Chapter 11
Chapter 11
In a game like [Space Ground] that has become as stagnant as it is now, where over 30 teams compete for only the first place, what are the odds of achieving three consecutive victories?
Even without knowing exactly, I could be certain that it was damn low.
If victory were that easy in the first place, pros of this game or people in private tournaments wouldn't be screaming their lungs out when they win.
[You have won.]
[Yahoo, let's have some chicken today!]
The thought that we might actually pull that off today crossed both my and Seonwoo Ye-rang's minds.
Second chicken, consecutive victory.
Honestly, the second chicken was just luck.
After winning two position battles, we held our ground, and the remaining players naturally started killing each other in a rank battle, until finally one person was left, dropped all their items, and let us kill them.
But does that mean the victory was empty?
Of course not.
The reason hundreds of thousands of players worldwide still remain in this game is because, as difficult as victory is, the catharsis when you win is immense.
That's the nature of battle royale games, and that's why they're popular.
"Wow, is this really possible? Hyun-woo, my hands are fucking shaking."
"Me too."
The alcohol was gradually starting to seep into my brain, and in the midst of that, I was pushing my concentration to the limit, so honestly, a headache was coming on.
[Current Time]
[PM 8:20]
Still, it's here.
Through the two consecutive wins, I saw hope that if things went well, I could finish this around 9 PM and go home where Miho was waiting.
Since I left home around 5...
"Hoo, I can do it, I can do it."
Honestly, a little kid would sleep for at least 4 hours.
'I'll be a bit late.'
Even if the game ends at 9, including the time to get a designated driver or taxi and go home, it'll be almost 10.
If I buy chicken on the way, it might be a bit later.
Yeah, by then Miho might wake up and look for me.
Still.
「Hyunu, you came?」
Thinking of Miho's face, who would greet me with that slurred pronunciation and an awkward yet nervous expression, gave me strength again.
「Ttal-kkak!」
[Game Ready]
"Alright, I can do it."
Honestly, by the fact that I was voicing the thoughts I'd been having for a while, I was already somewhat aware that I was drunk.
But Seonwoo Ye-rang, as if she found me even cuter that way, licked her lips with her tongue and handed me another glass of Royal Salute.
"Gulp, keuh..."
"Feed me too. With your mouth this time."
It's a wonder she didn't ask me to touch her boobs in the lobby.
Perhaps because she was eager for the third consecutive win, even though she was dripping wet from her pussy, she tried to focus more on the game at this moment.
So I took a sip of Royal Salute in my mouth and gently passed it to Seonwoo Ye-rang's mouth through a kiss.
「Jjok, jjo-ok.」
"Gulp... Hyeueung, it tastes twice as sweet when I drink it like this."
"Noona, let's go for it."
"Okay, I'll think of it as the real last round and go all out."
And so the game began.
We dropped at a safe looting area where people rarely land, as usual, and started picking up equipment.
In the meantime, I could see a lot of kill logs appearing in the upper right corner of the screen.
I thought the pace of this round seemed a bit fast, so I checked the nicknames.
[ST_Giant has achieved a double kill.]
[Assist - ST_Killer]
"Ah, fuck. There are pros."
Seonwoo Ye-rang must have seen it too; a curse flew out of her mouth.
If it's ST, that's a foreign team.
A strong team that consistently appears in world tournaments and has won several times.
'No wonder the kill log was flooding in.'
This wasn't a low-tier Bronze or Silver bracket; Seonwoo Ye-rang was a Grandmaster, just one step away from Challenger.
In such high tiers, everyone has excellent survival and escape skills, so they don't get caught that easily.
That was also why Seonwoo Ye-rang had creamed herself over the play I showed in the first round.
Because showing such a play in a fight between experts is really difficult.
"Hoo, it's okay, noona. Pros are human too. I mean, my physical is really on fire today, so I think I can even take down a pro?"
"Okay, I'll definitely get at least one too."
A fast pace meant that people who have played this game a lot have an advantage.
There's not enough time to strategize, and the key to victory was to use the wisest strategy in that limited time.
It was a matter of how specifically you know this map and how clever routes you know.
"Footsteps! In front of me, footsteps in front of me!"
"Okay, going to cover immediately!"
「Tudududududuk!」
[ShutUpIfYouAreWorseThanMe has achieved a double kill.]
[Assist - zlGodOfMartialArts123]
"Nice! Fuck, where do they think they're coming at us? They wanna die?"
We were also fighting pretty well.
Especially since Seonwoo Ye-rang is the type whose form improves even more when the mood is good.
With two consecutive wins, we were on a winning streak, and even Seonwoo Ye-rang had wiped away all playfulness and was immersed in the game for the third win.
[AimMonster has achieved a double kill.]
[Assist - Switch_Ace]
"That team is strong too."
What was certain was that because that pro duo and streamer duo were killing so many people quickly in this room, the match would end faster than average.
"Hey, let's go fight too."
"Take it easy, take it easy."
Even without saying it outright, honestly, our team couldn't be said to be as strong as those teams.
In terms of physical skill, that was the case.
No matter how much I'm in the zone today, how can I beat pros and streamers who play all day every day, staking their jobs and lives on it?
But what makes battle royale games fun is that even if you lack skill, you can compensate to some extent with tactics and strategy.
"Let's farm a bit more, get full gear, and then secure our position."
"Ah, okay."
