Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: The Trench's HP is Unknowable
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Shall we?
A certain famous ex-pro in Triachia once said this.
The Trench, a building that can house infantry units like Elf Archers,
lives up to its name by protecting squishy infantry units.
At first glance, it seems like a simple defensive tower.
No, since the building itself has no attack power, it even looks weaker than other races' defense towers.
The issue arises from how the Trench complements Humanity's racial traits.
Repair. Dwarves, Humanity's workers, can—as their name suggests—repair damaged buildings or mechanical units.
So, what if, when the enemy charges in to smash a Trench,
more than eight Dwarves swarm it and start repairing en masse?
A below-average defensive tower instantly transforms into an impregnable fortress.
And that's "unknowable." The HP, which should have hit zero ages ago, fluctuates wildly, impossible to gauge.
That's why even the killing blows of countless Dragonkin and Undead players fail against a single Trench.
If you gathered all the bloody tears they've shed, it'd form an ocean of blood.
Im Chan-ho's nickname came from this Trench trait.
The pioneer who brought the underrated "defensive Undead" build into the pro scene,
a late-game master whose win rate skyrockets after 20 minutes.
Im Chan-ho, whose defense is considered the best in the current pro scene, earned the nickname "Trench" from viewers.
If not for Kang Jun-oh, the current pro scene's top dog, he would've lifted the championship cup multiple times already—a true veteran.
But reality?
The winner's cup always slipped from Im Chan-ho's grasp at the last moment.
A pro gamer's career isn't eternal, so he craved victory more than anyone.
No wonder he lashed out.
"Ah? That concept?"
Even a defense specialist like Im Chan-ho doesn't skip offense entirely.
If you take a hit, you gotta give one back.
He'd engraved "counterattack" in his heart.
- Guys, I'm innocent here.
"For someone claiming that, your voice sounds awfully thrilled right now."
- I mean, I got a free shot to chat with this season's runner-up. How could I not be excited? Sure, he's winless, but still...
"Do you like me or hate me? Just say it straight!!"
- Answering that risks doxxing me a bit.
"No one could ID you from that!! You're already doxxed with your real name—it's just an excuse no matter how you slice it?!"
- Saying I hate you would be a lie, so I can't. Saying I like you makes it pinpointable.
"Huh? The first one's fair, but why the second?"
- How many fans does a winless guy even have? Narrow it to that handful, and 'Yoo Seo-ha' stands out.
"I have tons of fans, you punk!!!"
The longer the conversation dragged on, the more she got pulled into his bizarre rhythm.
And she could see why viewers loved it.
She was the one getting pummeled live, but even from the receiving end, the attacks came from such unexpected angles.
On the surface, she feigned anger for the stream's entertainment,
but inside, admiration and frustration boiled together.
Meaning, yeah, it scratched her good.
Well, he'd casually implied she was a fan just now, so that softened it a lot.
"Hey, Seo-ha. Got some grudge against me?? Spit it out clean."
- Hm...
"Huh? For real?"
- It's nothing big... Hard to blame Chan-ho directly, though.
"What the hell is it?"
They weren't strangers today, right?
Barring a brief morning message about the stream, she had zero prior contact with Yoo Seo-ha.
So she was genuinely curious.
What about her didn't sit right?
- I recently picked up a stray beast, y'know.
"Beast?"
- Yeah. Fed it well, bathed it, cuddled it for days, even house-trained it pretty good?? Then suddenly some guy shows up like, 'I'm this beast's original owner.' How'd you feel?
"...That beast wouldn't be"
- Hey!!! Yoo Seo-haaa!!! Who's the beast!!!
- Told you 100 times and it doesn't stick, gotta tell you 200. Resets every morning. Through all that adversity, I slaved to teach you to shit properly...
- I wasn't that bad!!! And I'm a girlcam too!!! Don't use shitting as an example, you bitch!!!!
"I admit it."
- Master?!
Turning a beast into a person is tough.
Why else would Hwanung make him eat mugwort and garlic for 100 days?
Yet Kang Nari had shed some of her beastly traits in mere days.
The architect behind those gleaming results, buried under sweat drops untold.
That person wasn't Im Chan-ho—it was Yoo Seo-ha.
"NTR is an absolute evil that shouldn't exist. Here and now, I acknowledge Yoo Seo-ha as my equal master."
- Cool.
- Hey!! What about the victim—me—my image?!
"Nari, did you ever have an image? From the start, your girlcam nick was Old Smoker Aun—"
Ding!
Kang Nari fled the group voice messenger room.
Guess she really hated hearing the rest.
Only after Im Chan-ho soothed her and promised never to say that word again did she return to the channel.
- Say "auntie" one more time and I won't hold back!!
- Boss, you cool with "Old Smoker"?
- I got some conscience. Still, pretty please call me a tobacco enthusiast...
