use it for approach could lead to your head getting blown off. It’s different from Battle Colosseum.]

That damn one-tap is the problem.

Since it’s difficult to escape by moving around like in Battle Colosseum, strategically, every move must be calculated, and the entire team must advance together like in chess or Go.

In a way, it’s a game more suited for pro leagues because it requires standardization and strategic team synchronization.

In other words, it’s definitely not a game that fits my preference for running around with a shotgun.

After the tournament, I shouldn’t even look at it again.

‘Still, the better the results, the better…’

With five days until the auction, I planned to learn as much as possible from Serena and hoped that after the auction, I could unite the team well.

Of course, if the Team Leader fails in the auction, a terrible team could be born, making victory impossible.

But let’s talk about that later.

For now, improving my skills is the priority.

“Alright. Then I’ll do as you instruct, teacher.”

[No. Um, please don’t call me teacher…! And excluding the shotgun, it would be best to practice with the firearms you want first—.]

“If you don’t like teacher, how about master?”

[Ugh.]

* * *

Surprisingly, the fact that I practiced with Serena spread across the gallery in less than a day.

Whether in the idol scene or the Virtual Youtuber scene.

Fans filled with madness can find out where their Favorite is and what they’re doing in an instant.

Was my Combative nickname too easy to identify?

I just used a typical malicious sniper format.

‘Kimchi Pizza Sweet and Sour Pork is for Dipping.’

Isn’t that a very common nickname?

… ─ — Rapitz (Virtual Youtuber) Gallery ─ ─ — …

★[Did Serena and Majiya play Combative together?] ★[Why are they playing with malicious intent?]

[Were they originally that close?]

[Can we expect another friendly removal from Majiya this time?]

… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …

… ─ — Parallel (Virtual Youtuber) Gallery ─ ─ — …

★[Damn, if that’s the case, I have to watch the tournament too.] [But is the Combative tournament worth watching?]

[Battle Call > Combative is the official rule.Honestly, Combative is more enjoyable to watch than Battle Call, though..]

… ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ …

Whether it was because of that or not, the mentions and expectations from fans rose even higher.

Especially among Rapitz’s fans, this trend was prominent.

While it could be overlooked that group members are friendly with each other as a show,

I am an employee who knows the internal affairs of Parallel very well.

It seems that the fact that someone like me played a game with a member of Rapitz has sparked various expectations.

Of course, no matter what people think, I just treated Serena well as my teacher.

Thanks to that, I learned a lot about Combative and reached a level where I could at least hold my own.

[Honestly, I didn’t expect you to grow this quickly. You shoot really well, not just with the double barrel…?]

“To be honest, I don’t really want to shoot.”

[Ahaha… Well, there will be opportunities. By the way, you always used the Mini-barrel for your pistol, right? You know that’s a shotgun, right?]

“That’s too small. I need something bigger and longer….”

But I guess this playful banter with Serena will end today.

Once the tournament starts, we’ll scatter into our respective teams and begin the race for first place as competitors.

Well, it seems Serena wants to be on the same team as me….

But as a newcomer without data, my chances of being picked in the auction are high, while Serena is a sought-after asset in the second tier.

If I’m really lucky, I would have to break through a 25% chance to meet her.

[Well, I should start preparing for the auction viewing broadcast now. It was fun for the past few days.]

“Anyway, no matter how the team turns out, let’s do our best, master.”

After just four days, Serena, who had barely gotten used to calling me master, muttered helplessly.

[… Yes.]

The fact that I joke around is a sign that we’ve become somewhat close.

Did that not come across well?

When she first approached me, I thought she would quickly get used to my playful nature, but surprisingly, she seemed to struggle and feel awkward, which made me hold back a bit.

Anyway, let’s focus on preparing for the auction.

The tournament organizers asked us to turn on the broadcast during the auction, and there might be interviews in between, so I completed the connection to Talk Code.

When I accessed the official Ppajijik channel, the viewer count was a whopping 50,000.

And this was just for a player auction.

On the day of the finals, the official broadcast channel is expected to gather at least 100,000 viewers, so if we combine the total, it might be around 300,000 to 400,000, similar to the Wicker Town closing ceremony.

It feels like the scale of numbers has suddenly changed since Wicker Town.

But the truth is, not everyone will be watching me, so I should watch the auction with a relaxed mind.

… Ah, it’s starting.

[In 2025, we will now begin the auction for the “Maji Tournament,” opening the streamer tournament with the Combative section!!]

A word from the author (Author’s note)

The next chapter will be uploaded at 12 o’clock!