They Don't Know Anything...!
They don’t know anything…!
I cleared my throat and equipped the shotgun and single-edged saw that had been gathering dust in my inventory. To be honest, I’d barely used either of them, but I wasn’t completely clueless, so it should be fine. I’d already run the simulation in my head anyway.
“Then… let’s begin.”
After hearing TerraStCandy’s reply, I pressed the PVP start button.
Are You Ready?
A deep bell tolled across the arena with a heavy guuuung.
FIGHT!
A majestic trumpet blast loud enough to hurt my ears announced the start of battle. The stage was the Crimson Garden. Red curtains were scattered across the map as obstacles, so maintaining wide vision was crucial.
“For this round, just watch how I play… Then in the next round, TerraStCandy, you can fight me while remembering what I did.”
Unfortunately, I hadn’t learned a few of the skills TerraStCandy used, so I couldn’t replicate his style perfectly. Still, fundamentals were what mattered most.
“Then let’s start…”
The moment I spoke, TerraStCandy closed the distance in an instant. The rapier he was using had a long reach for a close-range weapon—almost like a spear—but it was still shorter than a shotgun built for mid-range fights. He was clearly trying to drive me into a corner so he could fight comfortably. It wasn’t a bad decision. In fact, it was a very accurate one.
Rapiers in particular often attacked along points rather than lines, so their attack speed was much faster than most close-range weapons. That made them one of the worst matchups for a shotgun, which had average attack speed and required reloading time. He must have mained shotgun himself once; he clearly knew how to counter it. Judging by how quickly he made decisions, he’d been doing PVP for quite a while.
…But unfortunately, he was focusing too much on his own movements.
Hup!
One of the rapier’s signature skills. Using Glare—the six-strike skill that drew a star—this early was way too honest. The rapier had the advantage of insane attack speed, but its straight-line trajectories were a clear weakness. If you didn’t use it at the perfect moment, you’d get counterattacked one hundred percent of the time.
Bang! Bang!
I dodged the Glare, closed in, and unloaded two shells straight into his open torso.
I’d told him from the very beginning that he should just step forward. Why didn’t he believe me? This was the proper way to use a shotgun.
“Okay, watch carefully and try to copy it later…”
…Huh? Why did I lose?
This was strange. The theory had been perfect. I’d even simulated it in my head…
Maybe the silence felt awkward, because TerraStCandy asked me with an embarrassed smile.
“Just a moment…”
Let me think about where it went wrong. The atmosphere had been good up until I dodged the Glare and attacked. But after I emptied the shotgun, I couldn’t properly block the opening during reload with my saw, so damage kept piling up… and eventually I lost.
The biggest problem was the reload. Reloading while dodging attacks wasn’t easy to begin with, and because we were so close I couldn’t even store the saw temporarily. I had to reload with one hand. Without any skills to help, one-handed shotgun reloading was impossible for me. So I ended up taking hits one-sidedly and lost.
No matter how well I dodged, the fact that I couldn’t attack at all meant damage kept accumulating little by little. If I could just solve that part…
…Wait. Why was I even thinking this hard?
I didn’t even main shotgun in the first place. I didn’t have any of the essential skills for using one. So none of this mattered, right?
…A perfect conclusion.
“Umm… TerraStCandy, could you equip the shotgun and saw? I’ll switch to a spear…”
“Just do what I did earlier…”
“No, everyone… I don’t have that ‘One-Hand Draw’ skill, okay? That’s why I couldn’t reload earlier and lost…”
One-Hand Draw. The skill that let you instantly reload a shotgun with one hand. The motion only locked the hand holding the gun, so there was zero restriction when dodging attacks. That solved the exact problem I’d faced earlier, which meant my theory was even more perfect.
“TerraStCandy, you have One-Hand Draw, right…?”
“So just follow my theory…”
“I don’t main shotgun, so my proficiency is nowhere near yours, TerraStCandy… It’s not something that can be solved just by me learning the skill…”
My theory had been completely sound, but the chat window seemed completely unwilling to accept it. Still, TerraStCandy would understand. Hadn’t he said earlier that he got what I meant? Then it was time to show him. I had always proven myself through results…!
“No, so in that same situation, if you reload while dodging—”
“When I was using the shotgun earlier, can you really say there wasn’t a single opening to use One-Hand Draw…?”
“Then if you just copy what I did, TerraStCandy—”
…Huh?
TerraStCandy pounded his chest in frustration. Couldn’t he at least acknowledge that I was frustrated too? But after getting hit with the “you suck at this” line the chat had predicted, I had nothing to say… Wait. There was a way.
“L-let’s go ask Gaeun.”
“Let’s go ask Gaeun whether my theory is right or wrong…”
No matter how much I’d proven my skill, I was still just a random streamer with zero credibility. My rank had also stopped at A-grade. That was why people were pushing back even though my theory was correct. But what if Gaeun validated me? The god of New Dimension. The man called the pinnacle of New Dimension. If he acknowledged my theory?
Then my theory would carry real weight.
“Then I’ll contact Gaeun right now.”
Inquisitor: Is Gaeun here?
Gaeun: Ah yes, Lene. What’s up?
Inquisitor: Something came up during stream and I have a question
Inquisitor: It’s about New Dimension PVP. Could we talk for a moment…?
Gaeun: Give me a second. Let me tell my fans.
Gaeun: Should be about 10 minutes.
Inquisitor: Thank you.
Gaeun: By the way, you have something to ask me?
Gaeun: I feel like your thoughts are usually correct anyway.
Inquisitor: The Lene fans won’t accept it.
Gaeun: Haha; I’m curious now so I’ll listen too.
“Uh… Lene. Honestly, this seems difficult for me too?”
“…Yes?”
“The opponent isn’t going to just stand still, and unless they’re an idiot they probably won’t give you an opening to use One-Hand…”
“R-right, so you create that opening yourself…”
“Ah, still, it does seem like it’d be possible once or twice. If you come in aggressively with the shotgun they might panic and give you one chance? Multiple times would be hard though. Oh, Eunho. You were listening, right? What do you think? You used to play Hunter in New Dimension.”
“Uh… Honestly I don’t think I could do it. S-Selene— I mean, Lene might be different, but I think it’d be hard for me?”
“Ah…”
“I-I’m going to end the stream here…”
Broadcast has ended.
Bang! Bang!
“Uwaaaaaaaaaah…!!!”
Really, they don’t know anything…!