Chapter 15
1.
The Dog Hammer team was completely bewildered.
Their first clash in the Crystal Mining Zone had ended in a crushing defeat. If their opponents had been a strong team, they could at least have understood. But they weren't. If anything, it was the opposite.
The weakest team in Battle of Ruin.
They'd lost to Aura's team, who had personally proven there was a basement beneath rock bottom. And they'd been unable to do a thing.
“Wow, the other team got insanely lucky. How the hell did that Tranq Pistol shot hit?”
That didn't mean they were discouraged. They just figured they'd lost because of bad luck.
But that couldn't have been further from the truth. Their victory had come from meticulous setup and coordination.
“I know, right? They're playing like the whole game comes down to luck. Bet they're celebrating like crazy right now because they think they won.”
“Let them enjoy it. That was their first win, and it'll be their last.”
But if you looked only at the result, they'd lost because their healer got hit by a Tranq Pistol and died. It was no wonder they saw it that way.
Without a coach, it was difficult for low-ranked players to figure out exactly how they'd lost.
The hyper-FPS genre was full of chaotic fights and unexpected variables to begin with.
-They really did get lucky as hell bb
-I checked the other team's stream and they're seriously happy lol
-They're cute lol
-But wouldn't they have lost even if that Tranq Pistol hadn't hit?
On top of that, their viewers were agreeing with them, which made it even harder to realize the truth. Some people were speaking up, but those comments were quickly drowned out.
“Looking at the map, the drill's heading for the Central Mining Zone.”
Dog Hammer's lips curled as he checked the mining coordinates at their base.
“They got lucky once and now they think they can actually win. We just got unlucky, that's all.”
At his teammate's words, Dog Hammer nodded.
“Exactly. They should've quietly mined 20% in the Outer Zone and gotten out. Why crawl all the way out here just to get hit? We need to teach them their place.”
He put his hands on the keyboard.
“Before that, though, I'm a merciful guy, so maybe I'll give them one chance.”
「Dog Hammer: I'm saying this because I'm genuinely worried about you. Why don't you head to the Outer Zone now? You can still change the drill's direction, so go quietly, okay?」
Actually, another team had taunted Dog Hammer in exactly the same way before. He'd been so pissed off back then. He knew from experience that no team would really change its decision here.
He did it because he knew how infuriating it was.
“What the—”
Dog Hammer's eyes widened as he watched the map. The drill really was turning around and heading the other way.
“…They're actually listening? Do these guys have no pride?”
“You told them to change it.”
At his teammate's pointed remark, he scratched his cheek.
“No, I said that to mess with them. I didn't expect them to actually listen. What are they, gay or something?”
“The whole opposing team is women, though.”
“That doesn't mean they're gay.”
“Well, they do like men. In a way, maybe it does fit?”
“Does it?”
Dog Hammer tilted his head. The argument sounded strangely reasonable.
-What the hell kind of conversation is this???
-Why'd they suddenly start doing a comedy bit;;
-But isn't the drill going in a weird direction?
At the viewers' comments, he checked the mining coordinates again.
He'd thought they'd follow his advice and turn from the Central Mining Zone toward the Outer Zone. But the drill wasn't heading toward the Outer Zone. It was going even deeper.
“……Deep Mining?”
Unless there was a huge gap in skill, the defending team was guaranteed to win in the Deep Mining Zone.
“Have these idiots finally lost their minds?”
「Bullet's the best: Ah, now I get it… your level…」
“What the hell are you talking about? What do you get?”
「Bullet's the best: It's so boring, I want to die…!」
As the messages kept popping up, his face turned red with anger.
-LMAOOOO
-Look at that nerve
-Holy shit;; they're looking down on them so hard
“Y-you little…!”
Dog Hammer slammed his desk and shouted furiously.
“From now on, we're not holding back at all! Beat them so badly they never even think about asking us for another scrim!”
“Okay. I'm going all out.”
