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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: All Master's Game Broadcast
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'...What? Was Oppa that scary?'
It was just virtual reality, after all.
No matter how realistically it was implemented, this was still a game world.
Getting hit didn't cause any real agony.
At worst, it was a dull throb, and even that could be dialed down further with pain sensitivity controls.
In Iron Fist, pain was merely a gauge of how much damage your body had taken from an opponent's attack.
It was an indicator for status effects like 'fracture,' 'pain,' or 'broken bone.'
Naturally, dying here didn't mean actual death—it was just your HP hitting zero.
'...Even in my one-on-one with Elbow, it didn't feel this intense.'
The number one player in Iron Fist.
No, the absolute top dog called Elbow.
Even when she'd invited him as a guest, Mint hadn't felt this crushing pressure. She gritted her teeth.
'I absolutely won't lose. No, I can't lose!'
She'd set up the match so heavily in her favor that people would mock her for it if she still couldn't beat Haesung. When else would she ever get a shot at him?
Mint had been losing to Haesung for nearly fifteen years since childhood. Instinct told her this was her last real chance to beat him.
If Haesung ditched his outdated capsule and got comfortable with VR games, an opportunity like this would never come again.
With that thought, the countdown began.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[0]
The moment the rapidly descending numbers hit zero.
[FIGHT!]
The invisible wall between Mint and Comet vanished, and the battle started.
"Hup!"
Mint struck first.
With a sharp kiai, she channeled holy power—the energy of the angel race—to reinforce her body, then shot forward like a bullet.
Tadak-tadak-tadak—
'Close the distance with Seven Star Step first.'
Seven Star Step.
A technique where stepping on stars formed by holy power on the ground gradually boosted your speed, reaching the pinnacle in Iron Fist once all seven were stepped on.
Of course, you had to hit them precisely, so nailing all seven in quick succession wasn't easy—but
[7 COMBO!]
Mint, who had mastered Seven Star Step, stomped all seven stars in the blink of an eye, completing the 7-combo.
Her eyes gleamed as she charged straight at Comet.
'Weak Point Detection.'
A skill activated by infusing holy power into her eyes.
Hitting the white dot that floated over the opponent's body guaranteed critical damage.
Like Seven Star Step, it demanded perfect accuracy and was high-difficulty, but not for Mint.
Squeee—
Her holy-power-enhanced body moved at her will, rocketing precisely toward Haesung's side, as indicated by Weak Point Detection.
Her flesh was already stronger than a human's by default, and adding holy power reinforcement brought it close to demon-race levels.
Her fist was too fast to even see coming.
But—
Pwoof!
"She dodged?"
Comet simply twisted his body slightly, effortlessly evading Mint's fist aimed at his side.
It was a near-perfect killer blow, unleashed at peak Seven Star Step efficiency with her top-tier physical stats—but Comet's dynamic vision and reflexes could dodge even faster strikes.
And as the price for closing in so aggressively, Mint now faced Comet up close, her vision filled with his fist.
Kwaaaaa—
A casual straight punch that somehow gave the illusion of shattering the surrounding space itself.
Mint's face drained of color as she hurled herself backward.
The lingering effects of Seven Star Step let her widen the gap in an instant. She was just exhaling in relief when—
Splat!
"...Guh!"
Despite the clear distance between her and his fist, Mint's face twisted in impact.
The pain stung, but the shock was worse.
'How? There was distance!'
Enough space for a couple of fists.
Her head spun from the attack that bridged that gap.
Of course, true to game mechanics, her HP bar barely budged despite the impact and intimidation.
She judged it as a hit before she could even fully register it and reset her stance.
The game wasn't over yet.
Or so she thought, at least.
She wouldn't realize how wrong she was for long.
* * *
Pum-pum-pum-pum-boom!
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...
Faced with invisible punches raining from empty air, Mint knew her first hit hadn't been a fluke.
'...A ki-based ranged attack. Using his fist as a medium. The damage isn't much different from a regular punch... but it's so one-sided!'
Ki-based ranged attack.
As expected for ranged, the damage wasn't overwhelming, but the key was distance.
Her attacks couldn't reach, while he struck effortlessly—this was a dire crisis in a versus fighting game.
Ranged attacks weren't nerfed for damage without reason.
Yet like getting soaked in a drizzle without noticing, Mint's HP steadily curved downward.
If she hadn't diverted her ki to recovery, it wouldn't be at half—it'd be under a third. She was getting utterly dominated.
Thanks to the angel race's cockroach-like vitality, her health lingered around half, but Mint wasn't smiling.
'Not... not even one hit. I haven't landed a single one. At this rate, I'll just wither away.'
The angel race got mocked as 'heavenly cockroaches' for that cockroach vitality, but she knew it meant nothing here.
Just tanking hits and dragging time would end in defeat anyway. Mint gritted her teeth.
"Hup!"
-...Here it comes! White Light Barrage!
-LOL, no dodging that!
-??? : All the hits I took so far were just to build momentum!
