I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 437

“…Crazy.”

Every weapon has its own rhythm and form.

When a massive greatsword, measuring 130 to 150 cm in length, swings, people feel a sense of intimidation. Every time the tip of the blade cuts through the air, the space momentarily fills with a silver hue before fading away. It’s like a giant killing zone that appears and vanishes in an instant.

When a poleaxe, flail, or mace, larger than a human, is swung, fear fills the minds of those who witness it. Every time it ruthlessly tears through the air, they automatically imagine how much force is packed into the weapon.

When a long rapier slashes through the air repeatedly, people feel elegance. After creating an opening with a musket in their left hand, they watch as the pointed blade slips through the gaps in the armor, and they automatically associate it with grace.

So here’s the problem.

What if it were two daggers?

“Argh-!”

“Damn, this person’s too fast!”

“Cough…!”

Elegance.

It wasn’t that it was beyond sight. As she had mentioned, her physical abilities were under reverse correction at the moment – but that didn’t mean Eugene had been brought down to the level of all the other Glory and Honor users.

In the midst of a close-quarters battle with exactly eleven other people tangled up, she dashed around, dodging incoming weapons as if she had eyes on every part of her body. She attacked only vital areas that, if struck, would severely affect the opponent’s ability to survive.

Ankles.

Wrists.

Armpit gaps.

Eyes.

Inner thighs.

Unprotected areas of armor.

Each time the two daggers, glowing faintly with green and purple hues, sliced through the air in curves, screams echoed from somewhere, and the enemies on the ground started increasing in number. Those who fell were usually sent straight to the respawn window by follow-up strikes from her allies.

After about five minutes of successful combat, Eugene sat down on the empty floor of B, where there were no enemies, to recover the stamina she had depleted. The minions that had respawned around her continued to fight, but she paid them no mind.

What could she say to break the silence? One of her allies, a knight, spoke up, asking a question.

“…I’ve never seen that fighting style in Glory and Honor before. Is that how you fight with daggers?”

“Curious?”

“…Uh, I’m not saying I want to try it… Yeah. I’m just curious.”

A small chuckle escaped Eugene.

But no answer came. Still, somehow, I felt like I understood what she meant – unlike the usual cold weapons, where even a simple swing could deal decent damage, the dagger was a weapon specifically meant for… stabbing.

The areas to stab were also unconventional. Every part of the body was a weak spot, and even in the midst of a chaotic battle, she accurately targeted only areas that could incapacitate, cause a quick kill, or trigger massive blood loss.

That meant one simple thing.

…She must’ve learned it.

And learned it professionally.

In real life.

In that regard, she was likely better versed in anatomical knowledge than anyone else in the room. She knew exactly where to stab to disable someone, and exactly where to strike to turn a person into a lifeless corpse in an instant.

The human body, while easily wounded, was just as tenacious.

Moreover, Glory and Honor didn’t officially support action assists for dagger fighting. This meant that unlike the official classes, which supported strong and light attacks and various other motions, you had to navigate the fight using your own body alone.

Though after years of players’ efforts, some user-created modes had been integrated into the official game, the dagger, especially dual-wielding, was a brutal path to take. Even long-time players of Glory and Honor had never seen someone focus solely on daggers in the game.

The initial doubt about trusting Eugene was not without reason.

Of course, that had changed now.

As the tide of the battle moved closer to victory, an ally approached Eugene, who was leaning against a wall.

His face seemed to expect something.

“…Are you, by chance, streaming?”

“That’s not it.”

“Oh…”

“But I do plan on doing it in a few days. I’m not sure if I should call it homework, but I was asked to do an ad.”

At that moment, his face instantly brightened.

The reason was simple: the influx of new players. Glory and Honor wasn’t unpopular. If it had been, it wouldn’t have maintained a top 3-4 ranking in VR game charts. However, the game that had never once dropped from first place… Dark Zone was still holding strong.

Since the draft system was still in place, nearly every man in South Korea had at least held a rifle once, which helped lower the entry barrier for the game. On the other hand, how many people had ever swung a massive greatsword in their lifetime?

In grand terms, they were thirsty for fresh new players who would come through Eugene’s streams.

With a bright smile visible even from behind his helmet, one of them extended his hand to Eugene.

“You really are the best, sir.”

“…Suddenly?”

Of course, Eugene would never understand why they were doing this, not now or ever.

