“I didn’t expect things to go this far…”

Golden hair, tangled and mixed with dust, tiny glass shards, and even stone powder, peeked through a shattered window on top of a tall building. Blue eyes stared at the chaos unfolding across the horizon.

The harbor was in complete disarray. Enormous cranes were bent like twisted straws, thrust into the waterway, and containers, weighing up to 10 tons each, were flung about as if swept away by the wind.

Buildings closest to the blast epicenter were either destroyed or collapsed. It was a wasteland, the result of over 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate exploding and obliterating everything in its vicinity.

Before the ship even had a chance to spill its cargo into the water, the propane gas and lithium-ion batteries, released beforehand, acted as boosters. The dust explosion triggered by the powdered sugar scattered around ignited a reaction strong enough to set off the otherwise stable ammonium nitrate.

The massive chemical reaction forced the remaining 24 players to rethink their entire game plans.

‘Okay, now that we’ve made it this far, check for any enemies nearby, enter the building, and wait for the next kill zone.’
‘There’s no building here.’
‘What?’

It was that kind of situation.

While no one was there to give real-time feedback, the general sentiment would probably be, ‘I made it here, but the building I planned to hide in… isn’t here?’

I was thinking the same thing, after all. But I had an edge over the others. My name kept popping up on the endless kill log above the UI.

I never expected to find myself in this kind of situation during KSM, but the world is full of surprises.

“So, where do I go now?”

With the game heading into its final phase, I knew I’d have to head back into the ruins I had created. I’d run for my life to avoid the aftershock, making it 1.1 kilometers from ground zero in just five minutes. But today’s kill zone seemed to love the center of the map.

It wasn’t a great feeling.

Winning wasn’t certain, but after creating such chaos, I had to secure victory to prevent the others from ganging up on me when the match was over. The backlash from the event match might be scary, though…

“Wow, there’s nothing left intact.”

The explosion had been so intense that no buildings or roads remained untouched. The windows had long since shattered, and even cars had been blown away and crashed into various places, making them hard to find.

After finally finding an off-road buggy that had been waiting inside a hangar, I carefully drove it across the broken asphalt. The sun was shining brightly, but the remnants of the mushroom cloud still lingered in the sky.

With so few players left, Tannhäuser felt like a ghost town. Or rather, had I killed the town? That thought was kind of legendary. The culprit was racing down the road, while the victims were left in the lobby.

The circle was already closing in, heading toward its penultimate phase.

Even while driving, there had been several skirmishes. The number of remaining players, which had been around 20, was now down to 17. Normally, there’d still be 30 people left, but seeing it this way made the drop in numbers feel more real.

The car screeched to a halt.

It was in a container storage area, but thanks to the shockwave, it was in complete disarray. The containers, stacked haphazardly, were unstable and rattled as if they might collapse at any moment.

The air was filled with an eerie hissing sound. Some containers, already ruptured, were spewing flames, while others leaked ammonium nitrate from their torn sides.

Come to think of it, why did I even come here? It was a powder keg waiting to blow.

A cold, ominous wind blew through the area.

At that moment, a massive explosion erupted nearby.

Boom!

“Kyaa…!”

I almost screamed.

No wonder the air smelled strange—the propane gas must’ve been leaking. The gas, pooled on the ground, had ignited, spreading to a tank-filled container, causing it to explode.

Thankfully, the explosion happened more than 50 meters away from me. I cautiously leaned against a container, assessing what had just happened.

Crushed containers had been flung in all directions, and the ground was ablaze. The sweet, burnt smell of melting sugar mixed with the bright red flames of lithium-ion batteries igniting at over 1,000 degrees.

It seemed coming here wasn’t a good choice after all.

As I considered making my escape—

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

“Oof!”

Even with the nanomachine barrier absorbing the hit, the impact felt like it was crushing the part of my body it hit. The bullets had insane penetration power.

Through the flames, I saw a faint silhouette. I emptied a magazine in return, and the figure swiftly moved. As I reloaded, I checked the nanomachine reserves. Although the bullets hadn’t hit my head, a third of the shield had already been depleted.

The enemy hadn’t taken many hits, it seemed. I could guess their next move—they’d close the distance.

After reloading, I cautiously peeked out and aimed at the same spot. Through the shimmering flames, I saw a figure advancing.

“Huu…”

The sound I made could’ve been a scream or a sigh.

The enemy, moving steadily through the flames, had piercing blue eyes that made it clear who I was facing.

It was her.

I felt like prey standing before a predator. The opponent, steadily advancing like a juggernaut with an Mk.18 Mjolnir mounted on a shield, was none other than Yujin.

The graceful, agile tail slipping beneath the shield confirmed that her avatar was one-of-a-kind.

I had to kill her here.

Alert: Seeker Mine activated.
Alert: Adhesive Explosive Launcher—Impact mode engaged.

The seeker mine rolled out.

While perching my gun on a drum barrel and firing with my right hand, I aimed the adhesive explosive launcher with my left. I fired, and the impact explosive stuck to the shield, crackling with electricity.

In that moment, the seeker mine leaped into the air, scattering five submunitions. But somehow, Yujin managed to position her shield just right, absorbing three-quarters of the explosion.

