The next morning.
Jihyeon awoke without an alarm.
Faint morning sunlight filtered through the small gap in her semi-basement room’s window.
Jihyeon rose from her bed, stretching and loosening her stiff body.
She then went through her usual routine of washing up and began preparing to go out.
Although her shift started at 3 PM, she had hurried from early morning.
This was to obtain the health certificate, a mandatory requirement for her cafe part-time job.
She pulled out an oversized hoodie and pants from her closet, then took out underwear from a drawer.
“…Haaah.”
Jihyeon unconsciously sighed as she looked at the bra in her hand.
It was one of the most challenging things to adapt to since her reincarnation into a female body.
This item was constricting, cumbersome, and utterly uncomfortable.
‘Why do I even have to wear this?’
Standing before the mirror, she put on the undergarment and gazed down at her chest.
A cliff.
It was a perfectly flat chest, one that wouldn’t even earn a second glance anywhere.
‘…At this point, wouldn’t nipple covers suffice?’
Jihyeon thought self-deprecatingly.
There was nothing to protect, nor any weight to support.
With a bitter expression, she adjusted her clothes.
“If I had a choice, I’d much rather have a glamorous body than this.”
Jihyeon grumbled, looking at her full reflection in the mirror.
Had she possessed a curvaceous figure, she wouldn’t have had such bothersome concerns. No, she might have even enjoyed it.
But reality was a cesspool.
Thanks to her childlike physique, even buying clothes was an ordeal.
Adult women’s clothing stores never had her size, and when she reluctantly browsed the children’s section, the staff’s reaction was always the same.
“Oh my, little one~ Are you here alone? Where are your parents?”
Though their words were meant to be concerned, they were nothing but stress for Jihyeon.
“Well, I’m used to it now.”
Jihyeon muttered, a bitter smile playing on her lips.
Still, being treated so overtly like a child inevitably put her in a bad mood.
‘Let’s go.’
Jihyeon grabbed her small cross-body bag and left the house.
She completed a few simple tests at the public health center.
The results, she was told, would be available in a few days.
Soon after, she headed to the VR Arena.
“Oh, Jihyeon. You’re early today?”
Goo Junseok, the owner, who had been idly scrolling on his smartphone at the counter, noticed her and greeted her.
“I’m here to play, Boss.”
Jihyeon bowed politely as she spoke.
“And I also went to the public health center for my check-up this morning. I’ll bring you the certificate as soon as it’s issued.”
“Oh, really? You’re quick to get things done.”
Junseok was secretly impressed by Jihyeon’s efficiency, which was far greater than he had expected.
He gestured with his chin towards the inner area and said,
“Just use any empty capsule.”
“Understood.”
Jihyeon replied briefly and made her way to the secluded capsule she had used yesterday.
As she lay back in the chair and put on the VR headset, the main lobby of Dive into the Battle appeared before her eyes.
[Training Mode]
[Please select a practice opponent.]
[Opponent: Tsubaki (AI Level: MAX)]
The screen shifted, and two characters stood in the middle of an empty training ground.
Jihyeon recalled the commands she had mentally rehearsed countless times the previous night.
‘Harassing shuriken, [Shadow Wedge].’
‘Launch technique, [Flash].’
‘Dash attack, [Phantom Step].’
She closed her eyes, recalling each movement she had learned in the tutorial.
When she opened her eyes, her fingers were already moving.
The first move she used was a harassment skill.
As Kagero waved her hand, three shurikens flew like shadows, aiming for Tsubaki’s upper body.
[Shadow Wedge]!
Tsubaki raised her mid-guard, blocking the shurikens.
It was at that very moment.
Kagero’s body, having drawn Tsubaki’s gaze with the shurikens, blurred like a heat haze and plunged into Tsubaki’s embrace.
[Phantom Step]!
Tsubaki, whose guard remained unbroken, was utterly defenseless against Kagero’s rushing grab.
[Mind’s Eye Stack: 0→ 2]
*Thud—!
Just as Tsubaki, slammed onto the floor, groaned and tried to get up, Jihyeon’s combo was far from over.
Kagero lowered her stance, launching a sharp low attack aimed at the ankle of her rising opponent.
Tsubaki, losing her balance from the low attack, was briefly lifted into the air.
[Flash]!
The wakizashi, shooting up like lightning, perfectly launched the airborne Tsubaki, completing the first combo Jihyeon had envisioned in her mind.
Yet, despite the flawless combo execution, Tsubaki’s health bar barely diminished.
Skills used with almost no Mind’s Eye stacks were simply too weak.
Ultimately, Kagero’s core strategy lay in accumulating stacks, beginning with parries.
‘So, rather than playing offensively, I should play defensively.’
Jihyeon paused her training and began to formulate her personal winning strategy in her mind.
First plan: If the opponent plays passively, actively lure them into close-quarters combat.
Win the grab mind game to accumulate a minimum number of stacks, then consume those stacks to link into [Flash Strike], an unblockable technique, thereby inflicting significant damage.
Second plan: If the opponent attacks aggressively, that is the perfect opportunity.
Counter all of the opponent’s combos with [Parry] to build up stacks.
Then, consume the accumulated stacks to overwhelm the opponent with enhanced skills, finishing with [Dream Bloom].
In the end, all paths led through parries and grabs.
“I can do this.”
Jihyeon murmured softly.
She possessed a reincarnation perk called [Transcendence] that would make it possible.
Once confident, Jihyeon exited training mode and pressed the [Start Ranked Match] button.
Thanks to her victory against Kanghyuk, the Mad Horse, yesterday, her current record stood at one win.
Nine placement matches still remained.
[Opponent found!]
The match was found quickly.
The screen transitioned to the loading screen, and the opponent’s character illustration appeared.
