"Hmm. Is this right?"
After wiping out an entire team, I muttered that and scratched my head.
No matter how much it had been an ambush, that team had included a UR-ranked player. And I had eliminated them all by myself.
Because of that, a sudden sense of doubt crept in.
"Why on earth is this strategy even working?"
I muttered as I checked the chat. There was no way the viewers would stay quiet after what I'd just done.
-Pilip got destroyed without being able to do anything.
-Why are you even SSR?
-The guy who should be UR gets put in SSR because of low game understanding.
-Legendary scam-tier asset.
-Seriously lol, feels like you should cost more than 1,005 points.
-Does one team get two URs now?
As expected, they were seriously overhyping my value. I had anticipated it, but seeing the chat lines exaggerating it in real time made my head spin.
I had thought things would settle back to normal after the initial overvaluation. Instead, it was getting worse.
'How did it turn out like this…?'
But after what I had just done, I couldn't exactly refute those messages.
"Oh? You're already done?"
The rest of my team arrived along the path I had come from earlier. They had heard there were enemies and used Acceleration to get here quickly, so it had taken some time to regroup.
"I saw the kill log earlier. You were amazing."
"Haha. Please don't hype me up too much."
"You wiped an entire team by yourself. What else are we supposed to call it?"
I asked them not to, but they ignored me and kept praising me. My face felt hot.
Just then, a system message appeared.
The arena is shrinking.
It was the perfect opportunity to change the subject, so I hurriedly said, "Let's move to the center first. We can't get eliminated outside the zone, right?"
"It does feel like you're changing the subject… but you're not wrong. Let's move."
Whether my intention was obvious or not, Ponia agreed and decided we'd head toward the center. Since the zone had already shrunk once, it would probably shrink even faster this time.
Unless we wanted to die to the zone, moving quickly was the right choice.
Our team immediately began heading toward the center. As we moved, kill logs started appearing.
sklii has killed Cherry Cake.
Survivors: 14
Paririri has killed sklii.
Survivors: 13
Paririri has killed Peopungseong.
Survivors: 12
.
.
.
Judging from the kill logs, two teams were fighting each other.
'Unlike my one-sided massacre, this is probably what a normal fight looks like.'
My situation had been a combination of my teammates funneling everything into me and a perfect ambush. Without those factors, a slaughter like that wouldn't have happened.
By the time we reached the center, the number of survivors had dropped to seven, including us. That meant there were effectively only two teams left.
"Head to the center and secure a position. I'll find them and finish it."
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"You're practically unarmed, so you won't be fighting anyway. Just secure a good spot and wait safely."
If I had said I'd carry, then I should carry properly.
With that in mind, I tucked my teammates away and began searching for the remaining enemy team.
'As the zone shrinks, they'll have no choice but to come inside.'
They were probably using healing items outside the zone to recover and then pushing in.
I took position on higher ground and scanned as far as I could. If I had something like a sniper rifle, I could've used a scope for better precision, but that didn't exist here.
In the end, I had to rely on my own eyesight.
"Oh? Found them."
-?
-You see something?
-What do you mean you found them?
-How can you see anything from that distance?
The viewers couldn't understand what I had seen, but there was no time to explain.
I immediately moved toward the location. One player was sprinting into the safe zone. Using Acceleration and Flash Step, I closed the distance quickly and swung my spear.
"Aah!"
The opponent let out a scream and collapsed.
Pilgong_ has killed Porapo.
Survivors: 6
Only one enemy remained.
If I eliminated that last one, our team would win. I wanted to shake off this heavy burden as quickly as possible, so I went searching again. While I was looking, another kill log appeared.
Paririri has killed Cheonseong.
Survivors: 5
Cheonseong was the nickname of an N-ranked player on our team.
That kill log meant the enemy had reached the location where my teammates were.
'I need to move as fast as possible.'
Since I was the core, even if my teammates died, I could clean up. Still, it was better to get there quickly.
If they could stall the enemy even briefly, I could secure an easier kill. And no matter how much I'd been funneled, one mistake could still get me killed.
That was the nature of battle survival games.
Paririri has killed Fontaine.
Survivors: 4
Someone else had fallen.
Still, since there was a slight gap between the kills, they were holding out reasonably well.
Soon after, pushing Acceleration and Flash Step to their limits, I reached the center where my teammates were.
There, with Ponia at the center, the remaining teammates were chaining their abilities to withstand the enemy's attacks.
'Looks like they know I'm the core.'
Considering how many kill logs I had stacked, it would've been stranger if they didn't realize.
"Ha."
I immediately used Blink to leap through space. My surroundings shifted, and the enemy pressing my teammates was now right in front of me.
