I am Smart

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“Shit!”

The man spat out a curse and reached his hand forward. The nearby Archer, Warrior, and Knight snapped out of it and took their positions.

The ten minutes of meditation were truly a rare sight, but Fiore wasn’t an idiotic system that would allow a noob like Hyun-gye to pull off a flawless victory during meditation.

It merely changed the design a bit in the Current Realm, resulting in an overall performance increase of about 1.2 times. Some even argued that compared to carry positions in other games, the rewards were lesser.

Moreover, this game is a team game. They have buffs they can gain, and no matter how exceptional one person is, if the team doesn’t support them, they will lose. Even professionals often find themselves defeated in this place called Diamond.

Furthermore, the resurrection cooldown for the opposing Priest, Warrior, and Archer still had over 20 seconds remaining.

‘So currently, it’s 3 versus 4.’

They just needed to buy time until their ally Hyun-gye could meditate after wiping out the enemies.

Gathering several points of evidence, the man and his allies regained their composure.

As the man extended his right hand, a fireball was launched.

There was a formula for the Wizard’s skill usage.

After shooting a fireball that flies in a straight line, if the opposing player dodges, dropping a magic wave in the direction they dodged has a high chance of hitting.

And if they get hit by the magic wave, they become slowed; at that moment, if a binding magic circle is deployed, it becomes a guaranteed hit.

That formula was the answer in most cases.

The Fighter dodged the incoming fireball to the right. The man mechanically fired off a magic wave followed by a binding magic circle in succession.

At the moment he was convinced he had hit, the man’s pupils widened.

In that fleeting moment, just as the fireball in a straight line passed beside the Fighter’s face, he dashed toward it. The magic wave, cast slightly to the side, missed. Consequently, the binding magic circle easily went astray.

Three successful skill dodges in total. As the Fighter’s stats rose, traces of sunlight began to cling to him. The Fighter charged forward.

Next, the Archer, with the second-longest range after the Wizard, pulled back the bowstring. The Warrior and the Knight dashed forward in order.

The Archer unleashed a barrage of arrows. The Warrior approached and prepared a circular taunt skill for an instant cast while the Knight executed a charge.

The Fighter dashed in one direction to evade the consecutively fired straight-line arrows, briefly entering the Warrior’s taunt zone. Just as the taunt area was forming, he suddenly moved diagonally.

This marked five successful dodges in total. The Fighter’s skin glimmered with sunlight.

The Knight charged in, sparks flying. Following him, the Warrior also used his charging skill to rush forward.

The Fighter evaded both. However, the axe and sword swept down in simultaneous diagonal slashes from both directions.

The experienced duo was sure they had landed a hit in that moment.

Fiore is a well-made game. Therefore, individual carries are impossible.

Unless there’s a significant skill gap.

The Fighter turned his body slightly to narrowly dodge the descending sword. But just as the following axe swung toward the Fighter’s bare body—

– Clang!!

The sunlight the Fighter had stored erupted.

It was the enhanced parrying technique that consumed his passive.

According to the enhanced parrying system, the Warrior’s stance crumbled. At that moment, the Fighter slammed his fist down.

With additional damage, two-thirds of the Warrior’s health vanished entirely.

The Warrior clicked his tongue and stood up. Suddenly, he charged at the Fighter alongside the Knight, keeping a distance.

…But something was strange.

Their health was dropping more.

Their attacks were missing, while the opponent’s attacks hit their mark.

The Fighter’s biggest drawback was his reach. It was insufficient to face cold weapons, magic, or arrows with bare hands.

Yet somehow, the Fighter, as if he could predict the future, evaded all the cold weapons drawing lines in the air, executing enhanced parries accordingly.

While drawing aggro, the Wizard cast skills from the back.

Even amidst taking fire, the Fighter dodged the majority of deadly skills like taunts, binds, and slows.

Thus, a 3 versus 4 assault ensued.

Once again, the Warrior was brought down by an enhanced parry, followed by the Knight’s fall.

The Fighter still had half of his health remaining. He rushed toward the Wizard and Archer.

The two sensed defeat.

Ranged characters couldn’t outrun melee characters.

That was the rule in all games.

“…… Shit…… This game is a total disaster……”

The man murmured while blankly staring at the incoming punch.

*

Just before the tower that determined the game’s outcome exploded, the four men were fighting our team rather than the enemy team.

―――

Tank and DPS (Sky Realm/Warrior): Honestly, it’s mainly the Wizard’s fault for spamming skills early on.

Twenties Guy (Sky Realm/Knight): Honestly, that’s right, lol. Even 3 versus 4, if the Wizard can’t hit skills, they’re practically useless.

Endurance, Tenacity, Passion (Sky Realm/Wizard): No way, shit, lol. This is ridiculous, those close-range bastards.

Endurance, Tenacity, Passion (Sky Realm/Wizard): Why is it our fault when we can’t hit a single easy sword or axe and keep getting parried?

Twenties Guy (Sky Realm/Knight): It’s not that easy.

wnrrhtlvek (Sky Realm/Archer): It’s simply a difference in melee proficiency.

―――

In truth, the actual culprit behind the game going wrong was the two Hyun-gye, but they were completely ignored.

