Chapter 4

Universe Cat’s Leader, Kim Yujeong.

At twenty-three years old, she was a veteran piece of trash in her fifth year since her debut.

“Alright, our Leader, step forward~.”

Kim Yujeong’s thoughts about Seo Dami today were simple.

Did this bitch eat something weird today?

She should know full well what was about to happen, yet she was brazenly humming and smiling. It was completely incomprehensible.

Did we bully her so much that she finally went crazy? she wondered.

“Should we do the Close-Quarters Training with Lightsabers? Or bare-handed?”

“What nonsense is that? Bare-handed, obviously.”

“Sure, whatever.”

Seo Dami, or rather, Han Youngin, who had entered her body through an accident, thought to himself.

They really do some incredibly useless things.

There were largely two situations where one would engage in Close-Quarters Combat in Universe Arena.

When you unavoidably clashed in a narrow space.

Or when both sides were out of ammo and lacked the Mana to use Supply Skills, leaving Close-Quarters Combat as the only remaining offensive option.

Of course, in either case, it was safe to say that bare-handed Melee Combat never happened.

Why would anyone fight with their bare hands when they had perfectly good weapons?

A player who ran out of ammo would usually draw the Lightsaber hanging from their waist to continue the fight.

It was a Beam Sword capable of damaging even a decent Barrier.

One slash from this could send an opponent packing, so there was no need to foolishly fight with bare hands.

Then why on earth did Kim Yujeong suggest bare-handed training?

Simple.

Because getting slashed by a sword resulted in a painless kill.

The very purpose of suggesting Close-Quarters Training was to torment Seo Dami, so the calculation was to inflict maximum pain through a physical brawl.

After all, getting hit by a fist meant feeling the pain directly.

Seo Dami is asking for a beating.

A mocking voice flowed from a corner.

They were all delinquent teammates who followed their Leader.

This team is just a collection of hopeless cases.

While Han Youngin was having that thought, Kim Yujeong charged first.

Clad in Black Techwear and combat boots, Kim Yujeong fiercely threw a front kick.

Getting grazed anywhere by that combat boot would cause excruciating pain.

The reason she could do such a thing without hesitation was that actions here didn’t affect one’s real physical body.

It’s not like your real body is getting hurt, right?

So you can take a few hits. Can’t you?

With this logic, countless acts of cruelty had been perpetrated in the Pro Scene until now.

Just because the body wasn’t hurt didn’t mean the mental trauma disappeared.

No, it was actually worse.

In reality, Seo Dami was terrified of Kim Yujeong’s kick.

Han Youngin could feel Seo Dami trembling in a corner of his mind, and that feeling turned directly into anger.

Just how much did they beat this kid?

Well, if they had gone easy on her, Seo Dami wouldn’t have gone up to the rooftop that day.

She had said she was just getting some fresh air, but Youngin could somewhat fathom how Dami must have felt at that moment.

Fucking bastards.

Cursing the ones responsible, Han Youngin swiftly parried the incoming kicks and punches.

His movements were exceptionally fluid.

So much so that Kim Yujeong was startled, her eyebrows twitching.

“You beat up a kid with skills like this?”

“…What?”

Han Youngin glared at the wide-eyed Kim Yujeong and said.

“I don’t usually hit women. But I’m a woman now, too. So, yeah. It should be fine if I hit you a little.”

What kind of bullshit is he spouting?

Just as Kim Yujeong was thinking she couldn’t understand a thing, a lightning-fast fist shot up from below in a straight line.

Thwack— An uppercut exploded with the sound.

As Kim Yujeong collapsed with a thud, the teammates watching the scene covered their mouths and let out shrill noises.

Ah, I messed up.

Looking at Kim Yujeong, who had collapsed with her eyes rolled back, Han Youngin thought.

He had misjudged his strength.

Sure enough, the girls who had been chattering away just a moment ago were now staring with wide eyes.

This completely ruined his plan.

His initial plan was to call the kids out one by one and give them a taste of their own medicine.

But judging by the atmosphere, it seemed no one would want to continue Close-Quarters Training after seeing this.

“Anyone else want to do more Close-Quarters Combat training? No?”

“You crazy bitch!”

One of the players, provoked, shot up from her spot like a spring and approached him.

Well, what do you know.

As a kid who was willing to take a beating, contrary to his expectations, appeared, Han Youngin was genuinely impressed.

