Jun Hyuk didn’t know much about Kayak.
He was a veteran user who had been playing games even before he started Abyss.
Recently, there had been a rather famous streamer frequently appearing in the VTube algorithm, rumored to be a skilled female streamer who popped up like a comet.
That was all Jun Hyuk knew about Kayak.
He had no idea why the team members who had also started the game back in the day were so obsessed with her, some even praising her like fanatics.
Although she was undoubtedly good at the game… at the end of the day, she was just an ordinary person, not a pro.
This wasn’t him looking down on her; it was a fair assessment. Competing in a league as a team and facing randomly matched solo rank players were distinctly different realms.
It wasn’t about who was better or worse; they simply operated in different fields.
Still, he was curious. He wondered about those days the team members always talked about, the skills of someone who ruled that era.
After the league became popular, he entered Abyss late and eventually became a pro, and some called him the “best player” – this was Jun Hyuk’s perspective.
And in front of him was the glimpse of the results he had been wondering about.
“Why can’t I do this… hmmm….”
“No, there are just too many things to pay attention to. I have to worry about pressing it like qw while playing, and there are also all sorts of bizarre bugs apart from gameplay—.”
“But you’re still playing Camilla, right? She’s better than you think, isn’t she?”
“Well, she seems good for the current meta….”
It would definitely take quite a bit of practice.
That was probably what Min Hyung was getting at.
He was right. Jun Hyuk thought it would require considerable practice to properly handle the hero Camilla.
And that was expected of a pro. A professional gamer deemed the best in that game had to be able to handle every hero.
To master everything—that was the meaning of being accomplished. If you couldn’t, you had no right to be called a pro. That was a belief Jun Hyuk held.
The unexpected happened then. Min Hyung began to subtly resist Kayak, who was spilling out improvement points with Jun Hyuk’s permission.
“But isn’t this build a bit too hard to wield? Instead of not taking any defense in the neutral attributes and keeping agile footsteps, wouldn’t it be better to swap that out for survival expert or regeneration for better health management?”
“I think changing to a survival expert or ultra-regeneration would be better for stamina management.”
That was a reasonable point. The build Kayak created was what you’d call high risk, high return. It was a strategy that felt a bit burdensome for use in the league.
To use it in the pro league, a little tweaking for stability would be necessary.
But the real question was how the original creator would take it.
Upon hearing that, Kayak’s reaction was quite surprising, even for Jun Hyuk, who had been maintaining a rather stoic demeanor until now.
A face as fair and tidy as Camilla’s, free of blemishes, and eyes that had a strangely cold blue hue.
Those eyes gently curved, forming a crescent moon. The expression that had previously seemed so icy now appeared oddly joyful.
“Really?”
“Ah, no. I’m sorry if I offended you. I didn’t mean to imply that you made a bad build or anything. I was just thinking it might be better in terms of stability…”
Faced with a face that radiated destruction, Min Hyung quickly scrambled to gather his words.
However, Kayak didn’t seem offended. She smiled brightly and continued speaking.
“Stability, stability. I think the feature is to maximize mobility while bouncing around as much as possible. I believe we should stick to the neutral characteristics.”
“…Isn’t that a bit of a tightrope act? If you get hit just once by a lucky punch, you’ll be on the brink of death and need to exit the battlefield. It’s not like you can guarantee not getting hit by Lennok or Jerome… If that’s the case, why not change the neutral traits or add self-healing in defense as I said?”
Kayak shook her head.
“I’ve researched builds more than you have. If you do that, there’s no reason to use this build or Camilla. I think it’ll definitely work in the league.”
“…You do watch the league, right?”
This was a jab at the notion that someone who followed the league wouldn’t know about Fusion Gaming, the number one and most famous team.
At that, Kayak awkwardly cleared her throat for a moment before continuing.
“Anyway, there’s nothing wrong with this build at all. Well, even though saying this doesn’t inspire much trust…”
She started to walk, heading a bit away from where Min Hyung had been sitting.
“How about a match? To see if I’m right or if the player is right.”
“Is what you’re saying right, or is it just what the player is saying?”
That was a rather arrogant and overly confident statement for a pro gamer.
*
One-on-one, duel, showdown, match. This sacred battle happens more often than you might think.
Even not counting the Abyss, one-on-one matches are purely decided by one’s own skill, unaffected by others.
I kind of loved these one-on-ones. How many people have I dunked who challenged me, claiming I was wrong back in those days? It’s quite impressive to see someone who was so confident admit their defeat one after the other.
“Are we really doing a one-on-one here?”
“What’s the guts in that…?”
“Surely Min Hyung won’t lose, right?”
As I was digging into the one-on-one arena, I could hear whispers around me.
Whispers about how the Fusion Gaming entrance test is basically a one-on-one, and that the player in front of me apparently aced the test.
To be honest, I felt a bit impatient.
That wasn’t why I came here in the first place. Going one-on-one with a pro? If we’re being technical, that wouldn’t help a bit with learning Camilla’s skills.
Yet, I proposed a one-on-one first because I simply didn’t know how else to persuade my opponent.
The remaining folks in this dying game tend to be surprisingly lacking in intelligence.
When I say intelligence, I mean whether or not they can acknowledge the words of others, not just smart or dumb.
Whether it’s discussions about builds or arguments over character performance, those who cannot bend their opinions are everywhere.
In the community back in those days, we called such people idiots.
Even if dozens of counter-arguments flood a post stating, “daggers can never beat greatswords,” if the original poster is an idiot or has low intelligence, nine times out of ten, they ignore all those comments.
In such cases, there’s only one method. Show it through action, not words.
That was a routine for me. Basically, I was one of those ‘people who don’t listen to others’ as well. I was the kind of person who constantly declared that Camilla was the best.
However, the difference between me and other idiots is that I’ve never lost a single duel that came my way with a challenge.
“Never lost even once, huh?”
As a result, Camilla successfully established my theory that ‘in theory, she can defeat any Hero one-on-one.’ Those were memories from a long, long time ago.
I may have rambled on, but the point is simple.
The one who wins gets the prize. The winner’s words are true. If you want to refute me, just challenge me right then and prove I’m right.
It might seem somewhat primitive and uncivilized, but there’s nothing more certain than that. After all, dueling was all the rage back in the day. Ending debates with a duel has been a traditional method since ancient times.
“Is this really right…”
Meanwhile, the preparations had unexpectedly finished.
A league-style event match. A duel rule that proceeds in a best-of-three format.
From across the way, I heard the doubtful voice of a Player.
“Um, Player? If you’re ready, please start.”
“Just checking, but you haven’t forgotten my name, have you?”
“…Of course not. I’m just bad at remembering names on first encounters.”
Truthfully, I had forgotten. There were too many people here. I couldn’t even remember the names of the Players who asked for my signature earlier, so there was no way I’d remember this one.
The only name I remembered was Lee Jun Hyuk, the legendary Player who is the oldest and has the most claims.
Maybe sensing my thoughts, a slightly disappointed voice came through.
“I’m Choi Min Hyung. My name is the same as my Player name, FG Min Hyung, taken from Fusion Gaming initials. I think I told you earlier too.”
“I just have a hard time remembering names…”
“I guess I’ll have to try harder for you to remember me.”
That was pretty much the same as saying they plan to impress me. In other words, they intend to win.
With a subtle grin, I responded, feeling a bit pleased.
“That sounds good.”
I hope they show the best play possible. I want to be surprised as a professional gamer, unlike my previous opponents.
– A moment later, the game starts.
Hearing the unique, clunky announcement voice signaling the start of the duel, I felt my blood boil for the first time in a while.
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