In the end, the four continued to fight till the end, even arguing about the game result window.

The last one remaining in the argument was the Wizard.

The man, with an empty heart, watched the debates they had shared thus far.

―――

Moon Si-hyun (Current Realm/Fighter): Thank you for your hard work, Wizard! (_ _). It was a good game. I sincerely apologize for last match. I hope we meet on the same team next time. Please unblock me.

―――

A chat message came through.

“Wow……”

The man sighed at the malicious thought.

‘You throw me under the bus last match, then after you win this match against me, you wait till the end of this argument before sending that chat?’

Though he also indulged in internet madness, he thought that guy was genuinely insane.

Now, replying felt like getting dragged into it. The man didn’t respond and force-quit the game, then took off his headgear.

“Shit, this game is utterly trash! I’m never playing again!”

The man kicked the treadmill once in frustration before collapsing onto his bed.

And then he turned on his phone and logged into the Fiore gallery.

*

[Fiore Minor Gallery]

―――

– Moon Si-hyun <<< If you meet that son of a bitch without this character, just dodge. He's a top-tier Fighter One-Champ in Diamond, but this guy is an absolute scam. (Moon Si-hyun's game chat log after sending a friend request) He keeps whining while sporting such a concept. Shit, it was a rank-up chance, but that bastard ruined it all. ――― - It's clear that he's someone you shouldn't get involved with. - The chat tone, lol. What a concept, shit, lol. - Fighter balance, lol. - This dude is a Sky Realm Wizard, lol. When we were on the same team, the Fighter threw and we lost, but when we met again as opponents, he suddenly became a god and we lost. - Hahaha, you're right. - LOL, of course he'd be pissed. - But there’s a Fighter One-Champ up in Diamond. - Isn't that guy meant to be bait for dodging? - There's a Fighter at Master, right? - He's just someone who plays the game well. Can’t you see Sansu’s speed? - What stats does that guy have? He's a legend, haha. What are they waiting for to ban guys like him? - He must have climbed up as the account level is low compared to being in Diamond. - He seems like just a naturally good player, like an alt account for practice. - But looking at his early solo rank win rate, it’s... really strange. - But isn’t the average play time per match in the range of 18 minutes? Wins or losses, they all end within 18 minutes. - What on earth is that??? The average is supposed to be 23 minutes. - Is he really that insane? ――― The man’s post made in irritation turned into interesting bait in the now-quiet Fiore gallery. Various splinter threads about the Fighter began to appear in the gallery. ――― I also met that Fighter. (Picture authenticated from the record site) I encountered him in Emerald, and he’s already hit top Diamond, wow. He just played so well! Almost made me think he was cheating because he dodged every skill. When multiple skills came flying at him and it seemed like he couldn't dodge, he twisted his body to avoid getting hit by the damageable skills. But his speech matched that of the normal. Could it be a concept? Haha. ――― - No, no. Watching him play suggests he’s just devoured by the concept. - What if he actually is cheating? Wow. - Haha, that's been a while since I heard that. - Unless you’re a key master, where could you find hacks in a full-tracking VR game... Any crazy movements get banned immediately. - Now even trivial hacks get caught; unless some super-powered AI hack comes out that learns human movements, it’s impossible. - But isn't it not entirely impossible? If hacks are caught by AI, then making a hack that doesn’t get noticed... you know. - You've awakened! Join the special gallery. ――― Why we should never play as Fighters again.txt ――― Sansu broadcast speed typing. (In chat, the Fighter topic comes up) ...... Fighter? (laughs) No, everyone, Fighters are trash. They’re like unrecyclable garbage. I mean, you all know that. Why’s the chat like this suddenly? ...... Oh, a player has hit Master as Fighter? (Looks at the Master replay) Ah. Understood. Turns out this person is just really good at Fiore. But they were just using Fighter as a sandbag. See, they just throw away their passive. But they just play so incredibly well to reach Master. Want me to explain more? Okay. What should I say? So, let’s say there’s an ice Americano. (rambling omitted) You want me to explain it simply? Oh, okay. Okay. Everyone, don’t be a Fighter. ――― *

“Phew……”

He removed the headgear. A slight warmth lingered on his body. He lay on his bed to take a quick break.

The last chat from the allies while breaking the top tower echoed in his head.

– Wow, you played so well.

– Oppaㅠㅠ so cool;;

– Thanks for carrying; I’m sorry for what I said.

“…… Hmph.”

His feet bounced on the bed. It was a pity he didn’t end up on the same team as the Wizard from the previous round, but he apologized once more at the end, so he hoped it lightened their mood.

Reveling in that lingering feeling, he turned on his phone beside him.

[Missed Calls: 14]

“……”

That was the first notification that caught his eye. He hadn’t seen it because he was playing the game.

…… What should I do?

At that moment, the ringer went off again. His shoulders jumped.

[Lee Da-ram]

He considered ignoring the call, but he didn’t know what would happen if he didn’t answer this time.

“…… Hello.”

[Sis! You played the game all day again today! I saw your playtime hit 14 hours!]

Lee Da-ram’s sharp voice came through the phone.