Chapter 94: Pro Crusher

“Cctcct…”

Jimin gnawed at her fingernails, eyes locked on the results screen.

The word “Defeat” burned into her vision, ripping her apart inside.

It was a normal loss screen—nothing new.

But this one felt especially hard to accept.

Was it because she had just lost to the infamous Molru?

If this keeps up… I might get thrown away.

A strange sense of urgency gripped Jimin.

She had to prove her worth.

[What is she even doing?]

[Is Jimin wearing dentures now?]

[She’s biting her nails again. She did that even during tournaments.]

[Where’s the coaching staff? She’s clearly not okay.]

[Just log off and rest. You look messed up.]

[Wait, what is she doing now?]

[Uh… why is she challenging Molru?]

But Jimin didn’t stop.

Even though she was still live on stream, she sent Molru a friend request and challenged her to a 1v1.

All that was left was Molru’s response.

Molilru: gg

She accepted without hesitation.

Click click click—

Jimin’s eyes were bloodshot as she swiftly set up the match.

She invited Molru, then laid out the rules.

December Jimin: Mirror match?

Molilru: lol

December Jimin: Best of three. First to win two rounds wins.

Molilru: All good.

“This arrogant btch.”*

Jimin muttered under her breath.

The way Molru spoke so casually, like she was already in control…

It pissed her off.

She doesn’t know her place.

I’ll make her regret it.

[??? What did she just say?]

[Did she just curse?]

[Her lips definitely said “fcking shtty b*tch”.]

[Jimin just called Molru trash?!]

[50 million Molru fans have entered the chat.]

[Are we initiating the Molru Raid?]

[Is this the moment?!]

[Wait, since when were there 50 million Molru fans?]

[There isn’t a single person in Korea who hates Molru.]

[Jimin hates Molru, apparently.]

[Is she even Korean?]

[Just call her Chinese. She looks like one anyway.]

[Hey, watch it.]

[Be careful or you’ll get sued.]

[Even if it wasn’t Molru, no pro should be cussing on stream.]

[Someone shut down her stream!]

[December Games, where are you?!]

[LMAO, this is golden content.]

Jimin had completely lost control.

At this point, it was a full-blown scandal.

Even if she bowed down and publicly apologized, it might not be enough.

But before she could even realize it, the 1v1 match had already begun.

“A 1v1, huh…”

It had been a long time since her last serious 1v1.

Was the last time… during team training sessions?

It had been months since she had experienced this feeling.

December Jimin: Swordsman. Ready?

Molilru: Ready.

December Jimin: Go.

Molilru: lol.

The exchange was brief—straight to the point.

Like how men used to talk in the old days.

…Though, technically, she wasn’t a man anymore.

Still, some of those old instincts remained.

And apparently, the same went for December Jimin, with his oddly specific nickname.

Does he like a girl group member named Jimin?

Or is this just his actual name?

Either way, how competitive must he be to immediately challenge her to a 1v1?

Back in the old days, during Season 1 and 2,

1v1 duels like this happened all the time.

Why did I lose?

How did I die?

How does this player approach the game?

People obsessed with improving would do anything to sharpen their skills.

But times had changed.

With higher average skill levels, video guides, and strategy posts all over the internet,

Pure 1v1 duels like these had become rare.

“Man… those were the days.”

Even with low-resolution graphics, if you uploaded a gameplay guide, you could rake in views.

I should’ve started YouTube back then…

…Then again, back then, he was just a hairy old man.

No one would’ve watched me stream anyway.

As those pointless thoughts passed through her mind,

The match finally began.

A mirror match between swordsmen—the agent she had used the most ever since she became Ji-eun.

Her opponent?

Diamond 1.

Similar in rank to Daeshik, who used to hover around Master.

I should treat him like I’m fighting Daeshik.

She unsheathed her blade.

Time to test the waters.

Light pokes.

Footwork.

Trading a few slashes, then pulling back.

Huh…

He’s better than I expected.

At the very least—

Better than Daeshik.

Was he always a player who specialized in these high-mechanics champions?