“We actually went easy on them, and now they think we're a joke. Let's grind them into dust and make them drop out of the tournament!”
“Yeah! Fuck it. Let's make them withdraw on their own!”
His teammates joined in, getting worked up along with him.
***
『Defeat』
Dog Hammer stared blankly at the word on the screen.
It was a familiar defeat. Whenever they lost, the Dog Hammer team would tear into each other like they were trying to kill one another, all for the sake of good content on stream.
[……….].
But this time, they couldn't even do that.
-You guys are seriously fucking terrible
-If this is how it's gonna be, just fucking quit, you idiots
-LMAO they talked so much shit, but they ended up playing even worse lmao
-You got rolled in Deep Mining by a team with a 3% win rate, and then got completely shut out yourselves. Does that make any sense???
-Why don't you just withdraw from the tournament???
Unlike their other losses, the viewers' reactions were unusually harsh. But that wasn't the deciding factor.
-How the hell did you not kill even one person as Shinya??? One??? 2 kills and 14 deaths—is that not straight-up throwing?
-The whole team was just fucking awful, yeah
For over two weeks, the Dog Hammer team had scrimmed against countless teams.
Some days they went on a devastating win streak; other days they fell apart so badly it was humiliating. But even when they were on a losing streak, they didn't despair. If anything, they felt hopeful.
No matter how high a team's scrim win rate was, they always took at least one round, and sometimes even won the whole match.
“…It's a swamp. A swamp.”
The Dog Hammer team, once so full of hope and excitement, had been certain they could make it to the Round of 64. For the first time, that certainty had shattered today.
A swamp.
There was no other way to describe it.
The enemy team hadn't shown such overwhelming skill that they seemed impossible to beat. And yet, somehow, they just couldn't win.
At first, they'd been confident.
But at some point, they began to doubt everything they'd thought they knew.
Where they should go.
What they should do.
Which decisions were right.
By the end, every choice was so difficult it felt suffocating. No matter where they went, they felt like they'd sink into the swamp. For the first time in his life, Dog Hammer felt helpless.
He covered his face with both hands, then let his head fall.
[……….].
He didn't say anything for a while. The defeat had been that shocking.
“What… went wrong?”
In the end, Dog Hammer was the first to speak.
They couldn't just stay frozen like this. They were on stream, after all.
[…I don't know if I should say this.]
One of his teammates glanced around nervously, then spoke cautiously in response to his question.
[Honestly, wasn't it you who played badly, Hammer?]
“What?”
Dog Hammer felt his blood run cold.
He'd been staring blankly at the floor, but now his head slowly lifted. The screen came into view.
「Dog Hammer」
「Eliminations 2 | Deaths 14 | Assists 3」
「Hero Damage 2,852」
A miserable stat line.
-LMAO, that's true
-Can't defend that one, yeah;;
-Is WWE coming?
-Here comes the wrestling move~~~~~~~
The stats alone made it look like there was no one else to blame, but Dog Hammer felt wronged, too.
“Hey. You all kept dying before I could even do anything. And whenever I finally went in, they immediately focused me. How was I supposed to survive that?”
[Then you should've gone in better. You just charge in recklessly and die.]
“I went in properly! I did, but you couldn't keep their frontline occupied, so I got jumped and died!”
[Isn't the sub-DPS's job to pressure the enemy from the side and make things easier for the main team?]
“So you're saying you all had a hard time because of me?”
[Well, you seem to get it.]
His teammate tossed the words out sarcastically. Dog Hammer's eyes turned cold. He pressed his lips together.
Grrr—
The sound of his teeth grinding, as if they were about to crack, came through the mic loud and clear.
-Uh…?
-This feels serious…?
-This doesn't seem like WWE… Is this UFC???
-Holy shit???
The viewers were thoroughly taken aback by the sound.
It wasn't unusual for the Dog Hammer team to fight on stream. They often picked at each other, tore into one another, and raised their voices. But it was all for the show.
