The Monster
In the end, I couldn't beat the next opponent.
Since Frenzy was active, I tried to take at least one more down with me, but the damage sustained from the previous battle held me back.
I gave up on my greedy ambition of getting three kills.
Instead, I decided to focus on dealing as much damage as possible before I went down.
Taking off about half of the next player's health wasn't a bad result at all.
You have died.
Switching to Spectator Mode.
With that, the outcome of the game was out of my hands.
Though, to be honest, winning or losing this scrim didn't really matter.
Randomly shuffled teams and a winner-stays-on format.
Given the nature of scrims, what you actually did during the match was far more important than the final result.
Since evaluation was the coaching staff and head coach's job, all that was left for me to do was sit back and watch the next players.
Which meant now was the perfect time for an interview.
As Hero had mentioned beforehand, they were currently filming Climb to Glory during this scrim.
"This was your first time participating in a scrim. How do you feel about it?"
"Uh... well, how should I put it? The tempo is different."
"Suffocating because there's no time to catch your breath? Is that a fair way to put it?"
"Yes. And... everyone is so serious. I like that."
Everyone here aspired to be a pro gamer.
While there was jealousy and a desire to show off, they were all dead serious about their dream of going pro.
Of course, there were plenty of serious players in solo queue as well.
But that seriousness was often mixed with a neurotic sensitivity, and above all, it lacked weight.
Trolling—throwing the game the moment they got slightly annoyed—was a prime example.
If they were matched with me, they must love the game.
They must have worked hard to improve their skills because they hated losing.
So why could they give up on a match so easily?
I couldn't understand their mindset.
On the other hand, the Challengers Cup and these scrims made me truly realize why Infinity Realm was a 'team' game.
Cooperation. Collaboration. A relentless obsession with a single goal.
Here, people temporarily set aside trivial matters to focus entirely on the match.
From the moment the game started, my teammates actively shared their opinions.
Even though I could barely speak, stammering through my words, the outcome wouldn't have been much different even if I didn't have social anxiety.
The conclusions they reached to gain even the slightest advantage in this round weren't much different from my own thoughts.
"You played a huge role in this game. You must be pleased."
"Yes. Um... the situation worked out well. To be honest, I got a bit lucky too."
For example, that last axe throw.
I had intended to throw the axe, but I hadn't expected it to slice clean through their arm.
Thanks to that, I finished off the enemy, so it was quite lucky.
But that luck only came because I had created the opportunity myself.
Defeating the Swordmaster before that, and even picking up the thrown axe to reuse it—those could purely be attributed to my own skill.
Realizing that my skills worked here gave me a sense of pride.
When I first started the game, all my movements were clumsy.
Even holding a weapon felt foreign, and not knowing what to do, I just blindly copied others.
To think that someone like me had made it all the way to the brink of going pro tickled something deep inside.
Perhaps because I was in a good mood, I didn't tremble as much during the interview.
Soon, the first scrim ended, and it was time to prepare for the next match.
Having a brief moment of free time, Hero came over to find me.
"Nabi? Could you come here for a second?"
What is it? Am I getting scolded?
I was quite satisfied with my play, but she might have spotted some flaws.
Hero looked at me with narrowed eyes and let out a sigh.
"Nabi. First of all, you did pretty well this match. But, you know, when you watch as a spectator, you can see the perspectives of both players, right? Both yours and the opposing team's."
"Pardon? Ah, yes."
"Your posture... and where you look. Don't you think you should be a bit more mindful of them? I don't mean be so self-conscious that it affects your gameplay, but... sigh, what am I even saying? Anyway, just be careful."
"...?"
Posture and gaze.
I didn't really get what she meant.
It seemed like I had fallen short in some way.
I couldn't wrap my head around it right now.
Surely she would explain it in detail when we had more time later?
"Are you actually enjoying it? No, she doesn't seem like that kind of person..." Hero muttered.
I really didn't understand what she was talking about.
What is it? Tell me in detail, it's going to bother me.
Why is Yu Nabi's voice so pathetic?
[Attached Video: Pathetic declaration "Ne-e-ext...!"]
[Attached Video: Pathetic battle cry "Hyaaaah...!"]
She's probably never yelled at anyone in her entire life lol.
I absolutely didn't believe her when she claimed to be a loner with a face like that,
but that vibe is impossible to fake unless it's the real deal.
She doesn't know how to yell, so she just strains her throat. Her volume doesn't even go up, she just sounds so tiny and pitiful... literally me.
[Attached Photo: Yu Nabi holding back her embarrassment]
Even the shame she can't hide on her face,
I completely understand her.
Top-tier waifu material lol
Idk about that, but she's cute for sure.
The mystery is finally solved!
