Chapter 16: Even if it’s a troublesome outing

The swordsman advances, deflecting swiftly incoming daggers.

A signal indicates that the opponent struck by the parry has been neutralized.

Moving quickly, the swordsman swings his sword, and in a flash of light, the enemy falls.

One clean stroke.

The swordsman casually flicks the blood off his blade as if nothing happened, then sheaths it again.

“Ah… this is it. This is why being a swordsman is so satisfying.”

It was Sua, who had just taken down an opponent in a one-on-one match.

As she reveled in her gameplay, swinging her sword playfully, a voice came through her headphones.

“And who do you have to thank for all this?”

“Thanks to you, teacher… that’s right.”

“You don’t sound very grateful. Perhaps we need another round after this one-”

“Thank you, teacher! I’m only this good because of you! Hehe…”

“Hmm, suspicious… Anyway, heal up, push forward, and hold the line. Just like that.”

With each kill, Molu demanded praise from Sua as proof of her training’s success.

Although Sua answered in a tired, flat tone, she acknowledged it inwardly.

Molu’s training was indeed effective.

About three hours of one-on-one training had awakened a battle sense that Sua had been missing.

Some might wonder, what could three hours of training really change?

Sua had thought the same.

But now, here she stood, victorious over her fallen opponent.

“Effective” seemed like an understatement.

The training had completely transformed how she viewed the game.

After a brief moment of nervousness in the initial skirmishes, Molu’s words from the training sessions started resurfacing.

“Stay calm.”

“Watch their movements until the end.”

“Mix in feints while you attack.”

“Don’t overdo it, leave some margin.”

As she focused on these teachings one by one during battle,

she found her enemies falling before her almost effortlessly.

Compared to Molu, the low-ranked Diamond players Sua faced were hardly challenging.

Unlike Molu’s unpredictable sword strikes, the opponents’ swings were slow.

Who couldn’t parry such sluggish attacks?

It was almost surreal.

This feeling was like a stark contrast.

It was like using a $20 headset only to realize how much better a premium one felt—

Once you experience the difference, you can never go back.

Can never go back… That sounds a bit suggestive.

Oh, here comes another victim.

An axe-wielding warrior approaches, raising his weapon before swinging it down powerfully.

What he probably thought was a fierce strike appeared sluggish to Sua.

The axe is swung straightforwardly without any feint motions, and Sua deflects it with a sharp parry.

Clang—

The opponent’s character loses balance and is visibly startled.

He could have tried rolling to the side, but he hesitated, only to die to her follow-up attack.

He likely hadn’t expected his initial strike to be blocked.

Sua chuckled softly to herself.

With such a slow attack, there was no way she would get hit.

[Parry success rate 100% lol]

[Why is she suddenly so good?]

[What is this? What is this? What is this? What is this? What is this?]

[Is it even fair to have parrying in an FPS? lolol]

[Then is it fair for an FPS to have daggers, axes, and swords?]

[Sounds like the number of parrying enthusiasts is about to explode]

[Guess I shouldn’t play ranked tonight]

“Ahem.”

Each time Sua won a battle with ease, the chat buzzed with excitement.

Most of the viewers who stayed were those who hadn’t tired of the long training sessions or had just been drawn in by the gameplay.

Some seemed to be tuning in, captivated by the action on the screen.

As Sua basked in the rising excitement and swelling pride, a familiar voice grounded her again.

“Don’t get cocky.”

“Yes…”

“When you get excited, your blade wavers.”

It was an obvious statement, yet there was something almost mystical in Molu’s words.

It felt as if the advice came from someone who had truly wielded a sword in real life.

And it seemed Sua wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

“[Molu has truly become the swordsman…]”

“[Are you some kind of sage?]”

“[The key is the heart… with a firm heart, you can cut through anything. Keep your mind clear, Sua, like a calm mirror.]”

“[Here comes the wise mentor]”

“[But Sua’s heart is soft]”

“[Ahem]”

“[This is romantic, honestly]”

Leaving the chatter behind, Sua queued up for another game.

Win after win.

She had played three matches so far, and she won all three.

Although she hadn’t singlehandedly carried the team, her skill was far above her usual performance.

And as everyone knows, games become much more fun when you win.

Especially when the victories feel beyond anything she’d experienced before.

“Let’s go for Diamond 2 today.”

“Isn’t Diamond 2 a bit high?”

