"...."

As soon as the skirmish ended, a heavy silence lingered in the air.

Silence usually fell into two categories.

The first was when something so shocking occurred that no one could utter a word, and the second was when there were so many thoughts racing through one's mind that the timing to speak was completely lost.

Today, those gathered to listen to Yujin’s lecture fell closer to the latter.

Before they entered the actual combat scenario, what she emphasized could be simply summed up as the purposefulness of every action.

In short, the training wasn’t just about developing the ability to adapt on the fly in combat situations, but rather about viewing every action as a step towards systematically eradicating the enemy.

Initially, her lecture, which veered slightly from the usual approach, was considered nothing more than unconventional before the combat began.

After all, the players here, whether in the first or second squads, or even those in the lower leagues, had received extensive feedback and training—though the amount varied, the quality was consistently high.

This place was a battlefield that gathered the top players of Apex Predator, even if it was only within the game. It was a place where players practiced the art of killing their opponents as effectively as possible.

But then...

But why was that user... how could she so effortlessly dismantle everything the AP pro-gaming scene had built up until now?

However, this was not the time to question why it was possible, but rather to ponder how it was possible. With two players still needing some time to return from the skirmish, everyone began to review the recent match with their own reasoning.

But in the end, the conclusion was still elusive. To be honest, in some ways, it seemed almost ordinary. Just a normal skirmish. It was simple enough to make one think they could do it too.

Of course, as time passed───

-[Notification: Skirmish ended.]

-[Notification: Username -Eugene- is currently on a 15-win streak.]

Even an hour later, no one had managed to secure a victory against Yujin.

Even Dice, who tirelessly formed and discarded various hypotheses, could not come up with a satisfactory answer.

The only progress made was through SSM’s analyzing engine, which confirmed that Yujin's actions had a definite directionality.

She would use various tricks and chaos to completely disrupt her opponent's judgment, then precisely penetrate the moment when caution was stripped from their actions. It was more like piercing through a gap than merely exploiting it.

No one could break the flow, and they were all swept up in the storm, being completely dismantled.

As the victor and the vanquished emerged, Yujin, after removing her protective gear, stepped forward.

"Well then, let's begin the feedback session in earnest."

This was the start.

Before diving into the role of a coach more seriously, the first thing she checked was the part that received the most questions—whether it was expected or not, the first match ranked among the top concerns.

As she pondered how to structure the lecture, she decided that after explaining the principles of action, it would be best to take questions about any unclear parts in real-time.

Pushing aside the various screens that floated large in her mind, she opened her mouth.

"I’ll be taking questions in real-time, so please keep that in mind... For now, let's break it down step by step."

The screen split into four time zones, floating in midair. Each one displayed a first-person view, alongside various mini-maps on the side.

The first sequence showed actions taken to locate the opponent, revealing that the map’s structure offered an abnormal number of hiding spots and too many visual obstructions.

There were methods to track the opponent’s position by causing noise to make them aim around in confusion, but today she deliberately refrained from using such tactics.

Similarly, there was a reason why she didn’t use fishing lines or tripwire traps that she had frequently employed recently.

Today, she was here to lecture, which meant teaching methods that everyone could follow, rather than neutralizing opponents easily with techniques only she could perform or had frequently used.

This was precisely why she carried a PDA and a SureFire flashlight during the first match. The PDA was an item that could be obtained all over the research facility map to track the Juggernaut’s patrol routes, and the flashlight served a similar purpose.

In tournament mode, there were many skirmishes, and the game’s tempo was fast. This meant that all kinds of tactical equipment could be acquired in a matter of minutes, including the flashlight.

The method she came up with on the spot was to use the flashlight to confuse the opponent's positioning.

Thankfully, it worked better than expected.

At that moment, the screen showed her placing the flashlight in various positions. The Icarus Device allowed her to activate or deactivate it at will, without having to press a button with her finger.

She took advantage of that feature.

"That’s the method I chose, but honestly, it doesn’t matter much which method you use. Ultimately, these actions are about disrupting the enemy’s concentration."

"What would you have done if that method hadn’t worked?"

Someone raised their hand and asked.

She responded without hesitation.

"As I mentioned, it wouldn’t have mattered much. Since our general positions were already revealed once the enemy fired at me, from that point on, it was just a matter of closing the distance."

The guidelines she had already taught them for skirmishes were not particularly complicated.

Identify the enemy, precisely locate them, and close the distance.

