The screen displayed a match video, featuring Kagero, identified by the ID [Nameless], facing off against Mad Demon Kanghyuk’s Tsubaki.
Kanghyuk had deliberately refrained from adding any commentary.
He simply wished for viewers to experience the raw, unadulterated shock.
In the early moments of Round 1.
The video depicted Kanghyuk overwhelmingly cornering Kagero.
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ As expected of Hyuk-hyung.]
[He’s already mastered the new character’s combos, wow.]
[You guys haven’t seen the uploaded live stream footage, have you?]
[Kagero is just standing there, what are we supposed to be looking at?]
The viewers reacted as if this were entirely expected, witnessing South Korea’s top professional gamer utterly dominate a novice.
[As expected, a novice’s ambition is no match for the Great Mad Demon.]
[I worship you….]
[No, he’s just stomping noobs like he always does.]
For them, it was an all too familiar and predictable sight.
Kanghyuk silently observed the video.
Kagero’s health had dwindled to twenty percent, and Kanghyuk’s Tsubaki was unleashing its final three-hit combo in that very moment.
*Clang-clang-clang!*
The instant three consecutive, god-like parries exploded across the screen, the rapidly scrolling chat window momentarily froze.
[Huh?]
[What was that just now?]
[??????]
[Wait, did Kagero get a buff? That parry skill got nerfed repeatedly, its frames weren’t just halved, they were decimated to a tenth!]
Immediately afterward, Lee Jihyeon’s Kagero retaliated with [Flash], only for Kanghyuk’s Tsubaki to counter it with [Hidden Blossom] and secure victory for Round 1.
[Whoa, OMG, Hyuk-hyung’s judgment is insane.]
[Ah, damn, I missed it while getting water.]
[He countered that, wow. As expected of the Mad Demon.]
[But what was that parry just now?]
The viewers remained skeptical, caught between belief and disbelief.
Kanghyuk’s lips curved into a smile.
“Alright, now the real show begins.”
The infamous Round 2 commenced.
A fierce psychological battle involving grapples, followed by Kagero’s flawless aerial parry.
Finally, the screen was filled with the overwhelming sight of Tsubaki being KO’d in a single blow, thanks to the combined might of [Flash] and [Dreaming Mirage].
[No way, that’s not a hack???]
[Insane, truly insane. Is that even human physicality?]
[Look at that parry timing, it’s chilling.]
[That final combo link-up is genuinely pro-level.]
[Who is that Kagero? Is it a high-ranker’s alt?]
Kanghyuk wore a satisfied smile.
“See? Didn’t I tell you? Does that even make sense as a play!”
Kanghyuk urged on the viewers’ reactions, shouting.
“This user, I will definitely find them and exact my revenge.”
[So what’s the conclusion? Is it a hack or not?]
[Honestly, that can’t be explained by anything other than a hack.]
[To call it physicality is just too unrealistic.]
[If it’s not a hack, then they’re truly a monster, wow.]
As if he had been waiting for those chat messages, Kanghyuk drove in the final nail, delivering the definitive confirmation.
“Ah, and for those asking if it’s a hack.”
He spoke in a deliberately solemn voice.
“After the broadcast, I felt so wronged that I personally called General Director Gong Jiseop-hyung to ask him.”
At the mention of the word ‘Director,’ the chat window instantly buzzed with excitement.
“Do you know what conclusion Jiseop-hyung came to after personally reviewing all the log records?”
Kanghyuk paused, letting the suspense build among his viewers. Then, he enunciated each word with deliberate emphasis.
“He said it was just. Pure. Physicality.”
The moment those words burst forth, the chat window ceased all doubt.
[OMG, Director’s official statement?]
[Wow, so that means it’s all real skill…]
[A novice who defeated the Mad Demon, OMG.]
[Lord Nameless….]
[If it’s Gong Jiseop’s official word, it’s trustworthy. Ever since that guy became director, the game’s had a golden balance (TL Note: A state of perfect game balance, often used in Korean gaming communities to describe a well-designed game).]
[Damn it, Gong Jiseop again? I have no choice but to worship him….]
