Lee Jihyeon’s winning streak continued uninterrupted.
Within the placement match bracket, no one proved capable of halting her advance.
Regardless of the opponent or their chosen character, Lee Jihyeon meticulously dismantled them within the confines of her unique winning formula.
It was, quite simply, an unstoppable momentum.
Her record soon stood at an impressive 9 wins and 0 losses, with only a single placement match left to play.
[Opponent found!]
The final opponent’s profile materialized on the screen.
[ID: 잡기조아 (TL Note: A Korean ID meaning ‘Loves Grabs’)]
A colossal figure, massive as a mountain, appeared; a muscular giant, his entire body crisscrossed with scars, wore an unsettling grin, his four arms poised.
[Character: Asura]
‘Asura’.
True to its name, Asura was an extreme grappler, specializing exclusively in devastating grabs and throws.
‘What a grotesque appearance,’ Lee Jihyeon thought, her honest impression escaping her inwardly.
[ROUND 1. FIGHT!]
The moment the countdown concluded, Lee Jihyeon immediately initiated [Phantom Step], closing the distance to attempt a grab.
Her intention, as always, was to strike first and dictate the pace of the match.
However, Asura did not evade; instead, precisely as Kagero reached out to grab, two of Asura’s lower arms shot out, seizing Kagero by the waist.
[Command Grab: Hell Wheel (地獄車) (TL Note: ‘Jigokcha’ in Korean, meaning ‘Hell Wheel’)]
‘What?’
‘I clearly initiated the grab first.’
Yet, the system had prioritized Asura’s grab.
“Kwahahaha!”
Asura hoisted Kagero as if they were a mere toy, slammed them into the ground three consecutive times, and then hurled them skyward.
*CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!*
[Kagero HP: 100% → 75%]
A single grab.
That alone had depleted a significant portion of their health.
‘Why? I used the grab first, didn’t I?’
Lacking comprehensive game knowledge, Lee Jihyeon found herself utterly bewildered as to why she had lost the priority battle.
‘I’ll understand if I try again.’
A surge of stubbornness ignited within Lee Jihyeon.
She once again closed in on Asura, attempting another grab.
The outcome remained unchanged.
Her own grab was dismissed, and she was once more utterly dominated by Asura’s overwhelming command grab.
[Kagero HP: 75% → 50%]
“…This is absurd,” Lee Jihyeon murmured.
She refused to accept that her most potent weapon, the very technique that had consistently paved her path to victory, was now inexplicably nullified.
Like a machine with a faulty input, she attempted the grab a third time, then a fourth, each attempt identical.
Ultimately, the first round concluded in an absurd fashion, with Lee Jihyeon unable to land a single effective blow, constantly subjected to relentless grabs.
[KO!]
[잡기조아: You suck lol]
Lee Jihyeon offered no reaction to her opponent’s taunting message.
Her mind was consumed by a singular, persistent thought.
‘Why did I lose?’
There was clearly something she was missing.
Prior to the next round’s commencement, Lee Jihyeon meticulously replayed the moment her own grab was overridden, and only her opponent’s grab unilaterally connected.
‘Even though my hand connected first, the system only acknowledged the opponent’s grab.’
This led her to a crucial conclusion.
‘It’s not a standard grab. It’s a special technique with a higher priority. If that’s the case, I can never win a grab exchange. I have to evade it.’
[ROUND 2. FIGHT!]
The moment the countdown concluded, Asura once again charged at Lee Jihyeon, mirroring the exact pattern from Round 1.
This time, however, things were different.
In the precise instant Asura extended their arms for the command grab,
Lee Jihyeon’s Kagero pushed off the ground, leaping gracefully into the air.
Gazng down as Asura’s massive arms futilely sliced through the empty space beneath her, Lee Jihyeon felt a surge of certainty.
She had found the counter.
Yet, the next challenge immediately presented itself.
‘If that special grab can be used continuously…’
Simply evading it would not suffice for victory, as a jump to avoid it would leave her equally vulnerable.
Knowing the counter and actually defeating it were two entirely separate matters.
It was then that Lee Jihyeon’s gaze fell upon a particular section of the screen interface.
A small, six-segment energy gauge, nestled beneath Asura’s health bar, caught her attention.
She vividly recalled how, in Round 1, each successful special grab by her opponent had precisely consumed two segments of that very gauge.
‘That was it.’
Lee Jihyeon suddenly understood everything.
A faint smile touched her lips.
That special grab was not a technique that could be used indefinitely.
Each use depleted two segments of that universal resource gauge, revealing it to be a specialized technique with a finite cost.
With this realization, her path to victory became clear.
‘I need to continuously bait out his grabs, forcing him to expend all his remaining resources.’
Lee Jihyeon’s playstyle underwent a complete transformation.
She no longer maintained distance or played defensively; instead, she aggressively plunged directly into Asura’s reach.
[Phantom Step]!
Kagero shimmered forward, appearing before Asura like a wisp of heat haze.
Believing Lee Jihyeon was attempting yet another grab, 잡기조아 (Japgi-joa) let out a triumphant cry and input the [Hell Wheel] command.
But this time, it was different.
The instant Lee Jihyeon closed the distance, she immediately leaped skyward.
“Guhok?!”
It was a perfect feint, striking at the opponent’s vulnerability.
Asura’s four arms sliced futilely through the empty air, and Kagero, seizing the momentary opening, stomped directly onto Asura’s head from above.
*THUD!*
The massive figure lost its balance and toppled to the ground.
Asura’s resource gauge depleted by two more segments, leaving only two remaining.
[잡기조아: You bastard!]
Though fury flared in the chat window, Lee Jihyeon paid it no mind.
Instead of pressing her advantage against the prone Asura, she deliberately widened the distance, waiting for him with a hint of provocation.
