"Do you think you can replicate that?"

"That? The simpler it seems, the harder it is. It might look hastily made, but if you don’t fully understand the mechanics of how the skills work, you won’t even be able to attempt it."

"Skills, huh…"

Asia, Europe, America.

As the Final Championship squad matches commenced, not only countless viewers but also professional gamers and coaches who had flown from hundreds to thousands of kilometers away were watching the match in real-time, projecting large holograms.

The information collected in real-time through viewership was dissected and analyzed by coaches who had lived their entire lives detached from anything beyond manuals and tactics.

It had to be done.

"This is tricky."

People prefer familiarity and tend to improve only what they know. This is a basic human nature. On the other hand, curiosity about new and unfamiliar areas is also part of human nature, but at least in the military, it wasn't the case.

It is closely tied to human life. Therefore, strategies and tactics that haven't undergone any verification are not "used," no matter how much they are "tested." This was a given for those who had spent the longest time in the military.

But today, this fact was a hindrance to them, and a solution to overcome this obstacle wouldn’t be found, at least not in this Final Championship.

From the players to the coaches, those who were undoubtedly among the best in the world instantly grasped this reality.

"Skills…"

Unimaginable variables.

They could enumerate explanations about skills, but this could be summarized as an element that was beyond what they had ever dealt with.

At this point, skills were closer to an area that was still in its early stages of research rather than mainstream—because the North American users and professional gamers, who were leading the mainstream of the Final Championship, had not shown any interest in this area.

This was further concretized by the arrogant reasoning that "we can gain an upper hand in battles against foreign users even without such things," and thus, the doctrines of North American users deepened without feeling the need to change.

Of course, if someone were to bring an axe or hammer from the outside to chip away at this...

"Where should we focus our preparations? Should we think of it as sabotage?"

"It’s going to be harder to prepare than an IED. As I mentioned, it's more about the mechanics. If you can’t figure out which components move when and in what form, you’ll be completely at their mercy."

"The UK took a heavy hit right from the start. Besides, the Korean team has probably grasped how to plot the trajectory of their punches by now."

These weren’t wild swings. A punch that extended precisely along the trajectory marked in the air landed solidly on the UK’s face, a heavy-hitting champion could be proud of. After that, it was straightforward. England, famous for the SAS, had just been knocked out.

While the U.S. currently had the strongest special operations force, England was the starting point for such operations. There was no reason they should lag behind the North American users.

That they allowed a clean hit and were knocked down in an instant was something everyone present understood the significance of.

However, almost no one knew that Logan and his group had disappeared from that short room.

"When did you come out?"

"Not long ago. Shall we take a walk?"

"Sure."

As soon as they stepped out the door, they were greeted by two people at just the right time.

It seemed as if they had made a prior appointment. Logan, Owens, and Laurentina began walking away from the lounge. There was no specific destination, and since the building was quite large, they carefully opened up a conversation in a hallway where no one else was passing.

"This has to be Yujin's work."

"Could it be anyone else? The only one who fiddles with machines every chance she gets is our little junior; otherwise, she wouldn't use such an outlandish method."

"From how skillfully she’s behaving, it seems like she’s not new to this. Did you see how she adjusted the action points and the angles for the collapse?"

Hundreds of millions of people watching the match, among them only a select few were able to accept the unfolding match content without surprise.

Only those who had been with Yujin, or those who had been taught by her, or the parties involved themselves understood the full story of what was happening, though their reasons varied slightly.

And the three gathered here knew the astonishing behavior of their junior better than anyone else.

"Have you ever seen anything like that?"

"Operation Giloah. It was a storage area back then too. Only it collapsed much more severely than what’s being shown in the hologram now…"

"Haha, even thinking back on it now is absurd. Do you remember when I was carrying the senior officer on my back?"

"Thanks to that, I vomited up all the combat rations I had for lunch."

Still, it wasn't too bad since they prevented the constipation that could arise from eating that garbage—mumbled the senior officer, and Laurentina burst out laughing upon hearing it. This was always the way of the Daegeor team.

After a brief detour, the topic returned to Yujin. By now, they had arrived at a coffee shop reserved only for officials and players, where they sat in a rarely occupied, personal conversation area.

"By now, everyone is probably racking their brains over how to counter that."

"Considering the way you say it, you seem quite confident."

"I wouldn’t say I’m confident, but they won’t be as stiff-eyed as the others. But that’s all. Can the senior officer predict what might fly at you if Yujin goes 1:1 with you?"

Of course, no one nodded openly.

Then came the next remark.

"After all, no one is likely to support any particular country or team; they’re just here to watch how the seeds sown by our junior sprout."

