Round 2 (3): Eunjae's Arrow of Revenge
"Aaaah, so sleepy. That's it for today."
It was past 3:30 a.m. Kim Seon-ah stretched languidly as she climbed out of her capsule.
Normally, by this hour, one of the five capsules in the practice room would always be powered off. But not tonight. In fact, it had been days since that changed.
Starting with Seon-ah, the players finished their final solo queue games and emerged one by one.
As they stepped out, each glanced back at the capsule that showed no sign of opening anytime soon.
And with disgusted expressions, they shook their heads.
"Is Eunjae okay?"
"She came in super late yesterday too, right?"
"Yeah. I woke up past 5 a.m. for some water and saw her then. You should've seen her face."
"Kinda pitiful. Bet she had to drag herself out first thing in the morning again."
At Lee Ha-young's worried words about Eunjae, Cha Yuna snorted.
"Hah, pitiful? It's karma for not practicing. She's the pitiful one? I'm the one who suffered because of her."
"Unnie, it's not wrong, but don't say it to her face."
"Depends on what she does. Man, our coach is ruthless though. Who knew he'd grind her like a rat? This is straight-up psycho level."
"Don't badmouth Coach."
Shin Sera narrowed her eyes and looked up at Yuna, who took it as respect for the leader.
"Why so serious? It was a joke."
"Still."
"Fine, fine. Looks like it'll take him forever anyway, so I'm heading out first."
Led by Yuna, the players returned to the dorm one by one. With a final glance at the empty capsules and meeting room, Sera was the last to leave, and the practice room fell silent.
The same moment.
Unlike the now-quiet practice room, the game world echoed with the shouts of two people.
"Again!"
"Hah... hah... friggin'..."
Eunjae trailed off a half-spat curse and staggered back to her feet.
I heard it but didn't call her out. Anyone pushed this far would let slip a few swears.
"You can't even dodge that? What kind of practice was that? Back to the start!"
Trembling on her battered avatar, Eunjae rose and nocked another arrow.
I'd given her just three orders: Dodge my attack with Moonlight Leap, fire a Moonlight Arrow from mid-air before landing, and hit me with it.
A high-level technique to level up both skills' specializations simultaneously.
Easier said than done. This Moon Priestess combo hadn't been discovered yet, and even in my pro days' future, few in Division 1 mastered it perfectly. For an academy league player like Eunjae, it was impossible.
Worse, our Round 2 match was scheduled for the last day of the first week, making her release a distant dream.
So she rolled across the dirt dodging my skillshots, collapsed when her legs gave out, and drew her bow until her fingers bled—in game, at least.
She didn't realize it, but her skills had visibly improved in days. The tough combo gave big specialization boosts, and her relentless practice was rocketing her toward mastery.
Her movements were optimizing for the skills.
She hadn't hit me once, but that was the skill gap. In a real match now, she'd shine.
Simple reps wouldn't yield this fast. She'd optimized solo—image training or whatever.
I smirked inwardly and fired another Elementalist crescent wave. As the solid half-moon pulse flew, she leaped sideways again.
'Gonna kill him... gonna kill him... gonna kill him...!'
No idea what ran through her head, but those bulging eyes screamed deep grudge.
Gritting her teeth with vengeful fury, she drew her shaking bow mid-air. This time, the arrow flew true at me.
'Good dodge, good mid-air aim. Now just land the hit.'
But its arc would drop short.
'Not quite there, but gotta give the kid a win... call it here.'
I stepped forward casually, leg extended, before she noticed.
A sharp pain pierced my foot with a massive silver arrow. Game pain was muted, but it stung.
Barely a graze too, so short stun.
Shaking it off, I pondered ending training—praise her progress, boost her spirits.
But her footsteps approached weirdly fast...
Eyes open, I saw Eunjae charging, eyes rolled back in rage.
She shoved me down, straddled me, grabbed the arrow, and stabbed wildly with the sharp tip.
"Ha... haha...! Ahahaha! Finally hit you! Still stunned, right? Kang Yuseong, you bastard, die! Die! Die! Die already!"
The tip plunged repeatedly. Soon, I was really dead.
You have died. Due to current game settings, no respawn timer is applied.
For her training, we'd set instant revives on death. I respawned right away.
But she kept stabbing.
"You jerk!!!"
I grabbed her arm, stopping the arrow-stabbing.
"D-Die... Huh?"
Only then did she halt her frenzy. As I sat up, she plopped butt-on-ground, sneaking peeks at me.
"C-Coach? Didja... hear that?"
"No stun on me."
"...Huh?"
"Oh yeah, back when you didn't know me, you said you wanted to cigarette-beat the coach who made you audition, right?"
"......"
"But cigs weren't enough, so arrow-stab now?"
"I-I was so exhausted I lost it..."
"Ready for payback?"
I raised my hand; she sensed bloody revenge, squeezed her eyes shut, and clasped hands begging.
"S-Sorry! Won't happen again! Forgive me just once!"
But I had no such plans. I placed my hand on her head, stroking gently.
She cracked one eye open.
"Rough, huh? Sleepyhead like you, barely resting, rolling morning and night. Thanks for sticking it out."
"...Y-Yeah?"
"Good job. Had to grind your skill specs like this, but you're on track now. Keep it up, no need for these dawn-to-dusk sessions."
"So no morning or dawn training starting tomorrow?!"
"Yeah."
"Yes!!!"
"But slack off even once, fall behind, and I'll grind you ten times harder. You'll beg for release."
She gulped. Ten times this hell? Unimaginable.
"Don't forget that movement and feel from hitting me. Practice solo too. Widen your champ pool. You're pro now—wanna see it through, right? That stage thrill as a dancer, spotlights, crowd cheers. Wanna feel it?"
"...Yeah. I do."
Rare straight talk from her, no drawl.
"Pro gaming's like dancing. Lazy ones fall off; only a rare few who never skip endure. Academy league's just the start—don't slack now. I picked you myself; let's hit Division 1 and beyond together. I believe in you."
I ruffled her hair and stood.
"Heading out. You rest too. Match in two days—manage your health."
"Yeah..."
After Yuseong left, only Eunjae remained on the training map.
Realizing he'd heard her arrow-murder rampage, chills ran down her spine. Lucky he let it slide, but her heart had nearly burst.
'Why no stun?'
Testing on a minion, mid-air Moonlight Arrow stunned perfectly.
Then it hit her.
'That's it! He set himself stun-immune from the start! Sneaky jerk!'
Without that, she'd have stabbed during a long stun and played dumb.
Fuming at his cheap trick, her fidgety injustice boiled.
'Hmph, next time lure him without immunity, then kill.'
Failed perfect assassination this time, but next would succeed.
Plotting murder brought back his words.
— Rough, huh? Sleepyhead like you, barely resting, rolling morning and night. Thanks for sticking it out.
'Tch, torment me then play nice? If so, let me sleep at least!'
Grumbling inwardly, she logged out and stood.
In the lobby, pre-exit, she absently touched her hair.
— I picked you myself; let's hit Division 1 and beyond together.
His stroking lingered.
— I believe in you.
'Coach is a jerk... but sometimes kinda nice.'