I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 442

"Yourspace's real-time search shows Eugene-sensei trending again, and this time, you were filming CQC amidst all sorts of long cold weapons."

A voice that sounded like "I knew it."

At the end of the gaze, the video list of Yourspace was changing in real-time. New trending search terms were appearing, and videos related to those keywords were showing up, regardless of language. Each thumbnail was strange in its own way.

In the background, Eugene was swinging his knife in various poses, and in front of him, the channel manager of the Yourspace channel was explaining this and that about the video. Behind him, there were some English words written in a pretty tacky font.

Roughly translating the content...

"Users who have actually worked in SOF evaluate Eugene’s knife fighting..."

...I wonder if he got permission from the person involved.

Well, it didn’t really matter to Harmony. The rank-climbing stream, which also served as an advertisement, had been broadcast about two days ago, and in that time, other people had ample opportunity to make videos. Besides, if Eugene hadn’t given permission, the video would have been deleted anyway.

In other words, Harmony herself could just wait and watch the result of others’ analysis before the video vanished. It wasn’t ideal to build views for others, but whatever. She could always buy Eugene a gift later.

With that thought, she clicked on the video.

The English subtitles streamed in a flood, but with the help of real-time translation, there was no problem understanding the content, and soon, she was engrossed in the video with a curious gaze.

"Before getting into proper analysis, let me first say that, up until now, it’s hard to confirm exactly what martial arts Eugene has based his knife fighting on. The reason is simple. The number of attacks is just too low. When it's a lot, there are multiple hits, but when it's few, it's only two."

"But one thing is for sure, she always uses the same routine in every battle. First, she disables the opponent’s mobility, and then, to guarantee a kill, she always aims for vital points at the end. And this is even more pronounced due to the existence of armor."

"Additionally, depending on the opponent’s weapon and armor, she changes her attack position. But as you can see, most of her attacks target the upper body, which is difficult to pierce with just a dagger. Therefore, Eugene’s attack position is quite limited."

Simultaneously, various attack points were highlighted.

The unprotected areas such as the armpits, the boundary of the arm, the neck, and other joint areas—this was problematic because all of these zones could disable the victim in an instant if struck properly.

Unlike other games, Glory and Honor had a system where damage was more detailed as the player’s game mode became more hardcore. For example, if you injure an arm, the opponent’s ability to use it becomes difficult, and if you injure a leg, their mobility decreases.

In other words, unlike the Dark Zone that provided material bonuses, Glory and Honor provided gameplay-related advantages, though these were overshadowed by the insurmountable penalty of having to physically move your body to capture enemies.

Now, that system was showing its impact.

"But that doesn't mean she never uses other weapons. For example, when facing heavily armored knight classes, sometimes she puts the dagger in its case and picks up a fallen weapon."

"What we can deduce from this is that wrapping yourself up tightly to prevent the dagger from piercing isn’t a bad choice against Eugene, but the problem is, including the helmet, wrapping yourself up like this leads to enormous stamina loss. And as I mentioned earlier, she doesn't just use daggers."

"Anyway, let's go back to the beginning... let’s check where she’s attacking."

Armpits, thighs, collarbone, neck, and others.

The explanation in the video quickly shifted to an anatomical perspective, describing the effects of severing the muscles and nerves in the areas Eugene most frequently attacks. As expected, Eugene’s play footage was included as a bonus.

The first spot was the armpit. Specifically, the junction of the arm and armpit, a vulnerable area that cannot be blocked except by chainmail. When the knife pierces here, the expected damage was summarized simply: the arm becomes useless, and there’s a hole in the lung.

In Glory and Honor, stamina recovery slows dramatically, and the player enters a state of continuous HP loss.

"Next is the thigh. Of course, viewers who watched the stream saw the blood spurt out when she stabbed this spot. It's no surprise—she cut the femoral artery. Not only that, but she also pierced the adductor and quadriceps, which makes it impossible to move."