No time to rest. No need to reload. I pulled out three grenades on the spot. The pins were attached to fishing line with Mollys, so as soon as I yanked them out, the pins and safety devices were released simultaneously.

I tossed two grenades with both hands, then threw the last one with my left. They exploded with a deafening bang, perfectly timed. But Yujin blocked the explosions with her shield, though it shattered from the final blast, and she was forced to retreat, heavily wounded.

I couldn’t finish her. I’d failed.

“D-damn it…!”

Her cold, piercing gaze caught mine.

Before I could take cover behind a container, I locked eyes with her. I couldn’t describe the feeling, but her gaze seemed to say—

‘Time to settle the score for that explosion.’

It was time to pay the price.

“Aaaand, here we go! A firefight has broken out! Yujin emerges from the flames and debris, locking eyes with Dice! It’s the living natural disaster versus this match’s dark horse, mentor versus student! For the first time, they face off in KSM after working their way through the ranks of tournament and qualifier matches!”

-OMG YUJIN VS DICE!!!!!!!
-THIS IS GONNA BE LIT LOLOLOL
-GRAB THE CHICKEN, GRAB THE PIZZA, GRAB THE BEER!!!!
-HAHAHA THIS IS INSANE LMAO
-NO END TO THE HIGHLIGHTS! NO END TO THE HIGHLIGHTS!

The cheers were deafening.

The excitement from the crowd was overwhelming, even for those who had no interest in the game. This monumental showdown, only two rounds into the Korea Selection Match, was creating a storm that no one could ignore.

The commentators, who had poured fuel on the fire with their hype, were no exception. They, too, were filled with near-manic excitement as their voices grew louder and more intense with every passing second.

Four or five screens were floating in front of everyone now.

Dice’s view, Yujin’s view, the trajectory of bullets, and an overall view of their movements were all being shown, with only a minimal amount of other camera angles left, offering the most detailed and diverse battle possible.

The viewers had no idea, but the staff in charge of adjusting the camera positions were under immense pressure. If Dice got wiped out too easily, it wouldn’t be worth the immense attention this battle had garnered.

But fortunately, neither Dice nor Yujin disappointed.

Ratatatatat!

High-velocity, small-caliber rounds and the ridiculously powerful Lapua Magnum traded shots. Dice’s container cover was penetrated by the .338 rounds, causing the interior to heat up as the lithium-ion batteries inside began to combust.

Meanwhile, a series of exchanges, too quick for the average person to follow, occurred over and over. Dice unleashed skills whenever their cooldowns allowed, while Yujin either absorbed the hits, dodged them, or returned fire with unflinching precision.

As the fight dragged on, one thing became clear to everyone.

“Dice isn’t leaving any room for error! She’s maintaining her distance perfectly! The question now is whether she can outshine her mentor! This is a battle between two razor-sharp minds, with no primal instincts involved—pure intellect!”

It wasn’t just senseless firepower. Dice’s perfectly distributed firepower thwarted every one of Yujin’s attempts to break through.

Using the seeker mine to track Yujin’s position, Dice continuously forced her out of cover with explosive rounds. But Yujin wasn’t letting herself get pinned down, minimizing her profile and constantly staying on the move.

Dice, though still a developing player, was using her finely honed skills, not just as a pro gamer but as a soldier, to counter Yujin’s every move. It was her way of showing respect to her mentor.

But Yujin held the upper hand—the sheer firepower of her Mjolnir’s Lapua Magnum rounds created an insurmountable gap that she wielded with unmatched precision.

If Dice’s bullets were jabs, Yujin’s Mjolnir threw hooks and straight punches with every shot. The barrier couldn’t withstand her relentless attacks, and Yujin’s raw power was enough to crush her opponent head-on.

Several times, Dice found herself on the brink of death due to a single mistake in judgment.

‘I can’t keep going like this…’

Her mind was racing.

No matter how many times she ran the numbers, the outcome was always the same: Yujin would grind her down to nothing. As much as Dice hated to admit it, Yujin was still a towering wall, and running away might be her only option.

Dice was practical enough to prioritize survival over pride.

She pulled out a grenade without hesitation.

Ping!

Of course, it wasn’t aimed at Yujin.

“Wait! Dice suddenly throws a grenade… not at Yujin, but at the pile of containers! What’s going on here?!”

Boom!

The grenade exploded, riddling the wall with holes, penetrating a battery inside. Another fire broke out, sparks flying, and then the propane tanks ignited, triggering yet another explosion. The chaos shifted the entire terrain once again.

But this time, it was all intentional.

Dice sprinted through the fiery rain of red-hot shrapnel, jumped into her parked buggy, and hit the accelerator, speeding out of the area.

The unsettling sound of ricocheting bullets echoed in her ears, but Dice managed to escape the area—personally, a defeat, but strategically, a victory. As long as she stayed alive, there would always be another chance.

Meanwhile, about 100 meters away, Yujin smiled quietly and muttered under her breath.

“See you in a few minutes.”

And her words came true.

Less than 10 minutes later, Dice was kicked back to the lobby with three skull icons and a second-place trophy.

There were no surprises in the end.