Are these kids dumber than I thought?

And then he realized why his prediction had been wrong.

They don’t know what just happened.

When the attack landed, they had been watching from behind Kim Yujeong, so they hadn’t been able to grasp what had occurred.

“Get in your stance!”

The one who growled angrily at Han Youngin was Lee Seyeon, the Attacker.

As the player with the second-longest career on the team, she was something of a Sub-Leader.

“I’m not letting you get away with this today.”

Watching Lee Seyeon furiously express her anger, Han Youngin smiled brightly.

It was a smile filled with a joy that sprang from the depths of his heart.

“It’s the second time, so I won’t make a mistake now~.”

“Wake up. Yujeong. Yujeong!”

The Coach slapped her cheeks.

Her eyelids fluttering, Kim Yujeong came to her senses.

A Stun in the game was like a really intense dizzy spell.

Even if left alone, one would recover quickly.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Ugh. Shit.”

Completely forgetting that the Coach was watching, Kim Yujeong cursed.

Her jaw was throbbing.

Remembering why she was sprawled on the floor, Kim Yujeong shot up from her spot.

“Where’s Seo Dami!”

“Right here?”

“You little…”

Seeing Seo Dami dusting off her shoulders as if she had been training until just a moment ago, Kim Yujeong instantly lost it.

It was just too humiliating.

Getting knocked out by Seo Dami’s punch in front of all the teammates, all the kids?

It was the worst possible mistake, one that completely undermined her authority as Leader.

This can’t happen.

I have to make up for it.

Getting knocked out by Seo Dami was clearly a mistake.

If they fought again, he was sure he could win.

As she was thinking that and about to charge again, someone grabbed her arm.

What now? she thought, turning her head to see Lee Seyeon.

Her Hubae, who usually followed her the most and with whom she was in perfect sync.

But that same Lee Seyeon was now whimpering with a look on her face like she’d lost the world, shaking her head frantically.

“Ugh. Unni, don’t do it…”

“Were you crying?”

And at some point, the other teammates had also lined up behind her, creating a funereal atmosphere, saying, “Unni, let’s just stop training for today.”

What on earth was all this?

Kim Yujeong’s face turned literally beet red.

Her face burned as she thought about how pathetic she must have looked for her teammates to be acting this way.

“Let go of me!”

Shame surged within her.

Unable to contain her anger, Kim Yujeong directed the arrow of her fury solely at Seo Dami.

“You! Let’s go again.”

The moment Kim Yujeong’s words fell, the surroundings fell silent.

If it had been the usual Kim Yujeong, if she hadn’t been blinded by rage.

She would have noticed this change, but unfortunately, she was in a state where she couldn’t discern her surroundings.

A seething Kim Yujeong.

Looking at her, Han Youngin replied with a “that’s just like you” expression.

“The third time will hurt more.”

After finishing the rather heated weekend training, we returned to our room.

“How is it? Feel a little better now?”

<Uh, eh?>

Seo Dami made a strange noise.

It seemed she was so shocked she couldn’t even answer properly.

It was understandable.

She must have felt the sting of my hands just as I had a moment ago.

I had faced Kim Yujeong and then Lee Seyeon in succession, beating them to a pulp, brutally.

I figured those two pieces of trash wouldn’t be able to meet my eyes for a while.

Normally, we should have proceeded with shooting practice as well, not just Close-Quarters Training, but the atmosphere had been completely shattered by my fiery fists.

Unable to watch any longer, the Coach had declared training dismissed, ending the session early for the day.

The room was quiet.

Frustrated by the silence, I asked Seo Dami.

“Dami. What’s your dream?”

<My dream…?>

“It doesn’t have to be anything grand, but you must have had some goals as a player.”

<Um… Winning a championship, and getting a Transfer to a good team?>

Well, winning a championship is a goal everyone has.

And a Transfer.

Having been constantly bullied on a trash team like this, it was natural she’d want to find a new job as soon as possible.

“A Transfer shouldn’t be a problem. You have Talent.”

<Talent? Me?>

“Yeah. Your Stamina is good, too.”

I had felt it since we started training, before I dealt with the trash.

The player Seo Dami had quite excellent Stamina and Physical.

In Universe Arena, one’s real physical abilities are applied directly to the game.

Because of that, I had been a little unsure of how well I could move when facing Kim Yujeong.

