Chapter 60 : I can’t stand it, Lenee, really

[Lene]

[It’s been a while.]

[New Dimension | 1,443 viewers | 01:16:31]

…Something’s off.

Why is this happening?

I attacked at the exact right moment.

No, at the perfect moment.

And yet, my war hammer didn’t even graze the hem of his clothes—it simply sliced through empty air.

The result? Two consecutive losses.

In fact, the only successful attack I landed was the very first one at the beginning.

— In the end, Etak is still Etak.

— Isn’t the opponent just way too strong?

— A god has descended; how is a human supposed to win? LOL

— Shouldn’t we be praising the room host for landing that first hit instead?

— If only they hadn’t stopped then, they might’ve won at least one round.

The chat was filled with people discussing my situation.

Of course, no one expected me to win.

After losing so miserably twice in a row, it was only natural.

But honestly, what they were saying wasn’t important right now.

What I needed to figure out was: Why aren’t my attacks landing on him?

(Are You Ready?)

Before I could find an answer, the great bell rang again, as if refusing to give me any time to think.

(Fight!)

And the moment that message appeared, he once again charged straight at me.

The counterattack I used the first time wouldn’t work anymore.

It had only succeeded because I’d exploited the opponent’s preconceptions about my weapon and the battlefield.

Now that he expected it, it was no longer an unpredictable variable.

So once again, all I could do was back away and defend against his assault.

…Now.

Shiiing!

My war hammer tore through the air with a slicing sound.

It was, without a doubt, an accurate and perfectly timed strike.

A guaranteed hit—calculated to make dodging impossible.

Yet once again, my attack didn’t even graze the hem of his clothes.
It simply cut through empty air.

And I had to pay the price for that failure.

Even with an acceleration skill active, I was still wielding a war hammer and clad in full plate armor.

I couldn’t be faster than someone in light armor equipped with knuckles.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

One missed attack had cost me three hits in return.

And just like that, I lost about 10% of my HP.

Calling it a small mistake would be an understatement.

But in this situation, this was the only way I could hope to win.

Retreat while blocking as many of his attacks as possible.
And the moment I spotted an opening, swing my war hammer.

I wished I could make the first move, but knowing nothing about my opponent meant that would only lead to an even more one-sided humiliation.

What exactly was the problem?

If only he were overconfident in his advantage and rushed in recklessly, things would be easier.

But instead, he moved carefully and precisely, watching my every move without missing a single detail.

Of course.

This is the level of effort needed to be ranked number one and win tournaments.

“Hmm…”

Before I knew it, my HP had dropped to 25%.

But I still hadn’t found a way out.

How should I put this?

It feels like I’m fighting someone who exists in a slightly different world than mine.

“Hup!”

“…Ah.”

Lost in thought for a moment, my reaction was delayed.

He, who had been just out of reach of my warhammer, ducked in and threw a punch.

I knew I was already too late, but I swung my warhammer anyway.

And then—

“Huh?”

Thud.

My warhammer barely grazed his shoulder as it passed by.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t a clean hit, so his HP bar only dropped by about 2%.
Meanwhile, he barely staggered and continued his attack.

As a result, I lost another 10% of my HP.

A trade of 2% for 10%. A clear loss.

But I didn’t care.

What mattered now was the fact that my attack had connected.

Why?

It should have been slower than all my previous attacks, so why did this one land?

—Now you can’t even counter, lololol

—How the hell do you hit a martial artist when they move like that, seriously

—Watching a cheater get schooled is so satisfying, lolol

—Dude’s using hacks and still losing, what an idiot, lololol

—More dumbasses showing up, smh

—Ban these guys already

—Give me back my little Rene…

—Lene, we need more mods

I pulled my gaze away from the chat, which was scrolling at an incredible speed.

And I thought.

How did that happen?

If I kept it simple, I could probably recreate that attack.

But my opponent was someone called the pinnacle.

If I relied on lucky shots, he’d quickly figure out my intentions and shut me down.

So what I needed to do now was turn that coincidence into something inevitable.

I recalled his movements.
How his shoulders shifted. The stance he took to attack me. The angle at which he closed the distance.

Was I focusing too deeply?

Before I realized it, he had already closed in on me.

What caught my eye was his legs—his footwork.

In martial arts, it’s commonly called stepping.

“…Ah.”

Come to think of it, he used to be a kickboxer, didn’t he?

“I got it.”

I took a slight step back, letting his attack slide past, then swung my warhammer upward from below.

This time, it was precise—executed with perfect timing.

BOOM!

A much heavier sound echoed than when a gauntlet struck full plate armor, and just like in the first set, he was sent flying backward.

His HP dropped by about 15%.

Of course, I also took some damage since my reaction had been slightly delayed, but it didn’t really matter.

Because now, I was certain I had figured out the trick.

Pulling my foot back slightly even while attacking, leaving a gap so I could deflect my opponent’s attacks at any time.

Thanks to that, what I thought was the perfect timing for an attack actually turned out to be a half-beat faster.

I never imagined a technique like this.

It makes sense why it feels like he’s attacking from a different world than mine.

…Well.

In that world, magic had developed far more than these intricate techniques, so this was only natural.

Even though it’s been over a year since I arrived on Earth, I guess my mind is still stuck thinking in terms of the other world.

If I had realized from the start that he was a kickboxer, I would’ve caught on much sooner.

Alright.

Now it’s my turn.

