I'm Not a Hacker, Just a Strategic Genius

The warrior's heart sank into despair.

Three people had already fallen while he was searching for the mage. …Stay calm. He was the only one left now. He couldn't afford to let his guard down for even a second.

At least I brought the Paladin preset… Paladins were considered the ultimate all-rounder class. They had a warrior's high health and defense, close-range combat as easy as a fighter's, and decent mobility like a thief. On top of that, they could heal and buff like a priest. That was why they earned the title of universal class.

He couldn't move recklessly, so he decided to stay still until the enemy showed themselves. Hm?

A fireball flew in from the rooftop. Without panicking, he deflected it with his sword and chased after the shadow on the roof.

Is he trying to lure me in and chip away at my stamina? It looked like the plan was to force him into a trap spell and drain his health, but he had no intention of falling for it so easily. The warrior used the surrounding buildings as stepping stones, climbed to the roof, and pursued the mage.

A sacred wind blew in, granting the warrior a movement speed buff. But the moment he tried to close the distance, the enemy in front of him vanished.

Was that the 'Trick' skill? The warrior spun around without hesitation, but unfortunately the mage had already disappeared.

"……."

He had to chase, but going down felt too risky. He'd have to keep moving across the rooftops.

I'd run into the most annoying type of opponent. By "annoying type," I mean someone with good skills, a sharp mind, and excellent instincts. That warrior was exactly that. On top of that, the way he'd immediately looked behind him after I used Trick showed he'd done his homework beforehand.

This is going to be a pain.

Since he was a Paladin, he could heal himself. It would probably take around five solid hits to kill him.

But I'll die before that happens. My bow still needed more charge time, and the Mist effect was starting to wear off. I needed to end this quickly.

I swung my staff, causing my body to vanish as five clones appeared. The clones could use skills but couldn't deal damage—a clear downside. But for right now, that's more than enough.

The clones immediately chased after the warrior. The real game was only just beginning.

Hmm, I can't see him at all… The Mist effect was about to expire anyway, so waiting seemed like the better option.

"……!"

When I looked up, icicles were raining down from the sky. There was no time to dodge.

I quickly activated my shield to prevent any ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠health loss. But something was strange. The shield wasn't taking any damage at all.

Is this an illusion…? In that case, there was no need to attack it. But then lightning suddenly struck from behind. Reflexively, I dodged toward the street. Right where I'd moved, a trap magic circle was waiting.

Boom!

But he was a warrior. What would have been a one-shot kill on a thief was endured thanks to his high health and defense.

Tsk! Stepping on the trap had cost ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me a third of my health.

I recovered my health immediately, but more illusions appeared. I couldn't tell which one was real.

This is getting annoying… If I dodged blindly, I'd just trigger more traps. In this situation, an area-of-effect skill seemed best.

Dark clouds gathered, and countless greatswords began raining from the sky like divine judgment on unbelievers. The mist soon cleared, and my vision returned.

Is he not in this area? No death log had appeared. Just in case, I used an attack buff. Mages had low health, so getting hit by an attack like that should have killed him…

"You used your ultimate?"

"……!"

Suddenly, something unidentified burst from the ground beneath my feet.

Did he use the illusions to lure me here…! The warrior frantically tried to activate a skill, but I had prepared faster.

Unfortunately for him, the warrior used a shield skill that couldn't block knockback effects. As a result, he was launched an absurd distance into the air.

Just as planned. All that remained was to remove his shield.

Trapped in the air with nowhere to move, his shield shattered instantly and his health dropped slightly. Of course, many people would wonder if something like this could possibly kill a high-defense warrior.

Rona, who had watched the entire scene, let out a sigh of admiration.

"Whoa, that actually worked…"

From Rona's perspective, having watched everything in real time, Seong-a truly was a strategic genius. Her judgment in using skills at exactly the right moment was impressive, but her ability to analyze and exploit the opponent's psychology was practically first-class.

And there was a high chance no one would complain. Calling them out after they'd willingly accepted the match would just make them look pathetic.

After screen-sharing the footage, there wasn't a single piece of evidence suggesting hacks. With the viewers' suspicions lifted, everything had worked out perfectly.

"Shall we move on to the interview?"

"Alright, ChiliKing, please turn on your mic!"