This body wasn’t the body of Han Youngin, which I had honed for years.

It was impossible to compare me, a complete player at twenty-five, with Seo Dami, who had just turned eighteen.

But during training, Seo Dami’s body followed my intentions quite well.

If it hadn’t been able to withstand the load, she would have thrown up or had muscle spasms.

“What weight dumbbells do you usually lift?”

From the wrists, to the forearms, biceps, and triceps.

Increasing the weight of the dumbbells to build arm strength was one of the common Muscular Strength Enhancement routines for players.

When I asked about the weight, Seo Dami answered 8kg.

No wonder she felt more solid than I expected.

An 8kg dumbbell in one hand.

That was by no means a light weight.

Because you weren’t just going to lift it once and put it down.

A normal person doing repetitive exercises with that weight would probably feel like their arm was about to fall off.

Moreover, Seo Dami was still a player in her prime growth period.

Considering that female players on average reach their physical peak around the age of 23, her potential was limitless.

This year, and next year, and the year after.

As long as she didn’t quit her pro career, Seo Dami would be able to feel herself getting stronger every year.

“You must use an 8-kilo Shield, then?”

<That’s right!>

Seo Dami’s In-Game position was Defender.

Her role was to hold a Shield and break through the path at the vanguard.

Uniquely, Defenders use a Shield, which other classes don’t, and since this Shield is quite a heavy object, players in the Defender position had to work harder on Muscular Strength Enhancement exercises than others.

“I’ve only ever been an Attacker, so my skills as a Defender are a bit lacking, but it should be enough for the Third Division League.”

The League would start again tomorrow.

From Monday to Friday, we had to play five games.

Of course, I wasn’t worried at all.

My lack of ability to play other positions was only an issue in a league of the same level; in the Third Division League, it was a problem I didn’t need to worry about.

“Hmm. You should be able to get a Transfer this year.”

<Really?>

“Hey. Of course. I’m the one moving this body right now. You think a First Division Player like me can’t pull off a performance like that?”

<That’s not what I meant…>

“I get it now. Your problem is a lack of confidence.”

It was true.

If she was doing strength training with 8kg dumbbells, didn’t she already have enough power?

Perhaps if she’d had enough confidence, she might have been able to solve some of her problems even before meeting me.

Well, I’d only seen her for a short time, but it didn’t seem like she had the personality to beat someone up.

“Watch and learn. I don’t know when I’ll be gone. You really won’t get another chance like this.”

This was a truly incredible opportunity for Seo Dami.

It went beyond having a First Division Player attached to her side, coaching her; she was sharing the body’s senses and doing practical training.

Where else could she get this kind of experience and training?

Although my life was hanging by a thread, not knowing when I might die, if the last thing I could do was to properly teach a Prospect, that didn’t seem so bad.

“You must be tired today, so let’s sleep a little early. The training was intense, too. You must be tired as well.”

As I was about to wash up and get ready for bed, Seo Dami quietly offered her thanks.

<…Oppa. Thank you for today.>

“For what.”

<For stepping up for me.>

“You can’t move anyway. If you’re thankful, let me open my eyes when I shower.”

<I can’t do that… Not yet.>

Because she added the condition “not yet” at the end, I let out a smirk.

I had a feeling that if a little more time passed like this, it would become much easier for both of us to get by.

PM 09:05

At a time that was still the thick of it for a pro-gaming team, Universe Cat’s Director, Hong Jaewoo, returned to the Team House.

His face was slightly flushed, and he was drunk enough that you could easily smell the alcohol if you stood near him.

If the sponsor representatives had seen him, they would have immediately given him an earful, but unfortunately, there was no one in the Team House with a higher rank than Director Hong.

“Hakseong. Is training going well?”

Director Hong first went to the game Training Room on the third floor.

But what was this?

The lights were all off, and there was no one there.

That’s strange, Director Hong thought, checking the time.

“It’s only nine o’clock.”

After a moment of silence, anger began to bloom on Director Hong’s face.

It was only yesterday that he had told him he had an appointment and would be back late, asking him to train the kids hard in his stead.

“But this bastard is already slacking off?”

Fuming, Director Hong headed for the coach’s office.

When he yanked the door open, the coach jumped up from his chair in surprise.

“Coach, you’re back?”

“Yeah, you punk. I’m back. What are you doing here!”

