Chapter 4: If you commit a crime, you will be punished

Talent is a simple and clear truth that penetrates everything, but at the same time, it is a word that brings despair and deprivation to those who cannot reach it.

I was more of the latter type of person.

I prided myself on loving games more than anyone else and found joy in playing them.

I dreamed of becoming a professional gamer and faced a wall.

Once I reached the peak of my abilities and conditions, I realized that the difference between a professional and an amateur was as vast as the sky and the earth.

There are things in this world that cannot be achieved through effort alone.

I concluded my most beautiful and perfect youth with a moment of challenge and quietly disappeared into the background as a minor character.

Hmm, saying it like this feels too sad.

I lived well after that.

I gave up on the path of professionalism, but based on my unique understanding of games, I occasionally provided commentary as a high-ranking player and even worked on developing other games…

In any case, just like in the arts, where talent is important, talent is also crucial in gaming.

In the past, I was trampled by that talent, but now I am different.

– Enemy eliminated!

I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them again.

As my dilated pupils surveyed the battlefield, the enemy’s positions became immediately clear.

One on the left, two straight ahead, and one flanking from behind.

The last one is not visible. It seems to be providing support from behind, healing, or something similar.

I quickly scan the enemies and pinpoint their locations based on the visual information input.

Skills fly toward me from the front, aiming to keep me in check.

The incoming skills appear to be slow. I evade them with relaxed movements.

An assassin charges from behind.

I pretend not to notice and stay still, waiting for a slim opening to counterattack.

My character takes a stance, preparing for something without responding to the attack.

It’s parrying.

I have no idea why there is a parry in an FPS game, but it is an extremely useful feature.

According to the game developers, they wanted to give an advantage to close-range agents who get hit by long-range agents, and it turned out to be a good choice.

EoWar has taken on a unique position as an FPS with parrying.

The essential conditions are the timing of the counterattack and accurate aim.

If you meet those conditions, not only can you ignore the opponent’s attack, but you also disarm them for a certain period.

In the brief moment before an attack hits, when the weapons collide.

It is a technique that ordinary players do not use due to the difficulty of timing, making it the domain of high-ranking players.

-*H!

Sparks fly from the clashing blades.

With a bright metallic sound, the assassin’s center of gravity is disrupted.

I can see the opponent, who has been parried, panicking.

They must be thinking, “How did they time that when I was facing away?”

Indeed, I have no idea how I did it either.

It was the realm of reaction, not prediction.

The disarmed assassin drops their dagger and is struck down.

On the screen, a man dressed in Japanese-style attire puts a katana back into its scabbard.

He is the ‘Swordsman,’ one of the few melee agents in EoWar.

While he gives up the advantage in a standoff due to the lack of long-range suppressors, he is a character with unique mobility and a fierce single blow.

If your physical skills are lacking, you’re likely to hear the sound of a bug.

Exhaling the breath I had been holding, I observed the situation once again.

I smoothly eliminated two enemy dealers with a unique sense that others did not possess.

As soon as my brain sent the command, my fingers executed it instantly.

My agile fingers moved without any margin for error, and the harmony between my right and left hands was truly exquisite.

Did professionals live in a world like this?

Did they play every game with this tempo and this omnipotence?

It was unreasonable.

An incredibly unreasonable and violent talent.

But at the same time, it was fun.

I could immediately execute the plays I had only imagined in my head every day.

I pressed the game start button once more as if entranced,

unleashing the plays I usually only envisioned and slaughtering the enemies.

“OO…”

I stretched and let out a small groan.

I lost track of time.

I truly felt that sensation for the first time in a long while.

The stiffness I used to feel when I was deeply immersed in gaming and preparing to go pro flooded my upper body.

The headache caused by overworking my brain was an added bonus.

But I couldn’t stop here.

How long has it been since I felt this pure joy?

It was a sweetness of a different dimension compared to the sense of defeat I had felt in competitive matches when I lost my passion and skills.

I had entered matches with the mindset to stop playing when my physical limits were reached,

but this time, I couldn’t stop playing for another reason.

zhongdangzheng: Isn’t that person hacking?