The Domination Mode game, which had been long awaited, ended with Eugene’s team securing a decisive victory.

[Glory and Honor Sub Gallery]

[General] Is this really Eugene???????

<Animated GIF of Eugene holding two daggers, dominating the battlefield>
<Eugene's profile picture>

What the hell are you doing here, hahaha

[All Comments] [Order of Posts]

????????????????????

Daggers????

This is slower than expected? Is this really Eugene?

[Post Author] I heard her physical abilities are under reverse correction.
Reverse correction?? Is she losing her mind??
Reverse correction, this is insane, hahaha
I thought she was just good with guns, but she's totally crazy.

Fact: She’s also the one using an axe and a hammer to smash AI heads next door.
Then why is she spamming daggers here? Shouldn’t she be wielding an axe and hammer? Hahaha
Self-balance patch, hahaha
Does she have eyes on her back too?

I’ve used daggers briefly before, but does it have that kind of motion?

Wouldn’t it, hahaha
So it’s not about strong and weak attacks, it’s just the user’s personal motion, right?
Hahaha she says she’s good with daggers in real life, what will you do about that?
I thought using daggers was crazy, so I gave up a long time ago, but she’s out of her mind, hahaha

Forget the attacks, the spacing is a work of art, this crazy person...

'Physical'
What part of this is reverse correction, hahaha

Am I the only one who thinks the attack motions are very precise? It’s the exact opposite of those dagger spammers I’ve seen in Your Space.

Right?
Honestly, it looks so cool, is that normal?
I agree.
Seems like she’s focusing on vital area attacks, but the number of attacks is really low, so maybe that’s why.
So almost every attack is a clean hit, huh, hahaha
Wow, the part where the dagger goes in the knight’s eye socket and she pushes it deeper… chills, hahaha

I wondered why she’s using a gauntlet with daggers, but it’s to grab the blade, wow.

It’s not just lacking guts; this is beyond insane, hahaha

So, she can do this in real life?

‘Probably a former special forces soldier.’
Damn, she actually learned this in real life, hahaha
So, she’s using techniques from real life to kill virtual people?
This is weird, hahaha
[General] Official) Eugene announces Glory and Honor broadcast
<Notice on Eugene’s tricky site>

Damn, are we finally a top game???????

[All Comments] [Order of Posts]

Wait, seriously??????????????????????

WTF hahaha

Raising the stakes so high, hahaha

Marketing team must have been slacking, but finally working now!!!!!!!!!!!

But don’t we already have 1.7 million average concurrent viewers? That’s still a lot though.

It’s fine during normal gameplay, but in official matches or tournaments, the firepower was trash.
Can you really fix that by making one streamer do a broadcast challenge?
Damn, that streamer is number one in global viewers, you dumbass, hahaha
An average of 1.7 million concurrent players in the game vs. an average of 1.7 million viewers for the streamer

Damn, how is it that the game with top 5 rankings has the same number of viewers as concurrent players in Glory and Honor? Hahaha
Fact: Not only the same, but once she starts making big content, it jumps to 2.1 million.
Wow, damn.
So, if she just opens her mouth, the concurrent viewers jump to 2 million?
The basic units are totally different, damn.
Is the number one Glory and Honor streamer Bjorn? That Swedish madman?

Yeah, that’s right.
The insane guy with a Viking helmet and axe vs. the insane person who decapitates people with an axe.
This is giving me chills, hahaha
One crazy person has 150,000 average viewers, and the other one has 1.7 million, damn, hahaha
Will they rank up?

Probably.
It’s like when AP was played, MMR is going to rocket, hahaha
If Eugene gets Grandmaster with dual daggers, that’ll go down in Glory and Honor history for sure, really.
If Eugene hits Grandmaster with dual daggers, that means no one else will be able to, huh? Damn, hahaha
Are we finally going to be able to get in?? For the first time?? When the scythe boom hits 55 million, I’ll probably orgasm, hahaha

Dude, stop with the weird talk.
The scythe boom... it’s coming!!!!
It’s coming, hahaha, it exploded but no one’s left, haha
But now she’s doing the broadcast challenge? I remember she played about 3 or 4 matches without reverse correction and then quit the game.

