There’s a concept known as déjà vu.

It’s that moment when you find yourself in a situation and think, “Haven’t I been through something like this before?” Of course, it’s not a completely new feeling but more like a flashback to a past experience. For Harmony and Yujin, this happened more often than one might think—it had even become a kind of meme. Viewers who crossed over from Yujin’s streams to Harmony’s would return to Harmony’s stream, complaining loudly. It was like a ritual.

The reasons for this were varied, but if you asked their viewers, most would give the same response: Harmony’s awful taste in games had slowly rubbed off on Yujin, causing Yujin’s viewers, who were also Harmony’s viewers, to storm into Noknyang’s chat and vent about what Harmony had done to their beloved streamer.

In essence, the déjà vu between Yujin and Harmony often centered around Yujin teaching Harmony mischievous things, like how to train viewers with bad games, which would lead to Yujin’s audience flocking to Harmony’s stream to complain. This was a frequent occurrence, a testament to the playful back-and-forth between their communities.

But this time was different.

<LeMisérableLeMisérable has donated 5,000 won in video support.> –"Teacher, this is your work, right?! What did you do to Harmony!!!"

“…Haha.”

On screen, the video played in full.

Green hair swayed wildly with every shot fired, and if you shifted your gaze just a little, you’d see a woman staring intensely with nearly crazed concentration—Harmony. And to the side, just slightly, Yujin appeared on the screen with a faint smile.

“Well, she’s doing her part. Teaching her was worth it.”

–Doing her part????? –"To Yujin, this is what counts as one person’s work." –"Look at her confidence, lolololol." –"Yeah, no matter how much time passes, you’ll never surpass your master!" –"That’s one proud expression, hahaha!"

It had only been a month.

But the density of experience was something that couldn’t be reached through ordinary gameplay alone. Spending hours every day, for weeks, absorbing and applying every bit of knowledge she learned. Yujin had no choice but to push Harmony hard if she wasn’t seeing improvement.

However, Harmony delivered results, and the path she walked had become a testament to her progress—something that Yujin found deeply satisfying.

After a moment, Yujin’s smile faded, and she added, “Her aim is still a bit off, though. I’ll have to correct that soon.”

–How can you even see that?! –"Harmony dom when?" –"She’s doomed! HAHAHA!" –"LOL, someone clip that and send it to Harmony right now!" –"Looks like Harmony just got some unexpected homework, haha."

Of course, Yujin’s comment quickly quashed any sympathy in the chat for Harmony, and soon, the clip of her statement started making the rounds—no doubt heading straight for Harmony.

As always, there was no escape for Harmony.

“Aah, my body’s finally warming up. This mode’s pretty fun!”

“Uh, yeah, I guess…?”

“Should we do a little more, then?”

And as always, the person in question was completely unaware of the chaos around them.

“Shall we jump into the next match?”

“Uh, are you sure? Aren’t you tired?”

“What? How many games have we even played? It’s only been three, maybe four hours?”

“Haha…”

Harmony, Kimstone, Limit, and Hotteok exchanged glances. There was no need to state the obvious, but beneath the surface of those looks, a more complex web of reasoning was at play.

The first to notice something was off had been Limit.

After just one game, he realized that the person standing behind him was no newbie but more like a bald-headed, purple-skinned maniac. It wouldn’t take long for Kimstone and Hotteok to notice the same thing about Harmony—one or two more matches at most.

In roughly 20 minutes, they had gone from:

“We need to teach newbie Harmony a thing or two.”

to:

“What the hell has she been up to?”

There was no room for thoughts like, “She’s doing pretty well” or “Not bad.” Instead, there was a sharp shift in their perception. After playing around a dozen games, there were no more compliments on her skill—it wasn’t because Harmony was bad. It was because they realized she wasn’t someone they could judge.

Regardless, the collaboration continued, and they had plenty of chances to witness Harmony’s ability firsthand. More than once, in fact.

She didn’t necessarily dominate each match to the point where she was the focal point. Her playstyle appeared ordinary on the surface—shooting, throwing grenades, supporting her teammates. Just a standard rifleman.

But every action carried a level of precision and skill that showed she was taking things seriously, almost like it was real life rather than just a game. It was obvious where she had picked up these habits, but that wasn’t important. The results mattered more than the process.

And the result was that Harmony’s skill was overwhelming.

–"Yujin has turned Harmony into a machine!" –"This is wild, hahaha!" –"Is Harmony secretly a carry machine?!" –"Look at everyone, they’re in shock, lol." –"Honestly, Yujin’s scarier for turning Noknyang into this, lol."

-[ISO: Complete the mission and achieve the objective. Leave none who tread on this land with filthy feet.]

The map might have been different, but the start was the same.

Harmony, who had once trailed behind her team, barely keeping up, was now confidently moving across the battlefield. Checking her gun, loading her magazines—it was all second nature now.

Hotteok was still squad leader, but nobody could ignore Harmony’s input anymore. She had proven her skills, and naturally, the squad began gravitating toward combat engagements. Wherever she led, the sharp tip of their spear pierced the enemy lines.