Aren’t you training the kids?

With our record, is this any time for you to be slacking off?

Are you acting out because I’m about to get fired? and so on.

Director Hong fiercely laid into Coach Kim Hakseong, as if trying to wash away his drunkenness with anger.

In response, Coach Kim shook his head, saying that wasn’t it.

“If you’re not slacking off now, then what is it?”

“It’s not that, Coach. Please take a look at this.”

“Hmm?”

What the coach held out was a tablet paused on a still frame.

Director Hong took the tablet and played the video.

These are our kids.

The scene was of the Leader, Kim Yujeong, dragging the youngest, Seo Dami, out for Close-Quarters Training.

It was a familiar picture he had seen before, so the Director furrowed his brow.

“Are they messing with Dami again?”

“No.”

“No?”

“Well, they messed with her. But they got messed up.”

What kind of nonsense is that?

With that expression, Director Hong continued to play the video and soon witnessed a startling scene.

With a clean thwack, Seo Dami had sent Kim Yujeong to the floor with an uppercut.

And it didn’t end there.

Next, Seo Dami beat up Lee Seyeon, then brutally pummeled the revived Kim Yujeong.

She beat them so savagely that by the end, the two couldn’t even meet Seo Dami’s eyes.

If this were real, those kids would have been carted off to the hospital and then some.*

Having watched the entire video, Director Hong felt a cold sweat run down his back.

The Director was not unaware of the relationships among the players.

After Park Eunbi was kicked off the team last year due to an unfortunate incident, Seo Dami, who came in to fill her spot, couldn’t fit in with the team and was constantly an outcast.

The cause was collective bullying from the rest of the teammates.

The Director wanted to do something, but it was by no means an easy task for a male director to solve problems among girls.

What’s more, his contract was ending this year, the team’s performance was in the gutter, and he had already somewhat given up his desire for a contract extension.

Still, as a final act of conscience before leaving, he had gone out for heavy drinks with the director of the neighboring Knights Gaming team today.

The topic of conversation was a Trade.

A one-for-one swap of Knights Gaming’s Defender, Lee Naeun, for Seo Dami.

Lee Naeun was a 5-year veteran, a seasoned player in this scene, so the calculation was that if Lee Naeun came in as Seo Dami’s replacement, the existing team members wouldn’t be able to treat her so carelessly.

Regarding this proposal, Director Park of Knights Gaming had been busy playing it down, saying it would be a loss for them.

His point was, how could they trade the veteran Lee Naeun for Seo Dami, who, despite being young, had terrible skills?

Director Hong had clicked his tongue at Director Park’s feigned modesty.

He was well aware that Knights Gaming’s League Standings had been languishing in the Lower Bracket for a long time, and they were planning on Rebuilding this season anyway.

And Director Hong believed that while it was true Lee Naeun had better skills right now, it wasn’t fair to compare her potential with that of the eighteen-year-old Seo Dami.

The way Director Hong saw it, Seo Dami was in a bad situation that prevented her from showing her true skills, and she was a player who could deliver a much better Performance if the pressure was relieved.

The Director had strongly appealed this point, and in the end, they had reached a certain level of agreement on making the Trade happen.

Right. It’s not completely over yet.

Director Hong had judged that if they solidified their Battle Line by recruiting Lee Naeun, they could aim for a rebound in the League.

But then, out of nowhere, trouble erupted from an unexpected place.

“Hey. Haven’t they fought again since then? It looks like Dami finally snapped after holding it in for so long. If there’s violence outside the Capsule, we’re in big trouble, you punk!”

“Coach. As a matter of fact, I was pacing the hallway in front of the kids’ rooms until just thirty minutes ago. It was quiet until then.”

“Is Dami sleeping?”

“Probably.”

Director Hong thought.

That Seo Dami’s patience had finally reached its limit.

Aigoo, Dami. You should have held on for just a few more days.

She could have gone to a better team soon, but if she was in and out of the police station for assault now, the Trade would be called off, and the team would be plunged straight into the abyss.

Perhaps in the early hours of this morning.

An even bigger incident might just erupt.

His buzz completely gone, Director Hong said.

“Go get her.”

“Dami? Right now?”

“If she’s sleeping, wake her up and bring her here!!!”

At the Director’s thunderous command, Coach Kim Hakseong shot out of the room.

It seemed Sunday night was not over yet.