An Intriguing Proposal
[All enemies have been eliminated.]
[Victory! Rank Points +17]
[Returning to the personal lobby in 5 seconds. ── 00:05]
With the sensation of bones crushing, the last enemy fell silent.
Turning around, I gave Na Jia a deep, respectful bow.
As the timer ran down, my vision naturally shifted back to the familiar lobby.
The moment I was left alone,
I immediately opened my match history.
Victory here. Victory there. Victory everywhere!
My recent match history was so thoroughly painted with wins that it could only be described as an unstoppable streak.
Since it was a game, a few losses were mixed in here and there, but my win rate was so overwhelmingly high that those minor setbacks didn't bother me at all.
Even the quality of my play was excellent.
In the fights we won, I did far more than my share, and even in the matches we lost, we never went down without a fight.
As for how I felt riding this massive winning streak...
"Hehehe..."
Obviously, I was thrilled to death.
Did I even need to say it?
The corners of my mouth were curled up so high they felt like they were about to ascend to the heavens.
Lately, I spent my entire day wearing this silly, vacant grin.
It was just that whenever someone else was around, I naturally tensed up and looked indifferent.
At home, they were already calling me a goofball.
How should I put it?
It felt like my combat senses had finally awakened.
The things Hero had taught me weren't so entirely new that I couldn't have even guessed them.
They were concepts I had vaguely known existed, whether through experience or theory.
But I hadn't known how to improve them, and sometimes, I hadn't even known what the problem was in the first place.
Having those issues resolved one by one created a wonderful positive feedback loop.
I wasn't just parrying the enemy's attacks with my axe blade anymore.
I had learned exactly which part of the blade was the strongest.
The distance I maintained from my opponents naturally readjusted, and now that I had confidence in my strikes, I no longer felt the need to overextend.
The difference between a master and a novice doesn't actually show in heavy, full-power attacks.
Rather, what truly sets them apart is a well-timed light attack.
Especially for heavy weapon users like Hero and me, delicate control of our strength was the key.
Secluded training, huh?
Come to think of it, that wasn't entirely inaccurate.
Considering the hours I had spent endlessly hacking and slashing on my own, it was actually a pretty fitting description.
In fact, jumping back into ranked games was an extension of my coaching.
It was about time to test things out in real combat, and the things I had recently learned could only be properly practiced against a moving opponent.
Besides, having a high rank wouldn't hurt when it came to competing for a starting spot later on.
Still... how should I reply?
Generally, no team kept their trainee roster open to the public at all times.
Snow Witch was no exception; they hadn't made any separate announcement about who their trainees were.
But that didn't mean it was a strict secret.
It just meant they didn't go out of their way to announce it because there was no real need to.
There was no point in stirring up trouble when there was nothing to gain.
Furthermore, Snow Witch was by no means a small team.
They had a distinct team identity, which meant they had a large core fanbase relative to their history, and their first-team players had substantial individual followings.
The moment a trainee's identity was made public, a massive amount of attention would be focused on them.
But public attention was rarely purely positive.
Becoming a trainee didn't guarantee you would become a professional gamer.
If it got out, rumors might spread if you were released, or you might be crushed under the weight of heavy expectations.
In the worst-case scenario, baseless rumors could start circulating.
So usually, the team decided when to make the announcement... but in my case, since I already had a bit of a public profile,
I had been told I could handle it myself as long as I didn't cause any trouble.
Hero had also simply advised me to make a careful decision.
After a brief moment of deliberation, I came to a decision.
Na Jia wasn't someone with a loose tongue.
While explaining the details, I opened Na Jia's stream on one side of my interface.
She was skillfully filling the audio with other topics even while exchanging DMs with me.
It was a sight that made me realize, Ah, so this is what it means to be a streamer.
Impressive.
Did she have the ability to split her mind in two?
Judging by the DMs, she was clearly paying close attention to what I was saying.
Yet, her stream didn't drag or feel boring at all.
Watching her pick out specific chat messages from her viewers and react to them was nothing short of marvelous.
A brief silence fell.
Seeing her tilt her head slightly even on stream, she must have been concentrating deeply.
Though she resumed talking to her stream, it took a little longer for her to reply to our chat.
His real name was Yoon Hyun-sung. His nickname during his pro gaming days was 'Phantom'.
Once the nightmare of the North American league, he was a long-retired pro gamer.
During his prime, Hyun-sung was considered the textbook definition of the Assassin class.
This was partly due to his playstyle, but also because of Phantom's own aggressive personality.
The 'provocations' that his contemporary rival, Hero, was particularly susceptible to also played a major role in shaping that image.
As a result, those who remembered the pro gamer Phantom thought of him as a highly venomous and fierce individual.
And in truth, that wasn't entirely wrong.
Hyun-sung was known for making bold, sharp statements not only in interviews but also during matches.
During the exodus that occurred in the domestic league,
he had suffered significant damage as a victim, which left him with a particularly strong hostility toward the Korean league.
So much so that when Phantom was appointed as the head coach of the IKL team 'Snow Witch', everyone doubted their own eyes.
The exact reason why he chose to come to Korea remained unknown to this day.
But in reality, it was practically an open secret.
Though fans treated it like a joke... the hidden truth didn't always have to be grand.
Hyun-sung had married his fellow expatriate and rival from the North American league, 'Hero' Seo Hee-ryun.
And like most married men... a husband with a strong-willed, energetic spouse was bound to have a challenging married life.
The venomous assassin Phantom had died long ago.
Hyun-sung was now a man who was best described as a 'henpecked husband'.
In the couple's bedroom, illuminated by the morning sunlight,
a refreshed-looking Hero stretched her limbs thoroughly.
She looked so radiant and glowing, it was clear she had spent a wonderful time.
"So, what do you think about what I said yesterday?"
"I don't know. It's not something I can decide on my own. I have to talk to the front office and the higher-ups."
"I'm asking what you think."
Slide.
The bare-skinned wife gently stroked her husband's back.
It was a picture-perfect scene of a married couple, but for some reason, Hyun-sung pulled the blanket all the way up to his chin.
His struggle looked like that of a herbivore facing a predator.
His voice trembled slightly.
"I think... it's fine."
"See? I told you. I'm not just suggesting this because it sounds fun. It'll definitely help the team."
That was a lie.
During his prime, Phantom was a player highly skilled in psychological warfare.
In contrast, Hero was a bruiser whose physical mechanics were her greatest strength.
When she told such an obvious lie, it was naturally exposed immediately.
But what did that matter?
Right now, Phantom felt like he hadn't slept a wink despite sleeping, whereas his wife was bursting with energy.
He wanted to send the beast in his arms out to work as quickly as possible.
And well, it wasn't entirely a lie.
Just as Hero said, it was indeed something that could be quite beneficial to the team.
Not long ago,
Snow Witch had received an intriguing proposal from a certain streamer.
A proposal that, if executed well, could bring massive benefits to both the team and the player.
However, if the results were poor, it could turn into poison for both sides.
Phantom hadn't felt much about it, but Hero seemed to absolutely love the idea.
"Does the kid... want to do it?"
"I don't know. But I can take responsibility and convince them, right?"
"Then it should be fine. I'll get approval from the higher-ups."
It was a gamble worth taking.
In that case, there was no reason to risk his life opposing it.
Phantom still had many things he wanted to do in this life.