I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 193 – Dark with Fireaxe

“───Before starting the debriefing, I want to first tell you all that you did a great job.”

Waaaaah─!

The room was large enough to accommodate about twenty beds, and it was filled with applause and cheers. It was late Saturday night, only about an hour and a half left until midnight, but their voices were loud.

And since the room was soundproof, there was no need to worry.

Yoo Jin faced nineteen people, her expression still firm. Her characteristic sapphire-blue eyes surveyed the scene. The Korean national representatives, huddled on the beds, were listening to her words attentively.

Feeling like a familiar scene from her memory, Yoo Jin did not bother to silence the cheers and applause until they gradually subsided.

That sense of déjà vu was resolved in an unexpected way.

“Captain Yoo Jin, why are we having a commander’s mental education session at this time? I’m going to report this.”

“Huh, you crazy bastard.”

“Hey! Bury that guy! Kick him out!”

“Aaaah, I was wrong…!”

Yoo Jin sighed as she watched the scene turn into instant retribution, while Dice, who had no connection to the military and never would, blinked and just watched the foolishness unfold.

After that commotion passed, several holograms appeared in the air. They all summarized the footprints the Korean representatives had made throughout the day. Compared to players from other countries and last year, it was easy to see how much they had improved.

There had been numerous systematic hardships, and with them came skill enhancements.

Today’s results encapsulated all of these efforts.

“Your strengths and weaknesses, as well as points to keep in mind, have already been sent to you individually via email, so make sure to check them later.”

She said this as she looked around.

Not everyone’s expression was bright. Some felt they were superior in skill compared to others, while some could judge that their skills were not as good as others.

For the viewers, the Asian preliminary round was a festival, but for the participants, it was a harsh competition. Even this year, with Korea producing the most excellent results compared to any other country, there were no exceptions. Fifteen out of the twenty people here would have to wait until next year.

They weren’t too disheartened, but they weren’t particularly hopeful either.

While watching this, Yoo Jin slowly opened her mouth.

“Did anyone feel fear or overwhelming pressure during today’s match?”

It was a sudden question with no apparent intention. But rather than answering with a counter-question, the nineteen, excluding Yoo Jin, began to review today’s game.

At first, they wondered if they should affirm the question even if they hadn’t had such an experience, but as more people expressed that they hadn’t felt such emotions, the atmosphere lightened again. In some ways, it made sense.

It was a match, a competition, and a game.

With millions of people cheering for the national team and themselves, as pro gamers, why would they fear their opponents?

However, conversely, the majority opinion implied that there was a minority who did feel that way.

───Swish.

Amid the relaxed atmosphere, a few people nervously raised their hands. Surprisingly, they were the ones most likely to advance to the finals and had produced the best results in the Saturday Asian preliminaries.

Yoo Jin quietly observed the roughly five hands raised in the air.

The silence broke.

“That is the weight of combat.”

“…What?”

“The higher you go, the more finely honed blades the best hold clash. The sparks that fly from such combat are so earnest and fierce that they can no longer be categorized as just a competition.”

Even though it was a game – that was the essence of combat, and the essence of taking a life.

The explanation continued without pause.

“Before the start of the Asian preliminaries, I repeatedly reviewed the game data of all those who advanced to the finals the year before last and last year. I found out why you couldn’t keep up. You could make various excuses: it was cold, you weren’t fully prepared, you weren’t used to overseas trips….”

At that moment, Yoo Jin turned off the screen with a single gesture and added.

“…But the most fundamental reason is that you thought of the finals as merely a competition. Those who understood the intent of my question will understand these words.”

A bolt of realization struck.

It was true. The finals, the championship, were never just a competition. To see the opponent as prey, a being that must be killed to survive, and to draw out more than one’s full potential to move up the ranks was necessary.

The combat that occurred in that process was not something that could be called a competition. What Dice, Michael, and others felt today was the essence of such combat. Not a competition, but the pressure that they must kill their opponent to survive….

A question arose. How did Yoo Jin know this?

But it didn’t matter.

The silence ended.

“Try to understand that pressure as much as possible, and get used to it.”

