“Tap, tap…”
Ji-eun stared at the results window, biting her nails.
The word “Defeat” seemed to tear her heart apart.
It was the same defeat screen as usual, but this time it felt particularly hard to accept.
Perhaps it was because she had lost to the famous Mollu.
If things continue like this, she might be discarded.
Ji-eun was engulfed by a strange sense that she needed to prove her worth.
[What the hell is this?]
[Is Ji-eun wearing dentures now?]
[Looks like she’s biting her nails again, she did that at the tournament too.]
[What’s the coaching staff doing? She’s not in good shape.]
[Just go in and take a break… I’m worried.]
[What is she doing right now?]
[Hey, why is she bothering Mollu?]
Despite the people’s objections, Ji-eun did not stop.
Even with the broadcast on, she sent a friend request to Mollu and challenged her to a one-on-one.
All that was left was Mollu’s reply.
Molilru: “Okay.”
She accepted it willingly.
Tap-tap—
With eyes wide open, Ji-eun quickly turned her hands to create the room.
She quickly invited Mollu and explained the rules.
Decemner Ji-eun: “Shall we do a mirror match?”
Molilru: “Okay.”
Decemner Ji-eun: “The first person to win 2 out of 3 rounds wins.”
Molilru: “Sounds good.”
“Shit… what a cocky girl.”
That arrogant girl.
The nuance of her tone screamed that she was in the superior position, as if telling Ji-eun to do as she pleased.
She would love to bring that proud nose down a peg.
That feeling slipped out as Ji-eun muttered softly.
[??? What did she just say?]
[She seemed to curse, right?]
[From the lip shapes, looks like she said “shit.”]
[Shit? Ji-eun’s gone crazy against teacher Mollu.]
[50 million Mollu fans are watching.]
[Should we call for a Mollu strike?]
[Ah, haha, really?]
[Since when was Mollu worth 50 million?]
[No one in South Korea dislikes Mollu.]
[But Ji-eun seems to dislike her.]
[Is Ji-eun not Korean?]
[Just let her be Chinese, she looks like a Chinese person anyway.]
[Hey.]
[Be careful or you might get sued; make good moves.]
[What if a pro swears on a broadcast, even if it’s not Mollu?]
[Make her turn off the broadcast, quickly.]
[What is Decemner doing!!!]
[Haha, this is hilarious.]
Ji-eun was in such a state that she could barely control herself.
It was a situation that could easily be called a broadcast accident.
It wouldn’t be enough to just bang her head and apologize publicly.
However, without realizing this, the one-on-one match began.
“One-on-one…”
Now that she thought about it, it had been quite a while since her last one-on-one.
The last time might have been… when she had given feedback to her team members during a tournament.
Months had passed, and participating in a one-on-one after such a long time was nostalgic.
Decemner Ji-eun: “Swordsman, let’s go.”
Molilru: “Okay.”
Decemner Ji-eun: “Go.”
Molilru: “Alright.”
After a rather chic exchange typical of men, she picked the Swordsman.
…It’s not like I consider myself a man, but still, I couldn’t deny the old-school sensibility of a guy that lingered within me.
The one with the peculiar nickname Decemner Ji-eun must feel similarly.
To think someone would challenge me to a one-on-one match with that level of competitive spirit and frustration right away, just because they liked a member from that girl group called December.
Back in the very early days when games like Seasons 1 and 2 were just released, such things used to happen frequently.
Wondering why they had lost, how they had died, and how their opponent played.
People who were purely passionate about the game would go to any lengths to improve their skills.
Now, the overall skill levels of users have been elevated, and strategy videos are available all over the Internet, including communities, so these pure one-on-one private matches have become quite rare.
“Hmm… there was a certain romance in those days.”
It was an era where even recording strategy videos in training rooms would gain a lot of views due to low graphics.
Ah, I should have started YouTube back then.
But back then, I was a middle-aged man with hairy legs, so nobody would have watched my streams anyway, right?
As these trivial thoughts crossed her mind, the game started.
From the moment I became Ji-eun, it was the Swordsman mirror match that she often used.
The opponent’s tier was Diamond 1, a level similar to Dae-sik, who used to move between Master and Diamond.
Recalling her matches against Dae-sik, she drew her sword.
Let’s explore first.
With weak attacks, she mixed with her opponent.
After exchanging a few blows while moving, she retreated.