Thud.
I drove my spear straight through his abdomen.
The moment he had struggled this much against teammates who had barely looted, the outcome had already been decided.
Pilgong_ has killed Paririri.
Survivors: 3
The survivor count dropped, and finally, the only remaining players were our team.
1st Place. MVP.
You are the unrivaled strongest.
The first-place message appeared, and the game ended.
Back in the Quasdae lobby, I regrouped with my teammates.
"I'm not carrying from the next match onward."
"Haha. Why? You did great."
"I was so nervous I thought I was going to die."
On top of that, I was being overhyped to an extreme degree. That, more than anything, I wanted to stop. So I didn't want to shoulder the pack mule role again.
Of course, my teammates and viewers thought differently.
-Carrying is insanely fun. Why wouldn't you do it?
-The power trip was amazing.
-He just doesn't want to get overhyped lol.
-It was so damn fun.
-What a shame.
Both the team and the viewers were clearly eager to make me carry again. So I drew a firm line.
"I'm not carrying this time."
"Well… if you insist."
In the end, Ponia backed down a step. She had said she was my hardcore fan, but judging by her actions, she was more like the worst kind of viewer.
And just like that, my pack mule adventure ended there.
"Good work."
"Good work!"
"Hope we're on the same team tomorrow."
"Goodbye."
After a full three hours, the scrim finally ended and it was time to part ways. I didn't know if scrims were always this exhausting, but my soul had been completely drained.
As I was heading back to my room, someone called out to me.
"Pilgong!"
"Oh, Ponia. Good work today."
Ponia, who hadn't left yet, approached me. She had claimed to be my hardcore fan, but after today's scrim, she felt more like a fellow streamer than a fan.
Maybe that was why I wasn't as nervous as when I met HallasanCheonji.
'Maybe it's because we're not actually meeting in person.'
While I was thinking that, Ponia asked in a trembling voice.
"C-Could we exchange friend codes?"
"Oh. Sure, that's fine."
Hearing her voice shake made me question whether she was really the same team leader who had just scrimmed with me.
After we exchanged friend codes, her face visibly brightened. It was just a friend code, but her reaction made me oddly flustered.
After that, she left, and I returned to my own lobby.
"Ha… I'm exhausted."
-Good job.
-You carried hard.
-You really suffered.
-How can someone struggle that much for an entire scrim?
-No wonder you're drained.
As I sighed and leaned back on the sofa, the viewers agreed it was understandable.
I had intentionally carried in the first match. But in the later matches, it hadn't been intentional. On the City and Rural maps, I ended up carrying unintentionally.
Since UR-ranked Ponia focused on shot-calling, her reaction speed dropped, which affected her mechanics. To cover that gap, I had moved nonstop, which naturally made me the pack mule again.
"Still, it's nice having someone handle the brain for me. I just have to move my body."
-Your mechanics really are good.
-Without someone covering your brain, you just brute-force with mechanics.
-How do you wipe a party solo, seriously lol.
-Lololol.
-Now that you've experienced having a brain, you probably can't go back to normal games lol.
With someone covering my brain, my ceiling skyrocketed.
The reason I had been placed in SSR was because while my mechanics weren't bad, my game understanding and decision-making were lacking.
But with Ponia replacing that weakness, my potential had broken through the ceiling.
'My points are going to get weird at this rate…'
Since I'd shown such a high ceiling, my points would probably rise.
"Guys, I'm too exhausted. I'm going to end the stream soon."
-Okay.
-You worked hard today, go rest.
-If you hadn't rested yesterday, you'd be dead today.
-The tournament will be different, don't worry.
-Pil-bye.
Everyone told me to rest, probably because they knew how hard today had been. At the same time, financial therapy began.
KimchiManddu donated 100,000 won.
You worked hard today.
BeastMan donated 10,000 won.
Good job.
.
.
.
The donations kept coming. I thanked each donor by name, skipping reactions because I simply didn't have the energy.
After the wave of donations ended, I mentioned tomorrow's stream.
"I'll be back before the auction starts tomorrow."
-Pil-bye.
-PB.
-Pil-bye!
-Pil-bye!
.
.
.
After finishing the announcement, I ended the stream and exited the capsule. My body felt fine, but mentally I was drained beyond belief.
I needed to eat dinner, but I didn't even have the appetite.
'I'll just sleep and have a proper lunch tomorrow…'
With that thought, I quickly changed clothes and threw myself onto the bed.
It wasn't the most luxurious bed, but for someone as exhausted as I was, it was more than enough.
And just like that, I let myself drift into a deep sleep.