Changes Over Two Weeks
"What the hell was that just now...?"
Kim Do-jun's words cast a strange hush over the team.
That sudden burst of light. They all knew it had something to do with the glow, but none of the other teammates had a clue what exactly it was.
"What else? It's the play you need to make."
"But how am I supposed to...?"
Kim Do-jun had felt it directly, yet he still seemed unable to accept it easily, looking a bit dazed.
"It was like my body moved on its own...?"
Not just showing an image, but he even felt the actual sensation of moving?
It felt like a far better ability than I'd expected.
"Anyway, work on remembering that sensation. Next up, Han-gyeol."
Yoon Han-gyeol was so diligent by nature. Unlike Kim Do-jun, he didn't seem stuck, but perhaps because of his upright personality, he was a bit weak on psychological warfare in terms of technique and tricks.
When I pointed that out, he nodded in agreement, but it wasn't something you could master just by understanding it intellectually...
I used the ability once more.
Maybe because he'd seen what I did with Kim Do-jun moments ago, he offered his head without hesitation.
Flash—
Yoon Han-gyeol unleashing his Ego Swords, pressing the opponent relentlessly.
In his case, not only was the ability strong, but his potential was exceptional to begin with. Overall, his PvP skills were top-tier even for Part 2.
But...
He was still a step short of Part 1 level.
That's why what I showed Yoon Han-gyeol this time was a combination of Ego Swords and effective psychological warfare.
Several swords flying at the opponent, each executing sword techniques simultaneously.
But attach an Air Anchor to the Ego Swords so they're hard to track with the naked eye, creating a feint.
The opponent times their block against the incoming Ego Swords, but the sword halts mid-air, caught by the Air Anchor.
In that split-second timing mismatch, release the anchor, and the sword surges forward again.
A kind of delayed attack.
Just knowing you could use Air Anchors for feints and mind games would put immense stress on opponents in PvP.
As the skill's light faded, Yoon Han-gyeol's eyes gleamed.
"Is this the new skill you got?"
More interested in my skill than what he just saw... Classic Han-gyeol.
"You'll see it plenty from now on, so focus on the feedback, not the skill."
"Got it. It's a method I never considered, but I've got the sensation locked in."
By now, the other PER members—excluding Kim Do-jun and Yoon Han-gyeol—were looking at me with expectant eyes.
Well, yeah. Where else could you find such an easy way to grow?
This wasn't some experience boost; it was straight-up spoon-feeding.
"Who's next for feedback?"
That day, PER was buzzing like crazy, and even late into the night, the second-floor training room at home was packed with teammates eager to practice.
Of course. Once you knew what to do, had the sensation, and saw exactly how it'd change things—who wouldn't jump on it?
That practice didn't stop after one day—it continued naturally.
We'd scheduled these scrims for the two weeks before league opening, after all. It was only natural.
Mornings: individual training via Hunter Survival.
Afternoons: team scrims.
Evenings after dinner: feedback sessions and integration practice.
That routine locked in and kept rolling.
Especially in scrims where I joined, we added a special menu: syncing with teammates.
For me, that was Ryu Jae-jun. We'd been figuring out how to mesh better when teamed up, so boosting the team's overall power was a given.
"Just narrowing the opponent's movement with Ego Swords and then Gil-han hyung charging in—such a simple combo spikes our win rate huge."
"Sounds obvious when you say it. Makes you wonder why we were fighting so frantically before."
That was a perfect example.
Knowing what your teammates would do, then layering your own cards on top.
That alone doubled the power of even basic skills.
Like fitting Tetris pieces perfectly—one by one, it all clicked into place.
And naturally, we weren't the only ones noticing the change.
"Impressive, PER."
The opposing coach, watching from the sidelines, murmured softly.
"Honestly, I figured you guys would be nobodies this season. My mistake. Haha..."
Yeah. Even I could see it.
We'd shown serious growth through special training during promotion playoffs, but this time—with new members joining and direct demonstrations—everyone's skills had skyrocketed to another level.
"Learned a lot. Thanks, Director Lee Chang-hyun."
"Yeah. We learned plenty too."