The entire process wasn’t about tightly interlocking steps but rather about gradually approaching with flexibility. The exact method didn’t really matter.

After finishing this explanation, she quickly added:

"But for those who are still curious, you could think of a few alternatives. For instance, you could throw a couple of grenades sequentially and then rapidly close the distance, or you could activate the PDA’s alarm feature while intentionally making noise to disrupt sound-based gameplay and draw them out…."

A common theme began to emerge.

Through various methods, you block the enemy’s options and seize the initiative. The choice of engagement location and timing should be yours, not the enemy's.

After the grenade explosion, the PDA’s vibrating alarm effectively diverted the enemy’s attention before they could devise another strategy, leaving them distracted by the noise.

In conclusion, the key was to prevent the enemy from coming up with a better approach.

From this perspective, generating noise was always effective, as it not only blocked new ideas but also made it easier to reposition.

The third screen appeared.

The enemy, who had been aiming at the spot where she "had been," was hit by a bullet from afar and hurriedly sought cover. In the meantime, she closed the distance swiftly, and Pigeon, instead of returning fire, used a smoke grenade and fled.

But there was nowhere else to go.

He was cornered and eventually perished in an explosion.

"…This is it for now. To observe a different scenario, we’ll move directly to the second video."

The videos floating in the air all began to change.

The seventh match. In addition to her, a familiar figure—Dice’s blonde hair—was shaking violently on top of the urban warfare area that existed in the middle of an abandoned training ground.

Perhaps she had carefully observed the dynamics of the previous skirmish because she approached it in a way that hadn’t been tried before—specifically, she avoided combat as much as possible in the early stages, waiting for the scanning pulse’s cooldown to finish.

Afterward, based on the footprints left in the sand, she closed the distance and used the pulse to accurately pinpoint Yujin's location. That much was good, but as soon as Yujin was detected, she used a grenade to scatter her attention.

Being detected by the pulse meant that the enemy was within at least 25 meters, and at such a time, simply throwing a grenade near their estimated location could neutralize this advantage.

The ensuing events took a somewhat interesting turn, as Dice seemed to have learned quite a bit from the highest difficulty level she had encountered earlier—once the grenade exploded, she rapidly retreated, moving between cover so quickly that it was difficult for Yujin to catch up.

After that, it was a direct confrontation, pure and simple.

After five minutes, when the skill cool-down period had passed, the frequency of skill usage significantly decreased. Seeker Mines and pulses were thrown everywhere, and Dice, unable to stand seeing Yujin in one place for even a moment, engaged in an all-out brawl.

In some ways, she had truly grasped the essence of the lecture.

No matter what method she used, she would destroy the enemy’s perceived advantage and create a situation where they could fight on at least equal footing.

It was a stark contrast to the early days when she would be blown up by simple mind games.

There was quite a bit to say.

"As you can see, the dynamics of this skirmish are quite different from the previous one. What you should focus on is the latter half when the scenarios both players envisioned completely collapse, and the outcome begins to be determined by pure shooting skill."

Only vision, breath control, aiming ability, and sharp instincts remained, with no other factors able to interfere. This was the world of pure physicality.

This was why they practiced shooting, CQB, aiming, shooting from both hands, tactical reloads, and switching between primary and secondary weapons.

In other words, these skills weren’t unnecessary—they just had their specific time and place.

As she continued her explanation, her mind was also spinning in various directions.

Dice.

She hadn’t really considered it before—and she had to acknowledge that she was often lenient with people around her—but Dice had more talent than she had initially thought. Enough to make her consider conducting individual training sessions.

Although she hadn’t worked with other teams yet, and therefore couldn’t guarantee that no other team had players with similar skills, in the end, it was all about who came first.

How far could she go?

Still, now that they’d established a connection…at the very least, she should help her secure a ticket beyond the Asia qualifiers and into the finals.

It was a simple curiosity.

Perhaps this was the playful nature that hadn’t changed even after enduring five years of hardship.

She paused briefly and cleared her throat.

"…It seems the basic lecture is roughly finished. From now on, we’ll move into individual feedback. We’ll start with the first match and the seventh match in the same order, and then proceed sequentially from the second match onward."

She checked the time.

Two hours had already passed.

"Before that, let's take a quick break and answer any questions. Is that alright with everyone?"

There were no objections.

"Alright then, does anyone have any questions?"

The moment those words left her mouth... the sight in front of her was overwhelming.

Over thirty people raised their hands simultaneously, looking at her with determined expressions.

...This wasn’t what I expected?