"Ahem. Icebreaker's over—let's watch some game?"
The main event proceeded as a replay review.
Playing back Kang Nari's loss, pointing out better options or how to leverage current advantages.
"Standard 12-front vs basic double setup. Nice, you scouted again? Still feasting on scouts, huh."
- Boss has mysteriously good luck with positioning, y'know?
"Yet your win rate's in the gutter. Mystery."
- ...Pure roasting aside, constructive feedback only, please. Both of you.
Kang Nari's Ghost Ship illuminates the opponent's front base.
The slowly revealed vision shows a Dwarf worker building something.
Game time: 2 minutes 40 seconds. Nothing to critique yet.
That silence broke just past 3 minutes.
- Huh?
"Eh?"
- What? Why??
Yoo Seo-ha and Im Chan-ho's voices overlapped.
Both spotted the issue.
And rightfully so.
Four Ghouls had spawned from the main building's corpse.
"Why'd you build Ghouls?? You saw their build."
- Uh... what was their build?
"Sigh..."
- Boss, memorize this: Priory up in expansion before 2:30? That's a 15 Priory.
- 15 Priory... what's that?
- Build that skips Elf Archers entirely and rushes Priory.
- Oh...
"Said you handle Dragonkin okay, but Humanity's a stretch, ugh."
Thus, opponent went all-in workers, no troops. Kang Nari wasted cash on useless Ghouls.
No wonder she squandered her first scout advantage.
- Even if their scout sees you, just keep droning—no attack timing possible.
"Basic Barracks and Training Hall—one each, and idle too. Zero reason to fear a poke."
Having prepped tournaments with fellow pros lately, Im Chan-ho skipped basics everyone knew.
Yoo Seo-ha filled those gaps patiently for understanding.
Felt like having a reliable sidekick.
"Still snagged their scout with Ghoul... Mid Mortuary and third Corpse Vault on time too."
- Now's the key part.
"Yep. That was just annoying, not huge loss."
Opponent amassed Elf Archers; Kang Nari prepped Liches.
But her Ghouls sat idle.
"Use Ghouls to properly scout their army here."
- That build pops Priests around 5 min. Gotta count 'em for later cost calcs.
- Ugh... even if I see, I won't get it.
- Remember I told you to match Priest count to Poison Sprayer count? Approximate like that. Four Priests? Means piercing four sprayers... that vibe.
Of course, analogies aren't perfect—don't overtrust.
But for total noob Kang Nari, it'd give her the barest sense.
- Poison Sprayer substitution method clicks! Kinda get when it'll break through.
- They say the beaten know best—got pierced so much you're used to it?
- Shut it.
The game didn't last long.
Liches attacked to stop Elf massing,
but took heavy trade losses.
Weakened Undead couldn't block the timing rush. GG.
Common scenario—and one Kang Nari had suffered dozens of times.
- Seo-ha, Master. Humanity matches always end like this... That's why I brought it. Not my first rodeo, but no clue how to fix.
"Hm... Ditch Lich control maybe?"
- Kraaaak!!
"Joking. Real issue's clear: you're playing way too aggressively."
- Boss, no need to comp-fight a stack of Elf Archers. Take some hits, dive main, snipe workers.
"Yeah, especially not with your micro...."
- Eat only new Elves off production, then when they expand—hit their main. Trickiest timing for Humanity.
"Man, this stream's a breeze. Barely gotta talk."
- Do people thicken their skin with age? Don't wanna grow old...
"Agh!! Tired of the winless jab, now it's age?!"
- Repetition's comedy basics, but overdo it and it's brain-dead. Time for fresh ammo.
"Why focus fire on me!!"
- You dump house-training on me, then go 'breeze, loving it!'? Begging for hits much?
"..."
- Thought Chan-ho unlocked masochism.
- Not house-training!!! Kyaaak!!
"Seo-ha. If we're just gonna roast each other, drop formalities? Lemme counter too."
- Shall we, Chan-ho?
"Yah!! Call me uncle—who drops honorifics like that outta nowhere?! I'm over 10 years older, c'mon?!"
- Oops, sorry. Wrong vibe. Clumsy with 30+ etiquette.
"Fine, Seo-ha. At this point, I'm curious. You holding back?"
- Holding back?
"Hitting me at 100% sincerity?"
- No way. Obviously picking my words. I'm not that rude.
"...?"
Im Chan-ho stunned briefly.
Not just him—the chat froze too.
This was her "picking words"??
Makes sense??
"...Show me once? Your full 100% power."
- Uh... for real?
"Red pill's tempting now. Wonder how bad the sting gets at full throttle—just a taste."
- Hm... You'll regret it.
- Master? Seriously stop... I still remember that Le■ton prof... Kraaak!
"Just a smidge. Deal, Seo-ha?"
- Hmmm...
A moment's thought.
Then Im Chan-ho's headset speakers crackled to life.