Back when we first hit Part 2, and even at Media Day, we'd been mostly ignored. But now, the vibe was shifting.
Not every coach thought that way, of course.
"Damn... What the hell's that coach doing? Letting his kids get smashed like that."
Coaches who didn't think we were good, but figured their own team got wrecked.
"Hmmm... Good work out there."
And those brushing it off as just an off day.
Nothing was set in stone until the league actually started.
Time flew, and now—right before opening day—we had another scrim.
"Ah... Hope you've been well. It's been almost two weeks since our last scrim, right?"
We were up against HXG again, the team from day one.
Their scrim results must've been solid; the team vibe was upbeat, coach included.
Even better.
"Not sure how PER's scrims have gone. Us? Well, we're a proper Part 2 team—no adjustment period needed. Feels like we'll do great this season. What about PER?"
Asking about us was just polite chit-chat; really, he wanted to brag about his team.
But this season, we were gonna smoke them.
"Our team? No idea what you thought before, but my view hasn't changed much since Media Day."
Even if they struggled, they'd probably hang in the upper half of Part 2.
What could their team do to us?
Time to show them the real deal.
And for this match, I said I wouldn't play.
"You sure? PER's ace is still player Lee Chang-hyun, right...?"
"You'll see. Can't use a cattle knife to slaughter a cow, after all."
The opposing coach's face twisted, but he gritted his teeth without showing it.
Or was grinding his teeth the tell?
"Heh... We'll see."
Yeah. We will.
The coaches' expectations clashed head-on as the match began.
Mindful that I wasn't playing and we were fielding our full roster—or maybe that was their best lineup anyway—the opponent ran the exact same lineup as last time.
Not just that; even the map was the same.
[Great Sanctuary], was it?
But I had zero doubt we'd lose like before.
Right as the match started, by sheer luck—or not—Yoon Han-gyeol from PER spawned near an enemy player, sparking an immediate clash.
The foe was a mid-range spear dealer, handling it skillfully and firing thrusts at Yoon Han-gyeol from afar. Solid fundamentals.
Similar type to Han-gyeol.
Both had mid-range options, and he'd clearly studied Yoon Han-gyeol's style—countering the unpredictable Ego Sword arts with wide spear sweeps.
That move from day one?
The spear guy momentarily missed one sword.
It shot mid-air, then froze—snagged by an Air Anchor.
As he swung his spear and charged Yoon Han-gyeol again...
Stab—
The sword he'd thought blocked broke free and pierced from his blind spot.
A light win.
"Urk...!"
Clashes like that kept popping up everywhere.
PER victory notices kept pinging.
No way it'd go to teamfight phase.
And sure enough, it didn't.
The details of our fights were on another level from two weeks ago.
No need for teamfights or tactics—the match ended in skirmishes alone.
You could feel the class difference.
"...HXG's improved a bunch, though. Next time, it'll be a good fight. Good game."
Next time? The gap would only widen.
He knew damn well that was a jab.
As the match wrapped and PER filed out, everyone's faces were beaming.
Beating the team that crushed us two weeks ago really drove home the growth.
"Man, at this rate, Part 2 will be smoother than Part 3."
"Yeah, everyone's unrecognizable after just two weeks."
Seemed plausible, but...
"Smoother? We haven't scrimmed PSG or QED yet."
"Right... The two teams pegged as Media Day favorites. Why no scrims with them?"
Tch. Tell me about it.
"They probably didn't wanna scrim a team fresh off promotion to Part 2 lower ranks."
They never said it outright, but yeah, likely.
Pre-regression, we skipped lower teams too—nothing to gain.
Top teams get zilch from bottom feeders, but bottom teams feast.
Pretty standard.
"Still, we're favored, right?"
"Hard to say. Haven't seen their season form."
Coaches whispered they were no pushovers.
Individual superpowers, team tactics from them, matchups—it was too variable to gauge easily.
"Besides, no need to wonder."
"...?"
"Opening day, game two is us versus QED."
Watch top seed PSG's opener, then clash with runner-up QED ourselves.
Maybe Part 2 league fate would be clear after day one.