I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 443

There is something that people often confuse.

Although it’s been difficult for me to count the number of struggles and hardships I’ve faced, let alone summarize them, the essence of it all is simple: the illusion that I could overcome any difficulty, that I was some sort of superhuman.

But an illusion, of course, means that it is not true. As you would expect, I’ve encountered countless hardships, and I could refute this notion with one fact alone: if I hadn’t had the Icarus Gear, I might have died more than five times by now.

However, at least in this world, there was no chance for me to offer such an excuse, and I never really cared about it.

But now, if I were to play a game that I had never touched before, like this one... the truth is, I too could easily fall into danger.

But what if I could overcome such hardships?

???Kkaang!

"Damn it."

"I’ll inform the team! The enemy is... performing acrobatics and slaughtering teammates!"

The answer was simple.

Pain that cannot break me will only forge me stronger.

If I were to rephrase the illusion that I could overcome every difficulty, it would be somewhat embarrassing to say this myself, but—essentially, it was the same as saying I was perfect. And of course, this was an absurd statement in many ways.

In other words, I am not perfect.

And to put it in another way—

"Even I, and my skills, can still take another step forward."

I’ll take another step forward.

To put it simply, while playing Glory and Honor, my skills were improving more than they had before. When you think about it, this wasn’t an impossible feat. I didn’t have any concrete proof, but just a few days ago, I was playing without knowing the maps or the classes properly—just that alone was evidence of my growth.

In other words, that’s no longer the case.

As soon as I seriously entered the competitive scene of Glory and Honor, it was only natural that I would start to physically and mentally absorb all kinds of new information—such as the detailed structures of maps, shortcuts, the characteristics of each class, weapon ranges, and effective attack points, among countless other data.

If I were to summarize naively, I suppose you could call this tips for getting better at the game, but... I’m not sure.

Could I really compress all of this into the soft words of ‘tips’ when it was actually continuous training to kill people faster and more easily, and the muscle memory I built through that?

???Kaga-kak!

"Ugh…!"

"Blocking this with a dagger…!"

The 2-meter-long Japanese katana, which was already well over a person’s height, caused the air to crack as it swung, but then, it came to a stop at a point in mid-air.

It was a clash of strength. The blade of the nodachi, which glistened with sunlight, reflected the surroundings like a mirror. Yet, despite the blade that seemed capable of cutting everything, it couldn’t even reach the ground, barely stopping in the air.

The two dagger blades crossed in an X shape, blocking the nodachi. The opponent’s overhead strong attack was blocked by just two daggers. From their perspective, it must have been incredibly frustrating, but if they knew the invisible effort I had put in to block it, they could never call it cheating.

For example, as I blocked the blade with my daggers, I also lowered my posture sharply, almost kneeling on one knee.

"Ugh…!"

If I had tried to block the first attack with all my strength head-on, my daggers would have been shattered, and this fragile body protected only by leather armor would likely have been cleaved in half starting from my left shoulder.

But that didn’t happen. I managed to disperse the impact and let some of it flow into the ground. As a result, the samurai before me, despite exerting all their strength with veins popping from their eyes, couldn’t cleave me in half—a trick I had learned from taking overhead strong attacks from other classes several times.

Now, it was my turn.

"…!"

Lowered center of gravity, and the angle of the wrist.

In other words, it was the perfect moment to launch forward.

Just by quickly adjusting the angle of my wrist, I was able to deflect the vertically falling sword sideways. If my opponent had recovered the sword and made another overhead attack or created some distance, it might have been quite troublesome for me, but they failed to execute that move, trying to thrust and missing their chance.

That was the opportunity I was going to use.

Long weapons are excellent for keeping enemies at bay and are powerful, but if the enemy manages to get inside or fails to hit, a huge opening is created.

In other words, the moment I got inside, it was too late. My opponent hastily removed their hands from the nodachi and attempted a barehanded attack, but to my surprise, the samurai didn’t even have gauntlets on. This meant that my two daggers could easily turn their arms into ornaments, and lifting 500kg in a deadlift would be easier than this.

Of course, my personal deadlift record is 1870kg.

"Ugh, Kaha, ugh!"

After piercing one arm, I did the same to the other.

As the large nodachi clattered to the floor, my right dagger was lodged in their left arm, and my left dagger pierced their right arm. I pushed them all the way, and my opponent was helplessly shoved back, eventually reaching the side of B.

As I’ve mentioned before, this map led to a large gate in the castle, and it was also a tall pavilion built over a river—meaning that the side of B was essentially a cliff.

I didn’t want them to feel the sensation of falling, though, so after exchanging a brief look with the defeated player, I swiftly drove my dagger into their neck. With their carotid artery and spinal cord severed in one strike, they were likely ejected to the respawn screen as if the film had been cut.

As their body collapsed, turning into golden light and disappearing, I looked at the ongoing battle at B.

Before long, an approaching ally added:

"…It seems like the choice to focus on Eugene-sensei was the right one."

"I knew you’d say that."

The enemy was trying to send a separate squad to fiercely capture points A and C, but in the end, the big decisions were always made at the middle point.

I adjusted my daggers and added:

"Let’s go."

There was no time to stop.

The Master promotion battle still wanted more of the enemy’s blood.

???

Who’s playing for the Master rank right now???

???

What’s going on?

Meanwhile, somewhere in Seoul.