"What happens next? Naturally, they bleed to death in under 2 minutes. The same goes for the collarbone and neck. Once the subclavian artery or carotid artery is severed, it’s a countdown to death. The carotid artery is a 15-second timer."

"Also, the dagger Eugene uses is a bit tricky to categorize, measuring 27cm in length... If that pierced the collarbone area vertically, it would reach the upper lung. Of course, it’s unlikely Eugene considered that. But anyway, if you successfully strike a vital point, they die anyway."

"…No wonder I can't lose when fighting against Dice or anyone else."

Harmony’s mind drifted to memories of the past.

It was last year, during the AP tournament preparations. They had limited their physical abilities to 10% of their original, and under the guise of buying a treat for whoever won, a 1v1 match took place. Participants included Dice, Harmony, and some national representatives.

And, naturally, no one could defeat Eugene.

She had impressed everyone with the idea that physical abilities were just an afterburner, and the only thing to rely on was battle sense and accumulated experience...

But where is the afterburner that never shuts off?

‘...In the end, she bought us all dinner though.’

Regardless, Harmony's hand hovered for a moment in the air, but then she brushed aside the virtual reality sofa, slumping her body back.

That wasn’t the point.

Though she had followed Eugene's curriculum while playing Dark Zone and gained skills that far exceeded those of others, this was just something else. There are things people can imitate and things they cannot.

Therefore, instead of playing Glory and Honor, Harmony entered Eugene’s streaming channel, glanced at the Diamond 1 patch shining on his leather armor, and clicked into the donation section. Typing out a message, she entered a generous 100,000 KRW and hit send.

With the chime of a notification, a large donation alert popped up.

"Hehe."

Harmony chuckled softly.

<Harmony has donated 100,000 KRW. Thank you.>

"Teacher, you're burying everyone you face in the grave today too. Looking great, fighting spirit!"
"...The first part and the second part don’t match at all."

Hahahahahaha
Damn, hahahahaha
The second part seems like it was added later to avoid a lecture. Hahaha
And people are donating 100,000 KRW for this, hahahahahaha
"Wow, here’s someone coming to crush ranks with just two daggers. I'm a fan. Always enjoy your streams!"

"Wow, look at that K/D ratio… 17.4? How many people do you kill per match?"

"Nice to meet you. Since it's a promotion match, I’ll try not to be a burden."

Wow, finally reaching Master promotion.
It’s been a long road, hahahahaha (not really).
What’s long? It took less than 3 days to get to Diamond 1, hahahahahaha.
Damn, Eugene, your humility is borderline ridiculous.
Living point: This person actually got 30 kills in a match yesterday.
Clink.

The five match counters appeared in front of me. If I win 3 out of these 5 matches, or 4 wins, the patch on my shoulder will turn from Diamond to Master. However, if I lose 3 out of 5, I’ll drop to Diamond 2.

It didn’t matter that much. After all, the fact that I can win as long as I kill all the visible enemies doesn’t change with the tier. Still, it’s hard to say that I’ve never lost before, so I needed to remain humble.

Though that "loss" from before had a huge aftermath...

"...Are we going to start using executioners if we screw up in this match?"

"Executioners? What are you talking about? At that time, I just pushed harder because I saw the other person was struggling."

Push harder (beat all the opponents).
And still lost, that’s legendary.
Seriously, three out of six dodged, and Bi-yam wasn’t even holding a gun, how could we win?
Fact: We almost won for real.
With this, Eugene has proven that even in Diamond, he can carry at least 3 teammates.
I feel wronged.

When I think back to yesterday… it happened in August, a month after the heavy rains started, and coincidentally, three of my ranked teammates were from the same connection hub. And, as luck would have it, a backhoe digging underground fiber cables in the area cut through them.

The fiber cable warning signs were all over, but due to the excessive rain in July, most of the panels were lost. Add to that a small landslide nearby, and well, that's how it happened.

"Anyway, we ended up getting the LP reward back."

"Of course."

"And for this match, we’ll be making Eugene-sensei the main dealer, so we’ll adjust the composition accordingly. Looking forward to working together in this match."

