I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 86

* * *

Tap.

“Ugh, damn…life is seriously tough.”

Analyzing someone else’s play that had just come out, adding my thoughts to it, and completing a post took only a few tens of minutes. The content was hot off the press, so hot that it was almost boiling.

Even though it wasn’t a proper revision, I simply checked for potential awkward sentences and typos before uploading it with a brief plastic click sound.

After a moment of buffering, the upload finished successfully. Seeing that, Park Woo-jin, a second-tier professional gamer at Arcadia Games, laid back on his soft bed. I could see the gallery filled with posts without having to look elsewhere.

Yoo Jin. Yoo Jin. Yoo Jin… Occasionally, some tried to divert the attention with other topics or draw nonsensical aggro, but they were eventually swept away by the flood of posts and disappeared below.

It made sense. She had literally destroyed the first-tier players of the neighboring team.

Honestly, I couldn’t say I wasn’t jealous.

How could I not be envious? This scene was a place of infinite competition, and I, too, was someone who repeatedly moved between the first and second tiers through call-ups and send-downs.

I prided myself on being a player who made a name for myself by working hard in this place, but still – just as people are drawn to meteors, I couldn’t help but envy the kind of play that became famous without trying to be known.

But that was all.

Jealousy and a sense of competition are only possible when the opponent is within a certain reach; beyond that, it transitions to somewhere between reverence and fear.

I’m envious. But it doesn’t go beyond that. The farther the gap, the simpler the emotion within it becomes.

With concentration and determination, one had to crawl arduously to reach the top ranks, feeling each and every goosebump rise.

Even at the initial stage leading to the Asian preliminary rounds, the surroundings were full of people who were slightly less skilled than me, just as skilled, or more skilled than me. The world of competition was cold, and out of the 1600 people barely gathered, 1500 would have to wait for next year.

After that, it was the KSM. Out of 100, only 20 would make it to the Asian preliminary rounds, and from there, the 20 would be reduced to a maximum of 4.

Numbers were colder and scarier than any severe law.

But having skills that didn’t even need to worry about such blood-draining competition, well. That’s why my thoughts about Yoo Jin were simply envy.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Waking from my thoughts, I refreshed the page with a thought, and, as expected of a bustling gallery, my post quickly climbed the popularity ranks.

Without much thought, I clicked and read the comments. Though other opinions existed, which were always welcome, today, I wasn’t sure. Maybe there wouldn’t be any.

As if to confirm my guess, there weren’t any particularly special comments. The usual expressions of disbelief, agreement with my post, and so on.

But amidst that, there was one critical problem.

‘Lolㅋㅋㅋbut seriously, why is the title like thisㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ’

Reply: ‘anal’

“…What?”

What’s this?

Thinking I must have made a mistake, I hurriedly scrolled up to the title – where the word ‘analyze’ should have been, the last three letters were missing.

Even someone who didn’t study hard in school like me knew that word.

This is bad.

“Seriously, how could I make such a stupid mistake….”

Feeling my hair stand on end, I quickly corrected the title.

Of course, I didn’t forget to apologize to Yoo Jin.

It was an uncommon event in the gaming world.

“Nice to meet you. Although it’s in virtual reality, it’s my first time meeting you in person. Is everything comfortable?”

“Yes. There’s no big problem. Honestly, it’s a bit surreal, but thanks for the warm welcome.”

The room was decorated mainly with simplicity and neatness. In front, numerous windows were flashing. Chat windows and game play videos were arranged for easy viewing, waiting for someone to watch them.

Hearing a voice next to me, I could only answer a bit bewilderedly. I couldn’t say I wasn’t nervous. These days, so many unexpected things were happening.

Around 3:30 PM, just after my second match ended.

I had received an invitation from Unreal, who I had only communicated with through messages, and was suddenly acting as a guest in his personal broadcasting room.

What was a bit surprising was that there was someone I was meeting for the first time beside him.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Luddite, the coach of Reaper Infected. I got to know you through Cartographer, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I see. Nice to meet you too. I think we met a few times during the tournament ranks, and you seem to know that person well.”

At least he introduced himself, which was good.

Additionally, thanks to Unreal briefly explaining the personal broadcast he was doing, there was no catastrophe of being unable to follow the situation.

But still, the viewer count was increasing at an alarming rate. The broadcast, which maintained around 20,000 viewers, quickly jumped to 35,000. The growth rate was slowing now, though.

When I glanced over, something appeared that seemed to be a video clip of my gameplay.

At this point, even a fool could understand why these two invited me on a whim.

It was probably something like a player interview.

Although I had no pre-prepared lines in my head, something was proceeding somehow.

Unreal began by turning his head and nodding at me.

“Congratulations on finishing first in your second match! It’s truly unprecedented in Dark Zone history. There hasn’t been a case of consecutive first places in the preliminary ranks for the past two years. Before we get into the main questions, could you briefly share if you have any secret strategy for winning?”

“…First of all, thank you for the congratulations. Unfortunately, there is no specific strategy for winning.”

In a way, it was an obvious statement.

However, regardless of how obvious it was, there were plenty of people who expected a specific answer, including players who were waiting for the next match and were drawn by the news of Yoo Jin appearing on the broadcast.