"Yes, nice to meet you all."

Everyone was showering me with praise. I didn't particularly crave validation, but it still felt good.

"Unni, you're really good at games."

"I'm just average."

I normally never used my divination ability except for tracking locations. That way the game stayed fun.

"Could we take a look at your skill preset?"

"Of course."

I openly showed them my skill preset. Both the chat and Rona looked shocked.

"Unni, half your skills are transformation types…"

"Yeah. I already had traps and crowd control set up everywhere, and aside from the warrior, the rest died in one or two hits anyway."

Of course, without the traps it would have been a completely different preset. Rona, who had been staring blankly at the skill window, snapped back to reality and continued the stream.

"You're a true mage craftsman! Creating a whole separate preset just for PKs!"

Rona did her best to hype me up. Truthfully it was an on-the-spot build rather than a dedicated PK preset, but I couldn't be bothered to correct her so I let it slide.

"Then let's review the clips that got you accused of hacking!"

Rona played the footage in question. So this was why people thought I was hacking.

"This is the most suspicious moment. How did you dodge before the skill even activated?"

"If you look closely, every class has a unique motion they perform before using a skill."

"A unique motion?"

"Yeah, watch this."

We slowed the video down to 0.25x speed and reviewed it again. At that speed, it was obvious. The thief in the footage made a very subtle motion of pulling his foot back.

"See it now?"

"Wow… Unni, you notice this every single time?"

"Of course."

If you wanted to farm kills through PKs, this was basic knowledge. Just knowing this much doubled your survival time. After explaining the other suspicious moments, we moved on to the next segment: interviews.

"Now that Unni's explanation is finished, shall we hear some thoughts from the Rona Army who helped clear her name?"

"Alright, I'm going to ban anyone who's just here to mock them. They've taken time out of their day to be here, so the least we can do is show gratitude. Let's start with the thieves who died first."

Had they coordinated their lines beforehand? The viewers were dying of laughter. It was quite the impactful entrance.

"Please share your thoughts."

『It was an honor to be invited to this event. It was a fascinating experience, and I'd love to participate again next time.』

The first thief gave a clean, textbook answer. What about the other one?

『…Your skills were impressive. I hope you continue to improve.』

That was it? And "continue to improve"?

It seemed my teabagging had wounded their pride quite a bit. Well, maybe they shouldn't have died so pathetically.

After the fighters' interview came the warrior's turn. Honestly, this guy had earned my genuine respect. He'd even prepared in advance. If only the other world had more people like him, we could've defeated the Demon King in no time.

『Hello.』

Surprisingly, the warrior had a deep, husky voice. His slightly awkward Korean suggested he was a foreigner.

"Are you a foreigner?"

『Yes, but I can speak Korean, so please don't worry.』

So that's why his username was in English. Relieved that language wouldn't be an issue, Rona continued the interview smoothly.

"What did you think of winning this viewer participation event?"

『It was a unique experience. It was a great opportunity to learn that this kind of culture exists in Korea.』

After the five interviews were over, it was finally my turn.

"Unni, do you have any last words?"

Last words, huh…

"The thieves' earrings, the fighters' bracelets, and the warrior's ring were all very nice."

"Haha… Unni, did you already decide on your loot?"

"Obviously."

After checking the characters of those who'd participated, they were all rankers with pretty decent accessories.

"Well, everyone heard that. She says she'll be sending the details by mail. It's time to end the stream now. Everyone, Roba!"

I pressed the stream end button and we took off our VR headsets.

"Thank you for your hard work. It's a bit past lunchtime, but would you like to grab a meal—"

"It's fine. My mom already made food."

"I… I see?"

Rona's shoulders drooped. She seemed reluctant to let ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the first Returnee she'd ever met leave like this.

"Take care, Unni."

"Yeah, you too."

Rona waved goodbye as she saw Seong-a off, her eyes lingering on her back the entire time.

Yeah, I can wait. It wasn't like they'd never meet again. She just had to be patient. The right moment would come eventually.

The moment I got home, I started streaming. The viewers who joined were confused. The streamer's name was different from usual. Instead of "Lee Sung-a," it read "ChaserKing." The stream title was unusual too.

"From now on, please call me ChaserKing. Starting today, this channel will be all about wholesome PK farming."