Daring to Steal Our Tactics?
‘X, this is bad?’ No matter how much he thought about it, this was the worst possible setup among the scenarios he'd anticipated. He'd figured the opponents would go for divide and conquer—small skirmishes to whittle them down—but this extreme map was completely outside his expectations.
His original plan had been to leverage the survival instincts and skills honed in Hunter Survival to keep as many teammates alive as possible until the team fight phase.
‘But...’
In this situation, even that might be impossible. This map, nicknamed the ‘Space Station’ among pros, ended most games in small skirmishes without ever reaching a team fight.
At least the good news, according to the voices in his earpiece, was that no one had been eliminated yet.
“Nothing so far.”
“Same here. We're holed up in a big spaceship interior for now... Should we head out to link up?”
Maybe it was because they'd been grinding Hunter Survival solos lately, but the vibe over the earpiece felt a bit chaotic.
“You listening? Everyone, focus up.”
It was time to stop sitting back and issue map-specific orders and directives.
‘I can't help with direct combat, but thankfully it's a map I know well, so adjusting tactics won't be hard.’
He calmly laid out their action plan.
“Don't step outside until you've confirmed the area's clear. Opening doors from inside makes a ton of noise and takes time. Priority one: survive inside the spaceship. Treat it like you're playing Hunter Survival right there in your current ship. Got it?”
“Yeah...”
“So we're scrapping the survive-and-rendezvous strategy we talked about?”
“For now.”
With a map like this, sticking to the original tactics was a straight path to ruin. All they could do was improvise adjustments on the fly.
“...So we're basically fighting one-on-one duels with the enemy?”
A cautious voice came through the earpiece. They seemed thrown by the sudden 180-degree shift.
The team knew PER had more players weak in raw combat prowess, so they understood the risk of getting picked off individually, just like he'd warned.
And they were spot on.
‘Even in this mess, we can't afford individual fights...’
Half the team would get shredded that way.
“Everyone except Do-jun and Han-gyeol—focus on stalling, not winning. Basic strat: while you buy time, the three of us take out our opponents first, link up, and mop up the rest. Simple, right?”
Even non-combat types like Yi Yeon-ju could snag artifacts or set traps to catch enemies off guard. But the opponents were optimized for one-on-ones. Stalling was fine; charging in blindly wasn't.
So, Kim Do-jun and Yoon Han-gyeol—who had the best shot at winning their duels—plus himself, finishing fights fast and rotating to help the others. That was ideal.
‘Whether it plays out that smoothly is another story...’
“Yeon-ju, just brief everyone's positions and share.”
That was all he could do for now. The rest was up to the training from the past week and a half.
He couldn't expect them to have mastered everything or grasped every nuance. But he'd touched on all the core concepts that pierced the heart of Hunters League.
How much they'd internalized would decide the match.
As those thoughts crossed his mind, a clear sword-drawing ring echoed from behind.
‘Iaido...!’
He threw himself forward, rolling on the spot.
Slash—
The spaceship equipment where he'd stood was sliced horizontally in a long gash.
“Heh heh. Close one.”
“You said you'd handle him quick, so I hung back. Now look at this mess. Happy?”
The ones behind Lee Chang-hyun were SMB goons—the same punks who'd picked a fight with him during last Hunter Survival.
‘Just these two? Or more...’
Either way, it was good news. Fewer here meant less pressure on the others.
“It's fine. It's fine. Coach said take it slow and enjoy. Plus, it's two-on-one. Or hey, want one-on-one?”
“?”
“Say, ‘Sorry for trash-talking as a 3rd Division scrub against 2nd Division seniors,’ and maybe I'll do it.”
The other SMB teammate cracked up at that.
For Lee Chang-hyun, it was a novel experience, honestly. Starting in 2nd Division, where skirmishes mattered more than team fights, this kind of banter happened often.
‘Pre-regression, it led to some fun stories.’
Compared to those old memories, this was low-rent.
Trash provocation not worth a response.
He had a standard line for punks like this in matches.
“Fuck off.”
***
‘Two 2nd Division players...’
