I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 458

??? Crash!

"Move aside! You'll get swept away!"

"Is this Domination One Game, or is this a 1v1 duel?!"

"Why... why do I feel like there's some kind of aura around them?"

The air quivered, and sweat beaded on my palms.

Despite this being a game, the tension was so palpable under the scorching sunlight that it almost felt real. Except for two people, every other user in the vicinity swallowed nervously and quickly retreated, silently witnessing the upcoming battle at B.

One person wielded a dagger. A Challenger patch—the object of envy for everyone—was prominently displayed on their shoulder. As it moved with every shift of their arm, the sunlight reflected off of it, turning green. There was no need to ask who they were. Anyone playing this game recently knew who Eugene was.

However, opposite them, there was the name Eugene glowing in orange, and confronting it was a subtle blue English word nickname. Their calm stride radiated an oddly unsettling yet refined aura, a contrast of foreboding and elegance that made the scene even more surreal.

A dagger and a modified harpoon.

The two weapons, which seemed to favor fast and nimble attacks, faced off—but instead of explosive bursts of flames from sword strikes as one might expect, the only thing visible were the harpoons shot at unseen speeds, which Eugene narrowly blocked.

It was such an unnatural sight for a battle between two people. It was more like watching a protagonist face off with a boss in some soul-like game.

Clang!

"It’s a nice balance, though. Feels good to finally face an opponent like this."

"...This is exactly why I didn’t want to duo with you."

A graceful, flowing movement, reminiscent of rapier techniques.

But then, in an instant, the long skirt that covered the feet obscured the precise location of the steps, and a speed of attack that was almost like an arrow shot through the air. And if that trajectory was aimed directly at the left eye... then the story would change. A few strands of Eugene’s hair were sliced off as they fell to the ground.

But the results of Eugene’s full evasion efforts made a gap, and she pressed through it. Even though Laurentia held her left hand behind her back, she managed to parry Eugene’s dagger multiple times, eventually using the gauntlet on her left hand to deflect the blade.

But the critical difference between the two weapons became clear: a dagger was most effective when close enough to allow for the enemy’s approach.

"...Oh, wow. Damn."

"What... what’s this? Did a new Marvel movie come out or something?"

The chaotic, dizzying fast-paced combat began as they closed the distance.

Two blades aimed at the neck and liver were deflected by Laurentia’s spinning harpoon. But just as she followed up with a right-footed sidekick, Eugene barely dodged it and entwined the harpoon with her dagger and arm. She aimed the dagger in her right hand toward Laurentia’s collarbone, but Laurentia blocked it with her palm.

Despite the dagger piercing through her palm, Laurentia didn’t seem to mind. Instead, she snatched the dagger from Eugene’s hand and immediately launched a kick that pushed Eugene back.

Yet, even as Laurentia flew back, she threw the dagger in her hand, hitting Eugene’s left eye, making her head reel back dramatically.

But the combat didn’t continue indefinitely.

Boom!

An artillery shell came crashing down above B, as if to erase everything in its path, followed by a wave of reinforced minions.

Eugene lost both of her weapons and suffered minor injuries, while Laurentia lost her left eye. As each returned to A or C, battles erupted again from all directions. Eugene, with a deep penetrating wound on her left shoulder, sighed and picked up a suitable longsword lying on the floor.

At that moment, the other players released a collective sigh of relief and asked, as if it were a casual inquiry:

"U-uh... who’s this scary person? How did they show up?"

"They broke into my house. There wasn’t really much I could do about it. For the viewers, it might be comedy, but for you guys, it might be tragedy."

"Oh... I see."

"I did put a warning in the stream title, though."

Stream title: "Everyone, get out of One Game!"

Of course, no one actually heeded the "warning." If anything, the number of viewers and concurrent players only increased. Eugene and Laurentia were one-of-a-kind in the world, and for the many viewers and One Game players, it was simply a matter of "as long as it’s not me."

Thus, among the thousands of One Game sessions, one of them randomly matched with Eugene and Laurentia. The remaining ten players, except for the two, were being torn apart in a vacuum created by the collision of two storms.

With a mischievous chuckle, Laurentia added:

"If I knew this was going to happen, I would’ve asked you to focus more on 1v1s."

"Ah... oh well. We’re fine, really."