[So, when are you playing ranked matches?]
“Now’s the time to play, of course.”
The narrative for his video was perfectly set. Kanghyuk then officially began playing Tsubaki in ranked matches.
****
It was past ten o’clock at night.
Navigating the dark alleyways, where only the sparse glow of streetlights offered illumination, Lee Jihyeon finally arrived home.
Her home was a small, semi-basement apartment in an old multi-family dwelling.
It was a tiny, single room that never received a proper ray of sunlight, with only the ankles of passersby visible through its window.
“…Hoo.”
As she opened the front door and stepped inside, a cool, musty air greeted her.
Lee Jihyeon tossed her bag carelessly aside and, without bothering to switch on the light, simply plopped down onto her bed.
From an idol audition in the morning to being apprehended by the police, then visiting a VR arcade, she had even unexpectedly landed a part-time job.
It had been a long, grueling day. All strength had drained from her body, leaving her without the energy to even twitch a finger.
Yet, in the darkness, Lee Jihyeon slowly raised her small hand into the air.
Then, with a gentle wiggle, she moved her fingers one by one.
The sensation of parrying her opponent’s attacks, diving in for a grapple, and swinging her sword—all from earlier that day—remained vividly etched in her memory.
As Lee Jihyeon reveled in that sensation, a forgotten emotion began to surface in her mind, like mist rising.
It was a pure sense of accomplishment, one she had never experienced before, and one that required no validation from anyone else.
In her previous life, such a feeling had never once been permitted.
Among her exceptionally accomplished siblings, she had always been seen as the inadequate youngest.
Her eldest brother, a doctor; her second eldest sister, a lawyer. Amidst their constant brilliance, her own ordinary existence was perpetually subjected to comparison.
She had struggled desperately, yearning for recognition.
She had studied relentlessly, gained admission to a prestigious university, and secured a position at a large corporation that everyone envied.
Yet, even after joining a reputable company, the comparisons never ceased.
Driven by that relentless pressure and an intense desire to impress, she had overexerted herself at work.
Overtime and weekend shifts became her daily bread. Ultimately, she succumbed to death by overwork—a truly futile end.
‘When I died, did my parents even grieve?’
Probably not.
To them, she had likely been nothing more than a shameful child.
“…Alright.”
Lee Jihyeon pushed herself up and got off the bed.
Indulging in old memories had only plunged her into a deeper melancholy.
Whenever this happened, she had a method for calming her mind.
From a corner of the tiny sink, which was barely worthy of being called a kitchen, she retrieved a small tea set she had carefully kept.
With practiced movements, she warmed a teacup and added finely sifted matcha powder.
Pouring hot water from the dispenser, a bittersweet aroma instantly filled the small room.
Gripping the bamboo whisk, she used a flick of her wrist to froth the tea vigorously. Soon, a delicate layer of foam softly covered the surface of the matcha.
*Hoo—*
As she took a sip of the warm matcha, her troubled mind settled, melting away like snow. This was precisely the taste she sought.
Savoring the matcha, Lee Jihyeon recalled her experience with D.B.F. Arena earlier that day.
After finishing her ranked match, she had spent hours poring over Kagero’s character guide tutorial.
However, the results were far from satisfactory.
Dozens of skills, each with complex command inputs, simply refused to register in her mind.
Even though she had clearly seen and understood them intellectually, her fingers would invariably tangle whenever she tried to execute the commands. The [Transcendence] perk, while enhancing her reflexes, offered no assistance whatsoever with memorization.
‘…It feels like my brain got dumber after I reincarnated.’
Lee Jihyeon thought self-deprecatingly. In her past life, she had aced notoriously difficult exams, yet now she couldn’t even memorize these simple commands.
‘No, I don’t need to memorize everything.’
She reconsidered. After all, no professional player uses every single technique in actual combat.
She only needed to perfectly master a select few, the most efficient skills that suited her playstyle.
‘First, the aerial combo starter, [Flash], then the harassing shuriken, the charge skill…’
Lee Jihyeon mentally organized the main offensive skills she would need to practice.
“Haaah.”