A situation that might stump others just made him grin.
He hadn't had a real fight lately, so maybe he was just itching for it.
‘Actually, perfect.’
Training the team had kept him from proper scraps.
Not that he'd slacked on his own regimen—mostly steady, basic exercises to max his stats.
With known limits, stats were the most straightforward growth path for hunters.
Plus, with the ongoing Bloom skill growth bonus, his level was shifting by the minute.
‘And that stat gap isn't just about being faster or stronger.’
It unlocked playstyles his experience-rich but physically limited pre-regression self couldn't access.
That gap had shown as overwhelming dominance in recent solos.
“Hah!”
After the first strike missed, the duo went for a pincer.
One with long iaido draws, the other probing with daggers.
‘Close-range dealer and assassin types.’
They'd equipped air dashes for quick kills—watch for bursts.
Otherwise, Piercing Eye: S (S+) predicted their plays, mapping the fight perfectly.
SMB's iaido guy drew again.
No backstep—instead, he limbo-bent backward into a back handspring, ducking under.
Iaido Master: B+
Proficient and swift in iaido strikes. Extends sword reach on draw.
‘Extends sword reach on draw, huh...’
Great skill for confusing range and striking openings. But knowing it, dodging high or low worked fine.
Mid-handspring, he fluidly swung his Magic Engineering Weapon Conversion blade at the empty space behind.
Ambush: A
Instantly teleports behind the target.
The dagger user's predictable gap and timing were obvious.
Mid-slash, SMB's dagger guy appeared—losing an arm.
“Too predictable.”
“...”
Their aces foiled, they looked rattled. But amusingly...
The guy chewed his lip, grinning.
“Predictable? How long you think that cockiness lasts?”
Oh... Looked like they had more up their sleeve.
But his next move was unbelievable.
Sword glowed—some unknown special? Then Invisible Cloak activated...
‘No way...’
He couldn't hide his disgust.
How'd he miss this? It was Kim Do-jun's trick from the RIX match.
“You're done now.”
The guy smirked, lunging again—but Lee Chang-hyun donned his goggles, activated Piercing Eye: S (S+), and swapped to gun mode.
Obviously, the skill let him see through the cloak even with goggles.
Bang! Bang-bang!
Perfect shots on a moving target—headshots at this range were trivial.
Thud.
SMB Team Je-hyeon
SMB Team O Jin-hwan
“Jeez, not even idiots would fall for...”
Did they really think he'd buy it? Who knows.
‘Wait... I'm fine, but SMB's others fighting our team might pull this too.’
Would the kids handle it? Especially Kim Do-jun and Yoon Han-gyeol, who needed wins or draws.
***
‘On this map, avoidance isn't an option.’
Lee Geun-taek, who'd climbed the Tower himself, knew it well.
But he wasn't worried. The kid had innate genius he'd acknowledged.
2nd or 1st Division, his dueling skill was untouchable.
Just curious.
‘Six months since that audition show...’
Long or short, how much had he grown?
Back then, Lee Chang-hyun fell short of facing him head-on flawlessly.
What about now?
On screen, before Lee Chang-hyun noticed, the SMB stealth activated Invisible Cloak for an ambush.
‘Iaido...’
Twice as fast as a regular swing. Yet he dodged effortlessly.
Only tell was the draw sound—pure prediction and reflex.
Instincts sharp.
They exchanged words, then fighting resumed.
‘Close dealer iaido expert and assassin combo...’
Tough matchup, even for past Lee Chang-hyun. Speed and agility would've pressured.
But that thought faded quick.
‘He's grown.’
Acrobatic dodge, then preemptively slashed the assassin's teleport.
Pure prediction, not reaction. Something invisible to others read in his eyes.
Lee Geun-taek felt the netizens' and casters' hype.
But the real fun was next.
SMB activated the PER stealth tactic—sword flash, Invisible Cloak.
But...
Bang! Bang-bang!
Somehow, Lee Chang-hyun nailed their heads through goggles.
Close-up on his mouth.
“Fuckin' clowns.”
The chat exploded.