077. Each One's Fight
“F*** cut.”
Whether the observer caught it or not, the highlight replay zoomed in close on Lee Chang-hyun, making his lip movements crystal clear. Of course, the official caster and commentator didn't mention it.
[Caster: What the hell!!!! Player Lee Chang-hyun. What just happened? Both SMB players, who were about to launch a joint attack, collapsed at the same time!]
[Commentator: Astonishing…… Given Player Lee Chang-hyun's reflexes, it seems he predicted their movements and struck before they could fully conceal themselves and make positioning unpredictable……]
The replay showed a highlight of Lee Chang-hyun flipping through the air to dodge his opponent, then precisely headshotting the hidden foes with his dual pistols under the Invisible Cloak, all in slow motion.
It didn't end there. The screen cut to each team's waiting room. The SMB coach and staff looked like they'd figured out what Lee Chang-hyun had mouthed, their faces twisted in grimaces. In stark contrast, PER's coach was grinning ear to ear.
And finally, the netizens' reactions to Lee Chang-hyun's 'that remark'—which didn't need any filtering—were, predictably, explosive.
The reactions were so massive that the chat scrolled too fast to even read it all.
Lee Geun-taek couldn't help but smile at the sight. But he quickly reined in his rising lips and thought again.
'Good start…… But if I thought one standout player meant we'd win the promotion match and climb to the upper leagues just like that, I wouldn't have run PER the way I did. Alright, Lee Chang-hyun. What are the others gonna do?'
In truth, Lee Chang-hyun's situation wasn't much different from what Lee Geun-taek imagined. After using Magic Engineering Weapon Conversion and Piercing Eye, his mana wasn't exactly plentiful right now. He could hunt for relics in his current spot and aim to regroup, but that would only delay the join-up further.
And that line of thinking wasn't unique to Lee Geun-taek.
[Commentator: Just minutes in, and we've got a mad movie highlight. If PER wins this and picks an MVP, it'll have to be Player Lee Chang-hyun.]
[Caster: Right! But the match is still early. How about the other fronts?]
[Commentator: Exactly. The analysts predicted PER's issue from the start: a few standouts, but average players too weak overall. Let's switch observers and check the others.]
“I'm done here. Anyone in trouble? I'll head to your position first.”
Lee Chang-hyun's voice echoed through PER team's earpieces. Interestingly, no one responded right away. After a brief silence, a voice came through.
“Haa…… haa…… I think I can manage.”
Yoon Han-gyeol was breathing hard, but not desperate enough to call for help.
Starting with him, everyone chimed in one way or another—but Yi Yeon-ju stayed utterly silent to the end. The team status showed she wasn't out yet……
As Lee Chang-hyun pondered his first destination, tapping sounds came from Yi Yeon-ju's mic—like fingers drumming.
Lee Chang-hyun paused for a few seconds, then responded through the earpiece.
“Too tough to even reply?”
More tapping echoed, and Lee Chang-hyun said,
“First stop's Yeon-ju then. But joining up takes time by default, so don't count on it too much. Hold out as best you can. Got it?”
“Got it.”
Affirmations came from all over. But comms didn't cut off…… thanks to Kim Do-jun's follow-up.
“I'll drop mine soon and join up too, so anyone struggling, speak up.”
Surprisingly, no one replied—like they'd all agreed in advance.
From the sounds of it, Lee Chang-hyun had apparently taken out everyone on his spaceship with ease.
'And not much time has passed……'
He's the real deal. My eyes didn't lie.
Meanwhile, things were honestly rough here—despite claiming otherwise earlier. Yoon Han-gyeol was fighting in the narrow spaceship corridor, where swinging a sword freely was tough.
Shwick—.
'How many daggers does this guy have……?'
Unlike Yoon Han-gyeol, limited by the tight space, his opponent seemed to have a weapon duplication skill, hurling daggers like bullets. And each one flashed like Kim Do-jun's sword—impossible to keep eyes open without shades. Plus, the guy was cloaked in an Invisible Cloak, invisible to boot.
In this setup, Yoon Han-gyeol was supposed to clean up fast like Lee Chang-hyun and rescue teammates. But right now, he couldn't even approach, let alone finish the foe. Dodging thrown daggers left him grazed all over, barely avoiding vitals, wounds piling up.
'This is dangerous……'
Swinging his longsword to bat daggers only hit corridor walls constantly—its length was a curse here. Nothing he could do.
'Nothing I can do……?'
Suddenly, memories of Lee Chang-hyun's 1-on-1 coaching flooded back.
“You're ambushing like that, leaving me no plays. So what should I do?”
“Think again. Was there really nothing?”
Lee Chang-hyun smiled meaningfully.
“Your issue isn't power—you've got that. It's smarts.”
“Smarts?”
“Nah, you're not dumb. Actually pretty sharp. But too honest. In fights, you need flexible, cunning thinking. If it were me, I'd flip the board.”
“Flip the…… board?”
'Right…… that's it.'
This was a one-sided disadvantage. Lee Chang-hyun called it flipping the board.
What did that mean……? Deep thought revealed he already knew the answer.
Audition survival, elimination mission—Lee Chang-hyun vs. multiples, defending a point. He'd collapsed the building on impulse, buried them in dust.
'If no favorable terrain, make it. Or at least shatter theirs.'
He thought he'd understood—clearly not fully. But now, grasping the true intent……
Yoon Han-gyeol pulled a Mana Bomber from his pocket and stuck it to the corridor wall.
Boom!
Kaboom!
Soon, one wall shattered, opening up space. And the explosion's dust cloud, plus unnatural air flow, faintly outlined the cloaked enemy.
“Tch.”
A tongue-click from the foe. With room to maneuver, Yoon Han-gyeol easily parried the thrown daggers.
“Now, shall we try properly?”
Yoon Han-gyeol grinned.
Meanwhile, on another battlefield…… Not all PER members were as overpowered as Yoon Han-gyeol.
Yi Gil-han, PER's frontline tank, was a prime example. Decent at holding and breaking formations, but weak in duels.
“What the~. Isn't that the scrub from Hunter Survival?”
Had they watched? The SMB player mocked openly. Underestimating Yi Gil-han, his stance was wide open.
'Now……!'
Yi Gil-han prepped his Destructive Charge. A solid hit would stun and win.
Glancing back—SMB guy still smirked, defenseless.
Then the unease hit.
'Why announce himself? No ambush when I'm unawares?'
It felt deliberate, like baiting his position. Tension held—no skill use, just standoff.
Memories of Lee Chang-hyun's personal coaching surfaced.
“I've said it: you charge at any opening without thinking. Not bad, but is the angle right? That's the issue.”
“I judge based on reasoning though……?”
“Sure…… But info asymmetry.”
“Info asymmetry?”
Unexpected.
“Your skill's flashy—opponents likely know it. You? How well do you know them?”
Speechless. Never considered.
“That's why play smart. Gaps might be traps.”
'This could be it.'
Blatant bait. But Lee Chang-hyun's words lingered.
If trap? Dodgeable, counter after charge?
One clear line amid chaos:
“So remember: unless 100% sure, don't use it.”
Unknown foe skills/gear—no 100%. Yi Gil-han abandoned charge, raised shield, sealed gaps.
Amusingly, as he held defensive, the enemy heated up?
Instead of attacking, taunts flew.
“Figures. With that skill, solo's scary. I'd chicken out too.”
Provoking to move him? Tempted a few times, but Yi Gil-han held firm.
Instead, one line—how Lee Chang-hyun would handle it.
“All talk. Why so chatty?”