Oh, really? She’s done that before?
Back then, she was the crazy one who did 32 kills with an axe and hammer in one session.
Damn, hahaha
“...Ah, good evening, everyone. It’s been a while since I’ve returned to streaming. As I mentioned earlier, today I’ll be doing an ad broadcast requested by Glory and Honor, and practically, it will be a time where I go over the game’s system thoroughly. I hope you all enjoy.”

Yuhaaaaaa
Yuha!!!!!!!
Wait, sir, where did you sell your guns? Why are you coming to do melee combat, this is crazy.
Damn, what does 'reverse correction active' at the bottom of the screen mean, hahaha
After all this time, you’re not playing Dark Zone but the game next door? Do you think we’ll still watch? Of course, we will!
Early August, a humid weekend that was unbearably hot – for me, though, it was heaven.

Finally, the broadcast began.

Just like water gushing out of a broken dam, countless viewers began flooding in, and as soon as they arrived, they were likely to first see not a devastated New York, but the grand walls of a castle. Of course, the weapons were different too. Today’s main event wasn’t Mjölnir but two daggers.

Even so, for those who had watched my streams before, they would quickly recognize the two daggers I held – the Fairbairn-Sykes dagger. Custom-made for me, it was 40cm in total length, with a blade length of 27cm.

The paint job I received after winning the Final Championship – the beautiful green and brown that shimmered like the aurora – kept changing and shimmering on the blade.

<FlamingMogul has donated 10,000 KRW>

Ahhh, dual daggers, no blindfold!!!!
“Luckily, I’ve practiced a few games recently, and the results haven’t been too bad. It’s a bit hard to give a definite answer, but I don’t think I’ll be getting beaten up by the game mechanics like some people might expect.”

Interpretation: I’m going to kill them all.
She’s charging at a giant sword holding nothing but daggers, why would I think she’ll lose?????
So she’s not gonna lose, hahaha
Fact: This is gonna be so much fun, that’s why it’s a challenge broadcast.
Why does it feel like she won’t lose with just two daggers, hahaha
Since when did dual daggers become a symbol of defeat?

Thinking that, I introduced the various menus that popped up on the UI to the viewers. Of course, there wasn’t much difference from Dark Zone. Maybe it was even simpler.

The basic structure itself is divided into PVE and PVP, which is very familiar to the viewers watching this challenge broadcast. However, the real convenience here was that, unlike Dark Zone, there weren’t many sub-divisions under PVE and PVP.

What does this mean? I clicked the button to enter the PVP section.

The scene that greeted us was surprisingly simple.

“…As you can see, Glory and Honor is relatively simple. Unlike Dark Zone, which has several separate PVP modes, here, there are just different game modes, but the basic premise is to defeat the enemy in front of you.”

Hahaha, so eloquent, sir.
Honestly, the PVP in Dark Zone is pretty hard until you get used to it.
It’s good that they’ve bought all the game rights, but for beginners, their heads will explode, lol.
The UI is really intuitive, hahaha.
...And with that, the cheerful rebellion of the contrarians begins.

As mentioned in the chat, the PVP mode in Dark Zone was complicated. Survival, where you have to understand the system or you’re dead, Fallen, where you should never engage if you don’t know the skills, and Team Six, where you need to understand the map.

The most intuitive of them all was the large-scale BattleField mode.

Apex Predators and EU?

Those were certain to be a massacre for beginners, so I didn’t even mention them.

And the reason I mentioned all the above is simple.

At least Glory and Honor, which we’re playing right now, isn’t like that.

"1v1 battles, 2v2 brawls, 6v6 domination, 4v4 deathmatches... at least for PVP, whether it’s casual or ranked, it doesn’t deviate from these basic modes. In that sense, it’s not too hard for beginners to try out. But once you get into it... well, I’m not sure about that either."

Hahahaha, so funny, sir.
I can’t even say this is a challenge broadcast, hahaha
Who advertises like this, hahaha
Though viewers were joking around, well... once the game started, such words would no longer come up.

Normally, I would’ve explained the weapons and discussed what new users might like, but honestly, there’s a more effective way waiting for me, so was there really any need?

In short, I just needed to show how other users operated their weapons in front of me.

[Notification: Domination Mode matchmaking has started.]

“Seeing is believing. You can calmly decide which weapons you want to try out in future games by watching how real users wield their cold weapons.”

Whoosh.

The daggers spun elegantly in the air.

“Let’s go.”

I just hoped the viewers wouldn’t get too hooked on the dagger craze.