[Attached Photo: Yu Nabi's Berserker match history, build used]
First, there's something you need to know.
She's more famous by her real name 'Yu Nabi' now, but she originally made a name for herself purely because she was so good at coming up with unique builds, right?
So if you look closely at her match history, you can see she's tried a lot of interesting things.
[Attached Photo: Multiple match histories of Yu Nabi]
Is a Grim Reaper that gives up some of its signature life steal to invest in increased healing and physical damage reduction viable?
A Swordmaster that goes all-in on defensive utility.
A Paladin that plays with only a shield and no weapon.
Even lately, you can see traces of her testing these weird builds from time to time.
But there was one thing I was really, really curious about.
Why doesn't Yu Nabi use Frenzied Shout?
[Attached Photo: Description of the active skill 'Frenzied Shout']
This is an amazing skill that boosts action speed.
If you look at the builds I posted above, they're actually very well-crafted, right?
There's no way a build maker like her wouldn't recognize the value of this skill.
Think about it.
Do you think Berserkers run around screaming like actual psychopaths for no reason?
They all started doing it for the roleplay because of this skill, and then they just got serious about it.
Anyway, I was so curious about the reason.
She changes her build every single game, but she absolutely refuses to take this skill.
Does she value action speed poorly?
Does she lack points to invest because of other priorities?
Surely it couldn't be because she just doesn't want to scream, right?
But the 'surely' was right...
[Attached Video: Yu Nabi "Hyaaaah...!"]
lol
lmao
lmfaooooo
Just don't use it, sister...
I understand...
Too long, didn't read. 3-line summary please.
Come on, I put effort into writing this, at least read it.
So how are those builds?
Probably won't become meta, but they seem viable under specific conditions.
After the exciting first scrim ended, Hero wore a triumphant smile.
"How was it? Didn't I tell you?"
The scrim had concluded smoothly.
Yu Nabi had achieved quite impressive results, and Hero had proven that her eye for talent was correct.
On the surface, it seemed like a simple success story.
However, the moment they heard Hero's explanation about Yu Nabi, the battle they had witnessed today was reinterpreted in a completely different light.
Phantom was one thing, but the reactions of Onyx and Astra, who had dropped by to watch, were particularly worth seeing.
As time passed, the game's systems gradually became more complex.
Since the stage was a live-service game, new elements were constantly being added.
And the complexity of esports increased far faster than the game itself.
A very old RTS game was a prime example.
Even in a game where no new elements were introduced and balance patches had long since ceased, new strategies would endlessly emerge.
How much more so for Infinity Realm, a game where all kinds of geniuses were still struggling for victory today?
The emergence of new strategies was not just natural, but expected.
In particular, the geniuses who made a name for themselves in this industry always brought new concepts.
But... Yu Nabi was in a completely different league.
The concept Yu Nabi brought was something no one else could copy.
Onyx asked, dumbfounded.
"So, you're saying she's doing a Delay Catch in this game?"
"That's about it."
Delay Catch.
Often abbreviated as 'Del-Catch', it was a concept used in old fighting games.
In fighting games, the unit of time is a single frame, the screen's refresh rate.
If an opponent suffers an 11-frame recovery delay at the end of their attack, and my character has an attack that takes 10 frames or less?
I am guaranteed to land the next hit.
However, this concept was almost entirely obsolete in Infinity Realm, which featured real-time combat.
In this game, hitboxes and collisions were determined by the actual movements of the character.
In other words, there were no fixed units of time like frames.
Excluding active skills, it could be considered identical to real-life combat.
How much slower the opponent's attack was compared to before.
How quickly they recovered their posture to counterattack.
To pull off a Delay Catch, one had to calculate these timings with absolute precision every single time.
Hearing it explained like that, Yu Nabi's playstyle looked entirely different.
A Berserker with an aggressive style that bordered on beast-like.
What she excelled in was her build-crafting intellect and her outstanding physical mechanics.
What she lacked was technique, experience, and... an excessively risky style of trading damage.
She was a textbook high-ceiling, low-floor player.
But what if the plays they had assumed were 'successful gambles' were actually calculated victories?
Then their evaluation of her had to be completely overturned.
A high floor with almost zero inconsistency was Yu Nabi's true strength.
An aggressive Berserker with almost no inconsistency.
Yu Nabi was a walking contradiction in terms.
Just as they had a premonition that a monster was about to be born, Phantom threw cold water on the mood.
"What are you going to do about her social anxiety?"
"Well... I'll have to think about it."
"You're not a doctor."
Hero glared.
Phantom flinched slightly under her sharp gaze.
But right now, he was strictly acting in his capacity as the head coach.
Mustering his courage, he said what needed to be said.
"Do you have something in mind?"
"I have one idea."