I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 452

"It feels like just yesterday Bi-yam was streaming his tournament rank matches, but it’s already been a year."

"...But why didn’t they do it this year?"

"Why don’t you ask him yourself, genius?"

It was the weekend of the fourth week of August, a Saturday. Over a week had passed since the tournament rank matches, the first step toward the Fourth Final Championship, had begun.

The community was ablaze, as if sitting in the heart of a molten furnace. The weather was unusually clear and hot, and Icarus had capitalized on it, spreading advertisements everywhere. Last year, their "Dark Zone" ads had been concentrated on specific time slots, but now they dominated electronic billboards for days.

That wasn’t all. Thanks to Eugene’s monumental influence the previous year, Icarus had swallowed the entire AP (Advertising Partnership) pie and reinvested even a small portion of the profits into tournament ranks, preliminary ranks, KSM matches, and Asian preliminaries. The initiatives were diverse—programs to support new talent discovery, debut grants for pro gamers, and special bonuses for top tournament rankers. The result? An influx of self-proclaimed skilled players, beyond the usual crop of trainees and league players carefully cultivated by their respective teams.

A stage ripe for chaos had been perfectly set.

"Wow, 4 million Korean concurrent users on a weekend? Insane."

"And the servers are handling it?"

"They built another data center in Gangwon last year, right? Including that, Korea has around five data centers now. Without it, the servers would’ve definitely exploded."

Despite the overwhelming influx of players, the servers barely held up. Occasionally, a few rooms disconnected entirely, but such cases were rare, and most players didn’t care. Instead, the newly introduced MMR exposure system in tournament rank matches had stolen the spotlight. Who was currently ranked number one? That was the hot topic.

Eugene, unfortunately, wasn’t participating. Having won first place in last year’s Final Championship, he was already eligible to participate as a guest in the finals without needing to climb through tournament ranks. He would only need to play the Asian preliminaries if he chose to enter as a player.

Dice was in a similar position. With her experience mentoring younger pro gamers, she had no reason to start from tournament ranks. After finishing fourth in last year’s championship—second if you excluded Logan and Eugene—why would she bother with the qualifiers?

However, not everyone had such privileges.

"...Couldn’t we make even the top 20 from last year’s Final Championship start from the Asian preliminaries?"

"Mikael, Gambit, Ink, Blooming, Harmony... Wait, Harmony’s there too?"

"And why wouldn’t she be?"

Mikael, Gambit, and Ink. The trio who placed solidly within the top 15 of last year’s Final Championship, overshadowed only by Dice. Then there was Blooming—Dice’s first disciple.

And finally, Harmony.

"What the hell killed me?"

"...You died to a trap set 7 minutes and 21 seconds ago... Seriously, someone stop that explosive maniac—!"

The dead don’t speak, nor do the traps lying in wait for their victims. Mikael skillfully swept through enemies with his matured shield-handling techniques, while Ink and Gambit sent the unwary back to the lobby with their raw physical prowess. Meanwhile, Harmony’s name repeatedly filled the kill log, forcing players in the same session to reluctantly equip shields.

No one knew where her traps were hidden. Even if you tried to bypass them, you’d need at least a ballistic shield to preserve your life. But carrying a ballistic shield limited your primary weapon to a carbine rifle or SMG, leaving you at a firepower disadvantage if facing opponents with 7.62mm rifles.

"...Maybe switching to duo or squad matches would be better."

"Do you have reliable and skilled teammates to bring along?"

"You’ve got to be kidding me..."

There was even a half-joking notion that players who performed exceptionally well last year should take a year-long break to balance the scales. Of course, it was nonsense. Ultimately, the consensus blamed Bi-yam for the upheaval. The ripple effects caused by one individual were monumental, but with him cleanly bowing out of this year’s championship, what could anyone do?

More competitors joined, but the door narrowed further. Barely two weeks into the tournament ranks, the difficulty and atmosphere were already spiraling into hellish chaos.

And as for the architect of it all—

Vroom!*

"...It’s terrifying no matter how many times I see it."

"Someone’s wearing motion capture gear and actually deflecting those strikes... with daggers."

In Yeouido’s Icarus International building, within Glory and Honor’s headquarters, Eugene moved nimbly inside a large motion capture room. Sensors adhered to his body as he dodged and parried massive greatsword swings. As a dagger specialist, his focus was overwhelmingly on evasion rather than direct blocks, though he frequently incorporated guard breaks with kicks or hilt strikes.

This style deviated from his usual combat approach, but concessions had to be made. After all, the moves needed to fit the framework of a Glory and Honor class. Parrying, while rare, was also part of the design.

"So heavy attacks can’t be parried. I never paid much attention to that before. How much of a disadvantage is it?"

"It means you can’t directly counter over half the attacks, so it’s significant."

The upcoming Assassin class, inspired by Eugene, differed greatly from any previous character release. Instead of heavy and light attacks, counters formed the core of its combat. Successfully dodging, parrying, or countering light and certain area attacks filled the "Assassinate Gauge."

Once full, the system evaluated all variables: the opponent’s stamina, health, guard breaks suffered, armor durability, and the user’s own stamina and health. For 30 seconds, the Assassin gained a 30% boost to movement and attack speed, enabling the use of a devastating special attack. A critical hit on a locked target delivered immense damage and inflicted status effects.

But that wasn’t all.

Thud!*

"...Whoa."

A silicone humanoid, crafted to mimic a real person, took a dagger deep into its neck. With just two strikes, Eugene completely severed the neck, following up with a kick that sent the robot stumbling back as a robotic voice monotonously declared an instant death.

This was the hallmark of the Assassin’s unique mechanic—if the combined stamina and HP of an enemy fell below a certain threshold, the class could execute an instant-kill ability, bypassing remaining health entirely.

Having demonstrated the skill flawlessly, Eugene approached two engineers recording the data. His twin daggers, provided by Icarus, were already sheathed.

"How many distinct finishing move animations do you need today?"

"Ah... As many as possible, please. Ten or more would be ideal."

"That’s quite a lot."

"But with someone like Eugene, we can gather almost all the capture data in a single take, so it won’t take as long as it sounds."

They discussed how to structure the motions, ensuring they were realistic and feasible. Typically, this process involved collaboration with martial arts directors and stunt performers, followed by weeks of training before motion capture began.

But Eugene bypassed all of that.

As the engineers reviewed the footage, Eugene watched himself on screen. The sequence was meticulous: a spinning inward approach, twin daggers piercing the wrists, followed by a reverse grip transition. The right-hand dagger thrust deep into the neck, the blade slicing halfway through with a lateral push, ending with a powerful kick.

"Wow."

Unlike Eugene’s calm demeanor, the engineers erupted in awe as they watched the playback. Meanwhile, Eugene, reviewing their requirements, began planning his next set of movements. The twin daggers returned to his hands.

To complete the extensive motion capture requests, he would need to work tirelessly for days, possibly weeks.

"Let’s begin. I’m ready."

"...Confirmed. Starting motion capture equipment now."

The pressure was palpable.

At Eugene’s insistence, they had swapped out the dummy greatsword for a real one. The engineers, holding their breath, watched as he performed flawlessly. Ten days into motion capture for the new class, Eugene was still fully engaged.

The world, step by step, continued to evolve.

Meanwhile, a new announcement regarding the upcoming Korean tournament stirred excitement in the Glory and Honor community. Speculation swirled around the release of the Assassin class and how it might impact the game. Viewers across the globe anticipated the groundbreaking updates.

Change was on the horizon, and it wasn’t stopping anytime soon.