I'm Not a Passenger, I'm the Driver

Light.

That was the very first thought that crossed my mind as the game started and I dashed onto the battlefield. My body felt incredibly light. So light, in fact, that I felt like I might float away if I just relaxed my muscles. I had never considered myself heavy before, but this was on a whole different level. Was it because my smaller frame made me move faster? Whatever the reason, I was the first to arrive at the central corridor, the likely hotspot of the battlefield.

The objective was simple: the first team to reach the target number of kills wins. A straightforward victory condition. I had glanced at the map and headed toward the area most likely to attract players. I just wanted to run into someone quickly and test my skills. Would the techniques I had honed still work here? In this virtual reality game that so uncannily mirrored the world I had actually lived in?

As I pondered this question, an opponent emerged from the opposite side. He was a muscular man carrying a round shield and a moderately sized sword.

"Oh."

At the sight of my first opponent, I stopped swinging my legs and stood up. Now, the real battle would begin.

But instead of rushing at me with his sword swinging, the man stared at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me with a strangely shocked expression.

"A katana...?" he muttered.

Ah. So that was the issue.

His gaze lingered on my face first, then drifted down to the katana resting against my shoulder. He kept looking back and forth between my face and the blade with a deeply puzzled look. It seemed my weapon of choice was incredibly unpopular in Asteria.

Is this the same here too?

This was a familiar reaction. A katana. Back on the continent of Asteria, I had never met a single person who used the same weapon as me. Naturally, during my days as the Hero, more than a few people had been utterly baffled by my choice of arms. For a while, rumors had even circulated that the Hero wielded a unique, legendary weapon found nowhere else in the world. A hero who used a bizarre, single-edged sword with no crossguard. The kingdom had even spun that as a selling point, calling it a testament to the Hero's uniqueness.

But enough reminiscing. I had more important things to focus on right now.

The man, who had been staring in bewilderment just a moment ago, suddenly shifted his attitude. The corners of his mouth curled upward, and he looked down at me with an arrogant glint in his eyes.

Ah, I had experienced this countless times as well. People who underestimated their opponents based purely on appearances. It wasn't surprising. Now, just as in the past, people judged others by their cover rather than their content.

What did I look like right now? A blonde girl barely standing over five feet tall. In her hands was a ridiculous katana that almost nobody used. Honestly, it was hard not to underestimate me. I probably would have done the same if I were in his shoes.

The man before me began to slowly close the distance, wearing the exact same expression as the countless foes I had cut down in my past life.

"Phew."

A soft chuckle escaped my lips. In the end, this was no different from before. When faced with an endless series of trials, all one had to do was keep proving themselves.

With that thought, I moved.

I moved so fast that the charging man didn't even register it.

"W-What?"

Only then did the man's bewildered voice ring out.

A kill log popped up, announcing the enemy's defeat, and his body collapsed onto the ground.

I habitually flicked my wrist, only to stop when a strange, awkward sensation washed over me.

Ah, right. This is a game.

Whenever I defeated an enemy, I always flicked the blood off my blade before sheathing it. I let out a bitter little smile, realizing my slip of habit.

I turned around to look at the opponent's dissolving body and frowned slightly.

"A bit too low."

I had aimed for the vital point on his neck, but because of my shorter height and lower line of sight, the slash had landed slightly below my target. Fortunately, the game still registered it as a critical hit, taking him down in a single blow. This, too, was a consequence of my changed body.

"I need to adapt quickly..."

Flicking the blood off after defeating an enemy, swinging my sword to match my shorter stature, and handling a body that felt lighter than before—I had to adjust all of it to fit my current self.

But one thing was certain.

"Well, it won't take long."

It wouldn't take much time at all.

"W-What are you doooing?!"

It was a scream bordering on a death rattle. But no matter how loudly Han-ah shrieked in despair, the one who had already departed was not coming back.

It was exactly as they said. If she had just stayed still, Han-ah would have easily carried the game ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and handed her a victory on a silver platter. To think she would pull a stunt like this.

Just as Han-ah was reeling from the shock of the blonde girl suddenly running off...