A slightly shorter debriefing followed.

Questions and answers continued on how to act on certain maps, how to effectively use terrain and revolution, while discussions and revisions of individual strategies planned for tomorrow took place.

Thus, twenty different paths stretched out until midnight, and a long yet short debriefing ended with a final note.

The Saturday night of October disappeared into the darkness, and Sunday dawned as everyone slept.

“…Hey. Are you asleep?”

“…No….”

“…Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Rustle.

“…I still can’t believe that Yoo Jin’s avatar is real….”

Of course, not everyone was asleep.

“───As yesterday, please give a warm round of applause for the players who have come a long way!”

Waaaaah-!

The same enthusiastic, no, even hotter cheers than yesterday. However, unlike a few dozen hours ago, the steps of those walking out through the central stage were now confident. People could change so much in just one day.

Naturally, the first to walk out were the Korean players. Their more dignified appearance than yesterday gave everyone enough trust and belief.

Of course, there was another reason.

“…Why do they look so tired?”

The Korean players, seeing the foreign players walking out, whispered among themselves so that no one else could hear.

Although there didn’t seem to be any major issues at first glance, the sharp eyes of the players noticed that all the foreign players from the other four participating countries looked somewhat tired.

Of course, Korea had no way of knowing the exact reason. There were many possibilities. It was most likely that they had been researching tactics and strategies and discussing countermeasures, but in the end, only the parties involved would know the truth.

Conversely, it meant that the parties involved did know.

‘…Should this be considered Korean psychological warfare?’

Surprisingly, and absurdly – this was because of the ‘having dinner together’ that Yoo Jin had agreed to without much thought the previous day.

The person within the Korean team whose real identity no one knew had made a decision without much consideration – which led to players from Japan, Russia, China, and Taiwan immediately witnessing Yoo Jin’s true identity, causing an unexpected ripple.

To explain it simply, it was like this:

‘…How is that real?’

In hindsight, it was inevitable, but the decision led to psychological agitation among the players.

Fundamentally, and globally, the revelation of an awakened individual’s identity was strictly prohibited. It wasn’t strictly managed by any single organization but naturally became so over time. Nevertheless, players couldn’t be free from the restriction against revealing their identities.

In other words, they had to be cautious even outside of the game to prevent accidental slips that could reveal their identities.

And it was ironic that this result was unintended.

‘…That, no way. Player Yoo Jin…?’

‘Yes, it’s me. Nice to meet you. It’s the first time we’re meeting in person.’

If drawing attention was her goal, she would have acted differently. But Yoo Jin’s behavior yesterday was not at all aimed at inducing psychological pressure. Someone trying to create psychological pressure wouldn’t shake hands with all eighty foreign players and have friendly conversations with them.

In that sense, it was fortunate. If asked later about their encounter with Yoo Jin, they could honestly answer, “She was a good person.”

It might be questioned whether this was an Asian preliminary round or a fan meeting.

Anyway, regardless of everyone’s thoughts, time marched on.

Their goals were clear, and they progressed smoothly, like clockwork. After the simple greetings, the players from each country took their seats, and the map was chosen.

After all the matches on Saturday, there were many discussions, preparations, and numerous reviews of tactics and strategies.

Everyone except the Korean team faced the risk of having to overhaul all their tactics in just one day, forced to find a breakthrough within the time limit.

It was time to show results in some way.

“-The first map is the California Gas Field!”

The smell of strong flames and smoke lingered at the tip of the nose.

-Now, a hundred players are being placed in the burning mountain range. Only one will be able to retreat from here by helicopter. Who will be the winner as the Asian preliminary Sunday match begins?

Silhouettes scattered one by one from the transport plane crossing the sky and landed on the ground.

The flames, realistically burning like in reality, licked the ground as exactly one hundred players set foot on it. The red flames flickered as if responding to their presence, and the circle of death made of flames began to close in on the gas field.

Some headed to the most intense combat zones, others to less populated areas. They roamed the city and forests with the most advanced weapons of the time to kill their enemies. There was no worry, as weapons were scattered everywhere.

That should have been the case.