As if anticipating this, Unreal added a brief comment and naturally passed the speaking turn to Luddite.

“Yes, thank you for your answer. It’s understandable, given that there are countless variables in Apex Predator and no definitive answers.”

“Then may I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.”

Luddite’s question.

With quick hand movements, numerous windows disappeared, and the map I had just played on appeared.

An abandoned research base in the middle of the desert. Befitting a mock battle in virtual reality, it was a map that the game itself seemed to have created, rather than based on actual experiences I had.

The main revolutions and kill zones were the sandstorm and unusual weather, turrets, explosives, and self-destruction mechanisms for base defense.

Unlike the previous Arctic power plant, it involved a straightforward high-altitude drop.

As I recalled the characteristics of the map, Luddite continued speaking.

“As a coach of a team, part of my job is analyzing players’ styles. In that regard… Yoo Jin, you are quite difficult to analyze.”

Then the screen followed.

Outside, a sandstorm raged, completely obscuring visibility, while inside the base, I quickly pushed an enemy to the outer perimeter.

In another scene, I carefully maneuvered during a firefight, avoiding the opponent’s targeted area and setting up a simple trap using a plastic bag filled with sand I had gathered inside the base.

A bag with a slight cut, letting sand trickle out, connected to a heavy object with a nylon string. When the sand fully emptied, the heavy object would fall, pulling the pin from a grenade.

It wasn’t designed to kill but to create noise.

While the chat was amazed by the sand trap, Luddite cautiously added,

“Sometimes, you meticulously set up a plan, and other times, you play aggressively as shown in the initial clip. Is there a common principle guiding these actions?”

“Lol the sand trap seriouslyㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”

“Is that really to hinder sound play?”

“It’s not the first time seeing this skill, which is hilarious ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ”

“Yoo Jin’s mystery deepens today as well.”

“Sis, my head is spinning………….”

Surrounded by numerous reactions.

While most were marveling at the clip Luddite had shown, a careful look revealed serious responses mixed in. From simple curiosity to players from other teams trying to uncover my strategies.

They were as enthusiastic as, if not more than, the recruitment offers I had received.

I debated how much to say. While working as a temporary coach for SSM, I had discussed the extent of disclosing the curriculum. Though its effectiveness was not yet verified.

Based on that… Even though SSM offered direct 1:1 coaching in addition to theoretical aspects, there shouldn’t be a big problem if I revealed everything here.

But just because I could didn’t mean I would.

I chose my words carefully.

“For those curious about my combat principles… I prioritize neutralizing the opponent’s advantage or driving them into a disadvantageous situation.”

Coincidentally, the first video Luddite had shown came into view – the one where I quickly pushed the enemy to the outer perimeter of the base.

Taking a small breath, I continued,

“As some Apex Predator players might know, the desert research base limits sensory perception due to the sandstorm. This is true even inside the buildings.”

Of course, the deeper you go inside, the less the impact.

In other

words, the closer to the perimeter, the more directly affected by the sandstorm, filling already damaged facilities with sand and causing various sounds from the shaken equipment and broken exterior.

Even if not, there was the sound of the wind blowing through the walls.

The enemy was driven into an area difficult to handle efficiently, while I gradually slowed my pace, blocking their ears. It wasn’t a good experience from their perspective.

After a few minutes, I managed to eject one player to the lobby without much trouble.

But the important part wasn’t that; it was the scenes where the enemy mistakenly identified my location, effectively supporting my argument.

The focus shifted to the grenade trap clip.

“The context of the second clip is similar. It’s about creating variables to distract the enemy. In terrains where it’s difficult to directly hit the enemy with a grenade, as shown in the example, such methods can be more effective.”

With an additional gesture, I popped up the map’s layout.

The enemy’s position wasn’t far, but it was an elevated area with stairs and railings. Unless the grenade was thrown with a sticky substance like Semtex or cooked with precise timing, it could fall to the ground instead.

The clip played again. As the grenade exploded, the enemy had no choice but to hide behind the railing’s metal plate, while I quickly moved to the opposite container from the hangar floor.

There was a brief silence. The enemy cautiously peeked out but didn’t see anything unusual.

This led to complacency.

───Thud!

When they peeked out a second time, it was bolder and more careless than before.

During that time, I had pulled out my Gepard M6 anti-material sniper rifle from my back. The enemy needed to be taken down in one shot, and since it was close quarters, precision wasn’t as crucial.

The massive bolt cycled twice within a second. The nanomachine barrier shattered with the first shot, and the second round smashed through, delivering a powerful physical blow to the head.

Taking advantage of the enemy’s stunned state, I sprinted up the stairs four at a time. After a few seconds, I had closed in to a range where they couldn’t escape my reflexes.

They had nowhere else to go and were ejected to the lobby in less than 30 seconds.

Glancing at Luddite and Unreal, I saw them staring at the screen in a daze, seemingly at a loss for words.

It felt like, despite making it sound like something anyone could do, the actual content revealed it wasn’t necessarily so.

Cautiously, I broke the silence.

“…The latter part is a method to quickly deal with the enemy, so don’t worry too much about it. From that point on, shooting practice and positioning are important, so it’s good to practice those as well.”

Though it might be tiring to think through everything… I resolved to use a more straightforward combat method next time.