A Good Partner
Jump was a good partner.
"You want me to go in first? Why would you even— holy shit! There's an enemy!"
A good bait.
"We're surrounded, what are you going to— why are you hiding behind me?"
An excellent tank. A taunt. A meat shield?
I hadn't realized it until now, but having someone to send ahead into a spot where you expected enemies was a genuine convenience. I didn't have to take the risk myself. When things got dangerous, I could use him as a shield instead, which was nice. I didn't even have to carry him around, which was nicer.
It was time to enter the building the enemy was hiding in.
I wanted to pause the game for a second and catch my breath. Maybe knocking back soju with nothing to chase it had been a mistake. My stomach lurched; I felt like I might throw up any second.
If I was going to end up like this, I should've taken a hangover cure before logging in. At least the dizziness would've been milder.
Inside the building. They were probably near the top floor. A sniper who didn't even relocate after taking a shot — that was as good as begging to be killed.
The dead enemies still hadn't respawned. No need to worry about an ambush.
The familiar interior of the building looked blurry. My head was throbbing a little, too.
There was no reason to hesitate. The match had already tilted our way a long time ago. Eliminate the sniper, and there wouldn't be anyone left who could stop me. Any surprise attack, the meat shield would handle on his own.
I went in without delay. I needed to wrap this up fast and get some air.
"I'm heading iiin."
"Wouldn't it be better to move a little more carefully?"
The inside of the building was far too quiet. There was no way the sniper didn't know we'd come in. They had to have something they were counting on.
One mine on the way up the stairs… that couldn't be all of it. There were probably more traps. Or maybe an enemy lying in ambush.
I didn't have time to dismantle traps one by one on the way up. Waste time trying to climb safely, and a bullet from an enemy who'd seized the opening might come flying in.
No reason to do something pointless. I already had a fast, simple solution.
Bang — a short, ringing gunshot.
The round hit the mine on the floor dead-on.
BOOM—!
The mine detonated from the impact, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
Just as I'd expected, an enemy had been lying in wait nearby. Through the swirling dust, I caught a silhouette moving fast.
Leave it like that and a standoff was inevitable. Trade fire trying to create an opening, and a sniper's bullet from upstairs would come flying before we knew it.
That was fine. I could kill the sniper right away.
No need to press the attack. The enemy still thought their position hadn't been compromised. Their goal was probably to stall as long as possible until allied backup arrived.
A gunshot rang out.
The enemy, still hidden in the uncleared dust, had opened fire. This was why I hated people who didn't think. That attack was nothing more than a flare announcing they were here.
This was when you were supposed to carefully look for the opponent's opening.
Which was exactly why they got baited so easily.
Unable to pinpoint my location, they sprayed indiscriminate fire in every direction.
Confirm the enemy tucked behind a pillar for safety, then just step in for the backstab.
A bullet whizzed through the space I'd just vacated. The sniper, late to the fight, had opened fire on me as I flailed around, seemingly unable to grasp the situation.
They must have figured I'd emptied my magazine with that last burst.
They were exposing themselves with no proper cover, completely defenseless. The sniper's indiscriminate fire kept coming, as if they wouldn't give me time to reload. An empty gun was no different from a club, so they weren't even being cautious.
If they could do a little arithmetic, they wouldn't have made that kind of mistake.
A Glock 17 holds seventeen rounds. Considering I'd just fired fifteen, that meant there were still two left in the magazine.
Then again, who counted their opponent's spent ammo mid-combat? That was the kind of thing only a handful of firearm-obsessed freaks would do.
BANG!
The sniper rifle spat fire again. The weapon they were using was an M110 SASS, a semi-automatic sniper rifle. Judging by the magazine, it could hold about ten rounds.
Considering they'd just fired nine…
That meant after one more shot, there would definitely be a reload window.
BANG!
Another gunshot. I threw myself sideways.
A round punched into the floor where I'd been standing and shattered it.
Click. Click.
Just as expected, they were out. Panicked by the dry clicks of empty brass, the enemy hurriedly prepared to reload. From their perspective, I was holding nothing but a knife and a pistol that had run dry.
It wasn't close enough for me to close the distance, so they figured they'd finish reloading first.
That would have been true if I were actually out of bullets.
BANG—
Bang!
Two gunshots filled the building, and the sniper who'd been about to reload collapsed to the floor. Watching the blood trickle down the stairs, I smiled faintly.
This was why I couldn't quit this game.
"Ah, come on! Would it kill you to go slow and safe? No warning at all, seriously."
Through the dust still hanging in the air, I could see the enemy crumpled with bullet holes in their body.
He complained a lot, but he got the job done. Excellent. Teaching him thoroughly had been worth it.
By the way, why was his voice so loud? Were all streamers like this?
"No reason to drag it out."
"Even so, you don't just shoot a mine without warning. In that situation just now, we could've waited for allied backup."
"You think the enemy's just going to sit there and watch…?"
"Even in a frontal engagement we'd have the advantage, so there's no need to take unnecessary risks."
"It worked out, so what's the problem… Can't even play the game… Talks way too much…"
"What?"
"If you're worse at the game than me, shouldn't you just shut up?"
"…What the hell."
Nothing in this world was certain until the results came in.
Like they said, a plan was most perfect before you executed it — no matter how airtight it looked, you never knew what variables would crop up once you actually ran it. A plan was just a milestone for understanding your objective anyway.
If the result was the same, who cared about the process?
Rushing in alone and winning was more profitable than waiting for allies to join up and then fighting. Did this guy who claimed he was good at games not even know that?
I could see the chat window I'd parked in the corner of my vision scrolling furiously. I'd figured the viewers would be thinking the same thing I was, but it was flying by so fast that watching it only made me dizzier.
What are they even saying. Type a little slower…
It hadn't gone this fast during my first stream.
Looking at chat was making my stomach churn even more. I should probably wrap it up for today. If I kept streaming, I might actually vomit right into the Connector. I didn't want to log out and find myself surrounded by puke.
"I think I should probably call it here~"
"Oh, really?"
Why did he sound so happy.
We were in the middle of a match. The game had tilted, but victory wasn't guaranteed. I'd at least expected him to tell me to finish this round before I left.
Why did the people watching the stream want to put me to bed.
Maybe I'd thought too much.
My head hurt.
"Changed my mind. I'll finish this round and go."
"No. No. Don't push yourself — go get some sleep. The game will be just fine without you, Unknown."
How much had I contributed to this match, and he was saying that.
Plus, bailing mid-game was rude to your teammates. The viewers definitely wouldn't look kindly on it either.
Worried?
I didn't get what there was to worry about with me.
Maybe they were worried about my stamina because I'd gone live twice in one day. If that was the case, I could somewhat understand why they were so desperate to put me to bed.
"I think I'm fine now. I even went for a waaalk today so I've got stamina to spare, no need to worrry."
Chat was scrolling too fast to read. Watching it made my head hurt — I probably shouldn't look at it at all.