-[Alert: This location has been designated as a skill activation zone as of now. Activation will occur in 5 minutes and 20 seconds.]

“…Hmm.”

Skills.

Combat assistance tools that could take Dark Zone players to a higher level. Equivalent to firearms, and if used well, could show higher efficiency and performance. A lot of subtle battles occurred over skill activation zones.

Either no one came, it became overcrowded, or the winners of the subtle battles leisurely obtained the skills – but more importantly, the spawn rate of weapons in the area plummeted as soon as the area was designated as a skill activation zone.

Thus, the best weapons currently available were a couple of rifles at most, typically just pistols. Considering the existence of shields, these were not enough to deal significant damage.

Case quickly decided to leave the area and started thinking.

‘Is there a chance Yoo Jin will come here?’

Based on past matches, she didn’t prioritize skills. She never bothered to come to such zones to activate skills. This wasn’t just true for yesterday’s match but for all previous plays as well.

Even though the Korean players’ skills had noticeably improved, he felt confident in controlling the situation if it was just one person – but Russia, who had started showing off since the end of yesterday, was troubling.

He needed to earn as many kill points as possible to take them down. Thinking so, he entered a building that offered the best view for observation and began checking the surroundings.

He shouldn’t have done that.

Time passed.

While various nicknames appeared in the kill log, sending players to the lobby one by one, there was oddly no news despite only 2 minutes having passed since the area activation began.

Even with just 1 minute left, nothing happened, raising suspicion. But that wasn’t his concern. If no one really came, he had won the subtle battle and could leisurely exit after acquiring the skill.

───Swish.

He cautiously descended the stairs.

He could hear the transport plane’s engine. In the sky, darkened by night, a large crate with a parachute and blinking red lights was slowly descending.

With a thud, the crate landed, spewing dust all around, and began to automatically disassemble. Click-click. It transformed into hundreds of fragments, attaching to nearby buildings’ walls to form a sort of structure and camouflage.

As if it had always been part of the building, the skill activation zone was there – he began to move cautiously. Despite checking several times, there were no signs of anyone. Still, he exercised caution until the very end.

For a reason.

-Rustle.

‘…Bingo.’

There was someone there.

They were just hiding – and whoever they were, they were a bit more impatient. However, it wasn’t a decisive situation. The firepower of his current weapons wasn’t enough to guarantee the elimination of the hidden opponent.

So, he waited. Patience was a virtue for an operator.

In the dim light from the approaching wall of flames, a figure cautiously moved, blending into the shadows cast by the thick darkness, beyond Case’s hidden vantage point.

It was a professional movement. Tactically flawless. Although the face was obscured, a brief light on the shoulder revealed a patch with the Russian flag.

But it wasn’t that important. The priority was to kill before acquiring the skill.

It was time to move.

“…Phew…”

The movement of a skilled tracker.

He maintained a consistent distance, gradually closing in on the activation zone. 50 meters. 25 meters. 10 meters. 5 meters… even with subpar weapons, an entire rifle magazine into the back at close range would inevitably be fatal.

He had already set the firing mode to full-auto.

20 meters behind the opponent, just a few meters from the skill activation zone, he firmly shouldered his rifle and placed his finger on the trigger.

Then, from the opponent’s right side, darkness suddenly tore apart and engulfed him.

───Fwoosh!

‘What the…!’

From right to left, something swept through the space like a vacuum cleaner, and the opponent disappeared from sight in an instant. In the unprecedented situation, tension skyrocketed, and a dull noise was heard.

Thunk. Crunch.

It was a sound one would never want to hear in real life.

But those thoughts lasted only a moment, as Case readied a grenade in silence, another shadow moved quickly in the darkness.

It was visible.

“…My luck has been terrible lately.”

Lightly armed.

Other than a pistol, there was no rifle in the opponent’s possession. They were probably in a similar situation, or perhaps worse.

Long hair and blue eyes briefly seen in the darkness, and the fire axe in their right hand, testified to the opponent’s identity.

───Rat-tat-tat!!

Fire erupted from the muzzle.

Case began his desperate retreat.