Chapter 37

Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 37

Chapter Title: Getting Lucky

1.

A frozen riverside.

There, a man was crouching inside an unnaturally dense bush. He was watching the path ahead with an expressionless face.

Amidst the scattering snow, he waited without even flinching. Along with squelching footsteps, two people appeared past the entrance.

One was a knight wearing a pure white cloak. The other was a wild woman holding a spear with her skin exposed.

"Phew..."

The man slowly lifted the sword he had driven into the ground. No sound was made, as if a ghost had moved.

"Check the bush first."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Got it."

At the knight's command, the woman nodded. She approached slowly, aiming her spear tip at the bush. The moment the spear poked the thicket—

Swish—

The bush shook abruptly. A sword tip thrust towards the woman's neck. She twisted her body reflexively, but.

Puck―!

The blade dug into her shoulder in the end.

"Kyaak!"

A moan rang out by the riverside. The man immediately rose up and kicked her abdomen.

Thud!

As the blade came out of her body, the woman rolled on the ground. Blood splattered onto the ice.

"Saane!"

The knight wearing the cloak kicked off the ground. But before he could even save the woman, the man raised his two-handed sword high.

Slaaash―!

Drawing a red curve, the greatsword slammed down.

Thud!

The woman's decapitated body collapsed onto the frozen river. Above the hotly spurting stream of blood, a hazy vapor rose as if the soul was escaping.

"You son of a bitch...!"

The knight growled like a beast. His two eyes burned pure white. The sword in his hand transformed into the shape of a spear before anyone knew it.

Whoosh―!

The knight threw the spear with all his might, loaded with rage. Just before the spearhead pierced the head― the enemy's body turned into black smoke and scattered.

"Damn it!"

He should have acted a bit more carefully, but blinded by rage, he had thrown away his decisive blow.

"Return!"

At his shout, the spear that had flown far away began to return. But there was no fool who would just watch that.

Crack―!

A sound of something breaking rang out. Immediately after, the figure of the knight in black armor disappeared. The ice, unable to withstand the powerful force, shattered.

"Heavenly Shield!"

The man hastily summoned a shield. But the enemy who had closed the distance almost simultaneously swung his greatsword.

Claaaang―!

A strong impact struck his torso. The man was pushed back on the slippery ice and only stopped after rolling several times.

"Ughhh..."

His head was spinning. The taste of iron spread inside his mouth. Gush― Blood poured out like a torrent and spread over the ice.

Slaaash―!

Beyond the visor, a huge greatsword covered his vision. The moment he instinctively reached out his arm, his vision went dark.

『You have been slain by an enemy.』

"Ah, fck..."

In the view that had turned gray, the man let out a deep sigh and swept back his hair.

"......Seriously fcking good."

2.

『The enemy has surrendered with 5 votes for and 0 against!』

I was hunting a shadow beast after catching the mid and jungle who were by the riverside. Just then, a surrender message popped up on one side of the screen.

Boom―!

As the castle visible in the distance exploded, the text 'Victory' covered the screen.

"This round ended quickly too."

The stats visible as I moved to the result ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠window. I skipped everything else and checked only the score straight away.

『Master 327LP』

『+33LP』

Gaining 33 points with this round, the total score became 360 points.

"Now I can definitely feel they give fewer points."

I came out to the lobby and stretched greatly.

"Still, as the tier goes up, the frequency of surrendering increases. So I am going up faster than I thought."

In the Diamond section, no matter how much the score difference was, they rarely surrendered. Even knowing there was no chance of winning, they held out until the end and only raised their hands when the castle was about to collapse.

"Diamond kids really held out stubbornly."

On the other hand, starting from entering the Master section, surrenders became faster. Rather than giving up quickly, should I say it's like letting go of rounds that should be let go?

"Certainly, the judgment on the Master side is fast. Should I say the profit and loss calculation falls into place perfectly?"

"That's right. If they feel they can contend, they really hold out to a disgusting degree."

The lower sections surrendered easily even with just a bit of kill difference, but the upper sections pressed surrender with a judgment calculated to the end.

So the aspect of the game was completely different too.

In Diamond, the game time fluctuated every round, but in Master, there were only two kinds. Ending sharply, or holding out toughly.

For now, I definitely benefited after entering the Master section. But it was becoming increasingly difficult to overwhelm the opponent.

'I definitely feel the opponents' skills have improved.'

Now I felt I might get solo-killed in the laning phase if I let my guard down. Of course, if I just focus, such a thing won't happen.

"Well. I don't know well when I will lose either. Maybe, I might go up without losing a single round at all?"

I queued again while reading the chat. Because the tier got high, catching even one match took forever.

"I know pro gamers are good on a different dimension."

Even if an ordinary person achieves Challenger and reaches the same score as a pro, a clear gap existed in between.

Just like how even a mercenary skilled with a sword cannot help but be powerless in front of a knight. Just because the grades are the same on the surface, doesn't mean the essence is the same.

"I am curious how good they are. I want to fight them at least once. Well, I don't think I'll lose though."

Seeing the viewers' reactions, it seemed they thought I was just joking. But I was serious.

Pro gamer? They must be good. But I was someone who sparred with the Hero and received teaching directly from the Sword Saint.

Me losing to them? That was like smearing mud on the faces of those two. I absolutely cannot tolerate such a thing.

While communicating with viewers while queuing, a notification sound was heard.

It was a message from my sister.

"Everyone wait a moment. I got a message from my sister so I'll cover the screen a bit."

"What boyfriend... Ugh, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠don't say strange things. Why would I tell a lie that would be caught immediately in the first place?"

I shook my head in disgust. There will absolutely never be an event of dating a man in my life.

"No, seriously stop saying strange things. While talking to my sister I'll keep watching the chat window."

Saying that, I focused on the conversation with my sister again.

'Getting lucky.'

To think things would work out so smoothly.

It didn't matter at all.

It was frustrating, but I could empathize. Since I had experienced a similar situation too.

"Hmm."

What should be done about this. I thought for a moment, but a sharp solution didn't come to mind.

If possible, I wanted to proceed in the direction Yura-ssi wanted. Only then could we finish this matter while healing her wound too.

While racking my brain, the chat window entered one side of my vision. A smirk came out at the appearance of them playing on their own.

'Wait a minute... on their own?'

I don't know well if the viewers will like it, but for now, it was a considerably decent direction from Yura's perspective.