Seonwoo Ye-rang isn't low-tier either, so she immediately understood what I meant and nodded obediently.
After that, did we just farm continuously for about five minutes?
"Noona, here's a level 3 backpack and vest."
"Okay!"
"And a Crazer dropped."
Seonwoo Ye-rang was also one of those people who go crazy for the Crazer.
Actually, among people who play this game, there's no one who doesn't go crazy for this weapon.
Because it's the best sniper rifle that can kill a person in one shot.
It was a legendary weapon that could turn even an unfavorable game around.
"Ah, just take it. I don't want to use a sniper today."
I narrowed my eyes.
How come this noona is giving up this gun?
"Okay, I'll carry this round."
"Let's go!"
[Remaining players: 9]
The safe zone phase was only at 2, but people were all getting killed.
Even in this situation, hearing gunshots in the distance meant that they were still fighting face to face.
They either read the pace to some extent, or had half given up.
Because the level of the pros and streamers was that high.
"Noona, let's head to the very edge of the safe zone now."
"Without taking center?"
"I think it's best to cut from the edge of the safe zone using the danger zone. Those bastards are slaughtering everyone and if they take the center area, they'll have better map usage and strategy than us. That would be really tough. We need to use the situation where they're forced to push to have any chance."
"Ah, okay. I get what you mean. This seems like the right call for cutting."
"Plus I have a Crazer in my hands."
"Okay okay, even if we can't save a downed teammate, let's spread out a bit and as soon as we spot an enemy, brief immediately."
"Very good."
Just by heading to the edge of the safe zone like that, all the remaining teams were already resolved.
[Remaining players: 6]
I expected it, but as expected, pros were pros, and streamers were streamers.
They fought like crazy and still survived to the end.
"Hoo, the best scenario is for those bastards to fight each other and we hit them from the side."
But it seemed unlikely.
Those bastards are rankers who check kill logs regularly, so they must have already sensed the danger, roughly gauged each other's positions, and spread out to enter the safe zone.
And when that happens, the worst case is...
"Direction 200, approaching from about 400 meters away!"
Seonwoo Ye-rang shouted, but unfortunately, I was not in a position to provide the cover or support fire she wanted.
"Two right in front of me, closing in."
"Fuck, I'll manage on my own for now."
"Okay..."
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
Fuck, pros are pros for a reason.
Those bastards had already read my position.
Because they already knew the best place to cut the danger zone from the safe zone, they used the blind spot in my vision, approached quietly, and got close enough to hear footsteps.
「Tududududu!」
In the distance, I heard Seonwoo Ye-rang suppressing another team.
Anxiety and impatience rose that perhaps Seonwoo Ye-rang would fall first, but now was not the time to be dominated by such emotions.
[Crazer 2/4]
The best sniper rifle that can only fire six shots.
Right now, this was the only thing I could trust.
"Hoo."
「Sabak, sabak, sabak!」
It was the moment their footsteps split into two directions to spread out in front of me.
I pressed the W key and chose to advance instead.
At that moment, bullets immediately poured toward me.
Once one bullet hits, my health would melt away ridiculously fast from consecutive shots.
But this game has a slight ping and frame difference.
If I down them before the bullet hits my body, that bullet is considered not to have hit.
So...
「Taang!」
Immediately downed one.
[Remaining HP 33]
Switched from Crazer to assault rifle.
'Body shots will lose. Must hit head!'
「Tudududududu!」
「Tudududu!」
[zlGodOfMartialArts123 has achieved a double kill.]
"Nice!"
"Fuck, that was fucking awesome. Seriously."
Both I and Seonwoo Ye-rang couldn't help but shout.
On the other hand, the team that faced me would have nothing to say even if they punched the desk.
They were probably cursing WTF under their breath by now.
But that didn't mean we had secured victory.
"Fuck, they're pushing openly here!"
"Hold on a bit! I'm healing, healing!"
Even as I said that, the streamer team, who had already figured out that Seonwoo Ye-rang was alone from the gunshots, wouldn't just stand still like fools.
[Ally has been defeated.]
Just as I finished using all my recovery items, Seonwoo Ye-rang went down, as expected.
But.
"Barely alive, fucking barely alive! I landed all shotgun shots on both! Win this, Hyun-woo!"
"Okay, okay!"
Without looking back, I ran to where Seonwoo Ye-rang had died, and the moment I got close, I immediately raised the Crazer.
And.
「Taaaaang!」
One enemy went down even though the shot hit the body.
"Fuck, nice...! Nice, nice, nice, nice!"
"Shh, there's still one more!"
A 1v1 situation.
Probably both of us were thinking the same thing.
「Ttal-kkak!」
"Sound of pulling a pin!"
"I pulled mine too!"
We both threw grenades at the same time, and both of us sensed that victory would be decided here.
And my choice was to advance.
The opponent's choice was to melt me with their aim before the grenade exploded as I advanced.
And the result was...
[Remaining HP 1]
「Peoeeeeeeeong!」
[You have won.]
[Yahoo, let's have some chicken today!]
It was our victory.
"Hueeeeeeong, nice! Nice, nice, nice! Fuck, nice...! Hueeong, hueong, fuck. That was fucking awesome. Hueeeeong, niceeu... eong, ueeong..."
At that moment, Seonwoo Ye-rang burst into tears ugly enough to be unsightly, repeating 'nice' over and over.