"Glad to hear that."

Of course, in reality, they probably weren’t fine, but since they were already in the same boat, there was nothing more to be done.

When the brief lull ended, both teams’ strategies began to converge. It was simple. If someone spotted Eugene or Laurentia, they would send an Awakened to confront them.

Only Awakened could fight other Awakened.

In just five minutes of starting the game, five members of the opposing team had their arteries severed, and a harpoon hole punctured their throats—an obvious and simple truth was learned.

Now, with only five minutes remaining, sporadic battles broke out across A, B, and C.

No matter which team it was, all that echoed in their minds were the warnings to watch out for Eugene or Laurentia. Because both teams were thinking similarly, it was almost like looking into a mirror. Of course, that didn’t stop some unlucky ones from encountering death.

Naturally, the aftermath was usually handled by the backup teams.

Where the snake goes, the shark follows, and vice versa.

Clang!

"You should’ve warned them not to get too close."

"...Could you stop looking elsewhere?"

The moment Laurentia charged in at lightning speed, her attack narrowly missed one player's head.

For a brief instant, the brightness of her attack flashed before my eyes before it returned to normal. Eugene’s dagger deflected the harpoon, saving one player from the brink of their fate—barely escaping being sent back to the respawn screen.

Despite the physical limitations imposed by reverse balancing, it didn’t completely diminish their combat sense or experiences. Their extraordinary intuition and instincts, honed over countless battles, allowed them to exploit the smallest gaps in perception that non-Awakened players couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Eugene lifted her weapon.

She moved forward or backward with precision, carefully timing her next step.

It was something that most would never even notice—the spaces between actions, the brief moments between thoughts. But for those who had analyzed human movement to the finest detail, those were the openings that could be exploited.

And the two of them had done this countless times.

To put it simply—

??? Boom!

"Looks like it’s just the two of us left."

"...I kind of expected that."

The players who couldn’t endure the battle were fragmented, scattered like debris, and the only ones left standing were the exuberant Shark and the calm Bi-am who had predicted this outcome.

For the users who hadn't participated in the rank, the time of suffering didn’t last long. But the scars left behind by the two storms weren’t small.

It was just another ordinary day.

"Finally done…"

"It’s been a while, everyone. Not sure why so many people are watching, but I’m glad to see you all supporting my junior."

"Omg, what just happened?"
"Wow, I love Laurentia!"
"Why do Awakened people always have such big tactical pockets? It’s kind of suspicious..."
"Fact: Hotteok is big too."
"I swear, that’s not what we’re talking about!"
The world spun.

It hadn’t been this difficult to keep up with Shark’s energy in a while. All those countless games that I’d just breezed through now felt like each one was a marathon, my body getting drained as I focused completely, barely able to keep up with every sensation of energy building up.

Shark had arrived at my house around 3 PM, after which we ate, and I’ve been streaming since then. It was around 8 PM now, which meant that in game-time, I’d been going nonstop for about 15 hours.

To break it down: about 3 hours of casual games, and the rest spent in ranked games and various modes, with a late dinner in between.

"Should we do more?"

"Ugh..."

"Just kidding. There’s always tomorrow or the day after. I’ve had enough fun today. I’m kind of excited after a good workout, though."

"The stamina to make Bi-am tired...!!!"
"Damn, Laurentia is seriously strong lol."
"By the way, what weapon does Laurentia even use? A spear?"
"Let’s just call it an instant-kill move."
"Everything’s an instant kill wwww."
All attacks might feel like instant kills, and perhaps that’s true.

In fact, both the dagger I wield and the harpoon Laurentia uses aren't as deadly as typical cold weapons. So, it looks like you need to aim for weak spots that could lead to an instant kill—or a state close to it—when striking. It’s not as if the weapons are that lethal on their own.

In the meantime, donations continued to pour in.

<Kung Fu Panda has donated 100,000 KRW. Thank you.>

"Laurentia, you’re too bold! Eugene, if you two faced off in real life, who would win?"
"Kung Fu Panda, thank you so much for your donation. Honestly, I would lose."

"What are you saying, junior?"

"I can’t lie."

