I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun
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Chapter 63 Table of contents

Apex Predator.

Among its various modes, the solo division stood out as an anomaly.

To understand why, one must first acknowledge the common thread shared by Dark Zone and most other PvP formats: team games.

Team games were the cornerstone of the PvP systems offered by Dark Zone, and this was also the reason why Apex Predator—often abbreviated as AP—was considered an outlier.

As always, the whole is not merely the sum of its parts.

A team game is not just about multiple individuals playing simultaneously; it’s about coordinated communication, enabling the team to achieve results beyond what any single player could accomplish.

This is precisely why the role of a coach exists in this domain: to identify and address the gaps in team play that individual players might overlook, ensuring that the different pieces—be they five, four, or six players—fit perfectly into the puzzle that is victory.

However, AP soloing was different.

While tactics certainly existed, there was no guarantee they would work. To put it more freely, everything that happened after landing was often a matter of improvisation, and this was at least half true.

The vast array of objects and terrain spread across several square kilometers created more variables than any other PvP could offer. In other words, the tapestry of victory was woven solely by the player’s own skills.

It was to the extent that coaches, players, and viewers alike agreed that winning in AP solo wasn't something that could be achieved through practice and tactics alone.

While tactics became just as important as physical skill at the highest levels, this inevitably meant that physical prowess was still the primary determinant of success.

Therefore, unlike the other PvP professionals who specialized in team play, those who focused on AP soloing were not just players but also their own coaches, and—assuming they were part of the main roster—they held significant individual influence.

Moreover, due to the nature of solo play, the dynamics of free agency were quite different from those in other FA markets, where players often stayed with a team for long periods, making team movements rigid.

In AP soloing, a player could freely move during the FA period, express their opinions on trainee selection within their club, and their input was relatively likely to be accepted.

Thus, the culture that emerged in the AP soloing area was a kind of "pickup season" that coincided with the scrim period.

Aspiring professionals could participate in scrims outside of trainee recruitment periods, catching the attention of enforcers, management, or professionals, while clubs could easily acquire promising trainees without much effort.

It was an attractive system for everyone involved, and almost all clubs and professionals had grown accustomed to this method.

Dice, who had been active in SSM for the three years since the inception of professionals in Apex Predator, was no exception.

Or rather, she had been.

"Um, Yujin? Maybe you could think about it just a little more... Our SSM facilities are really great! They're right next to Yongsan, so you could easily get here with just one bus ride..."

"Hmm..."

"You can keep streaming if you want! Or even work as a mercenary or something like that. Oh, I want to go back! This is too weird...!"

Yujin.

It seemed she wasn’t particularly interested in becoming a professional gamer.

Dice wanted to cry.

[General] Yujin, you bastard, start your stream now!!!!

<Insert random meme image>

You’re not scared of people like me, who sit in bed all day playing Dark Zone and watching streams? Start the stream now, I’ll punish you with donations, just please start the stream!!!

I can’t live without Apex streams anymore!!!

[Comments] [Newest First]

[General] Am I the only one curious about Yujin’s scrim?

<Insert random meme image>

I know Apex scrims are super intense, but after what she’s shown so far, I can’t imagine her losing.

With how well she’s been playing, she should get a recruitment offer soon, right?

[Comments] [Newest First]

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ㄴ [Top Comment] If I had been in the same scrim room as Yujin, I’d have some stories to share, but unfortunately, that’s never happened. However, I’ve heard from one of my dormmates that she got five wildcards. ㄴ WTF, lol. ㄴ No way. ㄴ Insane… insane… insane… insane… insane…. ㄴ What the hell did you do, you crazy Yujin!!!!!!!!!!!! ㄴ If you’re a trainee, you must’ve seen Yujin’s scrim footage. Share some stories. ㄴ Hold on, this is going to be a long one, so I’ll make a separate post.

[General] Current 3rd division trainee here, sharing some Yujin-related stories.

<A photo of the poster holding a piece of paper with their site nickname next to their in-game nickname on the screen>

  1. Today’s Xi-hosted scrim lasted 13 hours and 37 minutes in-game, with 23 total sessions. In other words, they played 23 matches, and Yujin placed first in 14 of them (F).

I counted it myself, and it’s actually 15 matches… Is this person even human? I couldn’t believe my eyes, no joke.

  1. After the scrim, all the pros there sent pickup requests, and about a third of them were wildcards (?).

Not confirmed, but based on the gameplay, I think it’s possible. If I were a pro, I’d definitely use a wildcard here.

  1. Is Yujin a total noob in scrims?

Earlier, before I checked the scores, I thought she’d do okay, but after checking, that’s just nonsense. From what my dormmates said, she’s basically obliterated everyone, regardless of who they were.

  1. Did she get 11 kills in the first match at the research complex and take down a Juggernaut? (T)

Confirmed true. I still don’t understand how, but apparently, she threw an EMP grenade and then mowed them down with a Barrett.

I have no idea who this person is—maybe some high-level Awakened One is playing this game.

I’ll post more stories if I hear anything new.

[Comments] [Newest First]

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SSM Entertainment, Team Dormitory.

As gaming platforms transitioned from PCs to VR, the common sounds of clicking keyboards and mice faded into history, leaving only silence and darkness enveloping the hallways.

Only one room had its lights on.

The light emanated from a hologram floating above a phone screen, displaying a video that required the viewer to choose their POV in real time rather than a pre-edited highlight reel.

It was Yujin’s stream.

Golden eyes sparkled beneath delicate eyelids as the viewer gazed at the screen, her lips parting to express emotions close to awe.

Dice, a first-league professional gamer at SSM Entertainment.

She was one of the few women among Dark Zone’s professional gamers—more accurately, she was a Korean who had moved to Korea with her foreign parents, but in reality, she was more Korean than foreign despite her Western appearance.

Paradoxically, the existence of in-game visual adjustments blurred the lines of gender in the professional gaming realm, leading esports to become increasingly meritocratic—a trend that seemed unstoppable.

Dice was a prime example of someone who had quickly adapted to these changing times.

While the team took measures to prevent gender-related issues by restricting the release of personal information, meaning her identity remained undisclosed in the real world, this wasn’t unique to her.

Avatars made it easy to separate reality from the virtual world, and many players, regardless of gender, preferred to keep their personal lives private.

But back to the matter at hand.

Dice was currently engrossed in watching a recording of Yujin’s stream and the scrim gameplay from earlier that day, losing track of time.

Connections between people often formed through chance encounters, and for Dice, that connection had been made through her own catastrophic defeat.

The more intense the first encounter, the longer it lingered in one’s memory.

Moreover, this wasn’t just a one-time meeting—today, Yujin seemed to have felt something similar, as she chose Dice amidst the many wildcards and selection cursors directed at her.

Of course, the outcome of that first meeting… was less than promising. On the surface, Yujin didn’t seem particularly interested in the world of professional gaming.

It was only natural; those who already possessed most of the benefits a team could offer were the hardest to recruit.

However, Dice’s intuition whispered softly.

…This can’t be the end.

Perhaps, this was the beginning of something grand.

With that thought, Dice found herself drifting aimlessly through the deepening night.

Chapter written by
Fenrir Translations
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