[Notification: Icarus Tech detected nearby.]

The area was in chaos.

After a few weeks of participating in AP Soloing, I had learned that the skill unlock gear boxes were always located in the middle of heavily contested hubs, where life and death were separated by the thinnest of margins.

Even from just 300 meters away, the sound of gunfire was deafening, a constant barrage that resembled the crackling of roasting beans.

Although I’ve said it many times, the dynamics in sessions under tournament rules were always similar.

Simply opening a box could shower you with weapons, and whether or not you had a skill unlocked often determined if you could gain the upper hand in a firefight. Of course, this meant that the skill unlock zones were places where lives were as fleeting as falling leaves.

This was true even considering the tournament setting, and this pattern intensified after the initial phase of looting was over.

In short, I was heading toward the hottest zone at the hottest time.

As I entered the largest building in the area, which housed control rooms, rest facilities, and various other sections, I could hear the sounds of a shattered battle echoing from inside, where bullets had collided with walls hundreds, if not thousands of times.

Most of the noise was gunfire, but mixed in were sounds that resembled trying to fend off a torrential downpour with a single umbrella.

I knew all too well what that sound was.

─Rat-tat-tat-tat!

It was the sound of bullets ricocheting off a ballistic shield.

This wasn’t just any ordinary shield; it was part of the Icarus gear. Although it looked like a standard shield, its performance far exceeded that of modern-day equivalents. In the past, when I set up my gear with nanomachine enhancements, I could withstand a minigun barrage for tens of seconds.

That hadn’t changed here, and users who customized their setups to play a tank role were always at the forefront, absorbing the enemy’s fire.

In any case, it was a formidable piece of equipment.

Taking a deep breath, I surveyed the surroundings. Although AP maps had different layouts in every match, the skill activation device was always in an open area.

In other words, the chances of getting your head separated from your body while activating a skill were almost 100%.

Because of this, many players avoided these areas altogether. Late in the game, items like EMP grenades or jammers, which could disable skills, often emerged to counter reliance on abilities.

Fweee!

"Ugh."

As soon as I entered the building—or rather, what was left of it—those who had arrived earlier and taken cover detected my presence and immediately began firing in all directions.

As always, I couldn’t afford to give them any opportunity for a firefight. The enemy had the advantage, being already entrenched in their positions, while I was the one entering their line of fire.

As I always said, firefights should only be attempted when you’re on equal footing or when you have the upper hand. There was no need to start a fight when the odds weren’t in my favor.

But, of course, things don’t always go as planned.

As soon as I poked my head out into the hallway, a burst of light and sound erupted from the far end. I quickly ducked back into cover, reviewing the situation. One enemy was cautiously trailing me from behind, and another was blocking the route I intended to take.

Most likely, the enemy wouldn’t engage me in a direct firefight. At best, they’d try to gain the upper hand by using grenades as safely as possible.

In that case…

I decided to limit the places where the enemy behind me could throw their grenades.

First, I shot out all the lights in the ceiling with my carbine. This included the hallway I had planned to pass through. As the area quickly plunged into darkness, I pulled out a smoke grenade from my pocket.

This would create various opportunities.

Separate from that, I made one assumption—the enemy approaching from behind would want to know my exact position. That way, they could use their grenades to kill me more effectively.

Drawing from extensive combat experience, I quickly came to a conclusion. I would provide false information about my position to the enemy behind me, push back the enemy in front with the smoke grenade, and create a relatively safe spot to avoid any grenades.

The key was to mask the sound of the smoke grenade’s detonation, but that could be easily covered up by firing during the engagement.

I found three conditions that would allow me to escape the current situation.

With each piece of the puzzle falling into place, the firefight scenario I wanted began to take shape.

I took a deep breath and began.

─Rat-tat-tat-tat!

With the carbine firmly shouldered, I leaned out into the hallway and fired a burst at the last spot I had seen the enemy. The muzzle flash lit up the darkness as the firefight began.

Naturally, both the enemy and I were using cover, so there weren’t any significant hits, but the noise was meant to signal my position to the enemy behind me.

I used my tail to pull out the smoke grenade, yanked the pin, and rolled it forward while switching to semi-auto and firing at regular intervals. The sound of the rolling grenade and the subsequent detonation were completely drowned out by the gunfire.

Psssshhhhh…

As white smoke silently billowed out from the center of the hallway, the enemy in front of me retreated further, and the enemy behind me inferred that I was engaged in a firefight in the hallway based on the gunfire.

I swapped magazines and then heard the telltale click from behind. The enemy was readying a grenade. Without hesitation, I sprinted down the hallway, dove to the floor, and pressed myself flat, covering my ears and opening my mouth.