Like the assassin from earlier—someone who mastered blade champions?

“I see now. I understand your level.”

As the duel continued, I analyzed his attack patterns.

The more I realized how skilled he was, the more my lips curved into a smirk.

Even better.

A real duel.

A worthy opponent.

“You don’t get this kind of thrill in team games.”

Team fights in competitive matches were usually chaotic, and one-on-one duels like this were rare.

Honestly, the fact that we were fighting in melee combat in an FPS game was pretty funny…

But it had its own charm.

I grinned, watching my opponent swing his sword again and again.

“Why…”

Why won’t he fall?!

Jimin gritted her teeth, staring down the unmoving swordsman before her.

Crack.

The grinding of her teeth was so loud, it even leaked into the stream.

[LOL, Jimin is getting destroyed.]

[Molru is going easy on her, though.]

[Yeah, you can tell—she’s barely attacking, mostly parrying.]

[Maybe they’re just evenly matched?]

[If they were, Jimin wouldn’t be grinding her teeth like that.]

[LMAO, the one getting mad is the one who’s losing.]

[Wait… is she even allowed to keep streaming? What about the swearing incident earlier?]

[She’s definitely gonna get chewed out by the coach. The internet is already blowing up about it.]

[LOL, Jimin is done.]

Some amateur.

Someone who had never even touched the pro scene,

Who had never gone up against that legendary player in Aeor War,

“How the hell is she playing like this?”

At first, they had been even.

When they were still trading pokes and playing carefully, Jimin had felt like she had a chance.

But as time passed, the pressure grew.

And grew.

Until it was so overwhelming, she couldn’t land a single clean hit anymore.

It was like fighting a learning AI—

One that was adapting in real time to her attack patterns.

No matter how she swung her sword,

No matter what angle she attacked from,

It was always parried.

“This person…”

She hadn’t landed a single hit.

As if up until now, Molru had just been playing around.

It was like swinging a wooden stick at a castle gate—completely ineffective.

Jimin felt the wall.

But she refused to accept it.

No—she couldn’t accept it.

If she admitted she was inferior to Molru here,

Then what was left of her?

Nothing.

The die had already been cast.

There was nowhere to run.

—Slash.

A cold blade cut through Jimin’s swordsman.

“Gah…!”

Her thoughts had been too jumbled,

And she had let another attack land.

“Fine, let’s just finish this.”

She hardened her gaze, ready to push forward—

Until—

“HEY! KIM JIMIN! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!”

“…Huh?”

A furious voice rang out from behind her.

Still fully immersed in the duel,

Jimin turned her head a beat too late.

And when she did—

She saw her coach, his face red with anger,

Standing right behind her, flanked by her teammates.

“Why is everyone here…?”

“WHAT did you do on stream that’s got EVERYONE talking about you?!”

“People even came to MY stream, telling me to make you shut yours down, Jimin.”

“You… swore on stream?!”

“Wait, that was REAL?!”

“Holy sh*t, dude.”

[LOL, right when it was getting good.]

[GG, Jimin.]

[At least finish the match before you go.]

[Just end the stream already.]

[Thank god they stopped her before she made it even worse.]

[Jimin was about to embarrass herself even more.]

Now fully realizing the situation,

Jimin hurriedly moved her mouse and ended the stream.

“Turn off the game too. Now. We need to talk.”

“I… Coach, I’m in the middle of a 1v1, just let me finish—”

“DID I STUTTER? TURN IT OFF. NOW.”

The coach’s patience snapped.

Running a hand through his hair, he snapped at her in frustration.

Jimin, her face stiff, forcefully shut down her computer.

“What the hell?”

Victory!

I stared at the sudden victory screen, feeling empty.

I had been carefully pacing the fight,

Holding back just enough to make it fun,

And then—

She just quit?

“She came in all tough, challenging me to a 1v1, and then rage-quits like this?”

It didn’t feel like she left because she knew she would lose.

After all, I had only won one round so far.

Something must have come up.

Still, having the match cut short just as it was getting exciting—

“What a letdown.”

Smacking my lips in disappointment,

I logged off.

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