In the first set, when I successfully landed a counter, I hadn’t rushed in to continue attacking the moment he fell—because I felt something was off.

Even though it was a moment where he shouldn’t have been able to defend, he still managed to block and reduce the damage.

But now, I understood exactly why.

Which meant there was no longer any reason to avoid a direct confrontation.

“Hoo…”

I took a deep breath, then stepped forward and accelerated.

He raised both hands in front of his face, looking at me as if preparing to land a counterattack.

But I didn’t care about that.

As long as I understood the foundation of his movements, no matter how he adapted, I could counter him.

I knew I shouldn’t compare, but… even if I didn’t have the same techniques, the holy knights of our order were far faster.

Whoosh!

As the distance closed, I dodged his incoming punch, took another step forward, and without hesitation, swung my warhammer down at his head.

He twisted his body violently, barely managing to block my attack, but in doing so, his stance completely collapsed.

And I had no intention of letting that opening go.

“Ugh?!”

I heard the shock in his voice as I continued my attack—faster, more precise, striking again and again.

I gave him no chance to counter.

Even though he was somehow managing to block my attacks, it didn’t really matter.

Even if he succeeded in defending, the limits of his light armor ensured that his HP was steadily decreasing.

90%. 80%. 76%. 63%. 50%. 43%.

I can win. No—I will win.

He had no more options left, at least not for now.

30%. 25%.

And when his HP finally dropped to 12%,

“Ah…”

He completely lost his focus and fell backward.

At this point, stopping was impossible.

If I brought my warhammer down, all of his remaining HP would disappear.

Just before my warhammer touched his head—
(Time Over)

A notification popped up in front of me, signaling the end of the PVP match.

(You Lose)

The result—

The screen displayed my defeat.

My remaining HP was 11.79%. His was 12.04%.

A mere 0.25% difference.

—Wow, damn, that was so close.

—Thought you had that one.

—Did you panic at the end and use hacks? lol

—That was an amazing match.

—Idiots, can’t you tell Ga-eun let them win on purpose?

What a shame. I had that match won.

[…Good game, Lene. It must have been sudden, but thank you for going along with it.]

“Ah, no, not at all. I actually had a really… good experience. Thank you….”

[I have a scheduled event coming up, so I think I need to leave now. Is that okay?]

“Oh, yes. Goodbye….”

[Thank you. …And I’ll be waiting.]

With that, the PVP lobby screen loaded, and those were Ga-eun’s last words before she logged out of New Dimension and Miss Code.

A pro gamer.
Someone at the very top of the scene, and, as expected, she seemed quite busy.

・She really was insanely skilled.

If the match had continued, I definitely would have won—

But that was only because Ga-eun got flustered after her strategy was exposed.

She was a former professional kickboxing athlete, so those skills couldn’t have been everything she had.

Wouldn’t I have lost the next round anyway?

She had to be at that level to win at world tournaments.

“Hmm… That last one was a little disappointing. I could’ve won….”

—20

—If you had taken just one round off her, that would’ve been something to brag about for life lol

—Dude, you got to add Ga-eun and Miss Code and NewD as friends and even PVP her. That’s already legendary.

—For real lol

—But Ga-eun really is ridiculously good.

“I was seriously shocked, too….”

As if it was obvious, the chat was flooded with nothing but praise for Ga-eun.
Over and over, only Ga-eun was being praised.

…I don’t like this.

Of course, I knew she was amazing, but this was still my stream.
And honestly, in that last moment, I was the one who had won.

The chat had been full of people saying A-rank players or ‘Eddaqs’ would never even take a single set off her.
But I’d proven them wrong.
Shouldn’t I be getting some praise, too?

“Hm. Ahem… Uh, everyone…?”

—?
—Yeah?

─ I kind of want to have a PVP match with Gaeun too.
But saying that outright feels a bit embarrassing, so I’ll phrase it indirectly.

“Well, I mean, in the end, I almost won…? My opponent was Gaeun, the world champion… and I’m just an A-rank…. Hmm….”

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

For some reason, my words filled the chat with laughter.

Why. What is it…

─ If you want to be praised, just say it honestly ㅋㅋ

“…Yes. I want to be praised. How was I…? I was cool, right..?”

Honestly, the beginning and the end were pretty amazing.

— Ox

─ Grand Emperor Lene

— I almost fell for you lol

─ But why is this brat suddenly acting cute?

— This isn’t our usual troublemaker leader…

— To be honest, kinda hot…

― Not just kinda, just straight-up hot

“Heh, hehehe…. Heh… Puhuhuu… Right? I was cool, right? Hehe….”

As I absorbed the praise from my viewers, feeding my self-esteem—

― That laugh is actually insane

— Why is this bastard’s laugh so damn hot?

— I’m melting, wtf…

‘₩70,000 has been donated.’

[Username]

(Lene vs. Gaeun PVP.mp4)

“Already clipped it lol.”

“H-Huh?!”

The sudden sound of a donation alert for over ₩50,000 blasted in my ears.

I had set it up before the stream just in case, but I didn’t actually expect to receive anything.

It completely caught me off guard.

─ F***, you little minx

― I can’t take this anymore, Lene…

— ?

— I’m done for, noona…

— Is this bastard actually a female???

─ Calm down, Johnson, calm down, Johnson, calm down, Johnson, calm down, Johnson

─ Just marry me already, you b*****

What.

What’s with them.

…But earlier.

“I’ll be waiting.”

What exactly did Gaeun mean by that?