"Dying laughing!"
"Is that really how it is?"
"I can’t imagine Bi-am losing, just how strong is Laurentia?!?"
"If you want to see them fight without reverse balancing, hit the like button!"
"Holy sht!"*
It wasn’t a lie, it was the truth.

Reverse balancing being off meant I was capable of performing even more extreme attacks than what you were seeing right now, and Laurentia... would probably be firing harpoons at speeds similar to handgun bullets.

And doing it in rapid succession.

It wasn’t impossible to dodge, but it would be difficult to avoid all of them, especially when the speed was like a barrage of bullets. Even if just one hit, it would be more damaging than being shot by a handgun. And she’d be throwing them at such a pace.

If I tried fighting seriously, my body would have holes all over it, like a sponge.

In fact, until I seriously began learning CQC, Laurentia had been the one handling the assassination missions…

"If I get a chance later, maybe I can show you some proper close-quarters combat..."

"Hmmm."

"Why?"

Laurentia’s response seemed like she wanted to say something but was unsure if she should.

I rolled my eyes, wondering what she was trying to get at—then it hit me. She was probably talking about Hawaii. Since Laurentia had agreed to go with me, it seemed like it wasn’t a huge problem.

And now that I realized I hadn’t mentioned to the viewers that I’d be going to Hawaii...

Well, I may as well just say it now.

"Actually, now that I think about it, I might be able to show you in early October. There’s going to be some interesting content around that time."

"You’re really beating around the bush about shooting in Hawaii."

"Well, if I just say it directly..."

"Lmao, hahaha!"
"‘Real Education’"
"Why did you take so long to say that??????"
"Laurentia, you just made my day!"
"I can’t believe this shooting content idea lmaoooo!"
Ah...

Honestly, it felt better just saying it out loud. But now that Laurentia would be joining the shooting content, I hadn’t told the other two yet... Oh well, maybe I’ll just contact them later if they’re watching the stream.

They’ll probably give great lessons in Hawaii.

Probably.

In the meantime, Laurentia pulled up several holograms and projected an image of what seemed like a firearms shop in Hawaii, showing a private room inside.

It looked very different from the blacksmith room in New York that I’d seen so many times. It had soundproof walls and was underground, so it felt claustrophobic. But this place had a more open and free atmosphere.

Though no people were there, everything was perfectly displayed. Dozens of firearms lined the walls, tens of thousands of rounds of ammo, loaded cartridges, gun-carrying bags, various tuning parts, gun accessories, and so on. It wasn’t just these things either.

"The rental cost is the highest, but the advantage is that you can rent so many firearms. If you’ve got a thick wallet and don’t mind an observer, they even say you can rent a minigun."

"Now that sounds appealing."

"Yeah, for someone like you, I guess nothing is impossible."

I’d probably need to tell Harmony and Dice to pack a lot of spare clothes or be ready for a shopping spree. If we’re learning CQB for several days, our clothes will be reeking of gunpowder.

Of course, this place also took reservations, so I immediately submitted the form. Hawaii was about five hours ahead, so it was probably early morning over there. I’d bet they’d wake up to a long bill and would probably welcome it with open arms.

"…How did you manage to do this so quickly... No, when did you even find the time for this?"

"Power of connections."

"Connections?"
"Fact: This person’s ‘connections’ are probably former special forces veterans or high-ranking U.S. officials, maybe even PMC operators."
"Lmao, that’s wild!"
"‘Connections,’ but kind of sketchy..."
"It’s a trip, right? Just a trip, right???? Answer me!"
Naturally, the viewers were busy letting their imaginations run wild.

Many of them tried to turn my wholesome trip into something shady, but I was able to make a kind offer to randomly select ten viewers to play Domination Mode with me, and suddenly, they all started spamming loyalty messages.

Laurentia, who had been quietly watching, chuckled and added:

"Looks like being a coach is your true calling."

"...Really? Thanks."

"Not a compliment, you idiot!"
"Interpretation: Eugene knows how to silently make viewers behave like dogs."
"Streaming is just a hobby, but what can you do? If you piss off Eugene, you’ll get beaten by Bi-am like a dog."
"I’ll be your punching bag! Please keep streaming..."
"Why are you accepting that, you idiot Bi-am?!"
I guess it was a compliment, right?

I decided to think of it that way.

Of course, whether it was a compliment or not, the viewers couldn’t do anything about it.