And with Harmony’s abilities now clear to everyone, even Hotteok’s voice had risen in excitement.

-[Alert: Entering sector B.]

“Forget the objective, just focus on hitting the enemy where it hurts the most! Harmony will handle it!”

“Moni, we’re counting on you!”

“I’m charging in, trusting Harmony─!”

“Wait, hold on!”

Shock troops.

In simple terms, Harmony had become the sharp tip of the spear, crashing into the enemy defenses and causing as much damage as possible. It didn’t matter if the enemies tried to chase them down—they would take losses regardless.

It was basically the Harmony fan club at this point.

And the one most bewildered by it all was Harmony herself. She was just following what her teacher had taught her, yet her accuracy was something she couldn’t have imagined a month ago, and her view of the battlefield had become much clearer.

When she made a suggestion, Hotteok would instinctively adjust the squad’s strategy, and they would slice through the enemy lines like a knife through cake. Even when they faced tough situations, they managed to overcome them.

Yujin had always said that survival was the top priority, even if the system allowed for respawns. That’s why Harmony fought so hard in every engagement—even in the first game. If she hadn’t focused on survival, she would’ve died back then.

Some variables only exist for those who stay alive.

-[ISO: Impressive! You’ve established overwhelming superiority over the enemy!]

They cut off infiltrators, regrouped to crush enemy formations, and dealt with isolated enemies one by one.

There was no need to capture and recapture points A and C, endlessly pestering the enemy like flies. When you weren’t losing in a straight-up fight, there was no need to harass the enemy incessantly. By the end, the opposing team had holed up at A, unable to break out.

Everyone could see it, and they all felt it.

Even the viewers, who were now sending in donations, could sense it.

<Kereshian has donated 1,000 won!> –"If you can’t overpower the enemy, maybe you should think about getting more firepower."

“Thank you for the donation, Kereshian…”

–"Reading donations even during battle, lol." –"Look how differently they’re treating her now, hahaha." –"You idiot, 360 degrees just brings you back to where you started." –"Why does Noknyang’s posture remind me of her teacher, haha?" –"This is terrifying, seriously!"

<SixTimesIsNotEnough has donated 5,000 won!> –"Harmony, we need to check your snake tail for security reasons. Bend over, please."

“Hey! There’s no such thing!”

During a brief lull in the action, Harmony tried to read some of the donations, only to be bombarded by all kinds of ridiculous requests. Snake tail check? Really!?

Even Kimstone, who had just finished some mechanical repairs, snuck over and glanced at her rear, muttering something about looking for a snake tail. Harmony slapped him on the head with her mechanic’s glove, the sound echoing crisply in the cold New York air.

Their antics were starting to get to her. She subconsciously reached back and felt her tail—thankfully, just the virtual cat tail she had equipped as part of her character. It was visible and tangible, but not very realistic.

–"Living point: If Yujin trains you, you grow a snake tail." –"Oooh la la, hahaha!" –"Is it Dice’s turn next? Hmm, interesting…" –"A blonde noble with a snake tail, hahaha!" –"Should we just ban them all now?"

“Sigh…”

As Harmony pondered the situation, her thoughts wandered.

Despite her incredible skills, Yujin had an absurd number of strange nicknames. Axe Goddess, Tactical Snake Tail, Nightmare of Pro Gamers, Apex Predator, Ouroboros, Big Sister—names that Corvus, a pro gamer, had given her.

Was she doomed to follow the same path? Surely not. Yujin’s just a unique character, right? There’s no way I’ll end up like that…right?

…Why did she feel so uneasy?

-[ISO: Enemy special forces have signaled their intent to surrender. Remarkable! Combat is over!]

Those thoughts quickly dissipated as ISO’s voice echoed through her earpiece.

The UI flashed as the holographic display confirmed the enemy’s surrender. The victory screen lit up, and the nearby squadmates began clapping and cheering in unison.

“Oh, what the heck, they surrendered!”

“Yeah, no surprise. We destroyed everything except A.”

“Wow, Harmony! We knew you’d pull through!”

“What did I even do!?”

Of course, Harmony was near the top of the kill log again. Second place, to be exact. Only because she had opted to stay at B and defend while others cleared out A.

She didn’t know what to say.

She couldn’t fully understand Yujin’s feelings of accomplishment, but after receiving praise and cheers following the end of each rank session, she had started to get a sense of it.

But then…

<PreliminaryRank No.1 // Eugene has donated 10,000 won!> –"When firing in full-auto, be sure to account for the recoil from the first shot. Make it a habit, okay? ????"

–"Lol, she’s getting critiqued in real time!" –"Another scary person has appeared! Another scary person!" –"Big Sister! Big Sister! Big Sister! Big Sister!" –"No peace in this world, hahaha!"

“…Y-yes, Teacher…”

She’s terrifying.

Even though she had done well, Harmony couldn’t help but feel a chill run down her spine.