‘More than I thought…’
They’re somewhat skilled.
At least it seems they play better than Dae-sik.
Is this person normally a physical champion, known as a sword champion, like the previous Assassin?
‘I roughly understand your level.’
Continuing to exchange attacks, she began to gather insights about her opponent’s attack patterns.
As her impression of the opponent being skilled grew stronger, the corners of her mouth slowly began to curve into a smile.
This is rather delightful.
To meet an interesting person in such a duel.
‘In team games, you can’t really experience this kind of thrill.’
Primarily, team battles are conducted, so there are few opportunities to fight so closely.
Even the idea of engaging in close combat in an FPS game is somewhat funny, but it has its subtle charm.
She continued watching as her opponent swung their sword while grinning.
“Why… can’t you fall?”
Ji-eun gnashed her teeth as she looked at the Swordsman in front of her.
Thud—
The sound was so loud it carried through the broadcast.
[Ji-eun is losing it, haha.]
[It seems like Mollu is going easy on her.]
[It’s obvious she’s being considerate, deliberately pulling back on attacks and just parrying.]
[Isn’t it similar?]
[Even if it’s similar, looking at Ji-eun taking hits, Mollu has already won.]
[For real, haha, the one getting angry loses.]
[Can she even continue broadcasting? What about the swearing she did earlier?]
[She’ll probably get chewed out by the director later; it’s already spreading through the communities.]
[Haha, Ji-eun is in trouble.]
Just a mere amateur.
Having never even stepped into the shadow of the pro scene, nor having faced the so-called “legend” of Eo War.
‘How can you exhibit such movements?’
Clearly, the match was even at the beginning.
It felt manageable when they exchanged weak attacks and counters.
However, as time passed, the pressure became more intense, growing to an extent that she could not ignore.
Now, she couldn’t even land a single effective hit.
Like a growing AI, assessing and analyzing her attack patterns in real-time.
No matter how she lunged, all her attacks were met with parries.
‘This person…’
It was as if they had considered the entire match a joke, not allowing even a single hit.
Like knocking on a sturdy fortress.
Ji-eun felt a wall internally but could not acknowledge it.
No, she couldn’t admit it.
What would be left for her if she accepted that she was inferior to Mollu?
Nothing. Nothing would remain.
The die had already been cast, and there was no room to retreat.
-Swish.
The cold blade sliced through Ji-eun’s Swordsman.
“Ugh…!”
Perhaps due to her complicated thoughts, she allowed yet another attack.
Alright, let’s end this.
Just as she thought and widened her eyes.
“Hey! Kim Ji-eun! What are you doing?”
“…Yes?”
The furious voice of the director came from behind.
Overwhelmed by her focus on the duel with Mollu, Ji-eun turned her head to see the director’s face flushed with anger and her teammates lined up beside him.
“Why the hell is everyone like this…?”
“What kind of mess did you create on your broadcast for all sorts of talk to be going around? Huh?”
“People came all the way to my stream asking for you to turn it off, Ji-eun.”
“They said you swore on your broadcast?”
“Was that real? Wow, that’s something!”
[Ah, haha, it was so fun until now.]
[Good job, Ji-eun.]
[Finish the game before leaving!]
[Just turn off the broadcast quickly.]
[I’m glad they got here before it got worse.]
[For real, it almost became more embarrassing.]
Now finally grasping the situation, Ji-eun quickly moved her mouse to terminate the broadcast.
“Hey, turn off the game too. Quickly. What were you thinking? We need to talk.”
“But, Director, I’m in the middle of a one-on-one right now, can we just finish this—?”
“Hey, does what I say sound like something to waste time with? Just turn it off!”
Frustrated, the director ran a hand through his hair and cursed angrily, compelling Ji-eun to harden her face and forcefully shut down her computer.
*
“What the hell?”
-Victory!
Suddenly seeing the victory message, Ji-eun felt a sense of emptiness.
She had been playing gradually, adjusting strength in a sparring match when suddenly her opponent had disconnected.
“I really thought they were serious.”
The determination to challenge her to a one-on-one match vanished, only to disconnect in this manner.
It was too early to sense defeat; only one victory point had been awarded to her.
Was there some urgent matter that came up?
Maybe it was because the game had been so heated that the flow was interrupted; she felt no desire to continue playing.
“Ugh, that’s disappointing…”
She sighed and ended the game with a sense of letdown.
