Fenrir Translations
"Wow…."
Harmony, the small-framed homeowner, lay sprawled on the sofa in her living room, staring up at the ceiling with her phone resting on her belly. Her mind was awash with emotions, a whirlwind of thoughts and memories about Yujin that had suddenly taken on a new meaning. It wasn’t betrayal she felt—after all, Yujin hadn’t lied to her. But there was a sense of awe, a sort of marvel at the revelation that had just unfolded.
An Awakened, of all things.
Awakened individuals were rare, and those who existed were often under strict protection by the government. Stories of where they lived were passed around in whispers, but meeting one intentionally was nearly impossible.
Yet here she was, with a friend whose identity was beyond anything she could have imagined. She had assumed Yujin was just an incredibly fit personal trainer or perhaps a tough, retired special forces soldier. But the world, it seemed, always had a way of surprising her with more than she bargained for.
But that realization only lasted a moment.
Harmony’s thoughts drifted back over the past three to four weeks, recalling her experiences with Yujin. The first time she entered Dark Zone, the feelings she had as she navigated that desolate, snow-covered dead city—a stark contrast to the vibrant, hopeful VRMMORPGs she had played before. The sense of isolation and struggle, as if the whole world was against her.
And then, amidst it all, she met Yujin.
Their first meeting was too impactful to be forgotten, and naturally led to a second and third. In those times, many things happened between them. Before long, Harmony had skyrocketed to become a top-tier streamer, choosing to showcase her skills in Apex Predator content and growing her reputation rapidly.
On the surface, it seemed like just a story of someone benefiting from a friendship, but when she considered that Yujin’s avatar—no, her true form—had been what she was seeing all along, everything changed.
The image of Yujin in the restricted area, at the shooting range, during missions, and in survival scenarios… all those moments took on a new significance.
Wait a minute.
Did that mean the avatar she had seen was actually Yujin herself all along?
Realizing the full weight of this revelation, Harmony quickly grabbed her phone.
[Harmony: This is a national-level deception, teacher!!!!]
[Yujin: ??????]
But seriously, if Yujin’s identity were to be revealed later on—whether by her or through some other means—wouldn’t it be like, "Ta-da! You haven’t been watching an avatar all this time; you’ve been seeing the real Yujin!"?
If that happened, how could anyone be blamed for the inevitable chaos in the chatroom? At least for the first 30 minutes, it would be a storm of questions and accusations.
Revealing her identity later would actually be easier. The next time viewers ask for a face reveal, she could just say, "You’ve been watching it all along!" and that would be the end of it.
If this isn’t deception, what is?
It seemed that being a former special forces soldier also meant being good at tricking people.
[Harmony: What am I supposed to do now,,,]
[Harmony: Do I just have to bury my face in my pillow and shout, 'Yujin-sensei is a real anaconda' every day??]
[Harmony: My lips are itching to talk about this,,٩(๑•̀o•́๑)و]
[Yujin: Oh dear]
[Yujin: See you at the police station]
[Harmony: That’s too much,,,ㅠㅠㅠ!!!]
It was a bit scary because that could actually happen….
But aside from her urge to talk about it, Harmony was genuinely looking forward to what was to come. In just a few months, who knew how much more famous Yujin could become? It wasn’t out of the question that she could single-handedly dominate the Dark Zone community.
If, during all that time, Harmony alone knew the truth while everything around her exploded, it might actually be kind of fun.
Even as these thoughts raced through her mind, their conversation continued, shifting to the topic of where they might eat.
Not sure if this was true for all Awakened individuals or just Yujin, but Harmony quickly decided to book the most expensive buffet she knew, considering Yujin had mentioned she ate a lot.
Although nearly 300,000 won vanished from her account in an instant, it wasn’t much of a concern given her income.
The bigger worry, though…
…Will I end up getting dragged to the gym with her if we meet in person?
She imagined herself struggling to lift the lightest weights while Yujin watched and counted every rep with unwavering precision.
As she envisioned a future where her muscles ached and she lay on her bed or sofa trying to stream, Harmony shook her head in resignation.
Her hazel hair swayed gently as she did.
It was summer.
A Tactical Advisor.
Or, as it’s more commonly known, a military consultant.
In today’s world—at least within certain circles—this wasn’t an uncommon profession. A quick search on YourSpace would bring up countless videos related to the field.
The rise of the game Dark Zone brought military expertise, once considered far removed from the everyday lives of civilians, into the esports world.
In short, this profession had become much more accessible than it used to be.
So, what does a Tactical Advisor do? As the name suggests, they provide expert guidance. This can range from training a single individual to become a combat specialist to devising strategies for large-scale conflicts.
