"…Ugh."

My body felt heavy. As my mind slowly booted up, I realized I wasn’t looking at a ceiling but rather the walls of a luxurious hotel room. The clock showed 9 a.m. — I had slept deeply. Sensing my surroundings, I became aware of some odd sensations in my body.

The first was a weight on my tail. Dice had somehow made her way down there, clutching it like a pillow as she drifted through dreamland. If this were the past, she’d have been a fan of body pillows.

But the real spectacle was elsewhere.

"...Oh, what is this?"

Not vertically, but horizontally, Harmony was lying across me, with her feet propped on my chest. No wonder I felt so heavy; she was practically creating a human crossword puzzle on me. I suppose it was fair to say we’d become a “crossword” ourselves.

Despite my foggy brain, I did a quick calculation. We’d fallen asleep around 1:30, meaning I’d already gotten the necessary amount of rest. Considering how drunk we’d been, though, it would be wise to rest a bit more. However, I decided to get up and wash up first. If I waited for them, we’d all be scrambling to check out.

Not that it was going to be easy.

In fact, I encountered some obstacles right away.

"Here, hold onto your pillow instead."

After freeing my tail, I tucked Dice’s own pillow back into her arms to settle her down. I then gently moved Harmony off me, placing her back in what looked like a peaceful sleeping position.

Stretching, I headed to the bathroom and let the water run. Under the shower, I washed up, rinsing off thoroughly before finally soaking in the tub. About 40 minutes later, when I returned, the two were sitting on the bed, dozing off again. I grabbed a couple of drinks from the fridge and handed them over, which they drank down thirstily.

"...What time is it?"

"Almost ten. Be careful on the floor if you’re heading to the bathroom. It’s a bit slippery from when I showered."

"Okay…."

Despite my warning, Harmony, still drowsy, stumbled and nearly slipped on her first step into the bathroom. Fortunately, I’d anticipated this and managed to catch her with my tail, preventing any impact. She looked dazed but mumbled a quick response.

"I did say it was slippery."

"Right… I’ll be more careful next time."

"You should."

With Harmony wide awake now, I figured she didn’t need any more assistance, so I sat down to chat with Dice while waiting for Harmony to finish her shower.

Dice was the first to speak up.

"The North American scrims are starting soon. Got any tips on what we should do to survive the competition?"

"If you have scrim data from this year, send it to me. We need a solid foundation to make decisions."

"Hmm... I wonder if there’s footage from last year’s matches."

Dice moved over to the computer in the room, only to find it painfully slow, even for 2030. After logging into SSM Entertainment’s site, she navigated to a section with data from last year’s matches and began playing a video.

As the footage played, I paid attention not to Dice’s movements, as she had improved since then, but rather the international competitors she faced. This was about prepping for the Finals scrims, which I knew would be as intense as the Asian qualifiers.

"Ah, this was a match against Wiseman from the UK. I barely won that one."

"Your movements are decent but a bit sloppy. Looks like you only put in enough effort when necessary, which leaves you open to counterattacks."

"Huh?"

"Put simply, if they weren’t holding back, you’d have had a few more holes in you."

I pressed a finger lightly against Dice’s head as I spoke. British, likely SAS. Special forces tend to converge in terms of skill and tactics at the top levels, which makes differentiating between them tricky. The only clues to their affiliations were subtle indicators, like stance or weapon handling.

But before we could analyze further, the computer suddenly shut down.

"...Wait, what? Why did it die?"

"It overheated. Not surprising."

"Why does it feel like you’re blaming me?"

Ten minutes later, the computer came back online, but we decided to abandon it. Harmony returned from the bathroom, and I escorted Dice to her turn to freshen up.

After packing and tidying up, we decided to head to an all-you-can-eat BBQ place since we missed breakfast.

On the way out, my phone vibrated. Given my conversation with Dice, I had a guess about what it was.

"Bzzzt!"

"What is it? What did you get?"

"Yup, looks like it’s an invite for scrim prep."

Naturally, “no” wasn’t an option.

November.

Weeks had passed since the Asian qualifiers, and Seoul was transitioning to its cooler season. The Apex Predator Solo Finals Championship was drawing near, and preparations were underway.

Despite the lack of formal training since the qualifiers, scrims were as critical as, if not more than, the Asian qualifiers. For those five players who would fly to the U.S. at the end of December, the pressure was palpable.

And while there would be thirteen players going overall, it was only the five of us in the Solo competition who had to compete directly. The others would head to the Duo or Squad matches.

"People have really thinned out, haven’t they?"

Just five players left: me, Dice from SSM Entertainment, Ink from Xi Impressive, Gambit from Clear Sky, and Michael from Reaper Infected. Originally a hundred, we were now down to twenty for the Finals Championship, only five of whom would compete solo.

I decided to address the group.

"I’m sure you all know the scrims are coming up, and you’re wondering how best to prepare."

I raised my hand, and a holographic pyramid appeared in the air, showing a division between the top 20% and the lower 80%.

"The countries to pay attention to are Japan, Russia, parts of Europe, and the U.S. Don’t bother with the rest. Just because they’re from around the world doesn’t mean they’re on our level."

It was a bold statement for someone who hadn’t even reached the Finals yet, but no one questioned me. I had earned my place here.

"So, naturally, the question is whether we can hold our own against these twenty. Or, better yet—"

Can we surpass them?

The Finals have always been marked by an insurmountable wall. It wasn’t just about managing sleep schedules and time differences; it was the more fundamental question of our abilities. I shifted the discussion slightly, mentioning some intel I’d gathered from last year’s Finals. What might have seemed like casual remarks were actually the result of ten days spent studying the data.

"Here’s a simple question: what exists in Dark Zone that doesn’t exist in reality?"

"...The shield system?"

"Not quite. Think broader."

Everyone was quiet until Michael tentatively raised his hand.

"Is it… skills?"

"Correct."

With that, a visual aid popped up, displaying last year’s stats, showing skill usage frequencies. As the graph showed, skill dependency dropped as you moved up to the top 20%, reflecting a reliance on core abilities and a detachment from flashy moves.

"If you look closely, you’ll see that as players reach the top 20%, their reliance on skills declines sharply. This is due to two main factors. Guess correctly, and you’ll win a small prize."

"I’ve got it!"

"Me, too! Please, let me answer!"

Their enthusiasm was endearing. After three minutes of debate, Gambit came the closest.

"Nice try. While it’s not the exact answer, you’ll receive a special curriculum from me."

"Wow, uh… um…."

"Are you hesitating? I’d be bowing if I were you."

I turned back to the group.

"The top 20% players act based on their accumulated knowledge and experience. And as I mentioned, skills don’t exist in reality."

"Does that mean…?"

"Yes."

With a sweep of my hand, the hologram shifted, displaying various Dark Zone skills floating in the air.

"Skills will be your biggest asset in this Finals Championship, potentially propelling you to greater heights. I trust you all know what I mean by now."

Though I said no more, the four players before me could already sense the hardships to come. With a gesture, the surrounding environment transformed, and our attire changed as well. My voice echoed clearly.

"We don’t have time to waste, so let’s begin."

True excellence is forged through intense challenges. And so, the next phase began.
 

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TL notes:

Thank you for reading! If you’d like to see more chapters and support my translations, you can contribute at ❤️ ko-fi.com/satabog ❤️. Every little bit helps, and I truly appreciate your support!