"...You don’t think I’m the carry machine, right?"

"Of course."

Naturally, I didn’t believe that.

"You’re a killing machine—Ah!"

"I knew it."

Of course, the person who miscalculated where to show their courage was kicked in the shin before the game even started.

Anyway, now, I was quite used to this situation—once the team composition was decided, you pick who goes to the front and who sets up defense, adjusting the formation accordingly. This became more common the higher the tier.

Before the game starts, there’s enough time to observe your teammates’ records, checking their abilities—that’s when you spot someone like me, making history with just two daggers.

"The map is Gate. The support goes to A, and the rest rush B. After handling the minions, be careful not to get caught in the rush or grabs, and once the enemy activates their rage, the two shields should hold off until it wears off. Otherwise, handle it individually."

"Got it."

"Let’s go."

Rage – a skill that fully restores HP for about 15 seconds, and once it expires, HP starts disappearing again.

I never really mentioned this until now… why? Well, was there a reason to? Every enemy I faced either bled out or died instantly before they could even use it, so it was hard to witness.

Now, accustomed to the sound of the horn, I began the charge.

From across the field, dozens of blue minions rushed forward, and as expected, the massive gate above the cliff, connecting to a giant castle, was the map area.

Ping!

"Whoa."

"Did you just dodge that arrow with your reaction speed?"

"I almost got hit."

Anyway, you dodged it, hahahahaha.
I’m going crazy, hahahahaha.
Living point: The max speed of the arrow is about 240 km/h, Eugene can dodge it.
Though, once again, Eugene didn’t miss a beat and began responding with his own tactics. The game was on.

The charge started with the familiar sound of the horn.

On the other side, dozens of blue minions rushed forward, and as expected, the map, which was named "Gate," was a huge passageway on a cliff with a river flowing beneath it — a massive route leading to a giant castle. The clash was imminent, and we only had 10 seconds to meet the enemy.

Sending the minions first, I slowed down. The enemies on the other side did the same. The minions' HP was set low, so within about 20 seconds, more than half of them would be wiped out.

And then—

??? Ping!

"Whoa."

"Did you just dodge that arrow with your reaction speed?"

"I almost got hit, but yeah."

But you dodged it, hahahahaha.
I’m losing my mind, hahahahaha.
Living point: The maximum speed of the arrow is about 240 km/h. Eugene can dodge that easily.
What do you expect from someone watching a shuttlecock trajectory up close?
I launched an overcharged special assassination skill, and Eugene just dodged it, hahahaha.
Overcharge – a special ability that allows you to use one of the special moves from the start.

The opponent, however, didn’t show any sign of panic and began adopting a defensive stance. But seeing them immediately counter with a sharp jab, I couldn’t help but feel the urge to respond. I quickly glanced at my feet, making sure I was wearing the thinnest greaves and sabatons, so nothing would interfere with my movements.

I figured my ankles wouldn’t give out... so, with that thought, I kicked the crossguard of an arming sword, which was lying conveniently over a minion’s corpse. The sword flew upwards, and the pommel of the sword collided with my foot with a loud clang. Unfortunately, the arming sword's trajectory ended on a shield.

The sword had been redirected just before it could pierce the abdomen of one of the enemies, bouncing off with a clang as it was knocked to the side.

What a shame.

"If I had been a little quicker, I could have sent one of them home."

"...Was that also a special move?"

"No, I just tried it once."

??: "I just tried to kill once."
Glory and Honor needs to give Eugene the Grandmaster tier immediately!!!!!!
Who’s trying to send someone home with a crossbow shot, and then do a crazy attack like that? Hahahahaha.
This person always tries something when they think it's possible, and somehow it works. Hahaha.
Giving what you get, huh? Hahahaha.
It was truly unfortunate.

Still, we exchanged a few subtle jabs, so now, I thought, the pleasantries were over. With that in mind, I spun my dagger in my hand.

"Let’s go."

The weather was truly clear.

It was a perfect day to end someone's life.