Fatigue washed over her. Yawning, Lee Jihyeon went into the bathroom and took a cold shower.
Washing away the day’s dust and weariness, she changed into her old but clean pajamas.
Feeling refreshed, she lay back on her bed and, out of habit, turned on her phone.
Lee Jihyeon unconsciously scrolled through her screen when she spotted an app icon she hadn’t seen before.
[D.B.F ARENA]
It was the official community app that Han Juyeon had installed on her phone when she signed up at the VR Arena, claiming it would be convenient.
‘She said it was a place to check tournament info and various events, and where you could write posts anonymously.’
Until now, she hadn’t been interested, but the situation had changed.
If she intended to continue playing D.B.F. Arena, it would be wise to at least familiarize herself with basic information.
‘Shall I just take a look?’
Lee Jihyeon tapped the app icon without much thought.
She was automatically logged in with the information registered at the VR Arena, and soon, the main screen of D.B.F. Arena’s official community appeared before her.
Free Bulletin Board, Q&A Board, Fan Art Board….
Lee Jihyeon scrolled through the screen, browsing the various boards, until she noticed the [Real-time Popular Posts] tab blinking in red at the very top.
It was the place where the community’s hottest topics were gathered.
Lee Jihyeon clicked on the tab without a second thought.
[Real-time Popular Posts]
[Video] This isn’t a hack? (Recommendations: 5821)
[Analysis] I analyzed Kagero’s aerial parry frames. (Recommendations: 4219)
[Chat] H-honestly, I think it’s just an alt-account noob-stomper… (Recommendations: 2541)
Lee Jihyeon’s finger unconsciously tapped the number one post.
[Title: This isn’t a hack?]
[Author: ㅇㅇ]
[Content]
[Attached GIF: A scene of Kagero parrying Tsubaki’s three-hit combo]
That Gong Jiseop bastard, he’s been subtly looking out for Kagero, but now he’s openly shielding a hack user, lol.
[Attached GIF: A scene of Kagero aerial parrying Tsubaki’s anti-air skill [Blaze Dance]]
No, seriously, do you think this makes sense? LOL, I’m speechless.
[Comments]
– Mad Demon called Gong Jiseop and got official confirmation, yet there are still trolls stirring trouble.
ㄴ So you’re saying South Korea’s representative pro got utterly thrashed by a novice, then accused them of hacking, and ran away in fear….
ㄴ Take that back… those words…!
– This is 100% Kagero viral marketing. I’m not falling for it.
ㄴ LOL, seriously. No one plays a trash character, so Gong Jiseop is rigging it.
‘…Mad Demon? Gong Jiseop?’
The names were new to her, but the scenes in the GIFs were all too familiar.
It was Kagero, the character she had played. And Tsubaki, her opponent.
“…Th-this is me, isn’t it?”
Lee Jihyeon’s pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
Her mind went blank.
How? Why?
She had only played one ranked match, so why was this the number one popular post in the community?
And who was this ‘Mad Demon’ person that her fight with them had become such a huge topic?
With trembling hands, Lee Jihyeon scrolled down, beginning to check the other popular posts.
The content of every post was largely the same.
People she didn’t know, whose faces and names were unknown to her, were dissecting, analyzing, and evaluating her gameplay.
A sudden tightness gripped her chest.
It felt like those moments when her parents and siblings would hold a critique session over her report cards and awards, where, under their gaze, she was always insufficient, incompetent, and a source of shame.
That relentless pressure, like a trauma, seemed to revive itself, constricting Lee Jihyeon’s heart.
“Hoooh.”
She exhaled, as if expelling all the air from deep within her lungs.
‘So what?’
A faint smile touched her lips.
In her past, she would have cowered, hidden under her blankets, and wept.
Foolishly, she had believed that her parents’ evaluations were the sole measure of her worth.
But she had vowed to live this life differently.
She had spent months searching for her true calling, determined not to be bound by anyone else’s gaze, but to live solely for herself.
And today, she had finally found her answer in fighting games.
This talent, however, was different. It was her domain, given to her from birth, incomparable to anyone else’s.
The traumas of her past could no longer wound Lee Jihyeon.
