Fenrir Translations
"Hello, everyone. I'm Yujin, and I'll be your interim coach today."
A round of polite applause followed.
The person walking through the streets of Seoul just a few hours ago was no more. Surrounded by the intentionally designed urban landscape of virtual reality, I stood before an audience of about thirty people seated and listening attentively to the lecture.
Not all of them were AP solo players. Specifically, this group consisted of AP solo, duo, and squad players from the 1st league, as well as trainees from the 2nd and 3rd leagues. The total number was slightly over 30.
For someone like me, who had never completed any formal instructor training, this was quite an unsettling sight. Although I had done plenty of briefings and debriefings, this was my first time passing on my skills to others.
Anyway, there was no need to drag things out, and I’ve always been a pragmatist.
I quickly moved into the explanation.
"I assume most of you have attended quite a few lectures by now. And through various engagements, you've likely realized that urban warfare is by no means easy. With that in mind, I'll proceed with the explanation.
Before we dive in, let’s briefly discuss the evolution of modern urban warfare... In simple terms, as the combat environment increasingly resembles modern urban settings, the expectations placed on an individual’s capabilities have grown.
In other words, you need to adapt to all kinds of battlefields. The numerous CQB (Close Quarters Battle) combat rules you find on YourSpace are now just a small part of the basic skills you must master."
In essence, whether you're an aspiring pro gamer or an actual professional, when faced with a combat situation, you're likely to respond inadequately.
This required some explanation—the reality is that it’s impossible to meticulously categorize and store every combat scenario as a specific example.
In other words, making a mental note to "handle a similar situation better next time" is pointless.
There is no "next time."
Even if a situation seems similar, there’s no guarantee that applying what you think is a better approach will yield the expected results.
Therefore, these players have given up trying to categorize every scenario and opted to rely on improvisation. Consequently, the curriculum naturally evolved to focus on enhancing reaction time and aiming skills to gain an edge in combat.
That’s a temporary measure.
Of course, I can’t say that this approach is necessarily wrong, but after spending a hellish 4 years and 8 months in combat, I can confidently say that every engagement must be conducted according to a predefined set of priorities.
Regardless of the combat situation, you need to create a comprehensive framework of actions rather than focusing solely on the situation, and engage in combat based on the derived action priorities.
This is the core of the urban warfare manual, built on countless bodies.
The first principle is this:
"The first thing you must do, whether by choice or necessity, is to locate the enemy and assess how valuable the engagement with that player will be. Simply put, consider how beneficial the fight will be for you."
Up to this point, it was a concept most people could easily grasp.
The explanation continued.
"If you choose to engage, close the distance. Lock them down. The characteristics of urban warfare mean that you can’t fully utilize bullets that can travel over a thousand meters. The engagement distance is, at most, between 100 to 200 meters."
The reason carbines and CQB weapons were developed was precisely because of this.
Even the length of the gun becomes a hindrance in the narrow spaces where these engagements occur, requiring numerous paradigm shifts.
However, with the addition of Icarus Gear and nanomachines, things change a bit. These elements ensure survivability by allowing you to block a few bullets from any angle, regardless of your armor.
So, when facing another Icarus agent—certainty is key.
But let’s take it a step further.
"What you need to do isn’t praying that a barrage of bullets hits something or taking lead shots from a distance.
If you choose to engage, close the distance, and then—by any means necessary—create a situation where you can ensure that the targeted player is completely wiped off the map. That is your objective."
The explanation continued.
It didn’t sound too complicated. Whether it’s by throwing a grenade, flanking, or using other methods, the goal is to force the enemy to expose themselves.
The purpose is, first, second, and finally, to locate the enemy’s position.
Once you pinpoint their location, you close the distance so that the target cannot choose to flee the engagement.
So why is this important?
"For your shooting practice and positioning to be effective, you need to engage only when you’ve secured a superior position… or at the very least, an equal one with the enemy.
The training you’ve done isn’t bad. Precise shooting, positioning skills, improvisation, ambidextrous shooting, reflex enhancement… But these are means, not ends. It’s about the direction. The reason why you train is important.
Precisely locating the enemy is the only way for these methods to be effective. Your shooting practice only matters when you’re face-to-face with the enemy, but if they start shooting at you from behind, your shooting skills become useless."
As I said this, I corrected a statement I had made during the first scrim.
"I mentioned that my operating principle during the scrim hosted by another team was improvisation. I didn’t say it at the time, but this was the underlying meaning."
The room grew quiet.
Seeing everyone focused, I felt a sense of relief as I prepared to take action.
"Since this may be your first time hearing this kind of lecture, let’s have a one-on-one engagement with me now, followed by feedback based on that experience."
As always, people bloom through real-life experience.
Meanwhile, as Yujin began her work as an interim coach at SSM—there were over 30 gamers present, who could be divided into two groups.
Those who had encountered Yujin during scrims and those who hadn’t.
It was a rather naive classification, which could be further detailed by noting that some had not even seen her face before being taken out by a lead shot or ambush, meaning they didn’t fully grasp her true abilities.
On the other hand, it also meant that quite a few players had faced Yujin in direct combat—roughly 30% of the group, which was just under ten people.
Dice, sitting at the front and listening attentively, used her keen senses to gauge the reactions around her. They were just as expected. Due to the unconventional nature of the lecture, there was a general sense of interest, but that was all.
And that made sense. Including herself, there weren’t many here who had been shattered in direct confrontation with Yujin. While they focused intently on the lecture, those who hadn’t faced her were just going along with it.