“Just follow what you learned today, and Master rank will be within reach.”

A calm voice spoke from her side.

If anyone else had said it, she might’ve dismissed it as flattery,

but it was so natural, as if commenting on the day’s weather.

“You’re going for Master rank.”

Without realizing it, Sua nodded.

The training broadcast ended successfully.

Despite some rough edges here and there, the results more than made up for it.

“CHE…”

Sua had reached Diamond 2.

She played a total of seven matches today, with six wins and one loss.

Her score rose steadily until she finally hit her goal.

Blinking repeatedly, she couldn’t quite believe the rank on her screen.

Sua was a student worth teaching.

While her strong will made it challenging to erase her bad habits, she had natural talent.

I could even sense that, in terms of physical skills alone, she might surpass my younger self.

Seeing her joy, I felt a surge of pride as a teacher too.

Wanting to savor this feeling a bit longer, I ended the broadcast.

Switch had this great hosting feature, after all.

“<MoluDestroyingGrandmaCarts has donated 1,000 won!>”

“[Teacher, you must be proud of your student’s progress! What’s next on the agenda? A little ranked match maybe—]”

A donation message seemed to pop up just as I closed the broadcast, so there wasn’t much I could do about it.

I’ll prepare a reaction for the next time, I suppose.

Around 2,000 viewers from my stream moved over to Sua’s channel.

For something like this, I couldn’t believe there were that many people watching.

Since Sua was the main character of the day, they’d be better off watching from her channel.

I noticed a few viewers in Sua’s chat asking about me, but I ignored them.

They seemed a bit surprised by the abrupt ending, but they’d manage fine.

They’re not children looking for their mom; they’ll entertain themselves just fine.

Honestly, I could have kept streaming, but I had other things to do.

I stretched my stiff body and glanced up at the clock.

4:00 PM.

Six hours had passed since I started the broadcast.

Even though it was a late weekend, I had gotten up early at 10 a.m. to start the stream.

There was a reason for this—I had plans.

– Jiyeon: Sis, is your stream over?

– Jiyeon: You didn’t forget our plans, right?

– Jiyeon: Text me back when you see this.

Since when was having a younger sibling this bothersome?

I’ve never had one, so I wouldn’t know, but it felt endearing to know she was concerned about me, even if it was a bit of a hassle.

5 p.m.

I got her message yesterday, asking to have dinner together and go shopping.

It wasn’t too much trouble, so I agreed.

Forcing myself to keep my eyes open, I got up early to stream.

It wouldn’t be so bad to adjust my daily routine a little.

Jiyeon often hinted at watching my streams, sending texts asking if I’d eaten or if I was sleeping well.

To say the least, she acted more like an older sister—or even a mom.

There was a maternal vibe in her concern, like she was worrying about an underprepared child.

A friend once told me all women have a natural motherly instinct.

Getting ready to go out was a hassle.

To be more precise, going out with someone was the hassle.

If it were just me, I’d throw on whatever and leave.

But with Jiyeon, I felt pressure to put in some effort.

I even considered putting on makeup, something I don’t usually do—even though I have no idea how to.

After ten minutes of looking up makeup tutorials, I decided to skip it.

Makeup is an art women have mastered over time, and it looked difficult enough.

The makeup items on my dresser looked a bit sad, but nothing’s worse than messing it up.

Skipping makeup, I focused on my outfit.

This wasn’t easy either, but at least with clothes, I could put together something passable.

Was it just me, or do women really have this many clothes?

Every time I took out Jiyeon’s clothes from the closet, that’s what I wondered.

While sifting through the rows of clothes, I remembered something I’d read:

“Those who know fashion speak through their style.”

I’d show Jiyeon, who’s usually overprotective, through my outfit that I’m her older sister.

Once the concept was set, picking clothes was easy.

After all, I had a great figure for it.

Now that it was late autumn and chilly outside, I layered a black turtleneck under a black trench coat.

I paired it with pitch-black jeans.

All in black—it suited me.

Black always looks sharp, doesn’t it?

I was aiming for a cool, mature city-woman vibe, though I couldn’t be sure how well I pulled it off.

I looked at myself in the mirror.

My pale face stood out against the black.

With closed lips and sleepy eyes, I looked tired but hard to approach.

It seemed like a success.

Any further worrying, and I’d be late.

I left the comfort of my home.