A female knight in red armor, wielding a sword wreathed in flames.
[ID: FlameFist]
[Character: Rivain]
A faint smile touched Jihyeon’s lips.
It was the very character Juyeon had played, the first opponent she had faced.
‘…A perfect practice opponent.’
[Kagero vs Rivain]
[ROUND 1. FIGHT!]
As soon as the countdown ended, the opponent’s Rivain charged forward with vigor.
Just like Juyeon, she used the standard pattern of throwing a fireball for harassment before closing in.
But for Jihyeon now, such an attack was nothing short of a perfect opportunity.
*Clang—!
As she lightly parried the incoming fireball, the message [Mind’s Eye Stack: 2] appeared.
Although the stack accumulation speed was slow since the passive skill [Oblique Line] wasn’t activated, Jihyeon remained unhurried.
‘First, just until 10 stacks.’
Rivain plunged forward and swung her sword, executing a three-hit combo that chained from high, to mid, to low.
Jihyeon didn’t dodge or block with elaborate movements. With minimal action, she simply raised her wakizashi just before her opponent’s sword could touch her body.
*Clang! Clang! Clank—!
Every attack was precisely parried.
The opponent’s dismay was palpable.
The fact that her main combo had been entirely blocked without inflicting any damage caused her to momentarily halt her movements.
[Mind’s Eye Stack: 8]
[Phantom Step]!
Kagero’s body blurred like a heat haze, diving into Rivain’s space.
[Flash]!
The wakizashi, imbued with the power of [Mind’s Eye Stack 8], emitted a light incomparably more potent than before, perfectly launching Rivain into the air.
And then, an aerial combo followed.
She threw shurikens to stun, launched her into the air once more, and finally slammed her forcefully onto the ground.
It was the most basic combo taught in the tutorial.
*Thwack—! *Thud—!
[Rivain HP: 100% → 60%]
[Mind’s Eye Stack: 0]
A single, perfect counterattack.
With that alone, nearly half of the opponent’s health had vanished.
‘…Stronger than I thought.’
Jihyeon was secretly pleased with the outcome of the combo, whose power had significantly increased by consuming all stacks.
Rivain, who had been knocked to the ground, scrambled to her feet.
The chat window rapidly flashed.
[FlameFist: No;; what are you;;]
[FlameFist: Is Kagero’s combo usually this strong?]
The opponent seemed to be in a panic.
But instead of replying, Jihyeon readjusted her grip on her wakizashi.
The match was not yet over.
And there were still many techniques she wished to test.
****
[WIN! -Kagero]
“It was a good duel.”
Kagero’s victory line played.
[FlameFist: No, f***, this makes no sense.]
[Nameless: Noob.]
[FlameFist: Accept a rematch.]
[Nameless: I don’t play with noobs.]
[FlameFist: Do you think winning by spamming specials after a few lucky parries is skill? lol Scared?]
Jihyeon, instead, found amusement in her opponent’s illogical provocation.
Her fingers tapped cheerfully on the keyboard.
[Nameless: Given your skill with a one-star difficulty Rivain, it might be faster for you to just quit the game.]
‘Eheheh.’
Jihyeon typed the chat, suppressing the laughter that involuntarily bubbled up.
It was a habit from her previous life, where she used to relieve the incessant stress of academics by playing online games. The satisfaction of utterly dominating an opponent with overwhelming skill, then verbally demolishing their morale through chat, was unparalleled.
[FlameFist: Argh, this b*stard really!!!!! Accept the rematch!!!!!!!]
[FlameFist: Wait a second.]
[FlameFist: Nameless?]
Her opponent’s chat momentarily paused. He seemed to have finally properly checked Jihyeon’s ID.
[FlameFist: Are you that hacker b*stard who beat Mad Horse yesterday?]
Jihyeon frowned.
Hacker. The Tsubaki user from yesterday had said something similar.
[Nameless: I’m not a hacker.]
She retorted briefly.
But her opponent didn’t seem to be listening.
[FlameFist: Yeah~ you’re a hacker, bye. Reporting you for permanent ban, bye bye.]
“…”
Jihyeon, no longer seeing any value in responding, pressed the [Return to Lobby] button.
Conversing with an unreasonable opponent was nothing but a waste of time.
****
[Author: FlameFist]
[Title: Ah f***, I met Nameless in ranked lololol]
[Content]
I was just doing my placements and met the rumored Nameless Kagero.
To get straight to the point?
That b*stard is 100% a hacker.
What kind of parrying is that, blocking everything at impossible timings,
and a single combo taking 60% of HP? Does that even make sense?
Mad Horse bro didn’t run for no reason, lol.
I was so pissed I asked for a rematch, and they said they don’t play with noobs,
and that if I had that skill with a 1-star difficulty character, I should just quit, even throwing in a full package of trash talk lololol.
Anyway, if you guys play ranked and meet Nameless, just pull your internet cable (TL Note: ‘랜뽑’ (raen-ppop) is a Korean slang term, ‘LAN pull,’ referring to intentionally disconnecting from the internet to avoid a loss or penalty in online games).
What’s the point of playing with a hacker and a trash-talker?
I’m off to smoke a cigarette.
[Comments]
– LOLOLOLOL you got owned too.
– Mad Horse bro lost, how could you possibly win?
– If there’s no proof, then what?
– [Attached Image: Match History Screenshot] Happy now?
– Even trash talks? Wow, so they’re not just skilled.
Less than ten minutes after the post went up, the community exploded.
[Title: I just lost to Nameless too. This b*stard only uses grabs.]
[Title: I checked Nameless’s record. Currently 5 wins, 0 losses lol]
[Title: (Video Attached) Is this really a beginner?]