The environment rapidly changed, and the terrain shifted as well. The first engagement site was a research facility. Besides being complex, it was filled with uneven, bizarre equipment, designed to be deliberately frustrating.
In other words, this was the kind of place that other coaches always emphasized as important.
Yujin’s first opponent was PigeonCheeseSweetandSourPork, a user from SSM’s 2nd division—a name Dice didn’t recognize. She might have seen him during mock scrims with fewer than 100 players, but as far as notable achievements go, she couldn’t recall any.
The view shifted, and except for the two participants, the rest of the group became observers. Some moved the camera to get a bird’s-eye view of the combat zone, while others followed the players directly.
Dice didn’t mind either way. As long as it was beneficial, that’s all that mattered.
[Alert: Mock combat is starting.]
One-on-one.
To be honest, in this game, even if you were up against someone from the 2nd or even 3rd division, victory wasn’t guaranteed. Not only because of the psychological aspect but also because utilizing the terrain, shooting skills, and improvisation all required a vast array of skills.
So, Dice was curious. How exactly would Yujin identify the enemy’s location and neutralize them?
Everyone took time to set up their equipment.
But,
‘Why is she gathering all this random stuff…?’
A PDA, a few SureFire flashlights that could be picked up anywhere, and remotely activated… nothing particularly special. Dice had thought she might use tripwires, but apparently not.
The two players were randomly assigned positions. The combat area was about half the size of a soccer field, meaning they could cross it quickly if they decided to sprint.
After spawning on opposite ends, the 1-on-1 match began without a countdown.
Yujin immediately moved cautiously to take cover and scan the surroundings, unlike her opponent, who stayed still to assess the situation.
The area was filled with various items and scattered documents, as the scenario was set in a research facility—a chaotic place where people had fled in haste, leaving all sorts of debris behind.
A reconnaissance phase ensued. Strangely, Yujin moved in a seemingly careless, random pattern, placing a PDA and a SureFire flashlight on a desk.
About a minute passed.
───Crash!
A brief engagement occurred between Yujin, who was openly crossing the map, and her well-hidden opponent.
She quickly took cover behind a wall and then moved rapidly toward the enemy’s location. It was an incomprehensible behavior, given what she had shown before.
But whether or not she was aware of these thoughts, Yujin suddenly stopped with deliberate footsteps, and at the same time, sent a signal, briefly turning the SureFire light on and off, aiming it at the floor ahead.
With a click, a grenade was thrown in that direction.
As the explosion's aftershock subsided and the noise died down, the PDA that had been precariously perched on a desk on the opposite side of where Yujin had been was knocked off by the vibration, indicating that 3 minutes had passed since the engagement began.
A dull thud echoed as the device hit the floor.
PigeonCheeseSweetandSourPork—known by his teammates as PigeonHead—was growing increasingly disoriented in the midst of the chaos. His thoughts could be summed up simply:
‘What on earth is happening?’
He had a rough idea of Yujin’s location.
But at the same time, his own position was also compromised. The research facility was dimly lit, and so he threw the grenade towards the flashlight that had suddenly turned on behind the wall.
It was likely a tactical light attached to her weapon.
Even if this assumption was wrong, it didn’t matter much. What was important was that Yujin and he were probably not too far apart.
But that incessant buzzing from the other side...
───Buzz!
That had to be a decoy.
Judging by the sound, it was some sort of device generating the vibration. Although not commonly seen, it was a known tactic. In fact, some players used it during last year’s tournament.
But… what exactly was that interim coach aiming for?
Taking a deep breath, he cautiously moved to change his position from behind cover. Soon, his pulse and seeker mine would be off cooldown. By then, combat would be much easier.
But unfortunately, while the pulse could detect the location of all nearby players, its range was somewhat limited.
So, prioritizing safety, he began to stealthily move closer to where he believed Yujin might be.
However,
“Damn…!”
Bullets rained down from an unexpected distance, relentlessly hammering at his nanomachine barrier.
His barrier’s durability dropped below 50% in an instant as he quickly ducked for cover, only for the game’s tempo to change drastically. Yujin was now closing in on him like a storm, headed straight toward him at the fastest possible speed.
Unlike earlier, he had no means to stop her approach this time.
Realizing this, he deployed two smoke grenades and retreated quickly.
However, Yujin’s seemingly random actions had a calculated purpose—they were meant to corner Pigeon into an inescapable position on the map.
The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place in her mind.
Through calculated movements that minimized but allowed manageable damage, she baited her opponent into shooting first.
Then, using various methods to weaken his focus, she moved to a location with better visibility while intentionally exposing a weak point, enticing him to attack first.
Once the enemy broke cover and advanced, she would shoot the exposed areas—and while he was disoriented, she’d push aggressively.
If she managed to kill the target during this phase, it was over. If not, she would drive him into a corner where escape was impossible.
Pigeon was now in the final stage.
Barely managing to escape and hide behind some equipment, his skills finally came off cooldown.
He activated the pulse, sweeping the area, while his seeker mine flew through the air.
However.
[Alert: Distance to the enemy - 12m]
[Alert: Explosive detected.]
He was cornered, and within moments, three grenades were thrown in succession to his location.
The seeker mine was intercepted and exploded nearby, and he heard the clang of metal hitting the hard floor.
───Clang!
“…What the hell is this…?”
He never knew what hit him.
Moments later, he was blown up in a flash of light, sound, and shrapnel.