In a room that looked undeniably modern, a figure raised their body from a bed separated by partitions and lay back down. At the same time, countless messages floated up to the ceiling. It was as though augmented reality pop-ups were appearing on the connection device.

Amidst the messages, the word "Triton" appeared prominently on the wall. There was no need to explain what it was—Triton was the esports team to which several pro gamers in the room belonged.

Players who only played Dark Zone might not have recognized the name, and it was understandable. Every team had its reasons for founding or disbanding specific gaming squads, and their main focus was on different games.

In other words, they had nothing to do with Dark Zone and were primarily focusing on Glory and Honor.

"I was trying to rank up quickly at the start of the season, but what is this nonsense…"

"Why, did you meet someone?"

"No, it’s not that…"

It was literally a murderous intent.

Just a few minutes ago, he had taken that hit head-on.

As a Glory and Honor player and pro gamer, he had killed countless enemies, and at the same time, had died numerous times. Naturally, he had been beaten to death by countless weapons, and he had also sent enemies to the respawn screen with an overwhelming variety of weapons.

But he had never encountered an opponent like this. He had literally been killed without being able to lift a hand or a foot. While he had previously felt overwhelmed in fights against stronger or equally skilled players, this was a completely different level.

If he had to put it into words, it was like:

"...I felt like one of those guards from a movie or game who gets stabbed with a knife."

Of course, that wasn’t the end of his thoughts.

What left the deepest impression on him was that the one who sliced him up was none other than Eugene. Who was she? Even if you didn’t play Dark Zone, if you were Korean, you would’ve at least heard her name once... she was a celebrity in some sense, and perhaps the strongest individual in South Korea.

The rumors about her being a former special forces member had even reached him, someone who wasn’t too familiar with Dark Zone, but he never imagined that she would handle daggers with such an absurd level of skill.

When she announced that she would be streaming Glory and Honor, he might have thought it would just bring a little attention, but now, he couldn’t ignore it anymore. Even if she eventually went pro or not.

So, with a sigh, he dived back into virtual reality and sent a message.

[JASON: Coach]

[JASON: What’s the guaranteed way to beat someone who uses two daggers???]

And attached the combat footage.

He wondered what exactly he was sending, but honestly, he couldn’t think of any better answer.

The curriculum he had learned over time ran through his head. When thinking rationally, no matter how many daggers the opponent held, there were countless melee weapons that had a longer reach. In theory, at least 90% of the time, he should win against a dagger-wielder.

The remaining 10% was considering scenarios where he died due to bad luck in a chaotic battle, not a one-on-one fight.

In short, he shouldn’t have lost.

But he did.

What could he do?

[TrTn: Is he really just messing around again?]

[TrTn: Who the hell did you fight?]

[JASON: That huge streamer who came to promote Glory and Honor recently]

[JASON: The guy who’s ranked number one in the world from next door]

A brief silence.

However, the response wasn’t a text message. Instead, a session request popped up in front of him. It was the coach of Triton, using the nickname TrTn. Jason quickly pressed the accept button, and soon a new participant joined the session.

Suddenly, the coach squeezed into the player’s session, sat on the sofa, and activated the VR beam projector. Just minutes ago, the battle was being analyzed from all angles. With first-person, third-person views, and a flying camera, the coach began to scrutinize the attack from every angle.

After five minutes, he took a deep breath and added:

"Why do you think you lost? Tell me your thoughts."

"…Well, I guess the mistake was that I tried to fake an overhead attack with a kick and it was read."

"I think it was already being read from earlier."

"What?"

Without adding further, TrTn precisely pinpointed where Eugene’s gaze had been throughout the match.

The focus was between the feet and the blade. This allowed Eugene to predict how far Jason would advance and how much additional range his claymore would have when hitting, maintaining a distance that was always avoidable.

She didn’t even try to block.

Of course, Jason knew this as well. In the first place, to hit with a dagger, he had to step into the range of a great sword's attack, so he mixed several attacks and feints, waiting for Eugene to approach.

But,

"You didn’t read it, did you? No, there was no standard assist motion, so you couldn’t have read it. You were deliberately trying to create an opening, but the opponent closed in much faster than you expected. Am I right?"

"Yeah, you got it."

"But that’s not the point. Even if you failed in that mind game, that alone doesn’t explain everything."

At the same time, the coach paused the screen.

Jason had attempted a kick, and as he lifted his left leg, Eugene spun around and dodged, then shoved a dagger into his thigh and slashed upwards. As the dagger hit the outside of Jason's thigh, it sliced through the muscle fibers.

Before he could react, his left leg gave out and he collapsed. The moment the blade sank into his neck, he was ejected to the respawn screen.

Normally, body damage would be converted into a loss of HP, but since it didn’t, it meant...

"…Could it be?"

"Could it be? It’s no joke."

He sighed briefly and added:

"If that person’s on the opposing team, you should always kite with a shield and try to conserve stamina while blocking. Don’t expose your thighs, and wear something that doesn’t expose your skin except for your neck if you can."

"Got it. I’ll manage my stamina well."

"Yeah. Don’t get caught up in the weapon they’re using. Once they control the distance on their terms, the weapon reach becomes a secondary factor."

"Understood."

As the brief silence lingered, Jason suddenly added:

"By the way, I watched a stream yesterday... that person threw daggers too."

"That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard so far."

He didn’t think that she had come here to aim for the top. But the thought crossed his mind, and with the unspoken words hanging in the air, time passed.