Be patient, I’ll carry: Who?

zhongdangzheng: That’s the assassin Sua who appeared on the stream. They say that person is hacking.

Be patient, I’ll carry: Huh?

I’ll smash your head: Oh— I got matched with a hacker. Dodge it.

It was time to pick the assassin, a romantic character with flashy effects that I couldn’t use due to my lack of physical ability, despite having a sufficient understanding of the agents.

I was thrown back into the lobby, searching for a game with strange chat messages.

“What’s going on?”

I thought I heard something about an assassin.

In a situation where I couldn’t grasp the content of the chat properly, I matched again.

One shot is enough: I don’t play with hackers.

lilllillll: Aren’t you punished for getting carried?

I was thrown back into the lobby again.

It was impossible to progress in the game.

But this time, I was able to understand the reason closely.

The term “hacker” from the previous pick chat seemed to refer to me.

If that’s the case, then I understand people’s reactions.

Hacker.

Hackers, hack users…

They are cruel groups that use or distribute illegal programs to disrupt the order of the game.

I had encountered users who used hacks before.

In a screen that moved at an eerie speed, the opponents fell one by one.

Naturally, those who died without understanding what happened would lose the desire to play the game.

The game developers of EoWar reacted sensitively to the hacking issue.

When a report came in about a suspected hacker, they would check if the illegal program was being used,

and if detected, they would suspend all linked accounts.

Any matching records or chats that benefited from hackers would also face significant penalties if discovered.

This was why people dodged when matched with me.

Would it be fun to play a game using hacks?

That was a question I always had.

Hack users, the main culprits that drive away players who love games, are parasites that eat away at the game.

But what if that was me?

“Ha.”

A cold voice escaped my mouth, even sounding harsh to my own ears.

Users who hack may seem to overwhelm their opponents with outstanding skill at first glance,

but if you observe their gameplay for just a moment, you can discover some awkward points.

The difference between a hacker and a skilled player can be clearly distinguished by looking at the first-person view for just a short while.

This was an insult to me and a challenge at the same time.

I began to try to understand why this was happening.

And before long, I discovered a clue to the incident.

– Did you watch Sua’s stream today? That hacker is so obvious, lol.

[Huh? Isn’t Sua a platy? What hacks are there?]

[Sua is a diamond; she climbed up with the viewer’s carries.]

[She’s not even platinum; she was doing a side account leveling content and met a hacker in gold.]

[Looking at the record, she was in a game until just a moment ago. Why isn’t she getting banned?]

[Is it a hack? Isn’t it just a side account?]

[Watch the replay of Sua starting from 1:40:33; just watching the screen spin shows it’s hacking.]

[It’s a clear case; she’s probably going to get banned soon.]

[Sua was probably smiling because of the broadcast content.]

[Don’t insult our Sua, you bastards.]

[Investigation squad apprehended.]

[The broth is leaking… Teacher, please wash up.]

With just a quick Google search, I could easily enter the Agent of War gallery.

Commonly known as E-Gal.

It’s a large community discussing Agent of War, where thousands to tens of thousands of posts are uploaded daily.

As a place that deals with all sorts of issues,

naturally, there were also posts about today’s hacking incident.

As I browsed through the gallery, I could closely understand the details of the incident.

This was possible because there was a detailed record of the streamer ‘Sua’ in her replay.

– No way, does this even make sense!

– Her aim is insane!

– Hacking? Really?

The streamer ‘Sua’ encountered me while playing a game.

I defeated her with overwhelming skill.

After that, a chat stating I was a hacker appeared, and Sua’s stream took on a tone of agreement with that.

It was a simple incident that could be summarized in three lines.

It was the reason I couldn’t get matched anymore.

“Haha.”

I let out a hollow laugh out of disbelief.

Is it really just because of this?

Just a few words led to me being labeled a hacker?

What are we, a bunch of baby chimpanzees?

I was stirred into a frenzy without any clear evidence; I was simply manipulated.

Then suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

If someone can falsely accuse an innocent person of being a hacker with just a few words,

shouldn’t they be punished?