Are You a Thug?

I was walking across the giant monitor screen. To be precise, it was me playing as an alchemist.

Even while moving, my hands never stopped working. A white bomb soon formed in my palm, and I slipped it into my Four-Dimensional Inventory. This was the alchemist’s signature skill, Bomb Crafting – Sun Moon Fire.

Bomb Crafting – Sun Moon Fire lets you choose and create one of three bombs: Sun-attribute, Moon-attribute, or Fire-attribute. Each has a completely different effect. Sun bombs create a flash, Moon bombs inflict freezing, and Fire bombs deal heavy damage with a powerful knockback. The same principle applies to the alchemist’s other skill, Potion Crafting – Water Wood Earth.

In other words, every skill the alchemist uses carries three possible effects, and the player chooses which one to deploy. That effectively gives the class four extra skills compared to others, with the advantage of being able to create all sorts of situations on the fly.

Step. Step.

A nimble man appeared in front of me while I was crafting bombs. An X-shaped scar marked his cheek. In his left hand he held a regular sword, and in his right a blade made entirely of light. His armor was light leather. Everything about him screamed speed.

He was playing a dual-wielder, one of Labyrinthos’ most popular classes.

“The dual-wielder’s strength lies in consecutive attacks using two blades. In other words, a classic combo character.”

In reality, dual-wielding is usually monotonous rather than fluid, since the swords constantly interfere with each other. But Labyrinthos dual-wielders are different. The “blade of light” in the right hand is a weapon that “only cuts enemies.” Swing it at an ally and it passes straight through without harm. The same goes for walls or cover. It simply phases through. A truly broken weapon that only deals damage to targets the dual-wielder recognizes as enemies. That’s why Labyrinthos dual-wielders can show off flashy, stylish swordplay.

“Once a dual-wielder lands a hit, you’re forced to eat every follow-up. So at this moment, I absolutely could not let him hit me.”

—Dash!

The instant the dual-wielder registered me, he charged. I backstepped to dodge the wide swing, simultaneously throwing a Fire-attribute bomb.

—Kwaaaaang!!

A massive blaze erupted and swallowed the dual-wielder. But he ignored the flames, slashing through them with his sword. Then, at an unbelievable speed, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he burst out of the fire and rushed forward. It was the dual-wielder’s skill, Enemy Line Breakthrough.

A dash, survival, and damage skill all in one. Its effect was simple: “charge forward while cutting down everything in your path.” It really did slice through anything—projectiles, explosive shockwaves, even lingering ground effects. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was infamous as an overpowered, childish skill.

The dual-wielder closed in, completely ignoring the knockback from the explosion, and swung his blade straight at my throat.

“And right here… a flash grenade—no, a Sun-attribute bomb—went off.”

—Flash!

Just before the blade reached my neck, a brilliant light exploded in front of his eyes.

“Shall we rewind the scene? Back to the moment I first threw the Fire bomb.”

The monitor replayed the explosion. While the huge flames roared in the dual-wielder’s face, I had prepared a flash bomb and tossed it upward. As he charged through the fire, the flash bomb fell with a deliberate delay. The timing was perfect. The intense light burst exactly when it needed to.

“The flames had blocked his vision. So throwing the Fire bomb wasn’t primarily to counter his dash skill—it was to hide information. If I only wanted to bait out the dash, tossing a potion would have been far more efficient.”

While the dual-wielder was blinded by the flash, I dashed in and slammed my fist into his face. Even after his jaw was nearly dislocated, he stayed on his feet and swung the sword in his left hand. But his vision still wasn’t fully recovered. The strike lacked precision.

My character on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠screen chopped down at his wrist with the edge of my hand. That single blow made him drop the precious blade. He still had one sword left and tried a thrust, but I had already read the movement. I caught the arm, draped it over my shoulder, bent my knees, lifted him, and slammed him into the ground.

A shoulder throw.

—Thud!

A crisp sound rang out as the dual-wielder’s body hit the floor. While he groaned, I stomped on his head.

Wham! Crunch!

After kicking his skull a couple of times, I trampled him thoroughly. All the while I kept pulling bombs and potions from my inventory. I threw a few more kicks, tossed the potions, then emptied every last bomb I had to finish the job.

—Kwaaaaaaaaaaang!!!!

Several bombs detonating at once produced the loudest explosion yet.

“The alchemist isn’t a character who fights with skills directly. We fight with the items we create using those skills. So you must never waste them recklessly. If you run out of crafted items, the alchemist’s combat power drops sharply. Always keep in mind how to maximize the use of each one. Got it, Anna?”

“I don’t think I can do that.”

“Hmm.”

Anna’s reaction aside, the viewers’ responses were quite different from what I had expected. In my opinion, the alchemist was a class that had to be able to handle close-range combat to some degree. I hadn’t shown it in this single combat, but the alchemist’s ultimate had an extremely short range. To use the class properly, you had no choice but to learn at least some melee techniques.

“For flash bombs, just close your eyes before they detonate. Closing both eyes is dangerous, so keep one eye shut while fighting. When the flash goes off, open the closed eye. That way only the enemy is disabled and you can keep fighting, creating a one-sided advantage, right?”

“That’s true. It’s certainly not easy. But I believe you can do it, Anna.”

“Me?”

Anna wore an expression that said she had no idea what I was talking about, but it didn’t matter. After all, I was teaching Anna, not the viewers. Whether the audience understood or not wasn’t particularly important.

“I’m not telling you to start with melee combat right away. First you need to learn how to plant bombs in the right places and how to throw them with perfect accuracy.”

That was exactly why I had recommended the alchemist to Anna. The class had a lower emphasis on close combat than others, and even if melee became necessary, she could seize control of the situation first with flash bombs.

“Ah, I noticed a few people still doubting my skill. If anyone’s still skeptical, I’m happy to accept a match. What do you say?”

“Teacher, please stop… At this rate we’re going to spend the whole day just watching your single combats.”

Anna grabbed my arm as she spoke.

“……”

After reading the gallery relay post, Leon tossed her smartphone onto the bed. When you exhale until your lungs feel wrung dry, all those messy emotions suddenly feel distant, if only for a moment. Clearing away every trivial thought and leaving only reason behind, a single sentence naturally slipped out.

“I really should retire.”

But before that, there was something she had to do. The conviction of a VTuber. The destiny of a VTuber.