In other words, WWE.
They pretended to hit each other, but it was a fight that never really hurt anyone.
But that sound of grinding teeth just now was different. There was no way to write it off as part of the stream.
“Bullshit.”
Dog Hammer's voice was low and cold.
“Fuck, was I the only one who played badly? You sucked too, so why the hell are you only giving me shit?”
[What did you say?]
“You played like shit too, so why are you only giving me shit? To be blunt, we lost because you're worse than Bullet over there!”
[What the hell are you talking about? What did I do wrong?]
“You know what? I've hated you from the start. Your voice sounds like some mosquito buzzing in my ear, and it's fucking annoying. Do you have any idea how much your voice gets in the way of a team game?”
[What the fuck? And you? Your face looks like it's been crushed in a hydraulic press!]
“What did you say, you bastard? Come on, you wouldn't say that to my face in real life. You fucking idiot.”
[Come out here, you fucker! Come out! I'll say it to your face, you bastard!]
“Fine. Come out. Come out!!!”
BANG—!
Dog Hammer shoved his chair away and stood up, panting as he headed for the closet. A moment later, he came out with some clothes thrown on, glared straight into the camera, and said:
“Come to Exit 8 at Gangnam Station, you bastard!”
[I'm coming, I'm coming!]
With that, Dog Hammer disappeared from the camera's view. A moment later, the front door slammed shut. After that, all that could be heard was the faint hum of the computer fans.
「Bullet's the best: Where'd the person I was scrimming with go~?」
2.
I was getting ready for the next scrim, and the other team still hadn't joined, so I prodded them in chat a little, but…
-He really went, though?
-What do you mean, where'd the person you're scrimming with go;;
-Apparently, he's at Exit 8 of Gangnam Station?
“Huh?”
Apparently, he'd really gone somewhere.
“W-what does that mean?”
I tilted my head and opened Dog Hammer's stream. There was nobody on-screen. After glancing through the chat for a while, I finally figured out what had happened.
“Y-you mean he went to have a real-life fight with his teammate…?”
-Yeah;;
-That's right
-It was always WWE, but today it turned into UFC;;
-You killed him…!
“W-what did I kill!? You got it all wrong…!”
I trembled and waved my hands frantically.
[What's wrong?]
[What happened?]
I told my teammates what I'd found out.
[Wow, I don't think I've ever seen anything like this in all my time streaming.]
[Me neither. That's really something….]
“I-I'm glad our whole team is made up of w-women….”
[Why? Earlier, you said having five women on the team was a problem.]
“A-at least none of us seem like the type to meet up and fight in person, right?”
Aren't women gentler than ignorant men? Mm-hmm.
[I can fight pretty well, you know?]
“What!?”
I jumped at Heukrangi's words.
[I go to a kickboxing gym. I work out regularly, too.]
“Uh….”
I shut my mouth. Then I quietly thought to myself.
‘I should probably run my mouth a little less from now on….’
“No wonder. I was wondering why you talked like such a trashy person….”
I nodded.
“You had something to back you up….”
[You little bitch, come out here.]
“Yeah. I'm not coming out. Get lost.”
[Fucking bitch.]
💸 [Nickname: Anonymous] donated
🪙 1,000G!
💬 Check the chat, damn it
While I was talking with Heukrangi, someone sent a donation.
“Thanks for the 1,000 won…! The chat?”
-Is this the team that crushed Dog Hammer's team?
-Hey, but are you sure you really didn't use hacks???
-Does this bitch not look at the chat???
-My Dog Hammer team!!!
-You fucking bitch!!!
“Huh…?”
When I turned toward the chat, the messages were flying up at an insane speed. This was the kind of speed I'd only seen during my stream explaining that I hadn't used hacks!
‘H-how many viewers are there?’
「1,039 viewers……」
“Whoa!?”
What in the world was going on!?