“Kweu-euh…!”
The moment Asura regained their footing, they charged at Kagero with a wild, irrational fury.
Lee Jihyeon responded with the identical pattern.
[Phantom Step] to approach, followed by a jump.
This time, however, her opponent’s reaction differed.
‘In mid-air?’
Having anticipated Lee Jihyeon’s jump, Asura likewise shot skyward.
They then extended all four arms, attempting to seize Kagero in mid-air.
This was Asura’s other special grab, [Abyss Drop].
Yet, Lee Jihyeon showed no panic; in the precise instant Asura’s hands were about to connect, she initiated her own grab.
*CLACK!*
In mid-air, the characters’ hands collided, and Asura’s special grab was helplessly broken.
‘This one appears to have the same activation speed.’
[Asura Resource Gauge: 2 segments → 0 segments]
“It’s over,” Lee Jihyeon murmured quietly.
Having squandered their final resource in mid-air, Asura plummeted defenselessly to the ground.
Lee Jihyeon seized the moment.
Approaching with [Phantom Step].
Then, she unleashed the technique in which she held the most confidence: a grab.
*GRAB! CRASH!*
[Asura HP: 100% → 80%]
[Mind’s Eye Stack: 0 → 1]
The chat window of her utterly helpless opponent blinked frantically.
[잡기조아: No, WTF, wait a minute]
Lee Jihyeon smirked, then typed into the chat. From this point forward, it would be a one-sided hunt.
[무명 (TL Note: ‘Moomyeong,’ meaning ‘Nameless’): Why? It’s your specialty, isn’t it?]
She once again dove into Asura, successfully landing another grab.
*GRAB! CRASH!*
[Asura HP: 80% → 60%]
[Mind’s Eye Stack: 1 → 2]
[무명: Oh? Why aren’t you using that skill from earlier?]
[무명: Ah, you can’t use it because you’re out of resources, can you?]
[무명: So, without that, you’re just a one-trick grab spammer who can’t do anything. Pathetic.]
[잡기조아: Ugh, this damn bastard, seriously…]
However, her opponent was not entirely foolish.
Although 잡기조아 (Japgi-joa) had seemed to lose all reason, the moment Lee Jihyeon lunged in for another grab, they executed a back jump, creating crucial distance.
They then refrained from rashly re-engaging, instead moving back and forth at a safe distance, meticulously searching for an opening.
This was their last, desperate hope: that by simply avoiding the grabs, they might somehow turn the tide.
‘Heh, they’re not completely oblivious.’
Lee Jihyeon threw a shuriken to bait them out.
[Shadow Wedge]!
*SWISH!*
As the three shurikens flew, Asura reflexively brought up their guard.
[Phantom Step]!
‘A grab!’
잡기조아 (Japgi-joa) anticipated another grab and braced to counter it.
But Lee Jihyeon’s true intention lay elsewhere.
[Flash]!
[Mind’s Eye Stack Consumption: 2]
Kagero’s wakizashi surged like lightning, precisely slicing upwards at Asura’s unguarded lower body.
The massive figure was helplessly launched into the air.
Lee Jihyeon executed a flawless aerial combo against the airborne Asura, slamming them back to the ground.
[Asura HP: 60% → 45%]
“Kuek…!”
잡기조아 (Japgi-joa) struggled desperately to create distance, but Lee Jihyeon, having seized the momentum, had no intention of letting them escape.
Kagero lunged at Asura just as they were recovering, landing a grab with perfect timing.
*CRASH!*
[Asura HP: 45% → 25%]
Now, only one more successful grab would finish the match.
But Lee Jihyeon chose not to grab.
‘Should I try this one too?’
Her gaze drifted to the three full segments of mana gauge at the bottom of the screen.
A resource she had never used before.
Recalling the command she had seen in the tutorial, Lee Jihyeon expended two segments of her mana gauge.
[Finishing Move: Wind God (風神) (TL Note: ‘Pungsin’ in Korean, meaning ‘Wind God’)]
This was one of Kagero’s primary damage-dealing abilities, capable of inflicting full damage even without Mind’s Eye stacks.
Instantly, a blue current of wind swirled around Kagero’s body.
“W-what is this?!”
Kagero, seemingly one with the wind, began to overwhelm Asura with a flurry of ultra-high-speed attacks.
A relentless succession of martial arts followed: slashes with the wakizashi, elbow strikes, and knee thrusts.
*BAM! RAT-A-TAT-TAT!*
Asura was pushed back by the merciless, storm-like barrage, unable even to raise a guard.
And finally,
Kagero delivered a powerful strike to Asura’s solar plexus, sending the colossal body flying like a sheet of paper to crash into the wall.
*CRASH!*
[Asura HP: 20% → 0%]
[KO]
[잡기조아: WTF what’s that damage]
[무명: Can’t do anything, can you? lol You’re a grab one-trick, aren’t you?]
[잡기조아: Yeah~ I’d win if we played again. Shut your mouth.]
[ROUND 3. FIGHT!]
However, contrary to their bravado, Round 3 unfolded in a similar fashion to Round 2.
No, it was even worse.
Facing Lee Jihyeon, who had now perfectly grasped all of Asura’s patterns and counters, 잡기조아 (Japgi-joa) was utterly toyed with, like a mere insect.
All their attacks were blocked, and all their grabs were broken.
And into every opening, Lee Jihyeon’s merciless combos ceaselessly pounded Asura’s body.
Ultimately, Round 3 concluded with a perfect victory for Lee Jihyeon, her opponent failing to inflict even a single digit of damage.
[PERFECT KO]
[WIN! – Kagero]
“That was a good match.”
[Placement Match Results Notification.]
[10 wins 0 losses.]
[Assigned Tier: Platinum 3]