Hearing the donation alert ring in her ears, Han-ah was struck by a second wave of horror.

"A-A katana?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

A total troll.

Although she didn't say it out loud because it sounded too harsh, Han-ah secretly agreed.

The katana. This weapon was notoriously infamous in Asteria. Along with dual blades and crossbows, the swordsman's katana was widely considered one of the "Three Trash Weapons." At least dual blades had high DPS, and crossbows offered the advantage of ranged attacks, but the katana possessed neither.

To begin with, its base attack power was low. It wasn't as if its attack speed was exceptionally fast either. It lacked the heavy impact of a greatsword and completely missed the balance of a two-handed sword. Because it was single-edged, its attack range was limited, and its small hitbox made its collision detection absolutely atrocious.

Its only saving grace was that wielding a katana barely affected movement speed, allowing players to move faster than others. However, this was far from enough to make up for its laundry list of flaws.

In fact, the katana's unique feature—allowing the player to move as fast as if they were unarmed—frequently made it the weapon of choice for trolls. It enabled them to outrun their teammates and feed kills to the enemy faster than anyone else.

Because of this, the katana had long since become synonymous with trolling. It had even spawned a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠famous gaming proverb: "If you see a katana in the lobby, dodge immediately."

Of course, despite these drawbacks, its pick rate remained high simply because of the "cool factor." There were even high-ranking katana "one-tricks," and players had developed specialized techniques like quick-draw iaido that could only be performed with a katana.

The catch, however, was that even those masters had a higher win rate when they used a two-handed sword instead of a katana.

"She probably picked it without knowing... If she's a complete newbie, that can happen. Of course it can..." Han-ah muttered.

As Han-ah mumbled, a glimmer of hope still lingered in her eyes, as if she desperately wanted to believe the chat's defense.

In a team-based match, if someone played like that, the correct move would usually be to surrender immediately. But this was just a casual game. Furthermore, it wasn't a mode heavily dependent on team coordination like a capture-the-point map; it was a simple deathmatch where the team with the most kills won. There was still a decent chance of victory.

Han-ah's skill was more than enough to cover for one missing player, and while the blonde girl was highly suspected of being a troll, it wasn't set in stone yet. Of course, if she started repeatedly feeding kills to the enemy team, that would be a different story... but it was too early to give up hope.

"Ah!"

Han-ah snapped out of it and quickly began directing her somewhat flustered teammates.

"Everyone, pick a lane and run! Split up in pairs for the top and bottom, and one of you follow me! We're heading to the center!"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

After giving the orders, Han-ah began chanting a spell as she dashed toward the center. She consumed mana to cast a haste spell on herself and her companion. The key was to reach the corridor quickly and close any potential kill gap.

Fortunately, there's no kill log yet.

The death of the player who had run ahead, 'Jjeong_Park', had not been announced. This meant she hadn't just blindly charged in and fed. She wasn't a troll; she was just a clueless newbie who had picked a katana.

As Han-ah breathed a sigh of relief that the worst-case scenario had been avoided, the scene ahead slowly came into view.

Just as Han-ah entered the corridor and raised her staff, preparing to cast a fireball—

Click.

A kill log popped up in the top right corner, and the scoreboard updated simultaneously.

Han-ah glanced at the scoreboard, and her eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Huh?"

She had been certain the newbie would be dead, giving the enemy team their first kill, but the reality was the exact opposite.

1 to 0.

Incredibly, her team had scored first.

Was the opponent a newbie too?

She figured the girl had just gotten lucky.

But that assumption shattered as the kill log suddenly began to update rapidly, and the scoreboard went wild.

"Wait..."

3 to 0.

Han-ah stared in disbelief at her team's suddenly skyrocketing kill count.

Three kills? She got three kills by herself?

What on earth was happening?

Though shaken by this sudden turn of events, Han-ah kept moving toward the inner corridor.

"What...?"

When she finally witnessed the scene, her jaw dropped.

There, in the middle of the corridor, the blonde girl was ruthlessly swinging her katana, slaughtering the enemy team.