The viewers, holding their breath as they watched the battle, cheered at the brilliant halo of light blazing around the gritted-teeth Mint.
She'd been outmatched by Comet from start to finish, against their expectations.
Of course—
-LOL the Comet fans are too busy typing with their trembling hands
-Comet fan special) Felt every one of those Mint beatings along with her for minutes
-Fr real LOL
-??? : All the hits I took so far were just to take even more!
The chat had been buzzing until the fight started, but after minutes of silence, the Comet bettors pounced.
Angel race.
Among them, 'Uniel'—Mint's character—had a ultimate move: White Light Barrage. It unleashed all her holy power in an omnidirectional area sweep.
Despite being ranged, it skipped the usual ranged damage penalty as a proper ultimate, making it devastatingly powerful.
And using it drained every last drop of ki—which showed just how dire things were for her.
No wonder the Comet bettors were cackling.
'...Even if Oppa's a monster, he can't dodge this.'
As a streamer, Mint could see all the chats and knew it well, but she had no choice.
Call it a desperate flail.
Better than doing nothing and failing entirely. That was Mint.
It was a far cry from her initial plan of overwhelming victory, but after facing Comet's attacks—shredding seconds into fractions—she abandoned any lingering hopes of winning.
And at that moment—
Kwaaaaaaaa!
Holy power erupted from Mint, shattering into glass-like shards that scattered everywhere.
Uniel's ultimate, 'White Light Barrage,' swept in all directions.
'Yeah, this should at least deny a Perfect Win.'
Perfect Win.
The humiliating title given when you lose without landing a single hit on your opponent.
For the winner, it was the ultimate prize.
It rarely appeared.
Not unless the skill gap was glaring.
As a victory-hungry gamer, it was mortifying, but Mint prioritized avoiding the even greater shame of a Perfect Win over plain defeat.
But—
"You tried hard."
"...What?"
Seeing her brother, utterly calm amid the unavoidable barrage of White Light Barrage shards.
Mint sensed something off, but recalling the unleashed attack was like trying to gather spilled water.
Yeah.
Meaning, it couldn't be undone.
Kwa-gwagwagwagwang!
The massive explosion from the shattered holy power shards.
A hellish ability where yielding to the initial blast led to 2nd and 3rd hits from the shockwave.
But Comet didn't yield even the first.
Ting—ting—thud-thud-thud-thud!
He didn't extend his fist like when striking her.
With light finger flicks, he precisely shot his ki to swat the holy shards, all while stepping forward in the space where White Light Barrage left no room to move.
An unreal sight.
Even Elbow, Iron Fist's top player, couldn't perfectly block White Light Barrage.
Sure, maybe block it—but not this casually, while walking.
It should've been impossible...
"Wha... what the hell is that?"
Forgetting she was live, Mint asked the technique's name as she watched Comet slowly approach, now using all ten fingers against the mounting shards.
Iron Fist boasted infinite freedom, so ki manipulation varied wildly. She knew this was Comet's unique style.
To her question, Comet grinned.
"Hundred Step Divine Fist."
"What's that..."
She nearly spat out 'weeaboo—' but swallowed it.
Partly because he was her only brother—but mostly for another reason.
"Think of it as Palm Wind or Finger Wind. Easier that way."
"Huh... when?"
White Light Barrage's duration had ended. Comet, who'd steadily walked through it, now stood right before her.
And the Palm Wind or Finger Wind he mentioned were just as incomprehensible to her as Hundred Step Divine Fist.
Seeing her blank, dumbfounded face, Comet raised his fist.
"If you don't know, you get hit. You know that one, right? You even made it up."
"...!"
During their talk, his ki had recovered. As intangible punches flew again, Mint realized one truth.
'...Oh, Oppa used nothing but that Palm Wind thing from start to finish... I couldn't even force him to pull out anything else.'
Comet had attacked her the whole time with just one method.
Same attack, different angles.
Like a problem that was brutally hard but had only one answer—and she couldn't solve it.
Realizing that, Mint summoned holy power to preserve her rapidly draining HP bar.
Time to show off the angel race's cockroach vitality again.
But—
"Oh, you're out."
After White Light Barrage, Mint had no holy power left.
Powerlessly pummeled, a translucent window appeared before her eyes.
[PERFECT WIN!]
A title that wasn't hers.
Perfect Win.
The moment she saw what Comet had earned against her.
Mint logged out of Iron Fist without a backward glance.
The so-called—
-Wow, pulling the ethernet on this one.
-Yep~ Defeat's already popped~ Running won't save you~
LAN pull.
The pathetic escape known as LAN yank.
Viewers despaired at the sight.
-Tie? Tie? Tie? Tie?
-Huh, where am I? Huh, where am I? Huh, where am I?
-Ugh, my head... our memories...
-??? : Unfamiliar... stream...
Mint's defeat.
It meant the points from 92% of viewers went to the Comet bettors.
Chats burned as point-losing, amnesia-stricken(?) viewers raged until Mint appeared before her real-life cam after logging out.