"That’s essentially the truth."

"Oh, of course, Logan won’t support anyone, so don’t worry."

"I can just mention it during the interview. Do you want to go on public broadcast? You should while you can."

A continuous exchange of sharp jabs and counters.

Watching Logan throw back Laurentina’s sharp jab, Owens chuckled softly and sipped his coffee.

He spoke casually.

"Considering the direction things are heading, it seems the opportunities to see that girl are gradually diminishing. Can you hear the sound of wallets opening everywhere to recruit the parties involved?"

"...Could be."

"It’s just a simple joke. She’s not someone interested in that."

Beyond the coffee-scented room, darkness settled outside the window.

The day was fading away, and it was time to greet the next day.

"Let’s head in. I can’t imagine how congested it’ll be if we leave after the match ends, considering how crowded it is already."

"Sounds good. What should we have for dinner?"

"I’m not keen on eating anything."

"I need to tip the delivery guys well."

After returning their dishes and cups, they vanished.

A short yet long evening was about to begin.

"…Can’t we just take a taxi?"

"It’ll be three times slower than walking, and it’ll cost more than three times as much."

Meanwhile.

As Yujin and the others were making their way back to their accommodations, located about a 30-minute walk away, they were witnessing thousands of cars completely filling the road.

Of course, the difficulty of that journey was incomparable to Logan's group.

"Looks like everyone is here. It's a bit late, but for us, time doesn’t matter much. How does everyone feel about having successfully completed the first day of the Final Championship match? By the way, I was freezing cold."

At 11:30 PM, six people gathered in the multipurpose room in the basement of the hotel.

Several holograms were projected onto the walls of a room about the size of an average classroom, and in the center were six chairs that looked extremely comfortable, while a structure resembling a podium was installed against the wall.

Naturally, it was the soloing Korean representatives.

The atmosphere, which began with Yujin’s joke, was indeed lively, but it wasn’t particularly active. Those gathered here had endured a half-forced march.

Dressed comfortably, each showcasing their individuality, they sat in their chairs. With temporary tables and small refreshments provided, everyone was able to approach this schedule comfortably.

"You’ve all watched four matches today. Two squad matches, two duo matches. From tomorrow, both the squad and duo matches will increase by one. The Final Championship squad and duo matches will conclude before the weekend."

A short cough.

Since the heater was turned on, Yujin refreshed her throat by sipping from the drinks prepared on the podium.

"You’ve seen four matches, but amidst that, I’m sure you’ve encountered many engagements to reference. They’ll probably gradually increase throughout this week. Normally, I would sift through the crucial engagements and distribute them to you, but…"

There was no follow-up.

Instead, Yujin added.

"…I won’t be doing that. I believe you all understand the reason."

An animal that has lost its wildness cannot return to nature. The individuals gathered in front of Yujin were not quite to that extent, but ultimately, what mattered was continuous development. If nothing worked without Yujin, then it could not be called the Korean team.

"And as a side note, you may find it difficult to grasp whether basic skills or the application of skills is more important, or which areas to focus on in your practice at this point."

A glance.

There was no significant response, and Yujin added without much thought.

"Or not."

"Ugh…."

At Yujin’s unique humor, everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter momentarily, but she continued on without concern.

"Let’s ask this question. Is it really that important? Do we have to separate and distinguish between the two?"

"…"

"Skills are tools. But that doesn’t mean we should forget that the basics are also tools. In the end, either way, they are tools for combat and survival."

"So, you’re saying don’t be overly dogmatic. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing."

"That’s essentially how it is. Exactly. Don’t go off on some wild tangent or take any detours."

Having concluded this brief, humorous preamble, Yujin added.

"So, any questions or feedback?"

An ensuing silence.

Everyone wore resolute expressions, and amidst them, it was as if Michaela was the only one carrying a banner as he raised his hand.

Yujin pointed to him, and he spoke next.

"Yes, go ahead."

"It’s quite serious when you speak, but that snake pajama makes it hard to focus."

"…Huh, pfft…!"

It was true.

The outfits that showcased each individual’s personality were foreshadowing in a literal sense.

Yujin glanced down at herself, wearing a somewhat peculiar expression as she added.

"Unfortunately, due to an issue with the advertisers sending the wrong clothes today, I had no choice but to wear what was left."

"It's cute!"

"Would it be okay to take a photo if it's not too much trouble?"

Snake pajamas.

Pajamas that could even show the tail suited Yujin perfectly, and she had shown up wearing the cutest outfit in a place where she was supposed to appear most solemn.

It didn’t take long for a blush to rise on her face.

The first night of the second week ended with an unexpected charm that no one could predict.
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