There was no need to worry about getting shot by the enemy I had been fighting earlier. The smoke was too thick for them to see me, and they had retreated because of the smoke grenade I had thrown.

A solid object hit the wall, ricocheted, and fell to the floor.

A massive explosion rocked the hallway, sending vibrations through the building.

─Boom!

"Ugh…!"

The acrid smell of gunpowder filled the air as hundreds of metal fragments and concrete shards flew in all directions. The force of the blast was so intense it left my ears ringing.

The spot where I had been moments ago was nothing more than a simple hallway junction with no cover, so if I had stayed there, I would have been blown to pieces.

Another dull thud followed. Another grenade. It seemed no one was letting their guard down, considering this was a qualifying rank match.

Two consecutive explosions shook the building.

As the aftershock subsided, I silently got up and sprinted toward ground zero.

No one had ever thrown three grenades into the same spot. Two might be fine, but three was a waste of time, and if they failed to kill the target, the noise would attract attention from all directions.

In short, this meant the enemy behind me would soon stop throwing grenades and move in my direction.

Closing the distance with the enemy was always welcome.

─Clack!

"…."

The sound of a ballistic shield deploying.

If I were an ordinary player, I would’ve cursed the enemy for their relentless caution. In such a confined space, a shield and handgun combination could endure all sorts of adversity.

Honestly, an average player would die at this point.

But blindly trusting a shield was always a mistake—because it’s always a human being using the tool.

The moment the edge of the shield slipped into the now-darkened hallway, where the lights had been shot out, I charged.

Like a rhino,

I slammed into the enemy.

The shield had a large surface area optimized for absorbing bullets.

"Huurgh…!"

While the shield could absorb bullets, even with the aid of Icarus gear, it was still a human being who had to endure the impact.

With a thud, the combined weight of two people slammed into the wall. In that moment, I grabbed the enemy’s right wrist with my left hand, forcing them to drop their handgun, while my right hand reached over to add strength to my left.

Then, with both hands gripping the enemy’s right wrist, I yanked hard—and threw them over my shoulder.

─Thud!

The enemy landed flat on their back, still gripping the shield with their left hand, as the air was forced from their lungs.

In that instant, I pinned the shield down with my foot to prevent them from moving and aimed my Mk.18 Mjolnir at their head.

Several gunshots rang out, and the kill count increased.

Breathing in the acrid smell of gunpowder, I caught my breath.

"…Hah."

Aside from the one who had fled earlier, there were no more enemies in the vicinity.

I pulled five Lapua Magnum rounds from the multi-purpose pouch on my belt, reloaded the magazine, and slotted it into place. The familiar clicking sound echoed in my ears.

Every moment of life was truly a struggle.

The session was far from over.

Breaking News: Shocking! Reaper Infected's Michael announces retirement from AP…

A GIF of Yujin flipping Michael over and executing him.

Didn’t hear the smoke grenade go off…
I’m quitting AP ㅠㅠ

[General Comments] [Most Recent]

-????????????????????????

-Is this real? How is this real? Didn't the qualifying ranks just start?????

-Wow, this is just… wow, lol.
-Please stop, you crazy woman, please!!! lol
-I don’t understand anything about this!

-Fact: For those who know, the previous situation was even more spectacular.
-For real, lol.
-The terrain was awful, and she was outnumbered, yet she still broke through, lol.
-After taking down Michael, she still managed to catch the one who fled within three minutes—ridiculous.
-What’s with that tail? Is that even real? Who the hell is this "Third Tail" technique guy? How does she prime grenades with a tail, lol?

-It's the first match! It’s the first match! It’s the first match! It’s the first match!

-She wrecked scrims, she’s wrecking qualifying ranks—please stop being so good, you crazy woman, please!!!!!!!!!!!!

-She’s flying solo even though the official broadcast isn’t even open yet, lol.

-The most absurd thing is that she doesn’t give a damn who her opponent is, lol. She just bulldozes anything in her way.
-We decided to call her a tank.
-Human armored vehicle of the year, right?

-She starts by rapid-firing an M500 with one hand, then she’s rapid-firing a Mjolnir—give it a rest, you super-soldier, lol.
-M500? You mean the revolver?
-What else could it be?
-I have no idea what this person’s background is, but I’m giving up trying to figure it out.

-At this point, shouldn’t they just automatically put her in the top 100 for the sake of player rights?
-Be reasonable, lol.
-For player rights, lol.
-This is supposed to be a shooting game, but people are getting executed, and you’re talking about rights, lol.