Neither role is inherently superior. The former is akin to a non-commissioned officer who directly trains field operatives, while the latter takes on the broader perspective of tactics and strategy, like an officer.
If asked which role I fit into, I’d say the former. In other words, I was a field operative.
Whether the latter role is even necessary in a game like Dark Zone is debatable.
So, the job I’d be doing from now on was closer to agent training.
Of course, I wasn’t going to apply real-world tactics in the game, but… it’s something I’ll figure out as I go. The people I’ll be instructing likely have some basic knowledge of urban combat.
Even if it’s something they learned through the game….
If I had to predict, my role would likely involve correcting their mistakes and helping them refine their shooting and positioning skills.
Urban combat, or CQB, ultimately comes down to who can shed their hesitation and attack first, but that requires a level of urgency that’s hard to replicate in a game.
That’s why we focus on improving shooting skills and reaction times.
Anyway, it starts tomorrow.
I couldn’t just show up unprepared, so I spent a good amount of time warming up and revisiting some training manuals that had been gathering virtual dust in my Icarus Gear.
I focused less on the rigid basics and more on practical skills that are easy to overlook—like how to quickly switch between left and right stances behind cover, how to efficiently throw grenades, and how to make quick single shots.
It sounds like the kind of knowledge you’d expect to be passed down personally, but as always, soldiers are trained, not born.
Everything can be translated into knowledge, and that means even actions can be explained theoretically.
A donation popped up on my screen:
Embrier donated 1,000 won: "Not doing scrims today? That’s awesome, lol."
"I’ve done everything I needed to for the past few days… Actually, I was told during scrims that there’s no need for me to participate anymore. Considering that, it seems a bit excessive to keep joining."
…Looking back, it really does feel like I got kicked out.
Though I’ll be participating in a different capacity starting tomorrow, the fact remains… Sometimes I wonder how I ended up in this situation.
It’s fortunate that I can use all the skills I’ve acquired in a positive way, but still.
Anyway, it’s about time I started preparing for tougher opponents.
The basic mechanics of the game don’t change, but who knows what kind of competitors will show up in the Asia qualifiers—assuming I get through. Once I start preparing for the finals, how seriously will I need to take this?
In a way, I might be retracing my steps. Not just revisiting memories, but perhaps returning to my roots.
Somewhere in a foreign land, kicking up dust, pulling the trigger for real, were people who now crossed over into Dark Zone, casually bringing their real-world experience with them.
In that sense, maybe I’m facing the same enemy in a different space.
After finishing my notes on the key points for tomorrow’s lecture, I saved them as a memo.
The viewers didn’t know yet that I’d be working as a temporary coach for SSM, but there was no need to tell them. It wouldn’t do any good anyway.
As I was wrapping up the stream, a sudden donation came through.
Byeol Jigi donated 1,000 won: "Not doing Jump Master today? Let’s do the second DLC map."
"…If I do that, I feel like I’ll end up in a really bad mood, so I’m putting it off."
…Thinking back, all of Harmony’s recommendations have been solid. The problem is that now viewers see me as either playing Dark Zone or weird, crappy games—nothing in between.
Since I’ve opened my personal community on Tricky, maybe I should take game recommendations there. After all, I’ve wrapped up most of the current ones.
As I exited Dark Zone, I added:
"So, I’ll start taking other game recommendations. With the qualifying ranks coming up soon, I can’t promise I’ll play them right away, but if you suggest something, I’ll check it out. Post your ideas on the Tricky community."
It felt like I was finally putting the community to proper use.
After that, I spent about an hour chatting with the viewers. Since my main content was Dark Zone and I had a tournament coming up, the conversation naturally gravitated in that direction.
Since my path as a streamer seemed fairly set now, it might be good to try new things occasionally—like viewer participation content.
Of course, I rejected a lot of ideas. They just didn’t seem that interesting.
But thankfully, I haven’t seen any feedback saying the streams are boring. So far, it seems like I’m meeting viewers’ expectations well enough.
After some time passed, I logged into the site, which still felt a bit unfamiliar, and clicked on the notification showing new posts.
A lot of posts had gone up in the meantime. Apparently, there was a recommendation feature, and the most liked ones were at the top.
I picked one at random.
"Let’s see… KimPassMega recommended… 'Tentacle Can Be Loved?' The title alone sounds pretty… unusual."
I scrolled down.
Hmm.
Uh.
Hmm….
Um…
In summary, here’s what it was about:
"…Why do I have to date unfinished, feminized outer gods?"
It seemed that Harmony’s first suggestion might have been something I should have avoided altogether.